LilMissDiva Irene

You're not able to click the link I posted above? If not you can get there by going to the main forum page, then look in the Gastric Sleeve Surgery Support section. There you will find the monthly support groups. Yours is in the 2012 Sleevers. Click on that link and you can find the January Sleevers. HTH

Whoa... what it sounds like. You sound pretty tight/swollen. Be sure to take the tiniest sips you've ever taken, and only sip every minute or so. If it seems out of character, give your surgeon a call - just for safety sake.

I will also share with you a story that was told by the horse himself in one of my former surgeons monthly support groups. My FS (former surgeon) performed both lap band and gastric bypasses. He did far more GB than Bands. So it stood to reason why there were far more GB folks at the support groups. Well we would have a meet and greet type intro every time. We would stand up and say our name, give our date of surgery, tell others how much we'd lost and explain what's going on with us... etc. In one of our sessions a gentleman stood up and introduced himself. He mentioned he'd been away for awhile because he was recovering from a second surgery. My FS egged him on to tell us all why he'd had a second surgery. Here is what he told us: He said what he did was the most foolish thing he could've ever done. He had chicken at one week out. He said he was just wanting the feeling of food in his mouth so badly that he couldn't help himself. He felt like he could "chew it to mush" and he would be okay. Well he wasn't. He split his inside incisions open. He had to have emergency surgery to repair the leak he'd caused and he nearly died. He admitted he knew exactly what the post-op rules were, and that he was TOLD WHY we had specific eating guidelines to follow. He simply did NOT follow them. He thought he was smarter than years of research. It was him and his story telling that day that I realized why I came across that man's story - years later. It would speak to me months out and remind me after my VSG why it is so important to stay on the Post Op eating plan!! So, I beg of all of you, when I often say please be careful with your new sleeves (please note our incisions are very similar to those that the GB folks get) that there is a reason behind it. Guard it well, for one day it will guard your life.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/193-january-2012-sleevers/

Hi there! I had a hard time sleeping too for the first few weeks. I'm a side/tummy sleeper as well and it was hard to get comfortable. After about a week and a half I started to put a soft pillow between my stomach and the bed, that seemed to help. Also, Melatonin will help to get you to sleep. You can find it all over, in Vitamin sold places. Also, the Celestial Sleep Time tea helps right before bed. HTH

No this isn't crazy at all! I started to get the feel of what it was like to enjoy shopping again when I got my lap band and I was down 50 Lbs. Then I went all the way back up. I truly wasn't expecting to gain it back so I had no clothes to wear anymore. I gave them all alway. I went shopping and bought the most pathetic clothing anyone could find. Black/Brown or Gray Capri pants made of cotton and drawstring and tons of huge TShirts. I was literally depressed. Well, that's long past me and all those clothes are long gone too. I buy so many outfits now I barely have any room to store them anymore. Ohhh what a sad problem to have now! Here's an idea, I went out and bought me a goal outfit. Size 8 Jeans. I had a few large tops too. Once I fitted in those I started shopping all the time! LOL Have fun!!

The only time I do super low carbs (about 30g/day) is when I've been eating a lot of "bad" carbs and I need to break the cravings. I do that for about 5 days, then I'll get back to moderate carbs. I did about 60g per day during weight loss mode. I didn't like the way super low carbs made me feel. I think a great deal has to do with how much you workout too. If you're planning to workout to up your fitness than super low carbs IMO is not a good idea. I was doing about 2 hours a day, and I needed the carbs to survive. It would be said I did lose pretty fast doing my routine, I hit my original goal in about 6.5 months. I created another goal and got there in 10. It was then that I started trailing off the food logging and carb counting. I'm probably in the range of about 100g per day, just guessing. I also pull in about 1 hour of workout per day (5-6x per week) I'm still losing too. HTH - please remember everyone's metabolisms and needs are different. If what your nutritionists advice isn't working for you, ask her to modify it.

Okay, the previous post is a reply to all the lucky sleevers today!

Wow!! You're probably getting prepped or in surgery right this moment.. Sending prayers your way for a quick and smooth recovery!! Please check in when you feel up to it. Walk, Sip, Rest and Repeat.

