Renea77

Thanks Nannie for the 5:2 posts. I am really thinking I'm going to try it starting next week. The scale hasn't moved in months and I work out 6-7 times a week and eat pretty well(some of my bad eating habits have been creeping back in though). I have met my original surgeons goal weight of 160( I weighed in at 151 today) and have been around 150-153 since January. I did get down to 148 then bounced right back to 150. My surgeon saw I was doing well, then he revised his goal weight for me and dropped it to 145 and for the life of me I can't make it there!!! I wanted to try to TDEE plan but am scared to death to gain weight in order to lose weight and reading Globe's posts and hearing her frustration is confirming for me that I may not want to try that right now.
I have enjoyed reading the posts by Coops and Laura-Ven just about their journeys. I am a slow loser and despite it all wouldn't change a thing!! I appreciate the inspiration on this site and am determined to get to goal. It too is the dream I'm holding onto that keeps me going! Lets see if the fast diet works for me! Nannie is having some success with it!

Well, weighed this morning day four 5:2, down two more so that would be 6 lbs from Mon weight. Really hard to believe. I know it won't continue or hold but sure works better than anything else I've done over last year so far. And it really seems truly lifestyle doable. Of I can get back to original goal then maintenance would seem much more manageable with this concept. We will see if I can keep it up. Choices. Determination. Health. Got to! ????

Hey, thought I'd share for those who are interested in yet ANOTHER venture to lose the regain. (smile) I told ya'll (yes, I'm southern!) about alternate fast days and that I started this week. Well, I ate normal Monday, Fast (500 calories) Tues, Normal Wed and today fast. After the first fast day, I weighed 4 pounds less! Yep, exciting but figured it was just Fluid ('cause truthfully something about this has me tinkling a lot more!). So after my Normal Wednesday, I weighed this morning - the four pounds is still gone! SHOUT! And I've found kinda a cycle that I think will work - I don't eat until around 10:30-11 ish for breakfast/lunch - So far what I've found that works (and there are lots of combos but its what i have on hand at work right now) is one packet of SF oatmeal - 110 calories and then about hour later 1 WW String cheese - 50 calories. Later, midafternoon I have some cantalope chunks or fresh fruit (around 30 calories). So going into dinner tonight (somewhere around 6:30-7pm) I'll have a big 330 calories to work with!!! Last time had grilled chicken tenderloin, green Beans (a lot cause they only have 20 calories for 1/2 cup) and fresh veggies salad (cukes, red, orange and yellow bell pepper with little lemon juice and olive oil/herbs) for basically 20-30 calories. I was HUNGRY and it tasted good but I could only finish about 1/2 the plate so Sleeve kicked in and I was good! Surprising part of this all food tasted great and I am enjoying being HUNGRY because it's real hunger! lol And knowing, TOMORROW is normal, it's all good! (By normal I mean don't pig out and eat mostly healthy. I'll let you know how it continues but I'm pleased with the last three days.
http://thefastdiet.co.uk/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html
http://www.fivetwofastdiet.com/
Of course, it's like everything else, it works if you do it right. Enjoy!

I'm sitting getting a pedicure! That's how I'm dealing with it today... I am stuck it goes up and down but always the same for a month now.
But I feel better than I have in a long time. I went to my sons band concert last night, and even though I feel fat, so many people came up and said "your so skinny" (liars!)
But they are right I am a lot smaller than I was so today I am trying to feel nothing but peace in myself...

Dear Sleeve Evangelist, thanks for the wonderful info! I can really understand this info and have read through some (and will finish more later since I am at Work! lol). To me this makes much more sense and hopefully, gives us more hope. I, personally, just started FastDiet (dont get alarmed at the word diet) which is alternate fast days (500 calories). One fast day under my belt (at first VERY hungry but as day went on I found myself actually enjoying the REAL hunger pain and GOOD food tasted really yummy!) 3 pounds down this morning. I know a lot is probably Water but knowing today I eat "normal" (and that will be within 1300 calories) I have regained my sense of hope and determination.
Let's be honest with ourselves, we knew going in that the sleeve was a tool. That tool really works well and most of us reached goal or pretty doggone near it pretty quickly. Maintenance in any area of life is the tough part. But with two and three, and some more than that, years out we have "maintained" pretty well. I have regained about 15 pounds but I'm basically the SAME weight I was 4 months out from surgery - 80 lbs down!!!!
It's life as we know it now. And we are all winners!!!!!!!

