want2bthin

I haven't been on this site for a long time, but I do plan on changing that. I recently started a blog on my whole WLS journey - I am 5 years out from VSG; lost 152 lbs and have kept it off for over four years now. I wrote a post specific to my NSVs and since it's quite long, rather than copy it here I'll share this link instead. http://wlsnetwork.com/nsvs/ Main Site: http://wlsnetwork.com/ Please feel free to comment here or on my blog and check out the whole blog to learn more. Please feel free to share with others and join our Facebook group, etc. if you like what you see.

I also liked all the ones that were already mentioned. Body Fortress is very good and reasonably priced. I often added Torani syrups to it or fresh fruit. I used milk - it gives you more Protein anyway - and I often used Almond Milk - a little less protein but also fewer calories. I liked the Syntrax Roadside Lemonade when I wanted something a little different. There is a good deal you can get with them for a set of samples - I think you get 14 - and it was good to try them all. I bought it almost two years ago now so don't remember the details but I'm sure if you search the forums or even Google it you will find it. It's a one time deal. The Premier ready made shakes were perfect to take on the road with me. There were many times where we were heading out and I wasn't sure when or where we would be eating so I would keep one in the car at all times. I also would grab for a quick Breakfast when we wanted to 'get up and go' and I just didn't feel like really eating (believe it or not, you'll understand after better after surgery). Then there is unjury unflavored. I bought a tub of both that as well as their chicken Soup. The soup was very good again when I wanted something different. You should be able to get sample packs to try first too. I was fortunate that my surgeon gave me some before I ordered the whole tub (even though their tub is half the size of many). Lastly one that I only tried recently but have enjoyed is Bari-wise - their hot chocolate and their chocolate shake/pudding mix. They have a little less protein than the others but are pretty tasty and low calorie - mix with Water, so good for a protein 'bump up' if you are running low against your target some days. Hope this helps...

Sorry to hear it didn't go as well as you hoped. It certainly sounds like you have had a tough time with the Band so you must be very glad to have it out. I did not have erosion and I'm no Dr. but I'm not sure that I see why he thinks bypass would be a better choice. I know there are a lot of revision patients here who did have erosion so it would be helpful for you to learn about their experiences. I have 'heard' that many surgeons now are trending towards doing sleeve vs. bypass due to the great success of the sleeve and less invasive surgery. Of course based on my own success I completely agree with that but ask 10 other people and you're likely to get 10 other opinions. You are in the right place to get more opinions and 'real life' experiences and input. I'm sure you can find people who have been revised from both Lapband and even Sleeve in gastric bypass forums. As we all know no one surgery is foolproof - I know people who have been successful at all of them and also people who have gained back a good amount of weight with all of them. The fact that you had physical complications is the thing I would worry the most about. A Hiatal Hernia is very common - I learned after surgery that I had a small one which they repaired during the my sleeve surgery. Did this surgeon look at the particular spot where the band eroded? I suppose depending on the location that could play into his opinion. What has your preferred surgeon said and, even though he has less experience with the sleeve than others has he consulted with other sleeve experts? That's the sort of thing I would be looking into. Ultimately you decide but it definitely sounds like whichever way you go it has to be better than your experience with the Band. I wish you all the best!!

Please try not to be disappointed - I know that can be easier said than done but you have lost 30 lbs!!! I've seen many people definitely go through some plateaus and so I suggest you study what you are eating to look for clues. Are you eating enough for instance? If you are eating higher carbs cut back on them; if you aren't drinking 100+ oz of Water a day that is the #1 thing I would suggest you try and see if it doesn't give you a jumpstart. What helped me is that knowing that this was a matter of physics - there was no way I could eat so little and not lose weight - some weeks were better than others of course and it's hard not to be disappointed in the weeks when you lose little or nothing. This is a huge lifestyle change so keep following your program. I originally did not cut back on carbs but as months went by I realized that weeks when I did I had better losses so that encouraged me to keep them down. I knew it was only temporary and that helped put it in perspective. And I learned that the less I had them the less I craved them. Ironically now I eat them more because if I didn't I would keep losing and I don't want to do that - I'm still 6 lbs under my goal. There's lots of good advice on these forums and many others going through what you are so you can get some real good ideas. One other thing I did was to try new recipes here and there and that helped. One of my favorite breakfasts became cream cheese pancakes and I enjoyed and still enjoy a lot of Soups. I also typically eat greek yogurt every morning for Breakfast when I'm home. My favorite is light and lively blends - the coconut flavor to be exact. shake things up so you don't get bored with a routine. You're off to a great start having lost 30 lbs so the best is yet to come!! Congrats!!

