Ms skinniness

Sleeve4me: Thank God you found out this information now rather when it's too late. I believe that this can be reversed (probably already has) by exercise, eating healthy, and some medication. I can visualize some really tiny little firemen going into your veins and diligently using their powerful hoses to start clearing out the atherosclerosis. This is a visualization exercise that can help clear out your veins. I have been using this to visualize my stalls being broken and removing my excess unwanted fat. I found out I had dropped 7 lbs. I am so sorry you have to go through this. but keep up the wonderful weight loss.

You look BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!! You are doing amazing girlie! Keep up the great work!

This guy tripped and fell staring at me the other day lol. He got up and said to me, "you are soooo beautiful"! I told him thank you, and he just kept following me around the store (a little weird lol)- I had to turn him down, I'm going on 8 years with my BF but it was still very cute. It's funny how these things happen when you start losing weight- I haven't dealt with such things since high school lol.
P.S. I attached a new pic :smile1: All smiles! Loving the new me :smile1:

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!

Hey SouthernSleever, it's time to dump the coke, and throw away those wonderful tasting cupcakes before they go on your hips or belly. I know I have to throw away the chips my hubby brought home and hasn't eaten as well as the other junk here today. It is too tempting otherwise. So I have started loving to throw away food now. If i even look at it, I gain weight. LOL. Ok let's do it everyone, let's get on track and follow the sleeve rules of Protein, veggie, etc etc.

OK! Let's do it! starting tonight! I did have a cookie today, that was just a mistake, now I'm back on track! Protein, Protein, protein, veggies, exercise, and lots of Water. Yayyyyyyyy!

Congrats! You are now sleeved. It sucks to be nauseous and feel hungry all the time. Have you talked to your sureon's office about this. Alot of individuals with bariatric surgery have alot of acid production in their stomach. It is beneficial to take something like a PPI (prilosec etc) with your surgeon's approval. Hope this helps!

To set the stage, I must tell you that I am over 50. I had my stomach "stapled" way back in the early 1980's. I went from 225 to 125 and maintained for 6 years... then slowly gained it all back over the past 20 years.
In 2011, reaching 205 and struggling, I decided to try the sleeve. I went to Mexico in July, 2011 and had it done. I had a bad infection from the drain tube a few weeks after I got home and had to be hospitalized for 10 days. The money I saved going to Mexico was spent recuperating at the hospital. I was glad my insurance covered most of my hospital stay. lol. sigh.
Anyway, the first couple of months after the surgery I lost 30 pounds. yay.
A couple of months after that, I gained back 10 pounds.
I felt pretty sorry for myself. I spent all that money and all that time -- for 20 pounds. The MOST expensive diet plan to date.
What was I eating? Anything I wanted. Somehow in my mind I had a wrong idea and because I had heard someone say, "You are eating so little that it won't matter what you eat!" There was a younger woman who had the sleeve a year prior and she was eating M&Ms and drinking cokes. She had lost 100 pounds. Wrong.
Jumping forward ... January 1st I decided to try Low Carb eating again. It was obvious that the sleeve did not work for me and I had to at least try something. I had made it through the holidays maintaining the 20 lb loss, in spite of eating as much sugar as I wanted. Yikes.
My history with low carb diets in the past has been a roller coaster ride that left me angry and frustrated and sad and very little weight loss to show for all the work. I would diet and diet and diet and lose 1 pound. I would eat ONE thing off plan and gain back 3 or 4. I would cook ahead and write everything down. etc etc. I would plateau every 4-5 weeks. I would shake my fist at the "diet" and yell at it... and my body & metabolism just wouldn't cooperate. I hated the scale - typical stuff, ya know?
January 1st, with much resignation, I sucked it up, put on my big girl panties, bit the bullet and got down to brass tacks. I hit the low carb track again. I stopped ALL sugar. I stopped eating all starches. I eat grilled meat & vegetables. I eat an occasional Atkins bar if I feel like I am craving something sweet. If I get home at night and I am too tired to cook, rather than standing in front of the fridge just stuffing things in my mouth, I will cook an egg. Of course, I am eating smaller portions than before the sleeve, but it is clean eating.
I was SO hoping that the sleeve would be a cure-all. I was hoping that just eating less would suffice. I really wanted to think that I was 25 years old again and had plenty of time ahead of me. lol.
Yeah... I see you shaking your heads. hahahaha
SO, I may not have the shining report about the sleeve that others seem to have. I didn't drop to 120 wearing a size 4... don't know if that is even possible... BUT I feel like there is more control. I cannot finish everything on my plate. I cannot stuff myself. I cannot. I have to chew slower. I have to restrict eating beef (it doesn't go down easily). I have to be VERY careful when I go out to eat with others because I get full before they are barely getting started with their meal.
So, as of January 1st, 2012 and 3 weeks of eating clean low carb, I have lost 10 pounds. Wow, that was fast. The light bulb is starting to come on --> sleeve + low carb = steady loss
I am hopeful that this trend will continue. I am calm. I am changed. I'm losing.

