AvaFern

I don't do great with lettuce, especially the thicker, darker kind (which I guess isn't lettuce but spinach or kale etc). The sliced up iceberg like in a taco seems to go ok, and a piece of lettuce here and there or a salad with light colored lettuce cut in small pieces is ok, but loads of lettuce my stomach doesn't tolerate well. I'm 29 months post-op and my stomach just likes to barf vegetables that aren't soft.

I wasn't really a "low" 200's, but I started my pre-op diet the week before surgery at 237 and went into surgery at 228. I hit my goal of 129 at 18 months and have maintained within a few pounds up and down for the last 10 months. I weighed 153 when I went into my first plastics surgery (which is why I remember that number specifically) which was about 2 weeks before my one year sleeve surgiversary. The sleeve works since basically you are cutting out 80% of your stomach. You can learn to eat around it though. For example, I can eat a whole box of Wheat Thins in a few hours, so whether you lose or not is largely up to the habits you keep.

I am 29 months out and I can't eat a full slider and fries. To be honest, I haven't had more than 2-3 fries total since the sleeve because I know that first, I will then want to eat the whole plate of them, and second, they are likely going to make me sick, so I don't have the best perspective on fries. I tried a slider once a few months ago and I got about half of it down before I started feeling like I was choking on food. Past that, I haven't had any burgers. As maybe a comparable reference, Smart Ones makes a frozen chicken slider, which I have had a few times since surgery. I can eat all but a few bites of that, which includes a chicken patty, ketchup, and a bun. Also, part of the reason I can't eat a full slider and fries is because anything that has been near oil or butter makes me puke. So, in terms of physical capacity, my stomach would probably be able to handle about 2/3 of the slider and a few fries, but I'm not entirely sure since I just gave up on some foods after about the 400th time barfing them back up. This works well for me because I don't eat fried or sugary foods purely because my stomach hates them- not because I wouldn't enjoy them.

I would disagree with her. At 12 months post-op I was still 30 pounds from goal and yet I hit goal at 20 months post-op. I actually thought I hit goal at 18 months post-op, but I just counted, and nope, it wasn't until 20 months almost exactly to the day. For most people though this often seems to be true. The first year is a honeymoon time where you feel kind of crummy at first, so you don't eat much, then you are all motivated to do well, so you follow the plan and lose weight, but as you get close to the year mark you've generally figured out how to eat around the restriction and if you let yourself do that then you're unlikely to continue to lose weight. Your stomach is still the same size, but if you haven't established health habits and eating patterns, the further out you are the harder it is to do so because you no longer have a stomach that is healing and making you sick if you don't do what you're supposed to do. Also, you've lost some weight so you're feeling confident and happy and naturally you go out, have fun, eat crap you shouldn't and soon enough, you find out what people mean by "fat and happy". You don't lose the ability to lose weight after 12 months, you just tend to lose the motivation.

@@proudgrammy Yay! Happy surgiversary! You are a wonderful person to have on these forums and I love reading your posts.

I gave up on avocado because it turns out I only really like it enough to justify the calories when it is in guacamole and then I like it with chips, which totally wipes out the little bit of healthiness. Yesterday Bobby Flay had an entire show of Brunch with Bobby that made avocado toast. To me it all looked gross, but he loved it. I tried what looked like an awesome recipe with avocado awhile ago. You take rice, a poached egg, and avocado and you swirl it all together. So. so. so. gross. But it looked good when I saw it on tv, lol.

Most stores that have brand name Vitamins run a BOGO sale once a month when you can stock up for basically half price. I take gummy vitamins and B12. The B12 is something like $10 and it lasts a month or longer. Gummies are not much more expensive and also last awhile. You don't need to buy the specialty bariatric vitamins. As an extra note, I didn't take any vitamins regularly for the first year of the sleeve and all of my blood test values were exactly where they should be without supplements. I generally forget to take the B12 until I feel like I'm tired more than i should be, then I take it for a few days and forget about it again. While yes, vitamins are important, their total cost is really very insignificant when you aren't blowing money on the bariatric version that is really no better than the standard kind you buy at CVS. I have heard that gummy vitamins may not be absorbed as well, so research that for yourself. I take them because regular vitamins make me incredibly sick and I figure double the dose of a gummy Vitamin beats no vitamins at all.

