emily_0192010

It's great to have a tool like this at your disposal! It is an awesome motivator and a great way to keep track of where you are! Keep up the great job!

I am 8 months out. At this point I am capable of eating just about anything except bread... bread hits me like a rock with anything more than a tiny bite. But I don't mind since I really was never a huge bread eater (pasta was my kryptonite...)
My daily foods include
-chicken
-pork
-ground meat (hamburger or turkey or sausage)
-eggs
-plain greek yogurt (with flavored syrups or splenda to sweeten, normally add Protein as well)
-cheese!
-tuna
-shrimp
-lunch meat
-protein shakes
I cook these in a variety of ways, but grilling (on my counter top grill) is my favorite. It is quick and since I have lots of experience with it I have no trouble timing it so that the meat comes out tender every time. With the ground meat I either eat it out of a bowl with cheese on top or I make meatballs of some sort.
As you can tell... I am definitely NOT a vegetarian! LOL I also am not all that creative with it. But I like simple food the best so I'm not missing anything!

Well, you said it! Truly, stalls are completely normal and I dare say even an important part of this journey! I have gone through several myself. You're body needs this pause to catch up! The gain is just Water weight, I guarantee you! It is incredibly frustrating and emotionally it sucks!!! Instead of focusing on the numbers, take this time to monitor yourself in other ways. Make sure you are getting in your Protein and Water and vitmains. Feel how your clothes are getting looser. Feel how you can walk further and faster and how you hold your head up a little higher every day. Look at pictures of where you were and see how far you've come already. Avoid the scale for a little while. You cannot let it get you down. This sleeve is NOT a diet. It is not going to fail you. You are taking care of it by following your diet and it will take care of you! It will move, just be patient. I bet as soon as you accept that you are in a stall and relax and stop worrying about it... the scale will move lol!

I am 8 months out now and my weight loss has slowed down but definitely not stopped!! For me, the first 5 months were the easiest... months 6 and 7 I stalled for most of it... but now I'm dropping 1.5-3 a week... I doubt that will keep up for long but I am definitely still losing!
My surgeon told me that most of his patients lose a hundred pounds the first year... i've lost 118 so I'm happy!

I decided before my surgery that I was only going to buy pants from the same store until I was at or close to my goal weight... the point being to avoid the up and down that sometimes happen when you shop in different stores (14 in one, 16 in another, etc). That always killed me!! I already had size 24's and 20's from old navy, so that's what i stuck to.
My highest: size 24
My current: size 4
I could wear the size 4's on a regular basis, but I don't have the money to buy them so I'm stll wearing my sixes. I have to dry them on hot now though!!

I decided before my surgery that I was only going to buy pants from the same store until I was at or close to my goal weight... the point being to avoid the up and down that sometimes happen when you shop in different stores (14 in one, 16 in another, etc). That always killed me!! I already had size 24's and 20's from old navy, so that's what i stuck to.
My highest: size 24
My current: size 4
I could wear the size 4's on a regular basis, but I don't have the money to buy them so I'm stll wearing my sixes. I have to dry them on hot now though!!

I decided before my surgery that I was only going to buy pants from the same store until I was at or close to my goal weight... the point being to avoid the up and down that sometimes happen when you shop in different stores (14 in one, 16 in another, etc). That always killed me!! I already had size 24's and 20's from old navy, so that's what i stuck to.
My highest: size 24
My current: size 4
I could wear the size 4's on a regular basis, but I don't have the money to buy them so I'm stll wearing my sixes. I have to dry them on hot now though!!

I decided before my surgery that I was only going to buy pants from the same store until I was at or close to my goal weight... the point being to avoid the up and down that sometimes happen when you shop in different stores (14 in one, 16 in another, etc). That always killed me!! I already had size 24's and 20's from old navy, so that's what i stuck to.
My highest: size 24
My current: size 4
I could wear the size 4's on a regular basis, but I don't have the money to buy them so I'm stll wearing my sixes. I have to dry them on hot now though!!

Congrats!!! I think those are the best type of NSV's because they show how our day-to-day lives change after the weight loss. It's the little things that we deal with that were so challenging before. Its wonderful to realize you accomplished something that you couldn't before.
As for the shoes... my shoe size dropped! I lost in width and technically length. I don't think my feet are actually shorter, but rather I was wearing them too long before instead of going up in width. I think many people who have "wide" feet actually have double or triple wide feet, and instead of going through the process of getting fitted properly and trying on dozens of shoes in the "correct" size and none of them ever fitting... we just go up a size in length to make up the difference. At least that's what I think happened with me.

