KathyLev

Drink Power-Ade Zero . It's full of electrolytes and no calories . I drink at least one every day. As for constipation - they always say drink more water.... but you and I are proof that doesn't always work. I drink as much as you do and I STILL get constipated ! If benefiber doesn't work , give a stool softner a try. Some times you just need that gentle push that will start the process.

My "moment of awakening" was when I started to sweat so bad. I went to a dermatologist who gave me pills to dry up my sweat, but it dried up my whole body (mouth,eyes ) and I was still sweating. I went to see my family doctor and she sent me to a bunch of specialists & I went through tons of tests and everything came out normal. I just had to face the hard truth that it HAD to be my weight. I was scared to tell my husband that I wanted the surgery , but I got up the nerve and was pleasantly surprised to see how supportive he was. We've been married for 50 years ... hopefully now I'lll be married AND healthy for many more

I am absolutely LOVING not feeling hungry ! I dread that feeling coming back.

I'm two months out and I just noticed how dry my hair is getting ,too ! ( Hasn't started falling out yet , but I expect it soon ) This surgery is taking all kinds of strange twists and turns !

I make "chicken fingers" .... pure protein and easy . 1 can of chicken 1 cup shredded cheese 1 egg ( I add 1/2 tsp.each onion & garlic powder ) Squeeze all the water out of a can of chicken and shred with a fork. Add shredded cheddar cheese and one egg. Mix and shape into fish stick size pieces. Bake on parchment paper at 400 for 20 minutes. Dip into sugar free ranch dressing. I keep a container in the fridge and eat as I want

Up until now,I've always been so hot and sweaty , I was embarrassed. My hair would be soaked from just grocery shopping. I've only lost 12 pounds since the surgery ,but I can feel myself sweating less. I'm looking forward to cooler days to see how my body reacts.

I'm in my very first stall and it IS mentally draining. I used to be so happy jumping on the scale and watching it go down .... now it doesn't move and some days it goes UP . UGH ! It's going on 3 weeks now and it's torture ! The only thing that I keep telling myself is " it's normal and you're not doing anything wrong. " This whole process has been a series of waiting games !

I've always thought - "the surgery was the EASY part " .... now the work begins .

As my doc said to me when I had diarrhea on the liquid diet ..... "Liquid in - liquid out". Well...DUH !! LOL

The nurse had me doing steps the day after surgery ! Maybe only about 5 , but I remember it didn't hurt at all . Now,vaccuming and heavy-ish housework .... I milked that for a couple weeks LOL

I had terrible diarrhea and it was almost black color,too .I had it in the hospital and the nurses weren't concerned. Turns out ,it's a natural reaction to all the work that they did inside of you . If black-ish stool continues after you're home , chances are it's from all those vitamins you're taking. My dietician told me that.

My dietician gave me this info .... for the general diet ( about 8 weeks out ) " Aim for 1,000 to 1,200 calories per day and between 60 - 80 grams of protein. Max= 12 oz. per meal "

What a funny and fun question ! LOL Tell them they're your butterfly wings - if you can get them to flap hard enough - you'll take off and fly LOL They'll definately be waiting to see if you really can fly

I think a couple days would be enough time to sleep like you want to. I was sleeping on my side the first night of surgery. The nurse told me not to worry - "you're stitched up tight as a drum and glued on top of that. You're not going to hurt anything". OOhhh I had a good sleep that night !

You're right ! I must have heard that statement 10000 times fom my docs and dieticians ! Drink drink drink .....

It DOES sound crazy but it's true ! The less you eat, the more your body thinks you're starving and will hold onto every ounce !

Don't forget to look up weight loss cartoons .... they'll crack you up later when you're reading through it

While I was waiting for my surgery ( which seemed like forever ) I decided to make my future self a type of scrap book. I scoured the internet for healthy recipes , articles, cartoons . My surgeon even gave me pictures of my insides while he was cutting and stapling my stomach and ready to pull it out ! Yep - those are in there,too ! LOL I drew alot of pictures, used alot of stickers and just made it fun to look through. I'm still working on it , I have alot of recipes to write out yet. It kept my mind occupied and my hands too busy to snack LOL

I've been eating this on my low carb diet for years. I'm not sure if the Eden brand black soy beans are available everywhere , but I thought I'd share the recipe anyway .All amounts and ingredients can be changed to your liking. 2 cans of Eden Black soy beans , drained & rinsed ( half a cup = 11 grams of protein ! ) 1/2 c. sugar free Ketchup 2 TBsp. Yellow Mustard 4 TBsp. sugar free maple syrup 1 # hamburger , fried and drained ( 3 oz. = 20 grams protein ) Bacon strips ( 3 grams protein per slice ) 1/2 cup chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped green peppers salt & pepper Brown hamburger,drain. Saute onions and green peppers.Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Lay bacon strips on top. Bake at 400 degrees till bubbly & bacon is crisp.

I just started regular food now , Spinoza. What a great change !!!! I just made this today --- really filling and good ! I had to leave out the chocolate chips though .I can't keep them in the house , they're my kriptonite. They wouldn't have made it into the recipe. LOL

I know ! The competition is so funny !!! I'm guilty of trying to come up with the best recipe in the past ...must be a "family" thing LOL

Oh --- thank you for that reply. I got myself all worked up and focused on "only" losing 30 pounds ! You really eased my mind . I'm happy to hear that it's just a conservative estimate. After that initial 30,I'm ready to take the reins and continue on

I don't plan on telling anyone but I know someone is going to remark about my lack of weight. I plan on just giving them a somber look , and saying " I had to have stomach surgery and they ended up removing part of my stomach" .I'm hoping they think it's a serious enough condition to not ask any questions.

Venting is good - and you have a good audience here My family and friends are food oriented,too . I have many family members that are WAY overweight . If you want to know the best places to eat at - ask them. If you want to know the places with the biggest portions , ,ask them. They can list every buffet there is. They have a mental cookbook of every dessert there is. They try to outdo each other when it comes to events with food - especially Christmas. I have all this to look forward to now that I have a tiny stomach. LOL We're not missing out on being unhealthy ! I'm kinda looking forward to being social without having to eat tons of food. I know I'm still going to hear "oh-take a bite - just have a little piece - I made this cuz I know you like it-you'll hurt my feelings if you don't have some" ....ugh !

Before surgery at one of my dietician appointments , she did a bunch of calculations and said this surgery will help me lose 30 pounds. Granted,I started out with a lower BMI , but after reading all the weight loss by everyone else ,I feel like having the surgery, I went nuclear over a measley 30 pounds ! I do want to lose more ,so I guess it's up to me to do the rest of the work after I hit that point. Did anyone get a calculation like this ? Have you lost beyond the number they gave you by your own efforts ? Maybe I'm overthinking this . I've been at a stall for 3 weeks now and I think it's messing with my head .