Holly5.3

For my am snack I have my Greek Yogurt. I still do best with soups for lunch or cottage cheese with fruit, or Wendy's chili (1/4-1/2 a small, dep. on how fast I eat-eat too fast=eat less!) string cheese, sugar free apple sauce, laughing cow cheese. Just starting to eat veggies and I can tolerate beef better than poultry (strange!) still no eggs. I rely on fat free or low fat dairy a lot-I hope I don't get gall stones! I also have Smart Ones and eat less than a 1/2 serving. I try to only have them 1-2x a week- high sodium. But they make lunch fun.

Everyone looks so transformed by weight loss-it gives years back! You can see excitement and zest for living back in everyone's faces! Love it! Keep on posting photos- they still inspire me!

Coutney you look amazing! In just 7 months!! Wow!!! I bet you can't wait to go to the beach this summer all skinny and all that!  What is your goal weight and height? Or do you have a size as a goal? I kind of like that idea - some people have posted being a single didget size as goal. I don't know if I'll get that little-I'ld be happy size 10! (from 22-24!) Keep up the great work!

You go girl! Keep up the great work, Skinny Minny!

Eat??! Drink-broth, crystal light with protein and shakes. What does your nutritionist ('Nut') recommend? Curious- I thought everyone was on 2 week liquids post-op.

Wow! I'm impressed..and a little jealous! You are a new person because you lost a small person! Imagine carrying around a 100 pound backpack all day now! It would kill you!

I lived on chewable GasX before having broth, I found chicken broth made me gassy (I still can't eat chicken at 3 months!) Unjury brand unflavored protein added to crystal light and Unjury chicken broth is what I lived on for liquid stage. For pain I took exta strength Tylenol rapid release caplets - I have no problem swollowing pills at all! At full liquids, creamed soups were ok, cheddar broccoli was ok-again, GasX helps with extra gass from broccoli. Good luck!

Yaaaa! You're doing great girl! You have to treat yourself to a new dress or something to celebrate! If you wear your 'fat' clothes, you're not going to feel that snappy-vitality a new (or new to you!) outfit brings! I don't want to spend money or charge  clothes I don't be wearing long, but I needed a dress for an out of town family gathering and it was well worth the money! I felt like a million dollars (for a change!) and when I wore the dress to work, everyone was blown away. When people see you in the same clothes it takes a whe for them to notice. Mix it up and pow! Superstar! Keep up the good work!

I see from reading others posts, my inability to tolerate chicken, eggs and most veggies is pretty uncommon at 3 months. I'm wondering why my dr. didn't question me more about it yesterday. I guess everyone's stomach heals differently. As long as I'm making protein req. I guess I'm ok. Finally could eat some iceberg lettuce this week, but still no dark greens. I miss eggs! Eventually...I'm sure (I hope!).

Hi again Lisa-I posted here already (I talk a lot so now I post a lot, too!) but I just wanted to tell you to also search on Utube "Verticle sleeve b/a" and you'll find a ton of photos and videos. Before surgery, while Pre-dieting, I found seeing others' success helped me so much and relied on searching for stories related to WLS in making my final decision to go for it. When you see transformations in people's bodies and hear about their lives-amazing! Good luck!

At 3 months: B- Protein shake w/ skim milk (30 g. prot.) Snack- Greek yogurt w/ fruit (12 g.) L- 1/2 sm. Wendy's chili, 1/2 cup lite chicken soups, Smart Ones-1/2 serving lunch (excess bread removed), or cold cuts (2 slices turkey or ham, one slice of cheese) or cottage cheese w/fruit on side. (10 g.) Snack- low fat cheese stick, unsweetened applesauce cup D- whatever I'm cooking for family- protein 1st then veggies. Desert- sugar free jello with Tbl. crushed almonds Ta-da! About 600-650 cals. 60-70 grams if protein. Plus water w. Crystal Lite all day (1 hr. after meals ... It's hard!)

For me, 3 months post-op, the gurgling snd burping are still pretty chronic. No reflex, just air. Yesterday, I explained this to my dr. and he said to eat slower...ok, that I do know is a problem (getting air in stomach between bites) but I wake up at 4 am burping and stomach roaring! By 5-ish I get up to take my Ppi and start my shake or a Greek yogurt-so it's not always from eating too fast. I had this problem Pre-op too, but now it's worse! Good luck - hey if this is the worst of my "side affects", I'll take it! Down a total if 71 pounds since Aug. 11th (48.5 post op- Oct.11)-hoping to make it to 'onederland' by Feb 1st! I haven't weighed under 205 in 20 years!

