katesuccess

Listen to your heart on this one. You already know it's going to come up again and again - so no news there. You could go and gut it out, or know that you'll have lots of time to do this other than the first day of your pre-op diet. If you feel like it'd be a recipe for slipping, then stay home with a headache that day. Another thought is to start the preop a day or two early so you'll be more invested and more used to it. I started mine on a sort of half-way plan a few days early, so I could ease into eating less and drinking more than i was eating. It really helped. Good luck - either way remember you are the one who gets to decide and chart your course for your future.

I can relate - oddly I feel a little embarrased when a close friend notes I've lost more weight. It's good and I know I have lost, but something about it feels slightly negative for some reason. And yes, saying "Thank you I have - and I feel great" is a great response, and one I do most often, in part because it sort of ends the conversation and gives me time to find a new topic. The other day I gave a talk (like I do most every week) to the 130 or so people I work with, and it was a good presentation - really good. Get this, three or four people all commented on how much they like my hair this way and not one comment about the presentation! Granted I'm wearing my hair down just now, since it got cut too short to pin up, but it was pretty funny. I just think they know something is different about my appearance, and figure it's the hair. Eventually they'll notice I've lost something like 35 pounds now. LOL. Frankly, I'd rather them thinks it's the hair than be talking about my weight though.

Way to go CrissyRing77! Just for another perspective, I see your stomach and notice how flat (instead of round) it looks, and am green with envy! I"m walking still, but manage to jog a bit if i'm on the treadmill at the gym. I'd LOVE to be able to run - and sometime I'll get enough weight off and enough energy up to do so. Until then, know we're your cheering section and I for one consider you a success-story-role model. Good for you!!

For the tv-marathons and games (i'm not a sports watcher, but love movies) maybe think about knitting or crocheting or embroidery of some sort -keeps your hands too busy to eat, and then once you dig into a bowl of food that others might be having, you have to stop and wash hands before taking it up again - and I find that's a helpful little deterrent so far. I also play games on my ipad or do a crossword puzzle while we're watching something so I don't feel as tempted to want to nibble.

Se sometimes go to a gallery or museum, enjoy a play or movie, and then healthy food or just coffee. On our anniversary we went to a restaurant for a light meal, but then a long walk and took on a big stair-climb challenge to the top of a hill we'd wondered about. My sister and I used to do dinner and drinks together, now we meet at a local antique mall and wander through together talking about fun things we both love and see there - and seldom feel like we have to buy it, having had fun seeing it together. My husband and I also take a bike ride someplace pretty from time to time - planning it as we once did eating out. Oh, and the other night we walked to our library and hung out, then walked home talking about what we'd checked out. And hey - don't forget a date to work out at the gym together, and enjoy hot tub or sauna.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!! Morgan53 you are right on the mark with this! Also I truly love walking PAST the diet pill/diet products aisle at stores and just smiling, knowing I'll never be scrutinizing those particular labels again, looking for a magic potion or pill. YES! I will say it's cramping my style in terms of magazine reading though. I just don't want to buy any about food prep and 'new diets' and we have a small condo (new) so no big DIY projects. What's a girls to do for a little junk-reading these days? Okay - and one more article on the best swimsuits to make you look a certain way - and I'll gag! (Sorry, that should have been in the 'rants' section I guess.) Anyway - it is SO great not to feel like prey for the diet industry now. Amen!

Sometimes taking a brisk walk helps me when I get that "not one more sip/bite" feeling and think I can't hit my protein goals. Also wait an hour and have a hot cup of something soothing. Both work pretty well for me anyway. I also totally understand when you've just had ENOUGH of something though and can't face another serving! I would think as long as it's a fluke-day and not the pattern for you, you'll be okay to be under by those grams for one day. Hope you feel better soon.

I can literally tell folks the exactl day it happened - it was like flipping a switch on the last day of the third week post-op. I went from forcing exercise to feeling easy with it. From feeling drained and wiped out by the time I GOT to work, to literally that day at lunch time saying to myself, "Hey - I'm feeling better! I've got enough energy to stay and zip through my evening meeting!" And I did - since then it's been pretty much near normal, with only a few half days where I felt zonked, and usually then from not sleeping or eating as I needed to, or from overdoing steps on hikes.

