FrankyG

I loved refried Beans during the early days and had cans of them in the pantry. I decided to learn how to make them from scratch since I figured they'd taste better and they did. And they freeze well too, so I would do a big slow cooker batch and then portion them out and have a freezer full of delicious beans to eat on. Low fat (not) refried beans recipe: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/08/not-refried-beans/ I've use black beans, kidney beans and pintos in this and they all turn out wonderfully!

I couldn't tolerate chicken at all until about 3 months out, so that's great you're doing well with it - it's a great source of protein! I eat chicken salad (or tuna) several times a week just because it's so easy and tastes pretty good. I don't get bored with foods (love leftovers!) so I do like fixing a batch to eat on for several days. The big advantage is that you don't have to think about what to fix - just fix a nice sized batch and eat on it for a while - so less planning and panicking over what to eat when you're still struggling to find things you actually can eat.

Do you mean the sleeve? I wasn't aware there were any staples used during a LapBand. The staples are permanent in a sleeve procedure. Eventually the stomach heals over them, but they'll always be in there. They use surgical steel which does not set of metal detectors. I've flown several times and have had no issues going through security.

I'm almost 9 months out, and I can eat just about anything except really high sugar (makes me feel sick, and that is a good thing). I fix things at home just like I used to, and we eat out quite often. That being said, no you will never eat a "normal" meal again. Because your idea of normal is not even remotely the norm. If you were anything like me, then you ate too much. Especially if you are basing it off of eating out at a restaurant - typical portions are huge, and you shouldn't eat them even with all of your stomach intact. Now you have a tiny stomach and there is no way you will ever eat the amounts you used to eat, but you'll likely be able to eat most if not all types of foods you used to eat. Not that you should, mind you, but you will be able to eventually. As far as a 12 course meal... oh hell no. You probably will be full to bursting after the 3rd course even if you only take a bite or two of each course. You will just have to decide what you want to eat (and what is best for your nutrition - Proteins, healthy fibers/veggies) and then explain that you are on a diet or watching what you eat and can't eat more. I eat out all the time now. I either eat a little off of my husband's meal, or I get my own meal and tell the waiter to bring me a to go box as soon as they can and box up the rest for leftovers. I order things that are tasty and sometimes have fat or carbs, but I eat very little of it in one sitting. One regular meal out, and I'm set for the next 2 days on leftovers.

It will get better. Your body just went through major surgery and your IBS caused even more complications and I totally understand your thinking you just made a mistake and are feeling pretty low and miserable due to the sickness and bad reactions you're experiencing. But it will get better. This current state you're in is temporary. It won't last long. You will start adjusting, start healing and start losing weight and feeling stronger and more able with every passing week. Just hang in there and do your best to stay positive and keep doing what you can to get your fluids in and take care of yourself.

My go to quick and easy meals: Canned tuna or chicken with light mayo, a little celery and green onion, and if I have some, grapes cut into quarters (for the chicken salad) or pickle relish (for the tuna). I usually have about 2-3 whole wheat crackers with this because carbs are not the devil, you just need to avoid refined simple carbs. I also love scrambling an egg with some green onion in, topping with some shredded cheese and a bit of light sour cream or pico/salsa (or both). I also bought cans of refried Beans, put a small amount into a bowl to heat, top with sour cream, cheese and tomatoes/black olives. Oh! And easiest of all - a low carb yogurt. Kroger makes one called "carbmaster" that has some pretty good flavors and around 9 grams of Protein so they're good for a quick and easy meal. I make much more elaborate things now, but those are my fall-back ones when I'm just blanking on what to fix. There are tons of recipes out there (see the links that Kate gave), but honestly it really is just fix things that are high in protein like meats, fish, shrimp, legumes, eggs, cheese and milk if you can tolerate (took me a while to get back to enjoying dairy). Add in some veggies and lastly the complex carb stuff sparingly (no refined simple carbs like crackers and regular Pasta - stick with whole wheat).