Hi guys! I'm down four pounds this week. New weight is 125. Focused this week on eating "clean". Geez, I struggled. Things are getting better. I did eat a whole wheat pb&j before my long run yesterday and had energy chews while running. The sugar gave me horrible gas! Lol. I was cracking ass the whole way, my dh said that I was gas powered. Gotta figure that out because I definitely don't want to be like that during a racing event. Lol!
I did p90x but not consistently. My focus this week is that! I NEED the strength/resistance training badly.
I know that my body is changing because I'm now wearing a baggy size two! This is crazy to me.
Good luck to everyone else! I look forward to hearing how things are progressing with u!
Happy transforming. (This made me giggle, yeah- I'm a goober).

Hey! I'm a week late to the party, but after a lot of consideration I decided to do it! I was leery of starting any sort of challenge because it's the last two weeks of the school year. I wanted to make sure that I was ready to make a serious commitment. I'm trying to avoid falling off the wagon. Lol! I'm so busy avoiding falling off that I never really get on.
I'm happy with where my weight is, but I am a weakling! I'm also embarrassed about how bad my eating is. I justify a lot of the carbs with the runner excuse. It's easy to do. It MUST stop.
I thought a lot about creating goals. I don't know what it achievable in regards to inches or weight loss, so I decided that I would set a general goal to commit to the 12 weeks. I will be happy with whatever my results are. I took my pics and measurements. I'm hoping that I will see a change with my abdominal area- I'm so flabby with excess skin.
I am going to follow Fiddleman's example more or less with a couple tweaks:
35 years old
5'3"
129 lbs pre transformation (as of today)
Married with 2 children, 4 dogs, 2 horses, 1 sheep
Physical goals:
I plan on continuing with my "training" (preparation for trail halves and a tri). I am also going to start P90X (borrowing it from a friend). I need a video or something to provide guidance with strength/resistance training. I can't afford a PT, nor an additional membership. I'd rather spend my money on running events.
food goal:
I will cut Protein bars and other items that are high in sugar. No more sweets, crackers, chips, or other junk food. I will try to avoid processed foods and stick to lean Protein, veggies, and fruit.< /p>
Thanks for the challenge Fiddleman!

Update: I completed a little tri today!!! A big thank you to massindex and Lisa:) for encouragement and tips! I had a FANTASTIC time. I can't wait to do another!

Hey all. Just wanted to come check out how all you all are doing on running. Looks like everyone is doing great. Congrats!
I got cleared by my physical therapist to start back into training two weeks ago and I was finally able to "run" yesterday. I had been doing this run/walk/scoot thing getting my spine accustomed to the rigors of running. I think I might actually be able to "run" again, which makes me quite happy. When I first started PT, he said he doubted I would ever be able to run again after having a laminectomy. Never tell me never.
So, one thing you have to know about GPS devices, is over time and distance, errors creep in. Signals bounce off trees and buildings and it is going to skew your results. I have a top of the line Forerunner and it has had me running through buildings and in the middle of a river, before. Over a period of an hour and a distance over 6 miles, you gotta know even more errors are going to creep in.
Another thing is the race itself. I only do *certified* races now. Well ... prior to my surgery and now, hopefully, going forward. Races that are not certified WILL be off on their distances. Pretty much guaranteed. It should be noted somewhere on their website, but if it isn't contact the race coordinator to find out. It is costly to have your race certified so a lot of races don't bother as for the most part, they are just fun, community fund-raising events and the participants know that.

Just checking in...today I ran the 10mile Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, Pa. Was my first time competing in the event, it was a blast! I ran my best time yet!! I finished 1:46:25!!! Woo hoo!

Just checking in...today I ran the 10mile Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, Pa. Was my first time competing in the event, it was a blast! I ran my best time yet!! I finished 1:46:25!!! Woo hoo!

Just checking in...today I ran the 10mile Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, Pa. Was my first time competing in the event, it was a blast! I ran my best time yet!! I finished 1:46:25!!! Woo hoo!

Runners world has a race finder. I use this and active. I officially registered for a Mother's Day event. Check out my apparel! I'm scared out of my mind, but massindex and Lisa:) were encouraging. Guess what's next for me?