I love this thread! And yes, I'm a Goodwill and Value Village shopper too. Great prices if you can find anything that fits and it's already worn out in my neck of the woods. The other day I found a couple things that'll work for an upcoming camping trip, now that some of my things are too big. (Yay!) Since i'm only a month out, I still feel like I'd kill to shop "regular people" stores, but I know it's coming soon. Still, Old Navy is a distant memory from shopping with my kids when they were little....some twent-ish years ago. Not sure at over 50 it'll have my style, but lord knows I'll have fun looking once I can shop around and NOT in plus shops. And I have to say, I'm with ziggypbang in LOVING my Wacoal bras--I bought a cheapie at Target the other day to see me through until I could deal with paying more for a good one, and it's clearly not cut to fit my body type nor built for these hefty girls! I can't remember what it felt like to shop for something and think I looked really pretty - and not just settle for "good enough to pass for put together at my size". Sigh - it's coming!

Wish I were doing as well numbers wise as you guys, but I've lost twenty pounds since surgery, so that's still good. (Plus ten pre-op). I also had a week long stall my third week. Food is going okay, and still on soft stuff. I'm walking a lot - about three miles a day/7000 steps, and even added some long strenuous hikes, but the scale is just moving sooooo slowly. Argh! Maybe next month it'll pick up. I'm not minding the food restrictions or amounts at all, but it's getting hard to avoid events where people expect me to be able to eat with them ( part of my job involves this regularly)so am ready to be able to at least pick at real food soon. Surprisingly I feel like my attitude is okay--but it'd be even better if I could see a bit faster loss!

I'm in a business where people want to invite me over, and then expect me to eat or try whatever they serve - it's nerve wracking and so right now (4 weeks post op) I'm just dodging the invites and declining food saying things like "I just ate" or "Not on my food plan - but thanks," etc.It sounds like you're feeling tempted by what's there and encouraged to eat it - so hard, I know! So here's my suggestions: Chew sugarfree gum (if you can stand it - I can't) or keep SF mints in your pocket so that your mouth isn't watering for the foods like Cookies. COokies do NOT taste good with gum in your mouth for example. Keep hand lotion going - you won't want to touch food with something fragrant and lotion-like on your hands, and it'll give you that nano-second pause to reconsider if you really truly need to eat whatever it is. Put lisptick on - same reasons as above. Remember this is temporary, and after the surgery most of us aren't feeling so much driven to eat and snack right away. It's been long enough for me that it feels like i'm starting to break the cycle. Keep herb tea (only really good stuff!) in your pockets so you have an alternative close to hand for something that DOES taste good. And like everyone else says, bring your own stuff to work. Even divide your shakes in half to give you more meal-breaks to enjoy them. And if they aren't tasty enough to enjoy them, order different ones. I love Unury, for example. Make small goals - "I can get to two hours without indulging" or I can get to lunch without a cookie" or "I can walk through that room and PAST that plate!" and then mentally pat yourself on the back for it. Good luck on this - you can do it. Really!

I wish I were cleared for all activities! At four weeks though I feel fine. The only exercise time I know I've had surgery even is by about mile number 3 onward, my gut feels sort of like I've held my stomach muscles in too long! Hah

Hi folks. I'm four weeks out now, and have moved from 4000 steps a day the first week to now a daily goal of 7000, but recently hitting 10,000 and 12,000 a few days a week. My weight loss though has slowed a good bit. I'm eating 650-700 calories a day starting of course with protein and very few carbs (just in small fruit servings as directed). I"m enjoying hiking and moving, but hate that the weight loss has slowed so much - about a half pound to one pound a week. I've even had two days this past week when I hit 50 flights of stairs in one day - am I walking too much? Thoughts or ideas anyone? I'd love to keep my weight loss moving, as well as my body!

Thanks folks! I'm doing 65 ounces Water a day just now, and sadly not cleared for veggies yet, only a few soft mushy fruits like applesauce and canned-in-water peaches or pears. I still have my gall bladder, and take a twice daily supplement to help me keep from getting stones. I'll try playing a bit with my calories and changing things up. I had a stall for about ten days and then lost a pound - so maybe that's all it is. I hope so! I just don't want this to be a pattern if there's something more I can do to help it along. I'll up my water too. I'm not allowed swimming or weight training yet - so i'm walking constantly. It doesn't sound like i'm doing too much of it though, as none of you said you thought that. Thanks so much!

