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Me??!!! If so, Noooooo,not a prank. I was fat and sassy!! Same me, just a new package, less of me, still sassy.

Are you attending a support group? If not, find one, they're great!!! I would go up a pound or two, down a pound, up that one pound, then all of a sudden, after the up and down game, one morning it would be gone.....and I'd start on the next one or two pounds. Several long timers said this was normal, they did the same thing. I reached my doctor's goal in five months and MY personal goal of five pound less, a month later. I did the up and down thing the entire time. I weighed every single morning, I still do. It's part of my life, it's what my doctor recommended. He likes us to keep track and they warn NOT to be anxious when the scale moves up. If we're doing what we are suppose to do, the weight is going to come off. He was right!! There was a time or two that that lb or two hung on close to a week, up and down, up and down. I figured out if I'd UP my Protein and drink more Water and iced tea, that helped kick start what I suppose was a short stall. Good luck!!!

I didn't even consider going to Mexico, I've been twice, once I walked across the bridge to Juarez back in the early 60's when it was safe to do this, the second time I went to an all inclusive resort with my daughter. Now days, no way would I go over there for anything. Period. My BMI was 36 or just under, I was self pay. My PCP told me to find a 'Center of Excellence' doctor, that was her only advice. I had no health issues, I consider it preventive maintenence.....when it comes down to it, surgery was mostly because of vanity. I wanted to shop, look good in clothes and enjoy doing so. Mission accomplished.

Something similar, it was like I strained getting out of bed and the largest incision, the one by my belly button, opened up a little. It refused to heal, the others were fine but this one had 'yuck' around it for ages, or so it seemed. The doctor had me put triple antibiotic ointment on it several times a day and keep it dry. So I had to make sure I patted it dry after showering and all that jazz. It took a couple of months I think, I'm not sure, but it was a while. It did heal and all was well eventually.

228 - April 2010 (day of seminar) 205 - June 11, 2010 (day of surgery) 150 - Nov 2010 (doctor's goal) 145 - Dec 2010 (my goal) 83 lbs total (highest weight ever....232)

Are you as 'on board' now as you were at month 2 or 3, that would be my question. If not, go back and eat Protein, protein, protein.....drink plenty of fluids, my favorite is iced tea. It's not Water, but the nurse finally told me to 'just drink fluids, iced tea is not water, but it keeps the water in the potty close to clear! I call it a win/win!!! I reached MY goal, (five lbs under Dr. D's goal for me) at six months and continued to lose. I did NOT want to lose any more but couldn't stop. Finally I was worried enough to call the dietitian and she said, ADD A COUPLE OF Snacks....ADD ADDITIONAL CALORIES. Well, I am good with grazing, and gained back to where I wanted to be. * Seriously, try and gain weight??? * LoL I can still lose if I want to. If I gain a few lbs down in Galveston while eating gumbo more than I really should, then I just cut out a snack when we get home, and within a few days, it's gone. It is NOT as easy now, but compared prior to surgery, it really is no effort. If you are eating anything you should NOT eat or if you have added a snack or two in.....just up the protein and cut it out. That last 14 lbs will come off, I'm sure of it!!! Good luck!!

At this point you aren't even eating regular food. Get protein and liquids in and make good choices. Choices should be easier now, but you have to choose wisely.

K - Congrats on your weight loss!!! It's nice to see I'm not a lone. One thing to keep in mind, I should have stated what most of us heard early on. The first year post-op is the honeymoon period. It's the easiest during that time to lose the most weight, so make the most of it!!! You're right, it took all of us I suspect, to get to where we were when we chose to do something permanent about it. I know I had dieted for about thirty years. I'd lost 50 lbs two, maybe three occasions and I'd lost 20 or 30 lbs more times than I can remember. Of course we ALL KNOW what happens....we gain what we lost back and an additional five or ten lbs for good measure. It was a never ending cycle, my weight was constantly on my mind it seemed. Now days, food, my weight and amazement at what has changed, occupies a lot of my thoughts, but now it's fun. Like I said before, I feel like it's me that is control now, not the food. I knew it had gotten bad when I 'accepted' my weight and just struggled to MAINTAIN 225 lbs. Good luck to all of you, we're lucky, I wish we could shout it from the rooftops. There are so many people I see out and I'd like to tell them, 'there is a way out, there is hope' - but we just can't do that. Oh well. Have a great weekend!

I see so many fellow 'sleevers' who are dedicated to exercise. If I were so inclined to be ashamed of myself, I would be!!! Someone had a 'confessions' topic......for me, it's being lazy, that is it, there it is, out there for all of you to see. I just posted somewhere else that I KNEW how lazy I am, I KNOW I have the attention span of a four year old and I KNEW if I incorporated exercise into my weight loss during the 'honeymoon' phase, I'd get bored and quit and gain some of the weight back. So, I had a 'Plan B' - and althought it might not work for everyone, so far, I've been successful. I knew that I'd have to make life syle changes.....I must make changes that I could live with forever, because Lord knows I cannot exercise forever, probably not for three months, not on a regular basis. I'm not that faithful. I confess, I reached goal in just under five months and NONE of it was from exercise. But, nothing passed my lips that should not. Not one bite of anything sweet, nothing fried, basically no bread, rice or Pasta....I was crazy rigid!!! I did and still do go up and down the stairs here in the house rather than avoid it as often as possible like I did prior to surgery, and I do park out in parking lots. That's the extent of my exercise program. I weigh, measure and log my food religiously. It's part of my life, it's like a game. I weigh every morning, I want to keep on top of it......and I weigh again at night. In the evening in my mind, I guess what I'll weigh the next day. I told you.....obsessive!!! I love it, all these things remind me that I AM IN CONTROL, and I want to keep it that way!! Some of my changes......I seldom ever have a chip. No more Hot Wings from Outback and no more fried calamarie unless someone else orders it and I can have two bites. Same goes for fried cheese sticks. There are things I did before, on a fairly regular basis, and now, only once in a blue moon, maybe. In my mind, NOTHING but carbonated drinks are off limits, but I CHOOSE not to eat certain things. The big difference is, I have little or no hunger, so resisting temptation is much easier. Having 85% of my tummy removed is a big deal. We have forced portion control, it is not comfy if we eat too much. I still have a lot of restriction, I can eat a lot more than I use to, but I cannot eat much, never, ever more than a cup and that's if it's 'soft'. I don't advocate not exercising, it's good for our hearts, weight loss......it's just good all the way around. For me, again I confess, I'm lazy, but am obsessive and rigid with what I eat. I'm aware of every single thing that goes into my mouth. I never feel deprived, I'd do this again in a New York minute! How 'bout you, is there anyone else that will confess to being lazy!!???

Sadly, I do NOT exercise, not during my five months of losing, or since then. I park far out in parking lots and I walk the mall as often as I can....window shopping etc. I know me and I KNEW I must make LIFE STYLE changes with food because I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want to lose weight due to exercise because I know I'm lazy and get bored easily.....and knew that if I lost weight this way, as soon as I stopped, and I assure you, I'd stop.....I'd gain weight. So other than my 5 lb weighted ball that I 'play' with every so often, (i finally realized that bat wings were not going anywhere no matter what I did, short of plastic surgery) I reached goal, then lost enough to have a 'pad' and I maintain totally by being a bit obsessive and at times 'rigid'. I go up and down a few pounds just like my non WLS friends. All I do is cut back a little or add a little, and it doesn't take much. I log, weigh and measure my food when I'm home.....today I was busy all day, I met a friend in a neighboring town.....my calories today, just under 800. I will weigh less tomorrow that I did this morning. This is my new life, and it's pretty easy. I don't 'diet' EVER. I may cut a snack out but it's not a big deal at all. This may not work for everyone, but for me, it's a breeze. I pray that I'll be saying the same thing five years from now.

In June I'll be three years post op, I am still surprised at how quickly I can drop a few pounds. I'm still below Dr. D's goal of 150, but I hoover (sp?) around 147, just a couple of pounds above MY personal goal. A few days ago I thought, I'm going to alter my calories just a little and see what happens. I almost always keep a food log, but I've been especially dedicated this week. I've gone up and down a little, which is normal for me, but this morning I got up and weighed 145.7. Whoooo whooo! I normally need 1200 - 1300 to maintain, I have been closer to eating 1300, maybe a little over, since Christmas and my weight has creeped up a few lbs, one time I was 151, and that totally was NOT OK!!!!! LoL This week I cut it back to 1100 - 1150. I do not feel deprived at all, I basically cut out a snack. Yesterday though, my protein was a little over 95 grams and total calories were 1034. Wow....and it feels as though I grazed all day but I kept track!! The cincher was dinner. I'd planned on making a chicken rice a roni casserole. I use Greek yogurt in it, half lite sour cream and half yogurt. It's topped with 2% cheddar.....it's not horrible, and I eat less than 3/4 a cup....but, there are still more calories than I really wanted. When I was at the grocery store I stumbled across a package of cooked, tail on shrimp in the meat dept. It looked sooooo good, it was half price because it had to be sold by today. I snatched it up and steamed it for dinner. Nothing else, cocktail sauce and shrimp. I made 6.5 oz but could only eat 4 oz at dinner. I saved the rest and THAT was a snack later on. That put me way over the top for protein. I am sure this helped with getting me down a pound from yesterday morning. (Yes, I weigh every single morning......for almost three years now!! I just wanted to share this......it is still pretty simple to lose a few pounds just by making a few good choices, NOT a diet, just a choice!!!! A half cup of cottage cheese for breakfast with about a quarter cup of pineapple 'tidbits'. Breakfast of champions!!!

cheese and shrimp quesadilla??? Where did you find that? It sounds delish!!!

Cara, Good luck! You will not regret this surgery. It makes life so much easier, staying on track with our weight, so much easier! It was a struggle just to maintain 228 lbs., losing at that point wasn't even really a thought. I had gotten to the point that I'd "accepted" that size and fought to stay there and not get heavier. I'm so glad I made this decision. Again, good luck, I'd love to hear how you're doing!!! stacy

I'm not on myfitnesspal. I guess I should be, everyone else is. What is the deal, can you 'visit' with others on this site or what???

Prayers are with you!!! You'll do great. A year from now you'll be shocked at how different your life is!!! Find a support group, if you haven't. Where are you having surgery at? Mine was at Forest Park Medical Center back in June 2010. No regrets, a wild ride, enjoy the journey. It's fun!!!

Thank you!! I feel good and cannot believe I'm four months away from 3 years out. Life is good, I still weigh every day, like someone else said, a few lbs is easy to handle, ten or twelve, not so much!!! Life is good for all of us, I think. No regrets, ever!!

Hi Queen of Crop!! I had surgery June 11, 2010, I'm going on three years. Like you, sleeve surgery surpassed my wildest dreams. I would have been happy as a pig in mud had I gone from 228 to 170, size 12. It happened so quickly I KNEW I'd underestimated what I could do with my new little tummy!!! It was a wild ride, I loved every single minute. Never a second of buyer's remorse!!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!! I never thought I'd have WLS, and when I did start entertaining the idea, I considered the lapband. I changed my mind pretty quick when I started reading about sleeve surgery. I made the right decision. I love shopping, I am finally use to seeing the NEW ME in the mirror, but I still like my husband to point out someone who is similar in size. It is strange to see others who are my size. It is easier to see they are small, tiny, skinny.....all three words that have been said to me, about me. I still find that shocking. I was standing in line at Michael's last week, of course there is candy there at the check out. I was actually looking to see what I'd like that would more than likely trigger a migraine. The lady behind me said something about the candy and then said "You can afford to have some, I cannot" and she patted her mid section. I said something like 'None of us can, not really' - but I still know that I cannot and should not eat candy. Of course every so often I'll have something, but candy is not a treat I ever really indulged in prior to surgery.....it still feels strange to have somebody say that to me when I KNOW THE TRUTH!!!! I guess folks cannot look at 'us' and know just by looking. Do you find yourself feeling similar to this??!!!

At not quite three years, I've been able to eat 2 eggs for about a year. I've never been told by anyone that more than one egg is bad. In fact, Dr. Davidson's dietitian told us at the seminar that the egg is the 'perfect' protein. I'm not sure why, but an egg or two is my fall back food when I need to get in additional protein.

