For those of you that have many questions about Bariatric Surgery check out Dr. Alvarez’s quick vids that are generally 5 minutes or under. He is refreshingly transparent and genuine. You can search for his vids on YouTube as well as many testimonials from all kinds of patients. I encourage you to watch the presentation where he literally demos the stapling gun and the technique used to create your sleeve (using a slab of ham)! Not all sleeves are the same—nor are all of our stomachs the same size. Each person has their unique experience and each doctor varies as to their directives and approach for both pre and post-op directives. Sleeving IS believing.... that you can transform your health and your life! It’s a great tool—not magic! You gotta do your part. I am 5 weeks post-op.

B-12. Met with my surgeon yesterday as follow-up going on 3 month post-op in April. The liquid B-12 is ESSENTIAL in keeping your energy up. Use the liquid (it comes with a dropper) and squirt it under your tongue and hold 30 seconds. Do this on an empty stomach — DID YOU KNOW that your liver is using nearly 30% of your resting energy just to process fat, toxins, and is being heavily taxed after bariatric surgery! Do you feel exhausted after eating? It happens.... and when your brain and your metabolism and your digestive system is saying WT*$ it’s to be expected. The brain is receiving new signals, the body is vying for essential nutrients, your pouch is trying to adjust and heal, your eyes are almost literally bigger than your stomach and psychologically there are lots of changes. Be GOOD to yourself. Keep your meals small but frequent—give your body fuel.... eat clean and unprocessed foods as much as possible. You will transform your body and your life.

The Inevitable Stall
By Diana C.
A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why.

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

Breathe, and fuggedaboudit for a few days.

My crazy bathroom scale.... We work hard to see results. The scale is a tool that helps us stay on track and in some innate way... is a cheerleader motivating us on to carry us to the end zone. So what’s up if you weigh yourself every day? Every week? Your weight will fluctuate of course but what if you weighed yourself and it says the same thing as 10 days ago. Could it be the scale? Is it taking you on a roller coaster ride? Well, depending on what scale you own you may need to make sure your scale is recalibrated. It’s good to move the scale and recalibrate it.
Place the scale back on a hard, flat surface
With one foot, press the platform of the scale so that numbers appear on the display. Once you see zeros or dashes remove your foot.
Wait for the scale to turn off again.
Your scale is now calibrated. Step up onto the scale for a weight reading.
Yep....4 lbs gone. I knew something was not right.... I am now out of women’s sizes of today. Milestone!

Drinking with Meals. Taking a big glug of iced tea with a mouth full of food is normal for many. But after weight loss surgery, drinking while you are eating washes the food out of your pouch. This allows you to refill your pouch and eat around your surgery. There are some who do this on purpose so they can eat more, adding a twist of psychological sabotage.

We know that there is one ‘professional’ who wrote that its okay to drink with meals. So latch on and listen to this one voice rather than the many thousands of surgeons & certified professionals who have told us otherwise. Brilliant.

People come up with the excuse that they have to drink because they are thirsty. Drink a glass of water before you eat. Problem solved. You can drink right up until you take that first bite, but once the food starts, no more drinking unless you are choking. This is critical to long term success. No drinking with meals. Forever. Period. Done.