BlackBerryJuice

Ha, just give me a second. Not exactly a day of exemplary eating, but people want to see what you REALLY eat, right? Bfast: oatmeal with 1/2 milk 1/2 Water and Peanut Butter Lunch: grilled chicken, spaghetti with parmesan, some pita bread with baba ghanoush Snack: 2 pieces dark chocolate, mini KitKat, mini Aero, 1/2 small clamshell of raspberries with Splenda Snack: apple pear Dinner: 1 slice of thin crust pizza with prosciutto and bocconcini Kinda hungry now, but the pizza was only 2.5 hours ago, so I'm not gonna eat anything else and just go to bed. EDIT: ended up having a small cucumber.

I don't think it's that uncommon to have some hunger after the VSG. The first month was really the only time I hardly had hunger. Now I definitely get hungry if I don't eat for 3-4 hours. But the hunger is a lot more manageable than before the surgery and it goes away the second I eat like 1/4 cup of food, so why worry?

Go put it in your car or your mailbox - so that getting it would actually require getting dressed and leaving your house. That's been enough of a deterrent for me.

Something I noticed recently - every time I eat raspberries, within 30 mins I've gotta go. I did some Googling and it looks like they do, indeed, exhibit a laxative effect in some people. If you have constipation issues, it might be worth a try. I eat maybe 1/4 pint in one sitting.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a skeptic by nature and with several years of healthcare education under my belt, my first reaction was "this sounds absurd." After Googling this and finding the source, I question this even more than I did it when I first saw it, as the author of this lacks any sort of medical qualifications. Having read that absurd book about yeast which assumes that the yeast to make bread is the same yeast that colonizes your vagina doesn't count as medical qualifications in my book. 2 things move lymph in your body: your skeletal muscles (primarily legs) and your diaphragm (every breath results in lymph being pumped). The lymphatic system is pretty deep under the skin, so it's not something you can affect by brushing the surface of your skin. It will improve blood circulation in the skin and help soften the skin by removing dead cells, but that's about it. If you want your lymph to be pumped faster, try walking. Don't waste your time on this brushing scam.

I was never a big wine drinker, but I find these days it makes me nauseous and/or uncomfortable. I don't seem to have that problem with mixed drinks.

I was a fast eater, as well. You'll learn pretty quickly after you end up in pain after eating too fast.

Nice, I "liked" these.

My diet's pretty varied from day to day as I'm a student who likes to scavenge for free food and I'm always eating leftovers from our couple dinner outings, but try to make sure most meals (except for fruit snacks) have Protein in it. I'm approaching 3 months out and I think yesterday I had: bfast - Protein Bar snack - about 1 cup grapes, 2 squares dark chocolate lunch - leftover penne gorgonzola from a restaurant to which I added some grilled shrimp and scallops for protein (been taking this for lunch for 3 days in a row, lol) snack: 1/2 large apple, about 10-12 mixed nuts 1 glass of juice before working out Post-workout: protein bar Dinner: 5-6 pieces of sashimi with a bit of rice

No, my mother (who's the same size I was before the surgery) already got dibs on all my fat clothes....lol. Plus all I really wore at my biggest were yoga pants/capris and skirts with stretchy waistbands! I can still wear most of these 40 lbs down, although I think 10 lbs from now, they'll be way too loose.

ROFL! There's no history of breast cancer in my family, so I'm not terribly worried. The doc thinks it's most likely a fibroadenoma. The only issue would be if it decided to grow bigger and turn into a tennis ball-sized thing.

I have, actually! However, I'm also approaching 26, and your skin starts to age and lose elasticity around 25, so I don't know how much of it is from VSG and how much from just normal aging. I'm mostly getting a lot of fine lines under my eyes and on my forehead.

Sweet! The new format was also slowing down my computer, now it's back to normal!

Some commentary and follow-up from the magazine on Jezebel: http://jezebel.com/5674577/marie-claire-responds-to-fatties-controversy

Great message! I knew I'd get some good proactive response once I linked that article here.

