VerticalSleeveTalk Newsletter

Hey, Sleevers!

Summer’s over and we’re into the beautiful days of early autumn. No matter where you live, we hope you’re getting a chance to get out and enjoy the weather! Any activity you do counts toward your weight loss, health and pleasure, so make an effort to get outside and get moving. Don’t forget to take your VerticalSleeveTalk.com app with you so you can read the newsletter and keep up with the boards! Here’s what you’ll find in October’s newsletter.

• Member Spotlight: Meet Sleeve4me!

• Sleever Challenge: Lend a Hand!

• Having a Healthy Autumn: A Few Tips for Parents – and Other Busy VerticalSleeveTalk.com Members!

• Weight Loss Surgery: Not the Easy Way Out!

Can’t wait to get started? Neither can we! Enjoy the newsletter and please feel free to let us know what you think! Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder

VerticalSleeveTalk.com

Member Spotlight: Meet Sleeve4me!

Sleeve4me from southern California is in this week’s Member Spotlight. She put on weight through ten years of marriage and hit her largest clothing size of 18W – she wouldn’t let herself buy any bigger clothes. The final straw was when she could barely walk upstairs at home; her orthopedic surgeon told her to lose weight or continue to suffer joint pain. The surgeon put in her weight loss surgery referral in June of 2009, and sleeve 4 me is grateful he did!

Sleeve4me has maintained goal weight for over a year since hitting 144 pounds in May of 2011. She hikes, boogie boards, zumba and going to the gym – she’s still shocked that she can honestly say she enjoys it! She loves impressing her son with her ability now to run up the stairs – without knee pain. Her current biggest challenge is drinking enough Water every day.

Sleeve4me says that with the sleeve, “I’m living the best me I can be.” Some of Sleeve4me’s best moments have been running her first 5k race, hiking the Grand Canyon and, of course, fitting into her wedding dress after 20 years!

Sleeve4me credits VerticalSleeveTalk with helping her get to goal. The people lifted her out of some discouraging times. The VerticalSleeveTalk SO CAL group and other members have been inspirational for her. Now, she continues to encourage other VerticalSleeveTalk members as they try to reach their goals. Her tips for others? Here are a few…

• Keep keeping on!

• Take it one day at a time and enjoy the journey!

• And finally…hugs, love and happiness!

Thanks, sleeve 4 me, and the same to you! Congratulations on your success, and thanks for being in the Member Spotlight!

If you want to be in the spotlight or you want to nominate someone else, let us know in the Spotlight Forum or send Alex a private message. We’re always looking for outstanding members to highlight!

Sleever Challenge: Lend a Hand!

We like to challenge you to try something new or unusual in each newsletter. The Sleever Challenge is a non-competitive way to push yourself a little further and experience something new while gaining confidence. Why do we ask you to post what you did? It helps motivate others and give them ideas for their challenges!

This week’s challenge is pretty simple. Before the next newsletter, we’re just asking you to help someone. It can be any kind of help, from helping an elderly neighbor take the newspaper in to volunteering to give a motivational talk at your local weight loss surgery support group meeting to making dinner for your spouse even when it’s not your turn. This challenge does more than make someone else’s life easier. It makes you value yourself more when you see how powerful you can be just by being kind to others.

Don’t forget to let us know how you helped someone! What did you do? How did it make you feel? Let us know how it goes in the Sleever Challenge forum! You can always check out any of the previous Newsletter Challenges and give us updates on those. You can always see the old challenges in the archived newsletters. You’ll see challenges on food, fitness and more! It’s never too late to try something new and exciting!

Make It a Healthy Autumn: A Few Tips for Parents – and Other Busy VerticalSleeveTalk.com Members!

Okay, we know that the autumn is a busy time of year. If you’re a parent, your children are back in school and their activities are in full swing. You may be juggling work with your chauffeuring, catering and cleaning business – aka, taking care of your family! Most of us are pretty busy even if we’re not parents.

It’s easy to use not having enough time as an excuse for getting off track with your weight loss. You might eat foods that you know you shouldn’t because you feel you just can’t squeeze in the time to prepare a healthy snack. We’ve all done it. You rush out the door in the morning and are busy all day. Some of these happen along the way.

