Jus1Nita

From my surgery on September 23, 2013 until now has been a long journey, and I have roughly between 30 - 40 more miles to go! The ride has been slow, but I've lost 75 lbs. along the way. Were there bumps and potholes in the road? Yes, lots of them! LOL But, I learned to shift gears to ease over the bumps, and go around the potholes! This journey is not only about losing weight, but more about changing the way I think about food, and as my thinking changed the ride became a lot smoother!

Yes, those pesky potholes.... Learned to avoid the potholes... Eating too fast, drinking before eating, not measuring food, not tracking food, grazing, white foods (carbs), and all the other potholes that will have you flying into a ditch if you try to take them on and just barrel over them. LOL

Can someone explain what a bougie is in "Bougie for Dummies" terms. LOL. I've seen many discussions on it and I'm still in the dark.

I saw a bill which stated that a 45 in. stapler was used, I would imagine that constitutes the size of the bougie, even with that I can only eat roughly 2 - 3 ounces. Anything beyond that I feel as though I've eaten two cows! Very uncomfortable, so I don't even push beyond that because I've heard stories of stretching, but then again, I heard stories from people who are several years out and they have stated their restriction is the same as their initial surgery. Have you searched for anything on VSG revision or failure.

Right after surgery I noticed my skin was very dry, so I took the advice of others and started using coconut oil on my skin to relieve the dryness. Now my feet are cracking... I mean painful open cracks. I looked up symptoms of dehydration, and sure enough the problem I'm having with my feet was listed. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, besides drinking more Water to cure the dehydration what did you do to heal the cracking. I am keeping my feet moisturized, but as soon as one crack heals, here comes another.

RJ, I can only imagine the lower intake of fat, besides dehydration in my case, has a lot to do with increased dryness. My skin is so dry, I sometimes wonder if I should just oil down with lard. LOL The coconut oil helps though. Nice scent too. Now I smell fruity. LOL

Wow! Did any of you develop the dry skin condition after surgery, or did it exist before surgery. I have one crack that is very bad. It's like an open wound. Going to see a doctor about it. It would be different if my feet were callused, but that is not the case... It's fleshy skin splitting. Sounds disgusting... I know!

I put ice in my Protein drinks to dilute them after I discovered it was the thick texture that made me gag. The icy coldness made it easier, especially since that's the same way I tolerate drinking milk. Ever since I was a kid, the only way I could drink milk was that it had to be icy cold. I even put ice cubes in my Cereal and milk. Weird... I know! LOL. I also but the Protein Drink with ice in a blender do that it's like a shake. Tastes really good... Like a Frapuccino from Starbucks. LOL

Ugh! Whenever I talk to mother I have to go through 21-Questions, as if I'm some little kid about what I'm eating, how much weight are you averaging a week, are you exercising, how much and for how long, what are you eating, how much, are you drinking enough Water, and blah, blah, blah! After I answer her 21-questions.... this morning's criticism session consisted of her telling me that if I'm only averaging 1-2 lbs a week this soon post-op, I must be doing something wrong because my sister, who had RNY by the way, lost waaayyyyy more than that, and it's been one year, and she still loses more than you are averaging in one week. I told her when I had my 30-day check-up that the doctor stated the 25 lbs I had lost was comparable to an RNY patient, she commences to telling me doctors will tell you anything, and that is not the same as a by-pass because they want to make you think you made the right choice because your sister lost more with RNY. Then she says, "if you were only going to lose 1-2 lbs a week, you could have just stayed with Weight Watchers. Thanks for the Morale Buster, Mother! Ugh. *tears*

Not to encourage you not to put forth your full effort to lose the 20 lbs., if that is what is required by your doctor, but there are times that in order to motivate people to meet a loss, there is a chance that the doctor may have requested that you do above the actual number, so that you reach the "real" weight loss which is needed to shrink your liver in order to perform a safe and less complicated surgery! It's called "reverse psychology" or what I like to call.... "tricking the bad behavioral mechanisms that are inherent in us into submission" For instance, when I need choir members to be at a certain place, at a certain time, and knowing that if I say 2:00, they'll get there at 3:00, I will tell them to be there at 1:00, so they'll be there at 2:00 on time. Do I get belly aching and whining about "why do we have to be there at 1:00, the event doesn't start until 3:00" Yes, but guess what, they never fail to get there on time, because some "people" generally have a built-in behavioral mechanism to be late. So for the half-steppers, I trick their "behavioral mechanisms" into being on time by requiring them to show up earlier than the actual scheduled time. I say all this to say.... it's not all gloom and doom, and you're not a complete failure! Continue on the mandated plan, and lose as much as possible and keep in mind that if you don't stick to it, it will delay the surgery even further. You just never know, 20 lbs. may not be attainable or even the "true" amount that you actually need lose, but if you stick to it and loss as much as possible, you may find that you actually lost the "real" about weight needed, even if it's less than 20 lbs., to perform a safe and less complicated surgery because the liver will have decreased to the actual desired size. The point and encouragement here is to lose as much as possible, so that if the doctor does require 20 lbs. you won't have that far to go! Keep up the good work, and remember to STAY BEAUTIFUL by remaining positive in your thinking and in your words.... and your actions are guaranteed to follow!

At 213, I'm still in the 18 - 20 size. It all depends on body shape. I am apple shaped, big stomach, big butt, small extremities, so to say I look like a walking egg is an understatement. LOL So while the scale is going down, my appearance isn't. As someone above stated, the fat can be between organs, and with the majority of my fat being in my abdomen area, the explanation given by her "brother the doctor" appears to be on par as to why I'm losing at the scale, but not in appearance. I'm OK with that because I'd rather lose the fat between organs which heightens heart attacks, first, and patiently wait on the surface fat to dissipate! If my appearance never changes, which I don't believe that would be the case, but if it doesn't, and that's a strong "IF", I would much rather it be fat lose from between my organs. At 35 lbs down, I see a slight difference, but upon first glance, I couldn't really tell, and boy.... when I sent the photo to my mom, I further deflated when she said she thought they were the same photo. Then she tries to clear it up by saying, well... you put the "before" pic to the right, and normally, it should be to the left. Whatever, Mother! Two deflations in one day was more than enough for you to suck my morale, so I have had to encourage myself to pick my face back up. Anyway, I digress.... all in all, the key is to keep at it, be patient, and speak positive affirmations daily, sometimes more than once of day in order to counteract negative thoughts, or negative statements from others. WE CAN DO THIS, AND WE WILL!!! KEEP THE FAITH AND MOST OF ALL.... THINK BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks everyone! When I was going for my orientation, the material they gave us stated we would lose 1 - 2 lbs. a week with the sleeve. I know everyone's average is different, but were any of you told what the average lose per week would be?

OOPS! Didn't realize I posted this twice! Don't know how to delete or even if it allows me to delete! PLEASE IGNORE!

Cue for me is that I start to burp or hiccup, but then again those are my two signals when I'm hungry! Once my stomach is empty, I start burping like crazy! I mean, longgg drawn out burps... Irritating and embarrassing at the same time. Seriously thinking about changing my name to "Burpy". LOL