joatsaint

And here I thought "I" was the only one that air dried his clothes. I used to live in fear of the dryer. And any "barely fit me" sized clothes never went in there. I wore so many shirts one time because they shrunk just a bit after the first wash and dry.

I read the offer, but could not find a deadline, so Premier may pull the offer at any time. I ran across this deal today. Your choice, a free Protein bar or shake. Protein Bar or shake picture to choose which one you want. By default, mine chose the protein bar.

Congrats on getting off to such a great start. I've subbed you on Youtube. Keep the videos coming. We look forward to seeing your progress.

I remember them putting the needle in the back of my hand. Felt like a little mosquito bite. Then I was O-U-T! woke up and was on my way back to my room. Nothing to it. And I have a BIG fear of needles.

My 1st reaction is that you've hit the famous 3rd week stall that most of us have gone through. I can give you the guidelines I had for my diet and you can compare them to yours. Eat no more than 800 calories/day. Eat 75% Protein and 25% carbs. No processed foods or foods that have added sugar. Eat lean protein sources - chicken, pork loin, protein shakes/powder Eat only carbs that come from vegetables. And walk at least 30 mins. a day. That was the plan I received from my doctor. I went through stalls - almost 1 every 6 weeks. I learned the hard way to stick with my diet and exercise and the weight will start dropping again. A couple of things I learned. *processed foods will cause me to stall *fruit will cause me to stall and have head hunger. So I stick to meat and vegetables as much as possible. Good luck. Be Successful Right NOW! Here's what to do right now. Take the 1st step to reach your goal. No matter how small, overcoming inertia is the hardest part. Starting strong requires extra force and power to overcome inertia, but makes life easier in the long run. Plan, prepare, schedule, prioritize, and take action today. Move fast. Get momentum on your side and get the ball rolling. There’s never been a better time than right now. If you want to fix your life, it’s up to you, and it starts immediately. You CAN do it. We’ve seen it done by people in worse circumstances than what we’re going through right now. If they can do it, if they can overcome massive obstacles, if they can change, so can we.

I had the same pain. It was hiatal hernia repair. The pain faded in a few days.

My doc wanted me eating no more than 800 calories in total. I tried to stick to 75% protein and 25% carbs. I ate that amount for about 6 months. Then slowly increased my intake as Frankensleeve healed and could tolerate new foods. So I think you're about normal in the number of calories you're eating.

I think your weight loss speed is great. I was losing about 15lbs a month at 4 months. Eating 800 calories and walking 2 miles a day. I ate primarily Protein with just a few vegetables on the side. I tried to stick with 75% protein 25% vegetables. I never really paid much attention to the exact amount of protein grams I was eating. To minimize loose skin, I massaged the skin. I was a massage therapist and know that blood circulation is the key to healthy skin. I'd spend 2 or 3 minutes just kneading and moving my gut around, like I was kneading dough. :-P It gets the blood circulating more, and helps move fluids out of the cells. I have heard that Gold Bond makes several skin creams that promote healthy skin, but I rarely used any creams. But for less than $5 a bottle, you might want to try it.

Mine lasted for about 9 days post-op. After that, things seemed to settle down. Although, Frankensleeve grumbled with every bite I ate, he stopped being nauseous .

When I chose my surgeon, it boiled down to which one had the most experience doing the Sleeve. And location (my nearest hospital was in Houston and I didn't want to have to drive into the city itself). After Googling the reviews to pick my surgeon, I Googled the hospital names and read the reviews, to pick from the 3 hospitals my surgeon practiced at.

My hospital supplied mine. It really helped after I was released from the hospital. It kept my stomach from moving a whole lot and reduced the pulling on my stitches. I'm glad I had it for the ride home. I felt every bump and turn on the road, pulling on my stomach. I was paranoid and wore mine 24/7 the first month. Although my doc said I could stop wearing it after 2 weeks. Really, it's just a 3 foot wide, 6 foot long ace bandage. This pic is not of me, but it shows the binder I wore.

One of my favorite sources for recipes is http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/p/links-resources.html I found recipes for every phase of eating post-op.

