SKCUNNINGHAM

The one that tasted the least nasty to me is ISOPURE PLUS. Comes in 8 oz. bottles, has 15 grams of protein per bottle - no carbs. Flavors are a grape frost and a fruit punch. Both are lightly flavored - not super strong. I ordered mine from Amazon (a case of each) and had it shipped to my door.

I am a shoe addict. I Have recently bought some shoes, and found I had to switch from an 8 1/2 to an 8. And, the 8 1/2's I wore a lot at my heaviest, I walk right out of now. Wonder if I will end up a 7 1/2 again?

Tiffy - you are beautiful! Enjoy your preganancy - you can get back to your pre-pregnancy size after Tatum is here. Once she goes through the roll,crawl and toddle stages, she will move straight into running - and you will have a new type of exercise program to get/keep the weight off. I am so happy your pregnancy is going well. Sharon

I use my MB for my morning Protein shakes - don't have any problem with it or the shakes at all. I use it for a few other things, too. Didn't pay the full price - found mine somewhere discounted (Garden Ridge, maybe). Have other blender and food processor - but this is the one I reach for.

I'm 5'4". I would like to be 135 pounds, dressed, on the doctor's scales. This will give me a "normal" range BMI and probably be in the 8-10 size range in clothes. If I can't maintain that without living at the gym, I might raise it a little. I think I will know my goal once I get to it. Also, I want to build some muscle, so I am not going to be as hung up on a number as my clothes size and measurements.

I certainly don't have 5 years - I have 5 1/2 months. For those people that gain their weight back after a time period - I don't think it is the fault of the sleeve. The sleeve is not a magic bullet and it doesn't come with a guarantee. I think the old phrase "eternal viligance is the price of freedom" is applicable to the sleeve. For the rest of my life, I will have to watch what I eat, exercise, and abide by sensible rules to get the best results wtih the sleeved stomach I have. I have a life long abusive relationship with food - the sleeve provides me the best tool to get my body into better shape. The "head issues" which caused the unhealthy behaviors need to be addressed for me to maintain a healthy size life-long. If I am successfull in addressing them, I will stay skinny/normal the rest of my life. If not, I am a clever enough person to figure a way to cheat my sleeve and gain the weight back. The sleeve is a tool to help me do that, and is helping me get healthy enough to have "a rest of my life" to be concerned about. I don't regret having my surgery one minute - I think it is the best choice for me. Good luck in your decision, and in your sleeve-journey - if this is the way you choose to go.

When my wait lost hits the "'pause button" - I try to not weigh myself for a few days. Instead, I use my measuring tape to check my progress. Or, I will try on clothes that maybe were a little tight - to see if they are looser. It seems my body can either lose pounds or inches, but not both at once. Also, when I am on pause, I am extra diligent about keeping my food diary. I record every morsel that goes into my mouth - the calories, and grams of Protein carb and fat. It is my way of ensuring I am not eating more of something than I target myself to for a day. And, I get out the food scale and the measuring cup -recalibrate my eyeball as to just what 3 ounces of chicken looks like, or 1/2 cup of something. This program will work for you if you use the sleeve like you are supposed to. Drink your fluids. Eat a meaured amount of protein, spread throughout the day. Do not drink when you eat or right after you eat. Watch your amount of carbs you take in - I only eat veggies and some fruit - I stay away from the complex carbs (rice/pasta/bread). Eat protein first, then veggies. I totally avoid junk calories and sugar. Good luck.

Benefiber and Miralax. I use benefiber every day, Miralax about every other day. Both can go in protein smoothie or in water. And, i drink a minimum of 64 ounces of fluid a day. I am not on the schedule I was before my sleeve, but I am going regularly and am losing weight

Five months ago, Dr. Nick did my surgery at Forest Park in Dallas. I had no problems after surgery and went home after one night. I have lost 79 pounds so far - dropping from 24W's to "regular" 14's. I've lost 8 1/2 inches from by bust and waist, and 9 1/2 inches from by hips. I can wear my wedding rings again - in fact I am the size I was when I got married. I need to get the wedding dress out of storage and see if it still fits - I have my doubts - the sand in the hourglass may weigh the same - but it isnt' distributed like it used to be. I have had a wonderful time reaquainting myself with clothes I haven't seen in years. The thrift store closest to me (benefits battered women) has benefited from a lot of my clothes. Also, my business suits have gone to a charity that gets underpriveledged woman back into the work force - they needed plus size business attire and I didn't want to keep it in my house! I am doing Zumba now, and have bought myself a nice elliptical machine. I feel much better now than I did before - off of 3/4 of my BP medicine, all of my cholesterol medication, Prozac, advil for my joints, and the damn CPAP machine. I am only taking Vitamins, Iron, Calcium, acid meds, RHT, and Biotin for hair loss. Can't wait to see what the next 5 months will bring!

My hormones went nuts after my sleeve from all the stored estrogen dumping into my bloodstream - but I was "fixed" 20 years ago, so didn't have a period to worry with. Is your OB/GYN familar with WLS patients? You might give his/her nursde a call and get an opinion.

Wow - you are in amazing shape! You legs may feel like jello, but they did you proud!

What a rush you must have felt! Way to go, hottie!

