@DomLorenVSG

Don't worry!! After you are sleeved, food will be an after thought, you won't be starving... I just survived Las Vegas buffets and it was bizzarre going in there seeing all the amazing food and really not being tempted at all! One bite of a few items and you will be stuffed! The sleeve will be your bff when it comes to portion control! Just eat slow and remember to make good choices. 3 bites of a bagel, or a half a piece of fruit the decision is yours- and truly affects how fast you lose your weight!

First couple of weeks were the hardest, tired and fatigued, but after my body got use to living off of low calories- I had no problems. I went back to working out 5 days a week when my doctor cleared me 3 weeks out.

I'm a graduate student at Auburn University, a single mom, and I work full time for the University. Not only did I do it, but it worked in my advantage. I prep all my food on Sunday's, and I have healthy Snacks with me, and I utilize my work fridge. I took all the crappy food out of my diet, and the walking was really good for me. My biggest issues were social changes- ie going out to lunch or dinner, or being invited out for drinks. I just can't do it. I tried. It always ended badly with me getting sick, over doing it, or eating bad food. I've really changed how I eat socially. I did however start picinicing here and there, which has been fun. I pack chopped up fruits and some light snack foods and on lunch I'll meet with friends and eat out side- THAT has been a huge success. :0)

There is definitly a distinct pattern in how I'm losing. I gain or lose very little one week, then drop a big number the following week. At first I thought it was just in my head, but my recording/tracking doesn't lie! Tracking like this has been HUGE for me, and visually seeing how my body works. I definitly have one good week followed by one neutral/bad week. I can't be hard on myself- this is the cycle of my body. I've come to understand and appreaciate it, versus hating myself and being so confused like I was before surgery. I highly recommend everyone tracking weekly and monthly if possible! Those -1 and -2 lbs weeks add up! I've added the last couple of weeks at the bottom to show you the pattern I'm talking about:

Height: 5'9

Highest (Surgery) Weight: 216

1st Primary Goal Weight: 169 (Achieved 11/27)

2nd Optimal Goal Weight: 145

Sleeve Journey:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 8/17/12- PreOp/Surgery Day w/Pics Posted in Blog

Week 1 (8/24): 204.8 (-11.2)

Week 2 (8/31): 200.6 (-4.2)

Week 3 (9/7): 196.8 (-3.8)

Week 4 (9/14): 193.5 (-3.3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 9/17/12- 1 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-22.5 lbs)

Week 5 (9/21): 191.6 (-1.9)

Week 6 (9/28): 190.1 (-1.5)

Week 7 (10/5): 187.0 (-3.1)

Week 8 (10/12): 181.9 (-5.1)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 10/17/12- 2 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-11.6 lbs)

Week 9 (10/19): 181.4 (-.5)

Week 10 (10/26): 177.9 (-3.5)

Week 11 (11/02): 176.8 (-1.1)

Week 12 (11/09): 174.7 (-2.1)

Week 13 (11/16): 173.3 (-1.4)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 11/17/12- 3 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-8.6 lbs)

Week 14 (11/23): 173.1 (-.2)

Week 15 (11/30): 167.3 (-5.8)

Week 16 (12/7): 168.1 (+.8)

Week 17 (12/14): 164.6 (-3.5)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 12/17/12- 4 Month Anniversary (-8.7 lbs)

Week 18 (12/21): Holiday Break/Vacation- No scale Available

Week 19 (12/28): Holiday Break/Vacation- No scale Available

Week 20 (1/4/13): 164.5 (-.1)

Week 21 (1/11): 161.5 (-3.0)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 01/17/13- 5 Month Anniversary (-3.1 lbs)

Week 22 (1/18): 161.7 (+.2)

Week 23 (1/25): 158.7 (-3.0)

That's fantastic and very motivating! We're you a hard core excersizer before? What did your workouts look like pre post and now? Sorry for the questions, our stats are close and I never could imagine your results. Thanks for any input... Also are you a food tracker etc?

I was, I worked out a lot before- always been active my entire life and I use to be in the Army! But my hunger was always my worst enemy... hungry alllll the time! Post surgery my calorie intake and my hunger are a shadow of what they use to be. The first 4 months post op, I was swimming 5 days a week, 2 to 5 hours a day between Masters swimming and club Water polo. Because of work obligations, I can't keep that schedule up, so this semester I'm working on my elliptical a few nights a week, and hoping to start some fitness classes in on weekends when I have time.

