Lissa

I think I'm a 34 bougie, and I've never had heart burn issues from surgery. I figured I would because I had horrible heart burn with both pregnancies. It's interesting how different people react to this surgery.

I had surgery Tuesday morning and drove myself home Wednesday night. I quit taking pain meds in the hospital at about 9pm Tuesday night, but I have an unnatural fear of narcotics.

I've been allowed decaf coffee since week 2 post op. I drink a few cups a week and find that it helps with bathroom issues. I have literally been decaffeinated since beginning my pre-op diet and don't find too much of an issue with it now. Pre-op, though, I was a diet coke addict and I'm sure the caffeine had a lot to do with it! I'm amazed that my energy level is very high even with no caffeine now. I didn't notice a real problem with coming off the caffeine, but that may be because I was so involved in trying to deal with my two weeks of liquid diet pre-op. Good luck, however you do it. Caffeine has a tendency to rob the body of Water, so it is worth the effort to get it out of your system.

Big Craig, There is no hard and fast rule that I know of about staying under 20 carbs per day. That said, everyone's body reacts differently to carbs and I unofficially tried to keep my carbs very low for the first six months. Once I started doing more intense workouts, I found that I had to increase my carbs to be able to have enough energy to finish a 30 minute cardio workout. I'd start really dropping out about 15 minutes into my bike ride, but once I added in some good carbs (as opposed to junk food), it became much easier to reach the distance and time goals I've set for myself. Now I'm actually increasing the resistance on the workouts, which is only possible because of the carbs. PDXMan and MassIndex have a big thread under Fitness and Nutrition about carbs and exercise. Since they are both running marathons, I figure they have some experience in this. I did not mean to imply to Mrs Brown that carbs themselves are bad. But, she stated that she is having an issue with a sugary cereal. If a food causes you a problem, it's time to eliminate it from the diet until you can get it under control. My personal achilles heel is baked cheetos. I love the darn things and will eat an entire bag of them at a sitting. They are a slider food for me, so I must keep them out of my house. If I'm planning to have some, then I'll buy the small vending machine size, enjoy the treat, and work out a little longer to make up for them. But, I've learned that it has to be a very occassional treat or I stall.

Exercise is a key to getting stronger and to helping your body reshape itself, so every bit is great! Now, if only I could convince my body to like doing it as much as I like the results! LOL

Derel, I get the Premier bars at Sams and I understand that Costco sells them as well. You probably hit one or the other regularly to keep the boat stocked!

I totally agree with CLK! This is about learning to eat like a normal weight person. NWP's eat regular food and sometimes they add junk to their diet. Okay, so you are in lose mode right now, but the only way to learn to maintain a normal weight is to learn to deal with food like a NWP. I don't consider food good or bad; for me it's either Protein or not protein. But, one of the biggest lessons I'm learning on this journey is that "not all carbs are bad carbs". As a matter of fact, now that I've stepped up my workout routine, I'm having to learn to ADD carbs to my diet in order to have the energy to handle my routine. As you go forward, you'll realize that you have days where you eat more than usual, and you'll have days where you won't eat anywhere near what you think you "should" eat. I'm not sure what causes the variation, but it will happen. Don't beat yourself up either way, just try to stay on plan as much as possible.

TMorgan, Walking is the best thing you can do and it will pay huge benefits as you continue. I couldn't walk from the car to my front door without being winded pre-op and now I'm walking to and from the gym for my daily workout, plus spending my 30 minutes on the bike while I'm there! It ALL adds up as you continue to work and pushing yourself a little more each day is NOT a bad thing. So my new workout routine is walk .7 mile, exercise bike for 30 minutes, walk .7 mile, weights (high reps, low weight), then a shower. If you had told me at 2 weeks post-op I'd be doing all of this willingly, I'd have told you that you were nuts, yet here I am... and I started exactly where you're at with walking as much as I could handle.

The first step in overcoming an issue is to realize there IS an issue! Get rid of the Cereal and concentrate on your Protein and Water goals. BTW, there is no "only" when it comes to weight loss. Next time you go to the store pick up 3 5 lb bags of flour and carry them around while you shop. It will make you realize how much weight you've already dropped and give you some perspective on how successful you've already been. Then it will motivate you to continue following your plan (70g of protein, 64oz of water) so that you continue to lose those 5 pound bags of flour! Every time I get frustrated about my weight loss, I think about how many bags of flour or sugar I've lost. I certainly don't want to carry around 18 bags of either one...and my knees, hips and ankles thank me for it daily!

Gingersnap (LOVE the picture, btw), The difference in bougie size is so small that I don't think it really affects how hungry we are. Bougies are measured in millimeters, so the difference between a 32 and a 40 is about {this}. I think my doctor said mine was a 34, but it's not really significant overall.

KansasGirl, Good for you for putting on your big girl panties and doing this for yourself! Don't let Dad or anyone else get in the way of your dream of a healthier life! My STBex told me the same thing: Eat less and exercise more and you'll lose the weight. At 350 pounds, that wasn't going to happen. Now that I'm 7 months out and over 90 pounds lost, he's singing a different tune about how this is the best thing I've ever done. Forget the non-supportive haters! Just do what you need to do and enjoy the results!

