Sleevie WonderLand

Hey guys! How's the group doing?

Hi Fallen Angel, I did get your message, just got home and logged in to the computer. I'm going to ask Alex to make you and Larae the new group leaders.

thanks to both of you for stepping up to the plate!

I've already have Ms. Larae as a candidate...there was another individual who was interested...please hit me up asap!

In an effort to make this easier - would the young lady who I talked to about taking over the group respond to me via VST msg? I wanna do this fairly, and trying to go through my old msgs and posts on this phone is treacherous!

I have no preference. Someone said earlier that they would take it over, so I'm going to go back into the post and ask that person if she's still interested, maybe you two can moderate together. I'm on my phone right now but will def let you know when it all goes down.

Thanks for stepping up to the plate!

The group needs someone who is more interactive and involved. There's nothing involved except you posting and welcoming new members, creating new threads, etc. There are several posts about people possibly meeting up somewhere in the NY area, but nothing has come to fruition, so if you are SERIOUS about this group and can see the potential in making it fun and beneficial to the others, PLEASE say you'll take over!

I started it last year and had all intentions of doing challenges and being 100% involved, but as you can see that never happened. We need someone to make the NY group the best group on VST!!!

is anyone here interested in taking over this group? I need to give Alex a name asap so that he can remove me as the group leader.

You won't be able to finish your own food after surgery! Once the weight starts to fall off, you'll be able to run with them and you'll have to find other things to do because eating won't occupy your mind and time like it used to!

I also suggest that you sign up to MyFitnessPal.com. You can use it to help you track the amount of Proteins and other nutrients you're consuming.

Hey Lisa,

the best advice I can give you is to be patient, especially with your recovery and adjusting to your new relationship with food. Your brain will want to eat more than your stomach can handle. It will be hard to comprehend that only after having two bites of your meal that you are stuffed as though you've eaten Thanksgiving dinner. It takes some getting used to especially if you are like I was and used to just eat for no reason. Now you'll have to find other outlets to kill your "bored" time because you will have no desire nor ability to eat! The restriction factor of this tool is serious. I'm convinced that is the only way I would have ever been able to lose almost 70 pounds.

The other bit of advice I'd give is for you not to compare your journey to others. It's cool to compare notes, but don't worry about how fast the other people are losing. You are unique and your journey may be similar, but every one is different.

more advice - scour this board like crazy! see what people are saying about their post op experiences. Start reading the recipe boards because you are going to need to find ways to get Protein in. Don't go buying a whole lot of stuff just yet - your tastebuds will more than likely change on you and the things you loved before may not be as appealing as they used to be.

My last bit of advice....Be realistic about this situation. Right now you have the ability to eat a massive amount of food. I'm talking seconds and possibly thirds...after your sleeve won't be able to consume more than half of a fist full. Sit and think about that for a second...crazy right? It's really mind blowing. It takes a while for you to get to the point where you can enjoy savory foods. You are going to want to have some foods and after one bite you may realize that you aren't ready for them just yet. You have to chew your food like a baby. It's annoying as hell, but after a while you get used to it. Drinking and eating together sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal....that stuff hurts like hell! (to this day I still try it every now and then...and no, can't do it!) i say all this to say that in addition to the surgery being physical, it's definitely an emotional one as well, and you have to take your time while adjusting to rapid weight loss which is also a crazy mind screw!

Might I suggest you read my blog entries? I was very open and honest about my experiences. THere are other blogs and posts that will definitely help you as well.

Good luck with your surgery!

My info seminar was VERY informative. My surgeon conducted it and had a powerpoint slide show containing information about the different types of weight loss surgery which definitely helped me decide on the sleeve over the lap-band.

Ask any and every question you have. You should feel informed and comfortable enough to take the next steps required to sign up for the surgery. Ask about the surgeon's success rate, and about leakage stats. You want to make sure you'll be in good hands.

i'm sure there are threads here on VST that can give you ideas on questions you should ask the surgeon.

Good luck!

Congrats on making it to Onederland!

Ditto on everything Lissa said, except I'm cutting my hair instead of trying to grow it out. It was falling out really badly, but has since slowed down. I keep it short because it looks thicker.

Good luck!

Krenee,

don't give up. even if you have to do the 6 month pre diet, do it. This surgery is worth it. If you really want to change your life and improve your health and need a tool that will prevent you from overfeeding yourself, then you need to be sleeved. Hang in there, and know that you have an entire community (VST) rooting you on. If you have to do the six month pre diet, then you can use that time to begin changing your eating habits and get a jump start on your exercise regimen. don't get discouraged....get sleeved!

Wow, it's been forever since I've visited the NY Group, and I see we've got a few new members!

Welcome Krenee, I'm Sooo Excited, RXTEK320, Kiki Von Moonshine (cute name!), Tana Q, Hibmirn, Fitbottomedgirl, NYCBigGurl, BkDoll, AmberB10021, Ariesgirl, Jimmy Got Soul, BabyPink002, and Beba238!

Honestly, when I started this NY group I had aspirations of it turning into something where we could have a group meet up, but as you can see that never worked out. What I can do is let all of you know that I'm no expert or anything but if you have any sleeve questions you wanna ask, i'll do my best to answer, or at least try to point you in the right direction! I'm not on VST as often as I used to be, but if you hit my inbox, I'll get a notification letting me know I have a message.

Lets continue to encourage each other in this crazy journey. Sending positive energy and prayers out for those struggling with the pre-op journey as well as the post op journey! Hang in there, it really does get better!

