Lissa

Exercise is a key to getting stronger and to helping your body reshape itself, so every bit is great! Now, if only I could convince my body to like doing it as much as I like the results! LOL

Derel, I get the Premier bars at Sams and I understand that Costco sells them as well. You probably hit one or the other regularly to keep the boat stocked!

I totally agree with CLK! This is about learning to eat like a normal weight person. NWP's eat regular food and sometimes they add junk to their diet. Okay, so you are in lose mode right now, but the only way to learn to maintain a normal weight is to learn to deal with food like a NWP. I don't consider food good or bad; for me it's either Protein or not protein. But, one of the biggest lessons I'm learning on this journey is that "not all carbs are bad carbs". As a matter of fact, now that I've stepped up my workout routine, I'm having to learn to ADD carbs to my diet in order to have the energy to handle my routine. As you go forward, you'll realize that you have days where you eat more than usual, and you'll have days where you won't eat anywhere near what you think you "should" eat. I'm not sure what causes the variation, but it will happen. Don't beat yourself up either way, just try to stay on plan as much as possible.

TMorgan, Walking is the best thing you can do and it will pay huge benefits as you continue. I couldn't walk from the car to my front door without being winded pre-op and now I'm walking to and from the gym for my daily workout, plus spending my 30 minutes on the bike while I'm there! It ALL adds up as you continue to work and pushing yourself a little more each day is NOT a bad thing. So my new workout routine is walk .7 mile, exercise bike for 30 minutes, walk .7 mile, weights (high reps, low weight), then a shower. If you had told me at 2 weeks post-op I'd be doing all of this willingly, I'd have told you that you were nuts, yet here I am... and I started exactly where you're at with walking as much as I could handle.

The first step in overcoming an issue is to realize there IS an issue! Get rid of the Cereal and concentrate on your Protein and Water goals. BTW, there is no "only" when it comes to weight loss. Next time you go to the store pick up 3 5 lb bags of flour and carry them around while you shop. It will make you realize how much weight you've already dropped and give you some perspective on how successful you've already been. Then it will motivate you to continue following your plan (70g of protein, 64oz of water) so that you continue to lose those 5 pound bags of flour! Every time I get frustrated about my weight loss, I think about how many bags of flour or sugar I've lost. I certainly don't want to carry around 18 bags of either one...and my knees, hips and ankles thank me for it daily!

Gingersnap (LOVE the picture, btw), The difference in bougie size is so small that I don't think it really affects how hungry we are. Bougies are measured in millimeters, so the difference between a 32 and a 40 is about {this}. I think my doctor said mine was a 34, but it's not really significant overall.

KansasGirl, Good for you for putting on your big girl panties and doing this for yourself! Don't let Dad or anyone else get in the way of your dream of a healthier life! My STBex told me the same thing: Eat less and exercise more and you'll lose the weight. At 350 pounds, that wasn't going to happen. Now that I'm 7 months out and over 90 pounds lost, he's singing a different tune about how this is the best thing I've ever done. Forget the non-supportive haters! Just do what you need to do and enjoy the results!

You both need to talk to your doctors about acid reducers. There is head hunger immediately post op, and then there's the hungry feeling produced because your body is still making acid like you're going to eat a whole buffet. Once that acid reducer kicks in, you'll feel less hunger. good luck!!

Don't feel clueless and alone. You had surgery April 3, so you are 18 days out? Right? At 3 weeks is when I got to transition to soft mushy food (21 days). Your doctor should have given you a timeline to follow for Clear liquids, then full liquids, then mushy food, then regular food. If not, it's time for a phone call to someone in his office to give you some guidelines. Search here for the what to eat threads. Many people have posted what they were eating at various stages and specific ideas for how they met that goal. Good luck...and hang around. We don't bite..much.

njerry, I just added you.

Halfway is HUGE!! I'm so happy for you! You're really working that sleeve!

Post your username and you'll have 20 friends in an hour. If you're using it on your phone, go to summary and it will show you your friends' status updates, including their exercise..which motivates me the most! I keep my diary public. For any public diary, your friends can go in it and see what you're eating, drinking, and exercising on a daily basis. I find that this keeps me honest. You'll see that I have eaten sweets and carbs on occasion...and even that I've had alcohol. I figure I should post everything so that I can see trends later (if needed) and to keep it honest for those who are following me. I'm Lissa912 on there. Feel free to add me, just note that you're from VST if you use a different username there than here.

