Jewelsm1127

Sorry, where are my manners! Welcome to the boards and good luck. Whatever happens take it slow and take care of yourself!

I was walking around as soon as they unhooked the oxygen monitor and IV. When I got home I was up and walking around every two hours. The next day I was driving and out shopping for six hours the day after that. I just had to be very careful the first couple of days bending over and getting up when I was laying down because that strains your abs. I think it all depends on your pain tolerance level. I also had no one at home. I sent mom home because I didn't want anyone fussing so if I needed something I had to do it myself.

My doc ok'd Vita Fusion. They make gummy everything. So I gave the multi vitamin, calcium and fiber. All gummies that taste like gummy bears. :-)

I now crave everything salty! I had a sip of a diet grapefruit juice and threw it right in the trash. I also crave some seriously healthy food...people in my family are wondering if I went in for an exorcism from the sugar demon!

Rock on lady! I'm right on your tail. Banded on 12/21...down 43lbs including pre-op.

I can eat steak but I have to chew the heck out of it. Honestly it exhausts me and sometimes it's just not worth the effort. If you are craving it, have a tender cut, cut small and chew it up well.

I started mushies and my weight loss STOPPED totally. I fluctuated up about 2lbs. Soft foods...same thing. Started on solids 2 weeks later and voila! Weight started coming off again. Hang in there and don't worry.

My stomach growls and gurgles AFTER I eat. So I know it's not hunger. I chalked it off to digestion. Drinking water makes it gurgle too sometimes. Initially I had to really stop and think to figure out whether I was hungry or not. And 9 times out of 10 I wasn't. Like the others said...you will know when you're hungry. I get irritable and such which is what tips me off. Plus I keep track of the time I last ate...if it was 4-5 hours ago I know it's time to eat again.

If the body is a temple, why not decorate the walls? Inkmag.com Very very true! They are works of art and usually tell quite a story!

I have about 8 billion people watching me because I told everyone. My theory is, EDUCATE THEM. Tell them it's not bypass where you do drop 40lbs in one month. You did it because it's a more realistic/slower weight loss. That's what I tell people. I told them I want to do it slow, etc. Be proud of the weight you've lost so far. I know people that struggle for a year to lose 8lbs. Hang in there and don't be embarrassed at all!

Alright, so that didn't work. I went ahead and updated my avatar instead.

Haven't posted a pic like this before...sorry if this turns out to be ginormous or something. But here's the centaur on my back. I absolutely love it and my tattoo guy drew it up while I was waiting and then free handed the detail. Love love love this tattoo. Too bad it's not on the front where I can see it all the time!

Ahhhh. Now I love them too...I find them incredibly addictive. However, due to my job I can't get them anywhere that they would show including the legs, arms, back of the neck, etc. If I could, I definitely would get a sleeve. I do love them. But you know what? The pesky buggers are expensive too! My centaur was about $700 and took 6 hours to do in one sitting (lots of detail). I'll have to see if I could take a pic of it and update it as my avatar so you could see.

Pre-op I lost 23lbs. Post op I lost 7lbs the first week, nothing the next two weeks (mushies and soft foods), but when I started solids it kicked back in again for a total of 12lbs in the first few weeks post op. Two weeks ago I lost 1/2 lb and this past week I dropped 4-1/2lbs. No rhyme or reason. I just go with it. Tomorrow will be 2 months since my pre-op diet and I'm down 43lbs total. I'm totally happy with that.

CG - you asked, but you didn't answer. I know you mentioned your hubby, but what about you? Or are you thinking about getting one?

Betsy - I'll be happy to scan and e-mail you what I have. If you like you can email me at Jewelsm1127 at yahoo. It most likely won't be until Friday or Monday because I have a GM Meeting to attend at work. Not sure if that's too late for you.

I have 4. Front left above the breast - a big spider web with a comic spider (not realistic), a heart and some initials in it. Back left shoulder - a black panther - my first tat. Right shoulder/back - a female centaur with an arrow drawn and fire around the arrow - b-day gift to myself - I'm a Sagittarius and a fire sign. And lower right above the butt cheek/not quite the back - a tribal lion head with Al V. Jr. - a recent acquisition when I found out a life long friend of mine (who also was my keeper when I was younger) has HIV. Once I lose weight I want to get a tiger (because I was born in the Chinese year of the Tiger - can you tell I like astrology?) on my front right shoulder/above the breast.

I'm one of the lucky ones. No fill and no privation and I'm a happy camper on 3 servings a day of 3oz of protein. Just listen to your body. :-)

Try a whole month! Everyone I knew wanted to take me out...my choice. They were feeding me like I was on death row...even at work! I just went with it, of course, and by the time my pre op liquid diet started I was so ready and sooooo sick of food.

Everyone is quite different. That's why, when you have a question about what to eat, ask your doc BEFORE you eat it...not after. After it's a bit too late and what's done is done.

Jaye - Some people just need the Fear of God put into them to get the point that what they are doing is potentially harmful to their health. There's a lot of tough love on these boards and not a lot of sugar coating which I have grown to appreciate. If it scares the beejeezus out of Nathan and scares him straight into not every gorging like that again so soon after surgery or at least pointing him in the direction of his doctor and/or nutritionist then it's done some good. Some people don't do well with being coddled and that sometimes just leads them back to making the same mistake again thinking it's no big deal. Everyone just stresses these points out of concern for other bandster's health. :-) As I said earlier, sometimes a little skin comes off when the band aid gets ripped off around here.

I think for the most part we maintain our body shape, just a smaller version of it. And I've seen several vets here post that women tend to lose from the top down. I lose weight overall...everything goes down as I lose weight, but my shape doesn't change. Everyone loses weight differently though so I don't think anyone could answer this question for you, probably just share their own personal experiences.

First, you're welcome and any time! And there were a few people on here that posted that their stomachs are constantly talking to them since getting the band. Mine was doing it tonight AFTER I are dinner so I darn well knew I wasn't hungry. But when that's what we're used to we figure we need to eat. All sorts of things to adjust to! :-)

Thank you to all those that reference Emily Bites and Skinny Taste. Never heard of either of those until I jumped on these boards. They have scads of the easiest most delicious sounding recipes. Tonight I took a gander at making Emily's Zucchini Tots. So super duper easy, very low carb and takes no time to make. And guess what? I think they are absolutely delish! Zucchini isn't my favorite veggie (unless it's breaded, fried and served with a side of ranch!), but these are pretty darn tasty. The only thing I did differently from the recipe was to put them under the broiler for a few minutes to really brown them up. Just thought I'd put my two cents in, just in case anyone was curious but hasn't taken the chance on making them. :-)