SpaceDust

I'm a bit slower than you lot, sounds like, but I'm still on the right path downward, and comfortable with it all. I'm in (loose) 16 and large sweaters now, soon to drop to 14 in pants. I've lost 70 lbs since the beginning of July, and I still want to lose about 45 more. I suspect I'll reach goal right around 10 months out, maybe as much as a year. Hang in there, everyone!

Congrats, Phoenix, that's awesome! Bahama Breeze does have some tasty food - I wish that more of their menu was actually healthy, though One of our local restaurants will do half orders of stuff for me if I don't want a ton of leftovers and don't feel like sharing with my husband for some reason, which is a very nice option. A couple of places will also do special orders for me, knowing I'm going to want the Protein and maybe veggies, but not the starch most of the time. If you can, try to get to know the owners or managers of your local restaurants - you might be surprised how much support you'll get from them! And don't neglect the servers, either - a lot of times they can tell you about items on their "off-menu menu" that aren't advertised but they will do on request, if only you ask. Bottom line, though - I don't obsess about carbs, I just control them. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to get my protein in, honestly! But that doesn't mean I never have a couple bites of a tortilla or a spoonful of brown rice. I just don't fill up on those, because personal experience tells me it's a bad idea. Heck, I share one Godiva truffle with my husband once a week after dinner (yes, we actually split the truffle in half and each have half). It's enough to satisfy me and make me not feel deprived without throwing everything off-course.

And here I was proud of getting into my size 16 skinnies and knee boots! I do wear tunics and looser cut sweaters over them - I still have too much of a tummy to be totally comfortable otherwise. But it's so nice to be wearing a size I haven't worn in several years!

Wow, Butter - you're looking amazing! Way to go!

I still often have a protein shake or a protein bar for breakfast or as a late-afternoon snack, as they are convenient and in the case of breakfast, it's something I can tolerate soon after waking. My nutritionist and my surgeon have approved this as long as I fill the rest of my meals with healthy proteins and veggies, which I do.

It really depends. For me, I was in overnight - basically 20 hours total. They did all the checks before letting me leave, but it was definitely quick in the overall scheme of things.

Good luck!

We generally eat out a couple of times a week. I often share my husband's plate - he has me order most of the time so there will be something that I both like and feel comfortable eating. Alternatively, I'll order something small from the appetizer menu or have a cup of Soup. On those occasions where I really want something I know my husband doesn't care for, I'll have my own entree and just box up 3/4s of it for lunches later on. The restaurants we visit regularly near my home all know about my special needs, and are perfectly happy to come up with creative ways for me to be able to enjoy my meals, too. One (very new!) restaurant is even cheerfully coming up with half-order menu items for me. A Chinese buffet that is nearby just charges me by the ounce (like they do for takeout), or $1.50 if I just want a cup of one of the Soups. I've found that many restaurants are happy to find ways to help!

I had my surgery in early July. I have been off my diabetes meds since the surgery, and my blood sugar has consistently been pretty normal - around 80-90 before meals and generally under 150 a couple of hours post-meal (for example, tonight's post-dinner reading was 131). I'm due for my regular testing, so we'll see what the results look like for that! At this point, I even have the occasional small serving of whole-wheat Pasta, steel cut oatmeal, brown rice or whole-grain bread with no ill effects. I've also had small bites of my husband's dessert, or a small piece of chocolate once a week or so, as long as I've also had enough Protein and gotten a reasonable amount of produce in.

I'm now down to 218 (from a weight when I started my pre-surgery diet of 268), so I'm now officially 50 lbs down! There are few things that I can't eat, though there are a number of things I won't eat for one reason or another. While I don't really count calories as such - I count carbs and Protein, pay attention to eating good foods and let the rest fall into place - I do pay attention enough to know that my normal intake is between 800 and 1000 calories most days. I have eaten as much as 1200 calories in a day, and some days I'm struggling to get in 600 calories, but it all balances out. I do find that I probably eat 3/4 or more of my calories before 4 PM most days. I'm down a couple of sizes, from a snug 24 to a normally fitting 20 right now. I have to keep fighting with myself to understand that I don't need to look at 3x clothes anymore, in fact I fit quite nicely in any XL top that isn't too closely "fitted" - my waist is still too big for anything smaller than a 1X in a tailored shirt. If I stay on my same pace, I'm losing between 10 and 15 lbs a month, which is fine with me. How is everyone doing with their protein and liquids?

So, here's what today looked like for me: Breakfast: a Chai protein shake (I mix vanilla protein powder and a cup of 1% milk with a cup of chai tea concentrate that I make - it's very lightly sweetened with stevia, but I've also done just a dollop of agave or coconut sugar as an alternative sweetener. Protein shakes are pretty much my go-to breakfast on weekdays, since I am not really into eating breakfast at 6:30 AM but I can sip a protein shake on my way to work. Mid-morning - about .5 oz of homemade beef jerky - I don't always have a mid-morning snack, but if I do it is always protein of some sort. It mostly depends on my schedule and when I think I'll have a chance to eat lunch. Lunch today was about 2 oz. of kaluha pork and a third of a cup of fried rice and veggies. Some days it's tuna or chicken salad, or chili, and some sort of veggie or fruit in a small amount. Mid afternoon - another protein shake today because I had to grab it on the go, but more typically it might be an oz. of cheese or some sliced meat and a few bites of fruit or veggie. I almost always DO have a mid to late afternoon snack of some sort on work days, as otherwise it would be 7 hours or so between lunch and dinner. Dinner - I indulged a bit tonight and had 3 inches of a Subway chicken sandwich. The "indulgence" is that I actually ate some of the whole wheat bread.and 3 potato chips.

I'm almost 2.5 months out, and I don't experience real hunger. I do notice a sensation of "empty" if I don't eat for several hours, but it's nothing like hunger, it's probably more like the sensation I get when my blood sugar is low. That said, remember that grehlin (the hunger hormone) is not JUST produced by your stomach. That is just where most of it is produced. It is possible that you can still be hungry. If you aren't hungry, it's fairly likely that at least some hunger may reemerge sometime down the line. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

This is a bit silly, but I realized that I now go into a normal sized bathroom stall without turning sideways or fighting to get the door closed. Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

As someone else mentioned, you may be losing the fat around your organs. It took a while for me to start actually losing inches around my waist, but I noticed I was getting "squishy" around my middle. Eventually the inches did start to move and I'm down almost 4 inches around my waist now, and I'm down to a size 20 from a snuggish size 24. It was certainly frustrating at first, though! Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST

As of today I weigh 223. I started my 1 week pre op diet at 266 - I consider that my starting point. My surgery date was July 2nd, and I have had two 1 week stalls, so all in all I'm a happy camper! Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using VST