Candygyrl

I have a skinny Caramel Machiatto every sunday since I was about 10 weeks post op. I don't have to, on sundays I'm up very early for my daughters fall league softball games... it helps wake me up and i hasnt caused a stall or made me crave.

Hello! I am almost exactly 3 months post op! (10/8) and I have lost 51lbs. Hope this helps and good luck to you!! =)

@tsawyer91Just curious-- Did you have surgery in August? If so that would only put you at 2 months... or 8/9 weeks If you had the surgery for example August 8th. I say 9 weeks because there was an extra week in September. My Surgery was July 1st, I'm just hitting my 3 month mark actually 3 month and 1 week due to the extra week in Sept. Anyways your doing amazing @ 2 months out!!! Did you lose anything pre op or was all your weight lost post op?

Kudos to you for being concerned. Obviously you care for your friend therefore you care for her daughter just the same!!! Don't let a few people's insensitivities deter you or infuriate you either. Just actively ignore them-- don't even respond... Anyways your friend may need either a 2nd opinion by a alternative pediatrician, or request a referral to a Pediatric Endocrinologist to be further evaluated. As a health care professional I cannot urge the importance of advocating in you and your loved ones health care. Dr.s are so overwhelmed they hardly have time to truly evaluate you especially if you're not half dead. I have had patients who have had Cancer diagnosis overlooked because their Dr just kept prescribing antibiotics and diagnosing with pneumonia when they in fact had LUNG cancer. Trust your gut. Other areas will have to be looked at such as her diet. Meeting with a dietician to come up with a healthy meal plan for her may be just the start she needs. However endocrine disorders also need to be ruled out. Just because she's vegan does not mean she's not carb overloading. Many vegans have this issue and can easily become overweight. Good Luck to you and your friend and her daughter.

I have PCOS, developed at age 28. They say it can be hereditary but my mom does not have it nor does her sisters. I think either my weight gain during nursing school triggered it or years of yo yo dieting to keep my weight in check. My grandmother could have had it-- she wasn't real big but always looked pregnant to me. She is deceased now. Anyways My daughter was picking up weight and like 25 lbs a year sooooo I was concerned for PCOS. Before taking her to the Dr. I looked closely at her diet and made some changes she has since lost 15 lbs and still going.

I don't think so. I had PCOS but it was my elevated BP that qualified as a co morbid. Hypertension, Diabetes, COPD, Congestive heart failure, Asthma, sleep Apnea, Coronary Artery Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease these all fall under co morbids as I'm sure many others do as well. These conditions can be prevented or controlled. Chronic conditions lasting 6 months or longer uncontrolled could Kill you over time. Think about that... PCOS wont kill you-- could lead to metabolic syndrome-- Diabetes but PCOS itself properly managed that has not exacerbated into Metabolic syndrome will not kill you directly. However sleep Apnea could. COPD could. DM could. Hope that makes sense. Anemia-- could be Iron deficiency related, or sub clinical. Either way it won't kill you directly likely you would become symptomatic and seek medical attention and be administered a blood transfusion.

I'm sure I'm wrong somewhere here but we're speaking in terms of "qualifying comorbids" for WLS conditions that are costing health insurance companies and tax payers billions of dollars to treat patients every year. Conditions that have a high correlation to obesity. Or known to diminish once obesity is controlled. Just a guess...

**Clears throat** Not suggesting that you do it... this is my experience only. I smoke weed. I have since day 4 or 5 post op. I don't get the munchies maybe it's the strain but anyways if I do have the desire to eat I'll eat a couple pieces of chicken or some turkey wrapped in cheese and I'm good after 2-3 bites. Seriously. I can't drink-- so I smoke. Zero calories-- feels great. Get the muchies? Eat some cheese. Make sure you talk to your Dr. about this. I am not qualified to give you an answer only sharing my experience.

