Yasman

KQH, now I am depressed again. We are about the same on stats, but (I know, not supposed to compare) I am not as advanced as you. I guess I need to go back to the basics. It is harder than I thought it was going to be and am so afraid I have made a wrong decision. Maybe I was not ready for the lifetime change. Any advice from anyone to get me back on track? I am very proud of you for what you have accomplished! Just worried that I have finished losing the weight already.

Mrs Susie, don't despair! you and I are also similar stats... I'm 5'9 to your 5'8, I've only lost 36 lbs to your 55 in the same time frame. Everyone's body is different and everyone's body reacts to lower calories or more working out differently. Here's a suggestion, calculate what your weightloss per week is since the surgery and that will hopefully help you recognize that you have come a long way, baby!

I notice that for me, i will drop a few pounds, then spend a week or longer jumping around the scale somewhere above that number and then one day poof, i'll drop again to a new, lower weight than before. I'm watching the scale daily, though, which many say is unhealthy. I say... as long as i don't go into spasms of depression over it i'm ok. Mainly, I watch the scale daily because I am logging everything I eat and drink and want to know what impact, if any, my diet and exercise per day has on the next morning's weigh in. (right now, it looks like nil. but I know that can't be true).

Another way to give yourself more faith is to measure yourself regularly, say weekly, because when the scale isn't moving it doesn't mean other, major, changes are happening. It's only been a few weeks (8) but despite being down "only" 36 pounds, I'm already back into jeans and shorts that are 2 (or more?) sizes smaller than when I went in for surgery.

Try not to compare yourself to others... you are uniquely yourself and on a journey that will be so much faster (with the WLS tool in your pocket) than it otherwise would be. You don't need to feel the wind in your hair!

Alright I was the last poster but I've achieved a new one. Not funny, just Fabulous:

When you can fit into your old jeans that were 2 (or more?) sizes two small just weeks ago.

That, and when a friend you see every day says "you really are losing weight, you know"

up and down all week, lowest was 321 but the official friday weigh in is

322.5

I'm totally with you...love it. Your criteria is pretty much the same as mine. I just don't have a clue what genetic tri-Protein peptide is. I'm going to keep using it because of all the things you mentioned. My favorite is the small portion size!!! today was my first day using it, so I'll just go on until I run out and see how it affects me.

honestly, I think it's just scientific gobbledy - trying to make something about the science of how they make it into a unique quality that other Protein powders supposedly don't have. I take it as marketing and I dont feel I need to understand thequantum mechanics of protein powders. I'm glad you like it too... I'm happy in all but thequantity/price because I thought it was pretty expensive for just 30 servings.

_{<snip>Wondering if anyone knows anything about GENEPRO Genetic Tri-Protein Peptide. It says it contains 30 grams of Protein (instanized peptide whey, hydrolyzed whey, and genetic hexapeptide protein).}

_{Is this the kind of protein I want and need? One thing nice is that the serving size (one scoop) is much smaller than the packets like unjury or Jarrrow Formulas, which I have been using. Plus it's only got 15mg of sodium. But is it the "right kind" of protein????} <snip>

I just bought some of the GENEPRO two weeks ago and I love it. I've been adding it to my liquids (iced tea, crystal light, etc.) and so far it goes great with everything. That said, I'm not a doctor so can't tell you if its the right or wrong kind of protein. I honestly don't think there is a wrong kind of protein but that's me.

Mixes well? check

Flavorless? check

small portion size? check

can double up portions? check

doesn't change texture of your liquid? check

Not sure what else you're looking for, but it suits me just fine.

when, without thinking about it, you casually throw a leg over into a crossed legs sitting position while watching tv... and after freaking out with delight about it, find its actually very comfortable and you stay that way for over two hours comfortably and with good blood supply.

I have an awesome bran muffin recipe that works wonders in keeping my system moving without over doing the carb intake. I'm a year out and have tried ALOT of different options. For me, chemicals are not a solution. I'm happy to post the Bran Muffin recipe if anyone would like it:)

I second that request for your recipe. I can definitely do bran muffins.

I've been suffering from chapped lips but didn't make the association until I read your topic headline. I haven't been doing poorly with the hydration, I think I'm nearing 80oz daily or more. but the chapped lips are still there so ... i dunno.

haha I bet that the first time I hear that I will feel tickle in my ears!!

I remember that the last time I heard this word ...I was 16!!!

Now never mind the reflection in the mirror, I love even my 'thin' shadow while walking outside!! XD

I have been wondering what it will be like when my shadow gets thinner... will i even recognize that its mine?

