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Why on earth would you be weighing yourself immediately after surgery? Put that scale away until at least the start of your third week post op! Most of us gain weight in the hospital, because being on an IV will do that to a person. Anesthesia is hard on the body. Just the general shock of slicing your body open and removing most of an organ will mess with your system. I didn't lose any weight my first month until more than two weeks after surgery. I had a big drop that month, followed by about a 5.5 pound loss per month after that, on average. Relax and worry about getting in your liquids. The losses will come later, I promise. ~Cheri

It's not uncommon to be incredibly nervous prior to a major surgery. At eighteen, I doubt you've had a lot of experience with this. You really will be fine. It's a scary thing but so incredibly worth it. I wish that I'd had this surgery when I was eighteen, instead of just before I turned thirty! Age shouldn't affect your surgical outcome but you might bounce back faster post op just because you're younger. Everyone is different! I only had one really rough day post op. I was uncomfortable for a while but I don't even think I took pain pills for a week. It's a huge decision and it's going to change your entire life. Trust your surgeon to take care of you and follow his/her guidelines to avoid complications. Best of luck. You're going to do just fine. ~Cheri

Congrats, keep up the great work! ~Cheri

It's the only time (other than when I really work my rear off at the gym) when I feel hungry. It's all head hunger, but man is it ever intense. I agree with Diva - it's not that I have less restriction, it's that I'm eating pure crap that slides right on through. The good news is that it usually only gets me for one day and the weight never hangs around after my cycle is over. ~Cheri

I didn't care for it but everyone has different tastes. I'd visit a site like Vitalady and order a bunch of samples so you can try everything before you buy. My favorite unflavored (and I've tried five or six of them) is Integrated supplements. In the can it has that Protein smell but I drink two scoops some mornings in coffee or tea and don't even know it's there. I mix it in Soup, too. It doesn't clump in very warm liquids, either, which is a huge plus. It's pricier but we now keep Kosher so it's worth the expense to me. My least favorite unflavored protein was unjury. I couldn't add more than a Tbs. to anything or it changed the flavor. I'm lactose intolerant and I never mix my Protein Powder with milk. I do like to use plain soymilk, though, so you might try that to cut some of the sweet. I make my own but I'm sure there's a brand you could try if you don't like mixing with Water, coffee or tea. Good luck! ~Cheri

Aw, Coops. I'm so sorry for you and for his family. Losing a child is a horrible, terrible thing. The only benefit I took from it is the same as what you're taking away from losing your student: the knowledge that we never know what will happen tomorrow, so we need to live today to the fullest. I hope you can provide comfort to your grieving students. ~Cheri

I don't really worry about fat grams much at all. I used myfitnesspal to track and so long as I wasn't "in the red" on my fat totals for the day I didn't worry about it. It's hard to keep your fats down on a Protein based diet! And fats aren't our enemy, either. Post op you might have issues with dry hair, skin and nails. Think about how much fat you ate pre-op and you will probably realize that even eating more fats now that you'd like, you're still nowhere near your earlier totals. We need fat, at least in moderation. We need fat to absorb certain nutrients from our food. It makes us feel satisfied after a meal, and it makes our food taste better. So look up what the percentage of fat should be for your calorie intake and start there. Don't go low-fat everything, it's not good for you! Eat that chicken, it sounds like a good option. ~Cheri

I wouldn't do it anywhere near the first two months post op. You definitely don't want to screw with that staple line. Pre-op I couldn't care less about popcorn. Now it's my favorite snack. Everyone's doc has different advice on this one, so maybe check with your surgeon. Some folks are told not to eat it for six months, some are never warned about it at all. My only warning would be that you should measure portions accordingly. I can only eat one egg if I'm eating regular food but I can eat 2-3 cups of popcorn. I could probably eat more, but once I've had that much I'm not really in the mood for popcorn anymore. It is a trigger food for me, however. If I have it one night, I want it every night. I have to budget it in and only indulge once a week or I have a problem. I also prefer to pop my own as I can not only control how much salt/butter are used but it tastes better. I find that I way overdo it on the bagged junk but if I make my own it tastes better and I'm satisfied faster. ~Cheri