Okay ladies, I propose this to all of you... I too have been snacking to my hearts content since the Holidays... Ack!!! Well there's NO WAY I'm going to get the belly flab to go away if I keep doing that. Carbs is the worst enemy when it comes to that so, I have made a deal with myself that for the entire month of February I am NOT going to snack on any carbs. It is NOT!!! going to be easy, but I think once I get through my 5 day plan it should be a lot easier to endure the rest of the month. Not only that, know that I only have to make it through the shortest month of the year, it will make me feel a little better.
If any of you want to join in with me... let's do it!!! I've seen ALL you ladies in action and I *know* you got it in you to do it. What say you?? I could use a little extra motivation too, knowing that I gotta stay strong because others will be watching me. That's also why I've decided to finally join My Fitness Pal. I'm going to start logging again, and I will have my food diary open to anyone and everyone. My handle there is Lilmissdiva_Irene - in case anyone wants to follow along.
Good luck to all! I also will share my one month success too regarding the kettlebells/medicine ball.

Okay, checking in over here and waiting for the day our lovely Coops tells us that she strutted her stuff at the pool!
I have some wonderful news to share!!!!
I FINALLY AM NO LONGER OBESE(according to the BMI scale!) WOW! I've been waiting over 15 months for that WORD to disappear from my medical profile. WOW.
However, this week was bad workout-wise and I'm wondering if that is partly why I finally slipped below >30 on the chart. My whole family has been sick, started with my oldest (11 yo) DD, she got strep. Then my hubby was sick. Then my youngest DD (9 yo) got strep and I finally went and got tested but it came back neg. So I muddled through the week, (starting feeling ill Mon. night) and today, Sun AM I think I am finally better. So I did not hardly work out at ALL this week, and I can feel it. I plan to get some exercise today, and again on Mon. and hopefully get back up to where I was before falling ill.
So other than being SICK, this was a great week since I finally am no longer medically obese!!! :horn:

Hello fellow sleevers,
just thought I would start a thread for all those who want to get to goal in 2012, regardless of where we are in the process.
I posted it the 'Slow Loser' thread, because that is what I am!! (I am not complaining by the way, just pleased to be a loser...lol)
For me to get there, I know that at 18mths out I need to be strict, accountable and have support from those in the same 'place', who understand that the sleeve isn't a miracle but a tool.
I have done well so far, but the weight hasn't 'melted' off me and since 6mths post op I have had to fight for each and every pound. At first it made me a little bitter, frustrated and I started to get into a 'dark place' about it, now the scale victory tastes sooooo sweet!
I have taken the month of December 'off'... I needed to rest from the constant worry of food, cals, Water, carbs and protein... my head was spinning and I was starting to feel very frustrated and overwhelmed at not being at goal again. I needed time out!
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas period and I have eaten what I wanted and when I wanted it; this includes ALL foods, no food was off limit and I let my sleeve do its job! The quantity was low but I still enjoyed every mouthful. Interestingly, I found that my cravings were satisified very quickly... 1 or 2 biscuits/sweets, and so on, hit the spot, instead of 5,6,7,... you get the picture. Subconscious damage limitation? I don't know but I like it!
I have learnt a lot by doing this. I now know that I can eat a little more if I 'try'... I know that I can enjoy food again without feeling guilty and I know that food doesn't have to be the enemy. So, with all that, what was the outcome? Yep, I have gained 2lbs above my personal bounce! Oops!
I am not, in the slightest, worried about this because I KNOW what is the cause... sugar and salt! And this time, I am sure it will come off as quick as it went on!
So, what is the plan?
Per my surgeon's instructions: I am going back to basics... yep that ole one...lol
3 meals a day - no snacking.
Weighing my meals between 6-8oz depending on what is on the plate.
Protein first, followed by veggies.
Plenty of water.
A limit of 1000 cals a day.
Continue with my exercise - boxing twice a week, gym in work 1-2 times a week (depending on work load) and walking my dog (just over a 2 mile circuit). The exercise is the only thing that I have stuck to in December... I actually enjoy it now!!

