i1Linda

Monday 10-12-09 (nothing interesting today - I'm such a creature of habit, especially when stuck at home). 685 cal, 89 g Protein, 14g fat, 38g carb Breakfast: protein hot chocolate with coffee Snack: nectar Protein w/ crystal light Lunch: 1 serving tuna salad & 8 wheat thins lunch 2: other serving tuna salad Dinner: 1/2 serving Cheesy chicken Ranch Birdseye Viola - made with extra chicken and extra broccoli Dessert: Bariwise double oeanut butter bar - just okay - like the caramel crunch WAY better. 32 oz crystal light 40 oz Water

Happy Birthday Dee Dee!!!!!!!! Llinda

Hi Dancer! Welcome to the VST. I was really tired the first couple of weeks, but at exactly the 2 week mark, it was like someone flipped a switch and I was back to full energy levels. It was strange but very welcome. Since then, feel great and losing weight. Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck on your journey.

Sunday: Breakfast: coffee w/ Protein hot chocolate - my own little protein mocha lunch 1: 1 serving Tuna salad & 8 reduced fat wheat thins Lunch 2: the other serving of Tuna Salad - a can makes two servings Snack: WonderSlim Protein Bites - not very good, but salty and crunchy. Got rid of my watching football all afternoon snack craving. I like the chedder chips better. Dinner: 2 oz homemade pot roast, 2 tbsp mashed potatoes & 2tbsp peas Dessert: One tiny sliver of my son's leftover Baskin Robbins Birthday cake (like super tiny, it weighed 15gm). Just a couple of bites and I was satisfied. Sunday Night Football Game Snack: planning on having a Bariwise Peanut Butter Protein Bar. Totals will be - 766 calories, 89g protein

Thanks Susan! My trainer at the gym was really excited too. I went to Target today at bought two pairs of workout pants, Champion size XL. The XXL were too BIG. :thumbup: Gotta love the sleeve:thumbup:

I am right there with you on the matching bra and panties. I bought a few a couple weeks ago - love them. Makes me feel better even though only my husband and I know about them. My big NSV came yesterday, I went to the "girls only" gym I go to nearly everyday (kind of like a curves but way more options). It was time for my monthly weigh in and measurements. The inches are just falling off. I started going to this gym on July 10th. Since then, I have lost a total of 36.5 inches!!! :001_tongue: Sometimes, the scale doesn't cooperate. On those days, I take my tape measure and place it around parts of my body and widen the tape to the "before" measurement and see the difference. It gives me a real visual on my weight loss, one that I often don't see.

What I ate for Friday??? Well, started with a Bariwise Hot chocolate mixed with coffee - a Protein mocha sort of speak. For a late breakfast/snack I had a nectar Protein mixed with Crystal Light. For lunch I had a serving of Tuna salad and 8 reduced fat wheat thins. For afternoon snack I had a Bariwise Caramel Crunch bar. Somewhere in there I drank 2 bottles of Water, one with Crystal Light. Tonight for dinner, we are taking my 8 year old out for dinner, it's his Birthday. Not sure what will come of that but with my Sleeve - I'm ready for anything. FYI - the Caramel Crunch Bars from Bariwise ROCK. Taste just like a $100,000 Grand bar. 150 cal, 3g fat, 15g protein, 14g carb. Linda

Hey Everyone! I am so excited about my project this morning, I just have to share. I have had difficulties getting dressed in the morning because everything I try on is too big - not a familiar problem for me. Anyway, I decided it was time to ditch everything that fell into the "too big" category for good. In diets passed I always held on to some of my favorite big things, just in case. Not today - if it was a 20, 22 or 24 it is GONE. Most of the 18's went too. I have no concerns that I might find myself back into a 22 in a year. I love my sleeve. I found some stuff from skinnier times past that fit just fine and some 12/14's that almost fit. My neighbor might think I am leaving my husband - he kept watching me as I carried armload after armload of clothes out to my car. The trunk of my Camry is stuffed. I usually just take this kind of stuff to good will, but I might try to find a resale shop. It's a lot of clothes, expensive clothes (you all know Lane Bryant is not cheap) and I could use the extra money to supplement my wardrobe in the next couple of months. Thanks for listening - happy losing :thumbup:

Dee Dee - I find it interesting that we have lost almost exactly the same amount of weight. I lost exactly 20lb before surgery on 8/4 - down to 226. Since surgery I am down to 194lb. 32lb since surgery. A total of 52 pounds. Glad to see you are doing well. My sleeve and I are working together. It gets easier every day. I do find however that on days that I am busy, I seem to make better food choices and stick to protein. Just enough to get the fuel I need to keep going. Whereas on days I am sitting at home, like on Sundays while doing laundry and watching football, I want to snack all day. I know it is boredom and head hunger but WOW. It kills me. Keep up the good work. Linda

Great thread! Okay here is my day so far: Breakfast: 1/2 cup coffee with 1tbsp SF Hazelnut Interdational Delight Creamer nectar Protein - Fuzzy Navel with strawberry Tangerine Crystal Light and BA Calcium Crystals Lunch: Chik Fil-A Grilled chicken Breast and 2 slices of pickle - I ordered the sandwich and just ate the chicken and the pickles Snack: Oberto Hickory Jerky - 100 cal pack Dinner: 2oz chicken breast with 1/4 cup Pasta (I made the Mac Grill Creamy Basil Chicken Pasta - from a box) for the family. I measured out 1/4 cup of the pasta and 2 ounces of chicken. 1/4 of a serving of Pepperidge Farms garlic bread. Dessert: ??? Still to come but I am STUFFED at the moment.

