Hello VST family! It's been a while since I have posted. Life has been busy! As of today I am 11 weeks out and am down 35.4lbs. My BMI is 31.1, I am obese YAHOO! I have had some good days and some bad days. My biggest challenge is controlling the gurgle/gnawing feeling that my sleeve loves to hit me with and the occasional constipation. There are some days I feel completely normal and forget that I even had surgery. I love those days because my sleeve is cooperative and not gurgling at me. The restriction is most noticeable with certain foods and there really has not been much I have had that has not agreed with me. I am staying away from (forever) greasy fried foods and am trying to adhere to the plan as much as possible because I still have another 40lbs to go. I no longer have problems getting in my Fluid or Protein. YAY! I have also found that I will have to use chewable Vitamins from here on out. I tried to take a regular Vitamin and my sleeve threw a fit! I also have not experienced a lot of hair loss but I take a Biotin supplement that is probably helping.

As for exercising, I average 4-5 days a week with weights, running/walking, push ups and sit ups. I sometimes think it is slowing down my weight loss because I am building muscle but I highly recommend exercising because it has helped a bit with the loose skin. And it REALLY helps with the inches. My problem area is my thighs (always has been) and now I have bat wings (sort of) which are of course only noticeable to me (according to my hubby). The best part about having lost weight is that exercising doesn't HURT anymore and I still have energy afterwards to do household chores. My husband calls me the Energizer bunny.

I have been keeping track of inches lost and here is the most recent info:

Heaviest weight:

230 lbs, Chest 46, Waist 43, Hips 48, Thighs 27.5, Calves 17.75 Now that's a whole lotta love going on

Current weight:

175.4 lbs, Chest 40, Waist 35, Hips, 40.5, Thighs 22.5, Calves 15.5

I have lost about 29 inches off of my body and the sad thing is I still look in the mirror and feel fat. I am hoping one day I will not see the heavy girl anymore.

The other thing I have finally experienced is food mourning. Never had it until last Friday. I took my son to Applebees and we shared some chicken. I looked over and saw this guy mowing down a burger and I suddenly missed food. Darn it, he made that burger look good! I wanted to smack him. But you know that feeling you used to get when you would order something delicious then finish it all and you would get that great sense of satisfaction until you got up from the table of course and your pants were about to burst. But you know what I am talking about? It was almost like food porn.

After that I did fall off the wagon at one point but thank goodness the sleeve kept me in check. I was emotionally eating during my mourning period. It is very hard when you are stressed because food can no longer comfort you. But that feeling only lasted for about 2 days and I got myself in check real fast. Funny thing is the worst thing I ate when I fell off the wagon was Peanut Butter pretzels and a couple of peanut butter Cookies.

I will say that I am painfully aware of how much my family is eating now. I almost feel like the food police but I am just so afraid my boys will have the same problems I have had with food if they don't check themselves now. It's a fine line but I am cooking healthy and they actually love it but they eat so much it scares me. But again, they are growing. My 10 year old is 5'2" and weighs 135lbs and my 13 year old is 5'8" and weighs 165. So it's not like they are overweight but I don't want them to be either.

I have not experienced any problems eating out. My husband loves to share his food with me because it saves him money! I get to pick the entree and we share. He eats well, as do I, and the bill is cheaper, a definite win win! Sometimes I share with one of my boys. Worst case scenario I order Soup and I have not had a rude waiter yet because between my husband and two growing boys they eat what I don't finish

I took my car into the shop where I always go and I was talking to the guy behind the counter who always helps me. He was looking at me like, "Who the heck are you?!" Then I took off my sunglasses and he said, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you! You look so different, what did you do?"

I apparently look different but I don't feel different yet. The good news, clothes! I am shopping the clearance racks to save money because the clothes start to fall off after a month. No complaints there!

I have a check up with the doctor on Friday. I am hoping he is happy with my progress. I was not able to see him for my one month check up because I had to go out of town so he has no idea how I am doing. Luckily, I have had no complications.

Other than that I am just plugging along and trying to stay positive. I hope all my fellow sleevers out there are doing well. Keep up the good work and thank you to all of you who are on this forum. You have definitely made this process a lot easier with your support. It is so nice to be able to talk with people who understand exactly what you are going through!

Take care! :wub:

Thank you for your post. I have seen post of people losing 20 pounds at a time and was getting so worried that i was doing something wrong. I guess every so often you need to come across someone who has either walked the path your on or is just a few steps ahead of you. I had my surgery on Jan 16th, so you are just a few steps ahead of me. Thanks again for posting.

You are welcome! I think the most important thing to remember is that every-BODY is different I figure if I am a semi slow loser and if I am exercising then I will not have as much loose skin. I figure as long as the numbers keep going down I am heading in the right direction.

On average I am losing about 3lbs a week. Considering I have only stalled once at two weeks out, I am happy with that number.I am consistently losing. It looks like your numbers are going down and that is all that matters. Good luck to you!

You are doing Amazing! Congrats!!