Search the Community

I've lost at pretty much the same rate since banding, though it's slowing down considerably now that I reach goal. It was very difficult, but I ate as if I had restriction even when I didn't. I know that doesn't work for everyone. It took me three fills to begin to feel restriction. After that, things got way easier. They have gotten progressively easier since. Well, except for the natural slowdown that has occurred as I've gotten nearer to goal. I have consistently eaten 2-5 oz. lean Protein and 1/2-1 cup nonstarchy veggies for my meals. I use 1-2 protein supplements/day. I journal on Fitday, and aim for 800-900 calories, 80-100 g protein, and <50 g net carb/day (primarily from veggie and legume sources.) I do not eat sugar, or use caffeine any more (important for appetite control, for me). I make sure I get adequate heart-healthy fat (supplementing with omega-3s). I take a good bariatric Multivitamin (and supplemented with zinc and Biotin during the hair loss phase), and take Co Q-10 daily, too. I exercise daily, at least once. For me, each of these components is important. It doesn't mean I don't occasionally indulge, but 99% of the time, I achieve what I set out to do. It's worth it, weight-wise. But mostly, I just FEEL a bazillion times better. Your mileage may vary--not everyone needs to follow the same regimen for success. This is just what works for me.

Healthy_Life2 is giving some really solid advice and feedback. I appreciate her comments. I am only 2 months out so can't comment on weight regain. I can say that I have made a complete 180 in my lifestyle choices. I am extremely diligent in following my post-op dietary plan. I track daily caloric intake using the MyFitnessPal App and then go over my macros in the evening to make sure I am on target. I wouldn't even call it a diet--because that's such a temporary thing. I am looking at this as a new lifestyle. I have deviated from the standard plan provided by my doctor (I did discuss it with him and my nutritionist) and I am following a very low carb keto style plan (although too high in protein intake to be a true keto diet). This type of lifestyle provides me with very clear guidelines of what I can and cannot eat--which makes choosing foods easy, I do track calories too and set a limit to how many calories I can consume in a day, but this isn't hard since I am usually very satisfied sticking to my plan. Even if my ability to eat more increases, I feel like I can make good choices that may increase the volume of food that I eat without causing me to over-consume. When they say the sleeve is only a tool, they do mean it. Losing weight post-op is still a lot of work and requires a lot of discipline. The big difference is you are no longer fighting against your high set point, so instead of heating a plateau and suffering terrible hunger and cravings, you don't have that set point fight against you. The volume restriction is also helpful, but as Healthy_Life2 said, you can eat more frequently and undermine this process. I also now get up early in the morning to hit the gym before work and I love that "me" time. Even though this new and still "exciting" for me, it's a lifestyle that I can be happy with for the long term. I do not miss sleeping in late or eating carb heavy foods. I hope I still feel this way 2 or 5 or 10 years from now, but I am definitely happy right now. I can say that you need to be mentally prepared to make major lifestyle changes after you have the surgery (before as well!!). You need to have a healthy lifestyle plan in place and be 100% committed to following it through after surgery. I think the people that commit to following a healthy lifestyle plan will be successful long term. The people that only follow the post-op plan "most of the time" and "only cheat a little" are probably not following the plan very much at all and are cheating a lot!! I have gone to a few support group meetings and there are so many people that show up that can't understand why the weight isn't coming off them, while their friends lost so much. After talking more, it turns out that, as a result of surgery, they cut down their portions of crappy processed fast foods and other junk foods, but they continue to eat the same crap they ate before surgery (just less of it). That's not how you get down to a 25 BMI!!! You have to use this opportunity not only to cut down on your portions, but change your food and lifestyle choices. The people that make these changes and stick to it don't seem to have issues with regain (other than the normal 5-10 pound fluctuations that should be expected).

