To Be Thin 2011

I hate to sound like a broken record, but like the others said --- everyone is different. I was able to complete paperwork for a medical leave of absence at my work, which allowed me to be off for 6 weeks. It was fabulous having that much time off of work. In reality, had I not been allowed the medical leave I probably would have been good to go back to work at the 3 week mark, I have a desk job so that wasnt an issue,, the biggest issue I had was fatique and natiousness,,, the Natiousness left around the 4 week mark, but being so fatiqued took much longer, I was sooo tired at night... Good Luck, it will be well worth it

WOW - I sure do not feel you are a slow loser at all, that is an incredible weight loss in a short time Congratulations and I am so happy to hear your overall health is improving, that is great!

I had to stay with the liquids more because I could not stand anything puree/soft/mushy.... I did eat fat free cottage cheese and yogart, other than that I ate lots of soup that week... I bought the progressive low sodium, low calorie soups and loved them.... they sat well in my tummy too.

***CONGRATULATIONS**** The six month mark is a big goal isnt it? And you have done GREAT!!! It sure is rush to see the scale now, and to drop a pants size --- that is an awesome feeling! Keep it up & good luck to you

Hi! Congrats on your sleeve! I find since my surgery that I have many mixed emotions like you - same thing... I think what your feeling is normal to have concerns. Maybe I hid my true emotions more b/4 the surgery, maybe I just coped with things by over eating... dunno... I get what you say about the old you, the fun you... I feel that way too and that people look at me differently now. I will be glad when my head catches up to my body and I begin thinking differently, more self confidence, etc... Good Luck to you...

Hi Sarah! Keep in mind everyone is different on what they can eat, what sits well with your tummy and your taste buds! Just a suggestion, but go ahead of time to where you normally would go and look at their menu... Most resturants offer Soups, which would be an option, and several resturants offer "light" or heart smart food choices... I went to Red Lobster at 6 weeks out and had grilled shrimp... nothing else, no yummy rolls, salad, potato, etc.. To be honest the thought of eating out was rather intimidating to me, I was worried about finding something I could eat now... not a problem... I can honestly say there has not been a resturant yet that I have not been able to find something at.... I would often times get a chefs salad and only eat the meat, eggs and cheese. Most nicer resturants have varieties of speciality salads, eat the meat/cheese & Protein first from any of the salads... Twice now I have been at resurants that what they had didnt sound as appealing to me, and I opted for Breakfast items, poached eggs, omelett.. it works! It is not as hard as I had it built up in my head to be... I just have to make smart choices... Now, at work my co-workers & I often eat out... fast food! Wendys- chilli,,,, coney island - chilli,,,, McDonalds -- grilled chicken salad,,,, Taco Bell - pinto's & cheese, no red sauce add meat!!! Subway is great too... there are food choices for us, we just have to make the right choice! Good Luck

Hi, on a scale of 1 - 10 for coffee freak I was a 13 !!! I could not go without coffee, typically drinking 4 cups b/4 leaving house for work, then 2 pots of coffee @ work through the day... I LOVE COFFEE. I gave it up... I wanted this surgery so bad and I wanted it to work and to lose weight, I totally and faithfully followed everything my doc & nut said for the first 4 months...then summer came and I figured I have went this long without coffee why go back to drinking it now... my husband does have coffee on the weekend and OMG, it smells so incredibly awesome... I feel once winter comes I will have a cup of coffee, or maybe two.... but I will not go back to being a coffeeholic like I was! LOL... Set a short term goal...comitt yourself to following all your doc & nut recommendations to the letter....and you will see better results... Good Luck!!

I am 7 1/2 months out and still track daily protein, carbs & calories... I cant forsee me changing this ..maybe until I hit goal, but even then I feel it is so important to hit that protein level...and for me, to watch carbs... I have just incorporated into my lifestyle now..

Congratulations!!!! That is a huge goal, I am looking forward to being where you are now!!!!

Oh I remember being so tired up to week 5-6...Hang in there, as you move to regular food you will not be as sleepy any more!

My doc had me on liquid Centrum starting on Day 5.... any Wal-Mart sells it... Once I moved past puree stage & on to reg food he moved me to Centrum Chewables

Everyone is different and each of us lose differently... below are my stats

Hi! I had pain immediately out of recovery room, it was more intense than I thought it would be, but they do keep you drugged up and it passed by day 2. I had small amount of pain getting in/out of bed or a car, anything that used stomach muscles to do kind of gets you for a week or so. I have had other surgeries Hyst & bladder sups... I am fabulously fifty! I was on my pain meds for about 3 days post op, then only at night for about another 3-4 days. My doc did not require any pre-op diet.

Hang in there, it WILL get better! Everything changes once you get on real food!!! Good Luck

**Just wanted to add that the above is all once you are on the food stage... your first 3-6 weeks (depending on your doc advise) you will be on liquid, puree, soft, -- food stages which of course would limit you on eating out ---but that is only for a short time until your tummy heals and can tolerate normal food...