Duh? Call already...

maybe not how I would say it, but definitely a resounding Motion Seconded! (or, too right? or.. go ahead girl or... what are you waiting for? or... Go To It!)

I think all the time he spent hanging with you during the day and at the end is a big hint. He probably can't ask you directly because HE'S at work. You're not! You don't need to be bound by his workplace rules.

So I say, Cowgirl, Take the Bull by the Horns and give him a call.

@@JadedMage, I think you missed the point of this thread? I believe we are all committed, but that doesnt make some of the things we need to do, the new healthy habits we need to adopt, easy to adopt. This thread is about wanting to adopt a particular aspect of the new post-op lifestyle and needing to talk through it as its especially challenging. I know its challenging for me! I would hope you would feel comfortable talking about something that's a sticking point for you, somewhere on this website as that's what (it seems to me) it's all about - people talking to eachother and helping where possible.

Checking in! Down just over 70lbs since pre-op, eating and drinking like a "normal" person, off shakes and powders and such unless I want one (Quest bars, yum), getting plenty of veggies and some fruit with my Protein. This week I hit my first BIG weight loss goal so there was some definite SnoopyDancing going on!

now I have images and the earworm of Snoopy doing "Suppertime".... sup sup sup sup supper-ti-i-i-ime.

I'm another who never heard anything about banning foods. They did say to stay away from certain foods in the beginning (possibly, TBD by our own experience, forever) like bread rice soda caffeine etc. but nobody said anything about nuts or coconut. I've been having boiled peanuts as a snack and am a little fearful about whether or not that's a problem. Guessing not if the reason for staying away from nuts is the "it might get caught in the staples" issue because, being boiled, they are all soft an mushy already.

@@CowgirlJane I totally understand and sympathize (empathize?) with you, especially the part about having big people fears holding you back from putting yourself out there. Good luck to you. Plus, you're a hottie now and he was vibing with you all day so I think you would be ok (not a stalker!) if you found a creative way to look him up. Lots of good ideas here, but to add one more, do the old-school thing and write your number on a piece of paper and find him at work one day and handing it to him and say "I really enjoyed your company the other day." Doing it at his work could be viewed either as "stalkerish" or in my view "natural, because that's where you two met".

Good luck to you and much romance.

ok, now that I know an NSV is a non-scale victory, I have one to share. Fitting comfortably with room to spare in a booth at a restaurant when the last time you went you were (your belly was) hanging over the table, all squeezed in.

Separately but the same, being able to swing up and out of the booth easily and smoothly, rather than huffing your way through a 3 step process to get out.

324.3 this morning (arggggh, was 322 for the last two days... buti f not on friday i can't claim it. at least that's one pound down.)

I was sleeved 7/14/14 and have pretty much been able to take normal swallows since day 2 in the hospital. I don't chug like I used to but when I haven't drank something for a while and the body is craving liquids I can take as many as five mouthfuls at a time without pain. I try not to do that too often, preferring to stay hydrated throughout the day... but this mainly comes in after waiting 30 minutes after a meal and by Golly the waiting is horrible. and nearly impossible. still.

Hi July sleevers. Just wanted to touch base and say that after a long stall the scale is finally moving. I am of course ecstatic. Also not sure if this did it, but i finally added a Protein supplement to my diet which could be what's making a difference.

Anyway, I'm at 2 months out from surgery and 35 lbs down. Which I'm happy with. yay!

Hi Guys! I'm a former guzzler during meals. Having wait staff refill my Water glass 4-6 times in a single meal sitting. Switching now to not drinking anything during a meal is hard.

I confess I am still trying to work on developing the habit of 30/30 around a meal... the first half of that is tough because I haven't always planned out when the meal is going to happen. Poor planning. The second half of that is hard because I'm just dying to have a sip... either while eating or shortly after finishing. I have started/perfected the habit of checking what time I'm done eating and am working on making it to 30 minutes because the desire is just so strong i'm like 6 minutes? 12 minutes?! 22 minutes only?!?!? and somewhere in there break and have something before I go stir crazy.

Some wise person on this forum wrote once about making sure the last thing you eat tastes good because you're going to be tasting it for 30 minutes... how right she was!

I am still a gulpy if not guzzly kind of person. I know the size of my tummy and know that I can take as many as 5 good size swallows before I cause myself any pain, but I choose to only do that when my body is screaming for some liquids. Otherwise, my 64oz of liquid get a swallow here, two swallows there. Which should be ok.

Anyway, good luck to you in your journey!

Good topic, I was debating whether I would start one like it myself.

