Texarkolina

I am 2 1/2 months out so the memories of the post-op weeks are really fresh. I had a pretty rough time, too. I thought I had made a huge mistake, but now I am happy with my choice. It is hard. The hunger-like feeling for me was too much acid--an acid reducer made it stop. I couldn't get fluids in, either. I know they say to do sugar free everything, but a normal Popsicle really helped me. When you get to where it is allowed by your diet, you may want to try egg drop Soup. Those two things went down well and gave me some energy.
I didn't feel human again after the surgery for 6 weeks. I know most of us don't realize it going in, but it was a major surgery followed by a period of malnutrition. If you get through that without feeling run down and borderline depressed you are the exception, not the rule.
I am 10 weeks out now, and I feel good again. I can eat--feel satisfied--and I am losing. You will get here.

Congrats!

Hi all,
Who's the newest member of the Century Club? ME!!!
My ticker is set to show my starting weight as 261.8 - but that was actually my surgery weight. My pre-op diet started when I weighed 272. So as of Oct 5th, I broke the 100lb mark and have entered the century club!
This is such a wonderful feeling! That it did not happen overnight (as I dreamed it would, at the beginning of this journey), and I had to work hard to shed each of those 100lbs make me feel so proud. For the first time, I feel like I've earned all the WOWs that I hear from friends and family! Every icky drop of Protein shake that I have consumed in the last few months is so worth it LOL
My next short-term goal is to be under 163 lbs -- which will put me at 74 kgs -- that will be a 50kg lost in total! I'm looking forward for that day, coz I think I may finally get the courage to post my before/after pics on that day! So excited!
So yeah -- just wanted to share this happy news with my sleeve family and wish all of you the best of luck in this journey!
See you all soon with another SV post!!!!

I so understand what you are saying. I had the sleeve so that I WOULDN'T T have to obsess forever. I know some people do, and they probably are losing faster than I am. I am living my life now. I am careful, but if the group at work wants to go out to eat, I go. I order something soft enough to eat comfortably and eat what I want of it. I don't get all upset and paranoid about the carbs, Protein, etc. I am not eating ice cream for dinner or anything, but I think with the sleeve you can find a good balance between being the food police and living a life.

So what does everyone's surgeon say about how much you will lose. I am losing slowly and I am trying to figure out if my expectations are unrealistic or my weight loss is less than expected? Oh--and my scale is a fickle little witch.....

I am about 2 months out and I am not losing very much. My surgeon's office has pretty much flaked out on me. I went back to get some guidance about what I need to be eating and got "Protein is preferable, but just do the best you can." I am about to drive myself crazy over this. I weigh every day (I know--bad idea--spare the lectures please) and I am losing basically nothing. I know some people lose slower than others, but I am pretty sure I am not eating right since I really have no idea what I should be eating. I don't have a nutritionist, and the surgeon's office is zero help. I have decided to find out what I need to eat daily, follow it, and trust that the results will come. So, if anyone is willing to help me out by passing along your surgeon's suggestions about the following I would really appreciate it.....
Grams of Protein daily?
Grams of carbs daily?
Ounces of Water daily?
Daily exercise?
Number of meals daily?
Any other guidelines about living with the sleeve?
Thanks in advance!

I can't believe it's been 6 months! I took my 6 month pics yesterday the 28th. My weight loss has been "stalled" for the past two months. I lost 3 lbs last month and maybe 1 this month. So I think my honeymoon phase was 4 months. I posted 13 week pics and they don't look that much different than these. I can tell I'm shrinking though. And I've still been working out and started doing TapOut XTreme workouts along with my Elliptical. Here's a summary of my stats and goals:
Height: 5'11" still an Amazon
Weight: 288 to 231.4 lbs
Size: tight 20W to 18 regular (16 in dresses)
Tops: size XL to L
Goal: 190 size 14 (in pants and dresses) not sure what weight that requires, I don't remember ever being under 200 lbs.
I don't really follow a "diet" but I do drink a shake every morning. Either a scoop of Muscle Milk in skim milk or a RTD Muscle Milk Light. I only eat three times a day. I eat whatever for lunch and dinner just small portions. I still have a major sweet tooth so battling that is very hard. I'm going on vacation next week and plan on getting back to basics when I get back, eating only fish, chicken, fruits, and veggies (no sweets!). I can't say I will follow a diet because I have made this a lifestyle.
This surgery has been wonderful for me. The best decision I have ever made for myself. I am in love with shopping again. I bought bags of clothes last weekend and it felt great to just be able to pull something off the rack without worrying if it will fit or not. I bought a goal dress size 14. It's skin tight right now, but the fact that I could pull it down over these hips felt great.

