Tiffykins

You lost over 100 pounds, plus 10 years off your looks ! ! ! Amazing results, many congratulations ! ! !

Please update us when you can Erin ! ! !

Just from reading around the boards, and the issues you're describing it sounds like you've got more residual swelling which is pretty common. The acid overproduction could be irritating your sleeve, and while you might not have any symptoms, they could pop up because Prilosec builds up in our system and then it takes some time for the proton pumps to turn back on full power. You might just be having enough acid to irritate things, and then the stomach doesn't want to accept food. Try drinking some warm fluids, think herbal/decaf tea before eating. I swear to this very day, I can eat more if I have some coffee or tea before my meal. It helps my sleeve relax so you could try that one. You're 30 days in so it's not out of the ordinary to have issues with mushies this early out. Try the ricotta bake recipe from Eggface's recipes. Here's the actual link for her "pureed recipes" for ya. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html It is a lot of trial and error this early out. I really got bored out of my mind with food, but things do improve. I had the most boring menu because when I found some thing that worked, I'd eat 2-3 times a day. To this day, I can barely eat meatballs or deli meat because I ate so much of it during this stage. I highly recommend a crock pot, and hitting up allrecipes.com for slow cooker meals for the coming months. Meat can be really difficult to adjust to, but I swear the crock pot meats are the best, and easiest clean up. Buy the crockpot liners and it'll save you so much time.

Starry, I am totally wiped out from an emotional day on the baseball field with my kiddo earlier, cleaning like a mad woman since our house has been listed for sale, and we're putting in an offer on our first home on Monday. So, least to say, I"m going batsh(t crazy this weekend, BUT, I will reply more in length later tonight or tomorrow. My very first question is 1) Are you on a PPI and acid reducer? If so, what dosage/brand/amount? If not, talk to your doc immediately about getting on one. If you would like, I'll shoot you a message with my cell phone number and you can actually call or text me. Sometimes, it's easier for me to talk and do the 5000 bajillion things on my list than it is for me to be online ! ! ! Hang in, hide the scale, I promise I"ll reply more later when I can come up for some air.

I know it seems kind of strange, but I'm so stinkin' proud of you ! ! ! Seriously, I know it seems "stalkerish", but I'm seriously proud of you and your rocking that sleeve ! ! !

But there are some people that are very sensitive to carbs, and for me and for about the last year, bread is a pure slider, and actually allows me to eat quite a bit more especially if I eat a bite of Protein then a bite of bread. Some people just can not eat bread. It wasn't a "no no" food on my list, but I chose to low carb it, and when I was eating my protein during my losing stage, I did not have room for bread, and it did hurt. It's working for you, but some people can't just do things in moderation. I can now that I'm in maintenance, but it took me some time to get there. People that have certain food issues can not allow bread and other carby goodness back into their lives because it starts bad habits again. There's ton of 2+year long vets out that have never touched bread, Pasta and rice because they know how their bodies/minds react to those foods, and it is not just about it being in moderation for them. I think everyone knows I live an extreme life of moderation with my intake, but others can not share that path.

Yep, the oopsie bread or cloud bread is a good option, plus you flavor with all kinds of spices/seasonings. Bread has become an ugly slider food for me with the exception of pancakes.

She can read "stoongal" story on here. She had her surgery at 72yr old, and did amazing well. She doesn't post on here anymore, but you can find her through the member listing, and then check her posts for her story.That might help her find some comfort in her decision to move forward with VSG. Best wishes to her and congrats to you! ! !

During my losing stage, I weighed several times a day. I was a total scale-whore and it's what worked for me. The thing it really helped me grasp was that body weight fluctuates every day, throughout the day, and the only weight loss I counted was the first reading from the scale. Getting into maintenance, I weighed daily because I struggled to get my losing to stop so I had to monitor my intake, and find trends in my weight vs. what I was eating. Once in maintenance, I weigh weekly, sometimes twice a week. I could always tell if I had put on a couple of pounds by the way clothes fit. Plus, I had to learn that water weight is a real b*tch, and had to let go of a 2lb bounce up or down. I did what worked for me, and now in pregnancy, my husband has hid my scale so now I'm only getting weighed at appointments.

