6 Month Update

[educationrulz 18]

I'm excited to be giving my 6 month surgery update. There were times when I didn't think I could do this, but it gets easier every day and every month. I feel pretty much like a normal person now. I eat whatever I want (within reason) and my sleeve keeps me in line. I am thankful for that control. I still have occasional moments of pity for myself when I can't eat a big meal or a large serving of something. But, I'm always able to put it in perspective when I remind myself of the positive life changes I've had post op. I can now move around with much less knee pain than I was having. I can't remember the last time I got short of breath doing a normal activity like WALKING up some stairs. I have gone from a size 22W to a 16 Misses. Since I had to buy a suit in a size 14 this past weekend, I guess I'll officially be in that size soon. WOW! Now that's results. It feels so good to go to the "regular" clothing section and pull something off the rack. Shopping for clothes is so much less stressful than it was a few months ago.

I wasn't exercising much until around the 5 month mark. I'm getting a regular exercise schedule going now. I can tell that it is keeping the weight loss more steady and will hopefully help me firm up some. I seem to go through small stages of loose, wrinkly looking skin to smooth skin. This mostly happens on my thighs and a little on the upper arms. Overall, I'm doing pretty good with not having too much flabby skin. My hair was fine until recently and I thought I might get off without Hair loss. But, right around the 5 month mark, it started shedding real bad. At least I was anticipating that it might happen so I wasn't totally shocked. I immediately started wearing wigs and am currently enjoying trying out some new styles and colors that I would not have been brave enough to try with my own hair.

I thought that Thanksgiving and Christmas would be awful in terms of not being able to eat, but it was barely a blip on the radar. I ate a little of everything I wanted to eat with no problems. As usual, I stopped when I got my full signal and tasted a little more later when I was ready or hungry. The biggest thing I have to monitor with eating these days is that my sleeve handles different volumes depending on the time of day. In the morning, I can barely eat anything at all. I've taken to drinking a Protein Shake for Breakfast instead of trying to eat because it was getting frustrating to feel stuffed after 3 or 4 bites. At lunch time, I can take in a little more depending on my stress level and how busy I am that day. When I'm stressed or rushed, I can't get down too much. If I'm able to take my time, I can eat about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of food at lunch. I don't like to linger over my food too long, but sometimes I have to just nibble on it while I work (after my official lunch time is over) or I would never get in a decent amount of real food Protein. Evening or dinner time is when I can eat what seems like a normal amount of food. I can easily do a cup of food for dinner most nights. Sometimes it freaks me out a little to eat that much, but I have to remind myself of how little I've actually eaten all day. So, it all balances out. I'm always careful to not stuff myself at dinner just because I can eat more at that time. I still listen to my full signals and stop when I feel it. Like many other sleevers, I have found it way too easy to take in junk food so I have to really watch myself with that.

I am able to drink soda with no problem. I just can't gulp them the way I used to and the way I can Water. Sodas have always been a problem area for me but I luckily acclimmated myself to diet sodas on my preop diet, so that's mostly what I drink. I occasionally have a regular soda but in general they seem too sweet for me to drink more than a little of. The diet sodas don't seem to be having a negative impact on my weight loss or stretching my stomach. I started experimenting slowly with diet sodas around 4 months and am used to them now. It takes me a long time to drink a normal amount of soda and I rarely finish whatever I have ordered/bought so I don't worry about taking in too much. I was cleared to go back to regular caffeinated tea about a month or so after surgery and haven't had any problems with that either. I do drink regular sweet tea when I drink it. I don't drink a lot of it the way I used to, I guess because it's too sweet. But it still tastes good (better than soda) so I don't stress about it since I'm drinking a small amount compared to before surgery.

