SparklingSarah

I LOVE Eggface-
Here is one I am making for me and my family this week. She has another one that I love with cabbage, turkey meatballs and greek yogurt. Go to her search engine and type in turkey meatballs- you'll get a few that are really yummy!
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/12/meatballs-2-ways.html
Enjoy!

Not sure what is going on. I don't know if I am not dealing with my problems as I should, or giving up on myself- but dang! I am in the last 23 pounds and I am eating like garbage. Things I shouldn't be eating, I am. I am not working out....and I have no drive to do it.
Why am I giving up? Why? It's only gonna get harder the farther out from surgery I get- what's up?
Anyone a year+ out and kinda hitting a wall? Ugh....

I am 5'4. My highest weight was 385. I was 365 at surgery. I am now a year and 4 months out and weigh 188. My 7 year old daughter said to me at the 80lbs lost marker- "Momma- what's that?" and poked it. It was my collar bone! I told her what it was and she said "Wow- you've never had one of those before!" Gotta love kids! They make all the little things great sometimes!

I would stand at the fridge and cry. You ARE mourning the loss of your "blankie" like Linus. Now that it has been stripped away, you are left alone. Alone to feel all the things that we hid from while eating. Sadness, anger, ect.
You have to remember that we have lost our BFF. The one thing that we thought made everything better. But it didn't.
These feelings pass, and soon your energy will be up- you've lost even more weight- exercise isn't as hard as used to be and you have all this time! Time that was spent getting a "fix" from whatever food was your vice. Now it's time to start up a new hobby!
But once you return to those nummys, after the month or so you cannot eat them- they don't taste the same. You might get sick and throw them up. And eventually the craves go away. Not all of them but most do.
Choose yourself over the fries! If you HAVE to have them, split a small with a kid or two. Just enough to be satisfied- not sickly full.
Hang in there!

I am a year and some change out from surgery, I have lost half of myself and I feel the same way.
I have been on and off depression meds all my life. But, I can honestly say- I feel better in so many ways. I do about me. Not about my relationships with other people including my parents and husband.
Something I noticed about with me is the co-dependent, one sided relationships that I never recieved any type of love or care from. So, I ate my feeling away and put up with the sadness, anger and frustration that it brought. But now- I am forced to face and deal with all those emotions. I chose to see a therepist and find out why I got to almost 400 pounds and how to fix not getting there ever again.
Long story cut way short- getting help was what cleared the air for me. I made really hard choices for myself and the toxic relationships in my life.
I no longer speak to my parents (my choice I made for myself, to get out of the long history of abuse I recived from them daily) and it's not for everyone, and not everyone agrees. But I made this for ME. And I am doing a so much better because of it.
I have spoken with my husband about my feelings of emptiness and boredom in our marriage. I have found that by me expressing myself to him (not that it was well recieved at first) it has made our relationship slowly on the upswing. he has opened up too. Couples counciling has also helped a lot. He also sees someone to help him with his anger and resentment he has towards me for all the years I fell at the wayside.
Change- is hard on everyone. But you have to sit and decide for yourself- what should YOU do for You. And don't rely on anyone for 100% of your happiness. That is to much to put on someone and you will always let yourself down. You must look inside and figure out whats best for you.
Hang in there- we all in this together.
And just like 2BonederfulAgain said: Do all you can to save yourself. (**and if it's truly important to you** my two cents) Save your relationship.

