CowgirlJane

I experienced pain at first...like I had done 1000 sit ups.....but that was shortlived. The hard part was getting fluid in. It is a distant memory 3 years later and 160 # lighter.... it was worth it.

I do buy some juniors stuff but use it selectively. Example, I bought a juniors sweater dress and wear it like a long shirt over skinny jeans and boots. I get so many compliments on that outfit. I also have some casual pants and jeans that are Jr but NOT super low. In fact one of them is the trendy high waisted pants. My view about juniors clothing is that used in conjunction with women's clothes you can make something look age appropriate without looking frumpy.

Debbie,puget sound surgical out of Edmonds has a support group that meets monthly in Marysville. I don't know if it is open to non patients, but worth calling and asking them. I suspect there are support groups in Everett too - I would call Providence everett and ask them. good luck!

I use as a guideline that a Protein dish needs at least 10grams of protein per 100 calories and ideally less than 5 carbs. I bet you could make meatballs without added protein powder that exceed my protein bagain rules!

Some people get a burner effect post plastics but it's temporary. I had massive plastic done at once and my appetite was sky high. Some people get the burn without the hunger, I wasnt so lucky. Remember to get good protein in though...essential for healing.

I am 3 years out and maintaining a major weight loss (I went from 308, got as low as 140 and am hanging out in the mid 150s right now). Anyway, I have been having more trouble with hunger, cravings etc and I think it has alot to do with my boys living at home again so I have food in the house that calls my name (bread, potatoes, sometimes junk food) again. Also, I am steady dating someone and for reasons i cannot grasp, that seems to be fattening - well, I am not going out dancing and stuff as much as I used to. Final issue is that I am suffering some physical issues that have interferred with my working out so i thought it would be good to get a tune up with a good NUT. I think we talked through a couple of areas of improvement - you guessed it going back to basics! I have gotten out of the habit of focusing on hydration for example. They are now saying 64-100 oz of Fluid consumed at least 30 minutes post meal. She said i eat more quantity than she thinks a typical sleever should be able to eat. I don't measure, but I eat from a small side plate so i am not sure about that, but it is true i can eat a good sized salad etc. Anyway, the thing I learned that i thought was very interesting is she had a model of the sleeve tummy which is shaped like a banana. the "stretch" receptors are at the bottom and the top of the sleeve. So, I always eat Protein first, but I don't always LITERALLY eat protein first. Example, a salad with salmon on it - i have the salmon chopped up into the salad. She has suggested that I eat at least half the salmon first, before any lettuce because that "dense protein" will hit that receptor much firmer and I will feel more satiated. So, LITERALLY eat protein first and then eat the veggies, greens etc. I think I used to do that quite carefully, but i eat a lot of mixed foods now (salad with meat in it, egg dish with veggies and low fat turkey sausage mixed in it etc). I will try this. She also really recommends the mini meals every 3 hours - so 5 mini meals. She said that if you get overly hungry, you can often eat and then maybe 1-2 hours later you are hungry again (and repeat) - referred to it as the boomerang effect. I am not sure about this one, during the weight loss phase I ate 4 mini meals. I have done 5:2 and found that the fasting can reduce appetite (as well as other health benefits of fasting). I am skeptical on this one. Since I am struggling a bit through the holidays, and no way am I successful at 5:2 right now, I am going to try following her advice. So, 3 years out as of Dec 11 - and so very pleased with my results and life with a sleeve!

Stevehud I appreciate your opinion and surely that does happen but it certainly was not the case for me nor other women I know. The relationship didn't end because I became a fitness guru and tried to convert him or anyone else.

Hey ladies. I have had some kick ass fun but holidays are hard. I used to love em and now I can't wait till they are OVER.

Colonoscopy us unrelated to this surgery. I have had them though and I hated the prep but rather enjoyed the "twilight sedation"

Proud Grammy lost over 100# and she is in her 60s.

Wow. Just wow.

You might try posting this question in the Washington state local forum.

I am not sure I fully understand your question. My sleeve was 3 years ago, I have been maintaining for almost 2 years. I feel like i NEED to keep focus on weight management to avoid regain. I dont think it is abnormal, ALL of my trim/thin girlfriends over the age of 40 are very very focused on weight management because the pounds can creep on so easily. I feel I have a healthy diligence - I don't freak out over being up a few pounds or down a few pounds, but I monitor it and clothing sizes to keep it from getting away from me. And I find, especially as time goes on, that I basiclaly need to keep doing what i used to do.... in other words, maintenance isn't THAT different than losing weight I just have a little more leeway in terms of eating a bit more and a bit more carby food than I did while losing.

Congratulations! How do you know you are in ketone acidosis?

Laser is done.every 6 weeks and 6 sessions are planned. I did electrolysis of some chin hairs ages ago an about passed out from the pain...OMG. I became.pregnant with my son and decided the trauma hormones weren't good so I quit after maybe 2-3 treatments. And there is no truly permanent hair removal if new ones come in however laser ing or electrolytes can hugely reduce the issue.