I've posted this exact thing before on here, and there are many posts about people that can't seem to quit smoking before surgery. (try doing a search on "smoking" and see what pops up) Anyway, here's my advice: Stop drinking if you can't seem to stop smoking with it. Tell yourself you can do it a few months after the surgery if you need to have that to hold on to, but do whatever it takes NOW to stop smoking. I was a very happy smoker for the last 20 years. I started as a teenager, and I was pretty mad about having to stop for this surgery. But I did this surgery to improve my health and my entire rest of my life. Smoking is bad. There is nothing whatsoever good about smoking. I know I am an addict, and quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I had never been able to quit for any length of time before, but making the decision to have sleeve surgery meant I cared enough about my body and my future that continuing to be a smoker was just the most asinine, stupidest thing I could do. And so I quit. And I had one slip up about 2 weeks out, but I got right back into quitting and I didn't slip again, and it's now been over 300 days since I had my last cigarette. I won't lie; I still want a damned cigarette almost every day, but I know it's bad for me and that's not who I am anymore. I won't let them control my life any more. Cigarettes are just as bad as being addicted to drugs or being an alcoholic - you are allowing an addiction to ruin your health and jeopardize your future. If you care enough about yourself to have this surgery, then show that you care enough also to get off the smoking and put ALL of this awful stuff in your past. Some surgeons will test you for nicotine, and even the metabolized form which can stay in the body for weeks, so you might just be kicked out of the pre-op the day of if you haven't quit with enough time to get it out of your system completely. At least a month out should do it, and that includes using gum or Patches. Even if they don't test you, you're risking a poorer outcome. VSG is major surgery, don't fool yourself that you can just keep sneaking one here or there and it won't hurt anything. You are hurting your body every time you smoke, and you are risking poor circulation, poor healing, poor lung capacity and issues with breathing during surgery and even clots for months after. Why? So you can feed a deadly addiction? If you continue to smoke, you're saying to yourself that you aren't worth having the best possible outcome and faster healing and better health. You're better than that, so start thinking that way, and fight hard for your health. There is still time, and you are so worth it. You CAN do this!! (I used patches and gum for a week, then cold turkey. I also used a quit smoking app on my phone - Butt Out - that was a lifesaver as it has a community that was really supportive)

Welcome to your first (of many most likely) stall! It's completely normal, and to be expected. You should definitely take measurements now (waist, hips, chest, arms, legs) and track that every month along with the weight. When the scale isn't budging, there is a good chance that you're losing fat and gaining muscle - and you should see that both in the way your clothes fit and in the measurements themselves. Keep drinking your Water, eating your Protein and sticking with the food plan you were given and exercising. If you stop losing and don't see any progress measurement wise for longer than a few weeks, then start looking at your diet and cut back on the carbs and see if that doesn't help get the loss kickstarted.

Have you been taking measurements? Sometimes you're losing fat and gaining muscle and you won't see that on the scale, mostly just in the way your clothes are fitting (as a pound of muscle is more dense and compact than a pound of fat). Otherwise, make sure you're drinking your Water, eating healthy (maybe double check your diet and make sure you're not creeping up on carbs/fat?) and exercise.

Take your measurements (hips, waist, bust, arms, legs), and then track them each month. You will see a difference in sizing most likely during the months that it seems the scale showed little to no loss. It's because you sometimes lose fat and gain muscle - a pound of fat takes up way more room than a pound of muscle, so it helps to minimize the panic when you think you're not making much progress. And yeah, three week stall is pretty much a given, and it can last for weeks and you'll see other stalls most likely all during your weight loss journey. Don't panic, just keep drinking your Water, eating a healthy diet and exercising.

I've been taking regular vitamins and pills since about two weeks out also... I don't see why anyone should have to do powdered/chewables for longer than a month at most. Once you're on solid food, you should be fine.