When I do my laundry I use a washing machine and a dryer. I don't cart my family's dirty laundry down to the river, beat it against rocks and then spread it over bushes to dry. Yep, I am guilty of doing things the easy way.
I microwave.
I use a freezer.
I pay my bills online.
I drive to work.
I buy soap instead of making my own out of ash and lard.
The easy way is the way of mankind. So what if we have had surgery? Does it make my weight loss easier? Yes it does. Does it diminish me in any way? No it does not. I take advantage of opportunities to improve my life, and that is what living is all about. This surgery was a massive opportunity to improve my life and I remain very grateful that I had the resources and support to take full advantage of this opportunity.

I have been going to a WLS surgery support group and every meeting someone says something along the lines of, "well it is not like I am trying to be a size 6 or anything, I just want to be healthier." So am I alone in that I DO wanna be a size 6--or 4--or 2? I want to be the one that is expected to sit in the middle of the backseat because I am so small. I want to wear tiny little jeans and have the option of dressing trashy and still looking hot. I have been big my whole life and I want to be the little one. Don't get me wrong, any move towards health and any weight loss is a good thing. I know better than to measure success vs. failure by getting into a size that seems almost unreal to me now. However, is it OK if I WANT it? Like really,really want it? I know me well enough to know that I will Celebrate every pound lost and every step I make towards a healthier me. However, if the truth were told, at the top of the list of reasons that I am willing to allow someone to cut one of my internal organs into pieces and yank part of it out of my body through a slit in my stomach, go through the risks of surgery, and have my eating habits forever changed is because I am SICK OF BEING FAT and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to slip into a pair of jeans whose size is one single, solitary number. In this group everyone is like, "oh, I just want to reach a healthier me, looking better is just a little extra." Can I call BS on that? I mean like big heaping, steaming bull $#!%.... I know this post may make me seem shallow, but I have never seen anyone jump up and down over seeing their cholesterol go down 10 points. However, be in the vicinity when a former fatty slips on a size small top and size 6 jeans for the first time and you will see some celebrating going on. They will be taking pictures and calling their friends to share the news. You might see a little dance or hear an "oh HELL YEAH". Ever see anyone act like that over that hospital lab report? I am not trying to minimize the awesome health benefits of losing what is basically another person made up of fat that I am carrying around. I know my friend of fat will eventually kill me if I don't leave her behind. I am looking forward to improved health, mobility, and energy levels--sure...but do I really have to pretend that I wouldn't have the surgery if I knew that my overall health wouldn't really improve and all I had to look forward to is being smaller?

I am starting my pre-op diet on Monday. To prepare,I went out and bought a size 6 pair of jeans and some jet black knee high boots. (summer clearance so I got a good deal, too) It felt good buying them.

I have been going to a WLS surgery support group and every meeting someone says something along the lines of, "well it is not like I am trying to be a size 6 or anything, I just want to be healthier." So am I alone in that I DO wanna be a size 6--or 4--or 2? I want to be the one that is expected to sit in the middle of the backseat because I am so small. I want to wear tiny little jeans and have the option of dressing trashy and still looking hot. I have been big my whole life and I want to be the little one. Don't get me wrong, any move towards health and any weight loss is a good thing. I know better than to measure success vs. failure by getting into a size that seems almost unreal to me now. However, is it OK if I WANT it? Like really,really want it? I know me well enough to know that I will Celebrate every pound lost and every step I make towards a healthier me. However, if the truth were told, at the top of the list of reasons that I am willing to allow someone to cut one of my internal organs into pieces and yank part of it out of my body through a slit in my stomach, go through the risks of surgery, and have my eating habits forever changed is because I am SICK OF BEING FAT and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to slip into a pair of jeans whose size is one single, solitary number. In this group everyone is like, "oh, I just want to reach a healthier me, looking better is just a little extra." Can I call BS on that? I mean like big heaping, steaming bull $#!%.... I know this post may make me seem shallow, but I have never seen anyone jump up and down over seeing their cholesterol go down 10 points. However, be in the vicinity when a former fatty slips on a size small top and size 6 jeans for the first time and you will see some celebrating going on. They will be taking pictures and calling their friends to share the news. You might see a little dance or hear an "oh HELL YEAH". Ever see anyone act like that over that hospital lab report? I am not trying to minimize the awesome health benefits of losing what is basically another person made up of fat that I am carrying around. I know my friend of fat will eventually kill me if I don't leave her behind. I am looking forward to improved health, mobility, and energy levels--sure...but do I really have to pretend that I wouldn't have the surgery if I knew that my overall health wouldn't really improve and all I had to look forward to is being smaller?