Like many other WLS patients, I struggled with whether to tell people about my surgery. I decided to tell them so that I wouldn't feel like I was being deceitful about how I lost weight. I know that's not the best decision for everyone, but it's the best choice for me. I also decided that I wasn't going to talk about the surgery I had or give out any other info. I know that some people are too invasive/nosy/insensitive with their questions and I didn't want to have to deal with that. I can just imagine someone asking me how much of stomach I let the doctor cut out, how many times I've thrown up, or how many times a week I poop. I'm sure some of you have dealt with that BS. My strategy of telling people that I'm not giving out any details about my surgery, including what kind of surgery I had, has been extremely successful. The minute I tell people that I'm not telling what kind of surgery I had or that I'm not giving out any details, I generally don't get any other questions. I mean not one more question after that. On the maybe two occasions that someone tried to push it a little further I just looked at them blankly and smiled and let them figure out why I wasn't talking anymore. They got the message REAL fast. It's kind of funny sometimes. I tend to tell friends or closer acquaintances that it makes me uncomfortable to talk about it and they respect that immediately without feeling like I"m shutting them out. Maybe this strategy will work for someone else. I think in time I may be more open about the surgery, but I'm not ready right now.

Overall, this was the best health decision I could have ever made for myself. I hope that other people who are on the fence about it can benefit from this blog and from other people's blogs. Feel free to post any questions. I don't sign on as often as I used to, so if I don't respond it's because I haven't been online in a while. But I will respond to all questions as soon as I see them.

Best wishes to everyone. :cheer2:

[sleeve 4 me 910]

Awesome Awesome Awesome! Congrats to YOU

[coops 1,790]

Well done Mary... what a great success you have had so far, and I am sure you will continue to do so! Plus you are more that half way to goal...My sleeve was done about nearly two weeks after you and I would have loved to have lost as much... keep up the good work! =]

[educationrulz 18]

Thanks guys! Coops it looks like you didn't have as much to loose so I'm sure that has something to do with the difference. Keep at it and it will come off eventually.

[redroses47 1]

Great update! Although I am 8 months out, I can relate to a number of things you posted here. I didn't tell anyone about my surgery except for my family and I know my staff are seriously wondering how I have dropped all of my weight. Whatever .. I made it my decision not to say anything. That is my comfort zone. I also related to the eating little in the morning and more in the evening time. I have no idea what my caloric intake is but I think like you .. it balances out in the end. My weight continues to drop. The last one was the hair loss. I really started shedding pretty badly around the 5-6 month mark and only now does it appear to be waning. Talk about a panic .. my hair is very long and very full and even my hairdresser noticed the difference. It's starting to come back though. I can see the new growth. Anyway, best to you. You are doing great!

I'm excited to be giving my 6 month surgery update. There were times when I didn't think I could do this, but it gets easier every day and every month. I feel pretty much like a normal person now. I eat whatever I want (within reason) and my sleeve keeps me in line. I am thankful for that control. I still have occasional moments of pity for myself when I can't eat a big meal or a large serving of something. But, I'm always able to put it in perspective when I remind myself of the positive life changes I've had post op. I can now move around with much less knee pain than I was having. I can't remember the last time I got short of breath doing a normal activity like WALKING up some stairs. I have gone from a size 22W to a 16 Misses. Since I had to buy a suit in a size 14 this past weekend, I guess I'll officially be in that size soon. WOW! Now that's results. It feels so good to go to the "regular" clothing section and pull something off the rack. Shopping for clothes is so much less stressful than it was a few months ago.

I wasn't exercising much until around the 5 month mark. I'm getting a regular exercise schedule going now. I can tell that it is keeping the weight loss more steady and will hopefully help me firm up some. I seem to go through small stages of loose, wrinkly looking skin to smooth skin. This mostly happens on my thighs and a little on the upper arms. Overall, I'm doing pretty good with not having too much flabby skin. My hair was fine until recently and I thought I might get off without Hair loss. But, right around the 5 month mark, it started shedding real bad. At least I was anticipating that it might happen so I wasn't totally shocked. I immediately started wearing wigs and am currently enjoying trying out some new styles and colors that I would not have been brave enough to try with my own hair.

I thought that Thanksgiving and Christmas would be awful in terms of not being able to eat, but it was barely a blip on the radar. I ate a little of everything I wanted to eat with no problems. As usual, I stopped when I got my full signal and tasted a little more later when I was ready or hungry. The biggest thing I have to monitor with eating these days is that my sleeve handles different volumes depending on the time of day. In the morning, I can barely eat anything at all. I've taken to drinking a Protein shake for breakfast instead of trying to eat because it was getting frustrating to feel stuffed after 3 or 4 bites. At lunch time, I can take in a little more depending on my stress level and how busy I am that day. When I'm stressed or rushed, I can't get down too much. If I'm able to take my time, I can eat about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of food at lunch. I don't like to linger over my food too long, but sometimes I have to just nibble on it while I work (after my official lunch time is over) or I would never get in a decent amount of real food Protein. Evening or dinner time is when I can eat what seems like a normal amount of food. I can easily do a cup of food for dinner most nights. Sometimes it freaks me out a little to eat that much, but I have to remind myself of how little I've actually eaten all day. So, it all balances out. I'm always careful to not stuff myself at dinner just because I can eat more at that time. I still listen to my full signals and stop when I feel it. Like many other sleevers, I have found it way too easy to take in junk food so I have to really watch myself with that.

