NMJG

You have my sympathy. Sending hugs! It is a pain, I agree. It does get better with practice. Not to discourage you from following your doctor's orders, but some studies shows that drinking before eating isn't so bad, not like drinking with or right after eating, which have very specific concerns for sleevers. Again, I don't want to encourage not following your plan, but i drink up to about 5 or 10 minutes before a meal . You might ask your doctor if this is something you could try. Just being able to walk around with a glass of Water with lemon in it would help at those cocktail parties.

Yeah, i'd like to know when it's going to stop, too. I bet madame rev would, too. i expect we'll see her chiming in on this topic, maybe she knows.

It is really unlikely that you can eat enough calories at 3 weeks to gain actual fat, i have to say. You are also coming up on possible 3 week stall.....give it time and just stay on plan. Start your exercise as soon as your doctor gives the ok, it will give you a lot of benefits.

My dr had a 30 min before and 60 min after rule. I follow the 60 min after rule religiously, and it is second nature now. In fact, i feel quite uncomfortable if I drink during meals. I stay full for several hours after a meal. The biggest annoyance is Soup, which is something I love. Now I sip the liquid first, wait 5 minutes, then eat the solids. That kinda sucks. I do drink up to 5-10 minutes before eating. It doesn't seem to cause any problems, for me, at least.

Good job! It is an important milestone and you deserve to celebrate

Howdy August folks, I see some common threads here. I am down to a normal BMI but I'd like to get down further since I still have a jelly belly. I never lost fast to start with, like 8-10 lbs a month, and now it's 3-4 lbs a month. So frustrating. It will take as long to lose the last 20 as it did to lose the first 60 after surgery i fear.

Oh yes, very common and not a lot you can do about it. Mine fell out badly for several months, just now starting to slow down a little bit, at least it's down to strands instead of globs coming out now. Lost about 2/3 of my hair.

That's an interesting doohicky. I doubt I could eat even one of those little circles now. Pre-sleeve that would have looked like a pretty dinky dinner, though

Sometimes 64 oz is not enough. It isn't for me. I usually have 16 oz of herbal tea at bedtime and I still have dark urine in the morning since surgery. Weird.

Nope. You might have loose skin issues, but you also might be just fine over time. Lots of things play into it, like age, speed of weight loss, etc. So strength training will help tighten up flab, but won't really tighten loose skin. Some people like skin tightening lotions, but the reviews on cheap ones from the drugstore are about the same as lotions that are $75 a bottle, and non of them really have a big impact.

Try different types of Protein. whey is the most common, but there are many different kinds and you may find one that works. I don't mean different brands of one more chocolate shake, I am talking about hemp protein, pea protein isolate, egg whites, etc. was a lifesaver for me. Check out whole foods or sprouts stores. I also found

I had low b vitamins and vit d. I was scolded and told to make sure I get my supplements in.

GasX strips and walk a lot. Really helps.

Gross.

I'm trying to remember, but I think I didn't start any supplement chewables until I was solid food. I took liquid vitamins during that phase, too. Not that you have to do that, but that's what I did.

I use Eat Slower on my phone, too. It was great for teaching me to slow down. I don't use it so much now, but I did for months and it was a huge help. Remember to take tiny bites, too. When I first got to real food I would be full after 3 bites. If I ate more I would be so sick and uncomfortable. Over time my tummy stretched a tad (I can eat about a half cup at a meal now), and I found that if I went realllly sloooow with tiny bites, I could get down 3 oz. of Protein and a couple of bites of veg in a 30 minute time period and I could easily tell when enough was enough, so I rarely overeat to the sick point now. It's a learning period to see what your body will handle.

Looks great!

Yes, very cold liquid makes me uncomfortable. I prefer warm drinks or room temperature drinks.

I drink a couple of times a week. It's not good and I certainly don't recommend it, but there it is. If you are going to do it, limit yourself to ONE. More is very bad with the sleeve. It dehydrates you and makes you drunk very fast. Sip your drink and make it last 45 min to an hour. Shots are very bad with the sleeve. Last, don't have sugary mixed drinks like margaritas, unless they are skinny versions. I prefer a small glass of wine or an ounce of JD or bourbon with water over ice.

That's a very interesting observation. Food is a sort of meditation if you think about it. I haven't come up with an alternative.

Being able to feel comfortable and trust you pt is important. You want them to push you, but there is also a limit and you and your trainer need to both agree on what that line is. Adding muscle may well help you, since muscle burns more calories. It's a great thing to do for yourself. However, be prepared to not lose on the scale, and maybe even gain, while you are building muscle. Do expect to see fat reduction, though, via measurements and skin fold tests.

So let's see some specific recipes, folks! I bought a Ninja Pro and haven't a clue.

I'm taking a trip this year, too. I'm thinking Alaska...maybe rent a motor home.

Came upon this today, thought I'd share with y'all. It shows the number of WLS surgeries in the US over the past 3 years. 179,000 WLS surgeries in 2013. http://asmbs.org/2014/03/estimate-of-bariatric-surgery-numbers/ Interesting how RnY and revisions have stayed fairly stable, but Band and Sleeve have traded spots.

It's hard to get used to, but I don't even think about it anymore, it's habit to avoid drinking while eating now. I even wait 60 minutes after eating most of the time, no problem at all. I used to drink 4-5 glasses of Water with meals. Karinbuck, just stick with it, it will get better, really