LilMissDiva Irene

Wow!!!!!!! Fabulous job!!!! Big CONGRATS TO YOU!!!!

Any of your basic omegas will work, nuts and seeds also add Fiber and Proteins... Then there is Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Salmon is great, TONS of Protein and good Omega 3's. Bad thing for me is my tummy doesn't really like Salmon anymore...

You know I don't really measure my daily fat grams - I just know I don't keep them super low. Maybe try upping your water first and see how that works? Figuring this whole thing out is the hardest part I think, but once you find your optimal weight loss zone it's all down from there! Until the next stall of course... LOL!

Hello there vickie, I'm not exactly sure but perhaps its because you are eating your food a bit runny. The more solid you prepare your food, the more restriction you will feel. Of course do not make your food more thick if it not a part of your plan, I'm just speculating. It is a lot different than what I personally experienced. I didn't get to eat oatmeal until over a month out. Good luck!

Hello there Chris! The Pre Op diet is probably one of the most grueling diets you will ever encounter. It's super difficult - and you are going to feel some pretty bad hunger... It would help if I knew what your diet consisted of. If it's the low carb I have a few but if its the liquid diet all I can tell you is, hang in there! Keep pushing and know it does get better after a few days. The first few days are the absolute worst. Just keep reading here, and look through the photo galleries! That is a great motivating tool, that and reading the Success Stories sub section of this site. Stay busy also by getting everything you need for your hospital stay and what you will need post op. There's lots to do to keep your mind occupied. Keep on pushing through! Only a few more days.

Hello Malcolm!! Welcome to VST!! If you're anything like me, I love my sleeve far greater than I did my band. However, I didn't have close to the success you did with yours either. Big congrats for you did exceptionally well with it! Take a look around here, you will find so many of us who have revised. The sleeve by far is everything it's said to be. PS, we also have a Man's section here, since you asked about it.

Hello Rev!!! Wahooo!! Congrats and very best wishes on your upcoming surgery! You will LOVE Dr. A and his team! I'm going back in March to see them and "check in". I've lost almost 60 Lbs since my surgery... I'm sure they'll be amazed!!

Hey Sen, I know this may sound counter productive, but when you are doing very low carbs, you have to eat more fat. Why? Your body is burning all fat for fuel. The more fuel you feed it the higher your metabolism burns. Try to add more healthy fats to your diet, especially if you are keeping your intake to 30g or less of carbs. Give it a week and report back, let me know how it works out! Also lots of Water is essential as well. Try bumping up your intake to about 80 oz to 100 oz per day. I do lowER carbs so I can sufficiently run on lower fats too, however I do not ever keep my fats super low. Good luck!!!

