Lissa

Sounds delicious! I'll be making some later this weekend!

Congrats on starting the next phase of your life! Good luck with your surgery!!

I didn't lose an ounce in February, but I lost THREE pants sizes. I did drop 3 pounds a couple of days ago, and I'm excited, but I've been literally watching my body change shape in the last couple of months. From round to more of an hourglass. Keep the faith, follow the plan, and enjoy the journey!!

Welcome and good luck with your surgery!! Everyone here is a wealth of information. Hang around, have a protein shake and keep us updated on your progress please!

So, here's my six month update! Wow! I can't believe it's already been six months since surgery! I'm posting a before and a today pic. I am over halfway to goal and I'm THRILLED!!! The first picture is today, second is pre-surgery, and the third is 3 months after surgery. WOW is all I can say!

I don't have a lot to confess this week, thankfully! I bought a box of those tiny peppermint patties and I'm allowing myself 4 per day (40 calories). That seems to have cured my sweet tooth for now.

You are truly rocking your sleeve! I'm so impressed with your progress!! Congrats!!

You do look amazing, and you are STILL rocking that million dollar smile! I love your comment about submitting to the journey! That's what we all struggle so hard to be able to do. I think sometimes we just need to sit back and let it happen!

I have a whole shelf of Protein powders and, truthfully, every one of them disgusted me right after surgery. Suddenly I couldnt stand sweet stuff! My saving grace was broth, chicken and beef, low sodium versions. Decaf coffee and tea have become my go-to drinks, and I just discovered that putting a scoop of Protein powder in my decaf coffee is a good way to sneak in a little extra protein each day! I'm loving that because it allows me to have more veggies and fruits in my diet. Don't stock up on lots. Get 1 or 2 flavors of protein powder for early post-op. You can experiment with flavors later. Good luck!!

Honestly, I'd try drinking more Water or a cup of coffee first. I'm all for the most natural solution, although I'm not sure how "natural" coffee actually is! If the water/coffee doesn't help, then try adding some kind of fiber solution (benefiber or metamucil) before taking a stool softener. The stool softeners pull water from other places and hydration is a huge issue for sleevers, especially at only 7 weeks post-op! Good luck!

Biggie, Your doc probably does think you're taking the Nexium, so he's now added an appetite suppressant. Before filling that Rx, why not try the Nexium for a couple of weeks and see if it helps? I didn't think I had acid issues either, but my doc started me on pantoprazole and suddenly I didn't have any hunger anymore, and that was at 3 months out. I am amazed at the difference! I never had heartburn or reflux before surgery, so I wouldn't have recognized either after surgery either. Good luck! I hope it works for you!

Nancy, If you do decaf, you should be able to have coffee now. Add a little protein powder instead of the creamer and enjoy. Be aware that even decaf coffee can cause diarrhea issues, though.

An appetite suppressant? It seems like he would have given you an acid reducer first, since many people think they are hungry when it's really an acid problem. Are you working out a lot? That will definitely affect how fast the pounds come off because muscle does weigh more than fat. However, 18 pounds is nothing to sneeze at, especially if your clothes are getting looser and you're feeling better. Good luck! You're doing great!

I love and hate my scale, too! I finally moved it out of the bathroom and into the kitchen so I'd quit weighing every time I went pee. That was a good move since I didn't lose an ounce in February, although I did drop 3 pants sizes. I'm glad I live alone so that no one has to see me dart through the house in the morning to weigh before I shower, though! It's finally moving again, though, so I may allow it back into the master bath!

LOL, Enerfina! Yes, I'm such a party girl! I hadn't been out before the bachelorette party in probably 2 years. I do have a big circle of friends, though. We just don't spend a lot of time drinking.

Good luck! Here's hoping that it's step 1, then a sleeve!

http://www.womansday.com/sex-relationships/sex-tips/8-sexy-ways-to-burn-calories-110923 I had to look up the answer.

Several people have also told their boss that they were having hernia repair. That saves the gallbladder issue for later if you have those problems after surgery.

I had my first drink (diet coke and rum over ice) at 4.5 months out. I felt a little tipsier than I would have felt from one drink before, but I've never been a big drinker. Several weeks ago, I attended a bachelorette party where I drank 8 drinks over the course of about 7 hours, along with several glasses of water to combat the diuretic effects. I felt buzzed for a bit, then sobered up REALLY fast. I'm sure my liver hated me, but I had no adverse effects. No weight gain, no hangover and we had a blast. I did dance all night, so maybe that affected my alcohol absorption.

Have you tried logging out, then logging back in? Sometimes this fixes issues for me with another message board.

If you're going to make yourself eat chicken, why not try a chicken alfredo dish? You wont even be able to finish the chicken portion, so the calories in the sauce aren't that big a deal. This is supposed to be a special dinner, so I think you should order something that sounds delicious and filling even if it's not technically a high Protein choice. If you REALLY want Pasta, load up on the protein earlier in the day and have pasta. Besides, I just read a thread several days ago between MassIndex and PDXMan where they discussed carb-loading before races as being an important consideration. You may actually have a better race if you DO add some extra carbs in your system. BTW, congratulations on your first 5K!!!

"Waiting to Exhale" because it seems like I've always been waiting for something before I can start living. Waiting to grow up, then waiting on the kids to grow up, and now I'm waiting on the weight loss. But, I've changed that and I'm doing something about it instead of waiting anymore.

Meljp, I woke up from surgery with tons of energy that hasn't really flagged yet. The more weight I lose and exercise I do, the more energy I seem to have. Strange how that works, hmmm?

None of the foods mentioned above (except carbonated drinks, and there is debate about that) are totally off limits after surgery. Yes, it will be awhile before you will be able to eat steak and foods containing rice, like sushi, comfortably. But, you will be able to eat them again, just in much smaller portions. I've eaten one or two bites of rice since surgery. Rice and bread both fill me up super fast and aren't that appealing now because I'm concentrating on Protein every day. Now, if you ask me about cheetos...I'll find room in my sleeve for them! LOL I've been eating steak comfortably since about 3 months out. I can only do 2-3 oz of steak at a time, but I can eat it. If I'm in a restaurant, I ask for it to be done a little less than I like, then it's perfect when I reheat it at home. I don't find much that I still crave from the carb side of food (see cheetos above!), and, if I really want something, I'll plan it into my daily meals and work around it on the protein. Lately, I'm finding that I just want something different to DRINK, though. I'm about watered out, even with the help of the Mio drops. I drink lots of decaf tea and coffee and (shhhh), some decaf diet coke. A few days ago in WALMART, I found myself reading labels on everything in the drink aisle, looking for something that appealed to me without caffeine or citrus, which still upsets Rex (my sleeve). I've also been looking at all the Protein Bars out there to find one that sounds appealing. I'm sure the gal at walmart was chuckling because I bought a sample of every Protein Bar they had with more than 15g of protein that night.

I went to the seminar in May, had to delay my June consult to July because of health problems, and had surgery August 30. It would have been August 12, but I had to wait for 3 months after a blood clot before I could have surgery. I see that you're in FL. What doctor are you considering?