DevilBlueDress

Rach1134, I guess I'm a slow loser, too. 33 lbs since surgery on 10/1. Right before the new year I did a huge closet purge and have stopped wearing 99% of my pre-op clothes. It's the inches lost that are jazzing me these days, especially since I've gained a pound this week. I try not to compare with others figuring if I follow the plan I'll eventually lose. I do compare with my old self though. I haven't weighed 225 since 1995. Molly

Wow CaliGal1, you look great! Molly

In the iPhone app, reply to the thread. In the New Reply window, clicked the + button (next to the Send button). You will have a choice to add photos. Molly

Welcome back! Now that you've replied to this thread, you should get automatic updates. If not, click the arrow at the thread level (not a reply to message) and subscribe to the OMG October 2013 thread and it will prompt you about notifications. This is where you specify if you get an email message, too. You would need to do this for each thread you want to get notifications. What I did when I first used the new app was to look for threads that I used before, mark them as read and subscribe. That way I could start from that day and not from the beginning again. Molly

I use MyFitnessPal. I mainly use the iPhone app but it is also a website and has an Android app, too. After you create your account, you set a goal (lose, maintain or gain). Then after you eat, drink or exercise, open the app and add it as a Breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack. The beauty of MyFitnessPal besides that it is free is that the items you eat are crowd sourced so more than likely there was someone using the app before you who put in the calorie and nutrition data there is also a barcode scanner that you can use if your food has one. Easy-peasy! Another part of MyFitnessPal is a social component. You can add other users who get updates on how you are doing and they in turn will help your motivation to keep going. Molly

LessofKat, Always count from your HW. It's all part of your WL journey. You look fab!

Donnascell - looking good!

AutumnPunkin - very impressive photos! Love the hair and your dress!

1) How relatively easy it was to recover from the surgery. I was prepared for the worst because I'm always the one who has complications. My experience was smooth (so far). Yes, the first few days sucked, but it got measurably better each day. 2) How I would need to remind myself to eat. I was told that I might not be hungry after surgery, but I didn't really get what that meant. It's much easier to eat and drink regularly during work days because I pack my Snacks and lunch. It's much harder on days off when I sleep in a little later and don't have all my meals planned. 3)When you hit a stall, measure yourself. You've probably lost inches and clothing sizes. Not all loss is measured by the scale. Molly

Angie-way to go! You look fab. Your smile says it all. Imgriego- so far I'm down to a 42D from a 46DD. When I was thin, I was a. 36C, so I figure there is still a lot of shrinking yet to happen. It just seems to be the body part that shrinking the quickest. Molly

Have you tried Isopure protein drinks? They are kind of like Gatorade. A 20 oz bottle has 40g of protein.

Looking good Imgriego!

Thanks, ladies! I can't wait to see your progress pics. Even though I've gone down 2-3 sizes so far, it wasn't until I put my photos side by side that I saw a difference. Molly

We're almost 3 months post-op. Let's share our progress! Here are my photos of before and now. The side by side is July 2013 and a week ago. The other was my 50th b-day present (necklace) from my dear husband last Thursday. Molly

At first, it's the size of a thumb. After gradually adding more food, it's supposed to b the size of a large egg at 6 months. Post-op to 8 weeks 1/4 c food. 2-3 months 1/2 c. 3-6 months 1/2 c-1 c. Molly

Are any of the restaurants in Madison? If so, I might have specific ideas because we eat out almost every week. Molly

Shrinkingjeans, I'm a few weeks further along, but on my clinic's plan you can start to eat everything at 3 months post-op. I was told to take it slowly, introducing foods like raw veggies/salads but still in this order: Protein, veggies, carbs. At this time I can eat about 1/2 c of food at a meal. I was told to add a little more over time until I get to 3/4-1c of food at a meal by my 6 month appointment. I still have 1-2 Protein drinks per day as well. Molly

Welcome fellow Oct! There are many revision folks on the site. UK-RNY also had a revision in October, if I remember correctly. There are many factors that govern how quickly or slowly we will lose- gender, how much needed to lose, movement , etc. I didn't have a revision and have lost about 33 lbs post-op. That plus my pre- op loss of 30 lbs= 63 lbs gone forever! Molly

Merry Christmas! I too have had some off plan items yesterday but I'm not going to feel guilty about it and neither should you! Each day is a new one with new choices to make. Last Chrismas, I indulged a lot and gained about 25 pounds between Nov and Feb. This year, I've had a little apple pie and a couple of small candies. It's a big difference and I'm thankful for my "tool" which helps me be satisfied with so little.

I also had my first salad tonight without issues. I've been a real daredevil

I now know that I can eat a small candy without problems. Not sure if this is good or bad news. Molly

Chris Christie Graham Elliot Ann Wilson Anne Rice John Popper Sharon Osbourne Etta James Patti Austin Lisa Lampanelli Brian Dennehy Roseanne Barr Rex Ryan

What kind of trouble are you having?

It's so great to see the October updates!

A typical day for me at 2.5 months post-op: Breakfast 2oz lox, 1/2 slice of wheat toast, 1tsp reduced fat cream cheese Snack Premier Protein chocolate ready to drink shake 3 Calcium citrate chews lunch 1/2 c cottage cheese with Kraft Catalina Lite dressing Snack Camamille tea 3 calcium chews dinner 2-3 oz of whatever meat I'm serving (tonight was ricotta meatballs), 2 oz of veggies (tonight was homemade marinara sauce) Snack hot chocolate protein, Fiber gummies and Iron chew Molly