xenophile

So today I went to the mall in desperate need of new jeans. All my jeans all falling off me and I don't have any at the next lower size. Anyways all the jeans in the plus size sections or stores are too big for me! Yes- I was finally able to purchase jeans again in a regular store! Been a long time and I was so happy to be back. It was like seeing an old friend! I'm here again and this time to stay. I will not go back to the plus sizes!!! What a great feeling- can't wait to wear my new jeans!

I just want to point out that the sleeve is absolutely nothing like anorexia - not even close to the same ballpark.
People who have anorexia will attempt to live off of as little as possible (1/2 of an apple and gallons of Water each day) in order to become 'thin' despite the fact that they are typically already hideously thin. It's Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
The sleeve forces you to eat LESS, but not nothing. Most sleevers maintain their weight by eating anywhere from 1000-2000 calories per day. Someone with anorexia would be horrified at the idea of eating more that 100-300 calories per day.
The two are nothing alike.

I went from a (tight) size 13 ring to a size 10 - which is now loose again a few months later I almost lost my wedding band after it just dropped off my finger while I was standing there.
My shoes are loose too. I went from a size 52 pants that were nearly cutting me in two they were so tight to a loose size 36. I wear a medium shirt when I can ones that have long enough sleeves, and I have to wear long sleeves 90% of the time as I am always cold now. If I can't get the sleeves long enough I go with a large top and they're terribly baggy. Amazingly for the first time EVER when I got my eyes examined they actually IMROVED by 2 powers, the eye doctor was really surprised by that and attributed it to undiagnosed diabetes that I no longer had.
The sleeve has been the BEST thing EVER in my life.

Here are some of my non scale goals:
I want to be able to fit into a size Medium comfortably- something I have not been able to do since I was 13/14 years old (and even then it was only for a few weeks after I was extremely sick).
I want to hear 'you are so pretty' instead of 'you have such a pretty face'.
I want to look and feel like I'm 20 something (I am!) instead of 40 something (I'm NOT!)
I want to go dancing at the dance club instead of just dreaming about it.
I want to wear one of the super sexy outfits that I spend so much time pinning on Pinterest
Cute boots.
High heels
I want to be able to wear a bra and panties and feel sexy in them instead of feeling huge and frumpy.
I want to have a boudoir photo shoot
I want to be confident enough to try out new positions in bed without worrying about my fat rolls crushing my husband.
I want to weigh less than my husband for the first time in my life.
I want to be able to throw on a pair of my hubby's sweatpants and sweaters. He's a mens size Small/Medium.
I want to be brave enough to go to playgroups, story hours, and various other activities I completely avoid because of my weight.
I want to meet some of my husbands coworkers. I avoid any situation in which I'd have to meet my husbands coworkers..... because I hate that I feel so embarrassed with him. He deserves a much sexier wife. I always feel like people see us together and think "WTF??" to themselves.
I want to be able to shower without having to lift up any part of my body and hunch over to wash.
I want to wear clothing that requires me to shave my ENTIRE leg instead of just from the knees down.
I want a bathing suit that doesn't have a skirt, a coverup, and a huge beach towel.
I want to be a better mom- I have zero energy and feel like I never really want to do anything because I'm ALWAYS thinking about my weight. Even a trip to the playground is exhausting and depressing to me.
I want to buy a full length mirror. We have never owned one because I have always refused to look at myself.
I want to stop hiding behind my husband and/or children in pictures.
I want to take professional family portraits that don't leave me feeling awful about myself.
I want to wear something other than sweatpants or yoga pants. Jeans are either too big on me or so tight they cut me in half and give me epic muffin top.
I want to be able to go for a walk with my 120lb sister and not huff and puff and sweat buckets.
I want people to see me with my sister and not look so shocked when we say we are sisters
I want to go to Zumba- and have people think "OMG She's so sexy!" instead of "OMG Look at that fat chick shaking her massive ass!"
I want to go to cardio kickboxing
I want to go through a pregnancy where I love my maternity clothes and I actually look pregnant instead of just fatter than normal.
I want every guy who has ever broken my heart to regret not sticking with me.
I want to wear flirty little summer dresses instead of huge T's and maternity (the soft stretchy waist band is very forgiving!) capris when I'm not pregnant!
I want people to stop asking me if I'm pregnant.
I want to make some friends instead of hide away from people because I feel like they're looking at how fat I am or how much I'm eating.

