MichiganChic

I could hardly choke the powdered shakes down, but kept trying the first couple weeks after my surgery. In fact, the thought of them still makes me sick! I switched to the ready to drink premier protein shakes and I love them. I'm six months out and I still have one for breakfast every day. Just keep trying things till you find something you like.

Search the three week stall, and you will see that this is normal. When you see 20 pounds drop off in a matter of a couple of weeks, we quickly come to expect it will continue, but most likely it won't. Our bodies will only lost so fast. It took me a bit to adjust to this, and I've gone as long as 18 days and not lost a pound, and there are people here who have gone longer. However, we are all successful because we just keep doing what we need to do - follow the rules of your program. If you do that, it eventually comes off. As soon as I came to grips with the realization that the laws of weight loss have not changed with the surgery, I spend a lot less time stressing about something I can't change. I figure if I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing, there is nothing else I can do to impact the rate of weight loss. Good luck and hang in there, just focus on eating right and getting in some exercise.

While I do try to adhere to most of the rules, I don't bother much with the protein powders. Right after surgery, it would take me 3 hours to drink one and I could barely get them down because they tasted so BAD to me, so I just can't make myself do it. I do get in 70-100 gm of protein a day, though. I use a premier protein shake in the morning. It has 30 gm, so it gives me a jump start. I'm eating around 900-1100 calories a day, which is pretty manageable at this point. I did find a great iced coffee drink that I love, (not decaf, and I just work my full time vitamin-taking-job around it) it's called Chike. It has 20 gm protein, and 170 calories, so it makes for a great after work treat - when I have my most difficulty managing. But you had that band, so you are an old hat at this! From what I've read, the band to sleeve people seem really happy with their outcomes from their revisions.

Hi Annette, welcome to the group, and congrats on your pending surgery. Mmmm...what do I wish I knew? I wish I had realized how exhausting the post op phase was. I had c-sections, which included caring for brand new babies (with other kids at home) got little to no sleep, and those were an easier recovery than this. I wish I had known how much I was going to hate taking all those vitamins. I think that's it. And even if I had known those two things, neither of them would have stopped me from having surgery. I'm happy I did it, and happy with the results so far. Good luck!

Snake oil....

Mine started coming out around 3.5-4 months, and kept coming out really bad for about a few weeks. I went to a dermatologist, got some cortisone injections and topical, and it slowed way down about 1-2 weeks after that. It's still coming out some, but not bad at all. Mine was not thick before this, but it's really thin now I'm anxious for it to start growing back....I think I see some little hairs growing in, so I'm encouraged!

Nah, I liked it.

Wow, that's great! Congratulations on your wonderful success! So it took you about 15 months to lose that, right? That's exactly how much I had to lose, and I'm a little more than half way there. So good to see someone accomplish that goal - helps me remember it CAN, and has been done! Thanks for sharing.

Hi, and welcom back! You are well on your way, and you will get there. This is what life is made of - stress and thing that happen that can derail us, but you recongnized it and you are back! That's what determines success, so good for you. As for vitamins, you might need to check with your doc, since vitamin regimes are specific to your blood levels. But just to give you an idea, I'm taking a pre-natal with iron, 5000mcg biotin, VitD3 4000 mg, Calcium citrate 1500 mg, and Iron 325 2 times daily. I have to admit that I hate taking all this stuff - it's a full time job to make sure you get it all in correctly. I was taking a big ole prescription pre-natal, but yesterday I bought the vita fusion gummys, since I have a hard time swallowing that big prenatial. I also order the Celebrate chewable multivitamin. I use Calcet creamy chews 500 mg calcium, or the Celebrate soft chews, or Citrical petites. Problem with the those is that you need to take 7.5 pills a day to get in 1500 mg. So, like you, I have to be mindful of when I take all this stuff. Coffee interferes with absorption, and calcium and iron both have to be taken in deivided doses and can't be taken together. So, I get up in the morning and have coffee, but can't take any vitamins for two hours. Then I start taking the calcium in one form or another. I space them out about 2 hours apart, and try to have them finished by the time I leave work. Then, in the evening I start working on the iron pills. Then I take the prenatal at bedtime. I also take all the other stuff in between there, so I feel like I'm taking pills all day long - because I am!! As for the diet, I'm eating around 900-1100 calories a day for the most part. I sometimes go higher, rarely go lower, and I am sort of a slave to the protein. It doesn't bother me, so it's easy to do. I exercise 3-5 days a week, depending on what's going on and how I feel. I feel like I've settled into a pretty livable routine that I can continue to manage indefinitely. Again, welcome back and good luck.

Man, that's got to be some kind of record!! Good for you!

