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I'm going to try and keep this from being too long, but there's so much to say!!! First I'll start with my newest NSVs. I'm officially in a size 18 clothes (from my original size 30), size 10 shoes (from my original size 11), size 6 1/2 ring (from my original size 10), 18" chain on a necklace (from my original 24" chain), and 2x jacket (from my original 4-5x). I can now comfortably fit on a massage table without fear of it creaking or breaking. I can now ride a bike because I'm within the weight limit. I now am able to hit my favorite thrift stores and walk out with seriously cute clothes that look nice, sit well on me, and actually fit comfortably!! My asthma is almost completely gone (I only have it when I get super sick now instead of all the time). My blood work came back and my hormone levels are almost in the normal range (I have PCOS) and my cysts that completely COVERED both ovaries are totally gone (without having taken any meds or done any hormone therapies!!) I did a 6 mile hike this past weekend with my son. I am completely pain free and am able to go full on beast mode with my workouts again. I can go up 5 flights of stairs before I need to stop and rest. Now for my new chapter in life and old dreams becoming new again. So years ago, I wanted to become a nurse. I completed all of the academics with a 4.0, aced all the labs, but couldn't do any of the clinicals because I couldn't do all the walking, I was 400 pounds, and my health/joints/back were way too bad. So I gave up on it. Then about 2 years later, I thought "well, maybe I can be a medical assistant. Surely THAT'S not as hard" and once again, I couldn't do the externship because I couldn't do the physical stuff. So I went into other areas for work, ballooned up to 421 pounds, worked remotely, and made good money. I loved what i did, but there was always a part of me that regretted not being able to go into the medical field. That was my heart's desire. So fast forward to now. I'm between jobs and miserable. I had to stop working because of all my complications from my first surgery. Now that I've been cleared, I can't get hired anywhere. So I decided that now is a great time to go back to my dream of working in the medical field. So on Sept 5th, I start school to become a certified pediatric oncology medical assistant. Most of my previous credits transfer over, so I only have about 6 months of academics to do and then the externship. Then I sit for my certification exam and then I get to finally FINALLY do what I've always wanted to do. By my 46th birthday next June, I should be right where I want to be, doing what I want to do, and hopefully at my goal weight. I'm sitting here in tears as I type this, because I thought this was something I would never see happen. I resigned myself to being morbidly obese, extremely unhealthy, and needing a cane to get around. I may not be at my goal weight (the weight comes off a lot slower with a revision, and also as your bmi gets smaller and you get closer to your goal) but I believe eventually I'll get there. But the things this surgery is giving to me, the dreams I can live out, the health and wellness and years of my life I'm getting back..... it was all worth it. The complications, the uncertainty, the pain and healing and stalls.... all completely worth it. We all start this journey wanting the numbers on the scale to go down. But there's SO MUCH MORE this surgery gives you. I will never, ever regret my decision. Never.

It's not normal for my stomach to be noisy. It's something new. I was reading about the antibiotic, and it said not to take it if you've had WLS. I stopped taking it and emailed my doctor. It's a holiday here in the US on Monday, so I'm not expecting a response until Tuesday.

I have gastric sleeve scheduled for the 15th of this month. I could totally use a buddy to talk to!

I found the answer to my delima above. Getting Through The Liquid Phase I purchased these creamed soups: Cream of Bacon Cream of Broccoli Cream of Asparagus Cream of Potato I already had: Cream of Chicken, Cellery, Onion, & Mushroom How I prepared: Cream of Potato 2.5 Servings per container/Serving size 1/2 cup = 4oz 90 cal/serv = 225 total 2g protein/serv = 3g total -Put soup in sauce pan -Add 1 cup (8oz) Fairlife Fat Free (13 g protein) & simmer while stirring NOTE: I added spices - Cayenne Pepper, White Pepper, Dried Herbs (any spice you like) -Pour contents into blender & blend until smooth -Add soup to larger container if needed -Add 1 Scoop Unjury Chicken Flavor Protein Powder (20g protein) & stir/mix -Add chicken broth to thin out the soup to desired consistency -Measure out your serving & enjoy throughout the day I will do this for all the creamed soups as they all will have different flavors. Now I can make it through another week and will put these in rotation later! I also forgot I ordered Millie's Broths from their website and had to grab those from my mailbox today. I am including the image.

I had a bypass with a hernia repair, and the hernia repair hurt. Bad. (I was fleeping terrified of that first sneeze.) I am 24 days post-op, and the pain of the hernia repair has gone. That first two weeks though... I wish I had gotten more of a warning about how painful that would be. And I still have a bit of pain in the upper left abdominal area. At my two week checkup the doctor wasn't concerned. Ice packs have been helping a lot! Every day the pain is a little bit less.

Perfect timing - I made hard boiled eggs tonight and used the bring to boil, put in eggs then ice bath method. The correct way is to do them is like a ford vs chevy debate but to each his own. Anyone tried baking them in a muffin tin? Might try that one. I took my hard boiled eggs an extra step and after peeling them I put them on the smoker for about 30 minutes about 200* using some pecan wood from our old farm. They are delicious! Tomorrow might try and turn them into deviled eggs but egg salad with the smoke flavor might be good!

I agree with everything Arabesque said. Lots of us have issues with eggs the first few weeks or months out. I'd lay off them for awhile. For most of us, it's just temporary. only about 30% of bypassers dump. I never have - and I know lots of others who never have. If you turn out to be a dumper, you can prevent it by limiting the amount of sugar you eat at one sitting (some people dump on fat - so for those folks, they have to limit the amount of fat they eat at one sitting). That egg you ate definitely wasn't dumping - it was just the infamous egg intolerance.

Eggs are notoriously difficult for many to eat in the beginning (chicken is another troublesome food) so it could be that. Actually for a while you may find there are a few foods your tummy says no to for seemingly no logical reason (it can be a fussy, petulant, temper throwing two yr old for a while). Or it could be while your team said your ready for the next stage, your tummy actually isn’t. It’s not uncommon to move to the next stage but your tummy says no so you go back to the previous stage for a few more days. Or it could be hat the serve was too much for you & your tummy protested. Your team will advise on portion sizes but sometimes it takes time to build up to that size. You can only eat what you can eat. Don’t force yourself to eat more than you can. Some days you just don’t want that much - it’s all part of learning to listen to your body & it’s signals & needs. You can graze on it a little later on or not bother with it at all. My fridge was frequently filled with unfinished meals. it would take me three days to eat two scrambled eggs - I just portioned it up & reheated the next portion the next day. Try sipping a warm drink like a herbal or green tea. I often find a warm drink like tea soothing. (And yes it counts as a fluid.) Dumping is a response to eating something that is high fat or high sugar. It’s actually not that common & if it does effect you it’s easy to ensure it doesn’t happen again by avoiding those foods. All the best.

OMG, some of the food dreams I have had right before and since my surgery have been crazy- me eating lots of pasta and pizza and chocolate and oh gosh, candy and snack bars. Grabbing handfuls of the things and stuffing them in my mouth 😂

So what is everyone doing while playing the waiting game??? I'm eating reasonably, definitely indulging in ice cream a bit more than usual as I'm going to be saying goodbye to that for a long while 🤣. Getting a ton of riding in as well, taking advantage of some nice weather! Holding off on any weight training, I'll plan to start that after I get cleared after surgery. Mentally, I'm ready. Still have some lingering fear and remorse that I need to make a permanent change to my body to finish losing the weight. Hope everyone is doing well!!