As a side note, and I ain't sure if my American friends can get this, but here in the Uk, on SKY there are a few fitness channels. I have recorded some aerobic workouts that are really good... they're free and can be done at home... this is saving me some money on classes and DVDs and if I don't like the workout I can delete and look for another!! Bonus!!
Ok, who is ready to join me on the final stretch to goal... hope on board and enjoy the ride my friends...

I waited for about 2 months because I didn't want my jeans to rub my incision sites. They were healed but somewhat sensitive. My bad was, I completely shrank and the jeans I had were way too big when I finally decided. ;( So I went out and bought some Levi's and quickly shrank and they became toooooo big also. Decided to buy a belt and hold off before buying any more jeans.
I do love losing weight though......

I am approaching my one year anniversary on February 12th. I have had a good first year, have lost all but 10 pounds of my excess weight, and have made many behavior changes. But I have always been worried (scared!) about being successful in maintenance, since that has been my lifelong pattern. I have lost close to 100 pounds 4 times previously, and haven’t successfully kept it of for more than a year or two after achieving goal.

I did something positive to help me get into maintenance. It is another “tool” to help me be a healthy smaller person – just like the sleeve itself is a tool. (That’s my NSV – I did something positive for my maintenance). I enrolled in a class taught by the nurse that runs the WLS support group at the Baylor Carrolton (Texas) hospital. Baylor is a big medical system in the Dallas area, with hospitals in several suburbs of Dallas and the main facility in downtown Dallas. My surgeon, Dr. Nicholson was the head of the WLS program at Baylor Plano. I chose to attend the support group through the Carrolton office, since it was closest to my office.

The class is “The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients”. The class is several sessions, with each session focusing on one of the Success Habits. The material in the class is based on material by Colleen M. Cook and developed by the Bariatric Support Centers International. The material includes a book, workbook, website membership and additional information given in the individual sessions.

The Success Habits Principles are now taught in hundreds of bariatric support groups each month and are recommended by many Bariatric Centers of Excellence (per the material – I haven’t verified this independently). It is great material for those in the losing phase and those that are going into maintenance.

The premise behind the material and the class is a survey of patients who had WLS surgery, and what behaviors are in common for those that are successful versus those that are not successful. The average time from surgery for the patients was 7 years. The average amount of weight lost was 103 pounds

The habits are follows:

PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures
PORTION CONTROL: I understand the importance of satiety and understanding my body’s signals
NUTRITION: I make good healthy food choices each day.
FLUID INTAKE: I drink the right amount of the right kinds of Fluid at the right times each day.
EXERCISE: I have adopted the habit of exercise as a regular part of my lifestyle
VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS: I take good quality Vitamins each day to support my good health.

Sounds simple, right? Well, I have taken classes on the first two classes and I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH – particularly about accountability.

I am not scared like I was about maintenance – these classes are really setting things out for me in a clear way that I think I can successfully do going forward. And, if I hit a bump in the road in the future – I think I will be able to recover – rather than spiraling out of control.