New York is frickin awesome. So are we!

I had a hard time after surgery dealing with my food addiction. The problem is that mentally you want to eat any and everything in sight, especially if you're watching tv because all the advertisements seem to be about food. The problem is that after being sleeved you CANT eat any and everything. Actually, it's not a problem, it's a good thing because that's why most of us end up here trying to get sleeved!

I think I bitched about it in my blogs. I was literally having tantrums because I wanted to eat some real food and it was probably a whole 4 weeks before I was able to eat anything solid. I was going crazy and was really resenting the fact that I decided to have the sleeve done. After a few weeks I reasoned with myself and understood that restriction was the only thing that could help me lose weight. As much as I loved food, I loved it too much and had no control and ended up being morbidly obese.

So the great thing about being sleeved is that even though you want to over eat and gorge and binge, you physically can't because it hurts so freakin bad if you eat just an ounce more than your new tiny tummy can handle. Eventually you become accustomed to eating the foods you like in much smaller portions, and you begin to appreciate your sleeve once you realize that you're losing weight and still able to enjoy food to an extent. You still get the feeling of being full, and your tastebuds still get to delight in delicious foods and tasty treats!

I'm not gonna sugar coat it at all. It wasn't easy for me that first month after being sleeved. But the struggle that I went through was so worth it. I lost 63 pounds so far and haven't looked back since. I'm down from a size 22 to a size 10 and couldn't be happier.

My suggestion which will probably get frowned upon by many is for you to enjoy your favorite meal before your surgery. Don't over do it, but if you like steak, then have a steak before you go in because it will most likely be a long time before you're able to enjoy a piece of steak again while you're healing. I think I was going insane because I had the pre-op diet going and then had to wait another 4 weeks before eating solids, so essentially I didnt have REAL food for 6 weeks! You know what that does to someone who loves food? LOL

All the best to you...safe surgery, quick and easy recovery. Just be patient and take everything in stride. The sleeve is the best decision I've ever made for myself and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

I was just worried that I would continue to lose and lose and lose. I guess i'll listen to my body.

@Blackberry, I don't think I'm too thin at this weight. I'm loving where I am right now. I don't want to become too thin, especially since I'm tall and have a large frame. If I could remove this flabby skin from my stomach thighs and arms, I'd probably weigh about 170 pounds.

Hey VSTers...

It's been quite a few weeks since I've checked in. Hope everyone has been losing!

I was sleeved in October and have lost 63 pounds so far. I wasn't sure of what I wanted my goal weight to be, I figured I'd play it by ear and see where the weight loss takes me because numbers don't always match the picture you have in your head. I'm a tall girl with a large frame, so going from 252 to 152 isn't going to work for me although that's what the "experts" think my ideal weight should be. I'm currently at 189, wearing a size 10/12, and I'm perfectly happy at this size and weight give or take a few more pounds. I still shake my head in disbelief when I remember that when I started this journey I was wearing a size 22!

My dilemma is that I don't know how to maintain the weight I'm at now. I'm still eating like a bird, so i'm assuming the weight is going to continue to come off. I eat any and everything that doesn't upset my stomach (I drink soda on occasion too, don't judge me!) and don't drink Protein Shakes. Am I supposed to try to increase my intake? I eat like a bird because I get full really quickly and don't know if I can increase my intake. I know I should probably talk to my nutritionist, but I wanna hear what my VSTers who are living the sleeved life have to say about maintenance.

There's also a phone app for it, so you can even log in your food items when you're on the go!

myfitnesspal.com is the bomb. If you decide to join, friend me! my handle is sleevie wonder!

Does it count if you can't stop checking your own self out? Gheesh, i've suddenly become a mirror ***** since losing this weight!

I haven't had any food funerals thus far and don't plan to, but I had to let you guys know that this is the CUTEST thread ever.

ok, first of all, how GORGEOUS is Riss1908?

y'all can add me too....sleevie wonder is my handle on MFP!

Just promise that you'll make your diary public so I can peek at it to get some food ideas!

Sometimes you'll have to look through some of the options to get different measurements i.e. "can", or "oz". If the option they give you is 8 oz and you only had 4 oz, then you adjust the amount to .5 of a serving.

It's a little tricky at first but soon you'll get the hang of it. You may not always get the exact product or item that you had but the point is to log your food and keep track of what you're doing. Accountability is key!

Good luck and ask all the questions you want....that's what we're all here for!

by the way - you can add me too, my handle is Sleevie Wonder.

People are afraid of change. I don't think they mean to be discouraging. I think that since they know we'll change physically that maybe we will also change mentally and that's kinda scary to them. YOU might be the one to get all the attention and compliments when it may have been the other way around in the past. You may become more confident and excel into a whole new GOOD life, and that's intimidating to people. Your BIG change is hard for them to deal with. But you know what, they'll get over it!

It's very rare to find a family member that gets excited about someone having weight loss surgery. Friends who know about your struggle with weight loss may be excited, but sometimes family members are just accustomed to you being the big one in the family, that's just the way they expect things to be. Your decision to have weight loss surgery is almost like when parents announce that they are getting divorced. That means lots of changes will be taking place, and it scares everyone. Eventually when she sees your weight loss and sees the change in your attitude, she'll come around!

All the best to you on your journey. And be sure to let us know her reaction when she does see how fabulous you look and feel in April!

Lissa what's your MFP handle? I GOTTA add you as a friend!

"...cucumbers make great crackers!" How frickin awesome is that! You just opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me Lissa!