Susanne

I can tell you that the brands with higher fat content taste better and don't have the sugar. I use Fage 2%, and I mix it with Splenda and cinnamon. Other than that, why does anyone like anything or hate anything? I personally think root beer is the most revolting beverage on earth and I rather eat ear wax than drink that soapy dishwater tasting swill. Not everything is for everyone :-)

Hooray for Dawn! Yes - you are awesome, and I am in AWE! That's my goal too, and I actually signed up for a "training clinic" which starts today! Yesterday we had a kick-off meeting, but today we have the first training session. I bought a pair of compression running tights myself, because it's still cold in Michigan. I am so nervous, but at the same time stoked! And at the meeting, while I was still feeling like the big girl I didn't give a flying F about it because the margin between me and the other people was so much smaller! And to top it off, they gave us moisture wicking long sleeve t-shirts and she asked for the size. So, of course I said XL, I always do. She said "Why don't you take an L too, and try it on. They run a little bigger". Well, sure enough, L worked just fine :-) So, I wanna be like you and I'm gonna be like you!!!

I think we are probably all metabolically challenged - that's why we got the surgery to start with, isn't it? My husband keeps reminding me of that fact when I am getting all pissy about not losing. He said "You got the surgery because you were the world's slowest loser, you changed your stomach, not your metabolism" The big advantage I believe is that this helps us stick with a leaner life style even if weight is not coming of as hoped for. And on the other hand, some of your calories just seem way too low. 725 and burned off 300 calories? Assuming that your burned calories are accurate - your body is shutting down, try to up the calories a little. Actually giving your body a little more food can help coax your metabolism out of the black hole again

I was told no alcohol 3 months out. Why do you want to test the waters? I don't know any profession or "boy's club" that would not tolerate NOT drinking - this is lent, this is the one time a year where you can easily say "I am cutting it out for lent" - how about trying out THAT Water? I know you don't want to hear it, and I won't say anything after this - but your excuses ring like "full blown alcoholism" to me, You are "testing if you can drink", worried about not being able to drink, very high tolerance for alcohol (considering you are 2 weeks post op), considering drinking an "unavoidable part of your life", considering 3 cocktails in 1 night "extremely light", and your hundreds of hours of research show that your focus on alcohol is taking a huge part of your life... Denying that you have a problem with alcohol even before anyone said anything is a clear sign that you have heard it before and thought about it yourself before. You may not be worried about yourself, but I am - and I am 100% sure that every single person who read your posts in this thread is worried about you too. Good luck to you Susanne

PS. Where is your food diary, can you allow us a peak?

Oh my coops, you are still stuck? I am so sorry to hear that, have you ever checked with your doc? I mean, if you track accurately, weigh everything and stay around 900 calories with light activity, it is almost impossible not to louise one would think. You are ruining my theory, lol

You have to wait a little for cloud 9, you are on cloud 10 right now :-) Good job! I was at Marshall's a couple of days ago and oogling the bathing suits. I feel it is too early for me to buy any because I am not sure how much coverage I need over my thighs - if I have a big flap on the inside, I'd better go with a bottom that has a cut like bike pants. Same with the top, do I need a loose fitting top to cover flaps or can I use a tighter top without looking like someone through jell-o in my top? But I have to admit, those are uncertainties that I can live with compared to before where buying a bathing suit put me in agony!

I stayed home 2 weeks but started to work from home after about 1 week to 10 days. I could have gone back after a week I guess, but I can easily do my job from home and I have an awesome boss, so it wasn't a problem.

Chilo, do you weigh everything? I sometimes feel that people who REALLY don't lose when they should lose, are eyeballing it or using "volume measurements" instead of weight. Not sure what the recommended measurement unit is in the UK, but in the US the main measurement is a "cup" which is volume and not weight. I don't mean to be a smart-ass (though my husband keeps reminding me that I am just that) On a general note - and I know I am repeating myself, so bear with me or skip over the rest. It is so easy to cheat yourself when measuring Cereal, Pasta and rice with a cup instead of a scale. Doing that, you can easily double the mass and thereby double the calories accidentally. Cereal and pasta gets broken and crushed during transport and storage, and the bottom of a cereal/pasta box always has the small pieces. If you measure a cup from a fresh box of cereal and compare it to the last cup of a cereal box, the last cup easily has twice as many calories. Another thing that always trips me up is Protein, where I easily scoop out 50% more. I always have a food scale on the counter. I put my bowl or protein shaker on it, hit the tare button and pour in the recommended amount BY weight. I often switch it to grams because it is a more precise unit of measure for small amounts, but that's just because I am anal. I do the same with basically everything, if I make a toast with jelly, I place the bread on the scale, hit tare and then add jelly. It's not much more work at all, and takes not more than seconds but you will be amazed at the difference - an possibly see where some calories started to creep in that remained unaccounted for. Here is a post by someone who went through this revelation: http://community.act...e/329982#329982 Unfortunately, this is always occurring more on carby things than proteiny things because there is much more variance in carbohydrate heavy foods than in protein heavy foods because protein heavy foods naturally seem to have a higher density than the looser carb foods. The one place where I got confronted with that was while studying construction engineering, in my materials classes. All the sand, gravel, rocks and what not had to be tamped tamped tamped all day long to make sure they have as little air in between and that the measurement is accurate...oh the boredom of manually tamping sand and gravel in class -- but I believe everyone has done that at home too when trying to pour coffee meal from one container into another. If it doesn't fit and there is just a little left, it helps to just smack the can onto the counter a few times to get a little more room on top.

