deedee

I really like the Calcium Citrate Chewy Bites by Bariatric Advantage. I take the lemon flavor. The office lady at my surgeon's office said they tasted like starburst and had me try them at one of my follow-up visits. I don't exactly agree, but they are the best tasting ones I've tried so far. It kind of sucks because I have to take 5 per day to meet my nutritionist's goal for me, many days I just take 3.

Doesn't it feel great! I spent the last couple of weeks cleaning out my closets. I had a friend who had gained weight and needed 18's really bad, so I gave her that size and some 20's. I have hung onto a couple skirts, a dress, and blazer that I spent a lot of money on hoping to have them tailored, but it probably won't be cost effective. It was easy giving away size 18 and above, but I think I'll have to wait a while to get rid of 16's because that's pretty much the size I've been in off and on for the last 12 years and it tends to be pretty high quality clothing. Maybe I'll have another friend in need and it will make it much easier to purge these items.

Congratulations on your date! It will be here before you know it.

Great job on your success so far! I'm two months out tomorrow, and am more and more happy that I chose this tool as well.

Thanks for the great thoughts. I'm over my guilt now. Since I've been so open about my wls it was just unexpected that I would be in a situation like this. It's not that I'm obnoxious about announcing it, but like everything in my life, I pretty much share it all. As for the comments, they really don't bother me at all (I teach middle school, it takes a lot to upset me:biggrin0:). I know I am not doing it on my own. I have this wonderful tool to help me. I also understand that each person has different life experiences that lead them to think and feel certain things. I actually think my bil and good friend can be successful doing the things they are doing due to their unique circumstances and will be there to support them however they need it. Thanks again for reading and the feedback!

I went in today for my 2 month check up with the surgeon. All seems well, I am down 50 lbs from the beginning of my pre-op diet. Tonight I went to jazzercise and before class the instructor complemented me and asked how much I had lost. I was pretty excited to share with her because I've always been very open about my surgery and my weight (even before I started looking into wls surgery). Well, as we were sitting for an ab routine she asked if she could share my news. It took a moment for me to figure out what she was asking, but I eventually said sure and she announced the weight loss to the group. People clapped and I felt okay because most knew that I had the help of my sleeve tool. She then must have remembered that another lady in the class had been losing weight and congratulated her too on her loss. The lady offered up that she was also down 50 lbs. I had never met this lady before (I just started back to class last month after a year absence). She was probably a little bigger than I was before I started losing this weight. I don't know why, but I just felt a little guilty. I smiled and clapped for her, but really felt like going up to her after class and sharing about my surgery. Not that I was thinking she should look into it or anything, I just thought she should know. I guess I kind of felt guilty for some reason. Don't get me wrong, I do not think this is the "easy way out" necessarily, I've been very committed to changing my lifestyle and that takes a lot of work, but this has been much easier than any other time I have attempted to lose weight for a variety of reasons. Maybe it's just because both my brother in law and a good friend this week have mentioned how they are doing it "on their own." (My bil said this to my husband and my loving, wonderful husband had a few facts to share with him about my commitment, diet research statistics, and my new lifestyle.) Anyway, not really much point for this post, I guess I wanted to get this off my chest.

I am still in my 20's for about 1.5 more weeks:-) I had my surgery in early August and am so glad that I did! I think it's wonderful you are looking into this now. I was also self-pay, but paid quite a bit more than others because I needed to stay pretty local. I have found this board to be super helpful with very supportive members. Good luck in your research!

Congratulations on your decision!

This morning when I weighed myself I was at 187.5. This means I am down 50.5 pounds since beginning my pre-op diet in July AND officially am at my halfway mark. I have 49.5 pounds left to go to meet my goal. Over this past weekend, I did some shopping and fit into many size 14 pants, bought a size 12 dress, and a medium sweater. I went to Chico's and bought size 2 pants (the lady told me that is a normal size 12/14) and a size 1 (normal size 8/10) blazer that sort of fit, but I wouldn't spend that kind of money if it wasn't going to last for a while, so I bought it snug. Now obviously these must be brands that run pretty large, but it still made me feel really happy seeing that just 3 months ago I was wearing sizes 22/24 and couldn't shop in normal sections of stores.

Fantastic job!!!

I just replied on the success forum, but I wanted to say it again here...CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am so happy for your success.

I flew across the country at about 5.5 weeks out of surgery. I was still on soft/mushy food and was pretty nervous about both the flight (5 hours direct) and the 11 days I was to spend with my grandmother, family, and friends. Well...I'm now back home almost 7.5 weeks out and down an additional 5 lbs. I wasn't perfect in my eating--ate too fast many times (definitely felt it), ate more carbs than I had been, and missed my protein goal some days--but I feel like a complete success! I feel this trip was the beginning of my new life (I know it's sort of corny). It helped me realize that although I must plan ahead when it comes to food and exercise, I do not need to be obsessed about it like I had been in the pre-op and direct post-op period. I now understand that the last couple of months I have been making real lifestyle changes, not just dieting, and those changes were evident on my trip based on the decent food choices I made and fun I had incorporating exercise. Another interesting food related thing to happen was when I went to a favorite chain restaurant with friends, I discovered that without being able to scarf down food with liquid, it really wasn't that good. I am now a lot more conscious about how the food tastes seeing that I only get a few bites before being full. Overall, I learning to live with this wonderful tool and finding that I love it!

