laners777

I grill 4 chicken breasts at the beginning of the week and depending on how big they are...I divide them into 2-3 ounces. I pack them into containers and then pack something else with them to go in my lunch box. The side will be something like sliced cucumbers or an apple or green Beans or a little salad. I find that if I have something cooked and ready to go, it is easy to add a side and I am good to go for a meal. I tend to work long hours so I always pack something extra, like cottage cheese just in case I need something. It really has made all the difference in staying on track with food. Good luck on finding the "thing" that works for you.

You look awesome, congrats on your weight loss and keeping it off for all those months. That is success in itself. I'm so not the expert in trying to get the weight loss started again but maybe a trip to your DR will give some insight. I'm thinking the NUTS can give some advice. Are you working out/exercising? Maybe that would do the trick??? Wishing you a jump start in 2014 to get where you want to be )))

The only thing I dared to do 3 weeks out was walk. I gained a lot of distance in the 8 weeks after surgery but kept it slow and steady. I did not want to bust any staples/stitches. I am 47 and skin is an issue...I think at 18 you will be good. We all will have some kind of hanging skin somewhere but the benefits far outweigh the skin. Good luck to you and I will be motherly....be careful not to do too much/too soon. You have plenty of time to work on tightening everything up.

Good luck to both of you on your journey!!!

Thank you Laura for posting. I am 5months and 78 lbs out from surgery. This post is both encouraging and frightening to read. Encouraging knowing I am not alone in my food addiction and struggles with trying to find the place I fit in a world of people that encourage/support my journey and those same people who tell me "just a little isn't going to hurt you." Just yesterday after telling a dear friend that I gained 2 lbs over the weekend after drinking alcohol for the first time after surgery, he said "2 lbs, really get perspective, 2 lbs will be back off by the end of the week." I feel that people just don't get my mindset that 2 lbs hurt, the feeling that I could lose momentum and lose my way scares the @##$ out of me. So I too plan drinking, eating, exercise and sleep like it was the plan to world peace! This was frightening because I have read yours and other veteran posts and realize that this really will be a lifelong struggle.....but I feel with the sleeve, I CAN succeed...it will just be a battle that I have tools for. Again, thanks for posting and sorry all if this is a rambling blah blah blah.

My revision was a little over 2 hours with no hernia repair. I had tons of scar tissue though and an incredible surgeon or it could have been longer. Good news....no complications at all and so happy to get band out to revision to sleeve. I have not thrown up once with the sleeve and I was vomiting everyday with the band. You will be so much happier, I will be thinking good thoughts for you on surgery day.

Fluff, the restriction for swimming was mostly because the wounds from surgery had to be COMPLETELY healed, meaning no scabs everything had to look like a scar only, not a wound. I heal fast but didn't look like scars for quite awhile.

Fluff...the most difficult thing for me right after surgery was trying to curtail my workouts to what the DR ordered. I'm not in good enough shape to do whole crossfit exercises, although I want to try soon. My DR said nothing but walking for almost 10weeks after surgery and then I started doing more gradually. The hardest thing was giving up swimming laps for that amount of time...I love to swim but did what they said and have had NO complications whatsoever, so it paid off. Good luck to you. Side note...CowgirlJane...congrats on finally doing plastics. You are one of the first people I read comments on this site when I started 5 months ago and I know you have been wanting plastics for a long time...so good for you!!!!

140....I have also followed everything the DR said. My thinking is I have a small window to get all my weight off and then learn how to maintain it. Why would I waste time experimenting with how to get around my sleeve when I can use this time to learn how to live a healthy life with my sleeve and be at goal !!! Pizza, bread, pasta and carbs that fill my sleeve and gives me no room for protein are just not in my life anymore...I divorced them. They were bringing me DOWN and they had to go forever. I know we all have to do the things that work for us and I am not slamming those people who can work those things into their life but for me, I can't and don't know how to integrate those things into my life and still get to goal. 140 hang in there and let's keep our eye on the prize.....smaller, healthier and happier lives that are filled with the ability to do things, not defined by what we are going to eat next. OK I'm done...sorry if this was too long and soap boxish.

I had/have horrible issues with constipation and I found a tea called Smooth Move. I drink it hot 2-3 times a week and it does the trick. Nothing else was working for me until I found this gem. I found it in Frys grocery store.

bigbeauty78 .... Hello fellow sleeve sister ! Let us know how you are feeling when you are able. Glad to hear you are out and able to post already!

I'm 4 months out and get dizzy at times still. When it happens, for me it is usually because I have not had enough to drink. After I get in another say 24 ounces, the dizziness goes away. I also have REALLY low BP, not that I am complaining but I think this has something to do with it too. I have appt in December with DR and will ask again about dizziness. Like I said once I drink some more water, it goes away. Good luck checking with your DR.

