4ALongerLife

I love it mama! And love you too! (sorry I haven't been on MFP statusing today, my stinking phone isn't getting service for it in my bldg, grrr... I need MFP at work ppls!!!). Glad you are on there with me! Much love and wishes for continual success! xx oh and group support, I am a former social worker as you know and was never much for it, but did you know that it's one of the top three indicators of WLS success? logging is another one.... just say'n! (i learned it in group lol)

GO TO THE ER ... fix what I bet is a stricture. Then get a lawyer.

Do you track your food? Track every bite. I like myfitness pal but there are many sites out there to use. How many calories a day are you getting to the amount of exercise you do? If it's too little, you won't lose. Too high and you'll gain. It takes "tweaking" a bit. You say you exercise, but how much cardio do you do? My health psychologist educated my support group with this: it takes 60-90 minutes of cardio exercise a day to lose and maintain. Once I did this, the weight came off. How much Water do you get? Water flushes you out and I swear makes the fat come off. I hate water but I know I need it, so I enjoy my crystal light additives in it. Best of luck to you! xx

do you track your food? and to lowe1961, how much cardio do you get? (try uping your cardio to 60 mins a day) and make sure you are getting your water in. good luck!

Well my leak was surgically repaired, then I did a week in the hospital on TPN right? Still had a leak before they d/c'd me but it was either go to a nursing home for longer TPN (which I couldn't afford/had a crap policy) or go into the hospital as an outpatient for TPN (which is expensive) or get a feeding tube. My dr. said no, he believed with proper nutrition I would heal. Then I kept having issues, finding out it was still there. My endoscopy last week, they took out another staple in the tummy to make sure that it wasn't obstructing the closure of the hole... so in about 3-4 weeks ... I'll see. It takes a long time for a leak to heal on it's own obviously. I don't want a stent or more surgery so I'll stick to the long time if I have to. And thanks lessofmeismore for your kindness and especially your prayers. In honesty, today I about fell apart (I have my moments), but what choice do I have? NO ONE wants to be the one with a complication, but then again, there has to be a silver lining and a reason why it happened to me. Ok gotta say this.... one silver lining, my goal was size 8 right? I just fit into 6's this past weekend!!!!!!!!!! IDK that I could have done that w/o being on a liquid diet for this amount of time, but then again I worry about once I go back to regular foods staying here (I do work out a LOT and get Water whenever possible). BTW, speaking of water... I go to family dollar and the dollar general for their "crush" versions of crystal light. Y'all remember "crush"...? I loved crush orange and crush strawberry sodas as a kiddo and man, those packets are soooo flavorful in a bottle of water. I also like Wyler's cherry limeade. But yes, variety! Also the pure Protein canned drinks are good (I prefer Cookies and cream and the banana is ok - yuck on vanilla and strawberry IMO). Best of luck to everyone! xx

I totally hear ya! My largest was an 18 (wouldn't allow myself to go up any more) and I regularly wear 8's. Go to Old Navy and try on jeans... I fit in a 6 there last weekend. A sprayed on 6, but a SIX nonetheless!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the OH YEAH's... Vanilla Cream and Strawberry Cream are my current favs. I ain't big on chocolate though. And just to clarify, but you mean the oh yeah bars are high in carbs right? I know the vanilla shake only has 4 g carbs & 3 sugars and I don't think that is high... or is it? (I think you meant the bars though... just making sure)

Best of luck in your weight loss surgery journey, no matter the method!

Hey sweetie... I've had a leak (3/2012... long story).... if you need a friend, please feel free to hit me up. But do yourself a favor.... remain positive. It's not easy, but you can get through this. And oh btw, someone asked... stats are this occurs to 1-3% of the population, depending on the study you reference. Praying for you! Best of luck, always... xx Stephanie

I'm finding it hard to meet ppl beyond my circle and work is just work the older that I get, sigh... so not to concentrate on food... I took a tip from someone and just joined Meet Up dot com.

ROFL at your bf... that is a WTH moment??? Everyone changes with your weight loss, be patient with him. He is after all just a guy (lol). Congrats on your success! May it only continue!

Accepted ya! Thx for adding me - nice to meet you!

