dgoerlitz

I am almost a year out and I am cold ALL the time! I've had a blanket AND a quilt on our bed for a couple months already! Layers...that appears to be the only solution.

Why not just eat yogurt instead?

As I have said many times on this forum...this is a marathon, not a sprint. I always think I am a slow loser, but I am 10 1/2 months out and I am down 95 lbs...almost 10 lbs a month. When have I ever been that successful? NEVER!!! The key is to keep this whole journey in perspective or you'll drive yourself crazy!

Me too! I finally hit Onederland last week, and wanted to wait a week to make sure. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Frozen entrees also tend to have a lot of sodium. Just some things to look for. I find it much easier to just buy some lunchmeat and cheese and make a few roll ups.

I drink between 4-6 cups of decaf with sugar-free creamer everyday. I do count the calories for the creamer on my MyFitnessPal log. My NUT doesn't care about the coffee. I was only restricted from that during the first 2 weeks. I don't drink milk or juice...usually just Water. I drink 2-4 bottles of water everyday in addition to the above mentioned decaf coffee. Too much sugar in juice and usually not enough room or not enough calories left in the day for milk.

I am 10 months out and I still have to take Miralax everyday. If I don't...there are serious repercussions...

How much protein and how many calories and carbs?

Boil the water first, put the egg in, set your timer for 6.5 minutes and you will have a perfect soft boiled egg.

So, I thought...and still think I am a slow loser. However, I will hit my 10 month mark on Thursday and I am down 94 lbs as of this morning...and I have finally briefly touched (and hope to stay here now) "onederland" this morning. That is almost 10 lbs a month! That has NEVER happened to me in my entire life! It has taken me all summer to lose about 30 lbs, but my scale is finally moving again. In the meantime, I am down from size 24 bottoms to size 16 (and they are getting loose already) and from 26/28 tops to 18/20. EVERY TIME I see my doctor he reminds me that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep that in mind and you'll do great!

Dont forget about the 3 week stall. It happens to most of us. If you do a search here on the website you will see thousands of discussions about it.

They are being helpful...BUT...once you have the surgery you are going to have to be a lot more choosy about what you eat anyways, so you might as well get used to it now. That's not to say you can never have a treat again. It's to say that there will be a lot of instances where you need to make a decision as to whether or not you need to take up space with a cookie that someone baked, versus a yogurt you brought to get your Protein for the day in. Also...they need to understand that you will be eating "real" food again at some point, and that it has to be you that makes the decision whether you can eat something or not. In my case, I will eat a little bit of what people bring in, say for a pot luck or something, but I choose more wisely. Where I used to have a bagel...now I go for the quiche or the fruit salad a lot more often. But...even this morning, I was at a Breakfast meeting and had 1/2 whole wheat bagel since it was either that or coffee cake. We will have to make choices regardless, so having to say no now is good practice.

First of all...I probably know more people who I am worried they will die from NOT doing it. While he was probably trying to give you a reality check, it seems a bit callous and irresponsible to focus on bad outcomes without providing other details that probably had a much higher level of impact on the bad outcomes than the surgery did. I can tell you...if you do what your surgeon tells you to do, and if you don't think this is a magic "cure" for being overweight - instead viewing it as a tool in your tool box of being healthy, then you should feel more confident with your decision. Despite success rates with this surgery, there are still a lot of pcps who are "old school" and who don't accept that fact that there are some people who this is truly a last resort for....that not doing it will be far more detrimental than the risks of having the surgery. There are risks with any type of surgery...even death. But the fact of the matter is that having all the weight related comorbidities is a far greater risk. That's my two cents.

Actually...just put a little bit of salt & pepper and lemon juice on it...maybe with a little drizzle of olive oil. Make a little "packet" out of foil and throw it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Me too. I've been at 202 for WEEKS! I am still doing water aerobics 3-4 nights a week and walking 2 miles 2-3 times a week. It is very frustrating. Thinking about going to a personal trainer...but have to figure out how to come up with the money. I still have 52 lbs to goal, but mostly, I SO want to get to Onederland! Maybe by Monday...

Yes...to some degree. I bought some shorter shorts...I can't bring myself to wear them outside. They really aren't that short...just shorter than I am used to. I also usually wear swim shorts with a tankini to swim. I bought some regular bottoms and they feel SO weird when I put them on. They look "ok"...I'm just not used to other people seeing this much of me. Adjustments...

OMG...we hardly ever grocery shop anymore! This is a good thing...until I realize that I need something and we don't have it on hand. I actually like this a lot better though because I no longer grocery shop at Walmart or the local grocery chain. Instead I go to a couple of specialty grocery stores (more along the lines of Whole Foods) and buy better quality produce, meat, and seafood. I never buy bread anymore, and only occasionally buy some English muffins. I have dumped more half a gallons of milk down the drain over the past nine months than I care to admit. I will also, sadly, miss the farmer's markets once the weather takes a nose dive for the winter, but even there, I hardly buy anything because we simply can't eat it quickly enough. We do share sometimes when we go out to eat, or I take the leftovers for lunch for a day or two - just ate the last of some shrimp quesadillas for lunch today from a Sunday motorcycle ride. We are definitely "cheap dates" now as far as going out to eat. (a little background...my hubs had the bypass two months before I got my sleeve, so we're in this together)

I am 9 months out and I still track everything, every day. I also bought a FitBit that syncs with my MyFitnessPal account so I can keep track of how many steps each day. For me it is important because I don't have "dumping" and can eat anything except rice and pasta (they make me sick). I need to keep myself accountable so that I don't spend the day munching on things I shouldn't be eating.

Cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, tomato, squash soup. I was allowed any of these after the first week.

I have eaten them a couple of times since surgery. I find them to be pretty gross now, since I have been trying to eat more "natural"/"real" foods since surgery. When I am in a pinch and have no choice but fast food, I usually go to Wendy's. A small chili or a grilled chicken sandwich (minus the bun) seem to be the lesser evil of the fast food choices.

I track every single thing...even on my bad days - I need to know for sure how bad I've been. I track food, water, and exercise using Myfitness Pal. I've even bought a fit bit to track my steps...it syncs right into my Myfitness Pal account for me. The surgery...your sleeve...is only a tool. You still have to work at this. I know it seems overwhelming now...but as it becomes habit, it too will become easier. You will also begin to learn the easy things to choose to eat so that in a pinch you can still make a good decision.

Wow! My hubby just brought me some back from a recent trip to Georgia. I haven't warmed them up and eaten them yet. I hope they are still good when I do! Do you know how long they will keep once they are boiled?

I hardly ever go there any more...strictly a special treat. This is a huge accomplishment since I am a Starbucks gold card holder! LOL

I loved caramel pre-op. However, post-op, does the caramel add a lot of sugar to your daily dietary intake? I haven't tried it for fear the caramel will make me sick. The caramel doesn't bother me at all. The syrup they use is sugar free and they use skim milk in the "skinny" version. A tall is only 140 calories. Not too bad for an occasional treat...especially for a gal who was drinking a VENTI full version with an extra shot every day before surgery!

I buy Tully's French Roast k-cups. Also, if you want something even stronger, Starbucks has a decaf Espresso and a decaf Dark Roast. Thank God...I can still have an occasional "tall, skinny, DECAF, iced caramel macchiato...with a extra shot"!