VSGAnn2014

Has your surgeon or nutritionist told you that sleeved patients should not drink and eat at the same time? Just sayin'.

Can you be clearer about the tests you had done? And what you learned? (I have no idea what a weight loss endo is -- or what it measures or how it measures it.) Also, are you still working out as much as you were pre-plastics? And do you think your plastic surgery (LOL means "lower body lift," I assume) could have had anything to do with the change in your body's metabolism? Thanks.

Vibration machines? Seriously? I thought those went out with hula hoops. The first time hula hoops were in! LOL!

Donna, the odds are your current unhappiness will improve dramatically in the coming months. Rapid weight loss throws TONS of hormones (stored in fat cells) into your blood stream with predictable results. Add that to the normal anxiety one feels during the first few months post-op (like you are) as you struggle to eat /drink and wonder if this is how it will ALWAYS be. Short version: How you feel 27 days after surgery resembles in NO way how you're going to feel about this surgery a year from now. You have many more phases to go through -- all of which will lead you to a more comfortable, new normal.

I'm 10.5 months post-op (VSG) and currently 5 pounds below goal. A year ago, I thought I knew how hard it was to be overweight, obese and morbidly obese. But it turns out I actually had NO IDEA how much negative physical and mental energy those conditions generated for me in every single day of my life. I wore myself out every day with worries and feelings like these: Will this fit? How will I look? What will people think? My body hurts. I'm procrastinating / avoiding doing anything that requires me to move. I want to eat that, but can't. I ate that, but wish I hadn't. I'm worried I'll overeat later. I don't want my old friends to see me this big. Do I look smaller or bigger than the last time he/she/they saw me? My list of old exhausting thoughts and emotions and behaviors was a lot longer than that. But you get my drift. I don't have any of that s**t going on now. These days I spend a lot more time thinking about ... nothing! My stress level is SO much lower.

If anyone cares ... I just calculated my last 21 days' average of calories eaten. If I ignore the daily weight fluctuations, it looks like during that time I lost a pound. Assuming that pound is "worth" 3,500 calories, my 145-pound maintenance budget (at my current level of activity) is 1,750 calories. Obviously, I don't eat the same number of calories every day. During the last 3 weeks my daily calories ranged from 1,140 - 2,090. My daily Protein grams ranged from 57 - 127 and averaged 98. Like I've said before, this could just be what my CURRENT maintenance budget is. It's possible that maintenance budget could go up or down for any number of reasons. This is just one long science experiment. But with a sample of only one subject. Me. As always, others' mileage will vary.

They're looking to identify conditions and behaviors and compulsions that could cause you significant problems down the road. That certainly doesn't mean you're going to be rejected if you have ANY degree of those conditions / behaviors / compulsions. Not at all. But they're trying to identify people several standard deviations south of normal re things like suicide ideation, unwillingness to comply with medical instructions ("Nobody is the boss of me!"), unrealistic expectations re WLS ("When I lose all my excess weight all my problems will be over"), current and recent substance abuse and addictions, etc.

Same to you.

Models are ways of regarding conditions and situations that permit greater learning and manipulation of the condition or situation. The medical model of obesity is that it's a complex disease best resolved by an array of treatments, including education, nutrition, exercise, medicine, surgery, behavioral therapy (and other kinds of therapy), family therapy, environmental controls, increased mindfulness and more. The Overeaters Anonymous model of obesity is that it's a complex disease best resolved by inviting the intervention of a higher power to remedy our character flaws. These words are found among OA's 12 principles: Power greater than ourselves, sanity, turn our lives and will over to the care of God as we understood Him, moral, wrongs, defects of character, shortcomings, persons we had harmed, make amends, wrong, prayer, meditation, His will for us, spiritual awakening, [evangelize other] compulsive overeaters, practice these principles in all our affairs. People should choose the model that appeals to them and works best for them. I would never sign up for the OA ideology. That model doesn't appeal to me. I'm looking to regain control of my life -- not hand it over to some woo-woo entity.

Excellent. This morning the scale went back up half a pound to 144.2. The laws of physics and biology are apparently still operating.

@@CanyonBaby ... Ambien (zolpidem) is available only by an M.D.'s Rx script. FYI, the current dosage thinking is that women (of any size) should take only half of a 10 mg. tablet. Of course, physical exertion (through work or exercise) is one of the best ways to encourage our bodies to sleep.

Yeah, in two months I'll probably be in full-blown disgust about the posts above. Whatever -- this is like all the prior WLS phases: it's the phase I'm in. P.S. I'm stuffed!

