iegal

So as not to bore you, my story is almost exactly the same as NTVTXN...quick to goal, same weight, blah blah. I will be three years out in September. I am at surgeons goal, but am over my own personal goal, holding there for about a year.
I was 15 pounds lighter at one point, but was way too skinny and when I looked at pictures of myself I looked unhealthy. Then menopause hit about a year ago. BAM, 10 pounds added within two months.
Yes I would like to lose 5 pounds and can do this within a month if I eat correctly as my sleeve allows. But, sadly I eat like I used to which is bad, really bad. I eat crud and slider food. Am I hungry? Not physically hungry but I am mentally hungry. Mind games. Know what I need to do.
Conclusion, you map your own success. Follow the diet plan and you too can be successful. Eat crud often and you will gain back weight.
Hugs to all my fellow vets...and of course any newbies reading my warning.

Last meal was Moscato and popcorn. DANG - we need to meet. That was my meal one night just last week. Of course I added butter. Love this sleeve and being a goal where I can indulge every now and then.

So as not to bore you, my story is almost exactly the same as NTVTXN...quick to goal, same weight, blah blah. I will be three years out in September. I am at surgeons goal, but am over my own personal goal, holding there for about a year.
I was 15 pounds lighter at one point, but was way too skinny and when I looked at pictures of myself I looked unhealthy. Then menopause hit about a year ago. BAM, 10 pounds added within two months.
Yes I would like to lose 5 pounds and can do this within a month if I eat correctly as my sleeve allows. But, sadly I eat like I used to which is bad, really bad. I eat crud and slider food. Am I hungry? Not physically hungry but I am mentally hungry. Mind games. Know what I need to do.
Conclusion, you map your own success. Follow the diet plan and you too can be successful. Eat crud often and you will gain back weight.
Hugs to all my fellow vets...and of course any newbies reading my warning.

So as not to bore you, my story is almost exactly the same as NTVTXN...quick to goal, same weight, blah blah. I will be three years out in September. I am at surgeons goal, but am over my own personal goal, holding there for about a year.
I was 15 pounds lighter at one point, but was way too skinny and when I looked at pictures of myself I looked unhealthy. Then menopause hit about a year ago. BAM, 10 pounds added within two months.
Yes I would like to lose 5 pounds and can do this within a month if I eat correctly as my sleeve allows. But, sadly I eat like I used to which is bad, really bad. I eat crud and slider food. Am I hungry? Not physically hungry but I am mentally hungry. Mind games. Know what I need to do.
Conclusion, you map your own success. Follow the diet plan and you too can be successful. Eat crud often and you will gain back weight.
Hugs to all my fellow vets...and of course any newbies reading my warning.

Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never harm me.
What a lie.
I am so sorry for your pain. People used to ask if I was pregant & yeah it hurt, a lot. I want to send a hug to you. Words hurt people, use them wisely.

So as not to bore you, my story is almost exactly the same as NTVTXN...quick to goal, same weight, blah blah. I will be three years out in September. I am at surgeons goal, but am over my own personal goal, holding there for about a year.
I was 15 pounds lighter at one point, but was way too skinny and when I looked at pictures of myself I looked unhealthy. Then menopause hit about a year ago. BAM, 10 pounds added within two months.
Yes I would like to lose 5 pounds and can do this within a month if I eat correctly as my sleeve allows. But, sadly I eat like I used to which is bad, really bad. I eat crud and slider food. Am I hungry? Not physically hungry but I am mentally hungry. Mind games. Know what I need to do.
Conclusion, you map your own success. Follow the diet plan and you too can be successful. Eat crud often and you will gain back weight.
Hugs to all my fellow vets...and of course any newbies reading my warning.

So as not to bore you, my story is almost exactly the same as NTVTXN...quick to goal, same weight, blah blah. I will be three years out in September. I am at surgeons goal, but am over my own personal goal, holding there for about a year.
I was 15 pounds lighter at one point, but was way too skinny and when I looked at pictures of myself I looked unhealthy. Then menopause hit about a year ago. BAM, 10 pounds added within two months.
Yes I would like to lose 5 pounds and can do this within a month if I eat correctly as my sleeve allows. But, sadly I eat like I used to which is bad, really bad. I eat crud and slider food. Am I hungry? Not physically hungry but I am mentally hungry. Mind games. Know what I need to do.
Conclusion, you map your own success. Follow the diet plan and you too can be successful. Eat crud often and you will gain back weight.
Hugs to all my fellow vets...and of course any newbies reading my warning.

