Texasgeo

One of my best friends had the sleeve done 3 years ago, and has been wanting me to do it. I was scared and kept putting off. I wont lie to you the first couple of weeks were hard, but now it's just routine. I wish I would have had the surgery a couple of years ago, but I am so glad I finally got it done. I know you will be much happier after you get past the surgery and the first few weeks. When it gets hard just keep telling your self how much better your whole life is going to be. And on hard days I always pull out a picture of myself at 400# and then look in a mirror, talk about a pick me up. Make sure and set goals for yourself and stick to them, it helps a lot. My first goal was to be under 300# by my birthday, it was 2 months from my surgery. I made it by 2 pounds, and man did it feel good.

I am down a 100# and man I feel great. anyone wondering if you should have this surgery the answer is YES. I was on 600mg of blood pressure medication daily. And was about to be put on medication for diabetes. Now I'm of all medication, my daily blood pressure reading is about 117/78. I paid cash for my surgery and it was worth every penny.

Percentage wise we are pretty close, keep up the good work.

As far a drinking goes, mostly water. I do like to have a glass of juice now and then. I like the V8 light line of juice, it tastes very good and only 50 cals per serving. this time last year I gave up all caffeine. I was drinking 12+ cans of Diet Coke a day. I stopped cold turkey and it was a hard week, but after the first week I felt so much better. I know if I will ever drink sodas again, I think it is just one of the bad habits that I have to stay away from.

You will do great. just set your mind to it. My biggest problem was always feeling hungry. After the surgery I very rarely get that hungry feeling. Now I eat to live, before I lived to eat.

Last April I was at 410# the most I have ever weighed. At the time of surgery I was 378#.

Well it changes a lot, I get real bored if I eat the same food over and over. Yesterday I had; a Greek yogurt with some grape nuts on top for breakfast, one of the small lunchables(turkey, cheddar and crackers) and for dinner I had 4 one once meatballs with sauce and mozzarella cheese on top. I eat a lot of fish in the evenings, like grilled mahi or cod. I buy them from Sams or Costco in the freezer packs. they are usually between 4 and 6 ounces, pop them in the micro wave or in a skillet. Breakfast is usually yogurt or a protein bar, on the weekends when I have time I'll do one egg with some sausage or bacon crumbles and cheese. lunch is different everyday, I am on the go with work and never know where I will be when lunchtime get here. so a lot of the time I just pop in a 7-11 and grab a lunchable, quick and easy. if I am home for lunch I might eat a can of tuna fish or just roll up some lunch meat and cheese. Exercise, well. Most of the exercise I get is just working. I am always moving heavy stuff around outside or just walking around a lot. I have been trying to hit the gym but am only making it once a week or so. The gym I am going to has a lap pool, I really like swimming laps. I am hoping to get there at least three times a week. I am hopping that I can drop my remaining 70+ pounds by the end of the year. I know the weight is going to start coming off slower now, but it will come off. AND STAY OFF!!!!!!!!!!

It has gotten better, but I still have to drink slowly. Every once and while I forget and take a big glup and it hurts for a minute or two.

Just got home from the hospital this afternoon, had my surgery yesterday morning. I am having a real hard time drinking my water. It hurts when it hits my stomach and makes me want to yack. I am having an even harder time taking meds. Any ideas on helping me get through this.

My first goal is to be under 300# by my birthday. My birthday is May 4th and I am at 312#. 13# in 18 days is going to be hard, but I think I can do it. My highest weight was 410# last April so in two pounds I will be down 100#.......SWEET

I made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I think I'm going to make it. Got on the scale this morning and was happy to see 301.4. I have 5 days till my birthday and about 2 pounds to go.

I'm getting closer, down to 307#. 14 days to hit 299#.

That is incredible. Keep up the great work........

That is cool man. I am the same way about the rides, last time we took the kids I was 400# and could not ride anything. This summer we are going to Disney World and i hope to be down to 250. i am going to ride rides like a ten year old hopped up on cotton candy.....

Sounds good......Its time to get my but in the gym. No more lifting restrictions.

Hello everyone, I have been reading a lot of your stories for a while now. Very inspiring, and a lot of good information. I figured I would wait till I was close to my surgery before I jumped in. Well, I am 5 days away from my surgery. Started a liquid diet two days ago and have already dropped 10 pounds. I hit my highest weight back in April of 2012, 410#. I knew I had to do something or I wouldn’t live past 50. I tried dieting on my own and was able to lose 40# over the summer, but as the weather started to change I started putting the weight back on. I put back on ten pounds and then decided I needed help if I was going to get this weight off. Have had a couple of friends do the sleeve with great success so it was an easy decision for me. I am self-employed and I do not have insurance, so I had to save up the money for the surgery. It’s all paid for and I am ready to get this done so I can start dropping the pounds.

The first two days are the worst, by day three I was off the pain meds. I can honestly say I have had no pain after the first two days. You'll sleep a lot those days so they go by pretty quick.I bet you'll do great, good luck and we'll talk to you in a couple of days.

I think it helps you prepare mentally. It was hard to do, but I think it made the post liquid diet easier for me. Because I was already use to it I did not even think about it after the surgery.

Mine was about a hour. My mom stayed with me, and made me get up and walk every hour. I think this really helped with my speedy recovery. I was off all pain meds by three days after the surgery. The more you walk the faster you get the gas out of your body cavity.

That is so cool. I cant wait to reach my goal. I am hoping to hit my first goal by my birthday, under 300 by May 4th. I have about 18# to go. My final goal is to under 200 by the end of the year.

You might want to repost this in the support section, you'll probably get more replies.

Trust what your body tells you. The biggest problem i have run into is that everyone’s body is different. I'm 6'1 and started at 410#, you have a much smaller body. Even if we weighed the same amount, my stomach sleeve would be longer than yours. So i might be able to eat 4 oz of Soup and not have an issue, where 4 oz might make you very uncomfortable. So cut back an once and try that for a day or two and see how you feel. It is really trial and error. Don’t get down on yourself it will just make things worse. We are all going through the same thing. It will get better.

At 8 days out you should not be worried about cals, you should be concentrating on get you Protein in. Protein helps the body, stomach, heal. I know all Dr are different, but mine has us on a liquid diet, Protein shakes, broth, ect., for the first three weeks after surgery. No Soups or pureed food till week 4. I tried a cream of broccoli soup and it hurt bad, i went right back to shakes. you have to listen to your body everyone is different. Sounds like yours is telling you it’s not ready for the next stage. Go back to shakes for a few days and see how you feel. Good luck, don’t push yourself to fast.