Yaya

I'm 7 years out, and chicken will often do this to me. So will ground turkey if it's too dry. I relate to the brick feeling with protein (if I'm eating out with people, I'm usually done after about 4 bites, and they wonder if my food was no good!) and unfortunately carbs go down no problem. I can usually tell when it's coming, as I can feel saliva build up fast in my mouth, and it's really salty. I know I better start heading for the sink! Sometimes, just spitting out the saliva as it comes helps and I don't regurgitate. And it is regurgitation, not vomiting. It's not fun, but it's not all the time, maybe a couple of times a year now. I can handle that.

No regrets here. I am almost 7 years out, and within 20 lbs of goal. I didn't want the lap band because I thought it would cause problems when I ride horses, and I didn't want the malabsorption/maldigestion of bypass (and the idea of loose parts hanging around in there creeped me out!) so I figured the sleeve was best for me. I did have problems with reflux, especially at first, so I tend to stay away from spicy food, acidic food, or tomato-based food. Even then, still would get reflux at night when in bed. UNTIL I discovered the wedge! Started out on a wedge pillow, then because I roll around a lot, I put my whole mattress on a wedge. Then when my mattress needed replacing, I got a mattress with an adjustable base, so I can elevate my upper body as much as I want. From the FIRST NIGHT with the wedge pillow, I have not had any reflux at night! It seems to have even helped with daytime reflux, although I'm not sure why. Just glad it's gone! If you don't want to deal with wedges, try putting the legs at the head of your bed up on blocks.

Bariatric Advantage has calcium citrate chews.

Calcium citrate is more easily absorbed, especially in a lower-acid environment (such as the decreased acid production after the sleeve, especially if you take a PPI).

My doctor told me to wait at least a year (preferably two) after reaching goal before considering plastic surgery. You definitely want to make sure you will be able to maintain the loss before removing skin!

I think they gave me Tramadol when I was in the hospital, but because I was up and walking around by 6 hours after surgery, and able to take in the chicken broth and crystal light they gave me, it wasn't for long, and they even discontinued the IV fluids. (They got tired of having to disconnect it every time I wanted to go walking.) I didn't even fill the prescription they gave me for pain meds at home, and never took anything, I was walking around at my parents' house from the minute I got there, went shopping with my mom 2 days later, and drove myself home (over an hour) on the 3rd day. Then it was back to taking care of 3 horses and 3 dogs like normal!

Pretty much daily, but constipated every now and then. Even taking Fiber every night, the poop is pretty hard. Was highly embarassed last week when I clogged up a hotel room toilet. Little rocks just jammed right in there!

My nephew said the same thing about missing hugging the fat Yaya. It was kind of sweet, especially because he was 22 at the time! I didn't think 22-year-olds were that into hugging their fat old aunts! LOL!

I LIVED on popsicles for several months after surgery. Definitely go back and get those!

I am in the same boat. I wanted to have lost 100 lbs by New Years, but was stuck at 98, and even went up a couple of pounds during the holidays. Same as you, I realized old habits had crept in, namely too much bread! So back to the basics I went, focused on protein and "real food", kept up my workouts, and rode both horses every day. Tada! Today I hit 100 pounds gone!

I kind of hoped getting rid of the weight would actually cause me to stand up straighter and be taller, but I guess that would really only be a change from the waist up.

82 pounds gone (I'm over halfway there!), and I expected my pants to be too big, but now they are too long! I guess I never realized how much my heavy thighs took up my pants. Now that my thighs are thinner, my pants drape and drag the ground! I had always bought the "tall" sizes so they wouldn't look like floodpants, (I'm 5'8", which I thought was tall!) but now I guess it's back to "average". Sigh. At least the overall size is smaller! Have to get used to my shirts being drapey too. I'm trying not to buy every size on the way down.

It is so strange how sizes run. I have lost 75 pounds, but have only gone fom a 26 to a 24. (And some of the 26s still fit, and some of the 24s are still too small. One pair of 22 jeans fit.) You'd think with that much weight loss, there would be a bigger change in sizes. I dream of the days when an 18 will fit!

