Introversion

The aforementioned picture of Himalayan Gold shows a 5-ounce bag, which contains a whopping 550 calories (approximately 5 of those 110-calorie servings). 1 ounce of this popcorn has 110 calories.

Most surgeons will proceed even if the liver is enlarged. Once they open you up, most wouldn't walk away from a $10,000 payday. Cash rules everything around us. Here's the caveat...rather than a minimally invasive laporascopic sleeve, they'll do an open procedure and use a liver retractor to ensure the enlarged liver is out of their way while operating. An open procedure entails a large incision, lengthier recovery, and increased chance for infection. For me, the glasses of wine wouldn't be worth it.

There's an unspoken dynamic called the Fat Friend Syndrome. In some social circles, people are comfortable with the fat person as long as she remains fat. Once the fat friend loses weight and engages in self-improvement, it disrupts the status quo. Subconsciously, the presence of the fat friend makes some thinner people feel better about themselves and their appearances. Once you lose weight, several of these thin friends might develop insecure feelings or feel you're in competition with them. When you're no longer fat, you no longer have the dumpy image that instills a sense of security into them. So, yes, expect the dynamic of your friendships to possibly change with permanence if/when you ever attain your goal weight. http://brittanyherself.com/cgg/im-the-fat-friend/

This is the exact two-week diet plan my bariatric surgeon's office required me to follow for the two weeks leading up to surgery. The point of it was to shrink my liver. This diet plan is utterly unsustainable for six months. Most people who follow six-month supervised diets for insurance purposes aren't required to follow a pre-op diet that provides them with less than 1000 calories a day.

Although many people have had success with the band, it is falling out of favor in the context that many surgeons remove more of them than they insert these days. The band is falling out of favor due to insufficient weight loss. It works due to restriction alone, but doesn't address the hormonal contributors to obesity (e.g. ghrelin, peptide yy, insulin, leptin). Thus, many people with bands still have raging hunger. They learn to eat around the band. Therefore, keeping the weight off is an uphill battle (if they ever get to goal in the first place). The sleeve addresses hunger via removal of the portion of the stomach (greater curvature) that produces ghrelin. Once you awaken from a sleeve gastrectomy, your sensations of hunger and thirst are diminished. Really, if your insurance has an allowance for only one bariatric procedure in a lifetime, you should be deciding between the sleeve and the bypass. At 271 pounds, your chances of getting to your goal weight of 140 pounds with a lap band are virtually zero. The sleeve addressed my insatiable hunger. I am 2.5 years out, lost 100+ pounds, reached my goal weight, and maintain it almost effortlessly. I know I still would've been hungry with a band. Good luck to you.

Keep in mind I'm 2.5 years out and have been in maintenance for 1 year. I drink with meals. I don't follow the 30-minute rule. I've never consumed the recommended 64 ounces of water a day. On most days I'm lucky to down one 16-ounce bottle of water. Too much water sends me to the toilet every 15 minutes. I'm a snacker. My favorite snacks are peanuts, string cheese, turkey sausage, and fruit. Snacking is discouraged in the realm of bariatric surgery. I don't chew my food 20 times before swallowing.

I was a slow loser. Most of my monthly losses were single digit (1 to 7 pounds a month) and it took me 17 months to lose 100 pounds. I've needed no plastics. Then again, other factors played roles such as genetics, age (30s), lower starting weight (218 pounds) and racial/ethnic background (I'm black). My tits have lost volume, going from a 38C bra size down to a 34A/B. However, my breasts aren't that important to me, so I wouldn't ever get an augmentation or lift.

Nope...I can comprehend the notion of subforums. I can also detect your thoroughly indignant annoyance regarding this issue. My initial post in this thread was an honest mistake. Get over it and stop complaining. An internet forum is not really the hill upon which I plan to die, especially one that lines another person's pockets via advertising revenue and supplement sales. You might be a man, but you're bitchin' like a petty old woman.

Oops...I didn't notice the name of the forum prior to posting my previous response. Oh, well...we all live, die, and make errors along the way. That's the marvelous circle of life. Since 80+ percent of the bariatric surgery population is female, the original poster wasn't going to attract many replies from males in the first place. Still, I admit my error for even replying.

Some people are vehemently opposed to artificial sweeteners. I, on the other hand, use multiple packets of Equal and Sweet-N-Low per day to sweeten my coffee and iced tea. If Equal is unavailable, I'll use Splenda although I dislike its taste. I've been in maintenance for approximately 1 year without any issues. The research studies that indicate increased obesity prevalence with artificial sweetener usage are poorly designed. Your mileage may vary. Good luck to you.

I never had to explain myself because I told no one about WLS except for a select handful of persons who would support me. Personal boundaries are golden. You owe nobody an explanation, nor do you need to defend your choice to undergo surgery.

Genetic predisposition...my maternal grandmother was 400+ pounds. My mother was obese. Many of the women on my maternal side of the family are fat. Poor food choices...I overate. My diet consisted of cheap processed food and fast food. Insulin resistance...it kept my body in perpetual fat storage mode and left me ravenously hungry. After eating a large quantity of food such as 2 footlong sub sandwiches, I'd still be hungry for more 90 minutes later. Childhood trauma...comfort food caused momentary soothing of uncomfortable feelings.

