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I am just curious if you are still following THM and how you are making out on it. I am very interested in trying it, just wanted to get more perspective!

great info!

I am 3.5 years post op, and I think I can eat more now than at a year out. But I agree with a lot being said. If I eat the right things, I eat less than if I eat slider foods. I can usually eat a small chicken breast and maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup of veggies with it. I can also eat about 3/4 cup of yogurt with Bran Cereal in it, but it is filling.

I am almost 3.5 years post op and still could not eat as much as your cousin ate. I actually feel a little sorry for him as he is on the fast track to weight gain and obviously did not take this surgery as seriously as it needs to be taken. This surgery is a chance to make changes and start over again.

I agree. I feel the same. I felt sad for him. I probably should have mentioned that he is 17. He was "prepped" for this surgery for one year. I had a talk with him and he said he's still losing. But I told him that from what I hear, it's not gonna stay that way if he continues like that. Anyway, I can only hope that as he grows, he realizes that he needs to change behaviors...

Oh, he has his whole life in front of him, I hope for his sake that he can turn it around. It is not until 2 plus years out I would say that bad habits really start to rear their ugly head in weight gain. I didn't even realize they would do the surgery so young.

I am almost 3.5 years post op and still could not eat as much as your cousin ate. I actually feel a little sorry for him as he is on the fast track to weight gain and obviously did not take this surgery as seriously as it needs to be taken. This surgery is a chance to make changes and start over again.

I am far from perfect, so I would never claim to be. I do, however, still follow a lot of a general "rules". I never counted or tracked, but I cut back on "bad" carbs and still do not eat/rarely eat rice/pasta/bread. I rarely drink with my meals. I never drank pop much before, and I now rarely drink it because it still hurts my stomach. I eat Protein and veggies first. I do eat treats sometimes, and I have and probably always will mess up here and there and over do it. But what has made it easy is it is always fairly easy to get back on the right track.

I think it is not so following a strict set of "rules", but making it a lifestyle change. So many have said it, so I will only echo that it is a tool to work with. The sleeve will not do everything for you.

I like Quest Bars. They are one of the more clean bars on the market, and they taste really good if you warm them up for just a few seconds!

http://www.questproteinbar.com/

You can order online, I am not sure what stores though as I live in Canada and it is different here.

Sleeve, that is awesome! Do you actually count calories at all in your window or just healthy choices?? I haven't tried it yet, but really thinking of it more and more!

I have read about the 8 hour diet and think it is very valid and have thought about giving it a try myself. The biggest difference is you do it everyday instead of twice a week, but the restriction in calories is not there. 5:2=500 calories in a 8 hour window with 16 hours of fasting twice a week. The 8-hour diet is eating all your calories within an 8 hour period everyday, having a 16 hour fast every day, without restriction calories. The only problem I could forsee is someone making it a free for all in those 8 hours, which would defeat the purpose. Just like going crazy on your "feast" days on the 5:2 would defeat the purpose. There is no calories "restrictions" in those 8 hours but common sense and healthy choices is still important. Sleeve of Steel, keep us posted, I would love to keep hearing on how your doing on this. I think I might be able to stick to this type of plan better as well.

New Years Eve - 2013. Had a wedding to attend at a fancy hotel...perfect evening for a LBD!

Me.jpg

You look amazing, and I love the shoes! And you look so confident, beautiful!

Yes, thanks for starting this Georgia! It is true, the further out we get, the harder it is sometimes to find NSV's. One I had a few weeks ago...I always shop on the clearance racks because I am cheap. Well, I was at a store and saw a great pair of pants. I held them up, they looked like they might fit, but I looked at the tag and they were a size 3. I thought I would give them a try, and low and behold they fit! I walked out of the room beaming and the girl asked me how I did. I said I tried them on not thinking they would fit. She said, well what size are they? When I told her that I normally wear a size 6 and these were a 3, she looked me up and down and said "I would have never guessed your were size 6!" in a good way (not I thought you would be bigger, but in I thought you would be smaller tone!). I still grin when I think about it!!

