KayleeC14

The way I determined my ideal weight was; I told myself that I want to be 200 pounds after this is all said and done. If I loose more than awesome but I didn't want to set a number so far out that it would put stress on me to which I would some how fail. Now my doctors want me to be at 150...if I get there then yes! that is awesome number but ideally for me to be happy to get down to 200 will be amazing. I have already lost 168 pounds to which I never thought I could ever have done.

I shave regularly, if I don't the hair grows back like a Chia Pet..lol Also what helps with the bumps is coochy cream from Pure Romance. Also side note on that stuff it works as good hair conditioner as well.

So, when we had our surgeries the portion that was taken out contained the hormone called Ghrelin. After time Ghrelin will come back, doctors have not figured out why right after surgery and the months following it stops. It comes back, so this Ghrelin is that gurgling sound you hear. So, basically when your stomach is empty this hormone takes action triggering your stomach to growl and to trigger you to eat. Soon as the stomach is stretched and full, the secretion of this hormone stops. This hormone is found in the same cells in your brain as leptin. The sleeve surgery cuts 60% of Ghrelin levels in the long term. The bypass however after stabilization patients will regain the Ghrelin levels they have lost. Thats because with the bypass you still technically have your stomach and with the sleeve you loose 85% of it. I work part time in a primary doctors office and my doc just told me all this when I asked. I am just a few days from being a year out and my tummy grumbles more than it did just after surgery. Which I ignore and drink my Water because I know my snack or meal time isn't that time.

I am a month away from being a year out and I go through days and weeks to which I do not want to eat anything because I am not hungry. Then I reach days and weeks where all I want is either junk food. I am still trying to find a middle.

When I started this journey I weighed in at 397. After pre-op diet I weighed in at 362 and today I am almost a year out and weigh 239. I have lost a total of 157 pounds, I am bound and determined to shed the 39 pounds that I have left to go to get to my overall goal of 200!

So back in the day when they first started doing the gastric weight loss surgeries they used to yank out the gallbladder when they did the surgery because it is a proven fact that with sudden weight loss the gallbladder will produce stones and sludge. Now days they do not because well insurances wont pay for the extra procedure while the surgeon is in there unless its a necessary procedure to remove it. I have learned all this because this summer I had to have surgery to have the gallbladder yanked out. Some bariatric doctors will prescribe Actigall to take to protect your gallbladder. My surgeon broke it down for me like this if you take the Actigall you have basically a 25-30% chance of not having the surgery to remove the gallbladder, if you choose not to take it the chances increase of having surgery to 50-60%. Now this drug is pretty pricing, the generic form was $50 even after insurance. I couldn't afford it and took the risk and knew that sooner or later I would be on the operating table again, just didn't think it would be super soon. I would talk to your surgeon and doctor and see if it is a possible choice to have it removed during surgery and also talk to your insurance company to make sure it is covered. If not, see if you can fight it and have it covered.

I was sleeved through Sparrow Weight Management with Dr. Mindy Lane as my surgeon. I will always give high recommendations to her. I love her, she is tough but she wants to make sure you are ready for this change. And also the program is great too. Her PA Amanda is awesome and also Dr. Obinwanne, he did my gull bladder surgery to remove it. The team is very awesome. I will be a year out of surgery in November and have zero regrets. The weight management part the team is very welcoming and will answer your questions and help you move along to go see the surgeons.

I hardly ever use salt. You get enough sodium in foods regardless. During my puree stage, I liked mixing stuff up. I craved mexican food like crazy. So I had melba toast (which you can have because it dissolves. Anyways what I put on that was canned chicken, I got the reduced sodium put some taco seasoning on it which my own blend of cumin and garlic powder with red chili flakes. Then some low fat refried Beans. Put those in a bowl and sprinkle some low moisture and low fat shredded cheese on it in the microwave for a good couple minutes. Then I spread it on the cracker and a dab of low fat sour cream. That was my lunch every day at work. I ate a lot of can chicken, and egg salad as well. I made my egg salad with mashed avocado with tsp of low fat mayo with my hard boiled eggs smashed as well. I ate that on melba toast. You can get real creative! I love to cook and came up with many combinations to get me through my two weeks of puree food.

Breathe in...breathe out. We all go through this. I have recently went through this, and its hard to get back on track just remember you can do it. I got really, really stressed over logging food and stopped over the summer but still lost. What helped me get back on track was knowing my year post op is coming up real fast and I want to hit another goal before I see them. Good luck!

I have experienced this before on very random occasions, usually if I get that way I go grab a cheese stick and munch on it in case its because my blood sugar dropped for whatever reason. My issue I get now is at times I get like the "dumping" syndrome even though I have the sleeve to food but not to super sweet food. Last night when I was out to dinner with my boyfriend I had it right after I ate some chicken. I would consult with your doctor if you are truly worried about it. I will be when I have my appointment in November.

What I really loved to do when I was in the puree stage and because I love Mexican food was take low fat and low sodium refried Beans, canned chicken and taco seasoning and mix it up and heat it. Then I would put some low fat shredded cheese and low fat sour cream on it then put it on some melba toast. To me that was heaven at work. My mom made me some turkey in a crock pot and then made some mashed potatoes with Protein powder for my mock thanksgiving dinner because I couldn't eat solids for thanksgiving last year. It was pretty tasty alternative to the all liquids I was sucking down.