That's what I am saying (and admitting) - but is loosing faster at the cost of health (lack of fiber/whole grain) really worth it? I would assume (and hope) most people here had their surgery to get healthier, not to just lose fast. Cutting carbs to below recommended values for whole grain and Fiber doesn't seem the way to go either. I am actually having my 4 month doctor's appointment later today and I'll make sure to ask how I am ranking with my weight loss and eating.

I do eat all the carbs I want too - as long as I get my Protein in. I refuse to cut out carbs just for the sake of low carb. First of all, with the carb levels I read here, you can't even get a remotely healthy level of whole grains and Fiber. I believe getting good nutrition trumps fast weight loss right now. I did not get surgery to lose weight fast, I got it to be healthier - cutting carbs out to less than 40g seems unreasonable and counter productive. You are supposed to have 40 to 50g of whole grains (not whole wheat, whole wheat means nothing) and as a woman at least 25g of fiber (which usually overlaps with the whole grain). Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol, helps you stay fool and regulates blood sugar. I may not have the staggering weight loss that some others may have - I lost 52 pounds since November 2nd (from a BMI of 42.8) but I feel extremely good and not deprived of anything. I don't feel like I am on a diet, since I am not cutting out anything. I am making some smarter choices by using more "whole foods" vs. diet/processed foods and I feel I am finally eating like a normal person. And I am working out 5 to 6 times a week on my treadmill but that amount of exercise is recommended for anyone, young, old, fat or skinny simply for cardio vascular health. Those who say they can't lose when eating carbs, what carbs are you actually referring to? Can you really not lose weight when eating Beans, whole grain bread (in moderation) or whole grain rice? Cutting out white carbs and sugar is one thing, cutting out carbs to less than 40g seems not healthy to me. Here an article from Harvard - hey, it's Harvard, I assume they know what they are talking about :-) http://www.hsph.harv...tory/index.html

Why does that sound crazy? If you reduce everything else, you'll probably lose weight. You lose weight if the caloric intake is less than the caloric expenditure. 1 g carb has 4 calories, so if you can have up to 300 g of carbs, that's 1200 calories and you should be able to lose on that...but you would have to be on very restricted fat and Protein diet. So yeah, it sounds stupid and definitely not recommended for a VSG patient...so maybe a little crazy :-) Most people say they have 1200 calories to maintain, so considering that you have to have 60g of protein (= 240 calories) and probably 50 g of fat (= 450 calories) you end up with 510 calories from carbs which is 127 g of carbs Some people advocate a split of carbs/protein/fat of 50/30/20 which seems a little high on carbs for many. Here is an interesting article about that ratio: http://www.muscleand...ers-part-I.html Example: Total calories required 2600 calories per day: * 30% of 2600 = 780 calories for Protein * 50% of 2600 = 1300 calories from Carbohydrates * 20% of 2600 = 520 calories from total Fat For 1200 calories, you can almost cut that in half. That said, I posted this article a while back, that shows the different ranges: http://www.verticals...s-should-i-eat/

Awesome, thank you so much! I generally think the topics are a good idea to show what people with sleeves can eat at all the different stages! And I am very happy I didn't get flogged...

I think the sub forum is an awesome idea! Maybe call it "What a sleever eats" or so!

LOL, I had the smell thing too! I actually sent my husband to brush his teeth a couple of times during the first weeks. It had never bothered me before...and never bothered me again after a couple of weeks. But a few times I was thinking "phew, ripe". I also smelled all kinds of other things that I was never that aware of -- including myself (also phew, ripe). Otherwise, I would stay with the light foods - just because you can have full solids right after surgery doesn't mean you MUST have them. Take it easy, most people get full solids after 2 weeks, so if you get to it in a week, you'll be fine!

