carolina girl

8 weeks can make soooo much difference! You look great and I'm sure you feel great too. And can you believe how much younger you look?? Congrats!!

Ok, so I just had to share my NSV, 'cause it is funny!!! I was at the gym last week hanging by my arms doing my lower ab work out. I was wearing a pair of work out pants that are obviously getting too big, because just as I was getting ready to tuck my knees up to my chest....my pants started to fall down! My workout buddy quickly saw what was happening and helped me out by pulling them up and tightening up the drawstring!! Thanks workout buddy, you're the best!

What ever your fears are, just let them go and take advantage of this wonderful tool you've been fortunate enough to get. I think we're all scared in the beginning, but most will tell you that this is the best decision we've ever made. Just take one day at a time.

Escape Pod, You were sleeved exactly one month before me and have lost more than 60 lbs!!!- I'm sure you're doing things right! I use soy milk vice skim or almond milk. I prefer the vanilla soy milk - it makes my protein shakes so much more bearable, actually it makes them yummy. It's almost equal to skim milk in calories, carbs and sugars. If I had to give up carbs somewhere, it wouldn't be my soy milk. I have a protein shake every morning that I love- It's 8 ozs. vanilla soy milk, one scoop of nectar protein (either chocolate or vanilla) one scoop of click espresso protein (either vanilla latte or mocha) and lots of crushed ice. It has 260 calories, 15 grams of carbs, and 36.5 grams of protein. I know that seems like a lot of carbs and calories but I swear it is worth it! I have yet to get close to the recommended 800 calories or less than 50 gms of carbs in a day, so it works for me.

sugar free chocolate pudding with an added scoop of nectar sweets triple chocolate protein made with skim milk. It's especially good when warmed slightly in the microwave and topped with lite cool whip!!!!

Glad to help Escape Pod, Guidelines for months 1-5 Calories- 800-1200/day Protein- 70-90/day Carbs- Less than 50 grams/day Fat- about 35 grams/day Hydration- 64 oz/day Pretty much the same as months 6-9, only thing that changes is the carbohydrate content. For months 9 and beyond the guidelines are the same as 6-9. I am almost 8 weeks out and have consistently lost 3 lbs or more per week with no stalls. I do exercise at least 3 days a week, usually 5 days. Walking for 30 to 45 mins 3 to 5 x's a week and lifting weights 3 days a week. Hope this helps. I'm sure once I hit the 4th, 5th&6th months things will slow down more than I want them to!!! But I guess we gotta' be "In it to win it" and just keep charging on!

You don't even look like the same person! The shape and color of your eyes...just beautiful! Ten years younger at least! Congrats

My NUT is part of the package with my bariatric surgeon. She deals specifically with bariatric patients. Not saying that what she recommends is the "gospel" but at least she is familiar with our kind. At 6 months her recommendations are: Calories- 800-1200/day Protein- 70-90/day Carbohydrate- Less than 100 grams/day Fat- about 35 grams/day Hydration- 64oz /day

If you have never worked out before and aren't familiar with proper form and function of the various exercises, Curves is a great program, If you have experience in the gym it may not be your thing. The equipment is designed to prevent injury from both doing exercises improperly and lifting too much weight too soon. The staff is knowledgeable and in my experience was very helpful. It is very "friendly" to a less experienced clientele. You won't have to worry about the muscle heads rushing you through your sets or taking forever to complete their 10 million sets like a typical gym. I say try it, you just might like it.

Congrats! I just registered for my first 5k on Dec. 3rd - can't wait to see how it goes. Keep up the good work

This week will be week 7 for me also. These are the foods I eat most often: 8oz soy milk with one scoop of nectar Protein powder and one scoop of click Protein Powder poured over lots of ice, it"s my version of iced coffee and it is yummy! string cheese edamame (soy beans) chicken/tuna/shrimp salad fish egg drop Soup scramble eggs w/ cheese pretty much i eat my protein first - ALWAYS. Rarely is there any room for anything else so pretty much only protein for now. I have discovered that my sleeve does not tolerate breading of any kind (ie: chicken tenders) which we really should avoid anyway.