OMG calm down!!!!!! You are doing great by the way. By the time I hit 6 weeks I had only lost 25 lbs. My goal was to get to 30lbs by 6 weeks but I didn't---- SO WHAT!!!!!! My goal was to get to Onederland by 10/1 and I didn't--- SO WHAT!!!!!! Those are just personal goals that I set to push myself. As long as you're losing not gaining. There are some weeks where I only lose 0.8 lbs, some weeks I lose nothing. Then I have a good week. Your body needs time to adjust and calibrate. Do you measure yourself? It's not all in the scales. At some point I was honest with myself and knew I wasn't as active as I should be so I stepped up my activity level. From 2 days a week to 4-5 days a week. Weight loss picked up--I saw better results. Keep doing what you are supposed to and it will happen over time. Think BIGGER PICTURE. Long term. Not day to day. Try weighing at the same time preferably mornings and try to limit your weigh ins to once a week. Log your weights and observe your trends. You will find you are doing much better than you think you are. Hang in there and try not to be so hard on yourself. You're doing great.

#1 NSV!!!!! Tried on a pair of 10's just to see if they would fit me a little bit 3-4 weeks ago. ( I like to test the waters) They did not so I bought the 12's. They look great. I love the dark dark denim wash and these jeans snatch your waist and lift your butt. I wanted to buy the 10's for later but decided not to be impulsive. I went back yesterday to get some items out of layaway and came across the jeans I loved. I figured I still wasn't ready for them but I wanted to grab them to wear later like next month or so-- since they are such a great fit (good jeans are hard to find). I took them home and before hanging them up I tried them on to see how far I'd have to go and to my surprise they fit like a glove!!!! I have a pair of Kenneth Cole jeans in a size 12 that must be 8's in real life because I can't even get them on for at least another 20lbs. I'll be super happy to get into them but for now I'm basking in my VICTORY!!!!!

#2 Another NSV-- while I was at the store there was this really cute guy who I could tell kept trying to get my attention but very subtly. He was hoping I would make eye contact so that he could engage me but I had my ear buds on and I was bopping and looking everywhere but directly at him. I kept running into him but you see I already peeped him and decided the moment I saw him I was physically attracted to him soooo I refrained from any personal contact with him. yes a simple "hi sweetheart how are you today"? could spark something. I don't trust myself yet. I am happily married but I have harmless tendencies that could get me in trouble so I do what I gotta even if that means being a little rude which I wasn't in this case.

#3 I hung out with my friends over the weekend and we took pics !!!!! For the first time in forever-- I actually liked the way I looked in the picture compared to everyone else. I was pleased! I wan't the "fat one" anymore. I blended in with everyone else. Such a great feeling.

I am 2 lbs from onederland. So I am looking forward to hitting that in the next couple days. Adios!

Dayuuum.... How you doin? LOL! Looking great!

Taken earlier today.....was about to head out to a sports bar and watch a game or two.

Fat as hell.......but at least I can now see my belt buckle in the mirror, lol.

Great Job!!! Congratulations. You look awesome. I just hit my 50lb mark last week and I'm telling you I can see the difference!!!!!!!! You are that girl!!! Believe it.

I have since surgery starting at about 6 weeks (I know baaaaaad-- shame on me) I had a few cocktails socially. I usually only have 1 on average of about twice a month. I'm 3 months post op. I did have to explain to my husband although I know we enjoy an occasional drink or glass of wine together I really need not to. I explained how this will impact my weight loss with empty calories and I'd just prefer not to have a drink but don't let me stop you. I guess that wasn't fun to him-- he didn't want to drink alone even though I might order a Water with lemon or diluted cranberry juice. So instead of hanging out at our favorite Jazz club every Tuesday night or meeting up at Fridays for a mid day cocktail-- we try to do other things. Like today We'll go to the Gym. We got tickets for a musical on Friday. So I'm trying to introduce other things. HOWEVER--- let's get back to your question....

