Rainydayz

Oh honey, don't feel bad. You're just beginning! I'm at 100 lbs. down now and I just am starting to think I look better in clothes. I started in size 24 and now I'm in 16. But it took several months before I needed a new size. My old clothes were mostly stretchy so I was just not stretching them as much but could still wear them. Don't get down. You're doing great. Just think - that's 67 lbs. that you wouldn't have lost otherwise and it only gets better. Measure and take pictures. You will be amazed in a few months!

I posed some pics here a while back. I will get some more up soon now that I'm in a smaller size. My best advice is to be really patient when adding food to your diet afterwards. Follow your plan - Protein first, carbs last. Don't rush it. Always undereat your sleeve. I mean stop before you get full and wait a few minutes. It always surprises me when I do that. If I still feel a little hungry when I stop eating, a few minutes later I'm perfectly satisfied and glad I didn't keep eating. Also exercise. That is the key when you get further out. Good luck!! Oh, and my surgery was June 2011.

So is this OK? http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/health-reform-and-texas/victoria-hospital-wont-hire-very-obese-workers/

It's been pretty hot here lately and I've done a lot of yard work. I get really thirsty. So i come in and take a few gulps of water. But then I get really nauseated for a few minutes. Could it be just that I got too hot or is that normal when drinking too much too fast?

You don't have to look far at all to find these and other mistakes. It can be entertaining. There have been some very funny posts here. I try not to get hung up on the mistakes that others make when trying to communicate in an informal setting. I can't imagine my worst pet peeve being someone who uses the wrong word or spells it incorrectly. As long as I understand their meaning then I usually don't give it much thought. I try not to criticize because I know I have made some pretty stupid mistakes when my fingers go faster than my brain, and I don't want to be criticized. Now, if we were in a class or you turned in copy for me to edit - that would be different. There would be proofreaders' marks all over this forum!

I got the sample pack and so far I've had Perfect chocolate, Milk Chocolate, vanilla and mint cookie. They are really good. Even better than the Syntrax. Especially the vanilla in my iced coffee. I may be ordering that one next time. The mint cookie is good but almost too sweet. The perfect chocolate seemed to have a little of an aftertaste, but not bad. Milk Chocolate tastes just like chocolate milk. And I mixed it with Water. It mixes well in a shaker cup. A lot better than the stuff I got at Walmart (Body Fortress). No yucky clumps or gritty-ness. They do have a few more calories and carbs than Syntrax. They are between 110 - 140 cal and 2-6 grams of carbs and 23 g. Protein per scoop. The ingredients are: Protein blend (whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, egg albumin, hydrolyzed wheat gluten), natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, salt, acesulfame-K, sucralose, FD&C red #40. Got them at Bariatric Pantry. About $20 for the sample pack. The 28 serving tub costs about $25 + shipping.

What was the question again? No really, I haven't noticed any memory loss. In fact I was much more of a scatterbrain during my pregnancies than I am now.

I know this thread is a few days old - but I was wondering how OP is doing with the 1/2 shake at night? In my first few months I almost had a shake after dinner. It's the only way I got in enough protein and it kept me from craving dessert (which is something I used to always have and what got me in this shape to start with!) Now sometimes I have one, sometimes I don't. Anytime I find myself craving chocolate (read TOM) I go for one. Much better than the Reeses and ice cream I used to go for!

I know obesity help has an active VSG board.

I've never seen a list of alcohol we can drink. Most people here will tell you none at all. I was a big drinker in my younger days. Now I drink white wine or a whiskey sour with sugar-free mixer. Bourbon is my fave liquor. I can drink it straight but it does burn a little. I like Master of Mixes lite sweet and sour mixer. It has 8 carbs and 10 calories per serving. So one drink has about 110 calories. I don't get any more intoxicated on the amount I drink. It seems to be about the same as it used to. I wish I was one of those who could nurse one drink all night and be buzzed but I'm not. Just goes to show how everyone is different and you really don't know how something will affect you. Oh, btw, my usual disclaimer: When I do drink my weight loss slows. So just keep that in mind as something to watch out for.

I don' know if it's bad for the sleeve, but the last time I craved lemons like that I was pregnant! Just sayin.

My fave is Syntrax nectar chocolate Truffle. The fruit flavors were good to me right after surgery, I just mixed with Water. I might order another sampler and experiment with smoothies by adding fruit and ice. I like the Body fortress from walmart but it is a little gritty at the end.

