CowgirlJane

Well, I have definately allowed more calories and carbs back into my diet... but since I don't track I can't say exactly how much. I still watch carbs very closely.... As you get to goal, just carefully add back foods and watch for weight/size/health changes.

My kids are older. When I had my surgery, they were late teens/early 20s. My oldest is a slim, but not necessarily healthy habits person. My youngest is more prone to weight gain. I did enlist them in my transformation in the sense of i had a very hard time resisting certain foods so we came up with the "Carb drawer" which i simply don't open but has some foods they enjoy and want. They don't tend to shop with me or anything like that but they observe that I eat small portions and often on an appetizer sized plate. On the rare occasion that they prepare and serve up food, they always put mine on a small plate - I don't even ask. My youngest who is now 22 told me early on that he wanted to improve his eating habits and has lost weight too. (He was never obese, but is a big guy and has always been prone to some extra weight). I think my modeling of eating behavior has influenced him in a very positive way. My kids don't really like doing "active" stuff with me like they did when they were younger. However, last several years the mothers day tradition is going for a hike, not a big ole brunch. The oldest in particular hates hiking, but he does it in recognition of doing something that makes ME feel good. I don't think my exercise/activity habits have really reasonated with either of them - as they are young enough they only like to do fun stuff for exercise! I wouldn't do this with younger kids, but with them I do sometimes bring up my weight loss, how I am still working at maintaining it etc. I do it because they both live with me again and I find that touching on my struggles improves our relationship. Example, if i am going through a time of feeling a bit more emotional around food - I might mention it so they know I am going through something. IT makes them more aware of my possible behavior and consequences - not that they need to do anything. The thing that shocked them both was bringing out my before picture after I had been at goal for awhile. It was deeply upsetting to them because they didn't remember how I looked. It wasn't just the fat, it was that you could see my physical pain and misery in that picture and I think they felt terrible that they didn't even remember it. i told them it was okay to not remember it, but it was a reminder of how much I have changed. That led to the conversation about how much I have changed in terms of interactions with them and others - all very positive I might add!

Gummies are a "no no" because they aren't all that nutritious. I have had great labs year after year, so as long as that continues, i feel what I am doing is good enough. I do take supplements seriously, but normal Vitamins make me queasy so I modify to do something that works. If I become deficient I will go back to bariatric vitamins.

I only have one per day... but i am 3 years out and eat a pretty healthy diet. In addition,I still have one Protein drink a day (premier protein) which is also enriched with Vitamins.

@@Oregondaisy are you fully recovered yet? IS your mobility better/pain decreasing? Sure hope you are finally getting some benefit from this nightmare surgery! I know that some people get good results from back surgery, but I have heard many horror stories! I was going to share that my appetite is WAY up. In truth, that isn't really it. Rather my resolve to not use food to soothe myself is way down. I have caught myself eating when I am not truly hungry and eating more than I need to "no longer be hungry". I need to figure this out before I start gaining. I think this is rooted in my anxiety uptick. A year ago, I couldn't eat I was feeling so bad. I don't really have a reason to feel bad now, life is good, I just have allowed myself to lose some focus on my fitness. There is a certain amount of midlife crisis going on. I frankly do not really know what i want to do with myself in the bigger picture. I want to "retire" so I can be free to pursue other interests, but beyond that - I've got nothing. I don't really know what I want in terms of long term relationship (do I ever want to live with a man again etc). I do have a medium term plan in terms of living arrangements because I recognize that for me, that is a very important. I want privacy, but not isolation and I am working on a plan for that that is kind of exciting!

@swizzly Dee - I had a bit of a shocker this last weekend. I am bigger in size than I was at this same weight. It is because I am not as fit. I am not sure about your scale shenanigans - have a hard time believing that just a different hard surface makes such a difference!!! What did you find out When I return home from vacation, my priority is on establishing a life cadence again that works for me on all fronts. I have time to work out as long as it is a priority! I head off to Costa Rica with a girlfriend soon. I don't know why, but i was feeling a little anxious the last few days and kinda down today. I am not afraid of travel, and have done alot of it so I am not sure the "place" this comes from. I actually think it is not so much related to the trip but rather the pressure I feel from some other things in life. i have decided to sell my house - probably early spring 2016. I am looking for relief from the maintenance etc - i just don't enjoy home ownership like I used to. It is a scary decision as I have owned a home since i was 24 years old. I think that decision tripped some internal wires about insecurity and "shoulds".

I hate the emails... so I am set to not get them, yet there are a few threads that I do and I don't know why. You know, right next to your user name on the upper right corner of the screen, you can click that little "gear wheel" (looks like an arrow on my phone). From there you can select "content I follow" which will reveal everything you are following. Also, to the very far right is rectangle that does NOT look like an envelop that has all your notifications. I think that is still working as I have hundreds of them piling up.

I use it because I really struggle with vitamins. I was having double dose of gummies and it seems to me that the ecodrink has better vitamin coverage than the gummies.

I am at maintenance and over the years have found great stuff at costco like premier Protein. Here are a few protein sources that are in my convenience food rotation now. Note I don't eat buns or bread with any of this (too much) but might have with lettuce or something. I am 3 years post op. the salmon patties are delicious on a small bed of lettuce and tomato. i use white balsamic vinegar and just a bit of olive oil

I had the same problem. I would put "normal" or "average" and all the guys marked average were actually overweight.... I eventually switched to "atheletic or "fit" but i couldn't bring myself to do that until I had skin removal. Weird. Anyway - I am currently very pleased to have NO profile out there!

