npwilson

I am a 2x revision patient, starting with LapBand in 2011, followed by VSG in 2019 due to severe Lapband complications, and finally GBP in 2021 after even more complications with the VSG. I have been fighting the good fight for ELEVEN YEARS now, and trust me when I say I was so ready to give up many times during the process, but I am so glad that I never did! I am officially down 152 lbs, and have been maintaining within 3-4 lbs since Feb 2022. I am to the point that I am ready to start looking into plastics. After so many years of fighting to get to where I am, I love the way I look and feel.... when I'm fully dressed. But seeing all the loose skin is a hard mental hit every single time. All the work, tears, pain, determination.... it all feels like it's for nothing when I see the destruction it all left behind. After a lot of research on various options, I am heavily leaning towards the Beltline procedure due to the amount of work that will need to be done. Does anyone have any experience with this? I would love to hear all about it! Pros, cons, horror stories, success stories... I want it all!

So, as we all start dropping the pounds, we are having to buy clothes that we can only use for a few short weeks/months. My thoughts are, why not share with each other? If anyone is interested in a clothing exchange, please let me know. I am currently at a 22/24, and have LOTS of 26/28 tops and bottoms that I no longer need. Lots of them even still have tags on them!

I was banded on the 16th, and I am starting to eat mushies now as well =) I quickly got bored with cottage cheese and mashed potatoes... so I started looking around. Through a Google search, I found another forum with some ideas in it. If you scroll through the postings, there are several mushy food ideas. I haven't gotten to try any of them yet, but I plan to tackle a few of them this weekend. I hope this helps! http://www.thinnertimesforum.com/topic/21587-need-more-ideas-for-mushiespureed/

I finally got down about 4oz of shake this morning. I had to force myself, and I still gagged afterwards, but now I feel much better. I felt very dizzy and lightheaded this morning, and I actually passed out on Wednesday... so I know that I have to make myself get the protein in. I have to go back to work Monday, so I better get things on track! Hopefully I can keep the protein going steady today and get some nutrients in my body!

I was banded on the 16th.. I am still a little tired and nauseated, and DEFINITELY having a problem getting my protein. I had a little bit of gas pain the day after, but nothing too bad. I just feel... pressure? in my stomach. Like, I swallowed a blown up balloon~haha. The shake I am *trying* to drink (and I had in my pre-op diet and enjoyed) is made by GNC. It's called Total Lean. They have Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry... I have the chocolate. To me, it's just like chocolate milk- and it has 25g of protein/bottle. Pre-Op, it's all I had. I loved it! Now, I am struggling to drink more than 2 sips without gagging. What's going on?

Ok, so I was banded yesterday. I have been sleeping a lot, but every time I wake up I am getting the hiccups very badly (ouch!), and then throwing up. I have been taking the anti nausea medication.... does anyone have any other suggestions?? Also my back is KILLING me!! I think maybe it's where I have been sleeping so much, but I just don't know. I had the sharp pains in my shoulders this morning from the gas, but that is gone now. Any feedback would be very much appreciated. Thanks! Nathalie Follow meeeee! http://thepokylittlecupcake.blogspot.com/

For my surgeon, he asked that I go on a full liquid diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery. The rule was: If it's thicker than whole milk, you can't have it. I am on day 6 of my liquid diet (I am being banded on 5/16!!!). They want me to have at least 60g of Protein each day, and said that I needed to find a Protein Shake that has at least 20g of Protein and less than 9g of Sugar. I went to GNC and found a pre-made shake called "GNC Total Lean". It has 25g of Protein and only 2g of sugar! I love chocolate, so I got the chocolate one. It pretty much tastes like chocolate milk. I have found that I am only able to drink about 1/2 of one at a time, and then I am full. I will save the other half for later in the day. I am also allowed to eat Soups (very very thin soups). I have been buying Campbells Soup at Hand. They are pretty good, and 1 container is more than enough to hold me. They also suggested cream of ____ soups, thinned with milk (Cream of chicken, mushroom, etc... 1 can plus 1 cup of milk makes it the perfect consistency... I sometimes add garlic or something to make it tastier). I have been really sticking to drinking my Water (which I am SOOO not usually a fan of). My fiance actually found a water flavoring thing that I have fallen in love with! It's called MIO, and is in the same section as Crystal Light and such (in my store, anyway). I doesn't have any calories, sugar or anything. I love it! I will post a link with both the MIO and the GNC shake at the end. I have not been hungry at all. Now, don't get me wrong, if someone were to sit in front of me with a cheeseburger, I might just steal it from them... but it's more because I know I can have it than because I am hungry. One thing that I have noticed is that... I want something to CHEW. So to keep myself from cheating, I have starting keeping a cup of ice chips... idk, probably a mental thing, but not having anything to crunch on for a week is hard! I have lost 8 pounds since Tuesday, and the amount of energy I have is UNBELIEVABLE! It's amazing how changing what you put IN your body can do! This is the shake: http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4179707&clickid=prod_cs And the water flavoring (it comes in TONS of flavors... I like Fruit Punch): http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTYMLS0Vly8BEv7CErk_oLaO1wC8PaSJZz7-4WbeF3I-tgRY0h0Ng If you have any other questions, feel free to email me! Also, follow my BLOG at http://thepokylittlecupcake.blogspot.com/