VSGAnn2014

That's interesting. No one on my surgeon's team has ever bad-mouthed carbs. Not even during the weight-losing phases. If you lose all your excess weight and can eat 1700 - 1800 calories a day to maintain your weight (which is how much I have to eat to maintain my weight at 135 pounds), why in the world would you limit yourself to 40 carbs a day -- even 40 net carbs a day? Frankly, I don't even know if I could eat that many calories without eating a significant amount of carbohydrates. The vast majority of carbs aren't bad for us. If we minimize white flour and sugar, which have little nutritional value, we can find so many high-fiber, colored veggies and fibrous fruits and whole grains found in brown rice, quinoa and high-fiber, high-Protein breads, pastas and even crackers that are jam-packed with Vitamins and minerals and trace elements we need. I've approached this whole WLS journey from the viewpoint that food's not evil. However, pre-op I was not making very smart choices about which foods I ate most days. In the last two years I've learned so much about nutrition and tried to apply what I've learned to planning my meals to become healthier. Believe me, getting "skinny" was nice. But getting healthy came first.

Below is Friday's menu, which was very typical of what I eat now that I'm 20.5 months post-op. (Yesterday was date night and not a typical menu.) Anyway ... Friday: Breakfast: * GNC Lean shake 25 (Swiss chocolate) * Homemade skinny latte: 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup Starbucks espresso roast, 1 envelope Turbinado raw sugar Morning snack: * Doctor Kracker three seed cracker * 1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese * 2 tablespoons Smuckers sugar-free strawberry jam Lunch: * Ham and cheese sandwich: Oscar Mayer Black Forest ham (5 slices); 1 ounce sharp cheddar cheese; 2 tablespoons Hellman's Lite Mayo; 1 medium sliced tomato; 2 leaves of Romaine lettuce * 1/2 cup petite carrots Afternoon snack: * Starbucks coffee - 6 ounces * 1 tablespoon half and half * 1 Specially Selected (Aldi's) salted caramel biscotti Cocktail Hour: * 1.5 ounces single malt scotch (was Aultmore that day) Dinner: * Stouffer's Fit Kitchen Steak Fajita (first time I'd tried one of these; not bad!) * 2 cups Romaine lettuce hearts * 1 tablespoon Litehouse chunky blue cheese dressing After Dinner: * Caltrate chewable (chocolate truffle) * Dannon Oikos vanilla greek yogurt * 2 small squares of Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt Macronutrient Totals: Calories - 1,700 Carb grams - 174 Fat grams - 64 Protein grams - 101 Sugars - 72 Fiber grams - 26 (minimums for women are 21-25)

Meditation -- if you don't know how to do it, it's easy to learn. Videos all over the Internet. books galore. It's simple, not complicated. Helps you stop the hamster cage of thinking, worrying, reliving the past, imagining the future. Hard to explain. It just works. Exercise - does help. Walking outside especially works. Cleaning house - works for me! Closets, laundry, cleaning cabinets, mopping, just makes me feel productive and gears me up for doing shit I hate doing more. When you've lost more weight, trying on clothes and seeing how BIG they are on you. Counseling / therapy - I have been seeing a shrink since two months pre-op (2 years now). He's been very helpful on many of life's stressful fronts. Yoga / stretching - or as hubby calls it, "rolling around on the floor." I swear it's one of the best things I do for myself. The cat gets down there with me and tries to do it, too. So funny. SMILE -- seriously, our bodies and brains are wired such that smiling makes you feel better. I swear, there's real research about this.

I'm dieting. Again. Yes, that's right. Yet again.

I was sleeved at 68, and I know my surgeon did RnY (bypass) on a male patient who was 71 or 72.

The things that have helped me refocus when I needed to -- because I'm one of the other 7 billion people on this planet who are imperfect -- are: * Weighing every morning (when I'm not traveling) and tracking it on MFP and reviewing the "Reports" to see how far I've come and other patterns * Tracking my food on MFP -- no matter what and how much I ate (including what I ate after I got up in the night and ate something else) * Hanging out on BP -- others' challenges and successes really help me focus. I sure don't fool myself that having lost 100 pounds and being at goal means I have obesity licked yet. * Getting dressed, making my bed, brushing my teeth -- the little things that, collectively, mean I'm still caring for myself and not turning back into a pre-op slug (hey, I can call myself that -- but you can't ) * Journaling, making lists of my goals * Going outside, getting sunshine, leaving the house, seeing people (even strangers), working in the garden, petting the cat * Meditating -- getting those stupid thoughts out of my head and abandoning the past and the future and just sensing the now -- not analysing it, not plotting it, not valuing it, just experiencing it * Reading good books and good poetry * Making little ceremonies out of the sweet things of life -- a cup of tea, a piece of fruit, and (because I'm on maintenance, not still losing weight) a finger of single malt scotch -- using the good china, a paper doily, a beautiful glass. * Looking at old pictures of myself when I was heavier and much unhappier and being justifiably proud of how much better I'm caring for myself these days and how far I've come. Maybe none of these will ring your bell. But maybe they'll make you think of other things that make you smile and realize you have all the power in the world to achieve your own goals. You go, Sharon!

Actually, I think @@AvaFern has a better approach.