I have so many, but I guess my favorite is discovering I DO have a collarbone! Feeling my shoulders when I shower, it is so strange, it is STILL so strange that I feel 'boney'. I love that I can shop in the missy dept. Other than the 'big girl', mens or children stores, I can find something to wear in any store I walk into. The 'fat me' still giggles inside when someone calls me skinny, thin or small. Serioiusly, me???!!!! LOL I love it that my husband can pick me up and when we cuddle, he has said I'm so little sometimes he thinks I'm fragile. Nope, still the old me, just in a smaller package. I can't imagine ever going back to that life and I can't imagine the head games we play ever going away. They do keep me on my toes though, so it's not bad!!! I love this thread!

Talk to you physician. I felt NO hunger, I still don't. I do feel empty at times, I call it my NEW hunger....but that didn't start until about 14 months out. In the beginning, the first month, maybe two. I couldn't eat but about an eighth of a cup of anything at one sitting. At almost 3 years 1 cup of oatmeal is almost too much. They told us prior to surgery, we should never eat more than 1 cup. Eat 'under' your sleeve. Weigh and measure your food when you are home. Do you feel what some refer to as 'head hunger' or is it honest to goodness, I'm famished hunger with a growling tummy and all? Find a support group in your area and GO, you'll find it helpful, I'm sure!

I totally understand. I've lost and re-gained 50 lbs three different times in my life. 20 or 30 lbs, more times than I can remember. Of course, an additional 5 or 10 lbs would creep up on me too. This is a GREAT tool, I've never had buyers remorse. I wish we could shout about it from the roof tops!!!

Good morning Ms. Skinniness!!! From looking at your ticker, it looks like we are similar in stats from the beginning. Cutting out all wheat products, yikes, that will be difficult, or at least it sounds like it would be!!! I am not on myfitnesspal, I've kept a food log on fitday.com from the beginning. What do I eat you asked!!! I'll give you an example of my day thus far, and what I have planned, then I'll tell you what else is pretty common for me most days. I ate two scrambled eggs with about a half an ounce of grated 2% mild cheddar cheese in them. I ate 1.5 LF graham crackers (2 full ones are 1 serving) with Natural Peanut Butter on them. Probably about .33 - .5 TB. We had grilled chicken Saturday night and there is one thigh left (no skin, of course). I am going to heat it up and eat .25 cup of 1% cottage cheese. A high Protein lunch for sure!!! My husband is not going to be home at dinner, so I have leftover round steak, cooked in 98% FF Cream of Mushroom Soup, mashed potatoes and corn that I'll eat. I haven't weighed the steak yet, but it is about 2.5 oz. I'll eat maybe .25 cup of the potatoes and a couple of TB of corn. The cream of mushroom soup makes the meat so soft and easy to eat.....and is nice 'gravy' for the potatoes. This isn't a new thing I cook, I've cooked round steak like this for a good fifteen years!! I will have a couple more Snacks today. Grahams and peanut butter, maybe some Wheat and Bran Shredded Wheat. Oh, I've had 1 cup of skim milk and several cups of coffee. What I normally eat for Breakfast, when I don't have an egg or two, I eat cottage cheese with a little canned fruit in lite syrup. Once in a while I'll have a couple of pieces of cinnamon toast. Whole wheat bread and I don't eat all the crust, so not quite 2 full pieces. I'll make French Toast, although it's rare. I can eat maybe 1.5 pieces and yes, I do use syrup! (lite, not sugar free) Many days I make tuna fish.....solid white in Water with 1.5 TB of Lite Mayo and maybe a small dill or sweet pickle. Half the can is about 13 grams of protein. I'll eat it on Special K crackers, 10 or 12. Sometimes the mini club crackers, 10 or 12. I do not fry things, but I didn't do that prior to surgery, it makes the house stink!! I cook basically just like I always have. A casserole, spaghetti, grilled fish, beef or chicken along with a steamed veggie or two and I normally always have the cottage cheese on hand as a side. There is you have it.....oh, I like to keep a frozen bag of shrimp on hand, especially if I need to cut back on calories for a day or two. 3 oz is a lot of protein and LOW in calories, I'll eat 3 or 4 oz for lunch, steamed with cocktail sauce. Yum!!! So, what do you eat??!!! Any new ideas??