Hi just wanted to let you know my wife had a DS switch 10 years ago and also has a hard time with meat. she likes her meat well done which dries it out to much at the rate she can eat so she bought a National pressure cooker model # sr-106n not sure if that model is still around but the korean women at her work use it for there brown rice but i have been useing it to cook for her the timer will cook in one hour sets and has a keep warm setting even used that setting to warm up nacho sauce for my kids. i put any type of meat ( i like rib eye ) one of the best tasteing and tender cuts of meat. i cut it up into 1/2 to 1'' pieces add some golden potatoes a little garlic and onion and put one can of cream of mushroom (small can) and a little red cooking wine. cook for one hour and season to taste after because its easy to add then remove salt and you have a very tender and moist dinner or lunch every time. any pressure cooker would probably work i just like this one the best. hope this helps

I kind of assumed that steak was a thing of the past, but at 7-1/2 weeks, I ordered and ate some medium-rare flatiron steak tonight. Granted it was just a little bit, and I cut each bite very small. But it was delicious and I had no negative reaction whatsoever. My husband ate most of the steak, but I got my fill.
I think the key will be eating medium rare or rare steaks.
But I was so happy I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! STEAK! lol
The only things I can't tolerate, so far, are avocados and my multivitamins!

Sounds yummy! I can't have bread, pasta, potatoes, beans, rice and such until I lose 75% of my excess body weight. I'm close to 35% now.

I'm not much of a cook, but this was super-easy and yummy...
Ingredients:
1/4 piece of Flatout flat bread (I used Italian herb) -- pita would probably also work well
1 egg
2 slices of Swiss cheese
1/4 avocado
salt & pepper to taste
1. cook the egg over well, preferably in a non-stick pan so you don't need oil
2. dice the avocado -- I made ~ 6 large chunks, but smaller would work, too
3. on the flat bread, place 2 slices of cheese (side by side), diced avocado, and salt & pepper
4. Put the cooked egg on one side of the flat bread, then fold over other side of the bread to make a sandwich
5. lightly toast the sandwich on both sides in the same non-stick pan -- until the cheese has melted enough to hold it together
6. enjoy (probably for 2 meals)!
UPDATE on 2/8/12: I just made this sandwich again, but I added some cooked spinach with the egg. I also used provolone cheese instead of swiss this time around. It was even better!
UPDATE on 2/12/12: I made another variation today, this time with a couple of slices of smoked salmon. Also very good.

Sounds good will try it when I get to that phase. Thanks!

Sounds yummy! :tongue2: Thanks for posting.

You are doing great on your pre-op diet! Terrific. I hear you on the healthy lifestyle aspect. To me it is what it is all about. Why continue bad habits and an unhealthy diet and lifestyle after the sleeve, if that is what got you/all of us in a morbidly obese state in the first place. The sleeve is the ultimate helpful aide/tool to achieve and live the ultimate healthy lifestyle. I love my sleeve (today is 3 weeks from my surgery date) and I know you will also.

My surgery is on 02-20, 12 days to go!! I am on day 2 of the pre-op diet. Suddenly over the past couple days my brain has shifted gears. I am alllll about living healthy, eating right, and exercise! I think I could get used to this. I just wanted to say hello to all of the 100 plus'ers! I cannot wait to join you

When ever is great.I work out 4days a week but running has allways been my downfall..so when ever you want to...I just don't do weekends hehehe....

I'd always bail on plans with friends, saying I was tired or busy--when really I was just avoiding being uncomfortable (particularly in theater seats and little wooden restaurant chairs that felt like they would collapse under me).
My favorite line to myself, which I stole from a bumper sticker, was "Fat people are harder to kidnap." That one still makes me giggle.

I'd always bail on plans with friends, saying I was tired or busy--when really I was just avoiding being uncomfortable (particularly in theater seats and little wooden restaurant chairs that felt like they would collapse under me).
My favorite line to myself, which I stole from a bumper sticker, was "Fat people are harder to kidnap." That one still makes me giggle.

Hi, 2bfit. I had this issue right after my surgery--I drove back from San Diego to DC. It was quite the adventure!
There are a couple of chains that seem to have consistently better choices: Love's and Pilot. There's another one--Flying J, I think?--but they weren't really common along the route I took.
Pilot and Love's usually have Protein drinks in stock, including Bolthouse Farms, which is one of the few commercial drinks I can stomach. A lot of times they also have cheese sticks, boiled eggs, and yogurt of some kind.
One of the chains (I don't remember which) usually has a Subway restaurant attached. They have a couple of Soup options. When I was driving they had a broccoli and cheese soup that made Sleevie very, very happy.
Then there's the grocery store option. You could stock up on those tuna salad kits or similar pre-packaged meals--if you don't mind them, that is.
Hope that helps. Good luck, and enjoy your trip!

