Lissa

Well, he's great at marketing, eh? Copy your post and show it to him. He's not the one who has had to deal with your struggles and his fad diet gimmick isn't what you think you need, so just tell him NO THANK YOU. If he continues, let him know to cease and desist or you'll have to put limits on the friendship. Good luck!

Walking is great, but slow down a little. If you're feeling faint or dizzy, you're overdoing it a little. Keep walking, just ease up on yourself. You're not going to get the benefits of the jump start if you injure yourself right now!

I know that keurig makes a decaf that tastes pretty good to me.

Some of the mio flavors do that to me. I really like the strawberry watermelon and the orange tangerine flavors myself. However, if I put too much into a water bottle, it definitely isn't a pleasant feeling. Kellog's makes a protein water mix that's also good to some people. I didn't care for it, but others swear by the pink lemonade and it's got 4 or 6 grams of protein in it, which helps with the protein intake.

Switch to decaf, thinmymind. You can still enjoy the flavor, just avoid the caffeine.

I really don't count anything but protein grams and water. 70g of protein, 64oz of water. As long as I'm getting those, I'm cool. On MFP I have 1000 calories marked as my goal, but I seldom reach that.

Dandra, MassIndex isn't trying to bring you down. He's pointing out that apple juice is a choice you can make, but he's also saying that you may want to keep an eye on it. Right now you're losing weight almost effortlessly because you are early post-op. However, once you're a little further out, you may want to revisit whether apple juice is something you want to keep in your diet. It does have sugar and carbs, which might cause a problem later. Crystal light and Mio drops will both give you that sweet taste you're looking for without the sugar and carbs. This may be important as you get further out from surgery and the weight loss slows down. Also, for many of us sugar causes bathroom issues. I know that most fruit juices send me to the bathroom very quickly and it's not pleasant. Now, with all of that said, there are some things that many of us do while on liquids and mushy stages that we don't do later. I ate a lot of instant mashed potatoes during my mushy stage, but I threw out the box once I was back on solid foods. I despise instant mashed, but it was a big help during the mushy stage. It's all about where you're at in the dietary stages post-op and you'll figure out what works for you as you move forward. Good luck.

Have a cup of decaf. Caffeine is a diuretic, so it robs your body of the water it needs. In order to make up for it, you'd have to drink twice as much water as coffee, which is often hard to do post-op. Also, you've just detoxed your body from the caffeine, why not stay detoxed from the caffeine? I drink decaf everything these days.

Bikerchick, you just gilded the lily! I adore sliced cucumbers! That would be a great combination!

PEvette, I totally agree with you. IMO none of us became obese without having some kind of major food issue. I used to eat my problems rather than deal with them. Instead of confronting someone about how their behavior made me feel, I'd eat something to feel better. Food was my drug. A lot of folks aren't real happy with me IRL these days because I now stop those same people and call them on it when they attempt to treat me like they did before. Some days it's really hard to change the habits of a lifetime, but it's definitely worth it.

My sleep pattern has changed drastically after surgery, too. I now go to bed at midnight and I'm always awake between six and seven am. Pre-op, I was always super tired, even when driving. I do have sleep apnea that I started using bi-pap for about 2 weeks prior to surgery, so I'm not sure if the need for less sleep is because of the bi-pap or because of weight loss. Either way, I'll take it. I'm more productive and energetic now than I have been in years!

I see a therapist, not just for food issues. I didn't look for someone who only dealt with bariatric issues specifically. I looked for a therapist with whom I was comfortable. I wanted someone who wouldn't let me BS her, because I'm pretty good at that, and someone who could handle ME. My gal is very quiet and laid back, but she doesn't let me get away with anything. That's good, because my aim is to overcome both the food issues and the underlying garbage that started the food issues. IMO, it's more important to find a therapist that you're comfortable talking to than to find a therapist who deals with specific issues. They could be Freud himself, but if you're not comfortable, they will never do you any good.