That's what I thought, but I hope someone might have found something. I would rather have a face that looked like a cotton shirt left in the dryer overnite, than to have a wrinkle free face for people to comment on when they passed by my casket. Kind of morbid comment - but I am reacting to a friend from highschool (a year younger than me) that passed away yesterday.

In the research I did, it stated that surgeons that have done fewer than 100 sleeves have a higher complication / mortality rate than surgeons who have done more than 100. If your surgeon doesn't have 100 sleeves under his belt, go to another surgeon for your sleeve. Also, if the hospital hasn't done 150 sleeves, their complication / mortality rates are higher. So check out your target hospital's track record, too. I chose the sleeve because it was a much simpler surgery and had as good of results as the bypass. I didn't want my insides replumbed. I didn't want the longterm side effects of the bypass. And I travel for my work, and I thought it would be easier to travel with a small sleeved stomach than to travel living with a bypass.

I made myself sick eating too much raw celery chopped into chicken salad. Severe cramps for >12 hours! Now I do what Tiffykins says - limit my raw celery intake. If it is cooked (chicken soup or with beef) I have no problems.

GREAT TO SEE YOU ARE DOING WELL! If you like that, you might also want to try Campbells bean and bacon Soup. I mix it with half of the allotted Water, and just before serving, put 2 T of shredded cheese on my serving. This ups the Protein content and the shredded cheese just makes it taste wonderful. You can get 3 servings (at least) out of the can.

I agree with the topic of this thread - people really do carry weight differently. I have always "weighed more than I looked like". At the start I weighed 253. I wore 24W clothes and 3X tops were loose - but 2X's were snug. Now that I have lost 79 pounds ( I weigh ~174 on dr's scales), I am wearing a 14. I am broad shouldered, have a dough boy spare tire, small hips and a flat ass. I think people think I weigh less because I am broader in my shoulders than my hips. And there is no way I will every wear size 4 anythings - my skeleton would probably never fit into that size.

I put the regular sized plates on the top shelf of my cabinet - where I can only reach them with a step stool. My husband I I now eat our meals from salad plates and desert plates (even smaller). The big Pasta bowls are in an out of way place and any thing served in individual bowls are in SMALL bowls. I even use my ramekins to serve my servings in. If I am in a restaurant, I either ask for a to go container at the first of the meal and take the stuff I am not going to eat from my plate and put it in the container. If that isn't possible, I decide how much I should eat from my serving before I start eating - and either cut that much off, or separate it in some way from the stuff I won't be able to eat. Then I slowly enoy my portion. When I am done with my alloted portion, put my utensils down, take the napking from my lap, and excuse myself from the table for a bathroom break. By the time I am back, my brain is well in control of my hands and stomach - so I am not tempted by the rest of the food on my plate. Sometimes, the waiter/waitress has taken my plate away (YEA!). Good luck - it's a hard habit to learn.

Rootman - you are doing great and are an inspiration to all of us on the site. Those 7 pounds will come off - just hang in there - doing the right things and keeping up the swimming. A question about swimming - do you get an endorphine rush after a swimming workout? I used to swim on my lunch hour back in the 1980's when I was in a thin / compulsive exercising phase. I got the most delightful endorphine buzz after my swim workout - definately put a smile on my face to go back to the office to face the afternoon. Makes the wish I had a pool close to my office now.

My arms have always been big and now I have BIG bat wings of loose wrinkley skin. I have found three sources of nice button down blouses (long sleeved or 3 quarter). Talbots, Eddie Bauer and Lands End. Each of the stores has a great online site. All of the shirts are well made. I wouldn't call any of them inexpensive when full price- but look for sales and clearance. I wore a really pretty blue one yesterday I got on the Eddie Bauer clearance section of their web site. I go sleeveless when I am home - but that isn't appropriate for my office environment. I really need to start doing the arm exercises to see how much improvement I can get.

Know what goes with diarrhea of the mouth? Constipation of the brain! That tech definately was suffering from both. Hope they are not permanent conditions for her. Good Luck - KayyyBeee. With your take charge attitude - you will rock the sleeve!

People who think this is the "easy way out" of the problem of being morbidly obese make the think of my favorite quote by Robert Heinlein - "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity". KayyyyBeeee - you handled the woman beautifully.

One thing you might try is to back up to liquids only for a few days. (Maybe 5 days) There is something referred to on this site and you can find it online called the five day pouch test. Then gradually start introducing solid foods back in. I am only 5 monts past surgery - I don't have near as much experience as some of the other regulars on this formum. Best of luck to you. I will follow this topic to see what other ideas people have.

I, too, slept in a recliner some after surgery. I would get uncomfortable in bed and move to the recliner. I am glad I had one available to me. That, the abdominal support belt, and a heating pad were my best comforts after surgery.

Congratulations! I am happy for you to have your surgery date. I had a thought to help you pass the time since you will be impatiently waiting for your date. One thing you could do sometime in this interim before surgery is to organize your closet into sizes. I didn't do that before surgery and it would have helped. You will be changing sizes rapidly, and it is easier to have the different sizes easily accessible when you need them. I had clothes stashed all over my house and in storage - and by the time I found some things - I had already shrunk past the size they were - so they went to the donation pile. Good luck!