m&m4ever

Wow! Everyone's doing awesome!! Here's my progress:
Surgery date July 29th
HW 295
SW 250
CW 163
Total loss of 132 pounds! My goal is 160, but I think I want to go a little lower. Maybe 155 or 150. I'm just gonna see how it goes and see how I feel. Not putting too much pressure on myself to reach a certain number. Even if I don't lose any more, I'm still thrilled with my results. This has been an incredible journey so far. A little bumpy at times, but worth every bump! For me the best part is that food no longer has power over me. It's no longer a drug, but just food!

I totally get it! Going out to eat used to be all about over indulging on greasy, fried goodness, but now I don't find it enjoyable in that way. I try to focus on the social part of it not the food, but it's very hard to change the brain! It's still a work in progress and I think it's something I'll always have to work on. Went to a Super Bowl party and heard so many comments on my weight loss and realized that nothing tastes as good as those comments feel!! I love my sleeve!!

I totally get it! Going out to eat used to be all about over indulging on greasy, fried goodness, but now I don't find it enjoyable in that way. I try to focus on the social part of it not the food, but it's very hard to change the brain! It's still a work in progress and I think it's something I'll always have to work on. Went to a Super Bowl party and heard so many comments on my weight loss and realized that nothing tastes as good as those comments feel!! I love my sleeve!!

I had the same experience last weekend with curly fries..But I was totally happy that I had the sleeve. it stopped me dead from eating more then 1 small piece...They did not like me at all..Not willing to try that again....My tool worked for me and as I watched everyone else gobble them down...I was thrilled I had my sleeve......

When I go to my nieces house for holiday gatherings she puts out the massive food variety like you wouldn't believe, and every last bit of it is killer delicious.
I caught myself saying out loud, "Sometimes I wish I could have my old stomach back!"
Then I look down at my flat stomach and say to myself, "Liar!"

Sorry you're having a hard time. don't forget you've lost over 70 pounds and that's awesome for 5 months! I lost 45 pounds before I had the surgery, so since surgery my loss is 75 pounds. I also stalled for about 3 weeks when I started going to the gym. After talking with my nut, I discovered I wasn't eating enough calories. I was eating 400-600 calories and 35-40 grams of Protein. She had me increase my calories to 800-1000 and my Protein to 60+ grams. Since doing that the weight started coming off again. Don't get me wrong, my weight goes up and down, but eventually the down is a loss. I try to exercise at least 5 days a week and keep track of my food in my fitness pal. If you want to add me my user name is presmariazoe. I find keeping track of my food helps me stay focused on what I'm eating and how much protein I'm getting. I also make sure to drink at least 8 cups of Water every day. I don't use Protein shakes anymore, but at our support group they do suggest using them if you're stalled for awhile. Some people use them daily, but I just can't stand them any more!
Hang in there and if you want to ask me anything else, feel free to pm me. Remember, it's a learning process. Everybody has to find what works for their body.

Isn't that the best feeling ever! Congrats!!

Thank you guys so much for the support. It's so nice to know I have someone to listen and help encourage and vice versa. I am in the social work profession and I am so use to encouraging and supporting others and it feels great to have this in return. I will continue to post and track my journey, I know tomorrow will be a better day. Thanks a million guys I really feel better: )

Hang in there. This journey, although not an easy one, has been the best decision I ever made for my health and family. I was also diagnosed with severe sleep apnea about a year ago. My breathing was compromised 56 times an hour!! That's just about every minute.....every minute!! That was the final straw for me. Once I got those results, there was no question on my mind about the surgery anymore. I needed to do it for my health! My surgery was 6 months ago. I am almost at my goal and I no longer have sleep apnea! You can do this! We are all here for you!!

When I increased my workouts and the intensity of them, my weight loss stalled. My nutritionist said I wasn't eating enough calories (I was eating 400-600). I increased it to 800-1000 and eventually the lbs started shedding again. I also eat 5-6 smaller meals in order to get the calories in. You're also building muscle and that weighs more than fat. Check your measurements....I bet you're losing inches even though the pounds aren't showing yet. Good luck!

When I increased my workouts and the intensity of them, my weight loss stalled. My nutritionist said I wasn't eating enough calories (I was eating 400-600). I increased it to 800-1000 and eventually the lbs started shedding again. I also eat 5-6 smaller meals in order to get the calories in. You're also building muscle and that weighs more than fat. Check your measurements....I bet you're losing inches even though the pounds aren't showing yet. Good luck!

When I increased my workouts and the intensity of them, my weight loss stalled. My nutritionist said I wasn't eating enough calories (I was eating 400-600). I increased it to 800-1000 and eventually the lbs started shedding again. I also eat 5-6 smaller meals in order to get the calories in. You're also building muscle and that weighs more than fat. Check your measurements....I bet you're losing inches even though the pounds aren't showing yet. Good luck!

