foxgirl74

So I have not really been one this site much over the last few months, but it was the place that got me started on this fantastic journey so a progress report is in order! One year ago today I have VSG. I would do it again in a heartbeat and recommend it for soooo many people out there with this struggle. It has not been the easiest thing ever, and I still have battles with overeating, food addictions, and lack of self control, but I have overall made changes that have literally turned my life into complete awesomeness. Seriously. I started with my consultation weighing 246 pounds, and today I weighed in at 145.5 pounds. Yep, 100 pounds in one year, which was a major goal for me and I was able to do it! I still have 20 pounds to go, but I am steadily still loosing small amounts of weights each month and I will get there. I cannot stress the impact if learning to love exercising enough. I joined a gym and found a way to not only keep me there, but now I am in a position to help others on their path by having become a cardio kickboxing instructor. If you told me a year ago this is where I would be today I would not have believed you or have trusted that VSG would work, or that I would have been able to retrain my brain to this extent. There is no replacement for a healthy body and mind, which has helped to literally make me a healthier soul. I love this community and cannot thank you guys enough for all the support over the last year, and hope you are all doing great with your own journeys and am here for anyone who needs help, advice, or just a listening ear! Now it's reward time, a long awaited treat, off to get my new tattoo!!

jhope, thank you so much for the kind words and comment!! I have to admit I am having blast being much thinner, and healthier, but mostly I have been on Sparkpeople.com (foxrider) I find it hard to blog in both places, but I do try and get on here when I can!

Good post! I am going to challenge myself to do full body weights( with a program called Group Power my gym runs) at least twice a week. I am ready to take my fitness to a whole new level and do many 5k's this year, but toning is essential for fat burn and my cardio is no longer cutting it. I just became a kick boxing instructor(Group Kick) at my gym, and teach a class two days a week, and I had been doing kick boxing between 3-5 days a week, but I am ready to change it up. Two days kick, two days weights, and one to two days cardio endurance training or another fun exercise with my family!

Sounds like you are right on track. The first post was actually some really good insight, because your body is freaking out and thinking(correctly) that it is in starvation mode and needs to protect itself. This will change because, well, physics -You are burning more then you are consuming. As far as carbs go, a good beginning number is to stay under 40 carbs per day. And if that is yielding no results, stay under 30. I found switching out my cheese with low fat cottage cheese was great because you get all the same Protein, but way less calories, and honestly, more mass. This becomes more important later when you can fit more. Drinking Water right now is the biggest thing you can do to jump start your weight, along with exercising, so your surgeon can freak out and get mad all he wants, but his job is to provide the tool to help you lose weight, and if it's not working because of simple common sense of your body reaction to the weight loss so far, then he is more concerned about his personal stats and numbers versus helping you be healthier. Either way, the scale does move. It's seemingly just as slow and painstakingly as it was doing diets prior to WLS, but trust me, take it a day at a time and make the best choices you can and you'll get there before you know it!!

I got into a cardio kickboxing class at my gym. I went the first time never expecting to go back (a friend talked me into it) and now, less than 3 months later, I am doing my video taping to become a kick boxing instructor because I love it so much. It never feels like I "have" to go work out, but I always get in a great fun work out that flies by in 60 minutes. It has cardio and conditioning so I am not missing out by not walking/jogging or by not lifting weights. I cannot express how much I love it and I feel it really motivated me and kept me going in this weight loss process. I jog on the treadmill, and do a spin class and lift weights every now and again, but seriously, I do the carido kickboxing 3-5 times a week and am going to teach my own class starting in January. Far cry from the morbidly obese girl posting on here 9 months ago!!

Awesome!!! I just signed up for Rage Mud Run for April 7th, which is pretty much a Tough Mudder for people not quite ready to do that many miles But I plan on doing the Tough Mudder in 2013. Make sure you post the pictures after your epic adventure!!

I had a c-section with my son and recovery wise that was WAY worse then having VSG surgery. The only difference, for me, was the major grogginess coming out of the anesthesia. That drove me crazy, especially since I was told to get up and walk as soon as possible, so I was mentally wanting to, but could barely keep my eyes open. Once that wore off I was literally good to go. Hardly any pain, just took the bare minimum pain meds for a little ease and was then up and walking, bending carefully and moving pretty good. The c-section had me needing help for weeks, I was self sufficient the next day with this surgery. Oh, and I had 5 incisions, with glue, no drains. I did have a small, travel size pillow, for getting in and out of bed, just so I would not pull the internal stitches and damage anything, but just use common sense and I'm sure you'll do great, best of luck!!

I live in a pretty small city so only one of our grocery stores carries them - Fry's But I know there is a huge selection at Whole Foods Markets and I am pretty sure Trader Joe's might even have them. Any whole foods type place should carry them, or in the organic/healthy section at your largest grocery store.

Oh yes, the Morning Star Grillers Prime are excellent, in my opinion, but haven't tried too much of their other products.