Hello Weight Loss Friends! It has been asked what my daily routine looks like and what is helping me achieve some good success right now. There is a lot so I hope you are prepared for a long read. Also, please remember that everyone will lose weight at different rates, and those dreaded stalls just happen sometimes. Ugh!! I know, I hate them... LOL :-) My Eating: Carbohydrates: Veggies (Green), Complex Carbohydrates, Whole Grain anything (yes even bread), and anything high in fiber. Remember poo weighs a few pounds too!! I don't like ANY kind of extra weight hanging on and I go every single day! :-P And of course fruit. I don't spend a lot of time caring about high sugar fruits or whatever. I already know which ones are and which ones aren't. If say I'm having an orange, it is a higher sugar fruit. I eat half serving instead of a whole serving. However, strawberries I'll eat quite a few because I know it's not that high in sugar. My daily total of carbs is usually from 60g to 100g per day. Protein: I eat Seafood including many types of fish unless its a bottom feeder fish , and Poultry. I also eat eggs. Everything I eat I will prepare it with normally chicken or turkey if it is normally made with beef or pork. I do not eat beef or pork right now while I'm in my weight loss stage. I've never been much of a beef eater anyway so I don't really miss it, but I do miss my pork!! It's funny, the reason I started doing this is because I read a little weight loss plan that mentioned my metabolism is the type that beef and pork will slow down my weight loss. At first I didn't believe it, but since I've stopped eating these meats I've been dropping weight in masses. I won't stop now!! I also drink high quality medical grade protein supplements, especially right after my morning workout. It gets my day started right! In total I'm getting around 80g to 100g protein a day. Fats: I typically make lean meat choices, and choose anything that is lower in fats. That being said, I don't NOT eat fats entirely. I know my body needs this and really when you're doing a low(er) carb type diet, some fats are essential for weight loss. I really honestly have not tallied one time how much fat I'm getting, and right now since I'm losing so well I don't intend to. Now, if I go on a stall of 3 weeks long or more I will probably give it more thought. I normally choose the healthier fats too, if cooking its Extra Virgin Olive Oil and I do take an Omega 3-6-9 horse pill every day. I will indulge in some butter once in awhile. I do not eat margarines or fake butters... ever. Firstly they taste nothing like butter, and second they are filled with some ungodly ingredients. Yeah, I'm thinking a little butter will actually do less damage to my body than synthetic fats. A typical meal for me: I normally will eat around 2-3 oz of meat (protein), about the equivalent of 2 broccoli heads and what turns out to be about 3-4 bites of my carbs. That's pretty much the extent of what my lil tummy can hold right now. It does get bigger as time goes on. At first starting eating solids, I could barely get 1oz of meat and maybe a bite or two of my veggies. I never had room for carbs. Also, since I've put my healthy good carbs back on my plate I've been losing quite well again. I rarely drink while I'm eating. Once in awhile I do to wet my mouth usually but that's the extent of it. However, I will drink fluids all the way up until my mealtime. I have never found this makes me any hungrier any faster. In fact, I'm never even hungry!! Thanks to my sleeve. Meal Schedules: If I workout, I will have one of my protein shakes, and sometimes a half banana with it. For breakfast I normally have a Quaker High Fiber oatmeal packet. Wow!! This stuff really works good I don't typically eat again until lunch. I'll usually have 1-2 oz of protein, some kind of green veggie and a little bit of good carbs. Then again, do no eat until dinner, which is like that mentioned above in the A typical meal for me section. For a nightly snack, I'll sometimes have a serving of Peanuts. I've been loving these since my surgery! Other than that I might have some fruit or maybe a Fiber One bar if I have a chocolate craving. Those things are good! On average I intake about 800 calories on days I don't workout and anywhere from 1200-1400 calories per day on days I do workout. My supplements: I use Unjury or Isopure for my medical grade quality proteins. I also will use some Atkins RTD shakes or EAS Carb Advantage as a baseline for the drinks and add the powders for additional protein. I take Alive! Multi Vitamins and Minerals and one Iron Chew along with a Sublingual B-12 first thing in the morning. 2 hours later, I take 500mg of Calcium citrate, 3mg of Potassium and 5,000 IU of Dry Vitamin D. After lunch I will take 500 mg of Calcium Citrate and my Omega 3-6-9 horse pill. Before bed I take another 500mg of Calcium Citrate, Biotin 2,500mcg and if I don't think I've had enough fiber during the day I'll take 2 Fiber Choice tablets. My workouts: I have a pretty hefty workout schedule. My schedule was once put into question as if I don't really burn the amount of calories I say I do. Well I'm no liar I know that, so what else can it be? LOL Anyway, here is how it goes. I workout 5x per week, morning and night - and my days off are Mondays and Fridays. My early morning workout is ALWAYS done on an empty stomach. This is because the first 15-20 minutes of any workout is always going to be spent burning off the sugar in your blood if you eat anything before hand. This is always my most vigorous workout too! All fat burn baby!! So I start with a 15 minute warm up on my spinner machine, starting of resistance 2 and going up to 6. Immediately after I get on my treadmill for the next 45 Minutes. I am currently doing the C25K plan. I find it very easy going, especially since I have arthritis in both my knees. The last thing I want to do is blow them out before I even have a chance to actually run my 5K!! I have to work on not using my side rails during my running/walking. So far I can do the first 35 minutes before needing to use it. I'm getting better every day. Once my 45 minutes is up, I do a 2 minute cool down (total 47 minutes), then I will do a 10 minute stretch session. This is so important! Anyway I do this all 5 workout days... For my evening workouts: On Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday I'll do a 30 Minute session on my spinner and a 30 Minute session on my elliptical. On Sundays and Thursdays I'll do 30 minutes of calisthenics and about 45 Minutes of resistance band muscle toning. In Closing: So that's all there is to it Anyway I just have my mind really focused right now. I'd love to make my ultimate goal by Sept 15th of this year which will be my one year Sleeversary. My ultimate goal is 154 Lbs which will place me at the highest for a normal BMI. Today I am 216 Lbs and at 34.9 BMI... so just 10 BMI points to go! Not bad when I started with a 53.3 BMI, huh??? Good luck everyone! If you have questions, ask! I'm happy to answer any. xoxo Irene

Thanks for the vote of confidence ladies!! I cannot get anything done unless I keep everything in order. Like they say, A place for everything, and everything in its place!! @ Melissa, you will do fantastic! Just keep reading and learning along here. So many folks are willing to help out. Such a blessing!

