LilMissDiva Irene

Ooohhh yeah I LOVE Goodwill!!! I do a drop-off and pick-up kinda thing. On all Holidays at the Big G's in my neighborhood everything in the store goes 50% OFF!!! CanNOT beat that! I'm always buying clothes that are too small for me there (why not at $2 bucks a pair??? ...and some with tags still attached!!!) and I have an arsenal of pants folded up in our closet rafters waiting patiently for me. I started this back when I was still in 18's and 20's... I'm running out of options at the moment as the only sizes left with pants I can't fit into yet are in sizes 6 through 10. I usually do a pant fit bonanza once a month during which I know I'm the smallest. MMhhmmmm it's always good times and it sure makes my week! I can buy tons of pants for 20 bucks... and come to think of it I think it's time for a new run soon.

That is Fab-U-LESS!! Congrats and enjoy all your hard work! I agree, treat yourself to something nice to celebrate!! New pair of shoes or maybe a Spa Day... nice!!

Yep, like sarsar said - this is true for a great deal many of us here. I tend to not lose and fluctuate during my TOM week. So on a monthly basis for 2 weeks I'll not lose, then for the next 2-3 weeks I'll lose really good (depending on how diligent I'm being). In my opinion, as long as you're losing every single month then you are doing what you should be doing. We'll all get there! Just keep believing and keep it moving!!

Hey Lynda, wow it really sounds like you're doing extremely well for a month out. Good job so far!! Cheers, and here's to this month!!

Well, IMO carbs do play *some* role in weight loss. I mean I'm not as hardcore as some folks, but I do watch my carbs to an extent. I will allow healthy carbs in my diet if I can fit in a few more bites if I've eaten all my 3 oz of lean meat and nice serving of green veggie. Things like brown rice or my SaraLee Healthful bread (very high fiber!) or red potatoes... but I really like to keep my total carbs to about 50-60 per day. That's double what most here do, but I think my body still loses really well with this plan. I find a little more carbs keeps my brain more functional and I do get more out of my high intensity workouts when I allow more carbs too. That said, this simply isn't true for everyone. Some folks really do have to keep their carbs really low to get the most out of their weight loss. Some do well with more. It's just down to each individual and unfortunately that is something all of us have to learn on our roads to goal. Whatever works! Also, if we are eating healthy we will naturally keep our calories very low. Our sleeves can only hold so much food, and with us not feeling much hunger - we just won't eat that much. In my Quest to reach goal, I am going to count calories, however all this will be with eating healthy in mind. I mean... I'm not going to eat 1,000 calories in M&M's and expect to lose weight... LOL

WELCOME PIXIE JEN!!!!!!

Raine I would just like to point out one thing... you described her as "thin". You weigh less than her. That can only be a good thing.

Okay well it's settled then, Labor Day will be our next Goal Date. But for now, we have to work on the current!! 18 Days to gooooo!!!

LOL!! Well I do chew Extra gum and I do eat Sugar Free candies (I hate protein drink after taste). Just remember that these DO have carbohydrates attached in case you are watching these closely. However, this is just me - if you're being told no gum you shouldn't eat it.