If there is interest, I will set up a sub-forum for the “Success Habits” and have threads for each habit, or each key learning I have from the classes. I am so pumped up about these classes; I am considering taking the classes to become a Support Coach for WLS patients.

Let me know if you are interested in hearing more about this on this sight.

Sharon

Well said LilMissDiva! We are in charge of our destiny. We can sit and wallow in our old negative messages we bought from other people's messages about who we our, or we can take charge, and plow onward into new exciting territory. We are already successes in our lives by choosing to help ourselves by having this beautiful tool added to our tool box to finally, and I mean finally, lose our unwanted lbs. It might take us just a couple of months, it might take us 6 months, it might take 12 to 18 months. But we will always have our tools to help. I love my sleeve and will always follow the rules of the sleeve. There are moments where I think that I have reached my maxium weight loss because my scale has stopped moving. Instead the inches were coming off instead. Now I don't care what the scale saids, I just want my body to continue adjusting in inches and clothes sizes. It has taken me along time (6 weeks) to experience a long stall and that didn't mean that I was a failure. I went down from a 13 jeans to a size 10 jeans and a size 8 in slacks. Ummmmm, that is what I've been working towards anyways.
Yes, I can be my own worst enemy! I am chosing to be my best supporter now and to keep moving forward. Don't let your negative thoughts influence who you our. The negative thoughts are from the past diets that failed you, but they were really stupid diets that no one could continue on for a life time anyways. The sleeve is life time! Eat less. Be happy. Be thankful for what we have.
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! :girl_hug: :kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

Well said LilMissDiva! We are in charge of our destiny. We can sit and wallow in our old negative messages we bought from other people's messages about who we our, or we can take charge, and plow onward into new exciting territory. We are already successes in our lives by choosing to help ourselves by having this beautiful tool added to our tool box to finally, and I mean finally, lose our unwanted lbs. It might take us just a couple of months, it might take us 6 months, it might take 12 to 18 months. But we will always have our tools to help. I love my sleeve and will always follow the rules of the sleeve. There are moments where I think that I have reached my maxium weight loss because my scale has stopped moving. Instead the inches were coming off instead. Now I don't care what the scale saids, I just want my body to continue adjusting in inches and clothes sizes. It has taken me along time (6 weeks) to experience a long stall and that didn't mean that I was a failure. I went down from a 13 jeans to a size 10 jeans and a size 8 in slacks. Ummmmm, that is what I've been working towards anyways.
Yes, I can be my own worst enemy! I am chosing to be my best supporter now and to keep moving forward. Don't let your negative thoughts influence who you our. The negative thoughts are from the past diets that failed you, but they were really stupid diets that no one could continue on for a life time anyways. The sleeve is life time! Eat less. Be happy. Be thankful for what we have.
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! :girl_hug: :kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

Thank you again. I just realized that I can't count because I'm so ecstatic! I really lost 6.5 lbs. YAYYYY! I did it by following LilMissDiva's basic bootcamp diet and following Pdxman's mixing it up to throw my body off. So appreciative of everyone here.

OMG, I have dropped 5 lbs over night after a very long stall. Thank you LilMissDiva for sharing you basis bootcamp with all of us. It has really worked to trigger my body out of a stall. I have learned so much from your feedback on this site and it has helped me tremendously.
Pdxman: thank you for all the feedback that you have also given. It helped me to see that that it is extremely important to mix things up so that our bodies don't get complacent (in which mine has). I now understand about calories and our BMR and am going to have mine tested just to see where my BMR sits and also kicking up the exercise. YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Thanks to both of you! You guys have worked so hard to get where you are and are still here on this site to help us with our daily struggles, no matter how big or small they are!

why not develop an addiction to eating healthy? That's my new addiction. LOL

There are some professionals that theoretically think that our muscles have memories. I believe this is true. THe hard work is letting go of the pain because it's no longer needed. I am a therapist and I work with my clients in letting go of the pain.