I posted a long post under the emotional side of being skinny about this almost exactly. And I am where you are at. When I was about 15lbs heavier, I actually felt skinnier than I do now. I am just within a normal BMI (upper end), have been maintaining for almost a year, and truthfully, I would not really want to look any thinner. But the numbers on the scale drive me crazy some days and most days I feel so unhappy with my body. I have a lot of skin hanging and want to get it fixed, but I just don't have the resources right now to pay for it. One person in my last support group had a good analogy...it was like looking at the same "shape" but just smaller. I have rolls when I sit too, and it is all skin, but it still makes a person feel fat. And I don't like pictures of myself either, I usually find something wrong with them.
And many people have said things to me....making sure I don't want to lose more weight, telling me how good I look. I have people that don't really know me from before ask me how I stay so thin, etc. But in my brain, I always tell myself they are just being nice. Or they need to get their eyes checked!
One thing I am trying to do, but not guaranteeing it will work, is trying to Celebrate how far I have really come. I have pictures from my heaviest and I am using Picisto to make side by sides of me now. And I did keep one pair of my biggest pants, so once in a while, I will put them on. I don't have any answers either, but hoping to feel "normal" one day....

I've been a year at goal. In that year, I have fallen off the wagon, topped out at my new "allowable" top weight of 140 twice, spent a few weeks drinking too much (two, twice a week is now my limit) and faced the fact that I am still food obsessed and probably will be for the rest of my life. Heck, I quit smoking about 25 years ago and still, every once and a while, I really, really want one. I'm just that kind of girl.
Laura-Ven, as long as you get back on the wagon, falling off is no big deal. Even the most natural thin person eats something bad once in a while.
That's why we are vets: we've been in the war longer. Take that fatty food: Kapow!
Lynda

You can do it Laura!
Take a deep breath. Keep calm and carry on. Winston Churchill said that I believe during WWII in the midst of insurmountable odds. You are a strong person.
Maybe you need "we are the champions" or the Rocky theme playing in your ears when you have those scary moments of regain. Seriously, there might be a thought, a visual or an audio that might help you in those burning times of desire to eat.
Regain is something I think a lot about because I too fell off my horse today (maybe it was from getting beat up on a different thread). I may look like my post op is all unicorns and rainbows ( did I just say that?), but controlling my eating when hunger strikes is really hard even though I am already eating Protein every 3 hours.
Your struggle with food is probably different from mine. Some people eat candy, some people eat bread. My habit is to eat 2-3 Protein Bars when 1 or none is better. It is scary when my body screams for another after one. My resolve is to eat max one a day. And if that does not work, get them the hell out of the house.
I already tried moving them to the garage, but that only lasted for a few days. 2 Protein Bars is about 400 calories and 40 carbs. Not the end of the world, but I hate the feeling of losing power over food no matter what it is. This issue got a lot stronger at month 7, especially when I started exercising quite a bit daily.
So what am I saying? We all struggle with hunger and those nagging desires post op. Wish they did not exist, but that is something we need to understand about ourselves and learn to cope with. I do not know the answers, but know they will be found as post op journey carries on.
Keep calm and carry on.

Edit...just heard she was routed off the course and is okay. My heart goes out to those that weren't so lucky.

BTB - nice job! I took it easy on my trail half marathon, mostly because the course was all sand or boulders. It would have easy to not do it but I'm glad I did.

I ran my half marathon yesterday. What a fantastic event. Had a great time and the feeling of accomplishment cannot be matched by anything the scale says. To me, this kind of thing is the big payoff after having VSG.
The run was terrific. It was inside Davy Crockett National Forest. About half the miles were on dirt or gravel roads, which was no problem for me since I live in the country anyway. The run went very well although about mile 10 I got pretty fatigued. Cardio wise I was ok but my legs were letting me know that I am not yet a seasoned long distance runner. I was hoping for that second wind but it never came, until about the last 3/4 mile when I saw my wife standing on the side of the road. She had walked down to meet me and she jogged the last stretch in with me. That really lifted me up and made my day.
The other thing that really motivated me was seeing all the "senior" runners participating and having fun. Many of which had no trouble finishing ahead of me. There was even a lady there who received an award for running her 100th marathon...and she was 69. I want that to be me someday.
So now I'm thinking I need more training, but my next big goal is definitely the marathon. And since I love Oregon, I may make my first one the Portland Marathon next year. It's supposed to be a great choice for first timers. Either that or Honolulu!

3 weeks ago I started taking a Monday night yoga class at my gym as I run a lot of miles each week and it does help tremendously!! You will enjoy it Fiddleman. You really get a good stretch for those overworked muscles, I am trying hot yoga this weekend.