Shaydi.Laine

@@gina171 You are awesome. Will you be my second mom? She will just learn the hard way. I gots no more energy left for that one. I burned it all at the gym =)

My goodness, you are a little meanie aren't you! *meow*hiss*scratch* My response wasn't intended to be rude. However, since you've seen fit to respond in such a nasty juvenile way (what a surprise, not), well dear, I guess I'll pull out the stops. But first I am a little confused honey dear sweetie, if you have this great insurance, what's the $8500 for? At 22 years old you are still just a baby with a lot to learn. You can go ahead and argue that you're all grown up, as teenagers do, but take it from someone who was also 22 once. You are not. If you don't have money saved, then no, you don't have money. If 1000 dollars is a DEVASTATING amount, then you do not have money. If you don't have your own income then no you don't have money. And if you don't have money then you are not ready for this surgery. To support the surgery, after the surgery, you need money. Saved money. In the bank. And a lot more than 1000 lousy dollars. My copays for visits and tests alone added up to more than that. Who is going to pay in the event of a complication? Who is going to pay for all your expensive supplements? If you can't afford them will you just not take them? What about unexpected emergencies? What about all the new clothes you will surely want? Will you be posting here that you are devastated that mommy won't buy you clothes unless you get a job but that you can't get a job because your pants are falling off your ass? LMAO While it is lovely and all that you care for others, this has nothing to do with them. This is about taking responsibility for yourself and your own needs. Many people don't have mommy and daddy to help them at all. They work, they save the money, and they pay for it 100% themselves. And I'll bet you dollars to low carb donuts that those people, who want it bad enough to do whatever it takes, are going to excel at their weight loss. Do you want it bad enough to do whatever it takes? If so, get a damn job. If not, forget the surgery. You are very young. You have plenty of time to get a job, save some cash, and grow up. And you really DO need to do all three of those things. Listen sweetie, I don't know you from Eve, so my comments can only be based on the information you've given, but I'm sure your parents who have so kindly offered to give you $7500 provided that you get a job and come up with just one grand on your own, know you a lot better than I do and have a very good reason for withholding their offer in this DEVASTATING punishment. Having to get a job is not DEVASTATING. DEVASTATING is getting a call at 4am to learn that your father's heart has stopped. DEVASTATING is having to hop a plane and fly 2300 miles to go see him on life support. DEVASTATING is finding yourself shoveling dirt into his grave soon after. That was my life just a few months ago. THAT was DEVASTATING. Having to work is just daily life. Whining that you have to get a job and save some money? Well boohoo. Welcome to adulthood. And while we're at it.. do not "honey" me, sweetie. And save your pity game for some other sucker. I've been through much worse than you which I won't mention here. For the record tho, my dad left when I was 8 and since my mother eventually had to go back to work, I was put in charge of taking care of the house, my younger sister, and making sure that dinner was on the table when my mother got home from working over an hour away. I did all that and still managed to excel in school all along. At age 22 I graduated college with honors and promptly got a temp job, immediately after which, I landed a full time job. I never looked to my parents for money. Today I work my ass off, often 7 days a week. I built my own business and am 100% self-supporting and independent with a beautiful home and excellent credit. When the same is true for you, THEN you can call me honey. Ok I'm done

Hmm let's see... You're 22 years old with no money, no job, no insurance, bad credit, and your parents have decided not to help you because you won't get a job? I hate to be a party pooper but just based on that little bit alone, I would have to side with them. I'm just guessing here, but it sounds to me like your folks might like to see you take some responsibility and perhaps grow up a little. And those are two things that I would highly recommend doing before having a surgery that will depend on you being accountable, responsible, and in charge. For the rest of your life. Devastated isn't what you should be feeling, motivated is. If your parents wont help you unless you get a job, then get a job. That will solve your problem a lot faster than whining about it. Good luck! #toughlove

I would have asked her why she never became a REAL doctor. And stated that I would prefer to see a real doctor. I wasn't fond of the nurse practitioner at my last ob/gyn either. All playing doctor know it all and such. Bleh on them.

Miralax. It may not be the fastest but it gets the job done gently and it's easy to dissolve and drink in any Fluid. Constipation is *because* our diets are mainly Protein with little of the stuff (ruffage, fiber) that gets things moving. It's also a good idea to up the fluids as much as possible. Dehydration makes it even worse.

160 is more than realistic and a far better goal than a size 2. I'm a bit mad at your mom for even setting such an unnecessary goal. I am reminded of episodes on both Grey's Anatomy and House.. I was angry with those moms too.

They were prepared to release me after 1 night, but my blood count was strangely low so they kept me a second night. Fortunately it was a rather pleasant stay thanks to the great staff at the Portsmouth Regional Resort and Spa (or hospital, call it what you wish). All was normal by the next day, so I drank the required Protein shake with no problem and off I went.

