AnaA

Week 19 has been very positive. But it started out pretty scary. And because of that I had to get disciplined. After Thanksgiving for weigh in I was down 1 lb last week and happy about that. But I had pumpkin pie and cool whip for Thanksgiving on Thursday, 1 slice, then again Friday, 1 slice and Saturday, 1 slice. After having pumpkin pie and cool whip 3 days in a row I began to notice something startling! I started getting mental cravings and Sugar cravings!! I found myself thinking of having pie after I'd eaten it on Friday and counting down the minutes until I could have it on Saturday and then after eating it on Saturday feeling like I really needed to have just 1 more slice. But I did not. And I decided not to eat any on Sunday. Also, instead of my eating 3 times a day, I was snacking into the night, two separate times and I did this on Friday and Saturday. And even though my snack choices were healthy ones, I felt them going toward unhealthy things like salty tortilla chips. All mental cravings. The power of the sugar craving was strong and constantly on my mind, but I denied it. The mental cravings were more alarming in that I recognized eating sugar triggers a need to eat salt which was an old pattern of mine, candy or frosting and then salty chips. *GULP* Sugar cravings!!! *sigh* This is the problem I have with sugar. I was VERY disgusted with feeling like this. I knew that I needed to address this right away and discipline myself and get things under control before they got out of hand, because OOOH how easily they get out of hand. And I am not that woman anymore, the one who let's this get out of hand. The day of my surgery that all changed and I refuse to allow it back in. I wanted to get a handle on this ASAP so that in retrospect I could look back on this time and say, ok, don't eat sweets, even 1 slice 3 days in a row, not even 2 days in a row. Also, I wanted to handle this immediately so that I could look back on the end of week 18, (and Saturday and Sunday of week 19) and say, Ok, it got ugly, but you took charge, contained it, handled it and beat it! And I did. This is what I did to get back in charge. Beginning Monday 11/26, when I was back in my own home, my own kitchen (went away for 4 days during Thanksgiving) I made the conscious decision to cleanse the sugar out of my system. I remembered how FANTASTIC the OCC lean and green diet was for losing that 10% pre operative weight. I pulled out my Spiru-Tein protein powder, chocolate (it does not taste sugary), blender, bought broccoli, minestrone soup, and lean cuisine meals and I did the lean and green diet for 4 days, Monday - yesterday. (Actually, i'm still doing it today too). I lost 5 lbs this week as a result!!!! :) Not only did I lose 5 pounds of fat, but I cleansed all the sugar craving from my body and do not feel any need for it. I put myself in control of my health, I took charge and did not let pie undo me, and I weigh 164 lbs!! Wow! I will be in the 5's in no time! Just 15 lbs until I reach my goal weight. In the 4 months and 10 days since I had my plication, I have lost an astounding 57lbs, 25% of my body weight and I have proven that sugar will NEVER gain control of me again. I feel fabulously victorious! I WIN! ADDENDUM TO LEAN & GREEN: During my 5 days of lean and green (including today) I added prunes for obvious reasons, (I never miss a day of eating them) and from Tuesday - Today added 1/4 c. of almonds. It is delicious and nutritious. I slice 5 prunes into 1/4ths and added in the almonds and had a healthy organic trail mix with fantastic results. HEALTH BENEFIT BONUS OF PRUNES & ALMONDS: Prunes: Stimulating effect on bowel motility, helps to build and preserve bone mass, antioxidants found in prunes help to prevent oxidation of cholesterol in the blood stream which could lead to plaque formation in the arteries, the high potassium content in prunes helps to normalize blood pressure, while the soluble fiber promotes heart health, they are a great source of Vitamin A Almonds: Eating almonds as part of your regular diet helps raise HDL cholesterol, or "good" cholesterol, levels, and also reduces LDL cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol, levels, they are high in potassium and low in sodium, both are factors that regulate blood pressure, fiber in almonds has a detoxifying effect, the fiber allows food to move through the digestive system more efficiently, cleansing the system and preventing colon cancer, Almonds also have a stabilizing effect on sugar and insulin levels after meals, offering protection from diabetes, they help with weight loss due to their nutrient density and have the effect of making you feel full and nourished, and therefore are less likely to have cravings and over eat, having four to five almonds every day will prevent constipation, they are high in fiber, and a diet that is high in fiber is an effective way to stay regular, they boost energy, reduce the risk of heart disease AND! almonds also contain phenylalanine, a brain-boosting chemical that aids healthy development of our cognitive functions

Hi Newgirl, I haven't personally noticed a difference in absorption of medications, and I wasn't told anything specifically about that, but it's a great question to direct to Lori or Dr. Miranda at the OCC.

