BZButterfly79

If some of you are unsure about which procedure you want to have I found I video that might be insightful. Good Luck

I have been at a stall for now the last week with the scale going up yesterday coming back down today and it's natural to start to investigate what you could be doing wrong even if it's no fault of your own. This morning a light bulb went off and I want to share in case you are where I am. I tend not wake up not hungry, which leads me to start my liquids and avoid food as long as I can I wake up at 7am like clockwork but my breakfast is not in until 10am...my lunch then is at around 2pm...and then I begin to snack so I can get my protein in...then comes dinner around 8pm I go to bed at 9. My conclusion is that I am packing most of my calories at the end of the day which might be hurting my weight loss. I am going to try to not eat as late and start my foods earlier. Have you experienced this or a stall and if so what actions did you take to remedy the problem?

People will shock you, pre-op, post-op and just about always. You gotta become like an orange thick skin otherwise people will squeeze the juice out of you-I am serious, I am working on my skin. Here is a toast to us!

I loved your list! You gave me a few items to add to my fridge, such as laughing cow cheese which I did enjoy even before surgery. Cottage cheese sounds good with some SF strawberry jelly. I just finished a chobani for breakfast. I find that in the morning I am not that hungry, I am however on a mission to cooking some recipes that can become a staple in my kitchen. Thanks again!

The only protein drink I can finish is the Atkins vanilla shake(if you leave it in the freezer a little tastes like a vanilla shake) and the one I mentioned above. I tried a powder similar to crystal light but with 20grams of protein and it tasted like I was drinking metal in liquid form...ugh! I am getting into my own shakes more. Another nice treat I have found is freezing 1/2 banana with a popsicle stiff through, tastes like ice cream and packs lots of potassium, no protein however. I can eat and tolerate 1/2 chicken breast grilled with olive oil and I have tried a spoon of spanish rice, don't like the way it feels like a ball of starch stuck. The mushies are the best, you can add so much stuff and then just blend it. I can eat 3 meat balls but honestly the meatballs I bought are not that great. Eggs for some reason are very very filling to me I cannot eat 2 boiled eggs even in micro pieces I always boil 2 and my kids end up eating the other one. Don't know if you guys heard of melba crackers, they are small low cals, low glycemic index, and I eat mine with liver pate, that sounds gross but liver if you look it up has lots and lots of great things in it one being zinc, iron, protein... In my fridge you'll find: Refried beans Cheese(cracker barrel) sour Cream Liver Pate SF pudim Eggs Atkins Vanilla Shakes 1(left)EAS shake chocolate 40g of protein in each(not my favorite) Grilled chicken breasts Meat Balls-turkey and sausage(microwave w/ some cheese on top yummy!) Greek Yougurt-Chobani w/fruit not plain(sorry) Papaya Avocado(which by the way I crave like crazy!) This is how I am surviving!

Joe, I am opposite...I am sleeping like a rock literally but then again I have three kids, when you wake up are you hungry or in pain? Honestly it could be that your metabolism is resetting and burning and that's alerting you at night like a spurt of energy. I know I am burning fat in the morning when I get up to pee it is dark dark even though I drank GOD knows how many ounces, and I check for Ketones always there.

That is freaking AMAZING!!! Congratulations on your loss so far you are doing awesome, I am sure it's not muscle your back is probably thanking you I know mine is thanking me.

Thanks for replying, I am reading a lot about protein requirement struggles, can I share with you what I am having for dinner? It's a peanut butter cup shake and ohhhh am I getting my protein. Here is what you need: GNC-AMPLIFIED WHEYBOLIC 60gr per scoop CHOCOLATE FLAVORED powder(1 scoop) *Get the blender out girls!!!! 1/4 cup of milk 1/4 cup of ice 1tbs of peanut butter 1 tbs of sugar free chocolate syrup MIX and sing "Now I am feeling so fly like a G6!" LOL Sip...Sip...and with the peanut butter and milk you'll get 76grams. If you don't like PB then modify what I am trying to say is I found a way to get it in that I enjoy. I have drank 1/2 the cup and I am completely full so I will sip sip through the night, I plan on doing 60min of cardio tonight therefore I will need it anyway.

