Ktprimo

I love that these forums help me to feel like I'm not alone. Who else is getting sleeved June 30th? I'd love to have surgery buddies to keep up with during the process. Surgeon: Dr. Hargroder in Louisiana SW 305 Height-5'7" Ultimate Goal- 175 (although I must say being 199 would make me the happiest woman alive. Lol)

Sorry about those two random pics of the recipe at the end. Couldn't get em off. Lol

Had to share this with all of you! Made this tonight and it totally helped satisfy my pizza craving! Of course it's not like pigging out on a Pizza Hut stuffed crust meat lovers pizza...but it still tastes delicious! Plus It's high in protein and super low in carbs. Gotta try it!! Here's a link to the recipe: http://sassysouthernyankee.com/2014/02/chicken-pizza-crust/

Don't pack it! Aren't you going on a cruise? Go and have fun and leave the stress at home. Just remember protein first and very little carbs and your sleeve will keep you from over doing it.In fact- take your measurements now and when you come back take them again so you can see that those ounces add up in inches! It will also give you the scale and your measurements to look forward to when you come home! Measurements are a good idea! I'd like to relax but I wish the scale would move faster - was hoping to be down a few more lbs before I go away in 2 weeks. It isn't a cruise just a lake house with my 2 kids and husband, so I could bring my scale I will bring my food scale in any case. Does it seem to you that I am eating a lot? I find it hard to get the protein in without the calories! Obviously! im sorry. Think I confused you with someone else in the group. But still all the same- leave that scale at home and relax. You will do just fine. (and u probably will be down a few more lbs in a couple of weeks!)

Don't pack it! Aren't you going on a cruise? Go and have fun and leave the stress at home. Just remember protein first and very little carbs and your sleeve will keep you from over doing it. In fact- take your measurements now and when you come back take them again so you can see that those ounces add up in inches! It will also give you the scale and your measurements to look forward to when you come home!

Hope you're all settled in after your move. Did you graduate recently or just move to another location while you finish school? What did you major in? (Sorry so many questions but you got me curious. Also sorry I didn't ask when you first posted. Been so busy I didn't have time to ask until now.) I just graduated in May! My major was dance education with a minor in special education- dance team and classes are big in high school in Texas! So not only do I get to teach, I get to workout for my job - which will be so much easier now!!awesome!! That is the coolest job! I'm happy for you! Congrats! And sooo many more options for a major in dance. You could even have your own studio some day!

congrats!! So happy for you! Sure can't wait until I can be done with obesity for good too!

Hope you're all settled in after your move. Did you graduate recently or just move to another location while you finish school? What did you major in? (Sorry so many questions but you got me curious. Also sorry I didn't ask when you first posted. Been so busy I didn't have time to ask until now.)

I'm down 36lbs from SW (45lbs from HW) and realized though the scale isn't moving as fast as it was its been 36 days since surgery so I've technically lost a pound a day. It's a darn shame it can't go as quickly as it has been forever. I am also super excited because I now have less than 100lbs to lose!! Finally doesn't feel so darn overwhelming! Makes me pretty confident I can manage to make it to onderland within the next 8 months How's everyone else doing? Anyone else get caught up in daily activities and life enough yet to almost forget about surgery and your limits? I took a big gulp of Water last night and choked horribly on the acid that came up because of it. Also catch myself forgetting meals or not drinking enough because I lose track of time. It does feel great to finally feel good and like I can get back to life without dwelling on the struggles of the first month like fatigue and inability to figure out what to eat or not eat. And it feels frickin amazing to have people noticing the weight loss already. I am totally loving my sleeve! Hope you all are too!!

Sorry about your back. That must have been awful to deal with so soon after surgery. How did you hurt it? I was wondering where you went off to. I'm glad to hear from you again. 22lbs lost in a month is an awesome achievement! I'm happy for you! The avocado is awesome in chicken salad. A tsp of plain Greek yogurt helps to moisten it a bit too. I've just gotten clearance for regular foods this week. Already discovered that beef, pork, and nuts do not agree with my new stomach. I am loving seafood and veggies tho. Feel super satisfied. Just been having a weird craving for fudgesicles. Doesn't help that my family has been indulging in them lately with it so hot outside. This craving is so weird since I did not like chocolate much before surgery and was not a big ice cream eater. Although I did crave them while pregnant. Gonna have to be sure that's not the case now. lol

The premier shakes are the best I've found and I love the vanilla in my coffee. Also, love the P3 protein chicken packs. Thanks for the coupon tip for Walmart. I'll have to stock up because my family has been eating them too. Sooo happy for you and your weight loss!

