Hello fellow sleevers,

just thought I would start a thread for all those who want to get to goal in 2012, regardless of where we are in the process.

I posted it the 'Slow Loser' thread, because that is what I am!! (I am not complaining by the way, just pleased to be a loser...lol)

For me to get there, I know that at 18mths out I need to be strict, accountable and have support from those in the same 'place', who understand that the sleeve isn't a miracle but a tool.

I have done well so far, but the weight hasn't 'melted' off me and since 6mths post op I have had to fight for each and every pound. At first it made me a little bitter, frustrated and I started to get into a 'dark place' about it, now the scale victory tastes sooooo sweet!

I have taken the month of December 'off'... I needed to rest from the constant worry of food, cals, water, carbs and protein... my head was spinning and I was starting to feel very frustrated and overwhelmed at not being at goal again. I needed time out!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas period and I have eaten what I wanted and when I wanted it; this includes ALL foods, no food was off limit and I let my sleeve do its job! The quantity was low but I still enjoyed every mouthful. Interestingly, I found that my cravings were satisified very quickly... 1 or 2 biscuits/sweets, and so on, hit the spot, instead of 5,6,7,... you get the picture. Subconscious damage limitation? I don't know but I like it!

I have learnt a lot by doing this. I now know that I can eat a little more if I 'try'... I know that I can enjoy food again without feeling guilty and I know that food doesn't have to be the enemy. So, with all that, what was the outcome? Yep, I have gained 2lbs above my personal bounce! Oops!

I am not, in the slightest, worried about this because I KNOW what is the cause... sugar and salt! And this time, I am sure it will come off as quick as it went on!

So, what is the plan?

Per my surgeon's instructions: I am going back to basics... yep that ole one...lol

• 3 meals a day - no snacking.
  
• Weighing my meals between 6-8oz depending on what is on the plate.
  
• Protein first, followed by veggies.
  
• Plenty of water.
  
• A limit of 1000 cals a day.
  
• Continue with my exercise - boxing twice a week, gym in work 1-2 times a week (depending on work load) and walking my dog (just over a 2 mile circuit). The exercise is the only thing that I have stuck to in December... I actually enjoy it now!!
  

As a side note, and I ain't sure if my American friends can get this, but here in the Uk, on SKY there are a few fitness channels. I have recorded some aerobic workouts that are really good... they're free and can be done at home... this is saving me some money on classes and DVDs and if I don't like the workout I can delete and look for another!! Bonus!!

Ok, who is ready to join me on the final stretch to goal... hope on board and enjoy the ride my friends...

Hi all, hope everyone had a good weekend! I did my official weekly weigh-in on Sunday and did not lose any weight (but did not gain either -- gotta look on the bright side!). I was good about eating up to the weekend, then slacked off on the weekend. I am like Jekyll & Hyde when it comes to virtuous weekday behavior and letting it all hang out on the weekends. I neither exercised or watched what I put in my mouth all weekend. I spent the entire day at home on Sunday, which is unusual for me. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen puttering around and making food for the week. I made a batch of homemade salsa (delish and a good way to sneak in lots of veg -- not too many tortilla chips eaten, but I have to buy some baked chips rather than fried). I made a batch of white chicken chili (also delish and I have enough leftovers so that I will be eating it for several days and probably be thoroughly sick of white chicken chili by Thursday, LOL), and made up a marinade for barbacoa beef (it's a spicy Mexican shredded beef recipe -- a great way to get in Protein with almost no fat in the marinade) ... the barbacoa is in my slow cooker today and will have it for dinner tonight. Yum!

DH and I are going on a cruise down the west coast of Mexico next weekend -- yippy! I tried on a couple of bathing suits I got from costco on Sunday. They fit OK, but I look a whole lot better w/long sleeves & long pants than in a bathing suit! I know I am going to get weird looks about my granny legs. C'est la vie. At least I am not so shy about being semi-clothed as I was before surgery.

I hope everyone has a good week! Coops, I am sending happy thoughts your way!

Have a great time on your cruse Kris!

Hey y'all:

Well, I got on the scale this morning and was exactly the same as before my conference. I'm telling you, it's kind of great and kind of weird all at the same time, because while at this conference I just ate and drank whatever sounded good at the time--I'm talking about drinking at least 2 glasses of wine a night, a Starbucks full-fat, full-sugar mocha a day (which really didn't sit very well, I have to be honest and say--kind of quease-inducing), meals that had multiple courses (although I tried and mostly succeeded at keeping things very veggie-centric), and--brace yourselves--dessert. Yes. I ate a few bites of tiramisu at dinner Saturday night, and it was ah-may-zing.

I was really kind of scared to get on my scale this morning and frankly shocked to see no weight gain at all--no loss, but no gain, either. I feel like I've dodged a few bullets, although I was mentally prepared to see a higher number. The whole process of this conference has really been eye-opening for me in lots of ways. First, I realize now that I really can relax about eating--my sleeve definitely does its job and restricts the amount of food I can tolerate. It also restricts the types of food I am able to comfortably eat--I "can" physically eat lots of different sorts of food that I couldn't tolerate at all when first sleeved, but I don't feel comfortable when I eat certain things--most of them happen to be not such healthy choices--so I'm not nearly as interested in eating them any more. Vegetables, however, are completely sleeve-friendly, plus I love them, plus I like how I feel physically when I eat them. Sweet Starbucks coffee--not so much; I drank it because it was available and my usual wasn't available, but I will not be making that a regular thing, as it didn't make me feel good enough to overcome the queasiness from the sugar (and I absolutely will not drink artificial sweeteners--just a personal aversion to that). I was able to find appetizer-sized meals that worked in every restaurant we visited.