So over the weekend we were out celebrating my friends 30th birthday and I bought patron shots for everyone. I figured I'd have ONE-- hell I hadn't had a drink in over a month. I'd done well with the previous drinks. No issues. No overly drunkenness. So we clank glasses and take the shot. Within about 45 seconds I immediately feel like things are just about to get bad quickly. My stomach starts BURNING like crazy. Then I started to feel very woozy and I started to feel flush and nauseated. I started thinking about DUMPING and got just a little anxious. I grabbed my hubby and told him I was F****** up! Like we might need to leave F****** up. He grabbed me some Water told me to calm down... deep breaths and drink. I began sipping and the burning subsided. I found a tolerable level of F****** up and proceeded to have a blast!!! #1 because I realized I wasn't going to die, I wasn't dumping, I gained control-- did not drink anything else but felt like I had 3 shots in me. That was my first experience like that since surgery and lemme tell you I won't be doing that again anytime soon. I'll stick with an occasional red moscato. Sipped very slowly... I may revisit this shot thing 1 year from now and only on special occasions like on the white sands in Jamaica LOL!

@@LMSWNYC Sorry I can't offer much in terms of an answer. I have PCOS, was prescribed Metformin a few years ago but it made me feel so bad I could only take it for a few weeks at a time. Eventually I stopped taking it and just dealt with not having a period. I had surgery 7/1, got my first cycle in over a year 8/20, then again on 9/22. I honestly thought it would continue to be irregular but I got 2 in a row around the same time. I am not taking Metformin or anything else other than Vitamins.

I noticed last month I was craving food like crazy I don't even know what-- I just wanted to eat. I thought my sleeve was stretching or something because I have not been hungry since surgery. I was just eating or snacking on something every hour! I tried to make sure it was all the right foods but there was 1 or 2 times that I slipped and ate some Cheetos or grabbed more than a few tootsie roll fruit chews at Planet Fitness. (Why do they have them there anyways?) My weight loss slowed down to like 0.8 lbs or 1 lbs a week for 2 weeks and then I got my period. I was so used to not having one for so long-- so I forgot what PMS feels like!

So now I'm being especially mindful of the upcoming week in terms of weight fluctuations, belly bloating, mild cramping, food cravings. I will increase my workouts over the next 2 weeks to help combat PMS symptoms.

CONGRATS on your weight loss so far. 70 lbs in 7 months is quite impressive and nothing to sneeze at!!!!!! That's an average of 10 lbs a month so great job!!! hang in there-- I think once your body gets to a weight that it likes-- it will finally begin to regulate. For some reason my magic number was around 215. I even noticed years before anytime my weight started going up into the 220's my periods would go absent. When I would drop a few lbs and head back into the 210's-215's range it would kick back on just like a thermostat.

Theres a magic number that's right for your body and when you get there your cycles may start becoming more regular. Good luck and keep up the great work!!!!!!!!

Duh wear ankle weights-- Try again. LOL!

is anyone else having issues with "hunger". I am not legit "hungry", but the habit, the process, I miss. I am only 5 days out and each morning I crave a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. Dinners with my family, as I am sipping broth leave me longing to have some pot roast, or chili, or some of the other things they are enjoying. I am not going to try it- believe me I can barely get down my liquids. But so many of the support group people said "it will be so easy post op, because you won't even be hungry." My husband took me for a ride yesterday and stopped at McDonalds for himself. I am NOT a fast food person.. He asked "Is it wierd to NOT want any of this?" and I told him "oh, no. I want to grab that bag out of your hands and eat a fry or two!" and he was shocked.

I know I have to cope with my husband and daughter eating normally around me, but is anyone else just missing the idea of eating?

I totally understand where you are coming from. No I was not hungry either but like you said-- I somewhat mourned the act of eating like a normal person . For me it did not last long. Came and went. I could barely get the food I was supposed to eat down let alone what they were eating. However my husband like yours did on a few occasions stop for fast food. I didn't want it though... I gorged on that crap all pre op and I was beyond sick of it but I felt bad for him and the kids eating it because I know its garbage. I asked him not to feed it to my kids and gave him alternative places to go for fast food like Panera bread, subway or boston market. He agreed and honored my request and we are all now eating healthier. My 12 year old daughter has lost almost 15 lbs since my surgery and its a testament to leading by example. She now see's that she can do it and we're hoping for and working toward a total of 50lbs lost by the end of the school year or at least by my surgiversary. I'm hoping to be able to take her on a trip to Celebrate our success!!!!

