SnohoGal98296

Hi Everyone, My surgery date is June 11th, any other June dates out there?

Same here! - 5 to 7lbs - I am going to do a restart starting this weekend, I have softball championship (local fun league) tonight, so need to be on point, but Friday I am going to start from the pre-op Protein shake diet for 5 days and see where that gets me... I get so scared when I see the scale go up, I am active but not religious about exercise (I prefer fun things like this softball league over "working out"), so I can kick it into high gear and see what results I can get. After 5 days I will go into early foods and then back to normal food. I am hoping this will help me reinforce the good habits this surgery has supported...

Hi everyone - Over two years out and I am still down over 110 lbs - This decision was the best thing I could have done for myself - do you still feel the same way?

Hope your arms are feeling better today, Welcome to the losers bench!

Hi Everyone, I have searched for this symptom/effect and not found anything. I am 2 days post-op and experiencing arm pain when it is time for my pain meds. It feels like over exertion pain like every muscle from my shoulders to my wrists to my fingers are on fire. Like I dug a ditch the day before. It is resolved when I take my pain meds. I kind of wonder if the fact that I have been compensating for my stomach muscles by using my arms and that is why they are so sore. But really, I can say they hurt more than my stomach! Another odd tidbit, my arms feel hot and are red like they are sunburned and upper chest too - not my tummy area, the decolletage are between my throat and my breasts. I would think I was having an allergic reaction but I have zero symptoms regarding my throat or breathing or temperature. Any thoughts?

Hi Everyone, So I have seen about a gajillion posts from pals who need suggestions for Protein drinks, and the responses are always so helpful with suggestions of specific brands and sometimes websites where to find them. But many times we just say, I like this one or this is one I can tolerate. As I have read them I was thinking about all of these different drinks/broths that I have never tried, so I decided to give some of them a try for myself, not only in preparation of the dreaded pre-op diet but also for post-op . Here is my list (which includes ones I have tried so far ;-D): Now - when I was on a medically supervised diet two years ago I got hooked on Syntrax nectar powder mixes that my Doctor sold - I always stuck with chocolate Truffle and vanilla Bean Torte. I like them both, but my favorite is the Chocolate Truffle. I use it as both a quick Breakfast and a dessert. The Chocolate Truffle is a rich chocolate flavor without being too cloying. The powder mixes well with a spoon and perfectly with a mixer tumbler. The vanilla is great too and worked great as a mix in with plain greek yogurt. The vanilla bean is also a mellow not overpowering flavor which I like. I have never detected an aftertaste with either of these flavors, from the sweeteners or the protein base. Although I always like to drink Water immediately after but that may just be a me and milk thing, I have done that. I have also tried Syntrax Mint Cookie - I had it my head that it would be like my favorite ice cream, Chocolate Mint Chip, if I blended it with extra ice. And, well, no. But it was good, not too sweet and had a reasonable amount of mint chip flavor - I think I just built it up in my head. I need to get over the ice cream thing I guess... Premiere Protein Chocolate RTD (single serve tetrapac from Costco) - I just tried this one, chilled ice cold, an it was delish, thick and rich, it reminded me of drinking liquid pudding. I could see that someone could get tired of it if it was consumed three or four times a day for several days - or if you're like me and chocolate pudding is heaven in a cup - you may love it... So my thought is this - whatever Protein Drinks you have tried - please post a tasting review of them here. Give a recent review which mentions why you like or dislike the product. How is the flavor - is this your go-to drink? If you didn't like it, why not? If you hate it - what drink do you like? In support of this effort, I went to a few different websites (all recommended by fellow pals - thanks!) and ordered several sample packs of different brands and types, I have even ordered samples of the water based protein drinks from lemonade to chicken broth, as I receive them and try them I will post here and I invite you to do the same. Thanks everyone!

You will do great! I am VSG 10 months out and 105lbs lost, best decision I ever made!

I have been looking forward to posting these for a while now... It has been 9 months since surgery and I have lost 101lbs (as of this picture, a little over a week ago). I have a lot more to go, another 50 lbs, so I am keeping at it. I am sooo sore from Gardening all weekend!

