Lissa

refried beans were my first mushy and they were sooooooooooooooo good!! I can't imagine not being allowed refried beans! Half a cup is about 8g of protein. Not bad, IMO.

I drink coffee (decaf only) and it keeps things moving right along for me. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with sushi. Was it the fish or the rice that got you?

I was getting pretty worked up over all the doctors, tests and hoops I had to jump through before surgery. I had to have a filter installed and then removed after surgery as well. When they removed that filter from my vena cava and it had caught not one but two life-threatening clots, I realized that I was GLAD I'd had to do all the hoops! They saved my life and gave me the chance to be here 7 months later instead of that 1 in a million person who didn't survive surgery. Thank God for the hoop-jumping!

I was walking right out of the recovery room. My guidelines were to walk as much as I could for the first six weeks, and then I was cleared for weight lifting. Well, light weight lifting. I've added weight and reps as I've gone along. I was cleared for cardio (treadmill and bike) after three weeks I think.

Weird is like crazy. If you're wondering if you ARE, you're probably NOT. That's not always true, but you know what I mean. I had very little post-operative discomfort...and I'm VERY thankful for that. Enjoy it. Savor it. And don't brag too hard about it. LOL

Awww, thanks, Joni!! I don't drink a lot, but I do feel the alcohol VERY quickly these days. But, IMO, celebrating outliving the prediction calls for a drink...for me. I understand that some folks dont drink for various reasons, though. I'm still excited every day to see what new discoveries my sleeve has in store for me. My latest have been my collarbones and hip bones....

Wow, crackers this early? I hope that's approved by your doctor, but I'd be surprised if it is! This early you should be concentrating on your liquids. The more solid stuff will come in time, but you must get the liquids in or risk becoming dehydrated. It's a huge deal if you get dehydrated, so please concentrate on the liquids for the next few days. Maybe call your doc or nut and ask them for more specific eating guidelines if you're confused about what you should be having? Good luck!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE that NSV!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've had to really think about how to answer this question. My first thought was that it was no drinking within 30 minutes of meals, but that's natural to me now. I just don't drink until I am past that 30 minutes...I don't even think about it usually, although I used to set a timer. Then I thought that maybe it was not using straws, but I realized I'm drinking from a straw right now because I bought an iced tea at Sam's earlier. Menu changes? No, they're habits now. So, at 7 months out, the hardest thing has actually been... nothing. I can eat what I like, just less of it. I exercise more, but that almost seems like a natural progression of having more energy. I wear smaller sizes, so I'm shopping more. What woman doesn't like that?! I'm STILL in love with my sleeve and I still think it's the best thing I've ever done for myself. I'm also looking forward to June 3 of this year. It's not my surgery date, but I was told on June 3, 2011 that I wouldnt live another year if I didn't lose some weight. I'm planning to have a drink to Celebrate living another year with the help of my sleeve, Rex!

Sounds good! I've been doing the Sam's equivalent, but I have to take the skins off or they are too tough for me. Are the skins on your brand easier to handle?

Check you out!! You look so young and happy!! Go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Indymom, You are so close to the no longer obese goal! Congrats!!

This is like watching someone else be all excited about their first child when you've had your own first child! I can feel the excitement in this thread! This board is a Godsend for us during this stage, too! It's a safe place to talk about how you're feeling. I'm smiling huge because I see how excited you are.. all of you!!!

First of all, at only 10 days out, you're still very swollen inside. Ease up on yourself. Try drinking your Water with a spoon and letting it trickle down your throat. Then try changing the temp of what you're eating. If cold stuff is bothering you the worst, switch to warm drinks. I drank a lot of broth early post op. I would also suggest finding some non-dairy sources for both liquids and Protein. I became lactose intolerant after surgery, and it's really not pleasant. It can definitely make you feel like you just don't want to bother eating. Ask your doctor for some suggestions...maybe really liquified refried Beans would work for you? I'm not a fan of Isopuke anything. To me, it tasted like drinking sand..grainy and bitter. I also developed an intolerance for sweets that lasted until my 4th month out. I wish I could have kept that one! Good luck! Your swelling will go down soon and make it easier for you to drink and move on to the next stage.

I thought one of the finance companies just went under? Was it this one?

Good luck!!

I don't see anything wrong with it, although you're not going to be able to eat much at a time for a long time. You may want to consider whether you have someone around to help you eat this. Also you'll probably want to use veggies instead of chips/breads to dip this for eating...and you're still not going to be able to eat much at a time. What are the nutrition facts for this recipe?

To my knowledge, there is no formal clothing exchange. It works however you work it out with the person who has the clothing or is receiving the clothing. As a matter of fact, this may be your lucky day. I'm getting ready to clean out some clothes and would be willing to send you some of what I have if you'll PM me your address. I'm 5'8, so much of it may be long on you if you're shorter, but I have slacks, jeans and shirts that I'm going to box up. The sizes are 22, 24, maybe a couple of 26, but you probably don't need the 26's. Let me know if you're interested.

I'm always wondering about the stigma attached to WLS and "gaining it back" because people do WW, Atkins, etc and "gain it back" and it doesn't seem to have the same negativity attached. The beauty of WLS is that you always have the tool to use to lose the weight. And, I think WLS makes us more aware of what we must do to lose the weight and to maintain the weight loss. I wonder if there's ever been a comparison study to see who keeps the majority of the weight off longer: those who have WLS and those who use other WLS programs.

This whole experience is a learning curve. You will pick things up as you need them, or at least that's been my experience. I didn't start out taking the Vitamins I'm taking now. I added things in as I felt the need for them. I added exercise as my abilities improved and as I felt/saw results from the exercise I was already doing. I literally started out walking up and down my hallway in my apartment, then around the short end of the building. You will get to where you want to do all the necessary things because you want to keep improving. It will happen. Good luck!!

(((Hugs))) I'm so sorry about your sister!

Congrats! That halfway mark is so wonderful!!

I'm not sure where I've found motivation to work out. I certainly would have laughed at you if you'd told me, pre-op, that I WOULD ride that exercise bike every day and that I WOULD find some way to incorporate weight training into my workout plan. Heck, I wouldn't have believed I'd HAVE a workout plan! Exercise releases endorphins that make me feel good.. and I'm working on challenging myself to do more daily. It was really haphazard until I started actually seeing results and then it was like lightning struck and I just can't get enough!