MegInNOLA

Thanks, y'all! GT, I think we definitely all have the double standard goal. LOL I have the quadruple standard goal--layers of goals that I can Celebrate as they are met. I spent years not celebrating, even on festive occasions, because I was too self-conscious to feel right about it, so I'm making up for some lost time and past celebrations now. But I also think that the surgeons/nutritionists tend to set our goals based on a formula--some offices decide that their patients can pretty much plan to lose 75% of their excess weight, for instance, so that's what they consider an attainable and reasonable goal. Like my dietician--her "goal" for me would actually have kept me in the overweight category. And it's not like I have a lot of control over losing or not losing, at least I don't feel like I do. I can make smart choices in food, but with my sleeve the way it is, it's basically a matter of just eating what it will allow me to eat in the amount it will allow me, and most of the tolerable foods are pretty healthy and relatively low-cal (although not all--popcorn, corn chips, and jellybeans are WELL-tolerated, unfortunately).

I'm thinking you're going to blow past size 12 on your way down! Congratulations to you on your successes so far--and way to GO!!!

Y'all, I hit goal!! Seriously! I hit it on Friday but decided to see if it was just a low bounce or dehydration or something--but it was still there yesterday (my 11-month sleevaversary) and this morning, too, so I'm going to officially declare that I have reached goal! I just posted in the success column. NOW, this goal isn't really my goal. This was a sort of "secondary" goal--first was to get to my dietician's goal, which was 212 and would have left me in the "overweight" category. My current weight of 190 was something I set because I remember being that weight, and it's comfortably within the "normal" BMI for my height. Now, I'd like to attain my size goal--I want to be a comfortable 10/12 (I'm currently a 12/14) and see about moving to "medium" clothing. I plan to get into exercising--really I do. I just hate it so much!!!! But I know that's what I should be doing, and I know I'll feel and look so much better if and when I just do it. On the up side, it's getting much warmer, and summer around here means excellent produce available, so continuing a really healthy, veggie-centric diet is pretty easy to do (and tasty!). I'm hoping that over the summer, I can maybe drop 5-10 pounds and then see what my body wants to do. So I'm going to keep posting here, if y'all don't mind, because I definitely have unmet goals that I'm still working on and still need/want encouragement on! (Have I said how much I hate to exercise?)

Hello VST gang!! Yay! I've been lurking between 2 and 5 pounds off goal for the last couple of months, and I'm thrilled to report that I'm finally there--and I'm sure about it, since I've been at this number for a few days now with no "bounce" back up! The last coupe of weeks, I've been trying hard to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, and I think that has made a difference. As you may know from my numerous posts on the subject, I have a really picky sleeve--to this day, I feel like it's pretty tyrannical about what it will and will not allow me to eat, but most of the time, it works out well for my weight loss goals. I do wish I could tolerate certain healthy Proteins (fish and chicken, for instance!), but I now appreciate its inability to tolerate fried foods and sweets, so it all balances out. It was a huge challenge in the beginning to discover what would work--and I still find new foods that my sleeve will or won't tolerate, so I'm still learning. Next steps for me include getting my exercise on--I haven't really gotten into a habit of regular exercise yet, and I fully intend to do that. I am also still experimenting with getting my nutrition optimized and being sure I'm eating as wide a variety of foods as possible, including vegetarian sources of Protein. Now that I'm "at goal," I can see that I want to lose a bit more, although I'm not sure exactly how much; I still have a bit of flab around my middle and on the upper thighs that's not just loose skin--not sure how much of that will go away with exercise! Thanks to all posters on this board who continuously provide support, encouragement, and answers!! I seriously would never have done this if I hadn't been able to read all of your experiences beforehand, and I would have missed out. For me, the sleeve was 100% the right choice. I'm updating my ticker right this second!! Short story: Weight surgery morning 306. Weight today 190. (I'm 6'2", so while 190 looks really high, that's really normal weight.) Size surgery morning 3X-4X, tight 26/28. Size today L, comfortable 12 heading to 10--I pulled off my size 12 Eddie Bauers yesterday without unbuttoning--yay!! Biggest NSV: Being able to work as a conductor without getting all hot and sweaty!! I like that I can now wear elegant concert clothing, work like a fiend, and not end up drenched with sweat. I can hug people after concerts without feeling self-conscious and icky and unfeminine. Oh, and the shoes!!! I can wear cute shoes without my feet hurting!! Worst comment: From a lady at work: Oh, I see you've lost a lot of weight; me, too, but I did it the hard way (followed by me, startled, saying, "Well, congratulations on your success!" and moving quickly away). Best comment: From a female friend/colleague: I was sitting in the audience for your concert, and I was thinking, "Damn, her butt looks great!" (followed by me giving her a big ol' hug).