Agreed with PDXman... I would weigh myself daily during weight loss - but please note - I didn't let it get me down. I guess I was able to handle it, I never let it get me in a tailspin. If it's causing you to panic and feel like you're failing then it's probably not a good idea. I didn't let it make me panic because I knew my body will go through Water fluctuations every single day, based on what I ate (salty?) if I worked out hard (body repairing itself), what time of the day it is even... If it works better for you perhaps 1x per week would be better. Pick the same day of the week (Monday? Weekend eating...) and do it first thing in the AM, after bathroom break and with undies on. That would be IMO a more accurate picture of how you're doing. ETA: Stress factors in too! I think a lot of folks forget about this. Stressing about what the scale says every day isn't a good thing and can help keep the weight on. Just remember, the weight scale is only a tiny piece of a huge puzzle that is YOUR journey.

Seriously my rolls and big bits didn't start really disappearing and uncovering that fit me until I started really taking running into real consideration. It left me lean and toned all over my whole body. With that said, I was still never completely satisfied because I always felt so big on the bottom. I always carried all my weight in my thighs, hips and backside. I took care of that with Plastic Surgery Body Contouring. I am absolutely happy with the results! I for once in my entire life feel "normal". Good luck on feeling complete! It's really hard. One day I feel great, the next I'm thinking I can tone up more here and there. I think this is normal too, I love to workout and it keeps me motivated to keep doing it/more. I can think of a lot more unhealthy things I can be addicted too!

Oh yes... all of this is going to change - and if you're anything like me, it will be in a major way.

Wow Lynda!!! Well first of all, it's about time! Second, YOU LOOK AMAYYYYYZINGGG!!! Big hugs!! Thanks for always sharing your story, yours is a definite success.

I'm glad I could help even if only one person blackanese!

Good morning VST!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and if you were anything like me, the pounds did NOT creep up this time! Yayyy!! LOL I wanted to touch on one subject, as I've seen a huge amount of posts lately commenting on their stalls, or slow losses. I feel this is an important subject because it can really get into our heads. Firstly you are not alone, and I myself have felt this too. Though here's what kept me moving, and kept my head in the game so to speak. In this journey the BEST ASSETS you will have are #1 Patience, #2 Positivity and #3 Perseverence. The 3 P's!!! These three virtues are a MUST in this journey. Patience: All good things come to those who wait. You didn't gain 100+ Lbs overnight and you're not going to lose it that way either. You likely gained it over many years worth of time, so think of it like this - you will still lose that weight in the fraction of the amount of time it took you to gain it. No matter how "slow" you think your losses are happening it is still GREATLY faster than your gain. You are still WAY ahead of the game, no matter how you slice it. Positivity: This is going to be a very rough journey. You're not always going to enjoy all the effects of your weight loss surgery. But regardless you will have to keep your outlook bright! If you have to, keep a list of all the things pre-surgery that you are looking forward to. Check them off as they happen, keep it around close when you just need that extra lift of motivation. Looking back is just as important as looking forward on this road to wellness. Speaking of looking forward... check out the Success Stories Forum. Look for Sleevers who are no less than one year post op. Check their befores and afters. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!! Trust me, we didn't lose overnight either. Also, taking before and after photos are super helpful as is taking monthly or bi weekly measurements. The scale is rarely going to say what you really want it to. If it does every time, that's great! Consider yourself lucky!! Perseverence: You know the saying, when the going gets tough... the tough gets going. You will find this is true in this journey. Again I say, nothing about WLS is easy! We may think of it a miracle, a cure from obesity and in some ways it really is. I thank GOD daily for it and having the means to have mine, BUT I do also know being that I'm 15+ months out and having hit so many goals I've lost count that it is STILL a lot of hard work!! You will find that to truly become healthy you're going to have to find some kind of physical activity that you can both handle without injury and keep to some type of good eating regimen. Call it diet or choose not too, doesn't matter. You're not going to hit your goals in any kind of healthy way by eating all your calories on M&M's... know what I mean? However some things I refused to ever do was to give up, give in or beat myself up for being what in the real world is called being human. I have eaten M&M's and by golly I sure don't regret it! I still hit all my goals and had a little bit of fun along the way. You just have to make all the right choices, but at the right times too. That's all I have to say about that... I do hope this helps - and as we are in the middle of Winter where its way too cold for outside activities (at least for me it is!) and all the best eating is all around us, that we can just keep up the hard work that goes into getting to the finish line. If you maintain all three P's, you WILL GET THERE. For sure.

