CraftyChristie

thinoneday - I haven't eaten out at a restaurant yet but my hubby and i got kid-size frosty's at Wendy's (the lowest cal/fat ice cream option i've seen in fast food world) and I couldn't believe how BIG they looked to me now!!! It took us 3 different sittings to finish them. Kid size! Would it be silly of me to bring my own little plate when I eat out at a restaurant???? I think it would really help.

That's a good idea about weighing the dumbbells! If you can, stick with one scale... even if your weight isn't accurate at least the difference from the week before will be

Congrats and I'm glad you're doing so well! Yes moving around and walking really helps the pain and healing process. Keep it up and you'll feel good as new very soon!

Firstly it sounds like you are getting some GREAT workouts - congrats on that! I think it is probably lactose intolerance kicking in. For some people it is temporary so I'd keep trying it from time to time but maybe when you have the luxury of being home for the next few hours in case it makes you feel sick again. Good luck!

Congrats and glad you are doing well! I would say, go with the fidgety lol because you are supposed to move as much as possible. I got up every 15 minutes to go get my ounce of liquid from the kitchen. I moved a lot and I think it really helped me heal quicker. But I'm sure it's also bothering you when trying to sleep and in that case I'm not sure what to suggest except maybe trying to stretch your legs and arms well and drink something warm.

I had this same thing about 2 weeks out, and so did my husband a few days ago (he's 2 weeks behind me) - we were told it is the scar tissue on the inside of the incision... that the interior of the incision is bigger than what you see on the outside and the scar tissue builds up against the abdominal wall, and if you move a certain way you can pull it away from the abdominal wall and that causes the pain. Feels like a pulled muscle!! For me it lasted about 2 weeks off and on... now I only feel it very little once in a while. Sitting was the worst during the bad part of it. This is what it was for me and they said nothing to be concerned with, it's a natural thing that happens and you just have to wait it out - but of course you should check with your Dr to be sure! Also my friend who has bypass 7 years ago just did the same thing - she had to get a CAT scan because from her pain they thought it might be a hernia or a tumor or something - but it turned out to be pulled scar tissue just like this. So I guess it can happen at any time even a long while after surgery.

My surgeon said 6-8 weeks out before having any because that layer that flakes off the kernels can get stuck where a staple is and cause an infection or a leak (same or anything with seeds)... of course they would prefer we never eat it since it's jut fluff carbs but hey we all did this surgery because it lets us eat the most "normally" right? At least part of the reason. So I plan to have a kids-size popcorn at the movies from time to time. I had already cut down to only getting a small popcorn every 3rd or 4th time I go to the movies, and the rest of the time nothing... so I think it will be easy for me to stick to. I used to love movie popcorn but lately it seems they let it sit out for hours til it's all stale so it's not worth it these days... I'm more likely to go for the nachos! But waiting until 6-8 weeks for that also.

Thank you!! I actually had all those shirts already from previous times being smaller... just thought it would work well to wear them too tight in the before pics so I could see more change... and so glad I did!

Wannalise ~ You know, it's funny. I have gone up and down in weight before and people have told me "your smile is so much bigger when you're thinner." So when I took my before pics I literally smiled as big as I could. So my conclusion is, the fat in my face must make it really hard to smile big. Or it makes my smile look smaller. or.. something?! I don't know it's so weird!

Globetrotter, it seems that other people are able to see the pics (including one after you) so there's not much I can do it might be an issue with your computer? But - you can see them on my facebook album Here: Christie Stearns's Photos - Weight Loss Progress | Facebook

Ah yes you are right I just looked at them and the cals are 270, 280 and 290 depending on the flavor. I will have to look into these Oh Yeah bars, they sound good!!

Catyroses - I have to disagree with that. When I was in that phase (clears, full liquids, and even mushies) I was truly physically hungry. Sharp painful hunger pangs and just super hungry. It wasn't a head thing - I could watch people eat good stuff and not feel it. I would feel it on and off all day long at random times. The nurse told me it's because they had me on the gastric bypass plan (sleeve is too new and they don't have a real plan set up for it yet) and GP people have a 1 oz stomach at first while we have a 2-3oz stomach at first. So I was hungry until I got to the point I could eat 2 ounces of food. Now I am almost never hungry when I'm not "supposed" to be (at feeding times) even if I see something delicious... so I really don't think it was head hunger... and my husband went through the same thing (he's 2 weeks behind me) and he too found relief when he started eating more foods. Oregon Daisy - I know the staple line needs to heal. My surgeon's recommendations were 1 week liquids, 2 weeks on the restricted mushy diet. I just advanced that one week quicker but I did have medical clearance to do so, I didn't just decide to do it on my own. I think they make the guidelines very very careful just in case. Again I wouldn't tell her to do it, just saying what my experience was.

