KS Fort Worth

Once my stall broke, I have been averaging 2 pounds a week. I'm ecstatic! 210 this morning, which I'm pretty sure I have not seen for over 30 years! I'm using MyFitnessPal to track everything, and am taking in 1000-1300 calories a day. I catch myself in the mirror sometimes, and I actually have a visible waist again. I find it interesting how people react with a look of puzzlement when I tell them my goal is 180. My surgeon's office said my ideal should be 170, so I don't think 180 is out of line. We shall see...

Patience and a positive attitude. It may be a struggle to get your liquids in at first and your protein a little later, but it will all pass. Avoid the temptation to push yourself on the diet as you get to feeling a little better. A leak is NOT worth whatever you may consider eating. I behaved myself, am 9 weeks out, and have had no complications at all. My daily hunger is minimal and I DO get full with much smaller portions. This is SO worth the temporary inconveniences, and it will be for you too. See you on the loser's bench!

One of my old, old set points was 225 or so. I was stuck there for just over two weeks, but I knew this would also fall in time. I finally broke through a couple of days ago, and weighed 219.9 this morning! I tend to think in 10-pound increments, so 210 is in my sights! Like many others have said, I think my body was readjusting things, because I had a LOT of people I know tell me I was getting skinny, even as I was stalled. I am SO HAPPY with the sleeve! We celebrated a couple of birthdays on Saturday (mine included!) and a family friend made some wonderful pizza from scratch and an imitation of 'sausage peppers rustica' from Olive Garden. I had been working on a car all day and was physically hungry, so I had two skinny slices of the pizza, one of each flavor. When I sat down for the pasta dish, I could only eat 1/4 of what I served myself! I had to exclaim, "Wow! This is EXACTLY how this is supposed to work! This is tasty and I want more, but I am SO FULL!"

Had my second post surgical appointment last Friday, down 20 pounds since surgery. I feel blessed that I have had ZERO complications. Dr. Kim's assistant said my risk of leaks or other complications was practically zero now, and that I was no longer a surgery patient, but was instead just a weight loss patient. I am very thankful to have been given this opportunity. I'm thankful for all the support I got from VST, as well as from my wife and family. I am looking forward to being a normal weight, for the first time in my life!

That is EXACTLY how I feel!

With numbers like that, when your stall DOES break, it will break in a big way! 600 calories does sound too low though.

just in case anybody is following this, I misread what I was seeing on MyFitnessPal. One whole teaspoon of salt is 1.5g, so 1/16 of that is 0.0938g. The sodium value is right for 1/16tsp, I just had the weight wrong.

I'm a bit older than you and have experienced the weight loss roller coaster too many times. I too told myself I was going to do it "naturally," and committed to be below 250 by my 50th birthday, from 290. (My all-time high was 330; I reached that twice.) i failed. I told my GP I was interested in WLS and he told me to call Dr. Kim. I finally started in February of this year. My insurance has a 3-month supervised program that must be followed. I took all the lessons on nutrition and eating habits to heart, and lost 30 pounds "on my own" by June. I actually considered cancelling because I had done so well this time. I posted here about my thoughts and was reminded that STRESS is one big factor we cannot control. Looking back on the two previous times I had lost 60-70 pounds, I saw that it WAS a stress event that undid all my work. That sealed the deal for me. What I had done and learned prior to surgery plus my commitment to the goal of being normal weight for the first time IN MY LIFE, coupled with the "tool" of the sleeve has given me the confidence to know I WILL NOT FAIL. I'm not saying "Yes! Go through with it!" only you can make that decision. You must ask yourself what is most important, and weigh the benefits versus the risks and the sacrifices you MUST make to make this work. Good luck, and I hope you make a decision you can live with. That is the most important thing.

I'm at the tail-end of the mushies stage, and really like my oatmeal. It's surprisingly low in overall calories. The way I make it now, because I just can't eat too much (a GOOD thing!) 1/4 c 1-minute oats 1/4 c Water 1/4 c 2% milk pinch of salt ONE teaspoon sugar microwave in two or three steps for around a minute, until it's cooked It's 121 calories, 21g carbs, 3g fat, 5g Protein, 2g Fiber, and 148g sodium. That sodium number may be too high. I looked up the definition for a "pinch" and it said 1/16tsp, which is apparently 1.5g. I'll actually weigh it next time. Using 1/2 milk and 1/2 water makes it very creamy and ups the protein a bit. I'm still amazed at how that one little teaspoon is enough sugar compared to how I used to eat oatmeal, which was TWO packets of brown sugar cinnamon instant with ADDITIONAL sugar, salt and raisins.

You should be VERY proud of yourself! I lost 43 pounds before surgery, but it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago, when it really started to show in my face, that people started really noticing. I also waited waaay too long to downsize my clothing, because don't want to buy a lot of stuff (even second-hand) that I will wear for only a short while. You too, possibly? Hang in there! I'm sure everyone will say something sooner or later!

I reeeally don't want to start a political debate, but First Ladies have always had causes they support, and I think she picked a good one, like her or not. We DO have an obesity epidemic and we here are all living proof! Absolutely agree about having healthier choices. We as consumers can effect change by voicing our opinions to dining establishments and voting with our pocketbook. Laws regulating what can be served would never work, and I don't think anyone (besides Mayor Bloomberg) would be foolish enough to try. I DO like the fact that restaurants have to disclose nutrition information. We cannot make good choices absent good information.

