DestinClair1983

HW: 284.6 SW (surgery day) 272 CW: 192.4. Sleeved 10/24/13. Hope I can make it to goal by the 1 year mark!

Make sure you're measuring it out so you won't have to worry about whether you're eating too much of it.

Welcome AV! You've come to the right place. There is a wealth of information on this site, and a lot of people willing to help whenever you have a question or a problem. Congrats on your surgery!

I started eating popcorn when I was allowed to eat regular food, which was six weeks out from surgery. I had no problem with it. Make sure to measure it out though, because you can definitely eat wayyy more than you want to.

Maybe try to drink more water, exercise more. Make sure you're keeping accurate track of all that you're consuming. It could just be your body adjusting, maybe you're still losing inches even if you're not losing pounds, which I know firsthand how frustrating that is. If all else fails, what I have done and has worked for me is to eat more calories for a few days, for me It was anywhere from 1200-1500 calories, and then go back to 600-800 calories daily, and the scale would start moving again. Of course I would gain a pound or two initially with the upped calories, but when I would go back to the 600-800 range, I'd lose those few pounds easily and them some, and then continue to drop steadily...until the next stall hits lol. Good luck!

I'm 7 months post-op and still dealing with the excessive uncontrollable burping. I think that's one of the biggest negatives that I've experienced after surgery lol, it's so embarrassing.

I actually had to stop taking my multivitamin, because every time I took them, I would get violently nauseous and throw up. I thought maybe waiting a month or two before starting them again would help, but when I retried taking the multivitamin, I still got sick even several months out from surgery. I've been meaning to try the gummy bear vitamins, but haven't gotten them yet.

For me, it was around the 5th month that I noticed that I could eat considerably more. I was relying more on the feeling of fullness to know when I had to stop prior to that, but now I have to make sure to count the calories, try to eat small portion sizes although I don't always do that unfortunately, and I know that's something I have to work on.

I had gained more than a few pounds at my last weigh-in and I was terrified that they were going to delay my surgery because of it, but the CRNP didn't say anything about the weight gain and I surely didn't bring it up lol. Afterwards, someone else told me that as long as you didn't gain over your original starting weight, it wouldn't delay the process, so hopefully it'll be the same for you. I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck!

I was on Clear Liquids while in the hospital for 2 days, and I was allowed to start full liquids once I got home, so I was on the same plan as you will be. During the first week or so I only drank Protein shakes and Soup for the most part.

Good luck, Laurel! Wishing you the best

I didn't use her, but I did want to chime in and say that U of Penn's bariatric program is excellent. The CRNPs are very supportive, and the pre and post care with them is great. My surgeon was Dr. Noel Williams, who I believe is the director of U of Penn's program. Good luck!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

I definitely agree with the others, it's very important to stick to the lifting restriction for the amount of time specified by your surgeon. You do not want any issues down the line by lifiting too soon and causing some type of injury or pain to your healing stomach. If there is no way you can work without having to lift 50 pounds, I agree that you should request some more time off until the restriction is lifted.

I was out of work 8 weeks because that's how long the doctor had me on lifting restrictions which I can't have at work. I got FMLA for those 8 weeks. I told my employer exactly 3 weeks before the surgery. Everything worked out smoothly, I was worried about the paperwork involved etc, since that was my first time ever being out of work for so long and having to use FMLA but everything turned out okay.

It happens to me every single time I drink any type of liquid, and it's uncontrollable, so it's highly embarrassing! I've resorted to ensuring that I'm nowhere near anybody when I'm drinking and even eating sometimes will do that too. I wish it would go away. I'm almost 6 months post-op and no improvement on that.

You can definitely reach your goals and lose 100 percent of your excess weight, but it will require dedication and hard work, sticking to your nutrition goals such as adequate protein intake, adequate caloric intake, water, etc, exercise. I believe that the average 66% excess weight loss you mention includes people who lose all their excess weight and those who either lose very little or regain because they don't stick to the plan. It's all about adhering to your nutrition plan and exercise because if you do, there's no doubt in my mind that you can lose ALL of your excess weight.

I got on a kid roller coaster at Disney World about 6 weeks after surgery, I figured it would be gentle enough. Boy, was I wrong. Terrible terrible idea which I regretted immensely. So much jostling around and jerking around on the coaster, I was in pain afterwards.

Most insurances require either BMI of 35 with 2 co-morbidities like hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc. Or a BMI of 40 with no co-morbidities. Given that your BMI is 34.5, you're not in the range, but you'd be pretty close as long as you have a second health problem. I'm not sure about the age requirements, hopefully someone else can shed some light on that. Good luck.

Beautiful! Wonderful job, keep it going!

Don't worry, chula, you just had major surgery, and your body is going to take a while to adjust to the changes. There's water weight that's involved, along with several other factors. But, believe you me, if you're following the plan as instructed by your surgeon/nut you WILL lose weight for sure. Just give it some time. I would also advise you to weigh in less frequently before the scale drives you insane, like it did me! Use other ways to measure your success such as inches lost, how your clothes are fitting etc. The scale is truly evil!

I barely remember my recovery room stay, I was in and out of consciousness the entire time, but from what I can recall, there weren't that many people there, and received meds when I needed them.

Since the sleeve surgery, I haven't felt hunger not even once. Definitely decreased my appetite, and I eat because I know I have to eat, not because I'm hungry. It's a beautiful thing! Now, it doesn't happen that way with everyone. I've read of some people still feeling hungry after surgery, but at least for some of them the hunger is not as strong as pre-surgery. I've also read that the hunger could start coming back after many months, but I'm 5 months post-op and still not a single hunger pang. I barely remember how feeling hungry feels like lol.

Congratulations on your surgery date, so exciting! Good luck

The only things I was able to get in during those first few weeks post-op were protein shakes, or like the chicken soup flavored Unjury protein mix. I got several different flavors of the Unjury protein powder. I really liked the vanilla and chicken soup flavored ones. Other than that, I had jello and water mostly lol.