TheCurvyJones

I remember wishing I'd had bypass because I felt like those patients lost a ton of weight with minimal efffort... but I know more than a few bypass patients who struggle with their weight, so this is very individual. The best BEST thing you can do is not compare, because it will just frustrate you. 27lbs (I assume that is what 16 stone is?) over a 2 month period is nothing to sneeze at. Our bodies will do what our bodies will do. WE can't make it happen any faster than it's going to happen. That said, at 2 months out, I was barely getting in 800 calories. I probably don't eat 1200 calories now and I am a year and a half out. If it were me, I'd take a look at the kinds of foods I am eating. I really only tracked Protein and carbs to keep them low, but I did find that I really like high fat meat-- bacon, beef, pork. I switched to lower fat, less dense meat like chicken and seafood and alternative protein sources like Beans. It kept me eating a bit more often but it lowered the calorie count without sacrificing protein count. Watch your Snacks as well. A little here and a little there does add up when your sleeve is only 4 ounces. I also find I do much better when I drink LOOOOOOOOOOOOTS of Water and I stop eating early at night. I know, fitness gurus. Our bodies don't know what time it is. But I personally do better when I stop eating by 8 and am in the bed by 11. You're already active and moving, which is great. This is a lifetime job now. I know it's frustrating, but concentrate on today. Feel pride in the success you've accomplished so far. Take a look at your foods and your routines and see how you can shake them up, then measure it again in the coming weeks. Give yourself, say two weeks to see some kind of change. How are your sizes? I find when I am not losing scale weight that I am dropping inches. Sometimes in weird places, like my watch will be flopping around my wrist or my shoes flopping off of my feet. Hang in there! You're in it for the long haul! My first six months were so frustrating but I'm at the point now where this is my new normal and I love what I see in the mirror.

I don't cook. Very very rarely I will get in the kitchen. I've never really liked it and it's a waste of time and food for me. You can purchase food for every single phase, post surgery. Clear soups like chicken broth, chicken noodle (just drain out the chicken and the noodles, the broth is delish), unjury Chicken Soup is pretty good. I bought one of those cup warmer things to keep it warm and near me. I couldn't drink it all before it got cold. For the first 6 to 8 weeks, you won't be eating a lot. I went to Kroger and got broccoli cheese soup, chili, chicken tortilla soup. Just stick them in the blender or strain the solids out ( just no tomato soup, it's too acidic. Well, my stomach doesn't like it anyway). You can get pre boiled eggs.. mash them up with some mayo and mustard, a little pickle juice, salt and pepper-- egg salad. Yummy, soft and about 5 grams of Protein. Yogurt, cottage cheese, refried Beans with cheese, mashed potatoes (at this point in your recovery, mashed potatoes won't make a huge difference. it'll be soft warm and filling). I like ham and bean soup, sent through the blender as well. And don't forget your liquids! You can make suntea, sweetened with splenda or another alternative, or drink it plain. Water, juice (I drank white grape juice), diet snapple. There's also Isopure. Some people love the stuff. I wasn't too fond of it but there's, 40 grams of protein per bottle! Check it out at your local GNC. I had to mask the flavor with some fruit juice. Further along you will find that you can get a lot of things lowcarb. Just ask for no bun or a lettuce wrap-- Wendy's will serve their chicken/burgers on a bed of lettuce with a knife and a fork. Hardees/Carl's Jr sells all of their burgers Lowcarb-wrapped in lettuce leaves. Jimmy Johns has the Unwich which is any of their sandwiches wrapped in lettuce instead of bread, or chopped on a bed of lettuce like a salad. Same with subway. And if they don't serve it that way, you can make it that way. It never hurts to ask. On the weekends, like Friday night I go through the drive thru at KFC and get a 4 piece in their grilled recipe. I take the skin off because I don't eat skin and at home I pair it with bagged salad or sometimes I can get myself to steam some vegetables to go with it. It doesn't take much to fll me up at all. ALSO Atkins has really great frozen lowcarb meals. The chicken broccoli alfredo is excellent.

Yes, it gets way better. Take it easy on yourself and your sleeve. Even if doc/nutritionists say you can move to a different stage, listen to your body. If you're in pain or uncomfy, stick to liquids, concentrate on your Proteins and your Water. What are of GA are you in? I'm in Atlanta. Feel free to hit me up if you have questions!

I feel it in my back, actually. A dull ache. I stop as soon as I start to feel it. Pushing past that is.....just not pleasant! I also hiccup. I know when I hiccup that I am overfull.

Yes I agree. Slider foods, an increase in carbs (even too many good carbs like oatmeal), not burning what we eat. Our bodies eventually adjust to how small we can eat and so our processes adjust as well. We are no longer losing simply because we don't eat a lot. And I know I am not alone when I say I can eat, wait 45 minutes and then eat some more.... Portion control and keeping myself full with Proteins and good fats and working out have always been my struggles.

I would strain the broth and drink that. I would not risk food, mostly because your stomach may not react nicely to it. If it's a thick Soup, I would Water it down, then strain and again leave out any meat or vegetables. Don't risk your surgery on a few morsels. It's important to prep your stomach for post surgery. I know my surgeon wants a dry tummy when he goes to work. If you have to chew it, don't eat it.

