Rdsegobia

HI THERE! I was just thinking about you. The veggies look wondeeful. I've been so so busy with trying to manage 2 homes. We settled on our new one on the 31st of march. We've been packing and moving things for 2 weeks. Since its 4 hours away from where we currently live it's a heck of a trip. We just listed our other home for sale yesterday and pray for a quick sale. The scale has been up and down for me between 177 and 174 yesterday. I'm hoping to get some exercise in here soon. It's been so hectic I haven't worked out in months. Glad to hear you are doing well.
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I am a huge fan of using positive affirmations to improve my self talk.
What are some of your favorite affirmations?
One of mine is: I am a precious child of God.

Us now. 16 Mos post op. My wife just had her arms done last week
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Today marks six months out from surgery for me. I feel like I've been given a second chance at life! I feel better then I can ever remember feeling in a long time. I am six months out today and have lost 101 lbs from my surgery weight! The first pic is from about two weeks pre op and the second was from yesterday. I still have a ways to go to get to my goal but I feel like I can actually accomplish my goal now!

Glad to hear you are doing well. Good luck with your appt. I dot follow the rules so that's why I'm slow losing, I know it. Once we get this whole house business done, I'm busting butt to get back in control.
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I been YoYo dieting for so many years. Back in 2009 I was 270lbs. Our company have a family party every year in October. I remember taking that picture and hiding it cause I felt so ashamed at how big I was. I remember I signed up at the gym ymca and went straight for one year. I lost 80 lbs and unfortunately letting my self get back to 253 lbs.
This year when we went to the party another picture was taken and I got my old picture out. I now have it here at my desk at work to remind myself I don't EVER want to be at that weight again. This time I don't see this journey as a diet is all about changing my eating habits and remind myself everyday to see food as fuel.

Surgery date 8/10/2015, HW 253 lbs, CW 196 lbs (incl 2 weeks pre-op) 41 years old, height 5'6"
Hi everyone! I been learning so much from everyone's comments and still in the learning process. I was sleeved on 8/10/2015 and just this week I hit below 200 yaay super excited!! Haven't seen this number since 2010.

Hi lorri, I been good I been stuck at 173 and 174 lbs. eating healthy for the most part. Although some days I do eat stuff I shouldnt probably my progress would have been better. But the way I see it is I have to eat to learn the way I could do it for life and not gain the weight. I have a follow up appt this coming Monday and I will show the nutritionist what I been eating and see what she says or suggest. Glad to hear your scale is moving also.

Hope everyone is well! Today is my 2 weeks on the A Pound of Cure and I been eating the way it says in the book. My update on weight today is 175.6 lbs its was a lot less then last week loss but I'm very happy with the results. I went down to size 12 in jeans and I could fit in size medium blouses.
After this two weeks, I will keep eating the same way. There has been some days that I ate something that I wasn't supposed to like today I ate pecans that are caramelized with cinnamon, I know those have a lot sugar, but hey it's not easy to be perfect on the eating plan.
I don't miss the coffee anymore or my Greek yogurt. Just came from buying groceries and most of the food is veggies and fruits and of course my eggs and some meats. I'm going to stay away the raw nuts cause I still can't control that so I'm just thinking to cut them out completely.
Hope everyone's week is great!

I been YoYo dieting for so many years. Back in 2009 I was 270lbs. Our company have a family party every year in October. I remember taking that picture and hiding it cause I felt so ashamed at how big I was. I remember I signed up at the gym ymca and went straight for one year. I lost 80 lbs and unfortunately letting my self get back to 253 lbs.
This year when we went to the party another picture was taken and I got my old picture out. I now have it here at my desk at work to remind myself I don't EVER want to be at that weight again. This time I don't see this journey as a diet is all about changing my eating habits and remind myself everyday to see food as fuel.

Surgery date 8/10/2015, HW 253 lbs, CW 196 lbs (incl 2 weeks pre-op) 41 years old, height 5'6"
Hi everyone! I been learning so much from everyone's comments and still in the learning process. I was sleeved on 8/10/2015 and just this week I hit below 200 yaay super excited!! Haven't seen this number since 2010.

As of today I have lost 200lbs. I started at 439 and today 239. My goal was to reach 239 by April 1st, but with God's help, hard work at the gym by burning 2000 - 2100 calories a day in cardio and weightlifting and eating around 1100 to 1200 calories a day i have hit my goal much earlier than expected. I'm so proud of myself because i haven't weighed under 250 since i was 13 years old and I'm 38 now. For anyone thinking they can't lose the weight use my story as inspiration because it can be done, and i will help anyone that wants to try. I have to thank my husband and kids for keeping me focused everyday and loving me. I also can't forget the rest of my family, who has also given me the encouragement i needed also. 
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Super excited I tried a medium size blouse and a size 12 skirt and they fit!!

