4myLuvBugs

Has anyone noticed that it seems ok for everyone to comment on how little we eat? It drives me crazy! It was tabu to say anything to me when I was 290 lbs but now that I weigh 138 lbs it seems like everyone wants to tell me I eat like a bird or I need to eat more or flat out make fun of me. So I think the discrimination goes both ways. Sorry but darn that felt good to vent!

I'm almost a month out and the first week was when my bowel movements started...I would be on the toilet and my stomach would rumble so bad it sound like someone cranked up a generator...sighs...my stools were liquid I guess from my Powerade diet I placed myself on...to add insult to injury I was in so much pain I couldn't wipe my own butt...smh...I'm forever in my boyfriends debt as he was my butt wiper for a few days...lol...

oh and I'm engaged!!! has nothing to do with my surgery or weight loss but exciting all the same

Hello,
Pre op I was 473 pounds (close to 500) at 6'5". Here is what I did pre op (and post op) to help me get through the VSG. Keep in mind that I am not a doctor and therfore you should consult him/her, but here goes.
1. Quit coffee, soda, and fast food. Some people have that last meal mentality and binge on all of their addictions but I felt it was counterproductive.
2. One week prior to my 10 day pre op liquid diet I replaced two of my meals (usually Breakfast and lunch) with a Protein shake. I then had a sensible meal for dinner. Yes it is similar to the slimfast diet but it helped me on my liquid only diet.
3. Do the pre op liquid diet. Every doctor is different on this so follow what your doc says. Mine was a 10 day full liquid diet. Do the diet and do not cheat on the diet. I did not and it felt great to know that I was able to accomplish this.
4. Follow the post op diet to the letter. I am exactly four weeks post op now I still have not eaten anything very solid. The most solid Item I have eaten is a vegetarian chik'n nugget...which by the way is still pretty soft.
5. Exercise. I am not the best at this but I feel I would have even more success if I were more consistent in this area.
February 28th Pre surgery consultation = 473 pounds
March 16th - start 10 day liquid diet
March 19th Pre surgery physical/history = 452 pounds (21 pounds lost)
March 26th - day of surgery = 446 pounds (27 pounds lost in less than a month)
April 4th - post op check up = 425 pounds (21 pounds lost in the eight days after surgery)
April 17th - PCP check up = 420 pounds (53 pounds lost since February 28th)
GOOD LUCK!!!

I'd recommend talking to your primary care doctor about what you can do to make surgery safer for you. Perhaps start the liquid diet earlier than others might. Paola, one of the posters here, lost 80 pounds pre-op, which I'm sure helped tremendously when she had surgery.
You might also want to start exercising as much as you can now. I was barely able to walk pre-op, and started out literally walking up and down my hallway to get the gas out after surgery. I'm now up to walking to and from my gym, which is about .7 miles each way. One bonus of building up muscle is that it continues to burn calories even when you're not being active. Another great bonus of walking is that it improves your circulation, which will help prevent blood clots both pre and post-op.
Start now to work on breaking any addictions you may have: smoking, caffeine, etc. It's much easier to do those things before you start the pre-op diet rather than struggling with two or three different stressors at the same time.
Read all you can from others who have gone before you. It will help you mentally prepare to deal with the after effects. I know there are a couple of guys on here who have lost large amounts of weight. Their threads would probably be very helpful for you. There is also a forum specifically for those who have "200+ pounds to lose", also.
Good luck!!

There was a 4-part special on... TLC I think called My 600 Pound Life. It followed 4 people through 7 years after their gastric bypass and what they went through. I'll admit I cried a couple of times. Even though you're not as heavy as they were, I recommend watching it.

I went shopping today to Wally World and while I was there I figured I'd buy a shirt and pair of pants for future use when I lost more weight. I've worn a 3XL shirt for years and I had a 50 waist when I started my journey. Well, I bought an XL shirt and some size 40 Levis, thinking I'd be in them sooner or later. When I got home I thought I'd put them on just to see how much further I had to go and, OMG, they BOTH fit! (The down side is that I've got a closet full of expensive 3XL Tori Richards aloha shirts that I have bought in the islands over the past few years and they're just too big for me. Oh, well, I'll take the trade off!) One NSV is that I don't have to pay the surcharge for "extra size" clothes. The elation I felt when I put these clothes on was immeasurable and it wiped away any thought in my mind whether or not the sleeve was the right decision or not.
For all you newbies and pre-op members, If you haven't felt it yet, you will!

