My Sleeved Tummy

Thank you all! We are heading to India in October for Durga pujo....we haven't told my inlaws that i had surgery, lost weight or that i learned to wear sari myself. They will be so surprised! Not sure if we will tell about the surgery tho.

Just thought I'd share! I'm almost 8 months post-op and around 90lbs down (I haven't weighed myself in nearly a month, so I don't know the exact number). I'm attending a wedding this weekend and I finally learned how to wear my sari! It's not draped perfectly, but it's close (I think)...and most importantly, I feel good about myself! Don't mind that I'm not wearing makeup or that my hair isn't done---I'll be glamorized for the wedding, definitely!

Glad I'm not alone! Sleeved 11/06/12 and I have constant fatigue! I seriously can't get enough sleep!!! I don't have any energy! I'm taking all my supplements religiously and getting in around 80 grams of Protein a day. I'm also drinking between 2 and 3 liters of Water every day. I get my blood drawn later this month for my upcoming 6 month check up, so I'm hoping the results will help me understand what's going on with me. My husband thinks I may need to play around with my food, maybe a little less protein and up the carbs for a while. He seems to think I'm not getting enough carbs to fuel my body. Currently I'm getting around 30-60 grams.

I posted some clothes on my blog's facebook page. Most are sizes 20-14, there are a couple 22's as well. If you need new clothes and don't want to pay full price for new--or nearly new--check it out! Search "My Sleeved Tummy" on facebook, and it should pop up, or click the link below: http://www.facebook....260702334053075 The pictures of the clothes are in the photo album.

Vsgshari

Awesome job! Congratulations on meeting your goal!

I was just curious... Are any other November sleevers posting videos on youtube? I'd love to subscribe to some people who had surgery around the same date as me. My channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/mysleevedtummy

Congratulations!!! You must be so excited!

rapid weight loss can cause gall bladder attacks. I don't think they know exactly why this happens, although there are some hypothesizes. My doc put me on medication that I have to take for 6mo post-op to hopefully keep my gallbladder healthy.

A lot of people have their surgery in Mexico or in different parts of the country and fly home a couple days after surgery. It's safe right away (I believe), but may be quite uncomfortable.

I can't handle pudding. Weird, I know. I've tried different flavors, sugar-free, regular sugar, fat-free and regular fat. One bite and my stomach is pissed!

I, personally, refuse to diet again. For me, diets have never worked. They're temporary and (usually) painfully restrictive. This surgery--although restrictive-- is a life-style change. It's permanent. That being said, if I want some rice...I eat a little. The amount of rice I can stomach (around 2-3 tbsp. @ almost 14 weeks out) now compared to what I used to eat is incredibly different. Is 2 tbsp of rice going to ruin my weight-loss? No. I had the VSG so that I would be able to "eat like a normal person" and enjoy things that "normal people" can enjoy. This includes both fats and carbs. There are some foods post-surgery that I have not tried, and am in no hurry to try. Anything deep-fried, fast food, or dense sweets. But I have had some sushi, a few Cookies, bites of pie, and m&m's. I think the biggest advantage to this surgery is that my hunger has disappeared. I feel satisfied with much less than I did before. I started tracking my food a little over a week ago though, not because I wanted to control everything I was eating, but because I needed to make sure I was getting in enough food. It's weird, but after surgery--in my experience--even though I'm eating tiny amounts, I sometimes feel like I'm pigging out. The way I look at food is still skewed. I was thinking I was overeating and taking in too many calories, but after tracking...I've realized I can barely break 700/day.

Sounds normal to me. What really helped me when I got in and out of bed or to sit down was to hold a pillow tightly against my abdomen as I moved. It didn't take away the pain completely, but it really made it more tolerable to move. Take the pain killers. I hope you feel better soon!

You are gorgeous!!! What day did you have your surgery? I had mine Nov 6, and am down over 50lbs already---similar to your stats (according to your ticker). My advice for getting to the gym is to just do it. I know, that doesn't sound like great advice...but that's really what you've got to do. Maybe find a work-out buddy? If that's not an option, maybe you could find someone who also had surgery--whether in real life or online--who can be an "accountability buddy" or something like that? Have you found activities and exercises that you enjoy? Or does it all feel like a chore?

Hello everyone! I wanted to share a couple recipes with you all. I posted a new recipe on my blog for Mexican spiced shrimp with black refried Beans. There's also a link to my food blog which has a recipe for Indian Spiced Shrimp with Yogurt, garlic and cilantro dipping sauce--very VSG friendly! You can check them out HERE. I hope you like them! Just because we had weight loss surgery should not mean that we need to eat bland "diet" foods. I strongly feel that if we're happy with what we're eating, we're more likely to eat less, and continue losing our excess weight. I'm, personally, more likely to be satisfied with something I enjoy, rather than eating something I have to choke down...that still leaves me yearning for flavor. I'm hoping to come up with all sorts of real food VSG friendly recipes in the near future.

