coops

I'm in too - like Georgia, it will be next week; either Mon or Tues will be my starting point... got some extra xmas pounds on top of the over the bounce, so this is now very real for me too! Stupid thing is though, my clothes still fit?
I am also gonna get my head around exercise again too. As I look back over the last year, I have become lazy and lack motivation... this has to change! I want to be strong again

Okay, Kim, you are NOT alone; but, at family traveling and tomorrow is my birthday so I'm going to give myself til Monday and then hit it!
I have totally abandoned 5:2 pretty much except for a few good days earlier in December so I'm anticipating my body will be in revolt! Lol
Got to, though! Love my size 8 s and the 10s (and a few 12s) I'm wearing right now are not making me happy! ????. But besides all that I know, health wise, I need to be diligent. Too much work and sweat had gone into this process for me to sabotage myself now.
I hope all of you had great holidays and are having a good New Year! I've been "silent" but have tried to keep up with most of all of you. Life is quite hectic right now.
I've driven to and from Little Rock to New Orleans 3 times in the last week!! ????. We Spent Christmas here with my son and his family and left last Sunday taking my youngest Grand, Drew, home with us for a few days to spend with her cousins! She wanted to see snow. Of course, there was none! LOL. Turned around yesterday to drive her back and turn around drive home tomorrow! Whew!
Blessed to have had good days with family this year. There have been a few skirmishes and setbacks but don't we all have those if family is involved? ????????
Denise, I have been following your ordeal. I hope you are doing MUCH better now.
Kim, are you recovered front the flu?
Florida,??!! I'll just say I'm kinda jealous of 30 lbs in 12 days!
Sarah, sorry about your accident. Take very good care of yourself with TBI. Be very aware of any thing that seems different.
Cathy, I'm with you, Girl! I haven't stepped on the scales in a couple weeks. Scared to. I know that is NOT good but didn't want to. ????. I'm probably a good 12-15 pounds up from my lowest.
Coops, Dorrie, Sheila, Sheryl, Swizzly, Brown, Susan and Linda (I think I hit you all!). Miss talking to you all on a daily basis. My fault but I'm going to do better! ????
Let's reCoop (pun intended) and get this year headed in the right direction!!

OK troops! That long awaited "New Year" is upon us. Time to get back on the wagon and ride it to victory!!!! Again!!!!! (We know we can do it) I got up and wrote down all I plan to eat today, because I can't trust myself to "wing it" at this point (or hardly ever it seems). It is fast day. I balk, but know I need to start the new year right, or it could become just another of the same string of days out of control. I know I'm not alone. Good luck girls! You know what you have to do....

I have had a volume incrrase. NUT said to literally eat dense Protein first. Example I was having salmon Cesar salad by crumbling salmon over the lettuce. She said to try eating the salmon first and then. The salad. It makes a difference.
Damn kids gave gave me a bunch of treats but what I can't resist is the soft individual wrapped gourmet Cookies. I have eaten 4 out of 8...grrr
Anyway I think many of us have some work to do in January.!
I am completely over people remarking on bow little eat but when I there man I have been dating for 3 months makes jokes about how much I like food, how I can pack it away -then I feel insulted. Truth is my appetite is strong but I still eat small portions so I don't know why he'd say that just seemed unsupportive.

Hello and a belated Merry Christmas!
We've had a fab week of seeing family and friends - some ups and downs (a close friend's dad had a serious heart attack just before Christmas day, but he seems to be better, although long term isn't looking good, he made it through the festive seasion).
On the food front it has been crazy - so much cr*p around... I've managed to stay the same weight, not sure how! Still over my top end bounce range though... not surprising really!
I don't make New Year resolutions... I worked out as a young woman that it is the best way to set myself up for a fall... but I am looking forward to starting the New Year with a positive mind set to get healthier and fitter.
Hope you all had a good week x

Hi all! My main man (and you know I mean that literally) is back from bootcamp AND my Mom is here so I am very happy
Sarah, no I had no hunger, it was a rather dramatic way to reset my sleeve, taking off 30 lbs in 12 days. It is always so cool when you do a reset and rediscover how delicious whole foods are, a bite of dill pickle nearly made me swoon!

Start your plan again,. A week of liquid Protein, then add back in soft Proteins, then firm. "Reset" your weight loss. It helps me get back on track.
That said, you look great! You have no need to worry or fret. Seriously.

