CraftyChristie

That's so wonderful, congrats!!! You are well on your way now and it just keeps getting better!!

What a victory! That has got to feel so amazing. I'm thrilled for you!

That's so wonderful Daisy! Hugs!

almost 70 lbs in 3 months WOW! I am so proud of you! And those daily moments... those are so so special. I am rooting for you! You'll be at goal in no time!

Whooo hooooo!!! You are doing so awesome! Did you take before pics? If so you should definitely take some comparison shots! The # on the scale is great but I actually recognized it in myself so much more when I saw the pics. I'm so proud of you yay!

You make so many wonderful points here and I am totally feeling the same way already at one month. It has changed my life and made me feel more in control, and food is no longer controlling ME. I used to think about my next meal as I was finishing one. Now I don't think about it til I feel hungry and then I just grab something appropriate and eat it instead of dreaming and thinking WHAT will taste the BEST??

Sheryl, you are doing awesome and it's so great to hear about those improvements to your health!!! Post some pics! :001_wub:

Nicole - I appreciate it but as I don't work, work clothes aren't a necessity for me :001_wub: Thank you though! Again if anyone needs sizes 26, 24 bottom and 3X tops please let me know before I sell them at my garage sale!

So technically there is a whole sub forum on here called the Clothing Exchange (way down at the bottom of the forums page) but it doesn't seem to get any action! I REALLY think if we all utilized this it could be amazing for all of us! Just think... having a place to turn to get free clothes for a size you know you won't be in for long.... and easing the guilt of throwing out your own stuff that is too big because you know someone on here can utilize it. I happen to have a HUGE bag of stuff ready to go. I might take it to a consignment shop but before I do I wanted to at least ATTEMPT to find people on here to give it away to!! I have many many tops in sizes 3X from Lane Bryant, nice stuff from JC Penney and other places too. I also have NICE dress/work pants in black size 24, a nice tweed pair I believe in size 24.... I have denim skirts super cute with beaded flowers on them in sizes 26 and 22... never worn. I have a whole bunch of stuff with the tags still on. I am more than willing to send a photo and even take measurements but I am hoping to send a lot of stuff to just a few people so it's not TOO much work... .. and of course I'm hoping it will come back around and people will start offering up their stuff so I have a pool to draw from for myself too!:thumbup: So if you think you might be interested, send me a PM or reply here, tell me what you're looking for and I'll tell you if I have it!!

How are you doing now, Maddie?

Sorry I never checked in before the weekend. I didn't make it to my goal by Thursday, but I did 3 hikes over the weekend so I'm sure I got it in for the week! :001_wub:

I just completed a 5K today! It was a walk called Strides for Epilepsy. Went with a bunch of friends and had a fun time. My hubby took some pics and I will add them to this thread a bit later. I am just so happy that I am already on this track at 3 1/2 weeks post op!!! My excuses are all gone. I did this walk in 50 degrees, raining, brrr.... my feet were soaking. I have a blister the size of texas on the bottom of my foot - have had it all week but it hasn't stopped me from doing 3 mile walks 4 times this week! My calf has been hurting, the kind of soreness you would have the morning after getting a charlie horse.... but I have just kept right on going, and I feel GREAT!!!!:thumbup:

Exactly! Same thing for us. I decided first and my husband followed along. At first he was just going to try to eat healthy and exercise while I was doing this but he then felt like "I've tried before... I just don't want to fail again" and gradually came around to deciding he wanted surgery too. It has been so nice doing it together. He experienced everything 2 weeks after me but just the validation of him understanding the things I felt has been awesome. Now we eat our teeny tiny little meals together, pack up a lunch box of stuff when we are going to be out all day, etc... and I don't feel like I am inconveniencing him or being a pain, because we both need it to be this way. He even said to me last week he doesn't think he could have done this on his own and he's so glad he had surgery. He's also glad he can understand me and I can understand him. My surgeon said this about couple's doing it together... that in his experience, it will make a marriage with problems get worse and the problems seem bigger, but it will make a good strong marriage even better and stronger. Whatever you have now will be amplified. I am already seeing that we are bonding more and really connecting over this, and changing our lives together for the better!! I really look forward to hearing how the two of you do also!

You're not alone - things in our society DO revolve around food. It's the same in many cultures (European, Asian) but our food choices here in the US are so much worse and that is a large part of why so many of us are obese.... so you are not alone in feeling this way!! I am about 4 weeks post op and I haven't gone to a restaurant yet. I probably could at this point, but very few things I would try to eat yet. It may be hard to go out for the first 6 weeks but once you are on solid food, you can go and eat with them. True, you have to eat a small portion and this could be awkward with people who you don't want to explain surgery too. You can always say you are watching your weight or you ate not too long ago, or your stomach isn't feeling too well... as an excuse to why you are eating very little. If you are comfortable with the people you can of course tell them the truth. I don't think there is any restaurant that you can't find something healthy to eat. Any place can make you a chicken breast and veggies, or a very lean cut of beef. Of course some day you can partake in say, 1 mozzarella stick, or a bite of dessert... it is your personal choice when and how much you splurge. For me I want to try to keep it clean while I'm in the losing phase, and bring back these much loved foods when I am in maintenance mode so I have leeway to experiment with how much is okay for me, and my metabolism will be better at burning those things off at that point. Just as an example.. Friday's is a popular place to go out. They have lots of BAD things I love, like their mozzarella sticks, potato skins, fried green Beans, even fried mac and cheese! BUT they also have some fantastic healthy options. They have a sizzling chicken and shrimp dish which is delicious. It has a chicken breast with cheese, peppers and onions, and some seasoned shrimp. It also comes with mashed potatoes but you can ignore them or ask for veggies instead, or they also offer mashed cauliflower. They also have a black bean patty hamburger, and turkey burgers! So Friday's is a place you can get healthy things that aren't boring and typical. You can go out, you can celebrate. You will just always be going home with a box or doggie bag. That is OK!!! You will be full so really the experience will feel the same. I find myself wanting more with my head, but my tummy says nope sorry no more room... and when I realize I am satisfied and don't need anymore, I feel happy. I am hoping it will be like this at restaurants too. Good luck! I know you will do great.