Holidays are a tough one for me. I originally had my surgery on November 29th, so my first Christmas was a breeze because I could barely eat. Last year I gained 5 lbs over Christmas. This year I was sick for the first part, so I really didn't gain, but it was still tough near the end. My family is all about food, and last year I actually had to have a talk with my mom about not leaving food out. We would visit there for a week and a tray of goodies would sit out on the counter for the entire week. I allow myself to indulge sometimes, I couldn't live my entire life without ever having a treat. But I do not have a lot of will power, especially if it is sitting out in front of me constantly. This year she put it away after Christmas, and it helped somewhat, but there were still boxes of chocolates sitting out and chips in the cupboard, food I have a hard time resisting. Now that we are back at home, it will get easier. I just cleaned out the last of the left over junk (I am a teacher and get lots of boxes of chocolate!). Now time to get back to routine!

I didn't even realize it had been changed, but I think it was a great move. The old rule of being 6 months post op was not very accurate in my opinion. Even at 3 years post op, there are still days that I feel I am still trying to figure this thing out!!

Congrats on making your 3 year...AND for being at goal and hanging out there. You look fab and it's great to see you around! Hope life is treating you well and hopefully your hubby hasn't had to travel much lately with the holidays being here.

CONGRATS to you and thanks for hanging out with all of us for so long!

Thanks M2G, that is really sweet that you remembered that he travels a lot. He has been gone a lot up until now, but it should slow down and he is taking 3 weeks off at Christmas.

Like I said, I have been far from perfect, but my body seems to really like being the weight I am and what I am doing is working, so I will take it. Could I be another 5 or 10 lbs lighter, sure. But I decided it is not worth beating myself up over. I picked my goal thinking I would never get to it, and when I reached it, I almost couldn't believe it. Now I am working on just being happy at my goal instead of always thinking its not good enough. Not easy that is for sure! Our brains are the biggest battle in this journey!

Awesome! You look great. The wedding photo .. I was heavy when I got married too, and I loved my wedding but the photos also make me sad. I have thought of renewing our vows maybe for our 20th anniversary (still 7 years away) so I can be thin in wedding photos. Is that weird?

Nope, I actually thought about going and trying on wedding dresses just for the fun of it! When you have to wear a size 22 wedding dress, the pickings are slim! I loved my wedding and even some of my photos I don't mind, but it is not were I wanted to be weight wise when I got married and didn't get my dream dress.

Love them all!!

And I just realized that I am wearing the same shirt...I really like that shirt!!

Well, I have to say that I was watching the calendar for this day, and then it almost passed me by! Today marks 3 years since I had my sleeve done in Mexico, and I still have no regrets!

Has it been an easy ride?? Not at all. I am still learning and figuring things about. Some days I struggle with bad choices, but the good days mostly outweigh the bad days. It took me 18 months to reach my goal weight, most likely because I purposely decided not become overly obsessive about it. For many people, tracking everything works the best for them. For me, it did not. It made me extremely anxious. I had been there and done that so many times, I wanted this time to be different. I wanted to make changes that I knew I could sustain for a lifetime. Now I have been happily sitting at my goal for the last 18 months and couldn't be happier. I would do it over in a heartbeat!!

I have attached a few pictures, The First picture is me at my heaviest on my wedding day. The second was the day of surgery, I was about 40 lbs lighter than when I got married. The third picture is from shortly after I reached goal in my biggest pair of jeans (which I kept for reference and I highly recommend!). And the last picture is just take this past summer with my kids in the mountains (where I carried my daughter piggy back style part way up the side of the mountain...never would have done that before!).

Congratulations Butter, what an accomplishment you have made in such a short period of time!! You are an inspiration to so many!

Good it's happened a lot since the switch I was able to edit one of mine..but another thread I started and put progress pics up has all these random chicks on it now..

My favorite so far though is Jane's swimsuit thread instead of her in a bikini it a dog wearing an bandana

That is too funny!! mine were some random woman, a cat, and a shirt! Although I just checked and it looks like it has been fixed, hooray!!

There is no edit button for me on the post. I can't figure it out, oh well I guess!! I sent an message to the help desk to see if they can figure it out.

My pictures have been mysteriously replaced by some strange pictures, anyone know why??

The hunger came back, but not really the same. I rarely get hungry. The only time that I do is when I haven't eaten for a long stretch (over 5 or 6 hours), and even then, it doesn't feel the same as it did before.

I will be 3 years in just over a month and absolutely no regrets!

Congratulations! I am right behind you, three years in November. Your dedication is inspiring!

Good lick Jane. See you on the other side.

Best of luck Jane! Let us know how everything goes and keep us up to date on all the amazing changes!

And Butter, do you always wish everyone a "good lick".....