Momonanomo

This brought tears to my eyes. I am so happy for you

I prefer to use the word "adventure"

You are an amazing and beautiful person.

I wish you & your husband the very best. He is blessed to have you as his wife.

Congrats on the 50 lb success!

L~ you have done SO WELL. I can't believe 16 weeks has passed already! 70 lbs seems like a great accomplishment in such a relatively short amount of time-- it is truly inspiring. thanks for posting

Pammers, Monday will be here before you know it!! That IS exciting!

Good luck I will be following in your footsteps on the 22nd!

Wow you're a real gym rat! i have no doubt that altho the scale stayed the same, you have lost fat & gained muscle. Thats awesome

Lol your stepdaughter sounds pretty hardcore! It is so great you two are doing these things together though. I bet she has gotten you to try some things you might not have tried otherwise!

Nom nom nom!

Lmao

mona thank you so much for the well wishes and support -- it means a lot to know I've got experienced sleevers watchin out for me!

Pre-op diet starts 5/8 -- not entirely liquid. More like 2 shakes, two protein snacks (such as cottage cheese) and one lean & green meal per day. I did medifast in the past and it was similar. I figure I will be a little crazy round day 3 or 4, but it's all for good reason.

LMAO sooooook funny!

You are awesome!

I love reading your posts!

a 5k yeeeoowww that's awesome! I can't imagine myself running....but I have to say reading your words make me go hmmmmmm maybe someday I will run too!

Congratualtions, that's a real accomplishment and I can tell you feel wonderful! Here's some pats on the back from me too!

I love the title of this blog entry! Sooo funny!

You've done the right thing by asking him to pick up his things. It's time for you to concentrate on yourself and your wonderful son. Life's too short to waste time being with someone who doesn't make you feel good. And I mean it -- love is supposed to feel GOOD! And.... you want your son to know that you are a strong, happy, healthy woman. You're doing the right thing.

It's natural to be sad when a relationship ends... but you've got quite an adventure coming up that will help distract you!

I send good thoughts your way. We're all pulling for you!

Onward!!

I think we would all be really appalled to know the truth about sodium levels of restaurant and fast foods. I have no doubt that the majority of that gain was water retention.

Hey Ms Vicki! It does sound like The First Stall has indeed ended, yay!

I say join the gym, get your swim on And, as you progress on your journey, you may decide to try the various classed they may have and/or use their machines for strength training. IMO, having the gym membership will give you exposure and access to new and cool things to try, and therefore keep you motivated to keep moving!

lol I am SO looking forward to that whole energy and libido surge thang!

keep on rockin!

Erp makes a good point that there are some higher calorie foods that are also nutritionally valuable. Just keep after it, you're going to find that sweet spot.

That is surprising and upsetting that the premier shakes are staining your teeth! Costco has an awesome return policy - I'm sure you could take your unopened cases & return them.

Oh Vicki that is SO wonderful! I can't wait to have the energy you're describing!

And 20 lbs (gone forever!) in 5 weeks is total kick-ass. You're doing great!

I relate SO much to what you're saying.

Brava to you for being so strong. You've clearly got your head in the right place for this upcoming journey. I wish you the best, and I'll be following your story.

LOL and I'll literally be following right behind you to the loser's bench! We're May buddies (so long as nothing changes with my plans -- 5/22!)

thanks ladies! Vicki, you should just plan a little vacay out this way as a reward for getting to goal I do have good support around me thank goodness. I can tellmy dad is concerned (he is the strong silent type) and he may well "wear down the carpet" as you say Jillian but when I asked them last night if they minded it beign that day, my mom said "heavens no". phew!

Aw thanks L...Ya, I was thinking the same thing as far as "home base" being closer to Castle...heck maybe we'll split the difference and stay half country half & town (Kailua / Kaneohe are considered country, right? )

I've decided (for now) not to attend the support groups here on my island....it's too small town. I might make myself go anyway if not for the wonderful friends I'm making on this website! Your support has been priceless.

I raise my glass (of non-carbonated water) to you all! Mahalo! xoxo

hey girl! You're doing great! Since we're similar starting stats I'm really finding inspiration in you! Sounds like you've really got your head in the right place about the inevitable stall. No worries, you're going to conquer this and any other stalls that come along!

Your pics are REALLY showing the difference Thanks for posting!

the side by side comparison is really interesting! I was surprised that the protein grams don't follow the pattern that the fat and calories do.....verrrry interesting. Just glancing at it, I'd say ground turkey looks like an all around best choice. Hope my post surgery tastes change enough to appreciate ground turkey over ground beef. I am such a red meat kind of girl right now. . . .

I'm impressed that you've traveled and been SO on the go since having surgery so recently-- what a trooper! That was really great of your sis to have all the supplies waiting for you; that's so supportive. Especially when she was getting ready for her wedding

I just wanted to say that I've heard flying causes water retention, so if you weigh on Thurs after flying on Wed., keep that in mind -- your actual weight loss for the week will actually be better than what the scale says.

Congrats on your progress!

for the sweet tooth recipe try going to the spark recipes website and search ricotta custard. High protein & low carb -- can enjoy it warm or cold (when cold it's like cheesecake -yum!) Probly need to sub splenda for sugar on some of the recipes.

Sounds like you're really in the groove congrats on your successes! I'll be on Oahu on the 4th for my next round of appointments....

wooHOO that's great! You will more than likely get addicted I'm pre-op and look forward to getting back into doing the elliptical. A couple of years ago when I was at a lower weight I LOVED the elliptical. Mind you, the first time I ever tried it, I could only go 2 minutes and I was saying "ow...ow....ow..ow" the whole time LOL. But as I got into it, and set up my music & my kindle to read, I eventually got to 45 minutes and I swear I got a runner's high! And then I got creative and would add "sprints" -- little 1 to 2 minute intervals where I'd go a lot faster and then relax back into my original pace. That kept it interesting and made me sweat like a mo-fo It also interstingly allowed me to keep going when I wanted to stop, like going more hard core for just a minute or two made me appreciate the regular pace and want to keep going.

Be sure to warm up a bit, do some ankle rolls, etc., and stretch before you do it, and you'll be an elliptical superstar! Congrats!

This post has been on my mind since yesterday-- I just had a hard time accepting that it is better to not quit than to quit, under ANY circumstances! ......so I goooooogled it! This article makes a LOT of sense about the headaches, and it gives good tips on how to succeed. This topic is close to home for me, because I quit only about 8 wks ago after smoking for 25 years! I've used the gum. It is HARD but I didn't get headaches when I tried, so I'm sure it's that much harder for you. But you CAN do it if you want to. There is nothing redeeming about cigarettes -- they are so bad for you, expensive, make you a social outcast, make you smell bad, stain your teeth, stain your fingers, and did I mention they are SO bad for you ?!?! Like poison. That you are addicted to repeatedly inhaling into your lungs. There is help available to stop if you want it. No one is going to say not to quit because you get headaches initially. Except you. You can do this!

OK check this article out: http://www.livestron...hout-headaches/

I wish you the best of luck!

I'm thinking maybe you should address the problem of getting headaches so bad that it lands you in the hospital before you move forward with surgery. What do they say at the hospital ? Surely you're not doomed to smoking the rest of your life!

There are valid reasons your surgeon wants you nicotine free before surgery. I wouldn't recommend trying to cheat the requirements. This surgery is serious business. Give yourself the best chance at a good recovery that you can. Blood clots can kill you.