MIZ60

Those collarbones!! You look wonderful!!

It is that same price at Sams club with free shipping if you have a Plus account.

We are currently about an hour north of Austin on the border of Temple and Belton. We love riding the Harley down south though, you mentioned the Frio Canyon which is spectacular (Twisted Sisters!!) We also love the Marble Falls area, Fredericksburg and New Braunfels/Gruene. Actually did our honeymoon in 1984 in Gruene. Love the River Road too!! Glad you did not get more than a little pink. I think the daily weighing is good for reinforcement and/or accountability. Oh, and to be completely honest the red hair is somewhat "enhanced " at my age. Ha!! I too plan to use the vanilla shake for coffee instead of my normal half and half and Splenda. My program is really into fat free/low fat stuff which I do not completely agree with but I am going to play nice and do what I am told. Have a nice evening!!

Sorry you got overheated, it is easy to do since we are already hitting the 90's in our (central) part of Texas. Will be taking my pup to the community park near us soon to walk under the trees but I try to be out there no later than 7. I am vampire pale with red hair and freckles and have used industrial strength sunblock since childhood so it is routine to me. Nothing worse than a sunburn... All you food sound so good as I face ANOTHER week of the protein shakes...I told my husband last night that I am NEVER drinking another one for the rest of my life. Made some chicken "soup" last night with broth and some greek yogurt and I almost cried since it was so good!! Do you find it helpful to weight yourself daily? I do but I know some advise against it. I really enjoy your posts!!

My Sams has all 7 flavors and it is less than a mile from my house. I imagine you could order online and I know there is free shipping for Plus members. I am like a frequent flyer in there but have also ordered online occasionally.

Well today is my one week post op day and things are going well. I weighed today and I am down 6.2# from my weight the day of surgery so if you add in the 6 fluid pounds I left the hospital with that is 12.2# since last Thursday. I feel really pretty good. I need to get back on the elliptical today for the first time....don't know why I am so resistant to doing it but I need to get my big girl panties on and JUST DO IT. Don't see my surgeon until next Thursday so shakes and clear liquids it is. Getting a little (more than a little) tired of them after 3 weeks but I know it is important for healing. So happy that this site is here....it helps a lot. Hope everyone has a great day.

I am one week out today and I noticed a significant drop in the incisional pain on post op day #5. At this point, there is mild discomfort when getting out of bed but otherwise no pain. I have taken no pain medication in 4 days.

My post op plan (I am 6 days out so no soft foods) allows Greek yogurt 1 oz. /hour and it has been a nice change of pace. I either mix various herbs/seasonings with it or put it in a mug of warm vegetable or chicken broth. About 4 oz. of that and 3 protein shakes and I am getting about 100 G protein. I do thin out the shakes with decaf or hot water which makes them easier to take. Enjoy your daughter's graduation, is she a Longhorn?

Way to go girl....you look great and happy!!

I am having that too if I take too big of a sip or try anything cold or hot. I am pretty much going with all things lukewarm for now.

I wear mostly stretch pants or capris, tanks and open cardigans. I also have some work dresses that I wore 50 or more pounds ago and can still wear in case I need them. Jeans anywhere from size 12 to size 20W in the closet, mostly bought at Goodwill while gaining weight . Not buying anything in the forseeable future. I am lucky that I do not have to return to a full time job (worked locum tenens contracts for past 4 years). My BF and I love to hit up the big Goodwills in Austin.....I have found some phenomenal bargains!!

It is going great.....today has been the best day so far with minimal discomfort and some increased energy. Hope you are doing great also!!

I am only 5 days post op but YES I would do it again. I wish I would have decided 2 years ago when my asthma got really bad and my back started hurting so bad. I missed a lot in those 2 years. Since I am a medical person (nurse practitioner) I did not have anyone trying to talk me out of it but there were lots of questions and concerns from the people I told about it. My husband and closest friends were and are supportive once I explained the procedure to them. Nervous about any elective surgery is normal. Try to take it one day at a time, be gentle with yourself and envision what your life will be a year from now.

I am 5 days post op and had a dream last night about eating a taco...HaHa!! I know eventually it may be possible but it is going to be a while. I have not eaten bread in years due to gluten issues but I do think it is possible to eat pizza but you will be full after only a few bites. I too love ice cream (Blue Bell is like a religion here in TX) and I know eventually I can have some if I want. Going back to regular coffee after my 2 weeks check since I am able to drink plenty of water. I do not eat a lot of junk food but enjoy chips and salsa/queso/guacamole and those dang jalapeno kettle chips on occasion and those will not probably ever be part of my diet again. I focus on the good parts to come....not being the fattest person in my group of friends, not having to shop in the fat girl section all the time, not being sweaty and out of breath after grocery shopping and being able to ride the motorcycle with my husband. These things are much more important to me than eating some kind of unhealthy crap.

