Chicadee

My favorite puree was my homemade beef stew put through the food processor. Plenty of protein with all the veggies.

my sleeve loves steak, other cuts of beef, hamburger, pork chops, ham, bacon, chicken, turkey, shellfish, cod, most veggies, cheese, milk, popsicles, potatoes(all kinds), rice, crackers, Soup my sleeve is fussy about eggs, sweets, cookies(except oatmeal raisin, it likes those) my sleeve hates sausage, spicy anything, pancakes, waffles, most bread(unless toasted), more than 2 bites of ice cream, Pasta, soda i am sure i can think of more,,,,

Congrats that is great news!! Good luck

So I thought I would share a couple images, it amazes me to see myself before I lost the weight, I never saw myself like that. I think I was in complete denial, because even though everything hurt and I was exhausted all the time, I never thought I looked like that. The first picture is definitely at my largest, it was last September 2010. The progress photos are from surgery to now.

I didn't inquire about using disability for this, I just used 2 weeks vacation time. It would have been nice to stay home a bit longer cause that first week back was very tiresome and I had no energy. I didn't want to be bothered with the red tape of filing and having to go through the HR department for the disability.

Pre-surgery I was one of the heavier people here but was lucky enough not to have a ton of co-morbidities. I had severe sleep apnea and bad back, knee, ankle and foot pain(plantar fascitis and bone spurs). I was diagnosed with the sleep apnea back in 2007, just before i started looking into WLS. I had surgery in May and I stopped wearing my mask completely 2 months ago or so. All of my foot pain is gone, I don't even use my orthotics any more. I went from only being able to wear new balance sneakers with my inserts in them to being able to wear any shoe in my closet in the last few months. I still get some occasional knee/ankle pain if I am standing for extended period of time but I still have a lot of weight to lose yet.

My bad habits: I don't log my food everyday, I like myfitnesspal I just need to get into the habit of using it for food, I track my weight there (I weigh myself pretty much every day but don't let the normal fluctuations get me down, I know I am not going to drop every day). That being said I am sure I am not getting enough Protein everyday this is a very bad thing and I need to get myself on track. I don't exercise at all. I keep saying I want to go tot he gym but never get myself to go, I know I need to start doing something, it is like I am fighting with myself about it. I rarely take my Vitamins. I eat more carbs than I need to.

i went to my first seminar back in the summer of 2007. At that time i only knew about the band and the bypass only and I knew i never wanted a bypass. I went through the whole process and a week before surgery in October 07 I chickened out. That was the best thing I did, fast forward to last fall when I heard about the sleeve. I attended another seminar and was SO happy that I did not have the band after reading all of the stories about it. I decided on the sleeve and had the procedure in May, i had to do a 6 month diet otherwise I would have had it done last fall.

I just picked a number I thought would be good. When I was a sophomore in high school I weighed 124 and wore a size 7. I felt like that was too skinny for me. When I got pregnant with my son, 19 yrs ago, I was 180. So I thought 150 would be a good number, not sure if I will ever get there but anything under 200 I would be entirely happy with.

Unjury chocolate splendor with milk...my definite favorite

111 lbs gone so far....started losing in March had surgery on May 3rd. Still have about 129 lbs to go for my ultimate goal but getting to 199 will make me ecstatic, which is 80 lbs away

May 3rd, 2011, 107 lbs gone forever.

My first period right after surgery was horrible. So much bleeding and it went on for like 2 weeks heavy. Then I didn't get it at all for three months and the GYN put me on premarin and provera and I finally got it, that was pretty normal. I just got it again a third time since surgery and it is pretty heavy but not like the first time. I have to say losing that much blood was scary. I would definitely check in with your doctor if it persists or you have pain.

Yes the sinking in is normal. When I first saw mine I was like ummm, someone screwed up when they sewed me but now I am just fine, no more dents. I have heard other people ask about it on the boards before too and everyone seems to say the same thing. And that one does tend to me more sore for awhile.

I had severe obstructive sleep apnea before surgery and now I probably haven't used my machine in over 2 months. I have not yet gone for a sleep study to tell me officially I no longer have it but I got to a point where I absolutely could not sleep with the mask anymore (and I always faithfully slept with it before). I had my pressure turned down a couple times and then I just got to where it started making me swallow lots of air into my stomach. I have not been snoring at all and seem to be getting a fairly good nights sleep now. Other than typical aches and pains from being very obese, I didn't have any other medical conditions to resolve. I do have a lot more stamina now, I don't get winded like I used to walking places and going out shopping. I still have a long way to go and I am sure once I start exercising all the time that will improve even more.

