WillowsKnot

I have not made it to any of these yet but woukd like to. Where is the meeting held? Hard to believe that I am 1 year 4 months post surgery at this point. Thanks and look forward to attending.

I eat salad about 3 to 4 times a week now. I started to be ok with it at 6 months out. I eat a variety of greens in my salad and include carrots. No celery. Can't handle that...too stringy. Cucumbers are good in it though. I also add either tuna, chicken, egg or I also make ground turkey with taco seasoning and eat the salad as a taco salad. Ground beef and me don't get along!!! When I do my turkey taco salad, I also add some thin sliced avacado to it, some cheese and a bit of salsa. Good luck.

Looks and sounds yummy. I still can't do beans so well yet, but I sure hope that changes soon. This looks like a wondeful cold winter day sort of soup. Thanks for sharing!!!

I hope to be able to do that at the end of the loss journey as well. Did your insurance pay for the surgery? I already know that mine will not, do I know it will be a while before I can get that surgery done. Congratulations. I am so happy for you. Enjoy the new you!!!

Hey October Sleevers!!! I am an April sleever myself and just was checking in on some of the various groups to see how you all are doing. I can tell you that the pain will get better, so hang in there. As far as the headaches go, pain medication can actually give you headaches. If you really don't need the pain meds, try some liquid Tylenol instead and see if the head pain eases up. Of course, follow your doctor’s orders first. Anything I put here are only suggestions for what worked for me. I could not get down water for the longest time. I mean, plain water. I still can only drink so much of it. My go to for fluids are sugar free popsicles (I should buy stock!!!), low calorie Gatorade. It only has 30 calories in 12 oz. and you need some calories and you surly need the fluids. I had better luck with it than almost any other drink product. It also put my electrolytes back in balance, a real plus as my heart would race some times. Had it checked out, no heart issues, just low fluids and the electrolytes being off. Start slow on the foods, don't rush anything. Head hunger is normal. I still go through periods where I know I am not hungry, but I "feel" hungry. Other days, I could forget to eat at all. I just now have my calorie intake back up to 700 to 800 calories a day. Once I got on solid foods, I was at 550 to 650 for the longest time. As far as protein drinks, the only one that I can stand even to this day is Premier Protein - Chocolate. 30g of protein in 11 oz. of fluid (I buy it at Sams Club). I wish you all the best of luck and to those that are yet to be sleeved, my thoughts are with you. Hang in there everyone!!! Talking to others who are sleeved during the same month is a real plus. Enjoy the journey.

I have not had a good month so far in October. I have been 250 to 252, up and down, up and down this whole month. I am trying to fret as it seems like a lot of us are experiencing a stall at this time, so maybe this is just more the norm and this point in our journey. I continue to eat healthy, make good decisions and I have increased my exercise (walking 2.5 to 3 miles at lunch) now that the weather has cooled off. I had a nightmare last night that I had huge bald Patches at the back of my head and was going to spend the weekend shopping for a wig!!! Woke up, felt the back of my head and while my hair is still getting quite thin, it was at least, not bald...yet!! I did not used to be able to feel the hairbrush bristles on my scalp, now I have to be careful that I don't "rake" my scalp and hurt myself my hair has gotten so thin. I know this too shall pass as I can already see the new hairs growing in in places that it is extremely thin. I am able to eat salad now as long as I chew really well. I top the greens with tuna or egg or chicken that I have baked. It is really good. It was such a day of celebration when I tried salad and it sat ok in my tummy. I LOVE salad, so this was a major food item for me to get back to. Has anyone else tried salad? If so, how did it go and what Protein do you eat with yours? We all are doing a great job and we just need to hang in there through the stall. I am glad that we still continue to post our updates here because like a few others, I was glad to see I was not the only one in a stall at the moment. Hang in there everyone and I will do the same.

Glad I found this conversation. I am also losing hair by the handfuls. I was sleeved on 4/12/12. I also had long thick hair...now long ever thinning hair. It is nice to hear from some of you that have now had it stop. All my blood work is good, so I know I am getting enough nutrients. I think it must be the shock to my system. I am hoping that is all it is and it will stop soon. I have to take my suit jackets off at work and shake the hair off a few times a day. Yuck. It seems like my hair is EVERY WHERE!!!! LOL Thank you everyone. You made me feel much better just reading your contributions to this topic!