Down just 27 pounds 3 weeks out. Yesterday I was able to put socks on without getting a cramp! Down 1/2 size in shoes and my rings a dangerously loose :-)))

I can no longer hold the car steering wheel In place with my belly! There's about 2" in between now :)

UGH!!! I wish I could do this!!!.. I was so much better.. only weighing myself every 3 or 4 days... I've relapsed... Hi, my name is Tina and I'm a 3 times a day weigher!!! HELP!!!

I don't mean to brag but I feel really good today. I have been doing good with my protiens yesterday took down 1 1/2 bottle of Isopure and you know not to taste but with ice chips really cold not so bad. Had trouble with chicken broth tasted like sh*t, so I took a can of cambells chicken noodles Soup and liquified it in blender it was so good. I also have been walking about 5 miles a day broken up to four diff walks. This morning I moved stage two had a premier choclate shake that was really good cold, also had some plain cream of wheat not bad I added two splenda for flavor. Right now I feel a bit hungry but will have another chicken noodles when I get home, I only took about 4 oz of soup with small spoon. Felt full afterwards. I have lost 15 pounds since surgery on 4/20. And 79 since Nov. Looking toward to moving to mushies next week. I think I will go back to work a week from today. I am a barber so need to stand all day but I feel ill be ready by next week. Hope everybody is doing well also.

Yes. Very normal. No food in you just the liquids. Take my advice, never trust a fart!!! Lol. Seriously because whe you finally do go, it's probably gonna be diarrhea. But it will get better.

Rootman you might wanna go with a nice summer sausage, I hear the ladies like the girth now

I tell you it's a wonderful feeling to stand up straight and look down and actual see Mr. Winky rather than have to hunch over to take a look. Worse yet to have to, ummm, lift and push the belly out of the way to be sure he was even there.

Tears of joy!!!! Because for the first time in about 10 years, my blood pressure was normal!!! And not the high side of normal, but textbook normal ( what my nurse said)!
To make my day even better, I have lost a total of 48pounds since day of surgery! That means I am a third of my way to goal!!
Now I have to seriously start thinking about getting active and joining a gym!
So, while I raise my Protein Shake to all my sleeve brothers and sisters, I say thanks for the advice and support you so freely dispense, and the motivation to keep on rocking my sleeve!!!!

Thank you all so much just getting it out that i wasnt doing so hot helped me make some corrections. Like going to confesson LOL.Started back at the gym Saturday working on 3 days strait now and getting all my Protein in and Vitamins. Can so tell the difference when i drink my shakes.
Thanks again to my sleeve family for all the kind words and encouragement!!!
New goal is 20lbs by my 35 bday on May 23rd hope i can do it

Thanks for creating this topic.
I am not post sleeve yet but I already know that things are going to change. I am in a relationship now that I am not completely happy with and I know that alot of it has to do with my weight and self esteem issues. I stay because I dont feel like I am pretty enough to find someone else that is more affectionate and caring. I know that it sounds bad, but that is life, right?
Post sleeve, I know that I regain the confidence that I used to have and I know that the feelings of resentment and loathing towards him will only increase. I have tried to prepare myself and him for the change, but I dont know that he totally gets it. I think that he is thinking that once the new me is here that I will have a new outlook on our relationship....but I dont think my new outlook will be the same as his new outlook...
this sleeve is definitely going to be a life changing event in more ways than one... [
urgh and yay!!!

The first step in overcoming an issue is to realize there IS an issue! Get rid of the Cereal and concentrate on your Protein and Water goals. BTW, there is no "only" when it comes to weight loss. Next time you go to the store pick up 3 5 lb bags of flour and carry them around while you shop. It will make you realize how much weight you've already dropped and give you some perspective on how successful you've already been. Then it will motivate you to continue following your plan (70g of Protein, 64oz of water) so that you continue to lose those 5 pound bags of flour!
Every time I get frustrated about my weight loss, I think about how many bags of flour or sugar I've lost. I certainly don't want to carry around 18 bags of either one...and my knees, hips and ankles thank me for it daily!

