NMJG

Yes these are great. When you get a bit further down the road, they make great meal stews and soups or snacks with the addition of meats and vegs. If you add protein powder, make sure it is less than 140 degrees F or the powder will clump.

sorry to laugh at your issues here, but it is pretty funny! ah, the way our plans go awry! I sympathize

Personally, I chose to not tell anyone except my husband and two college age kids. In my family there is so much drama. This surgery was for me, and I just did not want to deal with all the cr@p I knew would be coming at me. I still think it was the best thing. It took people months to notice I lost weight at work. When they did notice I just laughed and said I had been dieting for months and people were just noticing now because I bought new clothes. At the first of the year I started working out with a trainer that everyone knows around here, so that has bought me some weight loss believability, too. No one suspects WLS and i am just fine with that. I am very private and my medical issues are no ne else's business. That is just me, though. Plenty of others here are fine with being poster children for WLS. More power to them. For me, the journey is hard enough without questions and worry and accusations from other people.

not a lot helps, that's why people get thigh lifts and lower body lifts However, I am trying two new things: One is Viora (Thermage is another brand). It's a radio frequency type thing they torture you with and it stimulates collagen. I'm having it done on my saggy jawline right now. You have to have a number of treatments, though, and it is pricey. The other thing I'm trying on thighs, butt, and tummy is an ultrasound treatment combined with a vacuum thing. I go to a skin specialist who does it. Basically you get a weird vibrating sucking massage on the area with a tool that looks like a showerhead with pointy things coming out of it, then he goes over the skin with ultrasound, then he does a standard Swedish massage to finish it off. I have noticed some improvement in two visits, but not a lot. Saggy thighs. Uggh.

Gary, that's awesome! In the 20's and 30's here in New Mexico. Snowed yesterday. Spring is just around the corner, though! Besides, doesn't cold destroy fat cells?

Jen, you can do this. You are in a great place mentally already, because knowing you have to make the changes will keep you on the right path. Reading here about vets who have gone through it is a great way to prepare. If you search on "food addiction" and other similar topics you'll find a lot of info. We all have food issues. Recognizing it is a great start. Check out threads from laura-ven on the subject. One piece of advice I will offer (just my opnion, so no one flame me!) is that you avoid taking to heart some of the posters who advise "everything in moderation" and "one bite of birthday cake/halloween candy/whatever won't hurt" or "I can't eat much so I let the sleeve do it for me" types of attitudes. It may work for them, but it may not work for you if you have a food addiction. The thing is, your sleeve will have very tight restriction for only so long. Eventually you will be able to eat a bit more and that's where the trouble starts. You still won't be eating a lot, but if you eat high carb choices those calories can pack in really fast. If you drink those calories (sugared coffee drinks, smoothies, etc.) it's even worse. Many of us avoid our trigger foods (varies for everyone, but some common ones are chips, candy, chocolate, popcorn, Cookies, alchohol - no one ever has a Tofu trigger!). A trigger food can be bad because if you have just one it opens a flood gate. So we have to stay away. Lots of people coming into this ask "will I never be able to eat XXX again?" Most likely, you can eat it again. But will you want to and how often? That's the question. Remember that how you feel about food will change dramatically throughout your journey. The first month you may hate food, maybe the first three months. For me, there is no joy in food any more, just sustenance. This was very hard for me because I am a foodie. The joy of food is gone for me and I mourn it. That's something I have to deal with. Some other people have really gotten into making sleeve food with style and do a great job with new recipes and ideas (check out gamergirl's blog). Anyway, good luck to you and post often. This is a great group for support.

looks delish! cauliflower rice is a great idea

I couldn't drink anything cold, and still prefer warm drinks even this far out. Cold + Sleeve = not good (for me anyway) When you take the pain meds, be sure to take something for constipation (colase, MOM) because those pain meds will stop you up like a cork and that is NOT fun right after surgery.

There are some differences and it changes depending on where you are in your journey, but this is a pretty good way to go for most people. You may have different needs if you are a big guy or a tiny woman. Protein: 80 g/day Carbs: 40-60g/day Fats: 30-50g/day Most people are in the 800 calorie/day range for the first six months. If you start weight training you may need more. If you start running you may need more carbs. Some people are able to lose at 1000-1200 calories a day, but that is the exception, and usually people build up to that after 6 months. While there is not a max on Protein, if you eat too much you will not lose weight. Each gram of protein is 4 calories, so if you eat 200 grams a day along with your other foods, you aren't going to be losing any weight. You can calculate how much protein you should get at http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/protein.asp There are a number of calculators online, and they do vary a bit. The source of protein matters in terms of your hunger and where you are in your journey. Early on you just can't get firm protein down and it will hurt you. At 3-4+ months it is a good choice because it staves off hunger. That doesn't mean you can't have soft protein later on, it just means you should be aware of hunger creeping up in later months. If it's a problem, go back to firm protein and make sure you eat it first at every meal and don't drink liquids for an hour afterwards.

Sorry, honey, it doesn't really stop for a while and it varies a lot by person. Going through it myself, even though I got all my Protein in from the first week on. My understanding is that it does not all fall out. If you have thick hair to start with, probably the only one who will notice is you. If you have thin hair, a number of people here have posted suggestions (search under Hair Loss). Some people have a dark powder they sprinkle on the scalp, some people cut their hair short. I hate finding hair on everything and everybody. Ick.

