erikaloftin

I'm not great at accepting compliments either. Just smile and thank them. I usually do that and say, Thank you, I FEEL great. That usually gets them off the looks and onto how I feel.

TurnThePage, I also read your comment as rude and judgmental. When I read this question, I thought it was totally fair, because as you probably know, when you first have your surgery, you don't feel a sesation of fulness, so its important to know how much your stomach can hold and how much is acceptable and safe to eat. My surgery center was excellent at making these kinds of things very clear to me, but some aren't, so people shouldn't feel ashamed to ask any questions here.

This is kind of a trick question, because your pouch changes quite a bit in the first few months. At first, your stomach should be roughly 2oz or the size of an egg. After that, it's really up to you and your body. For example, I am 8 months post op and depending on what I eat, I eat about 4-5 oz of food comfortably. So an egg is immediately after surgery. I'm assuming what your nurse showed you is what your stomach should roughly look like, which is a pretty accurate estimate. Hope this helps!

I'm going to be having my brachioplasty in January, and wanted to see if theres anyone else out there who has had it and wants to share pros/cons etc.

Try Body Fortress Chocolate Peanut Butter from walmart. That was my starter protein

I love the iced passion tea with no sweetener and add 2 splendas. So yummy and refreshing. It also hydrates you just like water. If I want something hot, I get a flavored skinny decaf latte

So here's my dilemma. I want to do it on January, before my cruise to mexico on March 1st. The earliest he can do it is Jan 7th which gives me 7.5 weeks before my cruise. Has anybody had it that can tell me if this is enough time to feel normal again? I don't want to go to mexico with flabby arms, but I also don't want to be miserable if I'm still painful or anything.

Hey ladies, I know this was an old thread, but I'm hoping some of you will still be around. I'm ready to have my brachioplasty, and my surgeon wants to do it January 7th. I have a vacation to mexico planned for march 1st and wanted it done before mexico, but now I'm getting nervous about if I will be pain free by then. It gives me 7 1/2 weeks between surgery, and the day I leave. If it were you, would you do it? One the one hand, I really want my thin arms to wear in tank tops and swim suits. In the other hand, I don't want to be miserable or painful and not be able to do all the fun things I want to do.

I'm 6 months post op and tolerate it just fine, but only eat it on special occasions.

I hadn't heard of the 5 day pouch test before, but just a few days ago I decided to go back on full liquids in hopes that it would do the same thing! haha. It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Actually, its easier than eating. haha. Can we just do liquids forever?

I'm not pregant, but I plan on getting pregnant as soon as I'm allowed to... and have been talking with my DR about it alot. She says that just like pre-op, pregnancy can cause many extra hormones that cause you to want to eat and feel more hungry than normal. You need to make sure that you are controlling yourself, and only eating what your body NEEDS, not just whenever it WANTS. I know its easier said than done, but it's important to remember

It is completely normal to experience stalls in weight loss. My longest one was 4 weeks. Don't be discouraged. Your body sometimes needs time to catch up with itsself. Also, try measuring yourself. Sometimes the inches are coming off even when the lbs arent.

Read my post above. I'm glad everything was fine for you, but that's not great advise to give to people. Always ALWAYS encourage people to listen to their own doctor. many doctors have many different opinions, but I'd never suggest straying from what the Dr says.

Good Luck! I know its hard, but this is all about learning a balanced diet. I think we all go through the phase where we are afraid to eat carbs. It gets easier.

Yeah I use my fitness pal. I know that I can do food instead of powder. But I'm asking if anyone has actually found a tasteless unflavored protein powder... lol.

It could be a few things. I had a 5 week stall once. I was doing everything right. sometimes it just happens. But your body needs a certain amount of carbs in order to put the protein to good use in your body. Try adding a little bit of carb by doing some complex carbohydrates and see if that helps.

I'm interested to see what else people have to say. I'm 6 mo post op and still haven't found a true unflavored protein.

That's funny!! Lol. I have heard people say that before but I actually really like A lot of the rtd isopures!

Yum. The cabbage sounds amazing. Now I want it!!

I thought this would be a great way to share our favorite meal and snack recipes with newbies, or eachother so that we can find new things to try. I'll start. My favorite thing for a breakfast/snack is a Yoplait greek 100 vanilla, with sliced strawberries or raspberries. My favorite dinner is grilled chicken, with steamed broccoli and some light fettuccini sauce. It's delicious!

Before the surgery, I didn't tell many people, because the few I did tell gave me the "Why would you do that to yourself" Ignorant speech. After surgery, I don't mind telling people because they can't really say anything about it... lol

Just remember that even if the food sounds terrible, it is a very short period of time and will be over before you know it. PLEASE don't cheat. I've seen people hurt themselves by moving on too quickly.

I do it with fat free mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and if you're allowed raw veggies yet, a few chunks of finely chopped pickles, and tomatoes

It has to do with the digestion that occurs in your mouth. The more you chew it, the more your saliva will break it down. If its puree'd, that doesn't happen.

also, you could add powdered milk for extra protein if you don't like the unflavored stuff. (I didn't). Especially if you're into some of the big proteins that are 20+ g per serving, if you mix half of one with 10 oz of milk, you're still getting about 20g of protein. not too shabby!