rickgrimestwd

Well, tomorrow I will have officially been sleeved for four months. I am now down 56 pounds which is awesome because it normally takes me a year to lose that much weight. In my third month I went through a plateau but this month I lost about seven pounds in one week. I really love working out. I have discovered the elliptical machine at the gym and now we are great friends. I would say besties but that title is for the lap pool alone. I love swimming. The thing I am struggling right now with is chocolate. It seems the only thing that doesn't upset my tummy and it tastes super awesome but I just have no control over it so I am giving it up. I don't know if anyone else has this, but in the morning for breakfast I can barely eat a couple bites without getting full. Later on in the day I can eat more but breakfast I feel like I could eat a horse but I can't even finish a cup of 5.3oz yogurt. I am lucky vomiting hasn't been an issue for me at all, however, when I have eaten really fatty meats I have diarrhea about 20 mins after eating so be careful out there. I have had to buy new clothes because everything was too big. I wear a size 22/24 shirt now and I can't ever remember buying that size for myself. My jeans are a size 22 and dress slacks are a 24. It's nice but expensive.

So last night I went to my first wls support group, I had missed the last meeting because I rather had worked out. I wish I just would have gone to the gym this time. It was forty minutes of how to handle stress and not that the information was bad, but it was a seminar not a support group. I really love this website where I can discuss my feelings and get feedback which is what I assume would be what a support group is suppose to be like. I did go work out at the gym and swim laps afterward but I just hate being bored or wasting my time. Well, at least I now know I am not missing anything, so maybe it wasn't a total waste. I think the most frustrating thing is when I don't lose weight as much as I would like. The scale is messing with me it is staying at 296 but I don't want to worry about it. I had my surgery on 8/29/12 so it's only been two months. I have never lost 44 pounds in two months in all my life, so I am heading in the right direction, the weight is coming off and my pants are loose. So my plan is to continue to lose weight and gain some patience with the process. The thing is I have spent so much of my life fat I want to live it healthy and at normal healthy weight but all good things will come in time.

Two months out and I had a small glass of moscato wine, it was yummy! No ill effects.

I felt super hungry too, I thought I would never feel hunger as much after the surgery but I actually feel hungry a lot more now because I am not constantly eating all the time. I now eat about every two to three hours. The obession with food is almost gone I have moments but food isn't the center of my life anymore. It gets better.

It has been awhile since I last posted. It has been 2 months since I have had my surgery and I have lost a total of 44 pounds. I feel great except for the bronchitis I have now. I have enjoyed some halloween candy and had a piece of wedding cake at my sister's wedding I enjoyed both. I no longer like bread all that much or my former favorite pizza. My new favorite treat is greek peach yogurt with walnuts or pecans. I swim often and will be leaving shortly to swim some laps. I am really grateful that my weight loss has been steady and constant. I always lose at least a pound a week if not more. I eat when I am hungry and it is very easy to stop when I am full. I am grateful that being obsessed with food seems to be over. I have more time to obsess over facebook, reading, swimming and music. Life is really good except for the bronchitis and finances but other than that everything is wonderful.

I am post surgery and would love to have a brownie, so thank you for eating mine for me. Hope they tasted yummy!

