planetheather

Take the things you need to be comfortable for a long plane ride (because like on a plane, they aren't going to let you sleep either). Top of my list: moisturizer eye drops (for dry eyes not red eyes) chapstick (Burt's Bees) a great toothbrush and toothpaste (you can't have liquids for 24 hours, but brushing your teeth every few hours will save your dry mouth sanity--just be sure not to swallow) slippers (they'll give you socks, but since you'll be walking every 2 hours, I like having my deerfoams face cleanser and moisturizer dry hair shampoo My stay was 2 days and since I wasn't allowed to sleep much, doing the grooming thing really helped me feel more human

I had never realized the difference between "average" and "tall". Thanks so much for pointing it out! At 5'7", I fall mostly in the average, but I buy tall when I can (in jeans) because after washing, sometimes the legs shrink up too much. It also depends on the shoes I plan to wear. Now I understand why my "tall" 12s fit me and my "average" 12s don't. This is great information.

Got home from my trip with one pair of jeans and it was getting baggy. So, a jet lagged me was at Walmart at 1am picking up stocking stuffers and I decided to pop over and try on some new jeans. Looks like I skipped a size and went from my baggy 16s to a 12! It was so worth getting yelled at that the Fitting Room was closed and I shouldn't be in there! I had Breakfast the next day in my new jeans. :-)

@Whodatgirl, I didn't think about your login name until I read this post and then I knew we had a Cajun in da house! I grew up in SE Texas just close enough to the border that we sure did get some good food. Next vacation is going to be NOLA in a few months (after your craziness with Carnival is over). That will be a bigger challenge for me than Thanksgiving and Christmas combined! Best of luck on the challenge! Hang in there!

Thanks for setting these up! I missed the last challenge and I'm really looking forward to this one.

I just got home from a long business trip and I'm only 3 months out, so it's been easier for me to be "good". I'm sticking with my same eating plan and I carry a shaker bottle of Protein powder and bottled Water for days like yesterday when I'm caught out almost all day running errands. For the family gatherings, I've found some "naughty" recipes that my daughter and I can bake together and some healthy ones (crab stuffed mushrooms) so I have a treat with my turkey. I guess I'm really lucky. I haven't had any trouble turning away from the high-carb and high-fat holiday foods so far. At Thanksgiving I had a fork tines full of Italian wedding cake crumbs as a "taste" and was satisfied. I have't had any desire to add non-vegetable carbs, sweets or alcohol back in my life (yet). I'm enjoying it (and my new size 12s) but I know I'm going to have to be vigilant when my honeymoon period is over.

New best comment (from goofy husband as I came home from Christmas errands): "My wife is going to be home soon, so whoever you are, get your skinny butt out before she catches you." **Context, we both travel a lot for work and our running "inside joke" is that we have to clean out the evidence of the guy/girl we've had over. My teens think we're just goofy but it's our way of letting the other know that we don't take each other for granted. Anyway, I've gone from a 26 to a 12 (jeans) so far and my husband pretending he didn't recognize me was sort of cool.

I concentrated on 64 oz of water; 60-80 grams of Protein and making sure I got my supplements in (Vitamins, Calcium etc.) My surgeon told me I could live like that for a very long time. I still don't really count calories. Because I eat a lot of the same things every day, I'm not even good about tracking (don't follow my lead on that one). At 3 months out, I get between 600 and 800 calories a day but I'm not worried because I have energy, my weight is stair stepping down, and I'm getting my Water, protein, supplements and my workouts are increasing in intensity as my cardio health improves. I'm measuring that on how hard I have to work to maintain my target heart rate.

Adding this even (and ladies, you owe this to yourselves): Being able to go get a Turkish bath without being mortified. (Korean bath, Moroccan bath--whichever you get, you'll lose skin cells you had laying around since kindergarten and you'll feel awesome).

I have rosacea too! I have a new lavender cleanser that I think is helping a lot, but nothing dermatologists have offered ever has. Glad to hear you found an esthetician you like!

