Mz_Elle

For my company, HR is the end of the road. It's discouraging, but they really are there to protect the COMPANY from liability. There does not seem to any real commitment to helping the employee. It's very discouraging but I don't want to be labeled a "problem employee." I'm just going to try to tough it out unless it's just BLATANT and I can't stay quiet. I had a wonderful meeting today with a client and they gave me HUGE kuddos for a project I'd worked on for a few months. Terms by Exec was "excellent work" "thank you" "wow!" and my boss, Evilena, was there and they didn't even ask her to speak. She couldn't jump in and take credit for any part of the project either, so it was hilarious! We (the other Sr. Managers in attendance) almost cracked up when she tried to find a fault in my presentation and I said "Thank you....that leads us to page 3. Please review diagram and I think that will answer your question." It was the equivalent of poking Larry in the eye and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know it's mean to call someone Evilena but It's a small, fleeting victory and I enjoyed the daliance......even if it's fleeting!

I'm relatively new at my job and, although I did have the time accrued to take off for my surgery, I felt I needed to let my boss know that I was actually having the surgery so that I could have 1 week off and 1 week work from home just to be sure I was not pushing myself too soon. She agreed and approved the time off, but I suspected she told some of the Sr. Managers of my surgery which I find inappropriate. Recently it was confirmed that she did disclose my surgery to one of the other managers. I'm appalled, but more so in that we had a recent operations meeting and she starts talking about various ppl having surgery and how obesity is affecting the work place. I held my breath hoping Ms. Unprofessional did not actually name me out or refer to my surgery in open forum at work. I think she could see the expression on my face and it gave her some pause because she didn't expressly mention it. I'm aghast that someone can be so disrespectful to someone's privacy. I'm on the fence as to whether I should address it with her directly or keep it moving. It's not like she has a history of handling things appropriately anyway, so I don't want to add fuel to the fire. I want to be respected but I also need my job. I've heard that if you get on her bad side, then that's it. You're doomed. I'm an outspoken person by nature and I can tell some of my comments to date are not to her liking. I'm treading softly, but I don't know how much I can take. I'm proud of having the decision to do the WLS but it's my business. I don't feel it needs to be fodder for ppl to discuss and I don't want the pressure of losing or not losing as fast as some feel I should. I just want to let my journey be my own and my family's.

I was told Biotin helps a lot. I started mine a few weeks ago. I'm 5 weeks post-op and I've not seen anything falling out. I have very thick hair and It has been my biggest asset over the years too. I don't want to lose my hair either! I was also told that castor oil works on keeping hair healthy and conditioned. I tried putting it on my hair and it's working fine, BUT you must be warned to not let straight castor oil sit on your scalp. I thought I was HELPING myself by massaging it into my scalp and sitting under a dryer to let it "condition." Well for two days I was reaping all the benefits of castor oil induced voiding! It was not nice. I thought I had the flu until I put it all together and realized what had happened! LOL. My husband laughed at me for a very LONG TIME about the mishap! Note to self: Castor oil on the hair, not massaged into the scalp!

I was bad today. They served us lunch and I gave in to a brownie. I have not had real sugar in over 3 months. I really just wanted to see how it tasted and I also wanted to see if I would experience "dumping." I guess I'm a sadist or something. The other day I was happy to have felt "restriction" and ended up vomiting. Well I didn't have a dumping reaction to the sugar. I did enjoy the treat while it lasted, but afterwards I felt I'd fall into the old craving of sweets. I surprisingly have not. With it being that time of the month, no less! (I know TMI, but hey this is why we have the forum!). Overall I feel I've tested something within myself with this cheat...but I don't know what...

How do you stay off hte sugar? I'm struggling at the moment due to a lot stress at work. In my olden days I'd cope by eating a bag of Oreos or getting a large DQ Blizzard with Oreo and Heath bar. On Saturday, I gave in to a Skinny Cow chocolate stir shake for which I added Almond Milk instead of 1/3 cup regular milk. It was pretty good and less than 250 calories. But I need to stop COPING with sweets. I'm pretty much addicted to Crystal light at the moment, but nothing does this body better than CHOCOLATE during stress and/or that TOM. I need to shake this habit.