Still at over 2 1/2 years out I have people who don't recognize me. I am an average looking woman in all honesty but I stare at myself as if I were a supermodel. Yes, looking at my lovely collar bones makes me happy. Looking at my waist makes me feel like a woman.
So, two weeks ago I ran into someone I worked with over 10 years ago at a conference. I was all over her since we somehow lost touch. She told me about a week later, "I didn't recognize you for about a half a hour, you exude such confidence and beauty."
I love my sleeve!

Coops, I think I tell your story more often than mine. You are amazing!

While I don't get a ton of PM, people are usually reaching out to make contact and feel good about their choice more so that getting an answer. Sometimes there are so many conflicting information on this board or some newbies don't know yet how to search for answers.
So...I teach how to do a search and have some commonly asked questions saved in MS Word to copy and paste in response. Just enough to get them going but not to tie them to me for future information.
Be glad they trust you. You are an inspiration!

Coops, I think I tell your story more often than mine. You are amazing!

Spatters way to go. That is a big NSV'S I've seen.

Hello fellow sleevers,
I am now just over 6 weeks post TT and uplift and I can't tell you how happy I am that I have turned the corner. I ain't gonna lie, it has been a tough 6 weeks, not physically but mentally and emotionally but that is for another post...
Anyhoo, today is the first day that I have been able to wear my post op jeans (my original size goal; UK 14) - before now the swelling was sooo bad, even with compression garments and control pants on that they wouldn't do up and were tight on the legs... booo!
I wore them today and they were big... yes big! So, as we were shopping I picked up a new pair, one size smaller as an incentive and a 'work in progress' pair. I couldn't wait to try them on and when I did... drum roll please... they only bloody fit!
Yes, I could do them up, all the way and I could sit in them. Ok, so they were a little tight but not too tight that I felt like I was about to turn blue and pass out...lol.
As a foot note, I am the same weight now as I was pre TT even though the surgeon removed nearly 3 1/2 lb of skin (that is one mighty apron, apparently the 'normal' or average amount of skin removed weighs around a pound!) So, perhaps when all the swelling has gone away they will be my new 'comfy' jeans!
I have not been able to fit in a size UK 12 (US 8-10?) for over twenty years... I can't put in to words how happy, proud and well, chuffed to Beans I am!
Did I say I was happy? lol
Oh, when I saw my PS he cleared me for light exercise and light ab work... so today i did 100 squats - easy peasy - 20 push ups of the table x 2 and 20 pelvic curls with 20 upper curls... so, that is another NSV!!
I think that I might be getting my mo jo back...lol!

Think we are all scared when we do this, whether we admit it publicly or not.
When I arrived at hospital to have my surgery, I couldn't quite believe I was there and what I was going to do to my body. And that was despite me having spent around 18 months considering every aspect of the sleeve. But I went through with it two and a half weeks ago.
Has it been easy having this surgery? Not really, there were moments when it was physically hard. But as Lawrence says, you get meds to get through. There have also been times when my emotions kicked in and I seriously questioned what the heck I had done. But I kept reminding myself of the prize - better health, longer life.
Was it worth it? After only two and a half weeks, for me, yes. My diabetes is no more and in an amazing twist, the arthritis I have suffered for many years has gone into remission meaning I am off the chemotherapy drug used to control it and am now only injecting. A miracle.
We all experience this surgery differently. But we all do it for reasons that matter to us - keep that to the front of your mind cos your life is going to change. Good luck, stay strong on Tuesday and use this site for as much help and support as you need.
Jac

I know I sound like a broken record - but nearly everyone stalls at 2-3 weeks out and this link explains why.
http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html
Keep up the faith, it takes awhile but one day you realize that you have really lost some weight!!!!!

Hi All,
I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away.
Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now.
I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful.
And, of course, I was wrong
The sleeve was everything the band promised and more.
On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management.
That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl.
The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!).
I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed.
At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone.
It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-)
So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy Water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat Protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness.
I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!!
I could never have done this without the sleeve.
I am completely happy with the result.
My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside.
I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it.
My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months.
Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June.
My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady.
With gratitude,
Lara

I think of "coops" when I think of a slow loser who always kept moving forward and sticking to plan. She was sleeved sometime mid 2010 and hit goal maybe just in late 2012. Coops was always my hero, a true testament to the story of our sleeve is but a tool...follow the plan for the weight to come off.
Search members coops and read about her incredible journey.

