Miss Mac

I will hit the 10 month mark in a couple of days. I started out at 5'4" and 235 and lost a total of 65 pounds, with 35 to go until goal. Yeah, I have been stuck for a while, just bouncing around between 172 and 175 back and forth for three months. My closet is holding clothes for the next two sizes down. My bariatric team keeps post-poning appointments due to changes in their schedules, and now my next appointment isn't until my one year mark. I did have an appointment with my primary doctor on Monday, and he feels that 800 calories is not enough to healthfully sustain my exercise program and as a result my body is holding on to fat and Water with a death grip. He suggested to drink even more water and more milk(at least 80 ounces total) and crank up both the exercise and the carbs to jump start the process again. I had been staying with 800 calories, 64 ounces of water, and 60-80 grams Protein as directed by my NuT (who moved away, and now there is a new one that I will not meet until December. So today I weighed and re-measured my body and established a new plan. Man, I hope this works. Getting stuck really causes a tough mind-game that uses depression and pity to hold you down. Normally I am an optimistic person and a real Dolly Sunshine to everyone else, but struggle inwardly to keep my weight loss in perspective. I cannot imagine carrying 65 pounds of potatoes around now. No wonder my spine was collapsing from the extra weight. My sleeve (aka Miss Tummy) has brought me this far, so it's time to pick up my gear and keep marching. There is no way I am stopping where I am at. This other 35 pounds has got to scram. I am a grandma, too, and just recently was able to get on the floor and play with my grandchildren. Boy oh boy, I nearly cried - I was so happy. So, you need to hang in there with me. We are tough old birds in may ways, so we can conquer this weight loss thing too. I wish you good luck and good health.

One month....5 pound weights only.

Uh oh.......O K here is what you can do: print this out and put in on your fridge door. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can....begin it, for boldness has genius, power and magin in it." Joahann Wolfgang von Goethe So you had a false start. Get back on your horse and ride. Call your bariatric center and ask them if you can come back. You did not say whether or not they have reached out to you. Oh well, your fingers and your phone still work, so you should take the first step in getting back on track. This time next year is going to come whether you have your surgery or not. I am encouraging you to take the next right step and get going. Now just as an "aside", dear...I would love to see you quit beating yourself up, so maybe some night when you are thinking when you are supposed to be sleeping, you could re-invent yoursef with a positive and optimistic moniker...one that shows the initial spark you had when you started this process. I will be thinking of you. I wish you good luck and good health.

I went with the sleeve because I did not want my plumbing rerouted or have a port in my abdomen.

Let me give you my doctor's number so that you can tell him that you disagree with his diagnosis.

Magnesium Citrate is what doctors order as bowel prep for colonoscopies. It will flush you out very quickly.....you need to be prepared to spend several hours coming and going from the toilet. It won't be a good day to share the bathroom and I recommend a can of air freshener so that you can stand to be around yourself. You can get magnesium citrate over the counter but may have to ask the pharmacist for it. After that, you could take stool softeners or magnesium tablets on a daily basis. I have also used the Smooth Move Tea at bedtime and am ready to go to the bathroom the next morning. I get the chocolate flavor and steep it in hot chocolate at bedtime. Also, I keep prune juice on hand at all times. An apple near bedtime will help.

Welcome to the forum yungshi. I am old enough to be your grandma, but started out at 235 pounds, also. You will be freaking amazed at how much better you will feel after the first thirty pounds come off - even if you don't look any different. At fifty pounds down, a pain specialist who had not seen me for several months, did not recognize me. He and his nurse did a double "time-out" before starting my procedure because he thought he had the wrong patient on the table. We call those kinds of things NSVs (non-surgical victories). Please let us know when you can cross your legs, trim your own toenails, shoes get too big, people who knew you don't know you now, you feel good three days in a row.......stuff like that. That is one way that we encourage each other to keep on keepin' on. If you take pictures and measurements now, it will give you a rference to see how you are doing. The scales can play horrible head games with you, especially as you exchange fat for muscle. You will notice that when you ask for advice, opinions and tact will vary. Please do not take anything personally....just take what you need and set the rest aside. I wish you good luck and good health.

My are getting more slender. At some point I will have to discard all of my wide shoes which have a sloppy fit now, even with thick socks.

