BLERDgirl

That hasn't changed for me. I am always very outgoing. I'm the person who people come up to and talk to in the supermarket and stores. That's hasn't changed for me.

Depends on the insurance company. It could be days or it could take up to a month.

There are loads of ways to get good Protein in. If you eat meat, poach a chicken breast, then puree it. Thin it down with low sodium chicken broth. GENEPRO (which I am not a fan of) and Isopure make unflavored whey. I add it to Soups, coffee, tea, veg. broth, yogurt, etc.... 1 Scoop of Isopure is 26gms of protein. I think there's another brand of unflavored whey, but I can't recall it. I also like Isopoure teas in the RTD bottles. One bottle is 40gms of protein and that counts towards your Fluid intake. I split one bottle into thirds and add it to my 20 Water bottles. 3 of those a day and I've gotten in my fluids AND a good portion of my protein.

@ BLERDgirl thank for the feedback. I would prefer to eat a total vegitarian diet but when I spoke with my surgeon he told me I can maintain a better protien based diet by aquiring most of my protien from lean meats.And that its more difficult to maintain a high protien diet on a vegan and vegitarian diet. I just never had a problem with eating meats till now. I have been able to maintain my Protein levels between 75 -100gms since at least 3mths postop. Before that I was maintaining between 60 - 75grms.

Not abnormal at all. Lots of vegan and vegetarian folks feel this way. Also shrimp and lobsters look too much like giant cockroaches to me. They are all scavengers.

To be honest I also get that visual image of the skin and veins and such. The thought of eating animal flesh grosses me out as well, but I don't mention it often since it tends to offend omni eaters. Following a vegetarian diet takes a little creativity, but it's actually not that difficult for me. This was really important for me when I initially started investigating WLS. My diet consist of plant based Proteins and dairy. A vegan diet would be more challenging so for now I am sticking with vegetarianism. I hope to transition to vegan once I achieve a normal BMI.

I'm vegetarian and allergic to seafood. Don't like meat? Don't eat it. I do eat a lot of eggs and greek yogurt, but I've done quite well not eating any meat at all.

I hope it works out for you.

Look at alternate ways to get in Protein. Puree a poached chicken breast, thin with broth. That's high protein, a liquid and filling. Think outside the box. Also know that those of us with higher BMI's will quite literally have to work our butts off. Have you called your nutritionist about this? The scale is not your friend. I weighed myself only when I went to the doctor's for the first 6mths. For me that was 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 mths and monthly after that. I did a LOT of reading and research on healthy eating, and I spend a LOT of time exploring ways to get in exercise. I walked when that was all I could do. I did low level weight lifting. I got my bike serviced and ride that occasionally, I took a dance class. I started reading labels and changing the foods I eat. Brain storm, my dear. Do not look at what you can't eat, think about what you can and how to enhance the amount of protein you can get.

Eff her. And for the record she would be an ex friend immediately. A new person in your life doesn't know you well enough to say crap like that. I have zero tolerance for toxic folks in my life.

I agree the omeprazole was only temporary for me. I was on 20mgs from day 1, increased to 40 mgs around mnth 3 and stopped entirely by 6mths out. Can you balance out the prilosec by increasing your Calcium supplements? If your doctors are doing routine bloodwork they will notice any changes and can take you off it. Chronic heartburn is not good for you either as it can leads to ulcers and other issues.

Now that I am nearly 100lbs down I am getting this a lot. I'm taking it with a grain of salt since most people aren't saying it in a rude manner.

Are there any that you know of that are high energy, dance or Zumba? I've bought some that said they were, but they felt like slow motion to me. As long as I modify the arm moves, that would be a great option! you'll have to investigate that on your own. I have found what works for me through trial and error. The best advice I would give is to save your receipts. If something doesn't live up to its promise, then return. I am on disability so I have to make every penny count. How are you able to return DVD's once opened? If I buy one, open it to find it's not for me, it cannot be returned. I am also on disability and can't be buying DVD's to find out they are not for me, and be stuck with them. You buy an exercise DVD from a reputable place. If you are in an area where options are limited, use Amazon. Read the reviews, if it promises a vigorous workout and isn't you return it. I've done it.

Stay away from the scale. When you focus only on those numbers, your happiness revolves only around the scale. My happiness comes from being able to walk longer and longer distances without my knees hurting or getting out of breath. My happiness comes from being able to fit in a chair with arms. My happiness comes from seeing my old clothes become baggy. The numbers on the scale aren't nearly as important as those NSVs are.

Ocean Spray whether regular or diet has at best 10% cranberry juice. In fact it's not even labeled cranberry juice. It's labeled "drink" or "concentrate". For urinary issues you want 100% pure juice. My juice if choice is by Knudsen. Warning, it taste nothing like ocean spray.

Are there any that you know of that are high energy, dance or Zumba? I've bought some that said they were, but they felt like slow motion to me. As long as I modify the arm moves, that would be a great option! you'll have to investigate that on your own. I have found what works for me through trial and error. The best advice I would give is to save your receipts. If something doesn't live up to its promise, then return. I am on disability so I have to make every penny count.

I started at between 28 and a 34 depending on the cut of the clothes. Right now I'm 20 - 24 and some 18s fit but are snug. My face is dramatically different. That last sentence gets my attention. I know there is no end in sight. Getting thinner & healthier is work for the rest of my life. You cannot view this as a temporary issue. To me that's diet thinking. I don't diet. My current way of eating/exercising is for life.

I did know that higher BMIs would take more than a year with the sleeve. Both from my own research and the info given by my program. The big dramatic weight lose would only happen if I opted for bypass & I did not want that. What also helped was the ongoing conversation I had with my nutritionist. I only just increased my calories to 800 - 1000 at 9mths. I also make small goals instead of looking at the giant goal of where I want to be at 2 years out. My current goal is to have loss 125lbs by my one year anniversary in September. If I stay on track w/ my 10lbs a month avg I think I can make it.

Oh yeah, I also use it to get rid of fruit flies. 1 tsp of dish detergent in a quarter cup of ACV in a small container will attract the flies. The soap makes them unable to fly back out of if.

Buy DVDs.

Isopure and GENEPRO both have unflavored varieties. I use Isopure. It's not 100% flavorless, not are. It's just there are no added flavorings and sugars. it's just pure 100% whey isolates. For me the taste is minimal. I add it too coffee, tea, Soups, yogurts, etc..... If you buy it, keep your receipt. If you don't like it you can return the unused portion.

Youtube, OnDemand or buy some DVDs. If you can get to a pool, get some books on tape and download to a Water proofed MP3 player. I have a waterproofed iPod shuffle. It was worth every penny. If the knees are an issue look for Youtubes or videos that that focus on chair exercises. I got my old cheapie Huffy bike serviced so I could ride. If I become a full time biker then I'll splurge for the expensive ones.

It depends on how creative you are in the kitchen. I like creating and trying new things so I make up a lot of recipes and Protein drinks. However if you are not, then google for bariatric recipes. Many like the Eggface website. I am the odd duck who loves cottage cheese. I buy the Breakstone doubles in either peach or pineapple or I buy plain and add almond butter to it. If the texture's not to your liking, toss it in the nutra bullet and make a protein smoothie with it. It's good protein.

Do you get your liver checked regularly? Ibuprofen is not good for ongoing use like that. It can cause liver damage.

5 days. My surgeon had me on stool softeners the first 30days post op. I've been regular since that first poo.