SpaceDust

Blenders are your friend Depending on your preferences, you could spin up a decent salsa with tomato, onions, a pepper or two of your heat preference, and your favorite spices and herbs (for me, it would have jalepenos, cilantro, cumin and Mexican oregano, but your mileage may vary). Then I would add just a smidge of salt to bring out the flavor - maybe a quarter teaspoon at the most. With all the other flavor elements, it shouldn't need much if any. I would probably also add a little vinegar or lime juice as I like mine a bit tart. It should keep in your refrigerator for a few days, and you would have total control of the sodium involved. Same sort of thing can be done for a tasty steak sauce - just search for low sodium steak sauce recipe and I bet a lot of them will come up. You CAN take control of this and still stick to the plan.

I have the fitbit flex, and I like it pretty well. It's not quite as extensive in what it reports as the BodyBugg/Bodymedia products, but for me, it's quite accurate in what it reports. The nice thing is it isn't terribly obtrusive with everyday clothes - just looks like another piece of random jewelry. It links to my Galaxy Note 2 via bluetooth, so I can check on my stats anytime. Plus, I have an Aria scale, so they both sync to the same dashboard at fitbit.com as well as myfitnesspal.com and trendweight.com (all the things I use for tracking, hehe). The downside is that it needs to be recharged more often than the older fitbit devices - I used to be able to go 2 weeks between charges (or pretty much an entire vacation) with my old fitbit, but now I need to charge every 5-7 days or so. It's not a huge big deal, since I can charge it from my tablet if it's plugged in, but it's something I have to think about more often.

It tastes pretty good, but be careful with anything but Muscle Milk light - they can be a bit higher in carbs than I would prefer.

Have you talked to your doctor about your energy levels? Have you had a blood panel done to make sure that you're getting enough nutrition? You might, for example, need to take additional B-12 supplementation, or you might be running slightly anemic. It's not unusual for those of us who have been sleeved to need a bit of extra supplementation beyond a standard Multivitamin, if you aren't taking such already. Another thought, and something that happened to me after a surgery a few years ago. I was lamenting that I was tired so easily still, and my friend said "What are you talking about? You are doing more every day than you ever used to!" Turns out that she was right. I was tired because I had just naturally picked up my activity gradually, and hadn't noticed I was actually doing more. It might not be the case for you, of course, but just putting it out there for consideration. Good luck!

Congratulations, Susie! That's amazing!

The last week I was so impatient! Hang in there, it will be here soon. Congrats on getting to this point!

I think those are the best kinds of NSVs - the ones that sneak up on you, then jump out and yell "Surprise!"

Looking good! Congratulations!

Keep an eye on eating too many of these because of the sodium, but wow, these look like a pretty nice option for a snack, for sure!

Congratulations, and welcome to the newbie section of the loser's bench! I'm about six days ahead of you, and I feel so much more myself now! The first few days were a little challenging, but not so bad. I just wish I could stop with the protein shakes and creamy soup for a while

Yay, YOU! Come on in, the water's fine

I'm clear to drive whenever I'm ready (I'm six days out). I only took my Lortab for the first few days, then a couple of nights, but I've been off it since Saturday, so I'm good to hit the road.

Welcome aboard! I'm also a recent sleever (July 2nd), but I've been hanging around this site for about a year and a half now (first 8 months as a lurker before I took the plunge and joined). Hopefully we can all help each other along the way!

Exercise isn't really a solution for ANY of the loose skin. What it does is tone the muscles under the skin - in some cases, the skin isn't quite as loose because you've reshaped your physique and muscles are filling some of the area where fat used to live. As far as skin, the best suggestions I've seen is to keep hydrated (I know you said you were having issues with that; keep trying!), keep the skin supple with appropriate use of lotion or cream, and make sure your nutrition is good - get your Protein, get your Vitamins and minerals. I was told to expect that my skin will tighten slowly, over the next 18 months as I slim down, but to expect that I will eventually need at least a panniculectomy (where the belly apron is removed) even if the other skin tightens up fairly well. We shall see.

