mrsteacher

Normally I only announce my weight every Wednesday (which is the day I had my surgery) and I TRY not to weigh myself inbetween weigh ins. I did an unauthorized weigh-in this morning (Saturday) after walking 3 miles and I was at 211 lbs which makes my weight loss EXACTLY 35 lbs in approximately two months (happy to have hit the 35 lb mark). I also went to my neices graduation today and I had a full length body shot of me taken with her. I cropped out my neice and husband and attached a "beginning" picture next to today's picture to see if I could see a huge (or at least a 35 lb) difference. I see it somewhat in my face and I know my clothes are smaller in each picture (jeans are a size 22W in one and my white capris are an 18W in the other). I am hoping to add more pictures to these two as I gradually get smaller. Some other changes I have made is that I am consistantly wearing makeup now (you can tell in the second picture - I love Bare Essential products). Before I was wearing it for "special occasions" only (and in the first picture I was at a Girl Scout chili cookoff event - so no makeup). I am also growing out and styling my hair differently (no hair loss here). I've been making those changes since January of this year to add to my year of self improvement and to make it less "shocking" as I began to loose weight (around family and coworkers).

I think that is my tanning lotion

Thank you! I never experienced a loss of energy like some people have (considering myself lucky). I know some people added protein and solid food earlier to get some of their pep back.

I miss food as well but I am slowly getting over that loss (it is less pronounced as I get use to this new way of eating). Good job on losing the 40 lbs. I will eventually get there - taking it one week at a time! Our sleeve sister who lost 55 lbs reported that she has only gone down one size with all that weight. She says some areas are taking longer to come off then others. I am 18W down from 22W. I bought four capris pants at Walmart (Faded Glory brand - $13.88) in size 18 (no W's and in the regular persons part of Walmart) and I am happy to report they fit now without having to do the lunges and squats to stretch them out . I can wear XL in tops ONLY if I have a stomach sucking garment or body shaper underneath (so 1XL really although I bought some seriously cute XL tops at Khols and do wear them with the stomach sucking tank top I got at Walmart). Good luck with the elliptical and Zumba (which I love but I am seriously bad at it!).

Last week’s weight – 212.8 This week’s weight – 211.4 Total weight lost this week – 1.4 lbs Total weight loss since surgery – 34.6 lbs Average weight loss per week - 3.15 lbs I’m glad that I experienced a loss this week. This week my battle was with and inconsistent schedule, farewell parties, and alcohol. We finished school and I celebrated by buying the ingredients for a white Russian (vodka and kaluah mixed with milk). I think I would have been fine with one but, even buying the smallest bottles of each, I had enough for two/three each night (for several nights!). Clearly this is a “red light” food that I don’t need to purchase AGAIN. I don’t normally drink a lot of alcohol and definitely not a lot since surgery (I have three quarters of a bottle of wine sitting in my cabinet that has been there for quite awhile). At the time it seemed like a good summer’y idea. Since I am out for the summer (for the most part) I have tried to get in some deliberate and sustained exercise each day. So far I have hit 4 out of the 5 days (mostly walking…3 miles in our neighborhood. This week I walked a total of 12 miles). I am waiting for my summer schedule to level out and then I will join the Y and take advantage of their indoor lap pool and some of their programs (bought a waterproof MP3 player on amazon that I hope will help motivate me – can you tell I am not in love with working out?). For any people wondering a “normal life” still continues after surgery. You just learn to adapt to a new normal. This week I ate at the Golden Corral (small portions of items, i.e. mac n’ cheese). I ate out at a local restaurant with out-of-town guests (ate off the appetizer menu and took some home). Tonight I am eating out again with my husband and a friend of his and I already know that I am either going to stick to an appetizer or bring three quarters of my meal as leftovers. My surgery has not stopped me from doing anything. I do think more than twice about the food offerings/options and then decide if I can make it work. I do want to note that I got sleeved with two other people while I was in Mexico. We have stayed in touch on this forum and I am the slowest loser of our group. One person (as of last week) has lost 39 lbs and the other an impressive 55 lbs. I'm not too stressed about it since I am consistantly losing. I would have loved to have been one of those "I lost 75 lbs in 2 months" kind of gal but I am happy how the sleeve is working for me. Until next week!