Hello and welcome to VST!! that is so wonderful that you have your entire family to go along this journey with you! You will find the more support you have, the better the journey is. I agree too about the grocery bill... big difference!! And I'm the only one in my household who has had the surgery. So that tells ya how much I was eating... LOL

Good morning VST!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and if you were anything like me, the pounds did NOT creep up this time! Yayyy!! LOL I wanted to touch on one subject, as I've seen a huge amount of posts lately commenting on their stalls, or slow losses. I feel this is an important subject because it can really get into our heads. Firstly you are not alone, and I myself have felt this too. Though here's what kept me moving, and kept my head in the game so to speak. In this journey the BEST ASSETS you will have are #1 Patience, #2 Positivity and #3 Perseverence. The 3 P's!!! These three virtues are a MUST in this journey. Patience: All good things come to those who wait. You didn't gain 100+ Lbs overnight and you're not going to lose it that way either. You likely gained it over many years worth of time, so think of it like this - you will still lose that weight in the fraction of the amount of time it took you to gain it. No matter how "slow" you think your losses are happening it is still GREATLY faster than your gain. You are still WAY ahead of the game, no matter how you slice it. Positivity: This is going to be a very rough journey. You're not always going to enjoy all the effects of your weight loss surgery. But regardless you will have to keep your outlook bright! If you have to, keep a list of all the things pre-surgery that you are looking forward to. Check them off as they happen, keep it around close when you just need that extra lift of motivation. Looking back is just as important as looking forward on this road to wellness. Speaking of looking forward... check out the Success Stories Forum. Look for Sleevers who are no less than one year post op. Check their befores and afters. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!! Trust me, we didn't lose overnight either. Also, taking before and after photos are super helpful as is taking monthly or bi weekly measurements. The scale is rarely going to say what you really want it to. If it does every time, that's great! Consider yourself lucky!! Perseverence: You know the saying, when the going gets tough... the tough gets going. You will find this is true in this journey. Again I say, nothing about WLS is easy! We may think of it a miracle, a cure from obesity and in some ways it really is. I thank GOD daily for it and having the means to have mine, BUT I do also know being that I'm 15+ months out and having hit so many goals I've lost count that it is STILL a lot of hard work!! You will find that to truly become healthy you're going to have to find some kind of physical activity that you can both handle without injury and keep to some type of good eating regimen. Call it diet or choose not too, doesn't matter. You're not going to hit your goals in any kind of healthy way by eating all your calories on M&M's... know what I mean? However some things I refused to ever do was to give up, give in or beat myself up for being what in the real world is called being human. I have eaten M&M's and by golly I sure don't regret it! I still hit all my goals and had a little bit of fun along the way. You just have to make all the right choices, but at the right times too. That's all I have to say about that... I do hope this helps - and as we are in the middle of Winter where its way too cold for outside activities (at least for me it is!) and all the best eating is all around us, that we can just keep up the hard work that goes into getting to the finish line. If you maintain all three P's, you WILL GET THERE. For sure. Source: Giving It Time To Work...

Hi again! Yes absolutely positively, it has slayed the hunger dragon for me. When I was banded I had the worst feeling in the world where after only 2 bites I'd be sickly full. BUT...I'd still feel hunger pangs... yes real hunger pangs - growling stomach. Not head hunger, I know the difference for sure. Especially now that I never feel physical hunger but extremely rarely. It's usually because I ate something carb heavy in my last meal and once its burned off I'll get hunger pangs. But, if I stick to the protein first rule and make sure I don't drink anything for about 45 minutes after eating, I really don't feel hungry. I have to remember to eat... how amazing is that???

re: Jenny Jones... do you mean that ex talk show host? Wow, I can't even remember what she looks like!! BTW... You keep beating me to the punch with the responses! LOL!!!

heyyy now!!!! Nothing at all wrong with any kind of bragging or whatever you want to call it! This WHOLE journey is really tough and patting ourselves on the back is sort of a right of passage, IMPO. And I can DEFINITELY see a difference!! Looking GREAT!!

In the beginning months I logged everything I drank, excluding anything with caffeine as it is a diuretic. So, Jello, popsicles, Protein shakes, crystal lights or just plain Water would all go into the tally. Now that I'm further out I no longer tally all the fluids I get in. I just make sure I'm getting a minimum of 84 Oz of plain water in per day and I'm fine. Whatever else I drink is just bonus. On really good days I'll drink a gallon or more of water per day. HTH

Those ARE great NSV's!! Enjoy the spoils forensik you deserve it with all your hard work!