joatsaint

I'm stuck with boredom eating syndrome as well. Not sure how to break the cycle. It's easy to stay distracted during the day - always something to do at work or get up and walk around. But at night - between 5pm and 10pm - nothing to do but play games and watch TV. I've tried playing "bloons tower defense" for distraction but I've been through every level multiple times. And TV just plain sucks, unless you like History Channel's documentaries on Ancient Aliens or tracking Bigfoot - seriously dude!? On the History Channel? Did you guys run out of real proven history or something? Oh! And lets not forget, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo". Now there's quality television for ya... Oops, sorry, wrong group rant meeting. **quietly backs out of room**

"When to start drinking alcohol?" It's not mandatory that you start drinking. :-) But I would advise you to start immediately before the surgeon starts cutting! I know it made me feel less tense. :-P

I don't come right out and tell anyone that I've had WLS, unless they ask specifically if I've had surgery. Anyone that asks how I'm losing weight, I tell them the truth - I have drastically cut back on the amount I eat and I do lots and lots of walking. And when people try to get me to eat stuff I shouldn't, I just say thanks and politely tell them that I need to stay on my eating plan.

In addition to the things stated above, I would add - get a pedometer and keep track of your normal walking distances for a few days - to get a baseline. Then try to walk farther each day. The goal: reach a minimum of 10,000 steps per day/7 days a week.

Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

I've found 2 that I like - 1st place: Premier Protein chocolate shake - 2nd place: EAS carb control chocolate I like them even better with a scoop of powdered chocolate protein thrown in. I like my Protein shakes kinda thick. I bought a bag of chocolate soy Meal Replacement mix at Sam's Club and have been putting a scoop of it in my shakes. Sometimes they feel a little "grainy" but they always taste good. No chemical aftertaste. AND cheap, just over $1.50 per shake. You can get EAS at Wal-mart - 4 for $5. The Premiers, I had to buy a case of 12 at Sam's - 12 for $19.

Congratulations, I know how exciting it is to see the lbs melt away. Keep Pimpin' that Sleeve!

I had a tough time with eggs the 1st month. Frankensleeve no like! Now they are no problem, really love scrambled eggs with salsa. :-)

Guinness World Records called me today. It was out of the blue and I thought it was my shameful little secret. But apparently being startled by a squirrel can help you become a Guinness record breaker. I was in the kitchen messing around and heard some scratches in the utility room. Upon opening the door, I was confronted by a dastardly squirrel. Being a normal (sort of) person, I figured if I stepped towards him, he'd head for the hills. But no, he charged me! Squirrels aren't supposed to charge! They're supposed to hang upside down on the sides of trees and play funny games of tag with each other. It's in the Squirrel Manual. Chapter 1 - Squirrels are supposed to look cute, chase each other, and RUN whenever confronted by things that outweigh them by 300 lbs. This squirrel, obviously, was a dropout. He's the kinda punk squirrel that skips squirrel school, hangs around the pool hall, and smokes. I would add that he's a heroine addict, but I didn't have time to check his little squirrel arm for tracks - I was too busy trying to release the squirrel back into his natural habitat. By that, I mean that I screamed like a girl and slammed the door. That's where Guinness comes in. I thought my shameful little secret was my own, until I got the phone call. Apparently Guinness heard the scream and the door slam at their headquarters and tracked it back to me. I wondered how they tracked it back to me, until I saw the fault line (apparently caused by my slamming the door) snaking across my property and down the street. I now have two Guinness records - one for Loudest Girly Scream from a Man and Hardest Door Slam Without Knocking the Door Off the Hinges. P.S. The Man Club heard about it as well. I tried to explain that I was employing my catlike Ninja skills and the scream was my way of focusing my Chakras - but they weren't buying it. They said they had already given me a break on the whole Monarch Butterfly incident, but they couldn't give me a pass on this one. I now have 2 points on my Man Card. One more point and I have to take a refresher class. :-( P.P.S Does setting the world record for screaming like a girl count as an aerobic workout??????

My doctor wanted me to walk 20 minutes a day 7 days a week. Not necessarily 20 minutes in a row. He said, if I needed to, break it up into smaller periods - just as long as it all added up to 20 minutes at the end of the day.

Twice is the minimum! :-)

My top items are: Premier Protein shakes, multivitamins, calcium citrate, chicken breast, ground turkey, and pork loin. Don't forget the Crystal Light lemonade!

No, no, no! My scale would die of loneliness if I didn't stand on it at least twice a day. Embrace your inner scale. The scale is our friend.

At one month, I was pretty much eating the same thing for every meal. Either Cream of Mushroom soup or my taco chicken recipe.

I've read testimonials that said he was back at work after 3 days. But it didn't work that way for me. I wasn't able to drive for 7 days and was back to work on day 10. Everyone recovers from surgery at different rates. You might want to ask your doctor and some of his former patients how fast they were able to get out of the house.

You're not alone. I think about good things to eat when I'm bored - especially in the evenings. I don't have any solutions for it yet. At work, I can get up an harass my coworkers when I'm bored. :-)

Yes, chicken breast is one of the hardest things on my stomach. Beef, pork - no problem. Plain ole grilled or canned chicken breast - and Frankensleeve is mad!

I have had dizziness and a little problem sometimes with coordination - especially after exercise. But you didn't mention if you're getting enough water. I drink between 100 - 120 oz. daily. When you mentioned dry skin, getting in enough fluids was the first think that came to mind.

Congrats on getting approved. P.S. Please hold off on the throwing up till you're in the pre-op liquid diet - that way it will count towards your pre-op weight loss.

Stalls are a normal part of the process. It's just your body getting used to the weight loss and reduced calories. I just got past a 3 week stall as of today. But for the past 3 months, I've had at least 1 two week stall per month. And I'll freak out, thinking, "Is this it? Is my weight loss over?" But I keep on working my diet and exercise program and the weight loss starts again.

I've been on a CPAP for 3 years. I get air leaks pretty regularly. I find that usually it's because I let the oils from my skin build up on the seal and forget to wipe it off. I use baby wipes to keep the seal clean and if that doesn't work, I put some chapstick on the seal and where it touches my face. That usually does the trick.

The thing that made it easier for me was Cream of Mushroom Soup (I didn't add Water like the label says to). It was thick enough that it felt like I was eating solid food. Boiled eggs worked too for me. And, I have to agree with makemyownluck, a pound a day is not slow.

Man! That sounds good right now. Wish I had the ingredients to try it. Thanks for posting the recipe.

The toughest part of the program for me, is the waiting for the scale to move. I'm 6 months out and seen 4 or 5 two week plateaus. Just finished a 3 week plateau this morning (today, I'm 5 lbs lighter - overnight - go figure!????????) Try to be patient as your body adjusts to the weight loss and reduced calorie diet. It's not a steady process. But you will get there in the end.

One of the reasons I can think of for going sugar free is that we are suppose to get our nutrition from our food (as opposed to Vitamins and supplements). To get in the required Protein and stay within the recommended daily caloric intake, will naturally force us to choose foods that don't have much processed sugars in them. Most any foods with sugar or high fructose corn syrup are going to quickly push us over our recommended daily calories/usually have low amounts of protein/and be low in nutrition. And on top of that, sugar can be a trigger food - causing hunger to increase/spike insulin levels/and leave you feeling lethargic when insulin levels crash. I know that when I eat starches that I get hungrier the more I eat - until I'm busting full. Then a few hours later, my insulin levels come crashing down and I get hungry again.