winning_by_losing

As Terry mentioned above, it is much easier after surgery, but just like you, I wanted to prepare ahead of time. I had always inhaled my meals and chugged numerous glasses of milk while doing so. What I did pre-surgery that really helped me was to change one thing at a time. I first started making my meals take longer. Then, once I was able to do that consistently for a week I then started working on the no drinks. For after surgery I bought some tasting spoons and appetizer forks. This helped me keep the bites small and really extended the tiny meals so it wasn't as much of a challenge. After about 4 months I was able to switch back to real utensils, but even at 6 months I still need to watch the clock to ensure I take the 20-30 minutes to eat.

If you decide to change to an Elliptical instead of a treadmill, I would recommend Reebok. I chose mine because the weight limit was 450 pounds and it wasn't thousands of dollars. I used it for over 3 years at well over 400 pounds (now I don't put so near as much pressure on it) and have had no issues with it at all.

Very good advise. Once I found out that I could no longer have caffeine, I was afraid I would have to call of the surgery as I just didn't think I could handle it. The old me used to drink 3 or 4 bottles of 5-hour energy per day, often having a Monster/RockStar/RedBull or two mixed in, some iced tea and at times a Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi. As I was going through my classes pre-surgery, they told me I'd have to give up caffeine after the surgery, so I quit just to see if I would be able to handle it or not. Amazingly as long as I stayed hydrated with plenty of Water I never got any of the withdrawal symptoms (only had 1 headache the entire week after quitting cold turkey).

I don't know that the weight lifting pre-surgery will help with the skin issues at all, but it will definitely help you with your journey and loss post-surgery. Any lean muscle you can build will help boost your metabolism to help drop the weight quicker later. And since we lose so much muscle during the weight-loss process, any extra you can build pre-surgery will allow you the extra strength and energy as your progress.

As of this morning I can officially say that I'm now considered overweight according to the BMI scales. While I still don't necessarily agree with the way they generalize all of us, getting under that 30 mark feels awesome. Of course I'll still be considered overweight when I hit my goal, but once those 24 pounds are gone, I will be more than ecstatic.

I had this same problem with just about every kind I tried. I tested pretty much all of them I could find that were approved for my program in the months leading up to surgery. The only two I found that left me with that full feeling were both ready-to-drink. Premier Protein and Muscle Milk Light. All others left me with the same feeling you are having. Now, since surgery, I have just stuck with the Premier Protein and have been happy. Yes the cost is higher this way, but with all of the money I'm saving on other food, I figure it isn't that big of a deal.

I'm coming up on 6 months out and mine still does the same thing. The burping necessity has gone away, but the rolling, gurgling noises have remained consistent any time I eat or drink something. My kids think it is hilarious.

While I will do everything in my power to avoid going to buffets, it isn't always going to be possible. An option that I've read about is to ask about a To-Go order. From what others have stated, many buffets will charge by weight for a to-go order, so you can get what you need, pay the appropriate price, but then just opt to eat it there rather than leaving with it.

Tested things out this weekend and unfortunately for me, I didn't get to enjoy the perk of having less alcohol affect me sooner. I easily could have consumed just as much as I used to pre-surgery. As it was, I had way more drinks than I planned and am paying for it this week while trying to fight off what was probably a week's worth of calories consumed in one night.

Same for me. I had it for the 2nd and 3rd day of the pre-op clear-liquid only diet. Then got it again about day 4 since I had to have a week of the same clear-liquid only diet afterwards. It was never like I was praying to make it to the bathroom in time, just definitely not anything resembling a normal BM.

I'm pretty sure they want your intestines all cleaned out and ready for the surgery, so I wouldn't take something to stop it.

Personally - I'd consider it along the same lines as someone who buys a super-expensive car (insert make/model here) then proceeds to tell everyone else how superior their car is, regardless of the facts. Hopefully for her sake, she ends up happy with her choice and is successful in her own journey. As for you though, if it really concerns you, I'd recommend a quick call to your surgeon's office. I'm sure they'd happily explain the process and how they may differ in procedure from any others (I've found out most surgeons in the weight-loss arena know eachother or at least know of eachother's work). In my program, we had 2 surgeons to choose from. I had no preference, so took whichever could see me faster. At my next group class I heard almost everyone else in the class talk about how great the other surgeon was and how I made a horrible choice. After talking in detail with my surgeon and raising this to his attention, he quickly eased my fears by talking about his past, his experience and how he approaches each of us as patients. It turns out he started the entire weight-loss surgery program, is the medical director as well as the chief surgeon and has thousands of successful surgeries under his belt. I'm more than happy I "ended up" with what most of my class considered the second choice.

Not sure what your program does or doesn't allow during this stage, as they all seem to be different, but what helped me the most was the sugar-free Jello. In my program, it wasn't only a liquid diet, but a CLEAR liquid diet. This meant no Protein shakes, which really hurt my energy levels. Luckily, they did allow us to have 1 Isopure Protein Drink (they're clear) each day, so at least I got those 40 grams of protein. Otherwise it was a constant battle. I did try the sugar-free popsicles, as I'd heard from others that they really helped. Unfortunately they didn't sit well in my stomach so I wasn't able to enjoy them as an option.

