Kindle

Sorry you are so unhappy with your appearance. Your body sounds like mine. My face is a lot wrinklier and I look older. My boobs were DD and now B's. I would be an A cup if it weren't for the extra skin stuffed in there. I have no butt and the skin that used to cover my ass is pooled at the bottom of my former butt. Extra thigh skin sags at my knees. The only good part is most of the skin on my stomach, neck and arms tightened up by 10 months. It's still there, but not too bad. But for me, the way I feel far outweighs any aesthetics. I can do so many more things in comfort. Work, play and everyday activities are just easier. And at least with clothes on I look way better than the fatty I was before. I feel more comfortable going out in public. I'm no longer the biggest one in the room. Shopping for clothes is actually enjoyable....I'm not just looking for stuff to cover up the fat. I bought capris instead of shorts to wear in the summer. There are a lot of exercises you can do to try and tone some of your parts....especially legs, butt and arms. And like others said, you can always look into plastics later on. I don't plan on plastics, but if I did it would just be to remove extra skin from my boobs and legs. No augmenting ANYTHING. I've been I told like a prepubescent boy now, and quite frankly I find this body a lot "easier" to live with than my old curvy one. I sure hope you find some things to like and find peace with the new you.

Walk walk walk. This will help with gas pain and help water pass through. My surgeon did an awesome job evacuating all the gas after surgery, so I didn't have any pain (not to mention I was walking a mile or two starting the day after surgery) But it was easier to eat and drink standing up for awhile and walking on the treadmill after eating always helped with digestion.

Same here. I don't weigh everyday, but I do bounce up and down within the same 5 pounds from week to week. As for the holidays, I was a little above my bounce range after a week of mom's good home cooking, deserts, alcohol and sweets galore. As soon as I got home I detoxed all the sugar out of my system and went back to protein/veggie basics. Took about 2-3 weeks to get back to the bottom of my bounce range. But fluctuation is pretty normal for me. Last week I was actually below my normal range and yesterday I was at the top end. Just go back to basics for a bit, throw in a little extra activity, and you'll get back on track.

I was sipping Water the night of my surgery. No problems with water initially, but after the first day or so water felt "harsh" on my tummy so I drank pedialyte, Gatorade, decaf herbal tea and dilute fruit juice (I couldn't do artificial sweeteners, either as they hurt my sleeve). Slept on my back that first night. Hospital bed was slightly elevated, so side sleeping was impossible. I left the surgical center about 16 postop and went shopping. Never needed any pain Meds or anti nausea Meds. I just walked and walked and sipped on chicken broth, pedialyte and decaf tea and fresh fruit popsicles (not SF) for the first 3 days until I was cleared for full liquids and could start drinking Protein shakes and drinkable yogurt. I was sleeping on both sides as of that second night. I just had to pin the drain bulb to the inside of my PJs so I didn't roll over it. Took about 2-3 weeks before I could sleep on my stomach because I felt so bloated. Took about 3-4 months before I could drink plain water again.

Took me 3 months to lose 30 pounds so I'd say you are right on track. Losing slow is better for you anyways. I was thrilled with my progress and the rate of loss did not keep me from reaching, passing and maintaining below goal. Keep exercising, making good, healthy food choices, relax, and enjoy the journey!

I had just passed goal (-88 pounds) at 7 1/2 months and continued to lose another 10+ pounds. I've maintained for about 7 months at 1400-1600 calories. No idea what my carbs or anything else are because I've never tracked or measured my food. I only know the calories because I spot checked them around 3-5 months, at 6 months and a couple times since then. The only numbers I've ever bothered to pay attention to are Protein (60-80+grams) and fluids (64+oz) However, your body is not like anyone else's, so I wouldn't spend too much time trying to compare to others. If you are losing and you feel good and your bloodwork looks good then just keep doing what you're doing.

@@dsdeleon as far as weight loss and eating, I didn't do anything different prior to the 2 week preop diet. Gorged myself as usual at Thanksgiving and ate the usual crap. But Once I started the preop I followed orders to a T... 3 protein shakes and lots of leafy greens. I lost 22 pounds in those 16 days instead of the 12 that they wanted me to. As for a companion, I did travel alone, but my sister met me at OCC. It was lots of fun having her there since we only get to see each other 1-2 times/year, but I would have been OK by myself. Although she did make me walk to Walmart 3x day so she could get her Starbucks fix!

I, too had surgery in Mexico. Arrived very late Thursday night, surgery Friday afternoon, back at hotel Saturday morning, followup with leak test Monday morning and flew home Monday afternoon. back at work Friday. I had to get IV fluids 3 times when I was 2-3 months postop due to severe diarrhea from a non-surgical medical issue, but my PCP took care of that, as well as my 3, 6, and 12 month bloodwork. As long as she has a doctor willing to take on her care back home I don't think she should have any problems.

