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I feel off the food log wagon last month when was sick. I just did not care about logging, and it has been so tough to get back in to it.

I was just switched to a 3-11:30pm shift for three months. I am an animal control officer and drive around all night. I take my lunch and snacks with me, but find myself eating all night long it seems. When I was on days I ate about every 2 hours and i would stop eating around 8-9pm. Now I feel like I want to eat something every hour. I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then snacks. When I get home at midnight I eat something to make sure there is something in my stomach to take meds. I am wondering if there are others out there that are on the evening shifts and when do you eat. I am a year post op and have met my weight loss goals. At this point I am trying to maintain.

My suggestion is to by some sexy lingerie. I mean the type that you put on and think DAMN I'm hot!! Then just relax. Most men are so excited about having sex they are not looking at the imperfections that we see. It is so hard to see ourselves as hot new women, but that is what men see. When I have a man compliment me I think to myself oh if you only saw it naked. However I have realized that is the fat girl talking. After being with my husband through the fat years and now the beginning of my skinny years I realized that he does not see the wrinkly skin or the boobs down to my waist. He sees - oh my wife is naked - oh boy oh boy oh boy!!! Men just see things so differently.

Though out this journey you will discover things about yourself - both good and bad. I feel like I have discovered who I truly am inside. Sometimes people close to us can not understand this journey. Sometimes it makes them evaluate their life and they are not ready to do so. Keep in mind that we all have roles that we play in our friendships and when someone stands up for themselves and says I am going to be healthy it threatens those roles in people's mind. I have been lucky I did not really lose any friends over this. Everyone has been very supportive and most people say I seem so much happier now.

Chicken has to be moist for me to be able to eat it without the oh sh*t feeling. It also took me several months before I could eat it. Don't count it off your list forever.

I'm not a guy, but I had it bad for a couple weeks. I cried daily and thought to myself why in the world did I do this to myself. All I want is a slice of pizza! Now 17 months later it was the best decision I ever made.

Pouch can be so fickle sometimes. Hang in there!

The band and bypass are two completely different surgeries. Search on this site for band to bypass and you will see hundreds of people in the same situation you are in. When people ask me what surgery I got I explain to then there are three levels of the surgery. 1. Band 2. Sleeve 3 bypass With the bypass you physically can not eat more than it will allow. The second part of your stomach is just gone. With the band you still have all of your stomach, and therefore can continue to eat. I am 17 months post op. I have lost 125 and have maintained that weight loss. I can eat anything I want. I don't have restrictions on types of food for the most part, what I have is restrictions on quantity. I used to be able to eat a Big Mac supersize meal and two apple pies with a large soda. About two hours later I would be hungry again. Now I eat about half a happy meal and I am full for 6-7hours. It is unrealistic to adhere to a strict diet the rest of your life and never give into "bad" foods. We are all human. This is a tool that will aid in the process of weight loss. It is only part of the equation. Food addiction is like any other addiction physical and mental. My biggest lesson through this past 17 months is that my brain is a powerful machine, but I am a stronger person than I thought I was. I began to look at food differently. I use it for fuel and the feeling I used to cover up with food I take out at the gym or on the soccer field. You just have to be in tune with your body and discover your triggers. When you discover one you need to replace food with something healthy. People say well if it is that easy why do you need the surgery. My answer the surgery allows me not to be so hungry all the time and allows me to focus on the good things. Now that the weight is gone I hardly sit still. I have energy and want to workout or be physical. It is natural for hubby to be scared and I would suggest taking him to doc visit with you. Tell him to ask the hard questions to your doc. Main one being why will this work and the band did not.

Mzshay - how are you feeling? Are you able to keep food down better?

