Sheila

http://www.swimsuitsforall.com This website has swimsuits for all sizes and shapes. If you join their site, they send you tons of coupons to get half off, 75 % off through out the year. I have bought a swimsuit from them and it is a good quality suit, I have also bought covers ups as well. When I lose more weight, I am going to buy my suits from them for my two week trip to the Dominican Republic in October. I can't wait. Sheila

Sorry I didn't update last week. :embaressed_smile: Really I have no excuse, just that I was lazy and missed it. :noidea: But here I am this week and I am proud to say that I have lost an additional 3 pounds. :cheer2: I am down to now 257 pounds. I decided to start counting from my highest weight because this is all weight I had to lose prior to my surgery and with that in mind, I have lost a total of 45 pounds. If you count from when I went to my surgeon's office for the first time, I have lost 34 pounds. Either way is great. In addition to that, I have had to buy some new pants, the ones I have been wearing for the past couple of years were falling off literally. I found out I had gone down 4 pants sizes and 2 sizes in tops. I know my rambling up top is a little hard to follow, here is a much more clear update: Weight lost in the past 2 weeks: 3 pounds :sigh: Highest weight loss: 45 pounds Since 1st appt: 34 pounds :sign46: down 4 pants sizes :sign46: down 2 top sizes :sigh: So even though I missed last week, I am very proud and happy with my continued progress. Sheila

Hello Sleevers, I am reporting in for my Saturday morning weigh in. This week has been an exciting one for me because I found out that I may be finding out my surgery date on March 8th. Yay! So, last week I weighed in at 261 and I have not lost or gained any this week. I am still at 261. I am just pleased I have not gained any. I have also done my belly dancing and for the first time since starting the class, I was sweating. I know it was a good work out for me. And I have gone mall walking twice this week. I have not been doing my Zumba in the evenings, because I have been coming home with migraines in the evening due to the constant pressure changes here in Calgary. I do plan to get back to Zumba soon. So that is my weekly weigh in. I hope all is well with you out there in Sleeverville. Sheila

Thanks girls. I am not worried about having it repaired, but I was unsure if it made recovery a little longer and such. I didn't know I had it until they did an upper GI on me, and I was told at my recent follow up at the surgeon's office. But it does explain how I keep getting upset tummy after I eat. Sheila

I was wondering if anyone discovered they had a hiatal hernia during the process of your pre-surgery work up? I was told I had one, and that it would be corrected during my surgery. I was just wondering if it added time to the surgery and recovery period? Sheila

I had my 2 month visit at the surgeon's office yesterday. They are very happy with my progress so far, according to their scale, I have lost 25 pounds. According to my scale I have lost 30. I have reached the amount they wanted me to lose prior to surgery. I have to get through my psych evaluation on March 2 and then on March 8th I meet with the surgeon again, all my other appointments have been with the surgical nurse, and hopefully receive my surgery date. I also told them I am available on short notice just to give me time to inform my managers I will be away. So with all my fingers and toes crossed and many prayers going up to heaven, I might get my surgery within the next couple of months. I did ask the question if I was going to be required to do a liquid diet prior to surgery, and the answer was NO. I am to keep eating the way I am eating now and to try to keep losing. I said, I want to because I want to reach 250 pounds prior to surgery. Oh and the size of the bougie is a 40. I k now most of you had either a 32 or a 64, I guess I am just in the middle. I asked why for this size in particular, and the answer was it is a better to size to keep the leak problem to a minimum. I was happy with that answer. I also found out yesterday I have a hiatal hernia. Has anyone else found out they had a hernia that was corrected during surgery? Does it make recovery time longer? Does it make surgery time longer? I am happy to receive all the prayers you want to give me. I am so excited and ready for this part of my journey to begin. Sheila

Today is my official weigh in. I said last week that I was going to add walking to my week. I am happy to say that I accomplished that. I used to walk with my husband and I walked real slow and became tired way easier. This past week, my paced was faster, and I felt like I could have gone much further. It was a very nice feeling. So for my weight. I was certain I had gained weight. I was very happy when I saw the scale read, wait for it.................................................................................. 260lbs. :cheer2: So that is 31 pounds I have lost since November 30th. I am very proud of myself. My next mini goal is 250 pounds. Thank you God for helping me get this far, and I know you will help me go further. Sheila

My count of how many "Sheila's" are on the forum so far is 4. There might be more, but I just know of the 4. Sheila

Welcome to the list and congratulations on your decision to become a more health you. Everyone on the list is extremely helpful and full of information. I look forward to hearing more of your story. Just just right in and start posting. Sheila :welcome:

Now that 2 months have gone by in my new eating regime, I have lost 28 pounds. Yay me!!! I am finding that I can no longer able to eat more than a cup of food at any given time. I come to a point where I stop eating because I start to feel full. I used to be able to eat almost a whole pizza myself, now I struggle to eat 1 piece. I used to be able to whole orders at restaurants, and now I am ordering half orders, and still not able to eat it all. I thought when I started this new way of eating I would fail miserably and it would be so hard to stick with. After the first couple of days of headaches, I find that it is the easiest thing to stick to. I am so excited for my turn to have surgery because if I am finding it this easy to eat healthier now pre-surgery, I should hopefully be able to stick with the post-surgery diet. I need everyone's prayers. Sheila

:cheer2:Way to go Coop!!! :clap2: Bravo!!! :dance: Doing the happy dance for you. I can't wait until I am able to say I am half way to goal. WooHoo!!!!!

Update to my weekly weigh in. I weighed this morning and I am down another 2 pounds, so now my official weight is: 263lbs. :clap2: Woohoo!!!!

http://www.vitamix.com/recipes

I am sending in my weekly accountability. Current weight: 265. I lost 1 pound. Not earth shattering but a loss. I have exercised twice with Zumba workouts that were anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour this week, plus I had my belly dancing class that is an hour long. When I park at work, I park where I have to walk up and down stairs. and far away from the doors forcing me to walk. Next week I am going to try and add a couple of days where I walk at work at lunch time for 20 to 30 minutes. I will update you how I do with the walking at lunch time next Saturday. Sheila

Thank you very much. I have read about half of it so far, and it is going to be such a great resource as I go through this process. Thank you again for taking the time to help the rest of us who were not as blessed as you to receive this from their surgeon. Sheila :thankyou:

Thank you very much. I have read about half of it so far, and it is going to be such a great resource as I go through this process. Thank you again for taking the time to help the rest of us who were not as blessed as you to receive

I love love a copy. Thank you. Sheila.pinkney@shaw.ca That was very kind of you to offer such a great service to us.

I am feeling very anxious here lately. It just seems the process I have to go through takes forever. Since the provincial government is paying for my surgery, things move at a snails pace. I want to get through this part and start working towards a healthier me. I know it takes time (and I am losing now to prepare for the surgery) but Lordy is seems to be taking forever. I feel like a little kid again waiting for Christmas morning to finally get here because I wanted to tear open my presents. I have stated before that I get this giddy excitement feeling at times where I start thinking about life after surgery and I almost start giggling to myself. I know I was smiling to myself. Such a strange feeling. I know my turn will be here soon enough, but right, it just can't come soon enough. (In)patiencely Waiting, Sheila

You are very welcome!!! Sheila

Hi Sheila, I think you have to put your picture in the area that says Avatar. Just uploading the picture into Profile doesn't add the photo on your posts. I found that out when I did that. Hope everything went great for your surgery. Sheila

I hear ya. I am in Canada and because my surgery will be paid for by the Provincial government, things move at a snails pace. My referral went into the surgeon's office last May, my first appointment was on November 30, 2010. Then I have a monthly follow up every month to watch my progress. I have had my endoscope and I am having my pysch eval on March 2. Once all tests are done, I think I will still have a couple of months wait time. I am just anxious to get the surgery over with and start my new life with losing this weight. Hang in there, you are doing great. We will be healthy, thinner, and more gorgeous than we are today very soon. Sheila

What a way to celebrate the new you with a brand new life. Congratulations!!! I wish you and your new little family all the best.

I am in the same boat as you are. I didn't want my co-workers to know because I work with lots of nurses and doctors, and I didn't want to have to explain over and over and over again about what I am doing and hearing all their opinions and concerns. It is just to hard. So, I have begun telling my co workers I have started new eating habits, cutting down on my portions, watching what I eat, trying to be good. I have also told them about going to Belly Dancing class and the fact I just purchased the new Zumba DVD set. I have also told them I will be going on a vacation in June or July, just don't know when yet, so when I am gone for 2 weeks, they won't think anything of it. So after my surgery (I can't wait to get my date) when I start losing weight, they will think it is because of that. I will tell them the truth, I am watching what I eat closely and exercising more. Honestly, I do not think it is anyone's business but my own about how I am losing weight. In order to have support, I have told only a few close people to me. My husband of course, my daughter, my best friend, my husband let it slip to his best friend who has been sworn to secrecy and one co-worker who figured it out one day. She knows if she ever told anyone I would never speak to her again and she can't have that because she relies on me way to much as it is. I have also told my manager because I have to have permission to be away for the surgery. Other than that, no one else knows. I want my weight loss to be a big surprise to my family back home in Texas and Oklahoma. And my husband's family in Vancouver, well they are such petty people, we are just going to show up on day and have me all thin and see what they say. Good luck with your decision. You tell whomever you want and the rest of the people can be kept wondering why you are looking so gorgeous. Just my two cents worth. Sheila

Ev, I too work in the medical field. I am not a doctor or a nurse, but I am around them every day. I also have access to all the medical literature, but I have purposely chosen not to look at it. I did not want to freak myself out. What I have done is I watched the surgery on YouTube (which I found totally cool), I have talked to many people who have had VSG, I have prayed about it, and I know I have made the right decision for me. One thing you have 100% control over is when or if you have this surgery. If you are having doubts, put it off for a little bit. Make sure this is something that is right for you. Only you can say that for sure. Schedule appointments with a bariatric surgeon, ask loads of questions, become as informed as possible. I think what I would do is stop looking at medical journals and statistics. Find out from people who have gone through it. And if you decide this is not for you, you are no worse off. Just take your time. I hope you come to find peace in whatever decision you make for yourself. Hugs, Sheila

Welcome. And I wanted to say after looking at your family photo, you are one gorgeous chick! If you are this hot now with your extra weight on, just think how Smoking hot you are going to be once you lose all your weight. I too am waiting to have my surgery. I live in Canada and because they pay for the surgery, I have to wait for a date. Things move a little slower here. But I have my fingers crossed that I will have a date in June or July. Keep us updates on your progress. I always give the advise on read lots of different topics because there is alot of information on this forum. Just about any question you may have, someone has asked it and you will find the answers to it. See ya when you are a skinny minnie! Sheila