When I am home, I track everything -Protein, fat, carbs, sugar, Fiber, and calories. I have a hard time losing weight (go up & down the same .5 - 1lb) But when I go visit my parents for a week, I don't track anything, eat everything, and come home 6 pounds lighter! How does that work? I admit, I don't really cook, and at home I use shakes and Protein Bars for a lot of my protein. At Mom & Dad's this week, I ate rice, bread, grits, even a whole piece of lemon ice box pie! But meals were things like crab, shrimp, lamb, beef filet, a bunch of pork (we were in North Carolina, home of pulled pork!) and even chili dogs. Is the difference real food vs fake food (the shakes and bars)? Why do I lose more when I don't keep track and even stray off program? This is very frustrating.

Yes, the sleeve gives me control, too. It's like a built-in check valve. If I eat too much, it lets me know! If I eat the wrong thing, it lets me know! Before I eat anything, I have to stop and think, "what will this do to my sleeve?" It gives real, sometimes painful consequences, where before the sleeve I would eat too much or the wrong thing and the only consequence would be the scale went up. And after a couple of decades of failed diets, the scale going up becomes the norm, not a consequence. The sleeve is the little angel on my shoulder going, "Uh uh uh! Don't do that!" (sorry for one long paragraph, for some reason, my computer won't recognize the enter button in the reply box)

Don't really have a regimen, I mostly concentrate on Protein and fluids. Breakfast can be eggs & bacon, cottage cheese & fruit, smoothies, Protein shake, or Kashi & almond milk. lunch and dinner vary widely. chicken and ground turkey mostly, but if I'm not home, I've had everything from seafood to pork tenderloin to filet mignon. Sometimes with veggies, sometimes I'm full after the protein. Every now and then I've had dessert. I just try to practice everything in moderation, which is so much easier now with the sleeve!

I was sleeved 4/9/13, and as of today, 8/10/13, I have lost 75 pounds! (counting pre-op) It feels like it's been longer than that, but in a way it feels like surgery was yesterday, too. I'm wearing clothes I haven't worn in over 10 years, finally cleaning my closet of stuff that's too big (had no idea I had that many clothes, or that many sizes!), and even had to bring my riding boots to the shoe man to have them made smaller. (I looked like a kid clomping around in Daddy's boots!) Still have a long way to go, another 7 pounds and I'll be halfway to goal!

The babyfood, Gerber Graduates? Looks kinda low in protein at only 5g.

Do you mean the babyfood, Gerber Graduates?

Not really. Activities at home: walk 2 miles 6 days a week, work out with personal trainer 2 days a week, ride my horse 45 minutes 3-5 days a week (really moving, not just trail walking). Oh, and all this with a heat index of 105-108 this week! Activities while at Mom & Dad's: croquet (not a real high-powered game), shopping, standing around at cocktail parties, walking up & down stairs a couple of times a day, maybe walking up & down a steep driveway a couple of times. Avg temp: 75 degrees. I don't think they really compare. I guess I just need to adapt the lifestyle of Mom & Dad's house (and learn to cook!) because I'd much rather spend my time shopping and eating pie than all the workouts I do at home, especially when I lose more weight! (sarcasm alert!) Or maybe I just need to move there. But really, it is very puzzling and frustrating!

I was definitely stressed before leaving, but the trip wasn't really a vacation, it was for a family reunion with 60 people, most of whom I had either never met, or hadn't seen since 1979! We had caterers do all the cooking for 4 days, so you know none of it was diet food! So why did I lose so much weight? The thing is, the same thing happened a month ago - little weight loss at home, but eating at Mom & Dad's for a week, I lost 3 pounds.

Chobani is in the US, it used to be my favorite until I found Light & Fit for almost half the calories. (80 vs 140 for Chobani)

Wow, there's an idea! Quick! Go make a million bucks!

This is what I was told as well (same thing with rice). But doesn't the cooking process make them swell already? I've never felt grits (or rice) swell after I've eaten them. I see the point about the corn, but if I watch my carbs elsewhere, hopefully it'll balance. Anyway, sausage-egg casserole is what's being served this morning, so I'm going in!

Did the airplane thing yesterday. First leg in an MD-90 I didn't need my seatbelt extender! And even though my seatmate had the armrest up, I didn't feel like I was spilling over into her space. Luckily, she was a skinny thing. Second leg in a Canadair regional jet (the ones with fixed armrests), it was a little bit of a squeeze, but normally I would have been bruised and in pain. And I needed the extender, but not by much! My seatmate was a big guy, (not overly heavy, just big!) and I felt he spilled into my space more than I spilled into his. Tomorrow night - the theater!