Phoenix79

It looks like from what you are allowed to eat, that the surgeon has you on a pretty low carb diet until surgery. The purpose for that is to shrink your liver so it doesn't sustain any tears or damage during surgery since they have to lift the liver out of the way to get to your stomach. My surgeon had me on 20 carbs or less per day leading for 2 weeks prior to surgery and like you, I loved fruit and needed something fresh! My NUT said as long as I don't go over 20 carbs, I can use some of them for fruit if I really want to. Every morning, I'd eat two strawberries, sliced very thinly and savored every piece. I'd have less carbs to use for the day, but doing that kept me sane. Berries are much better than apples to eat if allowed, since they are much lower in carbs per serving than an apple- pineapple, grapes, papaya etc are even higher! If you really want to eat fruit, check with you NUT and/or surgeon and ask if is allowable as long as you measure and track your carbs...you never know until you ask, but ask before doing it. If your liver does not shrink enough, they can not finish the surgery (in rare cases)- so it is definitely worth following your surgeon's advice!

The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. A very good read about the UW men's crew team and their journey to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. I live in Seattle- grew up here and went to the UW, as did my father and my grandfather. My grandfather was on the crew team in the late 1930's and I have pictures of him with his team and in his varsity Purple W sweater. I rowed crew when I was younger, so this book has been a real treat all around seeing familiar places in the pictures and know exactly what the author is talking about when you get "the swing" while rowing. A great read for those interested in Ww2 era, sports history, the Olympics and underdogs- reads like a novel but it's non fiction.

http://www.lovewithrecipe.com/recipe/313.html Link to chicken Cordon Bleu recipe. Only bread item is a light topping of panko and bit of flour in the sauce, otherwise it's all protein- ham, Swiss cheese, chicken breast! I edited it a bit- kept the butter called for to make the roux in the sauce the same, but cut the butter in the panko topping to 2 Tbsp. I also subbed alpine lace reduced fat Swiss cheese for regular Swiss, and used lowfat milk instead of whole (don't try nonfat- you'll lose the creaminess factor). Makes a large 9x13 pan...would probably freeze well after chilling in the fridge. Cut into individual portions and defrost as needed! Very very tasty! 10 servings- 1 serving (I eat 1/2 of one) is 336 calories, 13.7g carbs, 37.2 G Protein, 14 g fat, per recipe creation on MFP with my ingredient substitutions.

Maybe you can answer a question for me about beef and Indian food gamergirl! I would expect that if I went to India, (which I very much hope to do), that I would not see beef anywhere on the menu. That's pretty typical with most Indian restaurants I go to here in the Seattle area as well, but our favorite place serves beef too and that always puzzled me. Is beef just an adaptation some Indians living here have made to their diet if it is not a religious restriction for them, or do you think I would see beef curry etc in certain areas of India as well?

Only 600 a day 7 months out plus working out? Try upping your calories to 800-900 a day and continue to work out and I bet you will see faster weight loss. So many people do this and see results- try it for 2 weeks and see what happens!

Just left Cash & Carry and they had Davinci SF caramel coffee syrup for $3.90 for a large bottle and Torani offered SF salted caramel and SF caramel syrup for $4.08 for a large bottle. Such a good deal!

Welcome Sleeveless! I know you can do it and succeed with the sleeve and your weight loss beforehand too. I started exactly where you are- 330lbs was my highest weight around October 2012 at 5'5 1/2. I was determined to lose weight on my own and did it gradually- losing about 25lbs before signing up for the sleeve surgery in Feb. 2013. July 2, 2013 Day of surgery (Swedish Hospital in Seattle) I was 289lbs, 49 bmi like your goal for surgery day! Today is my six month anniversary and I am now down to 211lbs in size 16 jeans with a total of 119lbs lost since my heaviest! You can do it too- the key is to always keep a positive mindset, exercise, follow the instructions of your surgeon and nutritionist and take one day at a time. If you haven't already, join and use My Fitness Pal- it's a great place to track calories, foods, and activities. Good luck and I look forward to seeing you around!

If you live in a place that has Cash & Carry (I live in the Seattle area), that would be a good place to find lots of SF coffee related stuff...lots of great syrups, etc- and the price is right! If you don't, look for a restaurant supply company, they may have something or know somewhere that does. Good luck!

Congrats on the recent sleeve! Don't worry, it's very typical to have a stall the third week after surgery, and you'll see more stalls as well further on. It's your body readjusting and replenishing things and then the stall will break and you'll drop again. It's sort of a stair step pattern with a lot of people, not always down. .

