BuriedBombshell

When I started in May 2012 for the 6 month visits i was at 372 today I am 339 ...33 lbs down and I'm scheduled for surgery 6/10 so happy that its ALMOST here

I have fibro and also a.s. and yes I am getting sleeved on June 12th. Dr said won't cure the fibro but will definitely help with the pain and make easier to walk and what not. Very good luck to you!

Duh....question answered...THANKS!

That is so kind of you and I totally agree...we're all in this together and it helps to be reassured that what we are doing may help someone else. I haven't seen my surgeon since the day of surgery and don't expect to. The NP is of no help over the phone..no encouragement or anything . This forum is so important to me!! It helped me get over my stall and although it may happen again, I will have some good tools/ideas to work with. The info is greatly appreciated !!

I'm glad to help!! I feel that sharing info is crucial because we are all told different things. I've got a whole 3 ring binder full of info and if it helps anyone I'm glad to share! We are all striving for the same goals and no one should be deprived of that.

I will NEVER love working out, so I agree with screwing the idea of motivation. I just think of it like another thing I have to do, like wiping your ass. You HAVE to wipe your ass! Lol!

I wish I had known it would be several weeks before I felt good again or had any energy. You read about people posting how easy it is and how they had so much energy so quick - not my experience at all. I also wish I had known that some people do everything right and still don't lose weight, or lose much. I am not one of them, but now at month 5, I am still doing everything right, and I'm not losing much, and I have a lot to go. The surgery is a risk in many ways, and there is no way to know the outcome and how your body will respond.

1. I wish I would have known just how nasty the Protein Shakes are prior to surgery...I didn't want to give up my "real food" for shakes before surgery (I am food lazy & food addicted)...and now I struggle to get in my Protein. My advice - find a shake that works for you!
2. I wish I would have been more thankful& grateful for the life I had prior to surgery. Unhealthy or not, it was my life. Now I am not really me. My advice - make sure you are willing to change who you are...
3. I wish I would have realized the surgery wasn't for me, but there was no way for me to know that ...I did everything I should have to get ready for surgery...my advice - make sure wls is for you.

I bought a stationary bike and at first I rode for 5 minutes and it was all I could do... today I can easily ride 30 minutes on a high resistance. My knees are shot so walking isn't easy. I can say that my walking has improved tremendously. I weighed at the Dr. this week and am down to 378. Most would cringe at that, I am thrilled to be on this side of 400 and going down! Sleeve Surgery is the best thing I have done for myself! I feel so much better!!!

I'm supposed to have 1,500k per day, with 188 g of protein.

I have not sleeved yet, so I do not have first have knowledge or experience with it. However, in my former life (ten-plus-years-ago-when-I-was-in-shape), I was an aerobics instructor and weight trainer. I learned a lot about the body and how it functions when it comes to fat burning and building muscle mass.
That being said, I want to address those of you who are experiencing stalls. Stalls in the beginning of the sleeve process are usually due to your body re-supplying its Water and insulin stores that were utilized when your body went into shock from the liquid diet. When stores are utilized, your body sheds all of the weight that those stores consisted of in your body. This is part of the large amount weight that you see shed in the beginning. However, once your body has depleted its stores, it starts to store them once again (it needs to prepare itself in case of another emergency!). This is where sleevers tend to see stalls—the period of time that your body is restoring itself and is adding back its water weight.
Stalls seen thereafter in people who are following the doctor and nutritionists advice to the letter, and whom are also exercising, are often experiencing the added pounds of muscle mass. Muscle weight weighs more than fat because of its density. Picture a steak with chunks of fat on the sides, the meat is heavier—denser. Often times people think that they are “stalling” or plateauing, but they are in actuality burning more fat and adding muscle mass. DO NOT let this stop you from lifting weights and trying to build muscle mass, because the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn! YES, that is right!!! The more muscle you add to your body, the greater you enable your body to burn the fat—essentially, making you thinner! So, you might not be seeing loss on the scale, but you should definitely see loss in the inches and circumference of your body.

It actually sounds like your body could use MORE calories for the exercise you're doing. You're in the anorexic range for what your body needs. You won't loose weight if your body is in survival mode. I bet if you increase your calories and dietary fat a little the weight will start to come off again. Good luck!

Actually, I forgot about that magic bean I take every morning...in all seriousness, there's no magic pill. See a doctor and don't ask for advice when you don't want to hear it. WOW.

