CaliKat

A bit of inspiration and a bit of brag....
5 months ago I tried to run a mile at the gym... wasnt happening. I quit at 1/4 mile cause I was so out of breath and frankly... just couldnt do it. A month later, I managed to run a mile, but it took me 17 minutes! Fast forward a few months and I am running a 5K three times a week at the gym in under 40 minutes and still have the energy to do a bit of weight training afterwards.
WHO KNEW A 5K COULD BE EASY! Ive been running the local 5K charity races and now the hardest part is not the running... its getting up for the 8am start time!
The take-away to this is each step you take, each minute you run, each mile you walk you move towards a healthier lifestyle and better quality of life. No matter what your fitness level is today- someday (sooner than you think) you can be crossing that finish line feeling like a Olympic champion!

A bit of inspiration and a bit of brag....
5 months ago I tried to run a mile at the gym... wasnt happening. I quit at 1/4 mile cause I was so out of breath and frankly... just couldnt do it. A month later, I managed to run a mile, but it took me 17 minutes! Fast forward a few months and I am running a 5K three times a week at the gym in under 40 minutes and still have the energy to do a bit of weight training afterwards.
WHO KNEW A 5K COULD BE EASY! Ive been running the local 5K charity races and now the hardest part is not the running... its getting up for the 8am start time!
The take-away to this is each step you take, each minute you run, each mile you walk you move towards a healthier lifestyle and better quality of life. No matter what your fitness level is today- someday (sooner than you think) you can be crossing that finish line feeling like a Olympic champion!

A bit of inspiration and a bit of brag....
5 months ago I tried to run a mile at the gym... wasnt happening. I quit at 1/4 mile cause I was so out of breath and frankly... just couldnt do it. A month later, I managed to run a mile, but it took me 17 minutes! Fast forward a few months and I am running a 5K three times a week at the gym in under 40 minutes and still have the energy to do a bit of weight training afterwards.
WHO KNEW A 5K COULD BE EASY! Ive been running the local 5K charity races and now the hardest part is not the running... its getting up for the 8am start time!
The take-away to this is each step you take, each minute you run, each mile you walk you move towards a healthier lifestyle and better quality of life. No matter what your fitness level is today- someday (sooner than you think) you can be crossing that finish line feeling like a Olympic champion!

Eating "normally" is a tricky question because most of us have individual "normals". Some people's new normals are super strict and very specific.... some people choose to do a less rigid approach. Its an individual's choice- thats the cool thing about the sleeve.... you get to define your lifestyle.
Whatever your definetion of "normal" is DO NOT RUSH TO GET TO YOUR "NORMAL In less than 3 months, you will be able to define your own normal and have a little bit of everything you want (yes, even ham sandwiches and fritos). In the meantime- do not rush the liquid, mushies or food stages- they are put in place by a medical professional for a reason.
That being said- I eat a pretty liberal diet.... a bit of anything I want (I still make pretty healthy choices tho). I waited until I was 3+ months out before I started deviating from a strict diet.
I am sure if you are strong enough to be proactive and take your health into your own hands.... you are strong enough to stick to the plan until you have the freedom to choose your foods. Reach out to us forum peeps if you need support- you CAN do it!

So, I am only about 6 weeks out from the sleeving, and I have cheated a few times in the last few weeks. And I don't feel bad about it one bit.
Cheating before the sleeve: a whole pizza...a whole 2-liter of pop...a whole pint of ice cream...
Cheating after the sleeve: an extra Protein shake...3 or 4 extra pieces of 50 cal cheese...a quarter of a hamburger...a few bites of rice or potatoes...
I admit, I'm rationalizing a little bit. But the difference in the before and after is pretty staggering: thousands of calories vs. hundreds of calories.
AND I have found that trying a few things helps let me realize that I definitely can't eat as much as I did before, and don't like everything as much as I did before. For example, I still don't crave carbs and sweets like I did before.

Finally!!!! I am so happy with this surgery. I've had soooo many ups and soooo many downs but when I saw 199 on the scale I couldn't be happier!!! I knows it's just a number but it's Been 12 years for me!!! Yes!!!!! 

Girl.... go ahead and have that iced coffee occationally!
Dont feel guilty- enjoy each sip and make sure you do some extra cardio to combat the extra cals! Try to swap the sugar for fake sugar, to make it Non-Fat and try to stick with a small.
I have 2-3 SF Iced NF Lattes'/week- so from one coffee girl to another- ENJOY!

