CowgirlJane

I am not small on top but it is normal to see bones. Look at trim women and depending on body type it is often visible. I originally thought I could learn from her but I no longer even understand her. [ATTACH]46301[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]46302[/ATTACH]

You are in the three week post op stall that many many people experience. Patience. Maybe you need more Water. My doc let me count Protein drinks toward the Fluid goals. I found herbal teas to be soothing to my newborn sleeve.

Sarah, I am SO Happy for you!! Have you had that moment when you cry in disbelief how much you are transformed? You look wonderful, as I knew you would. Keep updating us. Ok, I have to ask, do you guys read posts by swimbikerun? She has a link in her signature...wow. As best I can gather she is starving due to the sleeve but nobody believes her because she is normal BMI. She mentions evidence of starvation as being able to see upper chest bones. I am 23-24 BMI and you can see my upper chest bones, ribs front and back etc. which you would expect. I thought had things to learn from her but her story doesn't add up.

Yeah, waist measurements are important. And I understand the ratios too. My waist is about 29" so I am okay on that front, but it is really more about finding a comfortable, maintainable weight....now that my appetite has returned I am finding it to be work to maintain at 140. It would probably help if I resumed my workout routine.

I want to share another thought. I was pretty fit ... until I started working with a pesonal trainer. I was injured in about 3 weeks - overuse. He could tell that I am strong and aerobically fit and just didn't think I was pushing myself hard enough.. I could do "more" What he didn't factor and what this quack isn't factoring is that a lifetime of obesity has left hidden damage. I have arthritis in my knees and as a result of my overuse injury I found out in my hips too. I walked around like a cripple for a few months due to this kid personal trainer .. it was painful and I lost my exercise mojo. i do believe in high intensity workouts, but this leaving the gym like a cripple is BULL! Don't buy into it - respect what your body tells you. Keep moving, keep active and be open to new ideas, but overdoing it and hurting yourself = major setback!

EArly on, getting the hydration is top priority. I would ask your surgeon or NUT but those first few weeks I was on liquid and I sipped small quantities of Protein drinks all day long. It was later that i structured more around meals. Longer term you absolutely MUST avoid grazing to maximize your results.

I think "sugars" - and fruits have a lot of them - is a very individual thing. I don't eat much fruit except berries even now in maintenance. My reason is that they make me hungry! I am very sensitive to carbs and in particular foods that have a high glycemic index. If eating fruit works for you - do it - many health benefits but i would avoid juices and try to eat the lower glycemic indicator choices. I should note that when i eat fruit/berries it is almost always in a salad or something that has greens and Protein too. I am in maintenance though so my eating patterns are going to be different. fruit alone is bad news for me due to the sugars.

AzDee - have you ever posted your face before and afters? I went to your surgeon's website and the face before and afters weren't that exciting. The surgeon I had my body work done has lousy pics on his website too... Dr S does facework and I have seen some amazing results, so not ruling that out. I am much more gunshy about face work though and even considering staying local for it. Just starting my thought process and research... thinking 1-2 years out for facework so just getting educated. for now I am going to do a face filler/injection.

Good news is that a year or two from now you won't even remember your stalls...

I suspect you are eating either too much, too fast or it isn't chewed well enough. Eat tiny, eat slow and see if that doesn't help

The best exercise program is the one you will actually do...

I gotta tell you... I felt pretty crappy those early weeks but it got better. I tell people though that i didn't really feel human until about 12 weeks post op. Hang in there, stay hydrated and rest and recover.

Amazing! You look wonderful and so happy.

Over the years I have seen many posts about this so I think it is common. I don't really understand it personally, I guess I am pretty focused on ME and don't really judge or notice others intake. I have a friend who eats unreal quantities of food and I find it shocking in the sense of ... disbelief but I don't judge him for it. He is only a bit overweight, not obese so apparently can burn it off. What I have noticed is I gravitate toward people in general that are less food oriented. I have pretty much given up "recreational" eating.

I would want an explanation. Someone (like me!) who had 150# to lose can surely afford to lose more than 7 before being too light for surgery. Usually a BMI of 40 is the insurance cutoff. I started with a BMI over 50. I think losing some before surgery can be a good thing even though I really wasn't capable of it at the time... I was pretty messed up in terms of out of control hunger.

Somebody posted this link in a thread and i couldn't find it again - so thank you! I think it is a great article and should be read by people considering WLS. I am 2.5 years out from a revision band to sleeve and that article made so much sense based on my experience. Band (when filled) - I had a very small food capacity but I couldn't tolerate the reflux. I also honestly couldn't tolerate the very small capacity either and it drove me toward sliders (my responsibility not blaming the band). When I revised to the sleeve I was surprised that eating was so much easier say 3 months out then it ever was with the band. I didn't think about it that I could eat more quantity /capacity then I had with a filled band but it is true. I think for me that is one reason I have been so much more compliant with the sleeve, I can eat salads and veggies and dense Protein without feeling discomfort or pain. I get an "absence of hunger" sensation after pretty small quantities, but still more than I could consume with a filled band. I had the band for 10 years, most of that time with "no fill" due to my issues with it. I think that might explain why some people do really well with the band and struggle with the sleeve after revision because you can eat more. Anyway, there is alot more to the content of this article, but that particular piece fit my experience.

