Hello how is all December sleevers doing and feeling? =) as for myself I'm feeling great. I've lost around 95lbs I'm finally out the 200's I feel really good. The only thing I've found myself starting to want to snack. And my appetite is ins screaming. I don't snack at all I just eat my 3 meals and drink my protein shakes. What's the calorie and protein some of you are taking in? I'm always lower then 800 calories. Hope everyone is doing great. Any snack ideas would be great. Honestly I feel scared when I find myself looking for a snack because before I would turn to chips or cookies. I for crave that anymore. Oh and I've hit a 1 month and a half plateau that I'm in now. I've also been working out. Any ideas how to get out the plateau?

Surgery date 12/21/13

Highest weight 278

Current weight around 181

Edited June 4, 201412 yr by nesa83

I average under 800 calories per day. (I take a week at a time and average my calories) There are occasional days when I go over 800, but it all averages out in the end. I haven't weighed in a couple weeks, so I'll probably weigh early next week. I am close to 50 pounds. Love being told how thin I am! My health is fabulous, and I am feeling good. Overall, my Protein is solid, I don't drink Protein shakes anymore. I keep snack a noun so I don't find myself "snacking" (a verb). I have had the occasional carby snack, but I account for everything in my fitness pal, suck it up, and move on. Have you tried nuts? They come in interesting flavors, high protein, and you can count them out, stick 'em in a baggie, and you're good to go! I appreciate a salty crunch now and again!

Surgery date: 12/18/13

Highest weight: 210

Weight at last weigh-in: 164

BTW--you may want to add December sleevers in your post title.

Edited June 4, 201412 yr by Teachamy

Happy 6 months to my fellow December Sleevers!!!

Surgery date: 12/10/13

Height: 5'6.5"

Highest: 289lbs

Start of process: 268lbs

Day of surgery: 254lbs

Current: 174.8lbs

I've had pretty frequent stalls, but I wouldn't say I've hit a plateau. Still dropping inches. Have you done measurements for the last month and a half? I'd be surprised if you weren't still shrinking.

The scale dropped a lot a lot faster in the first 3 months than in these last 3 months, even with a more vigorous workout routine. Hard not to get bummed about it. I get between 400 - 600 calories a day and between 50-65 grams of Protein a day, depending on whether I go to the gym or not.

Generally I have 3 meals a day, and my Protein shake for Breakfast counts as one of those meals. I have a low calorie dessert about twice a week (1oz of guilt free cake, SF pudding, Arctic Zero, or a SF Popsicle). I also have a low calorie snack maybe twice a week. Here are my suggestions: half a Quest Protein Bar, turkey Jerky, avocado with plantain or veggie chips, light string cheese, popcorn, and bagel chips with a laughing cow wedge. I log absolutely everything I eat, and I measure things out with a scale. For the plantain, veggie, and bagel chips, which are low calorie anyway, I will only eat half a serving, and then go heavier on the laughing cow or avocado. I'm still satisfied.

I can't believe it's been nearly six months!

HW (6/13) - 289

Start of Pre-op diet 12/1/13 - 280

SW on 12/16/13 - 262

CW - 197

I'm very happy with my loss and I feel great. I started in a size 24 and am now in a misses 16 inching into a misses 14. My calories probably average 700 - 800. About 3 months out I was having frequent dizzy spells, at the recommendation of my doctor I added carbs to include about 50 - 60 carbs a day on my heavy workout days, this helped. On my non-workout days I keep my carbs as low as possible, maybe around 20 or 30 in the form of a Quest bar or some non fat milk. Things I eat with some frequency are eggs, baby bell light cheese, turkey or chicken boars head lunch meat, almonds, berries or a peach on occasion, beef jerky, tuna, trader joe chicken patties, 3 Chucks ultimate fish sticks maybe 1X every few weeks, sliced eye of round from the deli, shrimp, alaska salmon (been meaning to try salmon burgers but have too much salmon in my freezer to justify the purchase) tofu chunks, avacado, cottage cheese with s/f raspberry jam, or sugarfree pudding. I thought I'd eat more greek yogurt but I don't. I drank premier Protein pretty faithfully in the morning for about 4 months. I stopped, then started adding a few a week just because it is an easy no brainer breakfast and I'm super tired of eggs!