When I increased my workouts and the intensity of them, my weight loss stalled. My nutritionist said I wasn't eating enough calories (I was eating 400-600). I increased it to 800-1000 and eventually the lbs started shedding again. I also eat 5-6 smaller meals in order to get the calories in. You're also building muscle and that weighs more than fat. Check your measurements....I bet you're losing inches even though the pounds aren't showing yet. Good luck!

6 month check up today and I'm half way to goal! Surgery date 7.29.13 HW 288, SW 277 & today I'm 213!!! I'm so excited!

How awesome for you! You are so determined!! I also had a complication from wls (nothing compared to yours), and I think it has made me stronger and more determined to make this work and stick for the rest of my life! Good luck and keep us posted!! Maria

Curvy, I messaged you...

I bake cauliflower with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and pepper until it is crunchy. I love it and it sits nicely. I'm 9.5 weeks out.
It amazes me what "works" for some and not others!

Lol, our sleeves never fail to surprise us... just when we think we have it all sussed, bang and we get pulled up short.
I am almost 9 months out and over Christmas tried ice cream. After 2 mouthfuls, I knew that was all I was going to eat. No sickness, just the feeling that all wasn't right... and I won't do that again for a while!
But at least we won't get complacent, lol :-))))

Of my clients who struggle with compulsive eating those who have a strong desire to live a joyful, healthy, peaceful life are the most successful in moving from living in the insanity of food obsession to the serenity of a healthy relationship with food and weight. This is because a highly respected and well-nourished body is the foundation upon which such a life must be built. When a person who is overweight and/or a compulsive eater desires to feel good physically, emotionally, and spiritually her motivation to make peace with her body and food is multidimensional; it is not simply wanting to see a particular number when she steps on the scale. It ‘carries with it more weight’ (pun intended!). However many people do not understand that what they eat directly affects their every experience. Do You? Take some time to think about how your weight and relationship with food affect the following areas of your life:



Soulful Living



Food Addiction Part 1



​(Part 1 of this article originally appeared in the WLS Lifestyles Magazine in my Soulful Living Column)



