SKCUNNINGHAM

Bayarea - you have identified the "hard part" of the sleeve journey for me. I think the things pointed out by lsereno are the way to go - professional help- for the underlying issues and developing alternate activities. The tough thing for me was I used to use food to "check out" of my emotions. Now, I stay in the moment and deal with what is bothering me. Not easy to do at all times - particularly since it was a lifetime (50+ year) habit. Like a book I have on my self says "Food is easy - life is hard". Good luck with the journey.

I am very proud of you, and thrilled for your success!

I am slightly over 7 months post surgery. For the entire time period, I am losing about 2.8 pounds per week - much faster at first, and slower now that I am getting closer to my goal. I have lost over 80% of my "excess weight" and I think the rate slows down about then. I keep a spreadsheet that tracks this, and along with the line that shows my actual weight loss, I have two lines showing a 2 lb and a 3 lb per week line. You can see I crossed from > 3/ week to < 3/week a few weeks ago. I sprained my ankle really badly about then (you can see the stall - when the slope of the weight loss line changed) and wasn't able to exercise for around 2 months. I am just now getting back into exercising. The separate dots at the end of the actual weight loss line are when I project I will hit certain goal weights. The important thing is not how fast you lose, but how well you work your sleeve. Good Luck!

Raine - you look great! I would have guessed your age in your mid 30's - not your 40's! Do you wear a heard hat for work, or were you doing something like Habitat for Humanity when you were wearing it? It is a good look for you - particularly with that wonderful smile you have on under the hard hat! My face has gone from a moon-round face with no wrinkles and multiple chins to a heart shaped face with definate crows feet and smile lines and some lose neck skin under a single chin. I have much more lose skin on the parts of my body covered with clothes.

Tiff - I am so happy for you. You look adorable - with Tatum being front and center. I bet your balance is out of whack with her being this close to delivering. I hope your last month passes quickly and easily. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Yes I think you will hit your goal - just like I have no doubt I will hit my goal of 135 lb. I am one inch taller than you - 5'4". I have 21 pounds to go to get there. Just like TIffykins says - you have to work your sleeve correctly - but it is doable!

I have lost 97 pounds in slightly over 7 months. This includes the 11 pounds I lost during the 2 week pre-surgery diet. I have 21 pounds more to lose to achieve my goal weight. That will place me in the middle of the normal BMI range. I could actually stop at 10 pounds higher than my goal weight and still be "normal". I will decide when I am going to stop losing once I get there. Take advantage of the first 6 to 9 months after you are sleeved - you will get the most dramatic results then. I encourage you to use the tool (your sleeve) to its utmost advantage. Good Luck! It was a great decision for me, I hope you feel the same way.

Karen - congratulations on losing an amazing amount of weight! Way to go! I am excited for you that you have become a Christian - I can't imagine how hard this was (losing weight, having surgery) without HIM to draw strength from. I have prayed many times for the wisdom to know the right choice to make, and the strength to carry out those choices once I know them. He is a well that never runs dry. I see you are also a patient of Dr. Nick. I am so impressed by him and his staff.

An easy way to make homemade chicken broth is to get a roasted chicken from the store. Put the whole thing (skin, bones, drippings from the container) into a stock pot with a couple of ribs of celery, a couple of green onions and some spices (depending on how spicy the roasted chicken is you may not need much seasoning). Add Water to cover the chicken by about 3". Cook - bring the water to a rolling boil uncovered then lower to a simmer. Once it is barely simmering, cover and cook for 30 minutes to an hour or longer. Put a colander into another stock pot and pour everything from the first pot into the second one. Remove the colander of chicken and veg, and in the first pot you will have broth. I would recover the chicken from the 1st colander - separate the white from the dark and freeze in ziplocks for later use when you can eat chicken - you can even freeze it in 1 ounce servings if you really want to be prepared. With the broth - cool it, put it in the fridge and let the fat rise. When the fat rises to the top, I strain it. I put it back on the stove, heat it and adjust the seasoning. I always put a little soy sauce in my chicken broth - but that's just me. I would put a couple of day's worth of broth in the fridge - the rest I freeze. It is easy to freeze broth in a cupcake tin - spray the pan with a oil substitute spray (PAM) before you fill the indentations. Place in freezer and freeze hard. Once you have them frozen, remove pan from freezer and remove the frozen broth servings. Place in a gallon ziplock and you have indivdual servings easy to defrost. Good luck after surgery. Broth was my go to drink the first month.

50 pounds

Since your goals are to get healthier after WLS, I would ask the trainer to reccomend a program of exercises to do just that - improve your overall health, prevent muscle loss, and promote skin elacticity. I would also ask the trainer how much you should eat depending on your level of exercie (tell him/her what your normal caloric intake is). and when you should eat in relationship to your exercise session (before? aftrer?) Good Luck!

You look great! Congratulations on reaching your goal! Let the celebration begin.

I agree - the WASA crispbread crackers are great! Love them with cheese (cheddar, melted) or laughing cow. I also eat them with tuna salad or chicken salad.

