JolieBug

I am having my sleeve done by Drake Bellanger at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge. I will be sleeved on March 25, and will update this thread with new information afterwards, but want to share the pre-surgery experience while it is fresh in my mind. Katherine is the patient coordinator, and only works with bariatric patients at Woman's. she is fantastic: responds to emails at all hours, coordinates everything around my schedule, answers questions thoroughly, and is a very pleasant person. The hospital itself is new, state-of-the-art, and immaculate. The hospital hosts support groups weekly and boasts an affiliated fitness center that has programs specifically designed for bariatric patients. Dr. Bellanger is a member of BLIS insurance. This means, for self-pay patients, any later complications are completely covered. Wow. He frequently gives talks for other surgeons and has surgeons from around the world come to see his technique. Dr. Bellanger's office staff is wonderful and considerate, especially Pam, who is like the awesome aunt everyone loves. I will update post-surgery for that experience.

Has anyone else tried this? I have a series of six appointments in July for Thermojet Infrared therapy to aid weight loss and to tighten loose skin. I plan to document with photos, but would like some idea of how it's worked for others in the past. By the last session, I will have been sleeved four months (3 months today, -50 pounds, down from a 22/24 to a 14/16) and am hoping to lose another size by the end. I eat 500-700ish calories a day and exercise in a HIIT class 3-4 days per week. The exercise is a recent addition, so I'm not sure how much will be from that and how much will be from the Thermojet. Any insight is much appreciated!

Six sessions, even tried laying in different positions, nothing. I didn't even break a sweat and no inches or pounds lost after either. My weight loss actually stalled during that time.

Total and complete crap! I figured, but at least others will know if they search now.

This is EXACTLY how I am losing, too! No AF for two years (thanks, Mirena!) and since surgery it seems to control my weight. I thought I was broken...so although it's frustrating for me (and I'm sure you), I'm glad we aren't alone.

Thank you all. I am reading and educating myself more on this particular topic. I appreciate that you did the same at some point and that you shared with me. The scale is now up a total of 9 pounds, but body fat is down 1.5%. I am going to (attempt to) stop worrying about the scale and focus on fitness and nutrition. The loss will come. I am, however, going to check my scale against another one. Today it weighed me over a 10-pound range within five minutes. My mom suggested that as a possible issue: maybe the scale is broken. If not, oh well. (I do hope it is, lol!) ~Jolie

My scale had gone crazy. I went up six pounds overnight three days ago. My body fat % has dropped a full point, though. WTH is this? Three weeks ago, I started exercising 3 days a week, an hour each time, in a class with a trainer. It's similar to CrossFit but not as intense. The weight fell off. Now it's coming back up. I should mention that I'm 50 pounds down, out of the 110 I had to lose, so I'm not focusing on building muscle, which I may be doing, happily. I have upped my calories from 500 to about 700 because I was so exhausted. I know I should still be losing on 700 a day. My Protein isn't 80, but pretty consistently 60ish. I drink at least 80 ounces of Water each day, normally 100-120. I normally don't question the scale and just accept that it will come off. I know it will, and don't really need reassurance (though it's welcome, lol). I just want to know what is happening in my body. Anybody have insight?

Thank you, and I have lost inches. I know that muscle takes up less space than fat, but to gain six pounds of muscle in a few days seems extreme.

I also have 3 1/2 year old identical girls. They see my relationship with food, which is much better than what my son saw. They are in perfect health, a little tall, right at the perfect weight. One is two pounds lighter. I don't want them to feel pressured to eat tiny amounts like I do, and it really bothers me that I get nauseous when I eat, so they think it's normal to need to throw up when full. I think you and I just want to protect our children, but I can see some parents wanting their kid to be popular or pretty and going to extremes (think Toddlers in Tiaras as preteens.)

