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My surgery is now set for 12/11, and I'm so very excited. On Tuesday of next week I will start the liquid diet, and then I'll be counting the days until surgery. Last night I decided to start organizing my closet. I'm a bargain shopper, so few of my clothes are terribly expensive, but I have a lot of clothes. As many of you can probably imagine, I also have many different sizes of clothes. Right now, I'm comfortable in a 20 and sometimes an 18. It's been many years since I've been less than a 16, though. Still, I'm not good at getting rid of my favorite clothes. I still have the size XL dress I wore to my college graduation in 1999. I found that last night as I sorted through my "I Have a Dream" section of my closet. My son graduates from high school this spring; wouldn't it be wonderful if I wore that dress to his graduation? To save space, I always put my out of season clothes in a couple of rubbermaid tubs in the corner of my closet. Last night, my ritual had a strange element to it. Will I need those clothes in 6 months? I hope not! But I still couldn't find the nerve to give them away. So I compromised: I put some of the clothes that are big (or roomy) on me now in a pile for Goodwill, and then neatly folded the rest and put them in the tub. But before I closed it up, I took a moment to write myself a note. Exactly what I wrote is kind of personal, but I was very aware of the fact that I will probably be very different-- at least in size, but I imagine in other ways as well-- when I open that tub this spring. I'm glad I'm doing all of this, and documenting it. I've actually started loading video blogs into Youtube, but they are pretty amateur, so don't expect to be dazzled. Still, if you're interested, go to youtube and check out: NewAndImprovedJennie.

So my doctor wants me to change my mindset, think maintenance instead of weight loss… What does that mean? I am finally comfortable with my portion sizes and my band. I don’t get stuck or pb, I can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, I can eat any foods, I eat 1200 calories a day and I don’t feel hungry between meals. For me, it means nothing changes. I lost my weight with my band more on the loose side than the tight side and therefore my body will settle and I’ll stop loosing (that’s what my doctor says). Probably around the weight of 170-175 lbs. That’s the physical part, but what about the mental part? How does the head handle maintenance?? What if I can’t keep the weight off? What if I fail and gain weight back? I can’t fail; I've worked too hard to get here. But, what if??? Man, the head is my biggest obstacle. I have to get a hold of my thoughts. I know I can do this. Per my doctor, nothing has changed. I still have the same fill; I still eat my cup of food, 3-4 ozs protein, ½ cup veggies. I still drink my water. I still exercise. I am at goal and it’s just another number on the scale. I'm just at the next chapter in my banded lifestyle.

Well I am four weeks post and doing good. I made the mistake of trying to progress forward too fast, and wasnt eating the best food. I ate too fast and that caused violent vomiting and had lots of blood coming up. SCARY! I was out of comission for the afternoon, napped andmy husband frantically looked though my weight loss books to find out what was going on. The dr. scolded be BIG TIME and put me back to purree foods. Let me tell ya that was one hell of a reality check! My husband and I have cleaned out the cubbords and fridge and did shopping for all foods purree. I really read through all my lit from the dr again and made a few recipes of tuna salad and egg salad my dr provided and my husband and I LOVED them. Word of advice to all of you new sleevers TAKE IT EASY do not rush! Evalute your habits, how you eat, why you eat, slow down and listen to your new stomach! I am ready to eat my some mashed tatoes tomorrow! Lesson learned I could have been eating turkey "normal" but I didnt focus and take things one step at a time! Good luck to you all!!!

So today is post op day 15. I did not get much sleep last night therefore i slept a large portion of the day. I still have a little soreness from the procedure so I'am going light on the exercising. Mentally I feeling ok but I must admit I miss eating alot. I guess I never thought that I would miss the act of eating and drinking so much. I know this sounds so bad but sometimes I just wish I could just chew some food. Exercise: 30 minutes cardio: speed 2.2, incline 7, calories burned 303 50 sit ups 10 girl push ups Food/liquids: 30 oz of plain water 11 oz (2) Priemier Protien chocolate shakes ( each 11oz shake contains 30g of protien 160 cals, and 1g sugar) 3 oz of pureed marie calender chicken pot pie 1 oz sugar free popsicle Things I plan on working on tomorrow: being more active and not laying in bed all day and trying to get all 64ozs of fluids down. Surgery date 11/06/12 Starting weight 260 Current weight 239

HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS!!! I used to run away from the camera....not lately lol!! Love the camera better than the scale :wub:

Even though Ty is staying 2 hours away from me, he couldn't have been a better fiance' than today! After I called him with our amazing news about being able to start the process, he went and bought my Christmas present so I could have it early! A brand new Canon camera!! So that I can take photos of my journey and start recording a continuous vlog of everything! I'm soooo happy today! Nothing could bring me down! (Except this sad episode of Catfish ) I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving eve!

Had a pretty busy two weeks and so got a lil behind in my blog. Took me off my good eating habits too so have to bring that back on track. All in all though has been a pretty good past two weeks weight loss wise...I have also set more goals for myself. I am starting a training schedule for a half marathon as I committed to run my first one on June 01, 2013. Having goals like this keep me on target. Not only does it keep me focused to work out but also keeps me eating right as I do not want to erode my hard work with bad food choices. I have run into a few folks on the forums that are steadfast believers that working out does not speed up weight loss and they may be right...However, I am not just going for skinny I am going for healthy and fit. Working out is part of my overall healthy lifestyle and it sure doesnt hurt to realize the toning payoffs I am getting from working out. I also know there will be a time where the weight loss settles out and I want to make sure that exercise is apart of my life so that the weight doesnt find itself back. Now for the NSV's that I experienced over the last two weeks. The first one was an underhanded compliment...almost insult but crazy enough it made me feel so darn good...I posted a pic on FB and pretty soon I got a call from a relative. He first said that cannot be you in the pic...I of course said it was and he said you are so darn skinny...If I did not know any better I would swear you on crack because you lost so much weight so fast...Uh yeah..(he doesnt know about the surgery)...I laughed so hard..and got tingles because while I am not skinny I feel skinny as compared to where I was...2nd NSV was I was out on the town the other weekend and saw an old friend and he didn't speak. I am was wondering what was up...Well he finally came to me after a bit and said Helga I did not recognize you...You lost so much weight...You look damn good...Oh why thank you...And the third NSV was I had to buy new belts and bras I was on the last loop of all my belts before surgery. Now even the last loop on the belt is too loose so had to get another one. My bras are no longer considered plus size (40B pre surgery)...Now I am a 36B...I love the selection I have now...One thing I did notice though while trying on bras is that my boobs are a lil saggy...Might have to perk these lil T-shirt boobies back up...I dont want big boobs but I want what I have to be perky... Finally, I have attached my 3 month progress photos. I have had an amazing and rewarding journey thus far. I am just 34lbs from my goal, though I am starting to rethink whether I want to move my goal to 165lbs vs 155lbs. I can currently wear some size 11 jeans and I am still nearly 190lbs. I always thought I would be comfortable at a size 9. In fact, I still think I would so I am going to see how things work out weight wise with me fitting into a comfortable size 9. Depending on the number, this might be my new goal weight. HW 232 & SW 227 (VSG 08/17/12 & 5'8) LW 192.0 Week 11 Weight - 190.8 CW 188.8 [Total Weight Loss 43.2lbs ] GW 155