Proud2BMe

About 2-3 months after surgery I took my finger and made 2 swipes of icing off of a piece of cake. Five minutes later I threw up. lol Today, I can eat a small piece of cake. However, I only do so on special occasions, such as birthdays, and with ice cream of course! Otherwise, no sweets for me. FYI: Those mini cupcakes you can buy at stores are perfect size for us sleevers.

So I eat a lot of Subway salads. I'm there multiple times a week. I loved their salads because with my sleeve they lasted 2-3 days. Not anymore! Went there today and they changed them. They have a new bowl size that is more than half smaller than the original one. Of course the price has remained the same. So what lasted me 2-3 days now is the size of one meal for a sleeved individual. Frustrated. This may be the first time that I actually contact a company to complain. What, is lettuce so freaking expensive now that they have to cut back?

On May 12, 2015, I had my weight loss surgery in Tijuana. I had a procedure called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" for short. About 80% of my stomach was removed. The normal human stomach is about the size of a football. My new stomach is the size of a banana. As a result of the surgery I can only consume small portions of food, ranging from a few ounces to a cup of food, depending upon what I'm eating. However, the amazing thing about this is that I am fully satiated from eating so little. When our stomachs are full they send signals to the brain that makes us feel satiated and we stop eating. Since my stomach is so small I get those signals way quicker and with very little food. So I feel satiated off of a few ounces of food while a person without the surgery may have to eat an entire plate of food, or more. Before surgery I could eat an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. Today I can't even finish one slice. I believe the surgery, along with quitting smoking, saved my life. My Stats: Highest Recorded Weight - 388 lbs Weight at Time I Decided to Have Surgery - 370 lbs Weight on Day of Surgery - 350 lbs Weight One Year After Surgery - 190 lbs (and still losing!) Goal Weight - 170 lbs Total Weight Loss To Date - 180 lbs Highest Recorded BMI (Body Mass Index) - 50.2 Current BMI - 25.8 Largest Pant Size - 46 Current Pant Size - 32 Largest Shirt Size - 4X Current Shirt Size - L to XL I want to give a shout out to my niece, Jazmine, who thought it was funny to say that my legs are so skinny they look like teenage girl legs. Trust me, I am taking that as a compliment! I would rather have "teenage girl legs" than massive tree trunks. Also, a shout out to my friends who told me that I went from a "2" to an "8" on a scale of attractiveness. That was much appreciated! Finally, a shout out to my bestie Michelle who told me that "Now there is no one out of your league, only people beneath you." (Kind of a mean-spirited comment but a definite ego-booster!) LOL So what's next? Well, I have 20 more pounds to lose and then I will be at my goal weight. I also need to start saving for my plastic surgery to have my excess skin removed. It's weird because even though I lost the weight I am still majorly self-conscious because the excess skin is so ugly. I would not be comfortable at all with taking off my shirt in public. Even after the surgery I will still probably be majorly self-conscious because I will have so many scars. I will probably look like a sexy Frankenstein's monster. So it will be real ironic if after all this is said and done that I still would not feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public. All I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best. BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!

So I watched last night's episode and it made me really depressed. It was a "Where are they now?" episode that featured Melissa and Ashley, who had bypass 10 years ago with Dr. Now. Both of them regained considerably. However, I was really upset with Melissa. She was Dr. Now's "golden child". At the time of her surgery she was the heaviest person to undergo bypass. She was over 600 lbs and got down to 150 lbs and looked great. She became a motivational speaker for Dr. Now's patients. Fast forward 10 years and she weighs close to 300 lbs. Ashley regain 60 lbs I think, maybe more. So watching the show has made me depressed and fearful that I too will end up like them and regain most if not all of the weight back within 10 years. I know that it doesn't have to be that way that if I stick to it and don't let my bad eating habits return that I should be okay. However, I am still depressed over the episode though.

