Fishsticks

Three months ago today I had my band removed & revised to the gastric sleeve. In my opinion, the best decision I ever made! I kinda wish I had gone with the sleeve back in 2012, but... live & learn...
 
While I had experience with nutrition from my band days, I'm finding the sleeve a whole new experience. A good one at that.
 
I'm much more mindful about what I eat these days, although, I won't lie, I will munch on chips or something "unhealthy" from time to time. Why? Just because it's there, quick & easy. Old habits die hard people.
 
I've learned what my body can handle & not handle. For example, I don't seem to tolerate starches very well, nor should I really. I've pretty much left bread, pasta & rice in my past. I might have a nibble here or there, but it'll be a rare occurrence. The crazy part is that those were probably my biggest weakness back when I was over weight. I was definitely a major carboholic! I'm happy to say that, thankfully, I really don't crave them. I do eat La Tortilla low carb tortillas sometimes as they have 12g of fiber, 80 calories, 8 g of protein and 18 carbs.
 
For the most part, I try to look for foods that are lower in sugar & higher in protein. Not always successful, but I feel this is a work in progress. I'm learning a lot about myself, my cravings, what makes me tick, etc... I enjoy cooking so looking for healthier alternatives is actually fun for me. I know, I know. I actually plan our family menu about a month in advance. Yup, a month in advance. And no, we don't follow it to a tee, because let's face it. life happens. But, it helps keeps us somewhat organized & we all know that pre-planning is vital to our WLS success.
 
My advice to the newbies out there (come on, you know you want to hear it, LOL):

Remember that, regardless of which WLS you had (by-pass, sleeve, band...), it's only a tool. YOU are in control. YOU have the power to be successful, or not successful
Be sure to follow your surgeons orders. They know what they're doing. I know we may not always agree with them, because we're impatient & just want the weight to come off, but they do have our best interest in mind. Don't just "hear" what they're saying to you, but take the time to really "listen" and understand why they're saying it.
NOTE: We are all different. What works for one person may not work for another. This is a great forum to get suggestions from, but most of us are not licensed in the medical / bariatric field, so know that we're only offering suggestions & that only your Dr can give you the best advice for your situation.
Plan your food ahead of time. OK, maybe not a month in advance, but definitely a day in advance. This will help you avoid bad choices.
Always keep a snack handy when you're out. Something as simple as a protein bar, cheese stick...etc...
Be sure to drink your fluids. I've personally struggled with getting all my fluids in on a daily basis, but it makes a difference. Find what works for you. I find that if I don't drink enough, I get light-headed & dizzy, AND run into issues with not having BM's. It's important we drink enough.
Exercise: Most of us don't really enjoy this a lot. But, it's really vital to helping you with your weight loss. Oh, I'm sure you'll still lose weight if you don't do any exercise. But, um, have you seen what 50, 75, 100+ pounds of FLAB looks like? It's not pretty people. Besides, it's the healthy way to go. It'll keep your heart pumping, your muscles working nicely, keep your brain happy, and that flab not so flabby. Some people will opt to have tummy tucks & lifts, and that's OK.

Now that I'm on maintenance, my next personal goal will be to...you guessed it, exercise! It's time to tone & firm up my legs & arms. Think I'll go on my recumbent bike every day again. I'll start out slowly & try to just work my way up. Looking healthy is great, but feeling it is even better!
 
Wishing everyone continued success!
 
PS - I've got a friend scheduled to have the sleeve on the 29th & I am soooo excited for her. I know where she's at emotionally & physically, and I look forward to helping her with the best moral support I can offer

I woke up this morning hurting. I think it's more because I slept the night flat on my back. I like to sleep on my sides a good bit so it makes sense why my back might be hurting. I also still feel the pressure in my middle chest from the gas bubble. I'd like to know when that is going to finally end. My port incision is very tender and sore and hurts. Today I take a shower....yeah! The bloating seems to be going down from the surgery. My tummy doesn't feel quite as hard as surgery date. I'm so tempted to get on the scales to see if I've lost any, but what I've read from previous other blogs, I think I want to wait. I went in to this knowing that the best method for me is to lose weight slowly...maybe 1 lb a week. It's hard not to get excited and think I've lost more. I was soooo happy when I weighed in before surgery and found that I was down to 228 lbs from 235 lbs. I haven't lost that kind of weight in awhile so it's hard not to get excited.
 
I have found that the broth soups seem to be enough to keep me full. I ate a total of 4 cups throughout the day yesterday. It would get cold but it tasted good enough when I would feel hungry. My boyfriend would eat his food and I have to admit that I really wanted to snack on some of his chips & salsa BUT I realized it was out of habit more than actually being hungry. THAT is what this journey will help me with....hopefully to get my emotional eating under control for the first time in my life.
 
It's so strange to me to be talking about my actual weight in public, but this is a safe website (right?) to do just that. All of you understand my apprehension, right? I'm so SICK of being this heavy, but I've made a choice to do something GOOD. I feel hope for the first time in I don't know how long that I can actually lose the weight that I've been dreaming about for what seems like forever. Now I have a "tool" that will help me to lose it and keep it off for the rest of my life IF I choose to do the legwork. That means no liquid calories...binge eating ice cream, heavy laden soups filled with cream and dairy that I don't need (just to name a few). I feel hopeful that I'm finally going to be able to bend down to pick something up off the ground and not be out of breath in the process of embarrassed for someone to see me struggle to do so. I'm so looking forward to the day that I can look in the mirror in the morning when I've finished dressing for work and instead of seeing the bulging checks and neckline filled with fat that I will see healthy lean face. There may be sagging skin...I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too bad, but that will be better than all this fat covering me now. I want to wear a blouse that I don't see my tummy folds pressed against the fabric and then have to walk away knowing that I'm too fat to look any different. Sure, I can keep buying bigger and bigger tops, but they just make me look like a fat woman that needs something to cover up with. Not a curvaceous woman, but a FAT woman that has no choice but to wear FAT clothes.
 
Today I live with hope that one day in the near future, I will look in the mirror and smile, a genuine smile because I actually "like" what I'm seeing. Amen!