Jenhort

I just started pushing myself on my eliptical. I usually do 20 mins on level 8. Three weeks ago, I started doing 250 strides on level 18(highest is 20). I have tried to improve every time in my reps per min. Its getting close to 48 today. I never ever would have challenged myself before this surgery. I so enjoy being able to walk my dogs for an hour no problem, ride my bike and just then spend the rest of the day not being wiped out or discouraged. Love this feeling! Oh yeah, I try all kinds of dance videos too. I could never do them before. I dont do them for exercise, just for fun..imagine that.lol

You know what? I had those exact same worries during my preop and directly after my sleeve...Those thoughts exactly.....every social thing EVERYTHING is centered around food! I though to myself that I would never be able to partake in anything social again! I had forgotten about those thoughts until you had brought them up! lol I have gone to many social gatherings in the last year....the first one was about 6 weeks out....I just pushed a bit of food around on my plate....but I really did connect with everyone there! I have actuallly become more social now because I feel more comfortable in those settings. My relationships with family and friends have improved because it is not about the food anymore, it is about the people. When I go to social gatherings, I eat some kind of protien...fish or some other piece of meat and then I also have tastes of things that are really good. I dont care too much for sweets anymore, I dont feel good afterwards.. As for alcohol, I used to drink a few times a week especially duriing the summer, party party party, now I dont really care to.. of course summer is coming again and I am sure I will drink more. These issues didnt become the big thing I thought they would. I just roll with it and do my best. If I want to continue to lose, I have to make the right choices. sometimes I focus on having a good week instead of a good day. Hopefully this will happen for your husband too. I hope you and he do well with this, it is hard and I know you want to support him...and I think there should be more support for family....kinda like al-anon. cuz yeah, how do you know what to say or not to say??? Good luck!

This IS HARD!!!! Most of us "know all there is to know about losing weight" We know it backwards sideways and upside down! I have discovered and finally come to terms that this is an addiction and I am playing a head game! These battles I am fighting are all in my head. This surgery made it easier to stick to those rules and helped me to think more about my choices...why am I hungry?? or am I really hungry??? what is it that I really want?? I have experienced alot of self discovery this past year, sometimes I think I have it down and then I realize I still have to work for this... and damn I wish I could have done this without such an extreme surgery...but I had to do it for my own health. Time was running out in my life. I would not wish this on anyone. And I dont expect anyone to understand me, but it sure does help when people do attempt to understand! Yup I did this allll to myself over a lifetime. I am the only one that can undo this. I am also lucky to have family and friends that support me and this website sure does help too!

sweets are carbs and the more you eat the more you crave... try counting your protiens first...get them all in. Then maybe you wont have room for the sweet stuff. I went thru the same thing and had to start keeping my food diary again. I use myfitnesspal. I went thru this at about 7 months..it is a bit easier now. good luck! I didnt gain weight but I certainly didnt lose any either! This is hard dammit! I also made sure to get all my Water in too.

I am a year out and I cut my hair short so my thinning hair wouldnt be so noticable but good news, I can see new growth!! It is about 2 inches so it has been there for a bit. My hair is thin and fine anyways...but if you keep up on getting your protien in...yay

I eat alot of chicken breast...I bake it, cut it up then add a little fat free mayo and salt and pepper, or whatever spice I feel for the week. It does feel like a brick in my stomach but that it the point for me! It keeps me full with lots of protien and low carbs/cals. I eat alot of fish and turkey too. If I get my protien in first, I dont have room to munch on other things. I eat alot of poached eggs and greek yogurt too....plain with a packet of sweetner. At this point, my diet is pretty bland and alot of the same foods but I decided I have to to do this for awhile if I want to get to my goal. Once I am there, I will add other things. I went for a period of about 3 months at a standstill because I was not concentrating on protiens and I had the cravings for meals that everyone else in the house was eating. They were for the most part healthy but too many carbs and not enough protien. I will go back to that when I want to maintain. ( I hope this grand plan of mine works...so far so good, I broke the plateau)

I do, but I drink Bud select 55 or vodka with diet or rum with diet....it still makes me very sleepy later and the next day I have no energy. Everything else seems too sweet to me and since I count calories, its just not worth it.

I think I have an ulcer....I am almost one year post op and have been doing ok with my high protien low carb diet but at six months I started drinking coffee again...just one large cup most days....and a few weeks ago I took ibuprofen twice for a bad sunburn....now for the last 5 days I have had some pretty bad burning pain in my stomach...cant really eat too much...just my greek yogurt and some eggs and string cheese. It hurts a bit even after drinking Water. I am pretty sure it is an ulcer. I am going to stop my coffee for awhile and start a 2 week course of prilosec and see if that helps. I have my one year follow up in 3 weeks so i will ask then. good luck!

