valkyrea

Ummmm blank stare

Yes theres an IM option xD
We need a hookup forum, sheesh.

Well I don't know what you guys do in Houston but here??
We like to slather everything in butter before we eat it. And I mean everything.....

Is it something to do with steers and.....oh nevermind.

Girl it's been of the hook!
Now if I could just find someone to do it with..

I'm a giver in bed. I do all kinds of fun things and I've always been very flexible. However...now since losing tons of inches and weight, I have even more energy and am even more flexible.
No complaints of course from the hubby. Plus, now that my stamina has increased, we can go more rounds than before. That poor man is literally sleepy all day now since I won't let him get any sleep!

Stop whining about so-called stalls....
Did you know Diana Nyad eats up to 9000 calories per DAY!!!
now admittedly, Diana is an extreme example, however, the formula remains the same....
If you are working out 2 active hours in the gym as some claim, you are doing your health a MAJOR disservice by trying to survive on 600, 800 or even 1000 calories. Stop worrying about a so-called Stall..you WILL lose if you properly hydrate & fuel your body.
It isnt actually a STALL, your body is holding on to Water & glycogen for its dear life.... EAT THE food, MOVE YOUR BUTT and you WILL lose! ( which is why when some folks add in good fats that so-called stall is broken)
By design, most VSG patients, let alone most non-surgical patients do not have the physical capacity to eat that much a day... you have to be SMART about your high caloric intake... Protein FIRST BUT CARBS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY!!
( and I am SURE some folks will come reply or start a new thread indicating that because you are a VSG patient, you are some kind of special snowflake & this doesnt apply to you)
Quotes to think about:
It's probably true that inactive people don't require much in the way of carbs. But inactive humans simply aren't metabolically normal, so the correct solution isn't to go low-carb, it's to increase your activity level to the point that you rquire carbs.
Don't fear eating carbs, fear not moving enough to not need them. (Melkor)
- you do not need to train to swim to break Nyad's records...nor even train to participate in triathlons, duathlons. etc.... BUT YOU NEED TO MOVE, IN A MAJOR WAY!!
I lost 100% EWL in 10 months.... I was 280 pounds pre-op. I am 153 pounds today... From size 22 down to size 6...
basically 1 year post-op.
the first 3 months were HELL... I was used to drinking most of my calories in a sugary way... I had trouble staying hydrated or eating enough food... I was re-hospitalized twice....Once I gave myself time to properly heal, it was ON!! I moved my body... and I ate the food required to do so...
your needs will change as your weight and exercise changes.... At about 6 months, I was eating/drinking 1400 calories PLUS exercising 2 hours per day, 6 days per week.... 3 days of HEAVY weight lifting, 3 days of swimming, 3 days of running, 3 days of biking....
I eat fat, carbs and even sugar at times... My daily staples include chicken salad made with real mayo and cole slaw ( because Id rather eat the slaw and have regular bowel movements then to need laxatives to get & keep things moving)
Despite all of that, on the weeks I did not make my caloric and Protein & hydration goals, I did not lose....and by not meet, I mean, the weeks I ate LESS than 1300 calories..
Most of 2013 I was in training for triathlon...I stopped training in July when I was prepping for 2 surgeries... both have since been postponed/cancelled so Im back in train mode trying to get a race or 2 in before it gets cold on the East Coast..
Now that I am in maintanence, I eat 1600 calories a day when I do NOT exercise, more if I do....I cut back on training in prep for a surgery that has since been cancelled... I plan to bulk this winter so for next 8 weeks I will cut back to 1300 calories per day to get down 10 pounds... Once in Bulk Mode, hopefully before Thanksgiving, I will go to ~2400 calories ( adding in 100 calories per week) then only workout once per day, 6 days per week.... 3 days heavy lifting and 3 days cardio til I get to my new goal ( which is a size, shape goal rather than a numerical goal)...I currently wear a size 6.... too skinny for my liking....I want to be more muscular.... My plan will likely require some tweaking to get there....
More info on Diana Nyad, my Shero of the week:
http://espn.go.com/espnw/features/article/6783740/how-diana-nyad-fuels-body
this article is 2 years old and her needs have probably been adjusted some by now...
another article:
https://healthylivingmagazine.us/Articles/150/
Every hour and a half (or up to an hour and 45 minutes if Nyad keeps swimming until the second "come in now" whistle is blown) the boat idles and Nyad swims over.
Bonnie Stoll, Nyad's best friend, business partner and "head handler," gives her the tube from a hydration pack filled with a carefully calibrated mix of Water, sports drink, electrolytes and "predigested protein."
Done with the fluids, Stoll hands over a tube of energy gel, then a single Clif Shot Blok. Then, a spoon with a bite of banana slathered in Peanut Butter is passed to the swimmer, who would invalidate the record she's hoping to set if she touched the boat. The bite doesn't provide much nutrition, Nyad explains, but even this small bit of solid food helps to coat her stomach when so much of her nourishment is coming from energy-compressed liquids and gels.
But staying hydrated -- and properly fueled -- will be of the utmost importance ...
Luckily, we know a lot more now than we did in the 70s.
"You see pictures of when Diana did this 30 years ago and she'd stop and drink a Coke and eat a piece of cake," said Mark Sollinger, one of Nyad's drivers. "It's come a long way."
Finding the right formula still took trial and error. What works for a marathon runner or cyclist doesn't necessarily work for Nyad. First of all, she's spending five, 10, 20 and eventually 60 hours in a prone position.
Speaking of Snacks, her daily calorie count during training is 9,000 for non-swimming days and 3,500 when in the tank. Think it’s fun to be able to eat to one’s heart’s content? Think again.
“It’s just too much food,” she tells a reporter. “Your stomach doesn’t want to take it in. I try to do some of it in Protein shakes and large three or four servings of Pasta for dinner.”

