CowgirlJane

I think the shocker is how little food I need to maintain good health. If i eat anything close to what most consider normal...I gain. So i mostly eat protein and veggies. Some berries and avacado but overall very little fruit due to the sugars.

2 months out from surgery? Might get alot better over time.

Well, it apparently happens to even non WLS people! http://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelrusch/haribo-gummy-bear-reviews-on-amazon-are-the-most-insane-thin#.xb530k8lM

Is anyone considering going to San Diego for the bariatric pal conference in April? I want to visit San Diego but not sure I want to listen to surgery talk all weekend. Kim, I was supposed to model for something once and it was similar..You had to buy the clothes. I thought it was scammy at the time since it was for a plus size store. My appetite is way down, but I sure want to eat for emotional comfort I guess. My tummy has been bothering me on and off since last week. Where the heck is everybody? Sarah, Lynda, Kelly, swizz...well most everyone has gone missing.

Revision from band to sleeve. I had the lapband from 2001 to 2011 - 10 years filled with much disappointment and physical discomfort. I really didn't think I could succeed with any WLS after that. Band had to come out due to slippage and I was more obese in 2011 than I was in 2001 so I took a leap of faith and was sleeved Dec 2011. I am currently maintaining a 160# weight loss so pleased as punch. So you asked what I think about the various procedures. I feel more normal sleeved than I ever felt with the band. I hated the port, hated fills and unfills, hated the varying restriction I experienced. Sleeve is more consistent and requires less ongoing maintenance from doctor. However, best thing was the proper education and coaching this time. When I saw my surgeon at one year follow up he said something very important.... that year two was just as important. Then...he said..year 3 was just as important. I don't care which procedure you have, maintenance is effort. I feel the sleeve has given me the tooling to FINALLY manage my obesity. I love my life as a normal weight woman...makes me sad I missed out on so much in the past.

My first colonoscopy I awoke and thought it was amazing to watch it on the screen. I was asking questions etc until they knocked me back out. No trauma over it. Second time, years later I stayed zonked out. When I lived in Europe a doc did an endoscooy without sedation. I started vomiting, wretching, it was terrible until they emergency sedated me. Don't know what he was thinking, it was very traumatic.

I am disappointed that I didn't go work out yesterday. I love working out but have not found the complete groove for 2015 yet.

Congratulations. ...you are doing awesome! My experience was similar. I am 3 years from revision and very happy too!

What kind of elbow and knee supports do you recommend - the braces like they sell at the drug store? I am going to go in person and discuss with them and make sure i feel confident in their quality. I managed to exercise, get quite fit, toned etc on my own - with no injury - my problems began when I started working with an idiot personal trainer. He assumed because i was fit I should be able to do a bunch of stuff like run stairs etc. That one I refused to do because of knee arthritis, but he had me doing other weird stuff I didn't recognize would be so hard on my joints. Anyway, upshot was I got a very painful right hip, had to go to PT and have an injection and was out of intense exercise for the duration. ticked me off.

Thank you lipstick lady. I really want to get buff again...haha... I have lost some of my shoulder and arm definition..boohoo!

Lexie, your remarks about throwing up so much concern me. I do not think that is typical and it makes me wonder if you need to be evaluated - there could be some underlying issue causing this. I have puked maybe 3 -4 times in the 3 years I have been sleeved and each and every time it was from "wolfing" down food and subsequently overeating. I knew it, I felt it, but at that moment sort of lost control.

i did cardio kickboxing.. like a group aerobics class and it was fine. I have done some julian micheals DVDs along the same lines. this place has good reviews and has the bags you kick at, and you get gloves so it is a little different. The big appeal is that it is 5 minutes from my house. it is called something like iluvkickboxing and there are 3-4 locations in the general area, but this one is wonderfully close to home. I think I will try their little 3 class intro but I want to meet with them and discuss my physical issues first. I am still so disappointed in my experience with personal training a year ago... really set me back due to HIS lack of knowledge. thanks!

I don't know what my highest weight was during the drinking and eating fest that was my dating life with Kevin. Sure, we only saw each other 2-3 times a week, egad, but it really adds up! I am not even sure how that happened... almost without my realizing it... I am sentimental, wishing it had worked out etc etc but today i realize what a near miss that whole situation was. I take away yet another life lesson... watch what a relationship does to my lifestyle with much caution! Anyway, Jan 5th I weighed over goal at 163.3 - I am sure it was higher since I started cutting back on everything on Jan 1st or 2nd. I am thrilled to announce that today I am back under my 158# goal weight... weighed in at 157.3! I am not a perfect 5:2 person since I don't track calories, but I use the concepts and they really work. I am so grateful for this little group. I never started feeling that sense of hopelessness even though in truth, I regained 20# or so from my lowest weight in the low 140s. It is good to know that we have a method to get back on track. It isn't easy, doesn't work instantly and all that, but I just don't ever want to be looking at 200# or 300# on that scale again and I fear that would be a real risk without 5:2. I am actually pretty okay here in the land of the upper 150s, I just need to go up a pant size as my "4"s are snug. I am going to try to drop back down some more, but it is good to be "ok here" too.