I brought small bills (nothing over $20) and almost all places took it. I did get pesos back in change though. I used my cc for any bigger purchases (shopping, haircut, etc.).

I traveled alone and would do it again. Everything was so well handled. I wrote about my Dr. Kelly experience in my blog on this site if you want a more detailed account.

Congrats on the total (and weekly) weight loss. I know I have to start adding exercise in! Our summer break starts this coming week so there is no excuse for not walking in the am or going to join the Y. Hopefully that will pick up the weight loss. I'm getting lots of compliments with my weight loss so far (nobody knows, except my husband, that I had WLS). Hopefully you are to. I am doing the Chobani with granola at lunch. I'm still doing protein shakes for breakfast because they are fast/easy and I can drink it while I am getting dressed. I usually supplement with a Atkins bar around 10 a.m.ish

Last week’s weight – 213.8 This week’s weight – 212.8 Total loss for the week – 1 pound Total loss since starting – 33.2 Average loss per week since starting – 3.2 lbs My challenges this week included a two night camping trip with 18 girl scouts. I think all the work we did to set up and take down the campsite off set any extra calories I might have taken in. I also went bowling and had three small pieces of cheese pizza, a beer, and a glass of wine (over a 2 hour period). The beer was the only thing that bothered me (mainly because I was obsessing about the carbonation). A look at my food (today and yesterday): Today Breakfast - A ramikin size bowl of Go Lean Crunch with skim milk Snack - Atkins meal replacement bar Lunch - Yougert (4 oz) with go lean crunch cereal mixed in, 4 oz container of Lloyd's BBQ (ate seperately over some time) Snack - 3 Altoids mints (I didn't have anything else with me) Dinner (if you want to call it that at 3 p.m.)- 4 Burger King chicken nuggets and their hot fudge sundae (was stressed at work and that was how I dealt with it - I really wanted four yummy krispie kreme donuts!!!!!). Stomach felt icky and I laid down to take a nap. It is currently 7:40 p.m. and I am not really hungry but am super thirsty so I am drinking water and diet green tea. Might make a small meat and cheese plate with olives. Yesterday Breakfast – SlimFast high protein chocolate protein powder with 8 oz of skim milk. 8 oz of minute maid lemonaid at Sonic. Snack – Almonds (15) Lunch – To go individual peanut butter packet and a 1 oz bag of cool ranch Doritos (I forgot to pack my lunch and that was all I had at school) Dinner – 1 pint 1% milk, cut up boneless porkchop – thin (probably one and a half), bag of edemami (individual serving steamed). Dessert – 2 small scoops of orange sherbet at my school’s ice cream social School is finished for the year this week so I am hoping to get into a regular early morning walking routine starting next week.

Welittle1 - I'll look for the pure protein chocolate shake at Walmart (thanks!). Leah - It is my TOM of the month too (or it will be on Sunday). Hoping my hormones balance by Wednesday's weigh in! I am a little worred about a camping trip I am taking this weekend but I am hoping there are plenty of hiking/walking opportunites to balance the eating out.

I weighed in this morning and was at 213.8 (down from a high of 246). That means I lost 1.6 lbs this week (which I am totally fine with). My average weight loss is about 3.6 if you look at it from a 9 week perspective but I lost 10 lbs the week of preop so if I factor 10 weeks working on it then I am averaging a weekly weight loss of 3.24 (not too bad!). I am currently down 32.4 lbs. Memorial Day weekend was definitely a food challenge. I had 3 wine coolers before the sugar got to me (and the fact that I hadn't factored in the carbonation). I had 2 glasses of wine, a bunch of cheese its, 2 servings of lemon merange pie (not back to back), and decent amount of doritos. Everything else was pretty much within moderation. If I eat too fast I get very hot quickly and feel like crude. It is sometimes a chore to slow down the eating when everyone around you is eating so fast. Got compliments from my neices whom I hadn't see in awhile and got some random "Are you losing weight" comments at work. I don't get super hunger and I fill up fast. I ate out twice this week. Once I had edamane and a hamburger with sauteed mushrooms and melted cheese (no bun and I didn't finish all the hamburger). I also went to McDonalds and had the kids meal with 4 chicken nuggets, small fries, and 1/2 a milk (I drank the other half of the milk the next day and had the apple slices in my lunch the next day as well). Today I ate Breakfast - one piece of deli salami and one piece of deli roast beef plus a 1/2 a cup of milk Snack - Ensure high protein shake Lunch - green sugar free jello, 1 oz plain almonds, diced turkey cubes and a diced cheese stick (spread out over an hour an a half) Snack - cut up strawberries and blueberries, 5 peices of deli salami, and 2 jalepeno stuffed olives (plus 2 sugar free breath mints) Dinner - Single serving of Lloyds BBQ (bought them in 4 oz individual packets) I didn't do any exercise (and I feel kind of bad about that considering I had 3 days off where I could have at least walked). I did go on a field trip with students where I walked up a giant lighthouse but that was about it. Until next week! Goal next week - Get more water in!!!!