So sorry to hear this I can imagine how you must feel, because I know what an impatient person I am, and I'd be beside myself. But from a clinical standpoint, it is the best thing to have found this and treat it. Both of those diagnosis would have a major impact on you and your recovery. Even going in with a perfectly healthy iron level, it can quickly become too low, which is a common problem post op. This way you will be in the best of health and set yourself up for full recovery and weight loss success. Hang on just a little more, and hope you are feeling better soon! (PS - and make sure you take those iron pills correctly to get the maximum benefit/absorption )

Great job! We've lost the same amount! I am also hoping to say 90 pounds by my 6 month date on the 19, but even I don't make it, I'm thrilled, and I know you must be, too! Congratulations

Girl, you might need some intervention! Nine days it just too long! You are going to drop a pound or two when that lets loose.

What you are describing sounds within the realm of normal to me. It's pretty common to have low energy after any surgery, but when you factor in the sudden drop in calories, it's no wonder. I was exhausted all the time for the first 6 weeks, (in the early days, I had to rest after a shower, and I remember a day or two I was so weak it was work holding my head up) but it was steadily improving after the first 4 weeks. Just keep doing what you are doing, and it will get better!

Just be yourself. It's great to love yourself. You can do that AND be nice to others, and that's an attractive combination! I do want others to like me, but if they don't, that's their issue, lol! Can't control others, only ourselves.

Yay, great job!! Congratulations and enjoy!

Discrimination against obese people is the last form of acceptable hatred/judgment in the country. Sad, but true. I had to chuckle a little, not because any of this was funny, but because nursing instructors haven't changed in 30 years! I'm so sorry you had to sit through that mortifying experience. I'm sure that instructor was trying to do you a favor, and I hope she was kind about it. Sadly, she is right on some levels, but you already know that, which is why you were already doing something about it! I have to tell you that I have been very successful as an overweight/obese nurse, and moved into the ranks of management and other specialty jobs, but I always wondered if I could have done more, been better respected if I was a normal weight. So, I was successful, and you can be, too. You didn't say what your weight is, or how much you have to lose, but I know that every bit helps. For me, I still have a long way to go. I'm what I consider a "normal size fat person" now, instead of super fat, and I'm thrilled about it. It's way better! So, my advice is to focus on your studies, take of yourself, and things will fall into place for you. You are setting yourself up for success!

Yeah, don't be a statistic. You can lose every pound of weight you want to, most likely. The fact that you've lost 50 in 3 months is great. The reality is that most of us could have lost the weight without the surgery, at least from a physiological standpoint. For me, the surgery just makes it possible to shoulder through the hard times when I normally would have given up. It's hard work either way, but the sleeve gives us a fighting chance, and at the end of the day, it's what we do with it. I know people who had RNY and have gained all their weight back and then some. Don't be discouraged about being up a pound or two, it's normal. At three months, that happened to me, too. I think that's about when my loss slowed a bit. I had to realize my body just could not keep losing at that rate. I figure it might take me another 8-12 months to get to goal, but every day I enjoy the fact that I'm feeling and looking so much better. Good luck to you - you can do this!

Great job! Such success! I'm dreaming of the day I'm "normal" too Did you lost all of that since surgery?

Wow, that is just excellent! You must feel so great! Have you lost all that since surgery?

Great job, you look great! And congrats on your recent marriage!

Personally, I would not have a major, potentially life threatening surgery for a BMI that low, especially with no associated health risks. If you lost 10% of your weight, that would probably be enough to move you out of obesity and into overweight. I know people here with low BMI who have done this surgery, succeeded, and are fine, but you asked for opinions. My opinion is that the risk far outweighs the benefit in this circumstance. The statistical risk of complication is low....until YOU become the one with the complication, then it's 100% you...and your three little kids. Not sure if you've looked on this site for complications, but I'd suggest you research that. Whatever you decide, good luck!

You will hear this a hundred times, but yes, it's normal. No two people will have the same experience from surgery to weight loss to maintenance. There is almost no difference between 4 and a half weeks and 5 weeks, so I'd say you are in the ball park. Congrats on your 17 pound loss! You can look forward to more coming off in the future. You will eventually learn your patterns, which may steady and slow, stair step and quick. Good luck as you continue in your progress.

For ME (and only me) I have to fight the urge to cheat some days. I don't want to do it, and I have to work hard not to. The sleeve makes it way easier to stay on track - so maybe it is the easy way out, IDK. I generally don't cheat, but once in a while, I have something I should not. I don't come here asking if I should or should not - I already know what to do, it's just whether or not I can. One thing I force myself to do is log it. I really hate to admit it to myself and see it in print, but it helps keep me accountable. As for why people plan to cheat, or even IF they planned to cheat, I'm not sure what drives them, but I know it's a rough road even when you WANT to be perfect. I can't imagine the struggle and disappointment for people who don't have a clue. I feel lucky to have had the surgery, lucky to have healed without major complications, and lucky to have the good sense to make the best of it I can. It's all a gift.

I'm just going to have my stomach cut out....oh wait, I already did that!