I left my bad eating habbits in the past, and worked out 5 days a week the first 4 months of surgery. I got lazy over the holidays and now I'm getting back on track. I didn't really stall because I was active every single date without excuse, and really limited myself on bad food. I don't eat carbs, drink soda, etc. I have a little bit here and there, but just a bite or two once or twice a week. I eat at on of Protein, and if I have any room left over I eat veggies. I force myself to drink Water, and my only daily indulgence is my 2 cups of coffee in the morning. My results speak for themselves. I don't feel deprived, and my body works on routine, and I feel good with how I function.

Wow you look great! Any tips for the newbies?

I post this in my blog, but I've gotten so much personal feedback about my journey from these pictures, I'd thought I'd share it on here as well.

Thursday is actually my 5 month Surgiversary- but this past weekend I attended a friends birthday party and they took a lot of candid shots of me, I compared them to some candids from last summer. Pretty amazing difference at this point and I"m not even at my official optimal goal yet. I am the brunette in the top pictures wearing the orange/reddish dress.

Height: 5'9

Highest (Surgery) Weight: 216

1st Primary Goal Weight: 169 (Achieved 11/27)

2nd Optimal Goal Weight: 145

Sleeve Journey:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 8/17/12- PreOp/Surgery Day w/Pics Posted in Blog

Week 1 (8/24): 204.8 (-11.2)

Week 2 (8/31): 200.6 (-4.2)

Week 3 (9/7): 196.8 (-3.8)

Week 4 (9/14): 193.5 (-3.3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 9/17/12- 1 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-22.5 lbs)

Week 5 (9/21): 191.6 (-1.9)

Week 6 (9/28): 190.1 (-1.5)

Week 7 (10/5): 187.0 (-3.1)

Week 8 (10/12): 181.9 (-5.1)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 10/17/12- 2 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-11.6 lbs)

Week 9 (10/19): 181.4 (-.5)

Week 10 (10/26): 177.9 (-3.5)

Week 11 (11/02): 176.8 (-1.1)

Week 12 (11/09): 174.7 (-2.1)

Week 13 (11/16): 173.3 (-1.4)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 11/17/12- 3 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-8.6 lbs)

Week 14 (11/23): 173.1 (-.2)

Week 15 (11/30): 167.3 (-5.8)

Week 16 (12/7): 168.1 (+.8)

Week 17 (12/14): 164.6 (-3.5)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 12/17/12- 4 Month Anniversary (-8.7 lbs)

Week 18 (12/21): Holiday Break/Vacation- No scale Available

Week 19 (12/28): Holiday Break/Vacation- No scale Available

Week 20 (1/4/13): 164.5 (-.1)

Week 21 (1/11): 161.5 (-3.0)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 01/17/13- 5 Month Anniversary (-3.1 lbs)

I'm a large athlete. I was in the Army, got out and now I'm in graduate school playing collegiate Water polo. The average person on my team eats around 3,000+ to 5,000+ calories a day and we work out at least 3 hours 5 days a week. I've always been overweight, even though I've always worked out. There is NO way that I coud stop my ravenous appetite without this tool. I would work out then be starving after practice. I would eat anything I could get my hands on and sometimes binge eat, and it wasn't necessarily self control, it was my body thinking I needed more than it really did. Last season I was working out 3 hours 5+ days a week and I gained 20 lbs. I cried, a lot. After my sleeve in august and suriving the fall semester work out schedule I'm down 50 lbs. I eat a lot of Protein, and don't have room for much else, and I'm still hungry but NOTHING like it was before surgery. It's faint compared to before. And even if I do get really hungry it only takes a little bit to fill me up, where as before I could have done 5 rounds at a buffett and still had room for more. And no one would have said stop because everyone knows how much I work out. This is a tool, but Portion Control is decieving. Our bodies produce hormones, and all sorts of things to tell us we are full, and if those hormones in our stomach don't trigger, our brain says keep it eating. I love my sleeve, and it has truly changed my life. And I'm extremely thankful and would reccomend it to anyone, and I already have a friend getting hers next month as well.

I had the same exact problem! The Protein Shakes were actually making me super sick, I was so happy to transition to Protein bars, I'd snack on one and it would take me all day but better than nothing, by week 6 I had no problem getting all my protein in via chicken, etc. Love my high protein lifestyle! I don't even miss the carbs!

o_0 .... oe vey.

I used my BMI chart to figure out a healthy range and agreed that my first goal was the highest allowable by my BMI chart, then my doc said I could go lower and set a second goal that was literally the middle number between the lowest and highest allowed by the BMI. But visually my favorite tool is a site called www.mybodygallery.com . Nothing to bad, it's hundreds of women at every height, then classified by weight and shape. So I'm 5'9, I put in 5'9 at my ultimate goal weight and see what other real women look like at that weight. I actually looked at several different weight scales (they go on incriments of 10 lbs), I looked at someone 5'9 @ 125, 135, and 145 and finally decided my goal is 135 but I'd be happy to maintain at 145. It was a really good perspective tool to use.

Dlmeekie, I love your post. I'm pre-op and I can already see this happening with one of my friends. Fortunately, I could see the writting on the wall about our friendship a while ago and started making some distance. But it's sad to think that so many people judge us for being "fat" and then when we lose the weight we are judged by our own friends. This does seem to weed out those who really care about us for the right reasons.

I thought for sure I'd get so much positive re-enforcement, etc, and when it didn't come I was upset and sad. Then again years of yo-yo dieting people pretty much assumed that I was on a fad diet again, I'm going to lose some weight but it will be back in a few months- why praise someone for being a yo-yo dieter. I get it, but it still gives no one the right to judge or cut someone else's attempts down. I encourage all my friends no matter what route they take to do what’s right for them.

For people I don't want to know how I lost the weight, I simply just tell them working out, high Protein diet, no crap food, and less than 1000 calories a day. I said that to one person, and they told me I'm terribly unhealthy and starving myself. I said no, i'm actually never hungry- I eat when I'm hungry- two bites of whatever, and I'm done. She snarled at me and insisted I was doing it all wrong. She's 100+ lbs over weight. I have to take criticism with a grain of salt, because people don't know I had wls. But again, mean commentary and back handed compliments come along with the territory.

I wrote an entire blog post talking about toxic people. I really had surrounded myself with toxic people before my surgery. It was no different from my friend who is having infertility problems surrounding herself with pregnant women and obsessing about their success and mourning her inability to conceive. I understand now exactly how she feels. I surrounded myself with skinny girls, who've never had dietary issues or weight loss complications. They frowned at my diet attempts and said just work out and it will happen- uummmmm NO. It won't just magically happen. I needed help, I needed surgery, just as my friend has to spend thousands on invetro and fertility docs and appointments I have to do the same with my weight loss. I needed help and rather than opening myself up for more criticism I did what I felt was necessary to lose this weight and get my life back on track. Is there a price tag on feeling good about yourself and being healthy? Looking back, my biggest regret wasn't doing this sooner, and not making my health a priority from get go.

Deep breathes, just make it through the next 24 hours one step at a time. Go to the store tonight, but don't over purchase, you can always go back for more if you need. It will allllll be okay, and clean your house a little everyday, no need to exhaust yourself the first day of the liquid diet!! Congrats on the bump up in dates!

I say this with a full heart and lots of warm and fuzzies- be careful. If the hot girls in your office are a problem now, they will be a bigger problem later. Make sure to really think about what you share and how you share this journey with them. I'm 13 weeks post op and doing fabulously, the problem is I did NOT get the positive feedback that everyone else in the forums have been getting. It's been a lot of back handed compliments, a lot of caddiness, and me having to cut a few "friendships" off. Two specifc girls were so comfortable wit me being the fat friend that they literally started every rumor imagineable about me and didn't hold back on humiliation or alienation. It hurt to my core. We want to visualize the end result in our head, that day we walk in looking amazing in heels and a nice pencil skirt and all eyes are on us and our huge smile.... but be weary, along with those stares and admiration comes jealousy in forms you've never seen or experienced before.

I chose to keep my wls private, and I am very thankful I did. The amount of judgement I've gotten thus far, is only a fraction of the flood of negativity had I been open about it. The only people I've opened up to about the surgery are my over weight friends that have noticed my substantial weight loss, and I tell them privately in an email or in person. I don't like when thin people who've never had weight problems pass judgment on obese people who chose surgery. It's counter productive and really just not useful since the deed is done. All I can say is, I'm healthy, and FABULOUS!

You will do great. You will lose this weight, keep it off, and start a whole new fabulous chapter to your life. You will love every minute of it, it will be a struggle but once it starts coming off- it will be allllll down hill. Get your game face on, but don't forget your helmet and padding because it's going to be a bumpy ride.

And Dr. A was my saving grace. SO many doctors trying to medicate me, and not one would take me as a surgical candidate because I was a low BMI of 33. Nothing ever worked, and when I found 2 docs state side that would consider me, insurance wouldn't pay and they both wanted $30k+. Dr. A saved me life, my money, and health. I was never going to get better, and I would have had to mortgage my home to afford the surgery stateside. Then once I went through the surgery- all I could think was... "this was better than any american surgery I've ever had." It was easier than my nightmare experience of getting my wisdom teeth out. And I'm dead serious about that. I have a friend who is now following my steps and having her surgery with Dr. A in Decemeber, and like I told her- I did my homework. He's the best. I've been there. I've done that. And he's still the best, my only regret was not doing this sooner!

Good luck!

I am scheduled for surgery with Dr. Alverez on January 18th. I just mailed in my deposit yesterday. I am so nervous and so excited at the same time. I am hoping for a permanent solution to the ups and downs I have had over the last 20 years! I decided to start losing weight in September at 205lbs. I am 5'2", so that's a bmi of 37.5. I have lost 22 lbs and am down to 183, now my bmi is just above 33. I already feel so much better. It's hard to imagine getting to a "normal" bmi. Dr. Alvarez seems awesome and even though I am really nervous about my surgery, I feel good about my choice of surgeons!

1) Protein. I get 90% of my calories from pure Protein. I completely avoid carbs like the black plague. I snack on chicken, and whatever I can get my hands on. Yesterday for lunch I had pulled pork bbq, 3 oz and I was done, saved the rest and ate it again for dinner. No sides, no bread, nadda. The bbq was more than enough.

2) Routine is my bff. I know what I'm going to eat every single day before I leave the house, I leave nothing for imagination and I workout with other people so even if I'm not feeling motivated to do it, I know they are waiting on me to show up- there for I actually do my workouts religously.

3) Here's the tough love. I commit to at least 1 FULL HOUR EVERY SINGLE DAY to working out. Math says it takes 3500 calories to burn 1 lbs of fat, even on a low calorie diet and your BMR helping to burn some calories that still a LOT Of calories that you need to burn.

4) READ the guru's. I've read Jillian Michaels and Bob Harpers books, I've read Oprah's trainers, I've read all the top hollywood trainers books. I've educated myself thoroughly and there are several key things THEY ALL AGREE ON:

A) To lose weight you must work out a MINIMUM of 1 hour 6 days a week and it must be intense, not lolly gagging- doesn't matter if it's running, walking, elliptical or what you got to make it intense and get your heart rate to 120.

B.) Weight lifting is NECESSARY. At least 3 times a week for 30 minutes at max weight. All the trainers said it, if you want to change your metabolism it starts with weights. Muscle burns more fat. There for increase your muscle. If you rotate a day of weight lifting for cardio, or add them both in for a 2 hour workout 6 days a week, magical things might happen.

C) Carbs are the enemy. They all agree. We are a carb heavy society. And because of our sleeves now is the time to back away slowly and reconsider them later. Eat a very heavy protein diet.

D) Sugars are the enemy. And you know what I'm talking about. Even the Protein shakes are full of crap. Time to step back drink h20 (and none of the other crap) and focus on Proteins again. I will miss my smoothies and my fudigcles and my occassional sweet tooth cravings, but do want to lose weight or not?

E) DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT eat after 7pm. Water ONLY. sleeping on a full stomach, partially full, or any thing at all in your stomach will screw with your metabolism in your sleep. Just don't do it.

Maybe masters swimming and Water polo are my saving grace, but I know several people who've had success with trainers, workout buddies, etc. It's HARD. Period. No matter who we are to get this done. It takes time and commitment.

