Miss Mac

Your weight now is close to where I started. It wasn't until I hit 30 pounds down (185) before I got a little energy. Still, I seem to have one good hour for laundry or working out, then the rest of the day is iffy. Sometimes I still take an afternoon nap, and I get at least 9 hours of sleep. I am 62 and post-stroke, so maybe this is as good as it gets. My goal weight is 135, so we can hope this will get better as more pounds come off and the improved nutrition builds up. Yeah, I don't know where that amazing surge of energy is either.

I never had a problem swallowing pills post op. I just have to be careful not to overfill Miss Tummy with too much water.

How encouraging! Thanks for sharing your success. I think it's real important to come back and let those who follow you know how you are doing. Great job!

Confidence and a genuine smile should be your two best features. My man is 6'2" and a healthy, thin, and active Mediterranean sweetie. I am 5'4" and weighed 185 pre-op pounds when we met and gained another 50 since due to orthopedic issues that kept me in bed for a long time. We have been inseparable from the beginning like a couple who have been together forever (we are in our early 60's and have been together 8 years). Before I scheduled my surgery (12/23/2014, I asked him if he would feel like he is missing anything if I lost 100 pounds (cause I was thinking maybe he was a "chubby chaser"). Nope...he just wants me to be healthy and happy, whatever size and weight that package comes in. So, I said all of that to say this: Love comes in all sizes and shapes. Don't waste your time on someone looking for perfection, and don't you be looking for perfection...it doesn't exist. Love can sneak out at you anywhere from the produce section of the grocery to the teller line inside the bank. Oh, by the way....we met on Craigslist and communicated for a full two months before meeting up at a White Castle burger joint during the daytime in a public place. After that, we decided that we would continue our first date by going to an afternoon matinee down the street. The movie was Nacho Libre, since we had determined that we both enjoy comedies. We have been together ever since. So, dress your best every time you go out the door, and keep your antannaes out for the fella who is checking you out! If you can balance charm with caution, then I wish you the best in letting love find you.

If you decide to delay surgery, I suggest that you can get a headstart on weight loss by going to Mark's Daily Apple (marksdailyapple.com) or research Paleo and Primal eating sites. The dietary guidelines are similar to what we are already doing now by eating fresh whole foods as close to their natural state as possible, and give protein the priority. But still, any eating and lifestyle changes will still take committment to work. Godd luck to you for whatever you decide to do.

Congratulations on your success. I celebrate every five pounds down with a non-food reward. I buy something I have been putting off because I was hiding behind my weight or did not feel special enough to spend money on my self or do something fun that does not necessarily cost money. The most recent reward I bought was a new omelet skillet, since I was wearing my other one out. Other rewards on my list are to do fun things that I did not feel like doing because my weight hindered me from being flexible and mobile. The south side of Chicago is flat as window glass, but I would like to go to a park somewhere and walk up a hill without my back brace or a cane or someone's elbow. I think I will make that my goal reward. So, put your thinking cap on and come up with some non-food rewards that would make you happy.

Eating low carb can put you into ketosis. It can affect your breath and complicate body odor. As for myself, I brush my teeth a lot, carry Tic Tacs and Gas X Strips, and take frequent "bird baths" throughout the day. I also had a metallic taste for a while after surgery. At four months, that's gone.

My fluids rule is 30/30. Yes, I do count my protein drinks as part of my fluids. So, my doctor's plan recommends 30/30 for shakes after and before foods, too.

There are many days when we just get tired of being strong. I really feel for those who do not have a supportive environment and have to walk alone through this weight loss experience. A therapist is a wonderful tool to help you get over the lumps of emotion. Bariatric Pal has also be an outstanding emotional resource for me. I know that not only can I come here with medical issues, I can also come here for a shoulder to lean on. Stay with us. There are o many that have gone on before us who can look back and hold out a hand.

One thing I am working on is to make sure that meats and fish are moist. Dry food just gets hung up. I had to give up peanut butter for this reason. It gets stuck in my throat and I cannot drink enough fluid to wash it down. So, if my foods have some moisture built in, it is easier to hold off with a beverage.

I was approved in two days...had surgery 3 weeks later.

My grandfather was a farmer. The way he fattened cattle was to pull them off the field where they ate grass and other vegetation and walked around freely. Then he put them in a feed lot to restrict their activity for a while, and fed them corn and grain. So.....I try really hard to stay away from corn and grain products and get my exercise in. If I slack up on carb accountability (as in potatoes) or go three or four days without burning some extra calories, my weight will bounce back up a pound or two. Also, I have learned to keep those protein and fluid levels as high as I can stand.