I am rarely if ever hungry! I have to literally remind myself to eat. And I am not even on a PPI any longer, I dropped them at 3 months post op. I did that to try it out and see how I felt without it, because I was concerned about absorbing my nutrients. I try to stay on a schedule of eating a meal or snack every 3-4 hrs. I do this both to get all my Protein in and to keep my blood sugar from spiking or going too low. I was previously Type 2 Diabetic, but am resolved since surgery.
I don't normally let myself overeat or get that "too full" feeling. Even though I technically don't measure any longer, I know about how much food is considered 3-4 oz and only put that much in my plate/dish during a meal. I really don't wanna experience that too full/overstuffed feeling and I don't want to make myself sick. When we go out to eat, as soon as my meal arrives, I kind of separate the amt of food I know I should have, scoot the rest over on my plate and when I'm getting close to finishing my portion, I ask for a go box for the rest to have at a later meal or give it to someone else if they want to try my dish. I usually don't have the desire to eat more than what I should eat anyway.
The once or twice in the very beginning when i first added solids back in that I did get a kind of "full feeling", it was similar to overstuffing at Thanksgiving. Kind of uncomfortable and I had to get up and kinda walk it off. I just try to eat till satisfied to also keep from feeling like I am stretching my sleeve. I still have a lot of restriction at 8 months out. Hope this helps!

If I eat too much its like I've inhaled tryptophan... and its really uncomfortable.
My hunger level is always dependent on what I've eaten at my last meal. If it more Protein I never feel hunger, ever. If its more carby, then I will get tiny hunger pangs in a few hours usually. Not a whole lot though.

I'm about 8 and 1/2 months out. I get hungry, but not "I'm gonna die" hungry. I'm with little miss diva. If I haven't eaten a Protein rich meal, I will feel hungry sooner. I don't get the dizzy feeling I used to if I miss a meal, but I try to be regular in my eating habits, with Breakfast before 10, lunch by 2, and dinner before 7. Sometimes I want a snack mid-afternoon, or in the evening. I think often the evening snack is head hunger: that was a big problem for me pre-op. I just couldn't stop snacking after dinner. Now, I can usually control it with just something small, such as a little cutie tangerine, 1/4 apple, or a couple of graham crackers.
If I overeat, I have a range of symptoms, depending on how much I've overeaten: First step: I am overfull, kinda like thanksgiving, but not as rewarding. I do this periodically because I'm not paying attention, eat too fast, or I really want the item I'm eating and stuff in an extra bite. I haven't done it since early out, but I tried to eat more than I was comfortable with back then and would get a serious pain in my tummy, like a cramp. Learned not to do that fast! And a couple of times I got the slimies and one time I threw up. Really quick learner on those things and has never happened again.
Lynda

To keep things lively and low carb in the kitchen, I have been experimenting. eggs will always be a love of mine, and as I was scanning the interweb I found a Paleo Fajita Frittata recipe. It looked delicious. I would have definitely loved to try some fresh peppers and onions in this recipe but it wasn't what I had on hand so I modified it a bit for my budget and pantry. It turned out delicious!
1 bag of moe's seasoned fajita veggies (3 in a package at BJ's for less than 5 dollars)
16 oz of round eye steak (Flank steak would probably work even better)
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper (I might have added more, I like things HOT!)
2 pinches of pepper
10 eggs
1 cup of finely shredded mexican blend cheese
First, grease the pan with a no calorie olive oil spray and set the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the round eye steak into cubes. Add your spices, and stir until spices are well mixed. Don't cook the meat through. Add frozen vegetables. Cook until softened, and cook the meat until desired color. Add cooked meat and vegetables to a 9x9 circular casserole dish.
Scramble eggs. Add to casserole dish. Place in the preheated oven. Let cook for 20 minutes. For the next 10 minutes place on broil. Remove dish. Sprinkle cheese. Place back in for two minutes or until cheese is melty.
Serve and enjoy!
P.S. This is SUPER easy to make and really yummy says the boyfriend. Also, it has ridiculous amounts of Protein. I set the servings to 8, but I couldn't even finish a whole slice. However, it still calculates pretty high even if you finish 80% of said slice. :smile1:

Fajita Frittata.bmp

Love it! Congrats! Keep ROCKIN that SLEEVE!