Once again, Star is right on the money!! You will always have a tool to help you control your portions, but what makes up those portions is up to you. My weakness is cheetos, so I control that urge by allowing myself a single-serving bag of them once a month. That's what works for me. Other than that, I don't keep them in the house. For me, the first six months were rocket-like as far as weight loss. I dropped weight like crazy. At about 7 months out, I hit a plateau, which was a weight that I stayed at for nearly 10 years on my way up the scale. My weight loss, in pounds, slowed way down. BUT, once the weight loss slowed down, I started shape-shifting. I can almost watch my body change from week to week, and my measurements and clothes sizes reinforce that. I started in a 24/26 and I'm now in a 14/16. I'd be in a smaller size pants, but I have a bit of a tummy still. One thing that really affects how fast I lose pounds is that I got really serious about exercise. I have muscle and definition in places I didn't know I could have muscle and definition before. I had a body fat analysis at my doctor's office recently and it shows that I am within .01% of the amount of muscle I should have in my body for my height, even though my BMI is still in the obese category. That means that I am converting fat to muscle with exercise and that I've managed to protect my heart muscle from significant damage from rapid weight loss. That was a major worry of mine. My pulmonologist is also thrilled with my improved cardio fitness. The sleeve is a tool, but if you work it right, you'll be able to reach goal and to reach goal in a healthy manner. After all, it's not just about the pounds; it's also about enjoying your life and all of the newfound abilities that come with weight loss. If you're not sure what I'm referring to, please visit the "powder Room" and "Man Room" forums here on VST! Good luck on your journey!!

Hello everyone, It's been months since I posted but this whole weight loss journey is a bit confusing when it comes to losing inches and never seeing the scale move since my last fill four months ago. Last fill 7.1 roughly four months ago, I believe, I'm in the green zone as I rarely hungry and can literally go 10 hours in between meals and have before many days of the week. So question is... I have lost many inches all over, just this week alone, I was measured for a bra and found I lost 10 inches alone around my back and bust area. My stomach area, 6 inches, my hips 4 inches, legs 2 inches.... Sooooo why in the world am I not seeing any numbers move on the scale at all. I mean if your losing fat by inches, why don't you see number wise. I was fifteen pounds smaller four years ago when I could wear a size 10, put those away for some years, and now still fifteen pounds heavier, I can wear them again. Uggggh I'm just frustrated. I will admit to everyone, I don't eat much, Protein drink bfast and lunch most days, very small dinner, and I do occasionally get stuck. I fill up very easily. Maybe need adjusted as I may be close and in between green zone to just hitting red zone. I love how I feel though, never hungry, I've waited for that feeling five months ago now nine months since surgery. Thanks for any advice.

My surgeon said no more than 10 pounds for at least four weeks. (Was able to go back to Curves in four weeks--but weight lifting at the YMCA had to wait until seven weeks and with lower weights). Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but although your external stitches will seem healed, there's a ton of healing going on INSIDE that needs to finish... PS By that time, your child will be about a year old and hopefully, require less lifting for you...

So I'm about a month and a half post band to sleeve revision (5/10 surgery) and I'm feeling very frustrated and confused about my lack of weight loss. I started at 236 and shortly after surgery (2 weeks postop) was down to 220. I'm now down to 214. I haven't moved for about a month. I was logging my food whole hog at the beginning but fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks but in the past week have gotten back at it in order to get a handle on things. At my last follow up appt my surgeon asked how much Protein I was taking in (when he found out I stalled) and I told him I was aiming for around 60 grams. He told me to only aim for 40. That seems counterintuitive to me especially being pre-diabetic with PCOS. His office doesn't have a NUT so I only have him to rely on. At this point I'm beyond frustrated. He wants me down another 20 lbs by the time I go back to see him in a month. Everyone else on here seems to have the weight melt off and I'm sitting here much like I was before with the band - feeling very frustrated and wondering why I did this. I'm committed to tracking my intake, getting more exercise, and getting my protein in but beyond that I'm at a loss. Any suggestions - especially from those who have done a band to sleeve conversion?? Thanks for "listening".....

^ its poly cystic ovary syndrome 10 n 100 women r affected unfortunately i am one among dem

I track everything because it is easy for me to under estimate how many calories I eat. Banded 10/12/16

First of all you look amazing!!! I hope I do as well as you. We started at the same size and my goal weight is 125. I feel the same way. I am a very confident person my weight did bother me but I didn't let it get me down. My husband(meanegene) and I are doing this together he goes in on Oct. 8th for his surgery. It is kind of weird when you see your reflection in a window. I think "was that me" I didn't know I was that fat. I never saw it. You are a great inspiration. I will need to have my breasts done as well. I started with an H cupp and now at DDD. Out of the sixteen pounds I have lost I am sure 10 of them came from the boobs.

