former_vbg

Well, you will see with the more posts you read that there definately is a honeymoon period. It varies somewhat for each person, but in general, expect to see your weight loss drop off anywhere from 3 to 6 months. It kind of depends on what your starting weight is and how closely you follow the recommended eating plans. If you have a higher starting weight and you stay on plan, you will likely have a little longer honeymoon period. There are some people who struggle with staying away from poor food choices early on and it will affect weight loss. I know someone personally who actually had surgery the same day as me and approximately the same starting weight as me (see my signature/ ticker line) and I think she may be down about 50# but I also know she has not been following the guidelines consistently- yet she struggles to understand why she hasn't lost more weight. She complains about all the bad temptations around her, why she can't do this or do that... I have tried to remain a support person in her life, but she has started to pull back in the last month or so which I attribute to the fact that I am just a reminder of how much she hasn't lost. It's ok to be a "slow looser", but if its because we aren't compliant with the guidelines, then we do jeopardize our long term success.

Thank you very much. Let's hope so. I soooo want this behind me.

Thank you very much for the kind words. Just praying for this to become a thing of the past as quickly as possible.

Well, I'm going to suspend my participation in this goal because it was found I have a blood clot in my lower left calf over the weekend and combination with the drugs and the swelling I have gained 9# practically overnight. My Dr. assures me this will go away when the swelling goes away. I'm not completely convinced of that, but my lower left leg looks like a watermelon right now and am not allowed to really do anything- including drive which totally sucks!!! I'm hoping to still leave for my trip to Europe in 2 weeks, and my Dr. is optimistic we can resolve the clot well before then but is concerned of course about the long flight and then not being able to check my protime as easily over there. I have since been able to secure ways to get my blood checked while I'm traveling, albeit a huge inconvenience. Soooo.... needless to say I'm quite frustrated. No history of clotting issues in the family, I'm only 40 yrs old and have always been a very healthy person and very active. Makes absolutely no sense. I'm not going to change my ticker right now until I get through this clotting issue. It's just too depressing.

Thank you. It just couldn't have come at a worse time. I leave for Europe in 2 weeks. My Dr. is optimistic we can get the clot resolved before then, but still has concerns w/me being gone for 16 days. I've been trying to figure out if there are walk in clinics in Lisbon, Portugal and Germany where I will be to test my ProTime. What a hassle... Still can't help but worry about this weight gain... so frustrating!

Thank you for your response. I hope I am not on it very long. The Dr. says to plan on 3 mths minimum. I am going to seriously freak out if I see weight gain because of this drug!

I am a little more than 8 mths out from my surgery and so I want to first say that the blood clot is not being associated with my surgery, but I have come here hoping others with some experience with a blood clot can chime in. I thought I had just sprained a calf muscle over the weekend, but learned yesterday I actually have a blood clot. I am now on 2 injections a day of Levonox and taking 5mg of Cumadin a day. The label doesn't list weight gain as a side effect, but I was googling that this morning and found TONS of people who report just the opposite. THis scares me to death! I have already gained 10# back practically overnight from the swelling in my leg and that is bad enough. I am so close to my goal and then to have this happen just sickens me. Can anyone who has taken Cumadin tell me about their experience? I lead a VERY active lifestyle and with the exception of right now where they are not letting me do hardly anything, I will return to this shortly I hope. Anyone????

Well, its been a tough week for me. I have a horse in severe kidney failure and been providing support care until his final days. I did still manage a 3# loss. Surgery Weight: 271 Current Weight: 145 Easter Goal Weight: 125 - also my final goal weight

I started at 271 the day of surgery and I think at 6 months I was down to around 190.

Well, hopefully when you say Verizon doesn't work in Europe, you are referring to just the wireless card. I have a Blackberry with an International Calling plan through my company and they said I will have coverage using it while I am there. Are they mistaken?

Thank you. Hey, you might be a good one to ask this- unrelated to this thread. I'm going to be in Germany, Portugal and Italy on this trip. Do you have any suggestions on using a wireless internet card for my laptop while I'm over there? Is there such a thing as buying a Verizon card wireless card over there for Europe? I have a Verizon wireless card here that works about anywhere in the U.S. I won't be doing the typical "tourist" thing where I will be in hotels. I will be over there about 2 weeks. Thanks.

Thank you. I have decided to just go with it, thank you. It will be a complete blast!

