Catherine Shinn Habhab

Congrats Roman ( funny play. On the name). Keep it up. I like to see sleevers who are living normal, unobsessed lives. Too many times I see folks obsessing about every morsel that touches their lips. food no longer is central to my life and thinking either. I pretty much eat what I want, have the common sence to stay away from simple carbs (but I dont deny myself a dessert at a dinner party or cake at a birthday, just not an everyday thing). My portions are controlled by my sleeve and what I eat is controlled by common sense. I exercise 4-5 times a week. I do have to force the time to do that in (with 4 kids at home and a full time job. It's hard). So far i have lost 68 pounds.
SW 242
DOS222
CW 174
My profile pic was 10 pounds ago
Losing weight transforms your life. You are more agile and limber ( in many ways, haha) you pains deminish, your social life improves. It has been the best decision of my life.

Congrats to all the other OctoSleevers!!! My surgery date was 10/25 and have been able to live a much more normal lifestyle than I had envisioned. food is no longer the main focus of my day. I only wish I would have done it sooner, but I feel so much better that I finally did. No more high blood pressure meds or the threat of being borderline diabetic. No more sleep apnea or snoring for that matter. I have two saviors now, Jesus & Dr Jeremy Korman. Hehe the compliments that I get everyday at work are overwhelming. But I love it
HW 375+ - Early 2012
SW 349 - 10/25/12
CW 272 - 1/25/12 (3 months)
9/2012
1/2013

In the mood for shisha tonght, which is strange, i jogged a mile and half today....lol

Amazing! and back to school! You are well on your way to becoming a new woman

Remember:
THERE IS NO STUPID QUESTION!!!!

WOW! You look great, and congrats on going back to school!! Sounds like you are getting your life back!!

Thanks ladies. I'm just in a rut. Plus, my family really doesn't eat much of what I do these days and it's getting frustrating.

emily bites wonton cupcakes- a ton come in a pack for $2.50 & you can freeze them. Lasagna, taco, cheeseburger, french dip, buffalo chicken, you can make whatever stuff you have in the fridge with them, top with cheese and bake til crispy. Love those little things.
Mini turkey burgers. Add unsweetened applesauce and a little dry lipton onion Soup mix, cook small patties on a pancake skillet, open a can or cut up some fresh mushrooms & cook on skillet with a lil worchesterchire sauce. Top on burgers. Another favorite.
Split pea Soup with ham, chili with chicken or any meat can be frozen-chicken stock can stretch it but I strain all my Soups to get more food bite and less juice.
Eggs- eat them every day. Breakfast foods are cheaper than lunch/dinner.
Lunchmeat- I love cracked pepper turkey breast from the deli. It's like $3.50 for 1/2 a lb & it can last me a whole week of lunch just eating it by itself. Add a .25 string cheese and microwave and you got gourmet .
Spaghetti sauce is another good one to stretch. I make it different every time. Onions, minced celery, carrots, zucchini, squash, spinach, mushrooms, ground turkey, ground beef, jarred Ragu, homemade sauce, all fair game except for noodles. I usually make mine very meaty. The sauce can also be used with some italian seasoned ricotta or cottage cheese in the bottom of a wonton cupcake, then sauce, then mozz cheese, sooo good!

Good for you SummerMarie! I hope that you continue to feel this way about yourself and best wishes for a successful journey!

73 lbs down!! My husband and I went out last week with a few other couples and I have always been so self concious. I've always been the "fat" wife out of all the wives and girlfriends of our friends and hated going places. For the 1st time I haven't felt like the fat girl at the party. I didn't feel uncomfortable or out if place, not that our friends ever made me feel that way. They never have in any way and are fantastic but you have to be happy with yourself first. I have a little ways to go but I do believe this was the best decision for me!!

I think in going to try the Peanut Butter recipe now. Ill be back to let you know how I did. Thank you.

