Kris

I didn't see an Easter Challenge topic started, so I thought I'd get it going. This year Easter is on March 31st, so we have just about 6 weeks until then. Set your weight loss goals here and keep us posted! Starting Weight (day you started the challenge): Goal Weight (weight you want to be on March 31st): Lbs left to Goal: I'll start... Starting weight: 153 Goal weight: 145 Lbs. left to Goal: 8 Let's do this!!!!

OilSooner, in addition to the above good comments, I suggest you start tracking your food too and see if there are trigger foods that are causing your GI distress (look for patterns). I haven't had your symptoms, but I do find that my body really can't handle fats well. I always have to be careful eating anything fried or cooked in a lot of fat (i.e., shrimp scampi) because that sort of food really hurts in my sleeve (which is a good thing; keeps me from eating junk I shouldn't eat). Also, are you getting enough Fiber in your diet? Loose stools often means not enough fiber. I guess what I am suggesting it to pay attention to what you eat and see if you can find patterns/links, and make changes from there. BTW -- I'm also struggling with losing weight after some weight re-gain (and unfortunately I had never even gotten to goal before I started regaining). I also know I eat too much, too, especially when I see posts about what people are eating. I'm always shocked at how stringent most people are. Then again, that explains my lack of success! I keep my diet at 1,000 calories a day and find it to be very challenging most days to do that. Only eating 600 or 800 calories a day seems like an impossibly low amount, even considering my sleeve. I am sure I would lose weight faster being that strict, but holy moly I would be a hot mess too. I am not one of those lucky sleevers who has no hunger pains. I get hungry like clockwork every 3 hours or so. And while I definitely have some head hunger issues, it's not just head hunger -- it's real hunger pains. So, I find it a huge challenge to distribute 1,000 calories in a day where I'm having the physical need to eat every 3 hours or so (that's 4-5 meals in a typical day). Keep us posted on what you find out please!

Hi, I guess I should have said the costco Steak Strips is the best mass-produced Jerky I've ever had. I agree, if you know how to make your own, or have access to a good butcher who makes their own fresh jerky, that's usually the best. It's been over a year since I started this thread, and still the Costco brand is my hands-down favorite. I go through a couple of bags of Costco Steak Strips a week (it's my primary snack, and a few times a week it's a meal replacement). The only downside with it is you really have to eat it all within 3 days of opening; it starts to degrade quickly once the package is opened. It needs to be refrigerated after opening, which I often forget to do, and if you go more than 3 days after opening w/o it being refrigerated, it gets very tough and loses its excellent flavor. But even with that, I find it to be a great value and super tasty.

Hey chickies, I will definitely come back and give an update once jar #2 is done. I've toyed with the idea of taking a picture of my neck now and then after the second jar is done, but ewww...I get depressed at the thought. It's not a pretty sight. I TOTALLY need a breast lift, too. I actually had consults with 2 different plastic surgeons and they both were like, "Your breasts are LONG!" One seemed rather impressed with how far they sagged, and then went on to say it would be a challenging surgery to figure out how to get rid of all the extra skin and reposition the remaining tissue. I was hoping they'd both say, "No worries, we can give you porn star boobs no problemo," but instead they both said they could improve my appearance, but there is only so much they can do (basically, don't get my hopes up for a great result). I spent many, many, many hours online looking at pics of breast surgery before & after pics prior to my PS consults, and have to admit not seeing many "before" shots that looked as bad as mine. Sigh....

Hi everyone, thank you for the encouragement. It means a lot! I think at some point everyone who gets the sleeve will go through a period like I just went through, where you get comfortable with your new size and start testing the boundaries of what you can eat and not gain weight. I admit, after losing 90 lbs., I was feeling pretty confident that I could eat ANYTHING I wanted and not gain weight. Hubris is the word -- unwarranted confidence. I was like a kid who gets the keys to dad's Beemer and takes it on a joyride, then gets busted. It was fun while it lasted, but now there's a price to pay. Now that i've been back on a diet for two weeks, I realize afresh that it is SO much easier to gain weight than to lose it, even with a sleeve. Once I get to goal (and I know I will), I will know that maintenance requires just as much vigilance as the weight loss phase.