What a great idea!! Thank you!!! I just wrote it on my grocery list, I'm going to pick some up. Use to, prior to surgery, I'd snack on chips, cheese Its and that is all I can think of, although I know there were other things. It seems like a life time ago. Now days, Cheese It's aren't in the house and chips are not something I eat very often. The only chips in our house are Baked Dorito Scoops, my husband eats them with sandwiches, but the only way I like them is if I happen to make guacamole and NEED something to hold it!! I think cutting chips out of my normal diet has been very helpful, as well as bread. I seldom eat bread at home, a piece of toast with an egg occasionally, but not normally and I buy Lite English Muffins every so often and will toast one and then use 1 slice of 2% American Cheese between the two sides. Pretty good Protein and it's good for a change. I usually eat a couple of eggs or cottage cheese with peaches or pineapple.

Good morning and good luck with the insurance stuff!! As far as maintenence, it's been really easy. The hardest part was stopping the weight loss. MY goal was 5 lbs less than my doctor's goal. I got EIGHTEEN lbs lower than HIS goal and was freaking out. I was looking bad and my size 4 jeans were getting too big. Size 2's are not easy to find really....so I knew it was time to take action! (all about shopping/priorities!!!) I talked to Dr. Davidson's dietitian and she had me add calories (snacks or additional small meals) to my diet. She said once I got to where I was comfortable, I'd have to play with the calories to see what I needed to maintain. Snacking, what a novel Idea, didn't that get me to where I'd been???!!! Oh well, I could not eat much at a sitting, so I added snacks and it worked. I got back to where I wanted to be, anywhere from 3 - 7 lbs below Dr. Davidson's goal and then figured out I NEED 1200 - 1350 calories a day to maintain. I still measure and/or weigh my food when we eat at home, and I do keep a food log. I also weigh every single morning. Dr. D recommends it, always has. He says it is easier to take off three or four lbs than it is ten or twelve. Oh so true!!! Anyway, I've lost 81 lbs, give or take 2 or 3, depending on the day. It seriously is EASY. I still don't get hungry, my 'new hunger' is an empty feeling, NEVER a "OMG, I'm starving" feeling. NEVER! I can eat something, or I can ignore it. My issues before was snacking, which is bizarre, now I must snack to get all my calories in.....and portion control. When we get sleeve surgery, we are signing up for FORCED portion control. That is what I needed!!! I was never a 'coke' girl, so soft drinks weren't a problem, but if I wanted something, I ate it and would eat more than I should. Two donuts rather than a donut hole. An entire Mexican food platter rather than an ala carte enchilada. I will get rice and beans off my husband's plate, about 1 T of each. At this point, THAT seems like a lot of food.....logically I KNOW it isn't!!! It IS a lot more than I could eat 18 months ago, but I still have GREAT restriction, if I eat too much, it is uncomfortable. I gained five lbs during the Christmas holidays and all I had to do is cut back a tiny bit here and there and lost it. I love, love, love my sleeve. I promise, you will too. It is life changing!!! Good luck and you can ask me anything!

June 11th will be three years for me. I reached goal in just under five months and kept going. The dietitian told me to add calories back into my diet to get all I needed to maintain and gain back a little if I needed to. I was looking 'gaunt' and needed to put about fifteen lbs back on from my very lowest. Grazing, snacks....???!!!! I'm comfortable doing that, I'd done it for years, although I'd broken that habit. Now though, it's easier to back off if necessary. I put on several pounds and then I started this maintenence business! My question is this....what do YOU snack on??!!! I'll split a piece of Star Bucks pumpkin bread with my husband and I am pretty sure I'm addicted to LF Graham Crackers with a little Natural Peanut Butter on them. 2 large crackers is one serving, 140 calories. I will eat 1.5 a couple of times a day. I like the Snackwell's vanilla cookies, but I'm backing off those a little. I was keeping nuts in the house, but for a fourth cup, the calories are way too high, I don't care how 'healthy' they are. So, any ideas for something new? Last week I was thinking back to earlier in my journey and I picked up sugar free choc pudding and sugar free jello. I like them both with a little FF or SF Cool Whip or Reddi Whip. C'mon, help me out here, my brain is numb I think!! Oh, I also have Whole Wheat Shredded Wheat, I will eat a half cup, dry, just to snack on. It's good for me and I love the 'crunch'.