shizwiz

PS: I meant to post this in the Powder Room, but messed up and am not sure how to move it or delete the post :/ Sorry!

I was sleeved on 1/16/15 and have been at a stall for the last week or so- fighting the same few pounds- and am now GAINING weight! I feel like crying! I go to the gym 5 days a week, eat pretty low carb and while, yes, I do indulge in naughty food here and there- its not a lot and it is tracked in My Fitness Pal and I am usually still on track. I am within 2 weeks of my period starting and feel all over the placeeel. I am EXTRA crazy feeling right now: I can't concentrate, want to eat ALL the time, am super duper tired despite good sleep, and my boyfriend is getting on my NERVES- for no reason at all. I got angry because he said good-bye this morning before leaving for work. Uh- that's crazy-town right there! I did just start Spironolactone for PCOS-related issues (excessive hair- woohoo!). However, I don't see how that would cause me to gain weight and go wacky. Is a 3 month stall a thing? Is this just a viscous period? Is anyone else getting weird/crazy PMS post surgery? I feel like I am being a baby; I know that with eating right and working out, weight will eventually come off. However, seeing the scale go UP kills me.

Congrats to you! I was sleeved on 1/16/15 and waited about 6 weeks to really do anything. I would take walks around my office building while I was healing up. Then, I joined the gym and started doing a mile a day of walking. I hadn't really worked out in years, so I started slow (at about 2.5) and worked my way up over the course of about a month. Now, I do a speed of 3.4 and a hills workout. I get warmed up for a bit, then increase the incline by 2 every few minutes, then decrease by 2 every few minutes. I can only go up to 8 incline...but it gets me sweaty! After I do my mile of hills, I use the weight machines.Right now I do 3 sets of 10 on: 1.Bench/Chest Press machine at 80 lbs 2. Lat Pull Machine at 80lbs 3. Ab machine at 90 lbs 4.Leg Press Machine at 110lbs 5.Tricep push Machine at 110lbs 6. Chest supported rowing machine at 80lbs I have worked my way up to this over the last few months. I go to the gym Tuesday, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun. Now that I wrote that all down...holy cow! It is amazing how a little help (the whole stomach getting cut out deal) can give someone such a good push to getting healthy! Also, just a heads up- doing strength training will make the scale numbers go down slower-- muscle is heavy! I have been steadily losing, just slower than my other sleeve buddies. But I can probably out lift them! Plus, when I am all done, I will not have to re-gain weight via muscle mass. That is my two cents, anyhow! Cheers!

Ya'll are awesome! I think you have some excellent points; because I feel a heck of a lot stronger and am getting smaller inch wise but the scale is slow. I just got back from a week at Disney World; it was tough hitting the gym when I got back but worth it!!! I am going to keep up my Hanz and Franz routine and get strong and fit (and skinny!) all at the same time. I think I am killing two birds with one stone by going slower Thanks again! All of the feedback really solidified my option to keep up with the strength training instead of going back to just cardio.

Thanks ya'll!!! Your words make me feel SO much better for doing what I am doing!!! I was close to just cutting back to cardio; but I think I will continue on with my Arnold Schwarzenegger training Sorry for the late kudos; I killed my hard drive earlier this week :/ YAY!

@@James Marusek Thank you! I think I am just over-thinking it and need to stop looking at other people and comparing Your reassurance helped!!! Ciao!

Hola! I am in Alasky I live in Bethel-- woot woot!

I am right about 3 months post-op (Sleeved 01/16/15) and have been pretty steadily losing. Very slowly, but slowly is more than none- so I will take it! I am wondering if my workout routine (mainly my strength training) is slowing my loss by building muscle? I've heard that muscle is heavier than fat, is that true? My stats: SW: 285 Surgery day: 271 CW: 238.2 Here is my routine- let me know what you think: 1. I go to the gym 3-4 times per week 2. One mile on the treadmill with incline intervals; For .2 miles I get up to 3.4 mph. Then every .05 miles, I increase the incline by 2, up to 8. Then, at 8, every .05 miles I go back down by 2 and work up a good sweat and heart rate. For the last .05 miles of my mile, I cool down. This takes me about 20 minutes max. (I speed walk) 3. Bench Press machine (seated) 3 sets of 10 at 80lbs (I worked up from 40 to 80 over the last few months) 4. Lat Pull Downs 3 sets of 10 at 70 lbs 5. Leg Press machine - 3 sets of 10 at 80-100 lbs (depending on how it feels) 6. Weighted crunch machine - 3 sets of 10 at 80lbs 7. If time allows; rowing machine 3 sets of 10 at 50 lbs I have been working on my arms as they are quite flabby. My legs are naturally muscular (thanks pre-school soccer!) but I do work on them here and there. Is my muscle buiding slowing my loss? Any input appreciated!

