Forsythia

Did you have to see a psych pre-surgery? Call on that doc again. At my hospital they stressed that if we needed anything to not hesitate to make an appointment. Maybe make an appointment with him or her to go over your feelings. Maybe there is some stress that is causing you to eat more. Maybe they can offer some techniques to take your mind off your hunger. When I feel hungry I try to wait 30 minutes and drink some crystal light. If I am still hungry then I know I can have something in another 30 minutes. Often times the hunger goes away though. Mentally I know I am always going to have to deal with my grazing and emotional eating. I know I can graze and cheat the sleeve. I know I can get the sads because of a crap day at work at eat an entire chocolate bar. That's on me for the rest of my life. My base issues didn't disappear because my stomach did.

I recently bought a pair of pants at Macy's on the clearance rack for $16. They were a size 20. According to the website for the brand (Jones New York) the measurements for the waist is 40 inches. My waist is not 40 inches yet, It is above that. Yet, when I tried the pants on they fit just fine, are actually a bit loose. So the sizing is off. You really need to go to a store and try things on. It's a pain butt, you have to do it. I like to hit places like Ross or TJ Maxx (not sure if you have them overseas, but I am sure there is some kind of discount shop like that somewhere). Better to get a pair of pants for super cheap than to buy something nice you are only going to slide out of in a few weeks. Also, here in the US we love to vanity size the crap out of things. J Crew and New York & Company size generously and are a bit notorious for it. I have a friend who is a size 6 and has always been a 6. She went in there and tried on a 6 and was swimming in those pants. She said to me, I am absolutely not a size 4. But apparently people want vanity sizes. Which is why someone had to create a 00/XXS

I never had any requirements to crush pills. Been taking regular meds since I got home. I was on a chewable multi Vitamin initially, but have since gone to a pre-natal which is massive (not that I am pregnant, but it saves me from having to take two multis a day). I've been on the pre-natal since about one month post op and swallow that bad boy down fine. The rest of my pills (all vitamins) are more normal sized things.

Sure, why not? As long as you have a decent food processor.

I occasionally get an iced coffee skinny caramel with half and half. I don't have any caffeine restrictions on my plan. Honestly It's way more effective than any laxative out there. LOL.

I have frozen dinners for lunch. Lean cuisine, Atkins, Weight Watchers Smart Ones. A different one every day. They are approved on my plan and its cheaper for five in a week than one lunch out. I may not eat the entire thing, but the convenience is great. If you like lunch meats, why not do a roll up with a piece of ham and swiss or turkey and cheddar? They are super easy for when you are on the go. If you cook something for dinner like a roast chicken, make yourself your own TV dinner for the next day.

In my first couple weeks post sleeve, I got a sharp pain that told me enough was enough. That went away. I was on my own. Sometimes you push it and continue to eat and feel wretched afterwards. Just because you can eat more than one egg, doesn't mean you should. Are you eating slowly? If not, use a baby fork to slow yourself down. Weigh out 2 to 3 ounces of food for other items that aren't pre-portioned for you. You may not feel full. But the goal is not to eat until you are full. The goal is to eat until you are satisfied. Those are two different things. Take a step back and ask yourself if you feel hungry anymore after that one egg. Not if you are full. In the beginning it is really hard to separate the two things mentally.

@@kyrickchick64 Ah. If you are pre-op and allowed coffee, maybe you could do pumpkin spice coffee or creamer.

Don't forget lunges for your quads and hamstrings. Dead lifts are also great for that area where the thigh meets the butt. Don't be afraid to lift heavy once you get into weights. Also cardio to burn the fat over your muscles. I tend to lose top down but I have noticed a slimming in my thighs from lots of cardio. I try for about 60 minutes of it.

I had a two week stall two weeks after my surgery. It, for lack of a better thing to say, sucked ass. But I just kept plugging at things - following the plan, walking. Doing what needed to be done. Don't fret, these things happen. Also, I gain at least 5lbs every month due to period Water retention and basically write off the week after my period as fun with Fluid retention. So fear not. It's not going to be a straight line. it might be rolling hills with an overall downward trend.

Are you secretly a Chicagoan? I would say my routine in the weight room is pretty basic. I try to hit all the major muscle groups via squats, lunges, dead lifts, lat row, chest press and fly and biceps and triceps work. Then I do some abs on the ball and some planks and call it a day. That's my quick and dirty routine. I try to go as heavy as I can and then go home to my couch and cry. LOL!

I hated purees with the fire of 10,000 angry suns. Hated it. Everything was gross. Especially baby food. How do babies eat it, it's GROSS. Bland and gross. Thank goodness for me it was only a week. But it was the longest week of my 37 years. LOL.

