Ginger Snaps

Hey -- I think I can work up to the 8k too -- at least it's a goal worth shooting for! If you'll let me know when you sign up, I will, too. Maybe we can get some matching t-shirts (in small / medium, of course!) Ginger

Oops -- I had the amount wrong and you're right -- it's $79... sorry for the misinformation. I still plan to use it for at least a couple of months while I'm in the fast losing stage (at least I hope it's fast-losing...). Ginger

My surgeon has the rule "Don't drink your calories"... and even though it may make a Protein shake tolerable, I think adding a banana to it is adding too many calories / carbs. I'd go along with the other suggestions -- if it's the banana taste you like, try banana flavored Protein shakes. Or, eat all your Proteins first and then have part of a banana after only if you have room and are still hungry. It's the same thing as drinking fruit juice -- you can consume a lot more fruit juice than if you just ate a piece of fruit. The additional bulk of eating the food instead of drinking makes a big difference on feeling full.

There's a forum dedicated for June 2014 dates: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1039-june-2014/

@piercedqt78 I think you win the prize for the most diverse zoo! lol... So sweet how great your rescue is doing (Kammi?). Rescued pups are the greatest!

I'm SO looking forward to shopping!!! I'm not a fashion hound or anything but I love shopping. I'm currently playing around with Gwynnie Bee at http://goo.gl/hvmlhe ... have you seen it? They carry clothes sizes 10-32. You pay a monthly subscription fee, shop around on the site and add clothes to your "closet" and then they ship you clothes -- you keep them as long as you want, then return and they ship you more stuff from your closet. I'm on the "3 out at a time" plan and pay $39 a month to have 3 outfits out at any one time. I'm thinking this will be a great way to have a couple of nice things to wear and as I lose weight, I can just put smaller things in my closet. That way I'm not buying things in sizes I won't be able to wear more than a month or so. Right now, they're offering your first month free to try them out. They normally ship out in 2-3 days but I got an email saying mine was delayed another 2-3 days so they're crediting me an extra week. At least it's an option to get some smaller clothes in the closet while you're still losing.

@@Sweet Baby -- no problem... we've all been newbies before!!! Best wishes in the future!

June 9th... I've gotten to the point that I'm just tired of thinking about -- let's just DO IT already! Ginger

Welcome Tony -- I'm preop, too and that nervousness and excitement is common (and shared by me). It's a big decision and you've been waiting a long time and now it's getting close! Congrats and stay in touch -- you'll learn so much on these boards.

Are you sleeping OK? I'm thinking maybe you're sleeping with your head at an odd angle and/or grinding your teeth. My sister used to get terrible cricks in her neck when she had seasonal allergy problems. I can't imagine a calcium deficiency would give you symptoms like this.

LOVE seeing everyone's pics! Something about cute animals just puts a smile on your face and warms your heart!

Here's the link in case you're having trouble finding it: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/3-gastric-sleeve-surgery-forum/

@dcostella I'm also June 9th... welcome to the club. Ginger

There's a whole forum about this. Check out http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/394-band-to-gastric-sleeve-revisions/ and you can read to your heart's content!

If it were me, I'd go for it sooner rather than later. My friend is dropping me off at the hospital and leaving -- I'll be in the great hands of the staff there, so I think your husband not being there day one will be ok. And I would rather travel within the country sooner after surgery than traveling to Mexico. I'd go for it! Best wishes!

Oh... one more pic of Ziggy... He's wearing a remote controlled collar in this one -- he's off-leash trained now.

@lisacaron That one with the face is the greatest!!!

I have one cat I rescued but he doesn't get the attention he deserves because of these two boys: Ziggy is a 12 pound Maltese terror I rescued. He is the craziest little psycho dog -- hates everyone but his woman... me. He lays as close to me as possible at all times. He will do every trick in the book for me but will rush my son if he gets anywhere close to me. Tank is my 57 pound pittie. He's a huge sweetheart -- loves everyone -- but can also be a hyper crazed chewing machine. He was also a rescue and fooled us with that cute little puppy face (although I should have known how big he'd get with those giant paws). I love my furbabies... the kids will sometimes say "You love them more than us" and I tell them it's because those dogs thing I rock their world!!!

@meledl I'm preop so I can't speak from personal experience but from being on the boards and reading all I can to prepare, I can say what you are feeling is very common -- SO many people post that they worry about the exact same thing. Hang in there and stick with the program -- you have a great tool to use now that will help you succeed when you didn't in the past.

So I had to look up information -- are you planning to run the long one? There's also a half marathon and an 8K. If you end up doing the 26 mile race, you should totally enter in the mayor's high five award. Take a look at the requirements. http://philadelphiamarathon.com/for-runners/mayors-high-five-award I think I'll shoot to do the 8K and make it a goal to run the entire race. You're inspiring me to go for it!

@@Lorainsatx -- Lora, I'm pre-op now... scheduled for June 9th.

@@masonjk38 My date is June 9th, too. My doc doesn't require a preop diet except Clear Liquids 1 day before for patients under 40 BMI. but, I have to quite having those food funerals or I'm going to gain before I get there!

@Tgarden So glad it worked for you! I don't suffer from headaches much but my little guy did (8th grade at the time) and it was so miserable for him. Thankfully his was "cured" with Water. If I have post-op headaches, I'll try to remember my own advice! lol ginger

@Kquinn Not shallow at all -- smart! I thought I'd "dip my toe" in dating pre-surgery but I'm not really ready either. Like you, I want to work on myself first. Thinking about and planning for this surgery has made me much more self-conscious about my weight right now. I'm much more aware of it. When I'm looking through profiles I pass right over the ones where they are very athletic looking or if they mention being "fit" or "healthy eating" -- just because I feel like they wouldn't even consider dating me. I'm sure this is one of those emotional things I'll have to work through after surgery -- probably will need lots of counseling!

Zelda. You are June 9th right? Me too. My doc is only requiring one day of clear liquids for me for preop. He has different requirements if your bmi is over 40. I'm ready to roll!