JamieLogical

I don't have anything against you speaking your mind. This is a forum for open discussion. But don't pretend that your mind isn't already made up. You said several posts back that you have already chosen Corvala and given several reasons why. I'm happy that you have reached a decision that is right for you. If you feel like you can continue to constructively contribute to this thread, despite having decided against Ariel Ortiz and OCC, then I welcome you to do so. But if, from this point out, you want to talk about your decision to use Dr. Corvala and your experiences with that, then it might be better expressed in another thread so as not to derail this one further.

@@Jill_Icardi Feel free to PM me anytime with questions about Dr. Ortiz and OCC. I'd be happy to link you my packing list and tell you about my experience. As for my "hourglass" shape... it's fake, because my boobs are fake. I was completely flat up top with huge hips until I got the breast implants to help even things out a bit.

Hey! Women of color aren't the only ones with hips and a$$! Have you seen my gallery pics?

Sounds like perfect timing! Hopefully the results can help you figure out what you might be missing.

The location makes it sound like it's NOT your stomach, but I hope they can figure out what it is and you can get some relief soon. That doesn't sound fun.

You should eat carbs before your workout and protein after. If you are still having this problem after that, maybe try working out in the evening instead of the morning?

Search these forums for "week 3 stall" and you can read through the hundreds of other posts exactly like this one.

I'm surprised your surgeon didn't put you on calcium citrate + D3 post-op. That seems to be pretty common practice for bariatric patients. I would definitely add D3, especially because it's winter. As for iron, pretty much any multivitamin should at least get you your daily recommended dose. Have you had bloodwork done recently?

Well then I would definitely say you shouldn't be trying to burn any more calories. If anything you should be trying to consume more calories in order to sustain that level of activity.

Are you taking Vitamin B12 and/or Vitamin D? Are you getting enough iron?

Aw, that's adorable!

Yeah, luckily my tummy tuck held up through all my weight fluctuations after my plastics, so even though I ultimately got up to 80 pounds over my plastic surgery weight, I don't think I'll need any revisions to it once I achieve my post-sleeve goal weight.

I'd be more concerned about coming back. The US Border agents are much more diligent than the Mexican agents. Let us know how it goes and good luck with your surgery!

I agree with everything Steve said (shocker, I know!). Did you not get instructions about what you should be eating when? At 7 weeks post-op I was barely on solid foods. I was told to avoid beef and definitely NO BREAD that early on. Like Steve said, bread expands in your stomach so there is absolutely no room for it. Thin toast is the best you are going to be able to do for a loooong time. I am almost 6 months post op and so far, the only "bread" I've managed is a toasted slice of Pepperidge Farm Light Style Whole Wheat, which if you are familiar with it, is very thin and only about 3 inches square. I've had that a couple of times as the base of an open-faced egg sandwich and each time I've had it, I have not been able to finish the whole slice. Gastric sleeve is no joke. You are never going to eat they way you did before. You had 80% of a major organ removed from your body. I would have hoped you would have learned and understood the full implications of that before you had it done!

If you are genuinely trying to get better, follow your doctor's orders and don't try eating things you shouldn't be eating yet.

Wait, did you eat the bread? No wonder you are miserable.

I'm late to this party, but just take a look at my gallery photos to see how bottom-heavy I am (my boobs are fake). I hate to break it to you, but there is NOTHING you can do to target weight loss to certain areas of your body (short of liposuction for small amounts of fat). It's going to put weight on and take weight off where it sees fit. You can only lower your overall body fat percentage, but you can't redistribute your weight. Specific types of exercise isn't going to make you lose fat in a specific area, it will only help you build up specific muscles.

I'm almost 6 months post-op now and it's definitely different with solid foods than it was with liquids. I don't really have a "getting full" sensation. I have "not full" and "WAY TOO FULL". Because of that, I have learned to eyeball my food and try to accurately estimate how much I can eat without getting to the WAY TOO FULL feeling. I sometimes still fail at that and regret it. Though I have not thrown up even once post-op, so I guess it could be worse.

I haven't told many people. Two of my male friends disagreed with my decision, though I wouldn't call them unsupportive. The main thing I do around them now is try not to complain. If I complain about how little/what I can eat or that I'm having trouble getting enough calories or how uncomfortable it is when I'm overfull then I get the "you brought this upon yourself" shtick. So I just try not to talk about my surgery much when I am around them.

have you recently transitioned to a new food stage?

Great post! That you for sharing that.

You know, I cannot for the life of me remember. I went through my email correspondence and it looks like I was told there was free wifi in the common/public areas and that you had to pay extra if you wanted access in your room. I mostly watched movies/tv shows I had downloaded to my laptop from my DVR and read books on my Kindle while I was there. I don't remember if I did email and IM-ing from my room or not. I do remember sitting in the lobby and messing around on my laptop, but that may have just been while I was waiting for the shuttle or just wanting to get out of my room for a while. You should just email your patient coordinator to find out for sure.

The further out I am from surgery, the more aware I am that there is nothing "easy" about it. I've lost weight faster "on my own" through diet and exercise and it was no more work than I am doing now. In 2010/2011 I lost 90 pounds in a year. That averages out to 7.5 pounds per month. I've only lost about 6 pounds per month since my 2nd month post-op. I'm exercising 5-6 days a week. I'm conscious of every single bite of food I put in my mouth. If anything this is harder, because I can't even have any "cheat days". At least when I lost weight through diet and exercise before, I allowed myself one "over day" per week where I could have a meal or snack that put me well over my normal calorie range. That's not even any option with my sleeve, because I'm physically incapable of eating extra food, so I'm denied that little bit of psychological "comfort". But, despite this being referred to as "weight LOSS surgery", I didn't have this surgery to LOSE weight. I had this surgery to maintain my weight once I reach my goal. In that regard, maybe it is easier? I'll let you know when I get there!

Yeah, I didn't encounter that when I was there. The young man who took my blood and put in my IV was very polite and professional and definitely wore gloves.

A fever usually makes you hungry, as it burns up a lot more energy. You should definitely eat if you are feeling true hunger.