I tried dozens and dozens of Protein drinks until I found one I did like. I don't just make sweet shakes, either. I mix protein (flavored or unflavored) with coffee, tea, juice, etc. I drink them warm or cold. I need the variety or I get sick of them. Honestly, I hardly know I'm drinking protein in my coffee or tea anymore. I could not personally hit my protein goals (90+ grams a day) without shakes. I mix two scoops of protein into my morning coffee or tea and I'm more than halfway to my protein goals before lunch. It works for me. So my first recommendation would be to keep trying shakes. Vitalady does samples and I found that invaluable when I couldn't choke any of the shakes down in the early days. I just kept trying until I found things I like. These days I love Integrated supplements unflavored protein and the nectar Vanilla Bean Torte the best, but I've gone through several different brands in the last year and a half. That said, you do have other options. Before I developed lactose intolerance my very favorite way to get protein was cottage cheese. Tuna is fantastic, too. Actually, just about any fish is great. I can eat more of it per sitting and it's packed with protein. I still, at 19 months out, have trouble eating more than 2-3 oz. of dense protein in one sitting. I have to snack on Jerky and hardboiled eggs to keep my counts up. Keep trying. Protein is important. I lost a lot of hair until I realized how deficient I was in this respect. It all came back once I got my act together. ~Cheri

It's frustrating, and I'm glad you got the chance to vent and were able to take something from the cheerleading of others here. We all want to be the person to hit goal in nine months. We daydream about our lives post op and want to be in those skinny pants ASAP but it doesn't always work that way. It took me 17 months to get to goal. If you average out my losses I lost just over 6 pounds a month...that's less than 2 pounds a week, by the way! Goal is awesome no matter how long it takes you to get there, so try to be patient. We all understand how aggravating that scale can be. We opted for a drastic surgery and want immediate, drastic results. Well, I got the results, it just took longer than I wanted. And that's okay. I learned a lot on this journey and I think it was better for me to have the slow loss as it gave me time to do the mental and emotional work while I was losing. Keep the positive attitude, because you'll need it in the months to come. It's worth the time and effort you put into this, and believe me - you'll be posting in just a few months about how you're more than halfway to goal. Every pound you lose now, however slowly, is one that's gone for good. ~Cheri

Yes, you got great info from OregonDaisy. It does stretch, but not in any way like the pouch in a bypass patient can stretch. I'm 19 months out and have more restriction than some folks here, based upon what I've read. I can eat (in one sitting): 1 hardboiled egg or 1 scrambled egg with 2 Tbs. cheese 2-3 oz. dense Protein, 2-3 bites of veg., 2-3 bites of carb/starch (but only if that's ALL I eat for the meal) 1/2 a meat sandwich/cheeseburger (with only a bottom bun) 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich and 1/2 cup of Soup (if it's a liquid/cream soup) 1 cookie 2-3 cups of popcorn So as you see, my sleeve has stretched enough that I'm eating more than four ounces of Protein shake at a meal. However, I'd have to concentrate really hard on eating to gain a serious amount of weight. If your main concern is being able to maintain the smaller portions in the long run, then you really don't have that much to worry about with the sleeve. That said, if you make poor food choices long term or overeat regularly you can and will gain weight. Learning how to eat responsibly and healthily is a must, especially with a restriction-only procedure like the sleeve. ~Cheri

