JanaAZ

While I am so happy for those of you posting 75 and 100+ pound losses, I am getting so discouraged. I've only lost about 44 pounds in 6 months. I am working so hard to eat right, exercise, and do everything we're supposed to do, but the weight just is not coming off very quickly. I am not giving up since I definitely am losing....just not very quickly. On the other hand, it could be worse. I could have gained 44 pounds.

The only thing I'm worried about is head hunger after surgery. I have to say that I do have head hunger. I try to talk my self out of it but I'm not always successful. What keeps me on track is the fact that I remind myself what I went through and where I am going. I went thru too much to get back into my old habits. And when I can't fight it off, I'll grab something innocuous such as nuts and craisins. So it's a little cheat, but not too much. It's tough to be perfect 100% of the time so I try to deal with it using common sense

I have the same problem. I'm 4 months out. I walk, etc. It happens when I first wake up too, so it's not like I'm drinking too soon after eating. It gets so difficult to get liquids down that I'm starting to worry. Actually, I allow myself 1 small cup of coffee daily and lately, I can't even drink that.

I've been really hungry lately, too. I might have to try the acid reducer. I've always been a slow loser but I"m worried that this is going to get worse.

My husband was here but I hate people doting over me. I begged him to go back to work after a day or two. I did everything myself except carry gallons of milk. I asked the grocery store to pack my bags under 8 lbs. We were told not to lift anything over 10. If I had to buy a gallon of something, I'd probably try to get it in a smaller size. Other than that, I pushed the laundry basket with my feet so I didn't have to carry it, I took it slow when walking, limited my time on the stairs, etc. It was not difficult at all. Just know you will get out of bed slowly...especially without someone to help you up. Bending over was a little difficult for a few days, but I took things slowly. I hate being waited on. I'm way too independent or that.

I am 61. So far I've lost 32 pounds since surgery on 2/19. (52 since I started my diet almost a year ago). I feel it is going really slow compared to some people. I try to eat what I'm supposed to (okay, I ate 3 French fries when I went out to dinner with my hubby a few weeks ago) but that's the extent of my cheating. I walk a lot, and will start back at the health club again next week. It gets very discouraging...especially when I see people dropping as much weight in a few weeks as I've done in over 3 months. I know everybody loses weight differently but darn, I wish the pounds would fall off of me. I know I am losing sizes because I've had to go through my closet a few times already. I guess it will take as long as it takes. At least the weight is going the right way.

I am 3 1/2 months out and you can still see my scars. They are still red looking. I don't love them but haven't figured out how to get them to fade yet.

I can certainly agree with this. I'm 2.5 months out...have only lost 25 lbs, but 53 since I started my 6 month pre-op diet. I am sagging all over, but the only place I can really tell I've lost weight is my chest. My legs are still huge, as are my hips. My tummy is sagging and right now, I feel like it goes down to my knees. We didn't put this on in a month or two, so I'm guessing it won't come off that quickly either. One nice thing...I used to be very flat chested but when I gained my weight, I had boobs. I would try to eat dinner and my boobs were like a 'flavor saver'. It's so nice not to have boobies fall into the Soup anymore. lol

It was for me at first. I realized that my body was going into starvation mode and I wasn't eating enough. I tried to up the calories to 6 or 700. That worked, but I'm getting close to upping them again. When I found my calories were too low, I'd have a snack of a Protein drink.

I didn't, but that's from your body going into ketosis. I know there are things you can do...but I don't know them offhand. Ask your pharmacist.

I am 7 weeks out. I've only lost 19 lbs. it gets very discouraging. I started going to the gym but it caused lots of pain for a week I'm ready to try it again. I walk but need to step that up too. I follow my food plan pretty closely and sometimes wonder if I'm getting enough calories. I see the doc next week and want to figure out why my loss is so slow.

They told us NO ADVIL---EVER. Tylenol doesn't do it or me either. I need to talk to a pharmacist about what I can take.

I was told I had severe sleep apnea. I got the cpap and tried quite a few different masks. I have never been able to get used to it. I would lay awake for hours and finally when I took off the mask, I would fall asleep. They made me bring the mask when I had surgery. I know I had one on when in the recovery room, but I didn't use the cpap during my hospital stay. Truth be told, I had bags under my eyes that were huge while I tried to use it. Three months later, I'm still not able to wear it. Since I stopped trying to use it, I sleep much better. I've lost 47 pounds between my own diet and the sleeve surgery 6 weeks ago. My husband says I don't snore anymore. I for one, am praying that my apnea goes away because I am one of the cpap failures. It was a very expensive experiment :-(

I split my time between Phoenix and Prescott. Where are you? I only took one this morning and it came back up. Where in Az are u? I'm in Az too.

Are the chalky or gummy? Would love to find a gummy. They are chalky. I looked at several gummies and they didn't have enough vitamins/minerals in them. The Centrum are very chalky....the Trader Joe's...not so much. They're not bad. If you buy them and don't like them, Trader Joe's will take them back...even without a receipt.

I have taken 2 different chewables since surgery. I tried Centrum chewables. They were ok, but were very citrusy (if that's a word). They also didn't have any iron so I had to buy add'l iron. Then I tried Trader Joe's chewable vitamins. I like them much better AND they also have the iron in them so I didn't need to supplement with an additional iron pill. Next time I need more, I'm going to buy the Trader Joe's chewables again.

I told my husband an a few friends. I did not tell my brother. He lost a ton of weight without surgery and has turned into an exercise fanatic. He documents every bite he eats and has kept his weight off for 8 or 9 years. He would be one to say 'if I could lose it without surgery, why did you have the surgery'. He asked me the other day how much weight I lost. I told him, but I didn't mention that 25% of that was lost after surgery. I won't see him for a few months. I'll see what I decide to say when I see him. Right now, I'm not up to being judged; and that's what I think would happen with him.

Many years ago I lost a lot of weight and when I started buying new clothes and they were a size 8 I asked the sales lady if the clothes were mismarked or if clothes sizing changed. I haven't lost enough this time but can't wait to have a thin me in the mirror.

Personally I would rather be closer to my surgeon for ongoing treatment. I would wait until after you move to get the surgery. You shouldn't have to start over...I would assume that the new surgeon will take everything already done for our current surgeon.

If you buy Ball or Kerr jars, the boxes say whether they are safe for freezing. Usually the wide mouth jars are the ones that are okay. The ones with the shoulders can break, even when you leave what you think is enough 'headspace'.

I know it's tough to plan meals for what we can eat. I'm still on soft foods and haven't expanded my selections yet. I tend to eat the same thing for a few days, then move on. I don't want to preach....please don't take it that way....but my NUT said not to eat crackers and stuff. In my mind, it's not different from the rice and Pasta you are picking out of your frozen dinners. Is there a way to prepare a few of your favorite 'safe' foods, then keep them in the freezer to use for lunches or dinners? If you do a few items a week, in a few weeks, you'll have a lot of variety. Your deli may have pre-made food items that are 'safe' and may be better choices than crackers/cheese. I know this whole process is tough; but we all know things worth having are worth working for. I know you will get past this. One other thought--there are sites online that have meal planning as part of them. I remember seeing one that allowed you to select pre-defined meals, and I think it even had recipes for some of the meals. That might be helpful for you. That way you can pick and choose what you want in your meal. Good luck and I'll be rooting for you. You're just a little ahead of me so I know this is shades of things to come in my life, too,

For me it wasn't anything special. Summer was coming and I tried to put on some jean shorts I've worn for the past few seasons. They wouldn't fit. I was NOT going to buy any larger clothes. I did buy a few pairs of shorts to get me through the summer, but that was it. Also we live in a hilly, high-altitude area. I couldn't walk to the corner because it was straight up and I would get out of breath.

They put us on 'real' food after 6 days. I have to say I've been eating 1/2 cup of things like chicken and veggies and I'm hungry, too. I'm hoping its in my mind but I was in the hospital feeling hungry too.

I love seeing everybody post their numbers for weight loss, but I'm wondering....what did you use as your starting weight? I was required to go through a 6 month weight loss before I was approved to get the surgery. During that time I lost about 25 pounds. Is that the weight I should use, or do you use the weight you were at when you had your surgery? While this may seem like a question that really does matter it leads into my second question...at what point does the excess weight loss figure get calculated? I have 25 less excess pounds to lose now than I did before I started my diet. Knowing this figure will help me know about how much I should lose from the sleeve and how much extra I'm going to have to really work extra for.

That's a question I have...they said to measure 1/2 cup of food, but in one place the handouts we got gave measurements in ounces. Are we supposed to measure in weight or volume? They can be quite different.