Wow... this is a time bomb topic that goes off in my head nearly everyday!! My body confidence has been zero for so long I can hardly remember... I think it started when my mother (with all good intentions) took me to the Dr cos I was fat, lets remember this is the late 70's early 80's making me about 9 or 10. He immediately agreed with her and put me on a calorie restricted diet. This lead to me having my own shelf in the fridge with all my milk and butter in little daily portions that I was allowed to eat... my food was literally segregated from the rest of my families. At that age I felt and outcast and I am sure this lead to a hatred of food! I too was always the fat and funny one of my friends, I looked ok, still do, but I felt awful. I covered this up by being outgoing, chatty and funny - luckily for me I have a good sense of humour and can 'crack' people up in the blink of an eye! So, as the adult years progressed, my self esteem remained but I forced myself to get on with it and not let it spoil this beautiful life that I have. People are shocked when I tell them that I am self aware and don't like being fat... infact a friend of mine more recently said' Coops I can't believe you are on a diet 'cos you seem so happy with yourself'! Ain't I a good actress... ahmmm... Oscar please!! The main thing that surprises my husband is my constant failure to loswe weight when I diet ... and he isn't being harsh when he said that... what he means is that when I put my mind to something, I generally succeed as I have an inner determination that doesn't like failure (as I am sure we all do). For example, I went back to uni when my kids were young, I worked my ass off and came out with a first class honours degree... top of the class! This lead me to my current teaching job where I am flourishing and doing a good job; the pupils get on with me and they do well in my class... happy days! So the question he posed is... Why can't you lose weight when you diet cos you always do so well with other parts of your life? Good question I thought ... and here I am now... 13 weeks post op and slowly losing weight. I get frustrated with my slow weight loss and my hubby seems to think that this is more of a psychological issue ... dunno he might be right? It might just be me and my body. However, I do feel as if my head and my body are constantly arguing with each other...lol... I ain't saying that I am going nuts, by the way... just don't understand why I ain't losing faster as this is what I want sooooo much; to have a slim, healthy body to enjoy the rest of my life with! I don't know if I will get to goal weight, or how I will feel if I get there... but I do know that I am pleased to be losing and not gaining. I am pleased to feel better and have more energy. I am pleased that I have made this commitment to myself and my family!!

So my surgery is scheduled for 12/29 and I'm feeling all the feelings: excited, nervous, concerned etc. But the worst thing is that because of Covid-19 my hospital is reviewing and cancelling/ rescheduling elective surgeries on pretty much a daily basis so that I won't know if I'm actually going to have surgery until xmas. I have 3 more days until my pre-op liquid diet and I'm not looking forward to the possibility that I'll have to stay on that without the surgery well into January if I get bumped. I'm also scared that I might get Covid while I'm there. This is so ridiculously stressful! I should be excited that I'm getting what I worked so hard for. Just gotta keep my fingers crossed I guess. =(

All of the bariatrics surgeons in Colorado have less than 10 vsg surgeries under their belt according to obesityhelp. This doc is the only one in his practice. Soo...I *will* become a pain in the arse..I *will* stand up for my rights!! lol Thanks for understanding you guys! Lisa

Everybody body is different I'm almost 5 weeks out and has only lost 30lbs 10 of which were pre surgery I'm starting to get discourage but than again I've been in this stall for about two weeks. Sent from my SM-G900T1 using the BariatricPal App

Hi All, I got my band on 16 Oct 06 and my first fill 6 Dec 2006. I have lost 30 pounds so far but most of that was pre-op diet for 2 weeks. During the post-op/pre-fill period I was quite hungry so I only lost a few pounds during that period. Because my clinic is closed over Christmas and I will not return to them until February my doctor gave me a 4cc fill. I have started walking 10 minutes a day on the treadmill and will be building that up to 30 minutes over the next couple of weeks. Can I finally expect the weight to fall off like magic or am I being dillusional. Good luck to all of you. Geoff

LOL you should put that in the prayer thread http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=17568 When you pray, you pray that others come to know God and have their own personal relationship with him. I'm sure this is not about bashing someone else but just good clean chat. So JMO how are you doing. WWJD? I wear him on my sleeve or my signature at least. LOL 10 pounds gone, you girl!!!

