thinndskies

I'm not sure what you mean by healthy protein bars, but the Eat Good, Look Great bars I get at Walmart and Sam's taste good and have 20G of protein. They have 16 grams of carbs, 2 grams of sugar and only 6 grams of fat. They taste like a very filling candy bar. I've had the chocolate peanut butter, the chocolate delux, but there are lots of other flavors.

I think I am freaking out so much because I'm going to Phoenix and am wearing summer clothes for the first time..very unpretty. I have great legs..even when I'm far, but my thighs are really droopy..I'm sure I'll gradually get used to the skin and appreciate nudity again..until then, ill keep telling myself" I am a warrior!" I sympathize about the loose skin in the thigh area. I love to swim and I've decided I will need to wear a pair of board short swim bottoms that go within 4 inches of my knees and a tankini this summer. I've worn capris in the summer, not shorts, for the past 3 years, so no change there. What I am very happy about is that I can walk now without back pain and I look pretty good in my clothes.

I had seven months of Binge Eating Disorder therapy about a year before my RNY surgery, October 15, 2013. I'm not sure I'd be as successful at 4 months out as I am if I didn't have some of that training to fall back on. The following 3 books are great ones to read to arm yourself. The books aren't very long and are easy reads. You need to know what your triggers to eat are so you can be very vigilent for signs that a trigger situation is coming your way. Of course, nothing beats therapy with a professionally trained eating disorder therapist. If you have access to one, use it now. If you haven't had surgery, this is what you could be doing in the months prior. 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without food, Susan Albers Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop, Cynthia M. Bulik, Phd The Emotional First Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery, Cynthia Alexander My triggers are all social interaction or disappointment in myself. I may have Asperger's, a highly functioning form of autism that makes social interaction hard. My nephew was diagnosed 12 years ago and I see so much of myself in him. I've struggled to learn social cues and was puzzled by how to interact with others. At 56, I still occasionally have difficulty, but I've learned to compensate and even laugh with others when I stumble. I have about 5 good friends, something I never had until College. Anyway, my fear of how to act socially as a child was often soothed by food. And, food was a way many well-meaning relatives showed me love. I've had to learn to soothe myself with talking to a friend, music, baths and positive self-talk. I wish you all the best as you learn how to find comfort in things other than food. Food is really not your friend. Friends don't let friends eat themselves to death.

So happy for you Lipstick Lady! Your successes are great. I've lost 92 lbs since my surgery 10/15/13 and I feel the same way. It's so wonderful. I still have about 90 more lbs to lose, but with my 5'8" height I look thinner than I am. I can walk without back pain and fast too!!! I am so grateful that Bariatric Surgery works. I avoided it for the past 10 years thinking it was 'the easy way out." I now realize that for someone who was 180 lbs overweight, it is probably the 'only' option since my metabolism was really messed up due to yo-yo dieting. So happy with my decision.

I've never had the low energy some have talked about. I think the 16 oz Protein smoothie (40 grams of protein)I have for breakfast each day helps with that. I also found I lose more weight when I am in the 800 - 900 calorie per day range. I think when I ate 600 calories at 3 months it stalled my weight loss because my body thought I was starving it. Everyone is different though. I think that 3- 4 months after surgery is a hard time period head-wise. The natural weight loss process can start to slow because we are battling emotional eating bad habits that got us in trouble before surgery. At least, that's where I am. I'm revisiting some of the books that helped me pre-surgery. Maybe one of them will halp you: --"The Emotional First Aid Kit: A practical guilde to life after bariatric surgery" 2nd Edition, by Cynthia Alexander --"Crave: Why you binge eat and how to stop," Cynthia M. Bulik, Phd --"The Sucess Habits of WEgith Loss Surgery Patients," 3rd Edition, by Colleen Cook Boy. Lots of typos. "WEgith" = "Weight" and "guilde" = "guide"

I've never had the low energy some have talked about. I think the 16 oz Protein smoothie (40 grams of protein)I have for Breakfast each day helps with that. I also found I lose more weight when I am in the 800 - 900 calorie per day range. I think when I ate 600 calories at 3 months it stalled my weight loss because my body thought I was starving it. Everyone is different though. I think that 3- 4 months after surgery is a hard time period head-wise. The natural weight loss process can start to slow because we are battling emotional eating bad habits that got us in trouble before surgery. At least, that's where I am. I'm revisiting some of the books that helped me pre-surgery. Maybe one of them will halp you: --"The Emotional First Aid Kit: A practical guilde to life after bariatric surgery" 2nd Edition, by Cynthia Alexander --"Crave: Why you binge eat and how to stop," Cynthia M. Bulik, Phd --"The Sucess Habits of WEgith Loss Surgery Patients," 3rd Edition, by Colleen Cook

I envy you that you are so close to your goal. I've lost the same amount since October 1, 2013, but sadly I have about 90 more to lose to reach 160. Good job, you.

Your face is really thin and you look good. I han't had much hair loss. I don't know if my time is coming or if the high percentage of Biotin in the Bariatric Vitamins I took for the first 3 months after surgery helped.

I have used a C-PAP machine for the last 10 years. I had RNY surgery October 15 and have lost 90 lbs since then. I called my sleep doc after I lost 50 lbs because my throat was too dry although I used the humidifier part of the machine. He called in an order to the service company to lower the pressure and things were good. I called the same doc last week,after losing an additional 40 lbs, when I once again felt the same dryness. He again called in an order to the service company to lower my air pressure. I have my yearly appt with the doc in May and he suggested I call to have that appt moved up so we can discuss my progress. I fear my doctor will soon make me do another sleep study, and I probably should after losing 90 lbs. I have another 90 to go before I weight 160, which is the optimal weight for my height. Good luck to all of you with sleep apnea. I hope to someday not have to use the C-PAP, but who knows. I might just be prone to obstructive sleep apnea and being morbidly obese makes it worse.

A great day!!! I have lost 90 lbs and I'm half-way to my goal. The last 3 weeks have been hard as I struggled with carb cravings. I decided to go back to basics and have eliminated simple carbs and added a little more exercise. I have recommited to beat the head hunger.

I had such a problem with the sweet protein shakes that I use half flavored protein powder and half unflavored. I can't use just straight flavored protein powder. I use Unjury. I also do better with smoothies than shakes. Something about the slushy frozen consistency works better for me.

Have a Protein smoothie every morning for Breakfast to get in 35 grams of protein. 1 scoop unjury vanilla Protein Powder, 1 scoop Unjury unflavored protein powder, 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup soymilk w/o sugar, 1/2 cup ice cubes. Blend until slushy. Boiled eggs, hot & sour soup, raw almonds, Wendy's chilli, 1/2 KFC grilled chicken breast, cinnamon/raisin English muffin when carb cravings hit

I've been eating frozen strawberries in my breakfast smoothie since I was 1.5 months out from surgery. I also eat raspberries and apples. I can eat pineapple, but because it is higher in sugar than the berries or apples I have stopped eating fresh pineapple since it triggers carb cravings.

I've had Hot and Sour Soup at least one day a week since I left the pureed stage. It has a lot of protein due to the egg, tofu and pork or chicken. The soup also has so much flavor and that's what I was looking for since some food is bland. My doctor doesn't want us eating rice for the first 2 months. The first time I tried rice I felt discomfort after eating. Rice just slides down and you can't really chew it. So, if you are only a few weeks out from surgery, I'd avoid cruciferous veggies, like broccoli, and rice.

sugar free popscicles help me. I like the Popscicle brand tropical fruit flavor. They aren't calorie free, but very low. I do know what your're talking about with the cravings though. My RNY was 10/15/13 and my cravings for carbs, especially bread, and sweets like cake, Cookies, etc. returned three weeks ago with a vengance. I gave in a few times the first week and now I am powering through the urges. One-and-a-half years ago I went through 6 months of binge eating disorder therapy. Three things I learned that help are: 1) If you ignore an urge to eat due to head hunger it will often disappear in less than 15 minutes; 2) Every time you don't give in to an urge, you reinforce the building of a new nerve pathway response. Eventually, when you get the urge to give into head hunger, the automatic response is to go to a substitute (take a walk, talk to a freind, surf the internet, whatever you choose to do instead of eat); 3) If you do give in to head hunger once, it doesn;t mean you have to give in for the whole day. Don't say "oh, well, I gave in once, might as well trash the whole day." Just begin to eat according to the healthy eating plan after giving in. A good book to read is "Crave," by a Ph. D.. I think her name is Cynthia something. Amazon sells it. It's not a long book and has great suggestions. I also have the same issue the Dee describes where more carbs or sugar makes me want even more. You can overcome this one day at a time. It's hard, but if you don't change you won't reach the goal you are striving for. You need to take advantage of the first 6 months after surgery when the weight loss comes easier than after. Come on...let's do this together. Good luck.

One book I read is good as it deals with Binge Eating Disorder. It's "Crave" and the subtitle is "Why you binge eat and how to stop." The author is Cynthia M. Bulik Ph.D.

Oh, believe me, I know about these carb addictions. I have been suffering for the past three weeks. I've been strong this week, but I've been tempted to eat the devil's own food (and devil's food) many times this week. I had to stare down Bagels, pastries and cakes at a working Breakfast this morning. I knew there would be food like that so I ate a cinnamon-raisin English muffin before the meeting. It was a lower fat and calorie alternative. I've even been reviewing the Paleo Diet in the past two days to see if I think I can do that. I often think I'd be better if I never ate grains or white sugar again. It's like a little taste and I start looking for more and more. I've lost 84 pounds since my 10/15/13 RNY surgery, but I haven't lost at the same rate since the head hunger came back. Why couldn't I have been one of those that doesn't have to deal with this until at least 6 months out? Using all the tricks I know to best it, though. I didn't have 6 months of Binge Eating therapy in 2012 for nothing. Good luck, Rach.

I'm super-carb sensitive. If I have simple carbs, even a little bit, it triggers cravings for more. It doesn't matter if it's low calorie or sugar free - if it's sweet tasting or any type of bread/cracker I get uncontrollable cravings. I do best if I avoid them completely. If I stay away from them I do fine and don't miss them. Maybe you are the same? Terry, so you never eat carbs? Wonder if that is healthy in the long run? I think I am carb sensitive. The only thing that doesn't seem to trigger cravings is sugar free popscicles. I'll try backing off on carbs.

I am 3 months out from surgery, 10/15/13, and it seems like this week my cravings have begun full force. I gave into them yesterday and today. Of course I can't eat the amount I once did, but I have no business having a cookie or french fries. I haven't had one issue staying within the food rules and calorie restrictions until this week. Does that mean my honeymoon period is over? The only thing different I started lately is that I added cottage cheese and pineapple as a between meal snack. Do you think if I dropped the pineapple, the craving for sweets would diminish? Although pineapple is low in calories, it has carbs and sugar. What are some other Snacks that would be good for between meals? Are any of you having cravings issues that had your surgery in October 2013?

My hair would get wet with sweat just shopping before surgery. As soon as I had the surgery, Oct 15,, 2013, I was cold. I rearranged the family room so my chair was nearest the fireplace. I even bought a big fuzzy robe and I haven't worn a robe in forever. It must be something to do with the surgery since I hadn't lost more than 20 lbs before surgery.

CaliGal1--You look very different and really great! I am almost 3 months out and haven't experienced hair loss yet, but I've been told that I might not see that happen until 5 months out. Your hair still looks thick in your current picture. At least your body looks thin!

Angie-I agree with Molly. Your smile in your pic is so big! You look good. Imgriego--Congrats on your loss and your pic shows it.

Molly, you look good. You are like me in that you look very different in the face with your weight loss. I love your necklace. I will also post pics soon. I had surgery 10/15 so we are at about the same point.

Congrats! It feels good to reach a goal.

Amazing. Great job!