NewSetOfCurves

Woohoo! That is awesome @@Andrew0929!!!

How weird. I wonder what causes that? I have experienced similar times where I can eat no problem one day, and then the next I can hardly get anything in :/

Lol!!!! I literally laughed our loud! It's okay to stand up for yourself, which is what you did. Don't look at it as stooping to his level; rather, look at it as giving him a piece of his own medicine!

I live in south Texas, so 5:30 am workouts work for me--aside from the fact that the fasting that occurs while I sleep prior to that helps me target and burn the fat faster. Once the sun emerges in this July/August heat, it's just too hot! I weight train about 40 minutes to an hour post cardio. I know that's not ideal, since a lot of the oxygen had been depleted from my muscles, but it has worked for me. Now that summer is coming to an end and I have to get back into the classroom, I know I'm going to struggle with my weight training due to the fact I will not have time in the morning before work to get it in. When school starts I have to wake up at 4 to get in my cardio (I take 15-20 minutes to get up and changed and an hour to complete cardio) and I'm not going to get up earlier to get my weight training done; and by the time I get home and deal with kids, homework, dinner and everything in between, I'm exhausted. Typically, I do 4 days of weight training, breaking up my body parts into those 4 days. I wonder what effect 2day weight training sessions (on the weekends) will have on my physique. Anybody only lift 2 days out of the week? Does that work for you? Love the muscle gains I've made over the summer and I don't want to lose them!

Yes, I agree with the others! You have a lot of swelling in your tummy and you have a lot of healing to do. For now, just sip, sip, sip all day. Frozen sugar free Popsicles were my life line at your stage! As your tummy heals and you get further along, it will get better and you will be able to hit your goals! Just give it time and have patience.

Love your rant, and I 100% agree!!!

One of the new teachers in my department and I were getting to know each other over lunch. I told her I had 4 kids and she said, "What! You're so tiny! You do not have 4 kids!" She called me tiny. Wow.

Lol!!!

1. Playing PHYSICALLY for HOURS with my kids without being breathless 2. Being able to walk for some distance without being breathless 3. Being able to tie my shoes without being breathless 4. Not having to shop at Lane Bryant (loved that store, but I had no problems saying, "bye-bye." 5. Buying my first single digit size, size 8 (I cried and cried in the dressing room) 6. Kicking my husbands but at working out! He couldn't keep up (he's very fit) and he could only do half of my workout! And seeing the muscles in my legs from all the hard work I put into working out. 7. When my 2 & 4 year old girls did not know who the "chubby lady" is in the picture was (sad/happy moment because I will never allow myself to get that way again) 8. Being called skinny 9. Having confidence and feeling beautiful for the first time in over a decade 10. The day I didn't recognize my own reflection in a shop window and finally accepting the fact that I'm no longer fat. Thanks for this. Love the stories. Love my sleeve.

That is too funny! Lol!

These are GREAT tips!!! I agree with everyone of them, especially #1. That is what I did and my whole family benefitted

I don't remember any burning, other than at the incision site. As far as the gas, heating pads worked miracles for me. Some people swear by those gas x strips. Hope you feel better sooner, rather than later. Remember, all this discomfort WILL pass! Good luck.

Surgery Date: June 18th, 2013 Height: 5' 6." Surgery Date: June 18th, 2013 Height: 5' 6.5" Starting Weight:248 DOS Weight: 228 (-20 lbs) Week 1: 214 Week 2: 208 Week 3: 210 Week 4: 208 [Month 1, July 18th: 206 (-22 lbs) Week 5: 204 Week 6: 201 Week 7: 201 Week 8: 198 Month 2, August 18th: 196 (-10 lbs) Week 9: 194 Week 10: 192 Week 11: 188 Week 12: 185 Week 13: 182 Month 3, September 18th: 182 (-14lbs) Week 14: 181 Week 15: 183 Week 16: 180. Week 17: 177 Month 4, October 18th: 178 (-4 lbs) Week 18: 176 Week 19: 176 Week 20: 173 Week 21: 172 Month 5, November 18th: 172 (-6 lbs) Week 22: 172 Week 23: 171 Week 24: 170 Week 25: 169 Week 26: 168 Month 6, December 18th: 167 (-5 lbs)l Week 27: 167 Week 28: 165 Week 29: 163 Week 30: 164 Month 7, January 18th: 163 (-4 lbs) Week 31: 162 Week 32: 161 Stopped tracking.... I'm currently weigh 152; I wear a size 8 bottom or medium and my tops are a 4/6 or small. I haven't lost in a few months, but I did drop another size. I've upped my fitness and I've replaced fat with muscle. So, hence same weight, smaller size. Good luck to you!

