joatsaint

Eggface has a LOT of recipes to choose from. I did a quick "vegetarian" search and came up with this post on her site. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2013/10/healthy-protein-packed-recipes-to.html

Moobs? Yes, I had'em pre-surgery. They weren't very noticeable when I was 275 pre-surgery. But they blossomed when I was 375!. They shrank considerable post-op, but are a little droopy now that I'm down 170lbs. My girlfriend doesn't seem to mind. :-) [sharedmedia=videos:videos:106]

I get my ideas from the "Trending Topics" thread list on the right had side. ------------->>>>>> :-) That tells me what people are interested in.

I have never enjoyed exercising, but starting my 2nd month post-op, I began a walking program with the goal of getting to 10,000 steps a day. After reaching that goal, the next was speed, trying to get up to 4 mph/hr for 1 hour. I did that for a little over a year. The one thing that kept me going and motivated was my best friend. He was there to walk with me every day, 3 - 5 days a week. If he hadn't been there for me, I would have skipped many days when I didn't feel up to it. :-)

I had BCBS of Texas. When I decided to look into WLS, I called BCBS and asked for a list of their approved WLS doctors. I went to one of them, rather than a general physician. I was already diagnosed with sleep Apnea, so I was prequalified for WLS. The sleep study was a breeze, other than having all the little wire leads hanging off me, it was like staying overnight in a hotel. :-P I would suggest calling your insurance and getting their list of local WLS doctors and contacting the doctor yourself. They are going to be more qualified about deciding if you need surgery rather than your primary physician.

I use a food scale on and off. Especially when I'm not sure of a portion size, like Cereal. I needed to weigh it to be sure of the calorie count. I bought a good cheap one off Amazon a few years ago and it has served me well. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CM6TVI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the one I got. Easy to use multifunction home scale - Perfect for cooks, dieters and families Max weight 11lbs; Displays ounces/lbs/grams/kgs; Graduation .05 oz / 1 gram Includes FREE EatSmart Calorie Factors guide - Portion control and calorie counting made easy! Tare feature eliminates the weight of a plate; 3 Minute Auto-Shutoff lets you prepare ingredients while maintaining battery life 2 AAA batteries included; 100% EatSmart Guaranteed Satisfaction

I didn't eat any pasta or rice for almost a full year. I was eating around 800 calories a day and pasta seems like a lot of empty calories. Plus pasta can trigger my head hunger. I've not tried the zucchini noodles, only because I never thought about it. But they might be a great substitute. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blogs/entry/31170-confession-time-the-spaghetti-monster-almost-got-me/

Yep! My style changed. Lifestyle, clothing style, mental style. :-P Everything changed for the better. I feel better about myself, wear colors other than black and have a real social life now.

I read the offer, but could not find a deadline, so Premier may pull the offer at any time. I ran across this deal today. Your choice, a free Protein bar or shake. Protein Bar or shake picture to choose which one you want. By default, mine chose the protein bar.

And here I thought "I" was the only one that air dried his clothes. I used to live in fear of the dryer. And any "barely fit me" sized clothes never went in there. I wore so many shirts one time because they shrunk just a bit after the first wash and dry.

Congrats on getting off to such a great start. I've subbed you on Youtube. Keep the videos coming. We look forward to seeing your progress.

I remember them putting the needle in the back of my hand. Felt like a little mosquito bite. Then I was O-U-T! woke up and was on my way back to my room. Nothing to it. And I have a BIG fear of needles.

My 1st reaction is that you've hit the famous 3rd week stall that most of us have gone through. I can give you the guidelines I had for my diet and you can compare them to yours. Eat no more than 800 calories/day. Eat 75% Protein and 25% carbs. No processed foods or foods that have added sugar. Eat lean protein sources - chicken, pork loin, protein shakes/powder Eat only carbs that come from vegetables. And walk at least 30 mins. a day. That was the plan I received from my doctor. I went through stalls - almost 1 every 6 weeks. I learned the hard way to stick with my diet and exercise and the weight will start dropping again. A couple of things I learned. *processed foods will cause me to stall *fruit will cause me to stall and have head hunger. So I stick to meat and vegetables as much as possible. Good luck. Be Successful Right NOW! Here's what to do right now. Take the 1st step to reach your goal. No matter how small, overcoming inertia is the hardest part. Starting strong requires extra force and power to overcome inertia, but makes life easier in the long run. Plan, prepare, schedule, prioritize, and take action today. Move fast. Get momentum on your side and get the ball rolling. There’s never been a better time than right now. If you want to fix your life, it’s up to you, and it starts immediately. You CAN do it. We’ve seen it done by people in worse circumstances than what we’re going through right now. If they can do it, if they can overcome massive obstacles, if they can change, so can we.