This is a weird tip but I've been using the Premier Protein Vanilla in lieu of milk when I have cereal. It's a bit thicker than milk, but the flavor goes OK with most cereals. It helps me get it down. I am SO not a fan of drinking it straight from the carton!

Hi all, Gosh, I remember joining VST a bit over 2 years ago, when I was seriously thinking of having surgery. At the time I weighed over 230 lbs., which when you're a little 5'1" woman, is a lot of excess weight (100 lbs. to be exact). It's been an amazing 2 years since the wonderful Dr. Aceves performed my surgery and helped me get to a healthier and happier life. I'll be honest, I've made mistakes. A lot of mistakes. I wasn't very strict with myself during the honeymoon phase after surgery, and as a result I didn't lose as much weight as I could have. Before I hit goal I started eating a lot of crap I never should have eaten and started grazing again. I stopped regularly checking in here and didn't take advantage of much-needed support. In the past year I've actually gained over 10 lbs., and am now working hard to get back towards goal. On the bright side, I'm still nearly 80 lbs. lighter than I was before surgery, and virtually all of my pre-op health issues have been successfully resolved. Even though I've made mistakes, I'm focusing on the future and not the past. In a way, I feel like I'm starting all over again ... but this time the journey is going to be much shorter and easier! I have before & after posted up on my blog if you'd care to look: http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/02/some-before-after-pictures.html Best, Kris

As I was losing weight, I developed a neck wattle. Not super bad -- I mean, it's not flapping around or anything -- but it is definitely enough to make me self-conscious about my neck. I even got a consult with a plastic surgeon about a neck lift back in December. Basically the news wasn't encouraging; once the skin is loose, it's highly unlikely to tighten up much. Plastic surgery can definitely help, but the surgeon said at my age (mid 40s) it will probably only last about 15 years and then I'll want to do another procedure to tighten up again. Someday I may go through with the surgery (I've decided it's the third procedure on my PS wish list, after a breast lift and tummy tuck), but in the meantime I was kind of desperate to find ways to minimize the appearance of the loose skin. My beloved costco sells StriVectin neck cream, and in November there was a coupon on it, so I decided to spend the $50 or so and see how it worked. It's been over two months and I finished the first jar (at Costco there were 2 jars in the package), and I am now onto the second jar. The cream is super thick, and a little goes a long way (it took about 2.5 months of daily use to go through a jar). I use it daily in the mornings. I do not use it at night, but I am sure it can't hurt to do so. Verdict: I have seen some minor improvement on my neck, but I still have a wattle -- gobble gobble! Use this product daily and you will likely see some results, but not drastic improvement. If I continue to see improvement I'll buy some more, but if not I'll just stick with my Olay Regenerist cream and keep my moisturizing routine simple. I just thought I'd share in case you're wondering whether this product would be worth the money.

I didn't drink until I was at least a year out after surgery. Then, around the holidays I started having cocktails on a regular basis (several times a week), and I really wish I hadn't done that; I know they contributed to some weight regain. Alcohol is totally empty calories and was the first thing to go when I got serious about losing the extra weight I've gained. If you MUST drink, wait until you're at or near goal, and make it a special occasion splurge, or you will risk weight re-gain.

Don't be afraid ladies! Getting the sleeve was truly the best thing I ever did for my health. I successfully lost 90 lbs. in a year, which I never could have done without the sleeve, and all my stats (blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar, etc.) are normal now. Before surgery I had high blood pressure, was borderline diabetic, and had sleep apnea -- all were resolved within a few months after surgery. I am 2 years out and admittedly have had some weight re-regain, but only because I have been eating anything and everything, and am still dealing with some emotional eating issues. I am getting back on track now and the sleeve is a powerful tool to help me eat fewer calories and lose weight quickly. Trust me, you WILL lose weight with your sleeve ... lots of weight, and it will not be hard compared to traditional diets. By the end of this year, you will be much lighter and I guarantee you'll be glad you got the sleeve! Best to you in your weight loss journey!

