blackanese25

thats fantastic!!!!! you should post before and after pics!

so unfortunately this blog was erased due to the unfortunate server issue vst had a few days ago.. i don't even remember all the content that i had written but the jist of it was IM HAPPY AS HELL... SLEEVE IS WORKING FOR ME .. DOWN 21 LBS.. AND AT THE GYM 5 DAYS A WEEK!!! GO ME! LOL that is all!

out of curiosity rosey, are you drinkin the shake with milk or Water? milk can definitely add calories.. and also when are you drinking the shakes..because you don't want to drink them at night, you mainly want to drink them after you have worked out because it helps rebuild muscle that was broken down during the weight loss session. I tried to check out the website.. but there are a bunch of different powders.. is there one in particular you are looking at... I looked at the chocolate one and even tho it is a great source of Vitamins and minerals there is still a fairly high sugar and carb count. I also looked at the pomegranate one.. that one isn't as bad as the chocolate it only has 11 net carbs.. which is still pretty high, but as long as you are working out you will burn those off during the day. I would say before you try one of those.. check out your local GNC or wellness center.. the Protein that i use is called NEXT LEVEL NUTRITION or check out this site http://www.lifesource4life.com/protein.html if you scroll to the bottom of the page it give the nutritional info.. and its not bad.

I too had my hiatal hernia fixed. I was told that i should keep it low key for the first few weeks, and i am (for me) lol .. Im actually already running and lifting weights and doing very light core exercises... i dont recommend other people do it, but ive also had 4 knee surgeries and been an athlete since i could walk so im very intune with my body. I have spoken to my doc about it and she says as long as i know where my limits are then ok. Dont get me wrong i working core, but im definitely not doin situps or anything that harsh just yet. But right now my regimine is cardio 5 days a week, weights 4 days a week, and kickboxing and zumba 2 days a week. I actually started weights my second week post op. but im doin isometric exercises. I really think it will help to see what peope are doing and be able to talk to each other if we need help getting back on track so hopefully this works for you.

THATS AWESOME!!! WELCOME TO THE LOSERS BENCH!!! AND PLY GOOD LUCK TO YOU TOMORROW.. IM SURE YOU WILL HAVE SMOOTH SAILING.

Before I start I just wanna say.. holy cow.. lol. cant we all just get along.. lol. Anyways, everyone is entitled to their own opinion which means this...NO OPINION IS WRONG! with that said. Here is my experience.. just like roseys doc mine forbade Protein shakes.. here is where my degree in CJ and a minor in Chemistry stepped in.. Im kind of a devils advocate.. so basically what i asked my doctor is WHY. and he said exactly what i assumed he would say.. THERE ARE TOOO MANY CALORIES AND CARBS AND SUGARS IN THOSE Protein Drink... which then made me bust out big ole tub of whey PROTEIN ISOLATE COLD fusion powder... 0 CALORIES 0 FAT 0 SATURATED FAT 0 CHOLESTEROL 45 MG SODIUM 0 CARBS 0 DIETARY Fiber 0 SUGAR 27G PROTEIN 0 Vitamin A 0 Vitamin C 156 MG Calcium 0 Iron THIS IS PURE WHEY PROTEIN. (NOT THE KIND THAT YOU BUY AT SAFEWAY OR SOME OTHER food STORE) YOU NEED TO GO TO A GNC, OR WELLNESS NUTRITION STORE OR USE THE INTERNET TO GET SOMETHING THAT IS SPECIALIZED. Once i showed this to him.. he took about 15 steps back and said... OH.. HMM.. and I said.. yup ok so im assuming you approve now. The shakes that you buy at a normal grocery store is what the docs want you to stay away from because of all the empty calories. . that i can understand. However find something better! PREFERBLY GET 100%COLD FILTERED WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE! I am not a doctor, but I trained to be a sports therapist in college, so i do know a lot about what we need to be doing do our bodies to get healthy. Protein helps rebuild muscles after we work out. and yes it does keep us fuller longer, but thats because our bodies cant break it down as rapidly as it can other foods. Lastly, i had to comment on the acid thing.. sorry if you dont wanna hear it.. but her is MY OPINION.. i don't think its as black n white to call the hunger a pain or an acid reflux.. because in reality its more than that.. while the acid is inside your stomach not crawling out your esophagus, that is when the prilosec will help.. its meant to control stomach acid before it reaches you esophagus that way the hunger pain goes away. by the pill reducing the amount of acid your tummy is holding in the first place. and because so many of us don't get the required amount of fluids then we also get that hunger feeling. MY SUGGESTION DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. if thats drink a Protein shake, thenn do it, if that means drink more Water than go for it, if it means go and actually get something to eat, hell go do that. (just make sure what your eating is healthy in nature and within your level of food you can consume. *p.s for those of you worried that you are intaking 8 oz of fluids and still feel hungry later.. just remember that eve tho it may be pureed or Clear Liquids techincally its still having the same consistancy of a Fluid which means its gonna go right thru you.. don't be discourged if your taking in more ounces than you think you should. LET ME REITERATE... ALL THAT WAS MY OPINION. LOL... ENJOY. HOPE IT HELPS SOME OF YOU OUT. AND BTW.. THE PROTEIN SHAKE THAT I HAVE TASTES REALLY GOOD TOO.