Surgery date 8/10/2015, HW 253 lbs, CW 196 lbs (incl 2 weeks pre-op) 41 years old, height 5'6"
Hi everyone! I been learning so much from everyone's comments and still in the learning process. I was sleeved on 8/10/2015 and just this week I hit below 200 yaay super excited!! Haven't seen this number since 2010.

I've made it to 181 now shooting for the 70's again lol
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Lorri716 this was happening to me in the month of January and February, I would lose 2 pounds then gain them back. It could be very frustrating, however just keep doing what has worked for you and you will start seeing the weight to go down. Like I mention before, I feel like the 180's was the hardest to lose.

Well what an awesome 3 months it has been for me. I know that deciding to have the VSG surgery was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and the very best decision for my heath.
I will list a few of my stats below since I haven't done this at 1 & 2 months. I haven't measured yet, but as soon as I do, I will update that also.
But first, I want to say Thank You for this online community. The challenges, check-in's and conversations with people really help in all of our goals! We might be able to do this on our own without BP, but it sure makes it easier to read that others are going through the same things you are! Many Thanks!!
Heighest Weight: 325.0
Pre-Op Weight: 303.8
Surgery Weight: 288.
Today's Weight 235.4
That makes a total of:
89.6 pounds lost since my highest
68.4 pounds lost since pre-op diet
52.6 pounds lost since surgery
I have also lost a total of 60 inches total!
My sizes are:
Shirt: down from a 3-4X to a 1X (Close to a large)
Pants: down from a 26 to 16
Shoes: down from a 9 to 8.5 (so strange to me!!
I am beyond thrilled with my progress and hope I can do at least HALF this good in the next three months!!
Attached are pictures of my in the fall of 2015 and just last week at work.

That is awesome! Keep it up you should be very proud of yourself.

Just wanted to do a little virtual jig.
I am down OVER 200 pounds from what I consider my highest weight.
I have a long way to go, but it's officially a miracle as far as I am concerned.
Here is to getting stronger and more mobile every day!
Now, off to the pool!

I absolutely love most of the teas from Teavana (http://teavana.com/). They can be a bit pricey, but the teas are absolutely phenomenal. You can find them in quite a few malls, and if there isn't a retail store near you, then you can order online. I really recommend trying the winterberry blend!

Harney and Sons has wonderful teas!
I drink their citrus tea daily with lemon.
Their Paris tea is wonderful with a touch of Splenda.
Two of my favorites!

I hate to sabotage @@betterme38 's "self sabotage" thread.
But to answer your question, I was pretty strict. But not perfect. Probably did 95% of what I intended to do every day.
Here's a post I made on my first surgiversary, which I posted on another message board:
* * *
A year ago yesterday I was sleeved at age 68. I knew I had the energy for one last shot at getting healthy. Like so many of us, controlling my weight was the one thing in my life I’d been unable to manage. Failing at that was a tremendous embarrassment and disappointment to me, not to mention the cause of mounting medical comorbidities that had almost sidelined me from life.

A year ago I’d already been on this forum for 9 months. I could not WAIT to get my WLS show on the road. I’d already lost almost 20 pounds on a 2-month 1,400 calorie diet of my own and, later, my surgeon’s 14-day pre-op diet. I’d been practicing for months the behaviors I’d learned here—eating slower, chewing more, no more soda, a lot less coffee, no NSAIDs (ouch!), walking more (yea, Fitbit!), and my favorite tool of all—planning meals and tracking my food and drink onwww.myfitnesspal.com.

Fast-forward to yesterday morning, my first surgiversary. I weighed in at 143 pounds. I feel great, physically and mentally. I look so much younger (I’ll be 70 years old in December). And I truly feel like I’ve been reborn.

The New, Temporary Avatar

I’m on the down-low about having had WLS. Basically, only hubby and two friends know about this. But so many online VSG friends want to know what I look like, so enjoy my new avatar while it’s up. It’s coming down soon. Tough titty.

BTW, I’ll put up a full-body shot of me later. Again, tough titty. But this morning I didn’t have on “the right outfit” to show off my skinny ass. And hubby’s not here right now to take a good photo of me.

How I Lost the Weight

I was lucky—had no complications, had a great surgeon and team, healed well and recovered fast, and have had more non-scale victories (NSVs) than you could shake a stick at. I’m full of gratitude and amazement at all of WLS’s benefits for me.

