DisneyAddict

I find it easier for me to feed myself if I have cooked because it's right there as left overs. No hard decisions to make (I HATE trying to figure out what I want for Breakfast & lunch). My having a hard time leaving food has nothing to do with the starving children in whichever country but it's just an impulse.. it tastes SO good I want more.. but that's what got me in this spot huh? I make sure that I've got "vultures" (a phrase I've coined) around me when I eat. You know the ones that will not mind picking at your leftovers? I've got 3 saint bernards, a husband & a roomie who all don't mind eating what's left on my plate. I tend to cut everything in half first.. or if it's like chicken breast, I'll cut up the whole tiny serving.... to allow myself a visual stopping point where I can wrap the rest up for later or divide it 3 ways for the dogs. I've found that if I do that, I don't have the impulse to "keep eating" strangely enough.

I'm 4 months out now and someone needs to get Kim Zolciak on the phone because before it's all said & done I think I'm gonna need one of her wigs. This surgery is gonna swipe me bald headed I swear. All silliness aside, I've only started the hair loss in the last couple of weeks. I don't think anything we do can stop it. When I went to get my hair cut a couple months ago, the girl who cut my hair was like "ya... it IS going to happen". I've done all of that.. kept my Protein good, Biotin, even the olive oil & doing good on Vitamins... nothing. I think the best we can hope for is sales on floppy hats & bandanas and a new head of hair to go with our new bodies.

This past Sunday we went to go see my parents. I was crossing the kitchen to do something for my mom and Dad & I passed mid kitchen. LOL He said "You're looking pretty skinny there, Slim" LMAO Best line to date for me.

I go in phases. Sometimes I'm drinking Water like a camel and the next week I'll be so sick of it and wanting something else. I've ended up growing to absolutely LOATHE the SF powder mix ins for water like crystal light, etc. I do like Minute Maid Light Lemonade (for a small glass try adding a tsp of grenadine or other bar flavoring like cherry or blueberry!), Fuze Slenderize, Sobe Lifewater is alright, and home brewed ice tea. I've been wanting a "sweet drink" lately so rather than reaching for a coke, I'm adding a packet or 2 of equal to my glass of tea and it's doing the trick. Also, gatorade has 1/2 cal 1/2 sugar gatorade that isn't too shabby. I get the tiny bottles of our store brand version and 4-8oz of that isn't too bad.

Same here. Some days it feels like I can eat "a lot more" and other days not so much. Over the weekend, a little more than 1/4c of french onion Soup did me in. Ya know though, I think our perceptions are skewed now somewhat. On the days I feel like I eat a lot more and Im like "ack!" my husband usually tells me "um no, that's about what you've been eating or maybe a bite or 2 more".

I still enjoy eating AND cooking very much. It's just not a "torrid affair" anymore. I also don't mind the social aspects of it anymore. My friends know what I've had done. I don't mind relishing two bites of some appetizer and feeling like "Oooo I've been bad" (but in that gleeful way) while my friends have their jaws hanging open. Let em gawk. They knew me when my SOP was unhinge jaw & devour everything in sight (same as my friends). Now, I'm thinner than they are and much healthier...and I don't sound like a winded rhino either. I absolutely enjoy everything that's come along with getting sleeved. I think it gets easier to enjoy things the further out you get. I know my first couple of months I couldnt bear to watch TV without recording everything first because ALL the food commercials made me absolutely pissed and miserable. I didn't enjoy a whole lot either back then.

SN.......................Starting Wt.........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal DisneyAddict...........257.....................253..........232.............21 lbs! It occured to me that once I hit the 230's, I'll be about right at (if not 10 lbs over) what I was when DH & I stared DATING!! BACK IN 2000!!! OMG

I wonder if pumpkin seeds are the same as long as they're already shelled?

I've been wondering about this too. Last time we went to the movies (pre-sleeve) they were checking purses etc for snuck in food & making people throw away what they snuck in!!

I'd imagine for a professional massage, as soon as you can lay on your stomach without any pain/discomfort you ought to be ok. It's not like a massage would be very jarring. The day after I came home from the hospital my husband gave me one to help relieve the "air bubbles" I had in my body. I didn't lay on my stomach but kind of propped my upper half on my arms over a bean bag pillow chair thing on the floor and stayed on my knees.

Alright so for the last week, I've been REALLY slow and I'm fearing another stall. SN.......................Starting Wt.........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal DisneyAddict...........257.....................257..........232.............25 lbs! Wow that'd give me a total loss since getting sleeve of 82 lbs!!!

I can't believe I actually made it! SN.......................Starting Wt.........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal DisneyAddict...........288.....................257..........258.............-1 WOW!!!

I was sleeved the day before you and we're about the same on the weight loss. I still see the old me as well most of the time but I get a glimpse of someone thinner here & there. Brief glimpses but I do.