Just like Foxbins and Ldydrgkpr- I too watch my portion control. I bought myself a cute red salad plate that is my dinner plate. I eat a lot more leafy greens and fish then most other stuff. My family loves the cooking that I am doing. My oldest who is 13 says that he likes the way he feels after he has eaten now. Not before when the meal was mainly fast food or a carb. We are not sluggish and over stuffed. I ALWAYS stop eating when I feel the slightest bit full.
I do indulge in sweets ( from time to time), a crouton or 2, and Peanut Butter toast- but a very small amount, and not everyday. Denying myself is not something that works for me. I do have children, so I am also trying to teach them way better eating habits now then what was at the house 2 years ago. So, I explain to them that things are okay in moderation. Have a glass of Water and piece of string cheese, fruit or veg for a snack instead of the old way of Cookies and junk. My kids are really liking the new variety they are getting in their school lunches and actually make healthy requests at home! This is a huge motivation for me!
I have found out the hard way that I cannot eat : rice, Pasta and bread. I feel terrible after I eat it and it's really not worth it. I don't like how I feel and I still sometimes throw up if something doesn't sit well. And to be honest to myself, it was eating way to much of that (bread, pasta and rice)- that got me to 385 pounds in the first place!
My #1 thing that I do for myself that has really helped is to plan my meals. That way I have everything I need. I can grab, create and eat! It's amazing how much the tastebuds change after the surgery. I was a fast food junkie- and now the smell revolts me! Never in a million years did I ever think that was gonna happen to me!
I love what the surgery had started for me. Or the tool that was given to me and my family. I am not the only one that is digging my sleeve- my kids are too. I gained a better life because of it and new outlook on life. Although there are still downer days for me (food addiction/emo eating)- they are far and few in between. Nothing like how it was.

I have to laugh- because I am in the same boat. I am looking around for a knitting or crocheting class because I am just like you, not good at puzzles and I love to snack while watching TV!

Just like Foxbins and Ldydrgkpr- I too watch my portion control. I bought myself a cute red salad plate that is my dinner plate. I eat a lot more leafy greens and fish then most other stuff. My family loves the cooking that I am doing. My oldest who is 13 says that he likes the way he feels after he has eaten now. Not before when the meal was mainly fast food or a carb. We are not sluggish and over stuffed. I ALWAYS stop eating when I feel the slightest bit full.
I do indulge in sweets ( from time to time), a crouton or 2, and Peanut Butter toast- but a very small amount, and not everyday. Denying myself is not something that works for me. I do have children, so I am also trying to teach them way better eating habits now then what was at the house 2 years ago. So, I explain to them that things are okay in moderation. Have a glass of Water and piece of string cheese, fruit or veg for a snack instead of the old way of Cookies and junk. My kids are really liking the new variety they are getting in their school lunches and actually make healthy requests at home! This is a huge motivation for me!
I have found out the hard way that I cannot eat : rice, Pasta and bread. I feel terrible after I eat it and it's really not worth it. I don't like how I feel and I still sometimes throw up if something doesn't sit well. And to be honest to myself, it was eating way to much of that (bread, pasta and rice)- that got me to 385 pounds in the first place!
My #1 thing that I do for myself that has really helped is to plan my meals. That way I have everything I need. I can grab, create and eat! It's amazing how much the tastebuds change after the surgery. I was a fast food junkie- and now the smell revolts me! Never in a million years did I ever think that was gonna happen to me!
I love what the surgery had started for me. Or the tool that was given to me and my family. I am not the only one that is digging my sleeve- my kids are too. I gained a better life because of it and new outlook on life. Although there are still downer days for me (food addiction/emo eating)- they are far and few in between. Nothing like how it was.

Huh? Soda? Really?
Well, I know each doc is different. Mine said to never have any soda again- the bubbles will expand your tummy, it's really acidic and just all around no good. A waste of space when you should be getting in Protein and veggies.
Lifting- do what your body tells you then. If you feel like your not ready- then you're not ready. He doesn't know how you feel.
Interesting....

Agree all surgeons are different, but I agree with your initial reaction. I have read many post op diet plans for VSG and not one suggests it is okay to drink soda. At 1 1/2 years out not one drop of soda has passed my lips still. Not one VSG diet plan allows you to eat anything and everything you feel like at 2 weeks out.
Even with a very expereinced surgeon, I did not follow everything my surgeon said to the letter. Listen to common sense, what your body says is okay. Maybe troll the internet for other surgeons diet plans and modify to what you feel is best for you and your needs. Although I could go to mushies at 2 weeks, my first taste of real food was at 5 weeks - 1 tablespoon of applesauce. It was what I could handle mentally as welll as physically.
Let me know if you would like any surgeons diet plans that I have collected. Or better yet, just go to google and put in VSG diet plan.
Congrats on your sleeve!