Also, would the term 'starvation' still apply when we consume x amt. of protein, vit. and min. supplements and water/liquids? We are not depriving our bodies of these viral components, the calorie restiction does seem low and extreme but I've haven't felt this much energy in years and am being told I look much younger than my 50+ years. If I was starving myself, I doubt I could make those claims.

Its normal to have regrets or buyers remorse after surgery! It's a lot to deal with emotionally as well as physically! We didn't get to being at the point of needing WLS because we have a good healthy relationship with food, on the contrary! Don't let your food addictions (mine is flour) cloud your mind. A year after surgery we can eat everything, but just a smaller amount.., just like fit people eat! It's like being pregnant .. For your health and the baby's, diet is altered before and after delivery, and we do it because we have to. Think of the surgery the same way. The hard part is temporary and the rewards are priceless!

My goal is to be light enough for my husband to not just lift me, carry me! Sexy! I'm 5'5" and shrinking (age 53). My surgeon asked me what me lowest weight was and I said, my wedding day (I was on the Diet Center plan) - 140 (size 10). I felt great! I told him my sister who is my build and height but always kept her weight in check, weighs bet. 130-138. he said, 'You'll be smaller than your sister!' whhhhhhaaaattt? That would be a miracle! But you never know-I never thought I'ld lose 70 pounds by New Years Eve when I was depressed, getting heavier by the second last July! If I lose another 30 by b'day in July (100 pounds!) I'll be 178 and prob. size 12. So psyched! I'm not obsessed with weighing myself or the scale, but from what I've read about others' success, it's hard to not try to compute which size will fit when- it's fun!

Use up what you have first-perfect! We'll be losing for a while, newbies anyway, why waste money when it'll be so much fun shopping for a wardrobe at your smallest size (can't wait!) maybe put some money side each were, we're saving on food and drink every day-that's got to add up to some savings each month!

Don't worry - it does get better day by day. Update on raw veggies: my tiny serving of salad stayed down! Victory! So, for me, 3 months post-op and I can eat salad, a very little might I add, but it was so crisp and cold and refreshing! (Nothing like protein shakes to make you appreciate salads - I used to hate that I had to - or should - eat a salad every day when I was trying to lose weight - now I crave and dream about them! Being sleeved is hard, but its also a wonderful thing! One more tip: don't try too many new foods at once, so you can figure out what was OK and what needs more time. (I could eat tomato and cheese, but no lettuce until yesterday! Yaaaa I had iceberg lettuce, tomato, gorgonzola cheese and Italian dressing - so good!) One meal at a time and you'll be fine!

Love Target for a few items at reasonable prices. I'm lucky though - I've got a wardrobe from size 18 (current size a little smaller than 18 but not quite a 16) down to 10-12 from my lifetime of losing weight. Most garments are out of style, but I've managed to find sweaters and denim skirts that don't go out of style. It's like a time capsule-80's harem pants and slouch tops (back in style!)-too funny!

I'm 3 months post op on Thursday, tonight I had about 2 regular fork-fulls, chopped real tiny of my favorite salad, and so far so good! Praying my tummy doesn't reject it, please, God! I was cleared for all foods but told to avoid breads since Nov. 12th but could not eat raw veggies yet, until today-I hope! I haven't had fruit other than what is in my Greek yogurt. I miss my healthy foods so much. It kind of stinks that a cookie eaten slowly goes down fine, but chicken, fruit and veggies don't. I know, cookies--really!?! I had maybe 1 or 2 a couple of times over the holidays. Homemade only and healthy-ish ones (oatmeal, prune...) I'm back on track, no cookies-I threw them all in the freezer and told family to take a few out when they want but u don't want to see them any more! Too tempting!

Wow! Thank God you went for endoscopy to find all that! Hopefully it can all be removed during a sleeve procedure! I had a pretty severe hiatal hernia repaired simultaneously as sleeve. )I still have 2 : more hernias to be repaired when I've lost enough weight )not thrilled about more surgery and using sick time!) Good luck!

It's true about the hunger feeling different. A lot of us have posted on several threads about stomach acids and the new sound affects remind some people as hunger signs. For me when I need food, my body reacts (burping, gurgling), but if I ate one tiny bite too much-burping again. It's a new skill-set acknowledging physical hunger and need for fuel and when you've had enough. Two things I obviously have had a hard time with my whole life. It's work. But it's working! I feel lighter than I have felt in almost 20 years! Best decision of my life!

Love it!