NMJG

Several things: Caffeine increases acid and appetite and is a diuretic, meaning you need even more Water to counteract it. coffee itself increases acid. I stayed away during my losing phase. Now I have decaf with cream a couple times a week and caffeine on occasion.

Welcome and best of luck to you. You have enough comorbidities that it *shouldn't* be a problem. Just be prepared that we 50's often lose slower, but you'll still lose.

So that's part of the problem, LOL, I often think I am just fine where I am at and I know I can maintain here pretty easily. It is the weight I was in my forties for years until I had a car accident that wiped out my exercise for a long time, and then took a desk job, and then menopause hit....yadayadayada. But, I am motivated today, so I am going over to the gym and am doing a Protein shake day to realign myself. Been letting those carbs sneak up and if I can get them back under 20 daily, i think that will also get this loss going. Weighed this morning and still 140.

Amazing loss, tell us more about yourself. Congratulations!

yes, it generally gets better over time. I can drink water fairly normally now. I still drink a lot of herbal tea, but a cold water bottle is something good now, and it wasn't for a long time after surgery.

I have found that if I do 3 days of just Protein shakes it really helps get my restriction back. After that, I try to do one day a week with just Protein Shakes to keep my restriction tight. Not for everyone, but it works for me. That might be a way to kickstart yourself. Good luck to you and congratulations!

Buy online is easiest. Some people make ice pops with it.

No candy. I try so hard to low carb and candy is my sabotage. Thank goodness I can't eat much, but it's still my demon.

I think there is no price you can put on good health. No guilt

Get a new PCP, one that has experience with WLS patients. You are going to need a strong doctor who will do the follow up blood tests, etc. I am blessed with an excellent PCP who knew nothing about WLS but learned all about it so he could support me. Now he tests me every 3 months and checks my vitamins etc., even though my bariatric surgeon is available. I hope you can find the same.

I always used to love eating out. After the sleeve it took a while to figure out where to go, what to eat, etc. Now I have my go-to places that always work. If it is something new, I can usually find an appetizer or side dish that will work, but like Lipstick said, if there isn't anything I can just sit there and have a decaf coffee and be fine. Some of my favorites: Olive Garden - order off the small plates menu: chicken meatballs or roasted asparagus (no breadsticks) Chick-fil-A - grilled chicken nuggets (a 4 pack suits me perfectly), diet Lemonade, chicken salad (no bread) Shawarma or Gyros - I skip the bread and just eat the meat/veggies/yogurt sauce Mexican restaurants - shrimp dishes, Beans, pollo asado, carne asada, chile verde (skip tortillas, rice and chips), huevos rancheros w/o tortilla New Mexican - carne adovada is just meat and chile - heaven! TexMex - fajitas (skip the tortillas and rice) Texas style smoked bbq (no sauce) with coleslaw and pickles and onions Chinese - Happy Family (mix of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp) - skip the rice, or stirfried veg & chicken Japanese - sashimi, salad, miso Soup (skip the rice and sushi)

I agree, sounds like you need a PPI like prilosec,etc. Check with your doc. I will say that eating brought no pleasure the first 5 months or so. Great time to get a big chunk of weight off. I never pushed myself to move the next stage, I just progressed as it felt comfortable.

Good luck to you, Mary. I would hope that giving her print outs of lap band revision success stories would help, if she would read it. Perhaps you can get her to come on a forum like this and read about lap band revisions? Many people are very happy with them. The other thing that could help perhaps is giving her the reasons why this is different. In other words, what held you back the first time and why you will be successful this time. Are you prepared to change how you eat forever? Are you ready to commit to Protein first, getting your Water in, and avoiding sliders and non-nutritional carbs as much as possible? Can you give up soda? Will your activity level change? If you are prepared, maybe you can share your preparation plans with her and that will help her get behind you.

I'm a fan of using protein shake days to jump start. I also like all-shake days to keep my restriction tight. I do it once a week. I don't know that you need a week of it, maybe try 3 days and see how it goes. Good luck!

Kathy, I'm with you. When I get my mommy makeover next year I am definitely adding a facelift to the package. I do all the non-surgical things, too, and they do help, but I still have turkey neck, jowls, droopy forehead and baggy eyes. Only surgery is going to fix that permanently. I will say that regular skin treatments, like microdermabrasion and IPL and chemical peels, are great for improving skin texture and color and age spots (which surgery does not fix).

"You've Had a Bad Day".................hahaha No, really, it's been more like "Proud Mary"......Big wheel keep on rolling.....

That is very cool, Jane. Who knew?

I averaged 10 pounds a month, then I averaged 4 lbs. a month, now it's down to a pound or two a month. As you say, the goal is keeping it off, and you sound like you are well on your way to do that.

Same for me, foods I can't tolerate induce some sort of unpleasant physical reaction. I can't tolerate foods with cinnamon oil or sour candies. It causes burning in my sleeve that is painful. When my sleeve was new, I couldn't tolerate raw fruit or vegetables. For example, I tried a few sliced strawberries and within 30 minutes had explosive diarrhea.

Tenshi, I feel for you. It's so easy to fall back, it is my greatest fear. Good luck to you, I wish you all the best getting back on track. One suggestion I discovered by accident, if you go on just Protein shakes for 3 days, it helps bring back your restriction. Maybe try that to kickstart yourself?

uggh. just went to the gym at work and did 20 minutes at 110 heartrate on the stationary bike. Lordy, I hate exercise LOL. I figure my BMR is around 1380. If I eat 1000 calories a day and do 300 calories of exercise a day, I *should* lose a pound a week, one would think. I've heard that HIIT is a good way to go. Guess I'll sign up for boot camp (eeek). It doesn't start for another month, though.

I agree, my walks are pretty sedate.

thanks, Irene, I was thinking about that. Honestly, I hate exercise LOL, but I am very good about getting my walks in. I was thinking that adding in something different would help move things along. I'd really like to get my fat butt into the pool and swim laps (did that when I was younger), but I can't seem to motivate myself to actually do it. Maybe a spin class? There is a boot camp class I can take this summer, but I'm afraid!

Vets, I have a question for you. I really want to get down to 125 lbs. but I am wondering if that is an unrealistic goal. My weight loss has slowed way down and has almost stopped. I am still always under 1200 calories a day (usually under 1000) and walk a minimum of 60 minutes every day. I am currently at 140 lbs. I'm a size 6/8 and BMI is 22 according to the charts. I saw my dr last week and he said he thought I could get that 15 lbs. off. However, the bariatric nurse said I might be able to get another 3-4 lbs. off but my body was pretty happy where it was and I wouldn't go lower than that. I am pretty happy with where I am at and I know the extra 15 lbs. are "vanity" pounds, but hey, if I've gone this far I might as well go all the way. The fat is all on my abdomen and upper thighs. I don't think it bothers anyone but me, but I'm the one who looks at it every day LOL. I do plan for plastics next year. My dr said no plastics until I am 18 months out from surgery. I am currently 8 1/2 months out. I am post menopause, but I am on HRT, which is supposed to help somewhat with metabolism and muscle tone. Your thoughts?

At 8 weeks i was doing around 500-600. Finally got to 800 and stayed there for the majority of my weightloss.