I had the same pain. It was hiatal hernia repair. The pain faded in a few days.

My doc wanted me eating no more than 800 calories in total. I tried to stick to 75% protein and 25% carbs. I ate that amount for about 6 months. Then slowly increased my intake as Frankensleeve healed and could tolerate new foods. So I think you're about normal in the number of calories you're eating.

I think your weight loss speed is great. I was losing about 15lbs a month at 4 months. Eating 800 calories and walking 2 miles a day. I ate primarily Protein with just a few vegetables on the side. I tried to stick with 75% protein 25% vegetables. I never really paid much attention to the exact amount of protein grams I was eating. To minimize loose skin, I massaged the skin. I was a massage therapist and know that blood circulation is the key to healthy skin. I'd spend 2 or 3 minutes just kneading and moving my gut around, like I was kneading dough. :-P It gets the blood circulating more, and helps move fluids out of the cells. I have heard that Gold Bond makes several skin creams that promote healthy skin, but I rarely used any creams. But for less than $5 a bottle, you might want to try it.

Mine lasted for about 9 days post-op. After that, things seemed to settle down. Although, Frankensleeve grumbled with every bite I ate, he stopped being nauseous .

When I chose my surgeon, it boiled down to which one had the most experience doing the Sleeve. And location (my nearest hospital was in Houston and I didn't want to have to drive into the city itself). After Googling the reviews to pick my surgeon, I Googled the hospital names and read the reviews, to pick from the 3 hospitals my surgeon practiced at.

My hospital supplied mine. It really helped after I was released from the hospital. It kept my stomach from moving a whole lot and reduced the pulling on my stitches. I'm glad I had it for the ride home. I felt every bump and turn on the road, pulling on my stomach. I was paranoid and wore mine 24/7 the first month. Although my doc said I could stop wearing it after 2 weeks. Really, it's just a 3 foot wide, 6 foot long ace bandage. This pic is not of me, but it shows the binder I wore.

One of my favorite sources for recipes is http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/p/links-resources.html I found recipes for every phase of eating post-op.

I was on a 7 day pre-op diet. Lost 10lbs eating low carb... less than 20 carbs a day. I was drinking EAS carb control shakes (wish I hand known about Premier Protein shakes!) and eating pork loin or chicken breast. Starting weight: 375

Ran across this deal - 2 free samples of Quest Protein powder. All they ask is you email and mailing address - they even pay the shipping. Flavors: Strawberries and Cream vanilla Milkshake Offer valid in the U.S. only, while supplies last (approx 2,000 sets). Limit one set per household. Hurry if you want one. http://www.questnutrition.com/hungry-girl/

My biggest loss (counting from the day after surgery) was the 1st month ~ 20lbs. For the next 3 -4 months, I was losing around 15lbs month. My amount per month lost slowly trended down to about 9lbs a month over the next year. The 1st 10 months, I lost 130 lbs, then lost another 40 lbs the following 6 months (and remember, Xmas and Thanksgiving were part of that last 6 months, so it took a few weeks to get rid of the holiday food I ate). :-) So overall, I figure I averaged 9 1/2 - 10 lbs a month.

My energy levels were pretty much back to normal when I went back to work on day 11. But I barely ate more than a tablespoon of food each day for the 1st 8 or 9 days. Everything caused Frankensleeve fits. I was living off Crystal Light lemonade and sugar free popsicles. Once back to work, I was eating about 3/4 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup per day. I just stay focused on getting in fluids. I figured I had plenty of calories stored on me, so starvation and malnutrition were not going to be a problem! :-P But dehydration was on my mind all the time, so I drank as often as I could.

Hey guys, just needed a place to vent. Since getting a new job about 8 months ago, I've run across some real characters at work. Thiefs, gossips, back-stabbers, "it's not my job" people, and just people in general that don't think they have to come in on time (or at all) and work the schedule they agreed to work. So here's my little rant about 10 Things You're Doing to Get Yourself Fired Fast. Hopefully none of these apply to you and you get a chuckle from recognizing one of these traits in a co-worker. [sharedmedia=videos:videos:101]