Pookeyism

It's called a stall or plateau and yes, everyone experiences it to one degree or another, more than once often. My advice is to go get a t shirt that is too tight, but not tight enough to rip or stretch out, put it on, check it out in the mirror and put it away, then later, a couple of week or so, if you are still stalled, my bet is you are going to still see weight loss, that tshirt is going to get baggy! Good luck.

Wondered how you were doing! Sounds good! Keep it up & congrats!

bismouth turns stool black. if it is not smelly, or turns the water dark red, there isn't anything I am aware of, but I am NOT a doctor.

Anything is going to clump if you add it to hot Soups or beverages unless it is designed to do so, processed protien denaturises at 130 deg. F (roughly). You will need to cool down your foods then add. I have never had an issue ith unjury clumping...if you bean the little powder bombs, that is more related to how you are mixing than clumping. You could use Mootopia milk with your coffee...not an unflavored powder but it has 50% less sugars and 12 g protien in a cup.

Wow...that's really intense. Glad you are past that! Keep going!

I lost my Mom a week after my surgery. My sleeve-anniversary is tomorrow. She was ill but it was unexpected. She was 58. She was not heavy, and did not know I had the surgery (I was trying not to worry her). I wish she could see the changes. I guess she can, actually. Your pictures are wonderful. What an amazing change you can already see!!!

Don't waste the calories on sugars. There are plenty of sleeve-friendly healthy choices. Avocadoes, nuts, butters and creams made of nuts...whole milk and orange juice...you can always drink a bit more than you can eat, and healthy drinks that are also calorie laden are plentiful. If you need a treat take a teaspoon ful of EVOO, and a couple of ounces of avacado, and season to taste, take a hard, sharp cheese and use like a cracker, and snack on it through the day.

Go ahead and research what your next step is should you be denied, and have it lined up...it sounds like your insurance is fighting you hard. Is your doctor being of any assistance? If not find one that will help you. If they are experienced enough to take your money and be trusted with this surgery, they should also be able to be a strong advocate with the insurance process. Good luck.

1) Will I be mindful enough to follow the food guidelines? I think it is really much harder to not pay attention than it seems - it is always on your mind for awhile...you can also issue reminders by not snacking, measuring out your food, placing your spoon or fork down after each bite, to be very mindful of picking it up again. A better question may be "Are you prepeared to make permanent changes?" Here is the follow up!!! : "HOW?" plan it out now. Later you will just feel panicky. This is a life change, it requires planning. 2) Will I be knowledgeable enough to know what is good and what is bad for me, medical wise? Are you? Do you keep a journal of your questions and the answers you get? Have you discussed your medications and contitions? Do you understand the procedure? 3) Will I have the support I need from my husband? That is a very private question - this is something to prepare for too - he willl be going through changes also. Typically, unless addressed on a serious level, with work and effort on both peoples part, you are going to have roughly the same level of support you have ever recieved on any long term diet, or self-improving task that untimately is for the betterment of you first. That is a good indicator of what to expect. 4) Will I be able to find the medical support I need in the states after returning home from self-pay in Mexico, if indeed something goes wrong afterward? Again, what do you mean by that? Are you covered by health insurance? Do you have the funds set aside? I have gone to my general practitioner several times with possible sleeve related issues, including a barium drink, that was ;isted as a check for a esophagus blockage first, and by the way make sure her tummy is ok...otherwise you will incur bills. I say this and emphasize it because you need and want a plan of action for this, you don't want to create alot of unpaid debt for yourself. You will have enough on you in the upcoming months without that! Good luck!!!

Not to be the wet blanket, but you need to evaluate what you ment by unmotivated. I have seen alot of people that waiting on the surgery to lose was a blinking yellow light - not a "stop" but just a sign to be preparing for what is ahead. Your sleeve will not do it all. You have to be head-ready. Hunger can be a horrible thing, a true foe - but the sleeve will only reduce real hunger. The reasons why you eat - the bad food choices, the cravings, the triggers - you will hav eto overcome these things or you will not have the sucess you want. Take this time to "diet" but not necessarily to lose weight - get accustomed to some light exercize if you arent already, eat better choices, even if you still eat in bulk. Get away from fast food and trans fats. Read, read, read - and not just here. Not just online! Get the books, do it just like old-school - read, re-read, read again and take notes.... Get practice in food-logs, read up on your meds and what to expect.. There is a series of books called "Eat This, Not That" and they go into better food choices, even if you have no plan to stop eating as much as you are - whatever that is....but it is, generally, nutritionally sound choices, and you would be suprised!!! For instance: You can eat a CAN of sliced pineapples in Water for 1-2 chocolate Cookies, depending on size and brand...no fake sweeteners or transfats needed. It can be a gentle guide for what is ahead. No excuses either - if you are diebetic, for example - what were you doing eating 2 cookies anyway? Good luck!!!!

