DivaK

Frankly, notime, it does come off as a saint - but I'm not going to hold that against you lol! We all sounded that way at 3 months out, we simply "cannot understand" how anyone would not "implement the healthy eating part" and my goodness our sanctity! I know I was one of them, because at 3 months out, you are in the golden zone of the honeymoon, all bad desires have been magically erased, you are waking up to a glorious world where you feel so powerful over your body and your mind, you are riding on an awesome high - not to mention the fact that the weight is jus flying off you right now, which really helps reinforce the good behavior.
However, that is temporary. I sounded just as righteous as you, back then, but now - even though I still have the incredible tool - it's kinda like the confidence a supermodel had when she was 20 ... and even though she is the same gorgeous creature, at 40 it's a different game. Well, at 2 years out, it's a different game.
So, take advantage of that honeymoon! Eat as pure as pure can be! Get to goal as soon as possible, get under goal as soon as possible, so that you have a cushion for when life gets complicated again.

I think you are absolutely right on how they got he label, however, in reality, it seems that we have changed the idea of how we view Desserts/treats. For example when I met my wife, she was raised that Desserts were just a part of every meal. That seemed completely foreign to me, my mother did a lot of baking when I was young, but not really what would consider dessert. It was more like zucchini bread, banana bread. It wasn't till I got a bot older and was making a good living that I felt I deserved the "higher quality treats" and with them being so readily available and somewhat affordable I indulged all to often. I mean, heck,I bought Hagen Däs bars at Sams Club & my wife can put Cheesecake Factory to shame. Now, how did I get to where I am?

Here is the link to eggface:
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.ca/
I think your meal plan for the day sounds pretty reasonable. If you are looking to cut a little from it, I agree with the above, maybe some sugar free jam. Also, what kind of dressing are you using on your salad. Regular Caesar dressing is very high in fat, calories and carbs. And I think a little bit of chocolate isn't going to kill you either (but a whole bad of m&m's that is a different story).
I am a firm believer in moderation. I agree with UTGal99, that it is unrealistic the expect that you will NEVER eat any kind of treat ever again. I have to laugh when I see people say that they will NEVER eat cake, chocolate, fast food, alcohol, or anything bad EVER again. The sleeve is a tool and you DO have to change your habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle. But to place the expectation on yourself that you will never eat anything bad ever again is just setting yourself up for failure and self-deprecating behavior. The cycle of eating, shame and guilt, and eating more is so burned into our brains, that so many people continue to do it even after the surgery.
From the beginning, I choose not to count anything. I watch what I eat, have changed what I eat, and I have worked with my sleeve to be successful. Do I eat chocolate sometimes? Yup! Do I eat ice cream sometimes? You better believe it! Do I feel bad about? Not a chance! I didn't get the sleeve so I could live the rest of my life on a strict diet. The key is I eat these things in moderation. And I know my weaknesses. The surgery did NOT give me any more will power. I have chosen not to keep trigger foods in my house. If they are there tempting me, I will eat them. This may be a stance that you may have to take. I may have lost more slowly that some, but I am still losing 20 months post op and am below my target weight.
You need to find a system that is going to work for you. Look back at what you were doing before that was working. The point is, it has to be something that you can live with for the rest of your life, not just for the here and now to lose the last few pounds. If it is not sustainable, you might lose, but you will most likely end up gaining back.

Taste like a melted vanilla shake. A little ice, almond milk and blend!

My husband saw his doctor today 3weeks post op (july 18th) and looks like he is doing excellent, his starting weight was 441lbs, after pre op diet n day of surgery he was at 411lbs today the scale smiled at 380lbs YAY!!!! Keep up the great work everybody

I couldn't miss making note of the one thing I most definitely will not miss....drum roll please...my thighs rubbing together and sweating while wearing a dress. This causes me not to wear skirts/dresses unless its cold outside and rarely then because of the rash it creates and the pain of my thighs rubbing...I can't wait till I have loss enough weight

I couldn't miss making note of the one thing I most definitely will not miss....drum roll please...my thighs rubbing together and sweating while wearing a dress. This causes me not to wear skirts/dresses unless its cold outside and rarely then because of the rash it creates and the pain of my thighs rubbing...I can't wait till I have loss enough weight

We were sleeved the same day and you are doing great! I need to start calculating what I eat but it is so minimal that I haven't done so yet. I really focus on Protein like you. This morning I had a Protein Shake and crystal light that I have mixed in with a Protein Powder. I had Beans last night with ground turkey. You are doing great...Keep up the good work!