Weight loss does slow down after the 1st year or so but is possible to loose more. It is all about going back to basics, Protein, protein, protein, veggies and minute amount of carbs. No sugar if possible... You can do this just refocus. As far as people telling you your gaining weight, just take it as feedback and smile and let that help you get back on track. It's all about refocusing. That is what I have todo right now. refocus and cut the sweets out. Also I have to cut portion size too. It is always going to be like this and I know I can do and so can you. you've done all this so far so just keep it up and get on track with proteins......

Sarah, I don't have any sensitivity around incisions. I am 14 months out from plastics... and what I still have is some numbness in the belly. It doesn't bother me much... but tends to make me feel "swollen" and huge at times. I have been working on the mental trip around this - numb does not mean I am huge and swollen!
I do have permanently erect nipples - ha! And they are sensitive.
So... TODAY is my 3 years since VSG. Wow, I can hardly believe it. December 11, 2011 I started down a path that has been truly, genuinely life changing.

Well, to say the least, I've been "absent." So much going on in my life, good and bad, that I haven't had time to really get on and enjoy my 5:2 friends.
First, welcome Lynda! I've long been a fan of yours from your level headed approach and kindness. With that said, I'm also just a "wee bit" glad that you are here with us because now maybe I'll get my mojo back on and kick the pounds to the curb!
Sarah, you look soooo thin! (which you obviously are at 128!!!) And I'd kill to go to Cabo about right now!
Denise, so glad to hear that you are doing better after the horrors of your surgery aftermath.
FYE, MODELING! Wowzers! You go, Girl!
Cathy, so sorry to hear about your house which you just got finished with!! And thanks for checking in on me.
My other buds, CGJ, Coops, Swizzly, Wanda, M2G, Florinda (if I missed any I apologize) I've tried to read all your entries and keep up with everything.
Yep, I'm about 12 pounds over goal - all in the last 4-5 months or so. And lately, it's just gone from bad to worse! Junk, junk, junk! I'm surprised it's not more so THANK GOD for my sleeve because as I analyze my eating not eating too much food just piling on the "comfort" foods (as usual when I hit a low or get stressed!)
On the good side, I am going to have not one but TWO new "grands" in the next few months. Both my daughter ( ) and my Daughter in love ( ) are preggers! Within about 4 weeks of each other. The daughter and hubby were kinda surprised even though happy (after initial shock) and I found out the very next day that my DIL was also expecting (been trying unbeknownst to me) and it really made my day!! So Mid-May to Mid-June should be a very hopping time around the Smith/Crochet homes!
Another good note - my son, who will soon hit 3 years sobriety from drugs and alcohol (as well as a severe chain smoker), was chosen Employee of the Year at his Company this past Saturday. Made this Mom very proud! God is so good!
The not so good and very stressful part right now has been, as you know my daughter has been endeavoring to finish nursing school for the past three plus years. Got LPN, worked a year, went back last Jan into the accelerated program to finish RN. It has been a real struggle for ALL of us! At 37 (now 38) with two girls and a single Mom at the time, we were ALL in the throws of it! Then she met Jeremy, quickly wed and wound up finding out she was prego in October (IUD fell out!) and has been experiencing SEVERE all day "morning" sickness. Even with all that, still managed to struggle through to the last two finals. Well, last Tuesday she failed (by one point!) the first final and is now out of RN program. At consultation, she was told that because they are "short staffed" she also could not go right back into program in January and will have to wait til July to "redo" last semester (with a one month old baby!)
I would like to say I'm "rolling with it" all, but I'd be lying. Very heartbreaking for her and us. I tell myself to, in the words of the infamous song, "Let it go..." but somehow I eat myself up and worry, worry, worry which then leads to bad eating which I know I should stop but am so physically and mentally tired, I don't even care.
Yep, I know this is a big 'ole pity party. It is what it is right now. LOL Oh, and I forgot! On the way home from Branson, MO Thanksgiving trip with hubbie we hit a deer that came out of nowhere - front end of brand new Prius a mess plus the deer
With all that said, I intend to have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and want to wish all of you the same! My stuff seems small when I stop and look around. As my friend says, "Blessed and Highly favored!"

