keldolbeth

I stayed one night in the hospital and I spent most of it in the bathroom trying to pee. Every trip I literally spent 30-45 minutes, sometimes an hour because I fell asleep, on the toilet. No pain or pressure either. I've had UTIs before and I knew it wasn't that. The nurses didn't seem too concerned. It lasted like that for probably 48-60 hours post-op. Guess that wasn't much help but at least you know you're not alone! LOL

I agree with both ideas, the planning and the tracking. I didn't start using MFP until a month out and it has helped me tremendously. I'm one of those unfortunate people who still gets hungry and has cravings and I wonder those damn ghrelin hormones are still haunting me. I do enjoy something "bad" from time to time which still gives me pleasure, like a true food addict. But, like a true math teacher, I love seeing my progress and reaching my goals on MFP. I feel much better about myself and my journey when I frequently see the numbers I want to see. And I was resistant to MFP at first because I'm lazy but it's super easy and quick, now I'm obsessed! Also, planning has helped me a ton! I started this when I lost 65 lbs pre-op. I create a spreadsheet or table in PPT and list my three meals plus a few snack options for each day. I may switch around days and swap things out but, in general, by the end of the week I've eaten all of the meals on there. Then I save it as an image and save it as my desktop background image on my computer. That way, I'm forced to look at and fulfill the plan. Good luck! We are all working on recovery, in a variety of ways.

So I defrosted a whole bag of shrimp tonight for dinner. I ended up making 9 shrimp skewers, 3 different flavors. I ate less than 2. So what do I do with the leftovers? I know a lot of people over cook and freeze meals for the future... but can you do that with shrimp? Can you reheat it and still taste good? I'm slightly more than a novice in the kitchen. I feel like I waste so much food nowadays and I already have so many leftovers in the fridge. I don't want this to become another casualty! P.S. If anyone wants to open a national chain grocery store which caters to single people or those cooking for two, please do. I know everything would be much more expensive but I'm spending the same amount now and wasting it! I hate having to buy 24oz to eat 4. And I had this problem before VSG.

Down 105 pounds and finding more comfortable sitting positions at work. I can cross my legs under my desk, almost indian-style too. Today I had slipped my shoes off under my desk and crossed my leg underneath me. Then BAM! I slammed my toe into my desk drawer! My toenail ripped halfway off and started bleeding. Hurts like ___! Some might not see this as an NSV but before I only had one position I could sit in at work. It just made me laugh and think about how many little things we don't realize are affected when we lose weight! And, an awesome one... took the trainer at my gym up on her offer of one free session. I REALLY need to learn how to tone more. We did upper body and abs today. I was so impressed with what I could do! She kept demonstrating things and I thought there was no way in hell it would happen and then BAM (but a good bam this time) I'd be in that position. She kept having me sit on a ball and walk out so only my neck and head were on the ball and I had to lift my hips up and support myself with my quads and abs. I was shocked! There were still things I had trouble with or couldn't do but I gave it my all! (And she convinced me to sign up- and pay- for more sessions!) Never in my life did I think I would work with a trainer, I was always too self-conscious.

I've never had the best skin but it's definitely been worse since surgery. AND I found out yesterday the prescription acne wash I use was discontinued!!!

It's definitely a memory that's burned into me now... I was a senior in high school sitting in second period Physics when the principal announced what had happened. No one really knew what to do. Third period I had study hall, which was "open" for seniors, meaning we could go anywhere in the building. We roamed around and stopped into classrooms that had the news coverage on tv. The rest of the day most of our teachers let us watch. One of our religion teachers was from NYC and I heard she ran out of her class crying and immediately left for the day.

I lost 65 lbs pre-op and 40 in 11 weeks post op. I must say, planning has been a big part of my success. Each Sunday I try to make a spreadsheet (or powerpoint or whatever) of my meals for the week. Pre-op I just planned lunch and dinner because I was doing meal replacements too. Post-op I plan everything, including snacks. Then I save it as an image and upload it as my desktop background. It's most accessible to me that way because I'm on my computer a lot. I can't say I adhere to it strictly, it's hard to plan a week out but I try to eat the things I plan, just maybe on different days. I find recipes I like online and add the ingredients to my grocery list. I keep track of what recipes I have the ingredients for and that's how I plan my dinners, and in accordance with any events throughout the week. Lunch is usually leftovers. Again, I might not be super strict according to the plan but at least I know what snacks I SHOULD be having and don't allow myself to eat other things, just maybe rearranged. So, basically, by the end of the week I've eaten most of the things on my menu. It helps me make decisions because I like instant gratification and would probably make the wrong choices just because I'm hungry if I don't know ahead of time what I'm going to eat. And I do use MFP as well. I was resistant to it at first because I'm lazy but it's actually quite easy and now I love it! Hope that helps!

Well I don't wear yoga pants all the time and at the end of the summer, when I was down 95 lbs, I tried on all of my work clothes that I hadn't worn for 2 1/2 months. (I'm a teacher.) Well, almost all of my clothes still fit. There were a few that were a size larger than I admitted I was. (lol) I could get rid of those but most of my dress pants are still in my closet. I'm down 105 now and while things definitely fit differently and hang a bit, I'm only down maybe 2 sizes. It takes a while... no matter what the clothes say, the scale says you're down 70 freaking pounds FOREVER!