Well initially i was really thinking lap band, but i was still very on the fence, and after i talked to my doctor he said that because of my medical problems already that Gastric Bypass might be the better fit for me. the only big thing before this that made me want lapband, was because i was told that you cannot get pregnant after bypass, and for me only being 19, thats a problem, but after talking to my doctor he said that pregnancy would be absolutely fine in my case at least, and after thinking it over for about a month, i decided that Bypass, would be the perfect fit for me. its really an idividual thing, i just feeel that it fits me best, a lot of people find lap band to be the better fit. but yeah, thats pretty much how i decided on bypass. :eek:

Well friends....I took off for 8 days a total of 10 with the weekend in there. I felt AWESOME after surgery! I was up and out and driving to pick my hubby up from his surgery a couple days later. BUT...after that I crashed. I was so tired, and achy a few days later that by the time I had to go back to work I wished I had take the extra time and took the full two weeks. That's me though, everyone is different. I work long hours, at a desk job sitting butted up against my desk was not optimal for me as it hit right at the level of my incision, and the seat belt same thing and I drive about 60 miles a day. So the first couple of days back were exhausting, but I made it through and every day was better and better. Take care of yourselves while your home. Extra extra TLC, so your ready to go back to work and be realistic with yourself when you go back. Take it slow if you need to stop and rest do it. If you have to go home half the day cause your not feeling great take it. Soon your gonna be feeling great, but give it time after all you just had Major life altering surgery. Best of luck to you all!

I Got my last fill 12/09/11 7 cc total in my 10 cc band going on a cruise in couple of days Happy Holidays

Hi, Debbie. You and I have a lot in common! I had RNY surgery 10/2009 and for the first time have gained 11 pounds. My hubby and I started at the YMCA but I am still a stress eater. Have you increased your exercise or lowered your calorie intake? I am pulling for us both to succeed at this. Katie

Yesterday: Bfast= 1 scrambled egg, one slice of bacon I made twice this much and had to refrigerate the rest. Lunch= Some almonds, 3 slices of deli meat Snack= one apple in the morning and some beef Jerky in the afternoon. Dinner= Green Chili Stew/pork 6 ozs, over a burger. I'm surprised I ate the whole thing? Today Bfast= 1 fried egg, smothered in 4 ozs of green chili stew and pork. Snack= 1 pear Lunch= 2 slices deli meat, 4 shrimp w/cocktail sauce. Dinner=Leftover Filet Mignon 3 ozs(all I could eat), spinach and veggie salad w/olive oil, balsamic vinegerette, some crumbled feta cheese, Dessert= 1 Dove dark choc passion bit. tmf Ditto on no processed crap! I also spent an hour on my bike going 10 miles today and also did 20 minutes of strength conditioning this morning. Similar day yesterday.

You can definitely drink G2. I'm 10 weeks post op and continue drinking it throughout the day along with protein shakes and water. It all depends how my day is going. I also drink the powerade zero.

I'm not offended. That's not my point. It's nice that you are happily surprised. I was as well. That first weight loss just needs to be taken with a large grain of salt. My 2 wk f/u showed a weight loss of 26lbs. I was over the moon! However my 6 week appt I loss was 6lbs. Big difference. After that I settled in to losing between 10 - 12 lbs a month. Your body will find its own rhythm. A big weight loss out the gate means as much as a small one. Even no weight loss or even a gain at that 2 week appt. isn't a predictor of anything.

Long story short. Had surgery about 4 years ago, lost almost 100 pounds in the first year. Then I broke my leg and had emergency surgery, 10 screws and a 6 inch steel plate later I sat around for 4 months and put on half the weight. I was laid off, and then my surgeon moved his practice away from Dallas. A year ago I moved back to Omaha when my dad had a stroke. Finally got my medical records, insurance and can get a fill, which is supposed to be next week. I feel like I am starting over, I am not even sure how many days to have fluids and then transition. I am not sure how many CC's are evn in my band. I dont have much restriction unless its a chunk of bread. Where do I start? Thanks in advance.

"A great offer near to the low-hanging fruit greater compared to last many different many years is becoming picked away the tree," but "it doesn't necessarily mean traders can't do nicely using the industry greater compared to lengthy term," says Joe Rodriguez, a coach outlet store manager for the roughly $2 billion purpose specific Estate Fund. Still, managers like Mr. Rodriguez say 7% to 10% standard yearly returns greater compared to following 5 many years are much more realistic for the category. Spotting a great combination of real-estate plays may be difficult sometimes, as well as best managers have struggled to positioned adequate into REITs. CGM Realty Fund is among the the best-performing real-estate cash greater compared to previous three and 5 years, but has fallen at the rear of the majority of its peers for the year. The reason: The fund held a 25% stake in mining shares in the complete of June, which has offered that been eliminated. "In retrospect, I need I hadn't been so invested" in all those shares offered which they weren't "as powerful performers as REITs," says the fund's manager Ken Heebner. Alpine U.S. specific Estate Equity Fund also experienced among the the extremely biggest three-year keep track of documents for real-estate cash at just one place last year, but is now lifeless last among the peers with harmful 2.6% returnscoach factory outlet for the yr to date. The fund was among the the quantity of real-estate cash invested in residence builders, with much greater than 50% there last yr past to trimming to 30%. "Home builders obtained whacked, and accommodations have been completely executing relatively nicely but not as well as we'd want to see," says Sam Lieber, manager near to the fund.

