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...

You're on!

This morning's weight: 152.3 (boo! - I hate it when the scale does that, I suspect it's a bit of water retention from higher salt intake).

Anybody else want to join our challenge?

Girls I would love to join in... but... after not losing anything for over a year and struggling at the top end of my bounce I think it would be a little foolish of me... I say this because, if I do a challenge and don't see results I get soooo disheartened! It is bad enough at home seeing the scale move for the hubby and not me! I ain't being mean and I will cheer you both on!! x

Well I'm at my high bounce of 147.1. So it's all up hill from here on.

Coops I completely understand. You are even in the middle of changing your eating habits too which is very stressful to boot....

Take it one day at a time and just know that I am here for you.....

thanks Skinny!!

Not seeing any progress on the scales though... cut out the sugar in my tea and coffee this week and so far so good... reducing milk too - see what happens!

Been eating pretty well, had a blip yesterday that included biscuits but back on course today. I haven't eaten bread for over two weeks so that is really good for me!

I just gotta keep on keeping on...

just gotta say though, escape and skinny - I would love to be either 152 or 147, in fact, I would probably call that goal for me! You are both doing great and you both have a normal BMI, that is something I don't think I will see as it is 28lbs away!!

I went shopping today and all I could think of buying was protein, protein, and protein. I really need to get some veggies in. However, I do love bread so I avoid eating it at all cost. Every now and then is ok.

So lets do this healthy eating stuff for our healthy bodies.

Coops, you're my hero. I hope I haven't offended you, if you'd rather I started a new thread do let me know. You just work so hard at it, and you look fabulous! I know you're not where you'd like to be ideally, but I think you've done an amazing job.

Oh God noooo... I didn't mean that... no stay so I can cheer you on!!! x

I feel a little bit up in the air as well, Im not very confident that I can lose any more weight, but I am trying some new and old things...I want to cheer you all on as well though! I will chime in with my journey if anything interesting comes up or I just need to brag or b***h! Its all good. I am so much better off than I was two years ago. (my two year surga

versary is on the 18th of Jan) Down 70 pounds. I have never been able to do that before.

You're so right FeedYourEye, it's easy to get wrapped up in the number on the scale or on our clothes tag or whatever measure we're using at the moment and forget to take time to appreciate how very far we've come from where we started! I was thinking the other day about the last time I lost a substantial amount of weight. I got down to about 160 and started to climb again, and there seemed to be nothing I could do to take pounds back off again or stop the regain. This time, I feel like I have a fighting chance at staying where I'm at. I want to do better if I can, but not at the expense of appreciating what I've achieved. It's still a journey, whether we've reached goal or not!

Well, crap! I was up yesterday, and now I'm up again today! 152.9. Not sure what's going on, my calories yesterday were right at 1200, about 400 burned in exercise (I track with a heart rate monitor, not the machine readout). I'm in physical therapy for neck / back issues, and a recent change they made to my exercises left me REALLY sore, so maybe I'm retaining water in my muscles? I usually associate that with a really hard workout session and the resulting soreness, but I suppose it's the same concept.... Regardless of the cause, it might be time to get off the scale for a week, as I have a bad habit of letting bad scale news have me throw in the towel completely and get off track. I am NOT doing that this time - today's day 12 of being on track. I know if I just keep doing what I'm doing, the scale will start going down again. So, I put on the cutest outfit I can fit into this morning, pasted on my game face, and I'll keep on keepin' on today. I've been REALLY hungry the past few days, so it's time to focus on making those calories count with extra veggies and dense protein. Sigh....

This is totally amazing. In the afternoon I found that my ring is about to fall off, the next day, I had gained 2 lbs. Now today I went down to 146.1 lbs.... Didn't change much of my eating patterns, in fact, I ate a little bit more. _

Escape_Pod I truly believe that this is water weight. I know that I did some weight baring exercises 2 days ago and my muscles were torn down and repairing the tissue which cause inflammation. So I guess when exercising, it would be expected to add some extra weight. But I'm still going to work this. Just wish I could get to a low point of 143 lbs and I will be happy. Just found out that my bone structure is medium and so my goal weight is between 130 and 144 lbs. So I'm shooting for 135 lbs.

I think I want to get on the scale each morning for at least 2 weeks, write down my weight each morning to see what by body is doing. Then I'm going to average that out and see where I stand.

OK, today is a totally new day. I weighed in at 147.1 lbs today, up 1 lb from yesterday. I believe that I need to stop eating peanuts for a while. The salt is messing with my system. Water retention....? I struggle with understanding why my body is not shedding little bit of weight I have left. According to my fitness pal, the low calorie diet I'm on, Haha, couldn't eat more if I tried, I should be down to 130 lbs months ago. By weighing myself daily and posting it here, gives me a pattern of the ups and downs of my weight. I do eat about 1200 to 1300 calories daily and it's high protein with few carbs........ Hope you guys don't mind that I share this stuff, if so, please let me know and I will stop. Have a great day.......

Great.... I'm up another half pound. I've gone from 151.1 on Monday to 153.4 today. Unfortunately, I think Monday was an artificial low, but CRAP! I've been exercising, staying within my calorie range, and avoiding carbs and I feel like someone up there is trying to teach me a lesson about being cocky that I can do this.

Pity party at my house - snacks will NOT be served!

Ms Skinniness, I think some day to day fluctuation is normal (but that doesn't mean I'm not totally ticked about my trending upwards! ha ha...). Unfortunately, I've been on and off track for so long that I don't have good stats to go on for what a normal month looks like for me. Guess I'm about to find out, because I will NOT be derailed this time.

I splurged and got myself a Withings scale last Fall, it sends my weigh-ins via Wi-Fi to my computer, so it tracks itself for me. It also integrates with MyFitnessPal, so the scale tracking software knows about the activity I enter in MyFitnessPal, and MFP knows about my daily weight info. Up until now my weight tracking has looked more like a wild roller coaster than a trend line, but that's going to change.