swizzly

I have also had zero problems since surgery (touch wood), to this day things are going quite well. Glad they are going well for you, too!

Well, only you can decide if you can still like me even after you have found out that I think all shellfish looks like bugs o' the sea. *Shudder* That said, I do love crab as long as I don't have to dissect its entire body (omg no), but I CAN crack the legs and manage that bit. Skinned, de-veined (that's particularly important to me LOL) shrimp = no probs. The kind with eyes, legs, wings, etc. - NO, just NO.

I'm not a huge seafood eater, but when I do eat it, it fills me up just like chicken or other meat does. So I can eat about 5-6 medium shrimp at a go, or 3-4 oz of fish. Ye olde pouch does love it, I must say.

Greek yogurt with peanut butter and sf cheesecake pudding powder mixed in. Beef jerky. Babybels. Hard-cooked egg.

I have only had that happen once (OUCH!) and it was just a couple of weeks ago, like months post-op. Weird! But anyhow, yeah, it totally gets easier to drink and eat. Gets way too easy eventually. Good luck -- keep on sipping!!

I had to wait six weeks for anything but walking, but I still haven't done anything but walking. So in other words, I'm still waiting to start working out. I did add walking to/from work to my routine, so I can't castigate myself for being a complete lazy couch potato.

I had to take 40 mg protonix twice a day for the first two months post-op, after that it switched to 20 mg once a day. I haven't had any acid problems at all (and only had very occasional mild heartburn pre-op as well), but I am not ready to stop the protonix entirely and see if I'd do fine without it. I think I will go up to a year before I try that just to be conservative about it. PPIs are a very safe class of drugs with hardly any side-effects, so their benefits (which are considerable) definitely outweigh any risks (minimal). Good luck conquering the GERD!

I would say the same as KellyL did. Not even a second of remorse -- honestly -- since the surgery. Also, I *did* have nausea and vomiting the first 2-3 days post-op, but not for a moment since then. I have had no problems with food or liquids ever, and have been on full foods since surgery (no pre- or post-op liquids or mushies on my program). Only, I didn't lose my hunger -- it's about the same as it was before, but I don't find it to be a huge issue because the wee sleeve will only hold what it will hold, so even if I'm hungry, after I eat a little bit of food, I'm full. No problem. Yeah, I'm loving the sleeve for sure. Also, my blood pressure is back down in low-normal range.

The difference is astounding!! WELL DONE YOU!!!

I preface this by saying I don't like ice cream much, never have. So that might affect my credibility LOL. That said, my favorite 'naughty' treat, though I'm not much of a sweets person -- I more have to stay away from salami and that sort of thing, is to take Fage Greek yogurt (I would use 2% if I could get it, as I need to keep fat in my diet, but I can only get 0% or 5%, so I use the 0% -- has more Protein for whatever bizarre reason) and stir in one spoon Peanut Butter and a whack of SF Jello cheescake pudding powder. OMG tastes soooo good, but warning: is VERY filling. But also: is a tasty satisfying protein bomb. Mmmm mmm good. Really tastes like you're being a very naughty WLS patient when in reality you're being practically angelic! Also: Once when I was out and about for the day with DH and friends, we went to a place to eat where I could find NOTHING (thankfully this is so rare that that is the only time it's happened to me) I could eat. Oddly enough, I ended up having chocolate ice cream for lunch that day (I don't really like chocolate OR ice cream LOL...what a mental case I am sometimes). I could only eat a little of it, but it sat mostly fine and gave me energy to get through to snack time, which was really my goal. I wouldn't recommend it or anything, but in a pinch it was fine. Now there's the other time I ate an entire red velvet whoopie pie over the course of an afternoon -- THAT was a bad idea and made me feel like shite for sure. I truly believe it was down to the fact that I hadn't had red velvet anything in years, and the novelty of even having something like that available to me (found it in London, being sold by an American guy, bless him LOL). It was a home-comfort food experience...ended up not being too comforting though. The best-laid plans and all that... So yeah...good and bad choices, we all have them and we live with the consequences of the ones we make. Keeping with your program is the best plan, which I do 95% of the time. But I'm not the fastest loser here either, so my advice is worth what you paid for it. Just a tip, though -- if you ask about carby foods, sugary stuff, coffee, soda or alcohol, you will almost always see a bit of a debate (albeit usually a very civilized one, such as in this thread) ensue. My other tip is, if you ask for advice in one of these areas (or on any topic really), don't take it personally if someone answers you in a way that seems negative to you. People are sharing their reactions to your question you've asked on an open forum -- and the likelihood of everyone agreeing with you is pretty low, regardless of the topic. Good luck!

