joatsaint

My doc said I should expect to lose 75% of my excess weight. According to medical charts my ideal weight is 185 or so. But I would be happy in the 200 range. So do a Google search for body weight charts and figure out how much excess weight you have and multiply the excess by .75. That should give you an idea of how much you can expect to easily lose. You can continue to lose after that till you get to where you feel comfortable. Just a rough estimate, but if you've lost 33% of your excess weight and that equals 30lbs then 3 X 30lbs = 90lbs of excess weight. 90 X .75 = 67.5lbs 192 - 67.5 = 124.5lbs Does a goal weight of 124.5lbs sound reasonable?

That totally happened to me as well - right up to about 6 months. When a new food was tough to digest (grape skins, apple peel, pineapple, chicken breast, steak...) my stomach acted like a garbage disposal with rocks rolling around in it! :-) Lots of grumbling and gas bubbles moving around in there.

I've eaten Pasta several times - probably after the 4 month mark. I never had a desire for it after surgery. But my mom served it for lunch, so I had some. It turns out that pasta is a trigger food for me. I get hungrier the more I eat - until I'm at the bursting point. So I avoid or severely limit it now. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31170-confession-time-the-spaghetti-monster-almost-got-me/

Hello VSG'rs this is my 1st video review, hopefully not the last. I'm trying to do a series of reviews/question answering from the topics I see posted in the forum. I would like to get better at doing these and would appreciate your input/opinion (positive or negative) about the video.

I ached on and off in my shoulder for the 1st week. Actually I just felt awful all over, but I can remember that soreness in my shoulder. I guess it came and went as the gas left my system.

I promise that you haven't broken your weight loss machine. :-) I at month 13 and have gone through a stall about once a month since my 3rd month post-op. I found that if I stick to my recommended eating program, the weight will continue to drop. I may stall for a week or 2 - I've just come off my longest stall (2 1/2 months Nov - Jan). I was stuck at 232 for the longest and over the holidays I let myself get up to 239. Now that I'm back on my old eating schedule, the weight is starting to fall again. I'm 232 again - 5lbs lost in 4 days. So it just goes to show that there isn't any point when I can't lose any more weight. Just keep doing what you know works for you and the weight will continue to fall.

After the 1st week post-op, I never had any nausea or problems keeping food down. That 1st week, everything made me sick and I was only tolerating a teaspoon or 2 of food every few hours. My 1st 6 months, I was very limited on the foods I could eat. I couldn't tolerate much of anything other than re-fried Beans and cream of mushroom Soup for that time. I see this topic posted a lot, so it must be pretty common and eventually lessens and goes away. Stay focused on getting your liquids in.

I agree with Bufflehead, Bring a comfy pillow - put a brightly colored case on it to make it easy to spot when your released. Loose clothes

I was back on a normal diet by 6 months post-op. That does not mean Frankensleeve would tolerate every food, but I was able to eat the majority of foods - chicken, steak, pork, salad, most fruit and vegetables. pineapple and chicken took the longest before Frankensleeve liked them again. I was still very restricted in the amounts of food I was able to eat, maybe a cup full at any meal. And I was still training myself to watch how much and how fast I was eating. It was very easy to take one-bite-too-many and get that "uh-oh" feeling.

I'm on month 13 and I can still remember my 1st week post-op. Just keep walking as much as you can, wear the abdominal binder if they gave you one, and focus on getting in enough liquids - then protein. It gets soooooo much better after the 1st week!

Frequently Asked Questions - What was the last straw the made you choose weight loss surgery? I was at my lowest point physically and mentally in July 2012. I knew that my health would continue to deteriorate and I'd only become more and more depressed if I didn't make a change. Some people claim that weight loss surgery is the easy way out, but I needed the extra help from WLS to dig myself out of the hole I was in. It's kinda funny that society ridicules you for being overweight and then ridicules you again if you don't lose the weight "the right way." If you like/dislike my videos, please thumb up or down, and leave a comment about how I could improve the content. Your input helps me become a better Youtuber. :-) Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve! Google Plus https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102076899634252886094/102076899634252886094/posts/p/pub Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankensleeve-Vertical-Sleeve-Gastrectomy-VSG-Community/289332951205311 Twitter https://twitter.com/frankensleeve

Weight Loss Surgery Tips - Why it's good to be #2. I realized it's not always good to be the 1st in line for surgery. My WLS surgeon had 6 surgeries scheduled on the same day and began at 7am. I felt pretty good about being his 2nd patient for the day. It meant that he had time to get warmed up and in the zone for surgery. But he hadn't been working so long that he was getting fatigued. If you like/dislike my videos, please thumb up or down, and leave a comment about how I could improve the content. Your input helps me become a better Youtuber. :-) Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve! Google Plus https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102076899634252886094/102076899634252886094/posts/p/pub Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankensleeve-Vertical-Sleeve-Gastrectomy-VSG-Community/289332951205311 Twitter https://twitter.com/frankensleeve

