Rainydayz

Did the second day today. No soreness. I can't wait until I'm able to run a 5K again!

All i can think of is that scene in The Temple of Doom: "No thanks. I had bugs for lunch." You are truly an adventurous soul.

Yes mine too. I can wear shoes now that are a whole size smaller than when I started.

Yeah, mine is pretty much back too. I'm 7 months out - it came back around 5 months out. But I feel like it's a much healthier hunger, if that makes any sense. When I'm hungry I want good food. I don't want the junk as much (except at that TOM but even then it's not totally uncontrollable.) And it only takes a fraction of what I used to eat to make me completely satisfied. I do get head hunger too. But I have to ask myself if I'm really hungry or just wanting something. I'm not perfect all the time, but now I can make so much better choices than I ever could/did before the sleeve. I feel more like a "normal" person now as far as hunger and eating go.

My first goal is to get under 200 lbs. Here are the LAST photos of me over that! This time next week I WILL be at that goal. This is the first time I've had the nerve to post pics. Still haven't got the courage to unblur face though!

I had the same pain in the early days. Not everyone has it and people were telling me that I was eating too much or too fast. But it hurt even when I swallowed my own saliva. Tell me how that was too much or too fast!? Anyway, it does get better. About 4-5 weeks later the pain was mostly history. I don't know if the Prilosec I started helped or if it just took time. But I'm 7 mos.out and never have pain unless I DO eat too much or too fast. I can gulp Water when my stomach is empty and no problem. Hang in there!

Absolutely. I remember those 1/2 gallon ice cream binges! Last month when PMS hit there was actually some ice cream in the freezer from a kid's birthday. I got it out and had about 2 spoonfuls before I thought, "This isn't really what I want and it's just going to make my stomach hurt." So I put it back and had a protein shake. Go sleeve!!

5 quarts!? That's amazing. I'm so grateful for my 8 oz. tummy!

Wow, you went on a 2-month carb frenzy and only gained 1 pound? I wish I could do that! I eat too many carbs in 2 DAYS and I gain a pound! Way to go on getting back on track!

Know the feeling. That 6-month mark is a real downer. But we still have restriction, just have to use it right! Time to turn up the exercise and put down the carbs. (So says the woman who ate a chocolate covered strawberry for Valentine's Day!)

It was easier than I thought it would be. I haven't jogged in years (not since I was over 200 lbs.) and even though I'm teetering on the edge of 200 right now it was not bad at all. I love the podcasts. The music is pretty good and the verbal cues sure beat watching a timer or stopwatch. I plan run a 5K in April.

Another vote for the mini processor/blender. We got one as a wedding gift 14 years ago and it's still going strong! Love that thing. Use it for meat, cheese (for cheese chips), flax seeds, and it works for nuts and chocolate too although I haven't used it for that since surgery. For the shakes I have a shaker bottle I got from the surgeon. It has the wire ball thing in it. Works great. I also have a single serve Hamilton Beach blender but it makes some of the Protein powders too frothy.

Mine started at around 4 months and got the worst at 5 1/2-6 mos. Now it's not as much, just waiting for it to grow back in. It's not too bad. I have to tease up around my part at the back of my head a little or you can see my scalp (black hair and white skin) and my ponytail is thinner - i can wrap the band 4 times instead of 3 now. I don't know if biotin helps or not, just using my same old Biolage shampoo and conditioner.

I'm 7 months out and I am freezing all the time! The aches and pains I have are due more to my age I think. But this being cold is getting old. I wonder if the summer will be better.

I can completely relate to the OP! I was sleeved in June too and find the carb monster has come home to roost. Especially at certain times of the month. I can't find the motivation to exercise every day even though when I do I feel much better. What's up with that? I'm hovering just over 200 now and have decided to exercise every day until I'm below 200. After that maybe I hope I will be motivated to keep doing it everyday. I just need to get off my butt and stay out of the carbs! I have a houseful of people that are all sweet junkies so it's really hard to keep them out of the house. I need to be firm though. I should only allow the stuff I don't like. vanilla ice cream could sit in the freezer for years and I wouldn't touch it. Bring chocolate in though and it's gone like that! We can do this. Let me know how you're doing and we'll get there together!

I'll have to say 8-9 at this point. I'm 7 months out and have lost 89 lbs. But the last 2 months have been really slow and really hard. The hunger is back and the carb cravings. I'm having to struggle as much as I ever did not to eat all the bad things. BUT, the sleeve keeps me from eating as MUCH as I used to. I'm still losing just at a much slower rate. I guess I'm just sad that it's not as easy now as it was the first 4-5 months. But I would still do it again in a heartbeat and I know that if I put just a little more effort into it I will lose the last 50 lbs.