I am doing really good on my weight loss and even with the quick pace it is still hard to be patient. The main reason is because I have lost this same weight range before several times so I am wanting to get into new scale territory. Now that food is no longer the driving obsessive force in my life I am for the first time researching nutrition and how we get fat in the first place. It is disturbing the things I am finding out. It really all began with this documentary called "Fat Head". If you have Netflix you can watch it or if you don't sign up for the free trial and watch it. It is a documentary that is in response to Super Size Me and it discusses nutrition and how all the information we know about low fat eating is the film's term not mine is'bologna'. So like all intresting concepts instead of believing the movie I am reading and doing research on my own. What I am finding is really disturbing to me and that movie was dead on. I don't regret my surgery and am thankful for it but had I known the truth about nutrition and how we get fat I would have had another way to treat my obesity. All those times I thought I was weak willed when I was given into the urge to eat while dieting makes me mad . Dieting is semi starvation, starve anyone and they are gonna think about food and then eat, duh. The plus side of doing all this research is now I finally understand how best to feed my body now. I also now understand why all the great benefits of this surgery and changing my diet work. All my anxiety is now gone, I don't crave foods, I no longer have insomnia, I have tuns of energy and love exercising and have no pain doing so even though I am at the same weight where previously I struggled with pain and energy while exercising. I honestly feel like I am in my overweight teenage body where I didn't feel the effects of gravity so much no aches and pains but I feel better now than I did then. I have been reading Good Calories Bad Calories and Why we get fat and what to do about it both by Gary Taubes both at the library but I'll be buying both. I have been reading other books as well but G.C.B.C. sites the scientific studies if you're like me and need evidence. I mention these books because they're really good reads and perhaps you're curious like me about nutrition now that the food obsession is gone or if it's still there how to get rid of it. Here is a quote that I find fascinating. "In other words, the science itself makes clear that hormones, enzymes, and growth factors regulate our fat tissue, just as they do everything else in the human body, and that we do not get fat because we overeat: we get fat because the carbohydrates in our diet make us fat. The science tells us that obesity is ultimately the result of a hormonal imbalance, not a caloric one--specifically, the stimulation of insulin secretion caused by eating easily digestible, carbohydrate-rich foods: refined carbohydrates, including flour and cereal grains, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and sugars, like sucrose (table sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup. These carbohydrates literally make us fat, and by driving us to accumulate fat, they make us hungrier and they make us sedentary." pg 23. Why we get fat and what we can do about it. Gary Taubes

Well my doctor had me after a week start me exercising 20-30 minutes a day, so not sure why the 3 month wait unless perhaps there is a health condition that would prevent you from doing so. Of course listen to the doctor but you can always question the doc too. Don't worry it'll come off make sure you are getting your protein in. It should be your new mantra Protein Protein Protein!

Well, I know I have lost weight because I can put on my jeans today. I do not own a scale and I have issues with using more like abusing them so I refuse to purchase one. Tomorrow I am finally allowed to go back to water aerobics which I am really looking forward to that. I have been exercising on my recumbant bike and walking the dog. I have been having trouble adjusting to the change of life style. I remember saying to my mom the other day how I missed dieting for just half the day. I miss the freedom of eating what I want when I want it; spoken like a true addict! Yet I am also grateful I don't have that option. The one thing I thought I would get out of this surgery was to never feel hungry again, what an idiotic thing to have thought but nonetheless I thought it. I feel hungry now more often than I ever have before. One because I can only eat a few bites and two before I was eating all the time therefore I never got the opportunity to feel hungry often. I remember pre-surgery getting hungry my response was to panic and then stuff my face because the feeling was so uncomfortable, foreign and anxiety inducing that was the only thing I could do in the moment. This surgery has caused me to face getting hungry a few times a day and it is getting easier. The thing is to slow down. I ate too fast and was in tremendous amount of pain the other day. I am physically all better, completely healed but mentally it's a jungle in there. I am greatful I took a full three weeks off from work because the stress of all the change can be a bit much at times. The first few days I was regretting my decision but now I know this was the path I had to walk. I had tried everything and given up, I'm a quitter, this pathway has no exit options. I can't get my stomach back, though it would have been nice to have had a funeral for it. It allowed me to eat and comfort myself when I needed comfort as a child. It was a good friend I just wasn't a good friend to it. I like that I don't count calories and if I chose to for some insane reason, I wouldn't get very high. The goal is 600-800 and sometimes that is a stretch goal. The only thing I count now is protein and I am going to saying it here because I say it every where else I hate protein shakes. I am tired of them. It's a good thing I love chicken and greek yogurt since it is my diet now. The foods I miss most are fruits and vegetables. I would love to have a salad and I can't have one, makes me laugh then cry. I also miss pizza, cake and right now chocolate, but I would love to have a chicken pecan salad even if only a couple bites and popcorn (went to the movies with a protein shake healthy but missed the popcorn). But what is really great is that my high blood pressure is gone, it left like a thief in the night after my surgery and is still gone. Also another plus is that it doesn't hurt to move and riding my recumbant bike is actually pleasurable. I kinda like all the change even though is it is scary, at least it's new before life was the same old thing and now not so much.