We see things the same way, thewellkeptwoman. I think some people view ANY weight loss surgery as a cure-all, and thus end up with problems or weigh regain. I know several people who never quite made it to goal with RNY, and are heading back the other direction, because they refused to change their habits. ANY of these surgeries can be beat if we continue to act stupidly. Like you, I wanted a TOOL, and that's exactly what I got.

Count me in those who had a hiatal hernia repaired during surgery. They are apparently very common in both obese and older people. No reflux before or after. Only effect from the repair was swelling at the site which made me straighten my abdomen to drink and eat comfortably, otherwise things seemed to 'hang.' Still does to some extent. In other words, no slouching in an easy chair to eat, which I probably should not do anyway. Given the increased risks all around with RNY over the sleeve, and if you are sure the sleeve is right for you, I would seek a second opinion. Insurance companies are happy with second opinions. Good luck, whichever path you choose. I have never heard that RNY has a lower risk of reflux. Is that really true?

I learned from a dentist dealing with insurance companies that sometimes they will deny just to push the claim out into the future a bit, and they subsequently approve on re-submittal. The dentist's office said they had seen that a lot, so it stands to reason that scenario would apply to medical as well. Make sure your ducks are all in a row, and bug the crap out of them! Your surgeon should have an insurance advocate who can help as well.

Confession is good for the soul, yes? Sorry you had to go through the discomfort though. Thanks for sharing! We can all learn from others' mistakes.

I think they might be looking for evidence you CAN lose weight, which would show that you recognize the surgery is not a magic bullet. Someone who's weight never drops, even in the months between consultation and surgery, is not likely to succeed. Most, if not all, of us here have yo-yoed in the past, and that will show in the weight history. If you've been seeing your regular doctor for anything, they always weigh you. If they want medically supervised as well, it should say so in the insurance guidelines; Aetna's did.

I used Centrum liquid, and Wellness liquid calcium. Not necessarily the best tasting, but not bad, and it's only for a few weeks. After surgery when you're needing thinner liquids, you can cut the calcium with a couple of ounces of fruit juice, if it's on your list.

I suppose opinions differ on that; I'd always heard weighing every day was not preferred. From MyFitnessPal: "To help track your progress, you should record your weight periodically. We suggest once a week because your weight fluctuates daily due to uncontrollable factors like Water. Try to always weigh yourself at the same time of day - we suggest early in the morning before Breakfast." By all means, do whatever works for YOU, but my intent was to help those who get upset when the scale creeps up a pound or two when they KNOW they did not overeat the day before. I was always curious why weight should fluctuate so much, found the article interesting and thought it worth sharing.

We all know we're not supposed to weigh every day, yet many of us do and wonder why our weight is always up and down. (Guilty!) Nutrition diva has an article weight fluctuations, and why the numbers we get vary so much. There are links to an iPhone app and an Excel spreadsheet that calculate 7 and 14 day moving averages, which yield more meaningful numbers. http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/weight-fluctuation.aspx

Woo Hoo! Show me in this club as well! As of this morning, I'm down 16 since surgery, 63 since I started this journey, but ONE HUNDRED off my all-time high(s)! A few years ago I didn't think I'd EVER see this weight again!

Good luck! And if you don't meet that goal, don't beat yourself up. As long as you are losing, you WILL get there! A pound a day is AWFULLY fast, and some would say unhealthy. You sound very determined, and that goes a long way. Again, good luck! You have lots of friends here!

We're neighbors!

Yes, I did! I'm VERY happy with the results so far, 4 weeks out and no complications. Enjoying mushies now, my sleeve hasn't rejected anything. I worked very hard to get myself in as good a shape as possible before surgery, and I'm so glad I did. I'm sick of the weight-loss roller coaster and want OFF. PERMANENTLY! And yes, I'm in the Ft Worth area, not far from his office at all!

I did two weeks of the BariEssentials plus occasional low-sodium broth and lost 14 pounds. I made the shakes with skim milk, so my intake was 800-830 calories a day, depending on whether I had the broth. I don't care for artificial sweeteners, so I skipped the sugar-free jello and such that were allowed. I did still have black coffee; it was allowed, and is calorie free. As long as you keep to the plan and keep yourself busy, the 4 weeks will go by quickly, and 20 pounds in 30 days should be doable. If the goal is simply 20 pounds from NOW until October 2nd, you still have 10 days this month to help jump start that. Cut out as many carbs as you can, ESPECIALLY sugary drinks if you haven't quit them already, keep your protein up (it REALLY helps with hunger to get your protein!) keep your fats low, and keep up your vitamins and calcium. If you give your body what it NEEDS it won't beg as much for what it THINKS it wants, which is all the junk we used to feed it. One of the objectives of the liquid diet is to shrink the liver, which sits in front of the stomach. If it is too large, it hampers the surgeon's work, or can even prevent the surgery from happening. REAL good reasons not to cheat. I found it helpful to remind myself of the goal of surgery every time I was tempted to cheat, especially towards the end. You CAN do this! Good luck, and we'll see you on the loser's bench!

I'm no expert, but I think it's gorgeous!