Have to tell you all I bought a veggeti maker from Walmart and tried it tonight to make zucchini and squash noodles. I made two small different dishes for my family out of 2 zucchini and 3 small squash. I sautéed half in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic until browned and OMG!! That was sooo good! Then I boiled the rest and covered them in shrimp and a basil pesto sauce. They are loving my healthy meals. Lol I am having so much fun finding recipes on Pinterest for new, appetizing, low carb and high protein foods.

Awesome! Congrats!!

How much have you lost so far? & What stage are you in on your diet?I'm about to move to solids on the 29th. I think I'm stalling and then the scale drops again. I know it will slow down eventually but I'm loving that right now if I don't lose a pound today I will lose one or two tomorrow. Gonna be bummed when this stops cuz this has been fun to watch. Lol I finally have some energy again. Not enough to do much more than swim but I am so happy I can finally work and clean my house without feeling as if I'll faint at any moment. I'm still under 300 calories a day and struggling to get in 40g of protein a day but I feel good. Clothes are getting loose and week 4 looks like it'll be a good one. My bday was Saturday and I celebrated by eating a half of a boiled crab and 1 1/2 shrimp. I was sooo happy and full. Lol I am totally loving my sleeve right now! ***please remind me of this post if I eventually have a bad day! Lol***

Please pray for the people in Lafayette, Louisiana. A shooter just opened fire in a movie theater my family and I frequent often. Luckily we weren't there tonight. He killed 3 people and injured more than 8. Then he shot himself. We are all broken hearted here in South Louisiana tonight.

If you can find the P3 protein packs (I've found them at Walmart and walgreens) they really are awesome. One is grilled chicken breast (I mentioned before) but it's soft and so easy to chew. Plus they come with ranch or teriyaki sauce which adds more moisture to make it even softer. They also have one with tiny ham and cheese cubes and almonds. Of course we have to skip the almonds but the cubes are the perfect tiny bite sizes for us. I think you would really like em.

I hate it when they say that crap too. I'll admit I was once guilty of considering surgery "the easy way out." It was more like an excuse I made so I could talk myself out of what I considered a life-threatening surgery. But I'm sure all of us here know they should follow up with those 3 women in the next 3 years and see how much they've gained back.

How long before you can eat more?I'm just sticking to my list from my doc for soft foods and honestly could probably eat these foods everyday indefinitely. I'm also really careful to chew everything until it's basically puréed before swallowing. Just so satisfying to eat meat even tho I have no appetite. I wish I could get in more protein but I'm lucky when I reach 40g. But so glad that my surgeon only requires 40 to 60 grams. Don't know how on earth I'd manage more. I can taste the protein powder when I mix it with stuff so I just prefer plain water between meals and shakes. Sounds like you are doing well and much better than I when it comes to protein intake. Hang in there! Normal food isn't too far away!

I've had all of those including white beans and red beans (tho those didn't agree with me) and added a few more slowly the last few days. I started by just having avocado with my eggs. That was so good. Then I tried peanut butter and stayed sick for hours. Last night I had soft turkey & soy meatballs with avocado ranch dressing so they weren't too dry. Those were pretty good but then I had them again today and threw up because oddly the last bite tasted like fish. (Not sure what happened there)I've also had a P3 protein pack. I really like the grilled chicken strips with ranch but could only eat two from the pack. Tonight I ate with my family and had about a fourth of a piece of the Gordon's tilapia with two small garlic & herb shrimp and one piece of broccoli. (I couldn't eat it all but it tasted sooo good) I can have any soft, easy to chew (to almost puréed) meats and I can have veggies as long as they are almost mushy from boiling or steaming. I still try to drink at least half of a protein shake each day. I haven't made it over 400 calories yet but haven't been hungry...I just make sure I enjoy the taste and it's got a lot of protein in it if I'm gonna eat it. Otherwise there is no point in wasting the space in my stomach. Lol