I have not had the pleasure of eating a salad yet, I am not brave enough to try raw veggies yet nor am I allowed to, you need to check with you dr or nutritionist. I know at 6months should be able to eat anything with in reason

It has been awhile since I last posted so I figured why not post. Right now everything is going really well for me. I have lost a total of 31 pounds which is the fastest I ever have lost weight had surgery on 8/29/12. I set a goal to weigh 310 pounds at the end of September and I made it. I have a lot more energy than I have had in a long time. Sometimes I work out twice a day, mostly walking and swimming. I still have no intrest in cleaning around the house even though I have the energy to; I just really hate house work. The only challenge I am having is affording the right foods to eat. I was on a medical leave from work for awhile so now it'll take a couple paychecks to catch up to where I need to be, but I am not worried because worry doesn't bring money just stress so I am refusing to do that. I am finally really happy I have been sleeved before I wasn't to sure. I was on a very long walk when I was just so grateful I could move and happy that I had the sleeve done. I feel like the prison door has been opened and I am just walking out. I am not obessed with food. I eat when I am hungry. Another great thing is I don't get panicky when I get hungry like I did before the surgery. The feeling of hunger happened so rarely before because I was always eating never getting the opportunity to get hungry. I don't have the amount of anxiety I used to have before the sleeve. I am no longer taking my anxiety medication. I only am on two meds both are generics and I am saving money there thank God! I don't regret having this surgery at all maybe I will on Thanksgiving but I don't think so. I'll probably be the only one not passed out and in pain from being stuffed. The one thing I love about Thanksgiving and always have has nothing to do with food, it is just having family around and enjoying one another. It's like Christmas but sans the presents and greed. Life is so much better with the sleeve, no regrets for now, except for having to do housework

I used to attend O.A. and I too lost a good amount of weight. I am fortunate that my O.A. groups never frowned on weight loss surgery. Higher Power made doctors too after all. I have been thinking about going back to O.A. just for the support its nice to know that everyone there gets what you are going through. I went back briefly before surgery and met another woman who had the sleeve done. No one judged her, we all go there because we have issues with food. The surgery is maybe the 9th tool.

Wow, you look amazing! Congrats!

Wow, you look amazing! Congrats!

Today wasn't my best day food wise I was okay no over eating. I just have a lot of emotions and financial worries so I feel depressed. But I am trying to list in my head all my blessings. I really have only one complaint and thousands of blessings so it puts things in proper perspective. I am so used to numbing out or distracting myself with food and now that it is not an option. I feel grateful for that, it is nice to have a clear head even if it can be painful, but pain forces me to choose a path and not be stuck in the same old place. I am going forward slowly but surely. So I choose to be grateful today, for my family, for dirty jokes, for computers, my dog, my love of books, my wonderful friends, and the list goes on. Well, week 5 begins tomorrow I can officially eat soft fruits and veggies so yay to that. I am looking forward to going swimming tomorrow. Monday was my first day back at work so grateful that no one was too evil to me on the phone. Tomorrow I go back praying for a quick 8 hours. I really want to find a different line of work sitting down 8 hours a day sucks and I am about done with it. I am staying for the remainder of the year for insurance reasons but after that I have to move on for my own health mental and physical. I don't have any weight lost to report since I don't own a scale. I don't want to be focused on the scale or my weight, I refuse to be upset by a number. I have no more pain and can walk 2 miles without dying and no more high blood pressure. My life is better after this surgery especially my health and that is awesome. God Bless everyone everywhere, All my love, Linsey :wub:

Congrats! you go girl!

