mngreeneyes

So glad you are doing better. Thanks for the head's up! pam

@samcl1- You can also do Water walking/jogging. If you do it in shallow water, you don't have to be able to swim and it doesn't have the twisting of aerobics. You still get the extra resistance of the water and its better on joints. If you need to go in the deep end, they should have some belts (our pool's are blue) that will keep you afloat while you "walk". I think they are actually called Aqua Joggers. Also - @@bugsy72 - if you can find a therapy pool, they are kept warmer. Much easier to talk yourself into getting in when you know the water won't be cold and again, easier on the joints. Also, one of the deals I make with myself when I have to use the colder pool, is that I finish off with either a dip in the hot tub or a quick visit to the sauna or steam room to warm back up. (I don't stay more than a couple of minutes though because all three can dehydrate you really fast.) Water exercise of any kind is amazing because you can get a great workout and you don't feel like you've worked out because you aren't all sweaty! You are wet, but not sweaty! Hang in there and keep moving! pam

I found that a good book on tape makes the time pass more quickly too. Audible.com has some good ones, I believe. I hope that helps. pam

I have two pill organizers. One for my daytime meds and one for my night time meds. I also take calcium and D during the day, but I keep those with my morning meds and just take them later. ONce a week I go through and set up all my meds for the week. This includes medicine and vitamins/supplements. Its the only way I have found to keep it all straight. I carry my daytime meds with me in my purse and keep the nighttime meds next to my bed. Its become a sunday night ritual for me to get them set for next week. I hope that helps. pam

And here I was feeling sorry for myself that I had to call roadside assistance twice yesterday because I left my headlights on TWICE in the SAME AFTERNOON!!! Of course, I also have no beau to come rescue me when I do stupid things like that, but that's another issue. @@Yaberhoo - I feel your pain. At least he figured it out before things went any further and you were emotionally involved further. You are amazing and worthy of love. Just keep your eyes open. It will find you where you least expect it! pam

I have PCOS complete with thinning hair, carrying my wait around my middle, skin/acne issues, and irregular/nonexistent periods. I am also almost 3 months post op. My hair is still thin, my middle is getting smaller, but still carry my weight there, my acne has nearly completely cleared, but that started when I gave up Diet coke. About 5 years ago my periods went away for 2 years and when they returned, they were and are completely regular although heavier than before. That may sound like all bad news so far, but my hair hasn't gotten any thinner so I have hope. My tummy is getting smaller and my acne is gone for the first time since childhood. I have hope! I have come to accept that my hair may get thinner, but then it might come back thick again like when I was younger! I have heard from many people that the surgery has helped and it hasn't made anything worse yet, including my periods being right on schedule even days after surgery so things are looking hopeful. pam

I am 5'5". I am almost exactly three months out from surgery. For months one and two I lost 20 pounds each month. So far this month I have lost 14.5, but I have until Thursday! That being said, please don't plan on or compare yourself to anyone else. You will lose, but comparisons and time specific "goals" will only be frustrating. For example, I thought I was doing so great with my losses (and still do!) and then last month at my WLS Support group meeting I sat next to a woman who had surgery a week after me and where I had lost 40 lbs with one extra week, she had lost 57 lbs.! At first I was a bit upset and then I reminded myself that she had been sick and unable to eat much of anything after surgery where I recovered quickly with no complications. I wouldn't want to have lost more if it meant having a harder recovery than I did. Not that everyone who loses larger amounts was sick. There are just so many variables. I think that if you are following the plan and getting exercise as best you can for the stage you are at post-op and increasing exercise as you can to improve your overall health, the weight is going to come off. Just do everything you can on your end to encourage it and you will get to where you are meant to be, but you will be healthier no matter what weight that is. Best of luck to you with your surgery, pam

Very good article. I have downloaded duolingo and started learning Spanish. Let's see how long I can keep it up. Need to think about what other habits I might want to work on! Thanks for the post! pam

@@PhoenixMarie - I also had never had surgery before my RNY. I was worried about how I would do with recovery. I was really fortunate. I recovered very quickly and the worst effects I had were to the anti-nausea patch in the hospital (So much dry mouth) and being tired. I've always been a world class napper so that was no problem for me. I will be 3 months post op on Thursday and I feel like I am back to being me, but almost 55 lbs. less! I chose RNY because of the sleeve's potential to make GERD worse. I had just started with the heartburn thing in the last year and was in now hurry for it to continue. I am glad you are talking to your coordinator. I found my best advice came from my surgeon's office. I actually went to the info session thinking about getting the band, but was discouraged by the surgeon. Then for many of your same reasons thought I wanted to get the sleeve, but finally decided that the RNY was for me and I have never been happier! It is such an individual decision and even when you make that decision, you will not know for sure how you will recover, etc. My attitude before surgery was "prepare for the worst, hope for the best!" So far that has served me well. Good luck and welcome to the group! pam

This weekend while in Atlanta for a family wedding I discovered Chik Fil A chicken Tortilla soup. Without the tortilla strips, it seemed pretty WSL friendly. It was even double Protein as it has black and navy Beans as well as chicken. I also found a copycat recipe that I made on Wednesday in my crock pot so I could even tailor it more. I am lactose questionable right now and it had some half and half in it and some fat free sour cream, but other than corn, everything is on my soft food stage diet! If I have it figured correctly, 1 cup is less than 200 calories. I can't eat a full cup of the soup even though I can generally eat close to a cup of food. I eat it because it tastes good, but if you are looking for something warm, creamy, delicious and on plan, it more than serves the purpose. pam

