dandeegan

I was sleeved on Aug 20th. I've lost about 120lbs between the pre-surgery diet and surgery itself. A few things I've noticed that concern me: 1) I haven't lost any weight in over a month. 2) I can eat a good deal more now than I could a couple of months ago. I still get the "did I stretch my pouch?" worry sometimes. 3) I've been really hungry lately. I'll eat, get full, then an hour later I'm hungry again. When I say hungry, I mean I feel like I'm starving. I must add, that i broke my foot in October and was pretty much immobile for nearly three months. I still limp, but I'm at a point where I think I can start exercising again (just no cardio or foot-related exercises yet). But, from everything I've seen,read,heard,been told by doctors and so on, the first year weight just comes off, your metabolism shouldn't adjust to your new caloric intake for at least a year. Do "stalls" still happen five months out? I'm currently in a "that's it, the weight loss is over" phase. Hopefully I'll step on the scale in a few weeks and see that five more pounds have vanished!

My arms and shoulders look fantastic (i work out five days a week and my arms are starting to look like a bodybuilder's), but the rest of me looks like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers after he loses a bunch of weight. I was really hoping this wouldn't happen, at least not at this level. Time to spend like $10,000 or more on a tummy tuck, then who knows how much more on an inner thigh lift (or whatever it's called), and something needs to be done about the turkey neck, and the leftover man-boob. I have a butt crack under my belly button! People say the loose skin is worth it because you're healthier. It's definitely true. I am thrilled to not use my sleep apnea machine anymore and can walk without back pain. That said, the reality for many of us is that we also want to finally look good, which makes us feel good in a way that's different from "yay my edema is gone!". I want to experience what it's like to take my shirt off at the beach and not feel like everyone's looking at me for the wrong reasons. I'm waaaaay better off now than I was eight months ago (in many ways), but now I look like a shar pei. I traded one type of gross for another! Moral of the story - if you have a lot of weight to lose and get this surgery, be ready for the possibility that you may have to spend a ton of money and spend many extra sick days at work getting skin removed. Also, make sure you work out like a beast to minimize how skinny-fat you look once you do lose the weight. If I wasn't at the gym as much as I am, I'd probably look like complete crap right now.

Stay focused and you definitely will! Soon you too will be a flying squirrel good sir!

It's a fight most of us need to fight eventually. I'm over 140lbs lost now, and I still feel fat cause of this skin thing. I don't think I'll feel right until it's all hacked off, especially in my legs right now!

I'll definitely be waiting, but I don't see how it won't be inevitable. In two years I'll be a flying squirrel, based on what my skin is doing so far. They say to give it some time after you hit your goal wait and show the ability to maintain it, to see what kind of elasticity you do end up having. But, for the most part if you have loose skin you're screwed. You can either deal with it and just be happy you lost weight; stick to the old "loose skin is better than poor health" adage, or shell out the money for surgery. I'll choose the latter. I've seen many pictures of people with loose skin and it's not pretty. I would not feel good.

I was sleeved on August 20th and I've lost a ton of weight. Since December though, it seems to have just... stopped. I am concerned. Sometimes when I step on a scale I see that I've even gained a few lbs. Some major noteworthy things that may be relevant: - I broke my foot on Oct. 19th and was in a cast and crutches for a while. I basically sat on the couch from October until about three weeks ago. I relied on people to shop for me because I couldn't drive nor walk, lived on Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers, the holidays happened etc. - On 1/26 I started back at the gym doing weight-training. I have NOT been doing cardio or any exercises that stress my foot because it's still sore. Mostly seated exercises for now (I'm dying to get back on a treadmill). - I still don't eat much (relative to how much I used to be able to eat), although I can eat significantly more than I could 2-3 months ago. - I've been feeling hungry lately, enough that I worry about it. Here's a snippet of my weight log for a visual aid: 8/5/13 - 383 8/19/13 - 343 (surgery was 8/20) 10/21/13 - 293 10/28/13 - 291 (with cast) 11/4/13 - 285 (with cast) 11/18/13 - 275 (with cast) 12/24/13 - 262 (cast was removed) 1/13/14 - 266 1/20/14 - 261 (started back at the gym on 1/26) 2/13/14 - 265 (been working out 4 days a week) Reading this objectively, I would deduce that between the weights, sitting around from the broken foot and the holiday leftover thing would explain away my concerns, But, I don't really eat bad food in general (chicken, tuna, brown rice, veggies, Protein shakes when I exercise, etc). My eating isn't perfect but it's 90,000 times better than it was. Plus, I eat maybe 1/3rd in volume than I used to. Also, I was under the impression that the "honeymoon" period of surgery, where weight loss just goes and goes, is at least a year! Is this just a "plateau" and I may notice weight falling off again in a month or so?

Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of tips. I was on crutches for most of my time, and since it is my right foot I wasn't able to drive either. Essentially, I just sat on my couch. If they say you're able to do low impact stuff I imagine (on top of what you already do) the elliptical would be best because your feet don't move at all. If your gym has them, try battle ropes too!

Thanks everyone, I think I'll be fine. It's pointless to dwell on why I'm able to eat an ounce or two more than other people. 120lbs in six months is a pretty substantial accomplishment, so I'll stay focused and up my cardio once my foot is healed enough. I'm also involved in martial arts, which I'm going back to once my foot is healed. I think the gym, the treadmill and karate will get me burning plenty of calories and back on track. Side note - I think I'll go back to only posting in the "man room". You ladies are rough out here. I was almost preparing powerpoint slides to back up and defend every little statement I made!

Thanks everyone! I can't explain why I can eat 8oz. of anything. I can say that sometimes I can eat the whole container of turkey/rice, sometimes I can't. I used to worry that I've "stretched" my sleeve but I don't bother with that anymore. A couple of people have said (and it makes sense to me) that worrying about stretching is a newbie concern. How much I can eat in one shot varies. I like to eat salads now, and I can eat almost a whole bowl of lettuce, baby tomatoes and cucumber slices. Who knows! My diet is more of a bodybuilding diet than a bariatric one. I have friends with 6 or 8 pack abs that I work out with, and I have sort of adopted their diets. One guy even has a 10-pack somehow haha. They use 2 scoops of Protein in their shakes, whereas I only use one. When they come over they can eat entire pizzas. I eat one slice, and if I'm feeling frisky I'll have a wing or two. I can't eat as much or as often as they do, so I just eat what I can. I have at least two scoops of protein (Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey) during most of my days on top of the protein from food, so I generally don't worry about protein intake. I emailed this post to the nurse that runs my support group, and this is what she said in response: Hi Dan, I think you have a unique situation with the inability to do cardio exercise but if I look at the numbers, you’ve lost a total of 118lbs in 6 months and should be extremely proud! You may very well be in a “plateau” or just now building muscle with your weight training which may very well reflect as a few extra pounds. If you are journaling and getting in the required protein, Water, sleep etc it will start to come off again, especially when you start back with some cardio. Keep track but keep going!! You’re doing great! Lisa

Wow, you tore me up! Excellent harsh post! My language sounded wishy-washy because I didn't want to write a super long post going into too many details. I tried to keep it general, yet honest. I'm working so I don't have time to construct a proper defense, but I will say that my habits are nowhere near as bad as your perception of them. My lunch today was a pre-measured 8oz. container of brown rice, ground turkey with some sriracha (that I made, weighed and packaged). That's how I live 97% of the time. I could lie and say I eat perfectly all the time, but I don't. If I have company and we order pizza, I eat a slice. We're human. That's all I really meant by the vague statements. The support group I attend is run by the head nurse of the bariatric program. She always talks about the "honeymoon period" before your metabolism changes to the new caloric intake. They say it's about a year. I was referring to this, not to "well, I can eat 5 pizzas a day for the first year and get away with it!".

Sage advice. It's probably is because I've done nothing but sit around with a broken foot for the last three months. We'll see how it goes now that I can work out again. I have managed to re-watch most of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis though!

Yeah, I can't deny the gains I've had so quickly, but I am trying to be mindful of my body and what's going on with it. I don't want to be stuck at where I'm at now, then a pound comes back, then two, then in two years I'm back to where I was! The main reason for my post is that I'm wondering about the hunger. I'm not sure of the cause. I went from not really caring about food much to thinking about what I'm going to eat next, while I'm eating!

I've lost over 100lbs in roughly 3.5 months, between the pre-op diet and the surgery itself. I'm starting to feel like a whole new person. I can shop at regular clothing stores (no more Big&Fat), I can fit in restaurant booths, ride roller coasters, I barely ever hear "hey big guy" and stuff like that anymore. It's amazing! I'm starting to prep myself for the inevitable tummy tuck, though. I look like a drippy, melted candle with my shirt off. Nasty cottage cheese-looking stuff around the bottom of my stomach and my belly button now has a butt crack! Don't get me started about the lunchlady arms and the pocket of skin/fat that won't go away on my inner thighs! Now that I'm back in full swing at the gym I'll get back the tons of muscle I've lost (which I can't wait for), but I am aware that the reality is not much can be done about the skin. I've done a ton of reading and research about it so I am pretty up to speed on this, I just felt like complaining about it to you guys cause I know some of you know are feeling my pain. For those that do, has anyone had any success in minimizing the nastiness?