juice, and well, I'm not being as "strict" with my intake as I was a few months ago. They wanted me to gain about 10lbs this first trimester, and it's not going to happen. I'm still keeping things in check, but I'm not totally freaking over the gain either. It's more the physical changes that are a little difficult to manage mentally, but it's getting better. My belly finally popped this last week, and it took a lot for me to agree to being photographed. This was taken yesterday for an early Easter celebration with some of our friends and their families. I knew I wouldn't be able to wear this dress again in the near future so I decided to go ahead and overdress for the occasion just so I could wear it at least once. I still have quite a bit of bloating, but my stomach is finally starting to get that "hard baby bump" feel instead of just flabbiness and some excess skin. Oh, and my boobs have gone up an entire cup size WOOT WOOT. WE've moved from calf length socks with pebbles in them to ankle socks with half lemons ! ! ! People, especially strangers, feel as if they have a right to touch me. I've already ordered the 'do not touch the BUMP' shirt for me to wear because I have issues with strangers touching me. I have my 12 week check up with the high risk ob on Friday, and then another appt with my regular ob on the 25th, so I'll give more a "medical" update after those appointments. I'll have double appointments until I'm released from the high risk ob so I'll try to consolidate the updates. Thus far, I've had zero issues with food, or calorie intake, I have had 2 cases of severe reflux even though I'm still on Nexium. Those episodes were enough for me to know that I'm perfectly content staying on my Nexium post-op. I was miserable for hours. Cheers everyone ! ! !

Are you tracking your intake so you can know exactly how many carbs/protein/calories you are actually eating? Mac-n-cheese (the prepackaged type) is loaded with sodium and 1/2 cup gives you nearly 1/5 of your daily recommended sodium intake, add the milk, butter/margarine that you are adding it to it, and that adds even more sodium because those stats are for the unprepared nutrition, plus it's 24gr of processed carbs, chili is typically high in sodium as well, but it's a great Protein and Fiber source. It's more than likely Water weight due to high sodium intake. Try pushing fluids in if you're going to eat these types of foods just to help flush out the extra water weight.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh I didn't realize you were so early out. Before I got to mushy/soft foods, I never counted anything. I needed every calorie/carb/everything to feel semi-human. Only once I could start eating foods did I bother with carb counting.

I've seen this more times than not with hormonal BC. Condoms might kill the mood, but I was willing to deal with condoms to get to goal and not have more hormones dumped into my system. I've seen more and more "slow losers" that went on hormonal bc get so frustrated because they were doing everything right, and going on month long stalls. Hormones are evil, and research proves it. The worse cases I've seen are WLS patients that go on the patch or depo. I'm glad you're back to losing and feeling better.

A carb is a carb is a carb. I didn't have the time nor energy to deal with that net carb stuff. Others do it, and like it. I ate meat(beef, chicken, scallops,tilapia), cheese, eggs, and the bulk of my 30-40gr of carbs came from dairy (greek yogurt/cheese/green veggies). I do not do this whole "healthy/bad" carb during weight loss, but it's what worked for me. Admittedly, my menu was boring, and mundane, but I dropped 115lbs in 6.5 months, my labs were stellar and my cholesterol actually improved.

Even people without altered stomachs can dump. Have you cut something out of your diet like fried foods, or high fat foods, and when you add it back, you get sick to your stomach? That's kind of the same thing. I have never dumped with my sleeve, but others have reported similar symptoms when eating high fat, especially high milk fat products such as ice cream and buttercream cake icing. There is nothing similar between the band and sleeve. The sleeve is simply them stapling off and removing the stretchy part of your stomach. There is no foreign object, or rerouting of intestines. It is very similar to the surgery that has been performed for decades upon decades for stomach cancer and ulcer patients. It's a partial gastrectomy for all simple purposes.

Do you have a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe near you? They both offer a return guarantee even if the package is open. Our GNC has single serving packets of many of the brands they carry. On the protein forum here, there is a "sticky" topic at the top where you can order samples. All the companies shipped fairly quickly with bodybuilding.com and Vitalady.com being the quickest when I ordered.

Post op, the unflavored protein tasted horrific. It reminded me of Similac baby formula and I puked at just the smell. So, I would not recommend buying anything in bulk. Buy sample packs and single servings until after post-op and you know for sure you can 1) tolerate the smell and taste 2) do not develop lactose or whey protein intolerance which are both very common.