Awe...I can't see them

You can't tell from the picture, but I do have an overhang of skin. Maybe I've developed the muscles underneath enough to where I just need the skin removal and not the stapling of the muscles.

Can't believe I'm posting this...but here it goes! First bikini EVER!!!!

Agree with LipstickLady. I'm very active and I need energy. That requires fueling my body with the right types of carbs. Carbs--good carbs--are essential to sustain energy and I need a good amount of them for my high intensity workouts that run for long durations of time.

Denise, you are a little less than 3 weeks out. You're body is still healing. You are still having to mentally adjust to the food stages and the extremely less quantity of food. It is hard. Whoever says that the sleeve is the "easy way out", has no idea what they are talking about. Feeling down is normal. When I would get down in the dumps, I would psych myself out of it by remembering the following: 1. The food stages are only TEMPORARY 2. The swelling in my tummy WILL GO DOWN, thus EVENTUALLY allowing me to get the caloric, Protein, and Fluid intake required by my doctor. 3. [And when I was at your stage of post-op, I would think...] One year from now, I'm going to be a skinny B*%ch!!! I focused on #3 a whole lot! It got me through the hard times. And because I focused on #3, I knew I had to follow the rules and exercise. So, once the swelling went down, I made sure I was getting my protein and Water in, as well as (and this is very important, especially if you choose to become very active) the right types of carbs. I started exercising: first I started with walking and working out on my elliptical, then I moved up to slow jogging in between intervals of walking, and from there I just kept pushing myself further and further. Now I run, sprint, run bleachers, push-ups, weights, CrossFit... The point is, you need to re-focus your energy somewhere else! Psyche yourself out of your depression. I refocused mine on exercise. Every time I started feeling down, I would go for a walk, run...or do whatever or wherever I was at with my fitness level. So, if you're feeling down at night, maybe try going for a walk. Get those feel good endorphins pumping! Good luck to you Denise. Remember: the beginning stages are temporary, you did the right thing; you're weight can only go down from here; it took time to get big and it will take time to get small, but everyday you're on your way to becoming a skinny minny; you have the power to change your life for the better. Use your tool wisely. It gives you the power to control quantity, but you have to choose QUALITY! You will get through this, I promise!

Thank you, all!!!

Mine is similar to Andrew's story. I was lying in bed and felt a large bump at the bottom of my sternum. I called my husband crying, "There is something really wrong with me! I have this huge lump and I'm so scared!" Needless to say, I can be dramatic and start wailing about how I just started to live my new life and now I could possibly die. My husband leaves work so he can take me to the doctor. When he arrives, he says, "Let me feel it." So, I lie down and sure enough, he feels it too. He said, "Oh my gosh, this is really bad." In my shaky, tearful voice: "It is, right? I thought so too [sniffle]." My husband proceeds to feel it, looks into my eyes, smirks and then says, "Well, the good news is, you're going to live because you're officially suffering from getting to bone-y. This my dear is the tail end of your sternum, a bone and not some foreign bump that will cause you to die." Lol!

You haven't done this for nothing. You're over 90 pounds down in less than a year. This is just a small hiccup...your body adjusting...whatever medical explanation out there. You're smaller, healthier, getting fit with all that exercise. Would you be where you are today without the assistance of the sleeve? Pick your head up, put one foot in front of the other and keep on trekking along. You WILL get there!

I'm 14 months out and haven't lost since my tenth month. My weight varies within a 3-4 pound range, given water weight (and other bodily substances ). I workout 5 days out of the week as well. However, I will say that I have gone down another size. I know I've shed fat and gained muscle. Muscle is denser than fat. One pound of fat takes up a LOT more room than one pound of muscle. There's a good chance you're packing up that lean meat!

Thanks everyone! I still have some more muscle building to go. I've really ramped up my weight lifting sessions (I switched to Tri-sets and super sets to acquire more strength and muscle) to get that toned look mastered. I also vary up my cardio from long distance runs, bleachers, CrossFit, to my elliptical. I'm getting a tummy tuck as well (have a consult next week), and I know I'm no super model, but I feel great!

Check out that muscle!!!! You look SO FREAKING A M A Z I N G ! ! ! ! Love, love, LOVE your transformation and physique!!!

You look GREAT!!!! A size 6!!! Wow!!!