lsereno

I used Protein shakes for quite a while until I could eat enough to get more than 60 grams of protein a day. I didn't eat mashed potatoes because there are not enough nutrients in them for my needs. I ate only a bite or two of veggies or fruit along with my protein and 1-2 Protein Shakes per day. My preferred protein shakes are the

Welcome to the Losers Bench! There's always room for more because we're all shrinking! Glad you are feeling better and are at home. Take it slow an easy and be nice to yourself - you deserve it! Lynda

Hi Yecats, You will do great with that attitude. It seems slow, but looking back time zooms by and IT IS SO WORTH IT. I love taking my friend's exercise class now that I can keep up and not feel like I am going to keel over right in the classroom. The sleeve gave me that. And fitting in my car seat with room to spare, less pain in my knees, ankles, and feet, and really cute cheap clothes! I'm so thrilled with the way I look that I'm very happy in inexpensive jeans, tshirts, and sweaters. They all look fab if you ask me :-) Buy yourself some treats for post-op. A yummy book, a luscious lotion and lip gloss. super soft and warm socks, a pretty nightie, robe, and slippers. Think of some movies to rent and watch. Take your pain meds if you need them instead of toughing it out. These things all helped me. That and knowing that the sleeve works and I would feel just like I do today - thin, healthy, and happy! Best luck on the 4th! Lynda

I had a problem early on with soups that had potato in them. The potato didn't sit well with me, creamed or not. Other than that, I don't think it matters as long as you strain any remaining chunks out, the same as you would do for the canned cream soups, such as cream of mushroom. I like the Anderson's Split Pea soup. It has 9 grams of Protein in a cup and 130 calories. I could eat 1/2 cup at first. Lynda

Maddy- Welcome to Onderland! YOu have really rocked your sleeve and I can't wait to see your fourth goal post this year! Lynda

Wow! Talk about rockin' that sleeve! Congrats and welcome to onderland!! I love it here and I just couldn't get here without my sleeve. Lynda

For me, I am getting to goal weight and then waiting 1 year to see how much skin will reabsorb. I'll evaluate then. Lynda

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I love to travel. I use Gold Standard Pro vanilla Protein powder and mix it in my shaker cup with a packet of Starbucks Via Italian Roast Decaf. I also travel with the unjury chicken flavored protein. Once you are on solids, beef jerky is a great protein snack. I usually pack some flavor packets for Water too. Most airports I've been in lately have a Starbucks. If I need a snack in the airport, I get a soy latte or for a bigger snack, I get a yogurt cup. For car trips, I bring along my fav quick foods: 55% reduced fat Gallo Salami (that 55% is important - they make two kinds of light salami and the 95% reduced fat is nasty!), light string cheese, greek yogurt cups, and whole wheat crackers. I also throw a case of bottled water in the trunk. I also travel with remedies for constipation. If I miss a day, I'm on it. Lynda

Boy, I guess I'm the big baby of the group! I took liquid Lortab for the first week or so following surgery. I had surgery on a Tuesday and came home the following day. I started taking the Liquid Lortab Wednesday afternoon before leaving the hospital. I tried taking 2 tylenols on Saturday, but with them I felt a burning sensation in my tummy that I didn't want to deal with, so as soon as they wore off I went back to Lortab. I cut down to 1/2 dose by Tuesday and quit taking the Lortab on Thursday, 8 days after surgery. Because you will probably need less Percocet as time goes by, I think you probably won't need another refill. Especially since I took pain more pain meds than anyone else I've seen post in this forum and even I was in good shape on day 8. Lynda

About three days for me. I would not take the miralax right now unless your doctor recommended it. After I started pooping again, it was a couple of weeks before things firmed up and I got back to my one poop per day schedule. Lynda

Congrats! Enjoy that extra space - you worked hard to get it! Lynda

Foxbins, Congrats on a successful surgery. I've heard the surgeons in Costa Rica are very good. I do think you are still swollen a bit and that it will take time to get used to the new look on your face. Best wishes on a speedy recovery! Lynda

Hey Former_VBG, you are doing great too! I'm so glad this tool is around for all of us. I know what you mean about weighing yourself. It's so much more fun now :-) Can't wait to see your post about the 130s! Lynda

Congrats Lash! Happy surgiversary! Lynda

Congrats Feedyoureye! Slow but sure wins the race and you are winning.! Your pics are fabulous! I agree with Coops- you are one stylish lady, at any size! Lynda

Hi all, This morning I hopped on the scale and I have less than 5 lbs. to go to goal!!!!! I wasn't sure I would ever get this close and I thought it make take up to a year to get to goal, maybe more. I am so stoked and in love with my sleeve right now that I could sing and dance down my street singing the praises of the sleeve! I am blessed that my food addiction was less than some and head hunger has not ruled my life post-op. It does get to me sometimes, but so far, so good. And it's not like I haven't worked hard to get here. I've resisted extra treats, forced myself to work out when I didn't want to, and tracked food and Water intake till I'm pretty sure I could do it in my sleep. I was not a Protein first eater pre-op, but I have stuck with it long enough now that it is a comfortable habit for me. If you have head hunger that is ruling your life post-sleeve, I really recommend counseling. Our sleeve is a tool, but for some, I think an extra tool is needed, on top of the sleeve. For example, Weight Watchers was a good tool for me, it taught me good eating habits, tricks to get head hunger under control, and how to accurately measure and track my food and exercise. But it wasn't enough of a tool for me. I needed the sleeve to help me get my hunger under control. Without the sleeve, I was always hungry. I had to eat a bigger meal to be satisfied and I got hungry faster after I ate. I finally realized I needed another tool and I got it through the sleeve. If you are not getting where you want with the sleeve, look for another tool to help you get there. Maybe it's counseling to deal with head hunger, maybe it's finding an exercise program that you actually like and can do (for me that means it has to be a scheduled, group activity!), maybe it's investing in a food scale to accurately measure your food. Whatever, you are so worth it!!!!! My wish for 2012 is to see everyone here getting healthy, happy, and heading towards or at their own goal! Lynda