Hey all... like the rest of you, I have not been aroun a lot. Been busy...happy to say!! Weather finally broke (the heat), so I have been out doing a lot of yard and garden work. I have to admit, it hardly seems like work. It is a lot of fun to bend over and not feel sick or to get too tired after only 30 mins outside. I was sleeved on 4/12 and like many of you this month has been a month of stalls. This morning I am finally down 3.5 pounds. Yippie!!! I was beginning to think that I was not going to lose a thing this whole month. I do have to keep in mind what my daughter said to me this morning... "well mom, you have not gained any all month either and that is also a victory"...she is right. I need to keep that in mind! The only down side to things right now is the hair loss. I mean, I am still losing hair by the handfuls!!! My 3 month check-up showed that I was getting plenty of protein and all my other counts were good except an elevated copper level. I will have that rechecked at my 6 month visit and if it is still elevated, they will investigate further. Many of the issues with elevated copper have to do with liver issues and all my liver enzimes are really good. Wish I would stop losing my hair though. I can hardly comb it without losing a handful every time. It is all over my bathroom...yuck. I am taking biotin, but so far, that has not seemed to help. If anyone has a "magic bullet" on the hair loss front, I am all ears. Glad to see that we are all still hanging in there...stalls and all Take care all. Karen

Morning everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We finally go some rain!!! I am hoping we get more, but I was so glad to see rain of any kind this weekend. What a blessing. Another blessing is I have met my Sept. 1 goal early. I am 258 as of this morning. WooHoo!!! I love my sleeve! Here is to all of us having a wonderful week.

April 16 here. I am so happy with my loss so far. I am down 69 pounds since my surgery date. Down 100 pounds since my pre-op plan. I could not be happier. I am a week ahead of the goal I set for myself as of today. Love my sleeve. I went down to the basement to retrieve my old work suits, etc. They all fit now and look so fantastic. Plus, it saves me having to buy new clothes right now. Congrats to all of us. We are rocking!!!

No problem Joni...you are so not alone!!!! I know this is going to be a life long struggle. Some addicts can walk away and never touch their addiction again, but for food addiction, there is no such thing. We must eat to live. So, our issues are very different than many other addictions. It is hard, but like you and the others, I am glad I have this new tool. I know I would not make it without it, that is for sure. Hang in there.

I would take a Gas-X to see if it is the air in your system that is making you feel so bad at this point. I too have to take something to keep my system moving. If I don't, it is bad news all the way around. I was told never to go more than 2 days without a BM, so if you have gone a long time inbetween, that may be why you are in so much pain now. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

Vitafusion, I also get them at Sam's. I have no issues with them.

You did win the lottery. The weight loss lottery. You should be so proud of yourself. That is awesome. My goal is to get to 135. Don't know that I will be a size 4 at that weight, but I know I will be thinner than I have been in 30 years. What a major victory for you. I am so very happy for you and what an inspiration. Happy shopping!!!!

I hope to see you all next month. I am doing ok. I sure hope we get this rain they keep talking about. I am not getting as much exercise as I would like. Seems like I am spending all my "free time" battling Mother Nature for my trees, plants and most important my foundation. This summer drought sure has been stressful. The hair loss has started like crazy That was sad to see last night. I have been taking Biotin and eating enough Protein. My PC doc told me that it is stress on the body. I know this and knew it was going to happen, but still it was sad. On a bright note, yesterday I went through 5 pairs of pants trying to get ready for work and ended up putting all of them on my "discard pile". I ended up with a skirt since it had an elastic waist. Has anyone else added nuts back into their diet? I just added them this week. Not a lot, just a few every day. I still never eat more than 3 oz. at a time. That really fills me up. I have noticed that my hunger is returning (I was sleeved 4/16/12), so I try to make sure that the protein I eat is quite dense for my 2.5 to 3 oz. to help stay satisfied longer. That is all on my front. Keep up the good work. For those newly sleeved, hang in there. You will do fine. Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend.