Ginger Snaps

I'm not going back to any crackers or bread products like that... too easy to fall back into the carboholic lifestyle. At two weeks out I was still on full liquids - transitioning to soft foods.

At almost 8 weeks out, now, if I focus on the Protein, I don't have room for anything else other than a piece of fruit here and there for Fiber.

I can't relate to the part about not rumbling all the time... my stomach talks non-stop. I share an office with a coworker and she giggles and laughs at me. And, it's hard trying to be a little romantic when it's quiet and your stomach just won't shut up!

If it is related to losing more weight, rumble away!

Wait... I thought YOU were the expert on all this! lol...

The contact thing is hard to work out. Is it too soon to text or call? Did he initiate contact last time or did I? I've been out now twice with a guy I'm really interested in and I initiated contact on POF with him and he actually told me on the first date that he likes my self-confidence in approaching him. How funny -- self confidence??? I didn't know I had any! But now if I text or message him (he's out of the country for 2 weeks) I'm trying to figure out "is it too much?"

Quite the hard thing to figure out but I do agree -- just be yourself (because it's all you can be anyway). I can't imagine a man wouldn't find it flattering to hear you say that you're very attracted to him.

Ginger

@*Lexie* I was a major Diet Coke addict up to the surgery. I was so worried I would crave them and it would drive me crazy but I'll tell you... haven't wanted one, haven't craved one since, no desire for them at all. I'm not sure why -- I haven't tasted one to realize my taste has changed and I've seen them in the vending machines and see people drinking them. The desire to have one is just gone.

So -- don't stress too much -- it might end up being a non-issue.

Oh no... that must have been so disappointing but you sound like you're planning to make the most out of the situation... wishing you all the best!

There's a good tool at https://www.realize.com/do-i-qualify/potential-results%C2'> where you can put in your information and it shows you the three surgeries (band, bypass, sleeve) and what the expected weight loss is at 6 months and a year and long-term success rates. Of course, everyone is different, but this does show averages... half the people are below and half the people are above.

I talked with my surgeon about this before my surgery because I have a trip scheduled to Belize starting Saturday (Woot for vacations!). He said I would be fine to do that at 8 weeks out and I'm feeling like a million bucks, so I'm planning to go river tubing, zip lining and do all kinds of physical things with the kids.

I was worried about what would happen if I had complications but I decided just to go for it and I'm happy I did. Being on the beach we'll have lots of seafood choices that should fit into the meal plan but I am taking some of the nectar shakes you can mix with Water just in case I have trouble getting in the Protein.

I've been exercising hard since week 4. I started walking around week 2. It would have been earlier walking but I landed back in the hospital with pneumonia and that set me back.

When I first started back lifting weights at week 4, my nutritionist told me to up the carbs some. So, I have a piece of fruit or two to help add some Fiber into the diet but the rest of my food is primarily Protein. My calories are staying between 600-800. I'd like to up them some but I just can't fit a lot more food into the day.

I feel a TON of energy -- lifting heavy weights 2-3 times a week with a trainer and doing cardio the other days -- usually 7 days a week. I am doing the Zombies, Run! 5k training program and have signed up for two 5k runs at the end of September and beginning of November. Sometimes after exercising in the morning (my favorite time) I'll also get back on the treadmill at night just to bump it up even more.

If you're not having enough energy to exercise you may need to up the carbs a little. Talk to your NUT. You CAN do this and exercise WILL help.

Congrats on all the hard work paying off! Way to go!

I can totally understand the WOOT! I'm 1 pound away myself. Today I hit my halfway point -- 35 down / 35 to go.

What a great milestone -- you're overweight!!!!

Wow and Wow! Way to go! Give yourself credit -- marathon runners started with a mile, then two, then a 5K and then more. Even if you never want to run more than a 5K, you've RUN A FREAKIN' 5K!!!!

I'm doing the Zombies, Run 5k program and just finished week 2 today. I've signed up for a 5K at the end of September just to keep me honest and I plan on being able to run the entire thing.

Your post is an inspiration to me!

I use MFP to track my food. I'm not far enough out from surgery to intuitively know if I've had enough Protein. I don't pay attention to the calories -- just aiming for that 60 grams of Protein and watching to keep the carbs low. If I get 60 grams of protein, I can't eat much of anything else. Lately, I added Fiber in to watch because I've been having issues in that area. If I don't get about 20 from food, I take Fiber supplements (which is every day - ugh).

I also wear a Fitbit everywhere. I'm a data geek and love to see the numbers. But, I don't take any of the Fitbit or MFP calories seriously for calories burned in exercise. They are all over the place. I certainly don't eat back my calories.

So, for me -- keeping track of all the data makes me happy -- I can see charts and graphs and trends.. fun stuff!

You are such a planner! lol

I find it's best for me to get whatever workout I'm going to do for the day in as early as possible in the day. My schedule is pretty full in the evenings. I also find I eat much better during the day if I've already done my workout... don't want to waste all that hard work by eating poorly during the day.

I usually alternate days for weights and cardio. Or, if I do weights in the morning I may do something cardio later in the evening if the schedule works out. I haven't been able to mix cardio and weights (even pre-surgery) because one just wears me out for the other one.

Ginger

There's also some psychological advantages to having a trainer. For one, I know I'm gonna see Amy on Thursday so that helped me win that psychological battle to roll out of bed at 5:30 this morning and head to the gym. I feel like it's a waste of money and time to pay her to work out with me once a week and then not take the accountability to go in between and practice what we worked on.