I was told the purpose was to reduce the size of my liver to get it out of the way during surgery. That reason was important to my doctor but I didn't really see the outcome. For me, the benefit was more in that it kick-started my mental work.
The pre-op diet was probably the hardest thing I ever did. It made me realize how serious my surgery was and gave me a good example of what my after-surgery diet would be. It helped me get on track mentally and prepared me for after surgery.
I remember before surgery how hard it was because it was such a little amount of food. And then after surgery, I remember how hard eating was because it seemed like it was so much food -- but it was only a portion of what I was eating pre-op. This really helped me rethink my idea of "too much" or "too little" and put it all in perspective for me.

What is the secret to being a weight loss surgery success? The answer may surprise you!


HOW TO BE A WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY SUCCESS

When aspiring writers ask me, “How can I become a writer?” my answer is invariably, “Write.”

So, want to know how to be a successful WLS patient?

The answer is: “Be one.”

What does that mean? It means that I write every day. Other than finding or making the time to do it, it’s not hard, because I love to write. So to be a writer, I practice the art of writing every day. What I write varies, just as what you eat varies, depending on how much time I have and what I’m in the mood for. Within 15-30 minutes of getting up each morning, I write something. I write e-mails to my accountability partners, telling them about my eating, exercise, and perhaps some funny, or infuriating, or interesting stories about my daily life. I write down the thoughts I have about newsletter articles. I write lists of things to do and things to think about. At some point during each day, I write sentences or paragraphs or chapters of articles, essays, stories and books. I write journal entries that help me muddle through puzzling situations and relationships.

I also love being slim and healthy, so I practice the art of being slim and healthy every day. This too varies, but within 15-30 minutes of getting up each morning, I practice my healthy lifestyle. I update my food log and report my food plan and eating behavior to my accountability partners. I get dressed in workout gear and spend 45 minutes at an exercise class, 5 days a week. I write a weekly menu plan and I write my grocery list. Even when I’m doing something that isn’t directly related to weight and health, I’m practicing. I see a plate of home-baked Cookies on the break room table at work and think about whether I want to eat one or if I’ll regret doing that. In a short 15 minute break, I practice good eating skills as carefully as I can despite feeling hurried. When I get in my car to go home and notice I’m thinking wistfully of chicken McNuggets or Dulce de Leche ice cream, I take a deep breath and ask myself if I really need those things or just want them as a quick fix. I try to see myself driving home and preparing the healthy meal I’ve planned. I try to remember how good I felt when I did that the day before. I think about how happy my dogs will be if I get home on time (anybody who claims dogs can’t tell time has clearly never lived with a dog).

The key words in the two paragraphs above are “love” and “practice”.

If you’re thinking, “But I don’t love to diet!” maybe it’s time to adjust your thinking. Instead of thinking, “I hate dieting,” try this on for size: “I love being a WLS success.”

And it’s definitely time to discard the notion of being “on a diet”. A diet is something you do for a finite period (a week, a month, 3 months). It’s temporary, and when it ends, your eating goes back to the way it was before the diet, and lo and behold, the weight you lost comes back, and sometimes it brings all its friends. I know that for an absolute fact because it’s happened to me so many times since I was 14 or 15 years old.

Being a weight loss success means practicing healthy eating every day of your life, for the rest of your life. Some days may be healthier than others, and that’s OK. You’re just practicing, right? It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be regular and ongoing. I don’t think about weight loss and health and all that good stuff every waking minute, and not all my thoughts are virtuous. I spend quite a lot of time thinking things like, “Why doesn’t that pickup truck just pass me rather than riding on my tail?” or “If he spits toothpaste on the mirror one more time, he's gonna die a painful death.” But thoughts about weight and health do go through my mind a few times a day. I’ve heard WLS patients say they never want to have to think about that stuff ever again. I don’t think I could succeed that way, and those thoughts are not a burden for me. The real burdensome thoughts I bear are ones like, “I should have hugged Mom more often before she died.”

Oh, I know that “shoulda, coulda” thoughts are a waste of time and energy. That’s probably why they’re so hard to bear. But that’s a topic for another article.

So, do you want success? I want to hear you say it, loud and proud:

I WANT TO BE A WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS!
I WILL BE A WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS!
I AM A WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS!

