SKCUNNINGHAM

Yes, it is hard to get rid of those sizes that were your goal for so long. My tough sizes were the 16's and 14's. But I have gotten rid of everything that is bigger than the 12 I am wearing now - except for some coats, my wedding dress, and some other dressy outfits I am going to have tailored. It made it some easier to find a couple of charities I believe in to give the clothes to - a thrift shoft that support a women's shelter and a "dress for success" group that helps get women back into the job market. That group really needed plus size and larger size business outfits, and I was happy to help. Think of this analogy - you are on a journey to a new world. The journey is difficult, but you know you never want to go back to your previous home to live. So, once you get to goal, burn the ships that brought you to the new world. Then, you are never able to go back. Cortez did this when he conquered the Aztecs (not that I in any way am saying that part of the story is a good thing). But it is a great image to keep in mind. I didn't wait to get to goal - I got rid of clothes all throughout the process. It was part of a major de-cluttering effort on my part. Good Luck. Sharon

I am 14 months post surgery and am now starting to "see" myself as a normal person. I got rid of all of my fat clothes, and continue to weed things out of my closet to donate that no longer fit (even though I wore them not long ago). When I buy something now in a 12P (suits) or 10P (jeans) or medium petite (blouses) I have this fear as I am trying it on that it won't fit. They do fit and that reinforces to me I am this size. I am also learning how to use my tool in a maintenance mode. I took a break from losing for a while before losing the last 7-10 pounds (I've been conducting a job search and wanted to be easy on myself). I have been maintaining my weight at a +/- 3 pound range - like normal people do. This is real. This is forever. I am a normal sized person. Sharon

Brandi - what a great line about the earrings - I may use that with friends! I had my feet measured at a shoe store yesterday. My feet have dropped a half a size in length and have gone back to a medium width. So now, I am getting rid of the shoes I bought when I was at my highest weight and going back to the size I was years ago. Too bad I had gotten rid of most of the shoes in THAT size ages ago. DAMN - I am being FORCED to buy shoes - what a burden! (evil smile) Sharon

I have to give these a try!

I did my commercial "shoot" on Wednesday. What a fun experience! It was way more complicated than I expected - I thought there would be four or five people to get the thing done. There was closer to a dozen people there - two for hair and make-up, a director, the ad agency guy, a video photograper, a still photographer, a sound guy, a lighting guy, a camera assistant, and various other assistants. It was an interesting process to observe and to particpate in. Very organized, but still allowed for the creative "stuff". I wish the woman that did my hair and makeup could come by every morning and do my face before I left my house. I didn't look made-up hardly at all, I just looked as good as I possibly could (and ever have). Apparently, since things are now shot to be shown on HD, the way that makeup artist do their job has changed. No thick cakey look (like stage actors use). She used an airbrush and a pallet of subtle matte colors. And, it washed off with soap and Water. The experience has made me re-think some of my makeup choices. I have hated to have my picture taken most of my life, and avoided cameras as much as possible. I found it is possible to sit and have a conversation with the director - looking either right at him or at the video camera, and really forget you are being filmed and that a still photographer is snapping your picture almost continuously. I think I had more pictures taken of me that day than I have had cumulatively in my entire life. He probably took 500-600 shots that morning! I will be interested to see the results of them. Odds are, he should have gotten some good ones. I think the fact that I was comfortable during the process speaks to the skill of the director. He has the ability to make you completely at ease, and give you the impression the things you are saying are the most interesting things he has ever heard. My logical mind told me that was what he was doing, but I still responded to him emotionally. As he had me telling my story, he had me laughing, smiling and even brought tears to my eyes at one point. That surprised me. I am such a logical person (I am an engineer by profession), I thought my decision to have surgery was mostly logic based (health, wanted a longer life) but it also had a lot of emotions tied up in it. That really came out at one point in the morning. I am not sure what all is going to be woven into the finished product. I provided "before" still pictures, some "before" video, pictures as I was losing, and some "after" pictures. When the ad agency shows me the fininshed product, I will provide the link and hopefully a couple of still shots.

I am 14 months after surgery - 103 pounds down - and live east of Dallas. The sleeve is the best decision I ever made!