Y'know ... in your shoes I'd not feel like I had to explain anything to anybody -- not how you lost weight, not which foods you think are healthy to eat and why, what you weigh now, how much weight you've lost -- nada. We cannot fix stupidity, people with bad manners, nosy parkers, or bigots. And the older I get (I'm 70 years old), the less those folks actually bother me. Just smile, shake your head, and think (if you're too polite to say it out loud), "Bless your heart." And congrats on becoming so much healthier and enjoying your life.

What a weird person. I would SO report her ass to H.R. IMHO, that's harassment in the workplace. She needs to shut the f**k up.

My surgeon used no external staples -- just the suturing glue with some miraculous long-lasting pain med mixed with the glue (I don't recall having any incision pain at all). My incisions healed great, and 20 months later I have a hard time finding my scars.

I use them in skinny lattes I make at home. Salted Caramel (both sugar-free and the sugared version) are my faves. I agree that a subtle *hint* of flavor is better than over-serving yourself.

Have WLS.

Ryan and all the other studly dudes ... congratulations to you. You are all doing so well. I can't run anymore (thought I could, but those days are past). So I am jealous of your trotting around out there. And I love, really love, your shirt. Looking good, Ryan!

Congrats! And welcome to three-digit-loss-land.

I think you're doing great, too. If you only did a little bit more every day, you'd be amazed at how soon you'd be traveling miles! Walking is one of those magical things -- a little becomes a lot very fast.

Yes, we had talked a long time online -- had exchanged at least 60 really intense emails. To be very clear, we were writing buddies, not online sex buddies. I will admit our first date was 4 days long. And yes, he really did propose -- with a ring -- on our second date. The truth is we were just wildly, amazingly lucky. And that's the part I hope people won't discount: Sometimes we human Beans just get wildly, amazingly lucky!

I know only what I've read -- this condition afflicts some RNY patients (as I recall, it was in the double digit percent of patients) and also to some but fewer sleeved patients (single digit percent). I don't recall the numbers - sorry. As I recall, when it appears, it seems to be a major pain in the ass and is addressed to some extent by eating certain food combinations throughout the day -- not at the "grazing" level, but just strategic snacking. I've read several research studies on this condition. Here are a couple I remember finding earlier: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3190577/ http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/4/217.full That's all I got. P.S. Of course, this may NOT be reactive hypoglycemia, but something else, including some kind of bug. But I knowyou'll let an M.D. diagnose what's going on with you. Best wishes.

Look at you! You're a Marilyn pinup in that great swimsuit! Congratulations! P.S. You were a "lurker" -- you're so not a "troll."

Hubby and I met online and got engaged on our second date ... 20 years ago next month. @@Daveo is right ... weirder things have happened.

And there's a Web site -- a whole dealio. https://www.superbetter.com/

Valentina, you get your knickers in a knot more often than most people here. That could actually explain your being so "plain ass tired." Just reach down there and yank those knickers straight.

My own experience -- others' mileage may vary -- Ice cream -- of all kinds -- is the crackiest crack food in the whole world for me. All it makes me want to do is eat more of it. I have learned to just say no.

Have you been to an intro lecture yet by a bariatric surgeon? They usually last about 3 hours -- they're free and there's no obligation to work with the surgeon who's giving the lecture. If you haven't done one yet, you should arrange to attend one soon. You'll clear up so much confusion by doing so.

I lost 10.4 pounds the first month post-op. I averaged 10 pounds lost the first four months. After that, the weight loss slowed. At 20.5 months post-op, my combined pre-op and post-op weight losses total 100 pounds. I reached my weight loss target (150 pounds) 8.5 months post-op and now weigh 135 pounds, which I've maintained for some time. It took me 9 months to lose the last 15 pounds. I will guaran-damn-tee you that when you reach your weight loss target and that when you have maintained that goal for months -- and probably for the first time in your life -- that you won't give two hoots for how fast you lost the weight. Losing weight super-fast is actually not the goal of sleeve surgery. The goal is to lower your stomach's capacity, reduce your hunger impulses and give you time to learn healthy eating habits so you can be healthy and normal-sized for the rest of your life. I know you can't eat much now -- you're not even a month post-op. But please don't think you're supposed to starve yourself. Instead, learn how to eat much more nutritiously than you once did. Learn how to savor the food you do eat. Learn how to enjoy exercise and an active lifestyle. This is a great opportunity to change / save your life. Please don't judge its effectiveness or its benefits by your first three weeks post-op.

Fortunately, I also didn't struggle much emotionally after WLS. Yes, the reality of having 85% of my stomach removed was considerably different than the theory. But I understood pre-op what to expect and adapted post-op to the actuality of my new situation. Now, over 20 months later, I've lost 100 pounds and am maintaining at 135 pounds. I have also lost my arthritis, my agoraphobia, my lower back pain, my stress incontinence. I have gained a waistline, a jawline, a social life, and a closet full of clothes sized 2 to 8. My jeans are size 4s. If you're dehydrated, you will definitely feel depressed. If you are not moving or walking more each day, you will feel depressed. If you are depressed and have not consulted with your doctor(s) to find out how they can help you in this area, you will probably become more depressed than you are now. So hydrate, stand up and move and keep moving, and call your doctor. All this crap will pass. Very best wishes to you!