Yes, I can so relate to this! I have been at a standstill for 3 months...have had a ton of stress in my life and resorted back to emotional eating. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far but I want to get the ball rolling again. I am going to count my protiens and calories and get back on track! We have to do this! We deserve it! This is soooo hard! But dont beat yourself up, take one day at a time and let us all support each other! It is our fight!

you could try PB2 it is a Peanut Butter powder only 45 cals per serving. It helps when you crave that peanut butter taste. I add it to my shakes or plain greek yogurt or even spread it on a lo cal bread.< /p>

any good tuna recipes out there? I am getting bored with the fatfree mayo/onion combo

Oh I am so happy for you!! Congrats and keep up the work!! And thanks for inspiring me!

Ohhhh that is so tough! I agree, try one other Dr!! And did they give you any advice for weightloss that is nonsurgical?

I used to absolutely hate Crystal Lite and most anything else with sweetener in it....now I drink quite a bit of crystal lite and use a bit of suger free jam.

wow....I DO isolate myself, didnt realize I wasnt the only one....I need to think about this one! and yes tthis surgery was hard although now I am at a point where I do not feel so alone. When I was really struggling, I had the mindset that I was alone, because it was/is MY battle. Now that I have gotten over the big humps, I am not as isolated...you have given me some things to ponder!

yah did ya see the diet coke one?? yikes then again...good discussions on there too!

Were you really sick for awhile too?? Our bodies are responding to alot of stress, and if you had a leak, that didn't help matters any. My nutritionist recommended the Biotin Vitamins but I had never seen any proof that they really worked( I am in the pharmaceutical field) I wonder if they work or is my body healing and getting better nutrition? My hair starting falling out about a month ago, I am also wondering when it will stop. All the more reason to fill up on protiens instead of any carbs! And I am taking the biotin just in case it does help!

Anyone noticed that their tastes for certain things have changed??? I am 4 months post op...I used to love drinking Water, now it is hard to choke it down without a bit of flavor, I have also tried a little peanut butter...yuck it has no peanut taste, all I can taste is the grease/fat in it.(not that it is a bad thing that I dont't like the taste anymore!) Also chicken tastes so plan and blah...maybe it is because I am losing the "thrill" feeling of food and am now eating for the nutrition. Not complaining, just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Well, I am glad I was able to provide some great discussion with my original post!! A good place to exchange ideas and advice! thanks! oh...it looks like everyone is experiencing great success with their plans...keep it up!

I miss my Diet Dr Pepper!! I stopped drinking it 2 weeks before surgery. I missed my morning coffee too! My surgeon says no caffiene or pop until 6 months post op. Well, I did try the pop at 3 months post op and it sure does NOT taste the same!! And now, when I drink a Decaf coffee or a pop, my body is not used to the caffeine!! I pee like a race horse!

Good luck!!! You can do it!! Pack loose clothing for the ride home, I packed my eyemakeup to wear on my discharge day, but didnt even feel like putting it on haha!! I was sooooooo scared and freaked out the night before and the morning of! But you will get thru it! woo hoo!!!

whoo hooo!!! Isnt it funny how the most simplest things in life can bring us such excitement??? These are things that most people dont ever think about or worry about....like being able to move around in a public restroom with ease....or sitting in the seats of a stadium!! or walking activities!!!!

I agree! For me, I have looked at this as a total life style change and I have had to work on changing many habits and attitudes toward food and nutrition. There are also some foods that I stay away from completely because they would be too much of a temptation for me although at this point, I don't have cravings or head hunger anymore. I just don't want to test the limits! I have noticed the more carbs I have during the day, the hungrier I tend to be, so I stay away from them. Since bananas have natural Fiber in them also, I think that is why I dont feel that carb effect as much as I would with other carbs. Either way...it works for me!

yes bananas have carbs and fortunately, I dont eat this treat very often, maybe once every two weeks. I wanted something sweet like ice cream, but I can't handle the carbs in the low carb ice cream...makes me sick even ( I only had 1/2 the serving size too!) I tolerate this treat much better and dont feel the "downer" from carb intake.

I peeled a ripe banana, broke it into a few pieces, froze it then pureed it in my ninja blender today. I added 2 tbsp PB2 powder and 2 ounces of chobani nonfat vanilla greek yogurt. It had a creamy consistency and tasted good. You can also add any fruit to the banana, like strawberries, blueberries...