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I can't believe it. I got on the scale this morning and it was 244.5 lbs. I've officially lost half of the weight towards my goal! I'm down 76 lbs since my highest weight and 63 lbs since surgery. And I'm not even 5 months out! I really didn't think it would happen this quickly. And weirdly enough, I feel smaller now than when I was this weight before. Weight distribution is a funny thing. Here's a pic of me pre-op at about 312 lbs, and two pics of me from today! I have so much more energy and mobility now. I'm so grateful to myself for having this surgery despite my fears and concerns. It has been SO worth it! Big thank yous to all of you guys for supporting me as I go through this, I really value this forum and everyone who posts here! ❤️

Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I'm getting a into a routine for my meals. Every day, I start out with 8-16 ounces of water, and then a proffee, which I have come to look forward to even the night before. My proffees are simply a black coffee with a protein powder added. There are three products that I cycle through: Premier Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla, and Dymatize Vanilla. For second breakfast on workdays, I will have a low-fat yogurt with two tablespoons of PBFit and two teaspoons of no sugar added dried cherries. I will have ingested 35-45 grams of protein at this point between the two breakfasts, with 250-285 calories, and about 20 carbs. For second breakfast on non-workdays, I will prepare two servings of plain, instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of an olive oil-based spread. This means I will have had 34 grams of protein, 365 calories, and 38 carbs. Non-workdays are when I am being very active with training sessions, so I allow myself more carbohydrate fuel. Snacks on any day are always mixed nuts, even when I am travelling. I will have 0.2 cups of a blend that I make myself. It consists of dry roasted peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts. This is 5 grams of protein, 163 calories, and 7 carbs. Breakfast and snacks have been the easiest to nail down. Lunch and dinner have more variables, and I prepare enough for leftovers. I concentrate on protein first, and then add vegetables. Typically tempeh, tofu, or Field Roast products with roasted or sautéed vegetables. Today, I will be eating leftovers from last night. Two ounces of tempeh with four ounces of roasted vegetables that consist of red and yellow sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, small purple potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I will add a tablespoon of olive oil-based spread, break up 3 walnuts to sprinkle of top, and garnish with two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. This particular meal will be 19 grams of protein, 377 calories, and 28 grams of carbs. Bear in mind that I do eat more carbs when I am not working, and I focus on ingesting healthy carbs instead of breads/crackers/chips/crisps. It's a helluva journey and I'm thankful to be on it!

I wouldn't jump ahead. They have these food progressions for a reason. You'll be able to have other things soon enough - and at some point, all food restrictions will be lifted. I know it's hard, but just hang in there..

Thank you NickelChip for these ideas. I'm also having trouble. I asked my surgeon if my sugar addiction was going to be a problem after surgery and he said "no". Since I had the sleeve, I don't get dumping syndrome when I eat sugary things. I start over every morning, every afternoon, and every evening - lol. Because of back pain, I hadn't been able to walk very often, but I've been trying to get around the neighborhood a 1-2 times a day on the days I work from home. I want to get serious with weight loss so that my pain will lessen. I know sugar is an inflammatory agent - but, sugar addiction is real. brandycsiz we can do it!

What else is allowed on your program? Some are more lenient than others. Mine allowed tomato or strained cream soups, for example. Although lobster bisque has got to be one of the richest soups I've ever encountered. It's so full of calories and fat, not to mention lobster is not as easy to digest as, say, flaky white fish. I honestly can't imagine eating this 4 days post-op. Greek yogurt would be a healthier option, or strained cream of chicken soup. So, the issue with coffee is caffeine, which dehydrates. If you said you were getting 64+ oz water every day, no problem, I might shrug at a little bit of coffee. Some programs allow a cup a day. But given that you're struggling to hit even a much more modest 48oz goal, I wouldn't drink something that is known to dehydrate you. Could you try decaf instead? I drink a 32 oz travel mug of decaf tea every morning and it goes down so smoothly, better than water, and counts toward my hydration goal. Ultimately, taking a bite or sip of something forbidden isn't as big an issue as why you're doing it. When I am tempted to do something not approved on my plan, I have tried to ask myself why, and get to the bottom of it, because what can quickly undo all your best efforts and intentions is not being in a healthy headspace. Is there something going on that will continue to drive you to push the limits, or lead to a slippery slope? That's something only you can know. I totally understand how boring and disgusting the options get that first week post-op. But it's really such a short time. For me, my program allowed soft proteins at one week post-op. That's really not so long to wait. Your body doesn't need much right now. If you're like me, you don't even experience hunger yet. So "needing" something different is mostly head hunger, which can get a lot more dangerous as you go along. Bending the rules now makes it a lot more likely you will bend them later, too.

Yay!!! 🤩 I am so proud of you for how far you've come! You've worked hard to get here, and you've earned it! Also, your hair is *chef's kiss* 😙👌

Really interesting video. I've seen other videos from this doctor before.

Scratch made or premade sauce?

My face on my weight loss journey, from 421 pounds to 213 pounds (18 more pounds to go!!!)

I am 62 and own a retail shoe store. I was sleeved in Mexico on Mon June 8th, drove home (6 hours) on Fri June 12th and was back in the store Saturday June 13th. I also have been through Ovarian cancer and had major abdominal surgery with that. In comparison, this was a breeze, but I am one tough bird. Being at work makes the day go by faster and I am focused on something other than myself.