joatsaint

I was eating sugar free popsicles, starting the day after surgery. And later on, sugar free Jello. I wasn't able to eat anything else for the 1st 10 days post-op. I was so nauseated and hurting that I didn't want to eat. For the rest of the month, my meal was 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup per day. Frankensleeve wouldn't tolerate anything else. The only thing close to a sugary treat I ate during the 1st 2 or 3 months, was creamy Peanut Butter. I limited myself to 1 or 2 tablespoons per day. I was trying to stay on 800 cals/day and peanut butter calories add up quick. How soon after surgery did u eat something sweet? I was craving ice cream but I chose not to indulge. Today I want a blueberry muffin. Please help!!!

I believe being forced to go "cold turkey" after WLS eliminated my sugar cravings. I used to "have to have" certain sweet flavors and couldn't stop thinking about them till I had some. Now, I don't "have to have" any particular flavor. I'm still a sugar addict - when I walk past a box of donuts, the smell just sets my brain to tingling :-P. But the difference is, I can choose to eat one or pass it by. I'm not compelled to eat one. I still love cake, donuts, ice cream.... but I don't "have to have" them and I can chose to eat some or pass it by. And my portions are so much smaller, usually my limit is 1 donut or enough cake to fill a "normal" coffee cup about half full. So I'll always be a sugar addict, but I don't have the cravings and I do have the tools to stay in control. :-)

I was a massage therapist and used an Earthlite table. I bought it because it was squeak proof and the brochure had a pic of 12 people sitting on the table. Mine was rated to be bend proof and stable at 1200 lbs. I've had clients weighing over 400 lbs on my table. It's the only brand I ever used.

I never had a "fixed" goal weight. My goal was to lose enough weight to feel like I blended into the crowd. I was incredibly tired of being the fattest person in every setting - at work, on the plane, in the movie theater, in social settings. So my goal weight changed as I saw my body change. I wouldn't mind being 250lbs... if I were 8% body fat and the weight was from muscle!

Finished Week 7 Day 2. It was a bit more difficult, due to lack of sleep. Stress at work and date night kept me up till almost midnight the day before. [sharedmedia=videos:videos:41]

Week 7 Day 1 is in the bag. Still have a silly grin on my face, cause I was able to jog non-stop for 25 minutes. No reason I can't do it on Wed and Friday to finish up Week 7. Just one word of waring, don't try to jog and sing along with Nickelback's "Rockstar" tends to mess up your breath control. [sharedmedia=videos:videos:40]

Jess, Thanks for the advice. My goal was a simple one, to complete the runs in each workout. Distance and speed were 2ndary. One small step at a time. I'm completely happy just being able to run non-stop for 25 minutes (just finished Wk 7 Day 1 ). Speed and distance will come with experience. That is awesome! Congrats!!! I just want to caution people though... In reality couch to 5k works you up to running 30 mins nonstop. For MANY people that won't be 3.1 miles/5k. That's a pretty fast 5k for a beginner, under a 10 min mile, though no doubt some of you are running that fast! I did my first 5k race about three weeks after finishing couch to 5k and wasn't able to run the whole time. I finished with three or four walk breaks and my time was 47 minutes. So don't fret if you aren't getting the full 5k at the end of the program, just keep at it! My first sub 30 minute 5k was 7 months later. I just two days ago ran the same 5k race that was my first race a year ago (after running five half marathons and several relays and 10ks and a triathlon in between). I ran this one at just over 26 minutes and got 2nd place in the women's 40-49 bracket! So don't worry if you need more work after the program to get up to 5K! You can do it if you stick with it!!!

Week 6 is in the books. Finished all 3 workouts for the week. Running the 22 minutes non-stop really was more of a mental game than a physical one. I'm in the home stretch - Starting Week 7, only 6 workouts left till I'm running 3 miles non-stop. [sharedmedia=videos:videos:39]

Here ya go: http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html

Those are some great NSV's! Don't you just love the ones that are unexpected? :-)

Hey, kyrickchick64, Thanks for the link.

