LindafromFlorida

My NUT said lay off the protein at 3 months, I was eating too much. Go figure. All I did was add veggies and salads to the chicken I usually eat.

There is no perfection in this group, just raw, honest feelings and emotion, along with kindness, sarcasm, wittiness, love, hurt, sadness and joy. I am thankful I was given information to be part of this family, because this has been the scariest journey ever for me and my husband. The surgeon and his staff did not have the answers we needed, I found it all right here. Thank you Alex, for leading and guiding a wonderful group of emotionally charged women and men as we try to make a better life for ourselves. Congratulations on a job well done! I will forever be a part of this family.

Six months will pass anyway so you might as well have this plan, as I told my husband. 3 kids under 5 are easy to feed. You can cook and freeze meals prior to surgery, or cook in the crockpot, healthy chicken soups and such. You cannot lift them! I picked up something a week after surgery, and had really bad pain. Have you been going to a doctor who documented your weight, and would that count? Six months will pass very quickly as you get your ducks (and kids) in a row and prepare for the surgery! Keep reading, asking questions, and being informed!

There are many posts here about the nastiness of people, and having worked in big government offices, I know how that goes. You tell one person in HR in confidence, who tells another, and it mushrooms. My husband and I have enjoyed not having to discuss our surgery with our social group, as it has been bad enough just having them all discuss our weight loss. We just say we have been dieting, and we quit eating out and drinking at social functions. I am thankful now that my husband made that decision not to tell people, since I usually feel the need to explain way too much! Life is aaaahhh, so good!

The surgery was 10 times easier than expected, one night in hospital, one dose of pain med at home, and shopped in 2days. Have not slowed down since. I am 67 years old and my husband too, and it has been wonderful, absolutely no problem. We also both had hernias repaired. My weight loss is 60 lbs, and he has lost 90, in less than 7 months. Warning, it will be harder with kids and food in the home. We can pretty much eat anything now, we just don't keep bread, sweets and pasta in the house. Good luck!

Might turn out to be awesome, but we are so excited about the great way the sleeve has worked for us. We researched 10 years before we felt comfortable with the sleeve. Good luck with your decision!

You can so do this! We will be your support! I am 68 in August, my husband 67 in June. Retired in December 2012 after 47 years of working, and barely moved from my chair for many months. Weight added, felt 90 years old. My husband was in terrible shape with so many health problems. Take care of yourself by not giving up living - Get the surgery for yourself!!!!!! It is the best thing ever!!!!!

You will make many wonderful friends here. Give us your status. Pre-surgery or post-surgery? Let us help you. We will be your support group, and happy for you. Put yourself first for a change. Most of us never did that. You do not have to keep explaining or justifying, just plod on, and pretty soon you will have a lighter step! Hugs! Linda

I am 5'4", and weighed 230 last year. I hid it rather well also, but the bottom line is when the clothes come off and we drag around almost an extra 100 lbs it takes a toll on us. Add in the diabetes, HBP, asthma, knee replacement (which kept me from exercising or walking), my age of 67, neuropathy, and I was a DISASTER. I feel like a teenager again (almost) until I look in the mirror. No one knows my husband and I were sleeved. Not their business. It was tough enough taking this drastic step, and we sure did not need opinions of others. Hugs everyone!

Just ordered Toppik and now I will try Iron. Checked my great liquid vitamin and none in it. Sure can't hurt.

Never thought we could give up Diet Coke but we have not even been tempted to go back to it, thank God. Really wanted to get off it anyway. Switched to Crystal Light Peach Tea which I love (and hated before the sleeve surgery, go figure). I remember having a lot of questions for the NUT after surgery, and learned you have to learn from others on this forum what works best. Thank goodness for the people here who guide us. The surgery date will be here before you know it, so keep reading and learning. I will say that being sleeved was 10 times easier than my husband and I anticipated, even 6-7 months out. Good luck!

I took all this and no help. I have very fine, thin hair and it is awful. Started at 5 months and now at almost 7 months worse than ever. It is worse around my face. I just spent good money on 2 wigs because I am trying not to use heat on my hair, and wash it so often. I use good products but guess we weather this storm and thank God I look better with 60 lbs. gone. Leaving in a week for a 7 day cruise (my husband booked for his birthday) with my 2 wigs, and thank goodness I won't know anyone.

I feel for you all with children at home. I envy that blessing but with my husband and I both sleeved we don't have the temptations around. If I were cooking I bet I would be tasting. I do make sure I eat before going to the grocery store!

With two diabetics in the house being sleeved, it has to be mind over matter and not tempt my husband with anything with sugar in the house. He has lost 90 lbs and I am finally sleeping soundly at night knowing his blood sugar won't plummet. I have to admit bread was my downfall though. I buy no more, and I do miss it.

I have had constant stalls. Hard to know what to do sometimes. Was told I was eating too much protein at 3 months. Glad I could finally add veggies and salads, but still stall.

My husband and I were sleeved, him on 12/2/13. He was obese all his life and the health problems kept multiplying, the worst being diabetes. He is 67. He is down from 320 to 240 and feels better than he has in years. I am very sorry about your Mother and I know you must be really nervous, but like I told my husband before surgery, he needed to be more afraid NOT to have the sleeve because of his health. The sleeve has changed our lives completely and we would do it again in a heartbeat. BTW we went to WL seminars 10 years and until the sleeve was perfected we rejected the other types of surgeries. It is a scary decision, but we would have had a better quality of life if we had been able to have the sleeve sooner. God Bless.

Follow your plan. Stalls happen. Someone posts this every day. Stay off the scale, in fact, go hide it. Keep busy. Research the posts on stalls if you want to read more about it. I read enough about them so when it happened I already knew about it. You will not lose weight every day of your life. But do not give up, keep making those healthy choices!

We had the sleeve in November and December and if we are sitting around bored it seems I gravitate to the kitchen. I still keep SF popsicles for those occasions. Keep busy. Head hunger is real but if you distract yourself with shopping, and projects around the home, you are less likely to want to stuff yourself. We also do not keep bread, pasta and any sweets in our home. Not going to have pizza, that is for sure. It is still a choice after surgery to eat the things you mention, and when people here say they are gaining and not losing, I guarantee they are eating the wrong foods again. The sleeve works, we are seldom really hungry.

Get a small cooler and take yogurt (13 grams of sugar or less was our rule), small curd cottage cheese (I added a tsp. Polaner SF jams to my cottage cheese), Laughing Cow Lite wedges of soft cheese, 2 T. refried beans with a dash of mild taco sauce. You will get other suggestions here so try them all! Good luck!

When was your surgery? It depends on the stage you are at......

FYI, I bought a lot of the Unjury Chicken Soup mixes (it was winter) on the advice here. It clumps in hot water and lukewarm soup is not very good. Be warned!

Praying for you!

Anytime you are put to sleep is a time to be concerned. What I can tell you is that the surgery and recovery from the sleeving (and hernia repairs) was absolutely 10 times easier than my husband and I expected. We had no pain, no nausea, no problem. Since October I have lost 60 lbs, he has lost 90 lbs. Life has changed drastically, with very little effort. Blessings, Linda

Number one rule do not stock up. I have so much food to donate to our group. I was in the grocery store a couple days after surgery. You won't be laid up and unable to shop. You can survive on very little. Refried beans were good when I could eat mushy, with a little taco sauce, and cottage cheese, small curd. Crystal Light (which I hated prior to surgery) Peach Tea is our favorite drink. At 3 months post-sleeve. we were told to quit the protein drinks, and I was told I was eating too much protein. Everything seems to change after surgery, especially your taste for food. Best wishes!<br />