Babbs

Seems about a 1/2 cup is a common theme. Depending on what it is, I've caught myself eating up 3/4 of a cup, but most of the time a half cup is my limit. I can eat about 5oz of fish, 4oz of chicken, and 3oz of beef. I just indulged in some yummy cherries (Oh how I love Summer!) I had 10 and now I'm full

WOW. Just...wow. And the swelling hasn't even gone down yet and you look like that! There's going to be nothing of you left by the time it does! As I get closer to goal, this is something I've been thinking about. My insurance will cover the panni but not the tuck. I figure my tummy will look pretty close to what you had going on once I hit goal. I've still got some fat in my panni, but it's getting floppier and saggier each additional pound I lose. I know it's hard to recover from, so I'm weighing options. I'm not as young as you are, so at almost 50 I need to decide if it's even worth it. But when I see results like yours, man it makes me want to do it!

@@CanyonBaby I think about you often, neighbor. Hang in there. You're a tough lady, and if anyone can do this, you can!

What great motivation for you! You're going to look amazing for your cruise! You've got quite a journey ahead of you! There's good times and bad times,(more good) and completely worth it. Be prepared to learn more about yourself than you ever imagined! Good luck with your upcoming surgery and keep us posted!

You've lost 126 pounds and you're "failing miserably"? You have 40 lbs to goal and you're "failing miserably"? First off, stop being so damn hard on yourself. You've done an amazing job thus far. You just need to take a deep breath and figure out what you need to do differently to get the weight loss going again. The closer you get to goal, the slower the weight loss. You've got to kind of "trick" your body into continuing to lose weight. Here's what worked for me (for the time being. I may need to change it up again soon to keep the momentum) TRACK every single thing that goes into.your mouth. I use My Fitness Pal. If you haven't already, up your calories to 1200. If you aren't already, get at least 40 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week. If you aren't already, drink your 64 oz of fluids EVERY DAY. And I'm throwing this out there. It worked for me, and it may not work for you. I have recently upped my carbs to 60-80 grams a day, to match my protien. My body really responded well weight loss wise to the change up. Good Luck! You're doing great!

PicCollage is a good one too....

It's just temporary. Could be a week. Could be a month. Hang in there! One thing I would suggest is trying to change up your eating a little. You're doing well with your Protein, and I know you can't tolerate pureed, but maybe find something you can tolerate? Sometimes if I'm eating the same things over and over and change things up, it helps the weight loss along. If you haven't checked out her website yet, The World According to Eggface has great pureed/soft food ideas! Here's the link: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html The Ricatta Bake is to die for! Almost like you're eating REAL food!

Can you give us more information? Are you tracking calories, Protein and carbs? Getting 64oz of Fluid? How much excersise are you getting?

All of the above except for the new pet. I have enough of those already! Another fun reward I did before my trip to Hawaii was get eyelash extentions. Just another thing that makes me feel pretty after my weight loss

Why don't you tell people how much you've really lost? Do you think minimizing it will make people think your weren't as heavy as you were? I mean, what does it matter? I know I was fat. Everyone else knew I was fat. Nothing to hide.

Soup, soup and more soup Or maybe a little soft fish? You'll have leftovers!

Eating less will make you thin. Exercise will make you healthy. Eating less and exercise will make you thin and healthy.

Sounds about like yours, minus the dry heaving Seems like you're doing well! Walk walk walk, sip sip sip! I did have a terrible headache the whole time I was in the hospital. To this day, I don't really know why. It went away right before I was sent home. Welcome to the losers bench and keep us posted on your progress!

Just an FYI, I've added some carbs to my diet and it's making a difference in my weight loss. I lost almost 7 pounds last month, which is UNHEARD of for me, lol. I'm probably getting about 80 grams of carbs right now, which is the equal amount to my protien. Of course it's all whole grains, and nothing white. I also run 2-3 miles every other day, so I burn a lot of calories. So try adding some carbs in the form of whole grains to your diet and see how it goes!

You can't just depend on your restriction to stop eating. Depending on what the food is, I can eat over a cup at going on 10 months out. That's why I just measure the foods (like a half cup) I know I can eat more of and stop when it's gone. Are you eating protien first? I find if I eat dense protien FIRST, I'm too full most of the time for much more. It's easy to forget that and dig in to your veggies or even carbs on your plate instead. When I do that, I find that I am hungry again much sooner. Junk begets junk. If you are letting too many carbs and sugars back into your diet, try to get back to basics and do protien and veggies and NO CARBS AND SUGAR until the cravings subside. That's what works for me.

I'm a Realtor, so pretty much the same day! I did a walktrhough and 2 closings the week after surgery, actually.

Isn't that the worst? I'm sure most of us have been there. You have so much to look forward to! And the first time you fit into a booth comfortably you better let us know! Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress!

The closer I get to goal, the more I think about that exact same thing. Without the daily motivation of working toward a goal, how can I continue to stay motivated? It almost makes me want to take my time getting to maintenance. Almost

Your girls are smart. Just like their momma

Good job Jamie! You're always an inspiration. And you look so great! How's your C25K going?

Okay. Here's the deal. You ARE NOT going to see constant weight loss through out this process. Right now it is physically impossible for you to be gaining weight by what you're eating alone. So just breath and relax. You're not doing anything wrong. The body has normal stalls and fluctuations every day. It's constantly doing adjustments, especially the first couple months. Just continue to follow your program and try not to worry about the scale fluctuations. That's why Kindle recommend you stay off of it for a while. If you can't handle the normal day to day fluctuations without it ruining your whole day, then just weigh once a week or even once month. That way your aren't seeing them. I promise the weight will come off. Just be patient.

Hi! My first challenge as well! Can you add me? Current weight 165...I would like to be 159 by the end of the challenge (like you I would like to be in the 150's )

As soon as your surgeon clears you. I know as a rule it's usually 6 weeks.

Too soon. You're still healing. You need to worry about getting fluids (NOT ALCOHOL) and Protein right now. Why do you want to deprive your body of much needed nutrients for empty, non nutritious calories?? Call your surgeon. He will tell you the same.

I would say the laproscopic gall bladder surgery was very similar to the VSG. I did wake up with some right side pain where I believe they took out the portion of my stomach. Nothing that the pain pump couldn't handle. Only a little nausea, and no gas pain whatsoever. I was up and walking and showering the next day. Just soreness when I got home, like I'd done too many sit ups. I'm a Realtor, and I actually felt well enough to go to a walk through and 2 closings that same week. Everyone is different though. Too many variables to pin point what your experience will be like. Hopefully as easy as mine