Hoping someone has some insight on this. Today I ended up in the ER for extreme stomach pain and vomiting. It was like an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale. I was sipping a Swiss Miss Diet cocoa and bam! Was completely incapacitated. At the ER they ran blood tests and did CT. My heart rate was too low (46) but that is because my blood pressure meds need to be adjusted again, no doubt, and that wouldn't cause this kind of stomach pain. The CT showed inflammation but nothing concrete. They gave me zofran, which stopped the vomiting and helped with the pain a lot, which made me think that maybe the vomiting caused cramping which is now much more painful with a sleeve. The other odd thing is last Sunday I was drinking cold Water rather quickly and suddenly vomited it all back up. This is really weird since I am 5 1/2 months out. There is flu going around. Maybe I have a stomach bug and it hits sleevers differently than presurgery? I called my bariatric surgeon's office, and other than the CT scan they had no other advice more than liquids for today and tomorrow and see if it gets better. Anyone ever have anything like this? Do stomach cramps, flu, and other tummy issues cause pain after the sleeve?

Hi Jean, Was much better yesterday, but my tummy was still sensitive and I was plain worn out. My surgeon suggested liquids for a while. I did liquids most of yesterday then tried some chicken stew for dinner. Was only able to get down a few bites, then a couple of hours later a few more bites. Doing just soft foods and liquids today, don't think ready to go back to meats based on yesterday's experiment. My restriction is very tight again, like it was the first month. No idea for certain what is causing this, but I have some theories. I think I may have a stomach bug, a flu or something like that. I think maybe viruses, nausea, etc. affect the sleeve differently and in some individuals possibly cause cramping that leads to pain. I say this because when I was given Zofran it significantly lessened the pain (not entirely but enough that I could think straight). Zofran is an anti-nausea med, not a pain med, so my thinking is that it is the cramping associated with the nausea that caused the pain. Anyway, I'm much better but the mystery remains. I really wish I knew so I could avoid it in the future if possible. Even right after VSG surgery the pain wasn't like this the other day. So weird.

Hi Aswell, Welcome to the board! The first month is just awful, but it gets better. Don't worry about comparing yourself to other people, everyone loses differently. I lose very slow. I lost about 2 lbs. a week for the first 5 months, now I lose about a pound a week. It's frustrating when lots of people lose 3-4 lbs. a week, but at least it is coming off. Good luck to you!

Hoping someone has some insight on this. Today I ended up in the ER for extreme stomach pain and vomiting. It was like an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale. I was sipping a Swiss Miss Diet cocoa and bam! Was completely incapacitated. At the ER they ran blood tests and did CT. My heart rate was too low (46) but that is because my blood pressure meds need to be adjusted again, no doubt, and that wouldn't cause this kind of stomach pain. The CT showed inflammation but nothing concrete. They gave me zofran, which stopped the vomiting and helped with the pain a lot, which made me think that maybe the vomiting caused cramping which is now much more painful with a sleeve. The other odd thing is last Sunday I was drinking cold Water rather quickly and suddenly vomited it all back up. This is really weird since I am 5 1/2 months out. There is flu going around. Maybe I have a stomach bug and it hits sleevers differently than presurgery? I called my bariatric surgeon's office, and other than the CT scan they had no other advice more than liquids for today and tomorrow and see if it gets better. Anyone ever have anything like this? Do stomach cramps, flu, and other tummy issues cause pain after the sleeve?

Had it out in 1989, but that would have been a good suggestion. It feels similar to that kind of pain.

You can often ask for a dish to be steamed and the sauce on the side. I often get chicken and vegs that way. My other favorite is "Happy Family." It has a variety of meats and vegs in a light sauce. Very healthy and tasty. I skip the rice. I have Chinese about 3 times a month.

Bump. Anyone have ideas?

Wow, you are so organized, I'm impressed. You are off to a great start.

Sorry, I think this is really bad journalism. It is filled with misinformation and outright errors. I'm surprised NBC would even publish it. I am not saying that fast food is good for you (although some of it really isn't bad at all), I'm just saying I don't think this is quality writing and it isn't helpful.

Hi Scooter, We are both August sleevers. I've slowed way down, barely a pound a week loss now and I'm under 1000 calories a day. i exercise every day. I am on weight training to build strength up, so I guess that is affecting it, too. My doctor said % of excess weight lost is a big determinant of continued loss. So, the closer you are to goal, the slower it goes. If I remember right, I think 60% excess weight lost at 6 months is average. I've lost 57 lbs. out of 86 excess weight. That's 66% at six months. I'm *almost* at BMI below 25, which is "normal." I really want to get these last pounds off tho. I'm considering maintaining on my weight training instead of progressing to see if I can get back to serious fat loss. Frustrating.

What a great thread. Started out size 20 and XXL. Now am size 10 and Small.

Sabrina, this is a very personal decision. For me, WLS is like marriage - if you have any doubts, just wait. You can always do it later. There is truth in that diets result in weight gain 95% of the time and the weight does not stay off. You can research that. However, you are the only one who knows your body and your ability to keep weight off. Personally, it kept coming back and the older I get the harder it is to lose it. WLS was the right decision for me. Good luck however you choose.

Nancy, I'm sorry to hear it. Good luck on your future endeavors with this. Perhaps there is only information missing. Can you call the insurance company and ask them specifically what is missing?

Your body is under a lot of stress. Pain will also raise blood pressure. However, I would keep an eye on it after you are released to make sure it goes back down.

Wow, at my best I only lost 2 lbs a week and now that I am nearing 6 months out and am weight training, I'm barely losing 1 lb a week on the scale. Stop comparing, like the others said. You are doing really really well! Everyone is different.