Anyone on here from the Omaha metro area?

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I just had my sleeve this Monday it's such a struggle to get enough liquid in

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I just had my sleeve this Monday it's such a struggle to get enough liquid in

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For several months after surgery, it is going to feel like sipping liquids is a full time job, and truthfully, it is. It's extremely important to be as consistent as possible with constantly sipping Water or Protein drinks to stay hydrated and hit your protein goals. Those two things are going to be KEY through your entire weight loss journey. I'm six months post-op and those are STILL my two main focuses everyday. However, I digress. Right now, just focus on sipping away. It will get better, I promise.

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Thank you glad to know it's normal

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My surgery was 10/19 with Winterstein. He was great.

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Hi Guys! I had my 3 month appt yesterday with Dr. Cronk. While there I asked him what was going on with him and Dr. Anthone.

-Dr. Cronk is leaving.. He hopes to have made a final decision as to where in the next month and will send out a letter to all of his patients letting them know. He said its very likely that his family will be moving and that he will NOT be staying in Omaha.

-Dr. Anthone is leaving Methodist but staying in Omaha. He will be starting his own practice.

-Dr. Cronk told me he will see me at my 6 month appt in January as he doesn't plan on leaving until Spring 2017.

My 3 month appt went well. I'm down about 53 pounds since surgery, 63 since my 1 week pre op diet. Released to all foods. All my Vitamin levels and blood work came back great, except for my Vitamin D which is a little low but nothing drastic.

Still can't believe Methodist is losing those two!!

Congratulations on an awesome 3 month checkup!!! Amazing progress!!! Keep up the great work!!

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Just got done with my 6 month post-op appointment, all my blood work was spot on where it should be and I've lost 165 pounds, so far!!!

I don't have any new information to share on the Cronk/Anthone saga or what is going to happen with the clinic after they leave. I CAN tell you that they scheduled my 9 month post-op appointment, so that's good news.

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WOW. That's incredible. Care to share some of your best tips for someone 4 weeks out?

165 pounds is INCREDIBLE! What type of exercising are you doing?

WOW. That's incredible. Care to share some of your best tips for someone 4 weeks out?

I keep things pretty simple. I eat my Protein first for every meal, focus on hitting my protein goals on a daily basis, and limit fats and sugars (typically under 10 grams per day per category). Additionally, I exercise every day. Nothing special, just walking, but I push my limits to walk further and faster every time I go out. I typically burn 1000-1200 calories during my daily walk (about 90 minutes of walking) and consume about 500 calories of nutrient dense food. It's all about the calorie deficit.

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165 pounds is INCREDIBLE! What type of exercising are you doing?

I walk every morning. When I started out I was walking 30 minutes, about a mile and a half. Over the last six months I've been gradually increasing my time, distance, and speed. Now I'm walking 7 miles in 90 minutes.

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165 pounds is INCREDIBLE! What type of exercising are you doing?

I walk every morning. When I started out I was walking 30 minutes, about a mile and a half. Over the last six months I've been gradually increasing my time, distance, and speed. Now I'm walking 7 miles in 90 minutes.

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You are doing amazing, you should be so proud!!

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. Making good progress? How are the eating and exercise habits coming along?

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I'm doing pretty well. I set a personal goal to lose 75 pounds by Christmas (surgery July 27th) and I'm only 2.5 pounds away from that now, so I should definitely make the goal! That will also only put me 8 pounds away from ONEDERLAND, which is crazy since I haven't been part of that club in almost a decade!

I have a TRX system in my basement, so I do body weight exercises with that and I also purchased a hip hop step dvd (http://www.xtremefitnesswithphil.com/videos.html) . I feel like an idiot doing it and the first time I barely lasted 15 minutes, but its actually a lot of fun!

I struggle with food. There have been 2 days in the past 10 days or so where I realized its almost 1pm and I haven't eaten a single thing. Because of this I have gone back to drinking Protein shakes for Breakfast. Impossible to get all my protein in if I don't eat for the first half of the day. chicken is still tough for me, I can get in maybe 1.5 oz, I tend to do better with beef. Any go to meals or recipes you care to share?

I have my 6 month appt with NP Ali on January 3rd. I'm thinking of calling and seeing if I can change my appt to meet with Dr. Cronk as it will likely be the last time I see him before he leaves. I have to have my Vitamin D checked again as it was on the lower end of normal at my 3 month check. My PCP said it was fine, but Dr. Cronk said if it doesn't go up he will put me on a prescription Vitamin D I have to take 1 time a week.

We had our Christmas pictures done in the beginning of November and its the first time in forever that I didn't cringe and want to cry at every photo. Still lots of work to be done, but PROGRESS! (one of the photos is added to my gallery if you want to see )

Wow!! Sounds like you are doing AWESOME!!! Congratulations on being so close to your goal!!

With regards to eating, I completely understand how easy it is to get sidetracked and not eat until after noon. I actually set alarms on my Fitbit for meal times. This accomplishes two things. First, it helps me remember to eat. Second it keeps my eating evenly spaced so that I'm fueling my body consistently throughout the day for better nutrition absorption.

As far as the food itself is concerned, I'm pretty basic, so I don't have much to share as far as meals or recipes. I primarily eat chicken. I found that shredded chicken was best to start with for my stomach. I made shredded taco chicken meat a LOT until I was able to get the "chewing to a pulp" routine down. So, shredded taco chicken topped with a little fat free sour cream and mild salsa. Now, I look for marinades that have less than 5g of sugar per serving, cut up 2-3 pounds of chicken breast, marinate and cook it in the marinade. Drain the excess marinade and box in 2 oz quantities for lunches and dinners. I add steamed veggies to round things out. I like making chicken fajitas, I don't eat tortillas, just the filling. But, I like the chicken/bell pepper/onion combo. My standard day consists of 1) Protein shake and Vitamins, 2) beef/turkey Jerky, 3) chicken and veggies, 4) Protein Shake, 5) salmon/chicken/steak/turkey and veggies.

Again, congratulations on the amazing progress you have made!! VSG is an amazing tool if the patient commits to the lifestyle change and it sounds like you have!! Keep up the awesome work!!!

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