McButterpants

Jen...I'm three weeks today (11/14) and I hit that dreaded stall. I only weigh weekly because, quite frankly, I would drive myself insane if I did it every day. So last week, I lost 1.8 pounds - my heart actually hurts right now. I'm putting my scale away again today and will pull it back out next Thursday in hopes that it comes up with a better number for me! Hang in there - I hope the scale is better to you as well.

Amazing transformation! Congrats on your success. Thanks for sharing your pics.

Tomorrow is my week 3 weigh in day (I haven't weighed in a week). Praying to the Weight Loss Gods!!!!!! :-)

Everyone is different, but I'll tell you how my recovery was...I was sleeved three weeks ago tomorrow. I had the surgery on Thursday and worked 1/2 days the following week. I telecommute, so I have it easy - didn't have to get up and shower or drive anywhere. Nonetheless, 1/2 days were plenty for me the week after surgery. The following week I went full days and was tired by the end of the day. I took multiple breaks during the day for walks, and I'll be honest...a nap every once in a while. I didn't drive the week after surgery (I honestly can't remember what the doc said about driving). Riding in the car was uncomfortable when we hit bumps - the seatbelt didn't hit my incisions at all, but the car shaking did. For me - an outside sales job would have been hard to do the week after surgery. The week after that would probably be doable. I would caution you to not push yourself too hard - you need to recovery. This is a major surgery. I would have days that I felt really good and would over do it and then I was no good the next day. Pace yourself. Best of luck to you.

My husband hid the scale from me and I'm thankful he did - I was weighing every day and sometimes mid-day as well. It's just not healthy. We rejoice when we lose 2 pounds overnight - it's physically impossible to do...you'd have to have a 7000 calorie deficit in order to achieve that. And we lose it when the scale says we gained 2 pounds - again, it's not possible. It's completely irrational on both sides! And most of us do this. I berated myself the other day because I "only" lost .5 pound the day my husband took my scale away. (I'm eating about 600 calories a day right now and I'm exercising...yet I still came down hard on myself for failing.) Please hang in there - you have lost over 50 pounds so far. Be proud. Most of all be patient - your body it's own timeframe on losing pounds and it's rarely on the same schedule as your brain. Take care of yourself!!!!! Sending hugs.

The first few days of the pre-op are the hardest, then you hit your stride. I drank a lot of green tea - it helped with the hunger. December 13th is right around the corner for you gals! It's an exciting time. Best of luck to you - keep us updated on your progress.

Kitty, you are not alone. I shed a lot of tears over a lot of stuff over the past few months. It's all part of the process and journey. A couple of weeks before surgery, I cleaned out my closet of the "fat girl clothes" that I absolutely hated. I also found a box of my "skinny clothes". I still have the outfit that I wore the day I met my husband - I vow I will fit into that outfit again. You'll do just fine - just be good to yourself and allow yourself to have emotions and assclown moments - at the end of the day, we're all assclowns!!!!! Best of luck to you.

Hey there, Redbean...You have had such great success - 53 pounds is amazing. Please don't put value in some crappy Thanksgiving day photo. I am not sure I have every liked a pic taken of me - at any weight. Keep your chin up and be proud of what you've accomplished and look forward to the future. I'm going to copy your signature here - read it until you believe it! :-) Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. ~Nido Qubein

I'll be three weeks out tomorrow (OMG - I can't believe that!!!). Closet cleaning is good for your soul! About a month before surgery I went thru and ditched all my ugly things - the tops that don't quite fit right or are just plain ugly, but you bought them for a specific event or function; the fat pants with elastic - yeah, those are gone, too. I'm not replacing things right away - I'm lucky, I telecommute, so I don't need a lot of work clothes right now. I'm holding off on buying new pants for a while - my pre-op jeans are lose, but they fit (man, I was really packing them in more than I realized). I'm going shopping after the holidays, though. Mama needs a new pair of jeans! December 17 will be here in no time. 2014 will be a great year for you!

I can see my jawline developing....I think I lost it sometime around 1999!

Best of luck! We'll see you on the loser's bench soon!