The procedure isn't new. It's been used for decades to stop bleeding in the stomach. What is new is the procedure has recently been used to try to combat obesity. It's been given the thumbs up. The procedure involves using a catheter to deliver tiny plastic pellets to certain arteries in the stomach which block and kill the artery. This somehow translates to stopping the release of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. I first saw this tonight while watching the world news. They showed a patient who was "overjoyed" at her "success". Problem was she was still quite large. So I did some research on what I could find on it. I found a YouTube video where a man said that the mean average weight loss in the study for the procedure was 16% reduction in body weight. That's not good in my book. The news segment kept touting the figure of "50%", which is better, but it makes me question if this is the latest fake procedure that has been marketed as alternatives to traditional surgery. I say fake because some doctors seem to be preying off of the fears some people have of surgery. I would hate to see someone who truly needs the surgery opt for this or a similar fake procedure with the expectation that it will be effective for them. If the 16% figure is the accurate figure then such people are better off just dieting and exercising. So what do you guys think? Could this surgery be the next big thing for weight loss?

I actually do that too. I buy the bagged greens at Walmart and then add grilled chicken or tuna, sometimes salmon. It's just that I do love the Subway salads with chipoltle dressing and it just pisses me of that they did this.

Fruits contain lots of sugar that's why they should be avoided. Most fruit juices contain more sugar than regular sodas.

I vaped until literally 1 hour before surgery. However, I didn't start vaping again until 2 days after surgery.

Let me put it like this..... I know multiple obese women who demand their men have perfect bodies. Surprisingly, most of these women I know do end up with guys who are out of their league. I don't understand it. But it happens. So no, men are not that shallow that they demand women to have perfect bodies.

In dilation they use a balloon to stretch open the stricture. Not sure about stents unless it means they put something there to prevent a stricture from reforming.

Not sure why you need that. You don't need any special Vitamins with the gastric sleeve as it does not produce malabsorption like other bariatric surgeries do.

"Tight Spot" = Stricture. Balloons are the treatment. You will most likely have to have it done as you must be able to eat and drink.

Never. It tastes nothing like real pizza. Instead, just eat the toppings off of real pizza and at least get some satisfaction.

Your stomach has inflammation from the surgery so you will feel more restriction now compared to when the inflammation is gone. In the future you will be able to drink as normal and eventually be able to eat more as well.

It's normal to eat more after one year. However, the one year mark is not about maintenance. Maintenance only happens when you reach your goal weight.

A physically active job will be tough. You won't be able to lift heavy stuff and you may not have the physical energy to do an active job where you are constantly on your feet. Desk jobs are completely different.

Probably normal healing. If you notice puss or anything but clear discharge then notify your doctor.

So this weekend I decided that I needed to go buy new boxers. I have been wearing the same ones I wore since before surgery, which means that as soon as I take off my pants they immediately drop to the floor. LOL Now, I'm not spending money on designer underwear until I reach my goal size. So I just bought Hanes at Walmart. To my surprise I went from an XL to a M. Very good victory.

Hit up the sub forum for post op and read the pinned topics.

Did your doctor approve your high Protein amount? Because too much protein will damage your kidneys. Also, perhaps you are trying to eat too much. I used a plastic pudding cup container that I saved as my guide for my meals as it held pretty much the maximum of what I could consume. It's actually okay to proceed slower to normal food. However, you will eventually have to eat normal food. You can't put it off indefinitely. Finally, drinking Protein shakes is okay. I still drink 2 a day, Breakfast and lunch and then eat a normal dinner.

Could be temporary, associated with less carbs and calories. However, it's also a symptom of diabetes. Check with the doctor.

600-700 calories is almost at normal for where you are at. You might bump it up a couple more hundred calories.

You might be going too long in between BMs. The longer you go without one the harder the crap will become. Try taking laxatives. I had diarrhea for the first few months followed by constipation for a few months. I took laxatives for about 2 months and then everything went back to normal.

Honestly, I didn't do any exercises before surgery. I was too big as well. I didn't start exercising until three or four months after surgery and then it was only walking. So don't be hard on yourself right now. However, keep in mind that as you lose weight you will no longer be able to lean on excuses for not exercising. Walking really is the best exercise for people. Start out about 20 minutes a night and then slowly increase it to an hour. When you can handle an hour then increase your pace to "mall walking" speeds. Later on you can start going to the gym.

Never heard of that associate with the sleeve. It is associated with diabetes though. The incisions for the sleeve are far too tiny to cause such, IMO. It me be due to something else.