NMJG

We used to make flour/salt dough ornaments. It was just as fun as making and decorating sugar Cookies but you get to keep the ornaments. Here is a recipe for it (there are lots on the web) http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dough-ornament-recipe/

Thank you for posting. It's great to hear from someone so far down the road and successful. I have relatives in Europe, and found that I easily lost weight there because of all the walking (no car, took the streetcar or train, walked everywhere). And the food was divine! They don't serve mega-portions there like the restaurants here, either. I love having afternoon coffee or chocolate and a little pastry (sigh).....

Can you give us more information so perhaps we can help you? What does a typical day look like? Protein, carbs, fats? How much water do you get in? Do you measure and track your food? Lots of folks on here can give you some good insight. Good luck to you and hang in there.

That's amazing progress. You are 20 lbs. ahead of me in the same timeframe. I'm so jealous. Seriously, you do look terrific. Congrats

Oh the Ann Landers recipe! My Nana used to make that when we were kids.....

My doctor prescribes preop diets based on BMI. Mine was 36, and I had no preop, but I was under strict orders to not gain or they wouldn't operate on my surgery date. Others in my "class" had specific preop diets to follow in order to shrink their liver.

Congrats, Lips! I was lucky, chin #2 left fairly quickly on me once I started losing. The turkey wattle is in full force, though. If I shake my head really fast it jiggles like crazy. I guess that's better than doing Jabba the Hut impressions, though. Butter, you crack me up. Chin-gina......baahahahahahaha

I've lost forty odd lbs. and have lots of sag and jiggle. But I wouldn't trade it for my fat self. I'm 53, so I was expecting a lot of loose skin. I plan on plastics at the end of the journey.

Can you post a typical day so we can see what you are eating?

Fortunately, I only have one friend who does this. At dinner a few days ago she made a big deal of it and worried something was wrong with me, I just said I ate too much brie and cranberry appetizer and spoiled my dinner. Another time I think I said I was getting over the flu and wasn't hungry. It's hard. In general I don't lie about things, but I do fib when it comes to this, as it is no one else's business. A few good lines are: I had a big lunch/breakfast/whatever Just had birthday cake at the office I don't care for what I ordered (this can backfire though) I'm saving up for (whatever the next meal is) Just don't make it seem like you have a health issue. That gets people worried. Good luck.

I agree with the other posters, it's not accurate and everyone is different. It's a great tool for logging your food and water and exercise, but forget about all the other phooey it serves up, and don't bother with that "net calories" deal, either, IMHO.

Seela, I feel so bad for you I take Citalopram myself. I switched over to Paxil for a month, then decided in my great wisdom that I didn't need them anymore. So I went off cold turkey. Disaster! I'm back on Citalopram and all is well with the world again. I have no advice beyond what the others have said, just sympathy. {hugs}

Had one required class preop and one at the hospital postop the day after surgery. We went over my doctor's eating plan for the sleeve, the different stages, liquids, amounts of protein/carbs/fats, exercise, and vitamins.

I'm TXJG on MFP

Article on this topic cancer/gastrectomy http://www.cancer.org/cancer/stomachcancer/detailedguide/stomach-cancer-risk-factors

My doctor gave me a little card to keep in my wallet that pictorially explains the sleeve in case of emergency treatment. It also states No Intubation. However, if I am unconscious, it won't help much.

Chi, I think you are doing well after seeing your pix. We all have some body part that doesn't shrink as fast as we would like. For me, it's my jelly belly. When I was young, I was pear shaped and had thunder thighs. Later in life I became an apple. Patience and go easy on yourself. Time enough down the road for lipo or plastics.

Yeah, GG, we are definitely paralleling. I'd be afraid to eat more calories. My BMR is so low, I think I would stop losing.

Soft food like cottage cheese, 1/2 cup. Chicken or beef, maybe 2 oz. Fish, maybe 3 oz. I can get down a couple of bites of veg after my protein, but not much. i still need protein shakes to meet my protein goals.

Congrats and thank you so much for posting now. It's wonderful to see long term success, so inspirational.

Echo what the others have said. Doing lipo now is a terrible idea. I also think it's possible you are fixating on your thighs and they are likely not nearly as bad as you think. Why don't you post a pic of yourself now and get some feedback?

I am the one responsible for my weight ups and downs over the years, no doubt. But my mom, the quintessential Jewish mother, also provided an environment ripe for food issues. Three out of four kids have lifelong weight issues. She was a great cook, and luckily for us, her Southern upbringing meant we had lots of vegetables. We had lots of everything, though. Cookies in the pantry for Snacks after school snack every day, for example. I was a skinny kid, but as soon as puberty hit and I stopped having recess and PE at school, 20 lbs. went on in no time, and more every year after that. That's where the real problems started. My mom, heavy herself by this time, had no idea how to lose weight in a healthy manner. So we all started the weightloss cycle. One fad diet after another. Lose the weight then gain it back. Shots, fasting, liquid Protein, WW, you name it. Never was exercise included. And of course we destroyed our metabolisms. Even if we knew how to eat "normally" we couldn't hold a stable low weight. I can't blame her, bless her heart, but I embraced every single bad habit over my life, along with the good ones.

Rin, sounds like a stall, which means you just grin and bear it. As Cabin said, search on stalls, there are tons of posts. Some people only weigh monthly, which isn't a bad idea at all. That said, what is your Protein vs carbs vs fats makeup? Are you getting in 60-80 gr of protein in daily? How many carbs are you taking in daily? Are you drinking your 8 glasses of fluids?

Good for you! We're here when you need a place to vent

I think it might be helpful for the OP to hear from vets who cheated and those who didn't cheat on pre-op and compare that to long term success. Do people who significantly cheat on pre-op have a harder time and less weight loss than those who didn't cheat early on? A lot of people come on this forum to "get back on track" after their losses have stalled for months on end. As others have said, the biggest issue after surgery is your brain. If you aren't mentally ready for this journey, it is probably best to delay until you get your head in order, just my opinion. After surgery, it's hard, really hard. And having a smaller stomach is a great tool, but if you are set on cheating, it's really easy to do. No one here wants anyone to fail, and it is so sad to hear from those who do. Sometimes we just need a little more time to make sure we can handle "life after sleeve." Like others have said, if you can't handle pre-op at this point, it doesn't bode well for future success. That doesn't mean you'll fail, it just might be an indicator that waiting another 6 months might be prudent. Best of luck.