I had a surgery buddy who was in my group (via A Lighter Me in Tijuana) who did not bring her passport with her due to a delay with processing her application. She brought a letter from the US Passport agency stating it would be delayed (I don't know the reason as to why it was delayed though), her birth certificate and social security card. I know she made it back home. However, I would suggest that if you have time to get your card, do that. It will make your re-entry back into the US a lot quicker! My re-entry took all of 3 minutes. Cheers!

I had the same 'OH MY LAWWD I CAN EAT A TON' freak out this week! I have been using those super cute baby bowls with the lids (the colorful ones) and baby spoons. The bowl is 8oz, so I know half is 1/2c, or a full is 1 cup, etc etc etc. I usually eat about 1/2c or a bit more and am full or at least satiated. However, I think because I am used to the small bowl as 'normal' now, I wasn't computing that my normal portion now is pretty tiny compared to everyone else's normal portion size. But I do see FB posts from some of my surgery buddies-- they are eating 1 shrimp and then they are full. Then I am left wondering 'Seriously?!' because I can have 4-5. Then I wonder for hours if my surgeon maybe tested out a new, larger sleeving tool on ME and I ended up with the almost normal sized stomach....LOL paranoia at its finest. I guess we are lucky in the fact that the restriction isn't super severe, and we aren't throwing up all the time, right?! Hey- now at least I know I am not alone! Thanks buddy

I had to stay overnight in San Diego because I got in so late. The Holiday Inn Express (San Diego Airport) location was very nice for the price- cheap, too! A Lighter Me also picked me up there in the morning, which was nice! Other than that, once I was picked up, it was easy as pie. They plan everything for ya and all you need to do is show up Do bring small bills, like $1 and $5 and some $10s for tipping. Maybe $40 in 10's, $40 in 5's and $20 in 1's to give out to the bellhops, room service, etc. Ciao!

@@JennG25 Hey man, no judgment here! I completely understand what it is like to be in the situation you are! If I would not have had the $$ in savings, I probably would have done the same thing. It sucks, but you do you! Just make sure to pay your loan on time, pay big chunks off with things like income taxes or other big checks and get healthy!

Yes, the total loan is $6907 and that is what you will have to pay back. They will allow you a certain time frame (usually 1-4 years) to pay it back. You can pay off the balance early, but your balance will still be $6907. Plus interest. The couple of grand they tack on is a 'bank fee' that they charge you because of the 'high risk' you pose. That is why I didn't go with them, that was too much added on for me to be able to deal with. But like mentioned above, sometimes a place like Citerra is your only choice for financing due to credit or other factors. You will need to decide if you are OK with those terms, or would rather save up a bit longer, or fund the smaller amount a different way. Either way, I wish you the best of luck

Well, Citerra is kind of the Loan Shark of all lenders. I almost went with them prior to just draining my savings. If you can, I would really try to get a loan through a credit union, a credit card or somewhere else. If you are that desperate and cannot get a loan anywhere else (Hey, it happens- been there done that!), just know that they charge SUPER high interest and you are going to end up paying WAY more than the loan amount. I asked for $4600 and the total to re-pay was going to be $7300. Yikes. Also- it sounds like you are getting some red flags as far as being told one thing, and then getting another...when borrowing money- always listen to your gut. Are you going to have a tax refund? Can you maybe use that, some out of pocket cash and get a credit card or small loan from somewhere else? Before I drained my savings, I tried Citerra (approved but TOO high of a repayment amount), was denied for a credit union loan, was denied for a credit card limit increase and than just decided to use my savings...every penny. Hang in there!