• You are starving by lunchtime and grab a few truffles that immediately make you nauseous.

• You go by the vending machine for a soft drink that’ll make you feel sick within minutes.

• You realize at the end of the day that you haven’t stopped to drink for hours, and you have a headache and your stomach hurts.

• You know you should be eating lean Protein, but the closest thing you can find is pepperoni from the company’s pepperoni pizza – so to be polite, you eat the entire slice and it causes an obstruction.

• You start to depend on Protein shakes because those are the closest thing to a healthy meal that you can find at the company cafeteria.

You don’t have to let a hectic schedule get in the way of your health! What can you do about it? Here are a few tips to make the most out of every day

• Prepare some of your meals and Snacks at the beginning of the week.

  • Wash your fruits and vegetables so they’re easy to prepare when you need them.

  • Cook some your Proteins - chicken breast, fish, seafood, lean beef and/or veggie burgers – and freeze them in single-serving baggies or containers.

  • Cook up bigger batches, put them in single-serving containers and freeze them so you can defrost them when you’re ready to eat them. This is a great option for healthy side dishes, such as whole wheat Pasta, carrots or Beans. (You don’t have to make too much, since your single portions post-surgery are pretty small).

  • Place snacks in single-serving bags if you buy a multi-serving package

  • Plan your Breakfast the night before so you don’t have to think about it in the morning.

• Take the time to make a grocery list. It’ll save you time in the end.

  • Using a list will keep you from forgetting foods and needing to go back to the store during the week.

  • You’ll be faster in the store because you won’t get distracted.

  • Sticking to a list will keep you from buying foods you shouldn’t.

  • Buy ingredients for breakfast

  • Buy snack foods

• Make sure you drink enough.

  • Stash water bottles in your car and at work and keep them filled. It’ll encourage you to drink throughout the day and you won’t have to take the time to run to the kitchen each time you need to drink.

  • Stick a pitcher of water in the fridge so you see it several times a day.

• Keep healthy snacks at work so you never find yourself starving with nothing healthy to eat.

  • Beef Jerky and canned tuna, chicken, beans, vegetables keep for months.

  • Frozen foods to consider keeping around include grilled chicken and fish, veggie burgers and vegetables.

  • Yogurt, low-fat cheese, cottage cheese and deli meats are high-protein snacks to keep in the fridge for a week or more.

The more you plan, the better off you’ll be. You’ll save time and be more likely to eat well. And remember – you’re worth it! We suggest picking one or two strategies and working on them until you master them, then moving on to a new tip. Let us know how helpful the tips are!

That’s a lot to chew on for this newsletter, so we’re going to end it here. There’s no end to the news, tips and conversations over at VerticalSleeveTalk.com, so come on over via your computer, smartphone or Kindle! You can always check out the old newsletters, too, in the Newsletter Forum.

Thanks for coming along in this newsletter and for being part of our fantastic community! We couldn’t do it without you.

Have a great month and take care of yourself and each other,

Alex.

==============================================================
If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

yay Sleeve4me!

Good tips on the before hand food prep - I did that anyway, mostly out of habit to feed and treat my bunnies, and as I began my final weight loss, I realized how helpful it was for me, too.

Woohoo my dear Sleeve 4 Me!!! You rock sistah! =)) And yep, that was my suggestion right there. *hugs*

yay Sleeve4me!

Good tips on the before hand food prep - I did that anyway, mostly out of habit to feed and treat my bunnies, and as I began my final weight loss, I realized how helpful it was for me, too.

yay Sleeve4me!

Good tips on the before hand food prep - I did that anyway, mostly out of habit to feed and treat my bunnies, and as I began my final weight loss, I realized how helpful it was for me, too.

Woohoo my dear Sleeve 4 Me!!! You rock sistah! =)) And yep, that was my suggestion right there. *hugs*

LOL!!!! Hugs my friends

Way to go Sleeve4me. I know this journey is difficult at times since I have been on it since August 9th 2011. But as they say anything worth having is worth working for. I am trying to lose those last few pounds also. Even though I have surpassed my sergeon's original goal, he agrees losing a few more pounds will be okay for me. I know the struggle that goes with these last pounds. You are inspiring to me and everyone else you share your story with. Keep up the great work.