SKCUNNINGHAM

Hello neighbor! I live at Lake Tawakoni, not far from you. First of all, congratualtions on what you have achieved! You have lost 90 pounds in a year, and kept if off for two months. YEA! What other program have you done that has given you those kinds of results? Second thing, I would seriously re-think your ultimate goal of 150pounds. You couldn't maintain that weight at 16 years old without starving yourself, do you really want that as your ultimate goal? If you want to weigh less than you do now, talk you your doctor about what a realistic end goal would be. How much exercise do you want to do once you are at goal weight? How restrictive do you want to be with your goal weight eating? Talk to your nutritionist and tell them what you want to eat on a daily / weekly basis once you are at goal, and how much exercise you want to do. They can tell you what that calorie count range will be. Use this in helping set your goal weight. When I was just past 30, I starved myself on Modi-fast down to 118 pounds - I wore a size six. I lived in the gym and ate as well as I could, but couldn't maintain that weight. Needless to say, 118 pounds is NOT my goal weight now. In fact, I am considering raising my goal weight from 135 to 140. Try not to compare yourself with others. We all are different and our journeys to becoming healthy, happy normal weight people (not necressarily "skinny" people) are different. Best of luck to you. PM me if you would be interested in getting together. Sharon

Congratulations on getting to this point. All your hard work has definately paid off. I am happy for you! Enjoy the holidays. Sharon BTW - that picture of you in the red dress is stunning! we may need to start a thread for LRD along with the LBD's!

I was diagnosed with bad GERD back in the 1990's - before PRilosec and Nexium were invented. Zantac didn't do anything for me. Finally, with a combination of old fashioned medications, severe dietary restrictions, no booze, no carbonated beverages and self hypnosis when I felt an attack coming on, I got it under control. I went on the PPI's when they came on the market and ultimately got it under control with them. Since being sleeved, I have been taking Famotadine (Pepcid) - first morning and night, now just morning. I also have been taking Prilosec at night - but have just recently stopped it. I am not eating any of the foods that make it bad - greasy foods, overly spicy foods, popcorn, raw broccoli and cauliflower, carbonated drinks or booze. I'm doing fine.

I take the bariatric advantage chewable lemon lime flavored pills - two each evening before I go to bed. I also take two chewable vitamin C tablets at the same time since iron is absorbed better with vitamin C.The C's are orange flavored, the iron is lemon lime - my mouth tastes like a citrus explosion after the four pills. Even with all of that and eating red meat multiple times a week, I hover at the edge of anemia. Nothing to do with the sleeve, I am that way most of my life.

This is what I have done to keep myself "moving right along". I always drink plenty of Water - I usually go for 80 ounces (minimum of 60 - some days approaching 100 ounces). If you don't drink enough water/fluids - it doesn't matter what else you do - you will be constipated. I get my Protein from a variety of food sources (chicken, fish, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, beef, pork, venison, seafood, etc). I only do Protein powder or a shake at most once a day. I try to eat small amounts of a variety of veggies.I mix 1 dose of Miralax and 2 packages (sticks) of benefiber either in my Breakfast smoothie or my breakfast oatmeal. I also have been using either flax oil or ground flax seed in my diet every day. If I eat oatmeal, I mix the flax seed in it, if not, I use the flax oil in my smoothie. The other thing that is needed, is keep moving. The more you walk and exercise, the more your system is regular. If I don't do the things mentioned above, I have problems. When that happens, I drink milk - I am lactose intolerant to milk (not cottage cheese, cheese or yogurt). Milk gives me a case of the trots, so it fixes the constipation problem. NOT a good solution! I try to avoid doing it. I am also going to start working in the dried plums into my diet (a new way to market good old prunes). They will definately help. I have been trying not to eat much fruit until I hit goal weight (except when I make a fruit smoothie - fruit is a rare treat for me).

I take Famotadine (Pepcid) first thing in the AM and Prilosec at night, right before bed. No problems taking it that way.

I also make a quick and easy taco soup this high in Protein. Brown 1 pound of lean ground beef (or turkey or venison) in a skillet. I also add in 1 package of frozen seasoning veggies (celery, onion and peppers) to the skillet and cook with the beef as it browns. Season with bay leaf, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and worchestershire sauce. While the beef is cooking, open 2 cans of Beans (your choice - black, pinto, brown, or kidney - I usually pick one can of two kinds), one can of corn, two cans of stewed tomatoes, and one can of diced green chiles. Dump all of the canned veggies into a soup pot, don't drain the liquid - it goes into the soup pot. Add 1 package taco soup seasoning and one package of ranch dressing seasoning. Start this cooking on low to heat while the meat finishes. When the meat and veggie mix is done, drain the liquid from it. Add the mixture to the bean/corn mixture in the soup pot. Stir to mix everything together. Add Water (or v8 or tomatoe juice, or beef broth) to the pot to get the soup the consistency you want (solids vs. liquids). Adjust seasonings to your taste. If this has too many carbs for you - only use one can of beans, or omit the corn. If you want it spicier, use 1 can of rotel tomatoes instead of 1 of the cans of stewed tomatoes.