I ate in public with friends almost every meal. Not one person ever commented about how little I ate except my mentor; we went to lunch, and my waiter was quite concerned that I didn't like my grilled asparagus vinaigrette because I couldn't finish the appetizer-sized portion. My mentor, who had seen me eat several meals by that time of the conference, told the waiter, "She doesn't eat much--that's why she looks so great!" I just grinned and told the waiter it was delicious but I was full. All's well that ends well.

I walked past people that I've known for twenty years and had them not recognize me until I spoke to them. Had a lot of double-takes. Had one guy come over to my table, sit down, and start talking with my mentor--I have worked closely with this person in the past at a conference--when my mentor turned to me with a comment and used my name, this guy's jaw dropped open and he spent about ten straight minutes apologizing for not recognizing me. I got used to saying, "Yeah, it's pretty different for me, too!" I was startled to have men break into a trot from behind me in order to get to a door first to open it. My carry-on luggage was stowed for me and retrieved by various guys on the plane--and believe you me, I'm 6'2" and perfectly capable of lifting my little carry-on bag into and out of the overhead bin. LOL I was flirted with by several strangers, waiters, old friends, and colleagues at the conference--not in an ugly way, mind you, just friendly flirting. My husband said, "You have lost your invisibility. What an ironic thing that you got smaller and are no longer invisible." He is 100% right! No more invisibility. And I realized that where I used to get really uncomfortable with men noticing me, I'm able to deal with the flirting in a friendly way (most of the time, just a big smile) and just take it for what it is, which for me is as a non-pressure compliment.

So, all in all, a very enjoyable conference, both for the content of the conference itself and also for the nice responses to the "new" me. I had a lot of questions about "how I did it," and I responded quite honestly that "I had surgery, and it took!"

I ate a doughnut. I feel like I rolled in lard. =(

GT: Did you eat the whole donut?

Hey Meg, great story about your conference! And yay for you for enjoying your food and not gaining weight! And yay for the flirtation and the compliments and having a good time!

Globetrotter, I have got you beaten today. I caved to temptation at a b-day celebration and ate a small slice of chocolate cheesecake and later had five pieces of red licorice and did it because "everyone else was having some" ... so stupid! I am mad, mad, mad at myself. That brutal Jillian Michaels workout I did this morning isn't going to undo that damage. I know I didn't eat enough calories from the cheesecake and licorice to gain weight, but I sure didn't help myself be in a position to lose weight!

Yes, I ate the entire doughnut =(

GT:; that was really not that bad. The donut is a slider food and if you only ate one, then that's great! I can actually see you looking at a stupid donut now and running away! Yep,, that's right, running away! Those are devil donuts! Poison to us. It was just an error in thinking, next time, run away!

I've been sick as heck for the last few days which caused me to lose a chunk (almost 2 lbs) of weight. I'm taking it though! I am not 1.6lbs from goal. I'm planning on plastics in August and I'm guessing another 5-7lbs will be taken off.

Hey guys! I feel like there have been so many great posts that I can't respond to them all... that just means I can't go too long without checking in :-))

But I do want to say how much this little forum is helping me to stay on track. I finally got below 185 (and stayed there for a few days so I know it's real :-)). Thank you, ladies, for being such a great support!

So, I feel good about that, but a little scared that I still have sooooo far to go. I think the only thing I can do is just keep working on the things I can work on, and hope that these little wins add up to one big win :-)

GT: I feel for you on the sugar. I finally made myself quit chocolate, and I felt that addictive hold loosening a bit, so I recommend going cold turkey for a few days and see if that helps. I'm sorry you are struggling, but I love your "chin up, tits out" quote, hahahaha. made me laugh.

Keep it up, ladies! You guys are all so inspiring!!!

So my trainer was horrified to learn yesterday that I only take in between 800-1000 cals. She doesn't know about my VSG (it's group training I didn't feel like group sharing) but she pinpointed the low cals as the reason I am always dragging ass exhausted. Same goes for a friend of mine who is a former body builder, she said I can't expect to have much energy on an "anorexic's caloric intake".

So how much should a 168 pound 5'3" moderately active woman take in in order to drop 40 pounds in, say, 3 months?

So my trainer was horrified to learn yesterday that I only take in between 800-1000 cals. She doesn't know about my VSG (it's group training I didn't feel like group sharing) but she pinpointed the low cals as the reason I am always dragging ass exhausted. Same goes for a friend of mine who is a former body builder, she said I can't expect to have much energy on an "anorexic's caloric intake".

So how much should a 168 pound 5'3" moderately active woman take in in order to drop 40 pounds in, say, 3 months?

HA!!! Someone official agrees with me! LOLOL... I feel so special.

Okay, your BMR (basal metabolic rate) says you need approximately 1500 cals per day just to stay alive and not move a single solitary muscle. Then...

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
   
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
   
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
   
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
   
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9
   

So I'm guessing we should multiply that by 1.55, which gives us about 2300 cals per day. Now that is to maintain, not to lose. So if you want to lose, you should deduct about 500 cals from the 2300, leaving you at about 1800 cals per day. To account for a POSSIBLY slow metabolism (which isn't being helped by the sub-1K thing...), then I would say 1500 should be your minimum.

Hey, you asked.

What does a 1400 calorie low-carb diet look like?

What does a 1400 calorie low-carb diet look like?

Personally? No idea. I don't do low-carb really. But if you like, e.g., Quest bars, a couple of those puppies every day will add in only about 8 net carbs, 40 gr additional Protein, 30-something gr of fibre and about 400-ish extra cals.

Where can I get some? Please don't say Amazon.