They go crazy -- and are congratulatory. They want to know "how you did it?!" They want to be nice to you. Tell them what you tell others. Whatever that is. Enjoy yourself.

OK, this is ridiculous. I can do this. This afternoon I went to the grocery store and bought for the cupboard / refrigerator: Nuts (almonds) - offers some Protein and a lot more fat Ground round and black Beans - for delish, high-protein beef chili Greek yogurt - I can surely eat more than one a day 2% milk (instead of skim) for morning skinny lattes Two small Hagen Dazs chocolate ice cream containers (270 calories each). Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. For lunch today, I had a sweet onion chicken 6" sandwich on half of the flat bread and a whole bag of Sun chips (220 calories). Yeah, chips for lunch -- haven't done that in a while. For dinner tonight (meeting my niece at Ruby Tuesday), I'll have a 5 ounce glass of chardonnay and the Thai Phoon shrimp appetizer -- all of it! I'll total out at 1,771 calories and 90 grams of protein for the day. And we'll just see what the damn scale says tomorrow morning.

Well, doing the math for you, you have to save $1,000 a month. You're welcome.

OK, @@CanyonBaby ... one word ... Marinol. It's an Rx (capsule) that contains the extract from marijuana that gives chemo patients the munchies. But it doesn't do anything to your perceptions or intoxicate you or sedate you in any way that marijuana does. And yes, I got my retired cop hubby to take it. Marinol is AMAZINGLY effective in stimulating the appetite. If your oncologist doesn't mention it, ask for it. Friends (who've had cancer) told us about it. And for sleep, Ativan (Lorazepam) is a very effective anti-nausea pill. You might recognize that drug name as a well known anti-anxiety medication. Hubby took it just before dinner every night. It relaxed him at night, and he slept like a baby. Of course, I dunno if your hubby could take it, but I'm just sharing what worked for us. And as far as a sleep aid for me -- half a tab of Ambien (10 mg.) worked fine when I needed it. But like you, I was pretty zonked out after doing all my work and his errands and caring for him and taking him to medical appointments. Surviving cancer through chemistry.

@CanyonBaby Somehow I missed seeing this thread. I'm so sorry to hear this news. You're so right -- every day is precious, no matter what it offers. We just forget, with all our living, that life isn't forever. Last fall, 2 months after my VSG surgery, when hubby was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma, it took me a while to realize that it wasn't my job to heal him. It was my job to love him, care for him, and find joy in every day. I re-learned how to breathe. Deeply, as it turns out. Today, hubby is cancer-free. But we are no longer cancer virgins. We now know we are mortal. And it makes the living so much more precious. Now, figure out how you're going to get some sleep.

OK, I'm edging into maintenance WTF?! territory, too. I'm eating 1600-1700 cals a day (on average) and still losing weight. scale has dropped 2 pounds this week (after maintaining for several weeks). Damnit! And this is NOT a humble brag post. This morning when I got on the scale and saw another pound gone I literally cursed. So here's a specific question for vets who are a few years out: Is this normal to go down "too low"? Do you then naturally / organically / gradually gain back 10 pounds? Any patterns out there you guys are aware of?

No, you didn't do this for nothing. And you know it. You were sleeved less than 2 months ago. You've lost 26 pounds so far. You're doing great. You're doing everything great (exercising; eating lots of Protein, I assume; drinking lots of Water, I assume). Month 1 post-op, I lost 10.4 pounds. Month 2 post-op, I lost 11.8 pounds. I reached goal at 8.3 months post-op. I'm now 6 pounds under goal. And I'm now eating 1600 - 1700 calories a day. I'm also still losing weight, as I try to find my maintenance sweet spot. And yes, I'm trying to eat even more to stop losing -- it's terrible, terrible situation! This ain't a race. You don't get any extra points for going faster than someone else. Gaining two pounds (temporarily) is irrelevant to anything. I gained 1, 2, 3 pounds lots of times as I went down. If it really bothers you to see such minor fluctuations, stop weighing daily. Weigh once a week or once a month. Breathe!

Tell 'em to die in a fire. LOL!

You were seriously expecting high-fives from someone who will feel better about himself only if you fail? You're never gonna get an "Attagirl!" from him. Don't even bother.

Sounds like you're good and ready (finally) to change your life. Best wishes to you.

Imma suggest that if you missed reading something as basic as "add Protein powder to milk" it's possible you've missed some other things. Re-read your materials. You're not on pain meds now. That could make a difference.

It's your soul-suit.

@@RaginCajun ... I just want to hear about what shapewear she was using pre-plastics.