Hang in there, it definitely gets easier. In my program, there was a strong suggestion to exercise 30-45 minutes per day 3-4 times per week. I wasn't happy with the progress that was getting me, so I forced myself into 45-60 minutes a day, 6-7 days a week. I started out MUCH heavier than you, and know exactly what you mean about being completely wiped out afterwards. Luckily after about a month things started getting easier and I wasn't quite so worthless after the workout. I started really focusing on the working out around September and by the time I had my surgery in February the working out was almost addicting as I actually wanted to do it rather than forcing myself to. Now that I'm over 5 months out of surgery I am constantly looking for new workouts, exercise options, etc... to keep things from getting stale. Not all of them are easy, but hearing the weight continue to decrease (my scale talks) sure helps remind me that it is all worth it.

As mentioned above, I'd highly recommend trying it at home first if you're adamant about having some at the reception. For me personally, I wouldn't even try a bite, as the sugar in regular ketchup was enough to make me dump, so I wouldn't even dare to smell regular cake, let alone try eating some.

I weigh myself every day if possible. Of course this isn't possible when traveling (guessing TSA may question me bringing a scale in my carry-on) and I've yet to find a way to bring it camping with me. But beyond that I would go crazy without hearing that computerized voice tell me to hold still until finally calling out my weight. I admit, I have cursed at her a few times, called her a liar (or worse), but just as pik mentioned, it helps me keep reviewing what I did the previous day or two and gives me a little extra boost for adding a few minutes to my workout, re-analyzing my meal plan for the day, or sometimes just encouraging me to take the stairs all the way to the top floor then back down to the 2nd floor where my office is. In another 25 pounds when I hit maintenance mode, I think this is going to be critical for me to keep on track as well.

In my program they recommend we stay away from it always, but that it won't be horrible to Celebrate those extremely special occasions (weddings, etc...) every once in a while with a glass of wine. I went out and celebrated not too long back and found unlike what others mentioned above, I did not get to experience the "cheap date" effect. As the night wore on I had 6 or 7 drinks and they really had little effect on me, just like they would have at my heaviest. I do think this was the reason for a week-long stall right afterwards, but since I don't plan to make it a regular occurrence I don't know that for sure. Just like so much of this journey, it sounds like each of our bodies is different when it comes to alcohol now as well.

Premier Protein is by far my fave. It also helps that they sell it at Sams and costco to get the bulk discounts.

When I looked into it, I got the same answer. They did say that yes, my insurance is covering part of the costs for the surgery, but it is still categorized as an elective procedure, so short-term disability was not an option. Luckily, I felt great and could have easily returned to work the day they cleared me to drive (though my manager let me work from home for 2 weeks before I actually returned to the office). Really, I felt good enough that I could have started back to work on day 3, but opted to take the time for me, since I'd already scheduled the PTO.

Congrats. I had my surgery about a week after yours, but still have 25 pounds to go to hit my goal. It looks and sounds like the first part of the journey has been relatively easy for you, so hopefully the big next step of maintenance will be just as easy.

I'm just over 5 months out and I think I've felt once or twice since surgery, which is unfortunate as I was hoping for this early trigger to help me out. Since I don't have that added benefit, I just make sure to measure my meals carefully and stop when I know I should. Due to this, I've carefully followed all of the recommendations from my nutritionist as I refuse to go back to the way things were previously.

I wish I could have been this patient. I've made so many trips to donate clothes at this point that I can't even begin to count them. Though I did make sure to keep one pair of pants and one shirt for some photos once I hit my goal.

Congrats. All of that in just under a year. RJ's - that is great advice about picking a weight. When I get to the maintenance point I'm definitely going to remember that little tip.

I researched this very topic for months. The doctors, the surgeon, nutritionist, nurses, none of them would give me any numbers as far as a goal weight, expectations for losing, Between the 2 different support groups I go to, I realized why. We go from one extreme to the other so trying to average these numbers is only going to discourage those who aren't losing quickly and un-motivate those who are exceeding that "average". As for determining whether you are on track: I'd highly recommend taking all of your measurements if you haven't done so already. As the journey progresses, you'll run into "stalls" or "plateaus" where you won't see progress on the scale. In those situations, many of us start to see progress with the tape measure. So as long as one of these numbers is decreasing, you're on track.

Just as healthyme mentioned, each program has different recommendations. For mine - we started out at 2 tbsp per meal immediately after surgery, then as the weeks/months progress we gradually work up to half a cup or 3 to 4 ounces. Most of this for me is always supposed to be Protein, with only extra veggies if the protein isn't enough. Don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can have 1/4 cup of veggies and we're supposed to avoid carbs as much as humanly possible. But again, this is specifically for me and my program. Yours may of course differ.