Yeah, I'm pretty much doing the lacto-vegetarian thing. Eggs don't sit happily in my sleeve--I keep trying the occasional bite of egg, and sleevie keeps telling me to stop. Milk and cheese and yogurt, however, are YUMMY! I'm on a kind of pimento cheese kick these days--love it on cucumber slices (stole the "cucumber slices instead of crackers" trick from Eggface).

Yes, mostly dairy and nuts, occasional beans. But I'm thinking of upping my soy and dropping a bit of the dairy to see if it helps my stopped-up nose/ears that I've had since surgery!! I like soy milk and I really love tofu. Just experimenting, really. I should know (from your previous posts), but I'm zonked tired right now--are you a vegan?

Congratulations on your sleevaversary! You look amazing!!

:-) And it's quick and cheap, and really super low sodium, which I personally prefer now--which makes me laugh, since I was quite the salt queen pre-surgery!! I'm at a legit 191 now, so really only one pound from goal--DANG IT!! I've been eating a lot more vegetables since my recent visits to farmers' markets, and I plan to keep doing that, mostly because I LOVE how they taste! I did eat some bacon yesterday that did NOT sit comfortably in my sleeve--a first for bacon--and had a couple bites of chicken with some hummus at one of our favorite Mediterranean restaurants, and that chicken HURT--I seriously thought I was going to have to go be sick but happily it resolved after around 15 minutes of pure agony. Ridiculous amount of pain over a couple bites of chicken. Lesson learned--I don't know if I ate too fast or if it was the chicken, but I'm wondering if maybe my not eating much meat/chicken/fish is having a negative effect on my ability to digest it when I do eat it, if that makes sense. Can you work your way out of being able to digest particular foods? I don't know. I'm pretty happy being an unintentional vegetarian; I didn't set out to eat this way, but it's how my sleeve feels good, and I love the foods in a vegetarian diet. Plus I also like the "green" side of vegetarian eating--eating local, fresh-grown food and supporting local producers, etc. I'm flirting with jumping all the way into it, back to vegan. I think I probably will do that this summer, maybe not every single day, but I can totally anticipate eating that way during the hot muggy days down here on the Gulf! Cool, crisp salads, fresh fruit and veggie, no heavy food--sounds kind of fantastic! It's already hit 80 degrees here, and it's March.... imagine July or August.

Fantastic! It is a kick, isn't it! At 11 months out, I still sort of pause before sliding into a booth--and then I remember I can fit!

Orange vinaigrette: Whisk together with a fork: juice of 1 orange (around 1/2 cup) 1 teaspoon of mustard (creole, Dijon, or hot/sweet) If you're going to use salt and pepper, put it in now--I didn't use it, and it was still delicious! Then whisk in 1/8 c of good-quality olive oil. YUM!! You can add any sort of herbs to this that you want--I like it straight up and with tarragon and/or a few finely chopped chives. You can also finely chop or grate a shallot and add, but I sort of like the flavor of the dressing with just the orange juice and olive oil--it's really tasty.

I had my gallbladder out a few years ago and I have to say that it did not stop me from losing with the sleeve at all. I also noticed that I had issues with fatty foods pre-sleeve, but since I don't eat a lot of fatty foods now anyway (sleevie hates them), no more problems. The pain is just not worth it--that is the worst pain I've ever experienced... I had four serious gallbladder attacks and that was more than enough. That surgery was a lot easier than the sleeve to get over, too.

I've never even thought about counting carbs, so another vote for "moderation" here, too. I eat way too many vegetables to go low carb, and my primary sources of Protein are dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt) and vegetable sources (Beans, nuts, tofu), all of which contain carbs. I definitely avoid most sweets and most flour products, but I do not avoid fruit or vegetable carbs. It has worked for me. There are people for whom carbs shut down the weight loss, but I personally function best with healthful carbs as part of my diet. You should follow your doctor's guidelines, however, since they will be in the best position to monitor your health. Best wishes!

Agree with Sara on all of the above, except that when I overeat or eat something that my sleeve doesn't like, it's not just one bite that comes up. Mine preferred to totally empty, which isn't pleasant, but it's not like being sick from before. It's actually not as bad as the pain involved in trying NOT to be sick, if that makes sense. It's been several months since I had to throw up, by the way--eventually you learn how to eat with and for your sleeve, and the issue resolves.