You are wanting this surgery to improve your health, and that's a wonderful reason. You say you have some serious issues already due to the car accident, and losing weight will definitely minimize those issues, and long term, your overall health and how you feel about yourself will improve as well. If your husband loves you, then he should be supportive of this. Even if he loves you as a big woman, he has to know that your physical appearance/attractiveness is not more important than your health. And if you do experience any "deflation" in the boob area or sagging skin, those things can be fixed once you've stabilized your weight loss. Your health should be your - and his - first priority. Your appearance is a distant second, especially since you don't know for sure that you'll even experience a significant issue with your boobs or really bad skin sagging. Appearance is temporary anyway! You should sit down and have a serious talk with him about the difference in him loving you for you, and loving you for what you look like, and that you feel like he isn't being very supportive of your efforts to feel better and be healthy. And that it seems like all he cares about is big boobs and fat rolls, and doesn't care if you are in pain, sick, or die at an early age. It is something that you both need to work through (and maybe look into marriage counseling for some help). My husband finds curvy/fat girls attractive as well. He was worried for a bit at the beginning, but he wanted me to be happy and healthy. He has been supportive, because he realized that I was getting sick and hurting from all the excess weight. He has been exercising and eating similar to my routine, and he's lost weight with me so it's been really great. I don't want to be tiny, so my goal weight is still going to have me a bit of a chubby gal, but I'll be healthy and in shape. I'm just over halfway on my weight loss and no signs of my boobs deflating at all (cup size exactly the same, but my band size has gone down from a 44 to a 38 so far) and minimal skin issues. It may take a year after I stabilize to see how my skin looks, but in the event that I have any significant sagging, I'll take care of it then.

Hormones and metabolism both change significantly. I was sleeved in December, and spent the winter in layers and under an electric blanket, clutching my cat any time she happened by. It was a very cold time for me!

My doc told me the weight loss pretty much caps off at 2 years, so if you haven't reached goal by that time, you probably won't be getting any more help from the sleeve. He said that your body does adjust at that point to the amount of food and level of activity, and you would be back to working hard "the old fashioned way" to lose weight/gain muscle. But he did say that he wanted to see me hit his goal within 1 year or so. Thing is, I have no idea what his goal for me is actually (guess I need to ask?). He mentioned early on that he wants "70% of my excess weight off" but I have no idea what he considers excess weight since going by standard height/weight measurements won't work for every body type, especially mine (I'm a big boned, big boobed girl and always have been even as a teen before I gained all my weight). I have MY goals, and I'm pretty sure I'll come darned close (and be thrilled with where I end up). I honestly don't care what he wants me to be, I'll stick with my own ideas about what weight will be a happy place for me.

I had a freakout the night before and really wondered if I should back out up to the point where they put the IV in... it's normal and I imagine I'd be even more freaked if I had to plan a long flight to a different country. Deep breaths. You're going to do just fine. It will all work out for you and you'll be glad you did it. Big hugs!!

Not sure this would even apply, but if there is the least chance of pregnancy, you should take a test. Hormones can go completely crazy after weight loss, and if you're sexually active, there's always a chance...

Good luck - you'll do just fine and those pics will look fablous!

I do think the sooner you can move to real food for your Protein sources, the better you'll feel. Protein derived almost exclusively from those shakes just isn't as good as the nutrients you can get from food. I think you might be expecting too much of yourself; you've just had the surgery this month. You've had a remarkable amount of weight loss, and it is awesome that you want to get your energy back RIGHT NOW so you can exercise, but this was major surgery and your stomach is still very, very raw and swollen (will be for months) so please don't push too hard trying to do things your body isn't ready for, or get discouraged that it isn't happening the way you want. Be patient with yourself. You had a long hard journey to get to the point where you had the surgery, and it won't be resolved overnight (or in a few months). Maybe start trying to add in fruit/protein smoothies (have a blender?) try using yogurt, almond milk, ice, real fruit - things like bananas and avacado (for the healthy fat and calories) and sip on those when you can. You'll get some protein, calories and fats to help up your calorie intake and still should be gentle on your stomach/digestion. Scrambled eggs with a bit of cheddar cheese was a good soft food for protein/calories in the beginning (once I could eat solids). It didn't agree with me for the first couple of months, tho (threw up that and chicken until around 3 months out). Refried Beans (especially black beans) with a bit of cheese on top also really good for calories/energy.

