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...

Well, just found this thread so need updates on those who joined in January and how you are doing? I've SEEN goal, been there, held it in my hand and now have regained about 12 lbs! Yep, So I would really like to get BACK THERE and stay put! I'm not too unhappy with my size/weight since I am 5'8" and wearing 8-10 but I know I need to kick it in and re-train my habits. So here I go!!!!!!

Hey guys,

I just wanted to chime in GT's discussion. I know how awful that must feel. I know for me, on some level, it feels better knowing that I can pinpoint the excess sugar as my problem; it must be sooooo frustrating to feel like you are doing everything right and not getting results. I just want you to know that I feel for you, and I feel your frustration. It's no help, I know, but I just want you to know you can share your frustrations with us and we really, really HEAR you. I think Coops and FYE are right that you may need to accept this plateau for the time being or whatever the heck is going on, and give yourself a break! Please do not beat up on yourself! You are doing and have done something so amazing!

And just one suggestion. Right now, I'm not losing, either (and believe me, i am frustrated as heck, too!), but the one thing that really keeps my spirit up is that I'm training for an athletic event. Seeing my training numbers change, seeing how much faster I can run, and how many more miles is soooo gratifying, and even if the number on the scale isn't changing, I *know* my body composition is. I can see that my face is thinner, and I can see that jeans are looser. I can feel how much more muscular my legs are. More importantly, every time I sprint, I am going faster. I know the scale isn't being your friend right now, but focusing on other numbers are also important, and it may help you to keep your spirit up during this stall.

And I'll point out that the scale is a reflection of your weight, but not your body composition. I just watched the "Biggest Loser" where one of the contestants weighs about 170 lbs and she looked honestly like a model, I couldn't see where she could lose any more weight, and she was wearing a size 6 dress! A size 6! And if you are "overweight" but wearing a size 6, I'd say you succeeded, and screw the scale!!!

Oh my gosh, guys, you are so awesome! Coops, FYE, Lila, thank you for your words of solidarity. I don't always understand how harsh I am toward myself and one of the wierd aspects of my life is that for some bizarrre reason everything that I am involved in are populated by really tiny people, not "average" sizes. So, even though I can now run a mile and a half and get told how sexy I am, all the other participants in my yoga, TRX, tango etc. are all size 2s and 4s so it is easy to get frustrated.

I also had a revelation yesterday in that I am a sugar addict. After reading the transcripts of the 60 minutes expose on the way sugar affects the brain like cocaine, I added a sugars column to my food tracker. I would have done excellently well at only 9 grams for the entire day, but I binged like a crackhead on a dark snickers and some fritos and bean dip. Although that was NOT awesome I am not right now beating myself up because this has led me to truly grasp the level of brain addiction. So, today is a new day and I have had 2 eggs, a cup of tea with no caffeine and no added sweetener. Lunch will be some greek yogurt with walnuts without sweetener, which will be tough, and dinner will be chicken with sauteed vegetables. I'm going on a date though, to the movies, and that will just be walking right into the lion's den, gulp!

GT: I'm with you on the sugar addiction. When you go to the movies tonight, look at the popcorn as a ton of lard! That's right, a ton of lard! That might help. Oh, I always eat before going to the movies and that helps a lot. Candy is evil, it will sabotage your wonderful day.

Hi all,

GT, I'm glad things are looking a little brighter for you! I have the same sugar addiction problem. If you want to learn more about it, a great book to read is "Change Your Mind, Change Your Body" and also, another good book is "Potatoes, Not Prozac" which explains how sugar affects our bodies. Both these books have taught me a lot about how our bodies are affected negatively by sugar. It doesn't fix the problem, but it makes it easier to tackle.

Guess what, guys? I lost 2 lbs this week! This seems like a minor miracle after months of the scale not moving! Yay :-)

YAY YAY YAY!!! Congratulations, Lila--maybe that whole "avoiding sugar" thing is the key.

I have to second (or third, or fourth) everyone's great comments to GT regarding treating yourself the way you would treat someone else. Why is it that we feel perfectly comfortable being so horrid to ourselves, and we would never in a million years treat anyone else that way? My own interior monologue is always so negative, in the guise of being "realistic." My husband has been pointing out to me lately that I never, ever accept a compliment or a nice comment from him--I always "correct" him or say something like "I'm really glad you think so," instead of just saying, "Thank you." I am SO much more supportive of others than I am of myself--and so much more negative to myself than I am to others. It's so strange....

We are more than enough. I can "know" it with my head but not "feel" it with my heart. Very frustrating!