Lol... Yeah I thought the world was shrinking. I hated taking pictures, because when I looked at the picture I was forced to stare at the reality of my weight. Its funny I was in such denial, I really felt like I only had 20 pounds to loose. However reality b***h slapped me in the face, when my endocrinologist just bluntly told me I should have wls, he told me that loosing the amount of weight that I needed, in addition to my pcos was going to take me very long, and I was fighting an uphill battle. I'm grateful that I had the humility to take his advice and not to be offended. 1 month post op and loving my sleeve.

I know exactly what you mean. It is like a switch has been flipped in my brain that just had it makes sense very suddenly. I've only been overweight/obese for the last six years (gained 100lbs in a single 12-month period, very rough year). The last 30-40 pounds came on over the subsequent years being frustrated with the initial weight gain. Joints hurt every time I tried to get into a routine again, I could not find sports bras that fit me in my new large size. It depressed me, so my eating habits actually got much worse after gaining that extra weight. Funny, I had to gain weight to eat worse than I did before. Not to mention hitting my 30's and what that does to hormones and metabolism. I wasn't really eating differently than what I ate when I was 28 years old, but I wasn't exercising at all and I was older. It was terribly difficult to see that I needed to adapt. Even the year or so before surgery, I was eating so healthy. Salads, lean meats, no soda, avoid fried foods, etc. -- except I wasn't journaling and even healthy foods in "too large" quantities can be high in calories. I know the healthier eating habits staved off getting any higher than I was (I stayed at 265 for a long time), but I was still working myself like crazy 60+ hours per week and not getting active. I have two very healthy doctors in my family, many friends who are trainers or do triathlons, and yet I just couldn't get it. I had the knowlege of "calories in/calories out" and nutrition, sleeping well, killing soda and avoid refined sugars and carbs. But I wasn't always applying it.
The other odd thing is that even though I went from buying 4/6 and XS clothing all the way to buying 22/24 and 1-2/X clothing, I never perceived myself as fat. I always saw the skinny me when I looked down. Then I'd look in a mirror and it felt like I was looking at another person. Or I'd get in an airplane seat and the belt wouldn't fit. Or some innocent kid would ask me if I was having a baby. These little innocuous events seemed weird to me, like I truly thought the airlines were making their belts shorter and taking away legroom. The brain is really funny that way, how it can be your worst enemy.
Now that I've had the surgery and dropped nearly 55 pounds, I get it. I totally see what I was missing. Now that I journal and measure my foods, I see how the large portion sizes eating out are not smart. I understand how staying hydrated helps the body shed. And it's amazing how much I want to tell other people now what they're doing wrong. I see it in their eyes when they're ordering in restaurants how they are keeping themselves unhappy. They see surgery as extreme, but I see it as having on of the healthiest relationships with food I've ever had in my life!

This is crazy I just mentioned this to my wife the other day. I have no warning signs telling me that I have to pee. I could easily go all day and not go to the bathroom.

Love bug, that's how I felt. I didn't know when my bladder was full. I'm a teacher and can only pee at 8:30 am, 11:10 a.m, and 2:30 .I have a camel bladder and need to in my profession, but I used to go after school. Now I notice I don't pee until 4 and that's usually atleast 24 oz after my lunch break.

April 3rd sleever as well...its a miracle I never had gas but for some reason I'm still sore on the side of my sleeve...I usually do good with pain after two csections I thought this would be a walk in the park but sheeesh...I never thought about how low my toilet seat was until my first day home...

Awwwwww man Angie
i was just sitting on the edge of the bench, minding my own business, moving over for you to sit down, and KERPLUNK - I fell And now that my tush doesn't give me that much padding, it really hurts .
Welcome aboard
good luck
kathy

Hey everyone - I was sleeved on April 10!! I spent 1 night in the hospital. I am home resting now. Not too many complaints, but my belly feels very sore. Nausea has been a little bit of an issue, but I have some good meds. Slide over on that losers bench and make room for me!!!