Thank youl all for the advice. I'm going just tough it out and not rock the boat. Internally I'm whipped though....Disappointed that someone can be such a...."Mean Girl." I really don't have much respect for that type of behavior. It's been gnawing at my for the past week (The meetings was on Monday). I just decided to let it go and pray that things get better. Scale was not nice to me this week either. My energy is just so low....I can barely stay going and the stress isn't helping! I'm doing me this week.

Way to go! You will do awesome. Keep it up.

I agree. You can eat all three, but they do cause a lot of gas. If you're sensitive to that, then I would agree you should shy away from them for a while. I love cabbage and I'm almost 6 weeks. I had some last week. Chopped really fine and I didn't have any discomfort. In the early stages though, I would agree with Wendy on Youtube and stay clear until you know how your body will react. Nothing's really off limits as long as you can tolerate it as far as foods go once you're on full regular foods.

Congrats! You deserve it.

Glad you found something that workd. I've also had a lot of success with Vanilla Almond Milk and Almond Coconut Milk. It's worth a shot. I"m not so into to soy milks, but the Almond milks helped my taste buds a lot.

PdxMan...t hatnks for this post. I'm still new to my post-op life, but I have really struggled with what my post-op life will be. I want to enjoy food and not be obsessed with it. I want to make good food choices, but I don't want to eat asparagus and lentils for the rest of my life either. I want to reach a happy medium. Its great to hear that it can be done.

@Vondb. I have that concern as well. I don't want to be too small or have too much skin hanging off me either. I DO NOT want to look like Star Jones. (no offense, but she looks ill and her head is awfully disproportionate to her body since her procedure). I think VSG patients fair better than bypass ones in this area because we don't have the malabsorption issues. I think it's a little bit easier for us to keep our nutrients and healthy glow.....at least I hope so! LOL. I don't want to be a size 5 or even a six. I like my curves and would be happy with a 10 or 12 but with muscle tone.

Look at Carnie Wilson (of Wilson Phillips). She had bypass and I recently saw her on a Celebrity Homes show and she's at least 250lbs now. It is definitely possible. I have two friends who had RNY and they have put on about 1/2 their weight back on. Besides bad food choices, they graze all day on the bad foods. Lots of potato chips and other carbs in small doses all day, gets the pounds on. They also think soft = healthy so they eat a lot of yogurt. Going back to bad food choices, yogurt with chocolate chips, brownies and caramel isn't much of a diet food. I think you just have to accept the life style change and stay committed to not grazing and eating well. I'm scared to death of becoming a grazer. I'm equally as scared of being a Protein bar/shake fanatic and only eating greek yogurt all day too. I want to enjoy my food and enjoy flavors but just make small, good choices. I'm not giving up.

Eggs! Frittattas, omelettes, a lifesaver. You can fill it with all kinds of things: mushrooms, salsa, bacon, etc. It's quick and easy to flavor it up. I also have a new love affair with Kale. Sauteed in olive oil and garlic, add some bacon if you like. It gives you a punch of veggies to go along with your Protein. I also love baked or grilled Tilapia. It's quick and adds variety. I am honestly totallly burned out on tuna and chicken at this point. Fish is a welcomed alternative.

Yes. I experience it almost every other day. I think stress plays a lot with my energy levels. It throws your game off. I have trouble with my eating schedule too when I'm stressed. I keep focusing on Protein and hydration, then excercise. I'm falling off the wagon with the exercise though, which also hurts my energy levels. A little patience and focus and we'll get on the right track is all I can say. Just take it one day at a time and on the days when you feel just drained.....make an effort to do SOMETHING versus lying down and giving in to the low energy. Yesterday I had a day and just went to Wal-mart and browsed the aisles for a bit. Unfortunatly I ended up spending $165....must exercise a bit of restraint in the compulsive shopping area too! LOL.

AWESOME! I'm goaling to have that lovely 2 in front of my 3 digit number by Sept 2012. I have about 12 lbs to go! Hope to see you there!