I had to stop nuts altogether because an ounce turned into four ounces easily. If I had them portioned out, I would go grab more portions. It was the same way with Protein based crunchy Snacks - I would just go get another bag. sugar free Jello is my go-to now when I get hungry between meals.

I was prepared to lose weight, but I was not prepared for the stalls. Thank goodness for this forum so that I had fellow bariatric patients to communicate with. From all of my new friends here, thank you for teaching me that stalls are like lovers: your first will probably not be your last.

Hey there, Packerfan61964Youtube should be your new best friend. I have been able to purchase a variety of chair aerobics by David Stamps and a few others, but several people have exercise programs for those of with mobility and pain issues online. Chair Boxing is my favorite.

Mine whole head got smaller. When I went for my annual eye exam, I had the new lenses placed in old frames that fit before I gaines all of this weight.

Online, not inline....geeze louize!

PB2 is a peanut powder, which you reconstitute yourself. Some folks like it, but I am with the "not so much" group. I thought it was dry and bland when mixed with Water. To add butter and salt to it defeats the purpose of having a low fat option to Peanut Butter. I bought it inline from the manufacturer bellplantation.com. Other stores carry it now.

I am 9 1/2 months post-op. I agree with all of these responses so far, especially from jjinWA. Bread is included in my Phase IV plan, but only one slice. The example says one slice of whole wheat toasted with 1/4 cup tuna w/ 1 tsp. mayo. I have tried my tuna that way and tolerated the bread ok, but in reality, my tummy real estate does not leave me any room for carbs that are not incidental in low starch veggies. So, I have gotten over bread and have no desire for it. Now I eat my tuna salad stuffed into an opened up tomato.

My first thought was....I wonder what corn starch would do? I googled for that, and found this response on Ask Yahoo: "When making your shake, try to keep the amount of liquids involved to a minimum. Keep in mind that the amount of ice you are using could be a factor, which will also lessen the preferred thickness of your shake as it melts. The addition of more fruits will help to thicken the consistency. Non fat yogurts, in place of milk/water, will increase the total calories of your drink, but again, if thickness is the issue, this method can't be beat. But, if you're concerned about the calories, another and less conventional method would be the use of corn starch. Corn starch is flavorless and has almost no calories to speak of, and is commonly used by chefs to thicken sauces, and even some frostings. I mention that last part only to emphasize that it works for things that are sweet just as well as for things that are not. Use sparingly, however, because a lot can go a long way! One tablespoon per average sized blender ought to be sufficient, and make sure you mix it thoroughly. The corn starch may take time to fully thicken, so if you do decide to add more, remember to wait a full minute before doing so. Too much of this stuff is like cement! But just the right amount can be a simple and calorie-free way to thicken your Protein shakes." My second thought was to add milk to yogurt, rather than yogurt to milk. I hope you find something that works for you. I like my shakes thin, so I will add extra milk, almond milk, Jello Water.....hey, maybe you could use unflavored Gelatin (or flavored I guess), and prepare your shake ahead of time so that it can chill a bit. As a matter of fact, I put some sugar free orange gelatin in a vanilla shake today, and it tasted like an Orange Julius or orange creamsicle. Just yummy!

August of last year, I asked my doctor if he hought I might be a good candidate for a lap band. He was very helpful and referred me to a colleague who was a bariatric surgeon. As it turns out, I was sleeved four months later after going through all of my insurance requirements. I am a slow loser, but down 65 pounds at this point and feeling better in many ways.

After 9 1/2 months, I still am quite pleased with my sleeve. I did not want to get my plumbing re-routed, and I did not want an abdominal port for the rest of my life.

I have been taking Omeprozole since surgery (12/23/2013) with no problem with reflux. I did have a sore throat for a couple of weeks. My tummy still gurgles quite randomly. Sometimes it is quite and sometimes it sounds like a fierce dinosaur fight. Not even sick to my stomach either way.

Since my sleeve was my 12th surgery, I was not concerned at all with the "what ifs". But it was the first time I voluntarily had surgery to sacrifice 80% of a vital organ. Folks who are unsure about the surgery should go to the search box at the top of this page and type in "last straw" , and then click on the little arrow for a drop down menu. Click on "forums" and then enter. You will find several threads on the many reasons why we have decided to follow through with weight loss surgery. When you get to the hospital, just keep in mind that you will get an IV so that they can give you meds and fluids. Accept any relaxers the staff wants to give you. It will help you to mellow out so that you won't even care about your fears. You will take a little nap, and then a nurse will wake you up and tell you that they are all done and you did great. This is called "Better living through chemistry". Good luck, and expect the best result possible with a textbook recovery. You are about to get a new birthday.

