JamieLogical

Heh! Well there's definitely no harm in drinking more water every day! I would say if you are fitting it in now, keep it up!

Down to a size 12, while 212 pounds and 5'6"? You must be pure muscle at this point! I JUST fit into a size 14 this past weekend and I'm 5'6" and around 185 pounds! Definitely once you start exercising it has to be more about measurements and body composition than numbers on the scale. Like you, I am loving the changes in my body as I build muscle and tone up, even if the scale is a big meanie!

I had my first "long run" last night for the end of Week 5. Had to run for 20 minutes straight and thought I was going to die. By the end, my heart rate was 183. I'm 35 years old, so with the 220 minus your age formula, my max heart rate is 185. I turn 36 on Saturday, so it's very close to being 184. I don't think it's good for me to be so near 100% of my max heart rate.... my HRM definitely didn't seem to like it. It was beeping at me like crazy.

The omeprazole pills are tiny and I was allowed to start taking them immediately post-op.

Definitaly call your surgeon and ask about a PPI. If you can't get a prescription, you can go to pretty much any store or pharmacy and buy the over-the-counter dosage. I get the over-the-counter generic of Prilosec (omeprazole). I take one in the morning and one in the evening each day and that keeps my acid in check. You could start off with just one per day (evening is probably best) and see how that goes.

On The Amazing Race you get to do a lot of those things and the show foots the bill! Survivor on the other hand... I have NO IDEA why anyone goes on that show. Why would you subject yourself to 30+ days of starvation and misery for like a 1 in 20 chance of winning $1 million? On the Amazing Race all the travel and getting to see the world and do cool things is a prize in itself and the $1 million is just a bonus if you happen to win!

Well, according the the Mayo Clinic and MANY studies a quick Google search will turn up, caffeinated beverages do count toward your daily Fluid intake and don't cause fluid loss: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/01/13/262175623/coffee-myth-busting-cup-of-joe-may-help-hydration-and-memory

I hear you on the veggies. I still haven't figured out how to get many/any veggies in and get all my protein. Last night I had a little pepper and onion mixed with my italian poultry sausage and it was tough trying to finish the sausage AND eat any meaningful amount of the veggies. I just put protein first and hope that all the vitamins and supplements are enough to make up for the lack of veggies. Realistically, even if I WAS incorporating more veggies, it would only be a few bites a day and how much nutrition am I actually going to get out of that? Still, it's nice to try to squeeze them in when and where I can... it's just a real challenge! I stick to dairy for my morning and afternoon snacks (cheese sticks and yogurt) and meat for my lunch and dinner. I do a protein bar for breakfast and now a protein shake as my evening snack (used to be another bar). Lunch and dinner are my two "big" meals of the day and I can usually get between 16 and 25 grams of protein in for each as long as I stick to meat.

Can I ask why? Not that the extra 16 oz. of water isn't great no matter what, but why does it have to be a trade-off for your coffee?

Who knew so many of us secretly dreamed of going on TAR at some point?!?!

I just recently made the switch back to a shake in place of a bar. I, like you, had been doing two Quest bars per day, but my nutritionist was concerned about how processed bars are and encouraged me to switch back to shakes. My compromise was to do one bar and one shake per day, because the idea of living without my Quest Bars entirely was too much to bear. It was tough! I love my Quest Bars. I've joked before that if I could just eat 5 of them a day and nothing else, I would be a happy camper. But I know I need to eat some real food, so I'm not going to actually do that. Plus that would be pretty expensive! Anyway, switch from a bar back to a shake actually decreased my Protein intake slightly. Quest Bars are 21 grams and my shake of choice is only 17 grams. Why are you getting so little protein from actual food? What are you typically eating in a day besides your bars/shakes? I got 100 grams a day no problem with two Quest Bars and then all my normal food.

I don't think my taste buds ever changed, but my cravings certainly did. Once I was back on solid foods at 40 days post-op, my instinct was to go ahead and try some of my old favorites. However, without being able to eat in the same volume as before, I found it to be much less satisfying. I was a binge eater pre-op and when I craved pizza, I would eat an entire pizza. When I graved Doritos, I would eat half a bag. When I craved ice cream, I would eat the whole pint. Post-op, I tried to satisfy my cravings, but I was only able to eat a tiny amount of my go-to foods. It did not give me the same feeling of contentment as it had before, because I could eat so little. Eventually, my body and brain figured out that those foods weren't going to satisfy me anymore and I stopped craving them.

Mine was a protein bar because I was SO OVER protein shakes by that point. It took me an hour and 10 minutes to eat one protein bar! Man, it was tough to get through! Now I can at that same protein bar in about 5 minutes... Big difference between 40 days post-op and 7 months post-op!

I realized that too, when this current season of the Amazing Race started. I was so disappointed, because I always really wanted to go on that show! It's the only reality TV show I would ever consider going on.

I realized I was a "slow" loser pretty early on. I lost over 8 pounds the first week of my pre-op diet, but my pre-op diet was only about 450 calories a day and I was instructed to keep up the exercise I'd already been doing, which was about 600 calories-worth of cardio! So it's no shock I dropped weight fast that week! Of course I was also dizzy all the time and falling asleep at my desk, so by the second week, I cut back on my exercise and "only" dropped about 2 pounds. In my first month post op I "only" lost just under 15 pounds and I remember being really disappointed and frustrated about that. Now I would KILL to lose 15 pounds in a month!!!! Month two I managed to lose about 8.5 pounds. And since then I've been right at 6 pounds a month. It's looking like I'm right on track for another 6 pounds this month (month seven). Honestly, now I'm just happy to keep up this 6-pound-per-month pace. If I do, I should hit goal right around my one year surgeversary. I didn't really get heavily into regular exercise until month 4 or 5 and I don't think it's had much effect on my rate of loss. Still losing 6 pounds per month. But it has had a MAJOR impact on my body composition and my body fat percentage. I didn't start getting compliments on my weight loss until I started to put on some muscle and get leaner. My body fat percentage was down to 28.5% last time I checked it a few days ago. My nutritionist's goal for me was between 25 and 28%, so I'm almost already there, even though I still have 20 pounds to her actual weight goal.

@@gal friday Why not just do an "on-the-go" type breakfast like a ready-to-drink protein shake or a protein bar. I have a protein bar every morning, because like you, I love my sleep! I just eat it first thing when I sit down at my desk at work.

You can probably find some videos on youtube of other people's tests. It's actually pretty cool to watch!

@@Bluesea71 I've never been a vain person either. I don't even wear makeup or do anything more with my hair than comb it. For me, my plastic surgery wasn't about looking good, it was about feeling comfortable in my own skin. If plastic surgery can help you do that, then it may be a good route to take. It sounds like you do have a lot to love about your body and if your stomach and breasts are the only things you feel you need to address, then it doesn't sound to me like you will become obsessed and start having surgery after surgery. One thing to note about a tummy tuck is that you will have a significant scar. So, that's something to consider if you are concerned about looking good naked. I'm 100% used to my scar now and my husband and I are the only ones who ever see it. Even the skimpiest of underwear covers it. Also, if you have a breast LIFT along with your implants, you will have some scarring. So there are definitely trade-offs even if you do pursue plastic surgery, you won't be "perfect".

Did you not get to watch your barium swallow test post-op? If so, you would have seen that Fluid passes through your sleeve in a matter of seconds. I don't think it would be physically possible to fill your sleeve with fluid, unless you filled it with some food first then drank something before the food had passed through your stomach. There is zero risk in drinking quickly, but many people find it difficult and uncomfortable in the first few weeks post-op due to swelling.

Um, 5 oz. at 14 days post-op seems like it would be impossible for anyone. Who is telling you you should be able to handle that?!?!!? At 14 days post-op, I was still being told to aim for 1 oz. (30 ml) of fluid every 15 minutes.

I am sure I will be doing lots of walking and some hiking. I won't be able to do so in the immediate vicinity of the cabin, though. The roads up there are very narrow and winding and I would definitely fear being hit by a car trying to walk on them. I will definitely be getting in lots of steps, I'm not worried about being inactive. I'm just worried about not doing any high-intensity cardio.

I'm surprised your surgeon didn't prescribe a PPI post-op.

Welcome! This is a great community and I think you can find lots of support and info here. Take your time and get to know the forums. So many friendly people going through every stage of this journey!

Congratulations! Sounds like you are back on track and making some good choices to work off those last pounds. A lot of people say that exercise helps them cope with stress, so maybe that can be your new go-to instead of the potato chips. Worth a shot at least!

If 70 pounds in 6 months is "slow", I don't know what you'd call 50 pounds in 7 months, but I ain't complaining! As long as the scale is moving down down down! Your progress so far is fantastic! Keep it up! I just posted some progress pics yesterday if you want to take a look... they show 54 pounds of weight loss, as the "before" pictures were taken about a week before my surgery. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/335927-overweight-including-progress-pics/ PS: Love that pic of you and your daughter(?) both fitting into your old shorts!