Everybody gets different advice... mine is the same as ouroborous. I am supposed to eat 5-6 small meals a day, around every 2-3 hours. Sometimes I'm hungry at this time and sometimes I'm not but I try to stick to it as much as possible. For me there is no differentiation of meal/snack because every time I eat it is mostly Protein. It's when you start grabbing crackers or chips as a snack that there is a problem. If you are treating each time as a meal, mostly protein, eating the right stuff, there's no problem. Eating 5-6 meals a day keeps your metabolism going and helps you spread your calories and protein through the day to maintain energy. You are only "over eating" if you are stuffing yourself full, or going way over your calories by eating high calorie foods or slider foods like ice cream that go right through. The frequency of every 2 hours is totally fine as long as you're having the right stuff and staying in your suggested calorie range! Hope this helps :thumbup:

NannieG- it depends on what you mean by snacking. What you are describing as 2 hours before, 2 hours after, sounds like what I am supposed to be doing. My surgeon tells us to eat 5-6 small meals a day, averaging every 2-3 hours. If you are eating 3 meals and then these snacks you are doing pretty much the same thing... maybe try switching to a 5-6 meal a day plan since it seems like that's what your body wants to do. Make protein the main part of every meal though!

Totally meant to be! You were led to exactly the right choice for you. Since you were able to lose so much and exercise so well I think the sleeve will be a great option for you... the effort you put into it will be rewarded, and you will keep that restriction of your intake and hopefully not be able to regain it all. I think you will do a wonderful job with this. I know how you feel - at one time I was ALL FOR lap band or bypass and this time I just didn't want either of them so here I am! :thumbup: Sleeved!

Congrats!! My husband and I both had the surgery also, but we did ours 2 weeks apart. In our case it was better that way so we could take care of one another. I think we avoided some fights by not being cranky at the same time :thumbup: heheeh. But I'm sure you guys will do great, having a lot of support makes a huge difference. I can already tell you at 4 weeks for me and 2 weeks for hubby, we are SO glad that we BOTH did this. It makes all the adjustments so much easier.

It could be blood pressure. Pre-op my husband was 150/120 so they wanted to start him on blood pressure meds. But they were nervous for exactly this reason - you lose so fast at first that your BP goes way down and could be toooooo low if on the meds, so they told him to wait. The 150/120 was the day OF surgery even, and at his 1 week post op his BP was down to 120/85!!!! That is in just one week and he had lost 16 lbs. It is quite possible your BP is too low on the meds now. I would go have that checked right away and see if you can stop taking your meds. We are all a little weak after surgery but not usually to the extent you are describing so I really think it is the BP thing.

I totally understand. My insurance would have covered bypass or band (with a 6 month program beforehand) but I just couldn't get on board with either of those procedures.

Just because you CAN eat those foods doesn't mean you should - a lot of us probably could eat the stuff if we tried but the reason for the suggestion of no completely solid food (like the steak) until 6 weeks out is so that the stomach & staple line can heal completely. Also the amount does surprise me. I am 4 weeks post op tomorrow and I can not eat more than 3 oz of anything, even the softest stuff. With denser stuff like cheese or soft meat (chicken salad, tuna salad) I'm between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 ounces. 5 oz of steak, that makes no sense. All I can think of is.. you say you are going slow... how slow? We are told we should finish our meal in no more than 15 mins time. Yes you are supposed to eat slow, chew well, etc... but if you are sitting there eating for an hour, of course you can eat 5-6 oz because you are digesting as you go! At 20 mins you start digesting. So if you are not already, try ending your meal within 15 minutes... and also do not drink water for up to an hour after, so you don't wash your food through. And no water DURING your meal that's super important. I hope this helps!

That's what I was going to say - broth. I had the same ickyness with all the sweet stuff. You need it to get your protein, but you can have broth too to have something savory.

Congrats!!! I have herniated discs too, 3 in my upper back and 2 in my lower :drool5: It is no fun!!! It has really prevented me from working out too! But post-op I've been pushing through the pain as much as I can, and I can already feel the 32 lbs I've lost has begun to make a difference in my back pain. How about yours?? I hope we both can get back to feeling good without so much back pain. Wishing you all the best!!

Wow, you just might be in luck then! I have no idea what the requirements might be. Sounds like it's time for you to give them a call and find out! :drool5: Some insurances require a 6 month doctor supervised diet & exercise program (things like weight watchers dont' count, must be with your dr) before approving any weight loss surgery. But it sounds to me like you have the right insurance company at least! Go get em!