FocusOnMeNow

Yes and you might want to look into a non-oral contraceptive like a patch or ring for the time being.

I do not just organic but grass fed beef, free range (not just cage free) chicken, eggs, etc. I eat Dubliner cheese and use kerrygold butter both of which you can get at WalMart which is grass fed dairy. I am spending less on food than ever. My sleeve and body like it. I rarely eat out and when I do I just get whatever they have. I really like a "chopt" salad for lunch they use "free bird" chicken. And I get one salad and can eat off it for like 4 meals. I also like the fresh ingredients at Chipotle minus the rice or the tortilla. I just made my own pesto with organic basil. Yum yum. I will be putting on my slow roasted free range chicken and veggies (ratatouille).

@@Miss_Sleeve_Bound - Hi there. I also cheated on my liquid diet. I'm now 11 weeks out from surgery and 50 lbs down and you can be too. I "cheated" on the liquid diet, but I did not cheat on myself. I got a chipotle salad with no rice and only a little bit of beans, I stopped at whole foods and got a ton of greens with a little chicken and toppings. Even though I "cheated" I still ate healthy. Believe me, I am NOT judging you for eating McDs. I used to do the drive through at Wendys on a regular basis. The good news is that post surgery, a commercial with a hamburger on tv would make me nauseous. So be kind to yourself, understand that the first 3 days without your drug of choice are going to be hard and you are going to be in withdrawal. So plan a "cheat". You heard me plan your cheats. Cheat with something healthy and high protein and low carb. When I was "cheating" on mine, I also started to try some of the allowable "post-op" foods to see which ones I liked. I highly recommend Dannon Greek strawberry cheesecake (yum yum). And finally, your body needs nutrients. I am not hocking any protein powder brand name per se, but I did find the bariatric advantage powder and vitamins to be very good. My hair actually started growing thicker! I was also allowed to put in half a banana or 1/2 a cup of berries into my pre-op protein shakes for extra potassium. Again, I am not advocating one brand over another but just found that nutritionally the BA shakes and vitamins were superior. Finally, it is a matter of YOUR SAFETY as Dub said. So for several days, weeks out from surgery stick to the liquids only as instructed. It is for your health. It is time for YOU to make the investment in YOU. It is time for you to make the decision that you are going to be prepared with a healthy snack should your cravings over power you. It is time to make the decision that you will not tolerate any of that toxic $#!t from McDs, because you and your tummy deserve so much better. And you do. And I tell you that if you can just hold on for 3 days of drinking your shakes, taking your vitamins, and having one very healthy meal of lean meat and veggies that you will feel SO MUCH BETTER by day 4, that you will never go back, that you will never look back, and you will never want that toxic $#!t to have that hold on you again. You can do it. I know you can. Now get out there and give your body the nutrients that you deserve. And then get back on track and follow your Drs instructions and do it for your own health and safety. Big hugs!

@@SleevePerry please also consider the following for your coffee: FairLife milk is lower in carbs and higher in protein. What do I put in my coffee? Premier Protein vanilla shake. And I also like mine very white. Before surgery I was using unsweetened almond coconut milk from Almond Breeze. Its only 45 calories compared to 90 calories in a glass of SKIM milk and quite yummy. I am probably at the upper end of the calorie count. I do not really count calories or carbs or fats. I supplement with at least 50 grams of protein daily, and eat when I'm hungry. Generally avoid almost all sugar. My full fat cheese drawer runneth over. Dubliner is my favorite. I am still very much in the honeymoon period, but hope this helps.

