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Nice to meet you too! I see my surgeon for the first time on Monday 12/03. My new insurance that covers bariatric won't go into effect until 01/01/19 so depending on if I need nutrition visits or not, January would be the soonest I could have surgery. I think that's too quick though. Won't truly know until my plan enrollment is complete and the surgeon can run the claim (or whatever they call it LOL) to find out the minute details. I've been part of this forum for 10 years, back when it was still called LapBandTalk so being able to FINALLY do this surgery is a long time comin'! 💓

1) 133 2) this morning 133 3) maintaining 4) Running season is over. Less cardio more lifting. Building muscle back 5) Total loss at the end of the challenge (posted 2019) 6) Check in: My friends father passed last Saturday. The family is here in Idaho wrapping things up. I've been spending time with them, food choice are limited and I had two drinks last night. I feel sluggish and crappy. They fly out friday. Looking forward to getting back to my healthy zone.

Challenge Starting weight: 210 Current weight lost: 167 pounds Losing or maintaining weight: still losing- 35 pounds to go. Fitness/exercise goal: 4xs a week at gym, 5 miles of walking each day. Total weight loss at the end of challenge: (Post January 1st 2019) 11 pounds, onederland by Jan 1 Check in: Tell us how you are doing - I was doing really well, I was down to 208 but after Thanksgiving over indulgence and major stress (my cat of 15 years passed, and two people at work accused me of alcoholism because I look tired and puke in the bathroom---but you can all guess why---I am borderline anemic, low on zinc and vitamin A---but still the accusation had to go through legal and I had to disclose the fact I had a sleeve) hoping to toughen up, stop the stress eating and have a big weight loss for December.

While I am not in my 20's I would comment that I am 10 months post vsg and I have lost 75 pounds and I believe the surgery was the single best thing I have done for myself. I believe it is absolutely worth it. Having said that I would give one word of caution- the surgery is merely one tool and not a magic pill that will fix everything. There are behaviors I had to address- stress eating/using food to manage my emotions- I started to crochet/ journal and do whatever I needed to do to address the underlying reason for my overeating. I am actually a physician and I have patients who have gained back the weight so it is a real issue but I also have patients who have been successful. The main difference appears to be whether you are willing to do anything to improve your health. I get up at 5am to work out and I usually work out after work also. I use lose it app and document everything I eat regularly and I will do whatever else I have to do to continue to succeed. I was desperate, everything I did failed and I will do whatever I need to do to succeed. I wish you the best and I believe if you are desperate enough to pay out of pocket for your surgery you are desperate enough to make sure you are successful after your surgery. As for your significant other- I have found that all of my relationships have changed because I have changed - I am willing to speak up for myself and set boundaries more than before and I know myself better so I know what I do and do not want in my life. If he loves you he will come along with you on this journey as in this life we are all evolving- we stop moving when we die and it seems like you want to live! Good luck and happy holidays!

I went to my 2 week post op today.. a few days early .. I am actually 12 days post op and i am down just about 30 pounds in total and 10 since surgery. My stitches were removed and i was cleared for Puree.. and i may be able to take my ballroom dancing classes in 2 more weeks. He said it depends on if i can hold down the puree or not.. Here is to new challenges Happy Thanksgiving All! Apparently I never posted this! LOL.. Today is 3 weeks post op! I am down just about 20 pounds since surgery, and 38.4 total since Pre Op Diet! I have one more week of Puree and then i move into soft!

The vinegar is amazing!! Eggs are also hit or mess, at first it’s all I was eating but now it bothers me.havent tried steak, worried it might get “stuck” but maybe I’ll give it a try. Just hate the thought of chewing meat to a mush :( I did have shrimp once from a restaurant that was amazing and basically melted, haven’t tried to cook it myself though but I have to try because I’m sure I’m not even taking in 10 grams of protein daily. Thanks for the tips!!

Close! You do your starting weight. Looking at your profile, it says surgery weight was 279 correct? Excess would be 148. 16/148x100=10.8% My surgeons estimated weight losss for a sleeve at 6 weeks is 10-12%. Then 20% by 3 months out.

I am planning to do a tummy tuck with breast lift in mid-2019 and then in 2020 arms with potential implants added depending on how I like my boobs with just the lift.

Day 6 of my 10 day pre-op diet. 4 more full days of liquid before I go NPO at midnight the night before surgery! Liquid has been a real challenge for me in the evenings. Coming home from work and smelling the dinner my wife has prepared is really hard. (I have 4 kids, there really isn't an option not to have smells in the house) Not much longer! This will be totally worth it.