i definitely feel u on the insomnia...and im tired... it seems i can't fall asleep before about 4 am then i sleep till noon.. but i wake up every few hours... so im all ears as well for suggestion.

REN ---I think you are doing wonderful... remember that its all gonna depend on your BMI and your activity level and your food/liquid intake. If you get a chance check out DIVAS bootcamp she pinned it to the forum, i think it would really help. She is a wealth of knowledge on here.. Being an athlete the one thing i can say is that if you aren't doing it already get moving at least 30min a day, that will help jump start your weightloss, and slowly move to 1hr a day. Definitely getting in your fluids will help with that also because what might be happening is that if you aren't drinking enough Water, and you are eating high sodium foods you are retaining a lot of water because your body needs to keep every drop you put in it. (hope that made sense) Good luck to you, i think you are doing really well either way, and I know it will get better for you.

BTW.. sorry for the novel.. lol

hey tiffany, I am 4 weeks post op today, and i am soooooooooo happy that i got the sleeve. I too haven't heard very many good things about the lap band, and i did a lot of research before i got my surgery. I don't want to try and sway you either way because it really needs to be your decision, but personally I just don't think the lap bad is a good idea. I guess to me adding a foreign object into your body just doesn't seem right to me, and the risk for it just didn't compare to the pros of the surgery in my view and it seriously didn't match up to the weight loss that people expected. with all the literature that i read thru, with the sleeve you can lose almost the same amount of weight as you would with gastric bypass, without all the complications.. Dont get me wrong there are a lot of risks with any surgery, it just seemed that this had the least amount when done correctly and had the greatest benefits. I personally love my sleeve. Im 5'7" started at 238.1 day of surgery and 4 weeks out im 216.8 as of this morning. Im not quite sure how much you have to lose, but in my situation i also started with a lot of muscle and since ive been an athlete all my life i know how to push myself in the gym. the higher BMI you have the faster you will lose the weight.. and although i weigh a lot my BMI was around 35 to start so its a little bit lower than a lot of peoples, but i still have to work my butt off.. and as long as i do that my sleeve will work its butt off too.. lol. Good luck in either adventure that you take, but know that everyone here is really supportive no matter what you choose!

no problem. and you too. im sure you will do great. so until the time comes try not to worry about it.. trust me you will drive yourself crazy.. lol

one last thing.. the faster you lose weight the less time your skin has to recover from it. I see a lot of people on here saying they are trying to get to goal in 6 months. which is great and all, but i don't think they are taking into consideration the toll that it will have on their bodies losing that much weight in such a short amount of time.. you didn't gain all that weight in 6 months so expecting to lose it in 6 months and have your skin go back to normal is a little far fetched...Im NOT saying its impossible im just saying its gonna be a damn miracle if it happens. lol..jk.. but really slow and steady is a good thing. Hope that helps.

This is and will be one of my greatest concerns too until the day comes when im at goal and go.. hmmm.. no sagging skin.. lol.. Ok so here is the deal.. it really depends on your body how much weight you have to lose, how long you have been at your weight, and YES IT DOES MATTER IF YOU WORK OUT OR NOT! Here is why.. pregnant people get big and then it goes away in 9 months, now for someone who has been big say for the past 10 years your skin has stretched and had to carry that weight for a long time. which means its probably lost some of its resilience. It also depends a little on genetic make up and age. the younger you are and the more oily your skin is the less likely you will have to have an excess amount of skin. For most of us we are going to have some type of excess skin, however by working out you are replacing the fat loss behind the skin with lean muscle which will even out a little bit. I go to the gym 5 days a week doing not only cardio, but weight training too so that i can help my body along the way. so i would say thats a good place to start if you don't want the saggy skin.. also and most importantly..DRINK A LOT OF Water. it will help replenish you and help with the elasticity.