The first Success Habit Principle TM identified in the Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook is: PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures. This is the most important factor contributing to optimum weight loss and long-term weight control. If each of us was asked the question, “Who is responsible for your success?”, each of us would probably answer “I am”. The religious among us would also likely give credit to God’s help in achieving success. The study that was done on the Success Habits identified that the most successful people at maintaining their WLS weight loss long term had a very strong sense of personal accountability that exhibited itself in some key behaviors. They developed an indicator that identified WHAT they were doing regularly that was helping them stay in control and remain accountable for their weight every day. You must be personally accountable for the decisions you have made, take responsibility for your choices, and be honest with yourself. Ms. Cook believes (and I agree) that we are where we are because we have made the choices to be so. Our lives must be serving us in some way (whether we are fat or thin at the point you are reading this), or we would already have made changes. Take responsibility for who you are, why you are and where you are right now and take responsibility for how you arrived there. Don’t wait for someone else to have to change for you to achieve your goal of long-term weight control. You alone are responsible for this. Long term weight control is about managing the ratio of Calories-In versus Calories Out. If you eat more than you expend, you gain weight. If you eat less than you expend, you lose. The sleeve is an outstanding tool to help us control the amount we eat (if we use it correctly). You alone are responsible for what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat. We are also responsible for the other side of the equation – I alone am responsible for what exercises I do, how often and how I manage making exercise a part of my life. Successful people do those things which unsuccessful people are not willing to do. (The above is excerpted from the book with a few minor changes by me) So what was the great learning I had from this? Bye-bye blaming anyone but myself. Good-bye to any excuses that don’t start with the word “I” at the front. I thought back to the FOUR OTHER TIMES I have lost around 100 pounds and failed to make it past two years in maintaining – before I would gain it all plus more, back. I identified how I had framed my failures to myself – who or what I had blamed on those failures. Then I rephrased them in my mind, taking accountability for my actions. Rather than go through all four failures, I’ll just do the last one. I lost 103 pounds through hypnosis, diet and exercise. I was well on the way to celebrating my one year at goal mark when I had a person in my family close to me die suddenly, I changed jobs to one that required me to travel out of state 80% of the time and didn’t give me the time to exercise, was on an expense account living out of hotels, and forgot to take my hypnosis material with me for a couple of weeks. I went up 3 to four sizes by the time the first year in the new job was over – from a 10 to a 16-18. So here is the rephrased version of what happened, taking full accountability for my actions. After the sudden death of my stepfather, I decided life was too short to worry about monitoring everything I ate. I told myself if he could die like that, what was the point. I didn’t make time to exercise, even though every hotel I stayed in had a gym. Consoling myself with food was much more important to me than the pleasure I got after working out. I chose to quit listening to the hypnosis CD’s, even though I knew they could have helped me get back on track. I felt guilty listening to them while I was overeating and not exercising, so I chose to “forget” to take them on a trip. Here is an accountable version of where I am now. I am almost at my initial goal weight, and I am pretty content with where I am. I have been letting the outside stresses of looking for work (I recently left my employer) distract me from my goal of getting rid of the 10 pounds that stand between me and reaching my goal. This stops TODAY. Whether I find a job that is commensurate with my education and skills quickly, or whether I have to take a job far below my capabilities, I will practice the Six Success Habit Principles. TM My employmentsituation has NO BEARING on my attaining or maintaining my goal weight. I understand that I must embrace exercise as a life long part of my life. Diet alone will not do it for me. So this is the first thread for the first habit. I will put up two more threads in the near future that are also on this habit. Once will be on building new “good” habits to replace old “bad” habits. The other will be on goal setting. Both skills are really necessary for mastering this accountability thing. Hope this helps. Good Luck. Sharon