Louisa Latela, LCSW, LCADC


Of my clients who struggle with compulsive eating those who have a strong desire to live a joyful, healthy, peaceful life are the most successful in moving from living in the insanity of food obsession to the serenity of a healthy relationship with food and weight. This is because a highly respected and well-nourished body is the foundation upon which such a life must be built. When a person who is overweight and/or a compulsive eater desires to feel good physically, emotionally, and spiritually her motivation to make peace with her body and food is multidimensional; it is not simply wanting to see a particular number when she steps on the scale. It ‘carries with it more weight’ (pun intended!). However many people do not understand that what they eat directly affects their every experience. Do You? Take some time to think about how your weight and relationship with food affect the following areas of your life:
Physical Health: Are you overweight? Do you have heart disease, diabetes, shortness of breath, sleep apnea, decreased energy, or chronic joint pain? Are there other ways that your weight and food consumption affect you physically?
Emotional Health: Do you harshly judge yourself; feel shame, guilt, anger or self-hatred in relation to your weight or what you eat? Do you experience periods of depression because of your inability to control your eating behavior? Do you ever feel anxious if you do not have certain foods available to you?
Finances: How much money do you spend on food that you use for bingeing, overeating, or avoiding uncomfortable feelings? How much money have you spent on diet books, diet supplements, diet foods, consultations with weight loss professionals, and seldom used exercise equipment and gym memberships? Do you miss time at work because of health problems related to how you eat? Do you believe your weight prevents you from getting a promotion or new job? Are there times that you are not as productive at your job because of how you feel (emotionally or physically) in relation to what you did or did not eat?
Relationships: Do you use your weight as an excuse to avoid relationships? Or, conversely, have you ever stayed in an unhealthy relationship because you believed no one else would want someone your size? Are people in your life inconvenienced by your food related emotional or physical problems? When you eat foods that zap your energy or make you feel ill, are you sometimes nasty, short, or cranky with family, friends, or co-workers?
Sexual Experiences: Does your weight physically or emotionally prevent you from having a satisfying sex life?
Mental Clarity: Do you ever feel a bit dull or foggy in the brain because of the quantity or quality of food you eat?
Activities: Does your weight physically or emotionally prevent you from engaging in healthy, fun activities like hiking, bike riding, swimming, dancing, or playing with your children? Are simple activities of daily living like putting on your socks and shoes becoming increasingly difficult? Do you avoid certain social situations because you don’t want to be seen at your current weight or because you are afraid you will overeat?
Time: How much time do you spend thinking about food or weight issues? How old were you when you first thought you had a problem with food or weight? How many years have you been dealing with this? How many precious moments of your life have you lost to your preoccupation with food and weight?
The purpose of answering the preceding questions is to not elicit feelings of self-blame or harsh self-judgment but rather to increase your awareness of how your current weight and eating behaviors may be preventing you from living a normal, productive life. Understanding that what you eat affects your every physical, emotional, and mental experience can serve to increase your motivation to cultivate a healthy relationship with food.
If you are still riding the yo-yo dieting roller coaster you may have an addictive relationship with food.
Addiction, as defined by Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary, is “the persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be physically, psychologically, or socially harmful”. Sound familiar? Studies have shown that compulsive overeating and drug addiction share many of the same biological characteristics. For instance, when people eat large quantities of sugar and fat they develop a tolerance for these substances and need more sugar and fat to satisfy them, much like alcoholics and drug addicts who, over time, require increased amounts of alcohol and drugs to get high. Other research has revealed that many obese people and drug addicts have a lower number of dopamine receptors (the feel good receptors) in their brains which make them more likely to crave things that boost dopamine like sugar, alcohol, cocaine or heroin. Also when some people are suddenly cut off from sugar and certain carbohydrates they experience withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, depression, irritability and strong cravings for the substance from which they are cut off, just like alcoholics and drug addicts do when they are detoxifying from alcohol or drugs.
However; neither acknowledging the depth to which your relationship with food is negatively affecting your life nor understanding the biology of addiction will in and of itself cure your obsession or right your relationship with food.
You may be thinking “Well I know how to eat well and what I need to do to lose weight.” Do you really? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. How many times have you gone on a diet proclaiming “This is it! I will never again be overweight! My eating behaviors have forever changed!!” only to find yourself starting a new diet the following Monday morning? Three, four, five or more times? Sounds like insanity to me! You may know how to diet and temporarily lose weight, but you have not made the internal psychological and emotional shifts necessary to sustain a healthy relationship with food and permanent weight loss. Moving from the insanity of a food and weight obsessed life to the serenity that a loving and respectful relationship with food affords you requires the willingness to consider a new way of thinking and being in the world.
For many it requires learning to live a spiritual life.
Cultivating a relationship with your Authentic Self, looking at yourself through kind and compassionate eyes, being willing to listen to and act on the guidance you receive from your Inner Knowing, and understanding that your true essence is pure love are all part of nurturing your spiritual self. As you mature spiritually, behaviors that no longer serve you will fall by the way side.
On page 15 of “A Course in Weight Loss” Marianne Williamson writes:
“Spiritual growth is a fascinating process if you allow it to be. It is an inner journey from one insight to another, in which helpful realizations fall into place as you are ready to receive them. Twisted thoughts become untwisted once you see them for what they are. Your journey from blindness to spiritual vision precedes your journey from dysfunctional eating to a healthy and wholesome relationship to food; in fact it is a necessary prerequisite for it. As you understand more deeply the roots of your weakness you lay the foundation for the cultivation of new strengths.”
To be continued.....

This is only my personal experience and I'm sure it will vary depending on the person, but I lost 45 pounds before my surgery by eating healthy food around 1300-1500 calories daily. My surgery was 5 1/2 months ago and my total loss is 124 pounds! So, since surgery, that's 79 pounds. I follow my nutritionists instructions faithfully and I exercise 5-6 times a week too. I have had stalls. One was around 3 weeks long (it sucked)!! The scale goes up and down, but eventually it's a loss. I'm thrilled with the results! Best thing I ever did for myself and my health!!

oh, I have to try that. It does sound yummy!!

Chopped apple with a few drops of vanilla extract and cinnamon is so yummy! I also like to use frozen berries and 1/2 a truvia packet and it's almost like ice cream. I mix a tablespoon of fage with dressing or Boursin cheese to make it creamier and you use less of the high calorie dressings that way. I love my fage can you tell!!

Do you have a support group or nutritionist you can go to? If not, you can try going back to Protein shakes for a week or 2 to re-set your body. Exercise, drink your Water and maybe keep a food journal. I like my fitness pal. It keeps track of calories, Protein and Water.
Don't beat yourself up. You've had a rough year. You can do this! Get yourself back on track and you'll feel so much better!
Good luck to you!

I never thought about a DVD we could both enjoy. Thanks that is a great idea.

I think I need a grief councilor too. There are many things in my past that have caused grief. I think they've just built on top of each other. If you can find a walking , Zumba, or even a Micky mouse exercise DVD you and your grandchild can do it together.