Well you guys have made me realize that I'm struggling with a lot of things: First a couple things about me: I am a lifelong professional dieter. I have done every diet in the book and have lost significant weight successfully with every single one. Keeping it off however, has never worked. This time MUST be different. I've been basically living a low carb lifestyle since 2000. Back then I lost a ton of weight on Atkins, maintained most of that loss for 4 years (longest maintenance ever), then decided to add bread, rice, and Pasta into my diet again and become very sedentary. KABOOM! That said, I really have been mainly living on Protein and veg ever since, but my portions have been enormous, my activity has been nil, and I've cheated here and there... and everywhere. But sticking to high protein, low carb is really not a challenge for me. I've been doing it, for the most part, for over a decade and a half. And I'm not a sweets eater, so no problems there. However... Not Drinking While Eating. So annoying. I want something to wash my meal down with. I get thirsty when I eat and often I'm thirsty before I eat and have to choose one or the other.. then wait. This is torture but the one time I did drink right before eating, I puked my dinner into the sink so.. I don't do that anymore. But I don't like it. Not Being Able to Chug This is probably my biggest hurdle. Pre-surgery, a gulp for me was 16 oz. Now I've had to take to using 4 oz dixie cups to prevent myself from glugging down too much at once. I do miss chugging! And I knew I would. This almost stopped me from having surgery. Eating Slow This is impossible for me. I'm only about 10 weeks out and am long able to eat at my pre-surgery speed. I think this is allowing me to pack too much in too fast before the pain hits.. Eating Standing Up Usually at the counter next to the fridge.. with the fridge door open... Taking Small Bites I work at this but.. it's just not as satisfying as a mouthful. Ugh. Not Cleaning My Plate Initially I had this down pat since I measured and portioned everything. But I'm getting a little lax and at times just guessing at portion sizes or planning to leave leftovers. Tonite I ate an entire 7 oz filet mignon plus 4 oz of sauteed mushrooms. In about 15 minutes. How the hell..!!? I could not believe I was able to eat all that! What happened to my 4-6 oz max!!? Since when is steak a slider food?! I never should have put all that food on my plate. I was VERY uncomfortable after eating. But there was a silver lining in that I was completely satiated for a full 7 hours afterwards instead of my usual 2-3 hours. So that's something at least. But I need to get a handle on this nonsense before it all goes south. What I am doing really well at is getting off my arse. I have a boatload of energy and I can't seem to sit still for 5 minutes. I even joined a gym and have actually been going regularly.. and enjoying it. So there's that. I wanted to end this post on a positive note

Melted cheese is in the list on my soft foods menu and it doesn't specify any particular kind of cheese. I did pretty much eat any kind of cheese I wanted as soon as cheese was allowed. It's not like you are going to swallow sharp chunks of whole hard cheese. Jeez. <-- rhymes.

Oh I think the "hungry horrors" will go away right about the time menopause kicks in. I get crazy hungry too sometimes. It's frustrating, but I don't think it's all that unusual. I try to eat something every 2-3 hours which helps prevent that ravenous feeling after not eating for a long time, but if Aunt Flo is playing a role here, that probably won't help.

Actually if they are pumps or closed shoes, this can be a pretty easy fix. Just get some nice thick insoles. You'll find them in all shapes and sizes and they even make them just for the toe or just for the heel. Not only will your shoes be wearable, they'll be more comfortable.

I am a shoe wh**e. I have thousands of dollars worth of shoes and they better not get too big on me! I will stuff them, line them, inject my feet with fat and fillers, I don't care what I have to do! One way or another, my shoes will fit. Oh yes, my shoes will still fit!

On a side note, I notice a few mentions of popcorn here. My nut told me that I should not have popcorn for ab out a year to ideally never. Something about kernels getting stuck or whatnot. Is she being overly cautious here? I suspect popcorn might be a slider food for me, so not something I want to dive into often, but let's face it, is there any better movie snack?

1. I don't know what you eat now, but if it's not low carb, high Protein, then you should not even think about eating the same foods you eat now. At least not if you want to lose weight. You will find that this still requires a lot of self control and willpower. WLS is not a magic bullet. You can easily sabotage yourself by making poor choices. 2. Portion size for me tends to be about 4 oz to satisfied, and as much as 6 oz to "crap, I ate too much" and dealing with uncomfortably full, hope I don't puke, feeling. Beware one bite too many. 3. No regrets at all!!! Aside from that ice cream I shouldn't have eaten last night....

Oh yeah, and level/type of exercise would be another important factor ☺

What you can expect is going to depend on a number of factors such as how much you have to lose, how long you've been overweight, how old you are, skin type, body type, and probably a bunch of other genetic factors. What isn't a factor tho, is the sleeve. You could look at before and after photos regardless of the method of weightloss to see what you might be able to expect. Just try to find someone who started at a similar weight as you, ended at a goal weight similar to yours, is roughly the same age and has a similar body type.

