BCs 1000

I had my first bar recently, so at around 6 months post op. I feel no restriction, it is similar to eating a cookie. They contain a lot of artificial sweetener, so afterwards I actually want to eat more.
They live in my work drawer and I only have one if I am racing off to meetings where I know I will end up missing out on lunch if I don't grab something now. I never eat them when I have time to access more food after.
Not only are they not satiating, they are as dangerous as bread for me in terms of triggering overeating.

Sorry that'll be my toddler!
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@@summerset I'm not really a sweets person either so that factors in. I will always choose meat over anything else in any given circumstance. I have always been like this. So to me, a cookie is boring compared to a steak.
I really hate that most convenience Protein products are sweet tasting.

So, I want to know if any vets out there (I'm talking 1 year or more out), got over the constant deep freeze phase? I mean, I'm cold all the time. i never thought I'd be using an electric blanket in June; and even then, sometimes that blanket doesn't work and no about of warmfs can warm me. It can take hours of lying in bed until I'm finally warm.
I wear layers, heat holders brand socks, everything you can think of. I sit in front of a space heater, let my cat sleep on me, eat warm Soup, drink hot coffee, use those little disposable hand, feet and ass warmers that come in packets. I'm at a loss freezing my ass off all the time.
I'm getting enough calories; between 800-1200 a day, taking all my Vitamins, Proteins, ect. I'm on my feet all day walking around, riding bike, using the elliptical. Ugh.
Does it get better once your weight loss levels out? I'm 10 months and have 7 pounds to go until my goal weight.

I am sitting here kind of ticked off at myself. I just finished 1/2 a Protein Bar, and I realized for the calories I could have had a piece of fish with double the Protein.
I have a real love hate relationship with Protein Bars. They are convenient, but at the end of the day they are just a processed frankenfood. They offer me no real satisfaction beyond the immediate taste, if they taste good. They don't trigger restriction for me, so they are basically just a boring slider food. Not to mention, they are expensive compared to just having meat.
I think they are great for emergencies away from home but I really have to stop eating them when I am in the house and don't feel like cooking.
This is the price I am paying for not stocking my usual Boar's Head.

This pic isn't even my highest/heaviest, so hard to find a full body shot. Highest recorded 320, Starting 275, Surgery 256, Current 165. Gastric bypass 1/15/15. Best decision ever!

I got my very first high waisted bikini from Amazon on Monday, so y'all know I had to do a before and after! Can't wait for the beach in September
HW: 330
SW: 323
CW: 155
(Sleeve, 18 months out on the 20th, no plastic surgery...yet, lol).

290 to 160

I would need to weigh 127 and under to get out of the 'overweight' BMI and into 'normal' range. Such is the life of a shortie. But I just want to be healthy and get my energy back. I weighed 127 briefly in college after some extreme dieting followed by a week long bout of the flu!

I dunno I think one should wear what makes them happy and comfortable. As long as it's covering up the essentials. As for the girl in the pic I don't know that she's going out in public dressed like that. She's taking a pic for the site to show what a body that size looks like, the whole point of the site.
I applaud her for her confidence and the guts it takes to post that picture. I didn't have that. Still don't really.
Oh and my guess is the size 4 was a typo for 14
Since she also says size L

I think that's not a bad idea. I didn't have one either, just a vague idea of how I felt/looked at a certain weight and hoped to get somewhere near there. My doc never set one for me outside of the "most people lose about 60-70% of their excess body weight" and that he considers that a success. I lost more than 100% in that I a firmly in the middle of the normal range for my height.

It's a good starting point, but certainly doesn't tell anyone's whole story. And I do suggest you reserve judgement till you get there. You might surprise yourself and find you way easily to 104 and actually like it. I never thought I'd want to be below 150.

@@Luckygrl well your surgeon is wrong too. i was told most people don't reach their goal weight. that last 20lbs rarely comes off. bs. i reached my original goal and now i'm on my way to 140. it's all within your reach. don't listen to anyone cuz everyone's journey (and body) is different. best of luck to you!

I'm a lazy chef. Here's some of the things I eat when I REALLY want something bad.
Ice cream = sugar free fudgecicle. Works EVERY time
Cheesecake = couple tbsp low fat cream cheese, add some sweetener, little lemon juice, maybe a tbsp of sugar free strawberry jelly. You could add PB2 or some nuts for crunch.
pizza = take all the toppings I would put on a pizza and bake them in a ceramic bowl. If I just need a crust, I'll use a low carb mission tortilla
Pasta = zucchini can replace Pasta in pretty much any dish
Sushi = sliced cucumber, shrimp or salmon, avocado, ginger, soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil (in a bowl like a salad or individual pieces stacked on slices of cucumber)
When I need inspiration, I hit the low carb recipes. I find that they work well for me. I swap or eliminate items as necessary.
www.ibreatheimhungry.com
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/p/recipes-by-diet-type.html
I love tacos, so sometimes I'll buy one or 2 and just eat the insides. I think sometimes we overthink our food choices. I just try to stick with JERF (just eat real food).

