jh5497

Laukc - I'm 174.2lbs (at 5'5"). My top is a size 8, bottoms are a size 10.

Yup, normal thought. I thought that too. But in less than a month you have lost 17lbs!!! THATS AWESOME. Ever done that before?? Probably not. If you follow your plan from your doc, you will not stay fat. Set realistic expectations, 10lbs a month, or 2lbs a week - something like that. Don't be hard on yourself -- that negativity and self defeating attitude and feelings of undeserving unworthiness are what keeps the weight on and if you're like me, caused the weight to pile on!! And, if you are a slow loser, so what, you are still a LOSER! Slow weight loss can help your skin, can keep nosy people from noticing rapid weight loss, help you cement and solidify good habits. There's a slow losers board. Read it, look at the tickers from people posting a year ago -- they all lost BIG amounts of weight. You'll get there too! Have faith in the tool you chose and use it to the best of your ability. That's all you can do!

Yes, it happens to me every now and then. I also go through phases where I completely lose my appetite and have to force myself to eat and feel like spitting out food while I'm chewing.

My room only had a coffee pot. The restaurant has delicious food according to others! Haha...

Your fears are totally normal. Fear and being worried is a response to any new, risky situation. The truth is that most of the time, for most people, this surgery goes off without a hitch. But not everyone is that lucky and complications happen. For me, the odds of a complication were worth it. And being 6+months post op, I've had no complications and this was the best thing I ever did. I can think back to my pre-op and worrying about problems with the ansethesia, having organs removed and sold on the black market, having drugs surgically put in my body to make me a drug mule, I worried about leaks, strictures, dying. I worried about it all. Lesson here is: Worrying is normal. 6 months from now you will have a whole new set of worries (like find smaller clothes!) Also if you look up what medical stapling it, it would likely ease your mind to see how heavy duty it is. And Dr. Garcia was awesome. I stuck to my pre-op like a champ and when he made the first incision, my liver was so shrunk, he only needed 2 incisions to complete the procedure! He is a great surgeon!!

Pickles contain vinegar which helps stabilize the sugar levels in our blood. Acetic Acid in pickles helps reduce the amount of insulin released in our body! Depending how far post op you are, this is a nice, low cal snack. If you are tolerating other solid foods well, give it a try. If you are worried start with the inside flesh and leave the skin. Just remember to chew well!

I'm down 85lbs total and don't have any excess skin... but I think if I push myself to lose a lot more it will become a problem.

Sounds good!

Stalls are normal and some weeks will be bigger losses than others. I found a stall caused my mental state to become chaotic, so I only weigh once a month. If I'm stalled, I generally have no clue.

I had some a little past 3 months out without problem, however, I only had a few handfuls because I was worried about the impact of it on my sleeve.

I use a ton of WW principles and still count my "points" when I can't track online. It's a great program, just not permanent weight loss (at least for me).

After I was 3 months out and cleared for exercise, I started with the Biggest Loser Power Sculpt DVD every second day, and using an elliptical on the alternating days for 40 minutes. I was surprised how much exercise my body could handle before getting tired and how easy the DVD became after 3 weeks. I am now using Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones on the alternating days because it is so much harder! To keep myself motivated, I signed up for fitspiration on facebook, so I see their post in my newsfeed. I have found now that I'm in a routine and have made it a priority, I don't have as much internal conflict about working out. You never regret a workout and when I'm done I don't guilt myself and think "I should have worked out".

Dr Garcia was terrifice and A Lighter Me has been great (even months after surgery when I had a cold and didn't know what to take)!

Depending on your med, the length of time you've been on it, the amount of the increased dose, drowsiness could be a side effect!

Being aware of cross over addictions can be an awesome start to preventing one! Food often satisfies another need, so finding something help to fulfill that need (loneliness, boredom, worries etc.) is important (I have found satisfaction in liking the way I look now and treating my body kindly). Understanding your relationship with food will help too (for me, food was love, food never rejected, judged or abandoned and could temprarily give me happiness). You should expect to go through an emotional rollercoaster on this journey and have support in place -- a friend, a sister, a parent, a journal, a blog, a counselor, these boards -- something where you can get the feelings out. Between greiving the loss of food and fat releasing hormones, I cried a lot!

I never would have imagined wanting to wear make up -- lots of it. And learning application techniques. And Having a skin care regimen and following it for more than a day. Now that I'm no longer hung up on my "disgusting body" as I felt it was before, I'm beginning to take so much more pride in my appearance. I was surprised by how much I enjoy spending that extra time on myself since pre-op I couldn't have been bothered with washing my face more than once a day and just patting some powder on my skin. I feel like I want to take so much better care of myself now and in turn with that, the more I do take care of my outside, the better I feel about myself (on top of practically being a skeleton)! Haha!

2 weeks pre-op I was about 232, at 2 months out (including the 2 week pre-op diet) I am 199

I have had some soda, but I pour it out into a glass and stir it and flatten it a bit out of paranoia. I sip it and like another poster said "burp" just like before. I find it's a nice treat, but it would take me all afternoon at work to finish a glass (1 can).

I went through stages of weird cravings and then through stages of feeling repulsed by food. What helped me was figuring out was it emotional hunger ot head hunger (like one of my senses wanted it from seeing it in a commercial, on someone else's plate, smelling etc.). Once I realized which it was, I could indulge it a bit, or wait for it to pass depending on what I felt like and what the situation was. If I was bored, sad or lonely, I never ate because I figured out early on food in my limited stomach doesn't give me the same satisfaction that it used to.

I had surgery August 9 with Dr Garcia in TJ and overall it was a great experience. I'm 2 months out and don't have any complications. This was the best thing I ever did and I knew before going it would be. My family was skeptical and thought they may stash drugs in me or take out an organ or maybe I would get to San Diego and picked up, robbed and left in TJ. My mind went through lots of worst case scenarios and I reassured my family it'd be ok, based on the same posts you probably read! It's really this awesome and safe (or at least in my case). And I'm not being paid by anyone either! Haha!

I thought Dr. Garcia was great about going the extra mile. He did my surgery with only 2 incisions because my liver was small enough he didn't need more! I was worried about needing my gallbladder out and have heard horror stories about inflamed gallbladders, but I guess it didn't warrant removal! You are going to be in very capable hands when you go!

Also, when we are stressed, there is 2 ways to release cortisol (the stress hormone) and that is to cry or sweat. So embrace your emotions and accept that crying is a good thing. When you are crying, you can explain to your daughter that crying is a healthy outlet for emotions, not something to be ashamed of!

Ok, so there are lots of reasons this could be happening. 1 -- grief. You are greiving the loss of food in your life, the role it played and your relationship with it has changed, and I know for me that was a big deal. 2. as our bodies lose fat, those fat cells release estrogen that can make us emotional. I cried one week post op because 12 years ago when my sister got married, I wasn't old enough to go to her bachelorette party. Don't beat yourself up about your decision, that will not help anything. Remember how excited you were pre-op and how much you wanted this? This is a new begining for you and your daughter! This is the start of a healthier, happier life!

I cooked so much once I was able to eat actual food. Now I have a freezer full of leftovers because I eat so little. My grocery bill has been cut in half! Restaurant meals last me anywhere from 2-6 meals. It's one of my favorite things about the sleeve now. There are times when I know I could have a bite or two more, but I don't get the same satisfaction from food, and I stop leaving food still there on my tiny plate!

I used a lighter me and can not say enough great things about them and my entire experience. You have nothing to worry about -- you will be well taken care of!