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It *is* a lot of weight and I'm not surprised you feel better already. I can't wait to be where you are! Renee`

I'm lucky, I only have to low carb it for 10 days, which I'm doing now. I was just telling Samantha I'm SO SCARED! so you guys give me hope when I'm going crazy with fear lol Renee`

LOL! good idea. like i said, this is only my opinion and you're totally welcome to disagree with me! Renee`

so glad everything went well and you're doing good! Renee`

WOW! You seriously look a lot younger and you're doing awesome!

y'all give me so much hope!!!

Again, this is my opinion and what has worked for me. One of my very dear friends was a nutritionist and he told me "I don't want you to go more than 2 1/2 to 3 hours without putting some Protein in your body. This will speed up your metabolism. For every 100 pounds you weigh, drink a gal. of Water a day. Keep yourself hydrated and you won't deal with saggy skin, plus, dehydration stresses the kidneys etc." now, this part you can't do, there's just not enough room in your new tummy for a gallon of water. However, keep hydrated, drink as much as you can. With the mentality of "OMG this extra calorie will ruin me!" you will feel guilty about every morsel you put into your mouth. That's not healthy hun. You seriously NEED to feed your body, ok? I promise you it will work and you will lose, even with those extra 2 bites I'm telling you to take LOL I know exactly what you're feeling because I felt it too, when I was working with Don, but you know what? He was absolutely right. Now, do this and you will NOT fail: Eat CLEAN, that's the most important, eat clean. No junk. LOTS of protein, healthy fats and water. xoxo Renee`

I totally hear you about the hardest thing. It's not an easy decision to mutilate your body by having part of a major organ removed and anyone that says they didn't have second thoughts or fears is a liar lol It's scary, it's emotional, it's painful and ok well it's scary (notice I put that in there twice? LOL). I look at it as being one of those speed bumps in life that I just have to get over and yep, it'll be hard and it's gonna hurt but I'll be better for it in the long run. You're doing amazingly well!! xoxo Renee`

This is my opinion but were I in your shoes I would up my calories a bit, to 80 or even 1000 a day and up my Protein to 80 - 90 a day. This is to give back a little to the body so that it's not so reluctant to let go of the fat. You'll feel better and kick start the losing cycle again. You didn't mention your carbs, but I would keep them at or below 30 a day. In a day or two, you should notice a difference on the scale. Sometimes it's hard to break a stall, but it's not impossible. xoxo Renee`

Your post made me smile. It is the little things in life and sometimes being brought back down to basics is a great eye opener. I'm so hoping that today is a great day for you and you're not so weak. It's so hard going through major surgery but I have to tell you, when I first started reading your posts I thought you were so brave to go through this. I have no clue as to why, but I just felt like even though you were scared and nervous, you really did the "chin up and march forward!" thing. You totally rock! Keep on moving forward, one day at a time and slowly...I just know you're going to do great! xoxo Renee`

I grew up in Lincoln, Malcolm, Eagle and the rest of my family is in a small town across the boarder from South Dakota called Niobrara. I still have a lot of land there and we plan to retire with a home in lincoln and one in niobrara. I grew up mainly in the Belmont area of lincoln and my dad still lives there. My mom lives on the other side of Lincoln in the newer section, closer to Eagle where her siblings are. VERY COOL! I never thought I'd run into someone from "home". I took my kids back there last year and spent the winter (BIG MISTAKE!) and they had a blast with all the snow. They really didn't understand the concept of "GO BIG RED!!!!!" until they saw it first hand but now they chant it on football days...can you hear them screaming it all the way from Vegas? LOL They were raised here in Vegas so to say it was a bit of a culture shock is putting it mildly. They were stunned that "people TALK to us here....why?!?!?!" um...Midwest, they're nice. "but why? what do they want?" or the best one "Why do people wave at you when they're driving?" uhm...it's a farm thing. This was asked on our way out to Eagle and people just do...they wave...they're nice! lol Too funny, I'd forgotten the kids reaction until this morning. Renee`

I live here in Vegas but I'm going to Mexicali to have mine done. Jumping through hoops with HPN wasn't working for me or I should say they wouldn't work WITH me. Hopefully someone else will chime in!

lmao!!!

Welcome! My whole family is in and around Lincoln so it's kinda cool to meet someone "from home". I almost came back home to have my surgery but the cost of it without insurance there was just too prohibitive. Try to remember, you just had MAJOR surgery and it will take a lot out of you so rest up and "eat" well because your body absolutely needs it right now. Renee`

Meggie the TJ's cottage cheese and their greek yogurt are amazingly awesome too! Lynn is on her way to Vegas as we speak and as soon as she gets here (probably about 4 days drive) we're going to TJ's and shop. love love love Trader Joe's stuff. Tomato, icky. Not sure if that's my cup of tea, but maybe. It just seems a shame to waste it by not dunking a grilled cheese sandwich into it lol XOXO Renee` and yeah...your face does look thinner! WOOT!