It took me a lot longer to get to goal than a lot of folks and for the first six months or so I drove myself CRAZY comparing my results to everyone else's, changing up my diet every time I had a stall and basically just freaking out thinking that I wasn't ever going to get to goal. It took me 17 months to get to goal but I was within 20 pounds of goal for six months. So around ten months to one year out I was feeling very good about myself, considering myself a success and not too worried about getting all the way to goal. Getting here was S-L-O-W work my body really just didn't want to lose that last 20 pounds. At that point I wasn't willing to fuss with my diet too much, I just kept plugging away and the weight kept slowly falling off. Now that I'm at goal my body absolutely refuses to lose another pound. If it happens it will happen very, very slowly. I weigh daily to keep myself accountable (so I won't slip into denial about my eating habits or weight) and I'm anywhere from 134-137 on any given day (depending on my time of the month) and I think that's perfectly normal. Good luck, and don't let that scale own you. It's hard to get to the point where you can remain optimistic even on days when you don't lose, or when you have a small bounce up. Just stay calm in the knowledge that there is very little you could possibly do and gain weight at this point! Heck, I'm 19 months out in two days and there's very little I could even do to make myself gain more than one pound. ~Cheri

I'm nearly 19 months out and I eat like a normal person. I consume around 1200 calories a day of whatever I feel like eating. I aim for 90+ grams of Protein and an equal amount of carbohydrates. Now, I did have my metabolism tested and for me, this range of calories is suitable as I could expect to gain on anything over 1300 calories without stepping up my exercise. I didn't get to the point where I could even dream of consuming more than 1000 calories a day until one year post op, though. For much of the first year I was hardly able to consume 800 calories a day, and it was a real chore to do that much. I don't exactly graze but I do think I eat more like six tiny meals than three regular ones. I'm happy with that. Since hitting goal I haven't needed to record my food yet as I never see more than a pound and a half +/- on the scale. I'm happy where I'm at and I feel normal. I do eat half a sandwich and feel satisfied. If I push myself, I can eat a half cup of Soup with the sandwich, too, provided the sandwich is grilled cheese or something else without meat. Cake bores me post op, so I don't even need the whole slice - just a bite or two and I'm good. There is only one food that I want to eat by the bucket and it's popcorn. And honestly, after about 2-3 cups of it I'm done eating it, anyway. It's the only food I want to eat 2-3 cups of, though! My feeling is that if you do the head work as your body is losing the weight you'll get to goal and find you have a healthy relationship with food. I started out post op really restricting carbs and calories and found that just like prior to surgery food was ruling my life. I was thinking about it all the time and making myself crazy. Once I got to the realization that the diet mentality had to end and accepted that I'd lose weight more slowly than I had imagined prior to surgery, I was able to slowly but happily drop the rest of the weight over the course of 17 months. I feel that part of the reason to choose such a drastic surgery is to drop the diet mentality forever. I wanted a diet I could live with, and I sacrificed getting to goal in nine months to have that. I still got to goal and trust me, it's just as fabulous as it would have been had I done it in half the time. For those of us that don't feel hunger and have huge restriction it's more of a challenge to eat than you think. I still rely heavily on Protein shakes or I'd never reach my protein goals. I still have a hard time eating more than 2-3 ounces of protein in one sitting, or anything more than one scrambled egg with some cheese. ~Cheri

I had the ability to go wherever I wanted because I was lucky enough to get an unsecured loan through my bank to cover the expense. We have Tricare which does not cover the sleeve and we were not close enough to any Military Treatment Facility doing the procedure on their own. I researched three doctors and quickly narrowed it down to two: Dr. Nick Nicholson (in Plano, TX) and Dr. Aceves (in Mexicali). For me it came down to bang for my buck, honestly. I had two great surgeons to choose from and both offices were great at responding to my questions and putting me at ease with my choice of surgery. However, I ultimately chose to go with Dr. Aceves. The sheer number of absolutely glowing reviews really swayed me, as did the fact that I got more than twice the amount of time in the hospital for half the price. I flew all the way from Germany to San Diego just to see Dr. Aceves and I don't regret my decision one bit! Oh yeah, and one big factor for choosing Dr. Aceves? No hoops to jump through! I filled out my paperwork, picked my surgery date and booked my flight. Easy-peasy. I feel awful for the folks that go through six or more months of fighting their insurance companies just to get denied. Good luck with your decision. If my insurance would have covered the procedure I would have tried that first. If they jerked me around too much I would have gotten impatient and self-paid, anyway, I think. ~Cheri