I have coffee often. Once I was on general diet, coffee was not restricted. I usually take a scoop of unflavored or vanilla Protein powder and kill a couple birds with one stone - necessary nectar of the gods and 30 grams of protein in one fell swoop. LOL.

@@Karen Scott It might help if you take a pillow and stick it under your tummy when you sleep on your side. I also noticed a sharp pain in my tummy for the first couple of weeks. Like the food would slide down and hit a nerve or something. But one day that just stopped. Now I have to look for other cues like belching or hiccups telling me I've hit my upper limit.

This thread makes me sad. People who loved you really called you guys such mean names? . For the record, my nickname was Annie. My real name is Andrea. I had this giant home made orphan Annie doll my mom made for me and I would carry it around everywhere. Used to wear the felt mary jane shoes until my feet got too big for them. Occasionally my brother and my cousins will still call me Annie.

I'm definitely not a vet but I can eat whatever I want. I have a steak at a restaurant. I eat half of it or 1/3 of it, and order a healthy side like the steamed veggies or sauteed spinach or something. I box the rest up for lunch the next day. I don't have issues with any food anymore. Can eat bread, Pasta, sweets, etc. But I choose not to. The appeal is just not there anymore like it used to be. When I was 300 lbs, food was comforting and a soother, but I don't need it like that anymore. And It's kind of bizarre how things I would crave before don't even cause me to bat an eye now.

Keep in mind your stomach is going to be swollen and angry at you for cutting most of it off for awhile. Still, 4 months later and I find that 3 oz of dense Protein is my max. I can however, pack in more carby things like potatoes. So I try my best to avoid super carby foods because before you know it you have eaten all the chips, ya know? And mindless grazing and emotional eating is what got me to 335 lbs and diabetes. @@wjcunni2000 Are you logging all your foods in a place like MyFitnessPal? You can look at all your macros and make sure you are getting enough protein, Vitamins and keeping your carbs low. Sometimes carbs can slow down weight loss, as can not getting enough vitamins and whatnot. I'm not militantly against carbs, but some people here find they are sensitive to them and do better with a really strict reign on their carb intake.

So my Labor Day goal of 235.. I am at 239. Not bad. 235 was pretty ambitious. So 239 is excellent progress. In my four months post sleeve, I have averaged 18.75 lbs lost per month (obvi, the first month was was higher, like 30 lbs, but still..). I am completely in love with the overall consistency of my weight loss. I've had stalls and ups and downs, but my stalls all seem to be hormonally driven due to my period and water retention. I have to really work at getting all my water in, otherwise my body retains. I've done really good at not falling into emotional eating. That is what I would do. Or boredom eating. Snacks while watching Game of Thrones. Getting cookies from the vending machines after a stressful call at work. Speaking of work, I put my two weeks notice in. Customer Service is not for me. I never did like it, and there is nowhere else I can go at this company that isn't a technical position. My husband is all stressed about the potential loss of income, but this change is necessary. I cannot allow myself to be miserable doing a job I hate that does nothing but bring me down (for an income that barely pays my bills by the way). I probably would have quit if I had not had surgery, but I might have languished until next year when I had more PTO to use. But there is no time like the present. I've spent 3.5 years being miserable at this job. I'm not sorry I put in my notice at all.

I have coffee all the time. I throw a scoop of Protein powder into it and add a wee bit of creamer and ice and make it an iced coffee. Keeps me regular, and since I tend to retain Water keeps me from bloating up. I do not count it toward my water goal though. Water goal is separate.

I lose hair every day. But so far its just been typical normal hair loss. Some people say they lose clumps and get noticeably thinner. I've not had this issue. I'm 4 months out. I will say that since my hair is curly, if I let it go curly I lose more than if it flat iron it to within an inch of its life. I think because when it is curly the hairs clump together as opposed to just falling out when straight.

Hahahahahahaha. I like you.

Why would you not be able to have yams or pumpkin pie? Just have a wee tiny slice of pumpkin pie after thanksgiving dinner and you'll be fine.

I came home from the hospital and went to purees straight away. I was on them for five days. Then was on soft solids for a month. I've lost 75 lbs so far post op and almost 100 from my high of 335. I do go to the gym 4 to 5 days after work though. Spending up to an hour doing cardio and 45 minutes doing weights, or swimming or taking a class, depending on my mood. It is hard. Because some days I am so emotionally exhausted from my job. But I have to. That's my me time. You are not going to lose weight every day. There are going to be days or weeks where you stall out. I basically can write the entire week after my period off because I retain Water and gain. Some times the scale will go down then up then down again.

Yes, you have unrealistic expectations.