I don't even own a scale, so I weigh myself in the doctors office or at work when I get a chance. I weighed about 6 times in the first 3 months. After that I weighed once/week so I had something to log on my ticker and the BP challenges. Lately, however, I've forgotten to weigh (maintenance is boring), so it's maybe twice/month.

There's no reason you can't lose as much as you want with any WLS. You can also fail with any WLS. You get out of it as much as you put into it. As for my sleeve experience, I only wanted to lose 88 pounds but I lost 100 instead...and kept it off for 7 months and counting.

I really do love my bitty boobies. Someone said I look like a prepubescent boy ???? since losing all my weight and I'm alright with that!

A local clothing boutique has them for $12 (that's where I got mine). But here's one source online.... http://www.lanasfashionboutique.com/anemone-one-size-bra/ And I actually saw them on Amazon for only $9

@@JamieLogical I don't think it was Lucia. Cant remember her name...Maybe Miranda? Anyways, I was sent with a big folder with step by step post op instructions and in all of the stages, they listed all kinds of veggies and fruit to include in addition to the Protein requirements. The new nut obviously has a different theory. The 60 g protein guideline is pretty easy to meet, so that does leave me plenty of room for other stuff. I get 30-40g protein from my daily smoothie and 15-20g from the Protein Bar I have most mornings, so thats 45-60g right there, leaving me plenty of freedom to eat other things besides protein. I do shoot for protein with most of my meals and Snacks, but I don't limit myself to only protein. For example, I made a curry stir fry yesterday with green Beans, carrots, bamboo shoots, onions, mushrooms, asparagus, chicken and tofu. I froze individual portions so I got about 12 meals out of it. And as for how much I can eat, I by no means can eat a whole apple. Even at 15 months post I can finish about 1/4 apple and probably 1-2 tablespoons peanut in one sitting. I slice the rest of it, throw it in a baggy with a splash of lime juice and it keeps great for days. Its obvious there are a hundred different opinions about postop guidelines. I'm not saying my way is right, I'm just throwing it out there as something that worked for me. You should just stick with what you are comfortable with and what works for YOU.

You headed down for plastics? I'd love to hear about your experience. If I ever win the lottery, I've got all kinds of skin I wouldn't mind saying Adios to!

I was eating veggies from the time I started soft foods, so I can't quite remember which ones were more or less filling. I do remember a lot of spinach (I almost always added spinach to my eggs), cauliflower (pureed cauliflower as a replacement for mashed potatoes is super yummy), artichokes (yes, WITH hollandaise sauce), tomatoes (a slice topped with crab salad was an especial favorite) and red peppers stuffed with seasoned burger and shredded zucchini. Other veggies like green Beans, asparagus, spaghetti squash and broccoli came a little later. As for portions, I used frozen veggies when possible and just pulled out however much I wanted. As for the fresh veggies, yes, I did have some waste, but like you said, maybe you can incorporate some of your veggies as your husband's sides so you won't have to throw them out. Once I could tolerate raw veggies broccoli, carrots, cucumbers and cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing or other veggie dip became staple Snacks for me. I never worried about fat content, so I just used regular ranch out of the bottle. As for fruit, I added peaches, mangos and bananas to my Protein smoothies almost right away. I waited 3 months before I started adding strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc. because of the seeds. I also eat apples with Peanut Butter as a snack at least 3 times/week. Over the summer, frozen pineapple chunk were a refreshing snack. Turns out oranges freeze really well too. A client gave me a huge fruit box for christmas with tangerines, oranges and grapefruit. I ate the grapefruit (1/2 for breakfast) and I peeled, sectioned and froze the tangerines and oranges and they are still just as fresh as the day I received them. The other thing that has really helped me cut down on waste since I am single and eat such tiny portions is my vacuum sealer. Now I can buy or cook in bulk and just vacuum seal and freeze individual portions that last as long as I need them to. I basically have my own home cooked frozen TV dinners available at all times. Even though we had the same surgeon, I was given a protein goal of 60g. This was always pretty easy to meet, and I probably get closer to 80g (with the help of a huge protein smoothie and protein bar most days). 100 would be tougher to hit.

I essentially work for myself, so no FMLA for me. But I am a vet tech and on my feet, bending, squatting, lifting, etc all day and I was able to go back after 1 week. I had a 20 pound lifting restriction for 3 weeks, but after that I was back to carrying 40-60 pounds with no problem. Everyone is different, but you may not need 5 weeks.

