LipstickLady

Absolutely! Of course, I'm wearing smokin hot heels a lot more often now as they no longer make my feet ache, so...

My forever "diet" calls for 60-80g of Protein a day. Even at almost 15 months out, I have little room for fruits and veggies during a meal. I do 6 mini meals a day because my restriction is very tight. Can you do Beans? Tofu? Vegan Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt?

You getting in that last word?

You are delicious.

Absolutely. Take what you want, leave what you don't, and don't judge others for not responding the way you might.

Sigh.

I hope you are on the road to recovery soon!

Watermelon was tough for me at the beginning. I think it was the solid Fiber with the high Water content. (I still can't eat and drink at the same time.) At 14 months out, I can eat a little watermelon, but not much.

It tickles me every day to think back at all the things I THOUGHT I was but turns out, I was just fat. I thought I had some sort of excessive sweating gene because I would have sweaty lip/sweaty boobs just walking around the mall . I rarely sweat any more, even during/after a hardcore exercise class. Turns out, I was just fat. I thought I was extremely claustrophobic, refusing to use a regular bathroom stall or changing room, choosing to wait for the bigger stalls. Now that I can go in a regular potty and turn around without touching anything, I feel fine. Turns out, I was just fat. I thought I was really bad at painting my own toenails because I have no coordination. Turns out, I was just fat. I thought I was too short to see clearly out of the passenger side window of my minivan when changing lanes, so I had to drop the back seat. Now I can turn all the way around to see if anyone is in the lane next to me. Turns out, I was just fat. I thought I was a naturally gassy person. I rarely have gas now that I am eating a better diet. Turns out, I was just fat. I thought my seizure meds were making me extremely tired at the end of the day. I still take the same meds and have so much more energy. Turns out, I was just fat. There are tons more things I believed about myself in my denial at how my obesity was affecting my health. You?

I sleep at night just fine. I am not one to judge whose path is easier and whose is more difficult. Some of us don't want or need the attention that "complaining" about our own complications might bring. It's extremely unfair and slightly offensive to imply that people who have a "harder road" are kinder or gentler. Just because one doesn't post every detail of their journey doesn't mean it's all been roses and sunshine. Just a thought...

I can eat so little, I prefer to eat good quality meats and cheeses whenever possible. Subway is not the answer FOR ME. I can't tolerate the bread, it fills me up far too fast and creates a stuck feeling I can't tolerate. There are many other fast food options out there that work better for me.

The chances of me changing who I am, mulling over every thought I have before I post it wondering if someone is going to get their feelings hurt because they are hangry/confused/freshly post op and hormonal/on the rag/overwhelmed/have a hangnail/etc. is slim to none. When I post, it is from my experience and what I've learned along the way. I feel no need to lament endlessly about MY complications, about MY struggles, about MY emotions, because it's not always about ME, it's about the question asked. In turn, my answer is not always about the person asking the question either. Consider all the self confessed lurkers... They are learning from the variety of answers given, too. They are in different phases of experience so my answer may apply more them than the person asking. Who knows? I am who I am. People like me or they don't. That's ok. The longer you hang around here, the more you get to know the "players" or "cast of characters". Who you tend to gravitate to and who you usually avoid depends on you and your sensitivity level. I'm not wishy washy nor am I a hand holder. I see no need to change that because someone else already plays that part.

I gave up Coke Zero for about 8 months, 2 months pre-op and 6 months post op. I drink it daily now. Not as much as I used to and I cannot drink it from the bottle or can, it must be poured over ice, but I do drink more than I should. It doesn't bother me at all unless it's freshly poured. I sip it and it's fine. **I AM NOT ADVISING ANYONE ELSE TO DO THIS**

I use a straw and have since surgery. I was told not to by the doctor, but was told to use sports bottles like Camelbacks by the NUT. Uhmmm....Camelbacks have straws. I don't swallow air when I use a straw so it's better for me to use one than not.

Richmond here. Chesterfield...

Throwing up will not stretch the sleeve. It's a terrible habit to fall back on, though.

Snort!

I get pissy about the ones who reject answer after answer until they get the one they are fishing for.

I concentrate on protein and carbs. I keep an eye on calories and ignore fat all together. You can adjust your goals and configuration of your counts specifically to your personal needs.

I don't feel as if I am on a "diet". I am super fortunate that my sleeve is so restrictive that I can barely eat 4oz at one sitting most days. That said, I can graze all day if I want to and that intake could add up fast. I am not foolish enough (DISCLAIMER: that word is for ME only, not calling ANYONE else foolish) to think that this surgery was the magic answer for my BRAIN, even though it was the magic answer for my tummy size. I know how fast a nibble here and a nibble there could equal a butt load of calories that I don't need. Admittedly, I don't track every morsel every day, but I do need to track most days. I don't want to regain and I need to keep myself honest and focused. Tracking doesn't mean I can't have a piece of cake or some potato chips here and there, tracking isn't punishment and it doesn't mean "diet". It simply means that I've invested a lot of money and effort into getting myself back to a healthy weight and I'm not risking it. Different strokes and all that jazz...

Yup. Builds good habits once the weight loss slows.

Usually when someone says "no offense", what follows is quite offensive. Case in point above. Who said that kids were "running riot" "all day"? What a bizarre assumption. We don't even know how old the children are, do we? Do we now have to micromanage our children to be considered good parents? Sucks for me, then.

I feel you. My husband is a human garbage disposal. He will plow through every bit of food in the fridge and cabinets without a second thought of why it might be there or who it might "belong" to. (My kids have taken to putting post-it notes on certain things so he knows what's earmarked for class parties, teacher gifts, potlucks, etc.) Right after my surgery I had a huge melt down because all the foods I had specially prepared for my food stages would disappear within hours of me making them. It wasn't pretty. After that, I cleared a cabinet shelf that is just for me along with a fridge drawer. NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO ENTER EITHER. PERIOD. I don't care if the food is rotting into a horrific science fair project, **NO ONE** can touch. I also bought little round stickers that are different colors (green, yellow, red) and stick them on different items that are mine. Green means fair game, yellow means don't eat the last two and write it on the shopping list, red mean eat at risk of death. It's working.

Driving to work instead of walking is the easy way out. Using the washing machine or dishwasher instead of hand washing is the easy way out. Glasses or contacts are the easy way out. Even if WLS is the easy way out (say that again in 6 months HA!), why wouldn't you do it to save your own life? Life is filled with "the easy way out". If your heart was broken, you'd fix it, if your leg was broken, you'd fix it, if you needed hernia surgery or a kidney transplant, you'd do it. This is no different.