lkcraig316

That's fantastic!

Time to shop, Rootman! Congrats! Hmm, belts. I haven't worn a belt since the late 80s when we took the part that you put through the loops after you buckled and instead of going through the loops we would tuck it through top of the belt and let it hang down in the front. Anybody remember that? I know I'm not describing it well. I guess I can start looking at clothes with belts now. Cool!

For a couple weeks I was in a weird transition stage. The smallest plus size were too loose to spend money on, but the largest regular sizes were still a bit squooshy in the tummy. I agree with you guys about Lane Bryant. I did have nice clothes, but the price I had to pay for them was ridiculous. Now I can actually shop stores that have actual sales and put things on clearance. The pair of capris I got at Old Navy were only $12.50. Can't beat it.

Thanks, winecountrygirl. You will be where I am in just a few months. I was so excited!

Congratulations!! You look absolutely gorgeous in your dress. Best wishes for a great marriage!

My very first puree was Taco Soup and it was the best tasting thing I'd had since surgery. I was really craving something with some bite to it. I've had more trouble with creamy soups and mayo than with spicy. I think it just depends on your individual sleeve. There's really no predicting what it will like and what it will reject. Trial and error.

One of my goals was to be able to shop at Old Navy. Wearing a size 26/28 as recently as May, that has never been an option. Old Navy wasn't around when I was a skinny teen and young 20s. So today I ran over there to see if I could find any capris or jeans that would fit. I tried on three size 18s and lo and behold, I had to put them back and walked out of there with perfectly fitting size 16s and a really cute top. That totally made my day!

Ouroborous, I'm glad you pointed out that the doctors are really not getting rich like they used to. I never worked in the healthcare field until I was hired as administrative assistant for a joint replacement practice. It blew me away how little of the money that is charged actually goes to the doctors. Our oldest surgeon is in his late 50s and has made a great deal of money. He also has patents and speaks and makes money from that. Our newest surgeon just started practicing medicine two years ago. He is struggling to make a living while he builds up his patient base. He takes as many nights of ER call and office call as he can to supplement his income. I do blame this partly on the insurance industry and partly on the litigiousness of our country. Malpractice rates are absolutely ridiculous, but you can't afford to practice medicine without it. For four surgeons and 6 mid-level providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) we pay around about $10,000 per month. Private insurance companies base their reimbursement rates on Medicare. If Medicare lowers what they will pay for a certain procedure, private insurance will follow suit. Dealing with Medicare is so frustrating for doctors' offices. I have been working on getting our physical address changed in their system since we moved to another office in 2007. I just got the approval notice from Medicare two weeks ago. The amount of tax money wasted by that branch of the government alone is astounding. So I don't think a single-payer system is the answer either. The government is incapable of running a business.

Thanks for all the replies! I hadn't thought about the heat issue. Actually the doctor's office where I work is ALWAYS cold and I wear a jacket most of the day. Also I park in a garage so the car doesn't get too terribly hot. So I don't really think it's a Fluid issue, although I am making more of an effort now. I am also getting back to basics with measuring my food. Since I moved to a regular diet, I have mainly been eyeing what I eat and I am probably not too accurate. I did pack my lunch today, even though we have a lunch coming. That way if there's nothing I can eat, I will not have to settle for something that a) I don't want; and is not the best choice. I do feel hungry often, but I'm sure it's head hunger or acid because it happens right after I eat (like 15-30 minutes following a meal). I take omeprazole every night but I wonder if I need something stronger. I'll have to talk to my PCP. I started on The Biggest Loser Challenge last night. Wow! That is a workout. My calves, upper arms and abs are sore today. I hope that 4 to 5 days a week of this will get those numbers falling again. I was proud of myself that after the fitness test it deemed me ready for the moderate workout and not the light. I'm not as big a lump as I thought.

I am now 11 weeks out and going into my second month of a stall. I work in a doctor's office and we have reps bring lunch a couple times a week. There is usually always something I can eat: grilled chicken, green Beans, salad, etc. Today the rep brought boxed lunches: sandwich, chips, chocolate brownie, banana. I was so disappointed and for a minute regretted what I had done to myself. I couldn't take a box and waste everything except the sandwich innards and half a banana. So I went to the cafeteria and got a burger patty. And I was feeling sorry for myself the whole way there. I lost so much so fast at the beginning that I didn't regret not being able to eat much. I could see pounds coming off every day. Now here I am having not lost a single pound since June 16. It's so hot here that I can't stand walking. When I get home from work it is still in the high 80s/low 90s with a ridiculous heat index. (Tennessee swelters in the summer.) I had been doing the Wii Fit, but it just doesn't seem to be pushing me. So last night I bought The Biggest Loser Challenge for my Wii. I'm going to start on it tonight. Anybody tried it? If doing this new exercise routine doesn't get things moving in the next couple weeks, I am going to back track to purees. I lost quite a bit during that phase, but the variety of things to puree kept my appetite in check.

I'm two months out and am able to drink thin liquids normally, even have taken a few gulps. Unsweet tea, Crystal Light, plain Water . . . it goes down great and I'm so much more satisfied drinking now that I'm not taking baby sips. Thicker liquids--milk, Protein drinks, even the occasional small glass of grape juice, I have to drink just a little slower, but I still can do more than sips. Don't worry, you'll be drinking like you were before surgery in no time!