Hello hello HELLO LOSERS!! And of course I mean that with the best of intentions... Well I can tell you this, I'm a loser and darned proud too!! Anyway today is Day 8 and I WILL reach my goal in 91 DAYS... *faint* Hahaa!! Well I'm going to give it one heckuva try anyway. So, the whole sick sleeve thing is now a past issue. I am days away and feeling back to normal. I've been eating solids regularly and drinking tons of water. Here is my menu from yesterday: Breakfast: Atkins Shake Snack: String Cheese Lunch: 2 oz chicken, mixed veggie & brown rice w/1 TBSP of red fat cheese Snack: 1/2 single serv container of Fage w/blueberries Dinner: 3 oz. Grilled chicken on green salad w/whole grain crouton, ranch dressing & 1 Tb of full fat grated cheese. Snack: Whole Grain Saltines Water: 120 Oz. Hmmm no workout either. Whoa!! Thank goodness I'm doing much better today... LOL I guess it could have been worlds worse, so I'm not too mad at myself. Pro's of yesterday: I felt good about my eating. I did pretty good. I know I can still do a little better but there's always tomorrow for that (or should I say today - lol). I finished my minimum ration of water. Whooohooo!!! That's super important. Con's of yesterday: Here's something I notice - I've forgotten to take my vitamins and iron supplements twice in a row now. This is NOT okay! I need this to function properly. Also, I didn't do any workouts yesterday, and it wouldn't of hurt to do a little something. Yeah, well - again there's always today and today is a success. One more, I didn't go to bed on time last night. A good night's sleep is super important for good health! Also, it ensures I'm going to get up for my early morning run. *sigh* What I can improve on: Definitely my eating. I ate a little too many carbs yesterday in my opinion. Mainly the crackers I guess. I know I don't want to eat meat for a snack. I need to make sure the night time snack isn't carb loaded... LOL I created my new workout schedule so that's already helping me get back to my schedule. Tomorrow is weigh day. I really don't want to because my TOM is just getting over and I know I retain water during this time. However, to keep myself on schedule I will. I'm already doing better so I know my next weigh in should be ok. See you all tomorrow for the check in!! Source: Diva's journey to GOAL

Hello hello HELLO LOSERS!! And of course I mean that with the best of intentions... Well I can tell you this, I'm a loser and darned proud too!! Anyway today is Day 8 and I WILL reach my goal in 91 DAYS... *faint* Hahaa!! Well I'm going to give it one heckuva try anyway. So, the whole sick sleeve thing is now a past issue. I am days away and feeling back to normal. I've been eating solids regularly and drinking tons of Water. Here is my menu from yesterday: Breakfast: Atkins Shake Snack: String Cheese Lunch: 2 oz chicken, mixed veggie & brown rice w/1 TBSP of red fat cheese Snack: 1/2 single serv container of Fage w/blueberries Dinner: 3 oz. Grilled chicken on green salad w/whole grain crouton, ranch dressing & 1 Tb of full fat grated cheese. Snack: Whole Grain Saltines Water: 120 Oz. Hmmm no workout either. Whoa!! Thank goodness I'm doing much better today... LOL I guess it could have been worlds worse, so I'm not too mad at myself. Pro's of yesterday: I felt good about my eating. I did pretty good. I know I can still do a little better but there's always tomorrow for that (or should I say today - lol). I finished my minimum ration of water. Whooohooo!!! That's super important. Con's of yesterday: Here's something I notice - I've forgotten to take my Vitamins and Iron supplements twice in a row now. This is NOT okay! I need this to function properly. Also, I didn't do any workouts yesterday, and it wouldn't of hurt to do a little something. Yeah, well - again there's always today and today is a success. One more, I didn't go to bed on time last night. A good night's sleep is super important for good health! Also, it ensures I'm going to get up for my early morning run. *sigh* What I can improve on: Definitely my eating. I ate a little too many carbs yesterday in my opinion. Mainly the crackers I guess. I know I don't want to eat meat for a snack. I need to make sure the night time snack isn't carb loaded... LOL I created my new workout schedule so that's already helping me get back to my schedule. Tomorrow is weigh day. I really don't want to because my TOM is just getting over and I know I retain water during this time. However, to keep myself on schedule I will. I'm already doing better so I know my next weigh in should be ok. See you all tomorrow for the check in!!

Heya Patti, what an excellent start!! Keep it going, you will hit your goal in no time!

Hi everyone! mnb - heal fast! It sounds like you're doing really well and congrats on your new sleeve!!! You're really already working and moving, good for you! Cheryl, doing good as always! Keep working that C25K! I need to sign up for a new one but I don't want to do it alone again. My hubby's been working on his laps and we're gonna do one together really soon. I can't wait!!! As for me, I've FINALLY GOT my new workout schedule up and running (pun intended). I'm posting it here for all to see. They are in MS Excel format - enjoy!! This is average for me though I have not been doing all I can so this should get me back to form. Good luck to all!! ETA: it did not copy paste well so and it won't let me attach excel. Oh well you'll just have to trust me on this one. I'll post every day I'm supposed to workout. I don't workout Mondays because I hate Mondays.

