Pinky Green

No regrets. I had a moment of regret when I was in the hospital before the anesthesia wore off and I wasn't breathing on my own well. They kept telling me to breath, finally they went ahead and gave me oxygen for a while and as soon as the anesthesia wore off I was breathing fine.

I'm going a little slower but still losing weight slowly. I was stuck between 170 and 171 for a long time. Now I am on the move again and am down to 168. Yesterday I went to the resale shop and bought a pair of blue jean shorts in a size 12 - and they aren't even really tight.. I was surprised since I'm still able to wear (although they are really baggy) several pairs of size 18 jeans.

I have three really tiny scars. One is less than a half inch and less than 1/4 inch wide and is right above and to the left of my belly button. The other two are about the same size and in my belly button.

It might not take as long as you think. I went in on May 29th of last year, and they said it would take at least 6 months to get approval. I went home, and the very next day on this message board I read that Cigna had changed their approval rules and instead of having to have 6 months meeting with the NUT I would only have to have 3 months. I had my surgery September 26th. I've lost 71 lbs so far, 39 lbs to go.

I bet what she means when she asked if you cheated is "did you cheat a lot". Also consider that even if you do the pre-op your liver could still be enlarged, but maybe not quite as much. I had one last Acapulco dinner the night I was supposed to start and then on day 4 I had a small grilled chicken Ceasar salad at IKEA, but those were my only 2 cheats. And the dressing was on the side, so I didn't eat it all. I did have fatty liver, but I don't think for a minute that it's because I started my diet 9 hours late and had a really small Cesar salad more than a week before surgery. I really think this surgery saved my life because I had a lot of things starting to happen and I was told all of them would get better when I lost weight. My boyfriend told me that I don't snore anymore and poked me on the shoulder to point out that my bones are starting to show. I think my asthma is starting to get better, and my blood pressure has gone down. And the big thing is that my knees don't hurt as much anymore.

I was not told no alcohol ever but I was told to wait until 6 months. I'm not much of an alcohol drinker so it didn't really concern me. I'm one of those people who might drink once a month and have 2 or maybe 3 glasses of wine if it's a really long evening.

I looked at your profile and noticed that you had your surgery this month. Just wanted to give you a shout out to let you know that most likely you WILL be able to eat at least some of that Blimpie sandwich in the not too distant future. I had my surgery Sept 26, 2013. I have lost a total of 70 lbs. I used to weigh 240 and now I weigh 170, and I have 40 pounds more to go. I have found now I can eat just about anything now in reasonable quantities. I was 189 pounds at my 6 month checkup in early April. After a few months it may seems like the weight loss is incredibly slow. But as long as you don't go crazy drinking milk shakes and eating potato chips you should lose weight. At this point I'm not losing it as fast but I am still losing an average of a pound a week. Lots of times I don't lose a pound for a few weeks and then all of a sudden the scale drops 2 or 3 pounds in just a few days. Don't get discouraged. My nutritionist told us not to let yourself feel deprived. After you are allowed to eat anything you want, if you want a Blimpie get one. I go to Subway and get a 6" Turkey and Ham Sub with cheese on whole wheat, and lite mayo. I usually eat a little more than half and save the rest for later. Sometimes later is the next time I feel the need for a snack. I have had Cookies from McDonald's too. But I only eat one (150-160 calories) and I don't do it every day or even every other day. Lots of times my boyfriend brings home cake or banana chips. Sure I have a little. I ask him to give me a bite. Sometimes I'll have 2 or 3 bites. I have found I can still overeat some things - popcorn, crackers. But when I overeat it's not the magnitude that I used to overeat. Some things I might be able to eat 2 or even 3 servings. But I couldn't possibly eat a whole bag of Oreos in one sitting anymore.

Funny story about prunes. When my daughter was about 3 she got a little constipated and the doctor told me to give her a few prunes. The bag of prunes said that a serving was 4, and she was little so I gave her 2. Well, she liked them so much she wanted more. So I gave her 2 more. Then she wanted more so I told her no. A couple of days later she got up early. Went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator (first time she had ever been able to open it herself), and got out the bag of prunes and sat down to watch TV. She ate about half a bag of prunes before I found her. It wasn't long before she knew why I wouldn't let her eat as many prunes as she wanted.

I was sleeved September 26th at 53. I had a little bit of breathing trouble when I was in recovery until the anesthesia wore off. They ended up having to give me oxygen until I started breathing better, but other than that I did really good.

My knees don't hurt very much anymore. Only when I walk around for quite a bit. And a really big thing. My boyfriend says I don't snore anymore.

I wasn't even talking about real shopping. I was talking about "shopping in my closet". I really haven't done much shopping yet. I have clothes that I haven't worn in 5 years since I gained weight. I did have to go buy some more panties and bras - I'll have to shop a sale for the bras next time because I am now down to a size that I can't get at Walmart - they carry 38DD and higher, but don't carry 36DD. It isn't a common size, and I was told by a bra shop that I will go down in the band before I will go down in the cup size.

Started at 240, down to 177 now. Wearing size 16 or 18 jeans, size 7 (Large) panties, size Large t-shirt.

Sleeved 9/26, I started at 240 and I am down to 177. I have lost 63 lbs and have 47 lbs to go. I still seem to be losing about a lb a week although some weeks I will lose nothing and the next week I might lose 2 lbs. I was 187, I think, at my last Dr's appointment back in March. Today I went shopping in my closet and put on a pair of red size 16 culottes, they have an elastic waist but they are made of non-stretch cotton.

If you wanted to use almond milk, you could add protein powder to it.

Also, sometimes, if it's a minor heart condition, you might not have any symptoms until and unless it gets worse. I had some kind of undiagnosed hypertension related heart problem. They said when I lose weight my blood pressure should go down and the problem should resolve itself. Hopefully if it hasn't already it will soon. I am down from 240 to 178.

True, but I think just doing it is better than not doing it at all. So whether you do it in the morning, afternoon or evening, just do it.

Oh and I have charro beans and not the refried. I never really liked the refried anyway. Until I found out I could usually get charro beans, I would get double rice instead.

Most of the places here bring chips and salsa for free. I do usually eat a few chips. Probably about four to six. My NUT said not to make yourself feel deprived. I also eat rice and Beans. But only about a quarter cup of the rice and 1/2 cup or so of beans. And I don't do it every day, or even every week now.

Yogurt is one of the first things we get to eat after surgery. They don't care if it's greek or just yogurt. I don't see where home-made would matter. I don't imagine kefir would be prohibited. Not sure about the kombucha.

Also, you could order the taco salad without the chip bowl, cheese and sour cream. Or if you have to have just a little, order them on the side.

Oh or Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. They usually put some pico de gallo and avocado in it.

chicken fajitas with guacamole and corn tortillas. I was able to eat about 1/4 of the dish they served me. I packed the rest away and my boyfriend and I ate off of it for dinner later. Then I had one more serving for the next day at work. Camerones or pescado a la plancha (grilled shrimp or fish) or tortilla soup.

Hey, if you don't have a car and it's too far to walk. I hadn't heard of this. Is there a link? Not that I would order delivery from McDonalds. The only things I ever order from McDonalds are Egg McMuffins and unsweetened ice tea with Splenda. I actually took a long walk today that ended at McDonalds. I got an unsweetened tea and took my break before heading back.

Hey, if you don't have a car and it's too far to walk. I haven't heard of this yet. Is there a link?