I understand how you feel about the gain. I know others like us who are at the 2 year mark and they have gained 10+ lbs. Right now on my Facebook group several of them are trying the 5 day pouch test together and others are going back to their pre or stage 1 post op diets. I think the key is to 'nip it in the bud' and I know you can do that. Being 20 lbs from goal is amazing - think about it. I think that sometimes we have to think in the third person so to speak - if I told you I was 20 lbs from goal and had lost 60 I bet you would be telling me the same thing - talk to yourself like that. I do know that those last 20 lbs are definitely a lot harder than the first 20 but just remember it's a matter of time. You can and will get there. I encourage you to shake things up for even just a week and try my 40/60/100 plan or your pre or post op plans. If you aren't already drinking 100+ oz of Water a day and you do nothing else give that a try too. I think that higher threshold really makes a big difference then the standard 8 glasses we have been taught we should drink forever. Congrats on being 2 years out - I know you will get to your goal -- you can do this!!! All the Best!

Congrats to you on your surgery. I know those first 4-6 weeks were the toughest. And if you can't take in 100 oz of water yet do not despair - just work towards increasing week after week. I doubt I could drink that much that early out myself but I did work on upping it each week. For me what worked best was using a 24 oz water bottle and WalMart brand 'Crystal Light'. I bought the individual packets in various flavors and each morning I take out four packets and then fill up that bottle four times using different flavors each time. My favorite is their Fruit Punch - and I like the Walmart brand better than Crystal Light so along with saving $$ that's another plus. I carry packets in my purse at all times. I know that technically 24 times 4 = 96 but I also got in other liquids through the shakes or additional cups of water during the day. I honestly think that the 100 oz mark makes a huge difference - if there was only one change you could do that is the one I would suggest trying first. I wish you all the best and continued success in your journey. You are well on your way!!!

Wow - Congratulations to you -- reaching 100 lbs was definitely a huge milestone and I realize you may have even met that since writing this or, if not, you will soon. Isn't it just amazing... I definitely learned for myself that the lower carbs worked better for me in terms of losing faster. I would still lose but I hoped for at least 10 lbs a month on average and it seemed I didn't get that if I didn't eat lower carbs. In fact I have to say that this was the first time in my life that I truly realized how evil carbs were and how addicted to them I was though I always knew I had a sweet tooth. Oddly now I do not worry about them at all but I think that's also because I just naturally cannot eat much of them. A few bites of bread or Pasta and I'm stuffed and I don't touch rice. Rice was one thing my Lapband never tolerated so if anything I would say over the last 2 years I may have had a few bites here or there. You are doing fantastic and I'm so happy to hear about your success!!

I know how difficult the waiting can be so hang in there. I submitted my appeals mostly over that I didn't think I should have to go through the 6 months pre-op diet that my insurance wanted me to do again since obviously I had to do that prior to my Lapband surgery and, in effect, I felt like I had been on a 'diet' for the last 6 years while having the Lapband. Well since it took 3 appeals in the end I think I was just shy of six months when I finally won the appeals. It was draining but it added all the more to my determination. I had so much encouragement from others who already had the surgery - that I should use the time to continue to do research and ask questions and learn from others. And that before long I would be on the 'losing side' -- and they were so right. You'll get through this too - keep your eye on the prize