Hi Newbie, I can attest to the fact that Dr. Ortiz and the OCC are the real deal. They are legitimate, professional, caring, concerned, and take NO chances with your health. Their facility is top notch and extremely clean and well ordered. 1. What was the pre-op surgery testing like? I had blood work, an iv for blood work and vitals taken. 2. Did you feel the team had your best interest in mind? Absolutely. They made sure that I was taken care of and comfortable and asked me repeatedly if I had any questions. 3. How was your follow up care? Especially recovery in a hotel? I was in pain from the gas and I could not believe that gas could be so painful, so I ended up calling the OCC 1 day after I was in the hotel room and let them know that I was in a lot of pain and concerned something was wrong, in response, they had me stay 2 extra says, and each of those 3 days they brought me in for x ray monitoring on the machine, the barium drink one so that they could be sure there was nothing wrong with my stomach, then they drew blood and did work ups, each three days. I felt embarrassed actually because after 2 days I was feeling the gas tension release through walking it off and felt better, but they had me stay that last day and did follow up exams, with Dr. So, each day telling me, we do not take chances and have your health in mind and want to make sure you are fine before we clear you to go home. I felt well taken care of, like my health truly mattered to them. Recovery in the hotel was ok. Bare in mind the horrendous gas experience I had (others have not had this issue), I had everything I needed and the OCC was a phone call away. The hotel was luxurious and comfortable, not that I paid much attention to it because I felt yuck from surgery.. lol 4. Any issues with discomfort traveling home by plane? I had no problems. I just had my arms crossed over my stomach and in the plane hugged a pillow to me. It wasn't because I felt I needed to, it was more of a security practice, I just didn't want anyone near my stomach so I protected that area. 5. Did you ever have to call Dr. Ortiz needing post surgical support? I guess for infection or other? I have called anytime I have had a question. Mainly I call Dr. Miranda, but when I was filling out the post op questionnaire, one of my answers caused concern, and within 15 minutes of hitting send, my phone rang and Dr. So was asking me more detailed questions. As it uhm, turns out, I had misunderstood the question and there was no concern, but I was so very impressed with the rapid response to my mis-answered question.

Wow. There are many good things to report about week 18. I managed to lose 1 lb the week of Thanksgiving Holiday! That is NO SMALL TRICK! I just told myself to relax, I could have a little of whatever I chose. I partook in the carrots and celery with onion dip mix, just 2 TBSPs of dip, but it was well enough, carrots are so low calorie and they were delicious! I had faux turkey, faux ham, they were fantastic, 1/2 c. of mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup of corn, and a fantastic delicious rosemary GF gourmet roll, which was so delicious! I chose not to drink wine for the holiday so that I could concentrate my calories on food and remain in control of what I ate. I think that was a wise decision. When I finished eating I felt satisfied, but also like I needed to move around, so we gathered the kids and some of us big kids and went outside to run it off by playing Red Rover. That was fun. We came in a couple of hours later and I had a slice of gorgeous pumpkin pie with cool whip. Thank you GF gourmet meals! I am just really happy that I did not over eat on Thanksgiving day and that I am now in the 6's!!!!!!!!!!!! To have both of those things happen in 1 week is a very sweet victory! Woo!!!!!!!! I am also very excited that just 20 little old pounds more and I am at my goal weight!! I am glowing. I feel so happy. Every week when I do weigh ins and then the weight loss tracker, I see that mini-me run closer to my weight loss destination and it just makes me so happy. Just 20 pounds until goal. It's worth saying twice. And I have lost a whopping 52 lbs already! I have been on a house cleansing lately too. I got rid of all my old clothes, cleared clutter and everything is looking and feeling great. Life is Great.

Which pre-op diet are you doing and when is your procedure? Was the granola really high fat calorie wise? Without having heard back from you yet, if your procedure is say 1 month away or 2 weeks away, I imagine that as long as you buckle down and find more pre-diet snacks to help you stay on track it seems like you're ok? For my pre-op diet I did the lean and green and found that the protein shakes 2X a day and the 1 cup of soup with as much greens as I wanted in between was really satisfying. Also the lean cuisine meal was satisfying for the calorie count. Good Luck, pick yourself up, and get right back to it! You can do it.