I just found this great show on YouTube called "7 Bites", it is two gals who have both had the Sleeve (1 a band revision to sleeve the other a straight sleeve) - THe videos are about 10-15mins and cover all kinds of topics! I just watched a videon on the Full liquid phase and they gave out tons of tips and helpful advice - Ima binge watch these gals today!! Just search 7 Bites on YouTube and tell me what you think :-D

Hi Everyone, Yesterday I hit 100 lbs lost, my surgery date was June 11th, so that makes it 100 lbs in 9 months. This morning I weighed myself again convinced I would have bounced up a pound (I have been stalled for nearly three weeks, so understandably suspicious :-D). But to my delight I had crossed over the fabled "One-derland", 199 lbs. I say fabled because it seemed like something that happens to other folks, I just wasn't sure it would happen for me. I guess you can say this is how I have felt through this whole process. Probably nearly 30 years of weight loss failures affecting my attitude! But somehow I lived through the presurgery liquid diet, the immediate post surgery diet phases, fearing different foods, first for my tiny tummy then for impacting my weight loss, multiple stalls that made me wonder if this was the end of the losses, would I be the near the bottom of the spectrum, only able to lose 40-50% of excess weight? But my sleeve has kept me on the straight and narrow, I have made the good food decisions and exercise changes and together we have lost 102 lbs! Which as of today is around 70 percent of my excess weight. I feel like I definitely have another 50 lbs to lose both in my heart and on my body, I really think I will by-pass my Doctors goal of 165 and get down to 145 lbs. If you are reviewing these posts to decide if weight loss surgery is a good decision - let me share that not only do I thank myself ( and my Mom for helping with the cost) everyday for choosing this solution, I wish I had done this 10 years earlier. I feel great, I can walk and workout without feeling like I am gong to pass out. I started in a size 26W and 3X, today I am wearing a size XL fitted tee and size 16 misses jeans. It has all been worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ok, 199 on the Drs scale, fully clothed, makes this milestone official :-D

Question - Armadillo eggs are a vegetable? Are we thinking the same thing? Jalepeno Peppers stuffed with cheese and covered in Sausage and formed to look like an egg? or is this a vegetable I have never heard of? My favorite min meal (office lunch) is hard bolied egg with a teaspoon of gulden's mustard, devilled eggs without the labor! and Tuna made with Oilve Oil mayo and Guldens. RyKrisp or Wasa crackers. dinner - I am a fresh grilled Protein kind of girl with a bite or two of vegetables...

Get some PB2, Amazon has it, plus many grocery stores have it, get some of the powders, Syntrax nectar Sweets is a good line. I do a vanilla shake with tablespoon of PB2 and it makes an awesome Peanut Butter shake. Also, mix a vanilla shake with 1 tablespoon of orange flavor Fiber drink mix (they come in sugar free) for a creamsicle flavor. And definitely search shakes on this forum to find tons of recipes posted by our forum friends, oh and hit The World According to Eggface, a great website/blog by a sister weight loss surgery success, she has great recipes too.

I record everything I eat, to the best I can, so when I experience a stall I go over what I am eating, I just don't see how eating 1000 calories and exercising can cause weight loss to stop. Therefore I believe in stalls. Luckily for me I have only experienced a few, I think it is the body holding on to water weight or bloat, in an attempt to stop what it perceives as a major attack on its energy stores.

Thanks everyone! Keep up the good fight!

Yes your tastes will evolve, I personally struggled with a sort of fear of different foods. For instance, I thought anything sharp was scary, that they would hurt my new tiny tummy, so no crisp or crunchy things, I stayed on the softer foods til boredom set in, finally I got over that fear and I tried new foods. I now love my apple and whole grain flat breads. I too found I didn't like the flavor of many foods I liked before, but after waiting awhile I found trying them again worked. I think this is due to the change in our digestive flora and hormones, so once they settle into the norm your tastes will change again. Hang in there, at 2 months it is too early to convince yourself this is the new forever...

My surgery was June 11th, I have lost 96 lbs, working through a two week stall, Hoping to beat it soon so I can celebrate my joining the 100 lbs lost club!

7 months out and still checking into to BP twice a week or so - I keep my stats here and search for posts om issues that I have questions on or are just curious about. Keep on the lookout - you will find folks going through what you are experiencing - but sometimes you are the first, in that case post and share so someone can learn with you ;-D

I read this post prior to my surgery which was in June 2014, Friday night just after my 7 month-iversary I noticed my belly button was itchy, after checking it out I found it was an itchy red mess. Luckily I have all of the standard yeast skin meds from before my surgery, so I was able to treat it immediately. Today it is much better. I used to get that same itchy red in skin folds prior to surgery, but I haven't had any literally since surgery, or my 10 day liquid pre-surgery diet, so I really thought I was past yeast skin issues. I thought that it was because of my drastic decrease in sugar consumption. I have recently been testing the addition of complex carbs to my diet, so I might dial that back a bit!