I'm staying in a hotel in Seattle with my mom and sisters for a girls night out. We've shopped, eaten out, and have had a great time! What really made me feel good we're all the NSV's one right after the other! First, I brought PJ's that didn't fit me last month, and they fit perfectly now, size xxl! Second, I bought my first pair of size 16w jeans at Macy's - all the way down from a size 26-28. Third- I went to Old Navy and I was able to fit in size Xxl or Xl depending on fit- I've never been able to shop the store before for clothes- just jewellery and dog toys. I went a little nuts in the clearance section because I needed replacement clothes for the ones I donated cleaning out my closet! Fourth- dinner at Cheesecake Factory, and I sat in the wicker chair instead of the booth- (fit easily- 1st time for that) & ate one Thai lettuce wrap for dinner. Fifth- went swimming at the hotel and used the hotel provided robe to cover up- it fit and tied up & I heard an angelic choir singing! . It was a great day and so encouraging! I had surgery July 2nd 2013, highest weight 330, surgery weight 289, current weight 219, size 16-18. Keep going newbies- you CAN do it!

Thanks m2g! I love, love, love clearance shopping- prices equal or better than thrift stores in many cases and stuff is brand new! I was dreaming of clothes shopping all night after my shopping spree. Lol. Believe it or not, I've lost 1/3 to 1/2 of my hair volume over the last 2 months- every hairbrushing, every shower there is more lost. I was blessed with very thick hair which is great when I'm losing so much of it, but not so great tying to find bobby pins long and strong enough to keep my hair in a bun. here's a pic I took of a recent hair loss on my brush- one pass through my hair- I hope it will stop soon!

Here's a pic from our outing with me wearing some of my new clothes!

Wow, even with how far I've come, I don't know if I can picture myself in single digits. Never been there in my teen or adult life- smallest I've been is a size 12 (sometimes) when I was 17 at 145lbs. My whole family is very athletic, swimmer's build and the women have wide hips and big butts. I'll be happily surprised if I do break into single digits, but my main goal is to get strong, stay active and have fun doing all the things I couldn't do before. My tag size really doesn't matter- I could stop now and be happy with my results, but I'll keep going until my body says stop! Thanks so much for the encouragement Comfy Blue!

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Thanks Tampa and everyone else! I'm counting from my heaviest weight, not my surgery weight...gotta give myself credit for the 40lbs I lost while considering surgery. I started in December 2012 at 330lbs, 1st pre surgery appt, 316 in Feb. 2013, surgery consent signing day 300, day of surgery 289 (July 2nd 2013), today- 228.2! It's been a lot of work, but worth it! It so helps to have a strong support system with my husband Fiddleman, my Mom and sisters and extended family. .

I will help get the photo tomorrow Butter!

Victory at Bahama Breeze tonight! We picked probably some of the most healthy things on the menu just by looking at the descriptions...and they were tasty! If you are ever there, check out the wood grilled chicken breast with citrus butter sauce, broccoli and mashed cinnamon sweet potatoes. Very flavourful, and you can order a smaller portion and still have food to take home. Another yummy option my husband (fiddleman) had was the crab stack- crab, shrimp, avocado and apple mango salsa. High in protein and delish. He also ordered steamed edamame- polished off the crab stack, the edamame and several bites of my chicken, a few spears of broccoli and bites of sweet potato. I'm four months out- he's 16 months out and does lots of crossfit workouts.

Folks, I will remind my husband (fiddleman) about his website idea...I think it's a great idea too, an would make a good project.

In the Everett area on the west side- my husband has been sleeved as well. He had his July 2, 2012 and I had mine July 2, 2013- exactly a year apart!

Thanks Gamergirl! I'm going to try these out for my husband fiddleman- I'm sadly not a seafood fan! . Oh- the next time you're in Seattle, lets us know! I'd love to meet up if you have time!

So proud of you Gamergirl! You are awesome!

Thanks! I'm not that elated yet...don't know why. I guess I'm just waiting to be elated until I get to goal...but I do celebrate the little victories along the way. I guess I was happy the way I was and I'm happy now- things are different, but not necessarily better. Things have always been good. I never let my weight define me. I think I'll do a little dance though when I can get my calf into a nice boot again.

Yes, I've noticed I am starting to lose some hair, but I have very thick hair to start out with so I'm not that stressed out about it. I've been taking biotin since before surgery, but I'm still losing hair....it just happens, but it will grow back!

That's so awesome! I love gardening! Growing your own food is such a feeling of accomplishment and it's fun watching things grow over the summer. I wish I had the heat to do peppers- here in the the Pacific Northwest it's not gonna happen without a greenhouse. But I did get 3 huge Brussel Sprout plants.

There is definitely a big difference! Keep it up, you look great!