I too had problems finding a protein that I could stomach. I tried several , including "Isopuke" as you call it, lol, that were just horrible. I ended up with Nectar as my everyday choice. It blends perfectly, not grainy. I mix it with light vanilla soy milk and add a few ice cubes to help water it down and keep it really cold at the same time. Nectar also has some fruity flavors that I like- Twisted cherry is my favorite, I mix it with water, ice and just a little dash of great value brand sf cherry drink mix. It has 25 grams of Protein, 0 carbs and 0 sugar, 100 calories in a serving (1 scoop). I agree with the advice someone else gave- go to the Vitamin Shoppe or GNC to buy protein and they will let you exchange it for something else if you don't like what you get. I've done it a few times at my local Vitamin Shoppe and have never had a problem. It is really important that you start to get some of your protein down soon though. It will be a few weeks or longer before you can get enough food to eat to cover all your protein needs. Best of luck to you in finding something that works.

I just wanted to let you know, I did buy a LBD in what seems like a silly size to me now, but every day I see myself getting closer to the day it will fit beautifuly! Right now there are so many clearance racks in Macy's dept store, so I said what the heck and bought my LBD! I may even go back and buy another one- I only paid $16.00 for an $89.00 dress!

Yes, my NUT recommends the same after the first month. For the first 4 weeks I was told less than 50gms of carbs, after week 4 we are told to up the carbs to 50 -100 gms a day, especially if you are working out on a regular basis. Maintenance phase moves you to 100-150 gms of carbs a day. Everything your NUT told you is true. The biggest difference is the type of carbs we should be eatting. It should be from complex carb sources, not quick burning carbs such as white flour products. Veggies and whole grains are the best sources of complex carbs.

I don't know my way around this BB very well apparently.. I didn't even know this post was here until just now! I was sleeved on the 29th of July. I didn't weigh myself until I went to the Dr. for my 2 week check up on the 11th, at that time I was 14lbs down from my day of surgery. I probably won't weigh myself again until I go to my next appointment on Aug. 25th. I am trying to focus on doing things right, following all the rules and not worry so much what the scale says. I followed the all liquids diet until my Dr. advanced me to pureed foods on the 11th. So far I'm not having any trouble eating my proteins, but I am really sick of protein drinks!!! I still feel shaky at some point during the day, almost as if my blood sugar is low. I am trying to just work my way through it. I go back to work on Monday so hopefully this shaky feeling will go away before too long. Over all I'm feeling pretty good. Best of luck to all the July Firecrackers, I look forward to keeping in touch!

According to the nutritional information I found on livestrong.com, a crystal light slurpee has nine grams of carbs. I guess you just have to plan for those carbs in your daily totals.

OK , no laughing here but I use preparation H cream around my eyes, the original oil of olay everywhere else on my face. I know it sounds weird but it works. Also sip, sip , sip that water! I'm forty one and no real crows feet yet- of course I've only lost 15 lbs so far, so maybe they"re waiting to surprise me soon!

Baby food is actually high in calories and carbs. It is intended to fatten-up those bambino's! I don't know if you've ever tasted baby food but .......YUCK! There is no way I could ever eat that stuff. Just stick with the basic high protein food choices and use the blender or food processor. My first pureed food was Wendy's chili run through the processor. It was delicious- but go slow it won't take but a couple of teaspoons to fill you up! Just make sure you add some type of moisture (broth or marinade) to your meats so they aren't dry- remember moist goes down better.

