Sharon1964

While I'm in the weight-loss phase, the only carbs I am having (at the moment) are vegetables and the occasional greek yogurt. 1/3 cup of Protein at each meal plus a couple of bites of vegetables. Maybe in another 3 months it will be different, but right now, I don't have room. What carbs are you eating?

That's the thing Amanda, if it's enough calories for a meal, then it's a meal! Now I'm 3 1/2 months out, I've lost 90 pounds, and my hair isn't falling out. I don't drink Protein shakes. For Breakfast I have either a greek yogurt, a homemade smoothie (frozen blueberries, lactaid milk, greek yogurt, splash of sugar-free vanilla syrup, ice), or one scrambled egg with cheese. For lunch, I have dinner leftovers. For dinner, I have about 1/3 cup of meat. Tonight it was "puffy chicken" (chicken breast baked with a mixture of mayo and parmesan cheese on top). Yesterday it was pork chops, the day before that it was meatloaf. I usually also have about 3 bites of vegetables. After dinner I have a sugar-free popsicle. My labs right now are fabulous, I have energy and I feel great. I have a feeling that may change at some point, and then I plan to add in Protein Shakes.

Remember, just because you CAN have it, doesn't mean you HAVE to have it. During my soft foods stage, sometimes I just had liquid. My NUT stressed that each phase included everything in the phase before it, except the five days after surgery. For my surgeon, that five day period is cranberry juice, white grape juice, or apple juice diluted with Water by half - that's the fluids portion, 60 ounces per day of it. After that, they don't want you on the juice. My surgeon doesn't like Protein drinks.

Applesauce (the no-sugar added kind), hummus, I think scrambled eggs were allowed in my phase 2, pureed chili. Yanno, being bored with what you're eating is a good thing. I'm at the point where I no longer look forward to eating (except my sugar free popsicles which I have every evening); it's now just something I have to do every day, like taking a shower and getting dressed.

I'm so sorry you're having this difficulty. Do you see a physiatrist who is Board Certified in Physical Medicine & Rehab? Have you been diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)?

So you have hypertension but you're not on any medications for it? No one is tracking it? Get thee to a physician!

I work in an office where people often bring us restaurant breakfasts and lunches. I encourage all the other staff to take all the extras home, but when they don't, I bring it home and give it to my neighbors. They get all the Pasta, the bread, the Desserts, etc. We've been getting a lot of breakfasts lately and one common one is an individual quiche baked with a croissant crust. My neighbors love those. No guilt for me, treats for the neighbors. Win-win.

You might want to doublecheck with your insurance. The ones with this requirement usually do not require any weight loss, just a medically supervised diet. My surgeon's office gave me a list of things my doctor needed to document at every visit. You might want to check with your surgeon to see if they have that.

Well, you could go Amtrak but it's 4 days there and 2 days back, and it's around $1200 for two people depending on when you go. With Amtrak you can get up whenever you want. You would be better off just flying.

You're being bombarded with hormones. This too shall pass.

You're just going to have to wait to see the surgeon first.

My thought exactly. Wife wants table. Husband protests that "friend" likes booth. Wife mentions table to "friend", is promptly ignored and husband does nothing to back her up. "Friend" flirts with husband (yes, that's what I'm calling it). Husband gets mad at "friend" occasionally but then she's back. Tell husband he can go pound sand if this "friend" is more important to him than you are. That's how he's acting. If he says she isn't more important, then tell him to f-ing prove it.

Okay, here's the deal. When you're stressed (such as the worrying you're doing now), your cortisol levels increase. High levels of cortisol cause weight retention and weight gain, particularly around the abdomen. You're self-sabotaging with stress. Put away the scale. Cortisol is a steroid. Steroids cause weight gain.

My hospital staff offered to let me drive home. I declined. Even not on pain meds, I thought it was a bad idea (due to stiffness, soreness, etc.). I see no reason not to drive yourself, as long as someone else picks you up.

I went to a new eye doctor today (new to me, not new to the profession). His waiting area had three armed chairs, and a cushioned bench. The old me would have picked the bench, no question about it. Today, the new me thought, "let's give the chair a try". Slipped right in, no problem. I was sitting there grinning like an idiot.

Someone had to dig deep to find this one!

You've lost 11 pounds in one week and you're worried? Don't you think that IS losing weight like crazy? Relax.

Usually a BMI over 50 will require several weeks of injections. Better to be safe than sorry ... My BMI was over 60, so that doesn't hold true with my surgeon. The reason I said to ask specifically about the person's own situation, is that I'm not real big on "everybody gets the same treatment no matter what." You never know, her surgeon could say that with her BMI and/or her mobility, she could safely skip it.

Measure your food. At this stage, my surgeon says 1/3 cup of food per meal, three meals a day, no Snacks. If you want salad, you can have 1/3 cup in addition to the regular 1/3 cup food. If you're having a hard time not snacking, try a sugar-free Jello, or drink more of whatever you're drinking every day.

My surgeon only gives them in the hospital. Perhaps you could call your surgeon and ask what about your specific medical situation makes them necessary?

Mmmmm pickles. And pickled eggs... haven't made them in ages.

I know there is a facebook group, but I'm not much of a facebook-er. Here is everyone that has chimed in so far: 1 ************ 2 ************ 3 - Tazwella, lohcinlaehcar, sbg224, BrownEyedTxGirl 4 - soonsleeved, becca2015, swim and climb 5 - ladyfrann, KF2007, smallbmi 6 - calee, kblbe98, Nickkibear24, Madtownsunshine17 7 - Frequently_Fantastic, MiamiBlue13 8 - Sharon1964 (yes, Saturday) 9 ************ 10 - jking612, bekah81015, sshellssea, purplegirl20073 11 - mmb2003, jelmomof4 12 - rebornnae, PDX_LDN, KimH_888 13 - BethC (conversion) 14 - LaLaLucy, bonniegold, Sleeved8.14 15 ************ 16 ************ 17 - ylluz, Anumarie, theother_onefoot 18 - GrannyRose, Clementine Sky 19 - Pillar2butterfly, tubabuddha, Imm300missouri 20 - camsmom08, Geron Girls, volgirl 21 - Latina_Diva 22 ************ 23 ************ 24 - haleyk, Fluffypal, dkrause, Shakti 25 - byebyedarkpassenger, Soodoo, Luraine, Less Cushion More Pushin 26 27 - tera1982, gabisha 28 29 ************ 30 ************ 31 - JAMuffin45, Litzy, Tya806, dustyateit, khinote, ttdish, PamInWA