DonRodolfo

I'd say you're having the same feelings most of us did. Anyone else worried about long term risk, since it's still fairly new? Like I wonder if in 40yrs from now (I'm early 30's) I have some other issue and this will affect it? Considering I probably wouldn't have been alive 40 years from now without surgery, no worries. I know my diet will be mostly protein and veggies and rarely room for carbs...does that mean no more carbs or fried food ever? Or ethnic food? (I'm asian so some food from my culture but I could focus on protein stuff first...for example, can I have curry?) Early on, probably no carbs or fried food. Your tummy will have limited space so you'll want to "invest" in protein first. I love ethnic food and haven't denied myself anything, but, I compensate for overindulgences at the gym. You'll want to go easy on anything spicy or bold the first time you have it after surgery. I know no soda or carbonated drinks anymore...was this hard to give up? I had been a diet coke fiend for many years but had cut down considerably way before surgery anyway. Eliminating them wasn't a big deal for me and I switched to iced tea. I've had a few diet cokes after surgery and the unpleasantness of the carbonation isn't worth it anymore. It's been months since I had one and won't again. Is the first week of just liquids extremely difficult? Thinking about it and it seems pretty hard to do only liquids for a whole week Not difficult at all THANKS TO being on a two-week liquid-only preop diet beforehand. The first four days of that diet were awful but I was good to go after that and it really helped me through the two weeks after surgery. I'm a NYer...no more bagels ever? Good luck trying to eat a bagel! Seriously tho, prior to 6 months out it was a challenge to eat a quarter of one (with cream cheese). I *might* be able to eat half of one now. --I love ice water and not drinking near meals sounds tricky...does it get easier? Yes! But start practicing that NOW so that you're over the habit by the time you can eat foods again after surgery. How do you explain to others what you did? Did anyone make you feel badly? I might be the exception, but EVERYONE that has said something has been supportive. Some people won't say anything about your weight loss and that's okay. I've not once had someone tell me I took the easy way out. What do you do when you're on vacation or near the holidays etc, just try your best to stick to plan? ALWAYS log your food in MFP or something similar, even on vacation. Not every food will be listed in MFP, either add it manually or guess at it. Even guessing is better than logging nothing.

Quest Cinnamon Roll. Tasty AND filling! i love the PBJ ones as well but way too many calories so I avoid them.

A neighbor down my street, the mother of my daughter's friend, an ex-boss of mine (and his wife) all influenced me into getting sleeved. I *may* have influenced my customer into getting sleeved and have been asked and talked to others about it.

Honestly (and I want someone to tell me differently) the only difference I see with the force is that it has a display when you press the button. You get time, steps taken so far today, floors climbed, miles traveled, floors climbed, etc. Seems to me I would get the Flex first then upgrade to a Force if I really really thought I needed it.

If it's not secure enough it will practically fall off at the slightest nudge. The little fingers have to snap into the holes. This can be difficult at first but gets easier with use.

Make sure you measure yourself as well because it is completely possible for you to lose inches and not weight (I've had this happen several times).

I <3 LipstickLady!

So i don't misrepresent myself, 50 of that 184 was preop! You're right about the dumping, not everyone experiences it. You're doing the right thing, keep researching and asking questions.

I've had a Force for over a month now, no issues.

I was sleeved last year at 50 years old. Both gastric bypass and the sleeve were explained to me with bypass being the procedure longest in use and with the greater resulting weight loss. The downside was the possibility of dumping, the malabsorbtion issues, and just too much reworking of my innards to gain only a slight advantage in weight loss. I'm happy with my decision and my surgeons are pleased with my progress.

Perfectly normal to hear all those things and feel what you're feeling. "...dont do that your not that fat" What does the guy staring back at you in the mirror say? He's the one you have to make happy and answer to each morning. "...your not gonna qualify" The person that said this knows this how? "...just put some time in at the gym" If it were that simple doctors wouldn't be doing this surgery. One of the first questions I was asked by my surgeon was if I had tried to lose weight before and how did I go about it. Going to the gym was one of my answers, and I did lose weight, only to put it all back on and more. "people die from this surgery" Unfortunately, this is truth. There are stories of this on Bariatric Pal. i was aware that people died from the surgery when i went on the table. It was worth it for me. "but I have other medical issued ( high b/p., back issues) that made me make this descion." Me too. High blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, couldn't sleep flat on a bed for > 10 years. I can go on. "I am also starting to get nervous due to being put to sleep. " Have you never been put under before? All worrying does is waste your time and energy. Most people have have had this surgery. It hasn't been easy for all of them but I'm sure most would agree it was worth it.