I am able to drink soda with no problem. I just can't gulp them the way I used to and the way I can Water. Sodas have always been a problem area for me but I luckily acclimmated myself to diet sodas on my preop diet, so that's mostly what I drink. I occasionally have a regular soda but in general they seem too sweet for me to drink more than a little of. The diet sodas don't seem to be having a negative impact on my weight loss or stretching my stomach. I started experimenting slowly with diet sodas around 4 months and am used to them now. It takes me a long time to drink a normal amount of soda and I rarely finish whatever I have ordered/bought so I don't worry about taking in too much. I was cleared to go back to regular caffeinated tea about a month or so after surgery and haven't had any problems with that either. I do drink regular sweet tea when I drink it. I don't drink a lot of it the way I used to, I guess because it's too sweet. But it still tastes good (better than soda) so I don't stress about it since I'm drinking a small amount compared to before surgery.

Like many other WLS patients, I struggled with whether to tell people about my surgery. I decided to tell them so that I wouldn't feel like I was being deceitful about how I lost weight. I know that's not the best decision for everyone, but it's the best choice for me. I also decided that I wasn't going to talk about the surgery I had or give out any other info. I know that some people are too invasive/nosy/insensitive with their questions and I didn't want to have to deal with that. I can just imagine someone asking me how much of stomach I let the doctor cut out, how many times I've thrown up, or how many times a week I poop. I'm sure some of you have dealt with that BS. My strategy of telling people that I'm not giving out any details about my surgery, including what kind of surgery I had, has been extremely successful. The minute I tell people that I'm not telling what kind of surgery I had or that I'm not giving out any details, I generally don't get any other questions. I mean not one more question after that. On the maybe two occasions that someone tried to push it a little further I just looked at them blankly and smiled and let them figure out why I wasn't talking anymore. They got the message REAL fast. It's kind of funny sometimes. I tend to tell friends or closer acquaintances that it makes me uncomfortable to talk about it and they respect that immediately without feeling like I"m shutting them out. Maybe this strategy will work for someone else. I think in time I may be more open about the surgery, but I'm not ready right now.

Overall, this was the best health decision I could have ever made for myself. I hope that other people who are on the fence about it can benefit from this blog and from other people's blogs. Feel free to post any questions. I don't sign on as often as I used to, so if I don't respond it's because I haven't been online in a while. But I will respond to all questions as soon as I see them.

Best wishes to everyone. :cheer2:

[cwalker 12]

I'm excited to be giving my 6 month surgery update. There were times when I didn't think I could do this, but it gets easier every day and every month. I feel pretty much like a normal person now. I eat whatever I want (within reason) and my sleeve keeps me in line. I am thankful for that control. I still have occasional moments of pity for myself when I can't eat a big meal or a large serving of something. But, I'm always able to put it in perspective when I remind myself of the positive life changes I've had post op. I can now move around with much less knee pain than I was having. I can't remember the last time I got short of breath doing a normal activity like WALKING up some stairs. I have gone from a size 22W to a 16 Misses. Since I had to buy a suit in a size 14 this past weekend, I guess I'll officially be in that size soon. WOW! Now that's results. It feels so good to go to the "regular" clothing section and pull something off the rack. Shopping for clothes is so much less stressful than it was a few months ago.

I wasn't exercising much until around the 5 month mark. I'm getting a regular exercise schedule going now. I can tell that it is keeping the weight loss more steady and will hopefully help me firm up some. I seem to go through small stages of loose, wrinkly looking skin to smooth skin. This mostly happens on my thighs and a little on the upper arms. Overall, I'm doing pretty good with not having too much flabby skin. My hair was fine until recently and I thought I might get off without Hair loss. But, right around the 5 month mark, it started shedding real bad. At least I was anticipating that it might happen so I wasn't totally shocked. I immediately started wearing wigs and am currently enjoying trying out some new styles and colors that I would not have been brave enough to try with my own hair.