Good to know. I actually drank the last Ensure yesterday. I wasn't a huge fan but felt the need to finish what I purchased. Normally I favor Atkins or Slim Fast high protein.

That is super exciting! Congratulations

I lost 1.2 lbs this week. This puts my current weight at 215.4 (from a high of 246). My total weight loss since starting this journey has been 30.6 lbs (average weight loss per week is 2.5….which does not include the 10 lbs I lost post op). I am two months PostOp and I am pretty much eating whatever I want – except in smaller amounts (examples of things I am eating – watermelon, spaghetti, cereal, small salads, asparagus, etc.). If it can fit into one of my 4 oz containers that is how much I eat. Best meal this week was a tomato, mozzarella, basil salad with left over fresh tuna my husband caught (ate separately…drizzled wasabi, soy, ginger dressing on the tuna..yum!). The day before I had the tuna on a small bed of lettuce with the dressing and sliced up cucumbers. Please note that I don’t enjoy cooking at all. I did make the tomato/mozzarella salad but my husband cooked the tuna. I’ve been looking up “make ahead” salads so I have more healthy “go to” items in the fridge (this weekend I want to try a black bean confetti salad and a Texas caviar salad – found easy recipes through pinterest). I thought those would be good with some pre-cooked chicken. I made the mistake of watching the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead this week. Now I want a juicer and started obsessing about getting in micro nutrients (I liked parts of the documentary but not all of it. It is about juice fasting.). I also made the mistake of weighing myself every day (which has not helped me mentally and has me questioning everything I am eating when I am eating below 1200 calories as it is). I am close enough to being under 200 to “taste” it. We bought plane tickets to go home this summer and I would love to be under 200 when I go. I am feeling some “self pressure” to drop those pounds in the coming month which I think is contributing to my recent blah mood (mainly because I know I should probably join the Y and get on a regular exercise program if I want to lose that weight in the next month). I had a moment yesterday where everything was ticking me off and all I wanted to do was go and eat and eat and eat. I went to McDonalds and got a hot fudge sundae and that made my stomach feel horrible and I pretty much didn’t eat for the rest of the night. I was mad that I couldn’t eat like I wanted but got over that (I’m normally a pretty happy person so I am going to blame my recent mood on PMS). My exercise is still hit or miss and not really planned. I walked 3 miles on Saturday and did some hiking and a lot of walking around on Sunday. I am not counting calories or weighing my food (too much “work” for me). I am eating in 1, 2 or 4 oz increments (these are the mini containers I purchased so my meals are measured with that). Here is an idea of what I am eating: Breakfast – High Protein Slimfast Chocolate Shake with Skim Milk (sometimes with strawberries or bananas blended in). Sometimes Go Lean Crunch cereal with skim milk served in a ramekin. Sometimes a ready to drink shake that I have on hand in case I am running late. Sometimes an Atkins bar. Snack (around 10 a.m.) – Atkins bar or 4 oz flavored greek yogurt with 1 oz of Go Lean Crunch mixed in or applesauce or jello. Lunch (I usually start eating from 11:30 to 1 p.m. in little increments) 4 oz applesauce 4 oz of left over dinner (i.e. spaghetti, grilled tuna, sliced ham and cheese, usually something with protein, etc.) 4 oz watermelon (this is a recent thing but I have also had sliced cucumbers too) Sugar Free Jello snack pack Mid Snack (around 3 p.m.) – Almonds, Atkins bar, yogurt, cheese stick (any of those) Dinner (around 5:30) 4 oz of dinner 4 oz of veggies with dinner (I usually don’t eat the carbs that go with the dinner) Desert – SF popsicle, cut up fruit, or SF gelatin

I don't have a close relationship with my PCP. I only go for my yearly pap exam and that is about it unless I get sick. Most likely I will not go for blood work (had it done last year and insurance only covers it on a yearly basis). I am dreading telling her that I had the surgery only because I don't my file red flagged and having insurance say that any little thing that goes wrong with me is a direct or indirect result of the surgery. Great job on the weight loss! I wonder how Jeanne is doing? I should email her. How much are you down all together at this point?