I took 2 weeks off which included the surgery so bascially a week and half after surgery. I went back to work that monday and was exhausted and ended up going home early tuesday and staying home wednesday. It really depends on how you are feeling.

I don't look for things that are sugar free or fat free, i pretty much eat normal things. My one big thing is i that i try not to drink my calories so I do drink a variety of the flavored zero calorie waters/iced teas. In my hot tea, I use splenda cause that is what I am used to and I am no longer using fat free milk, i only use a splash and I don't feel the fat free is doing anything for me. Other than that I eat most regular normal food, i do use light mayo, miracle whip and salad dressings. i only buy the no sugar added or sugar free popsicles as well. I suppose I could lose a bit faster if I watched those things more closely.

I haven't had this issue yet because i still have quite a ways to go, however i have been getting a lot more attention lately because I have lost 103 so far and it is i guess pretty noticeable now. I'm not sure how i feel about the attention it has all been positive so far. I had a woman in the cafeteria turn to me in line and say "congratulations!!" and I looked at her with a puzzled look on my face.....then she says "on your weight loss, so and so, told me how great you have been doing, you look great." so i said thank you, so i guess some people are talking about it. Most people don't know i had surgery, so i am sure there would be other talking going on if they knew that. I hope the comments remain positive as i continue to lose.

I started my journey back in 2007 exploring WLS and I knew back then I did not want a bypass because a family member has had nothing but trouble with hers, I didn't want to be rerouted. I was scheduled for a band on October 12th 2007 and I chickened out and canceled the week before. I was scared to death. Back then I knew nothing about the sleeve and then last year someone we know on a gaming forum talked about the sleeve so I looked it up and was immediately draw to the benefits of no rerouting, no foreign objects, no constant maintenance and to be what I consider "normal". I am so happy I chickened out 4 years ago because the sleeve is the best thing I could have done for myself. I can pretty much eat anything and feel normal just much smaller portions. I have lost 102 lbs since I started my journey.

I started using a straw without even realizing I was doing it. I was always told we shouldn't use them. Just at a restaurant one day I was sipping my tea and realized I was doing it. It has caused me no problems at all.

Thank you =). It is actually since the beginning of March when I started doing some pre-op stuff at the Dr's request. On the day of surgery I was 363 so I have lost 70 something since May. I had a lot to lose and have been stuck over a month now in a stall. Still have about 140 to go. not quite halfway there yet. Don't get me wrong I am VERY happy to have lost all I have so far but compared to most I have a lot more to lose.

oh absolutely, would do it again in a heartbeat. wish I could have done it sooner. I have lost 98lbs so far, still have a ways to go yet. It was rough the weeks and first two months after surgery. I did have a micro leak at 6 weeks out, it fixed itself but i was in the hospital for 3 days on antibiotics., nothing that my surgeon could have prevented at all, it was quite a surprise so my situation is definitely not the norm. I no longer use my CPAP machine, my feet don't hurt, I can wear all of my shoes. I fit more comfortably in most places. I no longer need to ask for a table at a restaurant, I can once again sit in booths. I always have doggie bags to take home with me. I can't wait to get to the smaller sizes in clothing and possibly not need plus sizes any more. The band size for my bra has dropped 8 inches already. Roller coasters and horseback riding are a bit further out, still to heavy for that yet. Something I am looking forward to along with riding comfortably in a plane. I can literally eat almost anything. Some stuff doesn't always agree with me, I can't eat a lot of bread or bready items, not that I should be eating that anyway. I have never been a spicy food person but I seem more sensitive to it now. It is definitely a huge lifestyle change and will take some getting used to. Again, these boards have given me tons of knowledge so I always had good questions or brought knowledge i learned here to my Dr's appointments. I have been researching since 2007. I had originally planned a LapBand back then, same surgeon but chickened out the week before. I am glad I did because I have heard such sad stories here about people and their bands. I am glad I waited until the sleeve was available and covered by my insurance.

I was sleeved back on May 3rd, 2011

I am also in CT but my surgeon was Tim Ehrlich in Shelton. He works out of Griffin Hospital. There is a plethora of information here if you look around. Everyone is always willing to help and answer questions. I started a group for the Connecticut Sleevers just today so you are welcome to join, not much in there yet.

I was having a great deal of problems with mine after I started losing weight. I was swallowing tons of air and having very uncomfortable air in my stomach as well. I looked up how to turn down the pressure online and adjusted it myself. I finally got to a point where I couldn't use it anymore and the pressure was pretty low. I intend to have another sleep study done to confirm but I don't feel like I need the machine anymore and am not snoring and sleeping pretty well. You probably should have it adjusted down some but I would encourage using it once it is adjusted until you cannot use it any more.