Charleston Chews! I found the hubby's stash! A handful of chewy ooie gooey and chocolate. My tummy wasn't happy with me afterward.

Sounds like a stall to me. My loss has always done that - Down 2 lbs., back up 1 lb, down 4 lbs. back up 2 lbs. and so on. At least the net is a loss and that's what we want!

Sorry, I haven't read all the responses - but just wanted to respond to the OP: I can't imagine quitting both smoking and overeating at the same time. When I quit smoking it was extremely hard. I did gain weight. I was miserable. If I had been trying to lose weight at the same time I may have become suicidal. As it was I was pretty close to being homicidal! I don't know the medical terms and labels for what qualifies as an addition, but I can tell this anecdotal evidence from my own experience (and this is me and just me I'm speaking for). It has been so much harder to quit overeating and using food as a drug than it was to quit smoking. Please do quit completely at some point. But discuss with your doctors the best way. Maybe a drug will help or maybe the electronic cigarettes, whatever. But I wouldn't beat myself up over a puff or two.

Before I tried swallowing pills I used UpCal. It's powder - you can mix it in water or just eat the powder like Pixie Stix. It's good. I got mine on Amazon.

I get the TOM cravings from hell too. I try to keep things like Carb Smart ice cream bars, salted edemame, peanuts, cheese crisps, etc. around to satisfy me. When you're not in hell week make a list of healthy or not-too-unhealthy things you think might be good for that week and stock up. And the best thing about the sleeve to me is that we can stumble here and there, but it doesn't mean we slide all the way back!

I'm addicted!

That's the most sensible thing I've seen you post yet. Good for you! Here's hoping everything turns around for you!

Honey, I tried to understand what you're going through and tried to offer a helpful suggestion. But you seem too caught up in the hating to even notice when you're getting good advice. It tells me that you don't really want good advice or sympathy, you simply seem to want to stir up crap. Is this how you entertain yourself?

I've never heard that caffeine makes you hungry. Interesting. It always has the opposite effect on me. I drink coffee with protein powder for breakfast on work mornings. It keeps me satisfied until lunch or sometimes even longer and I forget to eat lunch. I make sure to drink a lot of water too.

OK, I can now see this thread was started by either a troll or someone who is so far up their own butt that they can't see daylight. He responds to the people trying to be funny or mean but doesn't acknowledge people honestly trying to be helpful.

Sorry you're not happy with your surgery. Can you share what your surgeon's eating plan is at 40 days out? Does he/she say you should be able to eat a cheeseburger? I am 8 months out and still don't eat the bread on a burger but I can eat a 3 oz. patty with cheese. Maybe we can offer some alternatives that would fit with your eating plan.

I started looking into the lapband a few years ago. I went to seminars and started reading. Last year I started reading the boards where lapbanders were talking about the problems they were having. I saw where many were going to get revisions to the sleeve. So I started researching it. I went to a support group that had people who had different kinds of wls. I read medical journal articles and studies, read all the boards for all the WLS and even joined a militant anti-weight loss surgery group on Yahoo to see if they could talk me out of it. Even after all that I decided the sleeve was the best choice for me. I love that it is permanent. There is no constant adjusting. There is no food I can't eat - only in limited quantities. After the initial healing period there is very little risk of a leak. I don't have to dread the day in a few years when the band will have to removed due to slipping, eroding or leaking. The band doesn't last forever. You will have to make a decision at some point in the future to have it removed (and risk regaining all the weight), having it replaced (with all the same risks) or going over to another kind of WLS. And removing it can cause damage. Just ask some of the people here that have experienced that. I had lost a lot of weight before but gained it all back and more. I know I needed something permanent. The bypass wasn't my choice because of malabsorption. I HATE taking Vitamins and barely manage what I have to take now, so I feel I would be in trouble with deficiencies if I went that way. Plus I've known some people that had bypasses and gained a lot of weight back. Good luck and good for you in trying to be well-informed.

Mine started around 4 1/2 months and lasted about 2 months. I noticed more hair on my brush and on my hands after putting in conditioner etc. and around the house. My part looked a little wider but other than that you couldn't tell anything. I'm not seeing much falling out now (8 months out). Don't freak out too bad. Maybe you'll be lucky!