I make a chicken and rice soup (very little rice). Get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and dump it into a soup pot and cover with Water. Bring to a boil, and then lower the temp to a simmer. Cook the bird until the meat is about to fall off the bone, adding water as needed. You can throw a couple of ribs of celery and green onions for seasoning, and herbs and spices of your choice to season the broth. Take the meat from the bones and chop. Recover the broth from the soup pot, straining out any solids. Put the chicken back into the soup pot with the broth, and add either water or store-bought broth to the pot to give you enough broth to make a pot of soup. For the veggies - I either use fresh celery, carrots and onions, or I get a package of frozen "seasoning" veggies (Celery, onions, red pepper and green peppers) and fresh carrots. You can cook the veggies separately in the micro with a little butter, or just dump them into the soup pot and cook on top of the stove - it is a matter of how much time you want to make the soup. For the rice - I either use rice from a traditional rice package (brown, wild, or white) and put it in with the chicken and broth and cook on top of the stove. If I am in a hurry, I get one of the packages that you can zap in the micro for 90 seconds. Since being sleeved, I only use about 1/2 C COOKED rice in the soup - it is basically chicken and veggies - not chicken and rice. So it doesn't take much raw rice to yield 1/2 c cooked rice. If you use the microwave package, either toss the rest of the rice you don't need from the package or feed it to a family member. For seasoning the soup - I use about 2T of soy sauce and about 1/2T of tobasco sauce. The two seasonings are wonderful together. Adjust the proportions for your taste. Sounds complicated, but it really isn't. I can make a pot of this soup in very little time.

I had this happen to me, too. I was taking my B12 too often (3X/day vs 3X/week), and the B12 I was taking was a larger dose than I needed. I backed off on the frequency, and now pay attention to what strength of B12 I am purchasing. Having a too high level of B12 is not a bad problem, just back off on the total amount you are taking in (either frequency or strength). It will come down by your next labs. My levels were back in order the next time I had bloodwork done.

I got an abdomen support belt (like warehouse workers, etc. wear) from WalMart. It is a wide (~ 5-6") and closes with velcro fasteners. I wore the belt 7X24 for the first month. It really helped getting up from the bed or recliner, bending over, getting in and out of the car, etc.

When I want to keep my hands busy, I give myself a manicure. I get cuticle cream, a couple of types of files, nail clippers, etc and give myself the works. I even have one of those paraffin dip vessels and really treat myself. Something else you could do? Organize old pictures into albums. Write an old fashioned letter with pen and paper to someone you love Address a card and enclose a note to someone either celebrating something or enduring something (this could be birthday, new baby, promotion, sympathy, or just a "thinking of you" card) Give yourself a pedicure Put a deep conditioner on your hair and cover it with warm towels Give yourself a facial Plan a home improvement project - even if you really don't need it or can't afford it, no one says you can't dream and plan it. Get some design magazines or check the internet. Polish your leather shoes Organize your clothes by sizes. Get your three boxes ready - Keep, Donate and Throw Away Bring one drawer at a time into the TV room and clean and organize your drawers. Get new shelf paper and line all of the drawers with shelf paper. Find an organization you support and find out if they need volunteers to do things for them that you could do at home (stuff envelopes, etc). Check with your local child protective services office or homeless shelter and see if they need baby blankets. If you knit or crochet, work on blankets for a good cause. There are a lot of positive things you can do with your hands - pamper yourself, improve yourself, keep in contact with someone you love, help somebody in need, Lots of things to do besides EAT. Good Luck. Sharon

You have discovered the "hard" part of the sleeve surgery for me - dealing with my inappropriate relationship with food. I had asked a lot of my friend/enemy food - nourish my body, soothe my spirit, fill in the boring time, take all my hurts away. Now, I am trying to just use food to nourish my body. Even this far out, I still have days when it is tough - when I am nervous or worried about something - my first impulse is to eat. That is what I am working on now - doing other things to calm my nerves besides eating. Good luck with this battle. Sharon

I have been wearing these the entire time I have been losing weight. The "Aah" Bra or Genie Bra (BTW, same bra - different infomercials targeted at different age consumers) have been lifesavers as my breasts have been changing shape throughout the last 9 1/2 months. You don't have to step into them - you can easily pull them over your head.