Y'all, I just posted in another place about visiting my local farmers' markets this week--WOW! I am sitting here eating the best salad I have ever made--it's roasted beets, homemade orange vinaigrette, microgreens, and feta cheese--good for me and completely healthy, AND I know where all the food came from!! I think this is fun, and it feels healthy and tastes amazing! What are some foods you eat that make you feel especially good?

I have always enjoyed "eating green" and for a few years was a vegetarian and for two of those, a vegan (as in, no animal products at all--no meat, dairy, honey, Worchestershire sauce, eggs). So I have a sort of fondness for that way of eating--my body did feel fabulous and I did lose weight when vegan; however, as we all know, the trouble really isn't losing it, it's keeping it off! Thus, the sleeve. This time around, at a weight considered "normal" post-surgery, I'm finding that I need to focus on eating for nutrition. Because I have a fairly picky sleeve that doesn't tolerate some big categories of food (grain products, meat/fish--although shrimp, crab, crawfish, and scallops work okay), I have to think about my overall diet in terms of nutrients, and not just Protein. I've been looking for ways to maximize the nutrition in my food while still being able to enjoy it--I do love to eat (don't we all!), and I want my food to taste great AND be the best for my body! Enter our local farmers' markets...there's one here in Covington, where I live, and one close to my job in New Orleans. I have recently started going back to shop, and I have to say, there is NOTHING like fresh-grown, fresh-picked produce and dairy produced at a family farm!! One of the markets has a "box" deal, where you pay a flat fee and go through a line, filling your box with whatever is available (for instance, there might be sweet potatoes, and it says, "Take 2," or for baby turnips, "Take 8," etc.). Sometimes the box deal has produce that I'm not familiar with preparing; I just got some beautiful Swiss chard, and now I get to figure out how to fix it. There are some GREAT resources online for vegetable recipes. Here's a couple of recipes that I made up--they're delicious!!! Last weekend, the box had a bunch of beets in it. I had never made roast beets before, although I had seen chefs on TV do it, but I decided to be brave and try. SCORE! ROAST BEET AND MICROGREENS salad WITH FETA cheese AND ORANGE VINAIGRETTE Preparing the beets: Take your beets and scrub them carefully. Take off the tops, leaving about an inch of stem, and take off the roots, leaving about an inch. Wrap them in foil (they've still got their skins on). Wrap them individually and then put the wrapped beets into a baking pan to avoid any potential seepage during roasting. Roast for an hour at 400 degrees; I just put them in and left them alone, and they did fine. After that hour, pull them out and allow them to cool. Get a pair of plastic gloves or slip your hands into some produce bags for protection--working with beets will stain your hands and no amount of soap will help! Carefully unwrap the cooled beets and pinch off the skins; I was surprised how easily the skins came off. Put the cooled, peeled beets into a bag, secure, and refrigerate until ready to use. This sounds like a bunch of work, but I promise, it's fast and easy! Dressing: Whisk together with a fork: 1/2 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice (I used the juice from one very small orange, and I used the pulp that I could squish out of there, too) 1 teaspoon of prepared Dijon mustard, Creole mustard, or hot/sweet mustard Add 1/8 c. good quality olive oil while mixing with the fork. Serving: Arrange 1/2 c. microgreens or lettuce on a plate along with 1/2 c. sliced or cubed roasted beets. Spoon dressing over the top. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of crumbled feta cheese. RESULT: YUM!!! Gourmet-quality food from the farm to your table. I use the rest of the dressing to pre-marinate more of the beets; sometimes I add a bit of chopped shallot or a squeeze of lime juice or some herb that I'm trying to use up--it's just going to help flavor the beets for next time's enjoyment. SAUTEED SWISS CHARD So much better than cooking it down to a dark green icky mess with a bunch of salty meat--eww. Prepare your vegetables: Take the bunch of chard and wash it thoroughly; it has big leaves and some tough stems. Pat with a paper towel but don't worry about getting it all the way dry. I rolled the leaves together like a cigar shape and trimmed them into long strips, and then I ran my knife through to cut into fairly large pieces. I cut the stems into short lengths and split the especially wide ones so that they would cook faster. I stuck all of this into a bag and refrigerated it--I cooked it a few hours later, but if it was going to be longer before I cooked, I wouldn't wash or cut that early (don't want icky mold or anything). To cook: Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan that has a lid. Add 1 clove of garlic that you minced up really fine--don't burn your garlic--just get it sort of warmish in the pan. It will finish cooking, don't worry. After a minute or so, add your chard. It probably won't all fit, so put some in and stir it around until it wilts; then add more until it's all in the pan. Add 1/2 c. of stock or water--I used vegetable stock--and put a lid on the pan. After a few minutes, stir the chard around--if it seems to be soft, turn up the heat and cook and stir frequently until the stock or Water has reduced to a minimal amount--you have steam-sauteed your greens, which should now be gently salted and removed from the pan and eaten!!! I like a squirt of lemon juice on these, but you might want the traditional spritz of vinegar. Chard is delicious and very good for you!! ROASTED VEGETABLES It's a method more than a recipe. Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your pan--I like to use a heavy baking pan, sprayed with nonstick spray. Prepare your vegetables--scrub thoroughly, cut into regular-sized pieces (you want everything you're cooking at the same time to be approximately the same size--or do what I do, heat the oven once and put several different pans of veggies in to roast--you can take them out as they are done, leaving the ones in the longest that take the longest to cook). Sprinkle with a LITTLE olive oil--do not over-oil your veggies!!! Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper--I also like to use powdered garlic sometimes. If I have a few sprigs of rosemary, I will add that to the pan. Pop these pans into your hot oven, uncovered. In around 30 minutes, check your veggies and turn them over. If you're roasting asparagus, you'll want to check it after 10-15 minutes because it can easily burn. Other root veggies are pretty forgiving and flexible. I like roasted turnips, roasted cauliflower (like CANDY, I'm telling you), Brussels sprouts--my sprout-hating husband now fights me for these, broccoli, sweet potatoes, eggplant chunks, carrots, peppers--you name it, you can roast it, and there's just not a veggie in the world that doesn't get improved with roasting, in my opinion (well, maybe lettuce). I always make extras and save them in the fridge--you can make a terrific salad out of roasted veggies and vinaigrette, or add them to eggs for a frittata (if you can eat eggs!)--I like them with hummus on top. If you can eat wheat products, tabbouli or couscous with roasted vegetables is fabulous--I'd use a lemon-juice/olive oil dressing for that with plenty of herbs--can't eat wheat, but that's what I'd do if!!

