Soup-a-Woman

I made Soup today for the first time in months. Soup is the only reason I am reconciled to the end of summer and the end of my hiking season. New recipe - Split Pea with Shredded Ham http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/09/back-to-school.html

I'll be 2 years out in October. Best best best decision I ever made. I've lost 150 lbs - lost it in about 10 months, actually - and have kept it off since. I still eat little nibbles of food, but never feel deprived, and my lifestyle has become very active. I feel amazing. So, I would do it absolutely again in a heartbeat!!

Well, it will be 2 years in October, anyway!. I've maintaned the same weight for over a year now (155 lbs) and really have no issues at all anymore. The only thing I've noticed that's different is that for the first year I could have gone with no food at all - I never cared if I ate ever again. Now I'm hungry alllll the time - or at least every 2 hours or so. However, with that said. Still 4-5 bites of "whatever" completely satisfy me. And my lifestyle is so freaking active that I'm constantly burning calories. August in particular is active because I participate in a fund-raiser Hike-A-Thon and so far this month I've hiked over 50 miles with over 10,000' in elevation gains. I feel like a success story. Right now I'm scheduled for my skin removal surgery on September 10th. Doing my thighs, stomach, and lifting up the girls back where they belong (but not "enhancing"). If I get some kind of teaching job this fall, though, I'll have to reschedule. Best Wishes, Soup-a-Woman edited to say: I started at 305 lbs, so I've lost and kept off 150 lbs.

Oooh. Love the idea of an edamame guacamole!!! I make Soup out of edamame too... they're very versatile, but I like it with coconut milk and lime juice. Here's a link to my version: http://soup-a-woman....ouper-food.html

I'm too late for Super Bowl - but I normally serve a Buffalo Wing Dip (super fattening) and this year I created a Buffalo Wing Chowder instead which was delicious and SO great on my sleeve - as Soup generally is for me. http://soup-a-woman.blogspot.com/2012/02/souper-bowl-sunday.html

I had a very similar experience... I got very dehydrated and got a bladder infection that turned into a kidney infection. It was only after I absolutely DEDICATED myself to hydration that I started feeling better and made the turn. My husband reminded me just the other day that after the surgery I had regrets too. I'm so far removed from it now I barely remember that because I'm so dang happy now! HY.DRATE. I sipped and sipped Gatorade (which I did not care for, but knew it had to happen) and I ate a ton of sugar-free popsicles, which I did like and was able to get down. Take your time... no need to try and drink a bunch at once. Take one sip. Wait. Sip again. Wait. Etc.... My aversion to Protein shakes has already been explored here. I'm sorry you're having trouble with food right now but it will come, I promise. In the meantime you should focus 100% on fluids. Best of luck and good wishes for you!

Soup does go down easier for sure than other things. That's why when I make soup I include a strong Protein in it, and usually, my Soups have 2 Proteins in them. Maybe a meat as well as a plant-based protein like a grain or a legume. I have several examples on my soup blog. I still can't eat a full cup of most soups, if it's one of my own soups, at least. But I would probably be able to eat much more if it was a blended soup or one with not much substance to it. I make and eat a lot of soup.

I lost about 1/2 my hair after VSG. I did lose hair after both my kids' births as well, but not to this volume. I didn't lose any at all until 4 or 5 months after surgery and then Wham! It's coming back now... I have a ton of little 1-2" hairs all over my head. The funny thing is that both the hair that I have left and the hair that's coming back in has gone wildly curly. I always had a wave to my hair, but now I'm all crazy curly. I would go bald though, if it meant I could lose the 150 pounds I've lost. I feel terrific, even with thinner hair!

Something I'm also mindful of is that how my sleeve works now may not be how it works 6 months from now, a year from now, 5 years from now. I weigh myself regularly. 160 pounds is the magic number where my BMI goes to normal. My plan is to make sure I never go above a normal BMI ever again in my lifetime. So if I ever get to 160 again, I will know that I need to adjust my food choices and re-evaluate. I have no plans whatsoever to have to address 150 lb. weight loss again.

Sweetie, I don't have anywhere near the same problem... but I'm posting to let you know that you are supported At least, you are supported here if not at home. You deserve a happy life... thin or fat. Value yourself. Love yourself. I wish you the very best. And good for YOU for not using this crappy day to overeat! You will SUCCEED!!!

I too, hesitate to jump in here. I can only speak to my experience... and I'm sure i"m going to get blasted. Your sleeve is small. You need to eat frequent tiny meals. I have often found that 3 or 4 bites constitutes a "meal" for me. Am I hungry sometimes 2 or 3 hours later? ABSOLUTELY! And I eat another "meal." I've lost 150 pounds. I listened to my body (which, by the way completely rejected Protein drinks, so I supplemented Soup instead) and fed it when it needed to be fed. How does a nurse in some office not living in your body know when you need food? I never once felt like I was on a "diet" like I did before I was sleeved. I was easily satisfied with a few bites. Then when my body needed food again I fed it a few more bites until it was satisfied again. I wish you the absolute best of luck. 100% and truly!