As time goes on, our capacity changes. Depending on the density of the food, we CAN eat more. That's when following the rule of 2 to 4 oz of protein per meal is important. Eating often is important, as is getting in that filling fiber and good fats. You may have more capacity but think back to how much you used to eat. You'll never eat like that again!

I don't worry about it. I can always find something to eat, or something I can modify-- take the bun off of a burger, bread off of sandwich, grab a salad, add chicken or shrimp, dressing on the side.

Yup. a lot of times I don't even want to bother because I can't make/order anything small enough that I won't waste most of it. SO I might grab a cheese stick or a piece of meat or something to stave off hunger, otherwise I get lightheaded. But yes. SOmetimes eating is a total chore.

Not at all. My surgery date is a few weeks behind yours and I have tons of restriction. We're supposed to!

Every day. Almost every single day I sit down to a meal that I want to complete and I can't. Typically I can get in two or three bites before I start to feel full. Then I get pissed off and then I wait about a half an hour and try to fit in more food. I think it's completely normal, you'll find a lot of people feel the same way. The sleeve only alters a body part it doesn't alter your mind.

Every day. Almost every single day I sit down to a meal that I want to complete and I can't. Typically I can get in two or three bites before I start to feel full. Then I get pissed off and then I wait about a half an hour and try to fit in more food. I think it's completely normal, you'll find a lot of people feel the same way. The sleeve only alters a body part it doesn't alter your mind.

I'm absolutely still working at it! I want to see my personal goal of 173 and won't stop till that number pops up on the scale. That would be 100 lbs down, hopefully well get there before like June, but I am still in the low 180's and my loss has slowed considerably. Pretty much a standstill. I'm still losing inches though so I feel like I will hit my size goal (size 8 pants) before I hit that number. That would be FINE with me! I'm wearing a size 6 dress today.... I've never worn a size 6 anything in my entire life.

I lose anywhere from 1-4 lbs a month, still. It started slowing down for me very quickly, because I was not losing a ton each month anyway. The inches are chipping away as well. After awhile, I just stopped paying attention. I do what I do and when I lose (usually after my cycle) Hooray! When my pants start getting baggy around the butt and thigh, I'm like ALRIGHT, NEW PANTS! At just over a year out, my "new normal' is MOSTLY Protein, veggies if I can get them. Rarely fruit, occasional wheat or grain. Coffee almost every day. as much Water as I can get in and I try to move my booty. I don't count count carbs or cals or fats. And if I see the scale creeping up, I know I am eating too much 'not protein' and spend a couple of days really concentrating on lean meats. I go through my obsessive periods as well, esp when I am trying to lean out again after getting too loose, but I can't live there. I cycle through, though.

I have always been upfront about my surgery. I see no reason to hide it and I hold pretty strong to my eating patterns and needs, so there's a reason for me refusing to go to a spot where the point is to eat a lot of food. I've never received any negative reactions to it. Most men seem surprised and amazed and have a lot of questions that I don't mind asking. It also helps to encourage date ideas that don't center around food. Mini golf or bowling or an art museum. Give me a chance to work up an appetite and I can eat a little more. I've been rather disappointed, really, about dating post surgery. I thought things would be a lot different for me once I was thinner and more attractive. Turns out the men in my city aren't interested in women like me, no matter what size she wears.

You'll be okay. Pamper pamper pamper and get rid of that cold!

WHen you're right out of making the most enormous change of your life and it doesn't go like you thought it would, it's scary and nerve wracking. Holy Hell, have some patience isn't the most supportive response I've ever seen. Here's what I know: The sleeve works, first of all. You may not lose fast and you may not lose like you want to lose, but the sleeve works. Patience is absolutely key. Tell us about where you started-- Highest weight, start weight, current weight. How about inches? I lost TONS of inches but very little scale weight. I STILL lose slowly on the scale but the inches are where it's at. Are your clothes loose/baggy? Seeing any changes in your body that don't translate to scale numbers? Remember your NSV's - non scale victories- What doesn't hurt that used to hurt? what can you do that you couldn't? What's your post op plan been like? I know this is VERY hard but everyone else is EVERYONE ELSE. Not YOU. So don't worry about them....you have to focus on YOUR plan and YOUR body. You can't go back, so keep moving forward. Have a talk with your nutritionist about your food needs... at a month out I was jUST starting to eat solids, and I had lost maybe 12 lbs.

Awesome...I feel like I can deal with and cope better with this change by accepting that my sleeve will be temperamental and that I have to completely re-learn a part of my body that i knew so well....reminds me of being pregnant with twins and not knowing what had taken over me...lol Let me know when you name yours too, Felipe needs as many friends as she can find.. Shelby Thats the ticket! I think naming the sleeve helps us remember that it is 'different', a whole new, very temperamental part of the body. Sometimes you might not even understand what's going on, but I just chalk it up to Jelly being a DIVA. One of my friends named her sleeve Wicked. Wicked don't let her do ANYTHING bad. LOL. He just won't tolerate it!

I loved that you named your sleeve! Jelly (my sleeve) and I are having a good start to the new year!

A couple of before and in progress pics. I started at 273, was 250 days of surgery, now 181.

Hi Krystal! I think you want the December 2013 thread. We were all sleeved 12/2012. Congrats on your loss so far! Hang on for the ride.

Congrats on a great year! <3