I still take prilosec, the GI doc just upped my dose to 2X per day. I had cut myself back to 1X per day because it kept it under control, he said taking it 2X a day would be better. I had an upper GI done last week which confirmed that I had GERD (well I already knew that!). I've had to cut out coffee for the most part becase of the acid and I really miss it. I drink Chike sometimes but it's expensive. I also eat Quest bars about 2X per week (on my way to the gym because I can't go home first, more of a convenience thing), My appetite is increasing a bit, having to use discipline more these days. I seem to be physically hungry every 3 hours or so. My loss has slowed to 1-2 lbs a week. I exercise 4 - 5 hours a week. 2.5 hours of Zumba and 2 hours of strength classes at a dance studio. I was only exercising 2 or so hours a week but got really serious about it about 2 months ago. I just keep thinking about that first year post surgery being so important so I'm trying to really be proactive. I will admit I haven't been the best about Vitamins. I've finally started being more consistent. I didn't lose any hair. If you have not tried the GNC B-12 chews, give them a try. They are like a red-bull in chewable form. Nice little burst of energy!

This journey can be challenging with the head hunger. I've been struggling in the last month with carb cravings. I'm not giving in but boy do I want to. I've made some tweaks to my diet this week including cutting out the sweet tea crystal light I was drinking as it has corn syrup solids. I think this might have somethign to do with my cravings. I am also struggling with wanting to eat post workout and before bed because I'm physically hungry, but also just because I want to eat! If I give in I usually have a few spoons of cottage cheese but feel guilty about it.

Hope all my fellow December peeps are going well!

Today's my official 6 month mark. Unreal! When I look at before pictures, I don't really recognize myself. She looks so sad and tired and uncomfortable. It feels so far behind me, and when I compare my lifestyle now, it's shocking.

I said I haven't really plateaued, but the loss has significantly slowed down. I weigh every day, and I lost 47 in the first 3 months, and I've only lost 34 in the second 3 months. I have 32 lbs to go to me goal, and I'm really really gonna try and get those off by Sept. 10th.

December 3rd date here.

271 start (no pre op diet)

174 currently

I also get about 800 cal/day and work out a lot.

60-80 g Protein

30-50g carbs

I still do one shake a day to keep the protein up

I lose well for a week or two then stay the same for a week. Been that way for about two months now.

I do more like 5-6 small meals since I can't eat too much at once. I eat a lot of turkey jerky, Greek yogert, nuts, laughing cow cheese, cold cuts, PB2, homemade guacamole with veggies...I also eat fruit daily (berries and watermelon mostly but also apricots or half a banana occasionally).

I had surgery 12-23-13. Started at 266. Weight loss has really slowed. I can't seem to get out of the190s. Just hovering there. Frustrating to say the least. I find myself wanting to eat on the weekends and late at night. I am trying to drink when I do want to eat. I try to stick to 3 high protein meals a day. No snacks. I have added a snack a few times, but mostly try to stick to 3 meals only. I don't think anoxia is a concern for me, now or ever. People can't believe how little I eat and still in the 190s.

I'm doing fantastic! I hit surgeon's goal a month ago and my personal goal last week. I started adding more fat (2% instead of skim milk, regular cottage cheese instead of nonfat, 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee, etc) and healthy carbs (whole grain bars, sesame sticks, more fruits) to my diet after hitting surgeons goal and am still losing about 1 pound/week.

I take 2 Garden of Life Vitamin Code for women (which is 1/2 the recommended dose) daily, and B12 sublingual and D3 5000iu 3-4 times/ week. I was taking Iron and Calcium, too, but these were both high on my 6 month bloodwork so I eliminated the calcium (I eat a lot of dairy, anyways) and only take the iron 1x/week. The rest of my bloodwork was perfect...PCP was impressed.

For the most part, I've had a wonderful postop experience, but here are a few low points...

Stalled for a month between weeks 6 and 10. I increased my food and Fluid intake and started losing again. Had a second stall around 5 months but that only lasted 2 weeks. I didn't do anything special for that one.

Got a Clostridial infection 2 months out that resulted in almost 2 months of severe diarrhea. I went through 3 rounds of an antibiotic that made me incredibly nauseous and I could barely eat/drink. ( This was, ironically during my month long stall. ) Then another 2 rounds of a different antibiotic that didn't make me sick. But nothing could clear the infection, so I ended up getting a fecal transplant on April 10th. Instant cure and makes for an interesting story... Always a hit at any gathering !

Had a gall bladder attack a few weeks ago. Worst pain EVER. Ultrasound showed no stones but maybe some sludge. I may be needing to get my gallbladder removed, but in the meantime I'm just praying I don't have another attack.

I know this all sounds like I've had a rough time, but really it hasn't been that bad. My weight loss, drop in clothes size, and the fabulous way I feel has far outweighed any of the other things. I don't count or track or measure anything. I drink one large Protein smoothie (24-32oz/30-40g protein) everyday. Eat balanced meals of protein and veggies and snack on protein, fruit and whole grains. I do have alcohol, Desserts, Pasta, bread and other no-no's, but these are very occasional and in moderation.

