Rena's got this

I had the sleeve in Feb 2014. I've lost 60 pounds so far. I think I'm a slow loser due to my age and the fact that I don't exercise, but I'm still satisfied with my rate of loss. I'm only losing about a pound a week now, but that's ok. I had no complications at all, and am extremely, extremely happy with my sleeve and my doctor. A younger friend of mine had the sleeve at the same time, and somehow one of her stomach nerves became paralyzed and she couldn't eat much at all. She lost over 100 pounds in 4-5 months and had to get feeding lines (Picc lines) inserted to keep from being malnourished. She eventually had to get a revision from sleeve to bypass to see if it would enable her to start eating again. It has only been a week, but it is looking good.

I made sausage and cheese balls and took them over to my sisters house with a couple of bags of candy. I had a few of the sausage and cheese balls and I was stuffed. I could only handle one bite sized chocolate bar for the rest of the evening. Next morning, I was down a pound! Had a lot of fun watching the kids coming to the door in all their various costumes.

I've been on a stall nearly 2 months now. I am just under the 200 pound mark. Nice to be in Onederland again, but every 3 or 4 days it seems as if I regain just to the 200 mark before dropping back down to 198. I know I could do better. I eat a pastry every now and then, I stuff myself periodically, making myself feel bad before I remember that I don't need to do this to myself. Even though I'm stalling, I had two people tell me this week that they've noticed I've lost quite a bit of weight. I had not told them of my surgery, so it was nice to hear that people were noticing. My sister, who has always been the tiny one in my family, gave me a couple of her dresses (size 10 & 12) that she outgrew. It was nice that she has faith in me in getting down to that weight when I'm not sure myself that it is possible. Love that girl bunches. She has put on weight, and I really feel for her, but she still looks great at around 160. I go and see my surgeon this week for a follow up. I'm going to try to be good this week to try and lose one or two more pounds, but so far I haven't been able to shake up my diet. I did give up pretzel sticks, which I thought might be a contributing factor, but it is going to be hard to give up the Bacon Jerky that I've been enjoying.

Yay...it just keeps slipping away. Down to 188 now!

I had a two month stall right when I was at 200. Eventually it broke and I dropped 10 pounds in a little over a month, so hang in there!

My mom and I had the very best relationship. Loved her more than I could say. I lost her last year due to complications of diabetes and dementia, and I will miss the person she used to be for the rest of my life. She never ever made me feel bad about my weight, any of my life choices, or anything. For my own kids, I'm going to try to be the mom she was to me.

I think that my stall has definitely been broken. I'm 10 pounds less than when I started this thread! I gave up the pastries, which wasn't hard at all...they almost make me feel sick to think about eating them now. I tried to give up the pretzels, but still eat them every now and then. I've mainly gone back to just Protein and salads. The down side? The size 16 pants that I bought last month are now getting too loose. Guess I'll have to go SHOPPING! Might just wait until the next 10 pounds come off first though.

I used to have a very high sex drive.....no longer. After menopause it seemed to just disappear. I don't know if it is coming back or not. I'm only halfway to my goal so I'm holding out hope that at least a little of it will return. If not, I'm not even going to think about re-entering the dating scene.

Good luck for your new future and weight loss! I know how it feels to not be able to do it on your own. There is a sense of guilt and defeat as well as embarrassment when you tell others of your decision. My father was really ragging on me to lose weight, but I just couldn't do it on my own. Now that I've lost over 50 pounds, he treats me just like I did it on my own and I am so grateful that the guilt has vanished. You have to do what works for you. This works for me. You are taking charge of your life and doing what you have to. Be proud of that...you go getter you!

I used my cpap machine faithfully until I dropped about 30 pounds. At that point, I found that every now and then I'd wake up with a stomach full of air... painful until I belched it out. I also found that my mouth would dry out and I'd wake up parched. I finally gave it up and have had no problems sleeping or being sleepy the next day. I still need to contact my sleep doc to either have him adjust it or to tell me I no longer need it, but I'm doing nicely without it for now.

A blood clot can break off and lodge in your lungs, resulting in a pulmonary embolism. People have died from that. Get your leg checked ASAP...please!

I didn't like salads before, but now I have at least 3 a week. They taste fantastic with a little ranch dressing. Of course, I put in a few bacon bits, hard boiled egg and cheese to give them a bit more Protein, and use raw spinach instead of lettuce. I don't care much for breads anymore, and before surgery, I would have bread almost 3 times a day. I've also for the most part given up anything fried.