Overnight for me.

That link is not working Misty.

CEVICHE! nom nom nom nom (became a big fan of ceviche after surgery! )

I started experiencing this at my 6 month point, and the getting hungrier sooner part too. Freaked out until my surgeon told me it was normal and expected. He said to keep doing what I'm doing and just eat when I'm hungry and I will continue to lose. It looks like you're a year out - I hope my capacity doesn't increase more at that point!

This is not a stall. Start measuring yourself and recording it as well. You will hear talk around here about the dreaded three-week stall. If you're losing anything, you're not experiencing it.

This time last year I was in the 420s. I got sleeved on 5/28/13 and it was one of the best things I've ever done. Note that I was 366 when I got sleeved but they would have done it in the 400s.

See Kevin's post - most of the people in that group live not too far from you and they have Starbucks get-togethers fairly often.

If I had to do this over again I would spend way more time doing weights - I am the poster child of overemphasizing one of your two choices. I went with cardio only. Sure, I have impressive weight loss on my ticker at the bottom but the price I'm paying for that is loss of strength. I put 150lbs on a bench press machine like I used to do years ago when I was doing both weights and cardio and I couldn't budge it! I found that I could only do a fraction of it. There are probably lots of people here that could speak more definitively on this but I believe your weight loss isn't going to slow that much by lifting weights AND frequent body fat measurements as well as measuring yourself will show that the sleeve is working for you. Thanks for your honestly. I also really appreciate your links in your quote! Eyeroll? Something you didn't like? I'm thinking maybe she misquoted you? Perhaps wrong thread??? I'm hoping. You're probably right, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing something.

If I had to do this over again I would spend way more time doing weights - I am the poster child of overemphasizing one of your two choices. I went with cardio only. Sure, I have impressive weight loss on my ticker at the bottom but the price I'm paying for that is loss of strength. I put 150lbs on a bench press machine like I used to do years ago when I was doing both weights and cardio and I couldn't budge it! I found that I could only do a fraction of it. There are probably lots of people here that could speak more definitively on this but I believe your weight loss isn't going to slow that much by lifting weights AND frequent body fat measurements as well as measuring yourself will show that the sleeve is working for you. Thanks for your honestly. I also really appreciate your links in your quote! Eyeroll? Something you didn't like?

If I had to do this over again I would spend way more time doing weights - I am the poster child of overemphasizing one of your two choices. I went with cardio only. Sure, I have impressive weight loss on my ticker at the bottom but the price I'm paying for that is loss of strength. I put 150lbs on a bench press machine like I used to do years ago when I was doing both weights and cardio and I couldn't budge it! I found that I could only do a fraction of it. There are probably lots of people here that could speak more definitively on this but I believe your weight loss isn't going to slow that much by lifting weights AND frequent body fat measurements as well as measuring yourself will show that the sleeve is working for you.

Going into this last year, I knew three people who didn't exercise and lost the weight they wanted. Two are maintaining, one appears to be gaining again. Something to consider: at 416lbs I was carrying around at least 200lbs of excess weight daily. A side effect people hardly consider in addition to high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, and other nasties is increased muscle mass. Yes, carrying around all that weight does build muscle. Muscles that are not exercised atrophy. You don't have to kill yourself at the gym or run a daily marathon to exercise. So this is part of the reason I encourage it. Sure people have bad knees, bad backs, etc but there is SOMETHING you can do for exercise.

I think the quest bars are great for a 10 mile hike, or to stash in your car or desk in case you get caught too long without any real food. Where they become a problem IMO is when people eat them at home as a daily meal or snack. You're right, at home there are always better choices. Agreed. I haven't had a lot of luck keeping "a few ounces of sliced chicken pieces with red pepper or apple slices with almond butter" in my cubicle drawer for an extended period of time. Fiddle is right about the mystery ingredients tho - I made the mistake of staring too long at the insides of a Quest Bar. I won't be doing that again!

Stop beating yourself up over this - it's not failure when you fall down, it's failure when you don't get back up after falling. I'm willing to bet every person on this board has had their moments, I sure have. Get yourself on MFP, get an accountability partner, and get back on track!