Fluff, I agree - I don't actually believe in calorie math anymore...haha. I do believe in carb math as that actually seems to influence my losses/gains in a clearer way. To OP - you left out a lot of details, but if you have already lost a bunch of weight you might be in a stall, there is Water retention there are many many complex metabolic things that can cause the scale to not move when you expect it and then it will move later. don't get too wound up in your daily or weekly weights. Just follow the program, eat high Protein, high veggies and low everything else and get active and the weight loss happens.

I lived in Germany for 2 years back around 2000. What I observed is a shift away from daily bicycling for errands etc, or from walking to the grocery everyday that was a traditional lifestyle to something that looked more car reliant. Younger more affluent Germans were more likely to drive for errands. The small town near us had a recently opened McDonald's, and while my colleagues said only Americans went there it wasn't true. Everytime I went in there were young families or young Germans either inside or doing the drive through. I personally think that it is a combination of easy to get crappy food combined with reduction in day to day activity that bumps a population into higher obesity rates. I spent alot of time in the Netherlands too and as a general statement they are a tall people who ride their bikes everywhere. The people I knew ate alot of bread cheese and milk but for some reason that milk and bread based diet doesn't fatten them up like it does me. Anyway my observation was that they are less into cars and even younger affluent people seemed like they were still walking and biking alot.

You have done great, congratulations!! I am 2.5 years out. My favorite Breakfast is an egg beaters omelette or scramble. I usually sautee veggies (frozen bell peppers, onions, broccoli etc), slice low calorie high Protein sausage up in the sautee. Then I whip the egg beaters with a bit of Water or milk and pour over the sautee. Turn heat down, put on cover and cook. If you stir it you get a scramble. Instead I put a bit of cheese on top and finish it under the broiler without stirring. It kinda puffs up and looks pretty. I usually eat half for breakfast and the rest for lunch but now that my son is home he likes it too so no leftovers. It's low carb and low calorie. The key is the sausage, I buy a healthy one at costco...and it adds the main protein to this.

I got to goal in 14 months - so I went from 308 to 158 in 14 months. I now weigh 140ish You look great - good work!!!

Actually, the bikini pic shows the lower body lift scar, I didn't realize that it wasn't covered for my photo shoot until seeing the pics. Click on it and you can see the body lift scar, and the groin/thigh scars a little and the belly button reconstruction scar. My breasts have no visible scarring at all, but I need to get an updated photo on the arms. You can also see the "imperfections" on the thighs since i did not have the long thigh lift, but only the groin one which does not remove as much excess skin, but of course has a minimal scar. I don't wear swimsuits except quite rarely but i do wear skirts and shorts so do kinda like that I don't have a scar down my thigh. If you feel that scars make you like Frankenstein, don't get plastics. My scars are flat and healing nicely and I am pleased with them. I believe they will eventually become quite unnoticable, but not everyone scars well and it is a big risk. I personally do not have that feeling about it (ie scars don't make me feel freakish) whereas the extra skin did make me feel like i was still obese when I wasn't. Now, on the twilight sedation. I did wake up 2X that i remember. This has been discussed on the Dr S facebook group and happens to some people. Everyone has the same experience I did - dreamlike, peaceful, feel nothing... back to sleep. No anxiety, no feeling or sensation, more like a surreal like state of relaxation. The first 24 hours after surgery I felt so good and well rested, like I had slept all day - which I guess I had! I can remember seeing the color blue (scrubs I think) and wondering if they were almost done. I thought I asked but they put me right back under and later they told me that no one heard me talk so perhaps i dreamed it. I know it sounds weird, but even thinking about it 8 months post op I feel a certain pleasant feeling... so I guess they had me drugged up pretty good! So, my opinion - even with twilight sedation you need a dedicated anesthesialogist (Dr S does have one) so that he/she focuses on managing your sedation and not have what happened to you during the nose work. I had no problems and everybody on the Dr S support group says the same thing. I wonder why more surgeries aren't done this way - no sickness feeling and waking up refreshed not barfing...

Deedee makes excellent points. I would add that it applies regardless of % of excess lost ... meaning that is how regain happens. Weight Melts off fast and then the demons resurface. I basically stopped losing when I got to about 190... took effort and focus and time to lose the next 50#

Be careful on personal trainers... too many of them have been watching "biggest loser" and think having you run stairs is no problem... I was cleared for the gym about 6 weeks post op - but walking was okay before then. I did easy walking and then joined Water aerobics. Water aerobics was amazing because it protects your joints but as you get fitter you can push harder and harder. After I lost about 80 pounds I moved more to other types of exercise but it was a great way to get going when I didn't want to walk outside in the winter.

I had lifting restrictions - so help with groceries, carrying a big bag of dogfood etc might help. For me, I kinda wanted to be a little bit alone during the early weeks post op to get used to the restriction; those early weeks were hard from a food/drinking perspective.

I used the regain argument for years of why to not get sleeved. My sleep apnea doctor asked me... if you regained 50% in 5 years, would that quality of life improvement be worth it? How about 100% in 10 years. I was so freaking miserable. ..He was right. Even with a regain risk...still worth it. He convinced me it was worth risking "failure" in an attempt to save my life. 2.5 years old and holding steady at a 23 BMI (was over 50)...