PrettyLilButterfly

I haven't lost friends..I told everyone and was blessed with support. but the ONE person who should support me the MOST, hasn't. My significant other just tosses out negative comments daily. "your legs look like chopsticks" "you look like a sick person" "ugh I can feel your bones when I hug you" WTF?? seriously? Oh and my favorite comment... wait for it.... wait for it... "you took the easy way out".. I'm sorry, how is this easy? I'm made to feel as if I just jumped on this bandwagon for sh!ts and giggles. Really? That was the most hurtful. Personally, she should've done it with me. She's larger than I was preop. She was just told she's diabetic. All it took me was being told I was prediabetic... ugh love sucks...

I've discovered I love to order food..but not eat it.. it's almost like shopping...it's a weird addiction.

WOOHOO!!!!! congrats!! it's a beautiful road ahead

I buy fresh fruit constantly, chop it up and keep baggies of it at work or in a small cooler in my truck. I also do alot of chopped veggies. I like celery with pb so i get in some protein! I also like the laughing cow cheese wedges, taste deslih with anything Hope this helps .

I did the same thing post op, though it wasn't soup..i was worse I did mashed potatoes.. God it sucked they tasted so good. I had to remind myself my stomach is still healing and to not push myself. Next time do your best to remove the bits from the soup, having been cooked with all the bits, the broth will still taste amazing!! you have to take this one day at a time.. and remember you did this to yourself to BE HEALTHY and BE HAPPY. Like KBurns said, once you get on that scale, you get so excited. I would step on mine almost daily..and each day a pound or 2..it made me want to do better.. First time I hit 199 (first time in 18 years I had been under 200!) I cried...and I Knew then, everything I had done and was doing was beyond worth it. I would never change my decision. I had 'buyers remorse' the first couple of months thinking of all the place I couldn't eat or buffets I wouldn't go to..but seriously? really? I would miss that? I THINK NOT! Hang in there and don't be so harsh on yourself!

I would probably follow the above advice and try to do a shake or some Soup before you cook! this way you're too full to even care about what you're cooking! Hang in there doll, it gets better!

The first 3 months after surgery nothing tasted right (probably due to anesthesia according to my doc). Now, I can eat anything, I can't pinpoint anything that tastes odd/off. Granted I wish some things did! haha.. I've heard our taste buds change every 7 years, wonder if some of our surgeries fall under that 7th year! The only issue I've had since surgery that still seems to linger is my tolerance for dairy I was sleeved in December and just had my first small glass of milk last week. I was able to tolerate it but it's not something I can do often. My doc said alot of sleevers tend to become lactose intolerant (good at keeping me off sneaky foods like ice cream, but MILK? sad)

Why won't you get on one? They are so amazing!!

I too was madly addicted to sodas. I switched to diet lemonade. Lemonade is my new best friend. Of course there's also tea. But I found lemonade satisfied my cravings. I also found some sugar free hawaiin punch single packets, OMG!! delish and guilt free!!

Well another day is here. I'm trying to stay awake here at work. After the weightloss, most of my nightmares had gone away...but some creep in now and then. I don't recall if I had nightmares last night, but know it was so hot I couldn't get comfortable. Was so upset when my alarm went off..damn it, I just fell asleep. I'm thankful i do sleep better but god why can't i fall asleep quicker? Of course it doesn't help that I can't shut my bloody brain off!! UGH! SHUT UP VOICES! JUST SLEEP!! Too hard though. Healthcare reform is changing my job so drastically. Everything I love and do will be going away by next month. in the meanwhile, my month this month is hideous. Scrambling around to see who can get the kids from school (what happens when you move out of district, but refuse to let your kids go to any other schools..theyre doing so good). Trying to get all my work done before 5. Kids calling asking what they can eat. The girlfriend calling bugging about if i'm going to cook (didn't we establish over 5 years ago I DONT COOK? ugh I hate cooking. she should'nt be eating at 7pm anyway!!). ok focus, must finish your work for the day... dear god, how am i able to stay focused on eating good when everything else is in shambles? I guess it's ok since I don't care much about food anyway. HA, I tried explaining that to my g/f the other day. That i eat because I have to, not because I want to. she laughed and said i was being stupid. hmm should i refer her to some of the forums where that's discussed? yes honey, it's true, eating just isn't important anymore. Has she not noticed when she asks what I want to eat i reply with "i dont care" because guess what, I DONT!! And now she wants to take a cruise. Hmm can i get a discount since I will not be enjoying the endless nasty buffets? to me it's just a waste of money. What saves me is my birth certificate and my DL's have different names (by one letter). So technically, I can't get a passport. (I tried, it will take an act of god to get my names to match. and NO I am not changing my name to what's on my BC...NO!!!). Now I see why 50% of WLS patients end up getting a divorce. The things in life that used to matter, dont anymore. She said it's hard for her because our relationship used to be based on food (really, where was i?) and now it cant' be based on that. REALLY? ugh.. that angers me. that's...pathetic. So we can't connect (or havent) on other levels? being single just seems more and more appealing wihth each passing day. ok...back to work. i really do have a ton to do today.. just need energy!!