And give yourself three cheers for your effort, even if you feel you haven’t yet achieved success. Sports teams get cheered at every game, whether they win it or not.


BE A CHEERLEADER

Speaking of cheering…

Sometimes your WLS journey seems endless, and you wish someone else would notice all the work you’re putting into it, and you wonder why no one else has noticed that hard work and praised you for the results. In Bandwagon I list some of the reasons other people don’t seem to notice your weight loss (#1 being that they’re preoccupied with their own issues), but you can set the stage for the cheerleaders you wish you had by becoming a cheerleader yourself. When you give out (deserved) compliments, smiles, and encouragement, all that good stuff will eventually come back to you. Other people are usually attracted to someone positive and optimistic. Of course, there are people who are attracted to the vulnerable loser I used to be, like several toxic ex-boyfriends I could name, but I’m no longer so desperate for attention that I’ll take abuse just so I won’t be alone.

Here’s an example of how cheerleading works. I have a young coworker who I’ll call Suzie. She is short and plump, with a sweet face and severe acne on her face, throat, chest, neck, and upper back. I often feel sorry for her when I look at her poor, inflamed skin, but pity isn’t going to do much for her, and I’d rather save my pity for the truly deserving people, like me. (Just kidding!) It’s hard for me to watch my young male associates flirting with the other girls and ignoring Suzie. But I don’t go up to Suzie and tell her those guys are idiots. I go up to her, gesture at her sweater and say, “Suzie, that color looks fabulous on you!” A smile lights up her face, and we go back to whatever we were doing before that exchange.

Two days later, Suzie finds me in front of a mirror, holding a sweater up to my middle-aged body, and she says, “Miss Jean, that would look great on you, but I think you need a smaller size.”

Get the idea? Try it - you might like it!


FAKING IT

I probably quote this saying too often, but it bears repeating now because it relates to the theme of this article. 12-step programs have a saying that never gets old and applies to anyone who’s trying to change or to live a better life:

FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT

At one point in my life, that saying struck me as disingenuous. I was hung up on being the “authentic” me and looked down on the idea of role-playing my way into a better place. But I was miserable being that “authentic” me, and faking it is one of the things that helped me learn how to be a happier me. Pretending to be a weight loss success is one of the things that made me a weight loss success, just as practicing scales is one of the things that makes a pianist into a virtuoso.

So, try it - you might like it!

This year I have decided to try all the adventures that I meet the weight restrictions for!!! I just hit my 100 pounds lost on Jan 13 (Surgery May 30, 2012)
First on my list is to go Kayaking. I am so excited about trying this. I would never have fit in a kayak before now so just having the freedom to be able to sign up and not freak out when it comes time to fill in the "Weight" section is exciting alone.
Next on my list is Zip Lining. This is sure to be another exciting adventure. I already ride a motorcycle. I've been doing that for 4 years now. You can be obese and ride a motorbike.............although I'm looking forward to jumping on this year over 100 pounds smaller. Zip lining was not an option for me until now
I want to tackle all the adventures I used to see and think "God, I wish I could do that!) Now, thanks to my sleeve and dedication and hard work, I am doing just that!!

So today I tried a new version of pizza. A low carb wheat tortilla topped with about 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, a cup of fresh spinach, a small Tomato sliced, half of a sliced chicken breast, a few sprinkles of McCormick salt free all-purpose seasoning. I put in the oven for about 5 minutes on 350 and then switched to broil for about 3. I must say it was delicious!

To keep my questions separate from recipes, here's what is for dinner at Casa Lissa tonight:
In 1.5 quart crockpot, put 2 small pieces of frozen steak, add frozen cauliflower, 2 small roma tomatoes, diced, 1/2 a can of V8 juice (4 oz), 2 small green onions, chopped, and 2 pieces of garlic, whole. Cook for 4-6 hours on low, stir and enjoy. Yummy.
Gives me 2 servings of veggies and my Protein for this evening. For a sleever, 2-3 servings.