No... I got strong working out and eating healthy! Now it was kind of strange getting used to having less mass. There was a while when big heavy doors put up quite a fight... I guess I used to use my weight to toss em around...haha

I KNOW you are asking for dudes input, but this pic of me from this summer... a couple years post sleeve.... my deltoids are exactly what I wanted, not bad for a girl You will lose muscle mass from fast weight loss, but you can mitigate the situation by eating high protien/moderate to low carb and working out. It is really worth it.... you can become buff and whatever you want after the excess weight is GONE!

Ha - I couldn't imagine so many surgeries so I guess that is why I went "jumbo". Pros and cons... I had a long lonely recovery in the fall of 2013. Friends were so concerned because I walked like a 95year old lady... I was pretty down and out for quite awhile.... but... plus side it's DONE DONE DONE!!! After reading other people's stories i am not really sure I suffered any worse.ha. You know, like it sucked limiting activity and binging on netflix day after day... didn't really matter how many procedures I had for that one! Now, my obsession is deciding how to improve my face!

I am really trying to learn about "face work". I have been advised that a fat transfer to the face is probably the best thing for me to do. That is not cheap since you are sedated for that etc. i haven't really thought about lips, but I have super thin lips naturally and they would definately look better a bit "filled" So - can someone point me to a resource of how to really investigate "face work"? Hope your recovery goes great!

People always ask me... how painful was plastics. Actually, I had very little pain. Like you - the real challenge is how long it takes to recover. My wounds healed up fine - no openings - stiches were all gone by 21 days post op and no wound issues AT ALL. My swelling wasn't even that bad...however, recovery from plastics is HUGE. I am looking forward to hearing about how you feel about your thighs. I did the small lift and while I am so glad I don't have the long scars, i sure do wish my thighs were as tight as my arms are.... Hang in there - swell hell shall pass!

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Yeah - proud Granny! We are two of the success stories from the Dec 2011 batch of sleevers. Isn't it a wild journey to reflect on how far we have come??? Congrats on your wonderful healthy, fit life - I am so very happy for you!

If you have lost 75# in 3 months or so... well, maybe your body needs to sort of readjust and stabilize. To me that sounds like VERY FAST weight loss for a woman, so I would say just keep working the sleeve and don't stress about it. I didn't quite lose 100# in 6 months. It took me 14 months to lose 150 and get to my official goal. Seems to me you are on track...

So, I have been reading some of the stories on here and reflecting on them and my own story and have come to a very very basic conclusion. I think we need to choose an authentic life for ourselves. I believe God intended for us to be coupled, but here in the modern world, that just isn't so important anymore. I would rather be living an life authentic for me, than coupled with someone just for the sake of having a man in my life. There are a lot of fish in the sea, and they (like us) are terribly flawed and imperfect. The question is - is there someone out there who you can have a real relationship with, where you make each others lives better - while still living the life you want. I personally sometimes have sadness over the DECADES I compromised to obesity. It is like a drug addict who wakes up and says "what have I done? How have I wasted so many very good years on not fully living?" I didn't see it that way when I was obese, but I do now. I am seriously, seriously, seriously, going through a lot of thoughts about my life right now and what I want it to be going forward. I am dating someone I am pretty crazy about, but i have this little hesitation... like... is this the path that will allow me to remain authentic, physcially fit, active, emotionally healthy etc. It is nothing against him - super good guy - but I just need to think very hard about those questions because my tolerance for just accepting "good enough" is pretty non existent.

Okay, there is alot said in this thread and much of it I feel pretty strongly about. Simply put - this surgery is no cakewalk and don't do it if you aren't ready. That isn't tough love or whatever, it is the truth. I had the band in 2001 - horrible results; sleeve in 2011 - amazing results. There are several differences, but one of them was ME. In 2011 I was so OVER food, excuses and being obese. I was just DONE. I thought I was determined in 2001 - but I just didn't know what determined meant. For me alot of this was letting go of some of the defensiveness I had around the topic - as a lifetime "professional dieter" I sometimes acted like I didn't have anything to learn. It was a real change in me to accept that i had everything to learn. Excess skin is a tough one because it is easy to look at pictures posted by people and imagine that the saggy skin looked great filled with obesity. this plays a real mind game on you. I will just say that even after losing ALOT of weight (over 160) and having a lot of skin at the time, the boyfriend I had felt pretty strongly that I didn't really "need" plastics. As long as I was wearing spanx I looked pretty good. A lover, a man who cares for you won't be as freaking out by the saggy skin as you are. Anyway, we each need to make the best decision for ourselves, for our health, for our happiness. WLS is not for everyone. "Now" isn't always the right time for WLS and we each need to come to grips with that. I was in emotional anguish for over a year over the decision of whether to be sleeved. I suffered greatly and I think in many ways that year of pain helped me be so resolved once I finally DID go for it. Best of luck and much success no matter what you choose.