S(he) be(lie)ve(d)

Samples came to me a while back. The orange is really good! Not a fan of their chocolate though. Premier Protein's chocolate shakes are so much better.

I was sleeved outpatient on Sept 8, 2014. Then stayed overnight in the hotel, went back in the morning for fluids and a recheck and my hubby drove me home. I did great and still am doing great! I never 2nd guessed my doctors capabilities. Dr. Billings is amazing and I trust him 100%. I've also had several other surgeries that were day surgeries. So, it really wasn't an issue with me at all. I checked in at 6 am and was released by 7 pm. The only reason I stayed so late was because I always tend to over sleep the anesthesia. It was a great nap. Ha ha!

I am doing my elliptical 3 days a week for 20 mins, plus I am also doing PIYO 5-6 days a week following their workout program, but not their diet. My eating style is Paleo. I'm doing great and feel amazing!

This crosses my mind on a daily basis. My journey started like yours did with a low BMI. My surgery was Sept 8th. I have 43lbs left before I hit my goal weight! So excited to get the old me back again, FINALLY!!! By my 6 month mark, I am guessing that I will have hit my goal weight. I'm doing everything by the book from vitamins, protein, fluid intake, do my elliptical 3 days a week and PIYO 6 days a week. I feel amazing!!! I just hope that I can stop losing when I hit my target weight too.

BCBS took 48 hours. I called my insurance to check on the approval because I couldn't wait for the doctor's office to call me and tell me. I was just a tad impatient and excited!

Two weeks after surgery, I ended up sick with a horrible cold. That was after overdoing it big time, when all 3 of my girls acquired head lice. Not fun. Now the flu is going through the elementary school that my kids attend. One child down from Thanksgiving until this last Friday. It was awful. I ended up catching it from her and was down for the count for about 11 days. Now my other 2 kids are sick with it, as of today. The 1st child that brought home the cooties, has now been home since Monday with a stomach virus, throwing up. I hope to God that I don't get the stomach virus now. Honestly, I think it all depends on what you are exposed to or not. Small children + elementary schools = a petri dish/cesspool cootie infestation. Before my kids entered elementary school, I never got sick. Your immune system has to build some how, either by being exposed and your body building the immunities via contracting the illness or by vaccine. Gotta love it! Not.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous beings though I haven't told my extended family about my surgery. But, it was a success!!! I started off my day normal with my Protein shake. We headed over after lunch. This year I did make healthier choices about what I put on my plate and my portions were small, but I did great! Nobody said anything. They noticed some more weight loss and knew I have been actively working on losing weight since last March. However, they did give my hubby a hard time since he didn't eat very much at all for dinner. He just ate to many appetizers. Ha ha! There was a veggie tray that I snacked on prior and had eaten a yogurt before arriving. When desert time rolled around, I knew there was no way that I would be able to down any of it, so I took it home. Later that evening, I ate half of my little piece of apple pie. Suffering didn't happen at all! When I weighed myself this morning, I didn't even gain an ounce! Woo hoo!!! It feels good to eat to live, rather than live to eat! We all bring dishes so, it isn't just on one person to cook. This year, I made 3 dishes. Little did they know, they were all sugar free! Yep, I wanted to be able to have some of my own dishes too. I used Stevia. Everyone raved about how good they were and nobody noticed that the sugar was gone! The one thing that stood out bigger than life to me, was how HUGE everyone else's servings actually were! And people went back for seconds!!! It just blew me away to think that used to be how I ate. To have a Bentley (sleeve) as a tummy, was still the best decision I have ever made for myself! Today I feel AMAZING vs sluggish feeling of the day after Thanksgiving Feast! What a huge difference! For that, I feel thankful!!! P.S. This morning, on the 29th, I dropped 2 lbs!!! Even after eating half of my little piece of apple pie and half of my piece of cheesecake the next night. Who does that after Thanksgiving and yummy desert?!?! I was shocked beyond belief! Dang!

Since I began my 6 month pre-op diet and had surgery on Sept 8, I've been eating Paleo. Basically, it is eating like a caveman or "clean eating". No processed stuff. My skin is amazing, hair has improved, energy is amazing and I feel great! Google it! This way of eating can reverse soooooo many health issues. It is amazing to see the difference between how your body reacts to clean eating vs processed foods. You won't regret it! There are so many recipes out there too.

Crossfit is a good option. Just be careful. A good friend of mine is a physical therapist and she sees a ton of Crossfit injuries coming in. With that said, I do 30 mins of cardio on my elliptical every other day. On the day that I don't do cardio, I do PIYO. It is a cross between Pilates and Yoga. It has you work against your own body weight to gain muscle mass. Love it!!!

I had my sleeve done on Sept 8th. I still take Gas-X pills every morning. Occasionally, I have to grab a Gas-X strip in the afternoon. But, it is becoming less in the afternoon finally. Yay! I just get pains from burp bubbles. Burping little burps, is common with me. I just keep hoping that it continues to decrease and I can quit taking Gas-X. Recently, I tried not taking them just to see how I did. I told my hubby that I can totally sympathize with babies and how they feel when they need to be burped. Lol!