Put that scale away! You just had surgery and are going to make yourself crazy for no good reason. It's going to take your body a while to adjust and get used to the program now that you've gone and removed 85% of your stomach. I dropped all of my first month weight in the last two weeks of the month. Any number of factors could cause a small bounce up on the scale and after a few months you're going to understand when to expect it and you'll figure out why it happens to you. The entire time I was loosing was a cycle of short stalls with rapid losses and I gained weight every single month around my period, too. Right now all liquids are liquids and you should be sipping something all day long. I had trouble with plain Water and drank room temp Crystal Light, warm Soup and unjury for the first few weeks. Everything you put in your body counts towards your liquid intake goals. Don't expect to get much of anything in for a while, and don't beat yourself up over it, either. It's hard in the beginning! I didn't regularly hit my Protein, liquid AND calorie goals until about 4-6 months out. You are not going to fail. You just removed most of your stomach and can't even drink half a cup of water in one sitting! This isn't a race and the weight won't drop off overnight. Take it easy, don't stress yourself out and let yourself heal. And put that darn scale away until three weeks out from surgery! You're going to stall once you hit mushies anyway and it will frustrate you to no end. Guess what, though? In four months you're going to be posting about how much weight you've lost and how your clothes are too big. Give it time. Good luck, and speedy healing. ~Cheri

Congrats! Me, too, and it's one of the major reasons I opted for surgery. Enjoy these successes - they're the reasons we had surgery, and will help us live longer, happier lives. ~Cheri

I was a 40 DD/DDD prior to surgery and I'm at goal and wear a 32/34 D now. That said, the girls ain't pretty! It's not so bad that I can't pull it off in my clothes and still look my normal, busty self. But out of clothes it's rough. They're not dreadfully saggy but they're just not what I'm used to having. Prior to surgery I could bounce around the house in no bra and nobody would know the difference! Now if I don't wear a bra they're halfway down my chest. Surgery is definitely in my future and my husband is on board with me considering implants as well. I always had large breasts for my frame so I don't think it's unreasonable and I think that if I went with just a lift I'd be unhappy. I may have cursed my large chest many times in the past but the fact is that they sprouted when I was ten and there is no doubt that having a small chest would be a difficult adjustment. I'd like to be a D or a very full C after they're upright and perky again. ~Cheri

AH! I am so glad I'm not the only one that does this! I've bought more shoes in the last six months than I bought in the previous three years! But I'm at goal, half the size I was a year and a half ago and heels are just so much more comfortable these days. However, if I keep this up I'm going to need a separate closet for all of my shoes! I also shop (probably a little too much) because that exhilarating feeling of fitting in a size small is still there every single time I try something on. I knit. I bake, then eat one cookie or croissant and give the rest away. I read. I go dancing with my husband, something I was always too embarrassed to do before. I play with my four year old twins more than I ever could before. Basically, I live life, and I live it happily. I still enjoy food - at least the first two bites or so. It doesn't rule my life anymore and I don't spend hours of my day thinking about what I'm going to eat or agonizing that I can't eat because I'm on a diet. All of that time I used to spend thinking about food and eating is spent being a normal person. It's awesome. ~Cheri

At this point in the game I'd be amazed if you manage to get even close to 1,000 calories in a day, anyway! It took me until about four months to be able to consistently hit 700-800 calories a day and to even get close to my nutritional goals. I'm often in the minority here, but my belief is that we should eat as much like normal people as we can. So restrict your calories and set nutritional goals (mine was 90+ grams Protein, 800-900 calories a day, 75-100 carbs) and worry about meeting them. I cannot deny that eating only 40 grams of carbs and 500 calories a day will provide fast results, but I don't think it's any healthier than going on a crazy fad diet, either. You can either restrict like crazy out of the gate and learn to eat like a regular person with no food issues later, or you can slowly learn the ropes from the get go. I'd personally aim for 800 calories a day, at least 75 grams of protein and a reasonable amount of carbohydrates. You may not lose weight as quickly but you won't have the bounce back or food issues once you get to goal, either. The best way to know what to do is to track everything that goes in your mouth religiously and adjust as needed if you aren't seeing results. Be wary of drastically changing your diet if you hit a slow month or a stall, though. You just had a major surgery and removed most of your stomach. Short of eating gallons of ice cream a day, there isn't exactly much you can do to make yourself NOT lose, now is there? Good luck, ~Cheri