I have been going to a WLS surgery support group and every meeting someone says something along the lines of, "well it is not like I am trying to be a size 6 or anything, I just want to be healthier." So am I alone in that I DO wanna be a size 6--or 4--or 2? I want to be the one that is expected to sit in the middle of the backseat because I am so small. I want to wear tiny little jeans and have the option of dressing trashy and still looking hot. I have been big my whole life and I want to be the little one. Don't get me wrong, any move towards health and any weight loss is a good thing. I know better than to measure success vs. failure by getting into a size that seems almost unreal to me now. However, is it OK if I WANT it? Like really,really want it? I know me well enough to know that I will Celebrate every pound lost and every step I make towards a healthier me. However, if the truth were told, at the top of the list of reasons that I am willing to allow someone to cut one of my internal organs into pieces and yank part of it out of my body through a slit in my stomach, go through the risks of surgery, and have my eating habits forever changed is because I am SICK OF BEING FAT and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to slip into a pair of jeans whose size is one single, solitary number. In this group everyone is like, "oh, I just want to reach a healthier me, looking better is just a little extra." Can I call BS on that? I mean like big heaping, steaming bull $#!%.... I know this post may make me seem shallow, but I have never seen anyone jump up and down over seeing their cholesterol go down 10 points. However, be in the vicinity when a former fatty slips on a size small top and size 6 jeans for the first time and you will see some celebrating going on. They will be taking pictures and calling their friends to share the news. You might see a little dance or hear an "oh HELL YEAH". Ever see anyone act like that over that hospital lab report? I am not trying to minimize the awesome health benefits of losing what is basically another person made up of fat that I am carrying around. I know my friend of fat will eventually kill me if I don't leave her behind. I am looking forward to improved health, mobility, and energy levels--sure...but do I really have to pretend that I wouldn't have the surgery if I knew that my overall health wouldn't really improve and all I had to look forward to is being smaller?

I copied a post I made in another thread about pre-op diets here. Hope this helps you.
........may I just say for someone struggling with the liquid diet that I am pretty sure we would all agree that....... liquid diet SUCKS! Not just sucks a little bit but really really really sucks. So if you are all whiny and angry and down and thinking about driving up to a window for a heart attack in a sack....don't think there is anything wrong with you. If there is anyone out there who can say that the liquid diet was a breeze then they most likely wouldn't need surgery.
The good news....it starts getting easier about day 3. Somewhere along day 3 you go into ketosis if you are on a high protein/low carb diet. This acts as a natural appetite suppressant. If I had to do 14 days of day 1 or 2 I would never make it. I am on day 4 and it was doable today. Not fun, not pleasant, but doable. To be honest, however, I have been an over-sensitive, emotional wreck for the past 3 days. If you are reading this on the first few days of your pre-op diet you are probably overly sensitive, tired, shaky, have a headache, and are absolutely starving. The entire world is probably ticking you off and you could come through the computer and slap someone that says "if you can't do the pre-op how are you going to do the post-op?" I caved and had a boiled chicken breast and asparagus on the first night, then a boiled chicken tender on day 2 and 3. Today I did ok. If you do cheat, make it a smart one. Don't cheat with carbs or you will kill the ketosis benefit. Good luck..........
In other news--I am now 10 days post-sleeve and the liquid diet is so very very very easy now compared to before. My first surgery date was cancelled (anesthesia issues--nothing to do with pre-op diet) and I had to continue on the pre-op diet for another week. I was so discouraged and upset and struggled so much that last week. I mean--there was a baconator combo involved--upsized. This is hard--very very very hard and you don't have the help of a sleeve yet. Do the best you can--have a "smart cheat" lined up so you won't fall off the wagon into a cheeseburger--and realize that help is on the way.

My first goal was to wear a size 8 - I am SURE you can imagine how I felt the first time I slipped into a size 6 and then a size 4!!!!!!!!! The first time a sales lady said something about how tiny I was.....I giggled inside and wanted to ask "Are you seriously talking to ME????" I had NO health issues, I fought to maintain 228 and knew as I got older, it would be more difficult. I also knew that eventually there could be health issues, if nothing else, bad knees, but in all honesty, vanity was my motivation to get this surgery and I am not ashamed of that and I would do it again!!!! It is fun to shop, it is fun to not be the biggest girl in the room....and occasionally be the smallest. My life is totally different, I love it!!

I am not calling BS on them wanting to be healthy. We all want to be healthy. I am calling BS on them acting like a big motivator isn't just being smaller and looking better. While having that health threat dissolve away is a great motivator, so is a shrinking bum. Obesity is a major health issue, but you know what, it is also a major social issue. While I have only struggled with my weight from a health issue for a couple of years, I have been impacted socially my entire life. Here is wishing you an avalanche of health, energy to burn, and a cute butt!