I thought that Thanksgiving and Christmas would be awful in terms of not being able to eat, but it was barely a blip on the radar. I ate a little of everything I wanted to eat with no problems. As usual, I stopped when I got my full signal and tasted a little more later when I was ready or hungry. The biggest thing I have to monitor with eating these days is that my sleeve handles different volumes depending on the time of day. In the morning, I can barely eat anything at all. I've taken to drinking a Protein shake for breakfast instead of trying to eat because it was getting frustrating to feel stuffed after 3 or 4 bites. At lunch time, I can take in a little more depending on my stress level and how busy I am that day. When I'm stressed or rushed, I can't get down too much. If I'm able to take my time, I can eat about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of food at lunch. I don't like to linger over my food too long, but sometimes I have to just nibble on it while I work (after my official lunch time is over) or I would never get in a decent amount of real food Protein. Evening or dinner time is when I can eat what seems like a normal amount of food. I can easily do a cup of food for dinner most nights. Sometimes it freaks me out a little to eat that much, but I have to remind myself of how little I've actually eaten all day. So, it all balances out. I'm always careful to not stuff myself at dinner just because I can eat more at that time. I still listen to my full signals and stop when I feel it. Like many other sleevers, I have found it way too easy to take in junk food so I have to really watch myself with that.

I am able to drink soda with no problem. I just can't gulp them the way I used to and the way I can Water. Sodas have always been a problem area for me but I luckily acclimmated myself to diet sodas on my preop diet, so that's mostly what I drink. I occasionally have a regular soda but in general they seem too sweet for me to drink more than a little of. The diet sodas don't seem to be having a negative impact on my weight loss or stretching my stomach. I started experimenting slowly with diet sodas around 4 months and am used to them now. It takes me a long time to drink a normal amount of soda and I rarely finish whatever I have ordered/bought so I don't worry about taking in too much. I was cleared to go back to regular caffeinated tea about a month or so after surgery and haven't had any problems with that either. I do drink regular sweet tea when I drink it. I don't drink a lot of it the way I used to, I guess because it's too sweet. But it still tastes good (better than soda) so I don't stress about it since I'm drinking a small amount compared to before surgery.

Like many other WLS patients, I struggled with whether to tell people about my surgery. I decided to tell them so that I wouldn't feel like I was being deceitful about how I lost weight. I know that's not the best decision for everyone, but it's the best choice for me. I also decided that I wasn't going to talk about the surgery I had or give out any other info. I know that some people are too invasive/nosy/insensitive with their questions and I didn't want to have to deal with that. I can just imagine someone asking me how much of stomach I let the doctor cut out, how many times I've thrown up, or how many times a week I poop. I'm sure some of you have dealt with that BS. My strategy of telling people that I'm not giving out any details about my surgery, including what kind of surgery I had, has been extremely successful. The minute I tell people that I'm not telling what kind of surgery I had or that I'm not giving out any details, I generally don't get any other questions. I mean not one more question after that. On the maybe two occasions that someone tried to push it a little further I just looked at them blankly and smiled and let them figure out why I wasn't talking anymore. They got the message REAL fast. It's kind of funny sometimes. I tend to tell friends or closer acquaintances that it makes me uncomfortable to talk about it and they respect that immediately without feeling like I"m shutting them out. Maybe this strategy will work for someone else. I think in time I may be more open about the surgery, but I'm not ready right now.

Overall, this was the best health decision I could have ever made for myself. I hope that other people who are on the fence about it can benefit from this blog and from other people's blogs. Feel free to post any questions. I don't sign on as often as I used to, so if I don't respond it's because I haven't been online in a while. But I will respond to all questions as soon as I see them.

Best wishes to everyone. :cheer2:

Congrats Mary, you're doing great!!

[socalkelly 1]

Thank you for posting and giving such detail about your journey. It gives me more confidence about my decision and a reasonable expectation.