I thought I would share the day to day top 5 weight loss tools that I use to keep me on track. They are not in order of importance because I consider them all equally critical to my success. These tools are created with my own personal needs in mind. 1. Water: Yes, A Major Tool. When I went on the pre and post op liquids only diet, I realized that on liquids alone my body could not only be sustained, but satisfied. It was surprising to me. I was actually sad about having to transition to soft foods! That knowledge taught me that I need to rely on water primarily and use food to get some nutrients in between. I typically have 64 - 96 ozs of 0 calorie drinks per day, 48-64 ounces of that is water and the rest is a 0 calorie drink like Vitamin water (love the acai berry flavor) and Sobe 0 Calorie water (love the pear apple and the kiwi cherimoya, yumberry and well, all of the flavors are good). If I have one of those days where i'm feeling ravenous, I make sure that I drink more water than usual. This helps me to feel full. I also drink a protein drink when i'm feeling ravenous because a protein drink (I use nectar, 25 calories 25g protein) makes me feel full, and chase it with 16 ounces of water. Also, being thirsty and needing water induces a thirst pang that the body can not differentiate from hunger pangs, so if you find your stomach is growling, it could be craving water if you have not taken in enough, not food. For me, I feel like transitioning to liquids only post procedure was a valuable moment in my life because it taught me that liquids are enough, vital, nourishing, and body necessary. Rely heavily on water. 2. Journal: A Fantastic tool! I have kept a journal since the first week I went on soft foods. Every single thing I eat every single day is counted in calories and written down in this journal. At first, I kept the journal just as a means of trying to track, but then weeks into it I found that it was keeping me honest! No Cheating. I record everything. If I cheated, who would I be cheating but ME? And now, 4 months post plication, I love my journal. I rely on it. It let's me see my patterns, what can cause weight increase or decrease. I can see on average how many calories I consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What this does for me is if I know i'm used to having 300 calories for lunch, and I pick something up i'm thinking of having for lunch that's say 150 calories, like yogurt but i'm feeling hungrier for lunch this day and the yogurt is not enough food for the calorie amount then that tells me to look for something more satisfying,like a sweet potato and broccoli and I keep myself on caloric track while feeling satisfied. It goes the opposite way too. If i'm just not feeling hungry for lunch I may have a piece of fruit and yogurt. This way I don't have to make myself eat too much and get the calories in. The journal also helps me understand the flow and rhythm of my body and it is a record of my final journey to weight loss. My journal looks like this, an example from the first day: Friday Day 1 8/10 B- (stands for breakfast, takes up 1 line) 7 tsp oatmeal, 1/4 toast = # of calories (i typically write the amount of calories for each item above the food item so i.e. above 7 tsp oatmeal I would write 50 and over the 1/4 of toast I would write 10) L- (lunch, 1 line) same as above, i itemize what I ate, write calories for each over the food and total D- (same as B and L) TF: (total calories from food) TLIQ: (total calories from liquid) Calories: total intake for the day I leave 3 lines after the Calorie total and here is where I write things like: feeling sick, constipated, feeling low, head and body aching, etc, things that I notice are departures from the norm. I use these notes to just be aware of my body's reactions and to post updates to my blog on what influenced my outcome for the week. Now you may not need to keep a journal or one as detailed as this, but I do it because I know me. This is the last time I will have been obese and I am serious about that and part of that means understanding what my body feels through paying absolute total attention to it and so for me, this journal is a total blessing! 3. Calorie Counting App. Must have! I have an iphone and found this app called MyfitnessPal. The icon on the app is a very fit person leaping in the air with arms raised out. The background color is blue. What I use this app for is to find the amount of calories in a food. This is what I use to guesstimate what I am eating when I am away from the comforts of my calorie tracked kitchen. It is great because it allows me to keep calories counted. If you don't have an iphone and this app isn't available on android another fantastic tool is the weight watchers calorie counter book. And I am sure that there are other calorie counting books in the shops that you can pick up. It just helps to know what I eat. Post plication I have NEVER eaten something that I can not track calorically. I just can not do it. Things like salad dressing and cheese are so fattening in such tiny amounts that I find I just have to make smart choices and anyone following my progress can see what happens when I do not. 4. Pre-Preparing. I have been ill prepared twice now since my procedure in July. Each time this happens it just results in bad decisions and weight gain which means set back and no weight loss. I end up eating high fat things: something quick like GF (gluten free) cheese pizza or a cheese quesadilla (grease and high fat cheese...) and even though at the end of the day following my journal they are still within the OCC caloric recommendations, they still make me gain because that is a lot of fat and cheese and fat and cheese is not healthy or body friendly. So even if it is within my calories, it is not smart choice eating. I am in the process of finding out a way to pre prepare for trips etc, putting together an emergency way to get by. I will update that in this blog when I get it down. 5. Know Your Weakness(es) This is a critical tool also. Everything I have listed here is what is necessary for me. My weakness is sugar. Sugar sugar sugar. NOTHING will throw me back into my old fat hell quicker than sugar. Nothing will plummet my health like sugar. Nothing will make me get alarmingly close to diabetes, stroke and heart trouble like SUGAR. And I know that. I knew that before plication but I always welcomed it and caved in to it as though I did not know it thereby allowing it to keep me under its will. Can you imagine? Being under the power of sugar?? An inanimate object?? I guess I did not want to know it. But I know it now. When I decided to have my surgery, before the actual procedure, I got real with myself. I acknowledged the destructive role sugar played in my life and I began to look at it for the ugly thing it was. Post plication I have not eaten candy. THAT was a HUGE weakness. I have stayed away from sweets wherever I go and when I do want something sweet I have a mango, strawberries, apple, or banana. That is the only sugar I take in now. It was hard. It was such a weakness but I prepared for the fact that I needed to abstain from it before surgery. I said, when you have surgery, it will remove the need for sugar. If you have sugar it will undue your stitches and your health. I talked my brain into believing these things because if I didn't, I might not have made it. SO. Know your weakness and do whatever you have to do to get it under control. Now I have control over sugar. It does not control me. And when I pass candy or cake or sweets counters, I look at them in disdain and turn my nose up at it and think, yea, ... right. I don't think so. And I walk away and smile knowing I control this now. I do. Not sugar. Hope this helps. As I said, these are necessary tools for me. They may work for you they may not. What is most important is getting your own personal routine going. Something you use daily that changes your life from what it was prior to surgery. We all invested so much to have surgery, financially, physically, mentally, so it only seems right we get the spiritual in line and make life changes to bring us up to where we belong from here on out. Happy Weight Loss