I too had a hiatal hernia - but mine was a para-esophageal hiatal hernia. Over half of my stomach was stuck up in my chest cavity. I also had trouble swallowing, this is how I found out I had the hiatal hernia. I had a problem with food betting stuck in my throat, sometimes for minutes (which seemed like hours) at a time. It kinda' freaked me out so I went to the Doc and they ordered an upper GI. Long story short, this is how I learned about VSG, the Dr. said that if they got in there to fix the hernia and any of the stomach tissue was strangulated they would have to remove a portion of my stomach so that I didn't develop infection from the dead or damaged tissue. I looked right at him and said "go ahead and take at least half of it- I eat way more than I should be able to now" he said "well actually, we could do that, have you ever heard of VSG?" I would say in my case it helped get me approved and for me it happened rather quickly. My Dr. did say that it wouldn't take any longer to recover, just that I would probably have a little more discomfort with deep breathing after surgery. That was indeed the only pain I really had, and even that wasn't bad after the first two days.

@BigSexxy: Oh, that is too funny- I read this and thought "that's right - you just wanna take that milkshake and french fries away from that baby!!! I know the feeling!lmao

Hey ya'll. Hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to share some observations/ experiences from my first week post-op. I came home last Saturday and was determined to meet all the requests of my Dr., bad idea. I tried to get in all my Protein and liquids - thats 48 oz of liquids which include the liquid I use to make my Protein shakes and 90 to 100 grams of protein. That's four or five, count em' 1,2,3,4 or 5 protein shakes. I made myself sick on day 2 and ended up throwing up almost a whole protein shake!! Do you have any idea how mad I was!!! It was enough to make a preacher cuss! SO lesson one- it is better to get in 75 grams of your protein without vomiting than to force that last cup of protein down and end up losing it all! I have been able to work up to this as the week has progressed but it has been a chore. On day three, my husband and I went to visit my mother-in-law ( who is just precious to me) for her birthday. Of course we stayed later than we planned and it was dinner time. My sister-in-law came over and cooked dinner for everyone. She made spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. For some strange reason it smelled awful to me. I know it wasn't awful, but it almost made me sick to smell it cooking!! Once it was made and everyone was sitting around with their plates, I thought that looks soooo goood!! I wasn't hungry, but I didn't quite know what to do with myself while everyone around me ate. It was a real challenge!!!! Lesson number two: plan for those times when everyone around you will be eating and drinking and having a good old time while you choke down protein. It will happen. Today i went with my mother aka "Paula Deen" and my youngest son to the aquarium. I was having a hard time getting my protein down this morning so I drank a premixed muscle milk for the first time for convenience sake and got it down pretty easy. Well, fast forward one building of the aquarium and the nature trail walk that leads to the next building and I find myself needing to get to a bath room (if you know what I mean) NOW!! I take care of business and think I'm on my way when we round the next corner on our way to the shark tank when BAM!!!!! it hits me again. I sprinted out and back to the little girls room for round two!! I don't know what caused this but......lesson number three: don't try a new Protein Drink when your going out for the day- it can be BAD...REAL BAD! We left the aquarium and of course the normal people with me need to eat. My mother loves "Bakers Crust" so off we go for a late lunch. Now you must know this about my mother, she LOVES food... probably more than me. She sits there and starts to read the details of the menu to me... OMG torture me!!! I finally look up and say "mother, would you mind reading that to your self maybe this time?" She says she's sorry that she forgot that I can't eat yet. REALLY MOM.. you forgot that a week ago today I finally went to a Dr. and had him cut out most of my stomach so I couldn't continue to kill my self with a fork!!! Of course I said "it's ok mother". lesson number four... If you have a mother, friend, cousin, etc. that loves food, It may be wise to limit your time with them while in the liquid phase of your diet!!!

Hot Mommas!! can't wait to be one myself! I think I'll shop for a LBD in a crazy little size just to see if I can wear it one day! (is that silly of me or what?!!)

Best of luck to you Toyia. This part of the process it rough, it ain't pretty at all!!! But the big picture... it's gonna be BEAUTIFUL! I keep telling myself this:)