BTW, gotta love her response to Peffermintchili...."I really do not hate fat people." (*I just call them fatties and cringe when I see them walk around and do not want to ever see them*) URGH.

Quick thoughts before this fatty dashes off to ballet class (although fat people shouldn't be allowed to do ballet, right?): 1) I agree that this article went through several reviewers before it was published and even though there's always the "the author's opinion does not represent the views of *insert media outlet*," the simple fact that they opted to print it showed that they thought it was NOT in terrible taste. I pointed this out in my e-mail to the editor. 2) We are not even the minority anymore! Isn't 70% of America overweight or obese at this point? 3) There are definitely people there who lack education and do not believe in WLS, etc. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we need to do our part to educate them. However, there's a line between not agreeing with WLS and speculating that fat people can lose weight with diet and exercise VS being vocal and offensive. One of the comments on the article called her a bully, and I think it's a very accurate description. Honestly, when I saw the word "fatty," I couldn't believe my eyes. Is this elementary school? I like to use the word "fat" in relation to myself to make people uncomfortable with the definition of the word and to take away the social stigma, but it's very much maligning coming out of her mouth.

An exact quote, no less. Was said the day I flew to Mexicali...good thing Dr. Aceves' staff gives you Ativan the night before, I certainly needed one.

It's still a challenge, but it's a lot easier. I spend lots of time studying on the computer, and in the past I'd munch on something every 2 hours. I just try to drink lots of tea and snack on healthy things. Apple slices are my favorites right now, as it's apple season. It's pretty hard to eat a LOT mindlessly - you'll be full fast - so unless you are going for slider foods, it probably won't do much damage. I just consciously choose things that I know will fill me up and aren't too high in calories (which means avoiding nuts in front of the computer, for example). It requires paying some attention to things, but like I said, it's much easier than it was before the surgery.

Laptop with cord (install Skype or some other voice chat to save $ on phone calls!), books, magazines, stuffed animal, some sort of crafts (e.g. knitting), Spanish dictionary if you're heading to Mexico - might not be necessary, but why not improve your Spanish while there?

....have been in my house, UNTOUCHED, for nearly a month. Odds of this happening before the surgery? ZERO.

Haha, I didn't actually buy them - my boyfriend got them as a gag gift when he left his previous job. He's not overweight, but is a major junk food lover, so I confiscated them from him and am keeping them in my house and doling out one candy bar at a time. I did buy myself some dark chocolate and have been enjoying it responsibly - 2 squares a day once every few days. I find milk chocolate too sweet for me these days - and I used to dislike dark chocolate!

Check out a specialty fish store or an Asian supermarket in your area - they will often carry frozen sashimi-grade fish. It's much more affordable than going out to eat and you can cut however many servings you want with a warm knife and put the rest back in the freezer.

I think it's normal to be more worried for other people than for yourself! My mother is obese and has changed her views on the VSG 180 degrees since I got it. It went from "YOU ARE GOING TO DIE ON THE OPERATING TABLE IN MEXICO AND YOUR LIFELESS BODY WILL BE DISMEMBERED AND FED TO DOGS" to constant questioning about how much weight I've lost and compliments on my recent photos. She lives far away and this winter will be the first time I travel there and see her in 1.5 years. I'm starting to suspect she might become interested in getting this surgery, and when I imagine that possibility, I also feel quite worried about her. She's also become hypertensive lately, even though she exercises regularly and while she's obese, I venture her BMI is only in the 34-35 range (same as mine before the surgery), so for someone who's not even 50 yet, it's a bit worrisome. But then I think of 2 important things: 1) the sicker the obese or overweight individual, the more they are going to benefit from losing weight 2) my mother's gone through 2 childbirths, mine being very difficult, and did just fine in the end, so I'm sure she'd handle a laproscopic surgery done by an experienced surgeon such as Dr. Aceves at a top-notch facility.