Happy Bday and congrats on your weight loss.

YIKES I want to be Andy someday ! I don't even know what some of that stuff is !

Praying and thinking of you for tomorrow. I am 4 months out and never regretted it but want to tell you not to base whether you made the right decision on the first two days. Day 3 is so much better and remember.....drink water/drink water and drink some more water.

VaVaVOOM !!! You look incredible. Congrats to you.

Good morning...I am the wanna be fitness freak. This month isn't even going to come close to 100 miles so I love your explanation of November. I'm Alana and my November goals will be 30 hours of exercise for the month and doing ab exercises at least 4Xs a week. Getting on the site everyday will also be a goal as I run really short on time during the week....so 3 goals for November. Thanks for starting this and allowing newcomers to be involved. A side note of victories for October .... I'm 4 months out from surgery and this is the first October that I can remember that candy has NOT been a daily indulgence. It has felt great to say "NO thank you" to whoever has offered candy this month and I haven't had ANY. I have discovered there is more to Halloween than candy and vampire rum punch

Love starting a Sunday morning off with a belly laugh !!!

Congrats to you !!! Inspiring and wow, you did it in a great time frame.

Oh boy, not sure I'm ready for this one but I'm also from Phoenix area and it has been under 90 for several days now and the coolness in going to my head, so I will jump in and do my best on this challenge My name is Alana, pronounced so many ways by people that I just answer to hey you. Thanks for suggesting this Ted, good goal.

Horrible problems for me in this area. I found Smooth Move tea at Frys and Safeway. It is the only thing that has helped in this area. Be careful though, I drank a BIG mug of tea first time around and regretted that move (no pun intended). I drink a regular size cup every other day and it helps with constipation. I couldn't see where it said no caffeine on it so pretty sure it has caffeine but for what it helps with, I take the hit for the caffeine.

Prayers for both of you !!!

For the hospital, I wish I knew about the nausea after getting out of the procedure, it was horrible and for me lasted 2 days. A small pillow is a must so you can hold your stomach to cough and blow into the spirometer thing. Everything else is just the lifestyle changes that come with surgery and are second nature to me now. I don't think about them too often, except when I go out with friends. I vowed not to drink alcohol until next March because I don't want to introduce that sugar and extra calories until I am at goal or close to it. When going out, it is difficult because I enjoy a glass of wine with friends. With that said, nothing is more important to me right now than getting to goal. I have discovered that I have something in me that I never knew was there.....self monitoring and self control. With the advantages the sleeve gives you as a tool and the right mindset, we can do this. I'm not saying it is easy because it most certainly is NOT. Most things worth working for are not easy. It is achievable though and I hope to keep my mindset moving forward and take all that comes with the surgery in stride to a successful finish line. Good luck to you on your research journey.

Hello, I also welcome you to this site. I used this site to research many things before surgery. I am in my late 40s, am a revision from lap band to sleeve and my surgery was 3 months ago today. I also have poly ovary disease. 5 months after having band surgery, I found out I was pregnant, which makes the age between our 2 children 10 years apart. We tried for 8 years to have another baby. I believe weight, at least in my case, has a lot to do with fertility. In my case, I think my body knew I couldn't carry a child, at least healthy anyway. Once I lost 75lbs, I got PG and my entire pregnancy was a breeze, even though I was still 70 lbs overweight. Can you be guaranteed that weight loss surgery will help you conceive, no. I can tell you I didn't follow my surgeon's advice of getting on birth control because I thought I couldn't get pregnant again and my 4yo is living proof I should have listened. I am sooo happy for my lap band baby though! As far as the amount of weight you have to lose, I agree with PdxMan, if you follow what they tell you, it will happen. I am 3 months out and 58 lbs down with 65 more to go. It is by far the best decision I have made for myself, EVER. Good luck to you and you will know what the right answer is for you when the time is right. PS...having kids later in life is a blessing, my first I was 33, last I was 43 and I still had a whole life before kids.

My surgeon told me no more than 10#s for 8 weeks. I also have a 4yo and it was torture not being able to pick her up for that long. We finally made a game out of it and she learned what 10#s feels like, which was good. We started guessing how much books weigh, how much her toy bag weighs, etc. I just sat down a lot and had her sit on my lap to snuggle more. She got used to it after about 2 weeks. She started saying "Mommy it's time to sit down and hold me". Very adorable ! When 8 weeks came around, she was in heaven when I picked her up again. Your 16mo old might be a whole different story since not as much comprehension of limitations. Good luck on your surgery, you will love the sleeve!