Apple1

I had a work out at work today in this heat..arg. I had to cut down a ton of maple sticks to feed the beetles and my arms are sore from reaching up with the loppers. I just got home and I can't decide if I should get on the elliptical or just go get a shower and start dinner? I like what is on your menu for dinner tonight. Can i come ? ..lol I took some chicken breasts out so I think I will make them Parmesan crusted with a lemon butter sauce on the side. No bread crumbs on mine. I think I will make broccoli to go with it. Have fun dancing tonight. I guess I am gonna go ahead and get my workout in before I talk myself out of it.

It is very freeing to pay off debt. We paid off everything except for our mortgage and my student loan 5 years ago. We save up for almost all of our major purchases. We did have to take out a 7 year loan for our new roof. We have emergency funds but not the $12000 it cost us. We plan on paying it off within 5 years if everything goes right. When you pay everyone off your credit score goes very high. That is one of the reasons I still have a few credit cards. You get the best rewards when you have a 800 or more credit score ?. It is safer to pay for things with a credit card also. I never use my debt card anymore because to many hackers out there and I don't want them getting access to our checking account. Good for you on making this year the year for change?.

Welcome. How long till you have your surgery? There is a ton of information here. I spent hours reading past posts.

You look amazing. Are you still losing? You absolutely do not look like you weigh 208.

Remember it gets better everyday. I wish you a speedy recovery!

You look beautiful!! Congrats on your weight loss.

My nut told me anything liquid the first two weeks counts. You need 64oz of fluids a day, but they don't all have to be from water, even your protein shakes count.

Breakfast- coffee with half & half, protein shake Lunch- leftover egg frittata and turkey bacon snack- cheese stick Dinner- turkey burger with slice of pepper jack cheese, broccoli tater tots

I have that book and my dh and I apply some of his principles, but I admit to not following 100%. I use my credit cards for the rewards. I never carry balances so I never pay interest. I use them like a debit card for purchases I was going to make anyway. I pay the balance in full every month. I made $1500 in rewards last year. I am very disciplined though so I don't overspend. Congrats on cutting yours up. I just couldn't do it. Anything you can do to improve your finances is a win. I keep close to 2 months of expenses in our checking account so we live off of last months income. This allows me to put all of our bills on auto pay which makes life so simple. That one thing reduced my stress level so much. I am noticing a change in my body composition also. My upper abdomen fat is less, and my lower is more jiggly. Is that even a word??? One thing that I have to be thankful for ... all of my weight was in the middle, so my arms and thighs are great.

I'll have to check it out. I'm so emotional today. Im tearing up watching AGT. This young girls father has stage 4 lung cancer and OMG it is so sad. Must be burning a lot of fat today.

I have never heard of two weeks only water. I thought one week of clear liquids post-op was hard. I would be worried about proper healing.

I have been cold since my surgery also. It must be a side effect to our new metabolism? I used to be the hot one in my house and now my hubby is complaining because I keep turning the ac off...

I apologize for posting in the guys room. I didn't notice that was where this thread was located.

Wow. I paid less then that in Mexico. It blows my mind that even with insurance people are paying $8000 for a sleeve.

I can sympathize with you on gaining weight to qualify for surgery. My endocrinologist suggested surgery when I was at 35.5 BMI and I wasn't ready to talk about it because I knew nothing about it. I started losing weight on my own with a low carb diet and then researched it and decided it would be a good fit for me. Well by then my BMI was under the required 35 to be covered. I went to Mexico. It was the best thing I have ever done for myself and worth every penny.

I have noticed the same thing. My temp. overall is lower, or maybe I should say my temp thresh hold? I used to be always warm or hot, but rarely cold. I am cold now frequently. I can go hard on the elliptical and barely sweat. It must be a side effect of the surgery. I ordered my probiotics yesterday. I can't wait to try them out. What shows are you binge watching? My granddaughter told me about a couple that I want to check out. One is about this group of people stranded on a deserted island, I forgot the name. I hope everyone is having a good Tuesday.

Breakfast- coffee with half & half Lunch- leftover steak and red cabbage Snack- cheese stk & tyrkey stk. Dinner- egg frittata cooked with leftover red cabbage/w turkey bacon, cheese and a few cherry tomatoes.

I do care. That is why I even respond to threads here. To help people earlier in this journey than I am. This forum also helps keep me motivated and on point. I need to find away to respond with facts without upsetting anyone. I will work on that, but I am not perfect.

Everything you said is true. However, how does a person know what category they are going to fall into before surgery? Some people never reach their goal because they never addressed the mental side of their food issues. I think when giving advice it is best to make it general and suggest all things that can help them be successful or share what has worked for you as an individual. The person reading can decide if what you posted resonates and would be helpful. Personally the first things I did when researching the VSG was read the threads of people having problems with regain or not reaching their goal. I wanted to know ahead of time what not to do. Then I looked for the success stories to learn what works. We are all individuals so we have to apply what is going to work for us through trial and error. My sleeve is very restricting right now and I haven't had any cravings. Maybe I will be a lucky one and not ever have to worry, but I am not counting on that. I never meant for anyone to take any of this conversation personally. I am a scientist by trade so I am used to looking at data objectively and without emotions.

I am sorry that you feel these general statements were directed at you. They weren't. I said before surgery it is helpful to be really honest with ourselves about the relationship we have with food. Sometimes we don't see our own habits or recognize that we eat when stressed, or graze all day long. We can't fix problems we don't admit to ourselves we have. Not everyone has this problem. I will stop posting. I was just trying to help people new to the idea of surgery. I truly did not mean to upset anyone.

I am sorry but I don't understand your anger. Nobody called you a failure. I would never call anyone a failure if you are talking to me. The statements made were not directed at anyone person at all as far as I understand it. A reason was given as to why many people experience regain with the sleeve. I am sure there are other reasons, but they don't make those facts any less true. There are many threads on these forums about resetting the sleeve, or help to get back on track. A common theme is that eventually they let problem foods back into their diets, started snacking excessively, or grazing ... ect ect... pointing out the pitfalls to people researching this surgery serves as a way to help them realize that they will need to be vigilant. It helps me realize and remember that I still need to make good choices and I can't expect that just because I had this surgery I am automatically home free from the possibility of slipping into old habits.

I agree, and I think that was the point of this whole thread. To say that the surgery is a tool when coupled with therapy and hard work could help those with food addictions be successful.

That sounds yummy. I couldn't open the photo though. The red cabbage I had tonight was delicious!! I forgot to take photos tonight. I noticed today that my workouts on the elliptical are getting easier . I think it is time to up the intensity. I need to find a good ab exercise that I can do at home. I am going to search YouTube tonight. p.s. I can see the photo now.

Welcome back @patty0715. It is great hear you lost weight while you were gone. My sleeve seems to be solid as a rock when it comes to adding new foods. I haven't had any issues as long as I chew well and eat slowly. I hope the new foods work out for you!

I wish you good luck and many blessings in your journey. My best advice is to start working on changing your relationship with food now. Figure out what your issues are and do whatever you need to do to start addressing them. Because you are going to Mexico for your surgery you will need to do this largely on your own. I also had my surgery in Mexico and I scheduled it 2months out so I would have time to do research and get myself mentally prepared. Stick with the plan your doctor gives you and ask questions on this forum or through whatever support system your doctor has set up for you. I went through Bariactric Pal and Dr. Illan and they have a Facebook page for patients and we have lifetime support with the nutritionist.