I bought the Lean Body premixed in bulk just before mysurgery - I liked the flavor just slightly less than the Muscle Milk but they had the Lean Body on sale. I found after surgery that though I can stomach the flavor (not as yummy as before but not gross, either), the consistency or SOMEthing makes it nearly impossible for me to swallow more than about 1/4 of a container of it at a time... I bought lots of Protein powder single serving samples at the local Vitamin store but didn't much like any of them enough... and I discovered that making Protein shakes, and drinking Protein shakes... just wasn't something I was looking for.

One of the samples was for a flavorless protein supplement that was ok but still make a major change to the texture of the drink which I didn't care for.

Somewhere I found a link for MuscleGen Research's GENEPRO Protein Powder which is advertised as adding 30g of protein in a single tablespoon and that it doesn't change the flavor or texture of anything you add to it, so supposedly you could add it to coffee, sodas, food, whatever. I thought about it for a couple weeks then ultimately bought it from Amazon (saved me the hefty shipping charge) and it came a few days ago. I've just started adding one tablespoon to my 28oz shaker/bottle/drink container for the last 3 days and although there is a tiny bit of clumping, and a noticeable head of foam right after shaking, it really doesn't change the flavor of my crystal light, coffee, or Water in any way. Which is what I was looking for.

I can also report (although I cannot knowledge-ably claim a causal relationship between the GENEPRO and the loss) i broke my stall of almost 6 weeks in the last 2 days, which I am happy about. upping my protein was something I thought about for a long while but since I was over 60g everyday already didn't think was a necessity. If adding the 30g is what got the scale to move, I won't complain!

fyi: http://smile.amazon.com/Musclegen-Research-Genepro-Genetic-Tri-Protein/dp/B00K6OSDYA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1410996551&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=genepro

I had an abnormal EKG before surgery too. The ekg team couldn't explain it, the heart doctor wasn't concerned, but all came clear when I spoke to my non-WLS doctor team because they were able to tell me that the abnormalities in the EKG could be explained by some medications I'm taking. Do discuss your EKG with ALL your doctors, and bring the printout with you. You may not have anything at all to worry about.

I tried some pizza the other day and for now I think it is going to be one of those things that is just not a good thing for me.

I'm sorry to hear that. If you love pizza like I do that's a major loss. I've had pizza several times and my experience is this. My tummy/sleeve want less than one piece. My eyes and screwy headspace want 3 pieces. I'm ok and able to stop at about 2/3's a normal slice (from a 16" pizza, for example) but its not that much fun when eating with others. I'll have to work on getting over the desire to keep up with friends.

congratulations, excellent flexibility you go girl! And... what does NSV stand for?

Why would I be constipated? Should I be having bowel movements with being on a liquid diet? I just had surgery on wed! Help

This may be a conversation that you'd want to have in a week or so rather than days from surgery. Your diet will change from full liquids to slowly adding solid food back to your system and for the first while your intestinal tract will be fine and still empty from the time on liquids. That said, a high Protein diet does tend to dry out the contents of our tummies and intestines so when you start to notice that you are never doing #2 anymore, this thread may become helpful for you.

Hi! Congratulations for making this choice for yourself and good luck to you.

I had very very little pain.... none in the hospital (but they may have been giving me pain meds) and the 2nd or 3rd day home I noticed some pain in my left side... nothing serious but I had been given prescripts (which I filled) for pain meds so it was no sweat.

I know it can sound like it will be hard but walking in the hospital after your surgery will be really easy. Granted, you've just come out of surgery so you're not going to b ewalking the miracle mile, but the inspiration/motivation to walk and the ability to walk will be there for you. Some people report having a nursing team that make walking nearly impossible, but that seems rare. For me, getting some assistance to get out of the booties they have on your legs was the only barrier, and the nursing team was well versed in bariatric patient needs so I had no trouble finding nursing staff willing to walk with me. Other hospitals maybe don't require a nurse to be with you but mine did. Anyway walking was not at all painful, but it was tiring.

I have found that sipping is not for me. I'm a gulpy kinda gal I guess. It doesn't hurt me and I know how many gulps I can get before my tummy is at maximum so it's not been a problem.The thing to remember is that your body is your guide and if you can't gulp, you'll just develop a sipping habit and that's that. Some people can eat the things that others can no longer handle, like beef or soda or what have you. The big thing is portion sizes and trying (I suck at this) to behave with regards to when you drink vs when you eat. They don't want you to drink within 30 minutes, before or after, eating. I just am having to work very hard at behaving with regards tot his. Building the habit... building the habit, building the habit. ugh.!

Best of luck to you!

p.s. Go ahead and look through the various forum names... there's an entire forum dedicated to people posting their personal bariatric surgery journey... that will be a great place to read and get some of the answers that you are looking for.