I was super excited to fit into this shirt I haven't been able to wear for awhile and these size 18 (no W after it!) pants from Walmart (those I had to stretch out last night by doing the fun lunging and squatting I was working with some young kids releasing butterflies and one of the other teachers took this nice shot. If you compare it to my profile picture you can see I've lost weight in the face.

Thank you!

Grateful05 - I eat probably 4 oz of food at at time which would be 1/2 cup. I don't think it is too much.

Today is week 7 for me postop. I've been losing at a fairly slow (but steady) pace so I was surprised to see that the scale read a 3.8 weight loss for the week (yay!). My total weight loss is now at 29.4 lbs lost. I'm happy to write that I am out of the 240's, 230's, and now the 220's. Now to steadily lose out of the 210's This puts my average weekly weight loss at - 4.2 lbs (I've decided to factor in the 10 lbs I lost pre op). Not sure why the scale jumped so dramatically this week. I've only exercised once this week (deliberately). My best meal this week came from the Outback. I had their seared Ahi Tuna appetizer (small plate) and a cup of their baked potato soup (Yum! My new Outback favorite). Now to see what the next week brings!

Where do you buy scar pads?

I went with Dr. Kelly in Mexico and paid $5,500. I went straight through him and not through any coordinators. I'm happy with my decision and my experience.

Today I weighed in at 220.4. So I lost 1.6 lbs this week. My total weight loss is at 25.6 lbs. I'm glad I hit the 25 lb mark and now my goal is to be out of the 220's (FOREVER!). On average (since surgery) I am losing 2.6 lbs a week. I am in a 1x comfortably in tops (I have a NSV - non scale victory - of fitting into several tops that I kept but I could barely get into on the 1x side). My pants are probably an 18 and a half (but since they don't make that size I am wearing 20's and some 18's). I bought a pair of 18W white jean capri yesterday at Kohols that i will have to "strech out" before wearing and I bought the CUTEST linen tops in XL from the women's section and I think I can get away with them if I wear a compression tank underneath (or strech them). If not I'll wear them when I start to go down to the XL size (they were that cute The only planned exersize I got this week was dancing in a Zumba flash mob this past Saturday (fun but boy do I look HUGE on the video). I've collected quite a bit of small containers and make my Bento lunch each day. I like that I can snack all day by just grabbing one (I usually have four containers). The other day I had greek vanilla yogurt in one 4 oz container. Go lean crunch cereal in a 1 oz container to mix into the yogert, a 4 oz container of cottage cheese, a 4 oz container of hamburger with mac and cheese, a 4 oz container of marinated cucumber, onion, green pepper mix. It was an eclectic mix but I ate them so spaced out that it didn't bother me. I am currently contemplating joining the Y for $50 a month to go to the aerobics classes and to use the pool for lap swimming. Part of me wants to start a walking program first at home using my zillion Walk Away the Pounds tapes first and then join the Y when school gets out and I have a more flexible schedule. I still need to work on remembering that I have had the surgery so that I stop grabbing larger portions of food that I can't eat AND remembering to eat on a pretty regular schedule. Yesterday I had breakfast and didn't eat again until 3:00 p.m. I was STARVING (I was shaking and the start of a headache was kicking in) and wolfed down some rolls at a restarant and was so sick until I walked around until I felt better (thank goodness...the person I was with was worried about me.). My lesson learned from that experience was to pack a protein bar when I know I am not going to be eating for awhile and to not start with the bread basket! Attached is a picture of me in my Zumba Flash Mob tshirt. Until next week!

I was sleeved 3/28 and I just reached 25 lbs this week. I haven't hit a stall - I've managed to lose every week - but not in any "large" amounts. I think you are doing fine