LindaS

I count Protein and Water and try not to worry too much about calories. I tend to keep it under 800, but I don't freak out if I have a day or two that goes over 1,000. I am 15 months out from surgery, and I still drink Protein drinks. I like that they are low in calories and help me reach my protein goals. For Breakfast, I will eat a protein shake or something with eggs. A favorite weekend breakfast is to take crumbled sausage, scrambled eggs and cheese and mix it up. My family puts this in a burrito shell. I don't. It's yummy. I eat a lot of cheese Snacks (Babybel, cheese sticks or other types of cheese). For lunch, if I am working, I have a Protein Bar or an unwich sub from Jimmy Johns. If I'm not working, I have a protein bar or some type of meat to get protein in. For dinner, I tend to eat what my family is having. I modify as needed. If we are having spaghetti, I just eat the topping and not the noodles. If we are having pizza, I eat the topping off one slice and then have something else high in protein. This is where I get the most diversity in my food. I eat the protein first. Today, we are having chili for dinner. For dessert-type meals, I like the Healthy Choice Frozen Greek yogurt. I use smaller bowls and plates than my family does in order to help me control my portions. This morning, I had scrambled eggs and cheese for breakfast. For lunch, I had a 100-calorie protein shake (17 g protein) mixed with a Bariwise strawberry-banana protein mix (15 g protein). The two together were 200 calories and 32 grams of protein. And I think the Bariwise strawberry banana smoothie is pretty tasty. It even has bits of strawberry in it.

I blog my VSG journey, and I have a lot of links to others who blog on the right side of my page. I will go check out your blog right away. My blog is at lindasherwood.com Linda

I don't have any links, but thank you for having the courage to share this with all of us. You will overcome. The great thing is that you figured it out now and are getting back on track.

I spent a long time selecting my personal ticker, and it had significant meaning to me. I am disappointed in the paltry number of choices for the VST site's tickers, and I hope you will be adding more options. My original ticker was a roller coaster with a banana ticker, which meant a lot since one of the reasons I decided on WLS was because of problems I had fitting on a roller coaster as well as my past history with weight loss attempts mirrored a roller coaster. And the banana? Our sleeves are banana-shaped.

They are empty calories that can irritate your stomach.

I actually started to have the opposite feelings -- I felt like I had to stop crediting my weight loss surgery for my continued loss/conditioning. I was always transparent and would answer that I lost weight through weight-loss surgery, but I became unsatisfied with that answer. I have done more than just WLS. I completely changed my diet and began exercising regularly and the WLS answer dismissed all of that hard work. I still don't hide that I had WLS, but I am more likely to answer Zumba than WLS when asked. I truly believe that I lost all that I am going to because of WLS by about 5 months and everything since then has been me. The WLS makes it easier for me to eat smaller sizes, but I am not losing because of WLS. I am not gaining muscle because of WLS. I am not reducing my fat percentage and living a more active life style because of WLS; those changes are because of my actions and choices that started when I chose to have WLS.

What kind of evaluation did you go to? One at your surgeon's office or with a psychiatrist? I'm not clear. Who is the letter from? Your surgeon? Insurance company? Someone else? I didn't have to set up long-term therapy before surgery, but I did have to have a psychiatric evaluation. Most people do have to have an evaluation before surgery, but I haven't heard anyone having to have regular therapy although some have chosen to do so on their own.

My dad had the opportunity to have weight loss surgery about 20 years ago. He chickened out. He didn't go to my school events; he never saw me cheer or play in the band. He spent most of my life sitting in a chair and relying on other people to get him things. The last 5 years of his life were so bad he was in the hospital more than he was out of them. In the days before he died, he was home. My mom had to call the ambulance, and the ambulance crew couldn't get him out of the house. They had to call in another crews. They still couldn't get him out. They had to call in volunteer firefighters. It took 10 people dragging my dad's naked body on a tarp to get him out of our house and into the ambulance. He died two days later of a stroke. He was 69, and he didn't live life. His weight made him do more preparations for dying than he ever did for living. So to answer your questions: 1.) If you could talk to yourself pre-op what would you say? What would you tell the you that was still undecided about having the surgery? You deserve to LIVE a life that is active and full and healthy. You will not realize until it happens all of the tiny ways your life will become easier and better and happier and healthier. Without this surgery, you will be hurting your husband and your kids because you won't be there for them when they need you to be. It has already happened, and it will again. This weight is keeping you from fitting into too many things including your own life. Don't be afraid of dying -- be afraid of not living. 2.) Do you ever regret having the procedure? Even in tiny moments...like dinner out with friends or around the holidays? Do the regrets ever out weight the results? I don't regret this surgery at all even when out to dinner or around the holidays. I don't miss food. And now, I don't miss my family.

