LuckyT

I thought there was a "recipe" swap forum but I can't find it. I wanted to share one that I'm quite happy with. It's now in My Fitness Pal under "Heather's Banoffee Protein Muffins".
1 banana
1/3 cup Now whey Protein (Toffee Caramel Fudge)
1/3 cup oats
vanilla
cinnamon
1/4 cup skim milk (or less)
Slice up the banana and blend all the ingredients in a Magic Bullet. Spray a mini muffin pan and spoon to fill 2/3 (makes 16 mini muffins). Bake at 350 for about 6 minutes.
Each is 30 calories. I listed the serving size as 4 muffins.

I can't speak for anyone else, and it is early days for me as I am only 4 months out but each day brings new changes that shore up the changes I have already made and inspire me to continue to try and make better choices/decisions when it comes to my health. I too have a fear of this surgery not working but I have to say that it is lessening as I realize how far I have come. In the past by the time I had hit the 4 month mark in any other "diet" or "lifestyle change" I had only lost maybe 10 or 12 pounds. Having lost almost 50 pounds in that same amount of time has also really shored up my confidence. Last but not least I feel more in control of my cravings because #1 I really want this to work, #2 the surgery itself has caused me to look at food as fuel not just fun or as a tool to soothe emotions, #3 when I do feel tempted to indulge I am able to have just a small bite to be satisfied knowing that if I eat a large portion I will pay a price that I am not willing to pay and lastly I just feel so good - healthy, happy and much more confident with 48 pounds off of me and clothes getting looser everyday. I hope this isn't too rambling - putting these thoughts out there is hard as I am not good at sharing feelings, one of the reasons food had been my friend for so many years

Wow, great idea Alex. I like my doctor's support group but often miss meetings due to the time they are held which is either mid-day when I am working or early evening which is hard to do sometimes as it is a bit of a drive to get to where the doctor's office is. This would give people in my area a great opportunity to connect.

Wow, great idea Alex. I like my doctor's support group but often miss meetings due to the time they are held which is either mid-day when I am working or early evening which is hard to do sometimes as it is a bit of a drive to get to where the doctor's office is. This would give people in my area a great opportunity to connect.

As a former professional dieter, I can understand where you are coming from. Pre-sleeve, I would diet, lose and eventually tire of the diet and lapse. I grew tired of traditional dieting, tired of frozen diet foods and tired of being hungry.
With the sleeve, a big motivator initially is fear of doing something that could cause serious injury to me. So I stuck to the program to the letter. This time, I felt and still feel that I finally have the restriction that keeps me from over indulging. The choices are mine, and I have to manage what I put into my body. It's just easier this time.
The surgery is one aspect. We need to be prepared to make the life long changes for success.
The sleeve won't fail me, only I can do that. I am ultimately responsible.
The biggest difference this time is I don't have the feeling that I am depriving myself constantly. I chose the sleeve because I wanted to be able to have some of my favorites and be satisfied after a few bites. Overall I want a healthier lifestyle, I was ready to embrace the changes I needed to make, and armed myself with a tool that would give me just a little help.

Best feeling ever! Kohls is having a big clearance sale and I found a few extra large tops that fit, I so excited! Love these small victories, they are making this journey even more worthwhile

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your precious brother. I know that is enough to set any of us back. Today is a new day and you will have to start over to make yourself healthy. I had BCBS and they required a 3 month weight loss program but never stipulated a certain percentage or amount. Most doctors offices don't support this long preliminary diet so don't tell you what you haave to lose, they just encourage you to lose. What the doctors are concerned about is the pre-op diet you must do prior to surgery. Don't beat yourself up about not losing that much on the dr supervised diet. If we could lose weight and keep it off on our own, none of us would need this surgery. Take the time to heal your heart over your loss and focus on getting healthy. Dedicate your journey to your brother and keep him with you always. You will do fine, try not to worry as this process is not meant to add worry and stress but to show you how to get healthy.

Today was like Christmas and my Birthday when I was a kid! I went shopping (clearance sales of course) and got to shop in the "normal sizes" first time ever in my adult life. Whoop, whoop!

heres mine me at my biggest of 425lbs, then a the full body was oct of 2013 and the head shot was new years eve

Lucky and Bella that's awesome! I'm so happy to have my band out I could dance lol.
I'm 4 weeks and starting soft foods. It's so wonderful to see a light at the end of the tunnel! 21 pounds since my pre-op appointment. I'm pretty happy with 20 pounds in 1 month! I just have to work on more calories and more protien.

I had my band removed in April 2013 then was sleeve 10/22/13, so far I am down 47 pounds. I had nothing but problems with the band - stuck feeling in chest all of the time, regurgitation and couldn't even nibble any type of bread without paying high price AND still didn't loose any weight. Needless to say I am loving the sleeve and wish I had considered it before having the band.

Thank you for posting the pics! It always motivates me to see before & afters - you both look great

I just marched right into the office and said " wtf, people!, I've lost a boat load of weight and you people better start acknowledging it". Turns out they DID notice , but they were afraid to speak up about it! They thought by doing so, they'd be reminding me that I was fat....as if I'd forgotten
So, I think in order to experience that BIG REVEAL, one would need to walk in to the perfect storm of a situation. A setting where not only has this audience not laid eyes on you for some time, but also a bunch that is not afraid of/ intimidated by you (as they were in my case)

Hi Kellybelly_rny,
I purchase my coconut oil at costco - they have organic coconut oil in large containers & since I use it for cooking and for my beauty routine it is a much more cost effective to buy it that way. If you've never used it I would recommend Trader Joe's as they have a small jar at a reasonable cost & it is pretty similar to the brand costco sells. If you pintrest at all you can search for my board titled "Nuts About Coconut" there are lots of links on it with information about why coconut oil is so good and how it can be used for many things.