I am 1 year and 4 months from my surgery. I have lost 177 lbs. I am hoping to lose 200 lbs. total. At my heaviest I weighed 385. At surgery I weighed 365. I am now 188.
The VSG was the BEST thing I have ever done for myself. It has done so much for me than just lose weight. I have gained back hope, self esteem and a since of pride within myself. I love being able to ride a bike with my kids, going swimming, walking my dog, tying my shoe! All the things that I wasn't able to do without a struggle or being out of breath.
Don't get me wrong- at times I questioned "why did I do this"- but now I am so stinkin' happy I did!
One thing I try to tell myself is that this surgery doesn't fix everything. I doesn't fix why I got that heavy in the first place. Or my bad relationships with food. Those are things I have to work on a daily basis.
The best part- having a lap for my 7 year old to sit in. For the first time in her life!

I am 5'4. My highest weight was 385. I was 365 at surgery. I am now a year and 4 months out and weigh 188. My 7 year old daughter said to me at the 80lbs lost marker- "Momma- what's that?" and poked it. It was my collar bone! I told her what it was and she said "Wow- you've never had one of those before!" Gotta love kids! They make all the little things great sometimes!

I've already purchased my little storage cups! Now I need to get that lunch box to tote them around in, and a cold drink sippie cup!

thank you for all the replies.... No they are not my meatballs, butI cant have tons of breadcrumb and all the good stuff in them anymore. So husband (who was a chef) tried and we think we did a decent job. Can you believe that not one store around us sells turkey meatballs. so this is my recipe, hope you like it
Ingredients Calories Carbs Fat Protein Generic - Homemade Marinara Sauce, 1/2 cup 97 0 0 0 Garlic - Raw, 3 cloves 13 3 0 1 Egg - 1 Large Egg Grade A, 1 egg 70 0 5 6 Onions - Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia) 46 11 0 1 Progresso - Bread Crumbs, Italian Style, 1/4 cup (28g) 110 20 2 4 cheese - Parmesan, hard, 1 oz 111 1 7 10 Jennie-O Turkey Store - Ground Turkey Breast - Extra Lean (99/1), 1 container (20 oz ea.) 600 0 8 130 Total: 1047 35 22 152 Per Serving: 105 4 2 15
I ended up getting 32 small meatballs out of it. With 3 per serving the stats are pretty good. waiting for them to cool and I'll throw them in my freezer.

I just wanted to emphasize the exercise pre-op. I got up to 45 minutes on the elliptical and had some pretty good endurance. I truly believe this aided in my recovery.
The day of surgery I was in at 7:00, out by noon, took a nap for a couple hours and then took my wife out for dinner that night. I was sleeved in Vegas (Baby!) and I walked all over downtown that night and even played some blackjack! That was less than 12 hours after having 85% of my stomach removed! Next morning, we woke up, went to M&M, MGM, Wynn and more downtown walking. Back out to a nice dinner that night. Next day was more of the same. I felt great and was able to walk, walk, walk which will help dissolve the gas that gets trapped in your body.
And, like was mentioned, it is a good warm-up for successful weight-loss post-surgery.
The other think I would add to Lissa's list is to beware of the scale. Early on, it is meaningless. Seriously. Your body is going through such dramatic changes and retaining Water, releasing it, starvation mode, blah, blah, blah ... If you lost 10 pounds is that really 10 pounds of fat? What happens when 3 pounds come back? Did you really gain 10 pounds of fat? The scale just messes with your mind, and that is not a good thing. I try to weigh every couple weeks ... monthly earlier out. I always saw losses and that was encouraging. Those losses actually had meaning. You will see people on here weighing themselves multiple times a day and it just isn't good for us, IMO. Avoid it if you can.

Congratulations Sarah! You ARE sparkling!!!! :-) Enjoy the new you!!!