Thhanks for sharing your story. I also wanted to comment on your experience with ice cream. I have had the same experience with that and I would suspect has happened for you is that you have become lactose intolerant. You may get over it with time, but I also used to really crave sweets and well, my "head" still likes to eat them, but when I eat them I don't get the same satisfaction I used to. I haven't tried dark chocolate as I never liked it before. I always used to say I wish they would make chocolate in general a 5th food group- now it doesn't matter to me so much anymore. Good job!

Thank you Nichole! :-) I think I'm going to chance it, I've gotten enough positive feedback that I look like my passport photo that I should be ok. I have my Int'l DL too, so it should be ok.

Thank you. Hopefully, the younger sister LOL. It would be cutting it awfully close and if there was any hiccup at all, I would be without a passport. Plus, it's almost $200 for all the fees including getting things expedited. After having done some asking at work in dpts at where I asked people who didn't know me to give me their opinion (yes, they thought it was weird at first) and you guys giving your feedback that I think I'm going to just chance it. Most people say that my eyes definitely stand out as a confirming feature. I'm pretty excited for the trip!

Thank you Forensichick for starting this up. It really seems to help me feel accountable to have these challenges. Ok, I exceeded my VDay goal by more than 10#, so I'm going to set the bar high again and hope for the best. I leave for Europe March 23 and returning ON Easter so it's hard to say where I will end up. Surgery Weight: 271 Current Weight: 148 Easter Goal Weight: 125 - also my final goal weight Woo hoo-- let's go guys and gals.... btw, how come I never see any guys in these challenges....?

Where is the Easter Day's challenge???

I can't tell me how excited reading your post made me!!! We all need a little tough love sometimes. You will be able to eat those things again, just give yourself a few more months before you experiment too much. None of us here are perfect, we all make mistakes. I can tell you are going to do awesome on this journey. You might consider getting yourself a ticker (www.tickerfactory.com). I love having my ticker. People might laugh at me, but since I weight myself every morning, I look forward to weighing myself to see if I can go immediately and update my ticker. LOL It's just one of those little weird motivators for me. Have a great day!

Good job! I'm guessing your son is in for a bit of discipline this evening. :angelsad2: I always dreaded coming home when I knew my parents knew I had been in trouble that day. It wasn't often, but it happened. That and having to bring home bad report card grades. Oh, I'm so glad I'm not a kid anymore.

I loved that story about your horse lying down with you on and then getting up like there was nothing wrong. Too funny!! :-) I think with my show horse being a PB Arabian, they are naturally a little smaller, refined legs and so he doesn't have quite the same level of strength as a QH/Arab. That does make for great combination to do endurance though, so you should do really well. I've thought about doing endurance, but the horse I would have used passed away a couple years ago in a tragic stall accident. I'm so excited about my riding program in Portugal, we get 2 lessons per day (1 hr long) and I will be there 1 week. I will only be touching the surface, but I know there is no place here in the U.S. that I could have this level of lessons and that caliber of horse. I am also excited just to see how people do things over there in terms of care and management styles. I have actually found lateral work to be quite challenging, to do it correctly both rider and horse. It's done some in the Arabian training world, but not NEAR to the level done in dressage. Going to send you a PM with my email so we can stay in touch.

I think what everyone else has said about eating these things this early in your journey is something you need to back away from is pretty much my thoughts. I would only add that if you look at people who are 4 to 6 months out and beyond with weight to lose still, you will see that the honeymoon period is pretty short lived and personally I would hate to see you lose out on that honeymoon period by eating these things. It will likely take longer for you to reach your final goal. The only other thing that someone sort of touched on already, but high carbs/ sugary things can be difficult to de-tox from and keep your body from wanting more and more and more... You should consider sticking to your surgeon/ Nuts plan the best you can and then as you start getting the hang of your new eating, you can incorporate some of those things back into your eating. Like its already been said- all (or most) things in moderation. You can do this, you are paying attention to your body!

Well, if I decide to risk it, I will report back and let you know. I'm leaning that way right now.

That's what I did yesterday, but they don't make the call. It's the customs people in those countries that I will be in that will.

Thanks, but that ain't happening. I work in a professional environment, but either way I wouldn't do that anyways. A girl and her hair is something you don't mess with... :nonod: But, I do agree with you about your point of people who have illnesses and such.

I do not count fat or calories at all- never have since surgery. I am strict about my carb intake and I have found some no carb cheeses and eat cheese with just about everything I can- LOVE my cheese. Although I have become lactose intolerant so I do have to watch that some. Like a few weeks ago I was at a restaurant and had some cheese broccoli soup and I was in the bathrm in 10 minutes with diarrhea because the cheese was too rich. Other than that, cheese is just fine for me.