Mandybb

Oh and I ate beans then too, but I rarely have those anymore.

I lived off tuna, avocado, fish (mahi mahi is my fav with lemon pepper and grilled), grilled yellow squash is amazing with Greek or Italian seasoning, anything with cheese, hard boiled eggs. I still can't do lettuce at 3.5 months but I can do spinach if chopped finely or cooked. Grilled chicken still is a bit rough going down.

Excited, I'm planning on having one for my birthday in September. Congratulations on the weight loss!

I appreciate your feedback. I'm not so much worried that it happened as much as I wonder why it happened! Maybe I'm searching for an answer I will never get but I do plan on a strategy next time we are going to be out all day. As for cleaning out my home, I made a promise to my family that this was MY journey and I would not force them to stop eating foods they enjoy because I'm unable to control my portions. I think I've mentioned in previous posts that my husband is in the military and burns hundreds of calories a day which makes him able to consume any food without much worry about calories or carbs. He's got perfect blood pressure and has complete physicals a year. If he wants an ice cream or cookies at the end of the day, he can have them. My son has autism and we use snacks to encourage speech and language as well as other physical therapy. He does not consume them all the time. Snacks if consumed sparingly and within portion are not necessarily bad. If you are active and the bulk of your foods are healthy it's not a big deal. Where my family has made concessions, I cook 1 meal so they eat what I cook which is extremely healthy and low carb: no potatoes, pasta, rice, or bread. We no longer eat red meat. I think each family has to do what works for them, and as I said above, it doesn't bother me at all. If we are out they may splurge but again it's in moderation. Thank you though, I appreciate your concern.

You know you are so right! I had zero plan. I wanted to take yogurt but was worried it would spoil. I took ham for sandwiches but after lunch it was all eaten. I had no nuts or protein of any kind so it started with the fruit and went downhill from there. By 6pm, it was over and I've been contemplating it ever since.

I'm so disappointed in myself! For 3.5 months I've eaten so well, counted every carb and stuck to my diet with little to no problem. I do keto, so usually I'm very strict with my diet but I've never "craved" foods since I began eating again after surgery. I actually feel satisfied 90% of the time. Until yesterday that is.... I went to the beach with my family (first time since surgery). This last week was a HUGE win for me with my weight loss, 9 lbs, that's huge for me because I'm a slow loser. I've officially lost 53 pounds in almost 3.5 months, I'm under 200!! My weight loss has gotten faster oddly, I had a very slow start right after surgery. I've been elated and motivated, so what the heck happened yesterday? I'm not kidding: I ate 3 Twinkies, a small cheese tots from Sonic, a corn dog, 4 cookies, fruit (more than my usual) and 2 ice creams! I mean seriously, it went down like butter. No belly aches, no dumping, no restriction!! I just enjoyed the glee of being with my family. I have resisted foods I loved with little to no problem, but these foods I would never choose to normally eat (except the ice cream N cookies). Now I was there for 8 hours on the water. I swam with my 5 year old and chased him up and down the beach, I played in the sand and walked for miles along the coast. I'm not worried about the calories or that I will gain. I'm worried that I have ZERO idea why I did it!! I wasn't craving anything in particular. I'm worried because I threw all caution to the wind and ate merrily like I forgot my life has now changed. Now while everyone else was enjoying their Sonic cherry limeades and cokes, I stuck to my water but only because I enjoy it! I just really can't understand what made me do that and that concerns me because I can't fix something when I don't understand the problem. I'm just frustrated and disappointed, confused and feeling defeated. I thought I had conquered my demons and moved past this. I thought I was strong enough to resist temptation. I do every day!! My cabinets are full of junk (cookies, chip, crackers, cereal, candy) for my son and I don't even care. And FYI, I don't even like corn dogs!! Wth was I thinking?? I know people get cheat days but this wasn't that!! I didn't plan to cheat or even think about anything I was putting in my mouth. This wasn't a cheat, this was nonsense and like I left my brain at home!! This has only taught me that even if my stomach is changed, I have a LONG LONG road ahead to truly be "changed". And there was NO restriction with those carbs, NONE! So for those of you thinking of being stopped by your tool, don't get too caught up in that happening. YOU truly have to be the one to resist and think about everything you put into your mouth no matter how much fun you are having or how relaxed you are. The struggle is REAL!!!

