JamieLogical

Everyone is definitely different! There are soooooo many factors: age, starting weight, gender, genetics, existing medical conditions, mobility, and of course, COMPLIANCE. I have worked very very hard for every pound lost and I have "only" lost 50 pounds in almost 7 months. Some people lose close to that in ONE month! Here's a calculator that can help you estimate your loss based on averages for your height, weight, age, race, and medical conditions: https://www.realize.com/do-i-qualify/potential-results/comparison

Every nutritionist will give you different guidelines. My nutritionist required shakes to have: Minimum of 20 grams of Protein per serving Less than 8 grams of carbs with less than 2 grams of sugar,and a minimum of 3 grams of fiber Less than 3 grams of fat Less than 200 calories per serving, best at 150 whey protein is preferable I ended up settling on EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control (Rich Dark Chocolate). They only had 17g of protein, so I added a little extra unflavored whey isolate when I could.

I have the opposite problem. I can now easily fit into a medium top (as long as there's room for my fake boobs), but I JUST yesterday squeezed into a pair of size 14 jeans and XL yoga pants.

Wow! That is fantastic! You must feel amazing!

Check out: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html I practically lived off the baked ricotta!

Is that not how you're supposed to use that machine?

I think you are absolutely right that you should base what you are taking on your blood work and the advice of your doctors and nutritionist. Don't know why you were worried people would jump down your throat for that!

That's what we ended up having! It was yummy.

I don't think it's "weird" to be nervous. If you're blood work is "all out of whack", it will be good for you to find out so you can start taking steps to correct it. And as for "only" losing 8 pounds this past month, I've "only" lost about 6 pounds per month since month 2 and my nutritionist and doctor don't seem concerned.

@@joatsaint I've had the lentil crisps (tomato basil I think?) and they were delicious as well.

I still had my drain in when I was sent back to my hotel the day after my surgery. I don't think that's very barbaric. I had it removed 2 days post-op at the same time I had my last leak test.

Make sure you stretch well after each workout. I have a little stretching routine do that takes maybe 5 minutes. As for C25k itself, there are a couple of things to note. There is a BIG ramp up in total running minutes between weeks 3 and 4. In weeks 2 and 3 you are running for a total of 9 minutes, just distributed differently. In week 4 you are running for 16 minutes! Also, once you get to weeks 5 and 6, the workouts are different each day, culminating in one long run at the end of each week. The way I have always approached it is to repeat the day 1 and day 2 workouts three times each (turning them into their own "week") and then just do the long run once, before moving onto the next week. So weeks 5 and 6 actually get drawn out over a much longer time. It means you won't finish in the standard 9 weeks, but it makes it much more manageable and realistic. Also, do not hesitate to go back and repeat workouts or entire weeks if you feel you aren't ready to move onto the next stage yet!

"There can be only one!" And, for me, that one is Quest Bars! If I can find these Oh Yeah bars as singles somewhere I might try one.... but Quest Bars.....

They remind me of those Special K Cracker Chips in terms of their texture. I found it hard to eat a whole bag. I decided I'd rather steer clear of crispy/salty chip-like snacks rather than fall back into old habits or renew old cravings.

I'm sure you are going to get hate for attacking a specific surgeon here and probably accused of being a coordinator or working for another surgeon, but I have to agree with you. In all of my research, while I read many positive things about many surgeons, I saw FAR more negative stories and complications with reference to Almanza than ANY other TJ surgeon. It's honestly a wonder he gets any new patients with all of the negative stuff I've seen over the past 8-9 months since I started researching Mexican surgeons.

Other people's definition of "crawl" seems to differ greatly from mine, so it's hard to say what your current rate of loss is, but 700 calories at 7 weeks out doesn't sound unreasonable. I was supposed to try to get 800 as soon as possible (though obviously didn't get there in the early food stages) and now I am aiming for just over 1000 a day.

The feeling of accomplishment at the end of a race is the best rush ever! Hopefully that will motivate you to keep it up. Congratulations on the completion of your first of what I am sure will be MANY races!

Awesome! Sounds like you are right back on track. Maybe I should be more grateful that I'm having to fight for every pounds as I am losing, because I can't get away with some of the "bad behaviors" you were able to early on. You are proof though that if we do go off track, we can find our way back and still make good progress. Hope you can continue to stay focused and finally reach your goal!

I didn't go back to my desk job until 15 days post-op and I was still very very tired. I wasn't in any pain, but it was tough getting through the full day, because I felt so fatigued and run-down. Definitely turned a corner once I was able to start eating soft foods/purees (day 18) and get more calories in.

Hang in there. It will get a little easier every day.

Whatever my husband cooks for me? I know we're planning to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I think all we have in the house right now is some frozen lemon garlic shrimp, some turkey kielbasa, and some poultry italian sausage. So I imagine tonight it will be one of those things for dinner.

A lot of it is out of your control, but there are a few things you can do that *might* help as you are losing. Drink a LOT of Water. You should be doing this anyway, of course, but hydration is great for the skin. Moisturize thoroughly daily. There are a couple of supplements that are said to help with skin elasticity, namely Vitamin C and Beef Gelatin. I take both daily, not sure whether it's actually making a difference. And, of course, strength training can help "fill in" the loose skin with some muscle. Personally, I lost 90 pounds on my own a few years ago (when I was 30-31) and I ended up with a lot of loose skin. Once my weight had been stable for about 8 months I had an extended tummy tuck and breast lift with implants because of my loose skin and sagging breasts. Luckily, the tummy tuck held up through all of my weight regain and now that I am re-losing post-sleeve, it still looks great!

Well, the scale is still just crawling along for me, but I did have a nice NSV yesterday. I bought and wore a pair of size 14 jeans. They were the same exact jeans I'd been wearing in a size 16 since the end of November, just a size smaller now. I thought about going ahead and buying the same pair in a 12 as well, but I didn't want to push my luck. Edit: I'll be taking progress pics on Wednesday and I'll be sure to post here when I do.

Sounds like a few folks in this thread might argue with you there, including me!

Have you discussed it with your surgeon or nutritionist?