This is an emotional journey.... I have followed this drama and here is what I think.... hurtful things (not necessarily wrong, but hurtful) have been said on all sides. The OP does have a way of attracting those remarks, but he clearly does desire the support here. As others have said, all are welcome here. I personally have a great deal of tolerance for recognizing the ups and downs (emotional) of this journey. I am not tolerant of being called names. I don't appreciate a blanket statement about a bunch of haters on this site since I try to put time and effort into supporting people, answering newbie questions in forums and PMs etc. I think the OP "gets" that was inflammatory on top of other posts that certainly ticked people off. I gently suggest and request everyone to stand down. All points have been made, more than once. Of course, everyone can do what they want, but one of my life lessons is that sometimes it is better to be kind and considerate over being "right". Blocking and ignoring do seem to work. Wonder how many people ignore me? HA!! I don't think I am blocking anyone... 3 years and managed to stay out out of that business.

So sorry you have been going through this. What does the surgeon say about your long term prognosis?

3 years out, in maintenance after losing about 160# I would absolutely do it again - I had alot of fears going into this. for someone as obese as I was this has been earth shifting. Losing the weight of a full grown man is wow...wow... wow... what a change. What surprised me most? That I had underlying concerns that were masked by the obesity and over eating. Some people seem to find this during weight loss phase, but I was more challenged after hitting goal. I have been at goal since Feb 2013, so doing much better know but I had to wrestle with anxiety and a few other problems. So, my advice is to have an open mind as to what issues might come up. I never imagined losing weight would "make me happy" but I also never imagined it would make me "wound up and anxious". Anyway, now I am much much much happier and have settled on energetic and active with minimal anxiety/under control without meds.

I never get "shaky" anymore - that was a presleeve issue. I get "wanting to eat" which is a whole different deal. Well, I am continuing to do well! I went out to dinner last night and still showed a loss...woo hoo. I am "relosing" weight so it is hard to get excited, there is that feeling that I should have to lose the weight twice...lol. Anyway, this really does work and for me the key is to eat less OVERALL and the fast days seem to help me do that.

Well, I DO know the band has worked great for some people but I have to agree with Bittersweet....there are complications and while they may sound minor, they are terrible to live through. Band complications increase over time (I had my band over 10 years) and all of my old bandster buddies from 2001 vintage are band free now...not because they didnt need a tool to maintain weight anymore...because of complications. I hear the band is better now, but even so the removal rate is still high. So you go this route...be educated on 2 key things 1. While removable it often damages your stomach and makes subsequent WLS higher risk. For sleevers, revision are are about DOUBLE the risk of leaks and other serious complications as "virgin" sleevers. 2. To be successful with the band you need to work very closely with surgeon to fine tune fills. Be prepared to carefully manage that. Get support from current band patients and go in with eyes open. I wish you the best.

No shame, I think you did the right thing. This is a big freaking deal, a fact that not everyone seems to "get" but you do. I think a younger person has at least a chance of losing weight without surgery (I couldn't but I believe it's possible) If I couldn't do surgery, or had a regain after I would try: 1 intermittent fasting like 5:2 2 uber low carb 3 check into one of those behavior modification fat farms I would combine any of the above with high intensity interval training (Google it) I basically had to do the above (except the fat farm) post sleeve anyway to get to a normal BMI and maintain. Best of luck to you and don't be down on yourself.

I volunteer to test the changes.

Not meaning to split hairs, but there is how much you CAN versus how much you SHOULD be taking in. Sliders, I am quite sure I am a bottomless pit. If I were to dig into a bag of cheetos, no saying when I would be "full" - ha - possibily never so I don't. If you are starting with dense Protein and following with veggies, I recall you should be in the 3/4 to 1 cup range of volume at a time at a year out. If you get "full"signals before then - STOP. Eating small helps keep that feeling of restriction.

You should be following your surgeons recommendations. Mine recommended always Protein first. Don't have more than 1/2-3/4 cup VOLUME of food at a time, but of course that varies by density. Example, no way try to eat 3/4 cup of dense protein. So, you might have a few ounces of fish and small serving of nutritional veggies as a meal. I am 3 years out and still eat on small plates. highly recommend you eat on essentially a tea plate - the smallest of the small plates for now. I use appetizer forks too. No candy, no booze, no junk right now if you want maximize your results. Most surgeons have people on an acid inhibiter first few months - it really does help with that strange burning hunger kind of feeling.

I too know someone who died in her sleep at around age 40. She was a diabetic and became alcoholic, left her family, got uber skinny and was sick alot since she wasn't eating well - really went rogue post gastric bypass. Luckily that is the exception but it does happen.

Well, it would be an improvement if a person could even TELL what room a post is from. From my phone, I can't while from my laptop and even kindle it is fairly noticable.

Did I read it right - 2% higher than general population? While concerning, I thought it would be MUCH higher. I was told sleevers are similiarly impacted as bypass.