Incorporate shakes now so you get used to them being part of your diet. They should be for a long time. I'm a year and a half out and still have one daily because my restriction is still so much that it's hard to eat all of the Protein I need. I'd start scaling back your portions and I'd even start recording my food to get in the habit. But I wouldn't go crazy and jump into things as if you have the sleeve already. You don't. The reality is that any food you're eating right now can also be eaten post op. There should not be a single "Oh, I'll never eat this again" food, unless you're unlucky enough to develop lactose intolerance. And even that fades a bit as time goes on, so foods I had to avoid for a year or so are now okay in small portions. You should be trying to learn to eat things in moderation and eating in the proper order (protein, veggies, carbs/starches) but the rest is going to be forced on you after surgery, anyway. Very few people even WANT to eat post op! My opinion has always been that pre-op is a better time to work on head issues than stomach issues. Record your eating habits, your triggers, your feelings when you eat. Sounds silly, but all of us have to do this post op. I think a lot of us fool ourselves into thinking that our weight issues are purely medical, or that our only issue is that we eat bad foods occasionally. A number of us are overeaters, emotional eaters, bingers, lifelong dieters - a lot of us have underlying head issues that helped us get fat in the first place. Start thinking about these things now, because I promise that if you want to be a totally healthy person post op, you're going to be thinking about it and coming to terms with things eventually! So no, don't go overboard on the food funeral. That said, I honestly feel that this is something that we all do to some extent! Good luck! ~Cheri

It's all about putting our losses in perspective. Congrats on breaking your stall. Continue to do the right things and you'll achieve your goal easily. I lost nothing pre-op and my only big loss was my first month. If you average out my results, I lost just over six pounds a month. However, there were a number of 3-6 week stalls in there. Relax and enjoy the process. If you put it in perspective you'll realize that this is totally unlike any diet you've ever done before. Every pound you're losing now, however slowly, is one that is never coming back. I'd take slow and steady over heavy any day. Good luck, and keep up the good work. We're here to listen, to motivate and to help each other through this journey. ~Cheri

I brew the coffee into a measuring cup and add one ice cube, bringing it down from scalding hot to something more manageable. Then I pour it into my shaker cup (I use one with a wire ball) and add my Protein powder and usually a little cold creamer, too. I shake it all up, taking a break to pop the lid of the shaker cup halfway through so it won't explode on me. No clumps, no fuss! Nice hot coffee, too. If you're someone that needs to drink scalding hot lava coffee it won't work for you, but I never touch my coffee until I won't burn myself, anyway. :smile1: ~Cheri

Love the vanilla Bean Torte and Latte Cappuccino flavors in my morning coffee! I make a 16 oz. coffee/protein drink every morning - sometimes iced, sometimes hot and it definitely helps keep the weight off and my Protein intake up. ~Cheri

Yes, check into the PPI. And don't forget that we really do rely on our Protein shakes a lot for the first six to nine months. Even if you're eating protein all day long it's very hard to reach those nutritional goals while your sleeve is new and you can't eat much. Focus on getting in fluids and protein - that should be the most important thing right now. On average, I lost just over six pounds a month after the initial month. Yes, your loss is slow but that's how it is for some of us! Also consider your starting weight - if you had less than 100 pounds to lose it's not surprising that it would come off more slowly. Just hang in there, keep doing the right things and you will lose the weight. ~Cheri