Dickens22

I was sleeved 6/26 @ 257, 5'8, 56 yrs old, size 22. Went to wedding at 11 weeks and wore size 16 wrap dress, size 16 and 18 jeans, shirts Xl/18. Lost 44 lbs. I wore supportive undergarments to hold it all together for the wrap dress.

They say your maximum loss occurs in the first 18 mos so some people really restrict calories and carbs to maximize loss. My Dr recommends doing that to avoid getting stuck not reaching goal and slipping back. It is a personal choice.

People can be so thoughtless to speak everything that crosses their mind. In their defense, some times it people losing weight do look sickly at times as their body adjusts. Once the body adjusts they look great. I would just chalk it up to poor manners and be proud of your accomplishment. Keep up the good work!

Me too. I have a hard time sleeping 8 hours. I am tired but can't sleep. It takes quite a ritual before bed to fall asleep. Reading,water,Sleepytime Extra tea, Benedryl,.... Then if all goes well I sleep from 10-2 then off and on until 5 when I get up for work. The bed just doesn't fell comfy. I am swimming 3-4 Xa week and working 40 hours / wk. so I should be tired. I am 3 months out. My body is still adjusting I guess.

I just bought a fitted Trench coat off the rack at a really nice store in the Seattle Airport! Couldn't have happened 3 months ago!

I just flew to Seattle and when I put the seatbelt on I had to tighten it. Then I looked down and my stomach looked pretty flat. Yay! Oh yeah I crossed my legs in the plane.......

I had several mornings where I was very weak in the morning and just crappy up until about 5 weeks. I had a hard time standing up long enough to Iron my clothes for work without a rest. I think it was part of recovery ,I overdid it a bit the day before, needed more fluids or protein, or any combo of these three things. All is pretty good now at 12 weeks. Take care of yourself it will get better.

I like Unjury unflavored protien powder with Diet Cranberry juice or Premier Chocolate shakes.

Sure

You're going to need to focus on yourself for awhile after surgery. This was different for me...the family always came first regardless of how I was feeling. This is a time for you to get healthy. My family was so sweet and a little worried not having seen me in this mode. Their support really helped. Get rest,drink your liquids, get your protien in, walk and rest some more. You may need naps because your sleep is off a little..take them w/o guilt. There are rougher days so eliminating the pressures of a busy schedule will help. For me p/o healing involved stopping to smell the roses....doing things at an easy pace....taking walks at the beach. It was the first time in 40 years of working I took off work just to do something for me with no schedule. It was a wonderful time of redefining my life plans.

Chap stick, Kleenex, slippers, light bathrobe, hand mirror

I never thought I'd say this but these frozen dinners are great! I have been having the hardest time eating any meat except for hamburger, I am not quite 3 mos out and most real food eating experiences have been disappointing and have left me wishing I hadn't tried to eat. Soft things are great but beef, chicken, etc difficult. I tried tender cuts, moist cuts... Anyway tonight I had the Atkins Turkey Dinner and it was wonderful . Low carbs, low fat and low calories. Just the right amount of protein. Just thought I'd share for anyone else struggling.

Great job! Congratulations!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations! You look fabulous! What an inspiration you are!

I always weigh 2 pounds more at bedtime than in the am sooooo I always weigh in the am

I put the Unjury unflavored in Oceanspray Diet Cranberry juice.It is 5 calories/2 carbs @ 8oz. It is great. I got tired of shakes and found this idea. Not too sweet and light texture. Hope this helps!

Congratulations!!

I bought a dress that was not from plus dept and sleeveless to go to a wedding. It has been 30 years since that has happened! Yay!

I was surprised at the exhaustion too. I'm always the resilient one! This is big surgery. I needed to take 2 weeks off (I only thought 1 week max) and it took the first 4 weeks to not feel somewhat fragile. I tried to listen to my body and take it easy when I got home from work. By 8 weeks I was doing pool exercise 3X a week and walking. At 8 weeks there were moments I was worried because I actually forgot about my sleeve. It does get better.

Congrats! You look fabulous!

My doc told me 1 oz every 10 minutes for at least 1o hours of the day. That would leave 14 for sleep and activities away from the house. All liquid counted, shakes,juice, Water, etc. I would make 60 oz. this was only needed the first few weeks. He said if you didn't stay on op of it...it was hard to catch up and dehydration was not good. You need extra Fluid to help kidneys while losing weight at this rate.

Conratulations! I'm a June too.

I gained 12 pounds in the hospital. It comes off in the first few weeks.

You look great!