This post made me very happy for your daughter!!

In retrospect, my biggest parenting regret is not modeling better eating behavior. My kids self regulate well and are at very healthy weights, but they still make plenty of bad choices. I struggle with this daily as I try to model and discuss food choices without making them feel bad about themselves.

My 19yo has been trying to make better choices, but he really knows little about nutrition - I feel very responsible for that. And he's now off at college trying to fend for himself.

My 12 yo has always been more health conscious, and is more knowledgeable about nutrition as a result. She tends to gravitate to fruits/veggies as Snacks, which is awesome. Overall she eats pretty healthy, but she does love sugar - lemonade, Cookies and ice cream mostly.

But good for you and your family. Those healthier alternatives still offer a lot of delicious options!

I have a 15 yr old son who is naturally health conscious- he lifts weights and plays football and basketball. He burns calories like kleenex in fire. My daughter she just likes the good stuff but doesnt want to burn it off. I feel very responsible for her weight but I decided to empower her to take action. Your kids are watching you even when you don't think they are... I could tell her what to do, scold her for not doing it but If I'm not doing it who am I to talk? The moment i took action for my own health she began to want to eat what I ate. She began eating off of small plates and so forth. As I learn more about how we fuel our bodies I pass it on to my kids because they will have to stand on their own one day.

Candygyrl is right on! Thin does not equate to healthy so my goal is to get everyone in my home eating healthier by offering healthier choices. I was very overweight as a child and can honestly say it was the most traumatizing time of my life. Kids are especially cruel to little girls about their weight so leading a healthy lifestyle by example sends a very strong and positive message to our children, family members and friends. Way to go Candygyrl!!!!

Every time I sign onto this forum I am inspired by the tenacity and motivation of the members. Thank you for helping me to make better choices every day!!

I too am inspired by many here every day... I am glad I could shine some light on you today--keep on truckin!!

@@Candygyrl - I am in exactly the same boat... I am 4 days post-op and my eyes and head are collaborating against my stomach. Obviously I wouldn't eat anything, but everything my husband eats is making me crazy. I'm trying to focus on using this time to develop effective coping strategies for head hunger but it's not fully working yet.

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Isn't it crazy??? I tested the waters a few times but reality kicked in and it was not fun. Decided to stick with the program and eventually that voice in my head settled down. Once my hubby took notice of me and my daughter especially-- he was blown away. He wants in! (for now at least) Hopefully your hubby will follow suit. It sure makes life a little easier when everyones on board.

I bought a few and although low cal--- very fake sweet to me. I like the jamaica blood orange sparkling when I miss soda but it's still meh I'd rather not drink something that could cause a stall because my body thinks its getting sugar or cause me to crave sugar. Water for me-- glad it works for yall.

Surgery Date: July 1, 2016
HW: 256
SW: 252
CW: 201
Goal: 135-140

3 months post op-- 52 lbs lost

Age will be 35 10/25

Ht 5ft 4 in

A very special thanks to @@goplay94123 for putting together such a wonderful challenge to motivate us all!!!! Thanks to the ladies @@beyondgrief and @@rydersmama for taking over the challenge. I know it's probably a lot of work and it is so appreciated!!!! You guys ROCK!

Goal Weight (by end of Challenge) 189 lbs (aiming to be out of the 190's)

Current Weight: 201.8
Today's Date: 10/3/16

is anyone else having issues with "hunger". I am not legit "hungry", but the habit, the process, I miss. I am only 5 days out and each morning I crave a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. Dinners with my family, as I am sipping broth leave me longing to have some pot roast, or chili, or some of the other things they are enjoying. I am not going to try it- believe me I can barely get down my liquids. But so many of the support group people said "it will be so easy post op, because you won't even be hungry." My husband took me for a ride yesterday and stopped at McDonalds for himself. I am NOT a fast food person.. He asked "Is it wierd to NOT want any of this?" and I told him "oh, no. I want to grab that bag out of your hands and eat a fry or two!" and he was shocked.