Love love love my new life and hope you all do, too.

Edited July 13, 201412 yr by Kindle

I'm doing pretty well. I'm down 93lbs and the weight is still coming off, though a bit slower. I am also noticing an increase in appetite which does concern me. I've been doing my best to avoid most refined carbs (bread, rice, Pasta etc) mostly because they make me uncomfortable. The head hunger is really rough on me. I keep having to ask, am I hungry? Am I sure? I eat a lot of Soup, home made and store bought. That still seems to go down the easiest, though I am eating just about everything.

My work outs are NOT consistent. Financial reasons have caused me to stop seeing my personal trainer. I miss seeing her, and hope things turn around so that I can go back. Summer is great, because of all the fruit that is available, so I am trying to get as much fresh fruits and veggies in. I'm getting my supplements in as much as I can. I can do better,but I'm ok with it. I have experienced hair loss. Luckily I had "hair to spare" so it's not too bad. But I can tell that it's not as thick as it was. I hope I get some of the volume back.

My work id photo was at my highest, when I see myself now, I can't believe it. I look so different, even to myself. My personal goal was to loose 150lbs from my highest, I'm not there yet, but getting there. I actually can't remember what my doctor had suggested. My goal is still to lose 150, but once I get to 120 down, I will reevaluate and see how I look and feel. My biggest size was 24 pants and 26 top. I'm now into a 16. My goal is to be a 10. But all of this depends on how I look and feel. All in all I feel great and am so happy that I did this. Best thing I ever did for myself.

Edited July 22, 201412 yr by LessofApril

Everything's going well here. I religiously log my macros and take my Vitamins. I workout at the gym (mostly weights, but occasionally do a circuit) 4 days a week. I try to make an early morning yoga class once a week. I do C25K 3 times a week, and I'm in Week 6, did my first 2mi race yesterday, and registered for my first 5K on 8/15.

107 pounds down and feeling great! From a size 26/28 to 10/12. If the sleeves are forgiving, and I can get my bat wings in, I can wear a small shirt. I'm coming to terms with the saggy skin. I accept that I'm just not going to look like I wasn't big. At this point I'm on such a high from it all and so motivated, that I've even worn a tank-top to the gym with pride. My arms "give me away", and they're sorta like battle scars. Who knows how I'll feel about it in two years though.

I've had a handful of bad food days.. During my last TOM, I snacked pretty badly. "Good" Snacks (like turkey jerky, string cheese, and Protein drinks), but frequent and unnecessary. The calories added up quick. Two nights in a row I had an entire pint of Arctic Zero. 150 cals each. Not the worst thing, but I usually keep my daily intake between 500-700 cals. It was a wake-up call.

I'm 21 pounds from my initial goal. I want to get down to 140 pounds. But I've since switched that up. I'll certainly get there, but body fat % is more important to me now. According to the Body Impedance Assessment scale at the Dr.'s office, I'm at 31% body fat. That's still obese... I want to get down to 22%. I'm focusing more on muscle and strength than the scale.

Highest: 234

Starting weight: 228

Weight Day of surgery: 213

Current weight: 148

Goal weight: 135

Surgery date: 12/17/13

I am in the home stretch of my weight goal. I feel very happy with the results. I have plateaued during the past 2 months. But slowly decreasing 1-2 pounds every week or so.

I don't drink my Protein shakes because I cannot handle it still. But I do mix unflavored protein in Soups, drinks, oatmeal, etc...

I do look for 'snacks' online. For example: one day I was craving chocolate chip Cookies. But they are very high in sugar and fat most of the time. So I looked up low fat low sugar cookies and came upon the most delicious cookies called Chocolate chip clouds. I like to bake though so I constantly look for healthy low fat recipes.

Good luck to you.

For the past month I've had terrible hunger/stomach pains. I've felt ravenously hungry pretty much all day every day. It's been so hard not to snack all day, and it's not satiating even if I do. It's miserable.

I brought it up at my 9 month follow-up appointment, and they've put me back on prevacid. It's only been 3 days, and I'd say it's lessened somewhat, but I'm still waiting for it to really work. I'm also trying natural ways to reduce the acid like prebiotic smoothies. Hopefully getting my gut bacteria healthy will help.

Anyone else getting constant hunger signals caused by acid? Has anything helped you? Hopefully this will pass and I don't have to battle acid and stomach pains that feel like hunger forever..