I bottomed out around 142 lbs. (90% to goal) in spring 2012 (about 15 months after surgery), but didn't sustain it long, and I ended up stabilizing in the mid 140s for several months. However, since the summer I've gotten very careless with what/how much I eat, and stopped participating in support groups. Now, a bit over 2 years out from surgery, I'm bouncing around between 153 and 155. Seriously, it is all too easy for me to eat at least 2,000 calories a day, which is several hundred above my maintenance caloric load (1,700 - 1,800). 300 extra calories a day X 30 days = 2.5 lb./month weight gain. I never thought of it that way, but it's just basic math. I learned how to eat around my sleeve, have been eating lots of crap, and am back to some nasty pre-surgery destructive eating behaviors. I feel scared, remorseful, and guilty. I must get some help with emotional eating issues, because clearly I haven't fully dealt with them. I started a "slow carb" diet last week and lost a bit over 1 lb., which was disappointing considering I really stuck to it. Then I realized I was still eating at least 1,200 calories a day on that diet. Time to get more serious and get below 1,000 calories a day, until I'm back on track, and once I'm back to the low 140s I must stay vigilant about what I eat. I'm going to take the positive view that this was a necessary (scary) wake up call for me to get back on track before things get further out of control.

Hi Everyone, I'm back from my cruise to Mexico. It was nice, but unfortunately DH caught a stomach bug midway through the cruise and was really not feeling well for the last several days. I usually catch whatever he catches, but somehow escaped the stomach bug. In the days before he got sick we had a lot of fun. food was everywhere, and I certainly enjoyed it, but I know I was eating much less than pretty much everyone on the ship (based on what I observed was on peoples' plates in the Lido restaurant) and for the most part I ate a pretty healthy diet (I got in plenty of fruit and veggies along with Protein, but also indulged in dessert after lunch and dinner, and mid-afternoon snacks). When DH and I would share dinner each night, the steward always had this weird look on his face like he couldn't believe we would do that! I didn't see anyone else around us doing that so I guess it was a bit odd. I was also lightly active -- I exercised pretty much every day (but fun kinds of exercise -- walk/jog around the promenade deck, snorkeling in chilly Water, dancing, tai chi,etc. -- not as intense as the workouts I do at home) and I took the stairs a lot rather than wait for elevators, etc. When I got home the scale said I was within my normal 2 lb. "bounce" range and so I'm calling it even -- no weight gained or lost. The cruise director mentioned that on average people on a cruise gain 1 lb. for every day they are on the ship, so I feel very good about not having gained weight. It does make me go hmm, how did I not gain weight while having lots of indulgences and slacking off a bit on the regular vigorous exercising? Maybe if I stayed on ship a couple more days I would have gained weight ... who knows ... it does make me seriously wonder though if I've hit my new "set point" for my weight. The worst part of going on vacation is getting back into the swing of normal life! Whaddaya mean, I can't sleep until 7:30 every day, and have to do harder exercise, and people aren't cleaning my house and serving me fab meals I didn't have to cook??? LOL. Back to the regular grind ...

Feedyoureye, This simulator is SO cool! Thank you for sharing! It makes me feel like I can really get to goal, as long as I keep my calories under control and keep exercising regularly. As Coops says, slow but steady wins the race!

I saw this article and it kind of blew my mind! http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974-1,00.html I really didn't exercise the first several months after getting sleeved (at that time I was losing weight effortlessly each month, and my energy was still low because of the ultra-low calories I was consuming). When my weight loss started slowing down at about the 5-6 month mark, I started exercising about 3-4 days a week (mostly walking with a little jogging). I continued to lose weight, but at a slower pace. I also started eating more calories as my sleeve capacity grew. Starting around the 9 month mark, I started exercising much more vigorously, 5-6 days a week. In the past 2 months my weight loss has pretty much leveled out and I'm eating more than ever (at full sleeve capacity). Unfortunately, I am still about 12 lbs. overweight. The good thing (for me) about exercising frequently is I can definitely see some toning happening, which I really need considering all the loose skin I've got, and there's no question my cardio-vascular health is vastly improved. But now I am wondering if the exercising has been either non-helpful, or possibly harmful, to my weight loss, since I *do* eat more than I did before I started exercising. I really have to think about this! This article really flies in the face of conventional wisdom regarding the role of exercise and weight loss. I am not sure I want to cut back on the exercise but maybe I need to re-think how often/how hard I exercise and how much I'm eating.