I'm embarrassed to admit I gained 25 pounds between the initial consultation appointment (October 2014) and the month of surgery (April 2015). The weight gain was due to food funerals, a.k.a. eating my favorite foods one last time before saying "goodbye." I also couldn't control my ravenous appetite. Luckily, my surgeon and insurance company were very lenient and didn't care whether I gained or lost weight during the pre-op phase as long as my BMI remained greater than 35.

If you expect to lose 1 pound a day throughout your weight loss phase, your expectations are dreadfully unrealistic unless you're a youngish male or your starting weight was 400+ pounds. Think about it...if you lose 1 pound a day consistently, you will have lost 365 pounds in a year. Is that realistic or sustainable? No, it isn't, and it won't happen. Ever. People may gain or stall when progressing to the next phase, but it's water weight. It's not fat gain. It's fluid gain. It's temporary. Weight loss with a sleeve isn't a neat, clean, linear process. We lose pounds, then stall or plateau at times, them may even gain weight due to fluid retention before dropping pounds again. By the way, the vast majority of my losses were single digit (1 to 7 pounds monthly). I lost 100 pounds in 17 months, so I was a slower loser. What matters is my ability to maintain my new, lower body weight. No one gives a rat's behind how slowly or rapidly I lost it except for me. Good luck to you, and stay off the scale so often.

I was probably eating in the 800 kcal/day range until 4 months out. I increased my intake in a stair-step pattern: 1000 calories daily at 4 months out, 1200 to 1500 calories daily by 6 months, 1500 calories by 9 months, and 1700 calories a day by 12 months. I'm now 2.5 years out and eating in the 2000+ range. I also stay physically active to facilitate greater intake and freedom with my food choices. I'll mention that I don't really track, count or measure. To me, calorie-counting is a remnant of the dieting mentality. Most of us failed at dieting prior to WLS, so I refuse to do it any longer. I also weigh myself once a month, no more and no less. For me, daily weights provoke anxiety. For others, daily weights provide a sense of comfort and accountability. Your mileage may vary.

I was sleeved in April 2015. I did nothing for the first 3 months. I started a walk/jog routine at 3 months out. 2 years later I run 20+ miles a week, lift heavy weights 3 times weekly and include other cardio such as stationary bicycling and the stair mill.

My starting weight was 218. It took me 17+ months to lose 100 pounds and reach my goal weight. Most of my losses were single digit, in the 1-to 7 pounds per month range. No one cares how slowly or rapidly you lose except you. The important aspect of my journey is the fact that I maintain a low body weight range of 118 to 123 pounds. People like your sister who never changed their habits often end up regaining several years down the line. I agree with your physician...now is not the time to decrease your intake. I increased my caloric intake in a stepwise pattern every few months. Now I maintain on 2000 to 2300 calories daily. I'm dancing on a cloud about being a small-framed person who can eat so much without regaining. On the other hand, many people who kept their intake too low for too long often end up regaining once they eat more than 1200 to 1500 calories. You don't want to be that person in 2 years. Yes, I was a slower loser. However, the choices I made during the weight loss phase benefited my metabolism for the long term. It's about the long term. This is your personal marathon, not a sprint. Good luck to you.

I'm 2.5 years out and consume between 2000 and 2300 calories daily. I should also mention that I'm a small framed, mid-30s female with a body weight that fluctuates between 118 and 122 pounds. I stay active via running and weightlifting.

For the first month post-op I was probably consuming 16 to 24 ounces of water a day. I'm 2+ years out and still have never hit my goal of 64 ounces of water. In the beginning it was because drinking and sipping were uncomfortable for me. Now it's because I dislike water. Your mileage may vary.

Are you pre-op or post-op? What has your surgeon and/or dietitian said? I stopped coffee the night before surgery and started drinking it again approximately 2 months post-op. I drink a minimum of 3 cups a day without any problems.

I don't meal-prep by the week, so I've never had to throw anything away. I cook enough food to last for today and tomorrow, such as a large meatloaf, chicken enchiladas, or tuna casserole in an 8-inch circular pan. When I'm not in a cooking mood I eat turkey/ham & cheese sandwiches (28 grams of protein each).

You're 3.5 weeks out. What type of foods are you consuming? If you're still on mechanical soft foods or purees, our sleeves can accept an almost unlimited amount of these because they 'slide' past our stomachs without prompting fullness. I guarantee you'd feel gorged and overstuffed if you attempted to eat 6 ounces of steak, pork roast, chicken breast, turkey breast, or lamb. It's rigid protein that causes us to feel full.

I was pre-diabetic and, no, my insurance company didn't consider it a comorbid condition. I also had dyslipidemia (elevated cholesterol); this counted as my comorbidity.

Compression workout gear from Under Armor is very expensive, but keeps the extra skin from flapping all over the place. The caveat is you'll need to wear long-sleeved compression shirts if your arms are problematic, and compression pants if your legs are the problem. Also, a Spanx shaper might keep the belly skin from plopping to the floor while doing push-ups.

My qualifying weight for insurance purposes was the very first weight obtained at my initial consultation visit. I wasn't sleeved until 6 months after the initial weight was obtained.