You both need to talk to your doctors about acid reducers. There is head hunger immediately post op, and then there's the hungry feeling produced because your body is still making acid like you're going to eat a whole buffet. Once that acid reducer kicks in, you'll feel less hunger. good luck!!

Don't feel clueless and alone. You had surgery April 3, so you are 18 days out? Right? At 3 weeks is when I got to transition to soft mushy food (21 days). Your doctor should have given you a timeline to follow for Clear liquids, then full liquids, then mushy food, then regular food. If not, it's time for a phone call to someone in his office to give you some guidelines. Search here for the what to eat threads. Many people have posted what they were eating at various stages and specific ideas for how they met that goal. Good luck...and hang around. We don't bite..much.

njerry, I just added you.

Halfway is HUGE!! I'm so happy for you! You're really working that sleeve!

Post your username and you'll have 20 friends in an hour. If you're using it on your phone, go to summary and it will show you your friends' status updates, including their exercise..which motivates me the most! I keep my diary public. For any public diary, your friends can go in it and see what you're eating, drinking, and exercising on a daily basis. I find that this keeps me honest. You'll see that I have eaten sweets and carbs on occasion...and even that I've had alcohol. I figure I should post everything so that I can see trends later (if needed) and to keep it honest for those who are following me. I'm Lissa912 on there. Feel free to add me, just note that you're from VST if you use a different username there than here.

LOL, thanks, Kathy!! I'm losing, albeit slowly on the pounds front. B U T I am stronger and wearing smaller sizes than I have in 10 years. I'm btwn 260 and 264 daily, dying to get into the 250's. However, I weighed 245-260 on the way up for over 10 years, so I know this is a plateau weight. It doesn't matter, though. I will get there and I'm adding in more exercise every day. Besides, my butt looks fabulous right now!!

Cherrybomb, You posted that you wouldnt put your pre-op weight out there for anyone to see. I will. I weight 352 at my absolute highest and I'm knocking on 100 pounds lost. I didn't really drop sizes for a long time. I was in my 3 week stall when I lost my first size, and then it seemed to take months before I lost another size. A few days ago I went to the store to buy workout clothes because mine were embarassingly large, so large in fact that I inadvertently flashed an old man my boobs at the gym the other day! I figured I needed an 18, but bought 16s because they were stretchy workout clothes and I don't want to flash anyone again. The 16s not only fit, they fit well!!! I am going to buy jeans this weekend and I know I'll be trying on everything in sight, just to get a better idea of what fits. The sizes will drop soon and you'll be amazed at how fast it happens. Lil Miss Diva told me that months ago and I thought she was nuts, but now I know that it happens and it happens so fast our brains cannot keep up. I still see the bigger me in the mirror, but that's not the gal that shows up in pictures these days. I remember thinking "That girl has a waist" when I was looking at my own picture about a month ago. Well, THIS girl has a waist and I have to keep reminding myself of that!!

I haven't tried Zumba yet, but I understand how great that must make you feel! Great job!!

Ever hear of transfer addiction? Don't start drinking now just because you can't eat. I think a little alcohol here and there is fine, but it's strange that a non-drinker would suddenly start craving it, IMO. My psyche told me that I would "definitely" become an alcoholic, so I've been very stringent on how much and when I drink...and I never drank much pre-op either. Good luck!

Paola, Half of fixing a problem is recognizing it and admitting it. food is a horrible addiction and we all have at least some form of it, IMO. You did an amazing job on your pre-op and you're going to do an amazing job now! I have faith in you! You need to keep coming where you get support and help from people who have been on the same journey you're on, and that means you need to check in here more often. Don't leave yourself out there with no support. I notice that I stay more motivated and on schedule when I check in here daily. Good luck! I can't wait to see your newest before/after pics!

I understand that as we become more fit our resting heart rate drops. However, your elevated heart rate could be due to anything, including lingering effects of the surgery. If your doctor isn't worried about it, I wouldn't let it worry me either. Keep an eye on it, though. As you become more fit, it should drop back into your "normal" range.

Pagie I feel your pain. I'm less than 10 pounds from being 100 pounds down and I've been bouncing on the 4-5 pounds I need for weeks. I've upped my exercise, added carbs, decreased carbs, done everything I can to break into the next decade and it's just not happening. However, I just fit into another size down, so I know that I'm reshaping myself. I'm trying to concentrate on that last size I lost and not worry about the scale. I'm also adding in more exercise. For real, I can handle the number I see on the scale now if I am fit and fine. So, I'm letting go of the scale until next week and going to go walk to the gym, do my workout and not worry about the numbers. I also had a friend make a huge deal over how great my butt looks (he's a butt man), so that gives me incentive to keep on working out.

You will lose. Stick to the basics, water, protein, exercise. If you're truly discouraged, take some measurements and compare them to your pre-op measurements. You did take pre-op measurements, right? If not, now is a good time to take them for future reference.

Amazing!! Congrats on your successful weight loss so far! You'll be at goal by June for sure!