Wow. Thanks for sharing this. When I started my research into WLS I knew off the bat that Lap band was not for me. Besides having friends with experiences similar to yours, I just felt weirded out about having a foreign body inside of me that needed upkeep. It really weirded me out. Also the sleeve just makes the most sense. I'm so sorry you're having to go through yet a 3rd invasive procedure. That has to be a little frustrating to say the least! Bless you!

As happy as I am with my sleeve and I think it is the absolute better bet when matched up against it's competition: Lap Band and bypass, I would not put myself through such a major surgery for 40 lbs, if I didn't have to. I have over 150LBS to lose and I have Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Since surgery my HTN has gone away. I no longer take the meds. My sugar is normal (I check my levels, daily, but I'm no longer on the metformin). I can say my sleeve is doing well. And back to my original statement....I still wouldn't have the surgery for only 40 lbs. That's just my personal opinion...others may see it differently as they have every right to their own.

I agree with PEvette. 1 oz per meal is not optimal. Are you mearuing that one ounce or you just feel it's about one ounce? You must be awfully tired too. Bless your heart! Trust your body. If you keep having concerns and your doc is not taking them to heart, then maybe you need a new one or a second opinion.

Great job! I started out strong with the walking daily after my surgery. I was so scared of getting a blood clot or something that I just went at it full on. I was up to 6 days a week. Since returning to work about 3 weeks ago I've gone steadily downhil. I went to 5 days a week. I changed my goal to try to walk at least 4 days a week to be "realistic" given I'm back at work. Sadly that lasted about a week. As of now, I've not walked for 4 days! I'm very disappointed. I HAVE got to refocus! Thanks for sharing....I'm just going to get back on the horse.

Since you're probably burning fat versus carbs, you're probably experiencing the infamous ketosis stench that some ppl on low carb diets have noted. If you're very concerned I'd check with your doctor. I've not had that experience yet. But I've been told (by friends not my doctor or nutritionist) that some ppl notice a change in their breath when they switch to fat as their energy source. I've been told chewing on fresh parsley or ginger helps.

I was told to not lift anything over 10 lbs until I had my 6 week follow-up. I went to work within 2 weeks (I really only needed 1, but I had the time). I'm a desk jockey so I do not have a physicaly requirement and I was (am) extremely tired all the time. If I had a more manual job, there is no way I would be able to return to work before 4 weeks. You body is just going through so much. LOL at Flufflibra..because I was also taking naps, just like my baby at Kindercare! They are needed!

My boobs have always been my best asset. Plus my hubby is a boob man. I'm only 24 lbs downs and they are deflating at a rapid pace. I could bet 20 of my LBS were lost in my boobs! A good push up bra? Something's needed. I'd hope that maybe the lbs would redistribute to my butt or something. I've always wanted a big, shapely butt. Got boobs instead. Now my proud girls are singing a swan song. Hard to adjust to seeing the gyrls leave town.

I totally agree with Dr. Mirza being a top surgeon. I chose him and I'm 4 weeks out. He's awesome and he's right off Westheimer between Fountainview and Chimney Rock. And yes, he does provide his personal cell phone number as well as his coordinator Erica. Thank heavens I did not need to use it....they called me several times post op to check on me too. As of today I can only sing his praises.

I've been reading the Atkin's Diet Revolution for a few days. Believe it or not, I've never actually read any of the Atkin's books and was very unfamiliar with the diet other than seeing the shakes in Wal-mart, which I've brought from time to time. What sparked my interest was when I saw a food pyramid or something that took a snap shot of the FDA program and Atkin's and other low carb plans. The pyramid made sense to me and I've always been a meat eater so with all the emphasis us sleevers have on protein, the approach made sense (at least on paper). I'm still reading, but I was wondering if anyone has adopted the low carb plan in their post-op life and does it work for sleevers? Does putting your body in ketosis or lypolysis, work for a sleever on regular foods in the long-term? Is the induction phase safe for sleevers. (Now I definitely plan on having this conversation with my doctor and nutritionist, but I just wanted to hear others chime in on their personal experiences, if they have any). Right now, it seems to make sense to me. I don't feel it's a feasible option, until I'm cleared for regulars. Any input appreciated!