Six months ago my live in boyfriend of 2 years and close friend for about 6 years left me. I took care of him through his own addiction and illness. I was the primary breadwinner, primary caretaker etc. I have never given more of myself to another human being in my life. I was devastated that after all that, after accepting him, his addiction and his illness that he would then walk out on me without barely a word. Not even a Dear Jane letter. Nothing. He wouldn't return my texts or phone calls. When I realized that he wasn't coming back and that he didn't even respond when I told him that my 87 year old father was on a ventilator (he was), then I realized if he wasn't going to be there for me when my Dad was dying that he was NEVER going to be there for me, even though I had always been there for him. I became profoundly depressed for about 2 months. I missed work for 3 days and alternated sleeping and crying. Even after I went back to work I would spent several weekends doing the same. But I was determined that this would be something that I would grow from. And I did. I got back into therapy. I decided to do WLS. I started kicking a$$ at work again, and now I am 50lbs down, more functional and happier than ever. And do you know what? I did it ALL BY MYSELF. My sister did come to stay with me for the weekend before and the first 3 days after my surgery, but otherwise I have made all these positive changes myself. And two weeks ago, I sent him a letter saying THANK YOU. I told him that while I will always still care about him, that he really did me the biggest favor, because I really was in a place where I needed to take care of me. And now that I am taking care of me, instead of focusing every bit of energy I had to take care of him, that I am doing really well. I also told him that I hoped he was happy and healthy too. Six months ago I was full of anger and bitterness and almost hate. And why? Because I felt those things not only toward him, but toward myself, for letting myself get so sucked in to a bad situation. And now that is gone. I am just filled with happiness and inspiration every day. And its true that I honestly wish him the best. I hope that he is happy and healthy. I even hope he finds a nice lady to care for him someday. Because although I will always love and care about him, I love me more. I love me WAY more. And now that I'm putting all that caring and thought and energy into taking care of myself and Focusing On Me Now (hence the name), I really do love myself. So yes to all that has been said before. Let yourself feel those feelings. Be kind to yourself. Get a massage. Get your toes done. Get your hair cut. Get your fluids and protein, and get outside and enjoy every ray of sun you can. Take care of yourself, and nurture yourself, and you will grow like a beautiful flower. While many may say that living well is the best revenge (and I still partly agree that it is), I recently shared the following post on Facebook "the truly best revenge is to have enough self worth not to seek it." And that my dear is so true. And yes of course it will be wonderful when he sees your transformation and how great you look. But it will be even better when you really don't care, because you did this for YOU, not for him and not for anyone else. Looking good will just be one of the many great side effects of taking care of yourself. And by the way, congratulations on your liberation from this person!

And BTW, I was coming back from this business trip carrying my bigger 50 lb suitcase up the stairs, and I was amazed at several things: 1. that I was actually capable of carrying something that weighed 50 lbs up the stairs (could not have done this for the previous 2 years) 2. that prior to weight loss surgery I carried that 50 lbs up the stairs every time I went up there 3. that I was carrying that whole darned suitcase of extra weight around with me wherever I went, no wonder my knees hurt 4. that is how much weight I have already lost 5. that is how much weight I still have to lose 6. that I have been successful at something for 13 whole weeks now if you count pre-op 7. how I could have deluded myself for so long that it was because of my knee pain that I was gaining weight, rather than the reverse, that my knees hurt so much because I had gained so much weight: sometimes an honest word from a straigtshooter is all we need, and I thank each and everyone of you vets for all your posts!!!

@@CowgirlJane and @@Elode I am only 11 weeks out and have no right to be replying. But I beg of all the straightshooters out there. You have made a tremendous difference in my life. I don't know any of you but I have learned so much. All your posts make me feel so empowered. Especially yours Cowgirl Jane. You stumbled and got back up and did it the right way so your posts are even more relevant sometimes about the right way vs the not so right way to achieve long term success. I recently told an extremely overweight business contact who asked how I was loosing the weight, that I had a VSG, and he said "so did I", "I only lost 82 lbs" and "I have gained back more than 15." Hard to tell what his starting weight was but his story is not a success. Yours is. I know that we all have our struggles, our cross to bear, our hill to climb, etc, etc, and I am happy for him that he was able to achieve some lasting loss (60 lbs), which I'm sure makes a tremendous difference to him. BUT I want so much more for myself. I can learn from your wisdom, and I want to learn from your wisdom, and I need to learn from your wisdom. All the veterans on here are truly inspiring, but I would have to say that you are definitely one of the most inspiring. I could not do this without you and your example. In my eyes you are more relevant than ever. You have to do what you have to do for you, but for me I sincerely hope that you never stop posting.