I think that is a great answer. Although if you have a number you want, don't let anyone dissuade you from getting to it. It's none of their concern what your goal weight is. When people ask me the same nosy question I tell them I haven't decided, and I will know it when I get there. Which is in a large part true - I know what I think my goal weight will be (135 pounds on the doctor's scales) - but I my stop before then or go lower. Also, as I start exercising more - it may be a matter of a size rather than a weight (muscle weighs more than fat for the same amount of volume). You are doing great! Don't let the world of nosy buttinskies get you down!

I am still surprised at how eating less food than I have ever in my life has made me appreciate the tastes of food so accutely. My husband made me one of the best meals I ever eaten tonight - it was amazing. Simple - a perfectly prepared omelet and some absolutely ripe sliced garden (REAL) tomatoes. The food tastes exploded in my mouth like I was eating pop-rocks. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed the experience of eating. I used to eat until I was numb and the food didn't even taste good at the point I would stop - I was full to the point was miserable and about to gag. The sleeve surgery has given me back the gift of enjoying food. I don't care if I ever eat a white carb again if I can keep this appreciation of a well prepared meal.

I am so happy for you that your relationship is getting better. Best of luck to your and your wife both - on strenghthening your bonds and on continuing your weight loss!

Good luck to you - I agree the last pounds are the hardest. I CAN NOT WAIT to get these last 23 gone!

You look wonderful! Congratulations on the payoff from all your hard work.

You look positively wonderful! I love the picures! Have someone take a picture of you from the back (not looking pregnant), thn another one profile to show the "Tatum bump". You are so beautifully thin I bet you really CAN'T tell from from the back. I know you have a son - is he excited thinking about a new baby sister? Or is he at the "too cool to care about it" stage? I bet he will make a wonderful older brother, and help you and your husband spoil her to pieces.

I'm thinking of either going to a salon and having a body wrap session and a manicure and pedicure - or buying myself an IPAD when I hit the 100 pound mark. I think I am going to stop buying clothes until I settle at a stopping weight. I have enough for the size I am now, and just a smidge smaller. And my final pants size will depend a lot on how small I exercise my waist down to. I have no butt and not much hips, so my pants are all waist-driven.

You definately aren't getting in enough Protein. If you aren't eating protein, you are losing muscle mass and will have a problem with hair loss, big time. Are you journaling what you food and drink? It would be easier to give you ideas of how to break the stall and make changes to your eating program if you reply with what a daily intake of food and drink looks like. I am curious what you are eating if you are only eating 30 grams of protein. I have been sleeved about 1 week longer than you. I eat around 80 grams of protein per day, and get around 800-900 calories in. Breakfast is either an EAS Protein shake (~20 grams of protein), or a smoothie made in my magic bullet with a scoop of Protein powder (24 grams of protein) and some frozen fruit, ice and Water. lunch is a protein (chicken, tuna, salmon, etc) and a serving of veggies. It is usually another 21 - 24 grams of protein. Snack around 4 is a baby bell cheese (6 grams of protein) dinner is a protein and a serving of veggies. Look forward to hearing from you.

I registered the 95th pound loss this morning. And, when I measured on 10/1, I had lost an even 12" from my waist. I am now fitting into 14 petite pants and 12 or 14 petite blouses (depending on the cut of the blouse). I can now wear any size L T-shirt or blouse with no worry about it fitting - before surgery, a mans XXL was tight! Attached are my before headshot, a headshot from today, and a picture of me and my elliptical. The third one was shot after my morning workout - I had taken off my shoes, and had my husband snap the picture. As you can see, I have saggy, loose skin - but I wanted to show the reality of how I am now. Life is good - I am really enjoying this journey.

I think your mental unease could be attributable to a reaction to the meds and anasthesia. I fell asleep at random time for a couple of weeks, and had disturbing dreams of the surgery / after effects during the unplanned naps. Do you normally worry about other decisions you have made, or is this a one time occurrence of post-decision worry? It is also common to have some "what have I done to myself?" second thoughts in the week or two after surgery. This worrying you are doing could be how you are manifesting this. Try to reassure yourself that you will monitor your recovery closely, and any worrysome symptom you will follow up on. This forum is a great source of opinion on post-surgery symptoms that might bother you. If you put a topic out here with a title like "Recently had surgery, should I call my doctor?" you will get quick responses from people. This sight also has a search capability that you could use to look for topics on your symptom. Also, your surgeon's office will be happy to answer questions - mine did. Good Luck

I had surgery on 2/22 of this year. I waited to go back to work until after my 3 week checkup. After that, I worked remotely from home for the rest of that week. (I have a two hour drive each way). Then, the next week, I worked 4-6 hours a day, and stayed in town at a hotel so I didn't have to drive the four hours each day. My doctor didn't want me riding in a car for over and hour without getting out of the car and taking a break and walking around (clot worries). I didn't have any problem with recovery. Good Luck!

As you rapidly drop weight, the estrogen stored in the fat cells in released into your bloodstream. For women, that is like being in puberty again, or being hormonal during pregnancy. I was a basket case - bouncing from being weepy to becoming very angry at a moment's notice. It subsided after a while - but mine was a couple of months of mood swings.