I wanted to just throw this out there and hope that someone who is on the fence or too scared to take the plunge for vsg or who is struggling post op sees this!
I had my vsg jan 29 2013 I was 330 pounds and miserable I couldnt even play with my then 1 year old the way she should have been played with. I was severly dependenet on my fiance to help care for not only me but taking the brunt of our 1 year olds care. I had tried and stuggled my entire life, I am 23 and had high blood pressure and was in pain constantly and just the simplest tasks exhausted me. I did not want to live this way any more, its not really living.
I had my surgery and bam I lost nothing for about 2 months, I joined a gym and said to heck with it I will be fit and healthy regardless of what my scale says. So I ate right and began running, I saw a whole new me come out. The better version of me that was being smothered by my fat insecure unhappy self. I found myself at 23 and as of today 114 pounds down. I regret nothing.
My now 2 year old and I play, and run to the park a mile away. She laughs and runs and I can catch her and toss her in the air til she giggles uncontrolably, I can carry her through the whole mall without putting her down. I can love and
play with her and be here for the long term now.
I am in no way perfect, and yes I am struggling now but I know I will get to my goal of 175, I am 212 now so it will happen. I am going to enjoy my size 16 butt cause the alternative was a size 26! Dont give up it is worth it, for a better future and a chance to live.

It's funny....I keep reading stuff like this.....people saying they eat what they want, but they eat Protein first, stay within reasonable calories and make good decisions most of the time, and they call that moderation. Problem is, that sounds exactly like what the strict dieters do as well. The strict dieters just come down harder on themselves when their "most of the time" isn't "all of the time." I know cause that was/is me. I came down hard on myself for not being perfect. I tried, but it didn't always work. But I still try because I'm one of those that cannot stand on the side of that slippery slope. I fall....right down the carb binging rabbit hole. Other people are fine with it and do very well. I've heard people say I still have food issues. Not directly to me, but they describe abstaining from certain foods as "food issues." Does a vegetarian have "food issues?" Do they need therapy? If not, then I think I'm okay. I see no difference in my abstinence from starches and a vegetarians abstinence from ribeye steak. It makes me feel better to not eat those foods.
And btw...another big distinction that needs to be made....the huge difference between carbs and starches. One is healthy....one is not as healthy. We all know which yet for some reason they share the same name. It's unfair because a bowl of broccoli is oh so good for you. But a bowl of Pasta turns my stomach....although there was a time it didn't.
So....I don't know if I answered the question, but that's where I stand.
And my real point is this..... I truly believe that the strict dieters and the moderation folks are much closer to each other than most will admit. They argue and clash, but when you look at what they're eating...90% of it is the same.

See I have been doing that for years. And I get it both ways- I see someone that I haven't seen in a while and it's the "what the hell happened to you?" look or people who know me now see what I used to look like and again- "what the hell happened to you?" The housekeeper saw one of my pictures from 2007 and asked if that was my cousin. It's so not cute anymore. I'm taking my life back. I now have a career that I can afford to do things but I'm trapped in this shell that isn't me. An acquaintance of mine went to Catalina Island and sent me a video of her zip lining. I cried like a baby. Next year I'll be zip lining, swimming with dolphins, horseback riding- you name it I'm doing it!
{)i(} Sent from my iPhone using VST {)i(}

Down 70 lbs in 6 months here's a pic of me at a wedding this weekend
This was my before at my heaviest 315

I will get a panniculectomy and I want my insurance to cover it. I've started documenting my problems with a dermatologist and my PCP already. I will never get a boob job and if I ever did change my mind, I would get a reduction of the extra skin and skip the implants. As it is now, I can stuff them in a bra and they look fine. I like the post where someone called them "Ethiopianesque." They do remind me of old National Geographic magazines from the 50s. Well so be it. What gross is that flap skirt. I will go through that pain, but no one is cutting on the ta-tas. Maybe if I were going from a DDD to a B, but not a smaller D to a B.
Do your boobs hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie 'em in a knot?
Can you tie 'em in a bow?
Can you throw 'em o'er your shoulder
Like a continental soldier
Do your boobs hang low?
Got to love my husband. He doesn't mind the skin and he didn't even mind the fat -- only that I was unhealthy.

Yes, not having a tat on the girls is for sure a plus at this point. A rose would absolutely be loong stemmed and a horse would look like a bushy tailed giraffe..LOL.
Sent from my iPad using VST

For Laura-ven:






Unicorns are cool.

I know.. I gotta go before I pop a horn!
I'm a zen unicorn today.... Breath......

For years my mom has been begging me to get the bypass done. I would just tell her "whatever". Last year I caved and told her I would look into it, but with the constant pressure and asking me everyday "are you going to do it, did you find a doctor, yadda, yadda, yadda" I told her to forget it and that I would try on my own.
I tried, I really did. I tried eating well and going to the gym. Both at the same time seemed hard, so I decided let me eat well first and THEN go to the gym when I lose some weight. I would have 1 bad day or 2 of eating and then I'd give up and say "maybe I should do to the gym first and when I lose some weight, I'll start eating healthier", but then I would go to the gym 1-2 days and spend 4-5 days in pain, barely able to walk.
New Years Eve I mad emy resolution: this year, I will put myself first and really be honest with myself and do the best for me. I researched wls and it seemed SO extreme: rework your intestines and take pills the rest of your life PLUS feel sick if I eat any sugar, Put a plastic band in my body that I have to go to the hospital to get refilled or emptied the rest of my life (this just SOUNDS sick to me), or hack off half your stomach and not have as many side effects as the other two choices.
I did a LOT of reseach, watched a LOT of youtube videos and in March decided the sleeve was for me.
Now my final weigh-in that my insurance requires will happen tomorrow. I feel so empowered already because I'm DOING something about my weightloss. I finally feel in control.

I purged 5 black trash bags of clothes from my closet two weeks before surgery and I don't regret it. I kept anything that still fit, (I had lost 22 pounds by then). If it was something that may fit but was not something I would want to wear it was gone too. Gave me room for those smaller sizes I planned to buy at the thrift store plus once I donated the old clothes I got two discount coupons to use at the thrift store. But the real success of the purge was going through the clothes one by one and realizing this isn't me anymore. I'm not accepting hand me downs or buying clothes anymore just because they're the right size. I purged that fat me that day and accepted that this was the start of a new life and a new me and there's no looking back.

For years my mom has been begging me to get the bypass done. I would just tell her "whatever". Last year I caved and told her I would look into it, but with the constant pressure and asking me everyday "are you going to do it, did you find a doctor, yadda, yadda, yadda" I told her to forget it and that I would try on my own.
I tried, I really did. I tried eating well and going to the gym. Both at the same time seemed hard, so I decided let me eat well first and THEN go to the gym when I lose some weight. I would have 1 bad day or 2 of eating and then I'd give up and say "maybe I should do to the gym first and when I lose some weight, I'll start eating healthier", but then I would go to the gym 1-2 days and spend 4-5 days in pain, barely able to walk.
New Years Eve I mad emy resolution: this year, I will put myself first and really be honest with myself and do the best for me. I researched wls and it seemed SO extreme: rework your intestines and take pills the rest of your life PLUS feel sick if I eat any sugar, Put a plastic band in my body that I have to go to the hospital to get refilled or emptied the rest of my life (this just SOUNDS sick to me), or hack off half your stomach and not have as many side effects as the other two choices.
I did a LOT of reseach, watched a LOT of youtube videos and in March decided the sleeve was for me.
Now my final weigh-in that my insurance requires will happen tomorrow. I feel so empowered already because I'm DOING something about my weightloss. I finally feel in control.