I thought this would be a good idea! I already keep a journal, just for myself. But maybe this would be informative for someone else. I am 41 yrs old, housewife, mother, massage therapist. I have been on the weight roller coaster for many years now, ever since I got married at age 21, which will be 19 years this July! I gain, I lose, I gain back...usually more than I lost, but not always. Over the years my "top weight" had gradually increased. Eventually I went up to 260. I was miserable. I wanted to go to massage school. I worked hard again, and dropped 65 lbs by the time school started(thanks to Quick Weight Loss Center). I maintained well through school, being busy helps! But during my internship, which was spotty as far as time, I started gaining again. By the time I had my license and was out working, I had gained 30 lbs! I was barely hanging on until I got very sick. I got walking pnuemonia, which set me back. I also gained a lot of weight. Then I was in a car accident, hurt my leg real bad. More set backs, more weight. Got sick again with the pneumonia and several bouts of bronchitis. More weight, less motivation, less physical strenth. It went up from there, finally topping out at my most recent highest ever-- 293.5!! . So then I had the mentality of "Why fight the battle when I am going to lose the war? What incintive do I have?" Just get used to being fat, and eat what you want. Why bother? Ok, fine... but.. being at that weight was ruining my life. I was only operating at 50%. I did not have the energy or motivation to go out and find work (self-employed). This hurt my relationship with my DH. He wants me to work and bring in $$, especially after all the $$ I spent in school and CEU courses afterwards (I had 52 CEU hours in my first year of license, I was a real go getter at first, before I gained the weight). I also had several other things be affected... my sex life (almost non-existant), I could not run and play with kids, I was too embarassed to go swimming with the family and would sit out. I used to ride horses all the time, my life passion! Nothing occupied my mind more over the many many years more than horses! Now I was too fat to ride. I would have to ride a draft horse! Even when I did ride a horse that could handle my weight, I felt too unbalanced, unsafe. If the horse was to take a quick turn, being spooked or something, I would come off, hit the ground HARD! I ride on streets. Asphalt is NOT forgiving! I stopped riding when I was about 260. I wound up driving miniature horses. They can pull me in a cart just fine down the street! So I have been doing that for a couple years now. However, if there was to ever be an emergency, and I needed to hop out of the cart... good luck with that! My weight prohibits me to act fast and quickly, safely. So I got scared about that, and eventually quit driving as well. And of course, there is the usual depression. I started hating myself, hating any skinny woman I saw, hating that even at Walmart I was having trouble finding the size I needed.. XXX. I had to go to specialty stores. Myfeet gave me major problems, which lamed me up more. At one time I was borderline diabetic, according to my doc. I started to explore differnt ways to get rid of this weight more permanetly. I came across the LAP-BAND®®®®. I ray of hope entered my life! Could this be the magic bullet? I have used tools in the past to lose weight, like the Metabolife, Weight Watchers, QWLC, etc. The support and help I got from these really helped! I needed soemthing like that again, but something stronger, something that would stay with me always. A constant motivator. The Band seems to be it. I had to give it a try. The big things that were holding me back to get it was money, and pursuading DH to let me get surgery. He is very protective of me and highly values me. Dosn't want to lose me to some complication and be left raising my now 2 kids alone. My insurance would not pay for it. I dropped that insurance and got another that the sales guy told me they would do it. I let almost a year go by, and then I tried to do it. They would not, he lied to me! Luckily I had gotten some inheritance from my grandmother this past year. Now was my chance! I decided I could pay cash for half, and Care Credit the other half. Now DH had to be convinced. By this point, he realized I am so affected by the weight, something has to be done, so he finally agreed after I educated myself and him about the whole thing, and the risks. I met once again with True Results (I I talked with them a year ago when I was first intersted). On the scale I was 293.5. I commited to doing it. I came in for the pre-op talk with the surgeon. I had already dropped about 10 lbs, because I was now determined I was going to do this one last time, and was eating better. He told me about the pre-op diet. I had 3 weeks before surgery. I