Lee

Hi Everyone! It sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. I'm so so happy to hear that! What a gorgeous day for a walk too! CoCo, how sad for us that you're moving and how great for you that you're getting this fresh start that you're wanting. Your hubby having plenty of work is always a wonderful thing. Wishing you all the best of everything in this move. Chrissy, You can email or send me PM's anytime you want to ask about the Sleeve. I think you should also go and join verticalsleevetalk.com where everything is about the Sleeve. Obesityhelp.com also have a forum completed devoted to the Sleeve where you'll find lots of information. I'm Lee~ on both those sites. John is a great resource as well! I had a fun day. First my friend Bonnie (whom some of you know from Kaiser support group) and I went to the Contra Costa Obesity Help luncheon out in Concord. It was fun to see people, eat good food on plan and participate in the clothing exchange. After that we raced over to San Leandro to the Obesity Help monthly support group. That was my first time there and it was a big group of very nice people. So my day was filled with lots of WLS support as well. I came home pretty wiped out. It got late so swimming today was out, but I did get to swim for an hour yesterday. It felt really good to move and to get some sun. I'm in my first weight stall but I'm not very concerned as it happens to so many transitioning to soft foods. I'm eating 1/4 to 1/3 cup of food three times a day so I know my respond soon. I have a feeling patience goes a long way on this journey, as does exercise so I'm going for a long walk in the morning. Sweet dreams everyone and someone please post pics from today!

Good luck with your surgery! Please don't worry about the fluids. Since Day 5, I've been getting in at least 64 oz a day.

This is so cool that the two of you have matching Sleeves! Welcome to VST. This is a fantastic forum with wonderful people. Ask any questions that you may have. There are always lots of answers. I had my Sleeve exactly one month before you! :lol0:

Tamra honey, we are on different plans. If yours calls for 3 oz of meat, then that's what you should be having. I go by measuring cup, not scale weight. I really like weighing on my food scale better, just because it's easier. I'm getting where I can eyeball that meatloaf. Let us know how your meatloaf turns out. It seems to be very dense when it's done so remember to only eat until you're full. I get the hiccups when I've had one tiny bite too many. :frown:

Great job with the exercise Tamra!!

Hi Tamra, Do you have a measuring cup? Use that. It's impossible to tell by weight because meats weigh differently and take up more/less room in the measuring cup. Are you at 1/4 or 1/2 cup at this stage? Fill that with your meatloaf and that is your portion. I'm finding that 1/4 cup of meatloaf is perfect. I just ate 1/4 cup with a sprinkling of cheese melted on it and I'm stuffed. I hope you get filled enough to feel satisfied. If you're interested, Robin cautioned that refried beans are a slider food and aren't on our program. Whole beans are ok. I'm off to the pool. This is my first time of the season. Wish me luck! I hope I'm warm enough to get in. I'm still a little nervous about my incisions but Dr. Baggs said I can go for it, sauna, hot tub and all!

Hi Tamra, I think there's a reason they want us to eat three meals a day. Pammie is right, statistics show that people that start with a good breakfast do well during the day. The old saying is "eat like a king at breakfast, like a prince at lunch and like a pauper at dinner". I've yet to master it as all three of my meals are pretty much exactly the same. I think the saying is geared more towards American type overfilling of our plates. I love ground beef and ground turkey. I feel like I could eat it three times a day. Right now I'm working my way through a Trader Joe's turkey meatloaf. I had to freeze half of it last night. It's just so much easier to eat the same thing and not have to think about it. So back to ground beef. My fave is to fry it up in chunks with just a tsp of olive oil (I get the 95% fat free beef). I throw some mexican spices like cumin in there while it's cooking. Once it's done I top it with a little sour cream and salsa. For whatever reason I could eat that three times a day and not be sick of it. I also like scrambling an egg over it while it's still hot in the pan and adding some hot salsa to that. If you have enough calories left, you can add just a touch of melted cheese for flavoring. YUM, I just may need to get a turkey burger out of the freezer!

Ash, some people like the unflavored protein. It kinda makes me gag. If you put it into hot liquid, you need to make sure the liquid isn't over 130 degrees or the protein will clump. Mix the protein in a little water first before you pour it into the hot liquid. I had some in chicken broth and could tolerate it and also put some into hot chocolate once. Overall just the thought makes me gag so I don't use it. I may need to start again. I've never had it in water because while it's unflavored, it still smells like protein. I'd rather just mix the flavored with water or organic unsweetened soymilk (trader joe's 3 carbs for 8 oz) because at least it tastes ok that way.

Hello everyone, Tamra, you did great with your food today! John, Robin said to start with 1/4 cup when on soft foods. When I tried 3 oz of meatloaf I was way too full but didn't slime. Today I ate 2oz and it was perfect and kept me full for 4-5 hours. Are you measuring your food? I think you are. If yes, cut back the portion size and see if that helps. I kept my portions really small today and did great. Maybe I have a bigger sleeve than you! It looks small in the pics but who the heck knows. I'm really concerned about the very low protein at this stage. Sweet dreams everyone!