Girl, you gotta look for sales! I just got a great bra from Lane Bryant for $11.99 during their 40% off sale!

LOL - I hadn't seen your post, but I just posted my own post about not taking my Vitamins. At the same time, I posted my new attempt to try and get me take that stuff: See my topic here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/14716-reviva-the-vitamin-conundrum/ I am only taking the Reviva liquid vitamins for less than a week now, but it is so much easier on me. Maybe that's worth a try - it's not cheap but goes down much much easier than those multi Vitamin horse pills. You didn't really say why you are not taking them, but if the swallowing is part of the problem, liquid may be the way to go.

Eating 10 Sun chips has never and will never be an issue for you...if you can stop, and apparently, you did :-) Now, what floored me that on Fat Tuesday, I was able to eat a whole Pazcki!!! I looked it up, around 400 calories - yikes. BUT...since it was early in the morning, I just switched stuff around, went for highest Protein density so I can finagle my 60 g of protein into the remaining 500 calories. I had a shake and 93/7 ground beef and I made it through the day OK. I had some extra Water just for good measure. Thank God I had spent 40 minutes in the morning on the treadmill and I was able to walk to the bank cause the weather was OK enough. What I am trying to say is: 1. 10 chips are OK and nothing to worry about 2. being good after being bad is much easier because of the restriction 3. protein protein protein -- OK, that has nothing to do with your post, but it's a mantra for VSG so I threw it in for good measure :-)

Seems like there is a new Protein in town - Isopure Smoothie: http://www.gnc.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=isopure%20smoothie&origkw=isopure%20smoothie&sr=1 In store only, find a store: http://www.gnc.com/storeLocator/index.jsp?csm=190787512&csc=545929&csa=191046850&csu=547112

I am with you, I had really high hopes for the Alpine Punch and when I tried it all I was thinking was WTF??? I haven't tried it but for $1 I will buy a bottle and if it sucks, I'll trow it out.

Just try to find good deals. I just got my first pair of regular jeans - DKNY for $20 at Macy's. Look for coupons and deals! The thing is, getting clothes that fit and look good is awesome, because they boost confidence and spirit in so many ways. First of all, you fit in new clothes that you never fit in before. With my new jeans I was standing in the dressing rooms and kept turning and prancing - and I am usually not that type of girl. I just loved the fact that I fit into the normal size 16 (big girl 16 is MUCH bigger) and I just looked sharp! The other thing is that it actually helps people notice change in you. I know some don't want people to comment or so, but I was talking to our HR lady yesterday and out of the blue she said "You look good". I was wearing a new cardigan and my new jeans, but in all honesty - I don't think strangers ever told me I look good, husband, family - yeah. But in order for a colleague I barely know to say that, I felt the change must be very significant...and it made me feel fuzzy and happy all day. Would she have said the same if I wore my old jeans pulled up by a belt and an old sweater that was way baggy? I doubt it! So, squeeze $50 of the budget and spoil yourself. Let everyone see what you know inside all along, you are getting better, feeling better, looking better!

So, I hate my supplements, especially my multi Vitamins. I have the Kirkland brand from costco and they are HUGE. If it was just that one pill, I could probably such it up, but as for most, they are just part of the deal. There is also the B12, my 2 "hair and Nails" (with Biotin) and then I take Zyban - those are all big dumb pills. I am also taking D3 and E but those are the soft caps which I don't have a problem with. Now, my main problem is that I really have the hardest time getting those big ones down. I dread taking my pills in the morning (but it'a not like it is better in the afternoon) because let's be honest, who wants to start the day gagging - or gag at any time of the day? I checked at CostCo after a lot of people recommended the MultiVites but their Vitamin panel is just really poor I think. I feel like I would have to double, if not triple the dose to get to where I need to be. I looked at some of the other ones, like Flintstone complete and they are a little better but there I am worried that they are those chalky chewables that are just a different way of miserable. I then took a look at the liquid vitamines, and they have a product called Reviva which looks like it has a lot of good stuff: http://www.revivanutrition.com/product_more.html#p1 Has anyone tried this? The vitamin panel is still not comparable to the big old daily multis because it is better than the MultiVites. I will still think I'll double up or at least get 3 tablespoons (or a shot glass and imagine I am doing shots at 7am!!!) You can just dump it in your beverage and drink it that way. It has a lot of goodies I like the fact that it actually has 4 g of Fiber because getting in fiber is difficult. It has Super Fruits and antioxidants, zinc, ginko biloba, lycopene - here is the full panel: What's the experience with liquid vitamins? Is anyone taking this product?