tamg26k

Great job!!

Awesome job! When members post pictures during their weight loss, it is truly inspiring for the rest of us. You rock!

@@Trayjay33 I buy one of the non fat 100 calorie Greek yogurts. Aldi has one that is good and inexpensive. The mustard was spicy southwestern from Wal-Mart (their brand) I buy a lot of shredded deli chicken and mix up the tastes with the sauces. The Greek yogurt adds to the Protein total too!

@@Trayjay33 got it!

I had a pair of wireless workout headphones on my Christmas gift for using at the gym. I jumped the gun and bought them for myself. lol I put a crock pot on my list this year. Since surgery in July I have been using my crockpot like crazy but it is too small so a new one went on the list. Clothing gift cards are a great idea.

I have been making a sauce out of Greek yogurt and buffalo sauce ( we have a local one in St Louis that is delicious - low carb, low sugar and low fat to boot!) It is delicious. I also found a Southwest mustard that is really good too.

I just had my 3 month post op follow up with my doctor and things are going really well. I've lost over 75 lbs. since surgery with little or no problems, I am wondering if any of the vets encountered any setbacks/problems during the 3-6 month time frame. I made my 6 month appointment but am wondering how important it is to keep it. The reason I ask, is that my surgery was self pay and my follow ups are no longer covered by my self pay payment. I need to pay out of pocket for all future visits with the surgeon. I am hoping I can just transfer to my PCP and have insurance cover the visits. It was hard enough paying for the surgery so I don't want to keep paying out of pocket. Any thoughts are feedback anyone can give would be much appreciated.

Did you buy yourself a reward gift when you hit a milestone? I'm about 4 1/2 months post op and have hit the 100 lb. mark in weight loss. To Celebrate, I bought myself a nice reward gift - Power Beats 2 wireless headphones. I love them! I used them at the gym today and had a great workout. How did you reward yourself? And, what was your milestone?

I had my surgery on a Tuesday and was back to work the following Monday. Luckily, I have my own business so my work was not too strenuous. Everyone is different. Listen to what your body is telling you. I know this is not recommended, but I was driving 3 days after surgery. Best of luck!

Walk, walk, walk. It is the only thing that helps the pain from the gas. I don't think I ate anything in the hospital, just a few ice chips. It does get better...A LOT!!! Hang in there and keep us posted.

@@alwaysvegas Love the suggestions! I'm going to try these soon!

I technically don't live alone, I have a housemate but we now each eat separate meals. I try to get him to try some new things, and he does, sometimes. I think I've had a bit of a easier time of it by not having to cook for anyone else. I'm 100% focused on me. So far, so good!

At that stage I never really focused on calories. It is hard to get in a significant amount of calories. I tried and still try to focus on getting my Protein in daily. At 4 1/2 months post op I get around 800-1000 calories a day.

Congrats! Rock that dress!!!!!

@@alwaysvegas I'm the same way, I eat too fast! I'm about 4 1/2 months post op and I have had food come back up several times. It is always because I took too big of a bite or ate too fast and food gets stuck. It is not a nice feeling. Lot's of foamies come up along with the food. I'm trying to eat slower. It happens less frequently now, but does sometimes happen. I still try to eat really soft Proteins (shaved deli meat or something with a yogurt sauce), take small bites, and eat slower.

I told my entire family and a few close friends before surgery. Almost everyone was very supportive. After surgery, everyone was really helpful and was concerned with my health. I really stuck to the plan, no cheating whatsoever and exercising and the weight started coming off quickly. The only comments that really bother me is when people don't acknowledge all of the hard work that went into the last 4 months. I try to explain that the surgery was just a tool but some can't see past the surgery. It really doesn't bother me. I just stay focused on my plan. I do now however, never give the amount of weight loss. I just say A LOT and focus on me being healthier. I don't keep the surgery a secret, if anyone asks I tell them. I'm not ashamed, nor do I think any of us are. Once people are educated on WLS and realize that it is not magic, they understand it is a lifestyle change.

I have been working out 4-5 days a week and increased my calories on the days I work out. Normally I would only take in about 600-700 calories a day (4 1/2 months post op). On the days I work out, I increase it to about 1000 by adding 2 Protein shakes. It is still really hard for me to add the calories with actual food so the Protein Shakes work well. It also increase my protein total on workout days to about 120 grams. This has worked pretty good for me.

I'm 4 1/2 months post op and rarely go out to eat. Usually if I do I will get a grilled chicken salad with the chicken and dressing on the side. Usually I end of eating one bite of the salad and just focus on the chicken. The salad and dressing go home for someone else. If I could just order 1/2 of a grilled chicken breast I would. Yesterday was one of the rare times I went out to eat and I just order Charcuterie and got about 3 1/2 of prosciutto di Parma. I know not the most healthy meat, but I trimmed it really well. It was something I knew would not have any added salt, butter, or a sauce. The prosciutto was salty enough!

No one will be able to make this decision for you. We are all different. You have to do what is right for you with the guidance of your doctors. All we can do is share our experience with surgery. For me, I was really heavy. Ironically though, that was my only problem - my blood sugar and cholesterol were perfect. I had a slightly elevated blood pressure, on the very high side of the normal range. I chose surgery because I didn't want to have any problems in the future. The surgery has been a tool in a lifestyle change that I've made over the last 4 months. I am so glad I chose to have it. You have to be willing to put in the work, if you do, it can be life changing The actual surgery and recovery itself went really smoothly for me. I know from reading other posts that is not always the case. It should not be a decision to make lightly. If I had to go back, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It has been a life changing experience for me. Best of luck! Keep us posted.

I have a cup of decaf every morning mixed with chocolate Protein powder and turn it into a mocha. It is delicious!

My feet were really wide. Now all of my shoes fit really comfortable. I also went from a size 9 to 8.5. Who doesn't like shopping for new shoes???

I bought the Ninja mega kitchen system back in April and I use it every day, sometimes twice a day. I love it! It was one of the best purchases I made. I would suggest getting something with high rpm (higher than the Nutri-bullet) - the Ninja and Vitamix are the best. I use it for my Protein shakes obviously but the other uses are endless. It stays out on the counter and gets plenty of use.

I had issues keeping some foods down. I thought my problem was taking too big of bites of foods and the foods still not being soft enough. It is not a nice feeling. Everything and than some comes back up. I started really cutting my portions really, really small. For example, I eat a lot of deli meat and I started getting it shaved instead of just sliced thinly. also add a bit of a sauce to it ( buffalo/Greek yogurt is my favorite) to make it even softer. Some things I could tolerate once but the next time came back up. I'm not sure why. I just think, for me, I was taking too big of bites of food. Even though I thought I wasn't, I believe it was the case for me.

Best of luck on this. Keep posting!

For me it is the ability to scan bar codes and have the nutritional information added to my log. The food database is massive as well. I have been logging both food and exercise for the past couple of weeks and I've really kept a good eye on my protein, carbs, sugar, calories, etc. I don't pay too much attention to the number of calories I burn from exercise because everyone is different. Most of the nutritional values are very accurate. I like both the desktop version and the app- very easy to use. I see a trainer twice a week and I can show him my food logs each visit so he can see how I am doing. I like the fact that other MFP friends can set their profile so others can view their food diary.