Hi I am wondering about all my Dec 2010 sleeve brothers/sisters if you are out there "please stand up"! I would love to share tips and learn some from you, how are you progressing on your journey?

I read your post and wanted to ask you, I've had a gallbladder out, and a tubal ligation, technically I am no longer able to get pregnant do I have to go around telling people about that? A surgery to me is a surgery I treat them equal, some riskier than others but to me not telling has NOTHING to do with shame it has to do with respect for myself, I am entitled to have something belong to me, another thing I will say to you is that though a lot of people may say how happy they are deep inside and behind our backs I wonder if they say things like: "poor thing had to have her stomach out cause she couldn't control herself" or "wait till all the weight creeps back up" and "she'll need plastic surgery for sure!". How do I know this? Well, prior to getting fat during the last year I was a normal weight and hanging out with the skinny crowd and I heard that plenty of times about others(from medical professionals). You can REALLY lose weight, A LOT of it by fasting, by doing the HCG protocol, by starving yourself, by drinking slim fast shakes and nothing else and even like us eating small portions and exercising. It is not only by surgery that people lose weight I was not lucky enough to have that kind of will power on my own. Not choosing to put a bumper sticker on my car saying HEY I HAD WLS! doesn't make me a liar. Also there are some people who have family members who terrorized them about being fat mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, and NEVER once reached out to want to help why are these people entitled to knowing 85% of stomach is gone? I am proud I took control of my life and this as my NUT says is my "own personal project". Put it this way, I went to GNC to buy a shake mix and the store clerk and I started talking and I told mentioned to her my procedure...she made sure to tell me that so and so she knows keeps fainting at work, binging at Olive Garden and throwing up, and that she was so LUCKY because she dropped 120lbs on her own! WOW-you can imagine how I felt leaving the store. Anyway it is what it is.

I must say I know plenty of people who dropped a crazy amount of weight on the HCG protocol, now...they never took time off for surgery so it is possible they eat 500cals/day.

Lolli you've got to have more faith in yourself and in the procedure, you've got to believe if you don't you are only hurting yourself, this is a time in your life where you need "you" more than ever, no outside validation or scale can be as good to you as you can, you've got to love yourself the weight is gonna come off whether you like it or not and that's the beauty of it all.

Honestly I am shocked that the scrutiny does not stop even after such a dramatic procedure, let me say this to you lolli, congratz on your 22lbs that's a lot of weight and another thing lolli is that if you lose slower your skin won't be so mad at you, I am glad to hear you did not gain 22lbs then I would think something is strange. I have a friend who lost 61% of her weight in 6 months, docs say the average with the sleeve is 2yrs...she doesn't do anything different than we are doing. Keep your head up focus on your goal and the rest is history. My surgeon wants me to lose 2lbs/week and I can't blame him he is trying to avoid me looking like an empty potato sack once I hit goal.

I chose to tell my husband and that's it, I am a firm believe of the "it's none of your business" statement. If I come across someone who is obese and wants to listen I will tell them-simply because otherwise I would consider it selfishness. I was in the hospital for one night, I was up and about the same day(went to the bathroom etc), after 2 days on pain meds I was off of them and 5 days later I was cleaning the house. The pain right after the procedure for me was a mix of nausea and vomiting and feeling like someone was standing on my stomach. If it helps you any I have three kids and a husband who is frequently deployed and I would never go back if I could, this I believe saved my life, gave me back my life, has enhanced my self-esteem and also the relationships around me, if I had to deal with pain for a month straight I would have done it still. Good Luck. By the way I do an hour of cardio daily and hadn't done that in years! What I always tell people is...what's the other option? For me it was a lifetime of eating and starving eating and starving and that's no life while the scale only wants to move up!