Thanks for the input guys. I found a couple sampler packs on mybariatricpantry that I'm going to try. The Oh Yeah bars were one of them. Here's to hoping bc I'm REALLY getting tired of trying to choke back my shakes...flying or no flying.

For those of yall who have flown post-sleeve, how do you manage to take your protein with you? Is there a particular brand of RTD you're carrying or....? We're booked for WDW in November and I hope by then I won't need to worry about supplementing protein but just in case I'm trying to plan for it. Any suggestions or experience?

Ya I have but I looked the other day at the store and everything I looked at (I think I spent 30 mins in that aisle) had entirely too many carbs. Do you have a Protein Bar recommendation that doesn't taste of dirty rhino butt?

I never tried the vinegar idea but presleeve I would get "acid attacks" so badly I'd wake up choking on the stuff. I used to drink a shot of heavy whipping cream and that'd settle the real bad acid and make the burning in my throat stop. I know it's not sleeve friendly and I haven't had to do it since being sleeved but that is something that worked for me in the past. It tasted terrible but burning acid throat was definitely worse.

I haven't tried chips yet but my weakness is chips & queso.. not salsa. However, when we bbq and have friends over I usually make some sort of yummy dip. I'll have 1-2 small crackers with some dip on it and make myself leave it alone for the rest of the time. I have to admit, it's not hard "ignoring the dip" when you witness your friends practically unhinge their jaws and shovel it in as fast as their hands can carry it to their mouths. Seeing that kind of reminded me of how I used to be and made my resolve (and progress) all the sweeter for me.

I can't stand the taste of anything "diet" so I'd rather drink a little bit of the real thing than a whole "diet". This is why I'm pretty much on nothing but Water the rest of the time. I quit trying to find something "sugar free" that didn't taste of hind-end to me several months ago.

For the past oh 3-4 weeks? I've had either Big Red or Dr Pepper (regular not diet). Now, keep in mind, I have maybe 2 ounces in a rocks glass over ice and I've only done it less than a handful of times. In a glass over ice, I think the carbonation tends to fizzle out rather quickly. I know I suck more air (pre-op experience) when drinking directly from a coke can or bottle than a glass so that's my method. I don't let it become a habit or an every day thing since I'm still in the losing stage. I typically have my "cocktail" when we're outside bbqing on the weekends because I'm not cleared for alcohol still and I'd like something besides WATER or half cal gatorade. Rarely do I finish the whole 2 ounces too. I just want the taste of something different.

I'm so hitting my Easter Challenge SN.......................Starting Wt.........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal DisneyAddict...........288.....................263.2..........258.............5!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I've read somewhere on here about hormones being stored in fat and that's why we're getting hormonal when we start losing a lot etc. Can someone re-explain it to me in more detail? I can't find the post. Also, when did yall start feeling like this? I'm 2 months out now and it's hitting me HARD in the past week at least. It may have started at my last period but then again I always cry watching Moulin Rouge so that's not a very good indicator. Yesterday I was bawling watching Ya Ya. I had to fight back the tears during a few commercials this week too. Not to mention, well, my husband isn't complaining about the other and I can't help but think it's not 100% of the fact that I'm almost 50 lbs down, my belly is way smaller, and I'm feeling better in my own skin (it's certainly helping matters though). How long does it last and does it go in phases?

The first week/week & a half, I had 2 meltdowns and wondered WTF I did to myself. I'm about 9 weeks out now and I'm down 48 pounds. I've never lost 48 of anything before. I wish I had done it sooner. That's my only regret. Once you see yourself shrinking and losing weight, once you see yourself having amazing NSVs that are personal to you... it makes adapting to what life is going to be like much easier. It makes it all worthwhile & justifies itself I guess you can say. In the beginning I think it's hard to digest (haha) what we've done because we haven't seen any dramatic changes in weight/body yet plus we're coping with a lot of losses (foods, cokes, etc) and we see this very long road ahead of us that just seems.. super long. The diet plans in the beginning seem crazy but they eventually become second nature. Life starts to feel normal again after awhile. You'll see Sometimes I feel like it sucks that I can't have more than a bite of this or that in a social setting but when I look at my friends (who are all heavy people) scarfing it down for me... and I catch my husband checking out my newly shrunken badonkadonk... it makes it easier. It's insane how much mental control we have over what we ingest now. Before... poweless to foods siren call. Now? I can do this. Good luck!

I'm more prone to gulping if I don't have a straw. I've been using a straw since maybe a few days to a week out? I've always got my cup of ice & water with a straw by my side at all times now. I was a big straw addict before surgery and that hasn't changed. I feel like I get too much if I'm drinking straight from a cup or bottle of whatever.

Minute Maid Light Lemonade in the carton is also very good. I got to where I couldn't stand the SF mix ins but the lemonade did me just fine.