I was 5'2 and 237 pounds. I hit my goal of 129 in 18 months and have maintained it for 9 months. Even though we are sort of similar, everyone loses differently. I saw people with the same stats as me blow past me initially, while others were much slower than me. In the end, some from both groups hit goal and stayed there, some hit goal and regained, and some never hit goal. Moral of the story- the only person in this particular race is you.

I'll be honest, I skimmed your post because near the middle my eyes started getting teary and I am currently wearing a ton of non-waterproof makeup. I wasn't bothered by my excess skin the first few times I lost a lot of weight, probably because my entire life I have been fat or saggy, however after having lost with the sleeve I decided I wanted to get my boobs done. This was almost entirely because I hated that I couldn't wear cute tops because I needed major support bras to not look like I was super saggy. That same week I started checking out abdominoplasty pictures and I'll be honest even then I had no idea that I could ever have a flat stomach. Ever since I was a kid, even when I was thin I always had a little pooch of skin/fat so I generally didn't wear tight clothing or if I did it was with spanx. Well, a year later and 3 surgeries with everything from the boobs and stomach, to thighs, arms and posterior body lift, and I look like a different person. I had no idea how different I would look and feel. Sure, I am still a little ashamed of my arm scars, although they are quickly fading and very hard to see, but the rest can only be seen when I'm not wearing clothing so I mostly ignore them. Having my plastics procedures did unspeakable things for my confidence that just losing weight never could have. I am so grateful that I was able to have the work done and while most of my friends find me to be fabulously full of myself because I just had to go spend a small luxury car on being a "plastic Barbie", thanks to my surgeon I never look in the mirror any more and feel disgust. I had no idea how much the extra skin made me dislike myself until I finally saw what it was like gone. I may not love my face all the time, my hair might still be thin (damn sleeve) and I have plenty of other flaws, but my figure, because of my surgeon is something that for the first time in my life that makes me feel almost hot sometimes. I feel like a finished product, instead of like a deflated fat girl.

@@glitter eyes That's cool that we had the same surgeon! Funny enough Flo was the one that I thought was nice, lol. I'm sure since you work with Dr. Morgenthal he considered you a colleague and didn't default to the idea that you were a stupid, health illiterate patient that he had to tolerate. If you do decide to have plastics, Dr. Desai is the surgeon to use. He does wonderful work and since you're already in Jacksonville, you wouldn't even have to travel!

I hated when people pressed for a number! I felt so monstrous, especially once I hit 100 pounds lost. I was ashamed and I always felt humiliated, especially when they did it around others. Honestly, some of them would just keep pushing and to end the conversation I'd give them a number. I like surfer girl's approach though...if you don't want to give them a number, don't, it's none of their business. If it makes you feel better, once you're at goal for awhile no one even mentions it anymore so the misery is a short-lived thing.

I love carbs, lol. When I started the sleeve diet I knew I would not be willing to give up carbs for the rest of my life and that if I lost all of the weight on a strict low-carb diet the chance that I gained it back quickly when I went back to carbs was high. As such, I ate carbs the entire time I was losing and while I probably lost slower, I can now eat pretty much whatever carbs I want without worrying about gaining. To be accurate, I don't eat Pasta mostly because it makes me sick and I rarely eat bread, I do however eat crackers most days, oatmeal and granola for Breakfast, and other things that have a good degree of carbs in them. When consumed in moderation, I see nothing wrong with carbs and in hindsight I am glad that I didn't follow the Protein ONLY diet that I have heard people talk about because I would never be able to sustain that in the long term. Also, I found that while I was losing and even now, carbs are the sole source of energy that gets me through hard workouts. They have a solid place in my diet and in the weight loss I have attained and maintained. So, I <3 carbs!