I know I have to cope with my husband and daughter eating normally around me, but is anyone else just missing the idea of eating?

I totally understand where you are coming from. No I was not hungry either but like you said-- I somewhat mourned the act of eating like a normal person . For me it did not last long. Came and went. I could barely get the food I was supposed to eat down let alone what they were eating. However my husband like yours did on a few occasions stop for fast food. I didn't want it though... I gorged on that crap all pre op and I was beyond sick of it but I felt bad for him and the kids eating it because I know its garbage. I asked him not to feed it to my kids and gave him alternative places to go for fast food like Panera bread, subway or boston market. He agreed and honored my request and we are all now eating healthier. My 12 year old daughter has lost almost 15 lbs since my surgery and its a testament to leading by example. She now see's that she can do it and we're hoping for and working toward a total of 50lbs lost by the end of the school year or at least by my surgiversary. I'm hoping to be able to take her on a trip to Celebrate our success!!!!

It depends on your surgeons recommendations. I suggest you talk it over with them. I was cleared immediately post op for light activity such as walking, biking, elliptical, light dumbells 1-3 lbs and so forth and so on. They encouraged a minimum of 5 days a week for at least 30 min or as tolerated. At 4 weeks post op, I was cleared to resume my regular activity including resistance training, running, zumba etc. I did have a hernia repair. So I took it slowly and gradually worked my way up. One day I was on an ab machine and my stomach began to spasm so I immediately stopped and took that as a sign that my body wasn't quite ready for that. I continued with my cardio, and resistance of other muscle groups-- waited a few more weeks for the abs and tried it again-- perfectly fine.

Sounds like you're doing great so far!!! This should be a blast for you-- Look forward to seeing updates from you. Good Luck!!!

@@Taylah.G Well-- something that I feel very comfortable speaking to. I am currently 3 months post op!!! Surgery date was 7/1/16. As mentioned before you will get varied answers because everyone is different, different starting weights, loses differently, eats differently, exercises different. Basically there are so many variables that everyones answer will differ but I imagine that you are asking for a general consensus at about the 3 month mark sooo since I'm there currently-- I'll give you my perspective.

I did not have any significant weight loss pre op. It was a personal choice. I do not recommend it obviously if you can lose weight prior to surgery the closer that will put you towards your goal and your chances of hitting your target weight within the first year. Take a few pics pre op and then a few every month to see your progress. I didn't but wish that I had. I have pics of myself pre op. I will likely do one in the next couple days-- that will show some changes that I am so far very happy with. I also keep a weekly log that shows my weight loss trends. Each week is different but I can look back and see progress towards goals and various fluctuations in weight which help me to make necessary tweaks and adjustments. Surgery weight 253.6

Month 1- Adjustment phase. Various highs and lows. Adjusting to a new way of life. A healing stomach, and adjusting to the various food stages figuring out what my new tummy likes how much of it I can eat how slowly to eat and working hard to get in enough Protein and liquids. I was not able to get liquids down quickly so my Protein came mostly in the form of shakes and yogurt. I tested the waters a bit and learned my limitations. Reality hit me hard and I realized that I have to do the work. I have to develop a eating and drinking schedule, take my Vitamins, fit in my activity, pack Snacks and keep fluids with me anytime I leave the house. Lots of fatigue, concern for dehydration. I received 2 Vitamin B12 injections. Week 1 -14.2lbs, Week 2 -1lb, Week 3 -3.3 lbs, Week 4 -6.8 lbs Total 25.3 lost