My stylist advised against it as well since my hair was so fragile during the shedding stage. Bleaching is so harsh on your hair, and it might fry what hair you have left. If you really want to do something to change things up, check out the demi-permanent lighteners, and other options. There is no way I would have bleached my hair even though my hair was extremely healthy, thick and coarse before the losing stage. I'd lie to you, but if you did it, and then come back with even less hair, and fried ends, I'm sure you'd be even more upset.

They mush down to nothing, are typically loaded with sodium, but all that being said, I gnaw on hoards of sunflower seeds during my son's baseball games/practices. I wasn't allowed nuts until 3 months post-op. I do tank up on water to help offset the sodium intake. But, I haven't had any issues with them.

Misery loves company, and you are 100% correct when we make poor choices, those consequences will bite us. Best wishes on your journey ! ! !

I wear the bikini bottoms with the tankini top. My legs are super slim and I am apple-shaped even at a size 2, so the tankini is covers my tummy, it's tapered at the top and then I appear to look a little more hourglassy which is my main goal. I'm thicker through my middle so hiding that part is my priority.

I tried Mederma, no results. My son used it on a scar on his forehead, no results. We have different skin tones and scar differently so I was hoping it would work for one of us. No such luck.

Thanks so much ! ! ! I have zero issue eating enough calories/protein/carbs via food. I do have to rely on some softer Proteins to get in the proteins, but sliders make it easy to get in the calories. The main concern is supporting my body. The baby is going to suck everything out of me. Even when I was pregnant with my son (13 years ago), I weighed 200lbs, and he pulled everything from me, and my teeth suffered. I just make sure to eat Iron rich, and nutrient dense foods, plus I'm on Celebrate multis with iron, and my ob wants me to stay on them because it's actually better formulated than any prenatal he could prescribe. I've never used shakes, and really had to focus on getting in my protein from whole food sources. It was not an easy task, but at almost 2 years out, I have zero issue. I haven't really had any issue getting the recommended protein from food since being about 4-6 months out. I try to eat 4-6 times a day, and each meal needs to have 15-25gr of carbs per meal. That way I hit protein goals and calorie intake is solid for the day. I am eating more veggies because for some reason, my body craves veggies. So some days, I fall short on protein, but other days, I make up for it. It's been a balancing act for sure, but it's doable.

If you've been doing low carb, start eating carbs. I'm not saying load up on white carbs, but don't avoid carbs anymore. I'm supposed to eat 100 gr of carbs per day without fail, and I'm supposed to aim for 100gr of Protein, but usually hit 80gr. You can not be in ketosis while pregnant, as it causes fetal brain damage. Also, you'll need to make sure you get on a good quality Vitamin, including folic acid, sublingual b12, and Vitamin D. I'm able to continue my Celebrate multi vitamin with Iron because it's actually better formulated than most pre-natals. I'm 13.5 weeks pregnant, however I am much further out than you, and can probably eat more than you can considering I'm 23 months post-op so I have zero issues eating enough food to support me and a developing baby. Depending on your pre-pregnancy weight, you'll need to shoot for 1400-1800 calories a day. For me at 131lbs at 7 weeks pregnant, they advised that I needed a minimum of 1700 calories a day and 100oz of Water. juice, milk, and all other fluids are just extra on top of that 100oz of water. The baby will take from you what it needs. It is your body that can suffer through the pregnancy. Make sure you have your dentist monitor your teeth as they can weaken. As for weight gain, I'm 13.5 weeks out, and I've gained about 7lbs of the 30-35lbs they want me to gain. Most babies born to WLS mothers are born normal weight. My ob and even my high risk ob haven't dealt with a VSG pregnancy so they couldn't comment on my "gain", but they did say "You shouldn't have any problem because all of our banded mommies gain a bunch of weight". I just kind of laughed. I've seen some RNY patients gain 50-70lbs in a pregnancy, but they had other issues with food. I am having trouble with some foods including dense protein, and my lactose intolerance is back in full effect. Not to mention night time reflux has hit me a few times in the last few weeks, and that is a total b!tch. There is a pregnancy after WLS forum on obesityhelp.com but I can't stand posting over there. It just doesn't work for me, I've tried a few times, but it just irritates the hell out of me. VSG does NOT throw me into being high risk, but it very well could with you being so early out of surgery. I have other medical conditions that are contributing to me being high risk. Best wishes ! ! !