Here are some things you might want to do to put time before your surgery to good use: Go through all the clothes you have stashed in your house. Organize them by size. After surgery, you are going to be dropping weight fast, and will need to move out of your current clothes that fit into the smaller sized ones. You don't want to buy stuff needlessly if you have clothes that fit stashed somewhere. Figure out a plan on what you are going to do with your fat clothes as you shrink out of them. GET RID OF THEM in some way. I donated mine to a thrift store that supports a women shelter, gave them to a group that puts women back into the workforce (my business suits) and gave them to friends/family that were the size I shrunk out of. Look to see what you are going to need once you shrink into a certain size. For example, I have to had to have black dress pants and jeans in every size I went through. I had some gaps in my stash of skinnier clothes, because I had given stuff away. Write yourself a long detailed letter as to why you want the surgery, how you feel being the way you are now (before surgery) and what you are willing to give up to be the person you want to be. Put the letter away, and as you hit bumps in the road during your sleeve journey, you can pull it out and read it. Take before pictures - and don't be shy. Take some in your underwear or a swimsuit so you can compare your results as you start to shrink. No one else will have to see these (unless you are comfortable sharing). Take before measurements. You will want to have accurate before statistics, so you can track your inches lost. Get a copy of the book "The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients". Read it and start working through the material. It really helped me. Do some soul-searching. Try to figure out what your relationship with food is, and has been the reason for your problems. Start planning how you will deal with the emotional triggers when numbing yourself with food is no longer an option for you. Read some books on emotional eating (if that's an issue with you). The surgeon operates on your stomach, not your brain - you have to work on that part. Everyone is different here. The earlier you get a handle on your issues and start working on them, the better. Start working on your behaviors that you will have to practice after your sleeve. Stop drinking sodas and other carbonated beverages. Stop drinking when you eat. Start waiting 30 minutes after you eat to drink anything. Start drinking 64 ounces of calorie free liquid each day. Start reducing the junk food and carbs that you eat. Start reducing (or stop eating) sugar. The earlier you embrace these habits, the better for you. The time will pass quickly. Good Luck! Sharon

Rootman - I am proud of you - you have done wonderful work with the sleeve. I wish my cholesterol was as low as yours! I echo your thoughts about "why didn't I do this earlier?" What Vitamins / supplements do you routinely take? Sharon

Your husband does sound adorable. What a "keeper"! I give him major points for already considering how to accomodate your restrictions post surgery. You may want to consider finding a counselor or some other professional to talk to. You are going to get LOTS of attention and comments as you lose weight and people will ask you. I think you have 100% right to not tell them anything you aren't comfortable saying. I also think you are living in a fantasy if you think by not telling people what you had done is going to stop you from being the center of attention about your amazing weight loss. If you talk to a professional, they can help you feel more comfortable when people pay attention to you. That would make this journey so much easier for you - and even enjoyable! Some people come up with a plausible lie to tell questioning friends. (Their right, if that's what they want.) That takes careful thought to come up with a situation that accounts for your new eating and drinking habits. And, it takes your husband telling the same story. I didn't want to go down this path. I wish you the best of success on your sleeve journey. Sharon

I agree with Coops and Foxbins. The sleeve is an amazing tool we have been provided. It will be there for you to "use to lose" at a year, 18 months or longer. As you get totally healed, your restriction may not be what it is in the first six months, but I still have good restriction at 15 months. To echo earlier posters, you have to be diligent in your food choices, pratice the good behaviors (Protein first, no drinking while or after eating) and regularly exercise. You should still be able to lose doing these things. People lose at different rates - but the higher you keep your personal metabolism, the faster you will lose. To keep your metabolism at its highest "setting", eat small portions throughout the day of quality protein and exercise regularly. Good Luck! Sharon

Blackberry juice, thanks for reformatting - what you posted was what it was SUPPOSED to look like! Sorry for the confusion. SuzComptime - I have made this with steel cut oats instead of rolled oats, but I like the texture better with the rolled oats - but both are good. Yes, no cooking is needed. Being in the yogurt in the fridge softens the oats enough that cooking with heat isn't needed. BTW, the Barleans fish oil product won some award for being the best new product of the year from some organization. It is truly tasty straight from the bottle. I have tried a couple of flavors, but the pina colada is my favorite. It is great in this dish or in any fruit smoothie you choose to make. I had used the traditional Barleans oil, but this is WAY BETTER.

When I went for my 9 months check up, my cholesterol had risen to 233. It certainly wasn't from what I was eating, it is because of my heredity. So I read up on the things you could eat to help lower cholesterol - in contrast with getting back on statin drugs. I ate oatmeal every morning for 90 days, added flax seed and fish oil to my diet, and take cinamon and red rice yeast supplements every morning (pills). At the 12 month checkup, my cholesterol had dropped by 41 points to 192! The "good" cholesterol level had stayed the same, the deficit all came from the "bad" cholesterol. I was eating the Bariatric Choice high Protein oatmeal, fixed with Water in the microwave. Now that I am in maintenance mode and am eating more calories and carbs, I eat this oatmeal dish. I really like it. You can vary the recipe and add fruit to it before you eat it. This is not low calorie the way I make it - I can eat this and maintain my weight. If you aren't concerned about the cholesterol lowering effects, get rid of the flax seeds and lower the calorie and carb amount. This is also a painless way for me to get in my daily miralax and benefiber. And, if you want a fish oil suplement, the Barleans brand is by far the best. This stuff tastes so good, I can take it straight - but it adds a nice flavor to mix it in to the oatmeal. OVERNIGHT OATS 1/3 c rolled oats (not instant) 1 carton activia lite vanilla yogurt or 1/2 c greek vaniilla yogurt 2 T ground flax seeds 2 tsp benefiber Fiber powder 1 capful Miralax 2 tsp Barleans Omega Swirl Fish Oil (pina colada flavor) 1 small scoop Protein Powder (I use nectar brand vanilla) 1 tsp spenda brown sugar blend Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl that has a lid. Add yogurt and stir. If too dry, add a splash of fat free milk or almond milk. Cover the bowl and put in refridgerator. Leave there a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight. Enjoy! Calories Fat Carbs Fiber Protein Oats 100 2 18 4 3.3 yogurt 70 0 13 5 Flax seeds 90 6 5 4 3 Benefiber 15 4 3 Miralax Fish oil 45 3 4 Protein powder 36 9 sugar blend 20 4 TOTALS 376 11 48 11 20.3

Irene, thank you SO MUCH. I am giddy, I am so happy. Sharon

Lissa, I am glad you are OK. I feel awful when I go over 4 hours without Protein. I can't imagine how bad it would be if it was all day. I keep emergency stuff in my purse, my desk at work and in my car. My emergency supplies include: a packets of nuts, individual packets of jerky, packets of white tuna and smoked salmon, baby bell cheese (if I have an ice pack or fridge available) and small cans of green Beans. I keep a knife, fork and spoon in both my car and my office. This way I can stop and have a quick protein meal, or eat some carbs if I want. The few times I have been caught totally without supplies I have driven though a drive in fast food place and ordered a hamburger patty (no bun) and eaten it, or stopped at a convenience store. I have also discovered most of the convenience stores will have something that will do (tuna, cheese, sliced turkey lunch meat). Some of them even keep a Protein Drink selection in the refrigerated case. Lissa, I'm glad you are feeling better.

I use the Calbee brand Snapea Crisps for dipping. I tend to use the romaine hearts for "taco" shells.

A little background - my husband and business partners own a marina and resort here in east Texas. It is 175 acres, and we run around on the property on Kubota vehicles (like tiny pickups). I hadn't been around on the property much since before my surgery - last spring I didn't feel like it right after my surgery - and was really busy on the weekends (I had a full time job that kept me away from the property 12 hours a day). So this spring, things have changed work wise, and I have been running around with my husband over the property. One of our customers came up to us today and said to us "I'm going to tell your wife about this good looking woman you are running around with". I think he was kidding - but it made me feel great to be mistaken as "the other woman", and to be thought good looking enough and thin enough to be "the other woman". THis happen to anyone else after goal? Be mistaken for someone else totally?