I keep mine under 25 a day as well and I don't feel it's restricted at all. I still eat tortillas (carb friendly 4 net carbs), nuts (almonds and pistachios), yogurt (dannon light and fit is only 8 carbs), cheese, strawberries (1/4 cup). I don't eat bread, pasta, or rice and I never will again. Don't miss them at all anymore. I eat so much food that I don't feel deprived. I eat turkey bacon, avocados, eggs, Greek grilled chicken and tzatziki sauce, tuna patty (instead of bread crumbs add in pork rinds and bake instead of fry), grilled mahi mahi and squash are some of my favorites. I drink water everyday and don't miss soda or anything. I mix it up every day to keep things exciting. I do meal prep because I want to stay on my diet and be prepared. I find that when I don't have a plan or schedule that's when fast food or unhealthy options start looking good and I'm not going down that path again.

I was told not to eat baby food because they add sugar and salt.

My butts gone!! Boobs are staying but my butt was the first to go. [emoji21]

So you still aren't really answering the question, what do you eat each day to get your calories?? If you are actually eating food, there are ways to get calories and healthy fats and from food. Eggs, turkey bacon, avocado, turkey pepperoni, cheese, yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, tuna, salmon, mahi mahi, chicken, cauliflower, soups, beans, nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios) and cottage cheese are just to name a few. These are still easy on the tummy and even in super small amounts you should be able to tolerate or you have some issues that need to be addressed with the doctor ASAP. People don't understand that if you just drink liquids over an extended period of time it will be exceptionally difficult to start eating solid food again. I'm 3 months out and can't eat a whole serving size either but I work on it all day long. In order to get my calories in some days I HAVE to eat when I'm not hungry. I can't even finish 5.3 oz of yogurt but I put the rest in the fridge and finish it later. You need to eat when your phone reminds you and you absolutely need the protein! Get the unflavored kind that you can mix with your foods if you can't drink it. If you starve yourself it will continue to be difficult to eat and symptoms like dumping will be exaggerated because your body isn't used to it. If you eat small amounts of foods throughout the day you can retrain your body to tolerate solids and fatty food more comfortably. Good luck and I hope the NUT can help you find a plan that works.

I've only lost 40lbs in 14 weeks so you are doing amazing! Why do you think 23lbs in 5 weeks is bad? Are you doing your best and giving it your all? I'm sure you are!! So if you are doing your best and lost 23 pounds, then that's exactly what you are supposed to lose! Never compare yourself to others, this is your journey not theirs. Keep your head up and keep making progress. I say this 100 times a day, it's not a race!! Good luck to you!

Actually I just weighed myself and I'm down to 211.3!! Go me!!! Sorry had to add that... [emoji119][emoji119]

Our thyroids are already "sleepy" because they are sluggish, that's why we take the Synthroid! Being overweight does not cause hypothyroidism, it's a symptom of it. 5.9 is not hypothyroidism technically, you need an 8 (most doctors over a 10) or it's just mild hypothyroidism and typically not treated with medication. I was not given an option to take medication because I was very ill. I'm happy things worked out for you but there is no cure for true hypothyroidism, we will need medication for life. My doctor did say as I lose weight my dosage might drop or it might not, we just have to wait and see. I am 38 and have been diagnosed since 21. My level was also in the 13's. Slower weight loss is a very normal thing for low thyroid patients but it's not like it doesn't come off. You could be lucky and it might not bother it at all. If you are patient you will reach goal. It's not a race! [emoji16] I forgot to add my stats. HW: 255 CW: 215 Height: 5'4 Sleeved 12/29/16

I still have my thyroid but I have hypothyroidism. I take 200mg of synthroid a day and I'm 14 weeks post op. I'm losing very slowly because of my thyroid and PCOS. I've only lost 40lbs. I'm still losing but it's just slower so I will accept the loss and keep moving forward to get to my goal. My doc said it will probably take 18 months for me to reach my goal of losing 100 lbs. If you are on medication for thyroid your weight loss will likely be slower but you will still lose. My thyroid is basically useless, it's the meds keeping me trucking along. Good luck with your upcoming surgery.

