LittleLizzieLilliput

WOOO HOOOO!!! I'm so happy for you!!!!!!!!! This is just the best, right?

Time and a tan. lol! That's what's needed in my case. With the weight loss it is making me look older right now - especially about 20 lbs ago. So I wore make-up and slathered myself is anti-aging creams. Then as I lost more weight it pulled my face up a bit more and now I'm looking younger again. Also, a tan. I am white but I always say I'm actually pink because, well, that's my skin color most days. lol! But after losing weight I didn't have the same rosey cheeks all the time and I felt haggard. So I started allowing my skin to tan a bit and YAY!! I feel like I look much younger. So Tan and Time, that's my only real suggestions. The lotions help too.

pre-op I LOVED ice cold water. Post-op all I wanted was room temp. Once I hit 4 months post op I started craving cold water again.

Outsidematchinside is correct. I lived with that weird hollow hunger for weeks before finding out it was acid. Your stomach doesn't send the correct signals to your brain yet as everything just got scrambled. I'd look to get on a PPI asap.

It's a case-by-case basis on this one. Each body is different and there is no way to determine how it will work for you. :/ Personally? I've kept my T n A pretty spectacularly. Now that I'm down to the last 40 or so I'm worried by boobs and butt are gonna go. lol! But I've been getting some major compliments on my ass recently so I couldn't be more thrilled. loL!!!

I'm here to tell you this is TOTALLY NORMAL! Rest easy folks, this is the magic of the allusive Metabolism. Oh man can it get bitchy too! lol! So I've lost almost 200 lbs in 4 years. There are lots of times you will be doing everything right, exercise, eating, water, protein, sleep, etc. yet you will hit a pause. I hate calling it a stall because that implies the engine has stopped. It hasn't at all. In fact, it's working so hard it's decided it wants to slow down cause the body doesn't like to drop weight that fast. But here's the trick. Keep measuring yourself. And this is the fun part: Measure your head -because your head will probably lose weight too. Mine has. Though if you ask those that know me they will guess it was brains I was losing and not fat. ahaha!! Measure your neck, upper arms, forearms, wrists, breast, rib cage, waist, wides part of the butt, hips, thighs and calfs. Cause the things is we are doing a lot to our bodies and it is changing in ways it's hard to see. So measure yourself and then do it again in 2 weeks and 2 weeks and 2 weeks and so one. You will see that even when your weight doesn't drop your size is still changing. I went through 8 weeks of not losing one single pound but I dropped 3 clothes sizes. Last month I walked 12-15K steps a day, stuck to the protocol and and only lost 4 lbs the entire month. This month I've been slammed at work and got sick so I was only doing 5K steps a day and no stairs as I had a lung cold. Guess who dropped almost 20 lbs this month? lol! Yup. So don't use the scale as your only beacon showing you your progress. Measure yourself as well. Also, the more you can move the more you should move. That was the other tell for me. "Oh! I can walk 1 mile in 17 minutes? How far can I go in 30???" or "OMG I can squat down and work on the project and then get back up and feel great!! I'm gonna squat and stand to do things as many times as I can!! This is so fun!" lol! i just love moving my body and the more I can move it the more I want to move it. It's ok, I know this is a scary thing and pauses or stalls can really derail you - if you allow them to. But the scale is not your full story or journey so don't let it be your only tool to measure your success.

I wasn't allowed to be fully submerged for 12 weeks but I had a lot done.

If I eat the wrong things, crappy foods, I will fall into a really bad food coma and feel very ill. I usually can sleep for 2 hours solid when that happens.

Me, I am. I think I'm about 40 lbs out from what may be my goal. I think about it all the time. My arms, legs, breast and belly. I'll need it all if I have any desire to wear shorts, short sleeves or show anyone my naked body. lol!

I was an almost 20 year smoker. I got really sick 5 years ago at Christmas. By New Years I was down for the count. I didn't recover until 2nd week in January. I went outside and lit-up a smoke. And in that fraction of a second my mind had an entire conversation with me. My brain, and I'm not kidding - it kind of talked to me as if it wasn't a part of me. lol!, my brain said "you are a f**king idiot! You just detoxed from Nicotine and are now free of the chemical addiction!" In that fraction of a second that my brain b***h-slapped me I never even inhaled the smoke, I pushed it out of my mouth with my tongue and the air in my lungs, crushed the cigarette and was done. But I wasn't planning on quitting, in fact, I quite liked smoking still. But let me tell you all the ways life is better now!! Money, money, money!! Saved thousands in my first year alone. 1 pack of smokes is almost 10 bucks over here lungs - I stopped using any "asthma" meds...fyi, it's not asthma Less sickness!! I stopped being sick so much during the year. And that annual winter cold?? Haven't seen it since Time - I have SOO much more time to do things I love Friends - my friends no longer have to sacrifice their time so I can go have a smoke break. Don't have to constantly stop on road trips, my friends no longer have to pay the time-price of my addiction Smell and Taste - OMG the things you can smell and taste again!! Cigarettes overwhelm the senses so food and fragrances are fantastic post smoking Cleaner - my life is SOOO much cleaner. I don't have ashes to clean up, overflowing ashtrays, my clothes don't smell...and all I have to do is spend 15 minutes in a casino and I realize just how smelly I must of have been I loved smoking, I loved the calm, the peace, the me time, the control, the freedom it gives you to leave something you don't enjoy, there are so many self-soothing things about smoking that are probably very difficult to give up right now, but if you can I hope you do. I hope you give yourself this one last gift.