Month 2- Getting into the swing- Adjustments are setting in as you prepare to be on regular foods again at 6 weeks. By now I was hitting or very close to hitting my Fluid and protein goals most days of the week. It took a lot of effort on my part. It wasn't a passive effort either! Lots of focus, determination and planning. Implementing tools such as setting timers and reminders to eat and drink. Keeping my fridge stocked with items that I could eat and measuring out the food that I eat-- all very important. Walking and biking was about as much as I could do activity wise. But my energy levels were climbing past the levels I was at pre op! I was starting to create a plan to step my activity levels up and decided to gradually increase my workout days by 1 every 2 weeks until I hit 4-5 days a week 1 hour. Week 5- 1.8lbs Week 6 -6.4lbs Week 7- 3.2 lbs Week 8- 1.5lbs Total 12.9 lbs lost

Month 3- Full throttle. I've worked out most of my kinks the only issue is staying consistent. I'm working out regularly on average of 4 days a week. I no longer feel like a post op newbie--My energy levels are steady climbing, I'm feeling stronger my endurance is picking up and I'm looking great. People at work are asking wow you've lost weight haven't you? You look great! People who haven't seen me in a while instantly notice the difference. I finally feel like its all starting to set in and I'm making progress. I put some clothes in the layaway (smaller sizes) and fit into size 12's for the first time in more than 7 years. Pre op I was in 16's and 18's or 2x. I can now fit into 12's and wear Large tops. My shoe size went from a 10 to a 9. Week 9- 6.7lbs , Week 10 -0.8 lbs, Week 11 -2lbs Week 12 -2 lbs Total Week 13-5.4 lbs (5 weeks in September) Total 16.9 lbs

Current weight 201.8 Expecting to enter ONEDERLAND this weeks end.

Good Luck to YOU!!!!!!

well I'm only 3 months post op but all the changes so far have been great! Like you I was a couch defender! I am much more active, I feel more energetic. I look much better in clothes therefore feeling much better about myself. I am more eager to go places. I hung out with a friend this weekend for her bday and had a ball! people in general are much more friendly I guess I never noticed that they were not friendly in the past but its just moreso. Good luck to you!!!!

I'm just starting my journey and trying to read as many horror stories as possible (maybe that's bad, but I KNOW the positives; it's the negatives I'm trying to wrap my mind around!) like understanding how hard the pre-op and post-op diets are... but if I can't do that then I can't make the change necessary to live with the sleeve, right? Because it's not like you go back to eating "normally" (normal for an overweight person I guess I should say...), right?

My new fear is the loose skin after the weight loss is complete. I'm not against having cosmetic surgery on one spot, but am I really going to have saggy thighs, saggy arms and a saggy belly??!! I'm 5' 4" and 228 lbs.

Thanks everyone; just a little scared!

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SO everyone as I'm sure you know by now is different. Not sure where you are in your journey but sounds like you are a pre op lower BMI. If I were you I would start working on strengthening and toning exercises now. Resistance bands, light dumbells, push ups, planks etc all pre op. I'm not having issues with saggy skin just yet BUT I'm sure I will. I am 13 weeks post op today annnnnnd I workout on average of 4 days a week. I do strengthening and toning during every workout coupled with about 30 min cardio. Now that my abs are stronger I do at least 300 crunches each workout, 30 min cardio and I work on 2 other areas like legs and butt, or arms and back. I'm a pear so I carry mostly in my hips and thighs but finally started gaining in my arms when the fat had nowhere else to go.

There will be saggy skin in my thighs but I think my arms and belly will be ok. I'm in the low 200's and my stomach is almost flat. There's a little pooch but I think once I get to goal I can live with any remaining skin there. My arms appear to be toning, I've increased my weights during exercise but not sure that I will be able to tone them enough not to end up with "wings" but I won't worry about it. Now my thighs-- that's another issue. When I lift one leg up to put on lotion, my inner thigh has some drooping that resembles those you tube videos of saggy skin. Like you I'm willing to get cosmetic surgery on 1 or 2 areas my plan is for breast lift and a repair of my worse area (thighs or arms or belly).

How long after surgery were you allowed to start working out?

workout as much as you want PRE OP. Post op I was cleared for basic exercise like walking or biking. at 4 weeks I was cleared to resume a regular workout regimen as tolerated meaning-- pace yourself.

