Heather I

I had a couple Halloween chocolate minis and the chocolate tasted terrible -- like cheap, waxy crap chocolate. Had a bite of cake with frosting at a party last night, tasted gross, waxy (frosting) and too sweet. I haven't had a ton of sweet stuff, just a bite here and there, but it either tastes off or wayyyyy too sweet. I am noticing all the salt in prepared foods, too. Now that I'm eating so clean, if I eat anything processed it's hugely salty to me now. Pasta sits like a lead balloon and isn't worth the empty calories, so that's a win for me to not like it anymore. I had a saltine last night and it was disgusting paste in my mouth. I'm like, how/why did I eat crackers so much before? Mostly I'd say it's the sweet stuff I can't tolerate, which is fine by me. I'm thrilled my body is self-selecting healthier options.

@@genn, I hear ya. Well, FWIW, I'm a good healer and went back to work (from home, sedentary,) four days after surgery. I felt like I never even had surgery within a week. I know everyone is different, but for me, the worst part about surgery was the anesthesia complications in the hospital. Once I got rid of the pain meds and off needing Zofran, I improved 100% overnight. I think you'll be fine, especially if your in-laws are so close by. You know what to do; freeze meals, buy ready-to-go stuff, and clean the house/run the errands leading up to your surgery. The fear of the unknown is way worse than the actual surgery itself, IMO.

I agree 100% with @@Babbs, so I won't repeat what she said. I'm 5'8", started 281, 6 weeks out am down about 37 lbs and, while happy with the loss, and seeing the floppy, flabby flesh that needs to be worked on already. I've gone from 50% body fat to 47% fat after losing 37 lbs, so I obviously need to kick the exercise into high gear soon to work on those percentages. The last time I was mostly happy with my weight/size was 183 -- but I was working out HARD 5-7x a week; spinning 3-5x a week and hiking the White Mountains in NH every weekend with a heavy backpack. I want that firm body back, but also remember that I was STILL in borderline plus sizes on the bottom because I'm a pear shape. My satisfied goal is 160, so I know I'm totally out of plus sizes on the bottom and can shop in one department of most stores without waffling in and out of both regular and plus sizes, plus it seems healthy for my (large) frame. However, my stretch/fantasy goal is 140. It seems incredible to me, and I won't be upset if I don't reach it, but it IS still in the normal BMI range for me. I think that would be amazing and give me a nice bit of wiggle room for the potential for bounce a couple years out. Not that I want to ease up on myself and give myself and "out" to be bad, but there is the potential for tracking/measuring/water/exercise burnout after being so stringent for years at a time. Honestly, the more I see the flab, a lower body fat percentage, maintaining my final weight without being TOO obsessive about it, so I can get a more "normal" relationship with food is my goal. I want to always be vigilant, but I don't want food to take over my life again. If I have to kill myself to hit/maintain 140 and am miserable, that's not a win for me. 160 will be fine then.

How is your health, aside from needing WLS surgery? I think, if you're in decent condition, you can definitely do surgery. Your kids are totally old enough to help out and be self-sufficient for the most part. I had surgery with a 2 and 3 year-old and only needed help the first four days lifting the kids in and out of the car seats, and that's not an issue for you guys. It's not a bad thing to do the liquid diet now while you are busy and stressed with your husband. Protein shakes and bottled Water are easy to pack to do the hospital waiting/driving back and forth. It might be a godsend that you are distracted and busy leading up to surgery to just bang out the drinks and be ready for your turn. Good luck to your husband! I'm sure it's a nerve-wracking time. Keep us posted how he's doing.

Awww, that's wonderful! Congratulations!!! This is a big deal! Cry away!

@ButchLuce, yeah, I think I'm just being unrealistic and impatient, LOL. I am doing well -- 8-10 lbs a month is awesome, but for some reason I wasn't thinking that the 8-10 is coming off .5 lbs at a time, not in one or two dramatic chunks! Plus, it's a little disappointing -- I'm down almost 40 lbs and no one seems to have noticed anything! What the heck? Just makes me realize how big I was that 40 lbs is a drop in the freaking bucket.

@@ppressey24, oh no! Yours sounds much more severe than mine if you are heading to the ER! Good luck! @@BigViffer, I am on BP meds but had them checked last week with my PCP and BP was perfect. Dr. said keep on with them until December's follow-up and we will see about lowering/removing the rx, so IDK. I have been hitting all my Protein and Water targets right along; no food issues to speak of. IDK. Modern life working 7x a week split shifts with two toddlers? LOL. IDK. I'm beat.