Oh I am so hoping that will be me. I was 367# at my surgery date on 4/3. I am now 352 # as of 4/16. I have thought to myself is this enough...will this work...I want my 11 year to sit in my real lap..just once before she will think she is too big for that...I want to ride roller coasters again..and just be free of this prison of a body that I made myself to be. Your story has inspired me. I just pray ..."please let that be me...please ..PLEASE ..let that be me! Thanks for sharing ...I wasn't happy at the s ale or myself this morning ....but that gives me hope.
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I am 1 year and 4 months from my surgery. I have lost 177 lbs. I am hoping to lose 200 lbs. total. At my heaviest I weighed 385. At surgery I weighed 365. I am now 188.
The VSG was the BEST thing I have ever done for myself. It has done so much for me than just lose weight. I have gained back hope, self esteem and a since of pride within myself. I love being able to ride a bike with my kids, going swimming, walking my dog, tying my shoe! All the things that I wasn't able to do without a struggle or being out of breath.
Don't get me wrong- at times I questioned "why did I do this"- but now I am so stinkin' happy I did!
One thing I try to tell myself is that this surgery doesn't fix everything. I doesn't fix why I got that heavy in the first place. Or my bad relationships with food. Those are things I have to work on a daily basis.
The best part- having a lap for my 7 year old to sit in. For the first time in her life!

I am 1 year and 4 months from my surgery. I have lost 177 lbs. I am hoping to lose 200 lbs. total. At my heaviest I weighed 385. At surgery I weighed 365. I am now 188.
The VSG was the BEST thing I have ever done for myself. It has done so much for me than just lose weight. I have gained back hope, self esteem and a since of pride within myself. I love being able to ride a bike with my kids, going swimming, walking my dog, tying my shoe! All the things that I wasn't able to do without a struggle or being out of breath.
Don't get me wrong- at times I questioned "why did I do this"- but now I am so stinkin' happy I did!
One thing I try to tell myself is that this surgery doesn't fix everything. I doesn't fix why I got that heavy in the first place. Or my bad relationships with food. Those are things I have to work on a daily basis.
The best part- having a lap for my 7 year old to sit in. For the first time in her life!

I am 1 year and 4 months from my surgery. I have lost 177 lbs. I am hoping to lose 200 lbs. total. At my heaviest I weighed 385. At surgery I weighed 365. I am now 188.
The VSG was the BEST thing I have ever done for myself. It has done so much for me than just lose weight. I have gained back hope, self esteem and a since of pride within myself. I love being able to ride a bike with my kids, going swimming, walking my dog, tying my shoe! All the things that I wasn't able to do without a struggle or being out of breath.
Don't get me wrong- at times I questioned "why did I do this"- but now I am so stinkin' happy I did!
One thing I try to tell myself is that this surgery doesn't fix everything. I doesn't fix why I got that heavy in the first place. Or my bad relationships with food. Those are things I have to work on a daily basis.
The best part- having a lap for my 7 year old to sit in. For the first time in her life!

I am 1 year and 4 months from my surgery. I have lost 177 lbs. I am hoping to lose 200 lbs. total. At my heaviest I weighed 385. At surgery I weighed 365. I am now 188.
The VSG was the BEST thing I have ever done for myself. It has done so much for me than just lose weight. I have gained back hope, self esteem and a since of pride within myself. I love being able to ride a bike with my kids, going swimming, walking my dog, tying my shoe! All the things that I wasn't able to do without a struggle or being out of breath.
Don't get me wrong- at times I questioned "why did I do this"- but now I am so stinkin' happy I did!
One thing I try to tell myself is that this surgery doesn't fix everything. I doesn't fix why I got that heavy in the first place. Or my bad relationships with food. Those are things I have to work on a daily basis.
The best part- having a lap for my 7 year old to sit in. For the first time in her life!

The first Success Habit Principle TM identified in the Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook is: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures. This is the most important factor contributing to optimum weight loss and long-term weight control.

If each of us was asked the question, “Who is responsible for your success?”, each of us would probably answer “I am”. The religious among us would also likely give credit to God’s help in achieving success. The study that was done on the Success Habits identified that the most successful people at maintaining their WLS weight loss long term had a very strong sense of personal accountability that exhibited itself in some key behaviors.

They developed an indicator that identified WHAT they were doing regularly that was helping them stay in control and remain accountable for their weight every day.

You must be personally accountable for the decisions you have made, take responsibility for your choices, and be honest with yourself. Ms. Cook believes (and I agree) that we are where we are because we have made the choices to be so. Our lives must be serving us in some way (whether we are fat or thin at the point you are reading this), or we would already have made changes. Take responsibility for who you are, why you are and where you are right now and take responsibility for how you arrived there.

