DebSmiles

Wow! Congratulations on your courage to step out and make a change in your life! You are doing great! Support is important and this is a great place to start. I only told 3 people in my life and they are very supportive (I think). Anyway, I get a lot of support online from this group and there are facebook groups for bariatric patients. There is a whole world of us out there so find a group, connect and keep moving. Again, your progress is great so far, so don't give up. Just keep on moving. Oh and feel free to message me anytime

I think this is normal. Keep working toward your doctor's goals. It took me about a month to really get there. After a week, I could only drink about 1/2 of a 11 ounce protein shake. Keep sipping and get plenty of rest so your body can recuperate. You will get there! If you are still concerned, check in with your doctor's office Take care

Congratulations on your successful journey

My advice is to be patient with yourself. Everyone is different. I had my revision on 1/13/17 and it took several months to keep the scale moving. I even had a week when I gained a pound During the liquid stage, just focus on healing and taking care of yourself. As you can see from my stats, I'm losing but not as fast as others. If you compare your journey to others, you will always feel like a failure. I did the same thing at first, then I stopped. I now take pictures often and compare where I've come from. Stalls are common, even early in the journey. I had 2 stalls in the first 2 months. Again, this is just my experience, so good luck on your journey

You might check with your local bariatric center and see about a clothes swap. There are some groups on Facebook too that do that. Luckily, I had several sizes in my closet so I won't have to worry about that for a while. If you have a Kohls nearby, they have awesome clearance sales. I have purchased blouses, pants and even dresses for $6-$10 each. JC Penney has good clearance prices too. I just purchased a blouse for $6.79 and pants for $8.00 in plus size for work. Good luck

Congratulations on your success and your re-birthday! I try to enjoy my journey as it is really just beginning, but I look up to people like you that continue to show it can be done! Thanks for sharing

You look great! Thanks for sharing! I'm early in my journey, but I've already found that we all must find what works best for our own bodies. I'm glad you found something that works.

Congratulations! You look amazing

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I too can't stomach protein shakes. I had no problem before surgery, but now they literally make me sick. I am only averaging 60g of protein, when I need to be at 70g.

I was sleeved in January and feel great too! My weight loss is slow but steady and I'm happy with the progress so far. i try to plan meals each week. I make egg quiche in muffin cups for breakfast. Make them on Sundays and eat all week with fruit. I also like Chicken fajitas (without the tortilla) but with all the veggies, Ricotta bake with ground turkey, cottage cheese with berries and a little stevia or your choice of sweetener. Favorite snack is turkey jerky and cheese sticks. There are lots of site on Facebook too that post recipes for bariatric patients.

I'm close to 2 months out but from what I've heard, it is almost inevitable. I've already started looking at hair pieces and weaves since my hair is already thin. I hear biotin helps with the regrowth, but may not help with prevention.

Congratulations!

I revised earlier this year from band to sleeve. My experience has been good so far and recovery was a breeze. I went back to work about 2 weeks later, but probably could have returned sooner. My energy was not great during the first month, as I regularly went to bed at 8 or 8:30 at night. Other than that, I experienced very little pain. There was some discomfort the first couple of weeks sleeping on my side, but my band was removed at the same time the sleeve was done, so this may not apply to you. Luckily, I have not experienced any complications and so far love my results. To answer your question, you will probably be ok to go to Disney 4 weeks after surgery. Is someone going with you to help with your son just in case you need to rest a bit?

The bariatric provision on many insurance policies for companies is an option they can choose to include or exclude (usually cheaper to exclude). You can call the HR department, but any changes would go into effect the next open enrollment and probably not immediately.

I had surgery on 1/13/17 with Dr. Illan, so almost 6 weeks out. It was an amazing experience and no complications. I've lost 24 pounds so far and enjoying food in a different way. I was lucky because I experienced very little pain or gas. It was a breeze. I was at the beach 2 days after being released from the hospital. I followed all the instructions and took the medicine given afterward. Best thing I ever did for myself

I'm only a few weeks ahead of you, but I too lost weight slowly in the first few weeks. Just keep doing what you are doing. I was told the first 4-6 weeks should be focused on healing. Looks like you are getting plenty of Water and Protein, so just give it some time. The last couple of weeks, I've had nice losses and I'm in week 6.

You look great!! Congratulations on your success so far!

Great post! I concur that we will take steps in both directions, but let's keep dancing. The end result will be a lower overall number. I travel for work and understand the challenges. I just returned from a business trip and my biggest challenge is still business lunches. I feel that I made good choices, but the scale won't lie

The pre-packaged food can be expensive, but I think it can be beneficial early in the process. I want to focus on learning how to cook and eat better. That is a process. I'm barely 4 weeks out but have already learned the importance of food prep and cooking. I'm still on puree foods, but I love cooking the Ricotta Bake, that almost reminds me of pizza with around 14g of Protein. In a way, the price of some of the items can serve as motivation to learn how to prepare food at home.

Wow! You are doing great! Congratulations!

@@kmorri Good information! I'm 3 weeks out and constantly worry I'm taking in too many calories. I'm just starting the puree stages, but have had no problem getting in Water or Protein shakes. I track everything so was trying to stay at around 500-600 calories, but this week I had 800 calories in shakes and Soup in one day I thought OMG, where is the restriction! I'll wait to see how it goes as I progress with solids now

Yeah, I'm only 3 weeks out, but enjoying this honeymoon. I'm also following low-carb, but the future really scares me. I've done low-carb before and always gained the weight back. I'm being very diligent in eating very few carbs even in my liquid/puree stages. The funny thing is there are times when I "feel" hungry now. I can only consume a small amount, but it scares me because I so want to be successful and not be one that goes through all this only to regain all the weight I've heard it is "head" hunger and not really a result of the body needing food.

Wow! Congratulations on your success!! You are amazing

I second Dr. Illan via BariatricPal Mx! It was the best decision I could have made. Had surgery 3 weeks ago and the experience was wonderful. I experienced very little pain, the nurses and doctors were awesome and made sure I was comfortable. The hospital is nice, clean and quiet. The service they provide is top notch! I think Dr. Illan is a great surgeon that is kind and professional. Everything was great and the cost was less than I could pay here with insurance!

Gotcha! I'm on Fitbit too if you have one