This is very true! I was able to lose 70# by acting that way and also adding in exercise. But it was incredibly hard and not sustainable (for me and for most people)--hence the regain within 3 years and the surgery 5 years later. More damaging than the loss/regain was the damage to my self confidence. But if you can do it as a pre-op exercise, that would be great and you'll be so much further along.

Hmm. I'm trying not to judge, but I'm not sure this is a "friend". A real friend would be happy for you and supportive. And be excited that she will one day be joining the journey with you. I would have been thrilled to have someone walk in front of me so I could learn from her. I don't think you have anything to feel bad about and your last sentence was the most important. You did this for you and you should be focused on making yourself healthy and reveling in your successes. Despite the image that some people have that we have "taken the easy way out", we all know that this is work and will require a lifetime commitment. Again, no judging, but I think you can start looking for new friends along with new clothes. Both should support and compliment you.

My NUT was even more vocal. She told me that anything more than 20-25 grams in a serving was "a waste" and my body wouldn't process it. Well, I've never been one for superlatives so I decided to research it. I didn't keep the links, but a quick Google search led me to a number of sites that discussed the fact that this was outdated thinking based on extrapolated information. In order to process Protein, your small intestine uses enzymes (biology's version of a catalyst). Once all your enzymes are busy processing, no more protein is getting processed. The 20-25 gram rule is based on your body being able to process 7-12 grams an hour. But it turns out your body is smarter than we are. In response, your small intestine will absorb a significant amount of the protein for its own use and for later processing and it will also slow down the rate at which the protein is passing through (but it can still let other non-protein molecules past). I'd really like to hear if anyone else has heard anything similar. Personally, I make a double shot Protein shake every work day around 10:30-11 am (50 grams). However, I'm 3 months out, so it takes me 4 hours to drink it all!

Right! And who knew that I'd enjoy shaving my legs--ever?!

Oh heavens, yes! I had my gallbladder out 5 years ago and have had real "dumping syndrome" problems until my WLS 3 months ago. Actually until 4 months ago when I went on the pre-op diet and also cut out coffee. I will tell you that there are days I wax poetic about the loss of dumping syndrome. But that's not everyone. Some people get dumping syndrome after WLS. I have not. I do make sure I get at least 70 oz of Water a day and that helps. I saw a good post about someone adding dehydrated veggies to their diet to help with regularity. I know a lot of people use Fiber products to help. I haven't been so uncomfortable yet that I've tried it. But I'm tempted on the weeks when I'm stalled on my weight loss! I know--TMI.

Thanks for the feed back. My doc expect for me to be 20lbs lighter by my next 4 week appointment he said about 5lbs a week. So by 1/15/14 I should be about 20lbs lighter we will see. I agree with RJ's/Beginning. Your doctor sounds draconian and I don't think 5 pounds week over week is really a lot. My surgeon wanted me to lose a % of my EW. I forget how much and I missed my 3 month check because I'm in Africa. I'm seeing my PCP for bloodwork in 2 weeks and my surgeon told me I could come for the 6/9 month check as long as the labs are good. I'm ok with that because I think I'm on track with my loss. They do want me to see his NUT again at 6 months.

This is such a positive post and gives me something to focus on besides the scale the size of my jeans! Thank you so much. I had some bucket list items myself but now I'm going to be able to add more because I'm going to add so many of yours. 1. Skydive --already know where I'm going when I hit my goal 2. Zipline 3. Fit in an economy airline seat (done) 4. Clean out the "fat clothes" from my closet (done) 5. Not be able to shop at Lane Bryant (done) 6. Buy lingerie from Victoria's Secret (done) 7. Be able to fold my long legs in the backseat of a car (done) And many many more.

Wow! I teared up just reading this! That is SO wonderful! Congratulations!

I mentioned this in a response to a different thread but it made me curious about what ways you guys have noticed that you have started "treating yourself better" either post WL or post WLS. In the past I don't think I felt I was treating myself "bad" but there were a number of things that I just didn't bother with--probably thinking along the lines of "lipstick on a pig". My example is that I never really bothered about beauty products--I treated dry skin like a medical condition and got the industrial stuff from Walmart. I know I didn't enjoy rubbing lotion on my huge belly or thighs. Now, it's become a daily+ ritual and not only do I enjoy my new contours, I've noticed that my skin (everywhere) looks younger. I even indulge in moisturizing bath bombs (when I'm in a country where I can get warm water). My favorite haunt for new items is Lush and I love that I can carry most of their stuff in my carry on (their moisturizing bars are solid). What ways have you found that you "treat yourself" now that your body image has changed?

My wedding ring finger went from a 7 to a 5.5 in 6 weeks. I can tell my hands and feet are slimmer (who the hell knew I had fat feet too?). Interestingly, my hands do not look older but I think I know why. When I decided to have this surgery my attitude toward myself changed. Before, I put hand cream on because they ached in dry climates and in the winter. I started paying a lot more attention to myself and even more after the weight started coming off. I do take daily fish oil now, but I also started going to Lush to get very nice moisturizers and bath bombs. I can tell a difference in my skin everywhere. And bonus! Most of the items are solids and not creams, which means they can come on the plane with me!

I used to hate shopping. Now "buying" I have no problem with but that's why we have Amazon. My husband is tickled that I will entertain the idea of going shopping with him after date night now but I wouldn't say it's an addiction (yet). I'd say BariatricPal is definitely close to an obsession (especially because I'm on the road and have hours in my hotel room to fill). I'm looking forward to being home long enough for sex to become an addiction! Other than that I spend a lot of time on mybodygallery.com putting in different parameter values so I can imagine what the new me will look like.

Hey, I'm a pancreatitis and PICC line survivor too! (Pre-WLS events). Don't you just love those morphine pumps? I echo the resistance band or low weights for rebuilding muscle, but in order to do that, you have to have a surplus of Protein intake. For rebuilding stamina, I recommend a treadmill at low speed and no incline. That's what I used to regain my strength post-hospitalization.

I see it in your face and hips. But I'll be honest, I still don't see it in myself sometimes. Today, I'm at work in size 16 jeans (that are looser in the legs than a week ago) but when i sit in a chair, I look at my thighs and they seem the exact same as when I was a 26. Go with the size clothes and how much more comfortable you are. Notice that you can sit in chairs differently and pop off the bed now. And you look awesome, btw!

So glad you posted! Yes, I people watch now. But in a different way. I'm 3 months out and really excited to have gone from a 26 (pre, pre-op diet) to a 16 today (headed to 14) but I'm dying to know what size I'll wear when I get to my goal. My goal says 150, but really it's to be in the normal BMI range (and to weigh less than my husband). I haven't been that low in so long, I don't remember what that looks like or if I'll be a 10 or a 6. I find myself eying the ladies with a great (but reasonably attainable) physique. I want to rush up and ask what size jeans they wear so that I can aim for that!

I've never heard "no wheat" except from adherents to the "Paleolithic diet", which I'm not sold on. My surgeon and NUT told me no white stuff (no brainer) and no soft carbs (breads). I can have whole grains and whole grain hard breads (like crackers) but at 3 months out, I really can't fit any in yet after my Protein. If I have any capacity and I've had enough protein, I try for cooked vegetables (like a nice vegetable curry) but don't manage more than a tablespoon of that. I don't see anything wrong with a high protein, low fat meatball or burger. I haven't been home long enough to cook, but I have a great recipe for a meatball that uses an egg and some cooked quinoa for binder. I'm a newbie though, so hopefully some of the vets will be online soon and can give you more feedback. And congratulations on being 24 pounds down! That's fantastic! Are you saying your surgeon expected you to be 50 pounds down?