Maryland

Oh yes: I'm 12.5 months out, and have lost 77.5 pounds.

I drink diet soda every day. I recently read a thread on WLS alumni who are over 12 months out from surgery, and everyone who responded said they drink diet soda to some degree. Some doctors don't advise it, but there is no scientific data to back up any advise. I don't wait for the fizz to go out -- I just pour into a glass and sip, not gulp. Of course, if it bothers you, don't do it. Everybody is different, and different things will bother each person. But I personally don't have any trouble with soda.

If you eat too fast, or don't chew enough, the food will kind of overwhelm your pouch. The body's response is to produce a lot of excess saliva and stomach fluids to try to dissolve the food. You will then have all this fluid start to build up in your stomach and esophagus. You will feel an intense need to burp or vomit. When you throw it up, it is mostly slime and foam. This is also called "foaming." It is a very different consistency from vomit. It's a warning sign that you didn't eat right -- a nice pavlovian training trick, if you ask me! I think we all get it.... but you learn how to try to avoid it.

Dear Jacqui, that may be true (about the garbage bin stuff), but that is not how my mind works, and I suspect, not how other peoples' minds work either. This is a lot more complicated psychological issue, and while you state the obvious, it really doesn't help us here.

You are in what is called "Bandster's Hell." It's the period between surgery and your first fill, when you are healing, but you start getting hungrier and hungrier as the swelling from surgery goes down. Don't worry about it too much, and don't try to lose a lot (or any) weight during this period. You may even gain a little. Your one concern should be letting your stomach heal. Once you start getting your fills, then you can focus on losing weight. Hang in there. You only have a couple more weeks to go.

Jodie, just because you had blood work a year ago doesn't mean diddly squat now! Don't worry - no one will think you are a hypochondriac -- quite the opposite. You have a number of very real symptoms that need to be checked out, because you are NOT in good health! PLEASE go get that blood test right away. And let us all know the results.....

Yes, the psychological aspects of this are very complicated. I think part of the solution is recognizing you have a problem, and not being too hard on yourself for doing weird things. For example, I give myself permission to bring home lots of leftovers when I eat out. That way I don't feel like I'm wasting anything, or not getting my full meal -- even though I usually end up throwing most of it away!! I also still over-buy at the supermarket. But I give myself permission to throw it away if I haven't eaten it in a week or so. And don't feel like you can Never have certain foods again. Give yourself permission to eat one or two bites, and then give yourself permission to throw the rest away. Interestingly, it's the second part that's harder! I am learning to give myself permission to "waste" food, if you will. It seems that was something drilled into me that I have to slowly unravel. Of course, trigger foods are another story. But even then, remember, it's like exercise: it's not doing 3 hours of treadmill on a particular day that counts, but doing one hour every day that makes a difference.

I'm in! My weight right now is 191. 180, here I come!

I purchased a pedometer a few weeks ago, and it is a fantastic motivational tool! I wear it all the time, and have upped my exercise to try to go over 10,000 steps a day. I'm hoping to do this every day this week, plus reduce my calories. We'll see what happens!

I have a little trouble with sushi or sashimi. It's not the rice, but the fish. It's very tender and tends to go down easily, but if the pieces are too big, they WILL come back up (lol). I have the same problem with shrimp and lobster, cooked. I think that I don't chew it enough, and once it gets in the stomach, it's like rubber, and won't disolve.

By the way, I'm 55 years old.

I think those guidelines are crazy too. I take my heartbeat up to 150-158, and then do short bursts where it goes up to 163-168. I then take it back down to the 150s and keep going. I would like to be fit enough that my heart stays in the 140s-150s, but that will take some time. I can feel I'm really overdoing it when my heart gets up to 169, so I take it back down if I get in the 160s. I think the guidelines are way too low. Just my opinion.