My children are 19, 15 & 13. It's sad to say, this past summer was the first time I've been on a ride with the kids since my oldest was 13... (I went with him on a class trip, got stuck on one of the rides...both of us died of embarassment, I never rode again) We went to Eliches and rode EVERY RIDE TWICE!!! OMG we had so much fun. That day alone made my surgery worth more than all the gold in the world. My kids were so happy... Now I want to ride a horse! Since I won't torture the poor beast now!!

For my work ID, im leaving it as is. It's the old me, but on a good day. And I just really don't like taking pictures. And I just don't feel like dishing over $$ to update my pic. I was THANKFUL my license was up for renewal in May, so I RAAANNNN to the DMV to update it. I have hated having to pull it out. It was a BAD pic. I am so happy and proud of the new me and my new pic! And now the guys at the airport won't stare at it, then at me, then at it again. yes it's me, now let me on my flight!! I'm not one to hold onto the past. I didnt feel the desire to hold onto anything from my past, the old me included. I never really was that person therefore I do not need a reminder. My life started on Sept 9th 2011

I LOVE The Premium shakes from Costco/Sams club. They are 30Grams Protein I believe and under 200 calories. They are SUPER delicious. They have chocolate and vanilla. I love to add cinnamon to the vanilla, tastes like rice pudding. They are a reasonable price too!

My confidence is through the roof! I no longer hide in a corner at a meeting. I hold my head up high. I am loving life and loving myself. Everyone has seen the change in me (for the good of course). My personality is as it what (I've always had a great one) however, I do find I am twice as outgoing. I'm not afraid to shake my booty on the dance floor or say something to become center of attention. It's great. I never thought I'd be who I was meant to be.

Well the wedding was amazingly goreous and beautiful. Though it was my best friends day, I felt like a princess too. I shined in my own light. It was the first time since I was a teen (well maybe in grade school) where I didnt' cover my arms! I fussed and threw a fit because I couldn't find a shawl or jacket to wear over my dress. At the last minute, I decided against one. Partly because I did want to show off my tattoos. And for once, I didn't mind taking pictures, even willingly posing for a few. I was nervous about the ones in the wedding party, but I felt confident enough among all the other bridesmaids. When the DJ was introducing the wedding paty, I was the only one who he called beautiful. silly to be excited over that, but i am! Granted he kept giving me the eye all night. which was hilarious to me, don't think i've been flirted with in awhile. the rest of my 3 day weekend was nice. Sunday, didn't do much. Finally caught up on season 3 of game of thrones (YAY). MOnday, we got our workout in by washing all 3 vehicles, cleaning out the garage, sweeping the driveway, pulling weeds and fixing the landscape. it was nice. I wanted to be lazy, god how i wanted to be lazy. but my g/f refused to let me , and i'm glad. the garage and yard look amazing! this month is going to be tough at work, my only fear is will i over eat snacking at my desk ( i dont take lunches or breaks). or will i undereat because i get so involved. oh and on a minor note, my doc (he didn't do either one of my surgies, he just took over the clinic last month) scolded me for eating 5-6 mini meals. he said i won't maintain my weight loss or lose more. i've proved him wrong. I lost 2 more pounds this weekend. don't think my scale has ever shown 137!! so in your face doc! LOL ok that's harsh. I just was worried i was over-doing it, but i feel confident I will maintain what i've lost. All i can do is listen to my body. im so much more in tune with it than i've ever been.

