Phoenix79

Congrats! When you get that date is when it really hits you that this is really going to happen!

Probably too early to post a pic, but it's good for folks to see the whole journey I think! Five weeks post op and feeling great! Highest weight was 330lbs, I'm currently 266 and going down baby!

Thanks! 330 lbs was my highest before surgery, I lost on my own before surgery on July 2nd where I was 289- now down to 266 lbs....so it wasn't all in 5 weeks. That would be way too fast!

No worries honey! I'll make you a protein packed caramel apple pancake from the world according to eggface website soon!

4 1/2 weeks post sleeve surgery. 1. I went with my Mom a few nights ago to see Pirates of Penzance at the 5th Avenue Theatre and pre-op, I always had to squish in the seat and have my hips pinched the entire show...but, this time, I fit comfortably and was able to focus entirely on the show! 2. I bought some smaller jeans at Value Village for "further down the line" last week- Lane Bryant blue size 4 trouser fit jeans. Pre op, at my highest, I wore a size 7 blue petite LB jean (I miss this old LB sizing BTW- they are the only jeans that have ever fit me like a glove - larger hips, smaller waist). I thought today just to try them on as gauge of where I am...surely they won't fit...and up and over my thighs and butt they slid, and zipped! HOORAY, this is actually working! 3. Probably TMI, but my legs do not fall asleep anymore when I have to sit on the toilet for longer periods of time now! Lol. 4. Feet are getting less wide- shoes are fitting better now! 5. Serving a gooey, chocolate layer cake at a family party and not being tempted to eat a slice. I did have a small shaving of dark chocolate garnish and I was good! Chocolate craving over! Highest weight- 330 Sw- 289 Current- 268.5 Height 5'5

Thanks everyone! I'm going to keep a scrapbook of photos, weights and measurements and NSV'S so I can look back on how far I've come when I get to goal. Here's to lots more to come!

Yep- low carb recipes, or just look under the health and fitness section- lots of valuable Stuff there. For the omelette recipe search for "rolled omelette".

4 1/2 weeks out- Breakfast 1/2 of a 1" slice of a Rolled spinach & goat cheese omelette, 1 slice uncured Trader Joe's turkey bacon, 2 small pieces of honeydew melon Lunch- 2 oz canned chicken breast with 1/2 Tbsp low fat mayo & 1/4 tsp curry powder Dinner- 2 oz Shredded buffalo chicken with 1 Tbsp Bolthouse farms blue cheese dressing Snacks- 1/3 cup 2% Fage Greek yogurt with 1/2 Tbsp sugar free strawberry preserves nectar Protein shake

My breakfast today! it's a rolled omelette with spinach, sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. You can find the recipe on Pintrest! You can put anything you want in it, using the egg recipe ad the base. It reheats really well too! My turkey bacon is 6g Protein per slice from Trader Joe's. You can find lots of great recipes on Pintrest!

Found this on Pintrest- I used Italian romesco zucchini from my garden. I'm not a fan of zucchini usually but now zucchini won't be laying around on the vine until they're as big as baseball bats! Try dipping with spaghetti sauce or Bolthouse ranch yogurt dressing- so yummy, and easy! Preheat oven to 400 F One large zucchini 1/3 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese Salt & pepper to taste 1 1/2 tsp Garlic powder- or for even more delish flavor, Johnny's Parmesan garlic powder 1 Tbsp Olive oil Cut zucchini in half width wise, then slice into thick slices (like the type you would make if you you were making zucchini lasagna noodles)- about 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide and lay flat on a baking sheet with a silipat or lightly grease with baking spray. Brush zucchini with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Top each zucchini slice with 1tbsp Parmesan cheese and slide in the oven. Bake for 15 min or until cheese is melted & browned, and zucchini is tender. Enjoy! If you want the zucchini crisper, just bake it for less time. An awesome appetizer for family and you, great snack to get in veggies and Protein (2 G protein with 1 Tbsp cheese). If you're craving Italian, this will make your place smell like you've died and gone to Italia! Mangia!

I just had my first frozen yogurt four weeks out from surgery! It was a tiny little sample cup of Dole pineapple whip with a fresh raspberry on top. I tried to pay for it since it was all I could eat and I didn't want to cheat them...when I put it on the scale, the cashier looked at it and laughed. I told her that was honestly all I could eat and she waved me on and said it was free. It was yummy! I can eat things in moderation so if you are an "all or nothing" person, you may want to steer clear.

My surgeon told me I could swim at 6 weeks. Only two more weeks to go for me!

I think this will become my replacement addiction- it's so bad already! I love being out in the garden digging, weeding, composting, etc. i wake up thinking about plants and go to sleep thinking about plants. . Any other gardeners out there?? Here's a few shots of my garden from this morning Maybe we need a hobbies forum? .

That's great that you can keep plants alive in a condo! I used to think I had a black thumb because I killed every plant I got when I lived in an apartment. I'd forget to Water them. . Now that I have help from rain, I'm doing better!

I am three weeks out as well, and I can get in about 3/4 oz of chicken, pork etc before I feel satisfied. My husband is 1 year out and can eat 3-4 oz of protein plus a small serving of veggie for a meal. Listen to your body and stop when you are satisfied- not full, because soon you will be overfull. Also, how big are your "bites"? According to my NUT, the ideal size if a bite is a dime size or less, and chew, chew, chew- 30x per bite! Eat over 20-30 min putting your fork down between each bite. Easier said than done... . Each food can react in your body differently so ease into trying foods one at a time. Pasta can be hard to digest in the beginning & doesn't have a lot of nutritional value, so my NUT out it on the "foods to avoid" list. But every NUT is different so follow what yours wants you to do.