My breaking point was when I found myself unable to climb the 18 steps up to my apartment without being so winded. And every night when I lay down in my bed my palpitations were very uncomfortable and were increasing as my weight was piling on. Also, when I go out some where I have to wear something black especially my tops. They have to be big enough to be baggy so as to hide my pregnant-looking belly. I had been having a harder time finding those shirts in my closet and would go out and buy more.
I want this excess weight off of me forever… I am so tired of being tired and ready to live my life the way it was meant to be lived... No more physical restrictions of climbing stairs, putting my socks and shoes on w/o hurting and having my belly obstruct me from doing so… and being able to reach my butt when I go to the bathroom first thing in the morning w/o back pain!!!
(TMI) I know and don’t care at this moment… I am so mad at myself for letting my emotions and food dictate my life…I am writing this out of sheer desperation to be understood…Who else feels this way?
On the calmer-side of me my surgery isn’t till September 25th, my hubby and I are eating prepared foods that are 500 mg of sodium (give or take) for dinner at night. I eat small portions throughout the day and will be doing my Protein Shakes starting next week Monday the 2nd, one week extra than required to give my body more time for adjustment. I know after the surgery I will be on liquids for about 3 days, then moving on to pureed providing I can tolerate it. If not then I will go back to liquids.
I am 42 years old and have been overweight-obese for a combined 24 years and if I wind up having saggy and baggy skin when I reach my goal, so be it. I don’t care as long as I can live healthier and longer without any physical limitations it will all be worth it in the end.

I didn't have a breaking point. For me it was when my husband found out our health insurance covered the surgery. He said something like "Would you like to consider weight loss surgery?" and I replied with "Let's do it." without any reservations. I actually surprised myself with this response, but the more I thought about it, the more feelings that I had been holding back all these years poured out. Feelings like, "I'm the nicest person in the freakin' world, I DESERVE to be cute and little!" It's silly, I know, but yeah...

Not one single moment. I just got tired of being tired. Tired of not having the energy to play with my neices and nephews. Tired of being in pain at the end of the day and when I woke the next morning. Tired of making excuses why I didn't join in some activities. Tired of always thinking ahead, concerned how my size was going to effect what I was doing. Would i fit comfortably in the seat, would the seatbelt fit... just everything.
Single best decision I have ever made. Yes, it was scary, but no scarier than wondering what phyical weight-related ailment was waiting for me around the corner.

What was my moment? Life... Everyday life....

I can't say that I had a single 'moment'. My wife and I made the decision to do it together. I did it so that I would be around for my kids. I know I was headed for a heart attack or stroke. Heart disease does run in my family, so I still run the risk, but I was definitely headed that way, no doubt in my mind. High blood pressure, sleep apnea. All gone now. So it wasn't a single moment, but I did have my motivation.

At what point did you finally get fed up enough to make a change in your life and do WLS? My breaking point was when I had an opportunity to go rappelling down a tower used to train the Army how to fast rope out of helicopters. I am scared to death of heights. But with the encouragement of some great instructors at the Air Assault school I rappelled down the rope that was several stories off the ground. Talk about having a 'I feel like a bad ass' moment. I didn't realize that anyone was taking pictures of this event. So months later I showed up to a work function that I was being recognized at. My parents even came for the luncheon. When I walked in there were a bunch of pictures blown up, poster size, of different individuals who were being recognized doing various activities at work. Well one of them was a picture of my fat ass coming down the rope at the rappelling tower. Talk about embarrassed. Th lady who put the event together came running up to me excited about the picture because she 'wanted to capture the moment that I was really empowered.' (She doesn't have a mean bone in her body so I know her intentions were good). I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I couldn't even keep my parents away from the picture cause you had to walk by it to get to the event. It was in the moment that I decided I never wanted to have my moments of success overshadowed by my weight.
So what was your moment?