If you had a baby due, you wouldn't delay the delivery two months. Not selfish.

Protein and fluids and fluids and protein. Oh...and pretend like you have to pay $10 cash per carb.

Fiddleman, I would like to hear about the veteran experience with this as well. I am trying so hard and am working out just short of body building....and still waiting for results. I am even doing the exfoliate and moisturize stuff too. Oh, man...I am hoping for good news here.

I like MelBooks science. In "Miss Mac speak", a slider food is a gateway food to overeating even though I know better. For me it's anything with a potato in it.

My boyfriend made this for me and it is DELICIOUS without doing too much damage. Ricotta cheese Snack 15 oz. container of Rocotta Cheese 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1/2 cup Splenda (or equivalent of whatever you sweeten things with at your house) 2 teaspoons of cinnamon 2 teaspoons of vanilla Put all of this in the blender and give it a whirl to break up the chips and blend things up a bit. 1/4 cup has 130 calories, 17 grams of Protein, and 3 carbs. This would also taste good with a little lite whip cream folded in. You get the protein from the ricotta and some filling yummy for your taste buds.

Bariatricchoice.com sells protein chips in several flavors. My favorites are Ranch and Pizza. They also have Wnderslim protein Cheddar Crunchers and Pretzles......not to metion all of the protein bars out there. Other things that work for me are string cheese or boiled eggs or a protein shake.

I had ovarian cysts when I was a teenager. Even morphine shots did not help. Eventually I had to have surgery. Problem solved. For post sleeve ortho and neuropathy issues I use hydrocodone and Lyrica. If it were just a headache I have Tylenol on hand. No more ibuprophen for me. It had made a mess out of my stomach pre-op.

After my knee replacement, my ortho told me to be careful because falling would be bad....very bad. I was worried about my knees and had not even thought about my nose. I hope you get well soon.

Looking back, my pre-op diet that I thought was going to be aggravating actually turned out to be a big help. By the time I had my surgery three months later, I was off caffiene, soda, pastry & Pasta & bread kind of stuff, and had disciplined myself to sneak in a sip of Water at every opportunity instead of big gulps. I was trained to not drink two or three glasses of beverage with a meal, and to chew slowly. Usually, my head hunger presents itself on schedule because I am used to eating certain foods and certain times of day along with a midnight snack. It tells me I want a snack when really I just need a few sips hot tea (or something not damaging). It will say something like "That egg and piece of bacon look fine for Breakfast, but wouldn't you want a couple of chocolate eclairs and a giant orange juice to go with that?" When it tells me I really really really need a fried peanut nutter, banana, and marshmallow fluff sandwich on soft white bread, I go for a cup of sugar free hot chocolate with lite whip cream. If my Protein is low I will add some unjury Chocolate Splender to jazz it up. You have to beat it off with a stick every time it sneaks up on you. All of those habits that you will need after surgery are easier to maintain if you have practiced yourself before surgery. So take advantage of your pre-op instructions. Hopefully you have a bariatric team that wants to see you succeed with flying colors. I wish you good luck and good health.

I wish I had gotten my sleeve before I had a stroke in 2010. My weight was 185 at the time and I had gained up to 235 by August 2013. My blood pressure was crazy. My primary set me up with the bariatric program at Loyola University Medical Center for a lapband. During the orientation process, I found out what a sleeve was. The bariatric physician said I was a good candidate for that, so we set the process in motion. I had my seeve on 12/23/2013. I will be honest....it is a lot of work and the committment has to be 100%. I am so happy for my progress so far and am looking forward to meeting the new me.

Responding to the Cheryl Crow plastics comment: Due to the concerns for ingesting BHPs, I recently switched 90% of my kitchen plastics for glass. The other 10% is stored out of sight / out of mind in basement storage. My go-to favorites when I need to be out and about: power bars, Protein Cookies, or protein chips (quite a variety at Bariatric Choice) Boiled eggs, string or cubed cheese, little 4 oz. cans of tuna or chicken salad (they are pop top and come with a tiny spoon and 6 crackers from Aldi), Dole single serving sugar free Jello Wendy's chili

A similar experience happened to me at the Pain Clinic a couple of weeks ago. I had not been in since September and was down 55 pounds. The doctor had to double check the paperwork because he thought I was the wrong patient being prepped for the procedure! Congratulations. I hope we get many more of these.

I am always glad when it's a simple fix and not something rediculously expensive.