Hi Lori, I know what you mean about holding small clothes! As my clothes get smaller it is amazing to think, wow, I wear THOSE. It is the same for me when I look back on the clothes I used to wear, 4 sizes larger! I love it! I have gone through those same tests you did, mine back in 2007 before my plication surgery at the OCC. And while they did not call me 'celiac' all they would say is IBM issues and a 'sensitivity' to flour. Well, that is celiac enough for me. I have stayed away from flour since 2007 because when I eat it, it feels like thousands of tiny needles ripping through my stomach. Painful and just not nice. Personally I consider it a blessing. We are lucky we live in a time where there are gorgeous gourmet GF (gluten free) foods everywhere now! And gorgeous almond milk. I enjoyed reading your post and feel very happy for you and very happy for those of us who have found the fantastic Dr.'s at the OCC. Continued success.

Wow. Seems wild posting on the heels of my last post, but here it is, the end of Week 17! And what a week it was. I spent the week in DC so I had to eat restaurant food for lunch and dinner... yikes. Breakfast I was able to manage in my room. I was worried about possible weight gain during this week, but I did make sure to keep my prunes on hand and I did A LOT of walking every day around the National Mall. (Stunning Stunning Stunning!) I am happy to report that this week I am at 170.2 having lost 2.2 lbs this week! I wasn't sure that I would lose because I had a couple of drinks and while I counted my calories as usual, I didn't have the exact nutritional information (what I LOATHE about eating out, the typical restaurant reply: we have no idea how much fat you're ingesting...) so I had to guesstimate as much as I could with a calorie counting tool. I will blog about tools next because I don't think I have done that. I found that the first 3 days I didn't get as much water in as I needed to and that left my body feeling terrible! I actually felt dry throughout and it kinda hurt, you know, the way your plants get wilty when they need to be watered? I've never realize how a body can yell or scream for water like I do now. I made up for that these last 3 days getting at the very least 48 ounces in, which was not near enough. But I am home now and back on track and that feels GREAT! I am excited to get my water drinking and delicious home cooked eating back on track! I do love that about home, and I am strategising for Thanksgiving! I am not concerned that I will over eat because of the fantastic restriction. While eating out in DC, the restaurant food, I found that sometimes I would take 6 bites and feel completely full! That 'full' sensation I now recognize when I feel the food filling and touching the walls of my stomach, the only way I can describe it is that I know the size of my stomach and can tell when I have sufficiently filled it. After that, I just don't eat anymore. THAT was fantastic. For the first time in my life, I realize that I know what it feels like to feel I have had enough. Before this life changing procedure, I knew when I had had enough because I felt extremely full, which 20 minutes later turned to stuffed and felt literal pain and discomfort over that. I love my new life! I sure do feel like next week I am going to see some much awaited and anticipated 6's!! To 18 and beyooond!

Congratulations Meredith! You look great I agree that this procedure was the best. I watch what I eat, but I have had pizza, and I do eat pasta. I do not feel nor have felt as though there were things that are off limits, but I eat healthy and even when I eat pizza, it is a small amount due to the wonderful restriction. Having this procedure has changed my life for the better. Pam, Playa Del carmen near Cancun! You lucky lady!! Have a great time! (who wouldn't... lol) I love knowing I don't have to worry about overeating! Congratulations on your continued success also Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Ok. I'm UP 8 ozs this week. It was a rough week. I got a nasty cold again and that made my bowel movements sort of irregular despite my beloved prunes. Also, because of being sick, I did not drink as much fluids as I normally do. I find it really hard to take water when i'm sick, so the drop in intake i'm sure had a hand in this up 8 ozs. thing. Then, I ordered my vitamins in enough time, but there was a backlog in the shipment of the vitamins I take, so there were 4 days where I went without. Another factor. And I had my period, another factor in weight fluctuation. Also, I think that i'm not making healthy enough eating choices. I did good for breakfast but for lunch and some dinners, I just didn't do as good this week because it was a crazy week and I did piss poor in pre planning. (that sounded peter piper picked a peck of pickled pepperish..) so all these things together made this past week a poster child for how NOT to do things. I hope that this week will be better, but I am out of state in DC and have been having to restaurant it, a thing I loathe doing. I am making the best choices possible, but I don't feel fantastic about all the eating out. I hope that Friday I see some loss, even 1 lb. will make me VERY happy considering the circumstances of this week on the heels of last week! WOW! On to week 17.... :\