Pat - welcome! I will be turning 55 on the 29th of this month. My sleeve was done in February of this year. I couldn't be happier - wrinkles and sags and all. It is great to be sleeved - my only wish is if I had done this sooner. Good Luck with your sleeve. Sharon

I had a recent experience - I have had a life insurance policy for 30 years with a company. I wanted to raise the amount slightly (<100K) to make the math easier when splitting it up between the ultimate beneficiaries. I had to go through the entire process of applying for the policy like I was brand new. I had to go through an extensive interview process about the surgery and the results of all of my post surgery testing and health. Because of the sleeve surgery, I wan't denied - but the premium is going to be slightly higher for the first two years than it otherwise would be. (I think $3-4 per month) After that period, the premium will go back down to my old rate. This is pretty funny really. The chance of the insurance company having to pay off the policy are dramatically less after the sleeve than before (I was a walking advertisement for future heart attack victim). Oh, well - at least they wrote the policy. Needless to say, I am not touching any of my other policies.

Here are a few suggestions: Take you measurements and compare to your pre-stall measurements. I bet you are getting smaller even though the scale in resting. If you don't have pre-stall measurements, try on a pair of pants that were snug before - they may fit great now. Don't weigh but once a week. No need to torture yourself daily until the stall breaks. Write down every morsel that goes in your mouth - calories, Protein carb and fat content. Good or bad - keep of record of what you put in your mouth. THis usually helps control behavior. Get the bad/wonderful food out of your house (OREOS) or if you have kids, put them in a large sealed container and put them in the kids room - not the kitchen. Let them control their own snacking. Go talk to someone - counselor or support group about your self-sabatoge. A hypnotist could help, too, if you believe in hypnosis. You could go back on liquids or do the pouch test for a week. If that is too radical, go on a 500 calorie very limited choice eating plan for a week. It is the choices that seem to do us in. I know of what you speak - I am struggling a bit right now.

It happened to me twice, shortly after returning home from the hospital. As described above, it is a result of a liquid diet and excess gas. Not something you have to contend with for the rest of your sleeved life.

Feedyoureye - you have inspired me. I dropped off a backseat full of winter "fat" clothes at a plus size resale shop on Friday. I have gotten rid of all my large sized clothing as I have been shrinking. I picked up a pair of 26W jeans while I was there. My largest size that I officially "claim" was a 24W, but I had a pair of 26W jeans w/o elastic in the waist that fit me. I will be posting my "fat pant" photos soon.

This happened to me at around 9 - 12 weeks.Come to find out, I was anemic, low on B12 and had to back of more of my blood pressure meds. I needed to double the amount of iron I was taking and had to start eating more red meat, had to up the frequency of my B12 pills, and cut my BP meds in half (again). Go see your primary doctor and have bloodwork done. Good Luck. Sharon

Amazing progress! Wow - you are doing great.

I tried some. Mine were made from a yam plant, not from Tofu. The smell when opened was really fishy to me, but after rinsing in a colandar several times, the smell went away. I dried them on paper towels then added them to a steam veggie dish with a soy based sauce. I mixed them in together. We had the dish along with rotisserie chicken. My husband thought they were the noodles from the Ramen noodles. That is what the texture is like to me. I thought they were OK, but they didn't impress me too much. I did the spaghetti squash recently, with a homemade spaghetti sauce and some meatballs. I really enjoyed that.

This is a great NSV - one I hadn't thought of. I am going to see if mine is on the lowest setting. What a great way to prove to yourself you are a skinny - minny. Sharon

In my opinion, it could be related to the anasthesia getting out of your system, or it could be related to homonal flux. I know when I had surgery, it takes two - three weeks for me to totally be over the effects of the anasthesia. You night sweats could be associated with that. The other thing, as you start to rapidly lose weight, the estrogen stored in your fat cells is released, and you will have hormonal swings. I am a post-menopausal women, and I went through a couple of months of what I refer to as "puberty hell" with some added features of another trip through menopause. The night sweats could definately be part of that. This hormonal surge can present itself in many different ways - depending on what phase of life you are in. It can mess with your monthly cycle - timining, length, you name it. If you are still able to get pregnant, be careful - lots of extra hormones running around your system.

I have always loved to wear fine waled cords in the winter months - but I gave that up when I became obese because of the noise the cords made when I walked because my thighs rubbed together. There was so much friction, I'm surprised the pants didn't catch fire. The last pair I owned (way before my highest weight) had places on the inside of the thighs where the cords were rubbed smooth from the pressure. This winter, I have two very nice pair - one in black and one in camel. And, they don't make any noise when I walk in them. YEA!

Glad to hear you are feeling skinny - you look skinny and gorgeous! Your new hair do is great.