I tried the OhYeah Victory bars - oatmeal raisin and Cookies and cream. Both tasted pretty good, but left me with a bitter aftertaste. They were pretty good and only cost $17 for 12 bars, but Quest bars are still the king! Anyone else tried OhYeah? Should I bother trying the other OhYeah flavors or just stick to the more expensive Quest bars? [sharedmedia=videos:videos:6]

Surprisingly, Brussel sprouts do not give me gas anymore. I had two bowels of them yesterday.... no AROMA today. :-P @JustWatchMe sounds good to me Enjoy @@joatsaint hey dude aren't you the one that commented about loving brussel sprouts, but having all that gas?? call me and tell/warn me when you are about to eat them toot, toot, toot kathy

Just completed, C25K - Wk - 06 - Day 02, 04-22-2015 Sometimes It's All About The Grind One more workout down. Only 7 more workouts left to complete the C25K program. [sharedmedia=videos:videos:38]

To get through my bouts of head hunger, I try to access what type of head hunger I'm experiencing. Am I hungry because I'm bored? Low energy? Do I want to eat out of habit? Have I eaten high glycemic carbs in the past few hours that spiked my blood sugar and now it's crashing? Or is Frankensleeve truly empty and hungry? This just lets me track where the hunger is originating and hopefully I can avoid head hunger in the future. I'm trying to train my brain to think Protein (not carbs) when I have head hunger. If I can't find anything to distract me or the hunger is just overwhelming, I eat pure protein - no carbs at all, not even artificial sweeteners. Once I'm full, if I still want carbs, then I allow myself a few bites - 5 to 7 teaspoons. Normally I can't eat that many tsps, and I'm satisfied. Hope this helps.

I guess you could call me "lucky"? Frankensleeve was so intolerant of food for the 1st month that I virtually ate nothing. The 1st 2 weeks, I ate maybe a tablespoon of food per day, drank lots of Crystal Light, and ate sugar free popsicles. Starting week 3, I ate less than 1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup per day. And by the end of the month, I was eating 1/2 cup of food per meal (4 or 5 meals/day) - and continued to eat that amount per meal till the 6 month mark. Then things eased up and I was able to eat more kinds of food, but not much more volume.

My general guideline is 75% Protein, 25% carbs - no matter how many calories I'm eating. During my 1st 6 months post-op, I was shooting for 1000 calories or less per day. I was eating so little that every bite had to count and have as much nutrition in it as possible. I stuck with lean protein sources like ground turkey hamburger and chicken. For carbs, most of them came from vegetables - cauliflower, broccoli, yellow squash, black Beans, lentils. I stayed completely away from foods that contained carbs that can be quickly converted to sugar - fruits, processed foods like Pasta, rice and Peanut Butter, breads, candy, sugary drinks...

I had a slow recovery, and it was about 6 months before I felt comfortable taking a normal swallow. For that 1st month post-op, every tiny swallow caused Frankensleeve to gurgle and growl. It was very difficult training myself to not drink during meals, or only sip enough to wet my tongue. Now it's just a habit.

I had to sleep propped up in bed, I rolled up a comforter like a big log and slept propped up. I was able to sleep on my back like that for the 1st 2 weeks, then things started getting better. But it was a month before I could comfortable sleep on either side - I kept feeling a pulling sensation when laying on my side.

My favorite thing since WLS is Brussel sprouts, I can't get enough of them. I buy 1lb frozen bags, put them in my microwave steamer for 12 minutes. Top with a 1tblsp of butter and salt. BOOM! BABY! Or if you're an Emerald fan - BAM!!! :-P

I didn't get any bumps or itching, but I do have 5 or 6 finger tip size red splotches on my chest and neck. They appeared sometime in the 1st year post-op. They aren't painful or itchy, but they won't go away either.

Week 6 Workout 1 is done. I really thought it would be easier than it was. I guess I got too cocky after running 20 minutes non-stop. :-P

I've seen good reviews of a Water called "Hint" which has no artificial sweeteners and has 0 calories. It's sold at Kroger stores, I've not tried it since I'm happy with Crystal Light Lemonade. What is Hint? Hint main web page

Don't forget, in 2 months, you'll be able to drink much more and more often than you can now. And as I lost weight, I didn't have as much insulation to keep me hot. Losing a few inches here and there really does make a difference in how hot you feel. :-P

I've never had problems with my joints, but all the mystery pains I used to get pre-op have disappeared. I used to unexpectedly get firey pains in my feet and the sides of my knees, so painful I'd have to use crutches. They just came out of nowhere and would last for weeks. I think it was some kind of nerve pain. After the 1st year post-op and losing 130lbs, they just went away.