Hi all, sorry for the radio silence! There are many experiences and activities that have occupied my time, among them a new man friend, a new job, and an interesting nutritional experience! The new man friend is a wonderful person; intelligent, kind, tender, logical. I don't know if I love him, I don't know what that ... tastes like. I like him a lot, however, there is no ... frisson of thrill/desire/lust.
The new job is with a tech company, I'm excited!
The nutritional experience; it is something called Kennsystem and it is basically our post-op diet, but in the form of continuous liquid nutrition. The people I know who have done it have lost significant amounts of weight and haven't put it back on even after years, I have already lost 20 lbs in 2 wks! I want to wear my cute clothes again, when I came back in the spring I bought an incredibly exquisite (and expensive) fitted trench coat, when I bought it it fit beautifully, it got to the point that I could barely get it on, nevermind attempt to close it properly :(. So I had to take drastic steps and I am so glad I did! Once the Kenn is over I will be in a position to continue post op style eating to lose beyond the regain, woohoo!

Still thinking about this so I'll add more...
When I see movies of ppl being in that fairytale kind of love, that to me is a fantasy. To have someone truly love you through everything isn't a fantasy. It can happen with the right person. The love where someone respects you through all things is possible. Where the person wants to take care of you and you in turn want to do the same. That kind of love is so much more than just a feeling.
You have done so much growing and figuring out yourself over the last few years. Try to keep yourself open to love. It's real and it can happen for you!

Here is one more of me. My hubs took this pic and it's not my favorite but I decided to show it to you. It doesn't show off my new body since plastics. I'm all covered up in this pic, I should've had him take more. Lol

Hi all,
I'm in! As you may know, I'm over goal a bit and looking to 5:2 to get me back to 135. So far, so good. I'm grateful to have this private place to vent a few things years out. I keep a nice calm profile in public posts because I never type anything I would be ashamed to let me grandmothers read, but here in private I may say a bit more.
Thank you for letting me join the group. Looking forward to participating in whatever we're discussing.
Lynda

I was asked a couple of days ago if I would model for my bariatric centers yearly fashion show fund raiser. Nothing like the thought of having to model to make the 5:2 easier to follow! I have mixed feelings about it... I haven't outright lied about having surgery in the public, but have not put it "in the press" either... They think I am one of the most successful patients from their clinic......

What contributing role would you say your sleeve (reduced stomach) plays in your ability to successfully maintain the weight loss (e.g., 25, 50, 75, 90 percent)?
A huge role! 100% I simply cannot over eat anymore - and more importantly I don't want to. It has given me to power to say NO! And that might sound a littel weird but having that physical restriction is an absolute for me. I am not 'really' an emotional eater, not in the true sense but I do sometimes turn to food for comfort when I am stressed. Lately I have been really stressed and I just can't eat what my stressy little brain wants me to... and that ain't such a bad thing!
Related, how much conscious effort does your continued weight loss require? That is, must you deliberately monitor your food intake on a daily basis or does the restriction of the sleeve necessarily limit how much you can eat so that maintenance is relatively effortless?
Yes! I am very aware of the foods I eat; the quantity, frequency and quality. I now know my 'trigger' foods and foods that make me feel healthy.
How has your relationship with food changed, if at all? Related, do you still enjoy eating or, currently, is food just something you must consume to sustain life?
I still enjoy my meals, and because I don't stuff myself, the taste and satisfaction is a lot better. I eat to live not live to eat. Before the sleeve I would have huge portions because it tasted so good and then I would feel so bad, and beat myself up ... now I still enjoy the taste without the guilt. At 2yrs 5 mths out I can eat the maximum of 8oz (I still occasionally weigh my food and always, without fail, use a small plate). I did monitor my intake on an ap for my phone, but I haven't done so for a few months now.
Compared to the type of hunger pains you had experienced pre-surgically, while on a calorie-restricted diet, how would you rate the degree and quality of your hunger pains now after the surgery? That is, do you still feel hunger pains and, if so, how is your hunger drive different now than it was before the surgery Hunger pangs have returned a little, but in comparison to before they are minimal. I get a little gnawing in my tummy now. The biggest sign of not eating for a long time is a headache - If and when I do feel hungry and it is not a 'meal' time, a small snack or hot drink easily gets rid of it.