Below is a list of things I did (mostly pretty well) that led to my success. As always, your mileage may vary. This was my experience. Yours will be yours.

• Ate the minimum amount of protein—at least 60 grams to start with (hit that target on Day Five post-op)
• Ate Protein first at every meal
• Drank 8 glasses of Water daily (or at the very least 8 glasses of liquids daily)
Protip #1: Dehydration slows weight loss and makes you feel like crap.
Protip #2: Our kidneys work overtime when we’re losing weight rapidly and need lots of Water to function well.
Protip #3: You can actually die from dehydration. • As healing happened and restriction eased, added healthy (colored) veggies, then non-starchy fruits, then whole grains
• Took my vitamins/minerals and Rxs daily and on schedule
• Ate 3 meals a day
• Chewed my food well and ate more slowly
• Didn’t drink 15 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal
• When I got hungry (not bored), I added one or two Snacks of healthy food
• Didn’t graze between meals (note that “a snack” and “grazing” are different things)
• Avoided / minimized highly processed, high-carb foods and slider foods like potatoes, white rice, white breads, crackers, Cookies, chips, ice cream
Protip: These foods slow weight loss and, for some people, trigger binge eating. • Moved more than I used to move and gradually kept moving even more
• Followed the Number One Exercise Rule for Old People: Don’t injure yourself!
• Got some sunshine daily, which kept me full of happy thoughts and Vitamin D
• Tried to sleep 8 hours a night
• Minimized stress—for me, this meant I stopped sweating the small stuff and learned that most stuff really is small stuff
• Am seeing a shrink, even though I’m not crazy, to understand better why I couldn’t or didn’t care for my health better prior to WLS and to learn how to do better in the future (as the saying goes, they operate on your stomach, not your head).

Unsolicited Advice:

I’ve been at or below goal for 4 months now. Here are some things I learned while losing weight and during maintenance (at which I’m still a newbie). Some of these things have surprised me. And as always, your mileage may vary.

• Don’t feel pressured into telling the world you’re having WLS. Do what is best for you. Just know that “telling a few people” may not be the best way to keep your WLS private. There are a lot of mouthy people out there.

• Don’t overeat, but don’t starve yourself either. As your healing continues, eat more healthy food and raise your calories gradually. Otherwise, you may wind up reaching your weight goal but only able to maintain it eating 1,000 calories/day. Ugh! At 143 pounds, my daily maintenance calorie budget is 1,700 calories/day. I am over the moon about that. I think it’s because I didn’t starve myself while I was losing weight. I ate 800 calories during Months 1-4, 1,000 calories during Months 5-6, and 1,200 calories during Months 7-8. As my calories went up, so did my Protein grams. I still aim for 100 grams of protein daily.

• Post-op, don’t just eat to lose weight—also eat to become healthier. Learn more about nutrition—macronutrients, trace elements, Vitamin and mineral supplements. Read articles and good research. As smart as I thought I was, turns out I didn’t know nearly as much as I needed to know to care well for myself.

• If you’re craving sugar, you’re probably already eating sugar. The only way I know to kill those cravings is to cold-turkey the sugar.

• Don’t let anyone pressure you into having WLS. This is a life-changing deal. A year down the road you’ll probably be able to eat pretty much anything you want, although not in massive quantities at one time. And you’ll need to always be vigilant about your nutrition, meal-planning, eating behaviors, etc.

• WLS won’t prevent binge-eating or emotional eating. It will discourage it, but it won’t prevent it. There are plenty of WLS patients who’ve learned to eat and drink around their tools. I personally know folks who’ve wasted their sleeve, bypass or band with (sigh) sweet tea, Mountain Dew, beer, Wheat Thins, ice cream, chips and dips. What those drinks and foods all have in common, other than being high-calorie and lacking in nutrition, is that the sleeve cannot challenge them. They move rapidly through the sleeve and into the small intestine. You can eat that crap all day long and never start to feel full. Remember, it’s a shame to waste a sleeve.

Very, very best wishes to everyone out there considering a VSG or other form of WLS. You can change your life with WLS if you use your tool well. But you must understand it’s only one tool in a bigger healthcare arsenal that you must acquire and use daily.

Thang ya. Thang ya verra mudge.

This is awesome @@rln52! Keep it up. I really do think that this 1st year is the most important one, that's when we should learn new eating habits and see what works best for us.

I been cleaning my closet monthly, in the past I always saved it and that's how I ended up getting in trouble again cause I would gain some weight and I would get the big clothes out. I'm hoping this time as soon as I see some change on how my clothes fit that I will take control of any weight gain.