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I have been working diligently on managing to get my 64oz of fluid & actually have worked out to get 74oz, the liquid includes 3- 17oz bottles of water & 3- 8oz protein shakes, I have found routine & drinking the same thing work the best for me & I also divided it up into 1/3's throughout the day. yet I feel I always have a bottle of liquid in my hand. by night time I am so happy to not have something in my hand, but my nurses scared me about dehydration. so every-time I go to the bathroom I am always looking at what color it is. yes I do that. I have been hitting my goal of about 70 grams of protein. & the last 2 days I have also had about 1/4Cup broth, with a shake of Mrs Dash (my new best friend) I don't add that total to my fluid counting even though I could the last 2 nights my family has had hearty meals, like lasagna & ham & tater casserole. (I made these ahead of time to help if I had problems with surgery) I haven't so much wanted to eat them, more I have a horrible habit at the end of the day of snacking. That's where the soup came in. I have some mixed feelings I need to work thru before I do eat real food. I have a few idea's like changing what my evening pattern is, I have some projects to start as soon as I have a bit more energy & my incisions heal up a bit more, I don't want to ruin anything I have worked so hard to do. Today I had a great couple of personal victories, 1- my oldest was mindlessly eating a big muffin for breakfast, & I thought, I use to do this, now that kind of repulses me. 2- I got to drive to do an errand. I felt so free, where I haven't hd pain med's I knew I felt good enough to do it. Both of these put me in some deep thoughts about how my life was going... I could have eaten 2 of those muffins before, & if I don't get my health under control, then I might have to rely on others to get me around. it just helps me know I have made one of the best decisions of my life. I promised myself on New Years this year I will take back my life! I am on my way!

Its been awhile since I have posted here.... Life for me is so very different then it has been for most my life... I wake up every morning HAPPY...wanting to get dressed...wanting to look in the mirror. Even wanting to go for a walk...thinking back its all things I always wanted to do...just wasn't going to happen with 130 extra lbs on me... The band is the best thing I have done for ME...Im thankful for my supportive Husband and my sister who is my bestest friend also.... Oh it has been work...in the beginning I was hungry like I read many of you are..but I knew what I had to do to get where I wanted to be...I hung tuff and its so paid off..I started with a BMI of 47...I was tired all the time...who wouldn't be ...Yesterday I weighed in at 130 with a BMI of 25 !!!! My Dr pointed out to me that I have lost more then what I weigh right now...omg I never thought id do it...well yes I did...what I really didn't know was how good it would feel in all aspects of my life and my family's life ..I have been studing to get my GED ...though I did have to take a break from that due to my husband had a heart attic a lil over a month ago and wow that wakes everyone up fast..he is doing very well now...eating right ...exercising a lil more then he did before..during that month my band got so tight I couldn't eat anything and enjoy it...not good...I did see Drs yesterday and got my band unfilled ( scary ) but a upper GI on Monday and if all looks good he will refill it...I was at 8.5 ccs....might go down to 8...what ever he says... SO life is wonderful 19 months since I was banded !!!

Source: What nine months and 152.5 lbs down looks like. I wanna look at this later when I'm losing my mind.

Day two after my surgery which was on the 11th. I am feeling remarkably well. No belly pains at all, but it sure is rumbling and make a racket. I drank a protein shake and had a greek yorgurt. I know I need to drink more water in between, but I will work on it. I took a nice walk outside because the weather here in Lancaster PA is gorgeous today.

Hard to believe that it has only been 72 hours ago that I had my surgery. I feel remarkably good, almost normal. I walked the dogs with my husband this morning and it felt good to be out and moving. The scale went back down to what it was the morning of my surgery. When I came home from the hospital I weighed 219 up three pounds. I am guessing it was from all the fluids that they pump into you. I was glad to see it go back down to 216. I have been doing well with getting my proteins in. I went into the office this morning to do a couple deposits while no one was around. I still haven't driven anywhere, but I am not taking any pain meds so I suppose I could drive if I wanted to. My husband usually drives me around anyway. For all those September sleevers that haven't gone yet, I wish you the best and pray that you have a good post op too.

The title is from an old nursery rhyme by Andrew Dice Clay. Little Miss Muffet Sat on her tuffet Eating her curds and whey Along came a spider Sat down beside her And said, "Hey, what's in the bowl b-i-t-c-h?" I see quite a few questions regarding whey protein and I'd like to share a few things I learned pre-surgery in preparation for my pre-op and post-op diet. Whey is one of the fastest digesting proteins and the quickest way :-) to get protein shuttled to your muscles. Whey comes from milk protein and contains the full spectrum of amino acids needed to build muscle. Whey comes in several forms - hydrolyzed, isolate, and concentrate, isolate being digested faster and more completely than protein concentrate. The Differences Protein Concentrate: 70-80% pure protein and up to 5% lactose Protein Isolate: Almost pure protein (90-94%) and near zero lactose and carbs, many people that are lactose intolerant have no problems digesting protein isolate. Hydrolyzed Protein: Protein isolate that is broken down even more and is more easily absorbed by the muscles. All three are good sources of protein and taking one over the other will not make a difference in how much muscle mass your body builds. It is only a matter of purity and the speed your body digests and transports the protein to the muscles. Whey concentrate has less pure protein than hydrolyzed or isolate, meaning you'll have to take more whey concentrate to get the same protein in grams vs. isolate. And speed of digestion and transport. Again, whey concentrate is the slowest, it is not broken down in the manufacturing process as much as hydrolyzed and isolate. Hydrolyzed=fastest, isolate=fast, concentrate=slowest. Is speed any great issue? I wouldn't think so. It's like the kids playing basketball, buying a pair of Jordans to improve their game. The difference a pair of Jordans makes for a nonprofessional athlete is so insignificant it's almost zero.

