Lissa

Congrats! You're doing great! Please, remove the word "only" in front of the number of pounds you've lost. You've lost an ENTIRE 17 pounds in a month! That's FANTASTICCCCCCC!!! Could you have done that before? NOPE, not without starving yourself to death and white-knuckles the whole time. Enjoy this journey. It may be slower than you expect, but you WILL get there. Good luck!!

Welcome to the loser's bench! Your story sounds amazing!!!

Yippee!!

It sounds like you are really rocking that sleeve! Great job!! :0

I'm losing a pound here and there, but it's frustrating not to lose pounds faster. It's great to know it does happen! I'm still hunting those NSVs and they've been plentiful, thank goodness!

At 8 months out, my answer is yes.

I'd be on the phone, too. I'm impatient!!!

Numbers on the scale is the only way the surgeon has to measure your commitment to the post-op plan. Do you use a Fit Bit or My Fitness Pal? If so, perhaps you could show him your reports from those programs to show how much you're actually (not) eating and how much exercise you are doing? What he probably wants is hard data and lots of people lie to their doctors, so he'll need something he can use to justify putting you on the surgery calendar ahead of someone else who HAS lost a good bit of weight.

I wasn't impressed with the "trainer" at my gym. Almost everything he told me goes against what the successful sleevers here have told me. He advocates high weights and low reps (nope), advocates using "fat burning mode" on the machines (nope, that's just low and slow, I need cardio) and he tried to make me and three other overweight girls do a pull up. I pulled ab muscles a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty sure pull-ups aren't happening for me. And, as I said in an earlier post, I only know of a couple of women who I think can do pull ups: Lil Miss Diva and Blackberry juice. However, if I could find a trainer who specialized in helping bariatric patients, I'd pay their fee for at least a consultation.

You're in Twoterville! Congrats!!! I pulled muscles in my abdomen a week or two ago, so I know how painful that can be. I didn't even think of it when you posted about the pain earlier. Are you already doing ab work or did you pull it from the strain of getting up without using your tummy muscles? Great post-op visit and I'm glad he moved you up to stage 4. Is that soft foods for you?

Wow, Pookey! I think it's a good idea if I dont do anything to make you mad at me!! LOL

LOL, Pookey! I thought you had bunnies to help keep you busy?? This is a rough weekend for me as well, but, luckily, I'm going to spend at least a few hours of it with another poster here! I met Colorchic and her hubby just before she had her sleeve done. I'm really looking forward to seeing her progress since surgery! Do you sew, read, or anything else? Maybe you can concentrate on that for a few weeks until things calm down again? I need to pull out my quilt that I've been working for over 2 years and get some work done on it!

I'm still in shock when I'm NOT the biggest chick in the room! It's a complete attitude change for me. It's really strange for me NOT to shop in the plus size department, almost like I'm sneaking in the back door of some club I haven't been in for years. A former schoolmate texted me something on FB several months ago. He hadn't seen a picture of me and wanted to know if I still had the "bangin' body" I had in HS. Yeah, he's a creep, but it's something that motivates me every day when I go to the gym. I want that body back, or as close to it as I can get. I'm still not sure I'll believe I'm that attractive when I get there, because I didn't know it at 17. This is truly a journey of self-realization.

Are you talking about the spray stuff in a can? If so, read the ingredients list! Yuck. I eat a lot of mini babybel cheese and cheese sticks, but that canned stuff doesn't even taste like cheese to me. If it's something else, please let me know. I'm always looking for a good source of protein, especially if it has calcium in it since I can't drink milk right now.

This site has bled over into my FB!!

The Premier Shakes will be easier to drink with a little time. By two or three months out, I was drinking them with some regularity. Peanut butter took me awhile longer. I loved PB pre-op, but now it's merely ok. I'll eat some for the protein boost occassionally, but it's not a go to food for me.

I'm proud of me. I got to 5 full minutes on the elliptical this morning, then I minced my way over to the exercise bike and did 30 minutes on it, too! That 5 minutes just about killed me on the elliptical, though! Tonight, for my second workout today, I'm going to try the elliptical again and see if I can do 5:30 on it. I'm determined to get up to 30 minutes on it!

Gwynne, Good luck! Yes, sweating is a wonderful thing! I did sprint intervals on the bike this morning and was thinking about this post while I was sweating my tush off. My heart rate was in the low 130s and I was dripping sweat. Had I been at the recommended heart rate for my age, I'd have probably passed out. Sprint intervals (for me) are this: I ride for about 10 minutes until I'm warmed up, then I do 30 seconds as fast as I can make the bike go, drop down to a slower pace for 2 minutes, then I increase the fast pace to 1 minute, down for 2 minutes, then up for 1 minute 30 seconds, down for 2 minutes, then up for 2 minutes, down for 2 minutes. The last 5 minutes of my bike time, I use as a cool down to get my heart rate back into it's normal range. Otherwise, I can't stand up for a few minutes when I get off the bike. I have no clue if that's an accepted way to do it, but it has been working for me. Good luck! You're doing great!

Wheetsin, I wish that your post above could be pinned somewhere as a primer on protein shots for us all! I wouldn't waste money on them!! The first one I saw made me think YES, what a great way to get in protein. It took about 30 seconds of research, both here and on the weight lifter's boards, to see that the protein shots are protein sh*t. They do NOTHING for us as sleevers, and the general consensus among the weight lifters is that the protein shots do nothing for them as well. Since we're trying to protect our muscles with the protein, especially our hearts, I want protein that is available for my body to use.

Yep. From a 9.5/10W to a 9. No more wide shoes for me!

Shannon, I didn't get flagged on anything, and I literally had hit every single "major" life event in the year before my surgery except giving birth. I had recently married, had a child graduate high school, got custody of another high school age step-child, moved, bought a house, separated, lost a very close friend/family member, major health problems. The only things I got flagged for were being an ex-smoker and my psyche told me that I WOULD become an alcoholic. So far so good. Don't lie to the psyche evaluator, but you don't have to dig up ancient history. If you tried pot in high school, it's a non-issue. Just leave that out. Unless, of course, you're IN high school right now! LOL

Welcome Kerinilla!! It sounds like you've figured out what the system is and how to work it, which is great!!! IMO, that's another indicator that you're "sane". I'm not quite sure any of us are really sane, maybe normal is more like it, but, hey, I'll take that designation! LOL Glad you're here on VST and it looks like you're really close to being sleeved! YAY!!

Jimmy, Congratulations!!! You're already seeing results, which is so wonderful!! Don't give in to the urge for something carbonated. Do check with your doctor about an acid reducer and/or a nausea medicine. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel as soon as you start taking them. Are you allowed decaf tea or coffee right now? If so, maybe a cup of one would help with the idea that you need soda. I love that you're already looking for those NSV's! I'm gonna turn every one of the newbies into NSV ho's like me!

I agree with the others; do something for YOU for this birthday. A pedicure is a wonderful indulgence and will make you feel SO much better. I'm sorry about your mother. I know how hard that one is, especially when you're early post-op. You're in the same spot I was last year, having a birthday while still on liquids. Just know that your mother is an angel in heaven who is watching over you and she IS proud of you, even more so because you're making such positive changes in your life! Happy Birthday to you!

Laura, You're doing great! Glad that stall broke and even happier to see that you're incorporating exercise into your routine! That seems to be the hardest part to get started doing, but it's SO essential!