Bowieyfghgghvgggg
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Q. You know what you call someone who was at the bottom of his class in medical school?
A. Doctor
In every profession, a few are great, most average and some dangerously incompetent.
I am blessed to have done political work for some of the best doctors in Oklahoma. They give me referrals to the best specialists when I need something specific looked at. This probably saved my ex-wife's life, when I realized her neurologist wasn't taking her symptoms seriously. (Side note: this is a real problem for women, I have only met a few who can talk to male doctors in a way that works with the doc's brain, and male doctors too often don't know how to communicate with women).
With that said realize no GP doctor can keep track of all the latest findings in all the various fields of medicine. Heck the specialists have a tough time keeping up. That's why I try to bring copies of research studies I have found on my concern to my doc. I always ask "what do you think? are they just blowing smoke or is there some thing to this?" He is the one who took 8+ years of his life to become a doctor, I didn't. (If he ever tried to tell me how to get a bill through the legislature I'd remind him I'm the one with 30 years experience in that area).

My point is if you find something on this site that may contradict what you have been told, ask the poster, "where did you get that info" and take it to your doctor. This should be a collaborative effort, not a competition.
And enjoy the encouragement and camaraderie of this site (and occasional tough love when needed).

It's great that your team was so wonderful. Not everybody has the same luck.
I also think that the vast majority of people are very educated, but the whole process really can be overwhelming to some. I know I've had moments where I've scratched my head and thought "Hummm... Did I hear my doctor right?" Thank goodness I have this forum to turn to so I can ask questions- especially in the middle of the night!
That being said I know these folks aren't doctors (if some of you are, yey you!) so I would never take serious medical advice without consulting my team.
This is a place to learn, listen and share. Sorry if it bothers you that some of us don't have the same smarts as you and didn't come through the process thinking we could qualify to be nutritionists as well. Darn! Then I could have added on to my the end of my name after J.D.
Thanks to all the members who take the time to respond and offer insight. I learn so much every day.
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Right? Imagine there were a surgery (say, a brain surgery) that could cure 75% of alcoholics and opiate addicts and it had a lower risk of complications than knee replacement. People would be singing the praises of that surgery, and people who needed it would be encouraged to get it. There wouldn't be a huge chorus of naysayers saying things like "why don't you just kick your addiction the natural way?" and "you just need to go to more AA meetings" and "you just need to work on will power and drinking less" or "my Aunt Mabel's hairdresser had that surgery and he died! Plus I know of one other person who had it, and she stopped using oxycontin but she looks kind of sickly. Why don't you just stop shooting up instead?" or "you can be healthy and be an alcoholic too! Health at any drinking rate is fine! Just try to cut back if you find you've been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. You don't need surgery, you only think you do because our society shames alcoholics and drug addicts!"

I listed the dozen weight loss programs I had tried over the past 20 years to my GP. I had lost over 80lbs seven times, each time putting it back on plus another ten lbs. I told her I wanted surgery.
No joke, she asked me if I had tried X brand Meal Replacement shakes
I was so upset because she either hadn't listened to me or didn't believe me. This GP must have weighed around 100lbs.
I left it another 2 years until I was having spirometry at the same clinic with an RN. She was telling me I needed to lose weight and I just lost it. I told her everything I had tried and what the GP had told me. All I wanted was a referral to a weight loss surgeon.
She grabbed another GP and must have had a few words because when I went in to see him he straight away gave me the referral.
Fortunately in Australia you don't have to fight for approval with your insurer, if the surgeon says you need it, and your insurance covers it, that is all you need.
One day I might write a letter to that first GP. I don't want anyone else to go through this.

Honestly? I would let your body lose as much as it wants until it just stops or you absolutely don't want to lose anymore. I'm a big advocate for going as low as you can possibly go because of the 'bounce' gain of 10-20 pounds that seems very common a few years out. At not even 2 years out, I'm fighting a 4 pound gain that won't come off. It's getting me uncomfortably close to my highest end of my bounce range, and if I could have lost more I wouldn't have been stressing 4 pounds as much, if that makes sense?

Based on the 3 pints I drank over the Memorial Day Weekend. I think when it comes to bottled beer, the colder the better!

Carbonated beverages are a gas, when you drink them...guess what? You are more susceptible to... well what do you know, gas. Or more so feeling the discomfort from the gas very quickly, due to that small pouch you now have.
I am no doctor, nor do I play one on TV...I have no authority to speak on the matter, no official research conducted. I asked my doctor, he says during the healing phase, stay away because it can cause complications. After that, it can cause some serious gas, so he suggests sipping.
But since it seems everyone is giving their opinion on the matter, I figured why not chime in with my non-professional opinion.
My name is Mia, I am a diet soda sipper, and I approve this message LMBO

If this is true, the surgeon who did her original surgery screwed the pooch. There shouldn't be enough fundus left to stretch, much less back to the size of the original stomach. She should seek legal counsel.

Sarah, you are awesome! Thank you for this. You didn't have to (again) but you took the time and did (again). Many thanks!