You look fabulous! Congratulations on your success!

I had the same issue and started looking at InStyle magazine--some cute ideas, even for me (age 49). I also like People Style. I looked at other fashion magazines and enjoyed them, especially Vogue, but I'm never going to wear that sort of thing and couldn't afford to even if I wanted to. :-) I like InStyle for practical fashion ideas. Another thing I did was just go to the mall and look, really look, at stores I had never considered shopping in. I didn't buy anything for the longest time--I just window shopped. I discovered that I'm kind of a Gap girl--I like classics, comfortable but cute. I like Eddie Bauer. I like jewelry and shoes and red pants--who knew??? I think this is one of the most exciting things about being sleeved--getting to be on the outside who we are on the inside for the first time in decades!!

I take my jeans out of the dryer and laugh--can't believe they will actually go on my body, and they do.... so very strange!!!

I like going out to eat--my husband and I go out regularly. I have developed some strategies that make it work for me. 1. My husband and I sometimes share. When we eat Mexican, I usually get a big forkful or two of refried Beans off his plate, and I dip a few chips in there with some salsa. Perfect Meg-sized meal, and he doesn't miss the beans. (My husband is also a sleever, but his capacity is a LOT more than mine!) 2. I order an appetizer as my entree. Nobody thinks twice about this--I have yet to have a waiter even blink when I say something like, "I'd like the shrimp cocktail appetizer as my entree, please." I still usually have food to take home, but not as much. 3. I order Soup. Brothy soup goes down really easily--I can actually have 2 courses at a restaurant if I order soup for an appetizer and then another appetizer as my entree--yay! I don't ever finish the soup--just eat most of it, then I enjoy a few bites of my "main dish" and take the rest of that home for another meal. 4. I order a small salad--especially in a place that has a Greek salad with feta cheese or yogurt dressing--LOVE that I get Protein in a non-meat form (my sleeve has problems with meat), and I eat the "good stuff" off the top of the salad and leave most of the lettuce. Just be sure you're chewing thoroughly, or a few bites is all that will work! When you eat concentrated protein like meat, it definitely fills you up faster; that's why the "protein first" rule works so well during the losing phase. You get FULL when you eat a couple of ounces of chicken or meat. If you don't eat those, you don't get quite so full quite so fast. The "get full" scale ranges all the way down from those great protein foods to what are called "slider foods," foods you can eat that don't fill you up at all--for some people, popcorn is a slider. For others, chips or other junk food are sliders. Finding those foods that work somewhere in the middle can be a big help when you're heading out to eat! Good luck!!