I do not have much to add to this thread, but I think it is important to try and achieve a state of equilibrium in the body.
You already know that eating at such low calorie deficits like 800 calories a day kills the BMR over time. You are able to fix this as others have pointed out on a different thread. Find your TDEE and work on increasing your caloric intake o be 200-300 calories below that with respect to the training/cardio you do. It will take some time to get your BMR back into an equilibrium state, but I think that is what you are really after.
BMR Equilibrium within the macronutrient ratios of eating will allow you to eat, for example, 1800 calories of good quality lean Proteins, leafy vegetables, good starches (think: brown rice or oats) and the occasional splurge. Your body will become a finely tuned engine for efficiently processing food 24 hours a day.
I do not count much of anything now days, but stick to a very solid and clean set of food choices that regulates my fat burning process around the clock. I eat enough to sustain my daily training sessions (always an hour or less). I try and make every training session high quality and effective. 6 am is usually a Protein shake and an energy square. An hour Before training (8am) I eat a banana with Peanut Butter. After training I eat a recovery Protein Shake (whey with bcaa chain). As my training is usually at 9am (M, W, F and Sat), I eat about 2 hours after training for lunch and then again at 3pm and so on all the way until 9 pm. Repeat. On T, Thur, I train at 4 pm so flip the morning eating strategy to afternoon in order to nourish my body before, during and after training. It works out pretty nicely and my body likes the food it gets.
For me, drinking high quality Protein shakes when I rise (extended release) and when I go to bed (casein - long acting) is important to start the day off right and to keep my BMR working for me all night long. I am rarely hungry as I eat every 2-3 hours. If I do get hungry in between my 2-3 hour eating times, I have some extra lean Protein. Each meal is between 200-500 calories. I am eating between 1400-2100 calories a day and am able to still cut the fat and build the lean muscle. My body fat percentage is currently at 17%. Shooting for 10% in 4 months from now, down 15 lbs of fat and up 5-10 lb of lean muscle. Not sure if 10% is achievable in 12 months, but will certainly give it my focus.
Once you reach a state of equilibrium, you will no longer need to be a slave to low carb or low calorie diets. Your body will stop trying to store whatever energy it can find. You can eat to live and stop the insanity of starvation dieting.
As others have stated, get your Water in! And lots of it.
Water is the primary means for us to hydrate and also to flush toxins out of our bodies. Toxins cause the breakdown of cells (oxidation process) which mutates otherwise good cells into Inefficient and mutant cells. Inefficient cells are terrible at supporting the transport of nutrients to muscles, the brain and other parts of the body. Eating to meet the macronutrient needs of the body requires a clean body to properly keep it running at optimal efficiency.
Toxicity in the body leads to inflammation. Inflammation leads to storage of more fat and more fat leads to the retention of water to support stored fat. More importantly, stored fat from inflammation is usually visceral fat around the organs. this is the worse kind to have as visceral fat is known to shorten life expectations.
By drinking or eating your daily antioxidants in the form of fruit, vegetables or supplementation, you can slow down and correct the cellular breakdown and create a healthy environment for the processing of nutrients in your body. Secondly, the waste and toxins formed by training hard or by eating processed foods and junk is a precursor to the inflammation process so you need to constantly be drinking water to flush it out. I drink about 1.5 gallon throughout the day. We all want to minimize of eliminate excess inflammation in the body to create a state of health.
This may seem like a full time job. At first it is, but it gets easier over time until eventually it is a lifestyle. I also do work a full time desk job that usually ends up being 12-15 hours in actuality a day ( luckily it is at home currently). I am a software developer by trade so can work some pretty long hours, but still I find one hour a day to get in exercise and also am able to manage the healthy lifestyle of eating and supplementation. I also still have a couple hours of down time at night and the weekends with family. It is very possible to have this lifestyle and also carry on with life's responsibilities. I do not really watch tv much, but do get out to some movies occasionally over the weekend. I do not have children, but do spend a lot of time with my pets. Love my dog to death!!
Sorry that my comments are quite general, but I think you can do this.

Never depend on motivation to get through exercise. For some, it's a job just like the 9 to 5. When i was utterly sick of the gym I found this quote and saved it:
"No motivation however does not mean I won’t do the work. work needs to be done. I will never rely on motivation. Too risky"
Full post on her blog: http://paulinefitnes...m/?s=motivation

That's what I'm thinking... It's just for the elitist snobs... I MEAN the people that have the extra income to circumvent the ads

I assume that premium membership simply means paying not to see ads. I'm great at ignoring them for free.

A good friend had this surgery a year ago. She orders all her meals "to go", asks for a plate and serves herself only what she can eat. It's very empowering, plus, she gets to do all the talking while everyone else is eating.

I wish I would of known that complications can be very serious, and what to look for to know. I had major complications twelve weeks in hospital almost lost my job due to excess time off from work was out 4months.
Wish I would of known about all the throwing up.
I love my sleeve just wanting to comment on what I wish I would of known.

I wish I knew that the only foods that restrict me are healthy, less 'tasty' food. I can eat chips and ice cream and candy all day but only a few ounces of tuna or chicken. So in the end it's still 100% up to you! Kinda wish I had more reactions to fatty or carb-y meals.

Hey - I appreciate it because I have no idea what that will be like. How many ounces of Water is a sip?
On a completely different topic, does anyone know how to add pictures or files?
Also, as to what you say to others. I'd say something like:
1) If I tell you, I'd have to kill you.
2) I'd tell you, but I'm afraid you'd lose all desire to eat.
3) If you really want to know, I can give you the name of my drug dealer.
4) They're having a biggest loser contest at ... work ... church ... in my family ... in my neighborhood ... and I wanna win first place, which is a trip to Hawaii for 2. Maybe I'll bring one of you along.
5) Thank you for noticing. I really appreciate that kind of support!

I'm not a veteran by ANY means, but I did recently have surgery (4/1). I was up and ready to go by day 4 but my tummy definitely was not. It's hard in the beginning, especially with the post op liquid diet and puréed foods. For me, it was hard to eat 5 times a day and I had no idea how to get all of the recommended Protein in. I didn't realize how hard it would be to keep up with drinking Water and taking Vitamins every day. The drinking is a full time job on its own! Another thing, although its insignificant, is dining with friends. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat out right away but now since I'm 7 weeks out, I want to hang out with friends and go out to dinner. Usually you can order off the appetizers to have a Soup. I didn't tell many people about my surgery so many of friends didnt know. I gets tough having to make up excuses as to why you're eating so little. Also, I would recommend you start researching different Protein Shakes so you're ready after surgery. Good luck!

I am only three days post op, but I really wish I had realized how serious it is to learn to sip not gulp. It was incomprehensible to me that it would take an hour to drink four ounces but it's real.
That's all I have to offer so far!

I've lost a 100 lbs with diet and working out ... I also gain it all back ... Then lost another 75 and gain it all back !!! So now I have to do something different !!! We are not taking the easy way out its just something to help us try to loose and keep the weight off !!! More power to her if she can keep it off !!! in the long term that's what matters !!!