The Worst The worst thing about my experience was my surgeon- Dr. Craig Morgenthal in Jacksonville, FL. From the first minute I was in the office when the receptionist basically told me I could sign the consent waiver or get out of the office to when I was super sick in the hospital and he gave me a huge amount of attitude about wanting to use the Blis insurance I had paid for (since I was self-pay), my sleeve surgeon experience was not positive. In the first experience I had not even met the doctor and before I was allowed to even speak with him I had to sign this huge liability waiver. After you've actually met your surgeon, had a chance to talk to him, and decided to have the surgery, then yes absolutely you should be signing waivers, but before you even get to see the guy? Completely unacceptable and yet when I challenged this the receptionist was rude to the point that I was almost in tears before the office manager then more politely told me that, sorry, if you want to see the doctor you sign away your life first. I signed the form, but I felt massively bullied before I even met the surgeon and I resented the way I was treated. Then the two appointments I had with the surgeon prior to the surgery he treated me like I was basically stupid and fat and the questions I had were a waste of his time. This was the same attitude he had at the single follow-up appt I went to 3 weeks post-op. Because I was cash pay I was in the OR within 2 weeks of my first visit and the IV narcotics made me super sick. I basically dry heaved the entirety of the 1st and 2nd day in the hospital until I asked to switch to liquid Advil instead. I was deliriously sick so when he did his morning rounds on the third day when I was supposed to go home I could barely stand up and when I said I would be more comfortable staying an extra day (since I was both driving myself home and staying at home alone) I got this whopping attitude. I had paid for Blis insurance so the fee would have been covered, but I got the impression that if you actually have patients using the insurance they pay for this makes the doctor less desirable as a carrier of this policy and God forbid his sick patient took advantage of the $1100 she spent in extra insurance but never got to use. Fortunately at this point I got mad, which gave me enough energy to pack my stuff up and let the nurse know that they could check me out as planned, NOW or I would sign out AMA. Since I knew I had to drive I made sure I was narcotic free 24 hours before the time I had been scheduled to leave, so at least I wasn't high. I was disoriented, I could barely stand without the world spinning, and I had an absolutel jack*ss of a doctor who wanted to be a complete tool about having me stay a day longer. Anyway, I went home, felt like garbage for a few days, and it all ended up working out. If I'm giving a fair review, I never once had any complications other than a small stricture that I never went back to this doctor to manage. I don't mind the stricture because it keeps me from eating too much, lol, but in terms of surgical capability, Morgenthal did nothing that contributed to a poor recovery- I healed perfectly. Three weeks after surgery I had a follow-up during which time I was again treated like I was a big fat stupid patient who knows nothing about my health (I actually have more degrees and advanced degrees in health related fields than the doctor does, however he never knew that), and I decided from that point that I would not be going back to that office. I hit goal at 18 months post-op and maintained now for 9 months. I have no major health issues. The surgeon may be a total tool who contributed significantly to my short term discomfort, misery, and emotional lack of wellness, but he did his job as a surgeon and didn't kill me, so I'm good calling it a fair trade. 20K for self-pay sleeve and 2 years later I am my ideal size- I needed a competent surgeon, not one who was nice to me, although both would have been nice. The Best The best thing was my plastic surgeon, if that counts. Compared to my jerk of a bariatric surgeon, my plastic surgeon never once made me feel de-valued and the entire process of 3 major surgeries over the course of a year was great. Dr. Ankit Desai in Jacksonville, FL was an awesome plastic surgeon who gave me the figure I have now that allows me to walk around and feel confident in my own skin for the first time in my life. I cannot say enough good things about him or his practice and that part of the weight loss and surgery experience completely makes up for the sleeve part.

When I had this issue I ate a few bits of granola before a run and I carried it with me when I ran in a little runner's pouch. I would get sick halfway through my run during the hottest parts of summer so the extra bit of carbs before and after helped fix that problem. Even now when I go for a run I still make sure I eat something a little carby about 20 minutes before I head out and then I don't have any issues later.

