Aisha902

I'm 6 weeks and 2 days out. Started working out 3 weeks ago when I finally felt like myself, and as of this morning...199!!!!!!! I have not been in the 100's since my 1st child's first year of infancy (and she's 10 1/2)! Super excited and happy

Sometimes the body just needs time to catch up. And I find that I may not lose one week and the next week lost 3 or 4. So don't despair. Make sure you are getting ENOUGH calories, too!
Some good things to bring with you for snacks/lunch:
cheese sticks
Dry roast edamame
Greek Yogurt
lunch meat
babybel cheese
Flatbread or tortilla (low carb/calorie) with 1 or 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter
Protein powder (shaker bottle)
cottage cheese
beef Jerky (I love Jerky hut jerky - 90 calories 14 grams of Protein (I think) for 1 ounce - very filling but very meaty)
Try to start walking just to build up your stamina and then add to it as you feel stronger. I really didn't exercise (other than walking) until I was about 7 months out. I started at the gym when I was 200 pounds (started at 278) before that I really don't think I would have been able to handle it. So walking (like walking the dog pace) a few days a week was all I got up to that point and I still lost. Not saying that is the best way to do it, but for me I focused on getting the nutrition and losing enough that I felt I could handle more intense exercise. (I also, because of my job sit at my desk typing for 8 - 10 hours a day 6 days a week -so I was VERY, VERY out of shape). I am now doing zumba, body pump, Warrior Workout, HIIT classes. So you will improve your fitness very quickly (4 months for me going from 30 minutes on the treadmill to the above)
Good luck and you can do it. Keep working at it and make it a lifestyle and you will see the results.
My new favorite saying is: Fit is hard. Fat is hard. Pick your hard.
(Not my quote - but I love it!) Work hard....see results!

It would have to be over-filled again and again for it to permanently stretch (according to my doc). So, don't panic.... just try not to binge very often (or at all).... but eating it over the span of 5 hours is a good thing - some digestion would have occurred along the way... Don't worry! Go do something now to "make up" for it....take a walk? Some heavy house cleaning? That's what I do when I stray off course briefly...

It would have to be over-filled again and again for it to permanently stretch (according to my doc). So, don't panic.... just try not to binge very often (or at all).... but eating it over the span of 5 hours is a good thing - some digestion would have occurred along the way... Don't worry! Go do something now to "make up" for it....take a walk? Some heavy house cleaning? That's what I do when I stray off course briefly...

Hello everyone!
Happy Ramadan! Well, for all of you who are managing to fast (and you Miaa, maashallah!), mabrook!!!! I envy you. I tried the first day, and threw up from dehydration (no Water in my throat at all), so...I tried again the next day, and the same thing happened. So now.... I am not fasting. I am really mad at myself, but I guess I'm just not ready to yet. I've had a tough go with this new sleeve - every day, it's a new challenge.... I too, hope Allah understands what I'm going through and will accept my later fastings.
A very Happy Ramadan to all of you!!!! Thank you for all of your support - here in the middle east, there is very little support to be found.

Good luck with your decision! if you do fast please make sure that you don't spend anytime outdoors or exerting yourself during the day! I think that could really land you in trouble.
Ramadan Kareem!

im about 290 now so its a been about 45 lbs down since surgery on the 6/5/13 gotta say i am loving zumba class more Xp that was me about 2 years back
this was me about a year ago right after knee surgery and physical therapy back in august i guess if u wanna say 140 or 150 pounds later this is me now Still goofy and luvable i hope lol have no idea what im gonna look like at the end of the year i told my doctor 271 was goal weight but now were thinking i could grind sleeve til im 200 by the end of the year than ill get sexy at that my goal for now um wish me luck Xp

I have been over weight my whole life and it got worse and worse with my three boys all three c-section each time I gained more and more my highest weight was 295 lbs after my third son.
My husband is in the army and he left for Korea all of 2011 so I decided then to train for and run a half marathon I lost 60lbs while training I had lots of female pain went to the dr and found out i had a cyst and it had to be removed of course i wouldn't let them until I ran my half marathon I ran that first of September then surgery a week later they tried laparoscopic and they couldn't so they opened me up and ended up having to do a hysterectomy then in February I had to have hernia repair in the incision line from the last surgery...
I couldn't exercise after that I stayed in pain from the repair. My husband came home in march and I started cooking for him like he likes it lol and gained the 60+ back well the hernia came back in December of the same year it was repaired so from December till June 3rd I have been in so much pain it was so bad at the end I could hardly eat anything it made me so sick. I had my surgery and hernia repair the same time he wasn't gonna fix the hernia unless I had the sleeve done first well when he went in to do the sleeve surgery he found that the last mesh repair was tangled up in my intestines and colon it was a mess so he used two pieces of mesh (lab grown human skin) this time I haven't felt this good since before my half marathon.
I have been very nauseous even with Water I had been getting my Protein in until a few days ago I can't even think about drinking another shake ugh I started at 280 day of surgery and this morning I weighed 240!!! 40lbs gone forever!!!! I start back to work tomorrow at pre-school at my church I can't wait to get back to runnin it was my stress relief and lord knows I need it!! My husbands parents live with us :/
Anyway that's my story sorry if it was to long or not punctuated properly or whatever I'm a hog farmers daughter from Kentucky English wasn't my strong suit lol

I can't believe it! Today I reached onederland. My surgery date was 2/4/13.
HW. 257
SW. 241
CW. 199
I have not been under 200 in 12 years.

Feels great to be under 200lbs. Only 40lbs to go.

I'm 5 months out from surgery and I've lost 94 pounds. I have 55 pounds left to lose to reach my goal of 125. I'm 5 ft tall. I'm so excited about the weight I've lost so far and feel a million times better.
I hesitate to post this because the before pic is me in my underwear but It's the only pic I have that really shows the difference. I hope it doesn't offend anyone.
My family is getting ready to go on a beach trip and I bought a swim suit. I got a halter bikini top and swim shorts. I tried to find a pic of me last year at the beach but I couldn't find any that showed me from the shoulders down...but I found this underwear pic from the night before surgery.
I've lost a total of 64 inches so far! I've lost 13.5 inches from my hips and 10 inches from each thigh!! I'm amazed at the process and I'm loving this journey!
Please, if underwear offends you, do not click on the pic. :-)

For many years I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw the same (nonfat) image, but reflections in store windows, shadows cast on the ground and photographs told the truth. It was painful to look at myself and face the truth of my fatness.
Now, I still see the same thing in the mirror, but I jump in front of the camera at every opportunity so I can view the real truth. As my body is changing, I can stand to look at my reflection and see the promise of what's to come. Is this a NSV? It sure feels like it.
I'll have to dig deep to scrape up a before photo that hasn't been fat cropped, but looking forward to posting pix in a few months!
Thank you to everyone on the forum for encouragement and great advice!