I decided before my surgery that I was only going to buy pants from the same store until I was at or close to my goal weight... the point being to avoid the up and down that sometimes happen when you shop in different stores (14 in one, 16 in another, etc). That always killed me!! I already had size 24's and 20's from old navy, so that's what i stuck to.
My highest: size 24
My current: size 4
I could wear the size 4's on a regular basis, but I don't have the money to buy them so I'm stll wearing my sixes. I have to dry them on hot now though!!

I have! Not that early, but still, I have. It SUCKS! Big time! For me the main problem ended up being stress. I was in a high stress situation and as soon as I left said situation I started losing again. During the stalls you have to focus on Water, Protein and Vitamins. Get in some exercise. Move on. Pay attention to the way your clothes fit, I'm sure they will start to feel MUCH looser soon (if not already).
The biggest factor for me, outside of stress, was water. If I wasn't drinking, I wasn't losing. Your body NEEDS water in order to dissolve that fat! Also, at 6 weeks out you are either starting to phase in regular foods or already have. You're body could just be freaking out over the change.
Are your carbs high? If you are only drinking you could be drinking more than you think. You may be carb-sensitive. A lot of people can lose with a regular carb diet, but some people (like moi) are carb sensitive. Meaning, if I eat too many carbs I don't lose. Period. I'm planning on using this to my advantage when I hit maintenance.
You should also contact your surgeon or your nutritionist or your weight loss counselor and ask them. Make sure that there isn't anything wrong physically.
Good luck, chin up, you WILL LOSE!

(((hugs))) I really can't say much, since I'm not an expert. But I know that the point of the eval is to make sure that you understand the risks of the surgery, the permanence of it, how it will change your life. It is also to make sure that you have the ability and tools to handle it. You're past doesn't matter. If those aspects of your life are under control, then it shouldn't matter. The fact that you were honest is great! You've had issues, and you've dealt with them. That shows control and maturity. If for some reason they don't think you are ready, they are not going to say a flat out "no". They would ask you to have a few more sessions, etc, to make sure that you can handle it. So it would most likely only be postponed.
In the meantime, don't worry about it. If it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it, then you worry about it then! There is no point in stressing yourself over it now!
(((((hugs))))) Chin up! Smile! You are one step closer to your goal! Have a GREAT weekend!

Ugh, unfortunately Protein is expensive. Please remember though, you are not going to be buying "regular" food for yourself for quite awhile!!! I have a very tight budget and I have found the best for me is the GNC brand Protein. I don't remember the numbers exactly, but it worked out well. Plus it was 100% whey protein which is VERY important!! There return policy is amazing as well. If you open it, try it, and don't like it? No problem, just bring it back.
There are also a lot of pre-made Protein drinks that include Vitamins in them. Those are really great as well. You might want to try the ones your doc suggested, even if its just at first. It IS the only thing you'll be "eating" for awhile.

I am so proud of you and so thankful to be able to call you a friend!!! You have done an AMAZING job!! From day 1 you planned to rock it and you did!!! Congrats!! You deserve everything and more!

Oh yes!! It is actually extremely normal... you hit the "three week stall". It sucks, but it happens. I believe it is just your body's way of dealing with the all the changes. You will break out of it! In the meantime, focus on your Water, Protein and Vitamins and don't worry about the scale (well, try not to!)

Hey everyone Today it really hit me just how thankful I am for my sleeve. Recently I was in a very high-stress situation. During the time my weight loss was... sketchy. I did lose, but I would plateau for about 3 weeks and then I would drop, but only a pound or two. I didn't realize at the time that it was the stress. I thought I was doing something wrong or that maybe my body was shifting into maintenance or it was just being stubborn. During this time I also wasn't sleeping well.
A couple weeks ago I moved back home and the change is... incredible. I've lost 7 lbs, I'm sleeping soundly every night (with the only exception being the frequent gut checks my 6 year old sister throws at me while she sleeps, she has so far refused to sleep anywhere else... and i really don't want to kick her out either). I think my sleeve has relaxed as well. I'm able to eat more, but in a good way. Instead of having to stretch my meals over an hour just to get in my mins, I can now eat my portion (2-3 oz protein) within 15-20 mins. I never realized how much constriction I was getting just from being stressed, and it wasn't good!
Today when I weighed in it struck me just how strongly the stress had impacted my body. It made me think "what would have happened before sleevie?" and I realized that I would have gained a lot of weight. Easily. Without realizing it. So even though I didn't lose like I had expected to during that time period, I am so, so, so, so freakin thankful that I had my surgery and that I have my sleevie with me every day. I am much happier and healthier with it than I ever was without it!

