MrsSugarbabe

Love my beef jerky!!! Simms brand from Aldi's. Also, cheese sticks, low fat, small curd cottage cheese, boiled eggs, nuts-mostly cashews, my own pre-made unjury Protein shake, Peanut Butter, Fit & Active Protein Bar (chocolate peanut butter) from Aldi's, and sometimes fresh fruit. Just got some fresh picked strawberries from a farm in Chesnee, SC, that are amazing!!!! Since my new tummy doesn't hold much, I can't over do it with the fruit; still mainly protein for Snacks (only way I can meet daily protein goal).

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@Bashlee -- Loved your story!! Love your jumpsuit! It looks fabulous on you!!! I've been trying not to buy too much while still in the losing phase, but it's hard to resist when you come upon a good or great deal, right?? I stopped at Walmart last night to look for some properly fitting jeans for this weekend and came home with several pairs of casual and workout capris, the jeans I was looking for, and several tops. Good grief!! Not to mention that night before last I went to buy A pair of black flats for work, which I found and purchased, but then proceeded to another store and came home with 3 tops for work. So much for not buying too much while still in the losing phase, right? Hey, we need to keep those consignment shops in business later on.......LOL!!

Sounds yummy!! Thanks for posting/sharing! I'll have to try this recipe. I love chicken salad.

One of my liquid pre-op options I enjoyed was the unjury chicken Soup Protein powder. Don't forget about popsicles (sugar free, of course) and Jell-O and such. These were included in my pre-op liquids. The main reason for doing a liquid diet prior to surgery is to shrink your liver as much as possible to give the surgeon better access to your stomach; it's not so much about losing weight.

Reading a fictional novel and digging in the dirt a bit are two of my go to activities. I LOVE being outside when it's warm enough and being sunny is even better. Also, downloading pics off my camera onto my PC and/or Facebook to share. Since going to the gym a few times a week is part of my regular routine, I don't count it as a go to activity. Also, tracking my food intake each day is somewhat a deterrent to not eating things I shouldn't (most of the time ).

For some immediate relief until you get your PPI, try Tums. I have had to chew a couple tablets a couple of times after eating either too much or too fast and ended up with heartburn. The Tums worked very quickly to give me relief. Sometimes one bite can be one bite too many and can make you feel miserable for about 30 minutes or so. Living and learning with our new tummies

I will be interested to hear what your doctor says about taking it during your pre-op period. Phentermine helped me to lost 50 lbs. several years ago. Even after losing that 50 lbs. I continued taking the drug. I switched PCPs a couple years ago and the first thing he had me do was to quite taking the phentermine because I had been on it too long and because of the risks of long term use. I managed to maintain the weight loss on my own. Because of these risks, it never occurred to me to ask about taking it during pre-op, probably because I wasn't required to lose weight before surgery aside from what weight is lost due to being on a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery.

You will be fine through it all.....take a few deep breaths when you start feeling anxious.

I concur with everything the others have said above. Below are a few things to think about which I hope with help with your nervousness, etc. Daily Diet Solutions from Beck Diet Solutions (link below) April 29, 2015 - Wednesday Sabotage Sabotaging Thought: When I’m dieting, if the scale doesn’t go down every day/week it means it’s not working. Response: It doesn’t work that way. When dieting, I’ll always have weeks when the scale goes down, weeks when the scale stays the same, and weeks when the scale goes up. Just because the scale doesn’t go down one day/week doesn’t mean I’m not on track and it doesn’t mean it’s not working. Keep doing what I’m doing and the scale will go down again. April 28, 2015 - Tuesday Reality Check If you think, “It’s okay to eat this because I’ve been good all day and turned down so much other food,” remind yourself that your body has no idea how many things you DIDN’T eat, it only knows what you do eat. Saying ‘no’ before doesn’t necessarily mean you can say ‘yes’ now. April 27, 2015 - Monday Motivation All dieters and maintainers go through periods when dieting feels more difficult. The good news: this is completely normal and happens to EVERYONE. Keep doing what you’re doing and dieting WILL get easier again. Just stick with it! April 24, 2015 - Friday Weekend Warm-Up If you’re home more on the weekends, make a point to stay out of the kitchen except during meal times. The more you’re around food, the more you’ll have to resist eating and the less food is in plain sight, the easier it will be to stay on track. Hang out in other rooms instead! http://www.beckdietsolution.com/daily-diet-solutions/

After meeting my deductible, my cost was $2157. I was expecting it to be more, and I was prepared to be out of pocket about $5,000; glad I didn't have to pay that much. I work for the same healthcare system in oOrth Carolina that the bariatric group is part of so it was in network. Of course, there were all the co-pays for the various appointments pre-surgery. Appointments with my surgeon post-surgery were no charge for 3 months.

Thank you for the perfect reminder!!

@@NikkiDoc and @@CheleLynn45 - Both of you are doing GREAT!!!! I agree with @ - be proud that you are going in the right direction!! This is about progression, not perfection.

