TracyW2

I stil havent told many people. I just tell them I am working out like crazy and watching what I eat. I think WLS has such a bad rap that people think you just have surgery and boom your skinny and dont have to work for it. I have worked my ass off at the gym and make sure I am eating what I should. So I dont want my hard work over shadowed by the band. Thats just how I feel. I just had a tummy tuck and have told 3 people plus online people here. I just dont feel as if what I do is anyone's business but my own.

Love it! The gym always seems to want to bring out the best in me!

Breads and pastas are extremely hard. Also lettuce. But then again I have days where I cant seem to get any food in and then others where I dont have trouble with anything. Darn finicy band!

If you want a super thick shake, try Casein protein shakes. Any brand you want, I get mine from GNC. They are actually to drink before bed. It is a slow releasing protein and keeps your body fueled through the night.

Celery and peanut butter are a favorite snack of mine! I have also discovered I enjoy cooked asparagus. So if you can tollerate it, go for it!

Vitamin C and tons of it! I use that Emergen-C a lot. Take 4,000-5,000grams a day.

Completely agree!

I agree with you need more calories. I know it seems backwards, but you need calories inorder to lose weight.

Ally - I was terrified of how painful it would be also. And actually it wasnt as bad as I had myself psyched up for. You are on so many pain meds right at the beginning that you sleep through the worst pain of it. I had my surgery on friday the 10th and I really dont recall much until the following Thursday. I am 10 days out now and my tummy is still tight and I know when I have over done it, but it isnt painful.

Hip abduction and adduction

Congrats to you!! I had 8.5 in my band pre pregnancy and had 4 taken out because I couldnt keep anything down at 15 weeks. I exclusively breastfed and had a slight fill when baby was 2 weeks and then got more once he was 6 months and starting on solids. I went slow with my fills and when he was finally about a year I was back up to the 8.5. I breastfed him for 18 months and early on I always wanted to make sure I was getting enough calories to produce a suffient amount of milk.

I drink a protein shake before bed.

Only regret I have is not doing it sooner! I dont feel the band at all. I do feel the port esp now that I not longer have any fat covering it. It doesnt hender me from doing anything. I exercise with the best of them. If the kids get to playing rough and hit my port, that does sting a bit. At this point, I go through every day life not even thinking about it being there. Good luck on your journey!

I'm so sorry your mom cant seem to see past the exterior. My dad was that way. Now that I'm the 'thin' daughter, he speaks highly of me and enjoys spending time with me and 'showing' me off. I dont think he understands how much it hurt and his hurtful words are a lot of what led me to using food for comfort.

I tend to also eat a lot of tuna salad for lunch.

2 1/2 Years out and I still have moments where I grieve food. But I have learned not to live my life around food. So if I am really wanting something, I let myself have it. I just have a lot less of it. I remember seeing a quote on here that said something like, That piece of food doesnt taste as good as skinny feels. Its so true!

Thank you! You look fabulous as well! My goal was to be a size 10 also. I am comfortably in 6's now, but I just had a tummy tuck on Friday so who knows what size I will be in once the swelling goes down. I also hear that I am too thin, but right now I am working on putting on muscle and not so much on losing fat.

I picked a goal weight with my dr and once I got there I reassessed. I have had 4 different goals before I finally decided I was happy where I am at.

Im actually in Quincy, so a bit away

Hey Lori. I see we have the same dr. What part of Illinois do you live in?

Just walking is a great way to exercise and you can do it any where. I started out at doing what I could on the elliptical.

Just wanted to give you an update. Surgery went great yesterday. Im actually getting around really well. The pain is tolleable, but i'm also staying on top of the meds. I'm eager to see what is under all this dressing!

I have met my goal weight and then some. I have lost 170 pounds now. I actually just had a tummy tuck this morning, Thank you!!

I was 330 before surgery and lost 80 pounds in 4 months. Who knows how much I would have lost, but I got pregnant. It took me 2 years to lose 165 pounds and gain a baby!

Wow! That is simply amazing! My avatar pic is me with my old fat jeans. The old jeans are a size 28 and I was in a size 6 in the pic.