You get excited when you feel a bowel movement coming on (finally). And can't remember when you last had one.

I couldn't wear my seat belt for a long time. (Shhh, don't tell.) I didn't drive for 10 days after surgery and that was one of the most exciting things when I got in my car again!

Yeah my friend bought hers off the rack at David's. You could also order something online and get it altered. That way, you may be able to order it closer to your date. I'm in a wedding in October, sleeved in June, and I just ordered a bridesmaid's dress from Target. It's returnable so I ordered two different sizes, waiting a few more weeks to decide which one I'm going with.

Welcome to the Century Club! I'm a recent addition too! I stalled when I got close to -100 too... so frustrating!

I go for my 12 week post-op appointment the 18th. I'm hoping to be down 45lbs by then. I thought I was losing slower because I lost a significant amount pre-op but I'm glad to see I'm in line with others! (I know, I know, we can't compare! lol)

When I saw the headline I was kind of expecting another constipation/BM thread. I was intrigued. lol

I went to info sessions for two different bariatric doctors before making a decision. One of the doctors said (in reference to all WLS, not just VSG) 1/3 of her patients couldn't be happier, 1/3 are indifferent and think they could have lived without it and 1/3 absolutely hate their decision. However, I think with VSG the fractions would be skewed more to the positive. So far, I can't say it's been all roses but that's just because I can be pessimistic. I haven't had anything too horrible happen to me... mourning the loss of food (it can be a serious issue for some), severe constipation, feeling bad about myself because none of my clothes fit and I want to look as good as I feel. These are hopefully all things I will overcome and are mostly mental. The worst "complication" I've had was a reaction to the sutures in one of my incisions... wasn't that bad and cleared up after a few days of antibiotics. I've been able to tolerate most foods but I didn't have any energy until about 8 weeks post-op.

Jakat, I ate A LOT of the oatmeal and pancakes. Those were about the only things that tasted decent. I could also tolerate the eggs, chicken with noodles and jello. Definitely choose the crispy protein bars over the creamy ones. I mean, none of it is going to be great but you will survive.

I made the Hawaiian Chicken BBQ ones last week and Cheeseburger cupcakes tonight. My friend was over for dinner, not a VSG'er, and she loved them too! My coworkers were intrigued last week when I brought the leftovers for lunch. SOOO glad I found wonton wrappers finally! lol I've made crab rangoon too, which wasn't too bad. I saw a recipe for pizza roll-type appetizers somewhere that I'm going to have to try.

I ate tons of oatmeal. Get the crispy protein bars, not the chocolatey ones. The eggs, chicken with noodles, pancakes and jello were tolerable too. I ate LOTS of breakfast food.

I think the oatmeal was the only thing I liked... I ate probably 3 packets a day. Also, the eggs weren't bad or the chicken with noodles. I also ate some of the pancakes. It's hard to know what to order when you've never tasted any of it before. Have you tried any of those?

TO THE CENTURY CLUB???!!!!!!!!!! I ranted on here a little bit the other day about not hitting 100 pounds before I went back to school... well it finally happened 2 days later! I waited out the 2+ week stall before taking pictures and now I attached some below. Before is February 2012, 4 1/2 months before surgery. I should be over the moon but it's just so surreal to me... I guess I'm just a pessimist and still see myself as fat (which I am). I had a bit of a breakdown this morning when I posted one of these pics on Facebook because I was embarrassed and humiliated of my before picture. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm gorgeous and I was quite confident 100 pounds ago but when I look at those pics now I think "how in the hell did I think I was attractive?" This milestone has made me feel guilty for what I had done to my body. I am disgusted now, even though I wasn't then. I haven't felt overly emotional through this journey but I think it's all hitting me now... all of the NSVs, no clothes that fit, announcing it on FB, etc. Anyway, I still have a long way to go... but I appreciate all of the knowledge and support I get here everyday. Next stop... twonderland!!!!!! (Did we ever come up with a better name for that?)

Uh oh! lol How's the pre-op diet going? Did you find any foods on there that you can tolerate?

I asked them to weigh me before I was discharged because I thought I might be over the weight limit on the scale at my parents' house.

My doctor typically does a "23 hour stay." I think it has something to do with the accreditation of the surgery center, since it's not a full fledged hospital. However, shortly before I had surgery I was told he started letting patients go home at 8pm... IF their pain was below a 5, they had been walking, lived within an hour and something else. I met the criteria but I chose to stay the night. I was trying to avoid more time spent at my parents'. lol But I left first thing the next morning. I told them since I was self-pay I wanted to get my money's worth and would only leave if they gave me a discount!

Wow! Sounds like they could make a movie out of that story! lol Congrats!

Ahhh, I've been at my parents' house all day and haven't been online... so coming home to all of this was awesome! Thanks, all! I love that a man was the first one to notice my hair! lol I chopped it off two days before surgery. I think I needed a more immediate physical change to remind of the ones to come.