Very good! Congradulations!

I have not yet had pizza, or fast food of any kind. I let myself have some pasta and realized it was a mistake...I crave savory carbs just too much. Getting back to a type of eating I used to do...one or two things at a time, no sauces (mostly). I have color and texture and taste, so I am good. It seems like an extreme decison, but I have read alot about how our body imprints and remembers carbs and bad fats, and you re trigger that craving often without realizing it.

I would avoid it. That would have tore my tummy up.

You could copy/paste it to a new thread.

It can be hard, I have heard of this before. Get on a liquid miltivitamin, and keep a food log - you need to be aware of how little you are eating. Good luck. I got a second opinion at 6 weeks out, because I was having trouble too. It all worked out eventually.

I "talked" to my Mom. She passed away a week after my surgery - she didn't even know. I had held alot back, and I gave myself permission to let it go.

Five weeks out I was still having discomfort - people are different, they might factory stamp the sleeve, but they cannot count everyone in on the same healing rates and such. I would discontinue crackers if at all possible, if you can have a cracker, there would be better options you can probably digest - consider potato (it is considered a "complete food") or plantain (plantain are better carbwise and denser). Crackers are considered OK but most are really high in sodium, and that often leads to a false sense of hunger (thirst often feels like hunger to me now). Or try a protien-loaded cracker. chicken was really bad for me five weeks out - consider trying tambiko or crab, rabbit or bison. avacado incorporated into meat helped me out, too. If you can only hold down crackers, consider dipping them into or taking a teaspoon of evoo...it will help keep your good fats up.

For Christmas, I think my dinner will be crow. Or at least it feels like it should be. I have gained a bit back, kinda afraid to get on the scale. It started out as maintenance and I hurt my foot and couldn't be on it as much, and I was bored, and the holidays did not help (my Mom passed away this last year). But I woke up this morning and realized that clothing that was once ridiculously baggy was only, well baggy, and I asked my Hubby who said "umurpmmppphhh" which translates into "pleassseeeee don't make me answer". I am still, at most a size 16, but I was on my way to a full-blown 12. Not as much sucesss as it may seem, but for me near the "perfect size". I let myself slip, I let myself down. I hope, as of today, I am back up. It has took me several weeks to understand what was happening, to see the difference between events and excuses (or what to do when they are so parallell as to be very hard to distinguish). So in 9 days I will be a year out. I was sleeved on 1-4-2012 I am not wholly dissapointed, I am not going to ignore how far I have progressed. I am going to regain my progress, own my mistakes, and begin to unravel the last few months, try to really understand how this happened. I think it is obvious to me now that knowledge and experience are two different things. I need to marry them - get them together, so they can both work for me. I will weigh myself this evening on the scales in the warehouse. It has been a good ritual for me, and I had let that slip also. If anyone is in a similar place, please feel free to speak up. I think this is the gray area alot of us hit, and where alot of us stop posting or visiting the site often - which was another mistake. The support on the way down was essential, why I didn't reach out once I began to realize I needed it was, well, prideful, I think. It was not intended, but was a consequence. I will be back more.

bysmouth can be dehydrating. I have took it but immodium may work faster...you really need to concentrate on your fluids!!!! Consider a beef broth with gelatin for some additional protien.

Wow, all three! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take lots of pics of you all together! You are doing something exceptional, I would love to follow this in a blog or something - maybe each of you comment on different hurdles as they pass, events, goals - get different perceptions from gender/age in the same household...

To me this is how coffe summed up: avoided it for the caffiene at first, but also decaf tore me up, except it took awhile to associate it, it was kinda a delayed effect... Latte's were never my fav, I never understood soy in coffee, lol. Decaf, blondes, they tend to be worse on my tummy, the darker the better my tummy handles it.

Very exciting to see a new group of people getting close to their dates! I was 01.04.12...nine days from my anniversary. It has changed so much. Even with my recent slip, I would still do it all over again.