Flutterby

I am trying different foods before my surgery so I know what to have on hand for each stage. I found that if you puree small curd cottage cheese and a small box of SF jello in a blender it is really good. I think the next time I make it, I will put a little bit of skim milk in it so it won't be as thick. But anyway it is still good.

as I read your post, I am sipping my green smoothie similar to what you're describing! Mine is: organic baby kale, local organic fresh pineapple, 1/4 small avocado, 1/2 oz raw almonds, and vanilla protein powder. I'm 2 months out from surgery & have been doing these nutriblasts for a few weeks. I have felt a LOT better since I started drinking them-- more energy, more 'regular', etc., and it's reassuring to me to know I'm getting my fruits & veggies in. At meals I pretty much only have room for the protein So I can say from experience that your plan is a good one!

Great post! Gives me something to look forward to, surg date is agu 5.
I also have a bullet and have not heard of doing the spinach ice cubes great idea!!!! How much do you use?

Yep ditto on sharing your whole story.
I was due for surgery on the 22 now its the 23. Learning what exaclty to expect really helps and one learns a bit more from each new story.

Thank you so much for your story. My surgery is July 23rd and reading your post made me feel so much better about this surgery. Thank you so much.

Don't get married to the scale. Weigh in occasionally, or it gets frustrating when you lose a pound, gain one, lose one, etc. You'll be great!

had my sleeve done July 8th home on the 10th. the worst I had was dry heaves a few times, other than that no problems. it has taken me 10 years to decide to do this as I absolutely would not do the roun y. finally my nephrologist said having this surgery could possibly help my kidneys,so here I am. My big problem has been keeping my blood sugars steady bottomed out a few times but I stopped taking my regular insulin and am now just using my long acting insulin that seems to have solved my problem. Well, I hope everything continues to go well for both of us. Good luck!!!!

That must be so very frustrating.... I think I would sit down and scream and cry awhile, then, as you seem to have done already, reassure myself that it's still going to happen. You can do this! I pray you'll have peace and a double measure of grace as you wait.

Your post is very "close to home" and I totally identify and empathize with you! Your reasoning and commitment are echoed in my heart and soul.
Welcome to the healthy sleevers club!
I wish you many many happy smiles into the eyes of your family as you put yourself first so you can be what you long to be for them!

your feelings and emotions are spot on to how I feel. I get this! Our journeys are different but the core reasons for the weight gain and surgery are the same (plus the snacking and extras. I too eat pretty healthy meals but those dang extras get me everytime!) Good for you and good luck on your journey!

Thanks everyone! Yes our stories are similar reenalee. My brother passed away in 2011 and I think my mom has given up after that. She just recently had her 5th heart attack 2nd massive. It breaks my heart! I can't change her outcome but I can fight like hell to change mine!

this is a great beginning to your story! Keep coming back and sharing whenever you find time for you. I can relate in so many ways to your story (as I am sure many of us here can) the main focus your story gave me was what also started me on my journey... my mom! my mom will be 60 this summer, she was totally awesome when I was really young (toddler up to around age 15 or 16) REALLY active, always doing something. Our roof was to repaired on our house and she was the first one up there! Then my sister passed away, 4 yrs later my mom had breast cancer, a year later, cancer is back, 2 yrs after she went through another major health problem.. next thing you know shes in a motorized scooter! 5'2" 325#! she cant walk because she spent so much time down and out now her weight wasn't letting her get up and around... in Feb 2012 she had a gastric bypass. She has lost 120#!!! she is out walking, goes shopping now, she takes walks with her little dog... I LOVE the change it has made. I started this journey because I started feeling lazier because of my weight, I was less likely to take the kids to the pool, less likely to go out to the playground... and I realized it wont be long before I am out shopping for my own motorized scooter! I do NOT think so!! Although its sad we cant always change the paths to where we are, we sure as heck can change direction to where we are going!

Just wanted to say I really like your planning and listing out what you need to get done. I'm a big list maker too. It's so freeing to get all the "to-dos" out of my head and on paper to relieve a little stress and then start crossing them off one-by-one. Of course, one of my weaknesses is writing it down, then I forget to look at the list until I've missed something. So, I know what you mean about needing an assistant to make sure I keep the schedules or follow my to-do list.
Best wishes to you! With all the things to do, the next three weeks will zoom by I'm sure!

yep, a lot (if not most) of us were raised to clean our plates. Wasting food is sinful even! My husband's family were very poor when he was growing up and you ate what you could when you could and as much as you could. Now that we're not poor well... it's really pretty dangerous to have that mindset. My family wasn't as bad off but my mother's family was so "wasting food" was a terrible thing to do.
I managed to break that cycle with my own children and grandchildren - they have to taste something new and eat a reasonable portion of their meal (I have had several try the "ok, I'm done. What's for dessert?" trick). Serving up appropriate sized portions takes practice too.
Being more than a year out, I don't have trouble gauging my portions nor do I have trouble throwing food away. It takes practice (hey, we get to practice several times a day!) and conscious eating.
I used to clean off OTHER people's plates too. Then one day I realized the truth that I am NOT a gabage pail. Sounds silly, but that is exactly how I was treating myself.
Keep at it!