I'm a slower loser and it will indeed probably take 2 years for me to reach my goal weight. I'm ok with that, it's not all gloom and doom. It took me 38 years to put all that weight on, so to reach my goal in only 2 years is amazing. It's all about prospective. It's not about losing the fastest, it's about learning how to properly eat so you can maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life. All good things come with time. Trust the process and enjoy the journey. Never compare yourself to others and their journey. Just concentrate on you, one day at a time! Good luck!

I take my vitamins at night after dinner because I get sick when taking them in the morning.

I'm not sure about your insurance specifically but I was denied my surgery the first time I tried because my insurance needed 2 years of a 40+ BMI. That is, a full 2 years of having been 40+ BMI. I had lost some weight putting me in 38-39 BMI and it completely disqualified me. I changed insurance companies thankfully. My insurance did it like this. Whatever date it was that I went in to see them (ex. April 2017), they would go back 2 years from that date, so April 2015. I didn't get to pick and choose what month they started looking at my BMI. My suggestion is to talk with a surgeon and let them try to get everything scheduled through the insurance. If they don't foresee a problem then you will be one step closer to getting it done. You have a low BMI so finding a surgeon willing to do the surgery might be difficult but not impossible. Just keep calling around until you get some answers. Good luck to you.

My doctor said never crush pills, just to cut if needed (except time release must stay whole). I never had any problems swallowing pills, even large potassium pills. You could just call your surgeons office and ask to speak to a nurse. That's the simplest way to get answers and your office will know better than a hospital pharmacy.

She didn't have a body lift (according to the show), which in my opinion I think would have benefited her more. She only had a tummy tuck, breast lift, upper arms and neck done. She had nothing done to her legs. There was no way she would have been healed enough having a body lift. To be honest, she wasn't even healed from surgery when they did the photo shoot. Most plastic surgery takes months for the swelling to go down.

I also could only tolerate warm or room temp things for a few days. Then it was weird, I could only tolerate super cold. Now I'm 3 months out and frozen things like Popsicles and ice bother me again. [emoji854] I'm still learning my tummy and wish it would make up it's mind. It also hates coffee so I've been super bummed about that. Maybe in time it will get better.

I watched the whole show. She busted her butt with trainers and worked hard to lose the weight. Everyone that knows nothing about surgery thinks it's the easy way out regardless of shows about it. I'm super proud of her for doing it. She lost 300 pounds!! Her starting weight was 460. She looks amazing just unfortunately her extra skin on her lower arms can't be helped. She still has it on her legs. The show shows all of her struggles, even regaining and making poor food choices when she was stressed. It showed the ups and downs we all face and how hard she had to work to make that weight actually come off. Now the real question, can she keep it off because that's the real challenge.

My paper said 3-6 months or until the doctor clears you.

Can I be honest? I said the same thing before my surgery, that I needed the restriction to lose weight so that's why I was getting surgery. Honestly my restriction is there, but you can cheat the system after surgery. Carbs do not fill up your tummy like Protein and you can slowly munch and graze every hour on high carb high fat food if you wanted. Some people don't have much restriction at all so be prepared that it might happen that way. You have to resist those foods and change your eating habits before surgery. That's why the preop diet comes in handy because it is a real reality of what your life will be like over the next few months. Why not just try low carb/sugar free (that's essentially the diet you will be on after surgery) while waiting for the surgery? See what it's like and make sure you are committed to this lifestyle change because temptation is unbelievable and you can slide so easy back into old habits without even realizing you've done it. That being said, this was the best decision I've ever made even with the complications. I knew that I needed to save my life, and without this surgery giving me the kick in the butt to get it done, I would still be 255 lbs and hating my life.

[emoji23][emoji23] your doctor said that!! My doctor messed with me about food. He kept telling me that my stomach had a notification device in it and would send him a text if I ate something bad, so I needed to follow instructions exactly! Lol

I really hope the Zantac works as well. You might not notice a difference until day 2 with the hunger. If not, at least you tried and know it's not acid related. I've heard of people having less restriction so you aren't alone. I truly hope those things help you and things turn around. I learn new things every day! I was eating too many sugar free Popsicles at one point because I thought they were carb free like jello. [emoji16] I wish you the absolute best and be sure to keep us updated!