Sweetie, that's not bad in the weight loss! So now you've learned and will move on. Please forgive yourself and stop beating yourself up (that's part of the journey we have to learn - I believe we ALL do this to ourselves and used to use food as a solace, perhaps even a punishment in a way). I like the ready to drink Protein shakes (RTDs as they are called). I am not a chocolate fan (except usually certain times of the month, lol). My current "fav" is OH YEAH brand in vanilla cream. Strawberries and cream is good in Oh Yeah's too! Oh yeah's are 220 calories/32 g of protein and usually about 2 g of sugar per 14 oz bottles. They also have an 8 oz bottle for the vanilla creams that is 130 calories and 18 g of protein per bottle, fyi. Pure protein is another brand that I enjoy. They come in actual cans but fyi the protein they use is a blend of whey and caseinate which some ppl say isn't as good as whey protein (but it's really how caseinate protein is absorbed, it takes longer to absorb in your body supposedly). Those cans are generally about 170 calories/35 g protein and about 2-4 g of sugar in each maybe 11 oz can. I like the Cookies and cream kind in that brand and the bananas and cream is ok as well (didn't care for their strawberry and the mint cookies and cream got a bit minty half way thru the can). Also, Premier Protein in vanilla is a good IMO too (that's 160 calories/30 g of protein and maybe 1 g sugar). They are 11 oz per container. Maybe I'm lazy, but I like the RTds - easy to grab and go and you know exactly what carbs/sugar/etc are in there as well as calories and protein. Hope that helps you! I do have some shake recipes if you want the old fashioned blender versions too! Just pls forgive yourself and move on... it's a learning experience hon. You are rocking it with 50 lbs in 5 months - AND you won't have saggy skin from loosing too fast (it's all about perspective lol) Best of luck! xxx

I had "pneumonia" in July and August, then alot of pain in my left shoulder and side again and it won't go away. I had severe pain previously in March whenever they found the leak originally, but it was excrutiating pain back then; now it's a slow stabbing/burning pain... oh the joy of it all lol. I've had an MRI to make sure it wasn't arthritis starting, yeah another great thing to tell me that I'm just getting old so let's do an MRI to make sure it's not that lol... then I have had chest xrays and CAT scans to make sure it was a leak... the last CAT scan was of my chest and abd region, laying down and bam, they saw it then ... it was about 10 mm in August... now it's about 8 mm which doesn't sound like much of a difference but is a huge difference in a month, thankfully. My dr's watching the diameter region (which is way too mathematical for me to explain, hello I was a liberal arts major in college/grad school due to my unfortunately weak math skills! lol). Another month of liquids and I hope the thing will plug up and be closed, then I just have to be careful on not overeating to break the plug. Bad thing is, I do still struggle with "just one more bite" unfortunately and that can do it! This journey is a never ending process isn't it? Ok back to you and the stall equation.... Do you have a NUT? I was self pay so I don't but that might help you as I've seen other readers/posters say they go to one (I see it on MFP alot too, I'm more on there than here and I use the statuses!). Does the cherry juice have a lot of sugar in it? I log my Vitamins (as they have calories) ... so I just wonder if that is adding to your intake as well. If you are that active from your work and are hungry on 700 calories a day, now I am not a NUT, but I think it's sensical to up your intake a bit. Try 900 and see if you are less hungry but still loosing for instance. It's a "tweaking" game really. You have to figure out where your body responds, but what I posted earlier in that list of suggestions, that's a good guide of what items to play with to find the magical equation for YOU. At least it has been for me, but I'm just attempting to figure this out as all of us are! The 60-90 mins of cardio is what shocked me - and what usually most of us get quiet about. Sounds like you are doing that at work and WITH the gout so kudos to you Chelle! Keep rocking it girl!

Sounds like you are in the infamous 3 week stall period sweetie. Hang in there. This journey can be a long, arduous one... remember this mantra: THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Keep your eye on the goal, do what the guidelines say (I highly suggest "tweaking" these as a possible stall breaker: logging your intake {watch the caloric total}, exercise {60-90 mins a day), Water {min 64 oz} and focus on protein/keeping carbs low) and the weight loss will come. My most frustrating one was getting below 200. I wanted that 199 so stinking bad, lol. I think it lasted 3 weeks. Seemed like FOREVER grrrrr. When I get into stalls, I usually measure myself. Try focusing on something else like your measurements or how your clothes fit or where your activity level was before and after some loss, where it is now. Those are just as important milestones; however, we generally don't concentrate our focus on them. We look so much at the scale. Well put that scale away (I had to hide mine for a while and only allow it to be brought out once a week, I thankfully have a wonderful hubby who played that game with me lol). The weight loss will come, be patient, but be diligent in following the guidelines and I promise it will come. Best of luck to you! xxx

I like that Kathy quoted the one thing that made me literally laugh out loud... the icky shake part. Congratulations on your successes in your weight loss journey! I wish you continued steps down the same road... best always, xx

Well once I hit the century club, I bought myself a really nice ring. I love jewelry though. It was within my budget! But it's the only "prize" I've given myself. Once I get to my "final" goal though, I am going to figure out something else....not sure what ... YET! (It will be soooo weird to get to goal... I've always fought the weight battle, IDK what it'll be like not to fight uphill.....)