I have always been a runner, so after surgery I was running 3-5 miles again by the third week. The only times I have noticed an issue were when it was really, REALLY hot and there were 2-3 times during the summer where I got really sick, dizzy, nauseous and I was nervous that I might not make it home. I always carry a bottle of Water with me, but I also started wearing a runner's pack with a bag of granola in it. When I got sick after that I would just chew on the granola and I was fine. I haven't had this issue any time other than during the summer when I was running at the hottest time of the day, so if you're concerned, keep water with you and a little bag of carbs and you will be fine, especially on short runs.

In terms of dumping, I have the same issue, although mine is more puking. Things that are high in sugar, fat, oil, dairy, fruits (because of sugar) or sometimes meats and fish make me supremely sick and I pretty much just puke within a few minutes. Like you said that then kills your appetite for a few hours. Oddly I notice the less I eat the more likely I am to get sick, whereas on days I have more calories it seems I am less likely to be barfing. Also, like you, the Protein dense foods make me extremely full, extremely fast, so I don't eat a ton of them and weirdly vegetables also tend to cause some barfing issues. Yesterday I had gold fish and grilled chicken nuggets- my friend said, "well your inner pre-schooler is happy", which was kind of funny but also true. I have found a few things that consistently don't make me sick (grilled chicken nuggets, sometimes half a chicken salad sandwich from Chik Fil A, which with mayo isn't super healthy but it's not awful for you occasionally, most low calorie crackers like goldfish and wheat thins, most granola bars, lunchables are a good source of protein and generally low in fat so the cheese doesn't make me sick like regular cheese does, protein oatmeal for breakfast- that's pretty much my diet). It is very carby, but when you factor in protein in the oatmeal, in the lunchable, and in the chicken, it is a healthy total value. If you want to gain weight, look for your sliders. For me, Wheat Thins are a huge slider and one of the few things that never makes me sick. I can munch through a whole box of those in a day. Since I am at the weight I want to stay at, I don't keep them in the house. I do however snack on goldfish crackers and granola bars throughout the day which adds a solid extra 500-800 calories and keeps me right at around 1500 calories a day. If you can find something that isn't terrible for you (like a certain cereal- cheerios works for me) or crackers, you can fill in some extra carb-loaded calories that way and then spend the rest of your calories focused on the protein you should be getting. This way you hit all of your calorie goals but you aren't trying to do it with all of the textbook sleeve foods that make you sick.

You will totally be up a few pounds for a few days. I think it was around a week or so before I noticed any loss from my pre-surgery weight and a solid 3-5 days until all of the Fluid they fill you with during surgery was mostly gone and I was back to my normal weight. Good call on having your axilla area done- that stupid underarm flab drove me nuts. I had most of it sucked out during my brachioplasty but in tighter shirts for some reason my left side still has a bit of flab and it annoys me. Good luck getting out of compression! And more importantly, good luck getting back in it, lol.

I have all of my measurements on a spreadsheet- I recorded them at every 10 pound loss point and I took pictures at every 10 pounds. It's really helpful when you're about halfway to goal and you feel discouraged to look back and visually see how far you've come.

I'm glad you're finished and it's over with! Your legs look awesome already! They are also swollen right now so the final product will be less than it looks right now, which you will probably also be happy with. I had lipo in all of my procedures and honestly it just felt a little like a bruise. I had it done on my inner and outer thighs both before I had a thigh lift and during that procedure a few months later and had I not also had the lift I would not have been thrilled- it made my thighs smaller, but saggy, ugh. I noticed this far more on my inner thighs than the outer thighs though. I also had it on my arms during my brachioplasty, and on my stomach during my abdominoplasty, which is normal for those procedures. The worst one was probably when I had it done on my lower back, which it was done twice- first during the abdominoplasty because I wanted the extra lipo and then again 8 months later during my posterior body lift. The first time it was irritatingly numb for almost a month and I distinctly remember finding it very annoying, if not actually painful. My thighs were done at the same time and the outer thighs were lightly bruised for a few days but I don't remember it ever being really painful. To be fair though each of my surgeries had extensive hacking up of skin and sutures, so it is very possible that the lipo pain was masked. Overall, plastics was not particularly painful as much as it was just annoying to not be able to move around well. In my experience, day 1 is great because you are totally blitzed on drugs, day 2 is less fun, and day 3-4 completely suck because you are sore, you are tired, and you feel like you got hit by a truck. I stopped taking the heavy duty drugs after day 3 on my procedures, but it seems like the bulk of the misery is from days 3 and 4 and then things very slowly start to improve. Hopefully they gave you some good drugs and you can relax and enjoy the process of your new legs healing! Are you taking Arnica? It's a little chalky tablet that helps to reduce bruising a lot.