Yes, I did, but my sister was flying separately and she booked a 12:30 flight, which was cutting it very short. Joel, our driver, ran out and got a medical fast pass while all of us were getting our drains out and fluoroscopy leak tests done. That way we were able to get across the border in 15 min instead of the 1-2 hours it can sometime take. She made it on time and since we got to the airport so early, I flew standby on an earlier flight instead of my original 3:30 one. But like Jamie said, if you have to get an earlier flight, it may be best to stay an extra night in SD and fly out the 4th day.

@@JamieLogical Sounds like you are doing really well on your plan, but let me throw this out there.... When I was losing and things would slow down, I noticed I could kick start the my loss when I would change things up. Eat stuff I hadn't eaten before. You are getting loads of protein (more than I ever did) but not getting any (or very little) veggies or fruit. How about cutting back to 80g protein and using that extra sleeve room for more veggies and a little fruit? They contain nutrients your body may be lacking that just can't be duplicated in a vitamin supplement. You won't be upping your overall calories, they will just be different calories. Our bodies can kind of get "nutritionally stagnant" after awhile and giving it something different to digest and utilize may stop the cycle and make it feel like it's OK to give up the fat. Just my thoughts and something I found worked for me.

I was able to get in all my Protein even in liquid and pureed stages.... I didn't mind the shakes, in fact at 15 months out I still have one everyday. But believe me, I tried dozens before I found the ones I like. You can get samples from Nashua Nutrition. I dilute them all with twice as much water/milk as they call for and use fresh fruit and Torani syrups to add variety. I added unflavored Protein Powder to everything. Cream of mushroom Soup, lobster bisque, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup, cream of asparagus, French onion soup, butternut squash soup, vegetable soup, Bob's Red Mill 10 grain hot Cereal, hummus, guacamole, etc. I use vanilla protein powder or Torani syrup to flavor plain Greek yogurt so I can control the sweetness. (Plus it adds even more protein). BTW, read label...some yogurts have twice as much protein as others. Kashi Go Lean cereal has 13g protein/10g Fiber per cup so would be a good amount of protein with skim milk added. Have you tried tuna fish? Crab salad? Fish? Peanut Butter or PB2? Split pea soup and bean soup have a lot of protein (plus you can add unflavored protein powder). Tofu? And there's tons of things you can do with cheese. Any particular reason you don't do eggs?

@@Oregondaisy Even though I'm a B cup these days, they are very floppy B's because of all the extra skin (picture a tennis ball in a tube sock ????) so my boobs fall out of most regular B cup bras when I bend over. Then I found Coobie bras. They are SO comfy and everything stays tucked in! Anemone bras are basically the same thing and you can't beat the price...$12. And of course, they are "reversible"! http://www.shopcoobie.com/shop?c=coobie-bras

I developed a C. diff infection 6 weeks post op from antibiotics I was taking for a tooth root abcess. After two months of failed attempts to get rid of it with medications, I had a fecal transplant...instant cure! But they are also looking at fecal transplants for Crohn's disease, IBD and obesity. Here's my "story"... http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/303173-fecal-transplant-scheduled/?hl=+fecal%20+transplant and Here's another thread about using FMT for obesity... http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/263748-skinny-peoples-poop-may-hold-the-disgusting-key-to-weight-loss/page-3?hl=%2Bfecal#entry3710633

Crown and Water is my first choice Riesling Chardonnay or white zin if they don't have Riesling Twisted Tea I've had hard cider and Mike's, but had to pour it over ice and let it set awhile. I had a rum and coke the other day, but the coke was VERY flat. Carbonation is the only thing I can't do. Alcohol doesn't affect me any differently postop. I barely get buzzed, so I usually don't drink that much anyways....the calories aren't worth the lack of effect. And I always feel a little dehydrated the next day.

I had my surgery end of December and was riding normally in April. Including saddling, loading, etc. I felt perfectly OK to ride a month earlier, but most of our trails were still under several feet of snow and I find arena riding too boring. In fact, I scheduled my surgery specifically so it wouldn't interfere with riding. My work partner did the same thing with her hysterectomy....she had hers as soon as my weight lifting restrictions were over so at least ONE of us could do our jobs! Her doctor's official orders were 6-8 weeks out of the saddle and hers was a much harder recovery than my VSG. Oh yeah, and start looking for saddles...one of my favorite NSVs was going from an 18" seat to a 15" seat! Love my new saddle and love being able to hop up there without having to find a log or rock to stand on.

I was eating around 1000-1200 calories at 6 months. As long as you are losing, then keep doing what you're doing.

Get a fecal transplant from your skinniest friend....I did! Lost 114% of my excess weight and keeping it off easily. Love my new skinny poo.