I have been going to a WLS surgery support group and every meeting someone says something along the lines of, "well it is not like I am trying to be a size 6 or anything, I just want to be healthier." So am I alone in that I DO wanna be a size 6--or 4--or 2? I want to be the one that is expected to sit in the middle of the backseat because I am so small. I want to wear tiny little jeans and have the option of dressing trashy and still looking hot. I have been big my whole life and I want to be the little one. Don't get me wrong, any move towards health and any weight loss is a good thing. I know better than to measure success vs. failure by getting into a size that seems almost unreal to me now. However, is it OK if I WANT it? Like really,really want it? I know me well enough to know that I will Celebrate every pound lost and every step I make towards a healthier me. However, if the truth were told, at the top of the list of reasons that I am willing to allow someone to cut one of my internal organs into pieces and yank part of it out of my body through a slit in my stomach, go through the risks of surgery, and have my eating habits forever changed is because I am SICK OF BEING FAT and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to slip into a pair of jeans whose size is one single, solitary number. In this group everyone is like, "oh, I just want to reach a healthier me, looking better is just a little extra." Can I call BS on that? I mean like big heaping, steaming bull $#!%.... I know this post may make me seem shallow, but I have never seen anyone jump up and down over seeing their cholesterol go down 10 points. However, be in the vicinity when a former fatty slips on a size small top and size 6 jeans for the first time and you will see some celebrating going on. They will be taking pictures and calling their friends to share the news. You might see a little dance or hear an "oh HELL YEAH". Ever see anyone act like that over that hospital lab report? I am not trying to minimize the awesome health benefits of losing what is basically another person made up of fat that I am carrying around. I know my friend of fat will eventually kill me if I don't leave her behind. I am looking forward to improved health, mobility, and energy levels--sure...but do I really have to pretend that I wouldn't have the surgery if I knew that my overall health wouldn't really improve and all I had to look forward to is being smaller?

I have been going to a WLS surgery support group and every meeting someone says something along the lines of, "well it is not like I am trying to be a size 6 or anything, I just want to be healthier." So am I alone in that I DO wanna be a size 6--or 4--or 2? I want to be the one that is expected to sit in the middle of the backseat because I am so small. I want to wear tiny little jeans and have the option of dressing trashy and still looking hot. I have been big my whole life and I want to be the little one. Don't get me wrong, any move towards health and any weight loss is a good thing. I know better than to measure success vs. failure by getting into a size that seems almost unreal to me now. However, is it OK if I WANT it? Like really,really want it? I know me well enough to know that I will Celebrate every pound lost and every step I make towards a healthier me. However, if the truth were told, at the top of the list of reasons that I am willing to allow someone to cut one of my internal organs into pieces and yank part of it out of my body through a slit in my stomach, go through the risks of surgery, and have my eating habits forever changed is because I am SICK OF BEING FAT and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to slip into a pair of jeans whose size is one single, solitary number. In this group everyone is like, "oh, I just want to reach a healthier me, looking better is just a little extra." Can I call BS on that? I mean like big heaping, steaming bull $#!%.... I know this post may make me seem shallow, but I have never seen anyone jump up and down over seeing their cholesterol go down 10 points. However, be in the vicinity when a former fatty slips on a size small top and size 6 jeans for the first time and you will see some celebrating going on. They will be taking pictures and calling their friends to share the news. You might see a little dance or hear an "oh HELL YEAH". Ever see anyone act like that over that hospital lab report? I am not trying to minimize the awesome health benefits of losing what is basically another person made up of fat that I am carrying around. I know my friend of fat will eventually kill me if I don't leave her behind. I am looking forward to improved health, mobility, and energy levels--sure...but do I really have to pretend that I wouldn't have the surgery if I knew that my overall health wouldn't really improve and all I had to look forward to is being smaller?

We were sleeved on the same day, and i dont have an appetite either. It is so wierd and kind of freaked me out at first. I look at is as a good thing.

Sending you positive thoughts and energy... really hope things turn around fast for you and that you feel better and better every day... Hugs!
Sent from my iPhone using VST

AWESOME! The appetite being reduced was why I opted for the sleeve rather than another WLS.......I am so hopeful for long-term success and this makes me even more so. <<<<happy dance>>>>>

thank you for sharing your story! i'm so sorry you are having to go through this. i hope everything will turn out for the best for you! bless your heart!

That is awful! I'm so sorry you had to experience all that! I pray that you get better soon. I hope you start losing weight again soon so that you didnt go through all this for nothing! *Hugs*

Sorry to hear what you went through. As far as the weight loss goes, I'm going through the exact same thing. Hang in there.

Wow, let me affirm that you have had a really sh***y experience. I do not blame you for being pissed off and feeling very discouraged. I hope that things start to turn around (It sounds like the absolute worst is behind you). You are very strong and courageous and I know that you will do well with this. Feel Better soon!

You should call your doctor---there is no way you can tell if it is gas or a leak. Most of the time the gas is gone by 9 days out. Question---has your drain been removed? I know most have by this point, but mine was still in at 9 days out and was the source of a ton of left shoulder pain for me.