Hi Mishell, I have to proceed my response with the disclaimer that the decision to have gastric sleeve surgery is a personal one and only YOU can decide if that is what is best for you! That being said, my perspective is this, unfortunately, there are 'popular' negative opinions in the US of Mexico. That manifests in all sorts of snide inaccurate ways, not the least of which is making the ridiculous presumption that "Doctors in Mexico are butchers". The reality is that there are some great Doctors in Mexico, there are some great Doctors in the US. There are some bad doctors in Mexico, there are some bad Doctors in the US. That is why it is important that as prospective patients of ANY Dr. ANYWHERE, irregardless of what country they are in, we do our homework on that Dr.'s credentials, success rates, and background. Yet how often do we do this with our US Doctors? Personally, I did my research on Dr. Ortiz and the OCC before I decided to have my plication procedure. After the research I felt confident with Dr. Ortiz's qualifications, experience, and success rate. Because I felt confident with him, I had my procedure. The surgery center was top notch and they were very aware of my health and vitals throughout the entire process. Personally, I do not regret my decision. I have lost nearly 50 lbs and am near my goal weight. I look and feel great and I smile so much more. Whatever your decision is, I wish you a happy future and great success. Take Care & Good Luck, Ana

It's the end of week 15 and I lost 2.4 pounds this week! Yeaaaa! I hope that by next week I will be out of the 7's and into some super 6's. This journey has been pretty amazing. To think that I have lost 50 pounds! Wow. I wanted to talk some about liquid intake. I take liquid in 3 times a day. After breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What that does for me is it allows me to feel completely full. Liquid deprivation creates pangs in the stomach that are indecipherable to food hunger pangs so I make sure to keep that at bay. Each time I drink liquid per day I drink in one 16 oz bottle of water chased by one 20 oz bottle of sobe 0 calorie water and/or one 16 oz bottle of vitamin water, so all totaled, on a daily basis I get from 96 - 108 ounces of calorie free liquid. It keeps my body very satisfied. Also, I have discovered the joy of baking sweet potatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, onions and carrots sprinkled with basil and fresh rosemary from my window garden, I spray with pam so as to use non fat spray, but it is nice with olive oil carefully rubbed on the veg, and drizzle a small bit of honey on it, not saturate. Wow is that filling and fantastic! I ate it 3 times this week for dinner and it is very productive on the fiber front too! Blog followers will appreciate how much I love movement on the fiber front! Only 335 calories measured out, and it is quite a bit of food! I have to eat it 3 separate times to finish it and it is so wonderfully nourishing. This brings me to another topic, post operative food intake restriction 15 weeks out. I am happy to report that I still feel great restriction. I still eat only a small portion of what I would have done before and feel completely satisfied. There are moments before my period where I have to fight off mental cravings, but those are totally mental. I still have NOT eaten candy since my operation which is soooooome accomplishment considering we just passed Halloween!! PHEW. On to week 16!

I lost 2 lbs this week! I feel very happy about that. I learned a lot from last week and kept the cheese down to just 1 meal and the grease out of it. It never ceases to amaze me how much grease and cheese can trip you up. It might sound obvious, but just witnessing my body as it changes and went up then held steady then dropped, I realized that is a lot of time to spend waiting for the effects of cheese and grease to go away. Too much precious time. I am still taking prunes daily. They are my daily regiment and thanks to those dark beauties I have not had a problem with constipation. I continue to get my liquids in and feel like that is a very important part of this process. I have been drinking 72 ozs of liquids a day. 32 of that is pure water and 40 ounces of that is vitamin water or sobe life water. Wow those flavors are amazing. I have yet to drink one that I didn't like. What is amazing to me is how much my taste buds have changed. In the beginning, I needed to drink something heavy in acids like soda to draw the most flavor out of it. That was the level of 'numbness' my taste buds were at. When I first went on liquids and drank the vitamin water, acai berry, my taste buds translated it as a subtle flavor. I liked it, but it was really subtle. Now when I drink vitamin water, acai berry, lemonade, the flavors are very flavorful, robust, not subtle at all. I had to detoxify the harsh acidic things I was feeding to my poor inundated buds to get them to fully get the full flavor of vitamin waters. Now if I have cranberry juice I definitely have to cut it with water or it makes my ears pop! I feel very proud of myself to be at the point to do this. I have found the pleasure of cooking at home. I love making healthy food to serve myself and my man. We both eat healthy and as a result, he has lost a load of weight without the surgery. He is now at his ideal weight. I feel proud that my decision to have this surgery has positively impacted our health as a couple. We are both much more active and I just went down another size in clothes! I will never get tired of the sensation of wearing a pair of jeans having them fit if a bit snug and then weeks later pulling them away from me for inches because I have undergrown them. This was the best decision I made for myself in my life. On to week 15.

