VSGAnn2014

Yeah, your therapist has stepped WAY outside the bounds of what her brief as your therapist should be. WAY outside! Serious protip here from someone who's also in therapy: Your goal in therapy is NOT to make life decisions in order to seek or receive your therapist's approval. That's would be as inappropriate as making life decisions to seek / obtain approval from your parents, spouse, friends, or random strangers. Given that so many competent psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and social workers support WLS patients to make their weight loss and maintenance experiences more successful, it is obvious that your therapist's opinions about WLS are due to a lack of education and personal bias. If I were in your shoes I would tell your therapist in very clear terms that you require her support as you go through WLS and that if she cannot support you fully on that journey that you and she need to end your professional relationship. If you do go continue therapy with her, you should require that she educate herself about WLS. Still, it is truly a pain in the a** to have to educate everyone in our circles about WLS, especially those on our medical and psychological support teams. If you don't want to go this route, you should seek another therapist who doesn't have this blind spot due to ignorance and personal bias and with whom you could quickly build the same (or better) rapport it sounds like you and your current therapist built.

@@deedadumble ... what a great couple of posts. Thank you. You look fabulous!

@@Kindle ... did you get to Florida yet?

@@magtart ... so sorry your life is so chaotic and painful now. Thinking of you and hoping you can find some places and times to rest. Care for yourself, too.

My husband certainly fell in love that fast. He proposed on our second date -- with a diamond ring. No s**t! But the real shocker is that I said yes. (WTF?!) Two months later, we got married. And for the last 20 years we've remained in love and continued to learn what love is really all about. EDIT: I should add that we were both in our 50s when we met. And before we met in real life we'd also known each other online (not on a matchmaking Web site) and communicated candidly about a vast array of topics. I hope it works out for you. And if not, I hope you don't get pregnant.

In ALL my years of heavy domestic and international biz and for-fun travel, I have NEVER sat on a parked plane for 8 hours. That's insane. Really. They should be passing out heroin, not alcohol.

I know, @@CowgirlJane ... man, I dearly wish I could drink like an Englishman and not hurt my liver, my livelihood or my newly slim waistline.

Eventually, you will get used to taking two steps forward, then half a step back. From what I can tell (after reading hundreds / thousands of WLS patients' weight-losing histories), this is how weight loss works for almost all WLS patients. I know in my case it worked like that. I just took a look at my weekly weigh-ins. In the last 76 weeks I've lost weight (ranging from -0.2 pounds to -5.2 pounds) during 53 weeks. I've gained weight (ranging from +0.2 pounds to +2.0 pounds) during 18 weeks. And I've stayed the same weight during 5 weeks. My weight loss chart shows a downward trending line, but not a perfectly straight downward line. Be patient. Stay the course. Do today what you're supposed to do today. You will be successful.

@@CowgirlJane ... wow, you / that looks GREAT! Please tell me more about it. Where did the fat come from? (I know you've just had some more plastics.) How much did it cost? Etc. The only kind of plastics / help I want is on my face / neck. It's time for me to do something "special," I think.

Just to be clear, I didn't say (or mean) that someone who drinks more than 7 5-ounce servings of wine per week is an alcoholic. But a woman who drinks more than this is drinking more than the broadly acceptable definition of a "social drinker." There are lots of other (defined) terms that describe other alcohol drinking behaviors, e.g., alcohol abuse, problem drinking, binge drinking, heavy drinking, underage drinking, blood alcohol levels, patterns of alcohol consumption, episodic drinking, etc. For those who want to go deeeeep into this subject, here's a place to start: http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/research/guidelines-and-resources/recommended-alcohol-questions BTW, I agree that substances that can derail weight loss and weight maintenance include not only too much alcohol, but too many sugary foods, other high-carb foods, calorie-laden drinks, nuts, salty Snacks, and any other slider foods.

LOL (but not really). Sorry this is the start of your anticipated warm-weather vacation. Normally, flying really isn't this bad. (I fly a lot -- and also have to connect to get anywhere.)

My post-op experience has been that carbonation turns on my stomach acid machine and ai yi yi! I don't worry about carbonation stretching my sleeve. But I really, really, really cannot make carbonated sodas part of my regular drinking regimen without inviting massive GERD. Not gonna repeat that experiment! Just sayin'. And, as always, feel free to conduct your own experiments. Your mileage may vary.

Bougie bougie bougie!

Many folks don't know the definition of "social drinking." For women it's one serving of alcohol a day for no more than 7 drinks a week. (BTW, 12 ounces of wine is at least two servings.) For men it's 2 drinks a day for no more than 14 drinks a week. More than that and you're no longer a social drinker.

Here's what the Mayo Clinic has to say about vertical ridges on fingernails: "Vertical nail ridges are fairly common and nothing to worry about. Vertical nail ridges extend from the cuticle to the tip of the nail. Vertical nail ridges often become more numerous or prominent with age, possibly due to variations in cell turnover within the nail. If your fingernails change color or you develop horizontal nail ridges, consult your doctor. These changes could indicate an underlying health condition." http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/nails/faq-20058541

There are some interesting posts in this thread about how our bodies seem trimmer after WLS. I wonder if one contributor might not be the fact that (at least with sleeves) we are instructed to eat a considerable amount of Protein as we lose weight, which could contribute to more muscle retention and more fat loss. I know that when I lost weight before on, for example, Weight Watchers, I never focused on protein or any specific ratios of macronutrients (protein, fat, carbs).