Wow - that's amazing. Congrats to you. Have an amazing holiday season this year - you earned it.

The first four days were definitely the hardest for me - it will get easier as your body adjusts. I also found drinking green tea really helped me - I wasn't a tea drinker prior to the pre-op diet. Hang in there and keep your eye on the prize. It will be over before you know it!!!!!

I telecommute as well. I was sleeved on a Thursday and went back the following Monday 1/2 days (one day was all day - sitting at the desk...it was too much and I was exhausted). Went back full time the following week. I would get tired and luckily, I could take a mid-day nap at lunch time. I think I probably could have gone back to an office job, but nothing physical. Good luck!

You look amazing! Wear it with confidence because it really does look nice.

Would this be the wrong time to mention I'm in key west where the high is 79 degrees? Uhm yeah!!!!! LOL. OMG - it's cold here. when I say cold, I mean 11 degrees. And so much snow to shovel in order to get my car out of the driveway! But I made it to the gym and did 2 miles on the treadmill. I lived in FL for 15 years, but never made it to Key West. We lived over in the Tampa area. Miss it this time of year! OK - I feel better that we are in misery together. I telecommute from home, so I'm back in the home office with hot tea looking out at the snow! I hope you're doing well! I'm recovering and feeling better each day. Tired, but feeling better.

Would this be the wrong time to mention I'm in key west where the high is 79 degrees? Uhm yeah!!!!! LOL. OMG - it's cold here. when I say cold, I mean 11 degrees. And so much snow to shovel in order to get my car out of the driveway! But I made it to the gym and did 2 miles on the treadmill. I lived in FL for 15 years, but never made it to Key West. We lived over in the Tampa area. Miss it this time of year!

Snowed 6 inches here last night...I need to get to the gym since I can't walk outside. Limited shoveling since I'm 2.5 weeks out, but did what I could to get the car cleaned off enough for safe driving...the car has been warming up for 1/2 hour! Such dedication to this challenge!!!!!! :-)

You got it. Very emotional and it's understandable, this is a huge life change you're about to make. I almost backed out...multiple times, including in admitting the day of surgery. Then I remembered all the reasons why I decided to do this in the first place. It will be a roller coaster and not just before surgery. Expect similar feelings immediately after - for 3 days, I wondered why I went thru it. On Day 4, I was feeling better and getting used to the idea (what choice did I have, right?). One thing I realized - I am a lot stronger, physically and mentally, than I thought I was. You'll find out the same thing. You got this. Best of luck!

Best of luck to you! Look forward to seeing your progress!

Congrats, Branmuffin! Those wins are nice!!!! Keep up the good work.

Yep it was the snow peas - as delicious as they are, they are very carb-y! Broccoli, cauliflower are good choices. Anything that is low on the glycemic index would be good: Asparagus, cucumber, greens, and radishes are good choices. Stay away from peas, corn, carrots, potatoes - those are high carb veggies.

My two week pre-op consisted of 2 shakes and 4-6 ounces of meat and 1 cup of vegetables daily. It sucked and I hated it. I had days where I didn't think I could get thru - I think there were 2 or 3 days that I added another shake because without it, I was going to fall off the wagon and eat something totally off plan. I'd check with your doc or NUT to see if that's an option for you. Also, green tea became my go-to drink when I felt like I wanted food when I couldn't have it. I drank copious amounts of green tea. In the end, you will find it's worth it. You will be proud of yourself that you passed that first hurdle of many in this long journey. This is going to help prep you for the weeks to come. Post-op, you will have different challenges, but you will still be on a liquid diet of some sort for weeks after surgery. You'll be ready because you lived thru the pre-op. I'm just over two weeks post-op and I can tell you, I'm really sick of shakes - I still have to drink 3 shakes per day until December 30th when I have my next follow up visit. But, when I step on the scale or put on jeans that used to be tight and now are almost too big - it's worth it! Sometime in the near future, when you're post-op, you'll look at this pre-op diet and think, "That wasn't a big deal." :-) Wishing you the best and great success.

I had many moments where I went thru the "What the hell are you doing?" phase. I wondered if I had done enough to try to do it on my own, maybe I should try some more on my own. But in the end, I realized, I wasn't going to do this on my own. After 25 years of yo-yo dieting and really messing my metabolism up (along with PCOS and toss in some insulin resistance), losing and gaining it back plus a few for good measure, it wasn't possible to do it on my own. As my Primary Care Physician said when I told her I was going the VSG route, "At the rate you need to work out and restrict your calories, it's not sustainable for the long term. This is a good decision for you." Only you can decide if this is the right decision. For me, I know this is the right thing to do. It's scary as hell - I was scared from the moment I made the decision. I was scared when I hugged my son goodbye before we boarded the plane. I was scared when I kissed my husband when they were wheeling me into surgery. This may sound silly, but I knew things were going to be OK when we were driving down the road and I was looking at restaurants and I really didn't care. Two days prior to surgery, I was like, "Yep, won't be able to eat there again." "Can't have that ever again." Having a total pity party. Tonight my son wanted grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner - I made them for him and my husband. They didn't even look good - I didn't want one. I take that back, I had a moment when they were biting into that crunchy bread, but it was wanting the crunch, not the bread. Being on mainly liquids for 2 months takes a toll - you want food, you want to chew, but it's not that important what it is. I'm amazed daily at how this surgery has affected my desire to eat - it really isn't there. I eat now because my body needs something, not because I got upset at work, or my mom is driving me crazy, or (insert emotion here). I wish you guys all the best - you will know what is right for you. Don't let anyone talk you into or out of a decision. It's yours - the power is yours.

Hi there. I was sleeved on 11/14/13, so I'm just over 2 weeks post-op. I've learned a lot in the past couple of months, since I decided to have VSG. The day before surgery and the day of surgery, I almost backed out...multiple times. I was scared and feeling like I would regret going through the surgery. I was thinking about all the things I wouldn't be able to eat. I would no longer be able to enjoy food like I had in the past. I wouldn't be able to go out to dinner with friends and family and Celebrate. The morning of my surgery while I was in admitting, I thought to myself, "You can leave right now and you'll only be out $500." I was tempted. Then I looked at my husband - I could tell he was nervous and scared for me. I thought about my future with him and my son. I thought about my mom and her struggles with her weight and subsequent medical issues. I looked down the path that I was going down and I saw misery, pain and unhappiness. I CHOSE then to go through with the surgery. While it hasn't been all sunshine and lollipops since then, I am happy I decided to go through with it. I'm losing weight, a lot of weight, but more than that, I feel better. I feel better than I have in years. I can go for a long walk with my husband and not feel pain. My face doesn't look bloated like it did a month ago. Someone said I look 5 years younger already. I didn't look like I was steer wrestling on the plane when I tried to get my seatbelt fastened when we returned home. I've learned a lot about myself in the past few weeks. I am strong, stronger than I ever knew I was. I can handle more pain than I thought I would ever experience. I am looking forward to the future - like camping next summer with the family. I can see a healthier and happier me - one that participates in my own life. I can see a difference in my relationship with my son - I can see he's proud of me and the action I took to improve our family life. I had to have my husband hide my scale - since the weight was coming off so quickly, weighing myself became a new pastime (unhealthy behavior alert)...I weigh once per week now. I've learned a lot from the people in this forum - it's a great resource and we are fortunate to have it. I have a group of people I network with on Facebook as well. I don't know anyone personally who has gone thru this, so my network is all on line. I'm also fortunate I was able to pay for the surgery as my insurance wouldn't cover it. So, I'll end the rambling with this - I say goodbye to my 2X Old Navy Yoga pants today. They are literally falling off me. I have 4 pair - these are pants that I have lived in the past year. On most days they were the only comfortable pants I could wear. If I could have worn them out of the house without feeling like a complete slob, I would have worn them everywhere...instead, I packed myself into my jeans that still fit me today, a little loose, but can still wear them - that proves how much I literally packed myself into them (I cannot wait to bid farewell to those jeans). These 2X Old Navy Yoga pants represent such an unhappy version of myself - they represent pain and anguish. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far and look forward to getting rid of more unhappy clothes!