This Frequently Asked Question addresses the need to take vitamins and calcium post-op weight loss surgery. How to pick'em and why you need'em. My surgeon wanted me on a multivitamin, calcium and B12 post-op. His office carries the Bariatric Advantage brand of vitamins, but said any good brand of multivitamins were suitable post-op. Just be sure to wait a few hours between taking a multi with Iron and calcium. Iron inhibits the absorption of calcium. If you like/dislike my videos, please thumb up or down, and leave a comment about how I could improve the content. Your input helps me become a better Youtuber. :-) Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve! Google Plus https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102076899634252886094/102076899634252886094/posts/p/pub Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankensleeve-Vertical-Sleeve-Gastrectomy-VSG-Community/289332951205311 Twitter https://twitter.com/frankensleeve

"Ok, what's up with that stuffed animal thingy" - that's Frankensleeve, I found him online. He's a plushie stomach, produced for a medical convention on stomach issues. I ran across a thread asking what people named their new stomachs and I chose Frankensleeve since mine is always making noises like, "roowwwwwwrrr" and is bothered by firey foods. :-) Then I ran across Frankensleeve online and had to have him.

I was back at work in 10 days, but I've read several posts about being back at work after only 3 or 4 days.

First time trying it tonight. I didn't do too good a job of cooking it - split it in half, put the halves on a pizza pan and baked for 45 minutes... checked it... baked another 15 minutes.... checked it again... still not sure if it was done Took it out and let it cool enough to eat... still didn't taste like it was done. Put that sucker in the microwave for 15 minutes. Now it's done! Hit it with a little non-stick cooking spray, tossed it with some salt and pepper... little stringy bites of heaven! Frankensleeve approved!

I tried it in the microwave today. Wrapped half in cling wrap and nuked it for 15 minutes. It came out pretty good, but I think I like it in the oven because it comes out a little crunchier. Yep, got it at my local grocery, they are pretty common. I've found them at both stores in my town and in Wal-Mart. And they are labelled Spaghetti Squash. I mistakenly bought a Butternut Squash - because I didn't read the sticker on it's side. Spaghetti Squash is like a small yellow watermelon, Butternut is tan and shaped like a bell.

I had low energy waaaayyy before surgery, so it wasn't much different after. But it was about 3 months before I got back to my normal level of low energy. Even at a year post-op, I still have low energy levels. I had always read the "I can't believe how much energy I have" weight loss stories, still waiting for mine to happen. I have to drink coffee and occasionally take caffeine pills to have what I consider "normal" energy levels.

Here's my favorite soft food recipe. I ate this Mexican food for weeks and weeks before I got tired of it. My favorite version used ground turkey meat, but I did try ground chicken breast - it just didn't absorb the flavors as well as the turkey meat. I'd make a big batch on Sundays and it'd last me for the week. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31168-my-favorite-mexican-food/

I review ISOPURE Whey Protein Isolate, why I use it and how you can use whey protein to boost the protein levels in your recipes. If you like/dislike my videos, please thumb up or down, and leave a comment about how I could improve the content. Your input helps me become a better Youtuber. :-) Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve! Google Plus https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102076899634252886094/102076899634252886094/posts/p/pub Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankensleeve-Vertical-Sleeve-Gastrectomy-VSG-Community/289332951205311 Twitter https://twitter.com/frankensleeve

I know what you mean, we just become more aware of the food around us. I do the same thing when I get a new car, suddenly I start noticing every time I see the same model all around me. I think America is obsessed with food - on my basic cable tv channel lineup there are at least 3 channels dedicated to food and cooking, the history channel and discovery channel have shows about food history, food at holidays, the best places to pig out, the most exotic/expensive/biggest places to eat. I think only in America do we Celebrate pigging out.

I finally felt thinner, the first time I could tuck my shirt in and didn't have to worry about pulling the tail out when I raised my arms above my head! :-P I started out at 374, I could see the lbs falling when I got on the scale, but it wasn't until I started having NSV's like: having to adjust my car seat closer to the steering wheel, realizing I could cross my legs without having to use my hand to assist getting my leg in place, buckling my seat belt without having to pull the belt all the way out to reach the buckle, and when I realized I had started bending over to put on my shoes instead of having to sit on the bed to get my foot close enough to my hands.

Hello my fellow VSG'rs. This Frequently Asked Question is a 2'fer. I answer the questions: Did you have pre-surgery anxieties and did you have one last hurrah with a Food Funeral? If you like/dislike my videos, please thumb up or down, and leave a comment about how I could improve the content. Your input helps me become a better Youtuber. :-) Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve! Google Plus https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102076899634252886094/102076899634252886094/posts/p/pub Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankensleeve-Vertical-Sleeve-Gastrectomy-VSG-Community/289332951205311 Twitter https://twitter.com/frankensleeve

Yeah, it was like that for me too - no memory of the OR whatsoever. I did prefer the stuff they gave me for the EDG. There was no countdown with that one. When they gave me the stuff, it felt like I had blinked, I closed my eyes and opened them... and it was over. The staff laughed at me because I put the bite guard back in my mouth, thinking I had let it slip out before the surgery had started. They had taken it out.

My diet revolves around black beans, lentils, pork loin, chicken breast, ground turkey meat, Brussel sprouts, yellow squash and as of yesterday - spaghetti squash. When they're available, I like oranges, pineapple, apples, and grapes. My dad's satsuma tree produces in the winter, right now I'm snacking on them. I tend to avoid anything that is processed or really limit my intake of it.