Hi Varoman, I just received your email and emailed you back with my email so that we can chat about how you're feeling. Take Care! -Ana

OK. This week I am up 1 lb. I gained. :/ I know why. I discovered gluten free pizza from the local and we ate it twice this week. Also, I had a corn quesadilla in a quick pinch because I was running late on another night, and taquitos on another night. Yep. That's a lot of grease and cheese. Thanks to prunes, it didn't constipate me, but it was too much grease and cheese even though I only did eat a little part of them. SO, this coming week, no cheese anywhere and no grease. I'll be cooking at home which I prefer because at least I know what goes into it. I normally cook anyway. This week was just hectic and not planned out. So, ok, i'm at 176 this week, a 1 lb. setback and no loss. To keep me motivated I just appreciate the weight I have lost, know I will lose more beginning next week, and focus on how good it feels to be in slimmer jeans. Also! A major victory, I have not had anything sugary like candy, frosting, or the like since my procedure! Might not sound major but my weakness is sugary things like that. They are the thing that derails me every time. And I have not had 1 single piece nor will I. When I feel in the mood for something like that, which is not easy 2 weeks before my period, I have a tablespoon of peanut butter and even that is in large moderation. I know my lack of planning and ungreat choices threw me off this week and will change that. On to week 14!

It is the end of week 12 and I am happy to report I lost 2 lbs this week! AND... are you ready for this!! NO constipation!! WOO!!!! I am sooo happy! I have lost 31 lbs post plication, 46 lbs total with pre-procedure weight loss, I have lost a staggering 21% of my body weight! and now have a BMI of 27.4. Just 26 lbs to go until GOOOOAL! And NO Constipation!! It's worth saying twice The solution was so simple it totally escaped me for the longest time. PRUNES! Wonderful beautiful sexy hard working Prunes! I decided to try them out. I mean haven't our grandmothers said all our lives if you need to go have prunes?? Well the synthetic constipation remedies weren't working for me, especially met a mucil which bloated me and wasn't productive, so I decided to go a-naturale. When I went grocery shopping Monday I bought a bag of prunes. On Monday night I had a 1 oz serving size which is 4 small dried pitted prunes, in 20 minutes it was productive. Wow. I thought, oh please let that not be a fluke! So the next day, Tuesday I decided to have 1 serving of prunes first thing in the morning and 1 serving last thing at night. That was a trial because I didn't want to take too much too fast and knew if it made me gassy I would cut it back to 1 serving a day for a week then slowly increase. Beautiful. I have had the 2 servings a day since Tuesday and it is going soooo well. I feel really good and the fiber intake is perfect. I was looking online for naturally fibrous foods and read this good article that said if you eat too much fiber too fast you'll be gassy and bloated and I definitely did NOT want that. So I was a little apprehensive about taking 2 servings a day but I am so glad I did, it worked for me. The intake of fibrous prunes along with not having cheese for 2 weeks (the regular 2x's a day of laughing cow was doing me in) really helped my digestive tract to function again. Whew. This week was very much about re-regulating my routine. Getting sick while going on vacation last week really threw me off. As it turns out I ate way below my recommended calories because I was worried I would go over and restaurants and other places don't post their nutritional information as prevalently in the UK. In one restaurant when I asked for the nutritional caloric value of the food I considered ordering the chef came out and glared at me. I also didn't drink my 64 ozs of water everyday or have my daily protein. This was all due to being sick as a dog. I didn't find it easy to work up an appetite or feel thirsty, so some days 16-32 ozs of water was all I could force without consequence. So, this week has been much about saying, Ok, your flu is ALMOST gone... and you're feeling better every day so drink, eat, and reintegrate those daily vitamins which were also only taken sporadically while on vacation. I think there were only 2 days I took my vitamins, so 6 days without it. Again, all due to flu on vacation. I can honestly not remember that last time I got THIS sick! It was severe and the deep puncture throat coughing and mountains of mucus were the pits. But I'm back and that is the lesson for me in this all. If I go abnormal for some reason for 5 days or so, get right back up and on track. I feel good that it was a severe flu that threw me off, not the vacation and that I erred on the side of caution when eating out and bought my groceries instead of eating out the entire time, AND this week a particular man in my life has begun to say, "you're looking really sexy", yes, he said sexy, not 'good' or 'slimmer'. Those are all tangible victories! All in all I think I did pretty good. (I didn't let the flu keep me away from shopping on Oxford Street in London. A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do come flu or high water) Have a great week. On to 13! Happy Losing!