I totally understand how you feel...I am the same way. I have been back to work since day 7...I am working 6 hours a day - four days a week this summer...nothing strenuous. I will most definitely be walking...I was doing great for the past 3 weeks and fell off the wagon...maybe that's why I haven't lost a pound yet...we will see!

We all have to remember where we came from. Remember how it feels to be forced to wear ugly, ill-fitting clothes and pay double for the privilege! Remember the snide remarks and snickers of salespeople. Remember... and then make darned sure that we always show compassion and kindness to others who are currently where we were (or still are, like me).

I know the feeling. I hated going to the mall. I hated shopping in the plus size sections of the department stores. I hate how at TJ Max and Marshalls, there is a huge section of women's clothing and a tiny, picked over plus sized section. I am almost out of those departments! I can now shop for tops in the regular stores, but still need to get a 16 W in pants. A few more months and no more plus stores! I am starting to have fun just going into stores and trying things on to see how they fit, even if I am not planning on buying. I no longer feel like I don't belong in the regular departments. You will be there soon too! Something to look forward to....
When is your surgery?

Yep, I had the same experience a week before my surgery!! But I just decided to think "next summer I can wear this!"

I was sleeved July 2nd and am down 25 lbs. I had a plateau around the 3-4 wk mark but finally broke through with 3 30 minute treadmill sessions a day. Maybe that was all my body needed to get that jumpstart? I talked to my nutritionist who told me that many people have the same thing happened when they are in the mushie stage for some reason. I really thought I was doing something wrong!! My first day back to work is tomorrow and the following day is my first visit with my surgeon. I can't wait to get back to work, but I did not tell anyone where I was for the past month and am kinda nervous what everyone will think about my weight loss. (I've lost 33 lbs since everyone has seen me last!) I can tell in the clothes I try on that I've lost weight...but in my mind I'm still that fat girl that hasn't lost any. It's going to take some time for me to get over my body image issues. Other than that I feel great and have ZERO regrets!!

Protien pudding... Do you like pudding? Make a box of suger free fat free pudding with skim milk and add 2 scoops of protien powder when mixing it up. TONS of protien in a small amount of pudding. It's an easy way to get the protien in.

I have thick skin - so what some people may consider "negative" comments don't bother me
If you look at what I actually consumed in the 2 days there, it isn't bad...
I DESCRIBED alot of food, but what went into my mouth was:
ONE crispy corn taco with about an ounce of finely ground (not greasy) beef and an ounce of shredded cheese and one bite of a bean and cheese nacho.
ONE meatball (2-3 oz) that unfortunately had some bread mixed into it (I did not eat ANY of the noodles or saurkraut)
About 3 oz of Quiche made from eggs, cheese, spinach, carrots and Tomato - none of the crust
1 and a half of the egg roll ruebens that equaled about 3-4 oz.
I drank lots of Water.
I walk A LOT!
I lost 2 pounds.
The point of my post was to show actual, real food I had to make decisions about - and I am happy with.
My surgery date was July 2nd - I am free and clear on my diet. I have not thrown up once, had any nausea after the 3rd day post - op, and have healed wonderfully.
I have had zero pain - but can feel a cramping like sensation when I am full.
I am extremely thankful for this board, and I welcome any/all questions. It has been a life saver for me - literally! I would not have had the surgery without it.

For me it's being able to wear tops in the summer and not have to keep pulling the fabric out of a crease where I've got a roll. TMI, I know, but it's the reason I wear too big tops, which is more comfortable but sloppy looking. Can't win for losing!
And I would like to be able to tuck my shirts into my pants or jeans and wear a belt just for show.
:-D

I have noticed how badly women treat each other in my office. Since our HR department has nothing to do and needs to justify their existence somehow, they call a lot of staff meetings for no real reason. And then they tempt us all to come by providing lunch. I always find the pre-meeting buffet line and endless source of amusement.
I went to one of these meetings the other day with my friend Joy and we went to the buffet line before going into the conference room. HR had decided on an Italian theme, so there was pizza, lasagna, manicotti, salad, and Italian bread. I noticed that the first people in line were some of the larger women of the office. Now, my friend Joy isn't runway-model thin, but she is by no means overweight. And she's normally a very sweet person, but I saw her flash this evil grin to herself as we approached the buffet.
She walked across the buffet line looking at the food, and in full stage voice she said to me, "Oh, pizza...yeah...too many points! I'm doing Weight Watchers and fattening food has a LOT of points...Oh, lasagna...WAY too many points! Yeah, I'm doing WEIGHT WATCHERS and lasagna has TOO many POINTS for me...You know I CAN'T have that many points..."
Needless to say, the women in line all threw her dirty looks and gnashed their teeth. I was shocked that Joy would be so catty and obnoxious. I even heard one of the women in line say, "She does this EVERY time...why does she always have to ruin it for everyone?!"
Then Joy moved up to the salad and said, "Oh, I think I'll just have some salad. You know, salad so good for you and it fills me right up! Salad doesn't have a lot of points...you know I'm doing WEIGHT WATCHERS..." By this point, I was mortified. I thought the other women were going to start beating her with the lasagna spatulas!
I'm still at a loss as to why Joy behaved this way. It seemed so juvenile and catty. And then she wonders why none of the other women in the office like her...