before you were sleeved did you have any doubts that you would be able to stick to the program as strict as you did? I'm sure I had some doubts but I think more than that I had tons of determination. I honestly think that being a failed Lapband patient gave me - and still gives me - more determination then ever to succeed. I think only those who have been there -- which is I expect most of the people in this particular forum - can understand that. With the exception of my morbid obesity I always considered myself to be a successful and goal driven woman. I dealt with failing on numerous diets over many many years and while I wasn't happy with that the magnitude of the failure I felt at failing after Lapband surgery was at least 10 time worse and I never want to feel that way again. It took just about six months for me to get approval and I took advantage of that time by doing a lot of research and reading here and on obesityhelp.com to mentally prepare myself. Thankfully my surgeon's pre-op diet was not as strict as many others I've read about in that it was not a completely liquid diet. Two meals were shakes but one was a regular diet type meal with Protein, veggies and a starch. The two weeks that I was on it prior to surgery all I would think about was how far I had come to get there and there was no turning back. That's probably one thing I did not stress enough in terms of what I did right - or that went right -- the selection of my surgeon (Dr. Robert Marema @ US Bariatrics) and the fact that the program is a Center of Excellence. I cannot rave enough about him and the entire practice. We have a separate Facebook group and monthly support meetings so I continue to be in contact with them to this day. I can call or email at any time - the staff is incredible. The whole pre and post op programs are phenomenal. There was a special Bariatric care unit at the St. Augustine Hospital which they designed. They required that I attend a four hour pre op education course -- even when I was the only one attending they took me through the whole four hours of education one on one. At the hospital they sent me home with all kinds of goodies - shake samples and a shake bottle, sample Vitamins and Vitamin holders, an insulated bag and measuring spoon set, jars of baby food, etc. Since I had prior WLS surgery I also had another experience to compare this with and it was literally night and day. Lastly my surgeon had WLS himself some 15 or so years ago -- gastric bypass -- so I knew he could truly relate to what I was going through having gone through it himself so he definitely practices what he preaches. This might sound terrible but my Lapband surgeon was a very petite man who I doubt weighed more than 140 lbs if even that so I never had the same sense that he understood what it was like to be morbidly obese. A very long answer to a short question but I hope this helps.... Don't be afraid of sticking to your program. The lack of hunger made that quite easy for those first few weeks and when you see how little you can eat and learn to stop yourself (and the sleeve teaches you that whether you like it or not), you'll do very well.

Thanks everyone and congrats to all of you who have had surgery and are 'on your way'. To those of you 3-4 weeks out, like I mentioned those were the toughest weeks. You really do need to learn a whole new way of eating and try not to take it too fast. It amazes me the differences in surgeon's post op diets. To answer some questions: girliegirl: The reason I had the band removed was I was not having success with it - even after 6 years. I do admit that after the 3rd year or so I just gave up trying. I lived in NY and went to a support group where there were two women who had the 'new' sleeve procedure and they did great. Their surgeon came to talk to our group and explained that typically they were using this type of surgery for people with very large midsections which put them at higher risk to start off with RNY - but the thought was that they would have the sleeve only as step 1 of 2 surgeries. I was able to get that surgeon to accept me as a patient (Lapband people know how difficult that can be) and he did a scan which showed no issues so, of course, we started the fill route again. I so wanted it to work out but it didn't. Then in 2011 we moved to Florida and I set some specific goals for myself - one was to lose the weight finally. I started doing research and looking for a surgeon. Went to a seminar and then set up an appointment. That surgeon had a new scan done and I honestly don't remember the specifics now but he saw that the band had either slipped upwards around my esophagus or something like that. I had no symptoms from it - other than not losing weight I suppose. He said it should qualify me for a revision so I started down that path. Well it took me multiple appeals with my insurance company to get it approved. Interestingly they approved removing the band immediately; but they wouldn't approve replacing it with the sleeve. One of their experts said in his report effectively - she failed with the Lapband, she'll fail with another WLS. That infuriated me and I appealed to my employer since they self fund the insurance. I wanted both done in one surgery so I waited until they were both approved which took about 6 month. Sorry for the long answer to a short question.