We gotta get more celebrities sleeved. Remember nose jobs? hair transplants? Face lifts? Expensive orthodontics? They became status symbols because the "beautiful people" did them.
Maybe someday we can flaunt our scars and be "cool".
I do it already because I am my own fan club.

I'm well over 18 months out Today my husband made lasagna. One of my favorite meals. I cut a small piece for lunch , about a 3x3 square. Took 3 bites and got that warning feeling to not take another bite I love my restriction. Because I surely would overdo it on a day like today I hate my restriction because that lasagna tasted so good!! Oh well the rest got packed up for lunch at work tomorrow
18 months out with PLENTY of restriction. Love it!!

Just found this. I'm in chico too. Sleeved by dr. Simchuch (Ludwig assisted). Who was your surgeon and how are you doing?

I'm in Chico too. 5 days post op. .. no worries, we have the best in the country you will do great!

I live in Chico!! Waiting in insurance approval! Hoping for surgery in early Nov!

WombatVSG said... "The other thing I wonder about, though I haven't read any research... So my stomach isn't producing the hormone ghrelin any more. Does that mess with my other hormones in some way? Because I won't lie, I've got some crazy-making hormones. "
The hormone thing was one of my biggest concerns, too, because our endocrine system is so intertwined. Unfortunately my research only uncovered that they know ghrelin is more than just the "hunger hormone", but they aren't really sure what all else it does. (Some links to memory and even Alzheimer's). So I'm sure there's some unknown effects from losing the major source of production.
And along those lines, estrogen is stored in fat cells, so as we lose weight, that estrogen is released, turning us into major hormonal whack jobs. A lot of people's menstural cycles get screwed up not to mention the emotional aspects. Hang in there. I'm only 7 1/2 weeks out but I have faith in all the advise from the veterans out there.

What you are going thru is perfectly normal. I am 11 months out and i would have to say that the first 2 months are hardest. I am pretty much "normal" now except I eat a lot less at a meal. I can gulp cold water! I also felt in the beginning that I would never be able to drink or eat without awful stuffed feeling. Eating meat just plain hurt. It will gradually get better and then you won't even remember er this difficult stage. I used to burp so much after every bite! I was so tired of burping!
Water has high surface tension so gets stacked up in the sleeve. Drink it more room temperature and tension is lower. You may want to switch for now to diet tea or diluted Gatorade or crystal light. She. Water is mixed with other things the surface tension is lower. I had to switch to diluted diet snapple and diluted Gatorade of I would have been dehydrated. As for food, go slowly on adding thicker food. Try things like thicker Soups and chili first.
Don't get discouraged! The benefits truly are amazing! I don't even notice separating eating and drinking anymore. Only if I drink on purpose to be too full to be tempted by bad food.
It will get better one day at a time. I am down 114lbs in the past year and still losing. And I eat pretty normal. Just less. Whenever you get down just visualize yourself in a couple months. It will be here before you know it!

Thanks everyone!
CowgirlJane, you are beautiful, and agree with your thoughts on staying at the upper end of a healthy BMI.
I was watching a youtube video last night, and the person was talking about how family pulled her aside and told her that her weightloss was too extreme. She was my height (5'4") and 127lbs. She didn't look unhealthy, but I can see how her family would think that as they were not used to seeing her at a healthy weight for so many years. I too wieghed in the high 120's in high school, and it was perfect at that time, but I feel that change might be too drastic at my age. I'll just have to see how I feel and look as I lose. Haters will hate, and so I need to go by how I feel.
You all have made me look at this differently, and I thank you for that. Now that I think about it, the friends that were saying the winner looked bad were all of my overweight friends. I'd love to hear what some of my healthy weight friends think. It's all in perception. Just something else I need to work on before May! I'm loving this journey so far.

One reason I am content with a BMI in the upper end of normal range versus say 18-20 is that I feel that I look more youthful. Not just my face my whole profile. We are all different and have different tastes but to me skinny can look older in women. My friend is a skinny guy and he calls me betty boop because I have some roundness left at 148 that I would not have at say 125. Being the smart fella that he is, he assures me that my roundness/ curves are hot...lol. I am 5'5". Works for me, although I would l like to be under 145...but it is very individual and I know many WANT to get really thin. To each her own.
What I do for my face is protect it from the sun (and have for years) use oil of Olay regenerist products (have for years), don't smoke, eat healthy, stay hydrated and picked a mother with beautiful skin.
I worried alot about it too and when I was losing weight I really thought my face looked awful...a type of dismorphia really. I finally realized that the last time I saw my face non obese I was like 22 so I took some time to accept the late 40s face looking back at me. I am over it, love being healthy and am proud of my looks. If I EVER doubt myself I just have to look at some before photos.....
Don't let these fears cast doubt. Being a healthy weight has so many rewards.

I am 49, everybody tells me I look younger than I did when obese.

Hi Kindle,
That has been my experience too! I was a little hesitant to tell everyone but figured since I work in a place that is often like a mini soap opera sooner or later the word would get out & in the meantime people would think I was dying as I shrank before their eyes! LOL - see drama just seeps in! So anyway everyone - family, friends and co-workers have been nothing but supportive and encouraging. Makes me feel very blessed!