I was on a 7 day pre-op diet. Lost 10lbs eating low carb... less than 20 carbs a day. I was drinking EAS carb control shakes (wish I hand known about Premier Protein shakes!) and eating pork loin or chicken breast. Starting weight: 375

My biggest loss (counting from the day after surgery) was the 1st month ~ 20lbs. For the next 3 -4 months, I was losing around 15lbs month. My amount per month lost slowly trended down to about 9lbs a month over the next year. The 1st 10 months, I lost 130 lbs, then lost another 40 lbs the following 6 months (and remember, Xmas and Thanksgiving were part of that last 6 months, so it took a few weeks to get rid of the holiday food I ate). :-) So overall, I figure I averaged 9 1/2 - 10 lbs a month.

My energy levels were pretty much back to normal when I went back to work on day 11. But I barely ate more than a tablespoon of food each day for the 1st 8 or 9 days. Everything caused Frankensleeve fits. I was living off Crystal Light lemonade and sugar free popsicles. Once back to work, I was eating about 3/4 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup per day. I just stay focused on getting in fluids. I figured I had plenty of calories stored on me, so starvation and malnutrition were not going to be a problem! :-P But dehydration was on my mind all the time, so I drank as often as I could.

Hey guys, just needed a place to vent. Since getting a new job about 8 months ago, I've run across some real characters at work. Thiefs, gossips, back-stabbers, "it's not my job" people, and just people in general that don't think they have to come in on time (or at all) and work the schedule they agreed to work. So here's my little rant about 10 Things You're Doing to Get Yourself Fired Fast. Hopefully none of these apply to you and you get a chuckle from recognizing one of these traits in a co-worker. [sharedmedia=videos:videos:101]

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I weigh once in the morning, right after I get up and again in the evening. The only weigh in that counts for me is in the morning, since it's the one time of day when I know my body condition is mostly the same (amount of water in me) from day to day. The evening weigh in is just for my own personal amusement. (I know, I have no life.)

Since I knew I was only going to be there over night, I didn't bring much. Just my keys, phone and a set of comfortable clothes. I brought a "dry mouth" spray and gas-x strips, but didn't use them. The only thing I wish I had brought was my favorite pillow. Not just for the bed, but for the 2 hour ride home. It would have been nice to have something to squeeze against my stomach to keep my innards from moving too much. :-P.

I was never told to sleep in any position, but when I got home, I wasn't able to sleep prone on my back or side. I felt a pulling sensation whenever I tried to sleep on either side. I had to roll up a comforter into a log and used that as a prop to keep me kinda sitting up when I slept. It was a little over a month before I felt comfortable laying flat or on either side.

Ice chips should be fine. That's the only thing they would allow me to have to drink while I was post-op, and waiting for the leak test.

I skipped the food funeral. By the time I committed to WLS, I was sooooo DONE! with food. I hated eating so much, but at the same time was compelled to overeat.

I too was overweight since at least 1st grade. I can still remember going to Sears for school clothes and having to get the "husky" brand of jeans. I slowly put on weight over the years till I was somewhere around 240-250 in High school and stayed around 270 for 10+ years. Getting a desk job in 2007 really put me over the top. I started gaining weight rapidly and got up to 375, at which point I quit weighing myself, so I don't really know how big I got. In 2012 I was at my lowest point, mentally, physically and career wise. Life was getting to the point where it wasn't worth living. So I had to make a change. I had the Sleeve in Dec 2012, lost 130lbs the 1st year and took off another 40 the 2nd. I've kept off 170lbs for almost 3 years now. I still have my moments where my mind wants me to just eat, eat, eat, it doesn't really care what, just eat! But the Sleeve does it's job and painfully reminds me to stop eating. I've never been a slim person, and I don't think I'm one now. I'm just a normal sized person. After 47 years of being overweight, the Sleeve has worked for me. But I have to do my part too. Eat the right things, keep a positive mental attitude, and keep moving forward. It is NOT going to be easy. But the results - are worth everything you have to go through. When I was down or struggling, fastest way I felt better was by brightening someone else's day. Give, help, love, and share. Make the world better and heal yourself.

Being a guy and being a few years younger than you, I can only answer the last question. I decided that I would rather be thin with flappy skin, than be fat and have tight skin. My loose skin is primarily in my gut, but I have some "draping" around my shoulder blades, and I have a minor "bat wing" thing going on. :-P

I would say, read this article. I saw it a few weeks ago and wish I had been so creative. http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/news/a40103/the-beth-project-before-and-after-weight-loss-photos/