joatsaint

I'm at 6 months post-op and that "stuck" feeling is the only sense of fullness I ever feel. The old feeling of a satisfied stretched stomach where I sit back and say, "Oh, I'm so full" has not returned. And I don't care if it does. I've learned to eat slowly between bites and have a pretty good sense of how much I can eat before "one bite too many". I've had a few of those and don't like'em - No sir! I don't! It just took practice and careful eating habits to teach myself this new way of eating. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

Congrats. **Does happy dance for you!** Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

I think it was good that you staggered your surgeries. If something had gone wrong for both of you post-op, you'd both be unable to be there for the other. At least this way, you can be there for her.

Congrats on your success! **Does happy dance for you!** Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Hope it all works out well.

Congrats on your success! **Does happy dance for you!** Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

My 1st week, it was not a priority to get in all the Protein and Water. It just wasn't possible. I sipped and sipped Crystal Light lemonade all day and ate sugar free popsicles. I just did the best that I could and if it felt uncomfortable, I stopped. It was 5 or 6 days before I could get any fluids down in large quantities. My 2nd week I started eating Cream of Mushroom Soup, and even then, I was only eating about 3/4 of a can per day. My main priority was fluids. I knew I had enough "stored energy" - read: fat cells :-P - that I wasn't in any danger of being malnourished!

I was there 2 different nights. I had to sleep both nights. 1st time to measure how many times I stopped breathing. 2nd time was to wear the mask and tweak the air pressure settings. I did them both on Friday nights, that way I could get up Sat morning and not have to worry about going to work the next day.

I was only required to do the pre-op diet for 7 days, but it was very hard to break old habits. Just try your best and stay away from sugar and starches. I think it is kinda ironic that the doctors and insurance companies require us to go on a liquid diet pre-surgery. If I could have done the liquid diet on my own, I wouldn't NEED the surgery in the 1st place!

My sleep study was in 2 parts. 1st visit was to measure how many times I stopped breathing - I was covered in those little sensors. 2nd visit, I was covered in the sensors again and had to use the CPAP machine. That visit was to fit me for a mask and calibrate the machine.

Ok, in the interest of full disclosure, the 1st part of the title isn't true about green beans - at least not in my case, they don't give me gas. But the good news is, they do make me "regular." Garden season has sprung in Texas and my dad's green beans are coming up like weeds. As usual, he planted waaaaaaay too many green bean plants and is complaining about having to get out there and pick them. And when I say waaaay too many, I mean just that. He has 3 rows of green bean plants - each row about 40 feet long. That's a lot for just my mom and dad. I know that he secretly loves the fact that he has too many. He enjoys giving away the extras. But is always complaining that no one wants to come and pick. I try to tell him, "Grow something that people want and they'll come. No one wants to come dig turnips!" Now a normal person would just pick what they could use and let the rest rot on the vine. Not my dad. He grew up at the end of the Depression and can't let anything go to waste - even if he never uses it. So they will pick and can fruit and vegetables until the garden dies. Then, a year later, he's throwing out the old canned and frozen stuff to make room for new. Mom, dad, and me picked about 5 gallons of green beans off one row, and that was AFTER they had already picked the row two times previously! So, they gotta lotta beans left to pick on the other rows. Now I have a freezer stocked with fresh green beans. Cooking them is simple: put in water, bring to a boil, add garlic, salt, and onion to taste. Boil for about 15 minutes. Poke with fork to test tenderness. Grab one with tongs for taste test. Blow on green bean to cool it off. Taste. Hold ice cube on burned tongue. Eat meal with green beans - not being able to taste anything because of burned tongue. I've eaten a cup or two every evening for the past 4 days and I've gone to the bathroom once a day since I started eating green beans. My normal schedule is once every 4 days, until now. So I'm crediting the fiber in the green beans. A cup of green beans has about 40 calories - 2 grams of fiber - 2 grams of carbs. All varieties of green beans are low in calories and contain healthy nutrients: dietary fiber, calcium and iron. One cup has 200 milligrams of potassium, plus beta carotene and vitamin A. Next month: One potato...two tomatoes Keep Pimpin that Sleeve!

I was in the hospital 2 days. They wouldn't let me drive myself home either. I was still on pain meds the 2nd day and in no condition to drive.

My first month or so, I was losing weight almost daily. But longer term, I seem to get stuck at a certain weight for a few weeks at a time, then suddenly start losing again. I was stuck for the past two weeks at 280, after dropping as low as 278. Yesterday, I woke up and was 278. Today I am 273. It gets annoying, not losing weight consistently, but I'm getting used to it.

You go girl! You deserve 2 snaps up in a Z formation!

Yes, it happens to me about every 2 weeks. I think it is dependent on how many carbs I consume. The body stores more Water when it converts carbs to glycogen for energy. I have gained as much as 4lbs over a weekend - without changing the amount of calories I eat, just by eating more carbs. And then I lose it over the course of the week and drop an additional pound or two. You didn't mention if your weight was measured on your home scales or the doctors - when you noted the weight gain. I know that my home scales do not measure my weight the same as the doctor's. So I go by my home scales, since I don't see the doc but once a month.

Congrats, you're doing great! Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

I still remember my cruise from last July. It would have been very hard for me to keep to my "approved" foods list. Lots of high fat/high carb stuff in the food court. Very few soft foods.

Here is my favorite Mexican recipe, be sure to use the Taco Bell seasoning if you want that Taco Bell flavor - it makes a big difference from the other seasoning mixes. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2115/entry-5538-my-favorite-mexican-food/

My first thought was that this guy has been listening to the pickup artist gurus. They often say to approach a beautiful woman and instead to just telling her how pretty she is - just like the last hundred guys that tried to pick her up - to tease her by pointing out a flaw in a playful manner. This guy just hasn't mastered the program yet - he picked out the wrong thing to tease about! Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

About day 9, I was able to sleep on either side without being uncomfortable.

I had problems with any kind of fruit for the 1st 3 or 4 months. Even bananas made my stomach grumble. I tried just 1 slice of a strawberry during my 3rd month and immediately my stomach started grumbling. At 6 months, my stomach complains about grapes and pineapple - anything that is fibrous. But it's not painful, just noisy!

I tried ankle weights and wrist weights years ago, but even with the Velcro straps, they slipped and slid or rubbed my skin raw. The ankle weights really threw me off balance at first. I like the weighted vest because it's more stable. Although I don't like having to pay for sand!

Yeah, the though occurred to me also, that as I lost weight, I wouldn't be working as hard during my walks. That sucks! I had thought about buying one of the weighted vests - to be able to carry extra weight. I'd rather do that than workout longer! Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!