This morning I went for my two-month follow up with my surgeon. I have been in a stall since June 19 and I am getting so frustrated. Dr. Spaw asked me lots of questions about how and what I am eating right now. He said he didn't see any dietary reason why I would be in such a stall. He suggested that it might be because about that time in June my blood pressure plummeted and I quit taking my lisinopril with diuretic. Anyway, he was so encouraging and assured me that when I come back in November, there is NO WAY I will still be at the weight I am today. He made me feel so much better. I was really getting down and worried that this was all my body was going to let go of. A funny thing did happen. I had a list of questions and one of them was about the tenderness/soreness in my tummy area. He asked me if it was cramping or tender to touch. I told him it wasn't and that it wasn't that bad. He said it shouldn't be from surgery because all of that would be healed by now. On my way back to work this morning it occurred to me: I have been doing crunches. Of COURSE my tummy is tender. I had forgotten all about tummy soreness from exercise. LOL.

So after two and a half months (including the pre-op diet), I am back on regular foods. Yahoo! Today for lunch I made our family steak fajitas. For the others I had regular flour tortillas and regular tortilla chips. For me . . . I didn't use a tortilla on my fajita, but I did find some whole wheat low-carb tortillas that had 5 grams of carbs per tortilla. I cut mine up into wedges and sprayed a baking sheet with Pam. I then put the wedges on the pan, salted them and put them in the oven at 350. I flipped them about halfway through, but didn't add any more Pam or salt. They ended up with a bit of a crunch (more like a cracker than a chip). I ate three of them dipped into queso dip. In the fajita, I had steak strips, green and red bell peppers and onion. It was heavenly and it all settled very well. But . . . I am now going into week three of a stupid stall. I have upped my exercise and Water. I don't know what else I can do except for going back to thick liquids for a awhile. This is getting very frustrating. Surely I am not done losing already??????

Thanks, so much!!! So far I haven't run into any situations in restaurants where they were NOT helpful to me. I just wasn't sure about Melting Pot since it is so different. We probably won't be going until August. I will call in advance just to make sure there's not an embarrassing problem.

Sorry, I guess I thought everybody knew what The Melting Pot is. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant. You have a salad, cheese fondue with fruits and breads, then your cooking oil with raw chicken, steak, shrimp, mushrooms, and then a chocolate fondue for dessert with cakes and bananas and strawberries, etc. We have always done the Big Night Out for Two which was enough of all of this for two people. But now I would mainly eat the cheese with a VERY few items and the main course for proteins, which you cook yourself. Possibly a teeny tad of chocolate on a banana (hard to resist). It is about a 2-3 hour process and really is designed just for the experience. It's a once-a-year splurge that we have always done. It's definitely NOT a buffet.

My husband and I always Celebrate our anniversary with another couple at Melting Pot. DH and I always order the Big Night Out for 2. Obviously, this would be a waste of money now. So if any of you have gone post VSG how did you handle ordering? Did you get one full dinner and then a kids' version? Would they let you share a meal for one? I know most of their food is not "doggy baggable" so we'd need to order what we could eat there. Any ideas?

WOW, girl! I am impressed. Congrats.

I'm so sorry!!! I meant the last TUESDAY of every month. This month's meeting is Tuesday, June 28 at 5:00 in the conference center in the doctors building where Dr. Spaw is located. Does he teach on Tuesdays too?

Very happy with him and his staff. He is very encouraging and the staff was so patient with all my post op questions. I think I called them several days in a row. We have a sleeve support group meeting the last Thursday of this month. You ought to come. It starts at 5 or 5:30.

So, I am at about 6-7 weeks out from surgery. I have lost about 50% of what I want to lose. I'm overall feeling better physically--or at least I was. For the past week and a half I have been getting very faint when I stand up and it lasts a couple of minutes. Also, all of a sudden going up stairs has become as difficult as it was before I had surgery. I don't get out of breath, my legs just feel like Iron. I have been on blood pressure meds for about 10 years now. I take Lisinopril HCTZ and Metoprolol once a day. My bp has been on average around 130/80 WITH the meds. So I decided to go to my PCP today to tell him about the lethargy and lightheadedness. He took my blood pressure and it was 95/60. WOW. No wonder I have felt like crap. The good news is that we are going to start dropping the doses as long as my bp stays in the normal range. So YAY!!!! And also I don't feel like such a lazy slug as there is a physical reason why I have just been laying around except when I'm at work. This whole journey has been so fascinating. I'm discovering something new about myself every day. And finally--for the first time in probably 15-20 years--I feel girly and I'm loving it!!!! Lisa

My nut recommended Celebrate capsules. You take three per day. I ordered them online and they came in just a couple. I had gotten to where I was skipping my Bariatric Advantage chewables because they were SO sour to me. These capsules are just regular size and designed specifically for bariatric patients.

Thanks for your replies! Actually the 50 pounds total is from January until today. But, yes, the majority came off during the pre-op diet and now. I guess I've gotten spoiled with the rate it was falling off! I had not even thought about the steroids causing the problem. But that really does make sense. I know when I had my "big tummy" and would take steroids, I would eat like a pig. I guess since I can't eat, the steroids are just hanging on to everything I have.

I was so happy to get down to 191 by my fifth week. My weight had been moving steadily downward since my two-week pre-op diet. I really thought I was going to avoid that famous stall. Well, ever since I got a lower respiratory infection I have gained and lost from 191-193 over and over for a little over a week. I have had to cut back on exercise, because when I get hot I start coughing until I gag. I am having to force myself to eat because I just don't want it--especially in the mornings with all the drainage. I'm coming to the last four days of my steroids and two more days of my Zpak. I really thought I would be much better by now. Has any body been sick like this with something completely unrelated to surgery and found that it really put a wrench into their weight loss? Other than making sure I get all my fluids in, any ideas? I was able to get down 1/2 egg with diced ham, cheese and tomatoes for Breakfast, so I really am trying to make sure that what little I do eat is Protein rich. I had some pulled beef for lunch by itself. It was BBQ flavored but only had 1.5 carbs in the amount I ate. Encouragement and advice is welcome!

You look fantastic! I can really tell a difference.

Great job, Shanny! You are working it!