Ok so here it is .. A WHILE BACK I posted about having set up a facebook for us all so we can get intouch a little easier which was amazing cuz we have a great group of people on facebook now.. But I also wanna see if we can do more to motivate each other on here too..so here is what I propose.. AND IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO PIN TOPICS PLEASE TELL ME CUZ I WANT THIS ONE TO STAY UP. For those that need motivation, for those that want to encourage, for those that need ideas.. anyone really..I know i want a work out buddy I want someone to go ..HEY DID YOU HIT THE GYM TODAY, because for the most part I have the motivation and drive to go and get my work out on.. but for those days when i feel sluggish, or lazy and tired.. it would really help to have someone go hey im bout to go to the gym.. you go to and when we are done we will post what we did!!! ANY TAKERS??!!!!????!!!?!?!?!?!?

Ok so here it is .. A WHILE BACK I posted about having set up a facebook for us all so we can get intouch a little easier which was amazing cuz we have a great group of people on facebook now.. But I also wanna see if we can do more to motivate each other on here too..so here is what I propose.. AND IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO PIN TOPICS PLEASE TELL ME CUZ I WANT THIS ONE TO STAY UP. For those that need motivation, for those that want to encourage, for those that need ideas.. anyone really..I know i want a work out buddy I want someone to go ..HEY DID YOU HIT THE GYM TODAY, because for the most part I have the motivation and drive to go and get my work out on.. but for those days when i feel sluggish, or lazy and tired.. it would really help to have someone go hey im bout to go to the gym.. you go to and when we are done we will post what we did!!! ANY TAKERS??!!!!????!!!?!?!?!?!?

Thats amazing keep up the good work!!!!!!!! If you don't mind me asking how tall are you?? ... the reason is because we are about the same weight and i was sleeved 2 days before you were so we are in the same time frame as well.. and im at a size 16. Day of surgery i was 238.1 and as of today im 216.8. I keep trying to find people the around the same activity level and size as me just to keep each other motivated.

one other thing to remember, the quicker u loose weight the less time your body has time to react which is why a lot of people worry about the loose skin thing. your body is resillient but it also needs time. everyone here is giving u good aadvice and u will help your skin out too by working out and buliding lean muscle which will in turn burn more fat. good luck on ur journey!

Thank u ducked..actually I'm only 4 weeks out as of today I'm 216.8 lbs. The other pics are old they are just what I used to looks like...I just want to be able to get back to that.

thanks again everyone.. I swear im gonna die from obsessing about the skin thing, but i can't help it.. Its a huge fear of mine. And i really don't wanna have to go thru plastic surgery, one cuz its freakin expensive, but two... 5 surgeries and im only 28.. how many more am i gonna have.. lol..

ive been doing some sort of exercise since 3 days post op. mainly the first week i was just walking, by week two i was in the gym lifting weights, by week 3 i was doing zumba and tomorrow ill be 4 weeks post.. I actually found out that I wasn't supposed to be goin that hard this early, but i made sure to listen to my body if something hurt i stopped doing it.. lol.. Today is the first day i was able to sneeze and not have my incision hurt so i think im doin ok. Also i think it helps that since ive always been an athlete i have a better idea of the limits i can push on my body.. I say if your doctor ok's you then go for it, just keep in mind that you had a major surgery and listen to what your body tells you.

absolutely stunning... YOU GO GIRL.. ROCK THAT SLEEVE!!!!!

your actually doing really well.. i was sleeved a few days before you and im down just under 20 lbs. So don't be discouraged.. if you wanna restart the weight loss get into a regular exercise regimen if your not already.. the cardio will help treamendously. Also by the looks of it.. you are like me and started at a lower BMI than most so your going to see a slower rate of loss than say someone with a BMI around 45-50 because they have more excess weight to lose. So hang in there.. the stall will pass. Heck I actually gained 3 lbs last week... and it all came back off with an additional 2 lbs. so don't worry.

wow congrats you look amazing too btw.. gotta love having those NSV's for the times that the scale doesnt wanna cooperate its so nice to go ... oh yea baby.. i still got it.. lol.. well for 5 months out your doing terrific!

the docs basically said its gas.. which i still find odd cuz its like no gas pain i have ever felt.. but it did eventually go away. so i hoping thats all it is.. hopefully thats all yours is too. try the gas x strips and see if it helps.

thank you I do try and get in as much Fluid as I can as i know that helps with elasticity... as for milk... he he he.. i cant really stand the stuff, and if i do have it its the non fat kind. But hey if it helps i will do it.. I also use lotion every single day to help keep moisture in my skin. as soon as get out of the shower its the first thing i do. well hopefully it works out.. ill keep you posted. Mina let me know how you do too.. cuz it sounds like you and i are around the same body type, and we are both fairly young.