Hi Floppie, I chose to only tell my family members and any close friends that had a real interest on my life matters, meaning they would sincerely care whether I lived or died. This did not include work associates or random folks that I only talk to when I see them from time to time and give a smile and a Hello. This is still true today. I just don't feel the need to tell everyone, and that is ok. It's basically up to you, even if your list to maybe tell includes some family and not all. Make a list of positives and negatives should you tell everyone about your WLS. Consider the constant "how much have you lost now?" questions you will get all the time from everyone knowing your situation. It's fun at first but once you hit any long term stalls (if this happens to you) it might wear on you. It's a true and real feeling. I know this from when I was banded and what happened to me. Let it be your journey, I personally do not concern myself too much with how others view me. That is something that one person or various persons will have to deal with within themselves. I can only be me, and that's all I ever will be! Love me or hate me, take me or leave me. Good luck!!

Yayy congrats!!!! It's going to be here very quick! Best advice I can give you is to get as prepared as you possibly can right now. Good luck and stay sane!!

Hello genepha, Have you considered making your powder based home made shakes the night before? I have some Protein shaker bottles that come with whisk springs in them, so when I'm ready to drink it I can shake it up in that. It doesn't taste any worse than if I'd made it right before drinking. Just a thought! Only because I don't really care for many of the RTD's. I prefer making my own.

Hi Sharona, This is very common. The best advice to give is if you notice there is a particular food you "throw up" it's best to let it be and come back to it later down the line. I'd even give it 3-4 weeks time. Our stomachs will let us know if its not ready to handle something. It's best at that point to not push it. Vomiting too much might cause other issues you won't want. Remember to chew as much as you can. When I first started introducing solids back into my diet I took it very slow. I only vomited one time and that was in the hospital the same day as surgery. Good luck!

Hi there redayh, Congrats on your success! How awesome it is to hear the wonderful news, you are 3 years out and still loving your sleeve! I'm also glad to hear you're able to maintain your weight quite easily. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, I hope that you will continue to come around from time to time and help us newbies with questions that may come up.

I started eating real salads at about 3 months post op. I eat the same type as you the mixed baby greens or spinach salads. I have not really had a problem with them, and adding lean white chicken breast works fantastic. I'm more of a well balanced eater I guess, and getting my green veggies is super important for my health. I still get in 80g-100g of Protein daily so I'm not really worried about eating some other things to stay balanced and healthy. Everyone's journey is their own, make the most out of yours!!

Hello Caley! Congrats to you both for taking a step in the right direction to a better and healthier you! You are very lucky that you both will know how and what each other is feeling. I am revised from band to sleeve and I gotta tell ya... best thing I've ever done!! Don't miss my band what so ever. Just keep in mind that you can still vomit with the sleeve, and some even still slime. I have only vomited once in the hospital and never again, and have not slimed once... but... some still have. That being said, the threshold for food is much better than the band!! You can eat healthier foods without much pain if you eat slowly at first and chew chew chew. You also don't need to chew your food to a liquid once you get a few months out anymore. Good luck!!!

Hello Papi Chulo, Congrats on your surgery! It will definitely be worth the first few weeks of pain and any kind of misery you might go through at that time. As far as exercise it's best to take it easy for the first 6 weeks. Walking is fine, but I think pushing yourself on the elliptical might be a bit much right now. That's good though you are ready and willing!! There will be plenty of time once you're completely healed to get on the Workout Wagon. For now, rest, sip and walk!!!

Per my understanding the main concern with most surgeons on chewing gum is the fact you can swallow it. My surgeon never said I couldn't chew gum, so I do. I've never swallowed my gum before and don't intend to now... LOL!

Hey Becca, I've heard lots of others mention an intolerance to hamburger meat, so you are not alone. I haven't personally encountered anything that made me slime or vomit, but I have become lactose intolerant quite badly post op. I had a pretty bad reaction to it. It's pretty normal I guess to find something our sleeves just no longer like. It doesn't mean its forever either, your stomach needs more time - I say try again next month. It very well could work for you then.

The further you are out of surgery the easier it is to consume larger amounts of water. I make sure I take my sips during my workout throughout so I don't feel like I'm dying of thirst, causing me to take unnecessarily large gulps. I can get down 20 oz or more in an hour workout quite easily.

Hiya Jes!!! Wow look at you!! You look great, and shrinking away!

I can already see a very considerable difference. Keep up the fabulous work you two!!!