Hydrocodone is known to be a bit hard on the tummy so I always take mine with food. Guess that will be out of the question for a while so I'll need to think of something else. In other words though, for you, TAKE IT WITH FOOD! lol I'm giggling because I've been on it for years and I know this, but someone brand new to it, or any narcotic pain med really, it's hard on the tummy and especially a new one. I live in Vegas as well so if you need something, seriously, I'm here in town and it's not a huge deal to help someone else out!...just leave me a msg here ok? XOXO Renee`

I'm SO EXCITED for you! I just watched your video (duh! before I read through here even, I got sidetracked and checked my email and then clicked on the link to your vlog lol) and I was clapping my hands like a dork and laughing. I'm so happy that you get to put something in! XOXO Renee` p.s. if I woke up anyone in my house and have to deal with their being mad at me, I'm blaming you. LOL

Definitely better than most of the ones here in Vegas I'm sure! Thank you so much for letting us know you're doing ok and what you found out. Hydrocodone....crap. I take that daily and probably will have to forever. Guess it'll be time for my Rheumatologist to come up with a better plan of attack when I get back. Renee`

So I started officially on my journey, starting my pre-op diet today. I have to say that while the New whey is convenient (3.5 oz and 42 grams of protein) it's freakin NASTY! My son wanted to taste it *eg*...mkay. He comes in my room all red-faced and I swear he looked like a dog that just ate a few mouthfulls of grass..."UGH that's DISGUSTING! What the heck?!?" I was doubled over in laughter on my bed in almost tears. I told him I wanted him to have a taste of what all I was willing to go through and sacrifice for this surgery and he said "I wonder how much Protein dog crap has in it, it's GOTTA taste better than that stuff!" So I asked him to do a taste test, but he declined. Low carb isn't nearly as bad as some have gone through, in fact it's way easier than most so I can't complain. The only problem I've had today is that for some reason I've spent most of the day in the bathroom with my IBS flaring up big time.

All I have to do for pre-op with Dr. aceves is a low carb diet so it's really not a huge deal. My son grilled burgers tonight and he made mine low carb and added a few extra so I would have something to munch on. I looked around today and realized my house has very little Protein in it other than the main course we make for dinner. I guess i'm not really shocked, it seems like some days carbs are the only thing that don't bother my stomach...IBS from hell days. Like I said, maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones and my new tummy will "firm stuff up" a bit? Meggie how the heck did you get home if you had the padooples the whole time?! I worry about driving back from Mexicali to Vegas. Do they give you something for it or can you take something for it? Nerves and stress play a huge part in my IBS so I'm trying not to worry about worrying at this point lol Maybe I should just take a xanex and calm the hell down! Kwik I can't wait to meet you! I'll actually be there late monday afternoon because we want a day to look around and play tourist. My friend Lynn bought the New Whey for me because you have to drink so little to get a lot out of it. Still though...UGH...Acai berry was nasty to me. Overly sweet and very vitamin-ey tasting. My daughter tasted it tonight and she loved it...go figure. Lynn is bringing me out some of the Protein powder that our friend used to sell. I craved that stuff at one time so I know I'll like it and it's not overly sweet. Not nearly as much protein in it as the New Whey though. Renee`

work = bad! Take it easy please I can't believe it's been a week, seriously where did the time go?! Did you have any complications during or after aside from not being able to get fluids down? Or I should say, keep them down I guess. Just wondering why they're keeping you on fluids for so long. xoxo Renee`

omg..... I seriously hope he posts soon!!! and yeah, totally nervous. I go down next monday and am already freaking out. Just goes to show no matter who the surgeon is, complications can happen. I feel confident in Dr. Aceves, just lack of faith in myself. I guess the good news is since he's from Vegas, if he wants to go down next week he can ride down with me to get checked out. Seriously hope it was just red kool-ade or something and not fresh blood. That, to me (and I'm not a Dr, as hard as that is to believe) sounds a lot like the esophegeal blood that my brother was vomiting up....NOT from surgery, my bro was just a dipshit. Old blood I'm told looks like coffee grounds. Maybe BajaMedGroup can chime in here and tell us more? Please? Renee`

LOL! Awwww honey, don't worry about it, they've seen it all before remember? Hoping you're recovering comfortably tonight *big huge XOXO's!* Renee`

His profile says he lives here in Vegas and it takes foreverrrrrrrrr to get into the E.R. here. It's often more than an all day process so hopefully we'll hear something very soon! Did he say anywhere if his surgeon is here in town? Maybe they can get to him really fast? Renee`

I'm so excited for you! Ok and totally jealous too lol Good luck to all of you and yes, please let us know that you're all doing fabulously well and drinking sugar-free margarita's by a pool by tonight. Renee`