I have PCOS (PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome which has been a huge factor in why I needed the VSG- my body cannot regulate my hormones or my insulin), and I have always gained between 7 and 10 lbs on my period (sorry guys for the TMI but weight gain is true for the vast majority of women). If I only fluctuate by a pound or so I will be delighted. So this week I'm easing up on myself and just training and ignoring my numbers as they will most likely go up. BE AWARE of your cycles and get a calendar. Start tracking on your calendar, calories consumed, when your period is, when your PMS'ing (which is when your hormones start to surge and the first onset of weight gain pre-period happens) and watch what happens. You might be bloating because you're so close to your cycle. I also get horrific acne- which right now is pretty bad :/ so that's my indicator mother nature is about to come kick my a$$.

I work out a LOT. A minimum of 2 to 5 hours a day and that's why I've been dropping numbers. I know a lot of people cannot commit to that, but I'm doing with with a packed schedule and a kid because my health is #1. It's time for me. THIS IS MY TIME. And I don't have anymore time in my life to waste. I'm being as completely proactive as possible.

Hope this helps!

That's great DL, and u started with a lower bmi, what do u do for working out ??

How's everyone doing ? Any updates ??

Best decision of my life! I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow and I'm down over -40lbs! Everything Dr. A said was right on the money, and I've been super good about working out and eating high Protein and low carb and I haven't stalled yet. Now that I've lost a bit, the numbers aren't big but it's still going down slowly but surely.

Height: 5'9

Highest (Surgery) Weight: 216

1st Primary Goal Weight: 169

2nd Optimal Goal Weight: 145

Sleeve Journey:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 8/17/12- PreOp/Surgery Day w/Pics Posted in Blog

Week 1 (8/24): 204.8 (-11.2)

Week 2 (8/31): 200.6 (-4.2)

Week 3 (9/7): 196.8 (-3.8)

Week 4 (9/14): 193.5 (-3.3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 9/17/12- 1 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-22.5 lbs)

Week 5 (9/21): 191.6 (-1.9)

Week 6 (9/28): 190.1 (-1.5)

Week 7 (10/5): 187.0 (-3.1)

Week 8 (10/12): 181.9 (-5.1)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 10/17/12- 2 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog (-11.6 lbs)

Week 9 (10/19): 181.4 (-.5)

Week 10 (10/26): 177.9 (-3.5)

Week 11 (11/02): 176.8 (-1.1)

Week 12 (11/09): 174.7 (-2.1)

I think someone younger who is only 30# overweight would be well served to do the slow, lifestyle overhaul. Here is why i say that - i have gained and lost and regained bigger numbers then that many many many times. I did it via weight watchers, I did it on my own, I did it using nutrisystems... etc etc. What I could never do was keep it off.

I think the reasons are complex, and hunger played a key role. The fatter I got, the more :"out of control" that hunger got. Metabolic disorder is what they call it now. It is like pre-diabetes even if you don't "test" as that high of blood sugar that is what is really going on. I have a fat pony who is always hungry and can eat until he explodes, there is no off button - I have to physically limit his access to food and then there is my lean riding horse that stops when he is done even if delicious food is sitting in front of him. There is something physically different - it isn't a character flaw that fat pony is always hungry (he isn't really fat, but blink and he gets that way). My vet calls it a predisposition to insulin resistance - the key is to not let him get fat or he will develop a full on metabolic disorder - that is what I had.

So, diets are great for short term, but what I needed was a deeper understanding of my illness and how to manage it. If it were my daughter, I would counsel her to work with a nutritionalist that understands all this - and many of them don't. Learn how to eat really small portions of moderate carb. I am talking basically no simple carbs and limited veggie/fruit and whole grain carbs. I would visualize losing those 30 pounds over a year or two - really slow - but the main thing is learning how to manage this "illness" this metabolic monster. I don't know for sure, but I think if i had been able to do that when I was young I would not have needed WLS.

I was never a binger like eat 2 hamburgers at a sitting or anything. I was more a persistant over eater. Every meal, just eating a little too much. Too often having seconds. Too often having dessert or some high carb delight. My hubby could never understand how I kept so much weight on as it never seemed like I ate huge portions or ate all the time. He was right, it was more like always eating a bit too much, a bit too rich of food and it really adds up.

