Chimera

The nutritionists at my surgeons office whom I spent a lot of time with during the year that I prepared for my surgery always say the same thing - "There are no essential carbohydrates, period." They prefer us ketogenic - that it is the bodies optimum and preferred fuel. When I eaat this way I drop weight like crazy and feel great, when i dont, well I ended up 318 lbs and not well at all.

Getting all my fluids in will always be a struggle I think - I resort to having Protein Soup to up both liquid and protein grams. I just try to do the best I can - tracking helps keep me aware. I was totally freaked when I had my first stall - now i am well into my second - I really wish I had started taking measurements from the beginning - even though the scale is hanging out at the same spot - my body is changing drastically, so much so that I have gone from wearing pants last May that were a snug 2X to just ordering a standard medium - I still am having trouble actually wrapping my mind around that one lol. My husband made me order them because I have shrunk right through the XL pants I just bought - he couldnt find me in the grocery store yesterday because now I look like everyone else he says - but my big baggy clothes make me look like a hobo haha! A medium - and I have about 60 lbs more to lose to hit the upper end of a healthy BMI range for my height @ 5'3" - crazy.

One of the top predictors of long term success with WL is tracking your food/exercise etc. I weigh myself daily - I no longer am swayed if I am at the same weight for a while, as the trend continues downward - work through those stalls. I track calories, Protein, carbs, fat, and Fiber. I also keep track of my liquid intake, my Vitamins, meds (very few now) - I do have a myfitnesspal login but I use good old paper journals, and track exercize/walking with Runkeeper. Carbs and Water consumption seem to have the most significant impacts on how I feel, and how much I lose. I am a pound and a smidge from Onederland - a place I have been hanging out at for a couple of weeks (also a serious set point from my long ago past) Looking forward to seeing a 1 in front, rather than a 2...waay better than the 3

walk, walk, walk - sip,sip, sip

Save that hard earned quit - it only gets easier the longer you go. I'm serious! I smoked 1-2 packs a day for 28 years and quit November 1, 2010 and have not had one puff since. Go see your Dr.they can help you - smoking now would be not good.

The title says it all - I immediately start fretting that I am not at goal so i cant do a commercial - then on to I need tooth whitening strips, to get some self tanner and some clothes that actually fit haha. I will let you guys know how it goes. My hubby will most likely be in it as well (though I have not told him yet haha) he's down 130+ lbs. since his own VSG two weeks before my own and is right at goal - waaaaay soooner than we ever expected. If we do end up doing this i will be sure to post a link. Here is my surgeon's new site: http://www.swedishweightloss.com/

I am still contemplating this one - number one reason that I may decline is that I have not yet reached my goal. For me - that is really, really important - as it is something I have never attained with WL in the past. It is a reason i dont post in progress, or befores here either - I want that really crazy before/after thing to be going on (well it is already, but the next 60-65 lbs will show an insane change.) My before pics are so incredibly unattractive that anything is better than those haha.

That is great! You should come to the support group meetings - I go to the Saturday meetings and I always get something valuable. I think those folks at Swedish are the best

What is different is it is virtually impossible to overeat - yes there are certain slider foods that we all can get in a bit more of than normal - but I keep a close eye on that practice. I am as interested in changing my body chemistry and its reaction to nutrients (i.e. very limited processed carbs, high Protein, Fiber,etc.) as I am in losing my excess weight. Honestly - I am not as hungry now, yes i do feel hunger but I cannot use food the way that I did pre-surgery AT ALL. It would simply be physically impossible. After going through a year of prep - laying on the table and having most of your stomach surgically removed - well that seems to do something big to change one's mindset At least it did for myself and my dear husband. You experience success so rapidly that it is almost unthinkable to turn your back on yourself again, after this commitment. My husband said it well the other night (he also had a vsg and is down 130+ since May) - that it is a relief to not always be thinking about when my next meal is and if I will get enough in. I quit smoking after 28 years of 1-2 packs a day, this feels like the same kind of freedom. I never thought I would beat this - ever. Now I am - slowly but surely. And it s a darned good tool that is permanent. It is a transformational tool - it is night and day from pre-surgery to our lives post.

/eyes the deliscious grapes suspiciously...haha Pookey, I will always think of that now when considering grapes - not too much of an issue in the fall winter when they arent in season but they are one food that I tend to like a little too much

Hmmm at 5 weeks out I was 23 lbs down - after gaining 20 in the hospital from fluids and post-op shenanigans. I am not the fastest loser by any means but look at the stats in my ticker now - it adds up. Edit: I am coming up on 6 months post -op. There is no way in the world I would ever have been able to lose this much this fast without the sleeve - and know that it is staying off. Look at the trend over time - that is where the rubber meets the road.

The whole starvation things is a myth. Your body will only hang onto everything when it has no more fat to burn - Google it - there are tons of scientific studies on it. Best method to get that fat to burn is to be in ketosis - which is why bariatric diets are pretty much universally high protein/low carb. Stalls happen - and they mess with our heads because we are doing everything we should be doing and the scale is not moving...just keep doing what you should be doing as per your NUT's orders and you will lose. Our bodies drop weight in a variety of patterns - rarely is it a straight and steady line graphing downward, my own patterns is more of a stair step very much linked to my cycle. Trend over time is where those losses really add up. I stalled hard for a month when I was 5 months post-op, eventually the scale started moving again - during that time my body really changed - suddenly I was swimming in all of the smaller sizes I had just bought. I personally try and follow the common post op rules of 600-800 cals per day - 60-80 g protein, 64+ oz water, and carbs 40g or under - or as low as I can get them

Hang in there you guys with the pre-op diet - it gets soo much better, and easier after your sleeve.