Hi Pixie! Click this link, it will take you to our Northern California support group. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/groups/show/3-norcal-vsg-support-group/

I had my revision surgery on Sept 15, 2010 and it was also done all in one. The only thing is that if there is significant damages on your insides from the band it is best to have it done in two. I didn't have a lot and my surgery only lasted a little over 90 minutes. He did have to clean up some adhesions however. Feeling scared or trepiditious is very normal. You just have to figure out how important all of this is to you. If you're not truly ready you'll do best thinking on it for awhile. All the best to you! Please keep us updated.

Hi InProgress, well no worries that is what we are here for! I'm very glad you feel better. Just a thought, why can't your trainer friend start with you now? You probably won't lose as fast as post surgery but getting 1 to 2 Lbs off per week pre surgery right now you are looking at about 10 extra Lbs. Good luck!!

Hello everyone! I wanted to post this: ...and the reason being because I want to share what a typical day looks like for me. Now, please know I'm not this perfect every single day! I might squeeze in a few things here and there, and most likely its around TOM due to stressful cravings... Things are going quite smooth today. I have not had any negative sleeve issues and my food is going down without a hitch! I feel really good and I'm just getting over TOM and my cravings are at a Two right now (Won't say zero because before lunch I wanted an extra snack but was able to ignore it!). Yes, I grade scale my cravings! I was a 10 (Maximum) last weekend which I think is the main culprit in me eating so many forbidden foods. Even a taste here and there got me feeling sick!! Oh yuck... Blechhh!!! Here's something I just noticed... me being so close to goal and actually feeling quite comfortable with how I look allowed me to nearly fall apart. I would not normally allow myself to eat so many bad things and haven't since surgery. I have not been perfect!! Not at all but this last weekend I really let loose. I can't do this! I have to stay on track. I'm sooo close, and I just need to stay on the straight and narrrow for a few more months! It always sounds a lot more daunting than it is... LOL I do have to remind myself though because I DON'T want to ever do what I just did. I don't think I can anymore anyway. With my surgery my Dr. also took my ability to eat junk food! Anyway, I'm feeling back to my normal self and I'm ready to tackle these next 3 weeks where I get the most out of my sleeve and weight loss. I'm really going to push for 11 Lbs by the 15th of July. Wish me luck!!!! Or should I say fortitude. Source: Diva's journey to GOAL

Whooottt Dawn!!! You've got this sister!!! I'm looking forward to your GOALLLL thread!!

Hello everyone! I wanted to post this: ...and the reason being because I want to share what a typical day looks like for me. Now, please know I'm not this perfect every single day! I might squeeze in a few things here and there, and most likely its around TOM due to stressful cravings... Things are going quite smooth today. I have not had any negative sleeve issues and my food is going down without a hitch! I feel really good and I'm just getting over TOM and my cravings are at a Two right now (Won't say zero because before lunch I wanted an extra snack but was able to ignore it!). Yes, I grade scale my cravings! I was a 10 (Maximum) last weekend which I think is the main culprit in me eating so many forbidden foods. Even a taste here and there got me feeling sick!! Oh yuck... Blechhh!!! Here's something I just noticed... me being so close to goal and actually feeling quite comfortable with how I look allowed me to nearly fall apart. I would not normally allow myself to eat so many bad things and haven't since surgery. I have not been perfect!! Not at all but this last weekend I really let loose. I can't do this! I have to stay on track. I'm sooo close, and I just need to stay on the straight and narrrow for a few more months! It always sounds a lot more daunting than it is... LOL I do have to remind myself though because I DON'T want to ever do what I just did. I don't think I can anymore anyway. With my surgery my Dr. also took my ability to eat junk food! Anyway, I'm feeling back to my normal self and I'm ready to tackle these next 3 weeks where I get the most out of my sleeve and weight loss. I'm really going to push for 11 Lbs by the 15th of July. Wish me luck!!!! Or should I say fortitude.

