SKCUNNINGHAM

I try to stay away from hard candies. The less I have sugary candy (whether real or fake) in the mouth, the better I do. My "treats" for the day are the two Calcium chews I take. I use the ones that are the consistency of caramels. They come in chocolate, caramel or vanilla flavors. SInce I'm not eating candies - these taste GREAT to me. Now, I do upon occasion use SF popsicles or SF fudgesicles (rarely) or SF pudding. If I didn't have access to those - I might not draw such a hard line on the candies. Good luck to you!

Absolutely not. I never wanted the bypass or the band. I still don't. The sleeve is right for me. I haven't had any buyers remorse since my surgery.

The reason womens' cycles change after WLS is the influx of extrogen into the bloodstream from the fat cells. As the fat cells shrink/release their stored fat - they release their stored estrogen. There are several posts that have women talking about changes in their cycle. The consensus it , it should calm down in a few months. I have had a hysterectomy - so I just suffered through a 2-3 month recurrence of puberty! Bummer! Good luck!

Papa - this is a great list. I have saved it so I can re-read it when I need a refresher. I think the 2nd mistake could be expanded to include the need to understand why you got into the situation where you needed WLS - what your inappropriate behaviors were (portion control, carb addiction, etc) and what your triggers were.etc. This may take going through conseling to find out and address them. If a person doesn't figure out what drove them to end up where they were before surgery, I think they are likely to end up there again in a few years. People who have significant weight gain never address the underlying issues. They figure out how to abuse their sleeve and meet those unmet needs. The sleeve to me is only one of the tools I am using to end up being a thinner, healthy person. Best of luck in getting to your goal, Papa Jack. You are doing outstanding!

How about weighing / measuring your portions - like you did at the beginning? Do this for a few days, focus on eating slowly, and see if it helps. If that doesn't work, you could try doing the 5 day "pouch test". There are posts here that refer to it, and I also found a reference for it on the internet. If you are interested, and can't find info on it, PM me. Good luck - hope you feel better / see results soon.

I missed my Labor Day Challenge by 9 pounds, primarily due to being in a cast and not being able to exercise for a month. I still will be in a cast for another week, but I accept the challenge anyway! SN........Starting Wt......Current.....Goal......Lbs to Goal SKCUNNINGHAM...253....166........150.......16

I didn't hit my Labor Day goal - missed it by 9 pounds . I have been in a cast on my ankle for the past four weeks - can't do my Zumba - and have been in a virtual stall this month. Drat the luck!

When I got rid of the blasted CPAP machine!

When you can fit into an airplane seat without the extender.

Great compliment! You have raised a very a gracious, intuitive young man.

This would be radical, but if you are going to need 2-4 weeks before you could resume your regular walk, get ahold of a boot cast for the ankle of your choice. (If you will see her and she will expect to see the boot on your foot ) Tell her you won't be doing your walk from 2-4 weeks, depending on when you get the boot of your ankle. You could tell her the boot is a result of your trip with your sister. Then, when you feel up to walking with her again, vioula! your ankle will be healed and the boot cast put away.

Jane - you look stupenous! Coops is right, your arms are fabulous - they look like you have lived in the gym for the year. The dress is great - but its the happiness shining out of your face that makes the picture wonderful. Show that to your surgeon, and you might be seeing your picture on his billboards! BTW, I too love to shop resale shops. Best deals around!

Makingbetterchoices - I don't know when you were sleeved or how much you've lost or your age, but your weight loss will affect your hormone levels. I am 54, had a hysterectomy, am on HRT, and my lone ovary is probably no longer producing much if any estrogen - but during the first six months after being sleeved, by hormones went nuts (see my post about PUBERTY HELL) due to the fat cells shedding their stored estrogen into the bloodstream. My body temperature fluctated during this time along with other lovely symptoms. The good news for me was, it abated after 2-3 months - now I'm just cold due to losing my insulating layer.

My go-to Protein drink was Isopure PLUS (not just ISOPURE). It is 8 ounces, comes in two light fruit flavors. One is a punch flavor, the other is grape frost. The flavors are not strong like some of the fruit flavored Protein drinks. They are about the strength of crystal lite or propel flavored waters strong. Each 8 ounce bottle has 15 grams of protein. If you are having trouble getting enough protein in, drink these instead of Water until you get your protein in. I order a couple of cases from Amazon.com.