Ah yes, spectacle lake. It is on my favorite part of PCT between Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass. I know that area well and there are many other good hikes in the Vicinity. From 90, there are actually 2 routes out to Spectacle Lake. The first is along the PCT and can be done in a single day of all day hiking (dawn to dusk) or two if you stop at gravel lake for the night. I prefer to do it in two because you can relax a little more during the actual hike. Be warned that there is fairly little water between Gravel Lake and Spectacle lake so pack a lot of water. The sun really beats down on you along this stretch as you hike along high alpine rocky territory. Very little growth if any, but pretty exciting nonetheless. There is also a neat cat walk before gravel lake that has sheer rock drop offs of 2000+ feet. Don't look down! The second route is via Pete's Lake. It is a much tamer hike and much of it is spent in the shadows of trees in the valley. Not as much fun though and definitely not as scenic. Spectacle lake is so beautiful. It is one of my favorite memories from hiking as a teenager. It is one of those places you never want to leave. Oh good Lord - thank you for the warning Fiddleman! I do NOT do drop offs! I used to rock climb and rapel all the time as a teenager, and I find I can no longer handle cliffs and heights at edges. Again - thank you for that warming! Pete's Lake will be just fine thanks. Hah. We're planning a three night trip, taking the dog and not too much elevation gain if possible given my hiking partner. Any other suggestions would be most welcome! We did a nice hike yesterday (~5 miles) through AntiAircraft ridge and surroundings, and I"m feeling like I'll be ready in time for a July backpack trip if we keep this up--my fitbit said something insane like 53 flights of stairs, and I thought 'surely it must be wrong' --but it sure feels like it this morning! Kate

I also didn't tell anyone but the clser family members, and I work with about 150 people. I've lost about 30 pounds so far, and all anyone has said is how wonderful I look. They know I had some surgery (I just said "I needed some gastric surgery to correct a long standing problem") and so they're treating it as part of my recovery. Maybe you can say you took some time to focus on YOU during your vacation and made some new goals and changes needed to get there. Heck - it's true!

Just hit 257 this morning! Yay!

I had decaf espresso with half cup of steamed milk the first week home - it rocked! I still do now, three weeks out, but am allowed to have regular instead of decaf now - after having to get off caffeine, I'm avoiding going back to as much as I was having, so now only do one a day like a lot of other sleevers. It's better for me and for my gut! Good luck. Oh, and I too love Chike!

Hey Fellow Group Healthers! I am three weeks out from my surgery at group health in Bellevue with Dr. Landers--he was great!! I had a great care and no complications, and it has been really rather easy to stick with what they told me to do. As you point out the long wait is a huge downside - I would suggest calling customer service or emailing them a formal complaint that the backlog is causing you such a long wait, is in fact you want to move it along that is. It was actually suggested by people who work in the clinic that I do that, and it did help line along. Dr. Lander is not happy about the backlog, and he said it is partly artificial. Anyway I just wanted to tell you, don't lose hope, and your confidence is well placed in his team. Kate

Amen to that! I want to be on THAT losing plan! I've lost about twenty since surgery (once I dumped that hospital fluids) and nothing for almost a week now. I'm eating exactly to plan with mushy stuff, protein first, a small amt of carbs, teeny Amy of fat and all between 600 and 700 calories. I walk 7000 steps a day (about three miles) and aim for 5 flights of stairs a day. My dog is ecstatic, but I'm wiped out. Sure would love to break this stall. Here's to hoping for all of us!

Got to say Fiddleman, I want to get down to where you are--and up to where you are too health wise! Last year we did about half way from White Pass to Chinook Pass on the PCT, but I/we were too out of shape to make it. major disappointment! I just got a 2 liter water bladder, and am hoping I can get used to using it since I can no longer chug half a liter each time I stop! I appreciate the water advice and protein reminder. We are also considering Spectacle Lake - out 90 and beyond - know that area?

I'm in Washington state - likely heading for the Olympic Penninsula this year, and can wait. Just hit the REI sale and got a water bladder so I can sip all day. I go with my golden retriever and a younger woman friend, who is also much overweight. She went last year and is up for it again, thank goodness! I'm hoping that my being down thirty pounds so far, and hopefully more by then, will make it easier! Your plan sounds like a nice trip - it's been 35+ years since I backpacked in Colorado though. Enjoy!

I love hiking, and am fortunate enough to have an option of hiking through some woods as one route to get to work. It's about a one mile hike on nice trails each way, and it makes the whole day feel better! The dog loves it too. I'm also planning a backpack trip for July (I was sleeved April 29) and looking for food tips and suggestions. I figure LOTS of Water and plenty of small Snacks through the day. Any suggestions are welcome! Kate

I'm stalled now after two weeks, and no loss since then--maddening! I'm so glad it's common though, and so keeps me from feeling panicked. I still hate it though and it's kind of depressing. We WILL lose though! ...eventually...

Yeah - I'd ask the doc's office about it. I've read others had similar experiences, but I haven't had that. More tired on my part, but oddly I was able to bend over to pick things us (slowly) even the day after surgery. Just call and ask though - it doesn't ever hurt to check!