I had the exact same thing happen when I started the preop diet. It looked black but was really very very dark green which I assumed was the excess toxins and bile stored in the liver. You can always call your doctors office just to double check.

Thank you so much!! I already talk a lot about pooping and farting with the kiddoes I work with so nothing new there.

Hey there!! It is now preop day #4 and I am doing okay. Had an allergic reaction to the Tylenol with codeine when I got home so had to get rid of the medication on Saturday and have not really needed pain medication since. I am sore but trying to walk around the house as much as possible. Able to sleep well in my big ole pillowtop bed which is so helpful. Some off and on nausea the first couple of days but no vomiting. Have tolerated 2 Premiere Protein shakes per day for last 2 days. I mix with decaf or hot water to make them thinner and lukewarm and they are fine. about 60 ounces of water per day but it is going down easier today. First night in the hospital was a little worse than I was mentally prepared for...glad that is behind me. Most surprised by how tired I feel but I am just going with it and sleeping when my body wants to. Surgeon said it went "perfect" and my liver looked beautiful....no fatty liver at all. They weighted me Thursday before discharge and I was up 6 lbs over preop and have not weighted since. Still waiting for poop but "breaking wind" like a champ.

I got one at the local WalMart for about $4. Just about anywhere that sells medications should have them.

You have done a fabulous job and it is inspirational. I am right there with you on the facelift thing and will decide about the other stuff when I get there. Interesting that you went below your goal--you look beautiful and I bet you feel great.

Thank you so much!!

I am hoping the body stuff will be okay (I am 60 and have no plans to parade around in a bikini) but I have already planned a face/neck lift once I reach goal. My face already shows damage from years of smoking and I am sure the wrinkles will get worse after I lose the weight. Plan to continue weight training, yoga and cardio to help the body as much as possible. I also don't want to go below 150 since that was my weight for years until my early 40s.

I am doing very well, thanks for asking. We have to be in the hospital at 0530 tomorrow which means leaving the house by 0445. I am really glad it worked out that way so I will get it over with early in the day. I will spend 1 night and be home Thursday. I have everything I need for the next week already here so husband will not have to do much other than help me get up and down if needed. Preop diet has been okay, yesterday was the first "no food at all" day but I made it. More of the same today and in fact for the next 2 weeks other than I am allowed non fat/sugar Greek yogurt in addition to the other stuff. Sugar free popsicles have become my BFF (best frozen friend) ...lol. Will post here tomorrow when I wake up.

Just wanted to share something I experienced and would love to know if this has happened to anyone else. For the last couple of years I have experienced ongoing severe lower back pain. I assumed it was due to my weight gain but it restricted my activity to the point that I rarely left the house. Going to the grocery store was excruciating....had to find places to sit down briefly while shopping due to the pain. Husband suggested using one of the motorized shopping carts but there is no way I would do that. Terrible pain when doing simple housework activity and had to sit on a stool while cooking. It got so bad I consulted a spine specialist and had an MRI. It showed normal wear and tear. He suggested some steroid/long acting analgesic injections and I reluctantly agreed. Had the injections on each side and there was no change in the pain at all. He then prescribed a topical NSAID cream which had no effect whatsoever. I rarely left my house for the next couple of months other than my preop appointments. Started the preop diet April 18 and when I got up on April 22 I noticed that my back was not hurting AT ALL. It has not hurt AT ALL since then. Surgeon had no explanation when I saw him last week for preop appt. and said he did not think my liver could be that enlarged to cause severe back pain. It is still hard for me to process but I am so thankful!!

That is wonderful that you are starting to feel better and they are managing the situation. However, I would rip the surgeon a new one and demand to know why they did not let you come in right away. There is no excuse for that and if it is a receptionist or medical assistant that told you that they clearly need additional training on how to triage phone calls. I have been a RN since 1980 and a nurse practitioner (pediatrics) since 1990 and there is just no excuse for the situation to get that far out of hand. And then to suggest you see your PCP since they need to leave on time is just plain negligent...grrrrrrr

They stretched it back out by overeating and not following the post surgery guidelines. The one person went through the surgery and then lived totally on mac and cheese and chocolate milk. This was a few years back and she was actually self pay. She spent about $40000 to lose a grand total of 20 pounds. The other one just snacked and ate sweets and drank Coke all day long. She was actually my coworker and thought what she was doing was just fine and said the surgery just did not work for her. I think she had a net weight loss of 30 pounds. Please let yourself heal and then give it a chance and see how you feel and you might be surprised.