I have been on a lengthy stall as well, and just finally gave up my independent thinking a couple of days ago, and went back to my original materials. It has become painfully clear that I have been straying more than I realize. This is a time for perfect honesty with yourself (and me to myself). Although I have been logging, weighing and measuring all along, I think my issues are with not logging incidental calories like the scant butter on a veggie, or my 1/3 cup of something may actual be more because the measuring cup is heaped instead of level. An ounce of cheese has to be an ounce and not 1.2 ounces.....and why do I need cheese on everything? This stuff adds up quickly. In going back to my original phase four recommendations, my lunchtime tuna salad needsto be 1/4 cup, and not 1/2 cup. Milk is not my favorite beverage, so I have been using almond milk instead, but by wavering from the plan, I am missing out on dairy Calcium, a nutrient that is supposed to be conducive to weight loss. I eat Greek yogurt, but do I really need lite whip cream in it?.......I am examining all of my little additions this week. And I am afraid there are going to be way more than I realized. My exercise needs an honest review as well. My form just absolutely sucks due to orthopedic and post-stroke balance issues, so maybe it's about time for a personal trainer...just for a few weeks to get perspective on a proper and do-able exercise routine suited to my abilities. Hopefully you can find some quiet time to reflect on how correctly you are following you program and see if you can identify any blips that can be addressed. This is work - a lot of real work. I wish you good luck and good health on your journey to healthy and happy.

You don't mention what your surgeon's instructions are for his own patients. As for me, at week three I was starting soft foods like moist meats smushed in the processor to break them down, cooked soft fruits without the peel (like stewed apples or canned peaches mashed with a fork). I could have steamed veggies w/o skin (like mashed potato, but not baked with the skin). When you get to soft foods, you could pretty much take what would be a normal hot thoroughly cooked meal, and give it a spin in the processor with some broth to keep it moist. Dry food will get hung up in your throat, and you will have a hard time washing it down because your new tummy will have such a reduced capacity from the surgery. So, in that respect, I could tolerate soft chicken in very small micro bits, but not tuna. I was told to avoid raw fruits and salad greens until about six months. But just to be clear, not everyone's bariatric team approves of the fast track that I was on. At four weeks, I was approved for regular foods, and the first thing I ate after my appointment was 1/4 cup of Wendy's chili with cheese and I will admit, two French fries - and I have not had a fry since. At 9 1/2 months out, I can eat raw fruit and greens with no problem. Be patient. We are asking a lot of our tummies - so be kind to yours. You have signed on for a new way of living.

Avoid fatty, cheesy, creamy, rich, and spicey foods. As a veteran of a ruptured gallbladder (1973 at the age of 21) I can tell you that you definitely want to keep that gallbladder calm. Hang in there, I will be thinking of you. For anyone else who is listening, she is right about second-guessing a diagnosis. My gallbladder pain felt like someone was stabbing me in the back with a sword, under my right shoulder blade, and twisting that sword around and around....OMG it was awful. When I could not stand it anymore I went to the ER. They treated me for a suspected ulcer by giving me something creamy to drink. That sent my gallbladder into spasms and caused it to rupture then and there. The surgeon said he had to go fish, because there were gallstones throughout my abdominal cavity. He cut me half in two (this was before laparascopic surgery), and I was in the hospital for eleven days. Now you get the little incisions and maybe go home as an outpatient. So for you, this is not the week for cheese, gravy, or salsa. Take care, and in a week you will feel much better. And by the way, I have not missed my gallbladder at all.

Every time a newbie asks this question, I feel compelled to offer this one piece of advice: ask the doctor how he proceeds with post-op pain management. So many weight loss patients complain of "shoulder gas" caused by the CO2 that is pumped into the abdominal cavity so that the doctor has some clear space to work with while using his surgical instruments. My surgeon said that he extracts as much as possible before closing up the incisions. I do not know why all surgeons do not do that. I had no shoulder gas at all. Oh, and another question I asked is where exactly the incisions will be in relation to belly buttons and waistbands.

Very encouraging. At 9 1/2 months, I have to reboot myself every day to keep from falling into a deep blue funk. I appreciate you sharing your story.