I hope this helps... Like I said, I am over 2 yrs out now. I never reached my surgeon's goal and I have been in a stall for over a year. Despite what I do or do not do, nothing changes on the scale and please believe me when I say that I have tried everything to shed the last bit of fat. I get so frustrated by this and at times I feel like a complete failure even though I have lost 74lbs.
I am just 10lbs off my surgeon's goal and 24-28lbs off my ultimate 'when I was a young woman' goal.
After reading this post I realise that my situation is bitter sweet as I haven't regained. I bounce between the same 3-4lbs and have been doing so for 14 months now. Perhaps if I had of reached my goal then I too would have regained? I don't know? It would seem that my body has chosen its own goal! My body is in complete opposition to my brain am at the stage now whereby I am getting bored of the whole 'losing weight' thing. Due to the lack of 'success' over the last year I have started to feel a little apathetic - I am working on this as I don't 'do' negative!
I have to say a big thank you to the posters on here already - they have made me think of my situation in a different light.
Good luck to everyone who is struggling at the moment... keep on keeping on and never give up! (cliched, I know,,, but so true!)

Hi Stacy,
I am just over half way there and I use my before and after pics to keep me motivated, especially when I am in a stall ... I am real slow loser but I am losing...
Here goes, hopes this helps...
[
this was the day I went in to hospital 2nd July 2010

this was the end of June 10

last week

side view!!

this is this week at 32 weeks post op, my most recent pic
Like I said, I still have a fair bit to go, but when I look back and am pleased with the progress so far... I look forward to sharing goal pics!!

Hi Stacy,
I am just over half way there and I use my before and after pics to keep me motivated, especially when I am in a stall ... I am real slow loser but I am losing...
Here goes, hopes this helps...
[
this was the day I went in to hospital 2nd July 2010

this was the end of June 10

last week

side view!!

this is this week at 32 weeks post op, my most recent pic
Like I said, I still have a fair bit to go, but when I look back and am pleased with the progress so far... I look forward to sharing goal pics!!

Sat in a cafe in Split (Croatia) drinking coffee in the autumn sunshine. We are in Diocletian's Palace- he was a Roman geezer and he knew how to build. The place is amazing and it is wonderful to be sat amongst so much history.

went to my first kizomba class last night, fun! But even more physically intimate than tango so, potential for awkwardness! then I went on a date with a very cute lawyer from Detroit who just moved here, I think he was less in to me by the end of the date than at the beginning though, so ...
After that date I went to tango where I had a few delicious sets, makes me impatient to lose all this $h!tty excess weight so that I can wear the pretty shoes!
BTW - drop what you are doing and immediately go purchase Fit Frappe spiced chai Protein Powder and Chike coffee Protein powder!!!! I am 4 years post op and have always been a protein powder girl and NEVER have I EVER had protein powders as delicious as these!!!! I decided to make a "dirty chai" from them so wizzed up the Chike with Water and then added in a 1/3 serving of the Fit Frappe, then poured over ice. If I didn't know better, I would have SWORN I was drinking some 600 calorie concoction from Starbucks!! SERIOUSLY!!!! It was effing amazing.
Also, here is a super shock - I am a longtime believer in greek yogurt as a protein source, par excellence. However, at the store yesterday I happened to compare Fage to Siggis (an icelandic strained yogurt) and Siggis scored better in everything! Lower calorie, higher protein, lower carb, lower SUGAR... now that I know that 4 grams is a teaspoon, it has helped trememdously in turning away from sugar. I mean, picture it - picture whatever it is you are eating or drinking and teaspoons full of white crystals dumping into it, one after another, after another ...

Hi Stacy,
I am just over half way there and I use my before and after pics to keep me motivated, especially when I am in a stall ... I am real slow loser but I am losing...
Here goes, hopes this helps...
[
this was the day I went in to hospital 2nd July 2010

this was the end of June 10

last week

side view!!

this is this week at 32 weeks post op, my most recent pic
Like I said, I still have a fair bit to go, but when I look back and am pleased with the progress so far... I look forward to sharing goal pics!!

