joatsaint

I would suggest that you reboot your laptop first. If that doesn't fix it, then try a different browser - Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. You may need to download the latest version of Adobe Flash to get things working again. http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ If you've installed any browser plugins or tool bars lately, that may be causing a problem. Some software updates are now coming with things like the Ask.com tool bar as part of the package and unless you watch carefully during the installation - and uncheck a box - the toolbar will be installed by default. It causes all kinds of problems for my users at my office. If you know how to get to the Control Panel, open "Programs and features" to see a list of installed software. Don't uninstall anything until you've Googled the program name to find out what it does.

I never really worried about fat either. I stuck with chicken, turkey and pork loin as my Protein sources and they're all very lean meats. I focused on staying below my calorie limit and getting 75% of my calories from protein and eating healthy foods - vegetables, salad, Beans, lentils. I (almost always - I'm not perfect) stayed away from Pasta, rice, breads of any kind and sugar. The rest took care of it'self.

No, you are not alone. I went through it. One minute excited about how my life was gonna change, and the next worried that I'd be the one that it didn't work for. Worried about what happens when I'm thin????? Yikes!!!!! I can be fat, I've been doing FAT for years! I didn't know how to be thin. You're expressing thoughts we all have gone through. Just hang in there, it's all worth the effort.

I didn't really have to do much exercise wise to lose the 1st 100lbs. The only exercise I've done is walking. I had a lot of foot pain before surgery. I started out walking from the farthest parking spot to my office front door, with the goal to walk 10k steps a day. It was in the 2nd month post-op that I really tried to start walking as exercise. Here's my blog post I keep to track my progress: http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31216-nsv-2-you-best-step-off-b-hatch/

Congrats on joining the losers bench. :-) I'm a side sleeper, it took me about a month before I could transition from sleeping propped up on my back to sleeping on either side. Never been able to sleep on my stomach.

I too fell off the pre-op diet wagon, fortunately I was able to limit myself to eating only lean Protein. Work to get back on track, it is soooo worth it!! To me, the pre-op diet was harder than the surgery and recovery. But 1 week post-op, I could tell that mentally, things had changed. I no longer obsessed over certain flavors and I have the "need" to eat every 2 hours.

I started at 370+ and my doc said realistically I could expect to get down to 235. And I was more than happy at that weight ( got there in about 9 months). Then it became a little more difficult to lose weight(as my new sleeve relaxed and I could hold more, and I wasn't burning as many calories between not carrying around an extra hundred pounds and metabolism adjusting to the new lower caloric intake). Then I decided I wanted to be at 224 (my high school weight) and I got there through diet and exercise, And I am very happy at that weight. Now I want to get to 200, which is where I want to stop - I think. But if I was stuck at 220, I'd be a happy camper for the rest of my life. So, I do believe the rate of weight loss can be slowed or stopped. It's just easier in the beginning, between the swelling of my new stomach and dramatic decrease in calories. Then there's the phase where you're not carrying as much weight, not burning as many calories and stomach capacity is increasing. Then the final phase where you're completely healed and your metabolism has fully adapted to this new eating lifestyle.

Congrats on a great NSV!!!!

18 months post-op for me. And I can eat 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food per meal (8 - 12 oz.) And I have to tell you I love every minute of it - even when I gorge myself on my favorite - my mom's chuck roast and potatoes! The 1st 6 months, I was really limited to about 1/2 cup per meal, but as the healing progressed and the swelling in my new sleeve went down, I could hold more. I go to a buffet restaurant almost every weekend with my best friend. I watch as the people(thin and overweight) file by with heaping plates of food an deserts and I sit there and nibble on my salad plate covered with 4 oz of steak and a couple of tablespoons of other things and love my Sleeve (Frankensleeve). I quickly grew to love my small stomach and how little I could eat. It still amazes me how pre-op I was able to eat upwards of 2 lbs of food for lunch and 3 to 4 lbs of food between 5pm and 10pm nightly.

I have a sedentary desk job and I am not required to bend or squat or pick up anything heavy. Having said that, I was ready to go back to work on day 11. I would have been in no shape to do a lot of moving around or walking or lifting. But there are a some threads I've read where the people felt great after surgery and were back at work in 3 days. I guess it all depends on how well you can recuperate.

With me, it all depended on how far I was post-surgery. Up till around 9 months post-op, I was so calorie restricted that I had to get as much nutrition per bite as I could get. And I couldn't hold more than about 1/2 cup of food per meal, so I was very limited on the "goodies" :-P. I would allow myself a tablespoon of peanut butter per day. But if it were a cookie or cake or anything with empty calories, I'd only eat 1 or 2 bites after I'd eaten my normal meals.

