MCE33

No doing it sooner is really my only regret. Exercise as much as you can now. Make an inspiration board. Follow the rules to a t. You will do awesome!

I so look forward to that onederland one day. Now I am a tall girl - so my actual goal is 170 - I figure once I get to onederland I am almost there right? Right now I am just oh so glad to have gotten below the big 300 mark. It is terrible to watch a football game and realize your stats would make you a prime defensive lineman!

Chicken is tough for me too unless it is chicken salad - like through the food processor. Otherwise I really have to eat it as soon as it is cooked and still hot. If it sits a bit or gets put in the fridge - FORGET it! Crab has been my favorite thing. Too bad it is so expensive and hard to get fresh. But when I am on the gulf - I am all about it.

Yay NSV!

Ouch - so sorry to hear about your injury! But glad you are recovering well.

Mine is just getting bad here at 3 months post-op. I just started taking an Omega-Plex Vitamin last week in hopes that it will help. Plus I am coating my hair in coconut oil every few days because it looks fried. I am doing my best to make sure i am on top of Protein and Vitamins - but I guess it is what it is. Your hair cut is super cute. Maybe I should take a hint and get mine cut a bit too.

Congrats and keep it up! Look at how far you have come already!

Losing 74 lbs in 4 months is behind? That sounds like pretty good progress to me actually. It seems like if your doctor thinks you are behind he would have referred you to the nutritionist for a solution. But I think I agree with previous poster - you don't seem to be eating enough to match your activity level.

I swear chicken is still the trickiest of all for me too! And they tell you how ground beef is difficult - but it was the first thing I could eat with ZERO problem. I can do pork chops easy - shrimp, sure - ham - gotcha - tuna - let's go - chicken, uh........ Now my friend - 2 years later still can't eat shrimp or ground beef and never had a problem with chicken. So go figure!

At 5 weeks I am pretty sure I could have done 20 ounces in 30 minutes. I certainly can now at 9 weeks. I think your body will let you know if you are drinking too much or too fast. I (fortunately) have only gotten sick a few times - and twice it was from drinking too fast because I let myself get way too thirsty. If you sip sip sip and are comfortable - no big deal. Now if you were only a few days out I would say that the nerves of the pouch just have not developed yet too tell you STOP - but at 5 weeks you would know.

So funny - Duck Tape and Spanx is my plan. However - I have a drag queen friend who says he is going to give me some tips on how to pull it all together and look fabulous. I can't wait to hear the tips.

Tacky tacky tacky

Great job - keep it up!

Thanks for replying - but I think I will be needing size 20 in a matter of weeks. I bought a few things to get through my presentations - and am just trying to make so best i can for now.

I have been doing Couch to 5K and lots of ARC Trainer - but I decided to switch it up and do spin for the first time in almost 2 years. Ouch! I forgot how much it hurts - especially the first few times. OMG - and I already had a chafing problem - so now I am in mega pain. Looks like I may have to have a rest day to let the chafing heal some - it is danger zone bad and nothing is working to stop it!

65 grams a day

You will not be as hungry - and will fill up quickly. But that does not mean that you will not still be tempted to taste certain foods. This surgery is a tool - not a cure all. It is hard work everyday. Best to you!

Thanks everyone - love the support here! I ended up making some sf chocolate pudding last night and adding a bot of Peanut Butter. It got me through and I decided after a little bit I was over the craving and it wasn't even that great. I will definitely remember about the leftover chicken. I had suspicions that was the problem.

I am past the official "mushy" stage - and I try new things - but I have to be very careful. Last night I has a grilled chicken tender and some green beans from a great green bean saute that I made. No problem. Then after church we had leftovers - so I tried the same meal again. No go. It all came back up and I had only even been able to get down two small (well chewed) bites of the chicken and 2 or 3 green beans. I had let myself start to think I was going to be able to tolerate non-chickensaldfied chicken - but I guess not. Now hamburger meat I have zero problem with. The ricotta bake sounds good - I have actually been making eggplant parm because it is all mushy and allowed enough. It has made for many a meal for me. I had not even considered the oatmeal bakes. Thanks for the advice.

6 weeks out and doing very well - but I admit that my will-power is waning some when it comes to food. I am really craving something chocolate - but "real" - not some chocolate flavored Protein drink. I am trying to avoid tv - the commercials simply make it worse. Oh look - a candy bar - pumpkin bread- brownie - cookie - pizza- ahhhhh. Does it get better from here? I am mostly still eating things that are in the soft or mushy category. chicken in any form except chicken salad is my nemesis. I can do very soft roasted veggies - and super crisp crackers in small amounts. So basically - all this to say - I am pretty limited on what it is that I can actually eat. I am wondering if that is basically giving me "food boredom" and making the cravings for something "different" more overwhelming. Thankfully there is nothing in the house at all that does not meet "the rules" - so I am not in imminent danger of cheating. But it is getting to the point where I feel like I am going to lose my mind if I don't get a bite of something "good". I have a friend who said at those moments he used to actually chew up the food he wanted and spit it out. That sounded unhealthy and disturbing - still does - but I am almost tempted to do it just to get it out of my system. Any advice on actually reasonable things to do to get through this?

Wow - very impressive. It is amazing to be that different in 1 year! Inspiring to me 6 weeks out. I can see to the other side! I was a 26/28 - now I am a 24 on the verge of a 22. Never in my adult life have I been smaller than a 16 - so the idea of getting out of plus sizes just seems like a dream to me. You make it look possible!

Today was Day 2 of Couch to 5K. Yesterday was gym workout with 45 min ARC trainer and 30 minutes weights. PLus the steam room again - ahhhhh.

The nurse told me to calm down and I will be fine - should not be a problem passing it. I figured I was overreacting - but I just feel like such a dummy! I mean how on earth did I accidentally swallow gum like a toddler? I will definitely not even think about chewing gum again - never was a big gum chewer anyways - guess I know why now! Sorry to act like a freak - I just had a moment.

As soon as I realized I swallowed it I started freaking out! I am really wondering how it will be possible to digest this. My husband told me to calm down because there is nothing I can do about it now - but you think it may end up causing a blockage? Should i call my doctor's office even though it is after hours?

I forgot to post yesterday - but I did 30 minutes on ARC Trainer and 15 minutes stationary bike + 30 minutes weights and a finished it all off in the steam room to help prevent soreness. Today was my first day of Couch25K. It was only a 31 minute workout - but I did 2 miles and hopefully by January 1 I will be 5K ready! I usually spend New Year's Eve trying to see how much Prosecco I can drink. Since that is a definite NO this year - I may as well replace that behavior with it being a pre-race night. There is usually at least 1 5K going on around here on New Year's Day.