Honestly, I think EVERDAY I find a NSV

Ok....so this may seem like an insane question..but I really do need to know. So brief history, had band in 9/2011, lost 38 lbs. Too many issues, not enough weight lost after 1 year. Did band to sleeve revison Dec 2012 (also had hernia repair and spleen repair). I had Dr. Smith for my first sugery. And Dr. Tyner for my second. LOVE my second doc. He's very user friendly. While talking about the sleeve, he told me my meals would be limited to 5 bites (WHAT?) and I could eat up to 6 times. After mentally dealing with the 5 bites, I was excited to know I could eat more than 3 meals (sorry, but hated that about the lapband, was ALWAYS hungry). Well Tyner left my clinic and went to another. The new doc (whom I'm having issues liking) was appalled I was eating 6 times. I got a lecture and he told me to cut it down. I strongly disagree because I continue to lose weight AND maintain my loss. What are your rules in regards to eating?

I set 'baby' goals for myself. First one being to hit 199. Second one to hit 175. So on and so forth. I felt it was easier than putting a one time goal weight. I think I had decided I'd be good at 150. When I hit that, I felt I could go ahead and go down to 139 which was an official 100 pounds. That ended up being a perfect weight for me. Also, I just wanted to be a healthy BMI. That was more so a work goal (we get discounts on our insurance if we have a healthy BMI). That's just my two cents Good luck to you!!

My surgeon did it all in one surgery (and fixed a hernia while in there). I am thankful it happened in one shot. And in my case it ended up being a blessing. They found a small tear in my spleen later that night and had to repair. So I thank God everything happened the way it did. And what was an even greater blessing is my insurance treated it as an in-patient surgery and it was only $400 OOP. My band cost me $2500 copay. I did not have Fluid removed before the band was removed. I believe I was at 5 CC's. I did have some scarring around my esophagus due to the band (a lot of vomiting the last 6 months I had the band). I don't remember much of my hospital stay (due to blood loss and other issues not related to the revision). I know I didn't have to drink a dye.(wonder why that is!?). I did have a swallow test last week when I went in due to having issues with swallowing (appears to be an acid reflux issue). It was so interesting seeing the barium go all the way into my intestine. My baby stomach was so small! I'm glad I saw the size, it helps me keep my eating in perspective. But as everyone has said, it's best to let the surgeon decide. You don't want to rush anything and regret it later.

You're stomach is new to you, don't stress over 'fitting' the shakes in. You're healing right now. It'll come in time. As for the vitamins, they sell spray vitamins. You just spray under your tongue. Perhaps try that for a few weeks? There's also gummy vitamins.

Love the positive attitude! Keep it up! and it never stops getting better!

Ask your doctor if you can have low sodium egg drop Soup. It's still broth-like if you remove the egg. You really have to think outside the box when you're on liquids/purees. Just take it one day at a time. And for the love of god, do NOT watch cooking shows for the first month! HAHA.. that's killer right there!! Good luck sweetie! and remember, you're on a great path to a healthy life!!

I'm a pest, I'd be calling every morning to see if there are any cancellations! LOL It seems forever, but it gives you time to prepare. To research fun recipes you can make when you're on post op liquids/mushy. You'll find ways to pass the time!

It's so funny to read this... it reminds me of the moment I had with my mom last week. All my life I've been 20+ lbs over weight. And every month she'd bring me a new pill, a new shake..something to help me lose weight. She was always on me "you're too pretty to be overweight" "you need to lose weight, i'm worried". I was at her house last week..and SHOCK.. guess what? the comment of the day was "you're getting too thin, you look too old, don't lose anymore".. ummm??? I'm only 139 (I'm 5'3, just barely hit 'healthy' for my size by 1 lb). I can imagine what a shock it was for you to hear that from this person. It's funny to hear comments, who they come from and the times they choose to say them. I just giggle. At the end of the day, Im proud of me..period. I'm healthy and that's all that matters. And you are happy with yourself and where YOU want to be