I love the pose and the clothes in both, and those blue boots are awesome! You look fantastic! Great job.

I hope your approval comes quickly. I have BCBS not Cigna, so I can't help. I was able to find out in less than a week, I believe.

I haven't had any problems with my sleeve at all. I can eat what I want although there are some things that I don't eat much of because it fills me up fast (bread, primarily).

I use Celebrate vitamins. They are made for WLS patients, and I like them. You can even request samples, and they send you a LOT of different types and flavors.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I didn't have that type of pain, so I can't help you. I did have a reaction to the bandages after a few days though. I'm glad you brought it to your doctor's attention, and I hope everything turns out well. Keep us updated!

I was in the hospital for two nights, which is normal for my surgeon's practice.

This sounds like such a fun 5k! I can't believe I just typed that. LOL! Congrats! I love how much your face changed in the before/after pics.

I'm over a year out, and I don't get hungry. I do get cravings. I've also found that if I eat a lot of carbs, I will crave more carbs. I do get what I call a "snacky" feeling. I'm not hungry, but I want something to do. food used to fill this for me -- the act of eating something mindless -- and now I don't want that stuff, but I still miss the action/time filler at certain times of the month. One thing that I've found helps *cure* me when I want something bad is to look at the calories. 99.5 percent of the time, the calorie count is too high for me to deem it worthy of actually eating. It gives me the willpower to turn down that bad snack.

I second SkinnieMinnie. You need to make sure you are drinking your water. Try upping your water for a bit and see if that helps.

Mother Nature can't always win. Plus she tends to be finicky and frequently changes her mind.

I didn't like plain Water right after surgery. I really liked the Sobe Zero drinks or Propel Zero. I'm more than a year out now, and I can once again drink plain water. It took several months though. I agree with an earlier poster -- try drinking it at various temperatures. It may be the temp that is impacting you.

I have a hard time finding workout clothes at Goodwill, and I tend to search every rack. I like Walmart's Danskins too. I also need to invest in some smaller exercise pants. It's a great feeling!

The first week was the worst for me. I was feeling much better by the weekend. I even went out on a boat, but I still remember feeling not normal. While on the boat, I watched my husband and kids waterski. Someone wiped out and took in a great deal of Water, and I remember panicking thinking I could never do that again. I just couldn't imaging ingesting that much water at once. At the end of the second week, I was back to work and feeling mostly normal. I would get tired fast -- falling asleep around 8 p.m., which is unheard of for me. I was tired for several weeks, but it was mostly in the evening. Eventually that passed too. It gets better every single day until finally, you feel normal again.

I like the deals at JcPenney, and I do a lot of shopping at second hand stores. I rarely buy new unless it is bras and/or underwear as well as athletic wear because I can't seem to find that stuff second hand. I have three teenage daughters, and I know my wardrobe is on the right track because they are borrowing my clothes (at least the tops).

I use small dishes. I have several bowls that are only 4 ounces. I also have a food scale in order to keep a more accurate calorie count.

I was just reading in Redbook magazine about a scale that doesn't tell you your weight. Instead, it tells you if your weight is up or down and the number of pounds your weight has changed by. So, you'd see 2 instead of 182 if you gained two pounds. I thought it was interesting enough to share with all of you. I don't think I'll be buying it since I like the scale I have, but you can find out more at thezeroscale.com

I like the Bariwise fruit juices and the strawberry banana Protein shake. They all have 15 grams of protein and taste great. The strawberry banana one even has pieces of strawberry in it. The peach mango fruit drink is my favorite, but they are all good. I rely a lot on babybel and string cheeses as well as jerky. They are great for when I'm on the go. I can also buy Muscle Milk protein shakes from most gas stations.