Hi bookleen, I'm a few months shy of being a year out - and by now you know I'm close to goal but not quite there yet. I was never really given a set goal by my PCP nor my surgeon so I've just been "winging it". I originally chose the higher scale from the BMI charts which was 154 Lbs. However the closer I got I realized that would be too light for me and my frame so I bumped it up to 165 Lbs. Anyway I'm very sure that once I have all this skin removed it will be around 10ish pounds! Anyway, here is what a typical day for me would look like: Early morning snack: Protein shake Breakfast: Hi Fiber oatmeal packet -OR- 2 eggs (equiv Egg Beaters) and 2 slices of turkey bacon Mid morning snack: Something around 100 calories - usually a string cheese... Lunch: 2 oz of meat, and good carbs -OR- Protein Shake -OR- Some kind of salad Dinner: 2-3 oz of lean meat (I only eat poultry or seafood/fish) Small serving of green veggie and a couple bites of good carbs Snack: Serving of almonds -OR- 1TBSP of chunky Peanut Butter (yummy!!) -OR- Whole Grain Saltines This is my most common foods. I try to mix it up sometimes to bump around my calories to keep my body guessing. I will also tack on extra Protein shakes from time to time if I burn lots of calories. Typical workouts (spread out): An hour on the treadmill walking/jogging/running 30 Minutes on my Spinner/Stationary Bike 30 Minutes on my Elliptical 30 Minutes of Calisthenics 45 Minutes Brisk Walk at Work I want to incorporate more DVD style workouts and some yoga!!

Hey Kelly, my surgeon had me on Nexium as soon as I was sent home from surgery. I would take it and I don't think it really worked all that great for me. I did talk to my PCP about it and she just tried to give me more Nexium. That was when I decided after reading around here to try certain other brands because when one brand doesn't work, usually another will. I then tried Prilosec (Omeprazole) and have been hooked ever since. It really does work amazingly well for me. Though I've noticed I get the bubble throats lately. I'm thinking of starting to take it twice per day to see if that helps. I'm going to email my Dr.'s to see if this would be advisable, as my PCP is really no help when it comes to things like this. Good luck to you!

Hi Golden, well one thing I've learned over these months is that our sleeves are fickle creatures. It could very well be it's just not liking something you're eating and it needs a break so to speak. Revert back to your previous post op phase for a day to let your sleeve rest. It will not hurt you at all to do this. I hope you feel better soon, and if you don't, please don't hesitate to give your surgeon's office a quick call. Always better safe than sorry!

Thanks for this My! I'm nine months out and just this morning as I was washing my hair it came out in huge clumps. It will slow down for awhile them *bam* I have several thousand strands hanging in my palm. It really sux! My hair used to be so full and thick and now it's thinned out a whole lot. Thank goodness I have a lot to keep it from looking too awful but still. I've always cherished my hair as being one of my best assets and now it's GONE!! I keep hearing it lasts only a few months but for me its never ending. I take multitudes of supplements and even Biotin (though it doesn't prevent it from coming out) but I'm beginning to believe my regrowth is even falling out. Thin, wow that scares me that you mention your hair is *still* falling out even though you have stopped losing. I was hoping that would be the case. Sheesh...

Hi juzme, what you are feeling is completely normal. I'd be surprised to find a handful of folks who didn't feel even a little nervous going into surgery. It's a scary thing! Especially since all of us have chosen to do this ourselves - not because the Dr's told us we had to or else. Which in my opinion it should be the case. The sleeve has quite literally saved my life! Knowing this, It's just my opinion that I HAD to have this done. Do your best to keep your mind occupied on other things. Maybe bury yourself in a good book to get your mind going off in a completely different direction. Then when you get out of surgery and are lying around wondering what you will do with all your time, you can finish up the story.. LOL Also, maybe you can go clothing shopping online or in the store. Buy yourself a goal outfit!! Then one day when you fit into it and you realize it was sooner than you expected, you will have a really nice NSV to come here and tell us about. I know it's fun because I did this!! I had to go back out and buy the same pants two sizes smaller for a new set of goal pants. Wishing you well on your upcoming surgery!!!

My suggestion would be to start earlier so you have time to measure. It takes time to learn how to eyeball portions. Be careful not to overstuff your sleeve. I've heard that some folks don't have a full feeling or signal and this can become a huge problem if you eat too much. Please be very careful.