Curvy,
Thank you so much. I appreciate your advice and your insight.
My husband has probably told me many times the exact same things you have written to me. I don't understand, if it's true, why can't I see it like he does, like other people have told me too. Why do I tend to focus on what's lacking, or where I've failed, or where things could be better. But I know I WANT to be beautiful and there are things I truly love about myself.
You're so right - I am and I know many big women that are beautiful inside and out. When I was younger and skinny, I still struggled with things I didn't like about my looks. So I know I have to deal with this and learn to accept and appreciate everything about myself no matter what size or shape my body is.
Thank you again for the encouragement and push I definitely need to settle into my beauty and love myself now. Perhaps my choice to get healthy is part of learning to love me, too. I'm worth it, because I AM beautiful. Whew, that's hard to say out loud... makes me feel conceited or deluded. I'm definitely a work in process.
editing - 5/2/13 - by the way, Curvy - You're a beautiful woman too. I was glancing through my comments and posts and friends and general reading and realized I hadn't told you that.

Flutterby, I want you to know that the first time I spied your profile, I thought, "What a beautiful woman." You are very beautiful, and based on other posts and entries you are of seemingly really good character. Part of this journey is having the confidence in yourself and believing in how beautiful you are. Big women are beautiful too. You don't have to be thin to be beautiful. I used to be skinny and felt disgusting about myself. I have more confidence in myself as a size 20 woman, than I did as a size 4 misses. My students always compliment me on how they love how sure of myself I am; how I dress; my hair. Big girls can and ARE fabulous. I think my ability to LOVE myself, to believe that I am beautiful and fabulous...no matter what... made me realize that I was ready to take this step; ready to be a healthy, fabulous me. LOVE who you are now, because the woman you are now is beautiful; you don't have to be 150ish to share part of that beauty that is inside and all around you.

I'm a singer, too. Funny that I worry that I won't be able to sing as powerfully without my weight backing me up. I've read about opera singers who can't perform the same way after losing weight... and I was classically trained in opera, so even singing popular music, I use the same techniques! I'm hoping for more confidence to get out there and share my gifts with others as well! I wanna re-do all my youtube vids and actually SHARE them with people!

Great story. I wonder what you really weigh. I'm super morbidly obese at nearly 400 lbs. But I remember when I was 30 and weighed 125. Next time I weighed myself I had gained 5 pounds and I thot my life was over. I was so self conscious of how I looked, especially in shorts.
Ha! I'd give one of my legs to weigh "that much" now. I'd give money, but I don't have any. ha ha
Yes, you'll get that girl figure back. Hopefully, your daughter will have a change of mindset and realize how cute she is now. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing....I too can relate. Thank you for putting it in words. By this time next year you will be heading in the right direction to connect with person you want to be.

You know that is the problem with the mentality of adolescence. At the time we are so naive and gullible to society’s unrealistic expectations and perceptions of beauty, that we fall into its grasp and let it alter any realistic notion of beauty that the people who love us instill into us (or SHOULD instill into us). I too am 5’ 7” and yielded a weight of 134, yet I felt like I was fat and disgusting. I was bulimic for so many years, OBSESSED with working out and eating the right foods. However, I often fell into these bouts where my love of food would take over and I would binge eat junk…only to throw it up later and feel utter disgust and repulsion. At one time my-then-boyfriend-now-husband wasn’t allowed to touch my stomach—even though it was flat!!!
I was an idiot. BIG TIME! The irony of the whole situation is that I feel more confident and sexy now as a big girl, than I ever did when I was thin. My perception of myself now, my need to be healthy for the sake of longevity and health reasons, and for the sake of my overall family’s health is why I too think I am ready to take this step.
Thank you for sharing Flutterby. I loved your story and I totally, completely, 100% relate.

I can very much relate to your story. The good news is before you know it...you'll be shrinking into that girl you were meant to always be. Best of luck