Nope, no changes here. I'm nearly 18 months post-op.

Just throwing this out there ... Have you tried the Lean shake 25 ones at GNC? The Swiss chocolate version (pre-mixed) has been my choice for over a year and a half now. Hubby (who is not a WLS patient) and I both like these so much we usually have them for Breakfast. But everyone's right -- you just have to find the shake(s) that work best for you. Good luck.

Here's my experience post-op. When I was losing weight post-op, I averaged 500 calories/day during Month 1, then 800 calories/day during Months 2-4, then 1,000 cals during Months 5-6, then 1,200 cals during Months 7-8. I reached my initial weight goal (150 pounds) at 8.5 months post-op. During that time I mostly ate lean Protein (chicken, fish, beef), healthy (colored) veggies, a little fruit, and gradually some whole grains. During my weight-losing phases my protein gradually increased from 60 grams (1st month) to 100 grams (last few months). I'm getting close to 18 months post-op. I've lost all my excess weight and have been maintaining at or below goal for almost 9 months now. I currently weigh and am stable at 135 pounds. Today, in maintenance a year and a half post-op, I can eat literally anything. But I don't eat as much as I used to eat. I do eat more protein than pre-op, but also comfortably eat veggies, fruit, and whole grains. In maintenance I also eat (occasionally) pizza, Pasta, even Desserts. And I drink one glass of wine most evenings. I now average 1700 - 2000 calories and 85 grams of protein daily. As others have said, WLS patients' post-op eating experiences can vary. But this has been my experience thus far.

Guys, this topic has gotten very exaggerated. One person showed an image of her sleeve that's larger than most of ours looked like initially. But it's nowhere near as big as any of our original sleeves where. Not even close! None of us is in danger of our stomach growing back to its original size.

No, I don't see them together.

"I didn't grow up eating broccoli, cauliflower, Greek yogurt, oatmeal, etc...so why would I start eating that stuff now? It's bad enough that I can't stomach plain chicken, but if I tried to force down some broccoli....oh Lord!" Since you asked for advice, here's a thought: If you only plan to try eating what you grew up eating you might be in for a little disappointment. If you're like me, childhood foods are some of the foods that made me fat after decades of eating them. I know you're having issues eating some foods now. But going forward, consider trying some new recipes for veggies and other foods that you didn't grow up eating. For example, lots of veggies can be made quite delicious with a little creativity. Tonight, for instance, I made "fried" green Beans in a wok using just a little olive oil, garlic salt, dried onion powder, salt and pepper. They were delicious with the skinless chicken breast I served with a little basil pesto. Ummm mmm! I also had a few bites of baked sweet potato, which was something I grew up eating -- but as a kid I ate it slathered in butter, marshmallows, and canned, sugared pineapple. Eaten just by itself, sweet potato is delicious. BTW, I didn't grow up eating any kind of basil, pesto or fried green beans. And a wok was not a word I'd ever heard as a kid. It's time to try some new things.

Yes! The surgery itself really shrinks the capacity of the brand new sleeve -- due to the trauma, inflammation, swelling, etc. For those who've had the surgery already, you know that the first month you can hardly get anything down. After that, restriction gradually eases (if you can call being able to eat 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup max "easing"). By 6-8 months down, most folks can eat 3/4 to 1 cup at a meal. At nearly 18 months post-op right now, I still typically eat a cup of food at each meal. If the meal lasts longer than normal, e.g., when I'm out at a restaurant with friends, for instance, I can eat another 1/4 cup or so. Beyond that, I'm really uncomfortably full. Getting too full can sneak up on you. That's why eating slowly is a really good idea. (And why it's an instruction from your surgical team before you've ever even had surgery.)

I started out at 235 pounds. Put myself on a two-month diet and lost 11 pounds. Then did my surgeon's two-week liver-shrinking diet and lost another 8 pounds. Surgery day I weighed 216. It took me 8.5 months to get down to my own personal weight goal of 150 pounds. Nobody else gave me a goal, so I chose that nice round number, the least I'd weighed in 35 years. At that point I was finally an 8-10. Could NOT believe it. And yes, vanity sizing made those sizes possible. Anyway, over the last 9 months I've slowly lost another 15 pounds and weigh 135. Those last 15 pounds have made a big difference in my size, however. And even now that my weight is stabilized and I'm no longer losing weight, my body is still shrinking a bit. Weird. It's hard to say what the sizes I wear are, since they vary so much, depending on the designer / style / store. Here are some examples of sizes that fit me very well (not tight, but not too loose): Escada - size 2 St. John - sizes 4 and 6 in pants and jackets (a bathing suit I bought yesterday is a VS -- "very small" Chico - size 0 BCBGMaxAzria - size 8 (biggest designer/size I wear now) Misook - S and VS Talbots - 2 and 4 Loft - 2 and 4 Victoria's Secret bras - 34D and 34DD I have NO IDEA if I'll stay this small. As I've said before, I'll be happy between 135 and 145 -- probably all the way back up to a solid 6-8. I am definitely one who never thought I would be this slim. I'm now officially a skinny b***h. P.S. I have not had any plastics. And probably won't.

I FREAKIN' LOVE LOVE LOVE THAT YOU DID THIS! See, folks -- this is what science looks like. Real science. Read it and learn. You rock, @@JamieLogical !