I had a post-surgical bra that I paid like $50 for. It was itchy and hot and I hated it. I had randomly picked up the 2 pack of blue and green hook and loop closure cotton bras from Walmart the week before and I spent everyday during recovery in those and didn't use the stupid surgical one after the first day. I still wear them at home because they are super comfy, there is no underwire, and after surgery you can't lift your arms very high so the front closure is perfect. Also they were like $8, so had I known I would like them so much I would have purchased a few more. My doctor also told me I could just wrap ace bandages around my chest like the way they sent me home after surgery, but I wasn't a fan of that either, lol.

So you're only eating two teaspoons of solid food a night? You are far enough out that unless this is sharp stuff (like tacos) or things with seeds, you really aren't going to kill yourself or substantially hurt your sleeve, particularly if you are chewing it to a mush. Past that though, little bit of tough love, do you want to be thin or do you want to be fat? You can easily eat around the sleeve once you are heeled and regain any weight you lost very quickly. My sleeve hates sugars, oils, fried stuff, and randomly meat, but it loveeessss Wheat Thins and crackers. I can easily eat a box or two a day and if I let myself I would not still be at goal 9 months after I hit it. Ultimately, you need to want to make the changes and the only person who can do that is you. If you thought that eating was going to potentially hurt you and you still did it, then what happens a few months down the road when technically you can eat anything you want with no restrictions? The only person who can fix you, is you. Put down the spoon and go drink a Protein shake.

Is it something that happens periodically or all the time? I know my heart rate would increase significantly after I ate carbs or sugars, I would breathe faster and get hot and flushed, however after about 20-30 minutes it went back to normal. If your HR is over 100bpm on a constant basis, def let your doctor know.

I didn't realize Oprah had bought Weight Watchers- I just thought she was their new spokersperson. I liked the original WW points method like a decade ago and it worked well for me. I lost 70-80pounds-ish on it. Yeah, then I got fat again, did something else, lost another 50, got fat, repeated that a few more times, then had my stomach chopped out- now I'm good, lol. As for the show, I didn't know it existed but it sounds...entertaining.

Woohoo! That is an awesome NSV. I've always gone nude for massages, but I have never been comfortable being totally nude in the women's area. Even now, while I no longer hide in the bathroom to change into the robe and I can strip in the locker room area, I haven't quite worked up the nerve to walk around totally without clothing. I feel a little awkward because I tend to look at the other women and I swear half of them are perfect- no cellulite, no sagging, no plastic surgery scars, and I think...yikes. In reality though, I have never once thought a negative thing about any of them, no matter what their size or appearance- it just wasn't anything that crossed my mind as even noticing, so I can see how I should be a lot more comfortable than I am. Again though, good for you, I love this NSV!

I would run it by your doctor. That never happened to me, however I only had gastric reflux issues before surgery until they fixed my hiatal hernia, so I don't have a frame of reference for that complication after surgery. I did however have plenty of hot flashes and every once in awhile if I eat something I shouldn't, I still do. For me sugar still does it, but in the beginning carbs and sugars made me hot, sweating, and breathing fast for about 20 minutes after I ate whatever it was I shouldn't have eaten, so that part at least seems normal.