[ShaliseSleeved@18 0]

Wow congratulations!! You are doing wonderful, keep up the good work and the pounds are sure to fall off also those size 14s will be falling off;) Thank you for giving so much detail. I am nearing my 6 month post op and this is just added motivation!!

[Donna4545 13]

Here is my 6 month update: I started the process at 331 lbs and now am 255 lbs; I went from size 28 on top to size 24; 48D bra to 44C bra; and from 28/30 on bottom to size 22 jeans. I lost the double chin. hair loss not a problem. I'm off diabetes, triglyceride, and cholesterol meds. I no longer need a seatbelt extender on a plane, and I can walk without being out of breath. I don't exercise like I should, I've got to get on that. I am very good with Portion Control, and used fatsecret.com to track calories until I got used to calculating it in my head. I eat fast, pretty normal bites, but about a cup of food only, often less, 3 meals a day and I usually don't snack. I drink wine when I want. My tummy is fine with all foods that we are allowed. I've got restaurant ordering down to an art, and always have a to-go container. My dining companions don't notice anything. I didn't tell anyone I had VSG and I'm glad I didn't--there was just no need, and who wants to have to hear everybody's opinion about WLS?. I'm eating less, period. And that really is what VSG does, so it's not a lie!

The biggest change is that I changed from a diet mindset to a lifestyle mindset and stopped stressing over stalls and the scale. I realized if I just ate right it would eventually come off and I was right so I started to trust the downward trend and just get on with life having new habits instead of obsessing over every carb. I don't eat rice, bread, or Pasta, though. I have a bit of potato, but like 1/4 baking potato or less, not a whole one. I cut it before I cook it for portion control. I feel way more optimistic about life. I'm still big, but I'm no longer huge, and that rocks! VSG was the best decision I ever made. I haven't been 100% perfect with my program (lack of exercise), but I'll get there. I rely heavily on portion control and now that I'm used to it, it's automatic.

[educationrulz 18]

Here is my 6 month update: I started the process at 331 lbs and now am 255 lbs; I went from size 28 on top to size 24; 48D bra to 44C bra; and from 28/30 on bottom to size 22 jeans. I lost the double chin. hair loss not a problem. I'm off diabetes, triglyceride, and cholesterol meds. I no longer need a seatbelt extender on a plane, and I can walk without being out of breath. I don't exercise like I should, I've got to get on that. I am very good with Portion Control, and used fatsecret.com to track calories until I got used to calculating it in my head. I eat fast, pretty normal bites, but about a cup of food only, often less, 3 meals a day and I usually don't snack. I drink wine when I want. My tummy is fine with all foods that we are allowed. I've got restaurant ordering down to an art, and always have a to-go container. My dining companions don't notice anything. I didn't tell anyone I had VSG and I'm glad I didn't--there was just no need, and who wants to have to hear everybody's opinion about WLS?. I'm eating less, period. And that really is what VSG does, so it's not a lie!

The biggest change is that I changed from a diet mindset to a lifestyle mindset and stopped stressing over stalls and the scale. I realized if I just ate right it would eventually come off and I was right so I started to trust the downward trend and just get on with life having new habits instead of obsessing over every carb. I don't eat rice, bread, or Pasta, though. I have a bit of potato, but like 1/4 baking potato or less, not a whole one. I cut it before I cook it for portion control. I feel way more optimistic about life. I'm still big, but I'm no longer huge, and that rocks! VSG was the best decision I ever made. I haven't been 100% perfect with my program (lack of exercise), but I'll get there. I rely heavily on portion control and now that I'm used to it, it's automatic.

You're doing great Donna!

Isn't it amazing how fast these months have flown? It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting on the table in the OR area trying to decide if I was going to get up and run out of there. Somehow, my surgeon walked up at just the right moment to see if I was ready. He smiled reassuringly at me and patted me on the leg. I just took a deep breath and layed back to wait for my ride into the OR. Now, my life has totally changed as a result of this surgery. I find myself starting to reach for things that I didn't have the confidence to seek before surgery. I agree with you that it's good to stop stressing about some of the daily stuff and just enjoy living a new lifestyle.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Wow Mary - CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS!!!! You really are doing fabulous!!

This road is definitely a bumpy one, but you have the right mindset to keep on moving. Hugs to you, and thank you so much for sharing your journey. It was very helpful to those of us that aren't quite at your point yet.