Wow Marie! I had surgery the same day as you and I'm down 18 pounds. Did you lose any of those 40 pounds pre-op or all since surgery? I'd love to know what you're eating and what your exercise is. Do you do Protein supplements? Curious girls want to know!:smile1:

It's hard to believe that a month has gone by since my surgery. Other than being intolerant of the whey Protein shakes from Day 5 to Day 10, the month has flown by with no complications or distress. There were so many days that I wondered if I had a Sleeve, then I looked at my pictures of my little worm and knew that the Doc did the deed. I went back to work (desk job) on day 7. I worked from home the first week, then started back in at my office. The first few days were 1/2 in the office, 1/2 working at home, then back to 8 or 9 hour days. I think that working has impinged on my energy levels for working out. I'm hoping to get in more walking and gym time in month two. My one month followup with my Surgeon was perfect. He removed Morbidly Obese from my file! He was delighted with my results and my progress. I'll have labs done May 1st and see him around the 17th of May for my three month follow-up. I started soft food yesterday and think that I overate at two meals. lunch was 3 ounces of meatloaf. Way too much. Wanted to come back up for several hours. Terribly uncomfortable while training a group of adults. dinner was 3 oz of tilapia. Again, too full. Today I'll get out my 1/4 cup measure and use that. I think I'm doing great in not comparing myself to anyone else on the forums. This is my journey and my results will be different than others. I'm keeping a positive attitude and trusting that I will be just as successful as everyone else. My post-op matra is "Everything always works out for me!". I've noticed my weight loss really slowing down. If I can keep at 2+ pounds a week, I'll be happy! I'm only 10.7 pounds from Onederland and my Half Way point. I'm going to post my numbers because I know how curious I was as a pre-op. I'm 59 and 5'4. My high weight was 249 a year ago. I started at 229 on surgery morning on the Kaiser scale. Week 1 - 7.4 Week 2 - 5.8 Week 3 - 2.2 Week 4 - 2.8 Did I mention that I love my Sleeve! :001_tongue:

Diane, I'm so excited for your surgery! Keep us posted on how you're doing please. :smile1:

I was on liquids for the first two weeks post op. I ate a lot of no sugar added fruit juice popsicles. When I went to full liquids I mostly ate 1/4 cup of greek yogurt. I sometimes had a cup of chicken broth. I mostly just tried to get in my 64 oz of fluids after day 5. I felt zero hunger until Day 10, then started to get tiny little hunger pangs. Hang in there. It all gets better very quickly!

Hi Ruby, I was wondering where you'd gone off to! I'm so happy to read that the problem is resolved. Keep us posted on how you're feeling please. How exciting that you're going to see your DH. I bet he'll be delighted to see you!

Candra, I bet that dress is too long because you've lost weight and now it just hangs closer to the floor. As your hips and stomach shrink, your clothes grow longer. :cursing: Pat, I don't think I'll make it on Saturday. I had already signed up for an Obesityhelp luncheon on that day. I missed last month because of surgery so I really committed to going this month. I'm trying to take it easy because I have to go to SAC to work three days next week. I hope that I'll be able to make the next event of our group here!! John, congrats on your 20 phenomenal, fantastic pounds! That's so interesting that Dr. Fisher thinks you'll lose 20 pounds a month. You guys are such snakes! From everything I've read, women let go of 5-10 pounds a month after the first month. I'll be thrilled with 10 pounds a month but know that I have to really get my exercise in gear. Tamra, you can do this sweetie. Clean your house and commit to eating all of your meals at home. Step away from Starbucks and other eateries. It's so much simpler to eat at home with your measuring cups and food scale. You want this weight release so badly or you wouldn't have undergone the surgery. You deserve this! Tina, where have you gone? We all want to hear from you. How are you doing? Ali, are you getting ready for surgery? So excited for you. Waving a big good morning to everyone!

Welcome Robbie! This board is the best place to gather information and meet others who are on the same journey. Everyone around here is so friendly and we all look out for one another. Please post often and let us know how you're doing.

Morbidly Obese from my chart on Friday at my followup visit! How cool is that!!!

Many thanks!

Hi Sarah, I wanted to come give you a big hug to Celebrate your first month. You're right, there's lots of changes all at once. I know that you're going to do fine. Your weight loss is stellar and you're off to a fantastic start in that area. Many kudos to you.

I loved the fruit juice, no sugar added popsicles that were 25 calories. I liked that they didn't have any artificial ingredients. I think everyone goes through that "saying g'bye" to food phase. I personally wasn't able to because I was right at my pre surgery goal weight. I had to be at 230 for surgery and knew that they would send me home if I wasn't. Surgery morning I was 228.8 so I really didn't have room to go out and eat. In some ways I'm glad because it put my eating on a short leash. Three days before surgery I had a small serving of french fries, and that night had brown rice with a Thai seafood and eggplant dish. I just told myself that all the foods that I was missing were the ones that took me to 249 pounds. I knew that eventually I'd be able to have one or two bites of foods that I missed, once I got to goal. After the first bite, it's all feeding the head and not the stomach, right? If you're having a field day pre-op, don't beat yourself up and try to keep things as healthy as possible. We get to learn new habits as we prepare for surgery.

Hi Ishary! I posted a review of my first month this morning. Today marks the start of my second month. I'm down 18.2 pounds for the month. It looks like you're doing fantastic! Congratulations.

I thought we were probably neighbors! Congratulations on your first week and your first 10 pounds. Isn't it great? I was down 9.4 after the first week and I kept getting off and on the scale because I couldn't believe it! You're already out of the Morbidly Obese range. Congratulations! What a victory eh?

Thanks so much Timetofly!!

Thanks so much Barbara!

Good Morning everyone! I can't believe it's been a month since John and I had surgery. In retrospect it's gone pretty quickly for me. Yesterday was my first day official day of soft foods. I overate at two meals. Lunch was 3 oz of meatloaf that wanted to come back up for about 4 hours. Dinner was 3 oz of tilapia. That was too dense as well. I guess today I have to get out that 1/4 cup measuring cup. I'm down 18.2 pounds for the month. I'm definitely not complaining. Weight loss has slowed to around 2.5 pounds a week. I've never lost that much before, so no complaints. Working 8 hours a day, I haven't had much energy for exercise so I'm hoping to change that in month 2. John, I know you're going to blow me out of the water with 30 pounds or something phenomenal. Good luck going back to work this week! Good luck on decarbing to those of you that are on that path! Have a fun day!