Hey Chelle, for what seemed like a long time, I kept my caloric intake between 700-900 calories. Then I noticed, I increased my exercise and was HUNGRY all of the time. I took the PPI's thinking that might help but after a while it didn't. So I now keep calories around 1200. For me, I have varied my caloric total during my WLS journey. Right now I'm nursing the leak so I kinda eat differently than most. I know my dr. does metabolic breathing tests (have you guys done this too?) and my last one said that I should eat between 1670 to 2170 calories a day to maintain! Holy crud ... I move alot! lol... But my metabolic test also shows a weight loss zone of 1336-1670 calories. So I keep it up to 1300 in my mind and I should be fine ..... until I get to my "final" goal. Dr. said once I am finally done with losing, 1600 on average should be copasethic. As for Water, I have to plan my water intake in every day (around some medication that I'm taking for my leak, which now we've found I have an ulcerated tummy as well, so I'm taking pepto bismol like stuff every few hours). However, even before all of this, I still had my favorite water receptical and knew ok by x time I have to have one done. Then by later that afternoon, I had to be done by x time. I sound so rigid, but honestly I'm not. I just knew in my head/timewise when I needed to get done or I would never get it all in if I don't eat 30 mins around drinking. Once I lose sight of my time, I just can't ever catch up (and you shouldn't push to do so but try to get in as much water as you can). I swear the water does help, so if I seem rigid, c'est la vie... I do whatever works. When I stalled, I listened to inputs and tried them. I've been on a liquid diet because of the leak I've STILL got (grr) so yes, I believe that's helped some too... although even on liquids/soft I can get in 1200 calories a day. (which I previously thought was impossible... ) Best of luck in figuring out what all works for you!

I am finding it hard to interact with people. All ANYONE wants to do where I live is go out to eat and drink. C'mon people, there are SO many other things to do. Yeah I know, we all have to eat, but I can make healthier choices at home where I know what's all in the food - as well as spend more time with my family (and my son is why I did this surgery, so I will live longer). So I choose to look at my perspective as the friendship circle slowly widens.. c'est la vie. True friends will remain, just might see them less if they still choose to have their lives & activities revolve around food/drink ... maybe not if they try indoor rock climbing, let's go bowling, laser tag, ice skating, cosmic jump, etc etc etc.

Hey girl, I don't think it matters as long as you are getting your total grams of protein in every day. I've tried so many but I notice I like certain brands, I'm a big RTD (ready-to-drink) shake user though (my current fav is oh yeah brand) and I know on some RTDs, you have to watch the carbs too because some are high in them (just saying). Keep rocking it girl!

it's telling me invalid user name/email address i was trying!!!!

Ok here is a couple of the "general" things I can suggest... just suggestions! 1. LOG your intake ---- Do you log what you eat? If not, start doing it now. I love myfitnesspal.com - feel free to add me as a friend. This item brings up how many calories are you eating a day, how many are you expending a day, what's the Protein content of your diet, etc etc. One site can tell you all of this and help you manage it. 2. Water ----- How much water do you drink? If you aren't getting any, that's part of the problem. If you aren't getting 64 ozs minimum a day, I would encourage you to do your best to change that and get it in. I struggle with water but I swear it flushes you out and encourages the body to flush out fat. 3. EXERCISE ------ Do you work out? I always have worked out but... in my support group, the dr. has said that DID YOU KNOW... it takes 60 to 90 mins of CARDIO a day to lose/maintain? I was stuck at 30-45 minutes of elliptical/stairmaser/treadmill most days of the week & heard that and got quiet. How in hades am I going to do that much of cardio in one freak'n busy day? The weight was slowly coming off but once I "kicked it up a notch" it really came off quicker. So you read that and you too say, holy crap how am I supposed to get to 60 minutes a day of CARDIO? Ok it doesn't have to be at one time. You can do it all at once or partialize it out into increments... for example, take the stairs on a break at work, that's 7-10 minutes. Go for a walk in your neighborhood for 10 minutes. Do these sort of things 6 times a day (in various ways/activities) and bam, you are done, mission accomplished! (lather, rinse and repeat) 4. PLAN YOUR MEALS ----- yep, you have to spend time on it to reap benefits. You can't just keep doing McD's and Sonic, although yes you CAN have it, you still have to spend time planning your diet/meals out. It gets harder to lose as you get closer to goal so this is a skill that I highly suggest you start asap. I hate it but I do it. I'm a recipe collector so if you need ideas, feel free and inbox me. Not sure what else right now, but that's the general couple of things I can start to suggest. Take it or leave it, only suggestions! Remember the surgery is only part of the equation. It is a tool that helps but isn't intended to solve the problem, there is still work to be done on your journey. Remain positive and keep working at it y'all! You can do it! And if you work it, it will happen. But give yourself credit and don't say "I've only lost x" or "I've only done y"... every step forward IS in the right direction! (and don't compare yourself to others! please...it'll drive you nuttttts) Best of luck! xx