Hey Meg, great story about your conference! And yay for you for enjoying your food and not gaining weight! And yay for the flirtation and the compliments and having a good time! Globetrotter, I have got you beaten today. I caved to temptation at a b-day celebration and ate a small slice of chocolate cheesecake and later had five pieces of red licorice and did it because "everyone else was having some" ... so stupid! I am mad, mad, mad at myself. That brutal Jillian Michaels workout I did this morning isn't going to undo that damage. I know I didn't eat enough calories from the cheesecake and licorice to gain weight, but I sure didn't help myself be in a position to lose weight!

Hi all, hope everyone had a good weekend! I did my official weekly weigh-in on Sunday and did not lose any weight (but did not gain either -- gotta look on the bright side!). I was good about eating up to the weekend, then slacked off on the weekend. I am like Jekyll & Hyde when it comes to virtuous weekday behavior and letting it all hang out on the weekends. I neither exercised or watched what I put in my mouth all weekend. I spent the entire day at home on Sunday, which is unusual for me. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen puttering around and making food for the week. I made a batch of homemade salsa (delish and a good way to sneak in lots of veg -- not too many tortilla chips eaten, but I have to buy some baked chips rather than fried). I made a batch of white chicken chili (also delish and I have enough leftovers so that I will be eating it for several days and probably be thoroughly sick of white chicken chili by Thursday, LOL), and made up a marinade for barbacoa beef (it's a spicy Mexican shredded beef recipe -- a great way to get in Protein with almost no fat in the marinade) ... the barbacoa is in my slow cooker today and will have it for dinner tonight. Yum! DH and I are going on a cruise down the west coast of Mexico next weekend -- yippy! I tried on a couple of bathing suits I got from costco on Sunday. They fit OK, but I look a whole lot better w/long sleeves & long pants than in a bathing suit! I know I am going to get weird looks about my granny legs. C'est la vie. At least I am not so shy about being semi-clothed as I was before surgery. I hope everyone has a good week! Coops, I am sending happy thoughts your way!

Hey there Ourobourous, is there any chance it could be your mattress causing the aches and pains? If it's over 5 years old (and especially if it's the same mattress you had before beingsleeved) it might be the culprit ... your body may be doing weird contortions in the night due to the mattress. Just a thought.

Hey Gman, remember your body just went through major trauma a few weeks ago, you just got through dealing with a cold/flu, and you are literally on a starvation-level diet right now. Each week you'll be able to do more/harder exercise. It took me several months to build up stamina after my surgery and I think that is pretty common. You are doing great!

I'm a bit over a year out (like Foxbins, who BTW has done an AMAZING job with her sleeve!!!). I can eat about 1 cup of food per meal now -- each meal is usally a mix of Protein and carbs. I don't think I could eat an entire 8-10 oz. of dense protein at one sitting (I've never tried), but I probably could eat more than 10 oz of carbs if they are slider foods that chew down to tiny bits, like Cereal. Which brings me to cautionary tale that the thing you really need to worry about more than your sleeve stretching is watching what you put into it. I started snacking/grazing again on carby "healthy" (LOL) Snacks (like rice chips or pretzel crisps) several months ago, and that has really kept me from getting to goal, so I'm trying to cut it out completely. You can easily eat several hundred calories a day of slider foods if you don't watch out -- rice chips, pretzel crisps, or chex mix chew down to almost nothing, and it is frightening how much you can eat if you don't watch yourself. Ask me how I know this.

Dorrie & Escape -- thanks for the recommendations about the Quest bars -- I'll swing by my nearest VitaminShoppe this weekend and buy some. I checked out their website and some of the flavors look delish (cinnamon roll and chocolate brownie and lemon cream pie, woot?!). I ate a Premier double chocolate Protein bar for Breakfast today in lieu of my normal steak strips ... meh, it was OK. I missed my steak strips. I have become strangely addicted to them. I go through a 12 oz. bag in 3 - 4 days. Ounce for ounce they give me more protein and less carbs and fat than protein bars; the only bad thing is the sodium, and I know that is causing me to retain Water. Got in a good workout this morning w/Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 DVD and am going to treat myself to a yummy Wendy's apple pecan chicken 1/2 size salad for lunch (awesomely good salad if you haven't had one before, and about 300 calories I believe -- I take out all of the cheese -- one of the few fattening things I don't like, LOL).

Coops, I echo Escape -- you ARE an inspiration! You know you look fantastic too! When I get down on myself I just think about where I was before surgery and it always makes me realize how far I've come. Your workouts are making you stronger every day! Lila -- wow, that is impressive you can do a 4 mile run! You are a fitness goddess! Escape -- glad to have a "neighbor" here ... you are doing amazing on your weight loss! You'll be to goal before you know it!

Hi ladies, and thanks for the warm welcome and encouragement! I started off the day right today ... got in a hard 30 minute workout (mostly kettlebell/cardio with some abs thrown in) before getting ready for work. Breakfast (not the healthiest thing ever but I LOVE it) was Costco's Kirkland Signature Steak Strips (each serving has 60 calories, 9g Protein, 5g carbohydrate, .5g fat, don't even ask me about the sodium though, LOL! Well OK, it's 330mg of sodium if you must know.). I had to swing by the local doughnut shop for a coworker who asked me to bring them into the office and am proud to say I didn't partake of any of them, even though they looked fantastic. Little NSV for me! For snack today I will have a mandarin orange. lunch is leftover homemade chicken gumbo (pretty healthy -- lots of veggies and shredded boiled chicken and spices) w/only a little rice (like 1/8 cup or something) mixed in. Afternoon snack will be more steak strips. dinner is stir fry. I've got my meals all planned out and that definitely helps keep me from snacking. Big NSV yesterday -- I had a stash of snacking foods in a drawer at work and would nosh them regularly. I took all the Snacks out and put them in the common area in the office. Yay, me! It's all gone now (eaten by my always-hungry coworkers), and so even if I am tempted to have a carby snack, the carbs are all gone! I will NOT keep snacks in my drawer at work anymore ... too easy to eat and that can add up to hundreds of extra calories a day. I am sorry to admit I even had that stash; but there you go. It was what it was. It's over now. Fresh start is underway! Have a great day everyone and I love seeing your updates!

I've seen many women here who have lost 100% (or more) of their excess weight, so it's definitely possible to do. I've lost nearly 90% of my excess weight in the past 13 months, but I still have 12 lbs. to get to my end goal. I've really slacked off on my eating since the holidays, and I've only lost 1 lb. in the past six weeks, so to get the final pounds off is going to be a challenge, but I'm going for it. I do think it is critically important to stay with a support group (online, in person, whatever) while you're losing. I know during the past six weeks I stopped checking in here regularly, and that's part of what kept me off track. So no matter what, stay with your support group!

Hi all, I hope you don't mind me crashing this party! I am in serious need of sleever support. I haven't lost weight since the beginning of the year, and to be really honest, my eating has been BAD, and it's really a miracle I haven't gained weight. I'm still 12 lbs. from goal, so I have been completely sabotaging myself. So, as of today I am back to eating 1,200 calories a day, cutting out all the junk carbs (of which I have been liberally partaking -- I've slid back into some nasty snacking habits I had pre-surgery), and upping the exercising until I get to goal. For weeks now I just let it all hang out, hoping the scale would drop even though I was eating crap and not tracking calories. I know I can do it if I just focus and not let mindless snacking do me in. I've read every single post on this thread and am so inspired by you all! Seeing your honesty and your daily struggles has helped me tremendously, and hopefully I can begin helping myself again too.

I found through unpleasant experience that when I eat and drink at the same time, I get very nauseous. So, I avoid it at all costs. I thought it would be difficult to not drink when I eat, but it's really not. You will adapt quickly. Try practicing it before you get sleeved so it won't weird you out so much once you're through your surgery.