Hey, so, I'm just feeling really nice about my weight loss chart and thought I'd share it (with the y-axis, which shows actual numbers, cut off). That "expected" line was created by figuring out my excess weight (surgery weight minus ideal weight), multiplying that by .6 (on average, sleevers lose about 60% of their excess weight), and plopping that number down a year from my surgery date. That may end up being a bit off -- some people take 18 months to get there -- but it gives me a starting point. For sure, if the blue line ever crosses the red line, I'll move the 60%EWL number to 18 months and still have a motivating chart; but for right now, I could put it at one year out and didn't have to make that many spreadsheet rows. 😉 Anyway, I take my weight every Wednesday when I wake up, and that's how the blue line is plotted. Caveats: 60% is an average, and I'm not sure what the actual distribution of weight lost really looks like for gastric sleeve patients. So for my own case, yeah, I could end up doing better or worse, and I know that. Some of that is under my control -- I can follow the program and do the work to get the best possible results for my body -- but some of it will come down to age, genetics, etc. I'm at not quite 15% of my excess weight lost this week (week 8). (I was past 10% at week 6, so I guess JessaK's team would say I'm on track. My team seemed happy enough.)

Ok, so sorry you are going through this and have to live with it. The worst thing in my opinion is always being on a level of pain where you can't sleep, move, etc. But here's where I probably won't be popular, and I can only give you my story. And everyone is SO different and lives a different pain history. In short, I have osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, cervical stenosis and sacral stenosis, bone spurs on my spine, hips, joints. etc, etc, chronic bursitis in both hips, a 50% ACL tear, and neuralgia 360 around my chest extending 8 inches + neuralgia in my hands/feet from hand/foot syndrome during chemo. And in addition I'm a stage 3c BC survivor on Femara (a drug that causes even more bone and joint pain). I've been on opiod pills, neurontin, tramadol, flexeril, nsaids, tylenol, pain patches, pain gels, cortisone shots to the joints. Oh and now I have a Parkinsonian trimmer in my head and hands from the radiation/chemo--so it causes constant muscle tension cuz I trie to keep my head/hands/shoulders from shaking deep inside my body. I used to not be able to sleep longer than 1-2 hours at a time before waking from pain and unintentional movement. I still sleep in a recliner. And every day I woke, I'd wake in at least a 6-7 pain level. I would not medicate until it was an 8+ to 10 cuz I hated the side effects of the drugs. And now that I had surgery, most of that or a lot of that is off the table. Here is what finally helped me. 1. Adjusting my diet to be as clean as possible. (Every time I eat beef or pork, I wake the next morning 20 years older... Every time I have carby carbs like grains--pain so bad I feel 80 years old. Every time I drink any kind of alcohol other than a little red wine--pain like cray. Cheese and dairy is the same way unless it's very very small amounts of reduced fat or fat free dairy.) 2. Started doing severe calorie restriction, then IF and that reduced the pain ENORMOUSLY! Like...magically. 3. Lose weight. I think my doc gave me some number like: for every 15% of body weight you lose, you reduce your pain level by 20-30%? 4. Get PT and then do the frickin core strengthening exercises religiously. (I'm slacking on this! But I can tell when I do them and when I don't. The difference in pain level is a magnitude of 10 with v. without.) 5. Walk daily. Daily. Even when I don't feel like it. Even when it hurts. By the time I'm done, it always hurts less. The best thing I've done is lose the weight. I can do things now without pain meds that I never thought I could or would be able to do. My goal is to get to 125-130lbs to take off as much extra stress as possible and improve my pain level as much as I can. I think the pain meds caused a continual cycle of spring-back pain (forget the name of it). So it was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because I medicated, I would have more pain at the end of the cycle and need to take more meds. And because I medicated, I'd built up a tolerance and needed more and more meds to help. Now if I absolutely must have one, it takes maybe 1/4 of the amount it used to take. I now wake only in a 2-3 and end of day is usually only a 4 which is entirely manageable for me. Some meds that play well together and amplify their effects: 1. Gabapentin + Tramadol together 2. Tramadol + Tylenol together (this one is especially good) 3. Norco 10/325 + Flexoril (last resort med) Lastly, this is the killer part. (Sorry in advance...and you can only do what you can do--and only you know how clean your diet is and if you are eating low cals.) If you are 5'5" and 178lbs and female, you still have some fluffy slush to get rid of that absolutely would help reduce the pain level. I wouldn't say that if I didn't feel the difference in myself. It was night and day relief. I'm no longer on any pain drugs. And the only scripts I take are my Femara, thyroid, and omeprazole. I walk daily. I try to do strength training 2-3 days per week as much as I'm able. And I can actually "fast walk"/jog which I never thought possible. It's now been 1+ year since one of my cortisone shots and about 6+months since the other and I'm holding up really well. I hope my story helps you. I'm sorry for going on about myself. But I just think, if it was possible for me, how many others would/could benefit from it. The freedom from drugs is really just a great gift of this surgery and lifestyle.

