*Lexie*

Wow, so motivating!

Slow or fast doesn't matter, the end result matters. Congratulations!!!

Do you mind me asking, how much can you eat in one sitting?

I've needed to back off from a pizza or ice cream before, but never heard that about exercise. Strange concept. :-)

I keep beef Jerky on hand. High in Protein and lean. Little high on sodium but overall it's a good choice. You could alway look for high Protein Bars too. I don't like the Premier Protein Bars but I do like South Beach. Has around 12 g of protein and lower in sugar than most.

I've had popcorn and I'm 6 months out. As long as your sleeve doesn't get angry, you should be fine. I can't tolerate anything fried, rich, spicy or seafood, but by golly, I can eat popcorn without any issues.

@@LipstickLady This line made me snort. "Plain Water makes me nauseated so I get most of my fluids in via coffee, diet soda and liquor (KIDDING!!)." I drink diet soda. I don't smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol or do drugs but lordy, I just want a diet soda. It brightens my day. I agree with LipstickLady, I can't drink anything for close to an hour after eating or I'll get sick. I've taken that one bite too many a few times (I'm still learning) and it's incredibly painful. I've never felt that discomfort from drinking soda or I certainly would never drink it. My physician's main issue with soda is the caffeine (slight risk of ulcers), drinking full calorie and not losing weight, or the bubbles causing uncomfortable burping. I drink caffeine-free diet and the carbonation doesn't cause me discomfort. I do find it interesting that the topic of whether to drink soda or not creates some strong opinions. I admit I'm a little jelly of all those that have been tough enough to give it up. At the end of the day, I don't think it's just one thing that will cause us to fail. It's a series of things. Not exercising, grazing and quite possibly, drinking soda.

Wow, there's some great advice given here. I like the idea of writing out a healthy grocery list and keeping up on the fluids. The only thing I would add is asking yourself why all the sudden you want this stuff? Deep down do you feel like you've hit your goal and want to reward yourself? We've spent our whole lives being rewarded with food, particularly sugar so it's not that far fetched. Have you rewarded yourself for hitting goal? Buying some new clothes, getting a pedicure or whatever makes you feel good? P.S. Congrats on hitting goal, that's inspiring!

You deserve to brag, those are hard things to change.

194.2 today.

My doc mentions it in passing that it could cause gas for some people. I've not talked to anyone who's had issues with straws. If my drink comes with a straw, I drink out of it and I've never had an issue. In the scheme of rules, I don't rank this one very high up on the priority list. i.e. Protein goals, Water goals, no drinking with meals, etc.

I have a lot of issues with food intolerances and throwing up. And I do have cases where one day I can eat something fine and the next day it makes me sick. But now that I've been tracking it and know what foods are bothering me, it's not happening nearly as often.

My doctor doesn't require special bariatric Vitamins. I take a generic brand from Target/Walmart and my blood work came back in great shape. I'm drinking a big glass of Water as I type this because I am really bad about getting my daily dose of water.

It depends on your surgeon. For me, once the approval came in, I'd already met the weight loss requirement and taken the required classes that my surgeon provided so it was just a matter of getting a surgery date and doing the pre-op diet.

It seems like around 40-50lbs lost is when everyone starts noticing.

You are adorable! I can't imagine what more you could want to change but we are much harder on ourselves than others are. If you still have contact with your surgeon's office, they may be able to recommend a personal trainer that has worked with post op patients previously who may have a better understanding of your situation and not be judgmental.

197.0 today

Congrats! I remember that day, I was so excited and terrified at the same time. It got real once I had a date. I thought the hardest part was the pre-op diet, you get through that and you're good.

I did. I remember thinking that if I could lose weight on my own, I wouldn't need flipping surgery. LOL What I finally did was just put my head down and push through to hit the goal. My advice, adopt a pre-op diet for a week or so. Mine was 2 Protein shakes and a healthy dinner. You should drop at least 5lbs in a week from that. Just keep your eyes on the prize! You can do this.

I hate my scale too. Sometimes I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship. My day depends on if the scale is nice to me. LOL Nothing you can do, this is normal. Just wait it out and you'll start losing again soon. My stall lasted 3 full weeks. But once I got past it, the loss was slow and steady after that.

Your doctor should have a list of foods and timeline for each stage after surgery. Typically you're on liquids for a few weeks, then puree/soft foods and eventually transition to regular food.

Well I just threw up in a trash can in my office during a conference call because I ate something that my sleeve didn't approve of so yeah, super easy. Your post is exactly why I didn't tell a single soul at work. People can be dense sometimes.

It took you 20lbs to wake up and decide to change. Much better than gaining it all back. I know you can do it. You came the right place for support.

195.0 today

I heard the Mexican sleeves crave more Taco Bell. Haha, just kidding!