Tori Loukas

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you, too----and to everybody here!

Thanks, Beni! You rock

I was told that caffeine stimulates the hunger hormone, dehydrates, and increases stomach acid. I am drinking a glass of iced decaf with a little sugar-free creamer right now. I am not missing caffeine and I used to drink gallons of it every day! Just the weight loss, Water, and Vitamins are increasing my energy level and I'm satisfied with that.

The emotional urge to eat rarely comes anymore---note said "Rarely" not "Never!" ( Lol) . I deal with it by getting my mind on something else. I am a food addict, and part of my recovery is filling that void on a daily basis. I am 21 years in AA and I employ the 12 Steps, the literature, and AA's fellowship to deal with my sobriety. So I use the 12 Steps in regards to my eating. I am not a formal member of a facetime OA group but I do some online stuff with OA that helps me, including a daily blog from a Yahoo email loop that I found. I get my inspiration there. I have a few friends that I am accountable to with my eating who are familiar with the 1 Step program of recovery. I have no control over and am powerless over my eating. My way gained me 250 pounds so I am willing to take the direction of those who have gone before me in this regard. Recovery is a 3-legged stool: Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual. I also had to forge a personal relationship with a God of my understanding to straighten out my ass! Along with that, people to call and talk to when I get into trouble (or, preferably before I get into trouble!) and practicing a daily program is what I use, and it's worked for me. If I get the emotional urge to eat today, I "out" it. I write it out, talk it out, walk it out, whatever. Then I let it go. And, I find that more often than not, that urge to eat just passes on its own if I say a little prayer, get onto something else, and ignore the lies it's telling me, like, "You need to eat this", or "One bite won't hurt". It WILL hurt--because once I start, I don't stop. And it's a disease, with its own pathology and stages that ultimately will lead me to my demise. It is my own responsibility to be well and happy---and each day I want my choices to reflect that. GREAT topic, thanks!

Hey!! Best of luck to you, and wishes for a speedy recovery! I sent u a message---I see here that Dr. Hooks is doing your Sleeve. You will love it! Please keep me posted on your progress, okay?

Hi! I don't have any full-body pics unfortunately but I do have a selfie at 345 lbs. I need to get a current pic for you guys....

Hi Skywalker, Congratulations on your upcoming surgery! Good for you for doing a 5-day prep. It can only help that much more to prepare you sooner for what's ahead. Good on you also for stocking up pre-surgery. A lot of people don't do that, amazingly enough! I love the Premier Protein drinks---they taste just like chocolate milk , and I put a few ice cubes in them even though I chill them first. I used Pure Protein powder too...the chocolate, and their Protein Bars, too. But don't start out with the bars in the beginning. Do EVERYTHING to the letter what you are instructed to do, you will do GREAT! Don't forget your Vitamins, Calcium Citrate, Iron, and I started out with 10,000 Mcg. Biotin per day too as well as Omega-3's.

Thank you, Elode!

I can so relate, trixietalks! I had my sleeve done by Dr.David Miles in Wilmington, NC in September. I've lost 50 lbs. since then, and also sometimes wonder if he really did anything at all, because I have had zero pain, complications, or nausea! The only problem I had was constipation for about a month from the gall bladder pills I'm taking for 6 months, but even that has since reversed itself. Sleeve Life is awesome!!

God bless you! I had heart palpitations and shortness of breath just taking a SHOWER four days after surgery and had to call my doctor, never mind walking for nearly a mile. You are in your first week of recovery. Try to give yourself a break and don't rush into your previous level of activity. Good luck to you!

Congratulations, emsgirl! I lost 14 lbs. the first week and was losing about 5 a week, now it's down to 3. I hit a plateau but the surgeon's PA said just to live thru it, it'll pass then the weight will start to drop off again. I did a pre-surgery diet of my own concoction ( mostly lean Protein and vegetables and a ton of green tea ) but the surgeon's prep was only for 2 days before surgery. I took SEVEN YEARS of going back and forth on whether or not to have surgery and my doc's office just hung with me and I'm glad they did because I FINALLY DID IT! Yay!

There are a lot of medications that qualify as NSAIDS. Aleve, which is also called Naprosyn or Naproxen, is one. Aspirin and Ibuprofen are also NSAIDS. Tylenol is NOT an NSAID, so it's safe to take. Over the counter I need to read labels on medications to make sure there are no ingredients that are NSAIDS. Ask your doc what specifically you need to avoid. Good luck to you!

Doctor, this is an informative article. I totally agree that overeaters need to take responsibility for their habits and behaviors and not resort to excuses. But what of the OA model based on the 12 Steps? I know that doctors are scientifically minded but many appreciate and recommend this program for drug addiction, alcoholism, and many other addictions as you know. "food Addiction" does often exist in the form of compulsive overeating where not willpower is called to be employed, but surrender to the fact that food addicts are powerless over their "drug of choice"--food. How to perform this tricky feat when we all need food to survive? The 12 Steps are a prescription for living that indeed any individual can use to create a better quality of life. In my own experience, having the VSG done is only one of a variety of tools I use to treat my disease of addiction. I use a spiritual connection, a community of like-minded individuals in recovery, and abstinence from the thoughts and behaviors that cause me to overeat---not just avoiding triggers. It's work, yes--difficult, but doable, and only one day at a time. I personally have to "abstain" from certain foods, yes, but also from my tendency to eat over stress, celebration, depression, what have you. I can no longer use food as a substance, not unlike a drug, to avoid feeling. Not if I want to survive, have a good life, and enjoy good health. So, the points in your article are great, especially those 7 things successful people do to maintain weight loss. However, I feel that addressing the underlying causes of overeating (including the engineered foods that foster addiction outright) as well as the avoidance of uncomfortable feelings are key to not only losing weight but keeping it off and managing addiction. Addiction will always be with me, but I can live my life not being controlled by it any longer. I just have to pick up the tools and use them. That's just my two cents! Thanks for the article.

Hi joatsaint, thanks for the welcome!

Hi, I'm Tori, and I had the VSG on September 9th, 2014 by Dr. David Miles in Wilmington, NC. I have lost 50 lbs. since then, plus 27 lbs. pre-surgery (since July, 2014). My goal is 160 pounds. I've had a great experience so far--and have not regretted a minute of the journey. Tell me about yourself and your experiences with WLS! Looking to connect and make new friends here. Glad I found this site and happy to be here!

Hi I'm in Oak Island, NC....Congrats! I was sleeved on September 9th, 2014. I lost 50 so far. Good Luck!

Hi I'm Tori, I had the Sleeve done by Dr. David Miles at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC on Sept. 9th, 2014. Want to connect with others in the Cape fear area!

Hi, I'm in Oak Island, the Cape Fear area by Wilmington & Southport