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Definitely walk for 10 minutes every hour, especially the first few weeks. I set my iPhone alarm to remind me to get up and walk at first and did laps around the house.

Good luck at the photo shoot tomorrow...work it!

You look like your own younger brother! Congratulations!

I almost never snacked before surgery and in fact, I often only ate 2 meals per day (bad habit--would then eat too much bc I skipped a meal). Now I usually eat 3 meals and 1 snack, because your stomach gets empty sooner after eating bc the capacity is smaller. My RD said that 3 meals a day isn't really realistic unless someone sleeps a lot... lol. So if I eat b-fast an hour after I get up (I take synthroid and have to wait an hour to eat), I might eat at 7 am, noon, 3 pm and 6 or 6:30. Seems to work okay. My one snack is usually something like a few ounces of Greek yogurt or a string cheese. I'm pretty used to it now. I think of it more as 4 mini-meals and not really a snack. I feel better having a more steady blood sugar level than I did pre-surgery since I am eating more regularly.

wow!!!! good to know! that's crazy...but now that you point it out, it makes a lot of sense.

I've found that if I eat a salad as a snack and not with a lot of Protein (maybe a few almonds or pecans and some blue cheese), I can eat a LOT more than if I have it with a protein meal. Yesterday I ate at least a cup of romaine lettuce, but I think it might have actually been more like 1.25 cups. I cut the lettuce really finely and chewed it very well. My surgeon told me I would be able to eat a lot more volume of lettuce than other foods because it is mostly Water, and this makes sense. I can only eat about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of more fibrous veggies (which I also often eat as a snack rather than with protein, which my RD said is fine). Just a thought. I understand you were just giving an example of your mourning of a certain food, but for me, this has really been the only thing I missed and I'm so happy to have a good solution.

Have you been on liquids for 2 months???

Please share your BEST NSV (non-scale victory to date)! You must pick only the very best one, even though I know there are lots. And positive answers only please--not that there is such a thing as a negative NSV, but I really need some positivity today and thought this would be fun!

I have been thinking about this a lot! I have crazy, sporadic deadlines for work and my sleep really suffers. Sometimes I only sleep 2-3 hrs at a time, get up and work 4-5 hrs, sleep 45 minutes bc I am so miserable--etc. I don't necessarily have more food cravings, but I SWEAR I do not lose weight no matter what when I am not sleeping enough. I think sleep is when our bodies repair themselves and that restoration supports weight loss. sometimes I also retain some Fluid in my ankles when I am at my desk too long working or don't walk enough during the day, which causes a temporary weight gain in fluid. I seriously have a resolution right now to get 8 hrs of sleep a night.

You look great, and that IS a pretty dress!

I'm glad the spider went well for you! It is a pretty cool concept.The only incision where I felt pain was the large one where they took out the stomach, and it was managed pretty easily with morphine on the first day and mostly liquid Tylenol after that. It was like the smaller ones were nonexistent. My scars from the laparoscopic incisions are already very faint. The worst scar is from where my drain was!

allergies! 'tis the season

I think there are 2 possibilities 1) you are keeping your body out of homeostasis by varying calories and types of food periodically or 2) you would have lost even more weight when you see a drop (like 2 or 3 lbs instead of 1 lb) and the splurge day made it less. But, I am not sure if there's any way of knowing what the answer is!

Good for you for stopping the situation in its tracks and getting back on the good health wagon. Wishing you all the best!

Congratulations! I would wish you luck, but I have a feeling that you will make your own!

Congrats on your losses, and best wishes to your wife! How great that you can do this together.

congrats--celebrate both!

Totally agree! And if this surgeon is only doing the lap band now, that means the surgeon isn't even experienced in laparoscopic gastric bypass, which is at least a bit more similar from a technical skills standpoint. If this surgeon only does the lapband and is starting VSG in September, I would definitely seek out someone experienced in laparoscopic VSG.

Glad your surgery was successful! In my first post-op appointment, the PA observed the dent in my exit site and said that meant that the internal stitches were still in there. She said that sometime within the next 4 to 6 weeks or so, I would probably move a certain way or bend down and might feel them pop (I did--but not everyone does). As soon as that happened, the indentation went away. You might want to ask your surgeon if they use internal stitches and if that might be the cause of the dent.

Fyre, are you feeling better? I miss your posts, especially the Fyre-Laura-Dean banter!

would they accept a medical note from your doctor?

Low testosterone--he should see an endocrinologist to see if he is a candidate for testosterone replacement. Not only is low T a cause for lowered sex drive, it can also predispose men to certain medical conditions. I would talk to him about the no hugging/cuddling/kissing, but maybe he is frustrated about a lowered sex drive and that has subconsciously affected how much he would show you any physical attention? So sorry you are both going through this. Maybe some counseling would be helpful if you would both be open to it. Hang in there. Hopefully some replacement therapy will help.

Sometimes I get Mexican restaurant carry out, which is just as fast as a drive-through if you call ahead. Personally I am a vegetarian and just get an order of refried beans and some fresh salsa to put over them, but my husband likes steak or chicken fajitas, which would be a good VSG-friendly food with no tortillas. Would probably last a few meals, too.

Hang in there--sending you positive thoughts. Tomato soup was the one thing that I could not tolerate during the liquid phase. One time I had some, and thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. It was seriously scary. And then I had heartburn. I guess it makes sense, because tomatoes are so acidic. So maybe that is the issue even moreso than the cheese.

I put silken tofu in my smoothies and it's really good! And I don't even live in California like Laura-Ven. I also even like cottage cheese in smoothies, and I would never eat that by choice!