suejersey

Sometimes the body just needs time to catch up. And I find that I may not lose one week and the next week lost 3 or 4. So don't despair. Make sure you are getting ENOUGH calories, too! Some good things to bring with you for snacks/lunch: cheese sticks Dry roast edamame Greek Yogurt lunch meat babybel cheese Flatbread or tortilla (low carb/calorie) with 1 or 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter Protein powder (shaker bottle) cottage cheese beef Jerky (I love jerky hut jerky - 90 calories 14 grams of protein (I think) for 1 ounce - very filling but very meaty) Try to start walking just to build up your stamina and then add to it as you feel stronger. I really didn't exercise (other than walking) until I was about 7 months out. I started at the gym when I was 200 pounds (started at 278) before that I really don't think I would have been able to handle it. So walking (like walking the dog pace) a few days a week was all I got up to that point and I still lost. Not saying that is the best way to do it, but for me I focused on getting the nutrition and losing enough that I felt I could handle more intense exercise. (I also, because of my job sit at my desk typing for 8 - 10 hours a day 6 days a week -so I was VERY, VERY out of shape). I am now doing zumba, body pump, Warrior Workout, HIIT classes. So you will improve your fitness very quickly (4 months for me going from 30 minutes on the treadmill to the above) Good luck and you can do it. Keep working at it and make it a lifestyle and you will see the results. My new favorite saying is: Fit is hard. Fat is hard. Pick your hard. (Not my quote - but I love it!) Work hard....see results!

I love Quest bars, perhaps too much! I have one a day (sometimes 2 - snack or meal). I am about 9 1/2 months out and can finish one and feel very satisfied, almost to full.

I have a feeling when Disco was VENTING that she may have EXAGGERATED that she didn't know about any of these things to expect. You know when you are frustrated or upset or scared it is easy to exaggerate to all or nothing. If you take the vent in that light of exaggeration then you see it for what it is, a VENT, frustration, fear, disappointment, regret. And many, many people have that after the surgery.

The majority of them are full foods again - stage four is what my NUT called it. Yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta, eggs would probably be stage 3, soft foods. Basically for myself the way I got basically all my substantial Protein in stage one and two was from Protein drinks. Stage 3 I was able to get more from food, stage four I still have one scoop of Protein powder a day and perhaps a protein par plus food to get my protein - but I also have a higher calorie count and protein number now being 9 months out.

I find beef jerky to be great - fills me up, lots of protein Greek Yogurt Edamame Lunch meat of all types Shrimp Chicken Tofu

Woo-hoo! Congratulations!!!

You look fabulous! Did you cut your hair after you lost the weight. I have a pixie cut, too and I did it after losing the weight. I love it!

I have becoming very inspired by the "high" I get from sweating! I don't have many goals about big things but I know I want to: 1. Strengthen my core. 2. Strengthen my legs 3. Tighten my butt 4. Gain flexibility 5. Try and firm up my triceps as much as possible 4. Keep sweating!

OP please check with your doctor that they say no PROTEIN clear liquids for the first week. That is surprising to me. And if that is what the doctor wants, then follow their regime. But there are clear liquid proteins out there if you are allowed.

I can totally relate! Mine look the same! And I loved the comment of "roll them up and tuck them in" ROFLOL!

Keep sipping ALL day. I found that to help me that I was at least doing something. I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling your hunger is in your head more than anything, and we all totally get that. Are you also driving Protein drinks (Isopure or Syntrax nectar - clear liquids) if not the protein in them will at least help you with energy. It's only a week - that is what I told myself. I also gave myself permission to nap a lot (which helped the time pass LOL) Don't think any of my suggestions are very good, but just wanted to try to encourage you. Keep on keepin' on. You'll be okay. {{hugs}}

Congratulations!!!! You look great!

I take 5,000 mcg biotin daily. It can't hurt. (Not sure how much it helps, though, either). Not everyone will lose hair, but a lot of us do. I cut my hair into a short pixie (because I really wanted to but wouldn't do it when I was obese) and although it is thin I definitely am not bald. It is worth it for the way I feel alive again having lost so much weight!

You have to learn what those feelings mean. AT the beginning I thought the same that those feelings were hunger, but for me the burp is a signal that I am full. I better not take more than one or two more bits because I am done. And it does take time for the mind to catch up to the body, so maybe that is those 15 minutes. It definitely took time for me to figure out what my full felt like and it feels different than full felt before. I would say, though, burping is a sign of full.

you are definitely on your way!!! Go You!!! Try the Syntrax protein powders. They have about 15 different types and they are only like 100 calories, 23 grams of protein, very little sugar/carbs. I really like them. The chocolate is great and the mint cookie is yummy. I am now using the Matrix 5.0 (a bit cheaper, longer lasting in the system) but started with the Syntrax Nectars. I like both of them. I tried, no lie, probably 20 different brands (I bought about 30 single serving packets before surgery and after surgery went through them one by one and I always come back to syntrax. Muscle Milk premade chocolate is okay. And Syntha-6 strawberry tastes like strawberry milk to me, but it is higher in calories than I really aim for. Oh, if you like coffee Chike iced coffee protein is pretty good too. HTH! Give a few more a try, it really helps you get the protein in. ISOPURE is DISGUSTING....yuck, gross, never again! So I totally get you on that, but I do find that Syntrax is more like a "shake" or "latte" depending if I use milk or put in my coffee.

So very, very true!

