VSGAnn2014

Yesterday, I bought: Misook knit pants - size small Ann Taylor Loft jacket - size 2 (yes, I know -- vanity sizing ... but, but, but!) BCBG slim-fit slacks - size 8 Bite me!

Yes, @@Queen of Crop ... happy birthday to you!

Bella, you really are focused on how skinny you are. Just go back and read your recent posts and threads you've started. You want to lose five more pounds, even though your doc has told you to put the weight loss skids on. You've said you now value yourself so much more highly than you did when you were 125 pounds heavier. Oh -- and your ex-husband (you just posted) spent 8 years emotionally and verbally abusing you, calling you a fat pig. Surely, that left some awful psychological scars and affected how you judge yourself. (I'm not telling you anything you don't know, I'm sure.) And now you're finding out that some (a lot?) of men also value you highly for being skinny. And you're mad at them for judging you by the same standards you judge yourself. Any chance you're ... dare I say it ... projecting your own discomfort and fears about your new looks onto them for reasons that you would understand better than any of us here? The important thing is that you are probably going to figure all this out. Your new normal really will turn into something that feels normal. You'll figure out the relationship scene and find out how to relate to (and find men who can relate to) someone not just on the basis of how skinny they are or how much they love how skinny you are. You did good recently in getting shed of that alcoholic who kept physically hurting you when he fell on you in his drunken stupors. There's a lot going on here. A lot. A whole lot. For my two cents' worth (aren't you glad you asked my opinion?), I think your sensitivity around all this really does start with your own concerns / fears / transitions. Good heavens -- you've been through so much lately. And as they keep telling us in classes and online and in the shrink's office: "Losing weight doesn't fix everything that we need to work on." Just breathe in ... and out. Keep doing it. (Big hugs.)

Whoa! I'm really sorry to hear this. Very, very best wishes to you on this front.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (sub-functioning thyroid) 35 years ago and have been on medication ever since. I've had the sleeve and have since lost 95 pounds and am now maintaining easily at 140 pounds eating 1,700 calories a day. If you're worried about VSG not helping someone with an underactive thyroid to lose weight, stop worrying. But like all sleeved patients, you can't just relax and let the sleeve do all the work. Read here and go to your surgeon's classes and change your life accordingly.

Huh?

Two words: Pee pad.

Women (who aren't dieting or WLS pre-ops) typically need 21 grams of fiber. If you use My Fitness Pal, you can track the fiber content of all your food. That's what I do. I'll just warn you that until you're eating about 1200 calories a day (probably after 6 months post-op) it'll be very hard to get in 21 grams of fiber unless you take a fiber supplement, e.g., Benefiber. At least this has been my experience. Others' mileage may vary.

Is your husband a gastroenterologist?

Congratulations!

Honestly, I don't get the attraction of a "single incision." I've heard from people who've had it that it can be quite large. And that the scar doesn't fade as readily as the six I had, which 14 months later are barely visible. In fact, only two are even visible at all, and at the rate they're fading they'll soon be gone.

Yes, you can have pizza again. Today for lunch I had two slices of thin crust supreme pizza. I'm 14 months post-op, lost 95+ pounds and now maintaining at 140 pounds. You're going to go through a LOT of changes in the next year or two. When you're newly post-op you'll have to work hard to sip-sip-sip your Water. Over the coming months your stomach will heal and you'll gradually be able to eat more and drink regularly again. I was told (by @@LipstickLady when I first showed up here) that the first six months post-op were a "honeymoon period" for losing weight more rapidly than later, and (in my case) she was right. However, I'm still losing weight slowly. In my 14th month I lost 2.0 pounds. In my 13th month I lost 0.6 pounds. I eat an average of 1700 calories/day and am doing great. Very best to you. And don't assume that someone else's early post-op experience is what lays ahead for you or anyone else 1 year or 2 out. Life gets much more normal. That's why it's important that you learn and apply as much about good nutrition as possible in the coming months. Eat not just to lose weight but to build a new, healthy lifestyle. Figure out how you can build daily exercise into your life. Move more. Your long-term success depends on eating and moving like a healthy person. You can't go back to eating pizza every day. But eventually you can have it once a week if you plan for it. Good luck.