I have Wii Fit, Wii Active and Wii Zumba 2. I like wii Fit, I don't like wii EA Sports Active but I love Wii Zumba. It really makes me sweat. I love it when I get all the stars and unlock new routines. Wii Fit is fun even though it's not quite as much of a workout, the yoga is really good when I need to stretch and the strength exercises do give a somewhat good workout. But the balance stuff is mostly just fun. Some days that's all I can make myself do so I figure that's better than nothing. The Wii EA Sports Active is toooo boring. It's just like back in school when we had P.E. exercise class. One, two, three and one two etc. I find the remote not very good at picking up my movements in that one either without doing some extra hand flipping etc. But in Zumba it does great.

Even now I when I get cravings (and I do around that time of the month) I can't find anything that really satisfies me. Used to I would eat half a carton of ice cream, but now I eat a few bites and it's like meh, I don't really enjoy this and it's just going to make my stomach hurt. So I have to find something else to do. It's a loss for sure. I used food to solve all my problems before. Now I have to actually figure out ways to deal with them because I can't use my "drug" of choice anymore. But overall it's a good thing. There is a price for everything in life.

I was allowed it right away but I waited a couple of weeks. Now I have 1 or 2 cups a day.

That's a good idea about the library. But ours doesn't have them. I checked Redbox too but they don't have the ones I would want to try. The game I got at Gamestop was used so it was cheap, and I can take it back. I think I'll try the biggest Loser next. I agree with the one who said to get out and walk everyday. I finally did make myself get out and walk today for about 20 minutes. I felt a little better. It was so cold though! maybe I'll do a little yoga before bed. If anyone has tried the Zumba please chime in!

When I was young and thin I loved to exercise. I played sports and ran track and loved it. As an adult I started back running when I started gaining weight. I lost 50 lbs. and was in great shape. Then I had babies and health problems and the exercising when by the wayside. Now in my 40's I can't get back into the habit. I just hate it. My body hurts all over due to different problems and just getting old I guess. I can't afford a trainer or a gym. I have Wii fit Plus and I like it the best. I do it maybe 2 times a week. I bought EA fitness for Wii on someone's advice and I hate it. It's so boring and the exercises are too hard. I can't do squats because I have bad knees. The remote doesn't pick up my movements correctly and it keeps telling me I'm not doing the moves right or at all when I'm trying my best. The thing you have to strap on your leg keeps falling off unless I have it so tight that it cuts off the circulation. Are there any other good Wii games or any other advice to get myself back into exercise mode? I want to try Zumba or Biggest Loser for Wii but I'm afraid it's too hard. I know I'm whining but I feel really lousy. I'm stuck at the same weight for the last 4 weeks.

I find I do better when I don't let myself go more than 4 hours between meals. If I go longer than that then I feel hungry and am afraid that I won't make the best decisions. I eat an egg and piece of turkey bacon for breakfast or a Protein shake if I'm in a hurry about 8:00. About noon I eat some protein and a little veggie, most recently it's been 3 oz. shrimp with lettuce. Around 3-4 I'll have a snack of greek yogurt or a Protein Shake or something else that has protein. Then for supper around 6:30 I'll have more protein and veggies and sometimes a little brown rice. After supper if I haven't gone over my calories and carbs for the day and I'm hungry I might have a carb smart bar or another protein shake. if I stick to this schedule then I don't get too hungry to make good decisions and don't feel like I need to eat a lot of anything. But days that I forget or go too long between meals or Snacks I can feel like I could eat a whole lot more, even though I really can't. But I might reach for something carby if I'm not careful, especially at that time of month. I think you're normal. You just have to adjust your meals to keep yourself from getting too hungry.

I drink coffee or toss a spoonful of instant coffee into my protein shake in the morning. Yum, mocha protein. There's also a protein powder that has caffeine in it already: Click expresso. It's good.

OK I may be jinking myself, but I used to have a migraine every month (TOM) and sometimes in between. I have only one since surgery almost 3 months ago and despite having had 4 periods since then! Does losing weight improve migraines generally? What is your experience?

I believe docs tell their patients no bread because for so many it can be a trigger food and instead of explaining all that to them they just say NO bread. My nut said I could have it after 6 weeks but I choose not to. I feel better when I don't eat carbs. I used to be all anti low-carb before this surgery. I thought it was stupid and who ever naturally eats that way anyway? Aren't people meant to eat grains and fruit? But then I actually did it after surgery just because after the Protein I could not fit any carbs. And you know what? The need or cravings for them went away. I like that. I like feeling free from a food that previously "controlled" me. I like being at the restaurant and passing up the bread basket. It makes me feel powerful and in control. And a lot of the bread available to use nowadays is so processed and refined that it doesn't resemble what our ancestors ate anyway. I don't like the crunchy whole wheat bread so I just don't do bread. There is no "gold standard" because what works best for one person may not work for the next person. Each doc and nut recommend what they have seen to be successful or what they have been taught and there are many different schools of thought on nutrition. We have to take the responsibility to learn what is good for us. But if you follow your docs advice then you are giving yourself a better chance at success. Then after you've lost the weight you can figure out what works for you best. If you can manage bread and it doesn't cause you any problems then go for it. You may be one of the few very lucky ones that can eat it all. I'm not.