Hi Amanda Before I decided to have my plication I reached my goal weight 4 times within 4 years. What got me everytime was sugar. It just seems to do something evil to my body. I cannot handle it. It shrinks my willpower and all sorts of other things. I also decided that i needed help to maintain a healthy weight and decided to have the plication. I felt nervous when I made the decision and then as there was 1 month between my decision and the date, I let it slip from my mind and just daydreamed about the outcome. But as it got closer, like within3 days I started to get really really nervous and definitely scarred. I kept thinking what if something goes wrong and i'm worse off then when I came in?? The 2 other women I talked to on the day I had my plication who were also having their plications were feeling pretty scarred too. In my opinion only I think it's a normal emotion considering that it is surgery. I have had surgery 3 times in my life and each time I have felt scarred and anxious. Personally I have no regrets. For me, this surgery was exactly what I needed to be in control of my eating habits and therefore my health. Since my procedure in July, I have had a collective 5 tablespoons of sugar, and each time it was at only 1 or 2 table spoons at a time, then I would abstain from it again. I learned for me, that small sugar portions is necessary. The surgery allowed me to get a handle on that. Now I get my sweet urges filled with fruit, which thanks to abstaining on artificial sweetness tastes more than sweet enough. Whatever your decision, take care of yourself and keep in touch with our family here. Best of Luck!

Ok, I was on vacation from last Thursday, Sept 30 until just Friday so I am posting late. What a rough week! I finally had my period but it was very unusual, on and then off and then on... Also, I had a meal at my favorite vacation restaurant, and the healthiness of it really got things moving bm wise! SO! Finally, the constipation spell is broken. I have had 4 blissful days of movement. Now to figure out how to keep that going. I've read that if you bombard your body with fiber too fast you can get gassy and bloated so I am beginning today by buying fibrous fruit: Asian pears, raspberries, apples, prunes, and then will continue by cooking fiber-full dinners beginning tomorrow and hopefully that helps to regulate my body. *relief sigh* Secondly, this started on week 8 and please do reply if you have had this experience. About week 8 I started breaking out with red spots all over my legs. It started slow, and the bumps "look" like mosquito bites only they do not itch, and are deep red. They began spreading all over my legs and then last week, end of week 10 I noticed that they began to show on the underside of my arms. I had 3 and then within 2 days 10 - 12 on each arm. I have no idea where they are coming from. I have never had this happen before and have an appointment with my Dr. to check them out but that's not until next month. I have no idea if they are procedure related or just something entirely else but I am concerned and have a call in to check this out. Anyone had anything like this? Now, with things finally starting to move again, and having had my period, it's no wonder that I lost 5.8 lbs this week!! That's after 3 weeks of losing nothing, being backed up and no period, SO, that sounds about right. I am now at 177 and very happy to be in the 7's! Wow. I think about where I was back in July, at 221 lbs. I was feeling really heavy and uncomfortable in my own body. Now, an entire 44 lbs later I feel so much better. I have lost 3 clothing sizes, amazing! And I have lost 20% of my entire body weight! Incredible. Post plication I have lost 29 lbs and am happy with the progress. The biggest challenge has been constipation. I have to figure out a balance here. Also, this last week I have noticed that my hair has begun to fall out in pretty significant amounts, very noticeable in that i'm finding it everywhere and can't even run my fingers through my hair without bringing some out with it. I am going to try a rinse that a friend of mine, who has not had surgery, and has had her hair fall out a lot naturally, uses. If this works for me, I will post the recipe. Fingers Crossed! To a bow-ally productive week 12 with minimal hair fall out!

Hi Daneen, Thank you so much for your feedback! This is exactly why I am doing this and i'm so glad that you benefit from the read. I intend to keep them coming. Hi Pam Yes, dairy is not a friend at the moment. I went on vacation and ate at this great vegan/vegetarian place in London/SOHO, I go to this place every time I am in London because the food is so basically amazing and right after I ate there, well, EVERYTHING was moving in the right direction!! Wish I were there now.