WELL...I was laughing as I saw this topic because last night I made the fatal mistake of trying to step up my game on my chilli and decided to drop an entire packet of chilli powder in there...BIG mistake, after eating the chilli I looked like I came straight out of the sauna. I think the hot feeling might also have something to do with metabolic distribution and fuel basically. Who knows...everyday I learn something.

You might like this bread, lots of people who are low carbing, doing Atkins, and even some sleevers I know do eat this bread. I hope you find something that you can enjoy and that will not make you feel like eating a whole bag of bread . The bread has only 1 net carb and 12 grams of Protein per slice. http://julianbakery....CFUHt7QodiCtpGw

Bread to me felt like one of those taco bell burritos that stick and slide stick and slide all the way down, not pleasant haven't craved it and just thinking of it swelling in my micro-tummy hurts. If you are craving bread and feel like you are going to die without it try a melba cracker, lower in cal, lower in carbs, you get four little ones per serving and the way I have eaten it is with...hold your breath...it's kinda gross for some people...I buy liver pate, it is in the deli sections. Why? Well the taste is something to be acquired I like it but then I like eating liver(cooked of course) mostly due to the fact it is PACKED with iron, zinc, and albumin, and animal protein. You can also get duck liver which is a nice delicacy, I added it to my miso soups for extra protein, the taste of duck liver is more suttle. Just sharing an idea with you. I am sure you can find a protein filled spread for your melba.

Guys I am so not understanding how we are supposed to pack 800 cals in 3 meals? Seriously it is almost impossible unless we are drinking at least one coke with each meal. I sip crystal light all day long but the snacks is where I get my protein added because my regular meal just isn't enough to meet the 60-64 gr mark. I don't know...I need to think about this one.

I am on week 5 and they are not there like they used to be I kinda miss them:((

I will give you my honest opinion, as if you and I were sitting for coffee, from a Catholic I can say to you that the religion is not perfect, and neither is any other religion, times are changing and the church has recognized that a lot of the doctrines are backfiring the birth control thing...give me a break, where in the Bible does it say that we are to overpopulate the earth with kids even when we cannot afford them or handle their day to day care? Since I was 18 I have been on birth control even though I was married, why, because #1 I could not afford a baby #2 I was too immature to be a mother, #3 I had just gotten married. 12 years later 3 c-sections, a tubal ligation I don't feel at all like a sinner the children I chose to have are now well taken care of so if a priest wants to talk to me about that I'll be happy to. Didn't the church just say it is okay to use prevention if you are a hooker or gay? Seriously...what's wrong with our world today. Why does it always boil down to the woman to figure everything out as if we don't have enough to deal with. Good luck in whatever you come up with.

I am researching the nectar product, thanks for sharing if this is good it will be an awesome way to ensure I am meeting protein goal. Thanx

So far this AM: 1)Vitamins 2)2 eggs boiled(12g) 3)Crystal Light(Cranberry Apple) 4)Thick slice of sharp cheddar Cracker Barrel brand(melts in your mouth) Will be having a Greek yogurt (14g) My lunch will consist of a arucula salad with tuna Have an awesome day!

If you can get in some hot tea how does broth make you feel? I did not experience problems with liquids just the taste of Isopure. Everyone advised me here to focus on getting fluids in and that's what I did, it will get better you have to keep trying. Have you tried Crystal Light? I have 20 flavors here and I just bought the Kellog drink mix with 5mg of protein, it tastes like strawberry and Kiwi. Whatever you do don't allow yourself to become dehydrated your body has gone through so much trauma already. Another thing is SF popsicles a lot people on the board recommended them though its not my favorite thing in your case it might help you up those fluids. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

That is amazing and you've earned every bit of it, I noticed you keep looking smaller and smaller on your profile pics, it is a noticeable difference. The sleeve is the greatest tool on earth when it comes to serious weight loss, it works, when my weight stalls it drives me nuts but I know that it's temporary! Keep it up cause you're a diva! Celebrating with you! http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUGTaLO2_Xs

You'll be fine as long as you dilute it before swallowing, by that I mean with you saliva, you don't want it going down like a brillo pad.