Sleeved&Hopeful

I am able to eat more close to my time of the month too. It's been that way from the very beginning.

Hey I know a guy who lost 350 lbs with the sleeve! No sh*t! He did it in under 2 years. You can do it!

My dear lady--I've seen a few regain posts on another forum. One of the ladies had a horrible life changing event as her husband had end stage cancer and gained a significant amount of weight due to the stress and not being able to exercise for months and months. That would likely cause quite a few people to regain. She was back on the wagon last I heard from her. A few of the other ladies had let the worst carbs that are extremely easy to eat with the sleeve--such as chips and cookies and ice cream--heavily back into their diets and gained about 30% back. They were also posting about getting back into the protein first as if they had just had surgery. Once you are sleeved, you will realize that protein is very filling and you can't eat much of it. That leaves a bit of room for healthy veggies or other carbs. Ice cream and chips and cookies etc are VERY easy to eat once you are about 5 months out or so and that is something that must be dealt with. If you can moderate yourself to a few bites--that's fine. But the ladies I read about were able to eat lots of them and didn't stop at a reasonable amount. Finding a good healthy alternative really really helps. I have chosen beef jerky and mushrooms for good snacks to replace the carb-sugary foods for when I'm very hungry. I have made mistakes and eaten things I shouldn't since being sleeved and it is a lesson learned. When it's my time of the month--lol--I have to be really careful! I crave carbs a lot and I just have to get a good healthy alternative instead of reaching for those easy sliders. Find some alternatives you can live with to make it easier.

Drinking before the meal starts really shouldn't hurt. It's waiting to drink AFTER that is important. The liquids really do just go right through.

Hey there. You've lost 72 lbs which is awesome! How far are you from goal is the BIG question? Do you have much more weight to lose or are you pretty close to goal? If you are close to goal, it may be time to kick the carbs to the curb as low as you can get them. That seems to help a lot of people get to goal.

I had a 32 and I like the amount of restriction. I don't think it's too much especially being 7 months out. I can eat around 2.5-3 ounces of Protein and a few bites of veggies. I personally do think that the way the surgeon does it is important. Also. Dr. Cirangle did a study that the larger sleeves (over 40F I believe) resulted in the same excess weight loss but resulted in a bigger weight regain. So he started doing 32F sleeves and the weight regain is less than with the larger bougies. However, I think anything between a 32F and a 40F should be absolutely fine for long term weight loss and maintenance.

I have seen a few people only lose 25-30 lbs in 5-6 months but the majority of those people only had 60-70 lbs to lose to get to goal and it usually takes them 9 month to a year to lose it all (not always though--some of them lose it in the first 6 months). One lady I know had 80 lbs to lose and it took her almost the full 2 years after surgery to lose it all. If you look at the sleeve studies that are available online--they usually show best excess weight loss at 18 months post op. If you don't lose most of the weight in 6 months--that still leaves a good 12 more months for weight loss. It doesn't have to come off in 6 months--especially if you have less than 100 lbs to lose. There is a good 18 month window for weight loss. Even some gastric bypass people take over a year to lose most or all of the weight. It just really depends on how much you have to lose and how your metabolism is and also a big part of it is how compliant you are in the high protein diet. One big key I've seen is not drinking and eating at the same time. There is a video on youtube where a gentleman shows why you shouldn't eat and drink at the same time after weight loss surgery. It really DOES just flush the food down and you won't feel full as fast. Also if you feel hungry frequently make sure you try an acid reducer like Prilosec. Our tummies sometimes produce just as much acid as our regular stomachs and you can see how that might be a problem. Excess acid causes hunger and it also causes acid reflux.

I had to start taking 40MG of prilosec because sometimes our little tummies still produce the same amount of acid as our big tummy. I have no hunger hardly at all taking 40 MG prilosec per day. If I forget to take it, I get hungry and I also have really bad reflux. I was worried about the side effects but one lady I talked to said she has to take 80 MG of prilosec a day and she has been taking that much for 15 years and she is ok! So who knows? I just make sure I take my vitamins.

I like underhunder too!

I am SO happy for you girl! You are brave & beautiful and strong! Good for you for keeping your head up. Be proud!

The DS is highly effective just please stay on top of your vitamins and doctor's visits! I guess you already know the malabsorption is really hardcore on that surgery but that is the trade off because you can lose a LOT of weight :-).

I have noticed this alot. It is definitely weird. Some days I can't eat much but there have been a few times I have been very surprised by the amount I could eat. I think this is why measuring is important. I had my first cheeseburger since surgery about 7 months ago last week and it was probably a 4 ounce burger with patty, bun, and cheese without veggies nd I was able to eat 3.25-3.5 ounces of it before feeling full. I was a bit shocked but i think the bread slid on by lol and the protein was probably only 2 oz of beef. Then today I had a bun less burger patty about 2 ounces of meat and I was stuffed. Weird!

I have eaten bread a few times since surgery. It is the really thick rolls you get at restaurants. I can only eat about half of one!! They are VERY filling. Now I've tried a regular piece of bread (like a hamburger bun or regular piece of Mrs. Baird's) and that is an entirely different story. That goes down way easily. I guess even bread can be dense but obviously it is a not a protein--lol--that's why I've only had it a few time.

Ok, this reminds me of a post I read on a low carb forum I belong to. Of course you haven't regained weight yet and that is a blessing. You can prevent that weight regain before it actually happens by acknowledging you have been making bad choices. The post I read today on the low carb forum was about a lady who had RNY gastric bypass. She lost 120 lbs and by 3 years out she had gained 80 lbs back. She went back on a protein first/low carb program and lost the regain PLUS an extra 30 lbs! She has kept it off for 5 years!!! She started using her tool appropriately and has done very well It CAN be done. It just requires a lot of diligence in saying no to the easy sliders and sweets. IT CAN BE DONE

And I just remembered I started eating it at about 3 months out but I bet some people can tolerate it sooner if they can tolerate steak. For some reason I just didn't try it before then.

I absolutely love beef jerky. I buy different brands and the ones I usually buy are 15g of protein per serving, low fat, and very low carb. Almost perfect for a sleever really.

Yes, I hear about people getting hernia repaired during VSG all the time. Some of them even chimed in here. I'm surprised he said that. I think it should be up to you and weighing the pros and cons. My sister did really well with the gastric bypass but for some reason the potential side effects scared me too much so I chose the VSG. However, I have developed reflux since surgery and never really had it before. My case must not be that severe because if I take a Prilosec first thing in the morning, I don't experience any reflux symptoms.

73 lbs is a LOT of weight and I am sorry you are not getting the positive feedback you desire. You will get it from us here! I am sorry your family isn't being more supportive. Keep your head up because you are losing VERY WELL

And Crystal I have to ask--how many calories a day were you on average eating the last 6 months? And you DID win the lottery! You have lost almost a hundred pounds in six months which is UBER AWESOME for a "lightweight" in the bariatric circles.

Woo hoo Crystal! You must be really short to want to lose another 21 lbs!

Haha that's freaking awesome! I watched a surgical video and it showed them taking out the stomach. They put it in some kind of "medical bag" that is clear and then pull it out through the hole in your tummy. It was amazing how easily the tummy fit through the hole! I was like whoa!

I am almost 7 months out and I still have to take Prilosec every day or I get bad acid reflux. I don't know what I would do without Prilosec.