I never had the band, so cannot answer your question there, but just wanted to say welcome! I began this journey looking at getting the band, but ended up with the sleeve and am VERY happy. Both procedures are restrictive (although the sleeve also removes a lot of the hunger hormone), but after reading about band complications and the follow-up fill care, I decided that would not be the best procedure for me and my lifestyle. I've recently met someone IRL (mom's friend) who has been very successful with her band, but I still think I made the best decision for me. Good luck!

Yay Linda! I cannot believe how time is flying away from that August 4th date after it seemed like it would never get here. Wow on your 15 hour work days...I guess you can look at them as sort of a blessing in disguise since it helped break your stall:-) I'm just beginning another one I think, so I'll be trying (we'll see) to stay off of the scale for a couple of days. Vegas--good luck! The neat thing is you know it's going to happen.

Great job! I'm also trying to work on slowing down when I eat.

I'm so anxious for you. You look FANTASTIC! I know you will knock his socks off with your homecoming outfit;-)

I've been tracking my food intake on thedailyplate some days for the last two weeks. I'm usually between 400-550 calories (I'm 5 weeks out). That is my total calories. My net calories (they subtract calories burned during exercise) usually fall between 100-300. Is this okay for right now or should I work on eating more calories? Thanks for any input you have.

Tomorrow I'm heading home (WA State) for 11 days. It's been two years since my last visit and have planned to be there over two weekends so that I had time to spend with old friends (who will mostly be working during the week). The more I talk with friends the more concerned and nervous I become about the whole eating thing. Fortunately my husband and I have eaten out quite a bit since surgery, so I am really good about finding nutritious, soft/mushy food (soup, eggs, grilled or broiled seafood), but I started studying the menus and nutrition values at restaurants I knew we frequented while I was pre-op. I will be staying at my grandmother's house, so I plan to head to the grocery store the morning after I get in since tomorrow night I have a friend picking me up from the airport and we're going straight to a barbeque. I think I'll buy some yogurt--I get the diabetic friendly kind--eggs whites, veggie cheese, turkey sausage, chicken breasts, and lactaid milk. I'm going to pack some protein powder to take with me since the only ones I can tolerate are only available by ordering...I think. Another big concern is helping my friends understand what I can and cannot eat. Although they all know about my surgery, I told everyone in my life (and some who weren't) when I first started looking into it, since they are so far away, I haven't really educated them on the ins and outs of my day to day eating. I have one friend that wants to treat me to lunch next week (she's a little depressed because all of her kids are now school aged for the first time). I'm thinking of suggesting visiting some places around town that we used to hang out and ride our bikes to when we were kids. Another two friends want to go to the big fair and in the past the fair has always been a place for me to overindulge in bad foods. She is much more health conscious and although she mentioned wanting to get a scone I know the trip will be more about checking out the booths and stuff. So I should be fine if I can fight the head hunger. I'm thinking about picking ONE treat that I can have and take a few bites. As for packing, I'm really confused on what to bring. Money has been a bit tight since I'm still not really working much and have about a month more off. I've budgeted out a certain amount and don't plan to go over. So normally I would use any vacation as a chance to add to my wardrobe (when I was a size 16 or below, larger than that and shopping was just not appealing), this time I really need to bring enough to get me by. I know all of these things will work out, but I'm just having last minute worries. I've been pretty fortunate since surgery in that I've been in a pretty controlled environment most days and able to plan ahead for the most part. With this trip, I kind of feel that I am now officially on training wheels.

I'm only 5 weeks out, so I don't really have experience with this. Do you think maybe your stomach is not yet able to handle non-pureed/soft foods? It sounds a little like the feeling I have if I eat too big of a bite, don't chew enough, eat too fast, or get too full. Sorry I don't really have any advice...I just want to say I hope it gets better soon.

Today, I am 5 weeks out from surgery. From what I remember, I only took in 5-10 grams of protein the first week or so and then was able to take in 20-30 grams the next couple of weeks (I decided it was more important to not get dehydrated and like you, I couldn't handle both). I think it was week 3 that I got into the 40's, but that was not everyday. My surgeon's goal right now is only 50 grams, which I realize is very low based on what everyone else reports. Today for the first time I broke 60 grams (it was 61:-), but since I'm doing aerobic activity now I know I really need to get it up there.

That sounds like a good plan. I'm right there with you! I'm hoping to give up on protein supplements when I go to regular food. Tonight I'm drinking a Chike drink mixed with a half a cup of no sugar added ice cream and half cup of fat free milk. It still only came out 472 cal for the day and I'm at the point where I'm going to do what I need to get in my protein as long as I stay under the carb and calorie goal set by my nutritionist.