Well, first of all, what does your surgeon say? That's going to be your guidebook through this sleeve journey. In my option though, 5 weeks after is waaaaay to early to drink alcoholic beverages- weak or not. You just had most of your stomach removed and are still healing- I'm two weeks behind you and I just started on purée- no way is my stomach ready for alcohol...I'm not even trying caffeine yet! Every surgeons office is different...some even say you should NEVER drink again after sleeve surgery. My surgeon's office said three months, but I'm trying to wait six months like my husband did, just to play it safe. I'm not saying the lemondrops haven't been calling my name! Alcohol also has lots of extra calories you don't need this early on, so keep that in mind when you do drink later on. But please, don't drink this early out- not good for your sleeve!

You're not in trouble at all with the rate you're drinking! There's something about plain water that is harder for most VSG folks to drink- molecules and surface tension, yada yada. But when you add flavoring, it helps break down that tension and makes it easier to drink- I believe lauraven has a post explaining it so you may want to search her posts to find out more. I was able to get 64 oz of flavored water down per day even right after surgery and I'm still steaming along. You won't necessarily feel the restriction that you hear so many people talking about on here with fluids only- only when you start eating other foods you will realize "yep, the restriction is there all right"! Eating takes me about 20 min or more and right now, three weeks out, I'm eating less than an ounce of pureed denser protein at a time with an espresso spoon and yogurt, pudding etc I can eat 1/3 cup. Take your time and listen to your body and it will tell you when you're full, or how much fluid is too much. Good luck!

Welcome to VST BCjoe! I am also celebrating my three week post op today, and my follow up is Thursday too! I am switching to purée/soft foods today and I hope you will get to soon as well- it opens up a whole bunch more flavors to you. But in the meantime, have you tried savory things like soup broth, Healthwise or other bariatric soups like cream of tomato that have 15g of protein per packet? I add a few dashes of Tabasco, garlic powder and celery salt and it really "kicks it up a notch" as Emeril would say! I also eat out as restaurants that have broth based soups and ask them to give me as much broth as possible since I just had stomach surgery and they have all been very accommodating. Plus it's nice to get out of the house! I've had French onion soup with no cheese, no bread, chicken tarragon with tortellini (sans chicken chunks & tortellini) and at home had strained campbell's vegetable beef soup. To all of these you could add unflavored protein powder to up the protein (as long as the temp is under 140 degrees because it will curdle). As for regular protein powder, my surgeon's office recommends Syntrax nectar, and it is very yummy- especially mixed with milk or soy milk. They have lots of flavors and they mix very well- popular flavors include fuzzy navel (tastes like OJ with a touch of peach), cappuccino (similar to Starbucks frap from the grocery store), double stuffed cookie (Oreo shake), and vanilla bean (close to melted vanilla ice cream). You can buy a sample pack of 11 or so flavors from various bariatric product websites if you want to try it out. I occasionally feel depressed too about liquids, but then I realize how short this actually is compared to the rest of our lives- we will get to eat again, plus we want to give our stomachs time to heal up properly! I mix it up so I don't eat shakes all the time- for dinner I'll have the bariatric tomato soup and have bariatric hot chocolate for dessert- boom- 30g of protein down! Don't forget to take your vitamins and exercise (walk, walk, walk) so you stay healthy and let your body burn fat and not muscle. Before we know it, we'll be posting before and after pics on here too!

Hooray for all the gardeners! I'm almost three weeks out now and I can't wait until I feel more comfortable gardening in my knees...and maybe feel less sore!

My first official purée dinner a little less than three weeks out from surgery. I cooked WW recipe sesame chicken for my husband and brother in law and puréed 2oz in a stick blender attachment for me. I took my time, dime size bites with an espresso spoon, tasted each bite and listened to Scarlett O' Sleevie. I kept expecting to throw up or at least feel a bit odd, but success! I felt totally normal and ended up eating 1 oz of it. My dog Remi got to enjoy the rest. I didn't want to try two oz because it could have been an entirely different story... playing it safe is the best way to go, especially with chicken. I can't wait to try breakfast- cottage cheese with 1 puréed strawberry followed a bit later by a short skinny decaf cappuccino. Food...it's good to taste you again!

My hubby just impressed the heck out of me! He came back from an outing and announced he had been clothes shopping at Old Navy for himself- alone! I usually have to drag him kicking and screaming into clothing stores and he goes by himself? And on top if that he actually picked out some pretty stylish threads- AND they were on the clearance rack! I can't wait for more of this clothes shopping stuff- and can't wait to see him in a well fitted suit! Hubba Hubba!

I've been walking since I got back from the hospital. I'm now walking on the treadmill since walking outside bores the heck out of me. I'm now up to 3.1 mph and 3% ramp elevation for 30 min 2x a day- works out to about 3 miles a day. But today, as I was 10 min into my walk, I felt soooo tempted to break into a jog! I had so much energy and I wanted to do more than I was doing. I'm sure my surgeon would frown on it until I'm further out, but it feels awesome to feel like I want to- and could do running! I've never been a runner, but I can't wait until I'm cleared to do more stuff! Running, crew, Zumba, ballroom dancing here I come- and maybe even hiking!

Yep- LOL! I can't wait until we can do couples workouts together. Thanks Laura!