Carbs are not the enemy. Heathly carbs (from whole grains, low fat dairy, veggies) are used for energy. By not eating enough carbs, you're causing an imbalance in your system and probably not getting enough calories overall as well. This can push you into ketosis, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it sounds like this isn't happening since in ketosis you would definitely be seeing weight and fat loss. Eating around 50 carbs/day is still considered low carb, a good goal to shoot for (and my NUT said I should not even be restricting it that much but I feel like I am sensitive to carbs). I was told to stick to a diet of protein/healthy carbs/healthy fats as the main sources of my calories and to get my calories up to 1,000-1,200 ASAP after a month or two, and the actual counts on the individual stuff should work out just fine. But you should have a personalized calorie goal from your own NUT, so please discuss in detail with them! If you're not eating enough total calories, then your body will go into starvation mode, slowing your metabolism and making it even harder to lose any weight. And hormones can also get really, really screwed up during weight loss, so it is a good idea to get your doc to monitor your hormone levels if you are seeing weirdness with your cycle. I always gain about 3-4 pounds of water weight during my period, but when I finish, I lose that weight and the weight loss gears back up... until the next month... so it has been a few pounds a week or month lost, then gain 2-4 pounds and then lose 4-5 pounds once I'm through my period. There have been weeks of no loss in there too, but again, I still see a decrease in the tape measure overall. And absolutely take some measurements - even if it's been several months since surgery. It is very comforting to see the inches lost when the needle on the scale doesn't budge!! I was classified as a slow loser, but those months I lost less than 5 pounds total? I lost lots of INCHES - lost fat and gained (leaner/heavier) muscle! In 7 months I've lost 10 inches off my waist and I have real muscle definition visible in my legs and arms now.

If you live in Texas, there's a grocery chain called HEB that has their own high Protein milk with reduced carb/lactose, and it comes in regular and 2%. It's called Mootopia, and it lasts a long time too. I've been drinking the 2% since I was allowed to have it, and it's awesome.

I was got my boobs in 5th grade, and was wearing a DD in 7th grade. They were a G cup right before college, and I didn't start gaining significant weight until then. I have gotten larger in band size over the years, but so far at 7 months and down 65 pounds, the only thing I've lost is band size - down from a 44 to a 38 - but still G cup.

Anyone that is a close friend, I'd probably tell them. Anyone else, none of their business. I just went with "I'm having abdomnal surgery to correct a stomach issue" if pressed. And then change the subject or excuse myself and leave. You don't owe anyone any explainations, and technically you can just tell someone "It's nothing life-threatening, but I don't feel like discussing it at work." and change the subject.

I am a slow loser. (65 pounds in 7 months). It would be great for about two weeks with a loss of 3-5 pounds a week and then nothing for two weeks. But the overall trajectory was down, so that's all that matters to me. I took my measurements (arms, bust, waist, hips, thighs, calves) because even in a really poor weight loss month, I lose inches (as fat is lost and replaced by heavier, more compact muscle). In seven months, I've lost 10 inches off my waist alone!! Your body is still adjusting and trying to figure out what the $@!$ just happened to it. Even if you do turn out to be a slow loser as far as pounds on the scale, take your measurements now, and then every month and you'll still probably see some impressive progress. (at least it should make you feel better when the scales seem to be your enemy!) Drink your Water, get your Protein and try to move a bit more each day. You'll start seeing results.

Um, I shop at thrift stores and wear really nice clothes that fit me very well no matter what stage of weight loss I'm in... and I spend pennies on the dollar for good condition, name brand clothes and accessories. Thrift shops are the BEST for finding inexpensive clothing for losing (or gaining) weight, since most people donate clothes if they still look good. The trick is to find thrift stores in the ritzy or upper middle class sections of town. I'll still check out any shop I see if I have some time and am looking for something, but I've found designer stuff for cheap at those places, or at the very least, really pretty tops and jeans for much less than I'd pay at even Target or Walmart. Husband has been losing weight with me and we just had to buy him new dress shirts and a sport coat... found two Calvin Klein dress shirts for $5, and a beautiful Joseph A. Banks wool sport coat for $15. I bought a really pretty ruby red off the shoulder top that matches perfectly a skirt I wanted to wear... $3.

You're still really early to worry too much about Protein. At the point you're currently at, you need to concentrate on liquids and calories - protein is great, but just try to keep your fluids up right now. Once you hit the puree stage, then you can start packing as much protein in as you can. I can't stand the protein powders (still make me throw up, and I'm just under 7 months out!) but if you can tolerate, get what you can. Dairy can cause gastric upset/bowel issues, but if you find that you're able to drink milk or eat yogurt, look for high protein versions. I am lucky as I live in an area (Texas) which has HEB grocery, and they have a product called mootopia (love that name) with lower lactaid and twice the protein of regular milk, so it has become my go-to for getting fast protein in a small cup.