VSGandMe2011 (DisneyMomma)

Welcome to our March Sleeve Buddy group!! We're all ready to change our lives for the better! Come on in and set a spell! Click HERE for a list of what you will need for surgery! (Thank you, LilMissDiva!) ~Our March Sleeve Buddy List ~ *Honorary March Members* February 28 - 2bslimkim March 1 - Carameldiva - Dr. Spiegel warrior68 - Dr. Dibenedetto Plumptious Tarain (Tracy) - Dr. Kelly March 3 - Felicity2u March 4 - LynetteT - Dr. Macik March 7 - goingforgold - Dr. Nicholson SleeveStalker (Chris) - Dr. Kim March 8 - lisa25 DisneyMomma (Dana) - Dr. Nicholson mjb123 QueenBee - Dr. Domkowski March 9 - Nikki_D Disney - Dr. Aceves March 10 - Mariah - Dr. Aceves March 14 - shybaby - Dr. Almanza March 15 - Miters36 - Dr. Kelly March 16 - Squishy cindyls06 (Cindy) - Dr. Macik pcos_chick - Dr. Mann March 22 - Getting Sleeved 3/22/11 - Dr. Perez Jebellah March 23 - Chinasl45 - Dr. Eid Soon To Be Skinny Sarah - Dr. Northup March 24 – Caitlyn_Cat (Dee) March 25 - jasaz - Dr. Kelly March Hopefuls! – Oopsseedaisy Blsmbry sunnyd dlpfiff - Dr. Eibes sarahh1828

I do not drink carbonated drinks at ALL...I tried a sip awhile back and it HURT going down! And it didn't taste good. I do eat fried okra and friend squash every once in a while and I haven't had a problem with it!

Oh, yeah!! I'm right with you!! I definitely enjoy food WAY more now.....pre-op I just ate to eat! ;o)

Ok...I'm almost 7 months post-op and I've had a HARD time resisting carbs over the last few weeks (and my lack of weight loss reflects it!!)...SO, I'm doing the 5 day pouch test as a carb reset. I figure I'd just share here as well as on my YT channel. I looked around here for personal experience from other sleevers doing the 5 day pouch test and didn't really find anything...so here I am! Day 1 - 1:37pm - I'm half way through my day and doing REALLY well! I'm not feeling deprived or starving. I feel really good! I've had a Protein shake and a blended cup of Soup and 24 oz of Water so far! I have a volleyball game tonight and then we'll all head to McD's afterward...I'll be bringing my strawberry Protein Shake and pretending it's a strawberry shake! ;o) Day 2 - 11:24pm - I'm at the end of day 2 and I've done it!! Only liquids for 2 days!! I feel really good and, when I weighed in this morning, I'd lost 3 lbs in ONE day! WOW! Can't wait to see what the scale says tomorrow! I'm definitely ready for some soft foods tomorrow! Day 3 & 4 - 2:22pm (day 4) - Day 3 went well! I ate soft Proteins, scrambled eggs, tuna and pepperoni (deli sliced) I did have one tiny slip and ate a small handful of fritos, but I'm not gonna sweat it! I haven't had sugar in 3 1/2 days!! That is AMAZING! Before this "diet" I had gotten into the bad habit of eating trail mix that had m&m's in it....So, I'm letting the trail mix go for a long time! LOL! I started out at 229lbs on Monday morning and today (day 4) I weighed 224.8lbs! YAY! I'm on ground meats today and tomorrow is firm protein! Talk to y'all later! ;o)

Thank you both SO much! I really appreciate the encouragement AND the recipe! I'm SO making that soup!! YUMMMMMMM!!!! ;o)

Hi, Brandi! Did you try the 5 day pouch test? I'm on day 1 today....trying to detox those carbs!! GL!

I'm doing the 5 day pouch test right now! Day 1 today! I felt like I was out of control with carbs and just needed to push the "reset" button! I'd highly recommend it! GL!!

You are welcome!! 6 lbs is awesome!!! I'm 6 months post-op and I still use it pretty much everyday! (I love my iced coffee protein drink!!) GL!!

Ok, this is my 3rd period since my surgery March 8, 2011. The first one was 3 months ago, the second 6 weeks ago and I'm currently in the middle of the period from HE**!! Anyone else experienced this? The cramps are ungodly and I'm running through a tampon an hour. Lord help me! I haven't had regular cycles since BEFORE I was married 13 years ago and they were NOTHING like this. If my next one is like this one, I'll mention it to my ob/gyn at my next visit.

None!! I didn't work out at all! Actually I didn't start really exercising until I was 3 months post-op and then I started doing the c25k.

I get my protein powder from the Vitamin Shoppe. My dr wanted me on a low carb diet, so that's why I wasn't allowed sugar or starchy veggies. Here's the link to the video!

I've only had 3 weeks in the last 28 weeks that I've had a gain (1.8, .8 and .8) and it came right back off the next week! Our bodies aren't machines and they will fluctuate and do crazy stuff even when we "do everything right"!! Good question!!