Hey all...

Well done Lila, great news about that pesky scale moving! I am loving it... fingers crossed it will continue!

Meg, how is maintance going? Smoothly I hope - let us know what the transition is like.

GT - how was your date and the cinema? Did you have a good time?

We've broken up from school here for 2 weeks. I have to go in for some revision sessions but that is fine. I have a tough couple of weeks with food as it is mine and my daughter's birthday soon and that always involves cakes and goodies. I am going to have to be very aware of what goes in my mouth as I really don't want to see a gain...

@ Coops, the date was eh, alright. We ended up going to watch live Jazz instead, I had a few bites of his calamari salad, claiming I was full from an early dinner (which was true, he just didn't need to know it was a half cup's worth of food), but then in what I'm sure he thought was a romantic gesture, while I was in the ladie's room, he ordered two ramikins of creme brulee. =/ Luckily, due to the construction of creme brulee, I was able to destroy it visually and make it look like I had really dug in when I actually had less than one dessert spoon's worth. Sigh.

And as for the cake inevitability Coops, take a leaf from Eggface's blog and make yourself a Protein cake! She has all sorts of examples of luscious looking protein cakes, truffles, ice cream, doughnuts ... All the yum, minus the loathing. Plus frosting!=)

GT... sounds like you did good!!! So, the big question... will there be a part two?? Another date??

The cake suggestion sounds very interesting, especially as my daughter loves to cook and bake - unlike me who hates cooking of any sorts- where will I find the blog? Is it on here or do I google it?

Thanks for the suggestion my lovely! x

Coops - eh, I thought there would be another date (3rd date), until the goodnight kiss =X. I might as well have been kissing my elbow. Nothing, zip, zilch, nada. And he had hard pointy lips, how does a person have pointy lips?! That's okay as I have a ... roster to choose from A different guy made me korean kimchi and pork soup last night and didn't even bat an eyelash when I barely touched the tiny bowl's worth he gave me, and put the rest in a little tupperware I had wisely brought. =)

As for the Eggface, you can google it, "The World According to Eggface". If you have never read her blog before you are in for a real treat! In 2006 she had RouxnY and she has been a diligent food blogger and wls advocate ever since. You can go back all the way to right before her surgery, when she started the blog, and watch her progress. She's also a bad-ass cook and has never let wls stop her from being a real foodie. She's the one, btw, who invented the ricotta bake we love here on the forum so much! Like I said, you are in for a real treat. =)

Cheers me dears, I will defo find her and have a good look... you never know, she might inspire me to cook something!!

You crack me up... pointy lips! Love it. Sounds like you are in hot demand there my lovely... and good for you! You enjoy. but don't forget to keep me updated! x

Teehee, I'm making up for lost time! I lost my 20's to being fat, it was like being in a social coma. I'd say I'm currently about "23", but I started out last summer at "17" so, progress! =P =P

Y'all are cracking me up. Coops, "maintenance" is fine; there's almost no difference between now and before, except that now I don't hop on the scale every single day. I'm doing what I call "the bounce," as per usual--still hovering right around my goal weight, some days 1 pound less, some days 1 pound more--I don't sweat it, since I know what I'm eating. I have switched around a bit, sort of stealthily, to a diet that has more sugar in it than I would like. My sleeve used to outright reject baked goods and sweets; unfortunately, it doesn't reject them any more, so I have to avoid them. I haven't been doing such a great job at avoiding them, but at least most of the time they haven't been fatty sweet things--for instance, I'll eat a few jelly Beans. But I don't really need/want/like jelly beans, so what's that about? LOL Now I have to eat like all the other grownups, sleeve or no sleeve. :-)

I'm still having trouble with the shortness of breath issue, especially when singing, which I do on a regular basis; I have some tests scheduled for later this month that hopefully will be the start to a thorough checkup about it. I had thought the symptoms were due to low Iron, but my doctor said that was really unlikely (even though I felt better on the iron tablets--?), so more tests are coming and we are definitely going to figure it out. She is still worried about some kind of diaphragmatic paralysis or damage from the surgery, although she feels it's highly unlikely, since my surgeon is meticulous, but we're in the "rule out" phase for now.

Anyway, we've been on spring break this week (I work for a Catholic university, and we get Holy Week off)--going to enjoy this weekend to the fullest, since the next few weekends are nonstop!! But summer is coming!!!

Hey Meg, I'm going to be at Ft. Polk for 10 weeks, in high summer, any tips on how to cope with the hideous heat & humidity & mosquitos?