I lived in Prescott for eight years - loved it! Went to ERAU, met my husband, married and had our first child there - just seeing your post brings many warm memories flooding back. There is sooo much to do there - although back when we left the only things seemed to be Whiskey Row or one of two movie theaters - except the movie always traveled from the one to the other, so it really was like only having one theater :-D. we have family there so we are able to marvel at how much Prescott has grown since we left. As newbie in town I would get a gym membership and take some classes and try to make friends there - stroll around the square when there is a tent event. Oh! Beware "The Devil's Pantry" on Whiskey Row - they serve deep fried everything! My Brother in Law owns the joint and I tease him all the time about the double fried hot dog :-D Hang in there - those 360 days of sunshine a year will get you out and about - I miss Arizona but we are ensconced here in Seattle so we settle for visiting.

There is no doubt in my mind that I could not have done this without WLS. I have spent my entire life (well since I was about 12, the first time someone pointed out that I was fat) trying to lose weight. There were a few periods where I lost weight and kept it off for a few months, which is how I ended up at 301 lbs at the age of 46, lose some weight, gain it back plus a few more. I yo-yo'd through all types of weight loss programs, homegrown to medically supervised. What I learned AFTER surgery is that my body/brain was fighting me the whole way. If I missed a meal (which didn't happen often) or ate too lightly when I was presurgery, I used to get really nauseous, like dry heaves nauseous, it was one of my questions to my surgeon - Will this happen when I am eating only a few ounces at a time? She assured me it shouldn't be a problem. My warning signs were usually shaky hands and weak knees. (my blood work showed no signs of diabetes or other blood sugar issues), crankiness and then the gagging. Well I am 6 months out and I have yet to feel true hunger pangs or even a smidgen of that weak kneed, shakiness, bad temper symptoms that would lead to the dry heaves if I didn't get something to eat. This was the battle I was up against - because these symptoms would kick in an hours or so after your standard 200-300 calorie meal. Now, I am totally satisfied with the 3-4 ounces I can eat at a meal these days. I have lost 88 lbs as of this posting and gone from a size 26W/24W to a size 16W. I have another 60 lbs to lose to get my fighting weight of 150-ish, (I'd be thrilled with 165, over the moon with 155). My weight loss has been toughest - but the easiest I have ever done in my life. I still make the decisions to eat healthy foods and stay away from simple carbs and fast foods - but my body is now on my side. Sometimes it is the emotional want to indulge in a rich food that is the toughest part or maybe the temptation to eat something really carby like Pasta - but my sleeve backs me up and keeps me honest :-D I am very happy and look back with absolutely zero regrets! In fact if I have a regret it is that I didn't get my sleeve sooner!

OKIBON - From my bystander perspective - the miniGB looks like a sleeve with the remaining stomach left in - and the sleeve portion reconnected to the intestine like a regular by pass - my question would be (I am a sleeve at 6 months out), if the sleeve causes GERD, why wouldn't this surgery also cause GERD? if my sleeve can generate enough acid to cause gerd then the sleeve in the MiniGB sould do the same. In an RNY - the stomach pouch is a small ball shape, it is known to not cause GERD becasue there is so little of the stomach producing acid, but the mini looks just like sleeve - just curious for your sake, if you are looking to avoid GERD, then this is a question I would ask your Surgeon. One reason I chose sleeve was that I liked that the removed stomach is the portion that generates grehlin - the hormone that makes you hungry. I can honestly say that I have not had a hunger pang since I had the surgery - I have come to realize a certain feeling when I am late to eat, but it is not the hunger I used to feel with tummy growls and light headedness. I just went on a sympathy two day liquids only diet with my husband - he was prepping for a colonoscopy and I wasn't hungry at all. So my point would be - for both RNY and MiniGB - having that stomach in there still generating grehlin, you would think you would still get hungry. I believe I read when I was studying all the options that some RNY'rs say that they are hungry but can't eat too much (a good thing) because of the tiny stomach pouch. Have you looked at this and heard anything about why this is or isn't the case?