Today's food: Breakfast - coffee with coconut sugar and coconut milk
lunch - a paleo brownie - avocado, coconut flour, bitter chocolate powder, chia "egg"
dinner - a piece of paleo pizza - cauliflower crust, my alfredo "sauce", arugula
dessert - dollop of greek yogurt with grain-free granola
I have a date to watch game 2 of the world series (GO GIANTS!!!!) so I might have a hard cider, otherwise I think it's a decent menu...
Hey my other PNW gals, hooray for heavy rainy fog! I've got the blankies piled high, a steaming cup of coffee, and this means later today I will be able to wear my Hunters rainboots!

Coops girl...missed ya! That is awesome about your son doing the NY thing. Prayers for a safe trip!
Florinda, if you are going to be anywhere near Denver for the wedding let me know!
I'm 4 years post-op TODAY! And if I'm being honest, I'm only maintaining around a net-65 loss. Boo. But I can't say that I'm all that upset about it because I know myself and I know that statistically and realistically, MOST patients do in fact regain "some" weight after hitting their lowest post-op weight. But it's still not an easy pill to swallow. One thing I've decided to quit beating myself up about is that "low" weight. If I'm being honest, I only hit it ONE time when I was about 18 months post-op. So yes, technically it was my "low" weight, but realistically it was a one-time-low-bounce time for me and I really maintained about 7-10lbs higher for MOST of the time that I was near that weight. Anyway, I've definitely gained weight this year BOO, but in the grand scheme of things, I would NEVER NEVER NEVER go back to the way I was before surgery. Did this surgery allow me to lose some weight and gain some perspective YEP YEP YEP. If they had told me at the beginning you would only lose -30, -40, -60 lbs would I have still gone through with it. YES. (Plese don't get me wrong, I think it's upsetting that someone who really has about 30lbs to lose would do this surgery that is NOT something I'm on-board with ...for instance someone who is 5'6" weighs 180lbs and they want to weigh 140lbs...I do NOT think that this surgery is designed for that type of person but I digress...)
I'm happy I had surgery and I feel like it has been a big gift and a blessing in my life. I would do it all over again even knowing what I know now...and what I know now is that this is certainly not the easy way out. The struggle is real...but I'm thankful I have a group of ladies to take the journey with and who GET IT!

Hiya all... sorry I've not posted much... been on the thread and reading.
Life is very busy at the moment... work is crazy and my energy levels are at zero.
Not been doing great with the 5:2 - once a week I get a fast in but not more than that... all good intentions are going awol at the moment. Not exercised either, as much as I 'want' to my motivation is zero too! I don't know how to get it back? I am fed up of 'trying hard' without any results... I am not happy with maintaining when I want/need to lose more ... *sighs*
On a lighter note my son is going to NY tomorrow... he leaves home at 3am and will arrive at JFK 6am... I am sooo envious of him. Not sure if you remember but my daughter was in NY when Sandy hit... let's hope there is no hurricane for Hywel to deal with this time!

I don't experience hunger either, it is one of those things that never came back for me after surgery, physically speaking feeling ill (dizzy or nauseous or irritable) are the way I know my body wants sustenance.
My things arrived from Afghanistan the other day, one of the items is my digital scale. I popped some fresh batteries in it and stepped on. My shame is so huge I don't want to share but I have to ....
forty pounds. According to the scale I am 37 pounds heavier than at my lowest at the start of April. So, I have gained forty pounds in 6 months. Correction, I have gained BACK the forty pounds that I lost last year, from October to March (5 months). This is an awful cycle and I don't want it to become a tradition - lose the same pounds every fall and winter, only to regain them every spring and summer, that's Funcked up!! I was doing so SO well, SO WELL!! I should have been to ultimate goal by now, including plastics!! It's so embarrassing, so humiliating.
But, Denise, you were right, I DO know how to lose it, and what is required and as much as these are "dirty words", it is going to take some discipline and some self-control and a DIET. It took 3 months to take off these pounds before (I lost a month and a half because my approach was all wrong and I was exercising and eating wrongly etc).
So, my New Year's resolution starts now: I vow to make the greatest effort I can, toward achieving the goal of losing this regain by Christmas. This time, I understand my body so much better than I ever did, I understand that I cannot get strong and fit at the same time as lose weight, that is just not how my body chooses to work. So, this time, I am going to only focus on my diet FIRST, get to goal, and THEN focus on fitness. It isn't the cookie-cutter model we have been forced to accept as the only truth for every body, but it is the truth of my body.