Hi all, I had a great week this week! I lost 3.3 lb.s this week and hit my last two mini-goals. My number starts with 13. I haven't weighed that since the early 90s. And I now have less than 5 lbs (3.4 lbs to be exact!) to go to my final goal weight. It was my second full week at my regular workout schedule after the holidays and I managed to get the snack monster under control. I did enjoy a bag of 94% fat free kettle corn, a Mai Tai, and an extra snack after dinner one night, but other than those extras I stuck to my three meals, Protein first. I love my sleeve!!!!!!! My Valentine's Goal also includes reaching the following goals: 144: This was my Christmas goal and I've lost 110 lbs. (32 pre-op and 78 post op). 9 lbs. to my final goal!!! 142: I've lost 80 lbs. post-op 140: Five lbs. to my final goal!!! 139: My number starts with 13. I haven't weighed this since the early-90s. 135: GOOOAAAL! Lynda Valentine's Day Goal: SW-144.2.............CW-138.4..............Goal-135 Dec. 25: 144.2 Dec. 30: 142.8 Jan. 6: 142.6 Jan. 13: 141.7 Jan. 20: 138.4 Jan. 27: Feb. 3: Feb. 10: Valentine's Day:

hair loss started for me at 4 months. Hope you don't have any! Mine is very manageable- it's thinner, not see through, but I can't wait for it to grow back. My ponytail is a sad little skinny thing unless i fluff it. Lynda

Oooh! Nine months is almost here for me! My heair is thinner. Not so thin you can see my scalp, but noticeably thinner. Can't wait for it to grow back in! Lynda

I am 5'6" and was 222 the day before surgery. I lost 32 lbs. on the pre-op diet. At 8 months out, I am a few teeny pounds from goal, which will put me at 135 with a BMI of 21.8. I wanted a BMI in the middle of the normal range. Also, in my teens and early 20s I weighed 118 and liked how I looked, so I added a few pounds to that for age. I do exercise 5 days a week and I'm pretty compliant with the nutritional guidelines recommended by my program. Lynda

My doc uses a 40 and I believe that is standard for Kaiser. We talked about it before hand. He sew over the staple line. As others have mentioned, your tummy size depends on how they place the tool, how close to the tool they staple, if they oversew, etc. I believe taller people have longer tummies too. I have great restriction and I'm very happy with my tool. I am 8 months out so I'm guessing my tummy is at its final size. I can comfortably eat 3 oz. of firm Protein, and a tiny bit of vegetables and starch at a meal. I am easily getting my required protein and calories without eating extra meals or having Protein shakes. I've seen this discussed a lot, so you can probably search the forum for bougie and find a lot of topics. There was one that showed what each bougie size looks like compared to pens. There is not much difference in them, so it's easy to see that surgical technique also plays a role. I remember reading that when people first started getting the VSG a much larger bougie 48-60 was used and that people did not get sufficient restriction with that size. Lynda

I'm 5'6" and weighed 222 the day before surgery. I'm just a few pounds from goal and weight loss is slowing for me. I think it will be fairly easy to add enough calories to do maintenance. It's just going to take a little adjustment here and there. I hope to add enough calories from healthy foods that I've avoided, such as Peanut Butter, avocado, olive oil, and nuts. I'm looking forward to having a little more of these treats along with a couple more "bad" Snacks a week. For example, this week I had a Mai Tai. I'm trying to keep that as my only splurge so I can lose the last few pounds. After I get to goal, I might have two Mai Tais a week and dessert or popcorn once a week too. Woo-hoo! And I'm really looking forward to adding avocado to my lunch or a little Parmesan to dinner and using a little extra basil olive oil when cooking my veggies! For myself, I'm more worried about getting lax and tilting back to the too many calories side of the equation. Lynda

My skin has been dryer off and on since surgery and I developed a couple of odd scaly Patches that stayed for a week or two then disappeared. I do get enough fat in my diet and I drink plenty of Water. I thought maybe my skin was drier because its in flux, trying to adjust to a smaller undercarriage. I have read it takes up to a year for our skin to readjust, so I'm just expected some oddness from it and I try to baby it with extra lotion and body oils. Lynda

I like my greek yogurt made into a smoothie. Try it and see if it works better for you. Early on, I used 1/2 cup yogurt, splash of OJ, two small strawberries or one big one, 3 tablespoons Splenda, and 1/4-1/2 cup Water. I still have one for Breakfast everyday, but now I am up to 1 cup yogurt and I add a piece of whole wheat toast. You can also add the greek yogurt to Soups or use it to make dip (just substitute for sour cream in any dip recipe). Lynda