Babbs

Yikes. I know it considerably cheaper in Mexico, but dang you're still looking at $5-10,000 (at least with what I would want). I'm gonna lose 10 more pounds and wait a year to see how I feel about it. I may learn to live with my terrible stomach, lol.

@@TexasGirl86 I walked the first 5 months, and when I wanted to speed things up after about 4 week stall, I joined a gym. I do 4-5 days a week cardio (30-40 minutes running or elliptical) and then do some weights after for about 15-20 minutes every other day. I've seen good results from that routine

I think so...I'll let you know the results!

I really can't stand the way surgeons just throw out numbers to new patients. There are so many variables as to how quickly (or slowly) someone loses weight such as age, gender, starting weight, etc....you'd think they would know that for goodness sakes! Then when you don't meet their expectations, you feel like a big fat (no pun intended) failure. I have similar stats to you. I had lost 53 lbs at 6 months. Because I'm a little on the older side, and started with a lower BMI, I'm a slower loser. I'm now at 90 some percent of my excess weight lost, with 7 more pounds to goal. I'm almost 11 months post op. I will be at goal with 100% of excess weight loss I figure by the end of August or September. So it will have taken me a little over a year. In the end, it doesn't matter how long it took. It's the fact that I'm going to be there, and enjoyed learning how to eat right and exercise and cement the healthy habits I need to (hopefully) keep it off once I'm there

@@Elode http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/233780-sleeve-capacity-cottage-cheese-test/

@@Stevehud I could EASILY eat a Big Mac. Might take me all day, but I could get 'er done

@@jenn1 LOL!! I wish he was OUR doctor!

I think I can eat a cup at this point at 11 months out I know there is some sort of test with cottage cheese I can do to see exactly how much my sleeve can hold. I'll have to see if I can find it and try it. I've noticed this month how much more I can actually eat if I let myself. I think my awesome happy fun great restriction time is waning a little, and it makes me sad. I'm going to have to be super careful

Oh for sure. If I have 6 oz of steak or 6 oz of fish, I can easily finish all the fish. The steak is denser, so I can only do 3oz at a time. But that's good, because the fish is better for me As a rule, the denser the Protein, the less we should be able to eat of it. Fish and shrimp go down easy, and I can eat quite a bit more of those things. Carbs, too. But that's the reason to stay away from carbs and always do protein first to fill you up. If you think a cup of food seems to much, measure out a half cup or 3/4 cup and stop eating when finished. That will help make you feel like you're not overeating

My point is the "moderation" thing doesn't work with most people who have a history of obesity. You need to change your eating habits completely to be successful. Just eating the same foods you ate before in moderation may work in the honeymoon phase of weight loss, but will not work for long term success with maintenance. I'm not saying to NEVER have pizza, ice cream, etc...but it needs to be balanced out with eating right the other 98% of the time. I believe people who say they are going to eat the same things post surgery because they can eat less of it are fooling themselves, and are not willing to do the lifestyle change required to be successful in the long run. How many of us know someone who had surgery, any WLS, who had this mentality and may have lost all or some of their weight, but didn't keep it off? *Raises hand*

@@BLERDgirl I wish we lived closer. I would so love to be your friend. You're sassy and confident. I bet you're fun to hang out with

@@Onepoundatatime We are rooting for you! Take the advice above and take control! That will make you feel like your taking the first steps to getting back on track!

@@IcanMakeit Lol! Me too! Me even MENTIONING seafood Alfredo made me crave it soooooo bad! Off to find a low carb, low fat version of seafood Alfredo now....

@@lauraellen80 I lost 18 lbs the first month, too! Like Ann and Blerdgirl said, you started with a lower BMI. The losses won't be as much as someone with a higher BMI at first. I just remembered something that happened the first week after surgery. (Let's face it, it's pretty much all a blur, isn't it?) I was sitting in the waiting room for my first post op appointment, when a gal that had surgery the same day as I did came in for her appointment also. We had walked the halls together at the hospital and everything. We were talking, and I excitedly said "I've lost 8 pounds this week!" She said "Impossible. I've lost 17 pounds" I went into my appointment ready to cry. I told the PA, and he said "Barb, she weighs about 100 more than you do. Of course she's lost more weight! The more you weigh, the more you lose!" He made me feel much better after that.

It's tough, no doubt about it. If it makes you feel better, I was on full liquids for six weeks post op because of some nasty GERD. To get through it, I found getting some really good gourmet Soups from stores like Whole Foods and other higher end grocery stores seemed to make me feel like I was eating normal food somewhat. Obviously soups with no large chunks. But that helped. A little. Lol.

You'll be fine. Drink lots of Water to flush any remaining nicotine out of your system. It will be long gone by the time you have surgery. Good Luck with your surgery!

If they test you, and you did in fact only smoke 1 cigarette, you should be good. I think it will only stay in your system for a couple of days. Just curious, if you never smoke, why on earth would you smoke 1 cigarette? Are you one of those people who only smoke when they drink?

Here is the video I was talking about. This guy is great, and he is a doctor. I love all his videos on YouTube.

157 today. Goal 150. Thanks!

Now that's interesting that your doc says carbonation is okay! I really wish these bariatric surgeons would all be consistent with their rules. I think it would make things so much less confusing for folks.

My favorite thing in the world is seafood Alfredo. If the restaurant had it, I ordered it. Here's the stats on Olive Gardens Seafood Alfredo: 1210 calories 97 grams of carbs (yes, I said 97) 71 grams of fat There is 42 grams of Protein, so there's that..... Yikes. No wonder I was obese.

Hand to God, it took me losing 70 pounds for people to finally start noticing and commenting. It really made me mad! Sometimes, I'm just NOT in the mood for the comments. But I know people are just being complimentary and not trying to be annoying, so I just say a simple "Thank You" and move on. You'll learn to deal with them in your own way. And take the compliments! You've earned it!

There is a YouTube video I posted in a thread not too long ago with Dr Wiener explaining that although it may stretch a little, it will never be back to its pre surgery size volume. I beleive it would take a considerable amount of constantly overeating to stretch it out. But I also understand any amount of stretching will lead to eating too many calories and weight gain, even just a little stretching. Good article!

I'm gonna be honest here. I didn't have a pre op diet, and I don't know if I could have done it without cheating either. I found after I had the surgery, it was easier to stay on track. It's motivating and your sleeve keeps you honest, lol. I mean, if we were known for our great discipline, would we be having surgery?

I quit smoking before the surgery, and giving up Diet Coke was harder for me, lol.