Ok. Technically tomorrow (Friday) is the end of week 10 but I doubt anything super dramatic will happen from here to there. I gained 6 ounces this week and frankly, am surprised that's all i've gained. I am still in the same place I was last week. Menstrual cycle 15 days late now (not preggers, I checked), horrendous constipation, and a lot of gas. I think I might know what's going on. "MIGHT" i've been eating laughing cow cheese pretty regularly, on a daily basis sometimes 2 times a day and while calorically it's fine, i believe my intolerance to lactose is creeping in on me and asking, what gives?? I am ok to have some cheeses periodically, but I never had them daily, and without even thinking about it, have been having LC quite a bit, so I think my stomach said that is it. That and hubby and I ate something rotten last Friday and we have had terrible stomach issues all week. So, that said, i'm just really trying to push through this and know that the scale will move downward soon as all this is passed. I've omitted LC from my diet just to check. Looking forward to week 11... With Hope

Hello T, Welcome You can see in my signature line the weight loss progress/stalls that I've had week by week, but here's a recap... At 1 month I had lost 16 lbs also. The week after that (week 5) I gained 4 ozs, due to constipation, (THIS has been my hell to bear). Weeks 6, 7, and 8 I lost weight: (8 lbs total). Week 9 I weighed in at the same weight as week 8, so that's 1 week where my weight didn't budge and this week due again to heavy constipation it is looking like I am going to weigh in at the same weight as week 8 and 9, so that will be 2 weeks of no weight loss, but I am aware of why and am trying all I can to alleviate the issue. Hope that helps. It's nice to have you here. Keep checking in with everyone here. It's nice to have someone posting Take Care, Ana

Hey Meredith! I missed you! I was thinking where has that girl gone? Glad to hear that you've been vacationing and doing fantastic on your weight loss! I'm happy to hear you are not feeling deprived in any way. GO GIRL! *HUGS*

OK. I'm starting to notice a pattern of 3 weeks good weight loss and then a 4th week, gain or maintain. Weeks 7 and 8, I had good weight loss, but for week 9, I’ve only maintained the same weight as last week. That's definitely better than gaining, for sure, but it's the bleh's that came along with it that I’m not feeling great about. Although I am the same weight this week as last week, my stomach is noticeably distended and it was flat last week. All this week I have been having abdominal cramping and for two days it was to the point that if I even leaned over a little bit it felt painful. Also, I upped my metamucil from 3 caps to 6 caps a day since Monday. It worked nicely the first day, Monday, and then after that I had to take milk o mag again with it. I think I’m going to look for an alternative to metamucil. I just don't feel like it's very productive and I really don't want to swallow 6 extra pills for the sheer joy of it because there is no joy in it. This week was really challenging for multiple reasons. My caloric intake has been between 1050 - 1160, right around there, but on Saturday night I felt really sick: shaky, dizzy, weak, nauseous, really nasty. It came out of nowhere and I felt like I needed something substantial to eat to prop me up so when I got home, having already taken in my calories for the day (1,026 calories) I took in another 404 for a whopping total of 1,430. I felt sick about that, not physically, but mentally. It helped the shakes, etc., but just having eaten that much for the whole day was psychologically debilitating. I only did this Saturday and have been super cautious to be on myself all week, but that felt really sloppy and out of control and I am just so cautious of those nasty feelings: sloppy, out of control. They are from another life I simply want nothing to do with. Also, I’m 8 days late on my period and I’m sure that is contributing to this staying at the same weight. Those abdominal cramps at first felt kind of like it might be coming on, but then again no. They hurt a h3ll of a lot more than the menstrual cramps I'm accustomed to and felt different. More severe and lower, more lower abdominally. Well. With all that being said I should be thankful I didn't gain! Jeez. Here's to hoping I have a much more PRODUCTIVE week 10 in every single way. By the way if any you reading this have any suggestions for what to do for constipation I would be much obliged. *sigh*

Today is the end of week 8 for me. I have lost ANOTHER 3 lbs of bad health!!! I feel super excited! I am now down to 182 and that fence is getting lower and lower, I can see those super slimmer 7's from riiiiiiight here This was another week of pretty high constipation. I had 3 days where I struggled to go at all. Thank goodness for milk o mag. I took it for five days in a row. The first 1 1/2 days I had little to no results, but last night it finally kicked in. Just in time for weigh in. Seems like every 2 weeks or so I go through a nasty bout of constipation. bleh. I still continue to take 3 metamucil caps a day and hope that one day that is enough to maintain consistent regularity. Next Friday I come up on another anniversary. Next Friday I can stop taking Inhibitron! Yea!! One less pill. Seems like I take a whole ton of them with the 6 bariatric vitamins, the inhitibron, the 1.5 calcium and the 3 metamucils. It will be nice to take one less. Week 8 Done.

I will definitely give the thought of posting pictures some thought, thank you. I am pretty private, hence no pictures so far and great descriptions, but I might post 1 before/after when I reach my weight goal. I would not consider doing it before meeting goal. It's a psychological thing.