So excited for you! Keep walking. It made all the difference for me. pam

You look fantastic! Congratulations. pam

This weekend I flew to Atlanta for my youngest nephew's wedding. The last time I flew a couple of years ago, I had to get an extender for the seatbelt and because I carry my weight in front, I also couldn't use my tray table (at least on the plane I was on). Friday on the way down and yesterday on the way back, I didn't need an extender AND I could use my tray table because it sat flat!!!! It was so exciting! I also got to educate several people about WLS, which was interesting. They were all supportive, but had questions and were respectful in their inquiries! I didn't make it an issue, but if people asked why I hadn't eaten much or the like, I explained about my surgery. Heading towards 3 months post-op and loving it! pam

WHOOOOHOOO! Way to Go! pam

I have a Garmin Vivofit 2. I love it. It is Water proof and you can even swim with it. That was one of my requirements of my tracker. Its a wrist one with a clock, which I love. pam

You are starting out very near to where I started my journey last July. I am 5'5" and was 282 at my highest. I started out wanting the lap band, but my surgeon did not recommend it and after hearing him talk about why, it made sense. Then I thought I wanted the sleeve, but when I learned about the sleeve and GERD, I had changed my mind again to RNY. My surgeon agreed and I now couldn't be happier. I also chose the surgeon who presented at the info session. He was a good choice for me. Its been 2 1/2 months and I am at nearly 50 pounds. I go in for my three month checkup in 2 weeks and can't wait to see what they say. I wish you the best. Enjoy the journey and all the things you need to learn and habits to develop. They are so important. pam

I am 2 1/2 months out from surgery. Before surgery, I told people that I felt would be supportive, my family, a couple of important coworkers, my student workers, and a couple friends. They all were and are super supportive of all I did before the surgery to prepare and all I've done since as changes to my life, renewed exercise and careful eating, etc. Since the first of the year, I have started telling more people, especially those who haven't seen me for a while. So far everyone has been very supportive. There are still people I will never tell. They may find out from others, but I will not tell them. I made a choice to not post anything on facebook except the day before surgery when I posted "Tomorrow is a big day for me. Prayers requested" I had posted similar things for job interviews that I couldn't talk about so it seemed generic enough. I got a private message from a college friend who it turned out had had the same surgery about 5 years ago (before we reconnected on Facebook). It was so nice to have her support. I wasn't going to tell anyone, but my two friends who were helping me around the surgery, but I rethought that and instead was super selective about who I told. So far at least to my face everyone is being supportive and encouraging. I wish you the best, Keep reminding yourself why you made this choice in the first place, HUGS pam

I can eat eggs and they have been very helpful as an option for eating out, but they do have to be cooked not to dry. I also have asked for salsa to put on them so that they are not dry at all. I had an omlet at a restaurant once that was cooked REALLY dry and even the salsa didn't help. I wasn't able to eat eggs though until one month so maybe its a good thing your NUT suggested waiting. pam

I had surgery in November. I know that there were things that I have subconsciously put on hold until I lose the weight. I say subconsciously, because I tried not to do put things on hold, but I also didn't pursue opportunities to do things while prepping for surgery. The only outright choice I made to put on hold was my job search and I waited until I had met with my surgeon and sent in the insurance paperwork for final approval about a month before my actual surgery to suspend the hunt. That was when I knew surgery would be coming fast and it did. From Insurance approval to surgery was almost exactly 2 weeks. I was afraid that I would get an interview when I was still out recovering and I had never had surgery before so I wasn't sure how fast I would recoup. As it is I have half-heartedly been job hunting since Christmas and will be hitting it hard again next week! Enjoy and use the prep time to learn new habits. It helps immensely. pam

I love the "butterfly day" label. Good luck on your surgery. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. See you on the other side! pam

Not unless I was doing serious dieting and exercise. Even when I switch to strictly plain Water, I still didn't lose anything that I could attribute to the Diet Coke. pam

Yes. Romantic comedy. I don't know if I've seen River. Last Tango was good for a little while, but have you seen the man from that show in Vicious? Hysterical. pam

I am more than a little of an Anglophile so I have been watching my share of BBC murder mysteries and then movies/shows with people with British accents! AMAZON Prime - Luther (Idris Elba) Fortitude (Stanely Tucci) Vikings Northmen STARZ - Black Sails Outlander Then for some reason I have been watching lots of ROMCOMs. I usually prefer action movies, but lately the eye candy has been winning. Of course, that applies to almost all the shows I've been watching lately! pam

I totally love unjury chocolate Splendor. To me they taste like really good chocolate milk. I am lactose in tolerate for now so I make it with Fairlife skim milk and get 31 g. per 8 oz. I tried several kinds of Protein before surgery and still have two in my cabinet. I can't tolerate the one now, although I liked it before surgery. I am saving it to see if my taste for it comes back. The other is Unjury. I have found that I can no longer seem to tolerate the classic chocolate flavor, but I like the strawberry and love the Chocolate Splendor. I hope that helps. Good luck! pam

I am about 10 weeks out now and have lost nearly 50 pounds. I lost a bunch the first two weeks and then stayed exactly the same for about a week then lost a total of 20 for the month. I did the same in month 2 lost for 3 of the weeks but stayed the same for one in the middle. Week 9 I lost about 5 pounds then last week the scale didn't move at all. Then Sunday morning I lost 1.6 pounds over night and today another 1.7 overnight. I am now 1.3 pounds from my twenty pounds a month average! Its coming off in fits and starts, but at least that means it is giving my skin some amount of time to shrink too. At least that is what I keep telling myself! Congrats on your loss. Keep up the hard work. It will show. Also, get out the tape measure! I have found that those no loss times are when my body shrinks. It helps to look at more than just the scale numbers. pam