kimbernada

The biggest thing to keep in mind, at least to me, is that you need to remember that you WILL have stalls. Sometimes long stalls. With "diets", this the point where most of us just give up OR we try crazy ways to make the scale show us a smaller number. We don't really have that option once we've had 85% of our stomach permanently removed. Some folks do try to resort to zanier things to get through the stall. It's not worth it. Just keep to your doctor's plan and you will bust through the stall. Stalls are actually good for us. It's our body catching up with the weight loss. Some folks who regularly take body measurements have found that they are still losing inches even though the scale isn't showing a loss. My first stall started at week 3 and lasted for THREE weeks. To keep successful for the rest of your life? Use what you learn after the surgery and keep with it. Protein first, drink your fluids, enjoy life! I was talking with someone else the other day and said that I'm restricted to about a maximum of 1 cup of food at a meal. It's up to ME to pick the right foods. I could eat a cup of Hershey's Kisses.. or I could have 3 ounces of grilled chicken breast, 1/4 vegetables, and maybe some fruit. (I do need work on drinking my fluids - I just seem to have "Fluid amnesia".)

My hubs didn't start saying things to me until we were out with some friends and they were telling me how great I looked. I think he needed to see that I *liked* hearing these comments. Now he says stuff all the time to me. Thank goodness it's all GOOD stuff... not like "Wow, your butt sure is saggy." LOL Well, it IS saggy, but he knows I don't want to hear that.

I'm almost a year out and still not normal. (Bowel movements, that is.) Even eating cherries hasn't helped. (Most people get the runs from cherries.. nope, not this chick - at least not this season.)

Eat less. Seriously. Your stomach should shrink up.

To be honest, we boarded our three dogs for the whole two weeks that I was home after surgery. Originally it was for one week but at the end of that week, I felt it would be better to have another week to heal up. It was worth the $$ to me, which is what counts. However if that isn't an option, using a pillow, like others have suggested should work. You could also put a little Vicks Vapor Rub on your body (like right below the belly button or way up on your chest). I know the smell of that stuff keeps my dogs away from things. I put a teensy bit of that on our power cords when the critters were babies (especially the cat).

I have some pics in my gallery (I think). I'm 5'5" and pear shaped.

Would counseling for YOU help? It might help to figure out why you've been so moody, etc., and help you to work on body image issues. It could be that if seeing a counselor works for you, then perhaps your husband will see the value as well. I know I sure didn't feel like being romantic at my highest weight.

I will be celebrating a year from my surgery next week... and I still can't really eat salad. 1) It really fills me up; 2) doesn't really digest well; 3) hard to eat after eating my Protein. It's still "protein first" for me. That being said, one of the local grocery stores has a salad bar with lots of healthy choices. I'll put in a few pieces of Romaine lettuce and then top this with grilled chicken and/or ham. Then some cheese, peas, shredded carrots, a few sunflower seeds and a little Ranch on the side. It usually costs me about $2.35. This way I'm getting in the important protein AND a little lettuce. (The extra toppings are super light in amount.. you know, like 5 peas, 10 sunflower kernels, tablespoon of shredded carrots and cheese.) I literally CRAVE a big salad with Ranch dressing.. basically all of the above, plus croutons. My eyes definitely want to be bigger than my sleeve when it comes to a salad.

I bet I've thrown up less than 10 times in the last year. Three of those were from eating bad fish... not from overeating.

Ha... This is something that one of my grandmas would have probably said.

1 - You can stick the device (minus the strap, of course) inside your bra... in the band to the left of the left cup, and it tracks almost as well as in the strap on your arm. 2 - The new Core 2 will be waterproof - it's coming out in Fall 2013. I love my BodyMedia Link. I also have the FitBit Ultra, but I like the BodyMedia Link so much better. The poor FitBit just sits all alone..

Protein first. Period.

I went home the next afternoon. I definitely would have slept better if I'd gone home the same day... (well, except that then I wouldn't have had the pain med pump, which was awesome!) I kept setting off the alarms because my pulse or blood pressure would drop too low. I wasn't concerned about that because I always have low blood pressure and my pulse is pretty low too. (I've been "excused" from donating blood because my pulse was below 50 - and that was pre-surgery.)

I still use a bread plate for my food plate. I don't put more than 1 cup of food on my plate, about 4 oz. meat and then some kind of vegetable. Rarely ever do I have a starchy food - unless we are having pizza. (And that's only once a week, if at all. So 1/8 of a frozen pizza and I'm full.)