Toward the end of each VerticalSleeveTalk.com food, change up your exercise routine or lend someone a helping hand. There’s no pass-fail on this, and we encourage you to try again and again until you are confident that you’ve met the challenge.
Current Challenge: New Recipe!
Within the next two weeks, your challenge is to try a new recipe that you have never tried before. It needs to be healthy, of course, and fit into your meal plan. A good way to start is to look at our recipes, try a new ingredient or use a different combination of spices. Good luck, and tell us how it goes by posting a reply to this topic! The forum is a good place to help out anyone else who needs ideas for a new recipe.

Hi Becky!
It's amazing, were you just inside my head?
I had surgery on Oct. 22. I've lost about 56 pounds. I also feel like I'm losing steam. However, yesterday I forgot my uniform at home and worked in my "normal" clothes. I got so many comments about my weight loss. That should keep me going.
For some reason I am avoiding the scale. Last time I checked I had not lost anymore weight. It really discouraged me. I have my 3 month check up soon. I've decided that I don't want to get on the scale until then. I hope that I will have a pleasant surprise.
Keep coming back, there is a lot of encouragement on this site.

You have to remember that when you first come home from the hospital you have to first get rid of all the iv Fluid they pumped into you before you can even start losing weight. If your getting your liquids in you should have the Water weight off, if you get enough Protein you won't feel the need for food as much, unfortunately you will most likely have the mental hunger making you think you need food but keep strong and you'll get through the liquid phase in no time and get to start eating. Good Luck.

Don't be too hard on yourself , everyone loses at a different rate . Take it one day at a time... it's not easy , but well worth jt I was sleeved on the 5 th . Good luck at remember to be patient it didn't take us a couple days to put this weight on

Hi Becky!
It's amazing, were you just inside my head?
I had surgery on Oct. 22. I've lost about 56 pounds. I also feel like I'm losing steam. However, yesterday I forgot my uniform at home and worked in my "normal" clothes. I got so many comments about my weight loss. That should keep me going.
For some reason I am avoiding the scale. Last time I checked I had not lost anymore weight. It really discouraged me. I have my 3 month check up soon. I've decided that I don't want to get on the scale until then. I hope that I will have a pleasant surprise.
Keep coming back, there is a lot of encouragement on this site.

Give it time. I didn't check the scale until I went back to my doctor at 10 days.
Good luck to you and don't get discouraged. We've all been there.

what an inspiration!
congrats to you!!

You are in a slump Don't let it get to you. we all go through them !! I am sure you arent eating like you used too there is no way you can sit and eat a whole pizza or a foot long sub etc. like I know I used too ! Nothing makes me sick either I just eat until I am full but I do make better choices becasue I want to make the most of it I didnt pay all this money to have me fail at it !! this is a tool but we need to use it wisely !! I have a few drinks now and then too but then again I cant have 5 to 6 I have maybe one and I am full just keep listening to your stomach it will get better and now you have the best resorce for answeard to anything any question you have, this website !!! It is amaaaaazing !! And you have a new family of support !! And before I forget YOU ARE AWESOME AMAAAAZING FANTASTIC for making this discision for yourself !!! It isnt easy AT ALL !! And it is different everyday but this is just a step stool tool !! You can do this and you already havce done such a great job 50 lbs is HUGE !! try going to the gym and lift 50 lbs that is how much is not on your body anymore that is FABULOUS!! Way to go and keep your chin up and stay positive !!

Plus sizes have a much larger weight range than "regular" sizes. It's about ten to fifteen pounds between sizes in the smaller sizes but anywhere from 20-40 in the larger ones. I really don't recall exactly anymore but I don't think I really dropped a size until close to fifty pounds down. And I have no doubt that part of why it took so long is that I was absolutely squeezing myself into those 18/20s and XXL shirts because I refused to size up again. Think sausage casing. So naturally it took a bit longer to take sizes off than it might have otherwise.
And the weight loss wasn't really noticeable until sixty pounds were off.
From that point, though, I flew through sizes and there were times when I lost less than five pounds but lost an entire pant size, and I skipped one entire size (10s) without wearing them at all.
~Cheri