Just tell them you got a new moisturizer. Be sure to keep a straight face. ☺

I buy stuff on the snug side so I can wear them a bit tight, just right, then loose. You can get more mileage that way. ☺ Also I've been able to get more life out of items that are not supposed to go in the dryer, by putting them in the dryer. Some things shrink up really well! I think how much to buy really varies by life and lifestyle. Someone who works from home and has minimal social life can get away with less than someone who works out of the home and has lots of social activity. Buy a little at a time, and aim for mix and match so you can get multiple outfits just by combining a few things several different ways. HTH

@@ridgerunner There are pros and cons to each of these surgeries, but regardless of which you choose, how well you do will ultimately depend on you. I know two people who had bypass about 2 years ago. Neither reached goal and both lost control and gained their weight back, one is currently also in rehab (for the second time) thanks to her new alcohol addiction. So there's that bit. I flip flopped between the sleeve or bypass decision right up to the point where I needed to decide for insurance approval. I also relied heavily on nsaids for arthritis and any other pain in the wherever. In the end, I chose the sleeve for the options it offers, not only with meds (which my surgeon okay'd once I reached all foods stage tho I've barely needed them), but when my surgeon told me that there are more options for sleeve revision and basically none for bypass, that sealed the deal for me. Commitment scares me a little Also since the sleeve is next to impossible to stretch, I feel it will serve me better in the long term. Portion size has always been my biggest problem. At this point, I am thrilled with my sleeve decision! All that said, you have to choose the surgery you feel is best for you, but be sure to look at all the angles. Tons of people here have blown right past their weight loss goals with the sleeve. Forget about the statistics. The end result is up to the individual and how well one chooses to work their tool. Good luck!

I wish more people would comment on my weight loss! Aside from two close friends, not one person has said a word aside from the usual hi and/or small talk. Maybe they are afraid to say something or think it would be rude, but I want to know my hard work is being noticed!! My clothes fit differently for sure and I've dropped a few sizes but still when I look in the mirror, I don't think I'm seeing the full picture. I still look plenty fat and my face looks no different in the bathroom mirror. (tho i do see the difference in photos) A couple of close friends have said 1. "wow you lost a lot of weight!" and 2. "your weight loss is startling". These comments make me feel good and motivate me to keep going! I'm not in denial, I know I didn't look good before, I know I look better now. If someone tell me "you look much better than you did a few months ago!" I'm going to say THANKS!!! And probably do a pirouette. And then get a glass of Water.

Oh and to answer the original question lol, I dove for the crunchies the day I was cleared for all foods. Promptly gained 5 lbs in 2 days. Went back to protein immediately and dropped 6 in two days. Beware the crackers!

I was hoping that things like crackers and the insanely good hollow pretzels I recently discovered would be difficult to tolerate, being dry and all but nope, I quickly learned that these things are slider foods for me too. (I rarely ate such things before surgery, I don't know why I'm drawn to them now.) I find it just as satisfying and more nutritious to crunch on things like moon cheese and Mr. Cheese-Os. (Cheese-O's are CRAZY good) I also portion any such snacks into 1 oz bags to keep myself in check.

I was sleeved a week before you and I'm down 29 lbs. This is actually quite fast for me, and even faster for you. Losing weight takes patience. You will not consistently lose like wildfire. Weightloss slows down. The less you need to lose, the slower you will lose it, so expect to lose less and less each month. Remember, this isn't a race, this is forever. You'll get there..in time. Just relax, live your life, stay on track, and let it happen.

As you heal, you'll continue to be able to eat more, but you still won't be able to eat a lot. 4 tablespoons is not lot of food. Your surgeon seems to tell you something different than most of us hear from ours. Again I was required to drink a full shake in an hour before they would even release me from the hospital, and I was required 3 shakes a day right after that. If I were you, I'd be less worried about pouch stretching and more worried about malnutrition. Sounds like you are not eating enough!

One of the requirements I had to meet in order to be released from the hospital was to be able to drink a whole shake in an hour. I was expected to, and able to, do that the day after surgery. Ele I think when you say "I can't" you might actually mean "I'm afraid to". I think everyone worries initially about stretching their pouch, including me, but know this: It is highly unlikely that you will stretch your sleeve or pouch. HIGHLY unlikely. Our bari team addressed this issue in support group and they all said that it would take an incredible amount of consistent abuse to achieve such a feat (even harder for sleevers I think). If you want to stretch things out, you MIGHT be able to IF you work hard at it, but that will involve effort, pain, a lot of time, and significant over eating. My point is, you aren't going to stretch your pouch. My advice, for what it's worth, is to let go of the fear (seriously, drop it. It's counterproductive), relax, and just follow the plan outlined for you. You'll do great