flawlessly73

Hello all. I was sleeved on 10/26 and I'm down 20 lbs. I hope to lose more and am focusing more on my protein and liquid intake. Most days I'm just not hungry.

I'm in! Surgery date...10/26 Starting weight...222 Current weight ...203 Christmas goal...190 I was only on my preop diet for 3 days.

Keep going! The good thing is - by the time my "cocktail" was mixed by the anesthesiologist and they were preparing to wheel me into OR - I was OUT! Next thing I knew I was in recovery waking up thinking....is it over...wow...I actually did it! I've even had the opportunity to drink some of those Medifast shakes and other drinks that have been in my cabinet for months because I could not stay on the plan longer than a week! The sleeve is a GREAT tool and you will be very happy! Keep on moving - don't stop (that's a song that came to mind!)

Happy Birthday! I was excited reading your post like I was there with you say....go girl! Heeeeey! Sometimes we fall off our wagons but the key is that you are back without any major damage! Now that takes a lot motivation and self love! Congratulations and continued success!!! Whoohoo. BTW, I will be the big 40 next year so I may be sharing some of your same story....hehe. - Sleeved on 10/26/12

Yayyy for you! I too am thinking of a little casino reward. I usually take between $100 and $300 and spend time on the penny slots and do quite well! Continued success to you - enjoy your trip!

I love this blog entry! You go girl! I was sleeved on 10/26 - haven't lost a ton of weight but 16 pounds so far. The other day I put on a pair of jeans that I tried to put on before surgery but they were so very uncomfortable that I stopped wearing them. Well, I wore those jeans three days in a row! OK - I am taking a few weeks off so I only wore them when I went out so 3 straight days is OK!!! (Smile). I finally washed them yesterday - and dried them but I am kinda scared to try them on again....I plan to do that tomorrow when I go in for my Dr. visit! Unlike most....I am a dryer junkie (The dryer is my iron) but have not worn jeans in a while..just pants with stretchy waistbands and when those started to get uncomfortable, I knew I had a problem!

Good luck to you. It looks like you are well on your way. I was sleeved on 10/26 and all is going well. I tried the Oh Yeah Shakes and they are pretty tasty. I was able to visit the local Vitamin Shoppe store and buy them individually before making a big purchase of a case (ready to drink). My favorites are the Strawberry and the Cookies and Cream! If you find them, I hope you like them just the same. I also bought the Isopure Unflavored protein powder which has proven to be a life saver! I can put it in my cream soups, yogurt, pudding - everything! Again - Good luck to you!!!

Update....I finally purchased the unflavored protein powder about a week ago and it has been GREAT. During my full liquid phase I added it to almost everything......I am hooked on the low fat cream of chicken and cream of potato soup. I started my soft foods today and added it to yogurt and pudding.....I could not tell a big difference at all. I bought the Isopure brand at my local vitamin shoppe....it was $42 and I was not happy about the price but now that I am using it, I am SO GLAD that I bought it. I even added it to my cottage cheese today....lol...hey - just upped the protein content! Oh yeah - the nutribullet - turns out this is a great investment. I love to cook .... so every morning I make a nutriblend "smoothie" and get to enjoy cutting a cucumber or apple etc to add to my blend. My favorite blend so far is with spinach, a slice of jalapeno, cucumber, and frozen fruit with no added suger....oh and apple juice - gotta put in a liquid to make it a smoothie!

Now friends, I am an intelligent woman with a great job and education.....I'm saying this for a reason. I was reading some posts and thinking how am I going to manage pureed food AND get the liquid and protein in that I need daily. It is amazing how we now think of food wisely instead of carelessly did prior to being sleeved. Back to my being intelligent.....I read a post that talked about UNFLAVORED PROTEIN powder and how this fellow sleever put it into his/her soups and other items to ensure that s/he gets the protein needed per day without being overly concerned about filling up too quickly. This sleever puts it in his/her cream soups, puddings, and yogurts. So what does this have to do with being intelligent? Not once had this approach crossed my mind!!! It seems so simple and common sense like. LOL. Just posting this and having fun with it - just in case anyone else has the same concern or is having an issue getting in protein while eating soft or pureed foods.....UNFLAVORED PROTEIN!!! Thanks #1golfer, your post was right on time. Now I am going to take back this cookies and cream flavored powder and get an unflavored. ......the preceeding post was an "ah ha" moment that made my day!

Seven days has passed. How did it go?

I start soft foods next week. I'm ready for some soft sweet potatoes and cornbread dressing!

Hello Sleever Family! Today I attended my paternal grandmothers funeral in Arkansas. While this was a sad occassion, you must know that my granny was 77 years old - married to my Papa for 60 years - had 6 boys and 1 girl - and 74 grand, great grand and great great grand children! Needless to say, most of the church was filled with family. We had a grand celebration of her life! During the 4.5 hour drive, I sipped on juice, water, and protein shakes. And since I was sleeved a little over a week ago, I ensured that I stopped to stretch and move around at least every two hours....(during my preop class, the nurse told a story of a lady that died from blood clots because she took an 8 hour trip shortly after surgery and only stopped once). Where does the cornbread dressing come in.....HONEY CHILD!!!! Now you all know that there is one thing that you simply cannot resist when you are at grandma's house! I went into the kitchen with my cousins and there it was....cornbread freaking dressing. I debated on whether or not to take a chance but I knew that grandma had my back. I took the serving spoon and scooped out a small portion into a paper cup. Those were the best four teaspoons I have had of food in a long time. I chewed and savored but was sure not to gulp and overdo it. Nothing happened because I was not hungry, I just had to taste that cornbread dressing that was made with love by my Aunt. During the 4.5 hour drive back home to Texas, I sipped on juice, water, and protein shakes.....back to reality! Until next time.....peace and blessings from my family to yours! Good night!

Definitely prayer for you! This too shall pass....literally huh????~

I bought them at Vitamin Shoppe.

Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!!! Hello all....as stated in my previous entries - I am still not smoking and very proud of myself! For the past two days I have had a lot of energy. Yesterday I went to my first post op appointment and previous to that I went to get my hair done. I was so busy moving around all day that I did not drink as much as I should have. The doctor checked my tongue and was able to tell....he said that the whiter it is ...the more fluid you need!!!! Other than that, the incisions are healing fine and I feel better and better every day. My blood pressure was 135/95 while at my doctor visit. I have not taken any of the medication for BP since the surgery so I crushed and took one when I got home. The last two days it has been in the normal range without additional medication. THIS IS WHY I AM SLEEVED. I already feel healthier and more energetic. Can you image when I become a pro at eating and drinking, fully healed, exercising, etc. WOW!!! Today I went to early vote with my son! This is his first year being of voting age with a major election. It took all of 10 minutes and I was so proud of him for getting out there and exercising his right to vote. So after voting, I took my car into the shop to get some warranty work done before it expires...lol and routine maintenance. The good thing is that my dealership provides loaners so I didin't have to wait on it so I came back home and cleaned a bit......did a bit of laundry, made the bed, light work. ENERGY!!!! Now what is really exciting to me is that on Saturday, I can start eating the cream and blended soups - I am looking forward to more flavor! I am not "afraid" to drink anymore and sometimes drink a little too fast and have to wiggle around for the slight discomfort to go away. I bought a nutriblender (made by the magic bullet folks) a few weeks ago so I am looking forward to trying it out starting this weekend. My liquid diet and surgery happened so quickly that I have not been able to use it as initially planned. I will definitely post again once I use it and let you all know if it is something worth your while and if anyone reading this has one....let me know what you think about it. It's time for bed but thanks for reading and allowing me to be a part of such a great community!