I did something for myself today I have never done before. I went to have a professional bra fitting at a SOMA lingerie store. Even though I have 10 pounds to go to hit my original goal (I may rethink that goal and stop for now), my breasts have quit changing size. YEA! None of my bras fit right in all places - if the cups were right, the straps wouldn't stay on my shoulder or the band didn't fit right. I have been wearing mostly Aah bras as I shrank in weight - since they were accomodating as my breasts were changing size rapidly. As much as I like those bras, I still like a traditional bra, too. I ended up being a 36C. The bra style that fit me best was their "Emma" a soft cup (rather than a molded cup) that is a minimizer. The tops of my breasts didn't fill out the top of the molded C cup well and were too much for a B cup. THe soft cup minimizer fits them perfectly. I think the "minimizer" construction is good to take all of the loose skin on my breast tissue and suck it in (like shapewear). This bra puts the girls back where they should be and I have no lumps are bulges of fat anywhere! If you have bras that you want to get rid of that are in lightly used good shape, they are taking back bras (any brand) and donating them to a women's shelter organization. THis is going on until February 26th. I am going to go through my lingerie drawer and get rid of my ill fitting bras. Wearing a bra that fits after wearing one that doesn't is like finally wearing shoes that fit after wearing shoes that are the wrong size. What a difference. I have worn one of my new bras since I was at the store (wore it out instead of putting my old one back on.) Don't think I have ever had one one that made me feel better. If you want to pamper yourself when you get at goal - give this a try!

Amanda - I'm glad you had the same success I did getting a well fitting bra. I totally understand what you are saying about the bras fitting your breastbone. When I got mine that fitted right, I thought "wow, so THAT is how a bra is supposed to fit" Who knew? Nordstrom is a wonderful place to shop. I'm glad they grave you outstanding service.

Be proud of you inner nerd! Nerds and Geeks rule a lot of the world (think BIll Gates and those wizards from Facebook)and are responsible for all the good toys we take for granted (the wheel, fire, electricity, computers, etc). I am proud to be a geek - both professionally (engineer) and personally (love Star Trek, Lord of the RIngs, etc). Congratulations on breaking 300. The next 100 will be gone before you know it. Sharon

OK, I'll play. My best NSV's so far are: Having a pair of jeans fall off my body when I reached up on my tip toes into a tall cabinet. Thankfully, no one but me was in the kitchen. Fitting into my decadent bathtub and having my whole body fit underneath the water (no beached whale effect like before surgery). Getting my flexibility back to get up from the floor playing with the grandkids and in the bedroom playing with my sweetie Finding my bones and my muscles as the fat melted away and I started exercising (I have a small frame - who knew?) Looking great in size 10 and 12 petite clothes!

Mimmi - with your determination and committment to your improved health, I am sure you will be successful with your surgery. I think you are doing 100% the right thing by losing weight, changing behaviors, shedding baggage, and "GETTING YOUR HEAD RIGHT" before your surgery. There is a book I recommend - it is the "The Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients" by Colleen M. Cook. It is available in hard copy or via Kindle. I took a six week class based on the book, and was so impressed with the insights I got from the program. Even though the book is more bypass and band specific with the examples, the habits apply to all types of WLS. Good luck with your journey. Feel free to message me if you ever want to ask me any questions. Sharon

Thinoneday, Forensichik, I certainly empathize with your pain right now. I am 55 years old and currently looking for a new career opportunity - took a settlement with my company 3 months ago with a "voluntary reduction in force". The labor market is rough for someone my age. I have come close to landing a great job 4 times - each going to the younger, cheaper candidate. At least my weight isn't an issue in this job search. It is so depressing, and I want to console myself with food. I usually stop myself, but it is HARD to do. Good luck dealing with all of your burdens and challenges. I will be thinking about you and sending you good thoughts. SHaron

One thing that happens to women after WLS is an increased level of estrogen in the bloodstream. This is caused by the estrogen that has been stored in our fat cells. As we lose weight rapidly and lose fat - those fat cells release the estrogen they have been storing into the blood stream. For me, I felt like I did in the worst of puberty - wild fluctuations of mood - happy, weepy, angry - and a wicked tounge in my mouth that I had to watch to keep from saying inappropriate things. This lasted about three months, then gradually abated. I didn't have to worry about a change in my fertility levels or a change in my menstrual cycle, since I am 55 and had a hysterectomy years ago - but younger women beware! This increased estrogen level can play heck with your cycles. I recommend being particularly diligent with your birth control during this phase of your weight loss. Sharon

I weigh on an analog, not digital scale - so mine isn't nearly as precise as yours, Cludgie. I count the victory when the desired weight shows up two days in a row.