Omg I am so you, I haven't done any taco meat, I don't know what the first lady is yappin about, but I was and am hungry. I had a little bit of birthday cake yesterday and ice cream I am almost 4 weeks out. I got bad heartburn and just felt icky after all that sugar. I am a food addict as well and Iast night I was just feeling uncomfortable not pain wise but emotionally and all I wanted to do was eat since that is what I do or did and I just physically can't so I just sat with feeling uncomfortable. This is all a process don't beat yourself up or feel guilty it'll just make you want to eat more. We are all going to mess up from time to time it is all about progress not perfection.

Looking good! I've never had perk boobs more like dog ears, got save up for my boob job right now!

Hello, Today I overslept but that was because I had to take two muscle relaxers my cramps on the pain scale are an 8 out of 10. You know the frowny face that wants to cry but won't because she's tougher than 9 or 10. I had to take the other day 1 percocet, 2 muscle relaxers and motrin and that cocktail only made me sleepy and out of pain. I know most people in our boat are told can't take motrin (ibproferin), but my doctor/surgeon said if I use motrin just be sure to take an antiacid with it if I only use it during my period which I did and no I didn't have any problems. I know too much info but my period sucks and once it came it explained why I wanted to kill my niece and nephew last weekend, my nasty sarcastic remarks, crying jags and desperate need for chocolate. I am one of the few women in the world ready for menopause. I'll take hot flashes over homicidal flashes, it's safer for everyone that way. I don't have any kids nor am I too keen on having any so I am ready for menopause. Aunt Meno can take old Aunt Flo's place anytime soon, I'll put out the welcome mat for her; Aunt Flo can go take a long walk on a short peer for all I care. Somedays, mainly one week out of each month it really sucks being a woman. But other than Aunt Flo being in town things are great. I will be going back to work on Monday only looking forward to the paycheck. Physically I am ready and mentally I am almost there. I am worried about what to pack for lunch when I go back. But I'll work it out. God bless everyone especially hormonal women.

I was regreting this for the first two weeks. I didn't fully realize how dependent I was on food to enrich my life. It truly is an adjustment and I really wished I hadn't done it. But then I was honest with myself I would not lose the weight on my own. As long as I could turn to food when things got tough I would. I relied on my Overeaters Annoymous experience I am a food addict and it is frustrating to be without your high. I was a dry drunk the first two weeks crying, pissed off, and disenchanted. But I couldn't discount that this surgery somehow cured me of my high blood pressure and it was easier to exercise afterwards. All addicts want what they want NOW! It's so frustrating not losing 50lbs in two days or 3 weeks but patience is virtue not usually bestowed to addicts. Take it one day at a time, this surgery is a tool not a cure. I realized after the surgery that the real surgery needs to be of the brain because that is where the illness really lives. But now I am accepting that this is a tool and I have an illness and I need to treat it. You may regret your surgery now and I know I did at one point but it is a huge adjustment period try to be patient with yourself.

Like the nurse told me it maybe unflavored but it still has a flavor, with that said yes you could add it to the above mentioned foods however you have to add it to cold water and not hot other wise you get nasty protein lumps.

I didn't lose anything on 6month pre-op medically monitored weight loss I actually gained weight. I would definitely encourage you to get out or at least contact friends you need people. Isolation is deadly. If you read books I would recommend "Women food and God" by Geneen Roth it really helped me. Good luck.

Just remember the sleeve is a tool not a cure! I had the same fear that I would get this done and not lose any weight. I had surgery 3 weeks ago and have lost 22 pounds, had my first follow up appointment with my surgeon and he told me the goal was 2lbs a week weight loss. It'll come off, but it will take time and effort.

That averages 3lbs a week sounds like you're doing good to me. I think we all want instant gratification but be patient with yourself and up the exercise a bit. But at the rate you are going 156lbs will be lost in a year. What is awful about that? My doctor/surgeon told me 2lbs a week is a good rate. Slow and Steady wins the race!

I feel you, I have experienced more hunger than before the surgery. A lot of it I figured is thirst. But the frustrating thing is eating feeling full and then being hungry again in an hour or two. But it's kind of being like a baby hungry every couple of hours.