Please read the post I just added for my Two Year Surgiversary which is today - well at least for the next 5 minutes. I had the same fear of failure. I honestly don't think people can understand (except for those of you here who failed with the Lapband) how big of a failure I felt with it. At the most I lost 47 lbs and I had it for 6 years almost to the day. I went to support group meetings for a couple of years even - and stopped going when new people would ask me when I was going to have surgery and I told them I had it 3 years ago.... Eventually I gained all the weight back plus another 13 on top of that prior to having the Sleeve. Two years ago when I was asking the same questions that many new to this are still asking I was encouraged by 'veterans' that there was no comparison for the sleeve to the Lapband. They are 100% right. With the Lapband I was always hungry. I had many many fills - most of the time I felt no difference and there was one time where I literally couldn't drink water and had to go right back in for an unfill. Oh boy how I do not miss that at all - another huge benefit of the sleeve. I can never fault the Lapband for my failure completely. In time I learned what went down easy and if something got stuck I learned how to get it unstuck and once I did I could eat the same way I used to again. It still amazes me now. There's no way I could eat a whole slice of pizza or a sandwich now at one sitting. With the sleeve I was virtually never hungry and really haven't been for almost two years unless I really go a good 5-6 hours with eating nothing. I think that is what still amazes me the most. And not being hungry is incredibly liberating. I had to find other things to do with my time; I got to where I forgot to eat. My husband and I would be out for hours and he would want to get something to eat and I would say 'well I'm not hungry' and he would respond - 'well some of us still have to eat ya know - it's been 4 hours since I ate :)" Bottom line is do not let the fear of failure stop you - I'm so glad I didn't. Susie

Beans, no carbs for the first six month - even nuts. What do I eat today? Anything I want.... just still small quantities. And I do have to admit that I should not eat as much sugar as I do now but I'm having no trouble maintaining so really just am keeping an eye on it and will absolutely return to my post op diet if needed. What could/should I have done better? Absolutely #1 would be I should have done some strength training and exercised more. The loose skin is much worse than I expected it would be - so to those who feel they are losing slowly consider it a benefit that your skin won't be as saggy. I look like an 80 year old woman underneath (I'm 54). To be honest my tummy is the best of the 3 saggy areas - tummy, thighs and arms. My arms are by far the worst; I had larger than usual upper arms all of my life - inherited from generations on my mothers side. When I consider plastic surgery that is really the only part I definitely want to address. My tummy is always covered; my thighs are most of the time; when I wear a bathing suit I still wear shorts over it - which is what I did when I was heavy so no change there. I also should have done a better job of consistently using skin firming cream - I think it would have helped more. My favorite is Jergen's Skin Firming - it does a nice job and costs no more than any other lotion - and even less than most. What do I feel I did right? I was absolutely faithful in sticking to my surgeon's post op diet. Having failed at the Lapband I was overly determined to succeed. I never want to feel the way I felt as a failed Lapband patient again - seriously! I did make sure that I exercised regularly while the weight was coming off. I used a Fitbit - I tracked my food every day on MyFitnessPal. Those were both invaluable tools. I came to coin my 'eating plan' that worked best for me as the '40/60/100' plan. What I found was that if I ate less than 40 carbs a day, 60g+ of Protein and drank 100oz+ of Water, I lost consistently every week. I regularly read these forums as well as obesityhelp.com. I have met many new friends here - mostly virtual but even some in person. One has really become a very close friend which has been great. Another started a separate Facebook group for those of us who had surgery from January through March 2012 and it is just an incredible group of women (and one man) across a wide range of ages, though mostly younger than me - and we have become so close and been there for each other. The great thing was that as we were coming down we were going through the same stages of the post op diet and the associated challenges, successes, emotions, etc. I would highly encourage others to start or belong to a similar group after you have your surgery. Well I really need to wrap this up now so I don't start putting people to sleep..... To those of you embarking on this journey - I wish you much success. If you are still trying to choose which surgery you should have it goes without saying that I absolutely 100% recommend VSG and already had Lapband so learn from my experience. To those of you who just had surgery - hang in there - the first four weeks were the worst. It really does get better... and better and better. Stick to your Dr.'s orders. Do not test foods you know you shouldn't eat to see if you can eat them - that was one of the major mistakes that I made with the Lapband. To those of you farther out and struggling - go back to your roots - try your post op diet again - or my 40/60/100 plan for a week... hopefully it will give you the jumpstart you need. And to the many people in this group (well really from the old verticalsleevetalk.com group) who encouraged me and led by their example - please accept my sincere THANKS!!! for sharing your experience and encouraging me throughout my journey. Susie (2.0