What a dumb dude! Sending you a video with comments like that could be hurtful.
Honey, confident you were beautiful at your highest weight and are even more lovely now. So what? Don't let some drunk guy disappoint you.

What a dumb dude! Sending you a video with comments like that could be hurtful.
Honey, confident you were beautiful at your highest weight and are even more lovely now. So what? Don't let some drunk guy disappoint you.

What a dumb dude! Sending you a video with comments like that could be hurtful.
Honey, confident you were beautiful at your highest weight and are even more lovely now. So what? Don't let some drunk guy disappoint you.

Please respect the rules of this board and stop your constant attacks when I respectfully disagree with you.
Each member can look up your posts and validate my statements. Almost 100% of your START posts are about your surgeon. Just stop with the advertising and diminishing the value to VST.
Did I imply I was threatened by your posts? Hmm, no.
This website is for support. Surgeons pay Alex to advertise with all the little pop ups and a surgeon using you for free advertising is saddens me, takes away from the glory of our fellow sleevers experiences.
Stop the promotion, marketing, insipid postings...please. Your story is good on it's own merit, without all the advertising hype.
Best wishes Suzannesh.

Remember today with sweetness, not bitterness. This is your new resolve to be active with your family. I am excited you too.

Hello fellow sleevers,
just thought I would start a thread for all those who want to get to goal in 2012, regardless of where we are in the process.
I posted it the 'Slow Loser' thread, because that is what I am!! (I am not complaining by the way, just pleased to be a loser...lol)
For me to get there, I know that at 18mths out I need to be strict, accountable and have support from those in the same 'place', who understand that the sleeve isn't a miracle but a tool.
I have done well so far, but the weight hasn't 'melted' off me and since 6mths post op I have had to fight for each and every pound. At first it made me a little bitter, frustrated and I started to get into a 'dark place' about it, now the scale victory tastes sooooo sweet!
I have taken the month of December 'off'... I needed to rest from the constant worry of food, cals, Water, carbs and protein... my head was spinning and I was starting to feel very frustrated and overwhelmed at not being at goal again. I needed time out!
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas period and I have eaten what I wanted and when I wanted it; this includes ALL foods, no food was off limit and I let my sleeve do its job! The quantity was low but I still enjoyed every mouthful. Interestingly, I found that my cravings were satisified very quickly... 1 or 2 biscuits/sweets, and so on, hit the spot, instead of 5,6,7,... you get the picture. Subconscious damage limitation? I don't know but I like it!
I have learnt a lot by doing this. I now know that I can eat a little more if I 'try'... I know that I can enjoy food again without feeling guilty and I know that food doesn't have to be the enemy. So, with all that, what was the outcome? Yep, I have gained 2lbs above my personal bounce! Oops!
I am not, in the slightest, worried about this because I KNOW what is the cause... sugar and salt! And this time, I am sure it will come off as quick as it went on!
So, what is the plan?
Per my surgeon's instructions: I am going back to basics... yep that ole one...lol
3 meals a day - no snacking.
Weighing my meals between 6-8oz depending on what is on the plate.
Protein first, followed by veggies.
Plenty of water.
A limit of 1000 cals a day.
Continue with my exercise - boxing twice a week, gym in work 1-2 times a week (depending on work load) and walking my dog (just over a 2 mile circuit). The exercise is the only thing that I have stuck to in December... I actually enjoy it now!!

As a side note, and I ain't sure if my American friends can get this, but here in the Uk, on SKY there are a few fitness channels. I have recorded some aerobic workouts that are really good... they're free and can be done at home... this is saving me some money on classes and DVDs and if I don't like the workout I can delete and look for another!! Bonus!!
Ok, who is ready to join me on the final stretch to goal... hope on board and enjoy the ride my friends...

My go-to satiety food is beef Jerky. I am particularly fond of Costo's Kirkland Signature Steak Strips; 1 oz (2 pieces of jerky) is only 60 calories. 2 oz. of it and I am *stuffed* for only 120 calories.
Also, for a no-calorie tummy filler, I drink a mug of hot tea with Splenda. I like fruity teas a lot (Republic of Tea Ginger Peach Green Tea, and Lipton's Orange Passionfruit Jasmine Green Tea are two current faves). I'm always struggling to get enough fluids in and so now each day before I eat anything I make sure I drink at least one full mug of tea, and when I want to eat but don't have the calorie budget, a mug of tea helps tame the hungry monster.

Andy trader joes sells raw mixed nuts that are really tasty