I eat between 5 and 6 mini-meals a day. My sleeve is really restrictive, so that's the only way I can manage it. :-) Mini-meals I regularly eat: 1. Half a Protein bar. 2. Four shrimp with cocktail or remoulade sauce. 3. A cup of salad (greens and tomato with vinaigrette) and 2 TBS feta cheese or 1 ounce of fresh mozzarella cubed in. 4. An ounce or two of sliced cheese; if I want a cracker, I don't eat as much cheese. 5. Yogurt with a pack of those Bel Vita Breakfast cookies; this is more of a "full" meal, logging at 360 calories, but it's a good size to totally fill me up--usually I can't quite finish the last cookie or all the yogurt. 6. A few corn chips with refried Beans and salsa to scoop. 7. 1/2 c. steamed or roasted veggies. 8. 1 c. grapefruit segments and juice. 9. 1/4 c. almond/dried cranberry mix. I feel better and I think my brain and body run better on several small meals per day. Everyone is different. :-) Cheers!

Debi, my advice is do what you can and don't worry. This early out, focus on hydration and let your body heal. Take protein when you can, in whatever form is tolerable for your body. You'll find you can do more in just a bit, but just get in as much fluid as you can now. Congratulations for joining the losers' bench!

Hey there! I'm almost 11 months out. I still have really tight restriction, but it's a lot better than when I was first sleeved (I have a 32-french sleeve). Today for breakfast I had 1/2 a scrambled egg and 1/4 c. grits with 2 TBS cheese. I can eat 5 saltines with Peanut Butter or cheese. For lunch, I ate about a cup of green salad and steamed vegetables--I have to remember to chew these things well, but if I do, I can eat more volume of these "watery" types of food. I can eat 4 shrimp if I don't eat anything else with it--kind of the medium-large boiled shrimp. I can eat a 6-ounce container of yogurt--this is a big deal, since it took me a LONG time to be able to finish a yogurt! Volume really depends on the type of food. I can only tolerate very small amounts of concentrated Protein, but I can tolerate salad pretty well now--just salad veggies and 1 TBS cheese with vinaigrette-type dressing. My husband eats quite a bit more in volume than I do, and always has. He was sleeved a year ahead of me. At this point, he eats what I consider "normal" meals--like those a person might eat who has never had a weight issue. I eat small meals, 5 to 6 a day, and that works for me.

Well, I'm laughing/feeling sorry for you all at once--I'm in the "barf" camp, too, even though I absolutely HATE to do it. I haven't had to do it for a couple of months now (yay!) so I'm hoping that maybe I have a handle on eating slowly and CHEWING properly. I'm obviously a slow learner. :-) I can tell you that you will continue to get those ICKY feelings well after surgery. I ate something last night (a mayonnaise-based salad dressing) that my sleeve did NOT like--usually I try a bite of a new food and see if it's going to be okay, but I just ate the salad, and when I was about 2/3 through my small portion, I realized I was NOT going to make it through the rest and I was feeling that same old "sleevie hates that food" feeling. I actually propped myself up and made myself relax enough to sort of doze off in order to avoid the nausea and "I have to throw up" feelings, and it stayed down, but it was a challenge. If this had happened a few months ago, I'd have barfed for sure; so it seems like maybe one is able to have a bit more control over things as you continue to heal and things get easier. Hang in there! One way or another, it's all a learning process.

Wow, that's a cheat for you? LOL It's a meal for me. I LOVE hummus, and my sleeve tolerates corn chips so much better than any other sort of cracker. I eat this regularly, around the same amount as you, as one of my five mini-meals. Lemon hummus is my favorite. I do sometimes eat the hummus with cucumber instead of chips for dipping, but seriously--I'm a corn-chip girl, love them, eat them regularly, and don't sweat it. I'm not low-carbing, though. I think this is a pretty healthy cheat--good for you!

Aw, Coops, I'm so sorry--how icky to be sick on top of bereaved. I hope everything picks up for you very soon in terms of physically feeling better. Being a member of a loving, caring community is really important when the community mourns one of its own--I know y'all will collectively comfort one another through celebrating Jack's life and his continuing presence with you. Hang in there--thinking of you and yours.