I hope it works. I lost 85# on weight watchers years ago and didn't have much of a skin issue because I was still overweight. My excess skin got worse the closer I got to a normal weight/size post sleeve but I lost alot of weight. I lost 60# and got to a normal weight when I was 20. I had no excess skin and could wear a bikini. There are various factors.a

I generally agree with you because this is serious business. Seems like if a person agrees to have the majority of a key organ removed you'd bother to take the time to ask a few questions up front. However,much of what is posted during the "whiney" phase comes from emotions not clear thinking, it can be a good idea to just ignore it. Example, every body seems to think that the bad stuff never applies to them. When they experience hunger due to acid, they think they have the only "failed" sleeve because they sorta skimmed over some of the potential "issues" and adjustment period. Most get over the temporary insanity.

@@liannatx I believe bioenterics was later puchased by Innamed. I was banded in Germany around the time it was approved in USA in spring 2001. There were two main bands - the other was made by a swedish company I think. http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/srdesign/2006/group2/Research%20Paper/Lab-Band%20Information.htm

I think they have given you excellent advice. I lost way more weight and didn't have those issues..So have it checked. What is a "full gastric"?

I don't live in Snohomish, but am there at least 2-3 times a week! Love to hear from fellow "townies"

Tough one. I had my band surgery in a German hospital. Excellent care, but i felt imprisoned. They kept me for like 5 days (a very German thing to do I might add). I thought I was dying and the surgeon recognized I was having the hospital blues and finally released me. I had my band removal in day surgery, surgical center - went home same day. I had my sleeve in a surgical center, and they kept me overnight because they changed the protocol for people with sleep apnea. That was a great experience. 3 patients, one nurse, and just knowing that I was being watched over, but not in a hospital was perfect. My rather extensive plastics was done in a surgical center attached to a hospital. I stayed for 3 days in the "surgical center" which was more detailed care than any USA hospital I have ever been at. One of the key reasons I went to Mexico for plastics was that I could not visualize it as day surgery - and that is what was offered to me here in Seattle. I needed the care and am grateful for it. Plastics is a much bigger deal in terms of the surgery than the sleeve was. Take the option that gives you the most "help"

I am not gonna diss someone for their goal - we each have our own journey. I think for someone who used to be in the 500-600# range, getting to 300 IS AMAZING. However... The problem is that the newbies actually believe this advice is applicable to them because he is so strong in his statements. I am sorry my fellow middle aged ladies - if you are anything like me... you can't be "eating what I wanted, when I wanted and made just the way I liked it." and still attain anything close to a normal weight/size... and then have a prayer at maintaining it. I LIKE being in single digit sized clothing and would be unhappy if I was still plus sized after the WLS. If you want the best chance at making your goals, follow your surgeons instructions. If you want more mentoring than that, pick a few people on these forums that are similar to you (roughly speaking, amount of weight lost, gender etc etc) who have had wild success and listen to them. That is what I did - and none of those very successful ladies who proceeded me ever said I could eat whatever I wanted.. prepared any damn way I wanted... Too bad because it would be deep fried red potato slices every night with dinner cuz that is exactly what I would enjoy the most. sniff sniff

Sharon I agree on that assessment in the beginning. .but over time it is increasingly possible to ignore the sleeve tool and return to old ways.

I feel very much the same. Just so happy with ME I don't have time to worry about others. Like I said, it does worry me a little that I have gone down the "obese people are invisible" route which I don't like. I was out listening to live music a couple weeks back and a very obese man with a cane was there. He so wanted to dance, and a few of us got him out on the dancefloor - he just sorta bobbed his head dancing in place - but had a good time. However, in general - I don't notice obese people. So. Like me, you are freaking tickled with yourself.

I have never been set up for email notification as that would drive me crazy. Do you all see the little pulldown arrow right affer the "Hello Cowgrrljane" .click on it and chose "content I follow" and it will list the threads you are following. Had a fun s Saturday, my friends 50th. We went to dinner, a country western dancing bar and then salsa..woo hoo! Things are going well with Scott and life is good overall.

Me 3 I am not mean, just a realist. Me too...I can parachute in and be the "Bully" to them....

What is interesting to me about your remark is comparing the "culture" of those two different forums. I too started out on the other but as you know rarely post there anymore. At some point, a few months post op, i realized that there were more people here that were inspiring to me... I chose a strategy to pick a handful of people who were "similiar" to me - revised from band, lots of weight to lose - and were successful. I focused on listening to THEM. i found the other forum friendlier at times but not as inspiring or useful. Now, since I am not known there very well, when I do drop in I have a high probability of ticking someone off or tangling with a certain guy which i find fascinating. It is like the "culture" is just enough different that I manage to rub people wrong pretty predictably. I do understand why vets don't hang around. There are several who are a year or two further out than me who are in somewhat contact, but really don't want to read posts about the 3 week stall anymore. somewhere along the line, the tipping point is reached and they just stop altogether.

There are very few people who are 5+ years out that still post on these forums. I am 3 years and 3 months post sleeve. i had the lapband for over 10 years prior to that. I am not exactly sure how to answer your question though. For me, it was life or death. I had become so obese, i was not living the life i wanted and I had to choose whether to die slowly buried in fat, or choose another path. since being sleeved, I can eat anything but in small portions. I really have to work to avoid regain, but have been maintaining a very significant weight loss since Feb 2013.

I think you received good suggestions. I felt weird - icky - not quite human for at least 12 weeks post op. Besides my stomach being a bit queasy, i had this very odd sensation of "observing' myself rather than feeling fully present in my world. I know that sounds kinda nuts, but it did go away. I suspect it is the after effects of anesthesia or the trauma of surgery or maybe just the not being able to overeat to soothe my soul? i don't really know, but it was odd and unsettling. Herbal tea (which isn't real tea and has no caffiene) also helped as I couldn't tolerate plain Water in those early months.

When was your surgery? What is your morning routine. Example, vitmins didn't set well on my morning tummy...