Hi, Stacey! My surgery went very well. Have you had your's yet? He has some "mad skills" (like my teenage brother would say)! Lol My incisions healed by a week and a half and they are so perfect I know they will leave super tiny scars. I didn't even do the spider procedure he offers and my largest incision is already barely visible. He is also fantastic at minimizing nausea and discomfort. I had none with the combo of meds they gave me. And never suffered from vomiting or any of the issues I've heard others have gone through. Thankfully! I am now on soft foods and though I am learning what my new stomach can and cannot handle, I am so happy with my decision to have the surgery and to have chosen him. I had mine done at St. Elizabeth's in gonzales. Where & When did you (or will you) have the surgery? I'm from Crowley so I will start doing my follow-ups with my internist here instead of fighting I-10 traffic to go to Baton Rouge to see him.

Haha- my shirts are getting longer too! Also, I've had three other signs of my weight loss- 1. my husband but his leg over my thigh the other night while we were sleeping and I woke up because it pinched my skin. I didn't realize my thighs had started to have loose skin already! 2. (And this one may be TMI but) the crotch area in all my pants has started hanging so low that I had to wonder if my crotch shrunk or my stomach shrunk so much it can't hold them up anymore. Lmao. 3. My boobs stick out further than my stomach finally!! Hahaha Down 30lbs and finally seeing a difference. Eating normal (soft) food again and feeling great!! Yay!! So glad we all did this!!

Thanks, Barbado. Sure will keep that in mind. I'll try not to let it get me down.

Lol. I wish there were another reason I could come up with, like she's just insecure. I haven't wanted to admit to myself that she is truly just so jealous that she may dump our friendship if I lose weight and she doesn't. Especially since I've always been there for her even when she lost tons of weight years ago while I struggled and couldn't, and still when she put it back on and I was losing with weight watchers and only managed to keep it off for a year. Not sure what has changed now. Ugh! Makes me mad. Maybe I do need new friends. Thanks for listening to me vent. Just needed to get it off my chest.

Thanks. You have a point. It still just seems so odd to me that she's making such a big deal out of it like I'll never talk to her again. We are grown women with totally separate lives already. I own two companies that I manage myself and already hardly see her or any of my friends for that matter. She's single with three kids and I'm married with one. I don't go out partying because I'm too old for that crap and she's single so she goes out to find a man. Our lives are so different but we still make it a point to visit at least once every month to two months. I have no clue why weight loss would suddenly change that. I can still join her for dinner once a month, I just can't eat a whole lot. And my weight loss would never change the fact that I'm there for her every time she has a crisis or just needs to talk. Basically weight loss won't change my heart and how much I care about her or the fact that we've been best friends through thick and thin since we were 5 years old.

Have to tell you all about my recent discussion with my best friend of nearly 30 years. Again she decided to tell me that she wishes I hadn't done it because now I'll have a bunch of skinny friends and won't want to talk to her anymore. And that I'm going to change my personality so much she won't even want to be around me. I have been so confused by her insane ideas about how I'm going to change. I tried to reassure her that my appearance will change but I'll still be the same person on the inside. And that if I do change my personality at all, I would only be a little more confident and outgoing though I don't think that will happen because I've been shy and insecure my entire life. I had a discussion about it with my husband and he said she's basically warning me that she is going to change when I lose weight and that she isn't going to like me being thin while she stays fat so I will have to find new friends. Then it dawned on me- if she brings this up again I'm going to flip it on her and ask her "if you had the surgery and I didn't, would you stop being my friend just because you lost weight? Would you change so much that I wouldn't be able to stand you anyway?" Don't know if it will help but I suppose it's worth a shot. I am so sick of everyone acting like I had a chunk of my brain removed instead of my stomach! I'm so sick of the rude comments they mask with their "concern" for my well being. Like my mother who is pissed off I did this because she says it's ridiculous to starve yourself to lose weight instead of doing it the "right way" like she has and going to a clinic for b-12 shots and meetings with a dietician. (Though I've done that and much more than that and failed my whole life at losing the weight long-term) I just needed to vent. I wish the people in my life could realize that if they can't truly be happy for me and supportive and respect my choice then we don't need to discuss this at all.