was very faithful to the diet and had no regrets or strayed from it. Once I set my mind on something I want, I go get it! I just had to mentally prepare myself for this battle and war, once again, hopefully for the final time. Itwas working! Ilost a total of 30 lbs by surgry day.. April 14th 2010. I was already feeling better and stronger. I started working out again at Curves (I had a membership that I had carried for a year without going!!) Then the big day arrived! I did not think I was nervous. but apparently I was. That morning I felt shaky, and a bit light headed, some nauseousness. I thought I was sick, and would not be able to go! But then I figured out it was nerves! I settled down a few hours later. I took the kids to school, came back, and showered with the special soap they required. I was there by 9:30am. The hardest part was not drinking! My mouth was very dry. I would take baby sips of water, just enough to wet my mouth. I filled out papers, gave a pee sample (to prove I was not pregnant), got the IV in, the Heprin shot, the wonderful gown on, all that. Then I said goodbye to DH. I woke up in the recovery room. Very woozy, and sore. They had me get up and get my clothes on, quite a chore! Then they got me inot the xray room and swallow barium. The xray showed that the band was too tight, nothing going through! So I had to lie on a table while they pushed around on me (OUCH!) to find the port. Then I guess they took some out. Did the barium again, now it was fine. They finally got me into the car on to the house, DH driving. I was quite sick at my tummy by then, and dry heaved a few times (ouch!). I could not drink anything. DH called the nurse and they called in a prescription for a supository. He also got the liquid Vicodin. The Vicodin would not stay down. I just had to deal with the pain until the next day. I eventually felt better by nightfall. I just went to sleep. It wasn't the best night sleep, but it worked. Next morning I felt Ok for drinking something. I had a protiend shake, and some broth. Then I took some pain meds. They stayed down, but did not do any good. Call the nurse! She said to take liquid Motrin in between doses of Vicodin. Eventually that worked, by nightfall, the pain was getting less. I forced myself to walk around the house off and on. I took the Gas X. Next day I was walking around outside in the yard. Next day down the street to the stop sign and back, a couple of times! I was still quite sore. Rolling over at night in bed was painful too. I could only sleep on my right side for a while. Then I could tolerate my back. Now I am about to be able to sleep on my left, but it still pinches and hurts sometimes. Getting up from achair or bed was very painful too for a while. Now it is no big deal, just some minor pain (I am 8 days post-op today). My shouldr has started to hurt again. So that bugs me. Today though, has been my most painfree day! But 2 days ago, it was a bad day! I was hurrying out the door to take kids to school, now that I could drive again. I must have drunk my smoothie too fast, something. I got on the road and felt nauseous, weak, yucky. I started thinking about the surgery. Thinking about the pain i was experincing, and how I was stuck with this thing inside me, unless I got another operation. I do not know if I somehow psyched myself into feling like this, or what. I tried to think of other things. After dropping the kids off, I hurried home (2o minute drive). the feelings of sickness got worse! I really thought I would have to pull over and either puke or call for help. I was really scared. I did not know what was going on!:sad: It was a real mental battle for me to get home OK. Then I ran to the bathroom. I never threw up, but I did have loose bowels. I took a supository and went to bed. Two hours later I was OK. I was weak, but not sick at my stomach. I took it easy the rest of that day and the next. I was worried the next day if I would start feeling like that again. I did not drink a smoothie before leaving. I just took water with me. I was OK, just drained. Now today I feel great!:wink2: Better than ever! I also got to start soft foods, like soup, and yogurt smoothies! That has also helped the stomach rumblings I sometimes have, hunger pains! I was not really hungry, but my stomach said it was ! That feeling of your stomach turning in on itself, growling, squiching around! Not fun! Anyway, I am glad I have done this, so far. It has been a bit more of a recovery than I was thinking it would be, unexpected pain, soreness, etc. But I have been assured by many that this too... will pass... and be a memory. So I hold onto that and continue to follow instructions closely and try to not over do anything. This is a good excuse to pamper myself and take the time I need to heal properly. Until next time my friend!!:smile2: ps.. my goal is 170!:wink2: