delta_girl

I drink before meals, but have only had a drink with a meal a very, very few times. This is one of the most basic rules after vsg, so I comply. The few times that I did drink with my meal I found that I ate even less than I would without a drink and with eating so little in the first place I need the nutrition from food, not space filled with some liquid.

All of these restaurants have good choices. We don't tend to make them, though. You can easily eat 2-3 days worth of calories by having a big meal at any of these places, but you can also have a very good, sensible meal at each of them as well. Self-education is a HUGE part of success. At least in my opinion. Just be informed before you go. Chili's has a "Lighter Choices" menu selection. At Olive Garden: mussels di Napoli = 180 calories minestroni Soup = 100 calories chicken and gnocchi soup = 250 calories zuppa toscona soup = 170 calories Venetian apricot chicken lunch portion = 290 calories Applebee's has an "Under 550" designation. And there is on way we can eat the whole serving they provide. These include: Napa chicken & portobellos zesty Roma chicken & shrimp roasted garlic sirloin signature sirloin with garlic herb shrimp At Red Lobster: grilled lobster, shrimp and scallops = 340 calories 6 oysters on the /12 shell = 50 calories shrimp cocktail = 120 calories salmon = 250 calories snow crab legs = 90 calories lobster tail = 170 calories seafood stuffed fish = 330 calories cesar salad = 270 calories cup of clam chowder = 230 calories cup of lobster bisque = 210 calories cup of chicken tortilla soup = 150 calories Denny's: 4 slices of turkey bacon = 180 calories low fat yogurt = 160 calories egg whites = 50 calories bowl of chicken noodle soup = 160 calories cup of clam chowder = 200 calories cup of veggie beef soup = 111 calories half serving of cranberry chicken salad = 310 calories oatmeal with milk and brown sugar = 240 calories Fit Fare omelette = 390 calories Veggie skillet = 330 calories Fit Slam = 390 calories Though Cracker Barrel does not provide calorie information for its menu, they have healty options such as low fat yogurt, fresh seasonal fruit, eggs, lemon pepper trout, grilled chicken and salads. At Outback: kid's menu grilled chicken = 147 calories Ahi tuna, small = 363 calories grilled shrimp = 319 calories grilled chicken = 401 calories very low calories counts on steamed Beans or broccoli, grilled asparagus, salad The Keg: shrimp cocktail = 127 calories backed garlic shrimp = 309 calories escargot = 280 calories crab legs = 208 calories lobster tails = 215 calories teriyaki chicken = 353 calories teriyaki sirloin = 366 calories mixed grilled veggies = 131 calories

You are looking fantastic! How much have you lost?

I had surgery on a Wednesday morning and was back at work on Monday.

I'm going to provide a slightly different idea here. When looking at a lot of photos where people show before and after at around 50-80 lbs, for many it isn't "jump out at you" obvious. For one, most of us have never met in person. Another is that different lighting, different clothing, and especially different distances from the camera change the perspective. But more than anything is that almost all of us have the same shape, only much smaller. Our fundamental body shape doesn't change significantly until there is a really extreme loss. When someone is a size 22 and has a certain body shape, then they are a size 16, the proprtions are the same respective to other parts of the body. So you still look like "you," only a smaller version of you. With our quick initial weight loss, our skin has not caught up yet, so we may tend to be a bit loose at first, but that will change as our bodies adjust. It wasn't until I had lost over 40 lbs that anyone made a comment about my weight loss at all (maybe 1-2 coworkers). They just didn't see it. At 50 lbs a few more noticed, but not all that many (maybe a few more coworkers and two family members). For us living in our own skin, we feel dramatically different!! Our clothing sizes change, we can do more, we feel so much better, we are living the huge difference in so many ways that are not just visual. Give yourself a lot of mental hugs and know that you have made a HUGE impact on your life. I can tell because I'm right there with you, or close to you with over 50 lbs lost. We know to look for certain things that may not be as obvious to others. Keep doing the good work you are doing. Your progress is showing!

Contacting the corporate headquarters of restaurants may yield some results. It would be worth a try for those that you really like a lot.

Something to think about too.....we are not accustomed to feeling hunger very often so it is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. My surgeon recommends in his planning manual to learn to go to bed hungry. He also says that nothing happens to you when you get hungry. It takes practice but the more you work with yourself on adjusting to hunger pangs, the less sensitive you will be to them. When I felt hunger off and on during the first month I thought that the world was going to come to an end. It drove me crazy! Now I ignore it and get busy doing something and it does not present a huge challenge or effort. It took practice and I'm really glad that I worked with myself on this. I also still take a PPI 2x daily.

I've thought about juicing and I've seen a lot of green shakes on Pinterest, so my interest is piqued, but the kale and the chocolate powder? Everything else here looks really good together. I made baked kale chips in the oven this weekend and they are slightly bitter. With chocolate too? My brain's message to my tastebuds says that would taste like foot!

Truvia is WONDERFUL stuff!!!!! You can even use it to make simple syrup for an occasional adult beverage. http://www.truviacocktails.com/

Slider foods slide through restriction so you don't feel very full when eating them. These are usually very fattening or highly processed foods such as ice cream and crackers. That they slide through easily has nothing to do with the number of calories they contain.

The program binder my surgeon gave me says up to 18 months of loss. There are probably a ton of factors that play in to this, many of which are personal choices and behavioral adjustments. At slightly over 3 months out I've dropped 1/2 of my weight, which has had a roller coaster pattern.I don't have perfect plan fidelity and need to get myself back on track while the irons are hot. The holidays could be used as an excuse, or the weather, or probably any other number of rationales, My exercise habits have gotten really sloppy and I know I'm not getting in appropriate Protein since I am no longer on shakes. ShannonK has a good point about skin tightening up. There are so many things going on with your body during this time and we really do have some extreme expectations of it. Our metabolism is adjusting, our skin is adapting, our hair is in crisis, etc. Those of us who are in the range of 6 months may not want to hear about things slowing down, think about simply sustaining life. Of course you need fewer calories the closer you get to goal, and the slower your loss, but your body wants to survive and if it keeps up that fast loss momentum you would be in the hospital for too much weight loss! (There are some realllly scary anorexia nervosa videos on Youtube).

I totally understand that this is a real problem and you are serious about finding a solution ..and then another part of me is soooo envious! Let us know what you discover works.

It was more than 10 days after surgery before I had any sign of a BM. Since then my surgeon told me to take Mirilax 2x a day but that is just too much going on for me. I have never been very regular in the first place. I'm taking a few doses of Exlax each week right now.

First of all, good job getting yourself moving in the right direction. There is nothing about this process that is easy. You will get a lot of good information here and many good suggestions when it comes to keeping on track, but the best that I can tell you is to generate a very long list of things to keep you busy. Watching TV and playing computer games should probably not be on your list. Find ways to get your mind and body actively involved in some type of activity as much as possible. It may be cleaning out closets and cabinets, working a real puzzle, talking on the phone to a friend, taking a free class, going to the library, learn a new craft ...... anything to get your attention off of food.

Knee jerk vigilantes by far produce the greatest source of tension and anxiety. Providing a specific point of view on an experience or sharing a story from the gut are not in themselves offensive. If someone finds themselves perpetually offended then they may need to look within for the real source of the problem, then reflect on proactive ways to address those issues.

Are you maintaining or losing?

These are all photos of the same girl. Photo #1 - 123 pounds Photo #2 - 132 pounds Photo #3 - 137 pounds There is a 14 pound difference between Photo #1 and Photo #3, yet it looks like she weighs 14 lbs LESS in the Photo #3 than in the first one. Her percentage of body fat is much higher in the first photo than in the last. This is even more evidence that exercise has benefits that you can get in no other way. Also, more muscle requires more energy, so you can eat more and burn calories faster.

Congrats! Me too...teetering right on the edge, though. I still fell like a smaller fat person, but the progress is real.

There is a low-cal cranberry with 1/2 the calories and a diet cranberry with only 5 calories per serving if you are interested.

I'm self pay and feel very well informed. I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of reading.

Eat more slowly. Don't eat much at one time.

I use baby spinach instead of lettuce. It has a lot of iron, which is perfect for us. My doctor cleared me to begin introducing small salads at around 10 weeks. So far I have had salads that include such things as raw cucumber, zucchini, grape tomatoes, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, apples, avacado, carrots, cabbage, celery and endive. The only thing so far that has given me any trouble is raw onion. Salads are now more delicious than ever, but the serving is very tiny!

It sounds like you should contact your surgeon and provide this information to see what your alternatives are or if you need medical assistance.

5'3" Pre Op 216 Op 212 (9/26/12) Current 166 Goal 4/1/13 = 136 lbs (estimated average 2.5 lb loss per week)

I have had a pretty much perfect experience, which really does color the lens through which I view this surgery. However, I also know that there are a lot of dangers. My surgeon scared me to death about post-op non-compliance. Because I had such a good experience I also don't get the great predominance of fussing that goes on about a lot of things and the long leave times people take from work. My surgeon told me to get back to life immediately after the hospital. I was back at work almost immediately. I didn't like eating/drinking a few things, I got depressed for several days, I was sore, I felt hunger but didn't do a lot of fussing about it. My attitude and experience was 100% up to me (of course barring any medical complications which never took place). I have also done a lot of things that I probably should not have and had no (or minimal) consequences. I've shared some in the forums if I thought that someone might benefit, others I've kept to myself because I really didn't need or want opinions or feedback on them. But for the first four weeks I was almost golden with my plan barring some contraband crackers and frozen yogurt. At 13 weeks I'm 1/2 way to my goal of a 101 lb weight loss even though I don't always exercise like I should, I drink wine a few nights a week, if I want some chocolate I eat it, I eat out all of the time, I no longer count carbs, I skip meals. All of this probably sounds very bad and I'm not saying anyone should do these things. What I am VERY happy about is that vsg is working great for my lifestyle and I truly believe that it is sustainable for the long term because MOST of the time I make very good food choices. I feel great and look so much better. I'm really looking forward to a summer when I am not miserable, fat and sweaty, I'm looking forward to running a 5k, I'm looking forward to feeling even better in my own skin. I don't think that I would tell everyone to rush out and get a vsg. It is major surgery and should be carefully considered, researched and should involve both personal reflection and future planning.