I had a VSG 11 weeks ago. I went into this thinking I would get plastics at the end. But I do not like the tiredness, weakness, and activity limitations of surgery. I also get sick off pain meds and I did not take even one single dose of opiates from the moment I woke up from surgery. They strictly gave me IV tylenol and some other iv nsaid because I refused all opiates (even during the hospital stay). I have only lost about 50 lbs thus far, but am wondering from @@CowgirlJane, can you compare what the recovery was like from all those surgeries (I assume that you had more than one at a time). I am 45 years old and have pretty good skin for someone my age, but honestly I was already having a little sag in my tummy (FUPA) and boobs even before the weight loss. But the skin on my face is nearly flawless. This is the first year I have ever noticed crows feet and most of my friends started getting them in their 30s. Also wondering if anyone tried Fraxel Repair or Thermage on their tummy prior to panny or tummy tuck?

Um I just read your online formula. Do you know that the actual main ingredient in "Bio-Oil" is actually mineral oil aka baby oil. Nothing so magic about that. Suggest healthy high Protein diet and exercise works better than any quick fix.

@@LipstickLady Well said. I feel so free to live my life and truly have fun. My stomach does not rule me anymore. Now I rule my life. And I'm loving it:-)

Ok. I drank the small 8 oz fruit punch in the hospital. That and chicken broth was really the only thing I could get down. I didn't love it, but it was tolerable. I too have an entire shelf.

Your blog also reminds me of the Mary Lambert song "secrets". Now that I own the fact that I am a flawed human being, own my surgery, etc it is so freeing.

@@zoeyb how do you make the cauliflower crust? I have seen a chicken crust pounded thin but never heard of cauliflower crust before

@@Dub thanks for the pics. They look amazing! So I guess you'll be eating meat meat and some wings????

@@stacy1204 my mistake they are not garbonzo Beans they are soybeans. It is soybean spaghetti, but in this case the color on the picture is of beige looking soy nuts, rather than green edamme. Sorry for my mistake. But its really yummo.

Two words: liquid prenatal - these are great vitamins if you can't stomach the chewable a

Meant to say that losing 9 lbs in two weeks is pretty good. Try following the actual diet that your doctor gives you. Including the protein shakes, vitamins and fluids and you should be fine.

Wow! You've lost 9 lbs in two weeks. Is eating 5oz of chicken in your dietary guid

Also to all veggetti users pleas upgrade to a spiralizer it will change your life.

I am eating this Explore Asian protein pasta made from beans as well. It is awesome. The garbonzo bean spaghetti tastes exactly like ... Wait for it...spaghetti. I can also testify that the fiber is for real. You will not be constipated if you eat this with some bolognese (meat) sauce. I use both the zucchini noodles and the explore Asian pasta with my meat sauce - it's protein veg and eating real food like a normal person all rolled into one. I have to admit that it tastes so good I am still a little skeptical but I can tell you that the fiber is for real.

Congratulations!

Try Paula's choice Clear 2% salycylic acid BHA liquid exfoliant. Apply using a cotton pad morning and night. This should help.

Vitamin water zero rise orange is my go to liquid and it has some potassium which is otherwise hard to come by.

Also try black beans, lentils etc

For hair loss I highly recommend that you start taking a high quality prenatal vitamin (try whole foods not the drugstore). I am taking the liquid BodSmith prenatal. I get it online from Amazon. It has 100% of usrda of biotin and about 67% of zinc. In addition to this also order Natures way biotin supplements (they have a dissolvable lozenge) and also try a zinc supplement. I recently ordered an additional zinc supplement from Bariatric advantage. Start taking these ASAP. With your final meal before surgery also take all three supplements. Also keep in mind that all supplements are NOT created equal. Many of the vitamins you will find at Walmart and Target barely have any vitamins in them. Supplements are NOT regulated by the FDA because technically they are not food and not drugs. The first week post op I could barely even get down the liquid vitamins. I just started with one teaspoon per day Ina 20oz vitamin water zero, and worked my way up to the full Tablespoon in about two weeks. I also started using Nioxin shampoo and conditioner plus scalp serum About two weeks before surgery. It may not help but it can't hurt. I got a large bottle of each on amazon for only $30 total which is a really good price. How do I know this stuff works? I'm only about 7 weeks out but my hair is growing thicker than it has in years. And not just the hair on my head but also on my legs my upper lip etc. Hair does grow in cycles though of about three months so who knows ... About 12 weeks out I might start shedding but I'm certain that even if this does happen, that it won't be as bad as it otherwise might have. Also I quit using permanent color on my hair. I am only using Demi- or semi-permanent hair color since about two months prior to surgery until I am about a year out.