I'm 6.5 months out and I'm pretty consistently between 1000-1200 cals per day. I feel much better when I'm not below 1000. I eat a lot of dairy, esp greek and regular yogurt, eggs, plus loads of different meat to get protein in. Also beef jerky is my weapon of choice when I'm low for the day. Good luck!

THIS. x 1000. Don't even appear to be the slightest bit concerned over flying up there. If something happens at the airport and they make you get a second seat (I REALLY doubt it!!), then take care of it yourself, privately. And I would so NOT talk to the boss or their boss about it at. all. No personal conversations like that -- seriously, just don't. I can't say it strongly enough. Remember: Never let 'em see you sweat. GOOD LUCK!!!

Wow, great post! Congrats on the success, and on the upcoming wedding! I hope you'll post photos.

Well crap -- I totally missed this post! I was wondering how your Hawaii trip netted out in terms of weight, sounds like you did great! I'm behind on my YouTube watching too, so I want to go watch yours and catch up. I have still only lost about 65 pounds and I'm six months out -- I've been stalled for nearly TWO WHOLE MONTHS. Oy. Vey. I, um, probably need to start working out, what do you reckon?

Oh god, I totally craved salad when I was early post-op, I was dying to have it!! And tomatoes as well. I was cleared for both at four weeks and have been eating a lot of them ever since! I do put chicken and hard-cooked eggs and cheese and etc. on the salads to add protein, but I love 'em!

I don't remember Del Taco well enough to recall how big two normal crunchy tacos are. Are they just like crunchy corn shells with a bit of hamburger, lettuce, cheese? First, the crunchier shells are total sliders for me -- flour tortillas fill me right up, but the crunchy corn ones (or tortilla chips) are easy (also: less caloric!). And the amount of actual food/meat in the tacos is probably not that much. Did you look up the nutritional info? If you just had the regular old tacos, they are only 130 cals (+ 7g protein!) each -- which means there is not much real, heavy food in there. I don't think you ate all that much in the end, and you did take some time to do it. It can freak you out sometimes, but the sleeve really does take more in on some days than others -- but chin up, you didn't do anything wrong really! Check it out: Del Taco nutrition information

Oh god, I totally craved and practically lived on creamed spinach early out. I still eat it pretty often. It's good for you and goes down/sits well. I say go for it!!

At first, I could only take one pill at a time and they sometimes made me feel nauseated, but within a couple of weeks it was much more normal. I now take a bunch all at one time, just as before.

I am betting that people who haven't seen you in a while REALLY don't recognise you. You. look. AMAZING. And you are killing it in that dress.

Raine sweetie -- you are looking FINE!! :-)

You'll get different answers depending on who you ask -- what does your surgeon or nutritionist say? It's allowed on my program, but recommended to keep it to a minimum until you reach your goal. I have had a few glasses of wine here and there so far.

WORD. Cheers to the easy way out!!

Woohooooo!! That is very impressive!! I've barely lost more than that by six months!

I WISH! I have always loved collar bones that show, but mine never do -- no, not even when I'm super thin, they don't stick out at all. I broke both of them when I was a kid, so maybe they just didn't grow the same after that. *pouts* But I love semi-fitted t-shirt tops with 3/4 sleeves and biiiiiig scoop necks -- and collar bones would look so fab with them. *pouts again*