First....take a deep breath..................LOL Okay, let's continue. It's gonna be okay. Really, it is. I am 47, have 2 teenagers a husband, my own business that I work full time and my food life IS easier! Really! 1. Vitamins, pills. Get a pill box, put your pills in it for each day of the week and you have your pills set for one week or two (depending on the pill box). I take: multi, Vitamin D, B12, Boitin and Paxil (OCD) daily. I don't worry what time I take them. My blood work has all come back fine since surgery. I don't take calcium every day because of the constipation. Only every 3 days or so, as per my doctor. 2. Constipation. Yeah, it sucks! That is probably the biggest change for me. I use Miralax in my diet snapple a couple to three days per week. It doesn't cause dependency and it definitely helps. You can't taste it and it doesn't change the consistency of your Water, either. It totally dissolves. I am going to try Colace pills as a substitute when I get tired of the Miralax. 3. Portion sizes. Read my post right above yours. I never feel deprived. NEVER! 4. If you don't love protein I can understand it begin frustrating having to get 60 - 80 grams but if you love protein with a Protein shake or bar and then real food protein you will hit those numbers no problem. At nine months I am at about 900 calories a day and I get 80 to 100 grams of protein a day. Every day I add Protein powder to my morning coffee and as a snack probably 4 out of 7 days I have a Quest Protein Bar. Then with my other Proteins I hit my numbers easily. chicken, cheese, lunch meat, edamame are my go to proteins. 5. And finally, remember you are just at the beginning. you CAN'T eat many calories right now, it will be hard to get the protein. Up until about 7 months I was 600 calories a day and I shot for, and mostly got 60 grams of protein. I didn't start getting the 80 grams until I got to the higher calorie amount. 6. Oops, now finally. Eating is so much easier for me now because I don't have to think about it so much. I make dinner for my family (which is healthier for them) and I eat what I should. I get the protein first and then some veggie. I usually sick the carb but last night my daughter made dinner in a skillet and it was all combined with rice so I had half a cup. No problem. Done. Full. I don't have to make a separate meal for me and them, I just eat around what is best for me. During the day, as long as I have the stuff I need in the house it is easy for me. I actually seek out protein now because I know it fuels my body. I don't care (as much) about the junkie stuff - although I still enjoy a little ice cream or a piece of cake at a party, et cetera. And the Quest bars are seriously like a dessert.......down the road check them out. I think you are frustrated because you see how things are right now and think that is going to be forever. It really isn't. It will progress. Try not to be discouraged. Try to take one day at a time! You're going to be okay!!!!! <3

You are still so early in the process, what you are able to eat is not satisfying, soft, pureed, et cetera....once you can eat "normal" food again I think your feelings will change. I think. I eat food that tastes good but I get full sooner. When you are full you are satisfied. No one wants to eat to the point of throwing up, so you are just getting to the satisfied point earlier. I think that is the big difference. Give it time and hopefully your feelings will evolve.

Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought Lane Bryant, but I think I am going to have to check them out! I also have heard about Soma and was going to try them out. Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I was never one to spend good money on bras but now I am willing because I want those ladies to look as good as they possibly can with what I've got to work with LOL!

Wonderful results! You look beautiful! And I am SURE you feel so healthy and happy!

I have not been into clothes for almost 20 years - buying as few things as possible through the years and actually a lot of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my MOM! My Mom, I tell you! Stretchy pants and flowery shirts. Yuck, ugh, gross. Well losing weight I have become obsessed with fashion. Clothes, shoes, accessories. I am trying to cut back on my spending because it has been a bit crazy for I would say about 3 months now. I just use the excuse that me and my two teenage girls can share the stuff I buy. Or the other excuse is, "but I haven't really bought any clothes in like 20 years." It's fun!

Lord have mercy my boobs are like slinkies or something. They are sagging, literally a few inches from my belly button and are so "wobbly." I have gone down quite a bit but am still wearing a D cup but because of the loss of breast tissue or whatever they are so pliable. Really like a slinky. I kind of mold them into the bra but they just don't sit right, they spill this way or that way and are still saggy. What bra have you found to be really supportive and uplifting? I don't know that I will ever have the money or truly make the plunge to get a breast lift, so my bra is my first line of defense. Suggestions?

I definitely feel the same way. I enjoy the taste but it has become more of an essential part of life instead of one of my main focuses. Kind of sad and kind of great.

I remember at the beginning feeling like I wish things were moving faster, that my clothes were looser, that I looked different. At 50 pounds I still wasn't even getting many comments and I could still fit in some of the clothes I had. But after the 50 pound mark it just seemed like things really picked up. Those 50 pounds took probably 4 months and now I have lost another 50 in 5 months, but those are the 50 that people really noticed. So don't be discouraged,go about your life, eat right, exercise and you will begin to see the difference and before you know it you will be nine months out and super happy with your progress! And I love that I can go out to eat and get 2, 3, 4 meals out of one meal! (I am a couponer so I love a good deal LOL!)

Totally agree with the don't drink and eat together!! I also agree that you will be able to eat more, depending on what it is. I am 9 months out and I have 5 or 6 small meals a day. A snack is probably 1 or 2 ounces a meal is probably 3 or 4 ounces. For dinner I can eat about 3 ounces of chicken and probably 3 or 4 bites of veggie, as an example. I can eat a Quest Protein bar as a snack or lunch. I can eat 2 ounces of lunch meat with some lettuce as bread for lunch. So you will be able to eat more. But sometimes when it tastes so good and you just want to have more you just will not be able to. It will be too uncomfortable to continue and it makes it very easy not to over indulge. I try very hard to listen to my body and stop before over indulging even if "but it tastes so good."