Also, she makes me feel like an athlete. When I'm working out with her, I'm sweating and grunting and I look over at people pushing light weights on a machine half-heartedly and I think "Man, I'm tough!" It pumps me up to work even harder.

It also helps me that she teaches me to balance off the body parts in a workout and teaches me the right form. I KNOW I'm doing exercises the right way and that will help me avoid injuries. That gives me a lot of confidence. W

Let's face it -- with all the money I'm saving on fast food and junk food, I can easily pay her fees!

Ginger

I'm enjoying the new confidence in how I look even though I'm only halfway to goal. Just losing 34 pounds has made me feel so much more "normal" and "competitive" with other women my age with regards to dating. At 210 I knew I had a lot to offer in a relationship but felt like my weight got in the way of someone even having the interest to get to know me.

I'm also loving the new energy I feel -- I'm exercising almost daily (6x a week) and some days I even go for a second round because it just feels so good! Doing the Zombies, Run 5K training and signed up for 2 races -- end of September and beginning of November. My goal is to run them (not walk) and I think I can do it!

Ginger

While you want to aim for 60 g a day, in week 2, my nutritionist just wanted me to try to get as much as I could which usually was only 35-40 grams. It's hard on the full liquid stage. If you have make your own powdered drinks, you can use less milk with the full amount of Protein so that there's less volume to get down.

But, you're still really early out... don't worry too much, do what you can and as you move further out from surgery it will get easier.

Different doctors might have different ideas, but I always had to add some salt to my broth to be able to get it down. I tried some of the more expensive kinds (Rachel Ray has some and Wolfgang Puck) but they were all still just chicken broth.

Wow! Incredible job!

If you have a Plato's Closet store near you, they will pay you cash on the spot for certain brands (American Eagle, Pac Sun, Hollister, banana Republic). I've taken my son's jeans in and done that. They go through, pick what they like that's in style and season and make you a cash offer.

@@madwife2002 In the bike group I used to ride with, the mantra was "You've gotta love the hills to be a good rider"... I guess it's similar to life lessons -- you don't learn from the easy times -- it's when you face challenges.

I'd suggest googling utube videos for proper technique for climbing hills... it's not as intuitive as you might think. It's especially important to know how to use your gears and how to position your body. I know it sounds like ultra-elite bike riding technique but hey, we can learn from them, too!

I have two teen boys and one of them does some bodybuilding, so all forms of Protein in our house are quickly consumed! He doesn't mess with my shakes though because he considers mine weight loss while his are bodybuilding -- same thing, different labels (but his have carbs and mine don't).

The only time I really lost it was when my other son had friends over (more teen boys in the house) and they went through a box of 12 Quest bars (there were 4-5 boys there). I don't think he'll let his friends eat my Protein Bars again! lol

I don't hide my food or restrict it from them. It's healthier than the usual garbage we used to eat. It is more expensive but we're saving money on all that fast food we don't buy anymore.

When my daughter was home, she used to hide food in a plastic bin under her bed and then bring it out when it was partially eaten. So, for example, if I brought home Oreo's, she'd hide the package, eat some and then when she'd had enough, she'd bring the half-eaten package out and put it back in the kitchen cabinets. Nobody was the wiser (but me...)

You'll get a ton of opinions, so here's mine!

I went with bypass for a couple of reasons. I wanted the best chance for maximum success -- bypass has better stats for losing and keeping off weight. I also had GERD which can be worsened by sleeve and I certainly didn't want to go there. Haven't even needed a TUMS since surgery -- no meds for reflux. I also liked the idea of dumping because being a sweets and carbs kind of girl, I knew I needed something to help me avoid them. I haven't really tried anything off plan but I did have a dumping experience yesterday with Peanut Butter which I have tolerated before. I can tell you, no mini cupcake (my ultimate temptation) is worth going through that again!

So, there's my 2 cents worth!

OK -- seven weeks out and 34 pounds gone -- after one more pound I'll be halfway to goal. After 2 more pounds, I'll officially be overweight and not obese (by BMI standards). Incredible feeling!

Here's a before and after face picture which I think is pretty telling -- I can see a big difference in the roundness of my face and my neck is significantly thinner, too. I've got to get a good full-body shot to show the difference in the tummy. I'm down 1 jean size but two shirt sizes because the pot belly has shrunk so much.

We just got bikes last weekend and even though I workout a lot- Wow! It was a quad buster. We'll go riding again this weekend . I hope to learn to love it because right now it feels like work.

Just like any other exercise it does get easier. Just keep it up. Also make sure you understand the gears and how to shift. The goal is to be able to rotate the crank without having to push hard and to keep the feet moving at a pretty steady brisk pace. If you're having to push hard in each stroke and your not going uphill you're probably in too high of a gear. That will cause more strain on the knees too.

Most of all have fun!

Here's my experience (I'm Anthem BC/BS)... when you fill out the form online, they send a request to your doctor to have them write a script for the shakes. Once they have that script, they submit it to insurance to see if it will cover the costs. In my case, they sent the request to the doctor for a script and he stuck it in my file. At my next appointment he asked me what it was for. I hadn't told him I was doing it because I didn't know the process. By then, I was post-op and found some drinks I liked but was on regular food, so I didn't really care to try to get them anymore.

I'd suggest talking to your doctor and letting them know what you're doing, so they won't be surprised when they get the request. And then maybe contact the Insure people to ask them if the doctor sent the script. That way you won't just be sitting around waiting to see if it's approved and you'll know where the holdup is.