Hope you are feeling better soon - I know just what it feels like to be hit by that freight train sip as much as you can, take those pain meds, and walk as much as you can tolerate - very soon, the pain will be a memory.

Update: November 8th, 2012 - this morning weighed in at 204, down 17 since I posted on 9/7 - I may need to revise my goal! I absolutely need to move more - that is a big goal for 2013 for me and my famly. Keep going strong gang - even if we stall those losses pick back up again if we stay the course

There isnt really a hard time anymore - now it is a relief that I am no longer controlled by an obsession with food. Feels good to be free Before surgery I would say anytime i tried to do the all liquid thing - what a nightmare and I feel for the folks who have to do weeks of shakes for their pre-op, its torture. For my pre-op my doc has his patients do Atkins induction - hellooo chicken breasts and cheese lol - wasnt so bad.

I am currently in love with Lean Cuisine's Roasted Turkey and Vegetables - its their new culinary collection. It can be a bit hard to find meals that dont have some form of white/grain based carb - as i never met a noodle I didn't like - this one is the bomb! Its 200 cals. 16g Protein, 18g carbs, 7 g fat. http://www.leancuisine.com/Products/Details.aspx?ProductID=10382 I can finally eat a whole one - early on one meal took 2-3 days lol.

My husband and I did not have to do liquid - but rather Atkins induction (20 carbs or less) and as much Protein as you can get in. Just did Clear liquids right before surgery. Liquid or solid doesnt really matter - its dropping the carbs and upping the protein in order to shrink you liver for the surgery to come. In 12 days I think I lost 15 lbs before surgery. Best of luck!

Well done! I would be careful with the snacks and the carbs. I am not sure what your NUT has you at for protein - mine has us at 80 a day which leaves very little room for much else. I just hit 5 months out and notice i can eat more too - I certainly can eat a whole lot more non-protein food than i can of dense protein - I too point to carbs as the font of all evil - certainly processed ones, they just make me hungry and stall my WL.

I had a few complications - internal bleeding post surgery which kept me in the hospital for a week, and had an incision open up when i got home which was a bloody mess (literally - BMI was close to 57 when i started. My husband had his vsg two weeks before i did and sailed though with no problems at all. We had our surgery in the states - a good friend has a high BMI (in the 70's) and they won't operate on her in Mexico - told her she needs it to be lower for a safe surgery. Even with the complications I experienced, which are nothing compared to some - and those seem to be a fairly small percentage - it is the best thing we have ever done for ourselves and i would do it again in a heartbeat.

Best of luck you guys The pre-op diet portion of the show can be challenging - it's awesome at the same time because you drop weight like crazy and get your liver into surgery shape as well. when i started mine after a year of prep - it was like okay here we go, this is real now Best thing my husband and I have ever done for ourselves, bar none!

My advice is to look at your loses at one month out - I gained 20 lbs in the hospital with all of the shenanigans i went through with complications. don't worry - you dont have much of a choice but to lose once the post-surgery madness settles down. I am appoaching 5 months out - stalled the entire month of September and am still meeting my own personal WL goals this month. Your sleeve is a permanent tool, it doesnt go away

Sleeved May 21 - down 62 lbs since surgery, 106 total including pre-op.

The clear liquid portion of the show is to clear out your digestive system - not specifically shrink the liver. The liver shrinking comes from the reduction of carbohydrates - most bariatric patients have some extent of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/syndrome and this is what "unpuffs" it. The incision high on the tummy just under your bra-line is where that retractor is inserted - and its a skinny little instrument narrower than a pen. All surgeons vary in their advice - my doc has his patients eat solid food (Atkins induction - 20 g of carbs or less a day) with clears the day before surgery. I lost 14 lbs in about 10 days and surgical team said my liver was teeny...I ate a lot of chicken during my pre-op - and premier Protein shakes. Post surgery - I follow 600-800 cals a day, 80g protein, 40 g or less carbs...move the body and as much Fluid as you can get in, minimum 64 oz.

An interesting situation has also cropped up at home - my hubby also had a vsg two weeks before I did, and he has never stalled, in fact his loss is so dramatic that people at work no longer even recognize him. Neither of us had any idea he would be so close to goal this early (today is his 5 month surgiversary) we had the same start weight of 318 - his surgery weight was 10 lbs more than my own at 284 - and he is now 196. People are continually remarking on his transformation - while very few comment on my own ( hey 100+ lbs is no mean feat!) - maybe it is because I am a professor amongst a whole group of very polite academians who might think it rude to comment. I think he is feeling guilty because I have been a bit sad and frustrated with my stalls - so i try my best to keep up the cheerful even when I feel disapointed simply becasue i know he will take it on and feel bad Work and life has been very stressful and busy lately - and i dont see much of a let up any time soon.../sigh. pms certainly does not help matters lol.