Defying Gravity

Kay9400: I don't know why, but bypass scared me. You'd think that it wouldn't be as scary as the sleeve, but I just freaked at the idea of having my intestines moved around, even though the sleeve is irreversible and the bypass is not. I am so happy with the sleeve... and the way that I've become so averse to sugar and sweet... I can't imagine being sick (or getting "dumping syndrome") from sugar AND fat like the bypass patients do. I did a lot of research, but reading blogs and watching youtube videos with testimonies of people a year or longer out, that really helped me in my decision. Good luck.

I use myfitnesspal and runtastic together, and a heart rate monitor wrist watch. But I also really like LoseIt but I don't want to pay $39.99 for the ability to log my Water, etc. I would rather use LoseIt, but like I said, I just use the lite version... I am addicted to myfitnesspal too though, I love everything even my emergen-c.

I don't think so because heart rate factors in. I have a great one from New Balance that I got on sale from Target for like $40 bucks, but I think normally it's $70. They say the one around your chest is best, but I am super happy with my little wrist watch one. It does the time and then if you check your heart rate every few minutes, it'll give you a more accurate reading on your calories. I also use runtatstic, I love it!! I use both. I actually just got home from a 30 minute walk and runtastic said almost 300 cals, but my heart rate monitor said almost 387, I think. I inputed the walk into myfitnesspal and it was a little higher (said 424). So I think it's close, but not great. Just noticed how old this post is, but I'll add it anyway, as maybe other people are still wondering?

@nursebeccarn have you tried taking digestive enzymes? They are super cheap and have helped me a LOT. Also a probiotic, I have heard helps supplement the antacids, as it keeps your stomach/intestines working. Just a suggestion! My mom loves thrift stores but I have OCD so I can't go into them, unfortunately, though I've been on Poshmark lately checking out the deals and love it. Seems like most everyone is like a small though, so I haven't bought anything yet. Welcome Gigi1219! How are you doing?

I am at week 5 on Wednesday! Doing good, but have no idea how much I've lost. I found out I'm only supposed to weigh in at the doctor and it's been a tough week staying away from the scale. Clothes not fitting anymore though, LOVE THAT! I've lost 4 inches around my waist, where most of my weight is. I see the doctor this week for my one month follow up. I'm fine other than I have to sit up for 1 hr minimum after I eat or if I drink iced tea, or I wake up coughing up acid reflux (totally gross). I've got that under control now though. How is everyone else doing? Anyone get to go shopping yet?

Congratulations! I'm happy for you. Best wishes on a smooth surgery and recovery!

Last night I went to my first support group meeting and they said that when they stopped weighing themselves at home, they stopped plateauing. I guess something about weighing yourself, especially daily, gets us in the wrong mind set and several women said they were stuck for months, doing everything right, really upset, then the doc said not to weigh at home and they stopped and haven't had a problem since. Just thought I'd share that. I stopped weighing myself, which is hard, but I already feel slightly liberated!

How hard did you work out once you were cleared? On Wed was 3 weeks from the surgery and I was told I could go back to the gym. But I'm curious how hard can I push it? Yesterday I sort of did a little too much at home, but only 15 minutes. Curious about if anyone began ab work right away or at what stage you started running and doing more than just walking? Thanks

@CBT - Wow, that's awesome! Thanks for the details, I want to get into more dancing and weights but was nervous. I've been cleared to do "anything" as long as I'm smart about it, but walking has already been sort of hard for me. Now I do feel inspired by your response. Thanks!

Just filmed one today, hope to get it up tomorrow! Thank you!

My blog has the first few posts about my weight loss with the sleeve. http://bit.ly/Krz7Sm If you are interested, so far it's just the hospital stay stuff, but I have 3 more to edit and add. I'll try to get to them tomorrow.

Yeah I'm not supposed to do any soaking for a month because of the drain incision. Not a big deal for me though. Thanks.

Thank you Fiddleman! I really appreciate the detail. I need to walk, I started doing some light upper body weights yesterday but it was just too much. Walking 3 times a day is great. I'm going to try that. Thanks again.

Wow, you could soak after one week? I was told a month because of the drain hole. Oh just noticed you're a band. I remember thinking I wasn't allowed to work out but I was. I couldn't lift 15 lbs bending over or 30 lbs standing until Wed but now I don't know if I should hit the cardio like crazy or not. Thanks for the response.

Thank you icece1!

Oh wow, I didn't know anyone responded! LOL. It didn't show up in my activity so I apologize for not responding. Thank you all for sharing. It helps to know how other people handle it, regarding their lifestyles.

I hope it helped, and I have a youtube channel that I have my videos from the hospital if you're interested. http://www.youtube.com/caydenkelby

I am sooo incredibly happy that I found this thread! I've been stalled for about 10 days and I know it's Water and Protein, but I thought I was doing something majorly wrong. I've got my protein up, and today I finally drank all the water that I needed. How long does it take to get yourself out of the slump and back to dropping weight, once you get your protein and water met? Thanks.

What great news! Congrats!

I've never tried vitamin E, but I have used a tiny bit of tea tree oil. It disinfects and all, but best of all it's an amazing healing oil. I use it on everything from scrapes to scars. My band scars aside from the port removal site are almost all faded now, but I am not sure how the drain scar will be from my sleeve.

Oh I know it's cold there, but I do so envy the snow!! Wow, that's great, you look fabulous! 8 months out - you're doing great! I can't wait to shop for smaller clothes. Your post was funny, keep up the great work.

If I had to do this over again I would spend way more time doing weights - I am the poster child of overemphasizing one of your two choices. I went with cardio only. Sure, I have impressive weight loss on my ticker at the bottom but the price I'm paying for that is loss of strength. I put 150lbs on a bench press machine like I used to do years ago when I was doing both weights and cardio and I couldn't budge it! I found that I could only do a fraction of it. There are probably lots of people here that could speak more definitively on this but I believe your weight loss isn't going to slow that much by lifting weights AND frequent body fat measurements as well as measuring yourself will show that the sleeve is working for you. Thanks for your honestly. I also really appreciate your links in your quote! Eyeroll? Something you didn't like? I'm thinking maybe she misquoted you? Perhaps wrong thread??? I'm hoping. You're probably right, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing something. Probably just used the wrong smiley, but I'm thinking she meant the links in your signature.

I'm surprised your doctor didn't prescribe an antacid. I was given one for twice a day. Gurgling and gas is normal.

Well, I used to be an athlete and a coach. Yes, the muscle will add weight, but that's a temporary issue. Muscle burns calories. The larger the muscle mass, the more you burn. That's one reason that athletes must eat so much. They burn calories all day long even when they aren't actually working out, because they have high metabolism. The great thing about cardio is that it keeps your metabolism up all day. But doing weights keeps your metabolism going for up to 3 days. It's hard work and not like a magical thing, but if you keep going in the long run, the muscle really will help your metabolism. The best thing to do is both, and mix it up. And when you hit a plateau, you should change up your routine again. Your body will get used to the exercise and a change in days, exertion and in exercises can keep that from happening.