I use a spice mixture that I make ahead of time and store in a air-tight container. Every time I make it it's a little different, but usually it's something like this: 4 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like it) 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon paprika 3 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon black pepper If I'm making fajitas (this works wonderful for shrimp) I use something more like this: 1 lb fresh medium sized, wild caught shrimps (not previously cooked) 1 large shallot, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced juice of half a lime zest of half a lime 1/2 tsp salt pepper 1 tsp. ground cumin powder 1 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder 2 tbsp. minced cilantro 1 tbsp. olive oil You can see the fajita recipe on my blog (although, I haven't eaten the actual fajitas since surgery. Just the shrimp.) http://myfancypantry.com/2012/03/13/shrimp-fajitas-without-the-funky-chemicals/

I'm down just around 50. I've been eating nothing but shrimp, greek yogurt, black Beans, choc. milk and string cheese the past week though...so I think that helped drop some poundage. I have been having a ton of restriction this week too for some reason, so I've been struggling to get in the calories and the Water. The stalls are the worst, but I just keep reminding myself that I'm still losing inches! And I'm sure you are too!!! Like, today...I fit into a pair of jeans I bought 5 years ago as a reward for losing 50 lbs (which I gained back). I was so excited! I'm alllllmost comfortably in a size 14 jean. In less than 2.5 months. It's both amazing and hard to comprehend sometimes. Aside from the stall how are you doing? Are you getting all your fluids and calories/protein? Are you exercising? ...I haven't been, really. I have a few times, but now that it's the "new year" I dread going to the gym! It's so busy and crowded until around March.

PS...I think we should start a closed facebook group, it'd be fun to stay in touch!

Great work, everyone!!! I'm about 50lbs down now, I haven't weighed in over a week (I was 40 then), and I know I've lost more since. It's so crazy!! I'm loving life, and my little stomach. I've been blogging and just began posting youtube videos detailing some of my progress and sharing what I've been eating (mostly shrimp). Hope everyone is doing great! If you want to check out my vids or blog, the links are in my signature.

I just uploaded my first video! This was a huge NSV, as I hate having my photo taken or appearing on film. It wasn't as bad as I expected, but I think I'll have to be better prepared next time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ghLvICixo&feature=youtube_gdata

I just received my detailed surgical notes for my VSG (Nov. 6, 2012) today. It was really pretty interesting. Things I learned: The amount of stomach that was removed from my body was 8.85 inches x 1.77 inches x 0.78 inches. That's a large stomach, if you think about it! No wonder why I was always hungry... I also had a bulbous stomach (bulb shaped) that was twisted and angular. Apparently the angle was over 90 degrees, and it was positioned weirdly near my spleen. I was told before surgery that I had a fatty liver, but the surgeon didn't notice much fat. He said the liver was unremarkable. I did not do a pre-op diet and had no "liver shrinking" cleanses or anything like that. They had to untwist my stomach and move it towards a normal position before beginning surgery. My spleen was actually nicked (a small nick) while they were untwisting my stomach, and they had to put some surgicel (product that stops bleeding) in me. I lost only 100cc blood, so it wasn't bad at all. A 50 french bougie was used for creating my new tummy. I knew this before surgery, and yes...compared to a 32 or whatever a lot of people on here get, a 50 seems crazy! That being said, I was also told that the difference between a 32 bougie and my 50 bougie is minimal. It's like comparing a pen to a marker. I was also told that a larger bougie really helps to limit some of the complications that may arise post-surgery (strictures, throwing up, pain while eating). The restriction I feel is definitely enough to make me stop eating...so I don't worry about all this. I trust my surgeon, he knows what's best and what's been successful in his practice. I thought I'd share some of those little tidbits of info. I thought it was neat to know. I also have info on the size scopes, needles, tubes---everything; so if anyone has anything specific they'd like to know about the surgical process (at least, my surgical process), I can see if it's listed.

I completely understand! I really should start out the day with a drink, but usually I take my pills with a cheese stick or some greek yogurt. I can never eat the whole serving of yogurt though. I've been transitioning to more normal foods, and found that I definitely can not tolerate beef or eggs. My stomach hates them! I think this will all get better with time though! You should post another video! I just posted a second one today. This vlogging thing is kind of fun!

I ate some rice at 5 weeks, but what helped me was to blenderize it with some sauce (chicken curry, in my case). Eating at work is really hard for me. I bring yogurt or string cheese. It takes me to long to eat, and I don't really want my co-workers asking questions. I also bring a Protein drink--Rockin' Refuel. Hope everything works out when you return to work! Shari

I just started video blogging too, in addition to regular blogging. I'm watching your blog now...you are too cute!!! I'm subscribing! Shari https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ghLvICixo <--my first vid!

Cool!!! I'll check yours out too! How are you doing @ 5 weeks?