I am begining to lose girl friends because of my weight loss, they don't even know about the surgery they think I am on a diet and working out (didn't feel too comfortable telling them). They always want to go out and eat and I always give an excuse bc I cant go out and eat yet and their response is "I forgot your skinny mini now". It makes me so upset. All my family is in NYC and I'm out here in Jersey and now I have no one to hang out with. I guess I learned who my real friends are.

I know. I was minding my own business and having lunch - a salad, without anything "good/tasty" in it (no cheese, bacon, croutons, nuts etc) and no dressing either. Just some grilled chicken. 2 men (guessing mid-late 20s) sat down across from me and every time I took a bite one would make pig noises and the other would laugh his head off. It went on for several minutes, until I finally just abandoned my salad and left. No point in saying anything, it would just inflame the situation. I've learned not to start fights I won't win, no matter how right I am simply because you cannot reason with a moron.
Well, ultimately I WILL win, because I will not always be this size, BUT, I likely will never see those guys or people who have stared, whispered and given me filthy looks again to say HA! Plus I believe in karma, so it's out of hands now.
Oh and good luck to you as well!

I want to congratulate you on meeting your goal weight in one year but you know what I found the most amazing? That your husband loves you so much to take these pictures and put them together in a slide show and give them to you on your sleeversary. I can tell he has been by your side through your entire journey. We should all have a partner like this. You are truly blessed.

I am 5'4 and I started at 234. You will see in the video that two weeks after surgery, I had a kidney stone that nearly killed me! I was in the hospital for a week near death, kidneys were blocked by a huge stone. I had a second surgery on my left kidney and a stent placed. Notice the extremely swollen face! I emerged from that hospital stay bigger than I started on my preop liquid diet at 236. It was like starting over at three weeks out from surgery. I was very sad about that. I stuck to Protein first, tried hard to get liquids in for fear of another stone, mostly, and just took it one day at a time. I tracked my intake so I could be sure I was getting as much Protein as possible for the first few months especially. I never really got the 70 grams until much later in the journey, though I did try. I could not eat but a few bites at a time. I have great restriction. I had a bunch of plateaus along the way. You can see in my signature there were months where I hardly lost.. 3 pounds per month for some of them. I thought it was close to over for me in June/July because I really didnt lose much and I would gain that back and lose it again. I kicked it in high gear these last three weeks, lowered my carbs to 30 and it took an extra 7-8 pounds and I acheived my goal of making goal by one year. I am going to continue at about 50-60 gr of carbs for the next few months in hopes of reaching 125 by November so I can have plastic surgery. I want to have a lower body lift and I want to be below goal so I have some room to bounce back 10 pounds. My dr. says we will bounce back about 10 over the next couple of years so need to go below goal alittle so we can maintain the weight we want ultimately. That is my plan.
You can do this. Just take it one day at a time and dont let the scale control your emotions. The stalls are a necessary part of the journey. Your body must stop and wait every so often, like having rest time, in between drops in weight. Its normal and it doesnt mean you are done or this wont work for you or you will be a slow loser. It means you are doing it right and you must have faith. Eat your protein first always and that is all you really need to remember. If you do that, you wont have room for junk and chips and crap and the weight will fall off, trust me. Enjoy the journey and keep the faith! best wishes, Tammi

I posted a goal of 120, only because I think that's the ideal weight for my height; however, I personally would be ok if I got down to about 130/140. I just wanna feel HOT,like i did back in the days!!

Everyone is doing great. I am 4 weeks out and down 18 pounds and I lost 4 pounds the week before surgery. I guess that means I have lost 14 pounds since my sleeve. I am excited because I have never lost 14 pounds in a month. Yeah for the sleeve!!!

From everything I have read...it seems pretty normal to me. I had my surgery on July 2nd and it seems stalls are inevitable. Just try to start exercising and keep up with your Protein and things should be just fine!