oh and ALSO I was looking at this site yesterday and they sell high protein mixes, pudding was one of them, but they also have high protein oatmeal and all kinds of stuff. dietdirect.com look under "protein diet foods"... I haven't tried any yet but somewhere else on this forum I saw a lot of people said the WonderSlim brand they have on there was really good.

we mixed Any Whey protein powder into Jello sugar free pudding and it worked just fine. It made it a little less firm but it tasted great. (Did NOT work as well in yogurt!) We did this with the pre-made cups... I'm not sure if it would be any different making it from a box. I would make it first, let it set, and add the powder AFTER it's set.

The kind I buy are from Costco and they are called Premier Protein. They were recommended by my surgeon's office because they are softer/chewy so you can eat them early out too. 1 bar has a whopping 30grams protein. I don't remember the exact info for everything else but want to say it's AROUND 210-230 cals and 15g carbs. I find that at one month out, I still can only eat 1/2 a bar at a time (very dense) so it makes a very reasonable meal since you'd cut those cals and carbs in half, and still get 15g protein. The box comes with 3 flavors in it - chocolate peanut butter, double chocolate crunch, and yogurt peanut crunch. Not sure why they call them crunch because they are soft and chewy. I think they are decent in flavor, the yogurt one is my fave (tastes more "convincing" than the chocolate) but I don't think you can buy them individually, just in the box with the 3 flavors.

I was SO HUNGRY on the liquid phase too. I advanced to mushy after 1 week and was on it for the whole 2nd week then advanced again. My mushy stage I was only allowed egg beaters, fat free refried beans, yogurt, cottage cheese, and pudding with protein powder added. I was still hungry on that though too I didn't stop feeling hungry until I moved onto real foods at week 3. I'm still not on ALL solid foods but I'm getting close. I would NEVER tell you to go against your docs orders but at the same time, you have to also listen to your body. In my case, the nurse in charge of the bariatric program at the hospital told me to advance to the stages when I felt like I could, but just take it slow, try only one new food per day, etc. It was truly a lifesaver for me so I could stop being so hungry.

That's wonderful to hear!! You're doing just awesome.

That is sooooo wonderful!!! I hope you feel as a amazing as you truly are

I was walking 30 mins by day 4 and up to 60 mins the 2nd week. I am at 4 weeks now, I walked a 5 K last weekend and did 3 hikes this weekend. I am still supposed to wait to do cardio machines and weight lifting until 6 weeks, but I'm allowed to swim when my incisions are totally closed up (I'm a slow healer so not quite there yet.) Personally I don't see how it's ok for me to hike but not be on an elliptical... but oh well dr's orders right? It's summer so I may as well be outside and not at the gym. I see you would be sleeved by now... hope it's going well!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has commented. I can't believe what nice and wonderful things you had to say. It's so uplifting! I hope I can bring more great results to the table soon Thank you everybody!

Lillie, I thought that too, I even said to myself I won't post them until month 2 if I don't see a difference, but I was shocked how much difference I saw. You have lost even more than me and I'm SURE you would see a difference!

That is wonderful news! It sounds like everything is just falling into place and this new lifestyle seems to be feeling very natural for you. I'm very happy for you :001_wub:

Awesome!!!! I can hardly believe what your ticker says about how much you have left to lose - in your photo you look so average already! You will be a stone cold fox whooo hooo! :001_wub:

Stalls happen and they are natural because the body needs time to adjust to the changes. I stalled out my entire 4th week but it's moving again. Just remember that STRESS makes it harder to lose weight so just try not to stress when stalls happen :001_wub: Just remember they are natural and normal, and nothing is wrong. If a stall lasts more than 2 weeks then it's time to shake things up and try to get it moving but anything up to 2 weeks just let the body do it's thing and focus your attention on something else like trying some new activities, some new recipes, etc. :thumbup:

WHOO HOOO! The camera doesn't lie, girl! You have gone through a transformation. You look wonderful :001_wub: