Lanette

Those look awesome!

I LOVE these! I was LMBO about the one when your husband thought you were someone else. (and I am SOOOO stealing your idea of "Saturday massages"....why didn't I think of that!)

My weight has been so slow recently (cry) but I have had a few NSVs I'd like to share.

When I went to work out the other day and did the stationary bike I could see between my thighs where as I couldnt' before.

I ran on the treadmill for like 3 minutes while still holding a convo

Walking out of the Chiro's office I gave my husband a scare because he thought someone else was taking our son. "I saw some thin woman with our son by the hand then realized it was you."

Getting my Saturday massage by hubby he said, "Its amazing how everywhere I touch now has bones sticking out."

AND I'm shoping totally in the regular section now. I PAID OFF AND CUT UP MY LANE BRYANT CARD! FU LANE BRYANT (excpet your bras )

I have loved the Bluebonnet brand of shakes. I got samples of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla and absolutely loved the vanilla. I put it in the blender with 8oz milk and some ice. My kids even love momma's new vanilla milk shakes and they ask me to make them for them. :-) I bought the bog container of the vanilla b/c I figure I can add other flavors w/ syrups, etc. Good luck finding one that you love.

On true pre-op, 11 lb in 11 days so far. Since 2/14 consult have lost 21 lb. Since starting 6 month required visits with PCP.....41 lb. My pre-op is low carb, high Protein, low calorie.

I am going to finally get family portraits on the beach. While in FL, I want to take my kids to Dsney and have the energy to run everywhere with them and feel comfortable fitting in all the rides. We have a local theme park here and I it was my son's first time riding particular type of ride. He was a little scared and wanted me to ride with him. Well.......I couldn't fit. After waiting in line, I was absolutely mortified and cried the entire time I stood watching my brave little man riding by himself. That was THE moment I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was turning my life around. I fully anticipate going back to that very ride and conquering it just to prove to myself that I can.

Didnt mean to get into all that......but I will DEFINITELY be doing some serious shopping and backyard pool parties. :-)

Congrats!!!! I just started crying when I was reading your story of taking the test and coming back to find it later. No one deserves this more than you. I feel like I have learned SO much from all of you that faithfully post. I can't tell you how many times I have told my husband...""well, Tiffykins said......" he has never even been on this board but he knows y'all by name. LOL. I genuinely can't wait to follow your progress in your pregnancy....so excited for you guys!!!

Hey guys- sorry I didn't see the question earlier about which one I have. It's very confusing b/c I live in AR, but the company I work for is based out of FL. My insurance cards don't say a state, just BCBS. however there is a web address on the back for BCBS/FL. Then when I got my pre-approval it came from an office in another state. So short answer is....I have no idea what kind I have. ignorance is bliss?

Good luck on getting quick approvals!!!!!

Just went in to update my ticker and I am down 39.2 lb since starting this journey. Last Easter I was over 300lb (had stopped weighing), then was 290 when I started my 6 months w/ PCP in June. As of 2/14/11 (surgery consult day) I was 270 and today I am 250.8!! Can't wait for it to start coming off even faster but it sure does feel good to have the victories now. Only 4 more days to go!

Okay, so when we are eating very few carbs...are we supposed to stay away from all the "net carbs" diet things? I've noticed a lot if them still have a ton of total carbs. I've been strictly going by total, but an Atkins bar sure would be good right about now.

Great idea! Thanks for sharing...

I found this stuff today and I tried it and loved it. I toasted a peice and then broke it up and used it to dip hummus in for a snack. I only ate about a quarter of one but for a whole one the nutrition facts are: 90C, 16carbs, 9 Protein. While I haven't been having that many carbs.....I must say this was totally worth it b/c it fulfilled my craving for chips and dip. (what everyone else was having). Anyway, just thought I would share since I loved it so much.

I have owned a mini donut pan for YEARS and have never used it! I think i found it at a garage sale years ago and just thought it was so darn cute. I am loving that I now have a use for it.

Congrats! Can't wait to join you on the losers bench! Keep us posted...

Cheryl and foxgirl-so glad to hear both of you are doing well! Can't wait to join you on the losers bench!!!!

Whoo hoo! Good luck to you! Keep us posted!

I tried the Peach Mango today and LOVED it. So far it's the only one I've liked. However my GNC only had about four Isopure's to choose from.

That is a GREAT price. I have been wanting that one but haven't been able to find it or less than $40-$50 plus shipping.

I love www.fitday.com It is free as well d they have a new iPhone app as well (also free). Let's you store your common foods and I love how it shows my weight change in graphs, etc. I'm a very visual learner type person.

I don't want to keep it, but I sure would like to see it! I may ask if they will take a picture with a ruler or something. I want to know how big it is. There is one video on YouTube that shows the stomach after surgery. It is in one of those kidney shaped "throw up" containers. (not sure what they're really called but that's what I have always called them). Anyway....it took up the entire space! I am dying to know how much of mine is removed.

I actually called the insurance company nurse the day before the pre-cert packet was being submitted. I explained that there was a possibility of my surgery getting moved up if I got the approval quickly but that if it took the full 2weeks (which it always does) that it could be as late as May/June because of my work schedule. Long story short......approved in less than 24 hours.

Thanks you guys for the support. I DO believe I can do this and am SO excited and ready.... just have those scary moments mixed in every now and then. I don't really worry about downing milkshakes or anything like that (b/c thats just not me now). I'm just not the best at counting every carb/calorie/protein right now and it just worries me b/c I want so badly to be a 'super star sleever'!