Cheri, that makes so much sense to me. I have an 8-year-old son who is also obese. I wouldn't tell him that, but we do have discussions about positive choices. If he is in late teens, early twenties and still following his trend (he is above chart max for height, too, though), I may consider it for him. I don't want him to be as unhappy with himself as I was in college, settling for love that wasn't, marrying someone I didn't love because I thought he was the best I could do. I want him to be confident in his intelligence and self-worth. As a preventative measure, I won't do it to a child. But I can see it being a possibility for those with family history of obesity related health problems and an upward weight trend. Jolie

This is the rationale my doctor explains to his patients. It makes sense to me, especially when looking at my progress chart. Flat, spike, massive drop every time.

210 minutes is only 2% of your week!

That's my girl! T, you look fantastic and I'm SO happy you found your joy again. I have tears of happiness for you right now.

Anne, that is hilarious! Is it oceanfront? If so, I'm so interested... Evolving, that's what I used to purchase the package. I paid $100 for six sessions. I'm also a contributor to Angie's List, so for the business's sake, I hope it's not false advertising! I will post progress with photos once I'm done, and keep a journal of what happens at each session. I don't know how authentic it will be since I've had surgery, but it's better than what I found online anyway. Hopefully I didn't waste money, but my summer mentality is to be adventurous!

I recently had the same question. My trainer said to go by feel. If I am exhausted and fatigued, I either need to cut back on exercise, or increase calories with a focus on protein. She suggested a shake before and/or after a workout to help repair the muscle that is being broken down during the workout.

I know we are supposed to go for a deficit, but I only ate 500 calories today, and my workout (a HIIT class) burned 612 calories according to my HRM. Is this bad or good? My protein is normal, but fish and shrimp just don't have that many calories.

Almost 3 months out, and just hit 50 pounds down! Sleeved 3/25/13. I still need to lose about 75-85 pounds.

Today I am 2 weeks post op and the day I am cleared for sex. So I get my first period in two freaking years. F-word. Or, not.

It will be great. Today is 2-weeks post-op for me. Other than serious nausea when I eat one bite too many, everything has been great! I went back to work at 8 days, and I am a pretty active teacher. I took it easy last week and this week is LEAP testing, so I don't know how I would have done if I had to be super active, but I feel perfectly normal and have since about day 5. My incisions are healed perfectly, no drain (thank God), and I am down 20 pounds in 2 weeks. I did not do so well with Easter chocolates around, or I probably would have lost more. I live and learn and work on doing better and making positive choices each day. My emotions have been all over the place, and I just started my first period in about 2 years (I have an IUD, which I will check religiously to make sure it is in place...no babies for this girl!). That, honestly, has been the hardest thing--the emotional roller coaster. I read about people with food addictions and think that's not me, but I think it really is/was. I'm working on that, though. My relationship is not as good as it was, and I don't know if I am being a picky b***h or if he really is driving me crazy and that maybe I was settling. I'll wait til after the period to see how that works out, but I'll have to be honest with myself (easiest person to lie to is self) and be prayerful about it. Today I threw up twice. That's not normal, but it's not so bad. I guess because I don't have mass quantities of food (or alcohol) to get out. Still feel funky from the last time, so took a phenergan and will pass out soon. I have a post-op nutritionist meeting tomorrow, but was moved to puréed foods Saturday. I tolerate it well, but I see how little I can actually eat right now. Hopefully in a week I can have normal food (I did once and just chewed the hell out of it because I really had no other options, which was stupid of me to not think and plan ahead. Like I said, live and learn.) I will pray for you guys. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I'm not on as much since going back to work, so you might have to remind me to respond, even though I read daily. Geaux Tigers and have a ball, y'all! ~Jolie

I was sleeved March 25 and have been doing great until today. I just can't eat. My chest hurts and everything just sits right there. This is new to me, but does anyone else have experience with it? I'm getting in the last of a 12 ounce, 42g protein shake, but I started it this morning. I feel nauseous and off-balance, like I am drunk (totally not).

Oh, and the foam roll is awesome. It's amazing how much you'll pop and crack, like some crazy cereal!

My favorite exercises were always Cross Fit, hot yoga, and spinning. I found that following spin with yoga was excellent. A place near me offers Pi-Yo-Spin, which is a mixed class of getting on and off bikes integrating yoga and Pilates. Check it out if you get a chance!