Just wanted to share that I went to my consult with the surgeon today and was scheduled for 2/9! :woot:So now I'm really excited and nervous--ish just got real! Ok, now I have to be about the business of telling my parents and brother, and in-laws (well, I know I don't have to tell people, but I will). The in-laws will be here this weekend, so I'll be doing all of the cooking and none of the good eating It'll all be worth it though--yaaay!! :Banane09:

I finally felt my restriction today! My grandmother made stew with chick peas and pork, and she blended mine (sounds weird but so much flavor, tasted kinda like pork flavored hummus) and after 3 oz I felt I had to stop! This is the first time I eat something with a puree like consistency and I didn't expect to feel full, since I hadn't felt full when I drank the blended Soups. Next time I will eat a little less, I don't actually like feeling this full; I don't feel it in my stomach, I feel it more in my chest. But anyways I am excited to be moving from liquids, I felt like I could drink and drink.
I made a discovery this weekend, my tummy doesn't like yogen fruz, the first time I ate it I thought my tummy was upset because I ate it too fast, but this weekend I ate it slowly, and after 1oz my tummy started feeling weird so I stopped. Hopefully this doesn't happen with all dairy. I love dairy.

Hey...thank you...I am going to try this. I like the sabra roasted garlic hummous.

Well, I'm such an avid avoider of exercise, I've waited until I got to goal to commit to more activity, however it is my new commitment, and I did day 1 of c25k today, using the NHS podcasts, which are great!
I've committed to a 5k in june, and have been asked to do a 12k assault course called survival of the fittest in october!
eek!!!

Before the sleeve, I was never able to eat meat that was cooked past medium. I felt it was dry and lost all of its flavor. I think any meat that's dry is flavorless and pretty much always have. I think juiciness is the key to the flavor AND nutrients. You cook them all away if you turn the meat to shoe leather

I wasn't much of a cook before surgery, nor am I post-op either really lol. But I do love to experiment with different meats and ways to cook it. I use the CrockPot a lot, I love the way the chicken or whatever comes out so tender and moist. I also use the George Foreman Grill for more spontaneous protein meals if I didn't put something in the CrockPot. Everyone is completely right, keeping it moist is totally the key. I too use Plain Greek yogurt as a base for a lot of dressings/dips for dipping.
I LOVE smoked chicken! So I pick up a half or whole smoked chicken and it lasts for a lot of meals. I like to dip it in the white sauce that's popular here in the south. I think it's basically mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and sweetener, which is probably sugar in the restaurants or commercial in the store, but you could make your own and use a little stevia. I really want to get an electric indoor smoker, not sure when I'll do that. But as much meat as I now eat, I think it would be totally worth it!
I love the idea of putting the ground beef in the blender, because burger meat is one thing even now, kinda grosses me out. I think it's the texture and bulkiness. Blending it to taco bell consistency sounds much better! I also use the frozen meatballs a lot. I like to heat them up in spaghetti sauce, then melt shredded mozzarella cheese on top then sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. It only takes a few, but the ones I get, 6 meatballs are suppose to be 3 oz. I still can't eat that many though. I don't even miss the pasta part of it! I'll take cheese over pasta any day! hehe

LOL ... I know it's vanity sizing, but .... well, it appeals to my sense of vanity! :blush5:

I'm with you feedyoureye! I'm so confused. Like Chicos with their size 1, 2 and 3 for women that wear more like an 8! (I buy stuff for my stepmom there and she's a 7 or 8) It's weird. My mom is 70 and she says that when she was a skinny, skinny teenager (in the 50's), she wore a 14!!. When I was a skinny teenager (in the 80's), I wore an 8. I'm just curious to see what size I will land in. Whatever it is, I'll be happy if it's "off the rack" and not Lane Bryant or Woman Within or Roamans. OH I CAN SMELL THE FREEDOM FROM HERE!!!

Wowweeeee!
I started my pre-surgery diet on October 1st and lost 11lbs and then had my sleeve on the 19th. So it has been four months since I started this overall process and I have lost a total of 60lbs!
I have to say I am a kind of flabbergasted! When you diet your entire life (okay, I am only 32, but that is still a lot of diets!) it is shocking to see something work.
The part I have been lax on has been the exercise. I walk most days for 1km and tow my two boys on a sled behind me (we live in the Yukon- lots of snow and cold), but that has been the extent of my exercise. Until yesterday! I went to the gym yesterday and am I ever sore today.
My goals for this month are to workout with weights three times a week, at home or at the gym, and to lose 15 more pounds for a total of 75lbs for the start of March. Lofty goals but I am a keener!
Anyone else out there have a great weight lifting routine that you want to share? I would love to hear it!