Thanks for all this info (late reply I know). Butter, did you also get anything done to your inner thighs? My situation there is just as bad (if not worse) than my abdomen. I can literally grab handfuls of skin/fat in there. My thighs still touch and everything. It's ridiculous!

This is all the best info on stretching I've seen. The main question I was always looking for an answer to is... how long does it take? Based on what I'm reading here, I'm pretty confident that I don't have to worry about it being stretched after three months. If I only get really "full" every now and then and I think I can count on one hand how many times I've had discomfort, I guess my stomach isn't stretched and I'm good!

I'm around three months out and I can definitely eat more than I could even a month ago. Sometimes I'm full after a few bites of something, other times I can eat alot more. It depends on what I'm eating and how I chew. The times when I feel like I can eat more than usual I get concerned that I've stretched my sleeve. I gave up on trying to get the answers I've been looking for regarding stretching though. Even when I can eat "alot" it's still far, far less than I could ever eat in my life. It's pretty awesome.

I've read a couple posts on this forum that say "stretching your stomach is almost impossible, the part of your stomach that is left is the toughest part". I've read online from other doctors that your stomach will stretch if you overeat. Other doctors say that it's very hard to stretch your stomach and you'll vomit before you get to the point of stretching it. My doctor makes it sound like it's very easy to stretch it, and to be careful to not overeat, and chew your food well etc. I really wish I knew with 100% certainty what the deal is with stretching. I don't want to live my life worrying about my stomach being stretched every time I feel "full". Any thoughts?

That wasn't me that posted the explanation above haha. PS - I never said I wanted to overeat. I thought I was pretty clear in my original post that I've heard so many opinions about stretching (including the one in the detailed explanation) that I wanted to know what the real deal actually was. The way my doctor explains it is any time you feel full, your stomach is stretching. Having your surgeon make it appear to be such an easy thing to do makes one want to ask around about it.

Roughly two months out now, and my weight loss looks like this: 8/19/13 - 343 8/26/13 - 336 9/2/13 - 327 9/9/13 - 319 9/16/13 - 312 9/23/13 - 306 9/30/13 - 302 10/7/13 - 296 10/14/13 - 293 10/21/13 - 293 So, of course, I'm freaking out now. Granted, I had a rough week (drank beer at my college homecoming, didn't eat the best food), but I also started cardio again this past week, so I expected at least... 1lb or something. Even though the food I ate was bad, it was like 5 bites. You can see the trend - each week is less and less. Is this a "stall" that I keep hearing about? Should I be freaking out? Help me put my mind at ease. I mean, I am still like 50-60lbs overweight. I better not be done already!

I had no issues drinking beer. The only difference was I drank it much slower. I definitely have an issue getting in all my Protein. It's tough because there isn't alot of real estate for all the Protein shakes, and Water, and food etc! Gym days it's easier because I'm so conditioned to do my pre and post-workout shakes. Thanks for the assurances everyone!

I've heard that too - overeating "over time", "repetitive overeating" and it makes me wonder how much time is "over time"? Weeks? months? years? overeating once a day? here and there? How repetitive? Let's say I've overeaten 10 times in 2 months (hypothetical). Does that mean it's stretched?

I am in week 8 post-op (I've lost 80+ lbs already since starting the process). Sometimes when I eat now, it feels like I can eat more than normal and it freaks me out that I've stretched my sleeve or something. Other times, in four bites I am full. A typical dinner for me these days is a small piece of chicken and a few brussel sprouts. Sometimes, though, I want a second piece of chicken. I guess my question is - is it normal to start being able to eat more after a couple of months? I know there's an initial difference after a couple of weeks because the swelling goes down, but I thought it mostly stays the same until a year+ out. Feels weird talking about eating a "second small piece of chicken" and feeling like a glutton, when back in the day I could drink a 6-pack and eat a large pizza by myself while watching the game haha.

My plan is/was to weigh myself once a week for the first two months, then start weighing myself every two weeks for a while. I only weigh myself first thing in the morning, in the same spot, same scale, with no clothes on. I even do my best to use the bathroom first (even though I barely ever poop anymore). Long story short, I weighed myself this past monday (10/7/13) and I weighed 295.8. For some reason, this morning (10/10/13) I felt the urge to check on my status and I weighed 296.8. I am now freaking out that I'm doing something wrong. Someone tell me there isn't a problem please, so I can go back to enjoying my progress! Oh, and remind me how it's not good to step on a scale that often because it causes panic like this!

With the pain meds I was taking, the drain bag thing, etc I wasn't even thinking about for about two weeks.

Hey I thought this was the "man room"! kidding