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Congratulations Daisy! You've done an incredible job with your sleeve. I'm so happy for you!

Ali, once I discovered Trader Joe's Latin Black Bean Soup, I thought I could live on that forever. Put a teaspoon of sour cream or greek yogurt on top and it's heaven. I also loved Trader Joe's Organic Creamy tomato soup. Those and Fage got me through the full liquids more than anything. I wasn't allowed to start full liquids until the 5th day post-op. Here's the thing about unflavored protein powder, it still has the smell and taste of protein. I bought a canister of it and hated it. If you're going to do protein powder, I'd say use a flavored one and add it to greek yogurt. You can thin the yogurt out a little and just mix it very well. I didn't worry about protein until I got to the pureed stage. I more concentrated on getting in those 64 oz of fluids once I got to day 5. In the full liquid stage where pudding is allowed, I got a product at Vitamin Shoppe that I loved and still eat on occasion. Bodytech Dutch Chocolate Protein Pudding. You mix a single packet with 5 or 6 oz of water or skim milk. Let it set for a little in the fridge and yum. I like it mixed with milk to cut the sweetness of it. It goes down very easy. I never tried the vanilla flavor of it. You can make jello with grape protein drink but I just wasn't that into jello for some reason. The one day that I tried cream of wheat (day 10) it started me being hungry after that. I did much better without those carbs because they just ignited my hunger. Up until day 10 not a lick of hunger surfaced. I still stay away from the carbs and focus on protein. Don't forget those no-sugar added popsicles. When melted they're 2 oz of fluids. When you get to pureed, we'll talk. :smile:

Candra, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Pat ~ I just saw that you got your fill. YAY!!! Chrissy, I'm happy to answer any Sleeve questions. I don't get by here very often because I'm on the Sleeve boards, but send a PM anytime! Ali ~ pureed foods weren't difficult for me. Now soft foods at one month were a problem. Lot's of throwing up as I got accustomed to how much to eat etc. Measure carefully, don't eyeball and never eat that last bite. Oh, and eat very slowly. Now that I've learned those rules, I can keep food down pretty well. Also, I can't take a Vitamin until around an hour after eating or they come right back up.

Wow, I miss reading for a few days and so much good stuff has happened! Ali - congratulations on making it to the Loser's Bench. Ash, I see that you're next sweetie. YAY Chrissy ~ GOAL! That's great. Coco's on her way to paradise. Heather shed 4 big ones. Tam's in school. Princess Candra is back in the fold. Beatriz looked gorgeous at the last Kaiser meeting! Pam and Pat forge ahead and keep going. So many changes. I"m doing good. Had a phone consult with Robin this week because I only lost 5 pounds in 6 weeks. Sleeve definitely isn't a magic wand either. I'm eating right on plan, upped the exercise to 60 minutes a day and still can barely get 1 pound a week. At least it's all in the right direction! Down down down. I'm still the medical mystery as to why my body won't let go of the weight on the scale. I'm down from 22/24 pants to a 16 that I wore yesterday. Pat, I'm soooo interested in clothes! Mo good to see you poppin your head in to say g'morning all the time. Jes, I haven't seen you in awhile. Where you at Maria? Hi to newbie Sherri and to all that I missed. Hugs all around..........

Tiffy darlin, you look more beautiful every time you post a new updated picture. You really do radiate on the outside how fabulous and happy you feel on the inside. I'm so glad that your Sleeve has helped you to be all that you want to be. Have a fabulous night at the party and revel in how far you've come.

I have pictures of my Sleeve and pictures of my stomach before they removed it. I got to see part of my operation at my 1 month post op. I know that they took my stomach out. Regardless of stalls and everything else, the surgery is so worth it. We may talk about being hungry, but it's nothing like pre-op hunger. I don't regret my surgery for even a NY minutes.

I can happily report that I've done 30-60 minutes of exercise daily for over 2 weeks. I'm trying very hard to get my weight loss going so I've really committed to the exercise. I'm getting in over 10,000 steps a day. Generally 12K to 15K steps and adding in swimming on the weekends along with stretching. It's not helped my weightloss a bit, but at least I'm getting the good feeling of accomplishing the exercise and sticking with it.

Thanks Barb!