I really appreciate all of you and can't wait to share in this journey together. Only 22 more days to go!

Well I was thinking why would we think it WOULD work?

Everything else we tried didn't work, right? Today I was cleaning out old books bc I have to give up a bookshelf. I passed along probably 12 to 15 textbooks about losing weight. South Beach, NO Sugar NO FLour, Geneen Roth books When food Is Love, etc. etc. Some things worked for a while, most I never even tried, but I sure did spend a lot of money on any new thing that might help. I was so desperate.

So is it possible that we actually have a solution with the sleeve????? It seems so unlikely, right?

I was thinking why would you NOT think it is a hoax. Just sayin...

But I will say this, knowing very little about RNY or other surgeries, this is the best solution I've ever found. I freaked out last week bc I had a small loss of 2 lbs and then turned and gained 5 lbs. That has never happened to me since surgery, like every day I was gaining a lb. There was definitely that momentary panic like crap, how could I be gaining?? Is it over?. But I made some minor adjustments, part of it eating MORE meals and lowering my salt intake and increasing fluids and I already lost 3 of it and am back to where I was before I lost the 2 lbs.

My diet has very naturally changed, and I believe permanently changed, in that my preferences have changed and the volume is restricted. I get more fluids now than I ever did, and I think I just don't take my lil tummy so much for granted. I worry this lil thing is all I have so I better take care of it. And you might also find when that fatty tummy part is cut out your preferences for fatty, greasy or sweet foods changes. My 12 year old son (who is overweight) asked me recently to PLEASE stop buying the junk food b/c I will often buy it, have a bite and be like BLAH and leave it for everyone else to finish. This is true of ding dongs, twinkies, potato chips, chocolate, pastries, donuts, pancakes, and fried foods. I felt bad when he said that bc it was true and I did stop. It sounds good sometimes to buy junk food so I'll buy some, but I often don't like it when I taste it. Just the other day I made my husband PROMISE to not let me order fried seafood any more because I sit down to order and sometimes think I want fried seafood but then when it comes I just immediately realize I only want steamed/baked/broiled seafood. The weird part is that my head is still geting a grip on this (it is getting there), but my stomach knows what it likes and sticks to it. You eat sweets, you feel kinda quesy or just not quite right. Not like you are going to puke, but just like ugh I wish I'd eaten something else. You eat fried food, like my shrimp, you realize you could only eat 3 or 4 shrimp and a few bites of salad or potato and you realize if you get grilled shrimp then maybe you can eat more shrimp and you want that instead.

But it is so hard to believe. At this point I think I found the solution for me, and I'm not even exercising much and I don't count anything. Other people have had better results bc they are more diligent, among other reasons.

And not only looking better...I was just thinking today how much I have accomplished at home and work in the last few months. It is really adding up. There are some HUGE projects at work I've needed to do for years and never did it, and some other things that I couldn't do myself but needed to coordinate others to do it. And one by one I am knocking them out all in just a few months. At home for the first time I remember since 1988, my house is (almost) totally organized and this is with 2 kids in tow and a husband (we are all messy, but now I am ahead of them). A lot of this is just physically having more energy to do the big projects that have gotten out of hand. I still get tired, but it takes a lot more to tire me out. Today So II was looking at heavy cleaning like my tile grout and baseboards and wanting to start scrubbing them on a schedule until I get it all done. I would never have considered that before, but now it is bugging me a lot that it makes my house look dirty.

I know it is hard to believe, but I think the sleeve is good. You MIGHT NOT be TWIGGY when you are done, although some people around here lose it all and are very lean, but you will probably lose most of your excess weight. I still have a bit of a muffin top, and I'm still considered overweight and not normal weight ( I also still have a lot of my boobs). And I have new hair coming in curly which is a totally fun bonus.. It is a trade off!!. But even though I'm still overweight I'm not morbidly obese or even obese and it beats the HELL out of 220 lbs let me tell you. I was so miserable, so self conscious, and much less productive in every way.

I hope long term it proves to be good not only in keeping weight off but in maintaining good health.

I wish you the best and I hope this brings comfort to you. It is my true experience.

Thank you SO much for sharing this. I cried when you were talking about your kids and the Snacks and having the energy to do the things you want to at home. I can relate to both of those things so much. While I am 100% doing this for me, I am so hopeful for the impact that it will have on my family. I think the part where you described that first small gain was exactly what I was talking about. I am just anticipating that " Oh No....I can't gain this back!" moment and just need to be prepared for it and not freak out. I'm just so thankful that we can all communicate on here and know better what to expect. I can't imagine having hit the "three week stall" not knowing that it's common. Now I think I'll be able to be better prepared emotionally. Thanks again for listening and sharing.

Am I the only one that has these moments of "don't get your hopes up!". I am super excited, but I keep wondering if there are people that go through with this and then it actually doesn't work. Or that like SO many I know with RNY, I'll gain it back. It's probably because I've been big for so long that I can't remember what it feels like to be small. I just keep wondering these things and thinking that those people probably wouldn't be on here telling us about it! I just don't want to be THAT person that isn't successful with this tool.

Congrats!!!

I've been amazed at how many comments I have gotten since losing a little weight on my 6 months with my pcp like "seeee, you CAN do it. You don't need that surgery after all!". Makes me want to scream! Mine are trying to be supportive, but when you have a tiny sister like mine that has always been the little one, I do think it makes them a little freaked out by it. Mine was okay w/ everything and then when I showed her some B&A pics on here, you could see the "OH man....you may really get smaller than me..." wheels turning in her head.