I'm 6 weeks post-op and have yet to experience the "surge" of energy everyone talks about. I'm bummed -- and tired!

What is everyone eating as we close in on being cleared for everything? I am able to do eggs and a bite of sausage for Breakfast, Protein shakes, turkey meatballs in marinara for lunch, smoked salmon with cheese as a snack, and turkey burgers with avocado. Kinda stumped on meals. Sick of chili and Soups, looking for more stews or meals.

I had it wicked bad for the first month. I'm about 6 weeks post-op and it's subsided. It was really bad -- hubby said it was like a force field of bad breath around me, no matter how much I brushed, flossed, and used Listerine strips. Even I got grossed out by my breath!

Wonderful! You look lovely!

I voluntarily gave it up the week before and after surgery, now have it daily with a vanilla Protein shake to get in my protein and caffeine ASAP for the day with no issues. My doctor had no problem with it so long as it didn't upset my stomach.

Hi! So I have a ways to go to work through my LB stuff I hoarded over the years as I gained, but thinking optimistically here for when I get out of the "plus" department and size out of LB into normal stuff, is a LB 14 similar to, say, a banana Republic/Ann Taylor 14, or is the vanity sizing of LB really a 16 for coming close to an Ann Taylor 14? I'm fantasy online window shopping and curious when I can take advantage of some post Christmas deals if I've lost enough by then to transition to "normal" stores. Drooolllliiiiinnnng.

@Jmill72, it helps, but it's so freaking depressing, LOL. Agh, hopefully getting out of plus sizes in LB to only go BACK to plus sizes in regular stores? LOL. Bummer. Oh well. It is what it is. At least I can eventually fit into the cuter clothes!

Okay. Looks like my days of online shopping might come to an end by spring once I, hopefully, run out of clothes. Goodwill, here I come! Thanks for the input, ladies!

@bpowell, well, last week I GAINED 1.7, and it' wasn't PMS or anything. In fact, I made a point of sticking to 800 calories a day and walked 10K 4x a week, and one day I walked 17k in a day in a big hike with hills! I was PISSED, LOL. I upped my calories to 1000, caught a cold and have been a slug. I LOST 4.8 in the past four days. Go figure. So, while I'm thrilled to have lost the 1.7, plus more, this old body of mine is playing tricks! LOL. I will say, I'm happy I'm scrupulously tracking EVERYTHING; Water, calories, Protein, carbs, fats, sodium, etc. It definitely reassures me I'm not screwing up -- it's just the process, I guess. I'm trying to be more laid back. Don't get me wrong -- I still want instant results and lose 50 lbs overnight and 3 pants sizes, LOL, but calming down and accepting that a steady -2 lbs, give or take, every week, is pretty damn awesome. I do feel like the water intake is a huge part of losing lbs. I don't know if it's in my head or what, but I honestly feel like I'm flushing out the fat hitting the water goals. Went from a tight 22 to almost loose 18s. That's pretty cool. And I love purging my closets and moving back into my smaller sizes from eons past. Love reading the posts from those 6-10 months out down 75-100 lbs. SO inspiring!

I've had this realization, too. I didn't usually eat fast food, but I justified everything because it was "healthy" (yeah, right) food. My previous life's breakfast of multiple cups of coffee with cream and sugar, the 3-egg cheese omelette with sides of sausage or bacon and buttered toast -- and a cup of milk. I probably had at least 1000 calories just for breakfast! Let alone the carbs and fat. I'd graze on carbs all day in a denial haze since I wasn't journaling what I ate -- but drink tons of Water, so I felt good about that. Then gorge on a massive portion of dinner -- probably 2 cups of Pasta with whatever topping went with it; meatballs, garlic bread, shredded cheese on top -- and maybe a beer or wine with hubby to "relax" at the end of the day. Damn! No fast food, but at least 3000 calories a day without trying or thinking I was "that bad." I am becoming enlightened!

I'm only 5 weeks out, but including the 2 weeks pre-op, I've gone from tight 22 to 18.

I'm heartbroken, and I was initially excited to see Negan; but now I just feel flat. IDK if I want to keep watching if Rick and the group are broken.