I have a smaller weekly divider (am & pm) that allows me to pop out one day's worth of meds and carry them with me! So handy! I got it at CVS!

I'd say get a scale....it is LOADS of fun in the beginning to see the scale go down EVERYDAY!! LOL....just know that at some point it will slow down and will start going up and down daily (like a regular person!)...so if you feel like you can deal with the fluctuations, I say go for it!! I love my scale, keeps me accountable, but I've also learned that it doesn't rule my life. Its just a tool, just like my sleeve!! ;o)

Whatever protein shake you decide on needs to have NO sugar....The weight will come of VERY slowly if at all with all the sugar in regular slimfast. I use Nectar by Syntrax (chocolate mousse, or french vanilla) both delicious and you can mix it with chilled coffee and milk and a little SF syrup for a YUMMY iced coffee protein drink!! (I did a youtube video about how I make this!) My pre-op diet was 3-4 protein shakes a day with 5oz of protein for dinner and as many veggies (no starch!) as I wanted with dinner. I did that for 2 weeks and lost 16.6 lbs!! You can do it!! <3

WooHoo!!!! That's amazing!!!!

Thanks for the support!! I'm glad to say that my uterus did not kill me, although it tried it's best! LOL! We're hoping to have one more baby, but I'll definitely keep the ablation in mind after DH gets snipped!! Thanks a bunch!!

I did a vlog on this last week, but thought I'd throw it out here too! I'm half way to goal (lost 69.4 with 59.8 to go) and I'm feeling really exposed without my fat! I explained it to my hubby like this..."Imagine I'm a football player and I'm running out on the field without my helmet...that's how I feel. Like I'm going to get crushed by those really big guys and have nothing to protect myself with!" I know that it's just mental...that my fat never actually protected me, but my heart felt safe behind my wall of fat and now....it's disappearing really quickly and I feel very exposed. I'm working through getting those negative thoughts out of my mind and off "repeat" and replacing them with truth! It's hard, but I'm doing it! Anyone else feel this way?

I struggled with whether to do RNY or the sleeve...on one hand rerouting my intestines scared the living daylights out of me, but so did failing again after surgery.....eventually I decided that the sleeve was the best choice for me and that I'd have to be responsible for my success or failure with ANY wls. I won't lie and say I haven't wondered if RNY would have been better at times when my weight loss has sleemed slow....but then I enjoy a couple bites of wedding cake or bread at a restaurant and KNOW I made the right choice for me! I look back at 6 months post-op at the 69lbs I've lost and know that I did all the work to lose it....it didn't happen because of malabsorption...it happened because I've made good choices over and over and over!! GL on your journey!!

I guess I'm kind of an atypical wls patient....I was VERY thin my whole life until I got married at the age of 21, by the time I was pg with my first baby at the age of 23 I was 200lbs and it just kept climbing. I weighed 140lbs on my wedding day (May 30, 1998) and weighed 299.2lbs at my first dr's appt (January 2011). I have LONGED to feel like I did as a teenager...healthy and light! The final straws were going to Disney World for our third time and being MISERABLE at "the happiest place on earth"....I didn't fit in the plane seat either. Also, we'd been trying to conceive our third child for 5 years.....fertility meds, dr's visits, ultrasounds...more meds....I just couldn't do it to my body anymore. Every attempt packed on 10 extra lbs. So, we're giving it another year and if pregnancy doesn't occur naturally, we're going to continue being happy with our 2 girls! (but I'm hoping for one more baby and my healthiest pregnancy yet!!) I'm down to 229lbs at 6 months post-op and am LOVING my sleeve! Best gift I ever gave myself and my family!!

When my hubby said to me..."Ummmm...You have 'under'grown those pants!!" LOVE IT!!

HUGS, Robin! ExitMelanie says "Your race, Your pace"! It took me about 4 months to figure out that I HAVE to count carbs (no matter what Dr. Nick's office says!)....35 net carbs a day on average and I lose weight like a champ! But that's what works for me, and it took some experimentation to figure that out. Look at this as a journey to what's gonna work for you for the rest of your life.....gone are the crazy fad diets and failures! This WILL work, it just might take a little time to figure out YOUR path. As for the stress....leave the laundry behind and go for a run/walk/bike ride....we used to eat to relieve stress, now we move to relieve it! Also, take a step back and look at the BIG picture (not the daily scale picture!)....when have you ever lost 20.5 lbs in under 2 months? That is AMAZING!!!! YOU ARE DOING THIS, Robin!!! Hang in there, hon!!! ~Dana (VSGandMe2011)

WooHoo!! Congrats!!!

I used to be a thin person and I cannot remember what I thought about!! Granted that was over 12 years ago, but still!! I just passed my half way point and was just thinking about this very thing.....I have no idea what I'll focus on after I get to goal! Maybe my running will become more of a focal point? I'm planning on running the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World in February 2013.....then eventually the full marathon. Some days I wonder if I'll really make it to goal and others I'm worried about what I'll do when I do!! LOL! This journey is SUCH a mental trip!!! ;o)