After spending 4 nights and 3 days in my house….. I decided that I had to get out! So I went shopping. Tonight I will be going to Hooters with my guy friends to watch the Mayweather and Canelo fight! (Go Canelo!) And if I am going to escort these lovely gentlemen tonight… I have to look good. Also I’ve been feeling down lately so I chose shopping to cheer me up instead of food. I check my email and I noticed Dots Clothing Store sent me some coupons or I called them coopins. Last time I went shopping I was a size 16 will today size 16 was a little big so the sales associate told me to try on a size 14. A size 14 I have seen this size since I was 19. Anyway the size 14 fit but I needed a belt. A belt? What is that? I have never brought me a belt before. I always relay on my gut to keep everything in place. I use my $10 off coopin and brought me a whole outfit for $26.89! I am going to look hot tonight. Those Hooter girls will have some friendly competition tonight! Normally I will work out more for these types of occasion but this time I am not. I don’t want to overdo it and I want my incisions to heal properly. I will make healthier choices tonight and if I overdo it then I did. Soon I will be back on track but until then I will continue lively my healthier lifestyle! Thanks for reading!

Once upon a time many years ago. 7 to exact. I lost 40 pounds. It was a rough time in my life, I was getting a divorce, starting a new job, sick and broken. (No really I had a tumor on my ovary and a broken foot!) So many things were happening in my life at one time, that food and eating it didn’t seem to matter much to me. Having a broken foot I was hopping around on crutches everywhere I went. I got my cast on and started that new job that Monday morning. I had no choice, I was getting a divorce after nearly 20 years of marriage and I had 3 kids to care for. There was no time for self-pity!!! (Truth be told there is always a time, and you find it locked in your bathroom or your bedroom and you cry it out and steel yourself again to get through the next day.) Wonder Woman didn’t cry, she battled and battle I did. Then a few months into it, I met the most amazing guy. He seemed to understand me on a level that no one ever had, and as time went on we grew closer and closer. We have been through so much in our lives, and so much more in the last 7 years that we have gone through together. Finally this last year on 10/11/12 we said our vows and married each other. So happy, in love and satisfied with my life my love of food and all things SWEET returned with a vengeance. My Sweetheart shared that love with me and together we gained weight. I gained back the 40 pounds I had lost and then some! At the time I was married last year I was at my heaviest weight ever. I did not let that stop me from buying a wedding gown, or two OK so I had 3! (We had 2 weddings and one celebration brunch when we returned) I never felt out of place in my skin, though I did feel bloated and uncomfortable, even a little sick and lethargic at times. I was happy, we were happy. Today, as my 1 year anniversary approaches and I am 30 pounds lighter, I looked in the mirror as I got ready for work this morning. I put on the diamond necklace my husband bought me as an anniversary gift. It came on this short 16” chain and when he bought it for me I thought that will never fit my fat neck! I’ll have to get another chain when he’s not looking. I put the box away until I could get that chain, but today I slipped it on and it fit great! It sits right at my collar bone and it looks amazing. I looked in the mirror, and I felt “thin”. Don’t get me wrong I still need to lose another 100+ pounds, but for the first time…truly the first time even though I had lost weight before, this time I felt I might really be thin again. I have truly lost the weight! Well and truly lost it! Those extra 30 pounds of me are gone and gone forever. I feel as though a layer has peeled away. I feel lighter, in body and in mind. I am looking forward to shedding more and more of myself in the months ahead. I am ready and committed to losing it. I’m ready to break free of all that has weighed me down all these years. I still love my sweets, as does my hubby. Only now we take the time to make better choices and substitutions for those sweets, and make the space to enjoy a little indulgence on occasion. The sweetest indulgence for me today is the diamond necklace I wrapped around my neck that sits so perfectly and winks at me from the mirror with the knowing that it’s only going to get sweeter and sweeter!

Today's my day! I took all my measurements this morning and recorded them, did my pre-surgery wash, now it's just waiting until time to head to the hospital. I was excited to weigh myself this morning and see 216.4 on the scale. That is a weight loss since I started 6 months ago of 54 pounds. But it is a total weight loss of 86 pounds from my highest weigh of 302 pounds. I am hoping this surgery is a tool that will end the up and down yo-yo I have experience on the scale all my adult life.