April 2011 Sleevers: How's it going?

 I like all of the Jay Robb flavors, and it is high quality and high protein and low carb.

Well I had my surgery on 4/4 and I have lost a total of 31lbs since surgery. I have been doing great had a little bit of a pause for 2 weeks but I'm finally loosing again. I'm so glad I've done this.

Keep on keepin' on!!

I'm almost 3 weeks post op and down 23 lbs (including 7lbs on 3 day pre op diet).  Will be doing measurements monthly so next week I'll have some numbers there.  Hubby says he can see the difference in me already though.

Exercise : none.  I'm still really exhausted.  I want to get to the gym but I just don't have the energy yet after a full day of work.  Weekends have been basically sleeping and resting as much as I can for the coming work week.

Liquids: Still not able to get my full water in.  I get about 1/2 as much as I'm supposed to be I'd say.

Food: lean deli meats wrapped around light cream cheese, lean turkey meatballs, eggs, cottage cheese, protein shakes.  Still only able to get maybe 3oz of food in at a time.

Vitamins: Daily. Liquid multi vitamin and liquid Vit D3, B12 sublingual.

You are on your way!! Good job!! I may have to try your deli meat with cream cheese, sounds good!

Still plugging along on plan! 

So far, weighing in today at 250.9 down from presurgery 264 on April 11th. Pre-op I lost from 280 to 264 over a month and a half or so. My body is looking and feeling smaller- loving it!

Everything I've tried has agreed with me so far, beef, fish, lunchmeats.. have not tried chicken yet- soon.

Still supplementing protein to get to 70+. Still keeping carbs well under 40, usually 25-30ish.

Walking on the treadmill daily, need to step that up in intensity a bit.. need to get this downward trend moving just a little faster and get my stamina up, though I am still very happy with near 30lbs in 3 months of working it.

Energy is getting back to what it was before surgery, happy about that. My mood is and has been great, sex drive is great, and we both noticed a huge diff the first time afterwards, much smaller feeling (me!)

Centrum women's ultra is a huge horse pill. I take 1/2 am and the other pm, and it occasionally nauseates me! B12 is a life-saver energy wise. Taking my nexium, no issues with acid.. iron & biotin (5000mcg, been taking it for a year) and cal citrate with D are the other vites I get in. Bought L-carnitine on a whim, don't know why.. I hate taking pills..

Doing great!! Glad everything is agreeing with you. I hear chicken agrees with some, not many, hope you have a good experience with it.
You are doing great getting the vits in. I hate taking pills too.

I had my surgery on April 12th and hit a milestone of 50lbs lost today. To put things into perspective for others, I'm including 17lbs lost prior to Optifast in my total. I am counting my weight loss from when I changed my eating habits in January.

In my first month out from surgery I had a 20 day stall. Although I wasn't thrilled about it, I didn't let it bother me too much because I knew it was par for the course. The stall's broken now and I'm back to losing about 1lb/day.

Protein: I have no trouble getting in my protein. I get about 80g/day.

Water: I dislike the taste of plain water now. I think it's the only taste change I've encountered. I can drink real spring water like Evian but tap water or bottled tap water like Aquafina or Dasani tastes very  unpleasant to me. I am putting Crystal Light into all of my water but even that can hardly mask the taste of tap water. As a result, I have yet to get in 64oz of water in a day yet but I keep pushing for it.

Food generally: I've tolerated everything I've tried so far. I'm craving salad - I can't wait to be able to eat raw vegetables again.

Vitamins: I need to work harder to remember to take my liquids - iron and calcium, specifically - but I am doing well with remembering to take my pills.

Upside:
-- I'm down three pant sizes and two top sizes.
-- I'm not hungry.
-- I have no regrets.

Downside:
-- My energy has been much slower to return than I expected. I thought I'd be back at work part-time after a week but I'm still only doing part-time after four weeks! I'm not overly concerned because my energy is definitely improving but I've had my levels checked just in case. I'll get the results this week so I can make changes if needed.
-- Because I'm quite tall, 50lbs isn't as noticeable on me as it is on many other women. Then again, 50lbs on the way up in weight wasn't as noticeable either so I can't really complain too much about that.

Most people can't tolerate plain water. I have a water cooler in my house and buy the 5 gallon water bottles from Sam's club. That is the only water that tastes descent. I can't take any sweet drinks. Even my sweet tea that I loved, loved, I can't get much down.
I had been craving a salad too but when I figure how little I can eat and how big a salad and all the stuff I like to put on it, I am rethinking salad when I am able to tolerate them.
Can't wait til I'm down 50 lbs. hopefully someone will notice soon.
Keep it up!!

6 weeks post op:  Energy returned about 10 days ago mid a 2 1/2 week plateau.  Finally losing again this last week.  Eating regular food 2 to 3 oz at a time.  Eating a high concentration of soft things cause they seem to be the protein things:  eggs, beans, tuna, yogurt, cottage cheese.  This AM had my first half of an lite English Muffin with Cottage Cheese and butter.  Cool!  Still need two soy milk shakes a day to get in the required protein.  TG, I like them.  Nutritionist told me to add fruit to add good carb calories and to add some small amounts of other carbs.

Can't seem to get much over 1000 calories a day.  Light-headed only when I have had a busy day or haven't gotten in enuf calories.  Off Protonix: instead having a cup of tea in the AM to calm tummy.  Had a cheeseburger Friday for dinner.  Took one small real bite: then tossed bread out - ate half - put away for two hours and ate all but a small amount of it.   Was great! 

Exercise is my worst.  I have done some walking but very inconsistent.  Walked for a few hours through an art show this past weekend but not aerobic at all.  Going to FLA at end of month.  Will be in a house with a pool and a dog to walk so that will help.

Chewable vitamins upset my stomach and give me a weird rush (maybe B's).  Doing some reserach into what else I might take.  Thinking about trying to swallow pill supplements again.  Post surgery w/hiatal hernia fix I couldn't swallow any pills.