Thank you ladies!

@@candygirl that helps A LOT, thank you. Sometimes I don't know where to start, so I DON'T, and sometimes I am TOO enthusiastic and that's not good either.

And @@AvaFern you're right and I completely agree that the fear of a saggy, baggy body shouldn't be a deterrent...it certainly won't be worse than the way I feel right now! And I am not against having secondary surgeries, I'd just like to do ALL that I CAN to minimize the need. ...

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So I havent found the "perfect moisturizer" yet But currently I use whatever the situation calls for. I use Bag o' Balm for my feet. I pumice them in the shower and use the balm to keep them moisturized. For my body while im still damp I use Bio Oil and just massage it in all over. I also have a body scrub by Bliss that I use once a week. I switch up moisturizers for my face but I love Aveeno positively radiant most days. I also love Clinique daily moisturizer-- cant think of the name but its yellow. If my skin is really dry-- I use Eucerin cream.

I still use bath and body works UltraShea body cream/lotion. Cucumber melon is my fav. Glad they brought it back.

That's a tough one. But I respect your decision. I have told my very close family whom I share birthdays holidays and all special life events with but not the family on my dad's side. Im just not as close with them. I only have a select few friends. 3 of them know-- there is one who was my ride or die and she has recently come back into my life but I probably will not tell her we are just not close anymore but we are in contact. The next time she sees me I will probably be smaller than her and she wont be able to understand how!!! Anyways, its a personal choice and I understand your reasons for not telling this friend. She seems like a bit of a hater and a little too opinionated. You will need to hit her with the whole I need to lose weight bit. Start your workouts, eating healthy, smaller portions when you are around her and eventually get to the point where if you guys go out--offer to share a meal, tell her you are cutting out your drinking as your friend she will need time to adjust to the changes or it could cause a bit of a strain.

@@staceface Yes chile if I were you... I would start slow. I'm sure you have some time before you get on the table but it will be here before you know it. So ease into it. Do a 10 minute arm workout with 3 lb weights. do a few squats, leg lifts. If you're feeling motivated after a couple days step it up you can use resistance bands I keep one at my desk and while I'm on a call, I'll do about 20 here and there. A little goes a long way. You are a little smaller but depending on where you carry your weight saggy skin in places but maybe not too bad. Remember post op to get your Protein in so that you don't lose any muscle tone. Keep at it and don't give up. You'll have a year to lose but if you can get a head start on it now. The longer you take to lose it, the more time your body will have to adjust. Oh and be sure to be good to your skin. Water Water Water and find a good moisturizer. Good Luck!

You are not alone... I am 12 well 13 weeks post op now and it seems the further I get along the less I eat... I think I'm just not as obsessed about eating every 2-3 hours and Protein here there and everywhere. I should be and since I've become a little more lax I feel like I've had a setback... I find it harder to eat. Today I fixed a smoothie. 6 strawberries, 1/4 cup of pineapple, 1/4 cup of blueberry and 2 cup of spinach. 1 tbsp. honey. I use Water for my liquid and it makes about 12-14 oz. That was at 9am I just looked up and it was 3 something and I haven't really eaten anything since. I just grabbed a Protein shake from the work fridge. I keep a few in there for these moments but honestly I haven't really eaten like I should. I bring food to work--- meals and snacks-- and wont touch any of it the whole day. Its annoying... I think because I have to eat so small and so slow-- I lose interest and give up. I fix a small bowl and eat 2 or 3 bites and I'm satisfied.

I ate 1/2 a sandwich for the first time yesterday. Corned beef on rye. I hadn't had any bread since surgery but seeing that I'm not eating much these days I went for it. I was only able to eat a little over half of the half. Gave the rest to my hubby.

I just have no interest in food. Anyways I know that we must eat for sustenance and give our body the nutrients it needs. So I'm in a eating slump right now-- Loving the restriction but I know I need to be more mindful to EAT and DRINK!!!!