I'm not having that experience. I eat and then I'm hungry within 2 hours and have to tough it through. Worst part is that it takes me over a week to lose a pound. I thought that 600 calories a day combined with an hour of exercise would help me lose, or at least not be hungry. From my seat, I'm sorry that you feel yuck about food but I'm thinking that not being hungry doesn't sound so bad to me. We're all so different. I hope you feel better.

I just want to say that I did great over the weekend. Saturday - Walked the lake in front of my house 3.7 miles, swam for 30 minutes. Sunday - Walked the lake again 3.7 miles This week will be more challenging as it's going to rain 3 days. Today it's not raining so I'm walking to work and back - 40 minutes and will walk 30 minutes at lunchtime. Anna - you have a great plan for the week. I'll be spending a lot of time in the gym on the treadmill on the rainy days. Let's keep moving everyone!

Good Morning! I came to wish CoCo a fun "see ya later" party. I hope you all have a great time. CoCo, I'm wishing you all the best of everything that this world has to offer. I hope that this move brings everything you desire in your relationship, life and furthering your dreams. Good Luck!!! Tamra, why not start with coming back to support group in Kaiser. Beatriz came last week and she's doing terrific and looks gorgeous. There's lots of inspiration in that room. Who cares if you get scolded. You didn't have the surgery to stay fat so go anywhere you can for inspiration and motivation. Ali, did you get your time? I'm so excited for you. Ashley, is your PCP at the Fremont Kaiser? Maybe you can switch to Richmond for surgery. There's a girl in my mini-support group that switched from Richmond to SSF and she's thrilled with the program there. She lives in Richmond but made the switch for surgery. I'm not sure how much faster Richmond is but they have 4 surgeons there. I know that Fremont gets most of the Bariatric patients from Sacramento. When I went to the Elk Grove support group most of the people there went to Fremont for surgery. I've been doing ok. Month two weight loss for me was only 4 pounds so that was very disappointing. I think I'm retaining fluids like a bear. So I set out to figure out what I have to do to lose. I'm not going to be held back by a failing metabolism. I go to several support groups/lunches a month to keep me motivated. I've discovered that to lose 1 pound or 2 a week, I have to exercise 1 hour a day, keep under 20 carbs and keep my calories between 500 and 600 for now. Things are starting to speed up now that I've learned what rules my body. I've been walking to work and back and walking 30 minutes at lunchtime. Weekends are swimming and walking Lake Merritt both day. I'm still in the soft food stage, eating around 2 ounces of meat per meal. I think I've finally figured out how to keep food down and now I'm concentrating on keeping down my vitamins. John, how you doing? I was glad to read that you've got some work in your future. Email anytime. Mo, Jes, Pam, Pat, Heather, Riley, Laurel, everyone... have a great weekend! :biggrin:

Great job Gary!

Great minds... I have dumb bells on the coffee table so that I can't miss them. They also remind me to stretch. I've been on an exercise roll for 10 days. Today - 20 minutes walk to work, 30 minute walk at lunchtime, 20 minute walk home. Total of 70 minutes walk time today. I'm in a fitness challenge over at OH in the Lightweight section. It's really made all the difference to be accountable. I think it's great to see it going over here as well! :001_tongue:

Anna, you little rockstar! Wonderful post and great information for people coming up on surgery. I'm so happy to hear you say that you're feeling good! :blushing:

You go girl! So happy to read that everything went well for you!

YAY! You are so going to make it to Onederland and beyond. It's great to hear you sounding so upbeat and happy! Congratulations!

Mini, how are you doing with your exercise this week? I am finding it so helpful to be part of a fitness challenge. Being accountable for 30 minutes a day seems to be helping to get my weight loss fired up.

Good luck Stacey!! I hope your surgery and recovery are smooth and easy!

Congratulations Paula! You really prove that it can be done when we work our Sleeve. Thanks for the inspiration!!

I too would have to say that it's the type of foods you're eating. I could eat more on the pureed stage than I can on the soft food stage. I definitely wouldn't worry about it.

I"m thinking about you and sending you healing energy and good thoughts this morning!

I'm so glad to hear that Tiffany is doing well. Please just keep sending her good energy from all of us!

We're all here to help you stay motivated. Just let us know what you need and also what the doc says. :confused:

Actually, not since February as I was 229 on surgery morning.

Thanks for the update PNW!