LOVE my beef jerkey!
I eat it 2-4 times/week. I eat about 1 8oz package every 3 meals. Started about week 8.
I love, love, love the Trader Joes Jerky. Its soft and comes in 3 flavors (peppered, teryaki, original) and has no hard or muscle-y bits. Im sure the Turkey jerky would be healthier- but I cant stand it.
You can also get Oberto jerky at costco in the smaller "snack" packs that are good for Portion Control and on-the-go sizes.

LOVE my beef jerkey!
I eat it 2-4 times/week. I eat about 1 8oz package every 3 meals. Started about week 8.
I love, love, love the Trader Joes Jerky. Its soft and comes in 3 flavors (peppered, teryaki, original) and has no hard or muscle-y bits. Im sure the Turkey jerky would be healthier- but I cant stand it.
You can also get Oberto jerky at costco in the smaller "snack" packs that are good for Portion Control and on-the-go sizes.

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

"Dear Husband- since I am loosing all this weight and am a knockout hottie now.... im going to be getting LOTS of attention from the menfolk out there. Dont you agree that the best defense is a larger diamond.... you know.... to scare them away?"
if all of the women on this forum tried it.... I bet AT LEAST one of us would be upsizing a carat!

thought I would start a lunch time topic. maybe we can bounce some ideas off each other.....
I had 1/2 flatout pizza topped with mushrooms, spinach, turkey pepperoni, provolone & parmesean cheese
total calories 138
Protein 15g

Yup- this is me at Peets or Starbucks.
"Hi, can I get a short iced nonfat sugarfree vanilla latte extra ice"
then I have to repeat
and repeat again
and then appologize with a shameful smile to the barista about being a PITA!
All picky customer sins are erased with a nice fat dollar in their tip jar though!

Ive got 100 to loose-
almost at 5 months and 60lbs down.
April- 18
May- 18
June- 8
July- 9
August- 7
I am anything but perfect..... about month 3 I stopped low carbing and ate like a normal person... in much smaller quantities and tried to focus on Protein. I did see the weight loss slow dramaticly but thats OK... its still going down. I work out 3x/week for an hour.
I carry most of my weight in my abdomen and was worried about lose skin- but I wear a shaper every day to combat the sag and am hopeful I wont need surgery- just a lot of crunches! (FYI- I will most certianly need a breast lift though!)

here another post of yours
[quote name='AnewdayAnewlife'
I had VSG 17 months ago on 10-25-10.
I've lost 89 lbs.
When I started, my goal was to lose 100 lbs
I am 5'3"
Date of Surgery Weight: 227lbs.
Today's Weight: 138lbs.
Goal Weight: 127lbs.
this is the post of proud person who CAN DO THIS. you did great job. please don't ruin it now.

Champion brand from Target is awesome
I'm a large breasted gal and I "double bag" it. A sports bra and a tank top w/sports bra
I buy most of my work-out stuff from Target cause I'm going thru sizes fast. Target has a great selection of bras and other workout gear.

I was sleeved 4/4/12 by Dr Cirangle in San Fran at LapSF.
Everything has been amazing & going so well. I am under 190 and i feel like this has been going absolutely according to plan.
Sorry I didn't respond to your earlier post- didn't check the thread.... I'm down 55+
Good luck to all of you.

Funniest- maybe not. Coolest... yes!!!
I got out of a speeding ticket cause my drivers lic pic was insanely different than what I look like now.
After I convinced him that yes.... it IS me- he asked what happened. I told him about the surgery and he was pretty curious about the process and in the end let me go with a warning (warning to keep away from carbs and keep up the cardio!)
Yay for awesome life changes and the perks that go with them!

If the bartenders give you crap about ordering a NA (non alcoholic) drink- just tell then you are a few weeks pregnant, smile sweetly and ask for your cranberry juice- I guarantee that will get you NA drinks w/o attitude!
Also- maybe take Water shots instead of real shots. I don't drink but no one has really noticed cause I always slip off and order my own "shot" right before the big toast so I have something to join in with or when they are tossing em back- dump it on the floor quick.
Maybe you even tell one of your friends and have her take all your drinks for you?

Focus your energy elsewhere.
If your brain is bored.... its going to play games with you.
My go-to is either online shopping (ok... more like online browsing) for things that I want when I meet goal, working out or reading a trashy novel. Totally distracts me.
Youre going to be able to have your crave foods shortly. Just white knuckle this and power through... you can do this!