I'm almost 9 months out and, while the weight loss slows down on it's own, it's still really easy for me to control my hunger. Losing weight isn't as easy as it was immediately post-op, thank goodness. I can't imagine where I'd end up if I were still losing 20 pounds a month! But, staying on track and "just" eating normal is much easier than before. I do get hungry, but it's more like "Oh, it's been 4 hours since I ate". I eat a meal, which for me is about 5-6 oz of food, and then I'm satisfied and move on with my day. It's not an all-consuming hunger that says I have to eat mass quantities right this minute! I'm still losing weight, but at a reasonable pace. I'm exercising and still working through my food issues. I think the food issues will pretty much resolve themselves as I continue. One of the biggest changes for me post-op has been that I now think of food as either Protein or not protein. I still eat protein first, and I've added back in some complex carbs to my diet because of the exercise I'm doing. The carbs give me a short-term energy boost for exercise, which is great! As for the sleeve being a tool, it helps us to jump start the weight loss process, plus gives us restriction to help us not overeat. It's not magic, but sometimes it sure feels like it!

Pookey, Great NSV!!! I am laughing because your friend didn't recognize you! That's terrific! BTW, My sons love Rammstein, so I've definitely heard a good bit of their music! Pretty good, IMO!

I use Mio drops. You can flavor individual bottles to your taste at that time. About $3.78 for enough to flavor 20 bottles at walmart.

I'm looking forward to the pics as well. I'm just starting to think about having plastics. I'm still at the big chicken stage, but I went through this same thought process before having the sleeve done as well. I just keep imagining how much happier I'll be to have everything tight once I hit goal and a month or so of mild pain is definitely worth that!

Yep, the pain is caused by the fact that your bones are now exposed (less fat to cover them) and they are in contact with or rubbing against things they wouldn't have been bothered by before. My left hip hurts if I lay on it for too long these days. I just turn to the other side during the night. No big deal.

Dooter! I love the new pic!!

Lose the word "only" unless it's "I've only got x pounds to goal!" You're doing quite well with your sleeve. Immediately after surgery, you have water weight to contend with from the fluids that are pumped into us during surgery. Losing 21 pounds in under a month, or two months, is fantastic! Keep up the good work!

The NSVs make all the difference in the world, don't they?!

Thanks again! I'm keeping my feet up today, watching some stuff on Netflix, and walking around every 15-20 minutes, so I should feel better soon. It's raining, so no pool or hot tub for me unless it stops. I'll report in later or tomorrow and let you know how it's feeling then. It's too funny, though. *I* have pain from exercise! LOL I'd have never thought this could happen to me since I was so sedentary. And, I'm itching to get back to my workouts, even though I know it's not a good idea right now.

It would have stayed if I had been older, but he assumed, correctly, that I would lose weight and start exercising after surgery, thereby extending my life expectancy. I'm glad it went well and thanks for your congrats. IMO, this is the best thing I've ever done for myself. Bar none.

LOL, Giselle! I may pay to have the house pressure washed next time! That was quite a project! I think WebChickadee may be right. My muscles are handling the workouts fine, but my joints are very painful right now. I do have access to both a pool and a hot tub, so I may have to spend more time in them and less time doing the killer cardio. As long as I get my 30 minutes a day of cardio, my doc doesn't care how I do it. I'm still putting aspercreme on my shoulder and my knees and downing Water like crazy. Hopefully it will help quickly. I hurt! LOL

Fluffy, I had surgery to install the filter, then my VSG and three weeks later, the filter was removed. My venous doctor did not want to leave a filter in my vena cava for life because he was afraid it would eventually become clogged and kill me all by itself.

Every joint in my body is achy, especially my knees and shoulders. I've been working out pretty hard, so I know what's causing it. How do I treat it without totally stopping my workouts? Typical day for exercise: 7 am - hit the gym for cardio/weights. 4 days I do cardio, 3 days I do weights 7pm - hit the gym for more cardio. I do half an hour on the recumbent bike and I'm working on adding in the helliptical, between 5 and 12 minutes, depending on how well I do on it. The last three days, my knees have been aching. Aspercreme has been helping with the ache, but I pressure washed my house yesterday and I assume that the unaccustomed activity left me hurting in places that I don't work out. My shoulders, knees and elbows are all protesting today. The aspercreme helps for a little bit, but then they are all back to aching. I'm looking for the best way to treat it. I have access to a hot tub and I'm seriously considering hitting it now and again this evening, but I don't want to aggravate anything either. Help?