Oh I remember my first 6 weeks post op -- It is very hard to not feel deprived and tempting when you see commercials for food & resturants on tv,,, and when you see others eating tempting treats! Hold tight, stay focus -- you decided to begin this journey for a healthier you, stay on track! Good Luck my friend!

It is really not as hard as you may think.... I eat out often and just have to make smart choices, many resutrants have a "heart healthy" menu or diet conscious menu, lo-cal menu.... many times on that type of menu they offer grilled chicken, grilled salmon or shrimp,, baked fish -- all are very good choices for us now as your focus has to be on protien first. I have had two resturants that it was hard for me to find something not deep fried & covered in batter.... I chose breakfast items and it worked fine, I had an omelet with ham & cheese at one and the other actually made poached eggs which was wonderful! Most resturants offer speciality salads now - McDonalds even has a grilled chicken salad. I often order a specialty salad and only eat the meat & cheese from it. Another suggestion is many resturants offer cottage cheese - order cottage cheese instead of a potato... no carbs, great protien... its all good! We have a pizza/beer pub a mile from our house that my husband & I would go to all the time... I was so nervous going there and not having a good food choice... it was fine... I had to drink water with a lemon slice, sometimes now I have diet 7 up,, but for food choice I get super nachos with out the nachos! Its great, just the burger, cheese, sour cream.... They offer a chicken fajita pizza, so I asked for just the chicken that they use for the fajita pizza and that works great! They have an antipasto salad and I ordered it with less letuce and it works great for me cause I am eating meat & cheese...my veggies/lettuce last. All this may sound crazy but it is protien focused, which we need. The down side is most of it is NOT reduced or lo-fat cheese, sour cream, etc... I recently saw commercials in our area for Subway now having grilled chicken, which you could get the chicken & cheese - no bun!!! My work friends and I have subway once a week, I get the seafood sub and ask for the seafood in a cup, I get my cheese but no bun, no veggies... it totally satisfies me. If we go to Wendys, I get chilli, if we go to Taco Bell - I get the pintos & cheese no red sauce and add meat.... it is awesome! Now this sounds like a eat your way through resturant guide!!! LOL -- I honestly eat very, very well most of the time or I would not be losing! I do try to keep my calories under 1200 and my carbs under 45... I still do a protien shake in the morning (17 grams of protien and 110 calories) I eat fat free cottage cheese 4-5 times a week - it is great in protien and low calories --- I eat beef jerkey 3-5 times a week which you can get at any party store... just saying there are many options out there... hope this helps!

Oh my, I cannot imagine your frustration and disapointment,,, I hope you can gain more insight on exactly why the sleeve is not be recommended for you. Good luck on your journey and your decsion going forward on surgery.

Very nice, and very valuable advise!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! It is awesome to read others success stories and to see the photos, thank you!!! I too began this journey well over 300 lbs, its hard...many people on the forum are just starting thier surgery at my current weight! LOL!!!! Best wishes for you on continued success!!!

Hi, I am at 7 months out and am dealing with food issues - "head hunger" ... I feel like I am in a rut with my food choices and would like input or advise from others. I keep my calories between 1000 - 1200 and carbs under 45.... My meals are all pretty much the same, my tummy cant handle much in the morning so I do an EAS low carb premix shake, mid morning snack Atkins peanut butter protien bar. Lunch: 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese and 1/4 cup of either chunk chicken or imitation seafood. afternoon snack - beef jerkey or protien bar evening dinner is either a salad or 1/2 cup of chicken/turkey/seafood. SF popcycles & SF fudgecycles are a staple at night! I rely heavily on crystal light and flavored water.. some days I get more than 64 oz and some days if I am super busy at work I struggle to get my water intake in.... I know I need to work on making sure I have my 64+ fluid a day. Any advise from others that could help me along more? I cant do yogart...just cant get past any of the tastes and cheese has a bad effect on me! Thanks for any advise you can offer...

I keep a bag at my desk at work and snack on them 1-2 a week... Mine are preshelled. 1/4 of a cup has 200 calories -- which I dont like how high of calories it is, but like Diva said, its better than eating chips! 7 grams of protien 8 carbs I usually eat either non salted peanuts, almonds, pistachios or sunflower seeds -- one of these each day.. I need the fiber!

I can so relate to your friends /family/ coworkers.... ugh..... I have a sister-in-law that seems to always be around at the moment someone may compliment me for losing weight...she is the first to speak up and use a real tone to her voice like she is scolding a 2 year old.. and she says "yeah she (me) had Weight Loss Surgery"... and then she gasps!

You know that is a great question and I honestly do not know... and I for one always have my brain moving 100 different ways, please trust this truly bothered me that my good friend reacted that way and then like totally stopped being a friend. So..to anaylize,, she always was and is the skinny one, I will never be as skinny as her nor do I want to be...and the surgery went just fine so she should be happy for me now. I truly do not know, but it hurt my feelings and it has shown me how good of a friend she was,,,to not stand by my side...

AWESOME! I love the comparision! I cant wait to hit that 100 lb loss mark too!!! congrats!