BKMama

Great job!! And I must commend you on going on vacation, indulging a little and enjoying yourself but hopping right back in the swing of things without beating yourself up!

I carry a pretty large purse, so I air pop my own popcorn and take it in with me. I also take my water bottle too. Other things you could do is veggies and ranch greek yogurt dip, turkey roll ups (turkey slices and cheese rolled), string cheese, pretzels (these are a slippery slope for me...but others do well with them). EDIT: Oh crap, I totally missed that you were on soft foods. Sorry!! Most of my list doesn't apply. I would honestly probably take a protein shake with me and call it a day.

The Crockpot is your friend. I can only eat chicken breast out of a crockpot because it's super moist. Otherwise, it has to be pretty much drenched in a sauce of some kind. My favorite crock pot recipe is breasts, some EVOO, and a packet of Italian dressing mix (or just use regular italian dressing). You can also make salsa chicken with salsa and chicken. Lots of things you can do in the crockpot with chicken and it comes out super moist! That said, I still can only eat 2-3 oz. But I expect that to be my serving and am fine with that.

I did the same thing. My nutrionist really got on my case but "forgot" to send that I gained to my surgeon because he would have cancelled my surgery. Funny enough, I wasn't weighed for 2 weeks (the time between seeing the nutrionist and surgery day) and they didn't weigh me on surgery day either. So, I'm not sure he would have known otherwise. Anyway, just do what you can to take it off. Good luck!!!

Nice job!

Yep, how is your protein? You can take vitamins, biotin, etc but if your protein isn't where it needs to be you will have the hair loss.

Thanks for the message, Frank. We did two different hospitals so we are all good. :-) Yours isn't technically downtown Keep up the fabulous work!! BTW, I totally get keeping specifics private. Doesn't bother me at all...

Hi there, you are having great success, that's awesome. I'm curious, you keep mentioning your hospital, but not by name, and I'm almost positive we had our procedure at the same hospital. (To my knowledge there is only one world class university hospital located in downtown Chicago.). Anyway, the follow up care by the surgical team (nurse practitioners, dieticians) has been awesome for me. After surgery, I got 2 visits from not only the surgeon and his residents but also the anesthesiologist came by as well. Since surgery, I've done the recommended visits with the NP and the NUT...but I never expected to see the surgeon unless a problem came up. But I asked about the visits after surgery and they were clearly outlined. The program before surgery was pretty extensive as well, so I'm surprised to see you say you didn't do any pre-work. I just wanted to put that out there in case anyone else comes across your story and may have doubts about the hospital, surgeons, the learning process beforehand, or the after care. I have been extremely happy with the program from start to now (almost 5 months post op).

Wow, look at you! You are rocking your sleeve!

This hasn't been my experience at all. I can eat maybe 3 bites of a thick cut salmon because it tends to be drier. Tilapia and Swai, I can eat an entire small fillet because it is such a light and flaky fish. LOL, I try not to waste food but at a wedding recently I just moved the food around so it looked like I had eaten a bit more of it. I was with a group of friends and some know about the surgery so they definitely do watch what and how I eat. It's a little annoying to feel like a science experiment while you're eating.

Make sure it's skipping through a field of daisies!

Girl BYE! You still have plenty of curves for your hubby to love on. You look great. Would he rather you have a donk and the issues that come with being overweight or a baby donk (LOL) and be healthy?

Yep. I helped moderate a board (of all women at that *shudder*) and it just goes with the territory. With this group having no type of no vetting or screening to gain access, that just adds to the wide range of people/opinions/drama. Some people really are just miserable and love the e-courage that talking to people on message boards bring them. Some people aren't trying to be mean but just tend to tell it how it is (it's hard to infer tone in words written on a screen). Some people's lives are all sunshine, ponies, and rainbows.

Wow!! That is so awesome. We had similar starting statistics so I am hoping to be as successful as you have been.

Your article made me cry! You are such an inspiration!! My goal this year is to walk/jog 2 5K's plus the Dirty Girl Run which is an untimed obstacle course (baby steps LOL). I totally get the moving from one addiction to the other. I would have NEVER in a million years thought I'd be a gym rat. It feels so awesome though!