My advise will be a little different. I married the first born male son in a Hispanic catholic household. When I met him his family had decided he was never getting married and could take care of mom the rest of his life. His mom in my opinion consider him her husband. I was doomed - but realized it had nothing really to do with me it was any woman that came into his life. She has told him she did not like me at the beginning and tried many ways to split us up. My husband was wonderful he stood up to her when he needed to, but let her rant when it did not matter. We have been married 10 years and together for 13. Through the years I have had a lot of trouble with my MIL. However I had two choices let her run me off and miss out on the love of my life, or tough it out. Finally about 2 years ago things changed. She got sick and I was the one who helped her out, and I think she finally realized I was not going anywhere. My love for her son was true, and that I made him happy. She still drives me nuts, but that is what families do! Is it wrong what she said - yes, but you need to look at your boyfriend in this matter as well. If he is not standing up for you that's a problem. It was wrong of him to tell them what you have done when you asked him not to. Finally time to put your big girl panties on and decide is this man worth the issues with his mother and sisters. If it is yes than you need to start accepting them or them, and have some long conversations with your boyfriend.

Yeah just google devrom and you will go to their website. My husband says they are a God send. That man really loves me to tolerate the new odors that the surgery has produced.

Thought I would post a picture of it

I take something called devrom. It is made to help the lovely smell of gas, but it also helps the bloated feeling for me. Since my surgery my gassy smell has been horrible. Devrom makes it much better and gets rid of the gassy feeling all together.

I would talk to your doctor. Each doctor has their own requirements. I was allowed to exercise after 8 weeks. 8 weeks to the date I was playing indoor soccer. Boy was I tired After that. Don't rush it. Your body has to heal!

I fall off all the time. I have reached every goal I set for myself. The key to falling off is knowing why you fell. Was it a stressful day, emotional day, hormones, sickness, boredom, loneliness. Once you realize what it is you can take the steps to correct it. My trigger for eating bad is when I am sick and not feeling good. I have a oh who cares attitude about food then. I want the comforts of being a little girl and mom taking care of me. So I tend to not eat protein and eat anything that my head craves for that time. Remember this is a journey and part of the journey is self discovery. To me this is the hardest part of the journey. Letting feelings come forward and dealing with the reason we ate so much food. I may not know where the journey will end, but I know where to start!

As an athlete there are a couple things to try. First is bananas. I eat about 2-3 a day. The next is pickle juice. It was suggested to me to drink pickle juice before soccer games to help with hydration and reduce cramps. Finally I have heard that mustard helps with cramps. It may be an old wives tell, but I have heard to keep a packet of mustard next to your nightstand and eat it when you get a charley horse.

Well tomorrow I hopefully can cross off a major goal off my list. I am trying out for the police academy. Tomorrow morning is my physical fitness portion and I have worked hard to get ready. However there is still the fat girl doubting that I am dealing with. I could use positive thoughts and prayers tomorrow morning!

I would say since you are asking yourself those questions - you are ready. This is a long and exciting journey you are beginning. You will learn things about yourself you never knew were there. Through the struggles and hardship you come out strong. I thought about doing this many years ago, but I know now i was not ready then. I was ready this time. I was ready to live the life I knew I could if I was skinner. You will be amazed about the exercise part. It becomes almost addicting. I hate missing workouts when I am sick, and love running now. It is almost effortlessly now. For me eating better just made sense now. I still have times where I eat badly, and I am working on those. However most of the time I want to fuel my body. Logging your food really helps with learning your habits and issues with food. Before surgery I would keep a food log along with emotions. It will help you figure out why you are eating. Remember your body will lose the weight according to its own schedule and sometimes that schedule is frustrating, but give it time. I don't know where the journey will end, but I know where to start!

I would call your doc and ask him.

The water thing gets better with time. Try sucking on ice. It keeps your mouth wet and you are still getting in fluids.

Call your doctor.

Well You have done amazing and the knowledge you share on the boards is amazing. I have learned so much from you and all your research. The one thing I have realized during my journey is the power of our brains. It controls so much and if you can learn about it and accept your brain the journey is like a teeter totter and the fear of the tightrope goes away.