LindaS

It is not even close to being Friday, but I wanted to join in. I drink alcohol, and I don't log it into my daily tracking. I don't drink alcohol daily, but I do have some every week. Tonight, for instance, I am having a glass of wine. My usual choice is Budweiser 55, which is 55 calories. If I'm out with friends, I tend to have one total (two bottles though). I can't drink it fast enough to have it stay cold, so I usually drink a half a bottle and then get another bottle and drink half of that. I tried Mike's Hard Lemonade. That I can drink faster. Don't try it. One bottle gave me a headache the next day, and I never had hangovers before.

Congrats! You are doing great.

What a great day to be sleeved. It's my mom's birthday! I'm glad you are already feeling better, and I can't wait to hear more about your story and future successes.

Dr. Fatma that is awesome progress, but it hasn't been a year yet. I also had surgery in August 2011, and I am only just approaching my 7 month anniversary.

Eating and drinking is very different after surgery. I could barely drink an ounce of water immediately after my surgery. I remember I went out on a boat and watched my family water ski and go tubing. I panicked for a moment thinking I'd never be able to water ski because I couldn't risk gulping that much water. It scared me to think of doing that. Needless to say, time passed, and I healed, and I can drink large amounts of water. It just took a long time to get to that point. Eating is something I still do slowly. I can't eat too fast. I need to physically stop between bites and let my food settle into my stomach before taking another bite. If I eat too fast, I become very uncomfortable. It only takes once or twice of that happening before you learn how to eat slower.

I like my nails -- they tend to be long without any effort. I like my thick hair, and one of my biggest worries about this surgery was losing that. I've lost hair, but it is still thick. I like my mouth. It's full and my smile is big. I love my family and how easily humor comes to my husband and me and our kids. I like that my father-in-law, husband and son have fun with words since I'm a writer. I love my job and feel I'm good at it. I teach English composition to college students. I like my willingness (if not my skills) to tackle a home improvement project. I like that I've had such a big hand in making our house a home. I like that my eyes change colors. I like my sneeze, which tends to not sound like a sneeze. It's memorable, and it usually makes people laugh. I love that I've been able to record my family's little moments with my writing and photos.

You look fantastic. I've always loved your profile picture, but it was great to see a before/after as well. Congrats on all of your hard work!

You look fantastic, Wishes! Great job!

I couldn't find that post, yecats. I looked through the archives and none of them had that title. I liked this recent one about her thoughts about exercise http://www.300poundsdown.com/2012/03/fitness-friday.html And this post of a journal she wrote after her husband left her in 2006 http://www.300poundsdown.com/2012/03/you-are-worth-it.html

It really depends. I think the biggest things to worry about is getting your liquid in and figuring out how to eat lunch. When I was first sleeved, it was all I could do to keep track of my Fluid intake. It felt like a full-time job because I couldn't drink very much at a time. It took me 12 hours to get my 64 ounces in, and it was drinking steady to do that. Eating easily took an hour or more. I went back to work after two weeks. I teach at a college, so I actually only go to work twice a week. The other three days I work from home grading, etc. I was wiped out those first few weeks of work. I was going to bed at 8 p.m., which is something I never do. I was falling asleep watching TV before 8 p.m. I was physically exhausted. It got better, but I was drained of energy. I am about 7 or 8 months post-op now, and I still don't eat a real lunch when working. I drink a Protein drink since even with an hour for lunch, I wouldn't be able to finish a real meal in that time.

I drink a lot when working out, but I am several months post-op. Early on, I really struggled drinking water -- especially plain water. I found that flavored water was easier. You might want to try something like Sobe water or Propel. Both have flavors that are zero-calorie options.

Check with your surgeon. The cost of my surgery included all of my regular follow-up appointments as well as additional appointments with a nutritionist and physical trainer. I was amazed at everything included in the price. I don't even have to pay my co-pays when I go because I have a credit on my account that covers those as well.