I drink the occasional beer or Mike's Hard Lemonade. I pour them over ice to get rid of some of the bubbles. I have to be real careful drinking right out of the can. Drink too fast and I'll feel the pain of a stretched Sleeve or a poking sensation at the bottom of my throat. I can drink hard liquor with no problems. My favorite is Tequila mixed with Crystal Light Lemonade. I've never been a real big drinker so I don't know if I get a buzz any quicker - I've always been a 2 drink limit kinda guy.

My 1st week, I was sipping Crystal Light and eating sugar free popsicles. I'd eat a bite of popsicle and be done eating for 4 or 5 hours. I just tried to sip as much Fluid as I could, but I didn't track the amount. I'd fill up my 30 oz cup and it's last about 2 days.

My 1st appointment was all about the paperwork. I felt like I was writing a novel - from all the forms I had to fill out. Everything from my health history and lifestyle to consent allowing my doc to use my picture as promotional materials (I slipped that page into my pocket - no one ever asked me about it. :-) ) Then it was an interview with the doc and he explained everything I needed to accomplish before surgery - insurance approval, blood tests, xrays, stomach scoping, psych evaluation. It took about 2 hours to get through everything. I was weighed and they took my blood pressure.

My best guess is that we don't have as much stomach acid as before. As you introduce "difficult" foods into your diet, your stomach has to adapt and figure out how to process them.

Glad you are doing so well. Just remember, every day it will get a little easier. I was feeling like warmed over death for about 8 days, but was fine by day 10. Keep walking and drinking.

I know what you mean. Not only did I notice all the food commercials, as a guy I keep noticing all the "male enhancement" commercials as well - not that I'm on a pre-op diet for that!!!!! :-P

I wasn't specifically told not to eat popcorn for a certain length of time, but I waited a couple of months post-op before eating it again. Now I have it on a regular basis. Once my doctor cleared me for full foods(1 month post-op), I had no restrictions on what I could eat. *** But I have to add, if I were still on a sub 1000 calorie/day diet, I would not be eating popcorn - too many empty calories. And I found the best 4 Cent Microwave Popcorn Popper!!! All you need is 2 - 2 cent brown lunch bags. - 3 tablespoons of popcorn - 1 rubber band Put one bag inside the other to make a double wall (I found out the hard way how powerful Orville's popcorn is!) Pour in the popcorn Fold over about 1 inch of the top and secure with rubber band Pop in microwave for 2 minutes

I only cook for myself. I usually cook a big pot of whatever - that will last 5 or 6 days - and just eat on it all week. I only eat out 1 meal per week, on Saturday night. I haven't had fast-food for over 18 months, just no desire for it anymore.

My doctor's office called me back once I was approved. My insurace is very WLS friendly and was approved within 5 days. A friend at work has the same insurance and her doctor's office took their time and put off and delayed for weeks waiting to put in the paperwork. I advised her to call the doctor directly and let him know that she was about to switch doctors because his staff was so slow to do their job. And what do you know? She got a call back the same day telling her the paperwork was submitted...... This doctor was about to get a $15,0000 payday. I expect service!!!!!!!!!!!

I can only speak for myself, but I needed the size of my stomach reduced in order to stick with the reduced portion sizes. Pre-op, I could eat smaller meals for a long time (months) but eventually I'd start going back to my old ways. And it just seemed like it was a lot of physical and mental effort for such a low payoff. The main benefit I got from the removal of part of my stomach is the reduced cravings. Since surgery, I no longer "need" to eat any particular food or flavor. Pre-surgery, it was like an addiction, I'd get a craving for a food or flavor and could not get past it. I'd just have to eat it until I had enough.

During my puree phase I stuck to Cream of Mushroom soup and refried beans mixed with pureed turkey hamburger. I tried to keep it simple. When I'm only eating a 1/4 cup of food per meal, I didn't want to go to a lot of trouble cooking.

I bought a box at Sam's Club - white chocolate, chunky Peanut Butter, and brownie crunch. All I can say is that they were edible. I did not like them and ate them only when I didn't have anything else in the house to eat. My favorite Protein bar is the Pure Protein brand. I haven't found a flavor that I didn't like.

I would go with your doctor's recommendation. My doc did both the Sleeve and Gastric Bypass, but stopped doing the GB because he was having such good results with the Sleeve. He was originally doing the Sleeve as stage 1 of a 2 stage surgery for the super obese - to get them down to a weight where it was safe to complete the Gastric Bypass. They were losing so much weight with the Sleeve, most of his patients never needed the GB.

I think it really depends on your insurance requirements if it's one or two. I only needed one, I had sleep apnea.