Once I got to where I could swallow pills without additional problems (only the same problem I've had for 20+ years - I don't like to swallow pills), I gave up searching for a chewable calcium form and just tried to get down 6 Citracal Petite tablets every day. It didn't work so well. I would be doing laundry and find caclium pills in my pockets. I had the best intentions of taking them through out the day, but it just wasn't executed. Well, I think I may have found my Calcium regimen. I got some samples of the Bariatric Advantage Calcium Crystals (unflavored) and added it to my Fuzzy Navel Nectar/Crystal Light 24 ounce protein concoction I drink every morning for breakfast. No problem, didn't notice it at all. First dose, check. I also got samples of the Calcium Lemon Chews, not bad. I can handle for an after lunch "treat". Second dose, check. I can also gag down a couple Citracal at bedtime . Third dose, check. Between all three dosage forms, I may just get in my calcium.:001_tt1:

Speaking of Tiffy - has anyone heard from her lately? I figured it's about time she came up for air, if only for a second. :001_tt1:

I haven't tried the FiberOne Bars yet. Luckily for me, the FiberPlus bars don't cause that problem for me. I'm sure for my husband, they would. I used to eat quite a bit of fiber each day, so it hasn't taken my system to get back on the fiber program post surgery. Quick question Vegas - how do you get your Protein in with a salad? I haven't ventured there yet, because once I get my protein in, I'm stuffed. How much salad do you eat at a time? Salad does sound really good. I may need to stop into Central Market tomorrow for lunch and hit their salad bar (pay by weight so don't pay for more than I want).

I use Benefiber in my morning coffee. Just enough to keep things moving along (pauses to drink some more water). I also splurge from time to time on the Kellogg's Fiber Plus bars. 9 grams of fiber per bar. Taste like a granola/candy bar. Probably too high in carbs, but 9gm of fiber - got to love it.

No problem! I too had the "that can't possibly be right" feeling but I asked the girl at LB and she told me it sometimes happens when you lose lots of weight. I am waiting for the girls to catch up. I would like to be a nice pleasant full C. But at this point, I will take the losses any way they want to come. :001_huh:

Okay Vegas - I can answer this one for you. Band size = around chest (no boobs) Cup size = around bust - band size ( 2inches =B cup, 3=C, 4=D, 5=DD, 6=DDD and so on). So, just like you, I went down in band size and up in cup size. I was wearing a properly measured 44DD back in June, today I wear a 38DDD. Apparently I have lost one inch around my chest more than around my bust. Makes sense because I also lost my back rolls too which get figured into band size. I hope that make sense - you're not the only one:thumbup:

Charity - Back in early June, I was right where you are. I was self pay and started out wanting the LapBand, simply because it wasn't permanent. However, after hanging out on LapBandTalk and ObesityHelp forums, I discovered lots of people who were struggling with the band. Then I found others, that had to pay for a second surgery to have it removed. Somewhere in there, I heard about the Sleeve. While hesitant at first to do something I thought at the time was "so drastic and permanent", I quickly learned from the different websites that people who were sleeved seemed to have a much better quality of life. Once through the recovery phase, the worry of something going wrong, went away. Once your healed with the sleeve, you are basically healed. With the band, things could be going great for months or even years and then some people start having problems. Some problems required surgery to fix, others just required the patient to just "live with it". The more "invasive" sleeve surgery, didn't seem as invasive as a second surgery to remove the band. I am a constant worrier. I worried for 2 weeks post-op that something would go wrong, it didn't. I couldn't imagine worrying about my LapBand ongoing. When I thought of WLS, my ideal surgery was one where I could eat what I want, but just could only eat much less than before. For the most part, that was the Sleeve. Of coarse with the sleeve you need to eat lots of Protein, keep your carbs down and fat low, but if I really want the popcorn at the movies, I can have it with the sleeve. Just much less of it. I am currently 9 weeks post op. I have lost over 50 lb since pre-op diet and LOVE MY SLEEVE. Today I have had the following to eat: Protein shake for Breakfast, 1/2 chicken breast with 4cherry tomatoes for lunch, a Protein Bar for afternoon snack, 2oz steak with 5 green Beans and 1 tbsp mac and cheese (I couldn't resist) for dinner. No problems, not hungry, and most importantly, I feel satisfied.

Good idea Vegas. I will check they recycling thread. I have a bunch of work cloths from Lane Bryant that someone here might want.

Yeah!!!!!!

Welcome Amanda! I just had my sleeve surgery in early August. I paid cash in Dallas and paid $12k. I am definitely a few years older than you (I'm 38) so I can't help you there. My only regret is that I couldn't have had the surgery back in my early 20's. I was back into my daily routine 70% after a few days and 100% at exactly 2 weeks. Good Luck to you and feel free to ask any question you might have. There are lots of very generous and knowledgeable sleevers on this board.

YEAH!!!!! You are sure going to WOW him. Enjoy yourself!

Thanks Dee Dee and Susan! It's been almost 5 years since I have seen Onederland. However, this time is different. I have no doubt, it won't be a quick visit like years passed. I have relocated to Onederland and plan to spend on long, happy life here. I do plan to downsize to smaller accommodations over the next several months.