Lissa

Wow, you are rocking that sleeve!! I see a major difference in your stomach area and your arms are slimming down quite nicely!

Lol. PDX. Bob died. I need to replace him. Lissa

Barry, I'm not bored yet. I go through phases, but I have a varied diet. It just doesn't include much bread. I used to make 10 loaves of bread a week and loved nothing better than a piece of freshly baked bread warm from teh oven, dripping in butter. Now, as Natural Rhapsody said, my sleeve gets too full too fast when I eat bread, so it's off my list.

1. Start exercising now. It doesn't have to be training for a marathon, but start walking and lifting small weights as soon as you can. You're building the habit into your daily routine, not training for that marathon. 2. Sip, sip, sip. Drinking Water is key, IMO, to losing the weight. Water hydrates your body and skin, fills up your tummy, and washes out the toxins and fat. 3. Get your Protein into your body every single day. 4. Forget dieting. This isn't a diet. It's a way of life. Get in the protein and your veggies, THEN worry about carbs. 5. There are NO good or bad foods. It's either protein or it's not. If I could find a chocolate that had protein in it, I'd do it. Oh, wait, I do... Protein Bars. 6. Eat on a schedule. This is important because we aren't hungry for the first few months. Forgetting to eat is worse, FOR ME, than over eating. 7. Avoid Cheetos!

Good for you! Hopefully Ms. Dawg is as happy about it as you are!

Jess, I started protein bars around the same time as I started solids. Half of one was a full breakfast for me for quite a while. Good luck!!

Capt Derel, You really don't look like I had you pictured in my head. I think it's great that you've put up a picture and that you have some befores, because you're going to be an AFTER very quickly.

Good for you! And, congrats on your engagement!!

I've actually had improvement of my HS since surgery. Of course, I am doing a few specific things to help that, too. I make sure I scrub everything thoroughly every day to help keep the pores clear and I check the vulnerable areas (thighs and armpits for me) regularly for any signs of a boil starting and drain anything that looks suspicious. I use triple anti ointment if I do have to open a spot. I do NOT shave if I'm having issues with bumps anywhere. Goodness, that's a lot of info to share in public! Yikes!

Cattracks! I just had a mental image of the guy who makes balloon animals! You just described how I feel about my boobs right now!

One other thing, my tech told me that insurance requires an average of 4 hours use a night for 90 days to continue to cover the machine. That was a great motivator for me to use the mask. I'd tell myself to just use it for the 4 hours and then I could take it off. Of course, I ended up sleeping through the night with it very quickly. That's the same head game I play with myself for exercise: "Oh, you only have to do so many minutes on the bike, or so many reps with the weights". By the time I'm done with that small amount of time or reps, I'm okay to continue to whatever my real goal is for the day.

I'd count every ounce of it!!!

Fear is normal. It's how we know we're alive. All of us go through it just before surgery, but the complication rate is very low, especially in an obese population, which is what we are. I have a diabetic aunt who has had 20+ surgeries due to her complications of diabetes. Eye operations, foot and toes operated on, including a toe amputation, surgeries to "release" a nerve in her arm, more eye operations to help prevent blindness, a stroke or 3, a couple of mild heart attacks and boils, boils, boils that have had to be lanced, cut out, and stitched to heal. SHE was my major inspiration for going through with my surgery. Well, her and my doctor telling me I had a year to live if I didn't get this weight off my body. Those two things also motivate me to go to the gym and exercise every day. One surgery is WAY better than enduring all the crap my aunt has suffered.

I've found that Wendy's chili is great for me. I can eat about half of a small (about $1.50 here) and save the other half for later. Tons of protein, easy to eat even if I'm driving (spoon? No thanks) and yummy. Since they give you a lid with it, it's easy to save. I always ask for a little cheese in mine, just to up the protein content a little more.

Capt Derel, Good to see a picture of you! I ate Easter dinner at my aunt's last weekend...and I planned it so that I could eat what I wanted. Holidays are one day where I don't worry about Protein or about whether or not something is going to fit into my eating plan. I had some turkey, ham, a devilled egg, a bite of sweet potatoes, green Beans, and mashed taters, and much later a little bit of cheese cake for dessert. I was SO full afterwards that I walked around the block to help things go on through. One of my other aunts made a comment about not wanting to be so restricted that she was forced to eat a single bite of each thing, then walk it off. I thought that was insane because I had plenty of food. I actually stood in the kitchen to eat and watched what everyone else put on their plates and ATE. My thoughts were "No wonder we're all fat!" A cousin made my mom's recipe for carrot cake and was (I heard later) offended that I didn't eat any of that. So, let me get this straight, now I'm offending you because I DIDN'T eat something? @@ It's a never-ending circle and some people will be offended no matter what we do. We have to make the choices that fit our lives and our sleeves. The upside is that apparently I was THE topic of conversation whenever I was not in earshot. Everyone is speculating on whether I'll actually "get skinny" and how long it will take me to gain it back. But, for the first time ever, I was smaller than all my aunts and all but one (very young) cousin.

While you're on the liquid stage, you do NOT have to wait half an hour before/after eating, because it's ALL liquid. I didn't have to wait before drinking until I started on mushies, although I didn't drink Water while I was drinking a shake or Protein source. You can also count the liquid on the liquid stages as part of your daily liquid intake, in case anyone didn't tell you that. It will get better. The head games our brains play with us SUCK.

obesity help message board

I'm forever indebted to the friend who told me to just make myself wear the mask. I use a full face mask (covers mouth and nose) and I'm so used to it now that I can't use the nose mask. I put the mask on for awhile during the day before the first night I slept with it. I did that to prove to myself that I can breathe through the mask even without the machine on and to get used to how it feels. My apnea has improved but it's not gone yet. Darn it! I am pretty much addicted to the mask/machine to sleep with now, even if I'm catching a nap. But, I notice that I don't need as much sleep as before and I feel so much better when I use it. You will get used to it, but it does take a night or two. I bought some Biotin gel to put in my mouth at night and it helps keep me from getting dry mouth.

Hope your buddy can keep up with you is all I can offer.

You're doing an amazing job with that sleeve!!

I'm a huge advocate of breastfeeding. You'd be surprised what the human body can do and how much it helps a child's immune system to breastfeed as long as possible. I nursed both of my boys until they were over 2 years old. My youngest had asthma, ear infections and a host of other health problems. When I discussed those with his pediatrician because I was worried that breastfeeding was causing problems, the pediatrician said "Imagine how much worse those problems would be without your immunities!" Youngest son was dx with diabetes at 14 and his endocrinologist said that my breastfeeding son for "so long" probably staved off the initial diagnosis by 10 years... so I believe in breastfeeding if at all possible. I agree that the OP should do her best to pump extra milk and freeze pre-op, then use that frozen milk post-op if necessary. I'm glad your surgeon is an advocate of lactating moms, too! Besides, breastfeeding DOES help mom lose weight and provides some pain relief all on its own. I don't see a down side to it! Good luck and please let us know how it goes!!

Good luck! Here's hoping all goes well and we're keeping your spot on the loser's bench warm for you!

I have a pretty good sized cup that I use for coffee. It's at least 16 oz and one scoop of protein powder (plus two splenda packets) is perfect for it!

Aww, Gman, Too bad we couldn't manage to meet up while you and the family were down here! That would have been great!