I had my surgery October 7, 2010. I weighed 305 when I started this journey, so I've lost 150 pounds. The sleeve is the best thing that ever happened to me.

No haters. But yes, I have eaten whatever I wanted the entire time and the weight simply melted off of me. It might have helped that I really am not much of a sweets person and like to cook so my food choices aren't really seriously horrible. And for the first 6 months or so I didn't really care if I ate or not... I didn't experience hunger, really. But no matter what I put in my mouth, the weight just kept flying off. In the beginning I was sometimes losing 1-2 pounds a day. Seriously. Now, I've been at 155 pounds the last 3 months or so, and I did gain up to 157 over the holidays. But I weighed myself again this morning and I was back to 155, without really doing anything about it. I think my experience is pretty atypical, though. Especially when I read some of the struggles people are having here on the boards.

I shopped consignment a lot on the way down. I got a great pair of Levi's and DKNY jeans for $6 apiece. I'm pretty much at goal now so I've splurged on some expensive stuff. It's SO much fun being able to shop in regular stores! I bought a pair of "Not Your Daughter's Jeans" - so much money but unbelievably comfortable. My favorite part about being thin is that I can actually find stuff on clearance that's CUTE and fits. At a size 28 clearance racks were limited and on clearance for a reason. Ug.Ly. I just bought a pair of Tommy Hilfiger capris for $4 to wear this spring. Yay!

I didn't think that I would care about the hair loss, but I did, big time. I lost about 1/2 my hair during that stage... it started about 3 or 4 months after the surgery and went on for months. My hair has definitely started to grow back. When I saw my stylist in August (I really stretch out visits, LOL) she said I had little baby 1-inch hair all over my head. I figure pretty soon I'm going to look like a giant chia pet.

I had my procedure done on a Thursday and went back a week from Monday later. I was phsically able to do that, but the biggest mistake I made (as a teacher) was not getting in enough water once I went back. Whenever you go back... DRINK YOUR WATER ALL DAY LONG. Work at it. Hard. It will make all the difference.

Well, I was self-pay. Had it done in the U.S. and I have never in my whole entire life felt better. I've lost 150 pounds in a year, my BMI went from 42 to normal, my pre-diabetes is gone, and my cholesterol dropped from 245 to 131. My knee pain is also gone, thus eliminating the future need for a knee-replacement. It was the best decision I've ever made. It cost me a fortune, for sure, but I gained an entire life. Hard to put a price on that. Hope your wife can get behind you.

I should have posted about these when I found them last summer, but I procrastinate. A lot. Anyway, I was shopping for some kind of Shapewear to help hold the extra skin firm (jiggle reduction) and I was appalled at the prices. Holy moly. I'm a substitute teacher here, people. Even at Wal-Mart the Hanes ones (or whatever brand it was) were like $24 bucks. Ridiculous. So I move a little further down the aisle and they have this black cami that appears to have some lycra action going on. It's only $5.99 so I buy one. When I get it home I am UBER impressed! It holds my skin in, is comfortable, and works like a charm. I immediately went back and bought 2 white ones and 2 more black ones. I wear one every day under my clothes. (Which also works great cause it adds another layer to my perpetually freezing body.) Anyway, just thought I'd let y'all know. They're the No Boundries brand and the tag says "Seamless Cami." I'm around a size 8 now, and I buy the medium and it works great. They go up to XL, I think. I saw them there this weekend, so at least at my Wal-Mart they're still selling them.

These are the ones I like, too. I get them at Costco.

Applesauce went right through me the first time I tried it on the pureed stage. Ugh. I ate a lot of cream of chicken Soup during that time, I couldn't look at that red & white can after awhile. My favorite was softly scrambled egg... I couldn't come close to eating a whole egg but MAN was it good after liquids! How about a pureed white bean and rosemary soup?

I hated the bariatric supplements. **shuder** But thankfully, after my sleeve had healed my nutritionist said I could switch to a swallowable. She recommended Rainbow Light Women's One. They have tons of stuff in there and I only have to take it once a day. They don't upset my stomach, either. I buy them on Amazon.

I probably didn't try very many in the big picture of protein shakes/powders. Every one I did try I absolutely hated. I've always been a foodie, and I enjoy cooking (I used to be a caterer before I went back to school and got my teaching degree), and it just made more sense for me to get my protein my way. I have loved coming up with new soup recipes! In fact, I'm working on one today that is a blended kale and white bean soup with a poached egg. I'm all drooly just thinking about it. My journey has been enjoyable, really. Waking up healthy every morning is AWESOME! http://www.soup-a-woman.blogspot.com

I get all my Protein from actual food, and haven't had a Protein shake or any other disgusting form of protein since about week 1 or 2. I work consciously at eating small healthy meals, usually Soup. I almsot always include 2 different sources of protein in my Soups. In fact, my latest blog post just this morning was about sources of protein! Thanks for the good info!

I was told no caffeine for 6 weeks, and then it was no problem. I've never liked coffee, but I caffeinate in the morning with an iced tea. Have not had any problems ever with it.