205 Ugh!!!

Gurgling noises appear to be normal, annoying, but normal. I'm still having those noises anytime I drink or eat something and it doesn't matter what it is. Sometimes the noises are so loud others will hear them.

An average of 3.4 lbs. each week is awesome!!! You're doing great!! (Wish I had that kind of average going on .) These slow-going phases are psychologically challenging, to say the least! Check in with your NUT regarding your food intake. Also, you may need to ramp up your fat burning cardio routine. When I hit these slow weeks, I keep telling myself that the inches are still coming off even if the scale isn't showing the weight change; it will eventually catch up. Hang in there!

Touch base with your NUT for guidelines on post-op eating/drinking plan, if you don't already have the plan, because they differ group to group. I didn't start drinking coffee on a regular basis until about 2.5-3 months out. My norm is a blend of half caf/half decaf with cream, sweetener and flavored syrup - what I call my sissy coffee. Initially I could only drink about 1/4 cup over a hour; now it's about a cup in the same timeframe, and rarely no more than that in a day's time. If you've read enough posts on BP you'll hear several sleevers say that their tastes changed post-surgery so know that that is a possibility. My tastes didn't change much, but it did take me awhile to get back to drinking plain Water, coffee, and tea. I'm willing to drink those calories & carbs and they do get logged. Good luck on your journey!!! It's for a lifetime.

I was using unjury pre-surgery and continue to drink Unjury shakes or the Unjury chicken Soup every day-typically 2 servings a day. This is the only way I can get at least my minimum 60 grams of Protein, and preferably 100 grams of protein. For me, getting that much protein just from solid food was extremely difficult.

A little more than 5 months out and I'm eating about a 1/2 cup regardless of the food. If I eat much more than that at a sitting, then I'm going to be very uncormfortable for about a 1/2 hours. On another post a few weeks ago I remember reading about listening to your body's queues, i.e. gurgling, belching, etc. It's your body's way of saying it's time to stop eating. I don't always listen to it, but I should. Once I started on regular foods (as tolerated), the weight loss slowed considerably. I keep my calories to as close to 1000 as possible and still get in 60-100 grams of Protein. Because of the focus on protein, the carbs stay low by default. I want to achieve "Onederland" by Memorial Day so I've been working on refocusing my food and exercise in order to get there. There is a Memorial Day challenge started so I signed up in the hope it will keep me more motivated. Good luck to you in your journey!!! It is a learning process.

I started looking into having surgery when my PCP told me that I had a fatty liver and the only way to slow the progression of the damage it can cause was to lose 100 lbs. He felt that at my age, it would be too challenging and take too long to lose 100 lbs. (even though I had already been exercising daily and managing my portions, etc.). I also had diabetes and high blood pressure which he told me that after surgery, I should be able to come off those medications. After that office visit, it took me a year to get to the point of deciding to have the surgery, and lots of reading and talking to co-workers who had already had either RNY or VSG. I kept thinking that I could lose the weight on my own, and that surgery wasn't the route for me, I didn't weigh enough to warrant taking such a huge step. Once I psychologically accepted that the surgery was just a tool to help me get healthier, and that I was not doing it for vanity's sake, I was ready to go. I'm glad I made the decision to have the surgery. I don't know where you live or where you are going for all of your appointments, but the rapidity of all the appointments is very similar to what I went through once I committed to my decision. It wasn't unusual for me to have 3 appts. on the same day; fortunately, all in the same office, just different people. There were a lot of hoops to jump through. My insurance approved my surgery without me having to go through a medical weight loss program prior to surgery since I had at least two comorbidities that qualified me in addition to my BMI. Having the volume restriction of the sleeve has been a huge help. Life with the sleeve still takes a lot of work, but the restriction has helped me to refocus on what foods are important and which ones I can let go. I have to work on not letting old, bad habits back into my life.

@@JamieLogical -- I think you've done and are doing a great job of staying on track despite the occasional small splurges. And you are such an encouragement and source of reason and excellent advice for many, including myself. Whatever you decide about your "ultimate" goal weight, I'm sure it will be what you feel is best for you. Stay the course! Just something to ponder...... March 31, 2015 - Tuesday Reality Check It's important to not undermine your commitment to weight loss by telling yourself, “Maybe I don’t really need/want to lose weight,” or “Maybe I don’t actually have to do these things.” If you do, you will have a much, much harder time getting yourself to just do what you need to do. From Beck Daily Diet Solutions - http://www.beckdietsolution.com/daily-diet-solutions/ April 20, 2015 - Monday Motivation No matter what you did or didn’t eat over the weekend, today is the start of a new week and a fresh chance to have a great eating week! What are you doing to make today and this week great? From Beck Daily Diet Solutions - http://www.beckdietsolution.com/daily-diet-solutions/

So glad you posted this topic! I appreciate everyone's responses which have encouraged me today. Thank you all!

208.5 for today's weigh-in. Wrong direction!! Frustrated. Getting back on track today.

unjury Protein powders are my favorite - pre- and post-surgery. I especially like the fact that they have a chicken Soup option so everything doesn't always have to be sweet.