Do you know how to find your weight loss percentage? My team expects 10-15% weight loss at 6 weeks. The formula they give me is ((pounds lost)/(excess body weight))x100. Excess body weigh is your IBW that insurance companies use. My doc provided me with mine but you can do a quick google search and calculate your own.

You aren't alone! I was sleeved on 10/16 and at my one month post-op visit i told my doctor i wish i could have been sedated the first week after surgery!! It is really tough. I drank 0 protein shakes but i used Isopure flavorless protein powder in my drinks and soup. Everything had to be at room temperature. My stomach hurt. It does get better. By the third week it's like someone flipped a switch and I had my energy back, soreness was gone, and i was 20lbs down. Goodluck!

I haven't had that done but here's some advise since I am a health care worker. Set up as much as you can before hand. Get a wedge pillow so that you can sleep semi reclined. That will be easier to get in and out of bed without having to use your arms to push up. Be strict about using compression garments the doctor orders. Have things ie pots/pans sitting on the counter so you don't have to bend and reach for them. Go to the dollar store or shop Amazon and get a sponge on a stick and a reacher. I would also have a sturdy step stool so if you do need to reach something high you can stand on the step stool to avoid lifting your arms too much. Also get some button front shirts. You may want a step stool at the edge of your bed if it is high. That way you can stand against the bed and step onto the stool to get on the edge of the bed easier. If your legs are really sore you can use a long belt, scarf, or dog leash, the belt you put thru to make a tiny 10 inch waist- that's where you stick your foot thru the loop and you can use your arms to help slide your leg on the bed if needed. You could buy a leg lifter device but a belt works ok. I think it's better to have all of the modifications ready and if you don't need it great. Also if you use gallons of milk or water, switch or have someone else pour them in smaller, lighter containers. I recommend getting the spray dry shampoo since you won't be able to wash your hair for a while. Dove makes a good one. If you use a recliner with a lever put a piece of PVC pipe over the lever so it's easier to pull and recline the chair.

So are i know there are lots of different instructions out there but i see lots of people say 3 meals a day only, no grazing no snacks. Is that what most of you are doing. My surgery was 9/10 so i am cleared for everything, but i was told 4-6 small meals a day is what i should be doing. I don't have a nutritionist to follow up with. So i just wanted to see what most every else was doing at this point. Did you start off with 4-6 small meals and progress to the 3 meals as you can eat more? Or are some of you still doing the 4-6 small meals a day? Thanks for your help in advance!

I go see the surgeon again in 12/10. By then I assume my sleep study results will be in and I can get a date. I think st this point I may want to wait until early January as with everyone's vacation schedule it might be hard to get in before Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using BariatricPal mobile app

Hello again everyone...especially to those of us who go WAY back. Wondering how common it is to slide back into old habits after so many years of doing so well. Sometimes I wish I could go back in and have another tuck at my tummy...I fear I am addicted to sugar again and cannot seem to stop. I am up 15lbs and I keep thinking it cannot go higher. But I have gone back to the gym and am happy about that. Anyway, am thinking of following up with my book, Queen of Crop with Queen of Crop; 10 years after!!! Anyone want to contribute???? I think us veterans out there have stories to tell!

Congratulations on your great weight loss! I'm also 7 weeks post op, (surgery 10/9/18). So far I'm down 45 lbs since initial visit, 19 since surgery. I'm half way to the goal my surgeon set! My personal goal will probably be lower. I guess I'm not quite as adventurous as you though because I just reached the point of trying "all foods" this week per my plan. Haven't tried alcohol either. I've had a pretty nice recovery too...followed instructions as best I could and am happy with results so far!

I love PT. I failed to mention that in my OP. Yes, I have been in PT for my neck or low back over a dozen times in the last 10 years. Dry needling is amazing too. I'm going to a special PT who does dry needling on Friday. I really hope my insurance covers! It was literally a godsend, but I maxed out my PT visits in previous years. I don't think I have this year. Thanks.

So I'm 6 weeks out (tomorrow). I haven't been perfect with my post-op diet, but damn have I been close! Until tonight. I binged on tortilla chips. I had probably 30 to 35 chips. I fit them all in within probably a 30 minute period and didn't even feel that bad. I felt really full, but I wasn't sick or anything. I wish my sleeve was pickier sometimes. I wish I didn't know I could fit 35 tortilla chips in my sleeve. I can't believe I did that. I think it started with allowing myself to have 2 cups of popcorn at work today. I started really craving the salt and it seems that I backslid into lack of control very quickly. I've already been in a 10 day stall. (Stall #2 in 6 weeks). Dreading seeing the scale tomorrow and feeling stupid.