I turned 40 just 10 days after my surgery. I have four kids and birthdays are a big deal to them. I didn't want my surgery to change what they were used to, so I went out and bought two small birthday cakes (one was an assortment of cheesecakes). The cakes were for my family although I did put candles on the cakes and posed with them. For me, my daughter made me Jello. That is what I ate on my birthday. It was wonderful. The big thing for me was at that time, my family was really feeling guilty eating in front of me. I was on a liquid diet, and they felt weird eating when I couldn't. I didn't want them to worry about me, and I knew no one was going to buy a cake unless I did. I felt it was really important that my family still have the traditions we've always had despite my surgery. I wasn't even tempted to eat cake. The Jello was perfect. I have told people about my surgery, so it might be different if you haven't. I had a low-key birthday at home, and I enjoyed it. A month later, hubby and I celebrated our anniversary. It was right around the time I was able to finally start eating real food. We did go out to dinner, and I ate a tiny bit of my meal and took the rest home. I focused on being with him instead of the food, and we had a great time. My advice: focus on the people and enjoy your time with them.

What an awesome NSV! I know how big of a deal this is. When I was a kid, I always wanted to eat at Big Boy because they had comics and crayons for kids. I loved that, but our local Big Boy only had booths, so my dad couldn't eat there. He was over 400 pounds. I never realized he couldn't sit in a booth until one day I was really begging to eat at Big Boy, and he had to explain why we couldn't. Booths are evil. Does anyone else watch MIke and Molly? The other day's episode had Mike, Molly and one other heavy person sitting at a booth in the diner. I missed the dialogue because I just couldn't get over the fact that they were sitting in a booth. The show gets so many things right about being overweight, and it threw me off to realize they were sitting in a booth.

This isn't a small NSV. Very cool that you were able to go out and enjoy a meal and work your sleeve. I clearly remember when I was finally able to eat REAL food again.

I love that you took a picture of your yogurt! That's awesome that you are recording these moments because these victories are so worth celebrating! Good job, and I am excited that the sleeve is working for you, and I look forward to a lot more Wow moments from you!

Congrats!

What awesome work! Congratulations on your success and what an inspiration for me to get to my workouts more frequently. I totally agree -- your results aren't just due to the surgery. You have put forth the hard work, and your effort is clearly evident.

Going into a bathroom stall and having room to move around is probably one of my favorite NSVs. It used to be hard to even close the door on some of the smaller stalls. Congrats on all of your NSVs, Dooter!

Popcorn. I love it.

I read blogs by many of them. I love the information and encouragement and motivation that I get from them. Are you talking about this Holly: http://www.300poundsdown.com/ I love her blog. If it's another Holly, could you share the URL for that one too?

Congratulations on making it to normal! It is great hearing that even with slow loss, we can get there.

I can eat regularly, but it is hard to find something to eat on the run. For that, I prefer Protein drinks. It is my "fast food" of choice. If I haven't eaten, I can stop at a gas station and buy a cold one. On days when my protein intake is down, protein drinks are also a quick low calorie way to get back on track.

I've told everyone, and I haven't tried to hide it. I am happy with my decision. When I first told people, I was told frequently that I wasn't heavy enough. I was, and I was worried I would become heavier. My husband was worried about the surgery, and he said I didn't have to do it. He also says he has noticed that I'm happier and more active since the surgery. The first time someone who didn't know about my WLS commented on my weight loss, I immediately mentioned I had WLS. But I realize it wasn't just the WLS that has caused the weight loss. I work out too, so now I mention my exercising routines and my wls.

I had to meet with a nutritionist before my surgery in a small class. There were three patients. In that same day, I also talked to a physical therapist and a nurse from the surgery floor who told us what to expect there. The nurse was really good about making sure we knew to be proactive with pain management. In the hospital before I was released, the nutritionist came in to talk to me briefly. She just went over my diet again and made sure I had what I needed available. This is when she told me what I'd need to eat for my daily Protein intake. For me, I have to eat 70 grams of protein a day. About a month later, I had another class with the nutritionist. This time, it was a large class of about 20 people. She went over all the potion sizes and food labels and what we should and shouldn't eat. My surgery costs included two more visits with the nutritionist, and those would be one-on-one and can happen when I feel I need them. There is no expiration date. So if I'm struggling with an issue, she could help me.