My incisions itched from the healing process. It has happened every time I've had surgery.

You look great!

I went to the orthopedic doc again today, to see if I could get out of the d**n boot cast (from spraining my ankle a month ago cleaning my closet to find skinny clothes). No luck - one more week with the boot. Then, four weeks in an ankle stabilizer. This contraption laces up like a toe-less boot, with laces from above my toes to my shin. Then, it has three straps to completely imobilize the ankle joint. Anyway, the point is, the tech needed a size EXTRA SMALL stabilizer! It took him three different ones to get one that fit. I have never been a size extra small EVER IN ANYTHING! I entered this world weighing 9 pounds and kept going from there. No part of my body is extra small - except maybe my eyelashes or my patience. This is a silly NSV, but it pleased me so much, I laughed out loud. :lol:

Definately see the second surgeon. You have ZERO COMITTMENT to the first surgeon at this point. So you went on a "coke date" (to use a term from my high school years) - you haven't committed to marry the guy! I'm sure he and his staff have ZERO COMITTMENT to you at this time. They must have many people come in and do what you did - never to be seen again. One of the most important factors to consider when selecting a surgeon is their experience in performing the sleeve (not other WLS surgeries), and the experience of the hospital where the surgery is done is taking care of a sleeve patient. If surgeon #1 hasn't had the initiative to update his website or his forms, he is new to this sleeve game. Run the other direction! This is way more important than buying a house - would you buy one from a builder of condos who just started building free standing houses? Would you buy a car from an airplane manufacturer? Here's info that supports you want an experience sleeve surgeon. http://healthengine.com.au/article/sleeve-gastrectomy.html This article quotes " The mortality rate in gastric sleeve is 1:500 and it lies between the gastric band, which is the safest, and the laparoscopic gastric bypass, which carries the highest risk." From something I was reading this week on another forum - surgeons who perform 100 or more sleeves per year have lower risk rates. Hospitals that perform over 150 sleeves per year have lower risk rates. If you are considering a surgeon, ask how many procedures he/she has performed in a year, and how many he/she has performed in total. Then ask the same two questions about how many of his patients died. This will give you an idea where your surgeon is versus the norms. Also ask about the hospital you will have the surgery performed in - how many procedures do they do a year? Don't be hesitant about being a questioning, "pushy" consumer of medical services. WLS surgery is a hot field now - a good experienced surgeon should have no problems or concerns with sharing this information. Good luck in your surgeon selection!

Where do you get powdered peanut butter?

Wow - congratulations! To paraphrase Martin Luther King - "You are on the mountain top, looking at the promised land!" How wonderful! Enjoy your achievement, and living life as a healthy, thin person. Jouney to goal.bmp

Mini - I had nite sweats like you - but mine were all related to my hormone levels - first after my hysterectomy in my early 30's and again when I went through the change. I hope they get it resolved soon - they are MISERABLE. Hang in there.!

You look wonderful! Congratulations!

I too have been cold since surgery. I am so cold in my office, I keep a fleece there and have a heater. Since my part of the country has been 100+ degrees for two months, I go outside to warm up and enjoy the heat!

I like taking the easy way: I do my banking online, rather than mail bills through the mail I send email rather than hand-write letters I use an automatic washing machine rather than a rub-board and washtub to clean my clothers (like my grandmother) I dry the laundry in an electric dryer rather than hang them on a clothesline (like my mom did) I have my choice of two bathrooms in the house, rather than a privy at the bottom of the yard (like my kinfolk in Arkansas used to do) I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rather than going out in the yard, catching a chicken and wringing its neck when I want chicken for dinner My doctors use all sorts of modern treatments that previous generations of doctors never even dreamed of Why should it bother us to take the "easy way" to lose weight? (although some things about this way are anything but easy) Three cheers for taking the easy way out!

Are you tracking your measurements along with tracking your weight? Sometimes I lose inches, not weight. Sometimes I lose weight, not inches. I would keep doing what I'm doing - 60+ grams of Protein, <30 grams carbs (no "white carbs - bread, potatoes, etc) and >60 ounces of Fluid. Only weigh once per week. Measure once per week, too. Hang in there, the weight will come off with the sleeve.