I'm so confused and frustrated. I know stalls are very common around week 3 (I am 19 days out, so I am almost there). Earlier in the week, I was down 12.7lbs. since surgery, for a total of 33.8 including the pre-surgery diet. Then two days ago I went up a pound, and I figured, ok, water fluctuation, but then today, another pound. I am getting in my protein and eating between 400-500 calories now. I went back to work, so I am more active. Why am I gaining? I expected a stall, but not a gain, is that common as well? Am I eating too many calories for this stage of the game? I had really hoped to lose 15 the first month.

I shared this in the other December group as well. So, I am on day 5 of the liquids only and it's going pretty good. My best friend, this woman is truly my person, is doing a version of the liquid diet with me because she didn't want me to feel like I was alone. She completed the first 4 days liquid only, but I talked her into having at least one low carb/high protein meal a day because, first of all she doesn't need to lose a pound and second of all I was worried that the medicine that she takes would make her sick. I BEGGED and PLEADED and she FINALLY agreed. My husband prepped for this phase for me by going to the grocery store and purchasing plenty of said liquids, jello, pudding, etc. He has put in his time to take a week off from work, which is a blessing. I prepped myself over the course of the last 4 months by doing several (and I do mean several) liquid diets for various lengths of time. I fast periodically anyway, but I wanted to condition my body for this. It's a big difference between liquids only for 1 week and liquids only for 4 weeks. From all of my prior liquids only diets and fasts, I knew that Day 1 and Day 2 would be HARD for me. The kind of hard where you contemplate cheating. I expected it, so, to combat it I emptied my usual carry bag which usually contains protein chips, a protein bar, a protein water, and a protein shake, I took the chips and the bar out and doubled the protein shake and protein water. I still carry my usual thermos of water. I wanted to make sure I have enough liquids on me to last while I am out running errands, etc. so that when hunger hits, I won't go nuts. I knew the end of Day 3 would find me in bed early finishing off the end of my battling through constant headaches. So, Day 5-10 should be decent. I am sure I will have the occasional headache and battles with feeling weak. I have NO idea what awaits after Day 10, as I've only gone ten days. Fingers crossed! It gets tough, but we can do this!! I am just focused on the journey and enjoying seeing the pounds continue to come off. How is it coming for everyone else? VSG- 12/6

So, I am on day 5 of the liquids only and it's going pretty good. My best friend, this woman is truly my person, is doing a version of the liquid diet with me because she didn't want me to feel like I was alone. She completed the first 4 days liquid only, but I talked her into having at least one low carb/high protein meal a day because, first of all she doesn't need to lose a pound and second of all I was worried that the medicine that she takes would make her sick. I BEGGED and PLEADED and she FINALLY agreed. My husband prepped for this phase for me by going to the grocery store and purchasing plenty of said liquids, jello, pudding, etc. He has put in his time to take a week off from work, which is a blessing. I prepped myself over the course of the last 4 months by doing several (and I do mean several) liquid diets for various lengths of time. I fast periodically anyway, but I wanted to condition my body for this. It's a big difference between liquids only for 1 week and liquids only for 4 weeks. From all of my prior liquids only diets and fasts, I knew that Day 1 and Day 2 would be HARD for me. The kind of hard where you contemplate cheating. I expected it, so, to combat it I emptied my usual carry bag which usually contains protein chips, a protein bar, a protein water, and a protein shake, I took the chips and the bar out and doubled the protein shake and protein water. I still carry my usual thermos of water. I wanted to make sure I have enough liquids on me to last while I am out running errands, etc. so that when hunger hits, I won't go nuts. I knew the end of Day 3 would find me in bed early finishing off the end of my battling through constant headaches. So, Day 5-10 should be decent. I am sure I will have the occasional headache and battles with feeling weak. I have NO idea what awaits after Day 10, as I've only gone ten days. Fingers crossed! It gets tough, but we can do this!! I am just focused on the journey and enjoying seeing the pounds continue to come off. How is it coming for everyone else? VSG- 12/6

I was sleeved 10/14. I was never nauseous before surgery. Now, things are different. I don’t feel hungry anymore, but when it’s close to a time for me to eat (for example when I wake up in the morning before I eat breakfast), I feel nauseous. Same if I have a late lunch - I will feel nauseous until I eat something. After I eat, nausea goes away. Problem is, I don’t have much appetite, nothing is appealing when you’re nauseous so it’s hard to force myself to eat a few bites to relieve the nausea. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Tips to relieve the nausea?