Don’t wait for someone else to have to change for you to achieve your goal of long-term weight control. You alone are responsible for this.

Long term weight control is about managing the ratio of Calories-In versus Calories Out. If you eat more than you expend, you gain weight. If you eat less than you expend, you lose. The sleeve is an outstanding tool to help us control the amount we eat (if we use it correctly). You alone are responsible for what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat.

We are also responsible for the other side of the equation – I alone am responsible for what exercises I do, how often and how I manage making exercise a part of my life.

Successful people do those things which unsuccessful people are not willing to do.


(The above is excerpted from the book with a few minor changes by me)

So what was the great learning I had from this? Bye-bye blaming anyone but myself. Good-bye to any excuses that don’t start with the word “I” at the front. I thought back to the FOUR OTHER TIMES I have lost around 100 pounds and failed to make it past two years in maintaining – before I would gain it all plus more, back.

I identified how I had framed my failures to myself – who or what I had blamed on those failures. Then I rephrased them in my mind, taking accountability for my actions.

Rather than go through all four failures, I’ll just do the last one.
I lost 103 pounds through hypnosis, diet and exercise. I was well on the way to celebrating my one year at goal mark when I had a person in my family close to me die suddenly, I changed jobs to one that required me to travel out of state 80% of the time and didn’t give me the time to exercise, was on an expense account living out of hotels, and forgot to take my hypnosis material with me for a couple of weeks. I went up 3 to four sizes by the time the first year in the new job was over – from a 10 to a 16-18.

So here is the rephrased version of what happened, taking full accountability for my actions.

After the sudden death of my stepfather, I decided life was too short to worry about monitoring everything I ate. I told myself if he could die like that, what was the point.
I didn’t make time to exercise, even though every hotel I stayed in had a gym.
Consoling myself with food was much more important to me than the pleasure I got after working out.
I chose to quit listening to the hypnosis CD’s, even though I knew they could have helped me get back on track. I felt guilty listening to them while I was overeating and not exercising, so I chose to “forget” to take them on a trip.


Here is an accountable version of where I am now.
I am almost at my initial goal weight, and I am pretty content with where I am.
I have been letting the outside stresses of looking for work (I recently left my employer) distract me from my goal of getting rid of the 10 pounds that stand between me and reaching my goal. This stops TODAY.
Whether I find a job that is commensurate with my education and skills quickly, or whether I have to take a job far below my capabilities, I will practice the Six Success Habit Principles. TM My employmentsituation has NO BEARING on my attaining or maintaining my goal weight.
I understand that I must embrace exercise as a life long part of my life. Diet alone will not do it for me.


So this is the first thread for the first habit. I will put up two more threads in the near future that are also on this habit. Once will be on building new “good” habits to replace old “bad” habits. The other will be on goal setting. Both skills are really necessary for mastering this accountability thing.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.
Sharon

Just celebrated my two year anniversary of my gastric sleeve. I began my journey at 279 lbs with a dress size 22. I am currently at
149 lbs and a size 8. I never would have believed I could ever be this healthy or happy. My weight has been quite stable for the past 10 months or so. This surgery was a wonderful tool on the road to healthy living. I spent most of the first 18 months in the gym working out 3 days a week with a trainer. I believe that was a big key in getting my body back in shape. At age 55 I think it took the gym to get my body toned. I have not had any additional surgery but am considering having the skin under my arms tightened. No matter how much weight I lift or exercise, that loose skin is still there. At this point I know it's just vanity, but feel I deserve a little something for the effort. I don't eat any bread or red meat any more, it just doesn't digest well and I don't really miss it anyway. Instead I do chicken, shrimp and some pasta. For those of you in the early stages of your recovery, I encourage you to hit the gym, I don't like to exercice, but it was worth the results. Take the stairs, park at the end of the parking lot, those little everyday things. Everytime I go up and down stairs, I remember it wasn't that long ago, that I couldn't make it without gasping for air, or stopping halfway up. Find a small victory every day and keep motivated. You can do it.