I went from a 50C to a 40C. Personally, I think my boobs look bigger now than before surgery, because I don't have the big gut sticking out further than the boobs. (And it helps to wear GOOD bras.) Edited to add: Well, I guess it was mostly back fat that I lost since the band went down. (And the bras definitely DO make them appear to be up where they should be.) LOL

I've never used the card. I'd much rather be able to bring leftovers home Although yesterday I had lunch with friends at a HuHot. I did ask if I could pay the child's price and mentioned that I'd had wls, so I'd only have a tiny amount of food. Nope, they don't do that. Oh well, I just won't go there very often. (Criminies, their weekend price is $11.99 and you can't take the leftovers home.) I've only been there twice in the last year since surgery. Any other restaurant meal gives me at least three more meals with the leftovers, so it's pretty economical. (Or a meal for me and one for the hubs from my leftovers.)

Weird, I didn't pay sales tax on them. In Minnesota, most food items aren't taxed, although soda and candy are.

Also, none of my neighbors have said anything about my weight loss. I used to be kind of a hermit in the house. (I'd go in the fenced backyard but rarely out in the front unless leaving for work, etc.) Although I did always talk to our neighbor across the street because it seems like we are on the same schedule (leave around 6:45 am and home around 4:30 pm). We talk all the time and he's never said anything about my weight loss. I've also started taking two of our dogs for walks around town and haven't heard any of the neighbors on my street say anything. Then again, maybe they think my husband's first wife died or left him and I'm the new one!

Yep, I was probably closes to 70 pounds down before anyone said anything. Then again, I kind of faked them out because I was wearing pretty much the SAME clothes, only in smaller sizes. (Seriously, I had a separate closet of new pants, same brand, same style, just in various smaller sizes.) Once I ventured out past my comfort zone, and got different styles and colors, people really noticed. (Probably because I went from drab browns, navy, black to bright purple pants.) LOL Only my team mates at work knew that I had wls - and I only told them the week before the surgery. There was a guy at work who dropped 60 pounds and no one wanted to say anything to him because they thought it might be cancer. Turns out he was on a low-carb diet!

At only six months out, you really need to continue following your doctor's plan to make sure that you are getting all of your Protein in. Here's a site that kind of outlines the 2012 Points Plus plan: http://danicasdaily.com/weight-watchers-2012-points-plus-plan/ I think the 2013 plan is basically the same, just with more motivation stuff. I have been on Weight Watchers many times, so I feel like I have a lot of the information memorized (or did before Points Plus when the formulas changed and bananas were free). It's a good plan, however with us only being able to eat about a cup of food at a sitting AND having to focus so much on protein, it might be harder to almost have to double-count to make sure you get your protein grams AND your Points in. I don't mean to sound discouraging, just putting some thoughts out there. I personally loved getting new Weight Watchers materials when they get new plans because I love reading stuff. (I'm kind of geeky that way.)

I agree that it sounds like you need to consider finding a different PCP. At least I know I would if my PCP made me feel like I've done something wrong, when I obviously haven't. I need a provider who is on the same page as me when it comes to my health. Granted, I guess I'm lucky in that we have a LOT of primary care physicians available at multiple locations of the same health care system to choose from. In a small town, this probably isn't an option. (I live in a small town with a population of 2000, but I work in a big city about 30 miles away.) On a side note: I'd be pretty miffed at my PCP if she had told me her mis-informed "opinion" on the surgery after the fact. That's not why I am paying her $$. (Although my PCP was totally on board with this. She didn't refer me, just knew that I was looking into this.)

What does YOUR doctor say about orange juice? Personally, I wouldn't stray from my doctor's plan because someone else says that their doctor's plan lets them have it.

I waited about a month before taking some capsules. For Tylenol gel caps, I took those right away. I waited at least a month until taking regular vitamins.

Try using the Liberator wedge/ramp combo... that is awesome!! Makes everything much easier. They have a 25% off sale using the code LOVEUSA. I recently got this for us and I love it. No more being smooshed and it so much easier to try different things and being easier on your joints.

I don't think there should be an anesthesia issues, but I'm not a doctor. Does this medical facility know you've had the sleeve surgery? I had a procedure three months after my sleeve surgery that required me to be knocked out - no problems.