Everyone on this site seemed to speak highly of Premier Protein, so I went with those. They are sold at my local BJs/Costco (costco had better prices,) and I get a case of, I think, 18 for $25? I think I figured it out, they came out to like $1.85 a shake or something. I think they are pretty good. I hate the malty bad breath I get after drinking them, but it's a means to an end. I mix the vanilla one in my morning coffee and to wash down my a.m. Vitamins -- takes me an hour to drink the 8 oz of coffee and leftover 5.5 ounces of vanilla shake with vitamins. Then I hold off another 1-2 hours to let that settle, then drink at least 24 ounces of Water mixed with Crystal Light. By late morning I have another Protein Shake while I'm busy at work and getting hungry, but it's not quite lunchtime for me. I have a big, late lunch of "real" protein/food, and then eat again about 3-4 hours later another serving of "real" protein/food, and will have another 16 ounces of water after that has settled the required 30 minutes to hydrate for the rest of the evening. I try to finish all food/drink by 3 hours before bedtime so I'm not peeing all night long.

LL Bean flannels are great, and I am now wearing socks to bed -- sometimes with a plush bathrobe over my PJs! We also have a wool LL Bean blanket over our coverlet. We had a freakish week of 80 degrees here in Massachusetts, but it's ending tomorrow, and I'll be stripping the coverlet off and putting on the big kahuna heavy comforter -- in addition to flannels, socks, and blanket. And I keep the heat at 70 all the time. Crazy! I don't get too cold during the day -- I think the activity helps, but at night, fuggettaboutit. I'm frozen! I actually get a neck/back ache from clenching in fetal position trying to warm up in my sleep.

I go against conventional wisdom/advice and use the forbidden straws to get my fluids in. I get way less air in my stomach using it than rushing and trying to take a swig from a bottle of shake or Water. Maybe try sipping with a straw? Is the stress causing vomiting, as in you've had this problem before surgery when under duress, or it's just exacerbating everything you are going through now? I plan my day around getting my two Protein shakes and 80% of my water in by lunchtime so I don't get distracted and forget. Can you regiment your day so you can bang out some Protein Shakes in by a certain shift? Driving to work/from work maybe? Some sort of set time that you know you have X amount of time to drink Y amount of protein shakes and/or water. Try different temperatures, too. If cold shakes are hard, how is Soup with Protein powder? Or water with unflavored protein? I hear good things about the Syntrax protein flavors to go in water.

I think you have two 3 year-olds to take care of; one you are married to. I'm picturing a pissed off stamped foot with folded arms across the chest. Really? She can't wait a freaking month? And how is any of this your fault? My surgery was postponed three times -- none of which were as a result of anything I did or wanted, all because of the doctor/insurance scenarios. Her insecurities are already out of control, IMO. She's going to be totally freaked out as you lose weight. IDK, I'd totally go through with the surgery, but get a therapist on speed dial. This is going to be a bumpy ride.

@rososmom7, thank you. I do 2 Premier Protein shakes a day; one vanilla mixed in my coffee in the morning, then another midmorning to hold me until lunch, so that's 60 grams there from 5:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. I have a 20 oz Poland Spring mixed with Crystal light after that, so 2 shakes, coffee, and Water gets me to 50 oz of water. I really try to hit my water goal by lunch so I'm not going to the bathroom all night later on! Breakfast today was on the road, Dunkin Donuts' Wake Up Wrap (peeled off 1/3 of outer white tortilla.) Lunch was 8 oz high Protein vanilla yogurt, about 2 oz granola, 1/4 cup raspberries. dinner was a grass fed uncured jalapeño cheddar bratwurst, LOL.

I was sleeved 9/19, getting in my 100 grams of Protein and 64+ounces of Water, about 800-1000 calories daily. I'm really working to up my activity and have hit 10,000 steps 4x this week, hope to squeeze in one more day of heavy walking. I feel great. Sleeping is improving very much from beforehand; less snoring, no waking, etc. But I'm not getting any energy surge I have heard about. Down about 2 pants sizes and one top size, from what I can tell. I have many more clothes in smaller sizes, so I'm excited to purge the bigger stuff and work down from there. I'm nervous I'm not losing as much as some others seem to do. I think I'm still eating too fast -- haven't slimed or puked or foamed, but a couple times I got too hungry between meals and ate fast/too much? Had that painful feeling in my chest, and once I had to lay down with the sweats. Just worried this won't work. Probably irrational, but I just kind of almost can't believe it. I'm happy with my loss, but I still have so far to go.