I haven't tracked mine monthly, but it has definitely slowed down!! I would say I lose an average of about 5 a month now. I'm 7 months out. I lost very steadily in the beginning, and then I started stalling out a lot and my weight loss started to "staircase".
But, yes. Our weight loss slows down significantly as you move along. And this is a good thing, IMO. It is safer and healthier for your body to lose the weight gradually. It also helps your skin to catch up.

LOL... its not forever!! And if you already had it then you might not have any problems. Just sometimes chicken sits "hard" in our stomachs because it is Protein dense as well as very low fat. Since you ate it as a salad, i'm sure the extra liquid helped! But when you try it on its own I would suggest slow cooking it in lots of liquids or eating it with some sort of sauce (though not much at all!). My personal favorite is roast pork, especially a dark meat cut. It went down like butter for me, not uncomfortable at all.
And yeah, i've "aged" my sleeve. The 6 weeks it was baby sleeve... then during my trial and errors in the solid food it was "toddler sleeve"... lol! Now its just my sleevie... and I am actually going to admit that I do call it that... outloud. I sometimes talk to it LOL. While i'm eating, if I have a lot of restriction one day or something I'll comment out loud to it. Kinda crazy, but I love my sleevie and its helped me so much! Best tool ever!

Tomorrow is a new day!! Just move forward. The date countdown is a good idea. My suggestion would be to put some sort of sign or picture or the calendar posted ON your fridge and/or your cupboards or the entrance to your kitchen. Something like "it isn't worth it! Only ____ more days to go!" Sometimes visual reminders help.
Again, don't beat yourself up. It is in the past so move on and re-focus. You are doing great and pretty soon you will be joining sleeve-land and will have a solid seat on the loser's bench

Tomorrow is a new day!! Just move forward. The date countdown is a good idea. My suggestion would be to put some sort of sign or picture or the calendar posted ON your fridge and/or your cupboards or the entrance to your kitchen. Something like "it isn't worth it! Only ____ more days to go!" Sometimes visual reminders help.
Again, don't beat yourself up. It is in the past so move on and re-focus. You are doing great and pretty soon you will be joining sleeve-land and will have a solid seat on the loser's bench

Hello I'm glad to hear you are doing well!! I also had a hiatal hernia repaired during my operation and didn't find out until my follow-up visit! I'm not sure if it made my recovery harder or not. Apparently it is very, very common!
I also agree that wearing something tight actually helps in some ways. Once my incisions weren't sore themselves (just general soreness) I wore a spanx-like thing all the time. I still wear it! Immediately after surgery I wore one that was technically a size or two too big, that way it held me in but didn't add pressure.
Good luck on not stepping on the scale! It is very tempting at first! Also, be prepared just in case you hit the "three week stall". Totally normal, but it can still hurt to see it. If you do hit it, just remember "Water, Protein, vitamin" and try not to dwell on the number!

Hey... I am definitely in the last 30 or so of my journey and my weight loss has slowed down dramatically! I am also averaging 4 lbs a month now... sometimes less! It certainly seems like these last 30 are going to take just as long as the first 115! To not get depressed over it I am trying to just think one day at a time. I focus on my Protein and my Water and my Vitamin and go on with my day. I am just now starting to really exercise so I'll see how that affects my weight loss.
I have also stalled a LOT during my journey. The reason my numbers were still high was because I would drop a lot when it broke.

Hello I don't have any pics right here and I'm not "done" yet. I am 5'2". I also lost 40 pre-op. I am now a total of 115 lbs down. I went from 262 to 147. Does that help? And there are tons of us shorties on here

Awesome!!! I *love* roller coasters and rides and parks and I cannot wait to go again!! I would certainly fit now, just waiting for a carnival to roll thru or money to visit the parks (I live in Florida). So congrats! I can totally understand. It certainly IS the best feeling in the world!

It seems like you already ordered, but they now offer "grilled nuggets" which are awesome. 4 is perfect for me and its less than 2 dollars! One day you may be able to do their salads or even their sandwiches (minus the bun or top bun).