LOL! No, hair regain isn't caused by stopping losing weight. Hair regain starts again pretty much on schedule after WLS. Hair loss after WLS is caused by the stress of surgery. X months later (typically 4-5 months after it starts coming out) it starts regrowing. You need to read the info at this link -- it'll explain it very well: http://primesurgicare.com/hair-loss-weight-loss-surgery/ You can also google telogen effluvium and read up more on this phenomenon. And keep losing the 47 pounds you still have to go.

I feel it's good manners not to post in the guys' room. (I'm a woman.) But it's hard to tell (especially on the phone app) if you're in one of the gender-specific rooms. Usually, everybody takes it in stride, especially if the "offender" hasn't realized she/he is in the "wrong" room. Everybody here's pretty nice. But honestly, if someone wanted to invite everyone's take on things, they'd not have posted it in the men's or the women's room. And yes, that was too many air quotes for good taste. As always, others' opinions will vary from this.

FYI, the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS - the organization that certifies bariatric "Centres of Excellence") has this to say about the use of alcohol post-op: At https://asmbs.org/patients/bariatric-surgery-misconceptions Misconception: Many bariatric patients become alcoholics after their surgery. Truth: Actually, only a small percentage of bariatric patients claim to have problems with alcohol after surgery. Most (but not all) who abuse alcohol after surgery had problems with alcohol abuse at some period of time prior to surgery. Alcohol sensitivity, (particularly if alcohol is consumed during the rapid weight-loss period), is increased after bariatric surgery so that the effects of alcohol are felt with fewer drinks than before surgery. Studies also find with certain bariatric procedures (such as the gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy) that drinking an alcoholic beverage increases blood alcohol to levels that are considerably higher than before surgery or in comparison to the alcohol levels of individuals who have not had a bariatric procedure. For all of these reasons, bariatric patients are advised to take certain precautions regarding alcohol: Avoid alcoholic beverages during the rapid weight-loss period Be aware that even small amounts of alcohol can cause intoxication Avoid driving or operating heavy equipment after drinking any alcohol Seek help if drinking becomes a problem If you feel the consumption of alcohol may be an issue for you after surgery, please contact your primary care physician or bariatric surgeon and discuss this further. They will be able to help you identify resources available to address any alcohol-related issues.

Good heavens! You must feel like you moved to a different planet. That's so wonderful -- the changes you are seeing in your life must feel so great. You sound so happy.

For those of us who drink socially (I do), once we start drinking again post-op we usually KEEP on drinking. So it's not just "one glass of wine at Event X" -- it's more likely you'll drink a glass of wine most nights thereafter. Or you'll drink two or three glasses if you drink more than a social drinker does (7 glasses of wine per week for women). And if you did that ... 1. That's an extra 100 - 300 extra calories you'd be drinking every day. And since the first six months post-op is viewed as the "honeymoon period" (during which we will lose the most weight the easiest we will ever lose weight again), that's putting a brake on how much weight you can lose during that period. 2. That's also a lot of acid you'd be putting in your smaller stomach before it's completely healed. Most of us have been prescribed a heavy-duty antacid Rx to reduce stomach acid to help our stomachs heal better. Seems contradictory to drink alcohol at the same time. 3. Finally, drinking wine early on post-op may make an alcohol transfer addiction easier for a minority of WLS patients to acquire. Everyone has the freedom to do what they want post-op. But those are some reasons why drinking alcohol early on post-op is generally discouraged by bariatric medicos. Good luck to all.

And now you're MY role model. Very, very proud of you and impressed.

I waited 6 months. So, no, it's not true that "nobody waits that long." Sheesh, folks!

To the OP -- they're not picking on you because you're obese. They're picking on you because you've lost their medical practice income by missing two appointments. They don't want you to miss any more appointments. That is all.

Sounds to me like you're healing nicely.

(sigh) -- dogs, cats -- there's no greater mood therapy!

Babbs, I bet you're going to be surprised. Weight loss this close to your below-goal goal goes slower. But it still goes.

Over the last 14 months I've become less afraid of food. Now, one "slip up" doesn't make me nuts. But I also recognize immediately that late at night cravings do NOT mean I'm hungry, but instead am bored, procrastinating or feeling compelled by old, unhealthy habits. In those instances, I try to delay or white-knuckle it. And here's what I observe (so far). The more times I resist head-hunger, the longer are the intervals between these head-hunger moments. I'm loathe to attribute this recent success to will-power, but there does seem to be something to the idea that the more I resist temptation, the easier resistance becomes. Kind of like: "I don't smoke cigarettes." Hey, maybe those 12-step programs are on to something, eh?