I still find it shocking that a full grown adult who is fairly active (me) lives on eating meals from a teaplate. The idea is still mind boggling, but it is the reality for some of us "fat ponies"

I completely agree with you. I've always been an athlete and I was in the Army and could eat a hardy diet and stay only slightly overweight, and teeter totter back and forth into a healthy BMI when I was required to. The problem was once I stopped working out my appetite was still there and I wasn't working out nearly as much, the weight didn't come on over night, maybe 3 to 4 lbs a month over the course of a few years that added to about a 50+ lbs weight gain. The bigger I got, the hungerier I was, allllll the time. Dr. Alavarez was my surgeon and he did diagnose me with a metabolic disorder just as you had mentioned. The bigger I got, the hungier I was, and I had complete insulin resistance and was even put on medications for it. After surgery my hunger went almost completely away, and now I have it but in the faintest form. Nothing like it was before- that by itself was life altering. I know how to eat healthy and workout, but my brain was always hungry and I was never on the same page with my body. Self control is mysterious to me- so much self control in other areas of my life, and yet I struggled so fiercely with my weight and controlling my eating habbits

I could easily consume a two cheesburger, large frie and large diet coke with a dessert from Mc Donalds and even squeeze in a couple of my son's uneaten chicken nuggets before surgery. I attempted 2 french fries and 2 chicken nuggets with Water the other day on the way to his soccer practice and nearly had to pull the car over to throw up. Too much carbs, and too much food period. I'm eating almost 20% of my former diet if not less. Healthy food choices are absolutely essential, but Portion Control is a huge factor as well. Even the food tastes different to me now- and I dislike it. Which is quite helpful because I no longer crave a lot of the crappy food I use to adore.

I had success both with Weight Watchers and Low Carb diet- but as soon as I lost the weight and went back into normal eating patterns all the weight came back on. Tracking my food always helped me to see how much I was really consuming, but most of the time I was depressed because even if I was over my allotted calories I was still always hungry. I'm just naturally always hungry. Immediately- as soon as I got sleeved I realized I wasn't hungry, and that in itself was life changing. No diet or magic pill could give me the sunsation of being full.

I'm a collegiate swimmer/water polo player and my team and I have come to one conclusion- Sally Beauty Supply and it's Generic's line is a god send. Specifically we ALL use GVP Smoothing Serum - Compare To Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum, (http://www.sallybeauty.com/smoothing-serum/SBS-264130,default,pd.html?cm_vc=SEARCH) and several of their other off brand- they are just as good if not better and a fraction of the price. We have to wash our hair 2 to 3x's a day which is horrific and leave to seriously damaged/dry hair, these products can be found on any female at any time on our team

Here's some general ones we use too for shampoos and conditioners: http://www.sallybeauty.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-SA-Site/default/Search-Show?prefn1=brand&prefv1=GVP&start=0&sz=48

I'm also tracking my weekly changes and I definitly see patterns. I'm a woman, so you best believe mother nature plays a big role in this. My goal is to lose -3 lbs a week, but I've been kind of all over the place. I also workout 2 to 4 hours a day swimming 5 days a week. This has been my journey thus far:

Height: 5'9

Heighest Weight: 216

1st Goal Weight: 169

Sleeved:

(8/17/2012): 216 lbs

Week 1 (8/24): 204.8 (-11.2)

Week 2 (8/31): 200.6 (-4.2)

Week 3 (9/7): 196.8 (-3.8)

Week 4 (9/14): 193.5 (-3.3)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> 9/17/12- 1 Month Anniversary w/Pics Posted in Blog

Week 5 (9/21): 191.6 (-1.9)

Week 6 (9/28): 190.1 (-1.5)

Week 7 (10/5): 187.0 (-3.1)

Stalls happen to everyone! I haven't had a stall last more than a week- that being said I'm working out like crazy, so anytime I see the number 4 or 5 days in a row I get really concerned, but eventually it will change. I'm also convinced our bodies are adjusting. On the weeks that I lose very little, the week prior or after I tend to lose more. Our bodies have to catch up and balance out as well. Have no fear! This too shall pass!

The only part that I will add, is to the fizzy drinks 7 weeks post op (all the other information was identical to what I would have responded), I can't get ANYTHING carbonated down. It hurts. Like drinking battery acid. I've attempted several things including beer- and it was a no go. I've given up attempting. Not a habbit I want back anyway.

Actually a bit smaller! Each doc uses different French Boguie sizing (a way to measure how big your stomach is...). My doctor is amazing and actually has an entire youtube channel dedicated to explaining, and showing things, and answering questions. It was SOOOOOOOOOO valuable to go through all his stuff before surgery. Take a look! : http://www.youtube.com/user/Endobariatric

Good Luck!