stateofzen

You should expect to lose 1-2 lbs per week, on average. I lost about 20 lbs in the two weeks after surgery and now I'm back at 1-2 lbs. Some weeks you may lose none, and the next you may lose 3. Expecting more than that will most likely only frustrate you. I think for a lot of us that started at a higher weight, we lost a lot really quickly right around surgery. That's great, but it also means that when we inevitably slow down to a more reasonable and sustainable weight loss pace, we get irritated. But really, it was the super fast weight loss right after surgery that was unreasonable -- there's no way we're ever going to keep losing 5-10 lbs a week, every week, even with fills, so don't even dream about it :cursing:

That's great! As someone who takes any excuse not to work out, I'm especially proud of you :smile:

I eat it right off the spoon. I find it is the perfect "snack" when I get home from work-- a time that used to be my binge time. Now I take one tablespoon of hummus and enjoy it right off the spoon and it's always enough to tide me over.

Today I went to lunch with my husband, and then afterwords decided to burn some calories shopping :bolt: I bought clothes in the regular section for the first time in. . . . holy cow, since grad school-- at least 10 years? Now, I'm not gonna lie to you all, I bought XL and really the styles that work for me now are the blousy shirts that are not form fitting (they probably fit my form too well right now, is what I'm saying), but still! Whee! I got a Michael Kors shirt in XL for $20 on clearance peeps, and it looks nice on me! That feels so good. You wanna know what's weird though? I felt really self-conscious shopping in the regular section, like other shoppers were staring at me and wondering what I was doing in "their" part of the store. :wink2: No, I didn't actually see anyone doing that but I felt it the entire time I was there. Definitely something psychological I'm going to have to work on.

I started a Clothes Exchange community on LiveJournal but it's been a bit of a bust so far to be honest. I like shopping clearance at Macy's and Belk's, and I absolutely don't allow myself to buy anything that fits perfectly right now-- it has to fit, but it has to be something I can wear for a while as I lose. I also shop at Ross and TJ Maxx a lot for good prices on clothes. TJ Maxx tends to have better quality clothes than Ross.

I don't regret it at all-- so happy I did it at one month out. I was in pain after surgery for about 2 days, but it was livable pain and not worth a second thought. Be prepared for some pain. Be prepared for hunger before you get your fills (which can be a while after surgery). Be prepared for some energy loss after surgery. Be prepared not to lose super fast right after surgery. If you're prepared for all of these things and have a realistic outlook on what to expect, you should do great!

I'm down 1 lb this week-- short of my 2 lb goal, but any loss is much loved!

Minus 1 lb-- I'll take it!

The primary reason I had WLS was because I've had repeated unexplained miscarriages that my fertility specialist, after all of the testing, said "could be" the weight. So right now, I'm losing for a year and then we'll try one last time to get pregnant before calling it quits on the kid-front for good (at least the biological kind). I was on Depo for a while before I stopped to try to get pregnant and I loved it. No periods meant no cramps! I'm sure that's about what you're experiencing now, Spoiltmom

I have had horrible menstrual cramps during days 1-2/3 for my entire life. I took "prescription dose" ibuprofen before surgery for this. Obviously, can't do that anymore. Other than a heating pad, what do you ladies in a similar situation do? Is there a specific medicine your doctor has prescribed that you would recommend I talk to my surgeon about? I hate to take something as strong as lortab if I don't have to (though that is what I'm taking now, since I have it from surgery).

Thanks Texas Girl I love your video blog, by the way-- keep up the good work.

I tried this last night and I won't be having it again-- it did not taste good to me. But, I love plain old steamed cauliflower with a little ff american cheese, so I'll make do with that. But as a low-carber, I was looking forward to "potatoes".

I was horrible this week-- didn't work out a single time. Not once. I'm shooting for doing 30 minutes on my treadmill every day this week. I think aiming specifically for 5 out of 7 days gives me too much permission to "use" the off days early and then never get started.

I'm a month out and still cannot even think of rolling onto my stomach because of port pain. I can FINALLY sleep on both sides, though I sometimes will get a twinge from my port in the readjusting. My doctor did not seem concerned by this though it was certainly not usual-- he had me in for a fill at two weeks post op (the normal time for his patients), but since I had the port pain issue-- not even side sleeping at that point-- he didn't give me a fill and put me off until next week. If mine were as bad as you're describing, I'd definitely call though. Are you stomach sleeping?

I've always been able to lose weight just fine. Calorie restriction + exercise did it for me. My problem is that I can't keep it off long term, and just add more back by the time I'm done gaining again. I decided about 8 years ago that I was tired of the yo yo crap and I was done dieting, period. I was just going to accept myself as a fat woman and live with it, and I did that pretty well for the most part. But then I heard about the lap-band and it seemed like the answer to my problem. I got the lap-band to help me feel more full while losing, yes, but more, I got it to help me maintain my weight loss once I get down to my goal. I seriously did not see the point of working that hard to lose, only to gain again, but the lap-band seems to be the answer to that "keeping it off" problem. Now every time I get on the scale and see a loss, I KNOW I'm losing that pound FOREVER.

Fat-free refried Beans with salsa and cheese? Can you do eggs? What about putting the chicken/tuna in your food processor-- would that help? One thing that I've done to help with the "dried out" feature of left-overs is used my chicken or beef broth to re-wet my food. So if I made shredded chicken with onions the night before, I add a splash or two of chicken broth and nuke it the next day and it stays moist. Adding broth or Water to just about any leftover (just a bit) can help it perk back up after a night in the refrigerator. I don't have much to say-- I'm always looking for lunch ideas too.

That's fantastic-- yay for you!

In some ways, I think we're talking about two different kinds of coping styles here. Some people cope with problems by distraction (hahaha-- food, maybe?). Some people cope by sharing, which you could call venting, and they get satisfaction from just that experience without really needing anything additional. And some people are problem solvers. I suspect that part of what's at issue here is that us problem solvers don't get venting as a coping style-- we want to solve the problem! But the venters don't need that-- they just need to get the thoughts out there so they can leave them behind for a bit. They're not asking for advice, because that's not really what the venting is about. Yes, I do get annoyed sometimes with venting but I try to remind myself that it's probably more about me and my coping style than anything the other person is doing. And while I am convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone were just like me, sadly, that seems unlikely.

What makes me wonder is why you have to get to the point of being 100 lbs obese in order to get help from insurance!

My insurance was billed $30,000. Crazy, considering what they will do it for self-pay. I'm not sure how much insurance actually paid.