Only 4 other people know that I have had the sleeve done and a large hiatal hernia repair. We are very private people and live in a small town. If my SIL knows, the whole town knows. Over the years, it has been a learned lesson with her. In no way am I ashamed of having the surgery done. It is the best decision and gift of life that I could have given myself! For Thanksgiving, I am going to take small amounts of what I want to eat and be done. Our family is so large, nobody really pays any attention to how much you do or don't eat. I'm not really worried about it at all. My business is my business. Simple. Like my hubby says, "I don't tell everyone every time I have to take a poop." Lol! Everyone is different with how they handle their personal lives. You just have to make the best decision for you. That is what matters most.

I used to LOVE pizza! I miss the whole taste of it together. Whenever we have a pizza night, being post-op now, I only eat the toppings and leave the crust. Last night, it just didn't even sound good at all. Thank you for posting this recipe! I am looking forward to trying it!

Today I had my 2 month check up! I am feeling AMAZING!!! From the time I began my 6 month supervised diet, until now, I have lost 49 lbs. I began at 223 lbs and am now 174 lbs! In my 2nd month, I lost 15 lbs! They said I lost more than I really should in one month. Honestly, I'm not complaining at all. Like I said, I feel great! They want me to increase my calories, even though it seems like I am eating all the time as it is. I'm hitting my Protein & fluids & meals. My 1st month was really rough, got really sick with a cold & had to take a step back in my eating progress. This last month has been incredibly busy for me though. My business gets crazy, wild this time of year. Then my hubby is gone for his annual hunting trips and I am a Hunting Widow taking care of 3 little girls on top of chaos. So, I'm just going to contribute it to that. Has anyone else lost 15 lbs in a month or told they lost more than usual? Just curious.

I burp A LOT. It has decreased considerably. Thank God! I take the capsule in the morning and then have the strips in my purse just in case I need them in the afternoon. Lately, I haven't had to use them very often at all. It helped in the beginning with gas pains from surgery as well. I used to even burp in my sleep, my hubby told me. So sexy! Ha ha!

Thank you everyone!!! Congrats on all your weight loss too!!! That is amazing!!! I think I am going to keep doing what I am doing. My goals are being met daily, so I'm not really worried about it honestly. After all, I feel the best I have felt in a very, very, very long time!

Hey! My start weight was 223lbs. Since my 6 month diet and surgery, I've 49lbs! I just have another 49 to reach my goal. At this point, I am doubting that it will take me a year to reach my goal weight. It's a lot of work, but oh so worth it!

My surgery was done as an outpatient. Everything went smoothly. We stayed at a hotel that was very accommodating for my needs. Then next morning, I went in and received I.V. fluids before we could drive back home. On the way home, my hubby made sure that we stopped every 30-45 mins for me to walk, walk, walk. Everything was perfect!

I eat a 1/4 of a pear pretty much every day. It works like a charm!

I am starting to see the old me that I knew 10 years ago and I am loving it!!! With everyone talking about not being able to see themselves as being smaller, I am seeing things the opposite way. I was thin for so long and then heavy for 10 years. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't know who that heavy person was. She was a stranger. This year, I am getting ME back!!!

I get a prescription cream from my dermatologist, since I get horrible scars that need a little help to fade away. My body produces excess collogen when it heals. Not fun. For me, it's cheaper to get a prescription, than it is to buy over the counter. When I've tried Mederma, it actually irritated my scars. I asked my hubby if scars bothered him at all. He said, "I dig chicks with scars." Love him! <3

At this time, I am 2 months into having my sleeve. Well, tonight my family and I went out to dinner for my husband's birthday. He wanted Chinese food. We usually get a family meal that feeds everyone. I ate 1 slice of pork (no dip) and egg drop soup(left 1/2 of the broth) and did well with it. It was a small cup of Soup. Then the rest of the dishes came. OMG! All I could think is that it was a starch and fried mess of a dinner. I only put about 1/3 of a cup chow mien noodles with mainly veggies on my plate. I at part of it and hit my full signal. But, then 5 minutes passed, my mouth began to Water and had to dash to the bathroom to throw up. Apparently noodles don't agree with my stomach. When we arrived back home, I threw up the rest of the chow mien. Since I have been in the "Eating Normal Food" category, I have thrown up several times. Is there something that I am doing wrong or is it that my Bentley of a tummy doesn't like what I put in it? At home, I have been eating really healthy foods. But, sometimes, there are still issues. A question to all of you........When you go out to lunch or dinner, what do you order at a Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. restaurant?

I ate it on in my pureed time period. Just see how you react. I did good the 1st time. Then threw it up the next time. After that, I was able to eat it.

Love Premier Protein Chocolate Shakes!!! I also bought Unjury Unflavored Protein to add more protein to anything. Currently, I am drinking Muscle Milk Light and adding 20 grams of protein(Unjury Unflavored) to make a 40g of protein shake in the morning. I love the Muscle Milk Light too! I drank these prior to my surgery for a few years.

So far, I haven't faced this yet. But, I'm sure my sister-in-law will be right there with your sister in the jealousy department. I am also 5ft 4in. My highest was 223 lbs. My goal weight is 125 lbs. As of today, I am at 178. It is amazing how great you feel as you become more healthy! My SIL doesn't know that I had the sleeve done. We've kept it private for specific reasons. Only 4 people know. Whenever she acknowledges that I have lost weight, I'm sure the jealousy will fly. At this point, she hasn't even noticed. She is very opinionated and negative. Her way or the highway pretty much. It's how the whole fandamily is. It will be interesting when something is mentioned.

Maurice's online has tall pants/jeans that are really cute and affordable. My sister-in-law is 6 ft tall as well.