Beans, no carbs for the first six month - even nuts. What do I eat today? Anything I want.... just still small quantities. And I do have to admit that I should not eat as much sugar as I do now but I'm having no trouble maintaining so really just am keeping an eye on it and will absolutely return to my post op diet if needed. What could/should I have done better? Absolutely #1 would be I should have done some strength training and exercised more. The loose skin is much worse than I expected it would be - so to those who feel they are losing slowly consider it a benefit that your skin won't be as saggy. I look like an 80 year old woman underneath (I'm 54). To be honest my tummy is the best of the 3 saggy areas - tummy, thighs and arms. My arms are by far the worst; I had larger than usual upper arms all of my life - inherited from generations on my mothers side. When I consider plastic surgery that is really the only part I definitely want to address. My tummy is always covered; my thighs are most of the time; when I wear a bathing suit I still wear shorts over it - which is what I did when I was heavy so no change there. I also should have done a better job of consistently using skin firming cream - I think it would have helped more. My favorite is Jergen's Skin Firming - it does a nice job and costs no more than any other lotion - and even less than most. What do I feel I did right? I was absolutely faithful in sticking to my surgeon's post op diet. Having failed at the Lapband I was overly determined to succeed. I never want to feel the way I felt as a failed Lapband patient again - seriously! I did make sure that I exercised regularly while the weight was coming off. I used a Fitbit - I tracked my food every day on MyFitnessPal. Those were both invaluable tools. I came to coin my 'eating plan' that worked best for me as the '40/60/100' plan. What I found was that if I ate less than 40 carbs a day, 60g+ of Protein and drank 100oz+ of Water, I lost consistently every week. I regularly read these forums as well as obesityhelp.com. I have met many new friends here - mostly virtual but even some in person. One has really become a very close friend which has been great. Another started a separate Facebook group for those of us who had surgery from January through March 2012 and it is just an incredible group of women (and one man) across a wide range of ages, though mostly younger than me - and we have become so close and been there for each other. The great thing was that as we were coming down we were going through the same stages of the post op diet and the associated challenges, successes, emotions, etc. I would highly encourage others to start or belong to a similar group after you have your surgery. Well I really need to wrap this up now so I don't start putting people to sleep..... To those of you embarking on this journey - I wish you much success. If you are still trying to choose which surgery you should have it goes without saying that I absolutely 100% recommend VSG and already had Lapband so learn from my experience. To those of you who just had surgery - hang in there - the first four weeks were the worst. It really does get better... and better and better. Stick to your Dr.'s orders. Do not test foods you know you shouldn't eat to see if you can eat them - that was one of the major mistakes that I made with the Lapband. To those of you farther out and struggling - go back to your roots - try your post op diet again - or my 40/60/100 plan for a week... hopefully it will give you the jumpstart you need. And to the many people in this group (well really from the old verticalsleevetalk.com group) who encouraged me and led by their example - please accept my sincere THANKS!!! for sharing your experience and encouraging me throughout my journey. Susie (2.0