VSGAnn2014

This is my favorite thread in a long time. Thanks for starting it. Yeah, the handicapped bathroom choice. Not sure I'll ever stop yearning for extra real estate there. But you're right--it's no longer a requirement. And an old habit I really need to break is looking for parking spaces close to the store, so my feet and legs won't hurt while walking to the door. My feet and legs don't hurt anymore, so I've gotta change that one. Thanks. I recently noticed, while standing in line at the post office, that I didn't really need to lean against the wall and slouch there to relieve my legs and feet from the weight of my body. That was a real eye-opener. Now, I can just stand erect, in line, with no issues. Kaboom! My posture needs some work. I have slouched so long from the extra weight that I have considered buying one of those back braces that make you stick your tits out all the time. Anybody tried that? Got any other ideas about improving your posture after losing a lot of weight? I'm practicing walking up stairs now without hauling myself up the banisters with my hands and arms. Likewise, I am practicing going down stairs without holding on for dear life to the stair railings. Truth is, because I'm no longer at the same risk of falling that I once was I don't want to continue to move my body like a semi-invalid. That's all for now. But this is a great thread. Hope others post here, too.

Good grief. I wonder if some people have any idea what they're getting into.

Naked, my body is more "disheveled" (skin and fat that sags, wrinkles, puddles in lumps) than ever before at this weight. Hubby has also had health issues recently (diagnosed with cancer, receiving chemo, lost 30 pounds, regained a little back). So our therapy for the feelings we're having about how we look these days is to take our clothes off and joke and laugh about all our stuff. And then we hug each other and tell each other how much we love each other. It works pretty good.

Oh, I'm SO SORRY! You poor thing. I really can't imagine feeling like you feel right now, having to eat only liquids for days after having had major surgery to cut out 85% of your stomach. How in the world people handle something like that I have no idea! If I were in your shoes, I would just eat ice cream. I bet that would be so much more soothing. Bless your heart.

Put some spicy sauces (like Thai peanut hot sauce) in your chicken soups. Otherwise, just suck it up and eat what your doc has prescribed. It's only five days. Managing our food compulsions doesn't end when we have WLS. What are you going to do six months from now when you are "going nuts" and want a second piece of pizza?

I'm 69 and have lost 73 pounds, with 12 more to goal. I am a big fan of Dr. Dennis Gross daily face peel (Steps 1 and 2). I do it about 3 times a week. Otherwise, I use Clarins skin care products. Like them, too.

LOL! Funny post! If food becomes scarce you'll lose weight anyway. Or you could kill and eat a fatter, slower person than yourself.

If I had only one plastic surgery done (and I really don't think that I will) it would be on my arms.

I don't answer this question anymore. It's one of my 2015 new year's resolutions.

Yeah, your dad sounds like a real bariatric medical marvel. Shee.

@@mhuntoon ... I feel your pain. Funny stuff! (Good comedy is grounded in serious pain.)

Kindle ... ((((YOU & ABE)))) Ann

Don't now and never have focused on low carbs ... am only concerned not to go so low-carb that I wind up among the very small minority of VSG patients (3%) who suffer from post-bariatric reactive hypoglycemia. It's a low risk, but you do NOT want to have that monkey climb up on your back. Google it.

No, I don't regret it. I've lost 73 pounds and am 12 pounds from goal. But my journey is far, far, far from over. Losing the weight is the easy part. The sleeve is a huge help--with its restriction and (thus far) the greatly reduced amount of ghrelin (the hunger hormone) coursing through my system and begging me to eat, eat, eat. Still, changing my lifelong fat-person behaviors will make the ultimate difference in whether I stay normal-sized. I'm working hard on those parts, too.

WTF?! Hell, no.

For those of you who are just learning about vertical sleeve gastrectomies (VSGs), go to the patients section of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at https://asmbs.org/patients. That site has answers to frequently asked questions, videos of surgery, research findings, etc. Otherwise, google is your friend. Also, you should identify a bariatric surgeon in your neighborhood and attend the (typically monthly) 3-hour-long lecture on bariatric surgery that most surgeons give. Just because you attend a specific surgeon's lecture doesn't mean you have to have surgery with her/him. Good luck. P.S. A bougie is the plastic calibration tube the surgeon puts down your throat into your stomach to guide her/him to do a perfect cut or pattern for your new stomach so you will have the precise amount of stomach left behind -- and so she/he does not cut too much stomach or too little stomach. Bougies used in VSGs come in width sizes from French (Fr) 32 through 42 (years ago they used to be even larger). You can view a video about all this at

I did.

My US surgeon told me (when I asked) that he uses 36s on most patients. That's what I got. I think I'm doing great. The research I've read says there's virtually no difference long-term in the amount of weight lost (in terms of BMI changes) or the maintenance record of those with different bougie sizes 32 - 40. So yes -- broach the subject to understand more about bougie size options and outcomes. And yes, let the surgeon make a bougie size recommendation / decision because your surgeon has (we hope) done hundreds / thousands of these surgeries and knows a lot more issues related to bougie size than you or I do (at least at this point). Don't worry. Be happy.

I think the correct answer to your question depends partly on your age. See http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-Consumer/ Three daily servings of dairy foods is a good goal. However, not everyone tolerates dairy products well. Happily, dairy is not the only source of calcium. See http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/10-calcium-rich-foods and other sites re these foods. Protein drinks that most of us drink early on post-op and even later on have lots of calcium added, too. If you were to track your food on My Fitness Pal (or other online trackers) you can track your calcium intake and compare that to your personal daily requirements.

I'm with @@CowgirlJane re the deliciousness of strong cheeses and their ability to keep me from going overboard on cheese. And yes, I could go way overboard on cheese. Everybody has their slippery slopes, and cheese is only one of mine. Last night, for instance, I had 2.5 ounces of top sirloin with an ounce of Stilton blue cheese melted ever so slightly on top of the steak. Wow!

What a jackass!

I forget if I've already responded to this thread, but have been wanting to say this ... I think the title of this thread put my back up a little because bread and biscuits (and other "bready" foods) are a slippery slope for me. Having grown up in the South and "enjoyed" for decades the delicious Southern foods that made me fat, I honestly can't think of anything less nutritious than a white-flour biscuit. For instance, here's the nutritional value of the biscuit with which we're probably all most familiar (a McDonalds biscuit): Calories - 260 Carbohydrates - 33 g Fats - 12 g (including 7g of saturated fat) Protein - 5 g Sodium - 740 mg Fiber - 2 g For those of you familiar with other foods' nutritional values, you will recognize immediately that these values SUCK! The deal about VSG surgery is that the first 3-6 months post-op are the months during which we have the greatest restriction. We really can't eat all that much. Therefore, we should (for recovery and overall health reasons) be trying to eat food that's most nutritious for us. Hence, the post-op instrucs: Protein first, then veggies, fruits and (if you have room) WHOLE grains. Biscuits are none of those things. They are pure slider, over-processed carbs. And yes, eventually, we should aim for moderation in all things -- except for those things that drive our bodies and brains to over-indulgence. But for those still focused on losing weight, why in the world would we want to build biscuits into our regular menus? As always, others' mileage will surely vary.

Lumpy, how much Protein do you think you're getting in daily?

That's a GREAT suggestion from your doc. A very simple and obvious criterion.

That is the comment I hear on WLS boards that dumbfounds me the most. They are also the people that I can't imagine are building other tools to help them maintain their weight losses after reaching their goals (if they ever actually do reach goal). But I could be wrong.