LOL, thanks, Kathy!! I'm losing, albeit slowly on the pounds front. B U T I am stronger and wearing smaller sizes than I have in 10 years. I'm btwn 260 and 264 daily, dying to get into the 250's. However, I weighed 245-260 on the way up for over 10 years, so I know this is a plateau weight. It doesn't matter, though. I will get there and I'm adding in more exercise every day. Besides, my butt looks fabulous right now!!

Cherrybomb, You posted that you wouldnt put your pre-op weight out there for anyone to see. I will. I weight 352 at my absolute highest and I'm knocking on 100 pounds lost. I didn't really drop sizes for a long time. I was in my 3 week stall when I lost my first size, and then it seemed to take months before I lost another size. A few days ago I went to the store to buy workout clothes because mine were embarassingly large, so large in fact that I inadvertently flashed an old man my boobs at the gym the other day! I figured I needed an 18, but bought 16s because they were stretchy workout clothes and I don't want to flash anyone again. The 16s not only fit, they fit well!!! I am going to buy jeans this weekend and I know I'll be trying on everything in sight, just to get a better idea of what fits. The sizes will drop soon and you'll be amazed at how fast it happens. Lil Miss Diva told me that months ago and I thought she was nuts, but now I know that it happens and it happens so fast our brains cannot keep up. I still see the bigger me in the mirror, but that's not the gal that shows up in pictures these days. I remember thinking "That girl has a waist" when I was looking at my own picture about a month ago. Well, THIS girl has a waist and I have to keep reminding myself of that!!

I haven't tried Zumba yet, but I understand how great that must make you feel! Great job!!

Ever hear of transfer addiction? Don't start drinking now just because you can't eat. I think a little alcohol here and there is fine, but it's strange that a non-drinker would suddenly start craving it, IMO. My psyche told me that I would "definitely" become an alcoholic, so I've been very stringent on how much and when I drink...and I never drank much pre-op either. Good luck!

Paola, Half of fixing a problem is recognizing it and admitting it. food is a horrible addiction and we all have at least some form of it, IMO. You did an amazing job on your pre-op and you're going to do an amazing job now! I have faith in you! You need to keep coming where you get support and help from people who have been on the same journey you're on, and that means you need to check in here more often. Don't leave yourself out there with no support. I notice that I stay more motivated and on schedule when I check in here daily. Good luck! I can't wait to see your newest before/after pics!

I understand that as we become more fit our resting heart rate drops. However, your elevated heart rate could be due to anything, including lingering effects of the surgery. If your doctor isn't worried about it, I wouldn't let it worry me either. Keep an eye on it, though. As you become more fit, it should drop back into your "normal" range.

Pagie I feel your pain. I'm less than 10 pounds from being 100 pounds down and I've been bouncing on the 4-5 pounds I need for weeks. I've upped my exercise, added carbs, decreased carbs, done everything I can to break into the next decade and it's just not happening. However, I just fit into another size down, so I know that I'm reshaping myself. I'm trying to concentrate on that last size I lost and not worry about the scale. I'm also adding in more exercise. For real, I can handle the number I see on the scale now if I am fit and fine. So, I'm letting go of the scale until next week and going to go walk to the gym, do my workout and not worry about the numbers. I also had a friend make a huge deal over how great my butt looks (he's a butt man), so that gives me incentive to keep on working out.

You will lose. Stick to the basics, water, protein, exercise. If you're truly discouraged, take some measurements and compare them to your pre-op measurements. You did take pre-op measurements, right? If not, now is a good time to take them for future reference.

Amazing!! Congrats on your successful weight loss so far! You'll be at goal by June for sure!

WOW! An amazing difference in both of you! You both look years younger!

FeedYourEye, You may be right. I was told to continue eating the same amount of dark green leafy veggies all through my coumadin treatment, but I thought it was to increase the amount of thinning, not increase clotting. Either way, the rule of thumb is to be consistent with the veggies while on coumadin therapy in order not to affect the dosing. I did NOT mean to give bad information, so I advise everyone to check with their own doctor about this issue. The nurse would ask if I ate extra collard greens that week whenever my dose had to be lowered, which is why I thought the greens increased the effect of the coumadin.

I wish VST had an adore button!!! You've done an amazing job of stating what most of us feel before we have surgery!!

Capt Derel, Your capacity will increase as your sleeve heals and the swelling goes down. Try to make sure you get your liquids and, if necessary, use protein shakes to help get your protein. I'm not sure if you like the premier protein bars, but they have way more protein in them than any other bar I've found (30g vs 15g) and they are a basic in my diet right now. Since your capacity is so low, higher protein is a good thing.