Some people wake up from surgery and feel great and are basically at 100% both energy wise and pain free wise. Then others of us need 12 weeks to be able to stand up-right and walk longer than a block. lol!

Starvation Mode is real. Of course the body is not able to resist starvation but it does have processes in place to help reduce the effects on our weight. One of those is to slow down the metabolism. For me I just keep at it. Maybe add in 300 more calories? When I was doing the liquid fast where I lost 100 lbs it was common to hit these stages. Often pulling back a little on the exercise intensity and adding a few calories back in somehow helps the body drop more lbs. But Starvation Mode - or something like it - IS real...

protein shakes did not sit well with me post op. Try switching up your shakes? I used Unjury's chicken soup. My nutritionist was worried it was too much sodium but I survived. lol!

NEVER listen to a discouraging word!! I'm not even kidding. First, a stall is not a stop. It's your body adjusting to what we are doing to it. Keep at your protocols. Get in your protein, your water and your exercise. If you follow the guidelines this will work. Don't listen to naysayers at ALL. #1 They don't get to determine your destiny #2 Negativity is the Moral Killer, do not buy into it #3 Stay focused and don't allow a temporary pause to eat away at your confidence, excitement or drive

It depends on how long they have you in the hospital too. So I was in for only overnight. I was allowed liquids first thing in the AM and then we waited to see if I had any leaks.

I had a massive Hiata Hernia repair. I actually had my gallbladder out, hiatal hernia repair and VGS. Both the gallbladder and hernia doubled my surgery time. And my recovery was pretty long, like 12 weeks were for REALS. lol!

potato chips are a horrible idea and I'm sure that's why he has you going back to liquid stage. There is almost no protein or nutritional value in those. I had to go back to the liquid stage when I first transitioned to soft foods. I hated the pureed stage so I went back to liquid for a full 2 weeks. Took me to close to 8 weeks before I was trying out solids again. Good luck! I know it feels like this will never end but it WILL!!

my understanding is it's very hard to stretch the stomach. The stretchy part has been removed. Do you weigh your food to insure you are eating the 4 oz's? That's how I ensure I don't over do it. I have a scale at home, at work and then I have a travel one. When I have over-eaten I got extremely ill. Not vomiting. No, that would be preferable. Instead my body stops wanting to move/function, I get nausea, do this weird breathing thing and have to lay down for like an hour. If you think you're able to eat too much do the measuring things. They can put a scope down and see if there is any stretching but it takes a little bit to get them to do it.

Thank you! That's over 4 years though. I've lost like 65 lbs since the pre-op diet. When I was buying a size 12 jeans I had to take a break and run to the bathroom to have a little teary-eyed, self-hugging moment. lol! Some moments just need to be relished. The other thing is my hockey jersey going to a size L. Having that 4X on the tag that everyone sees was like a neon sign in my mind. I can't wait till I am in a Medium!!

I LOVE this!! Congratulations!!! The first time I was able to buy clothes at a "regular" store was one of my NSVs (I only just learned what NSV meant. lol!)

are you on an antacid?? This is a very important aspect. I was constantly "hungry" too. Ended up it was excess acid and because this surgery messes with our nerves it can send the "wrong" signal.

oh wow! Well the good news is that you have a responsible team who dealt with the urgent matter first. I know it sucks and I can't imagine how disappointing it is but at least you are safe right now. I was told before I went in that it's possible they would abort the procedure if something comes up. I am sad for you that this happened. How shocking and a huge let down. How are you feeling?

So I wasn't even sure if I wanted to post this but I just kept thinking about it so I'm just gonna do it. What do you guys think about all the news about the mom from the show Here Comes Honey BooBoo? Mama June is her name. Now I will admit, I've never seen the show and I've judged her pretty harshly in the past. I try not to be a petty b***h but sometimes I am. And I think I am about her. So I'm not sure if this is me being a b***h or something else. I hate all the news coverage on her. I think the main reason is they are making it seem like it's just so fast and easy. Like, boom, have the surgery and then boom, have the body lift and you are done! lol! But she doesn't even look like she's really done yet!! It's like she had her extra stomach and next removed but her lower legs and lower arms look just as full. It kind of feels like she had the VGS done and then just had a bunch of fat cut off. Maybe I'm wrong, as I've said I've never watched her shows but I feel like the impression they are giving with this is that the VGS is like some quick and easy shortcut, the results don't seem overly impressive on her and I kind of hate that she might be the face of the VGS for people. I resent that for reasons that might point to me being petty. How do you guys feel about it, if anything?

I had that VGS, Hiatal Hernia repair and gall bladder removal. I could barely walk for 2 weeks. I was barely walking at 4 weeks. I began small walking at 6 weeks and wasn't allowed to do more than 5-6K steps a day till after 12 weeks.

I don't ***** myself out for my job.