I hit a two month stall. Had my surgery in February of 2014. The only way I broke the stall wasn't really of my doing. I got nauseated one day, and lost my lunch. For the rest of the day and most of the next, I didn't want ANYTHING to eat. That broke the stall. I lost about 4 pounds that week. I'm thinking if I hit another stall, I will try to fast for a day or so, just drinking Protein drinks or something.

Hi Karen, Yes, I had the surgery in February 2014. I've had no complications whatsoever, and have lost over 50 pounds so far. The weight loss has slowed greatly, but I'm still hoping to lose another 50 at least. I only had to pay $100 to the hospital for the co-pay, and my surgery cost insurance $26K, which amazed me. I'm off nearly all of my meds, except for my thyroid medicine. I feel so much better. I recently tried to pick up a 50 pound dog food bag at the grocery, and I couldn't. I couldn't believe I was hauling all that extra 50 pounds around before! My knee feels a lot better, even though the doc says I now have arthritis in it. Have you had the surgery? How are you doing with it? Rena

I think she might have her medications mixed up. I came off Metformin months before my surgery because my body was no longer able to tolerate it. I was having low grade fevers every other day, and nausea. My gastric doc told me it was the Metformin and when I came off of it, everything went back to normal. He said that Metformin was not meant for long term use, which was why my body was starting to reject it.

I think I found something.... I got nauseated the other day and went the whole day without eating more than a few cherry tomatoes. The next day I couldn't eat much at all, it is as if I could feel a definite restriction again. I was actually down to 194 this morning. SO next time I get on a stall, I think I'll just fast for a day. It is nice to have the feeling of the restriction back.

How can I cheat? Yes, I was educated and know what I am supposed to do, but heck, I'm not by any means perfect. If I had willpower, I wouldn't have gotten in this mess in the first place. But...I try, which is all I can do...and I did get on the scales this morning 2 pounds down, so my stall could possibly be broken. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I've always been a bit heavy, but not morbidly obese. In the Army I always had to have the body fat test cause I was just over the standardized table weights, but I was always just under the max for the body fat test. I started to run 7 miles, 3 times a week and that got me down to 130 at one point. It ruined my knees....I now have arthritis and have been told not to run any more. My weight started to balloon when I hit menopause, and my thyroid doesn't put out as much hormone as it should. I'm on medication for that, but other than helping with my energy level, it didn't help me lose the weight I had gained. Good luck on your surgery. I am 57 and I wish I could have done this sooner.

One definite change since the surgery is that I've been craving salads. Never liked them before. I have at least 3 or 4 a week, whereas a pastry maybe once a week, if that. Of course, on my salads, I put hard boiled eggs, bacon bits, and cheese along with all the veggies. I've also fallen in love with cherry tomatoes. Yummy. Had some bacon this morning for breakfast, then got on the scale...197.4! Yay!...I think. I didn't get in all my Water yesterday so may be slightly dehydrated.

I am soooo frustrated. I finally hit my first real stall, and I'm fluctuating between 199 and 200. I'm in Onederland, I'm not in Onederland, I'm in Onederland...no I'm not in Onderland. For the past two weeks! I could pull my hair out! (no, it hasn't started coming out on its own yet)

Finally!!!! I'm at 198. Maybe I can start watching the numbers go down again

Definitely hiccups. However, last week I had 1 bbq'd rib with no hiccups. An hour later I barfed. No other symptoms. This was the first time I've ever barfed something I had eaten without actually having a stomach bug. What's worse is that I was in a class, and barely made it to the trash can by the door before it came up. I had to leave for the day.

I was a bread-a- holic. I loved my bread! I was so hoping that this surgery would change my tastes, and it has. I find that I no longer crave bread, Pasta, pizza, lasagna, french fries, pastries, anything with simple carbs. meat is what I crave now...and veggies. I've eaten more salads in the past month than I had in five years. I'm on a stall right now, but I know my body is just readjusting, so I'm not worried.

I had to prove that I had been at or over a BMI of 40 for the past 3 years, which I couldn't, so I had to show that my co-morbidities had been present for 3 years, which they were, but weren't terribly severe. I was denied on the first attempt, so I copied my entire medical records for the past five years and sent in every little thing I could think of. Lots of documents, lol. They approved me the second go round.

I've been reading a lot about people reaching a weight loss goal that they've set. I haven't set any goals, but maybe I should. I just watch the scale every day, making sure it is going in the right direction. What are your thoughts on setting goals? Do you reward yourself when you meet one? How do you reward yourself?