Lookin' good, my friend! You have no reason to feel anything BUT sexy! And guess what, the right woman is out there who will appreciate you as you are and as you will be in the future. You just need to get out there and find her! Go, you!

I've been very fortunate in the support I get, and I'm thankful for my family. My husband is a vocal cheerleader for me, and is proud of me for what I've done so far, That's actually pretty interesting, since in general he isn't a fan of WLS as a solution - he still believes that most people could solve the problem with diet and exercise. However, he also understands that there are conditions under which it is the best option, and he DOES get that it's not just a magic bullet and requires work. While I'm not secretive about the surgery, I'm also somewhat selective about who I tell, and the reason why I tell someone might have nothing to do with how close they are to me personally. I have no problems answering questions about it, or why I chose to do it, nor am I swearing anyone to secrecy when I do tell them. However, I see no reason to deliberately open myself up to negativity if the person had no real reason to know. I know several people in my life who would be negative, and I have not chosen to share it with them at this point. Maybe down the road if the time is right and they ask me in a way that makes me interested in responding I will discuss it with some of them, but otherwise, none of their business. I'm sorry you're getting such flack from people who should be your biggest support, cdunn! Just remember that if you can't find support elsewhere, we'll do our best here to give you what you need!

PdxMan - I've missed your posts, but I certainly understand moving on! Thanks for stopping by for an update!

Welcome, and congratulations! I'm nearly 52 (next week) and just sleeved (last week). Your story is great to read, and I hope I'm as successful as you have been!

By now you're with me on the newbie end of the loser's bench Congrats, and hang in there - the first few days are a little rough, but for me weren't too bad. Yesterday I was out walking in my neighborhood for about a mile, and the only real pain I have is still some residual pain in my left shoulder, managed pretty easily by Tylenol. I'm still fairly easily tired so I'm indulging in naps in the afternoon, but if I had to I could have gone back to work today and been fine, just a bit early to bed, probably! Don't forget to sip, sip, sip and walk, walk, walk! Trust me, it helps.

I'm six days out, on full liquids and managing to get 500-600 calories a day right now. But as Richard said, I'm supposed to be focused on getting in the liquids, getting in the Protein right now, and not worrying about calories OR THE SCALE(!) until I'm more healed. In my case, I know my calorie count because I track my foods in MyFitnessPal so that I'm being accountable. What is good is I'm getting right around 60 grams of protein a day, and averaging about 55-60 oz. of liquid. I want both numbers up just a smidge, but I'm confident I'm on the right track. Because I'm just that sort of a geek and interested in patterns, I am tracking my measurements, weight, carbs, calories and so on, but I don't *care* about them right now - I know that they don't really mean anything until I stabilize on a more normal diet and I'm more healed in a few weeks, so they're all just numbers to satisfy my curiosity at this point. My advice is that if you can't treat it as irrelevant data right now, don't even look at that information. If your tummy is like mine, even on liquids there's no way you could put enough in to be a problem at this stage, and the more dense protein will restrict you even further. Stick with your plan and you'll be great!

If you log into the website (not through a phone app), there's a link to help with things like that at the bottom of the page. To get you started, here is the link: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=help Good luck!

If I bothered to respond at all, I would probably say something like "Thanks for your interest. I'm on a medically supervised diet, and this fits within my approved diet plan. You should, of course, follow your own doctor's or dietician's advice." That's all the response they'd get from me, and I wouldn't discuss it further with them unless they had questions that I felt like answering

Be careful with these and read the nutrition label. They tend to be quite high in carbs, even if you subtract Fiber (I don't, but I know others are into the net carb concept). Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

Speed should have been sipped, of course, but the point is the same I'm so glad to hear you're having similar success, Phoenix! Yay, us! Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST