LindaS

Thanks for the tips! It was a good session, and I left with a good plan for what I need to do at home. I'm not ready to commit to a gym yet, and I liked that this trainer thought it would be find for me to work out at home and gave me a way to be successful with that.

I was told it has empty calories, no nutritional value and can be a gateway to other foods/bad habits. It just isn't worth drinking. Before surgery, I wasn't a big pop/soda drinker, but I would get a craving for Coke. It is the only thing I've ever truly craved. I know for me, it was one of the things that factored into my originally gaining weight. I had no idea how many calories were in it, and I was drinking it daily. That hasn't been true for me for many years. When I started on my weight loss journey, one of the first things I did was stop drinking pop. In reviewing my bad eating habits before surgery, I've found that I drank more pop when I was eating more on the run. It seems to be a gateway to bad habits for me. And I figure I can only have so many bad habits. I plan to resume drinking alcohol in the future, so I am willing to give up pop.

My husband was very worried about the surgery. He wanted me to be healthy, and he was worried I was doing something that was going to ultimately be unhealthy. His aunt had gastric by-pass, and she has issues and was pretty sick after her surgery. I pushed the surgery. He made sure to tell me he loved me like I was and that he thought I was beautiful. He wasn't trying to talk me out of it, but he wanted to make sure I knew I didn't have to do it. I thought of it a bit differently. I was losing the battle with weight and every year was going higher on the scale. I didn't think I could just stay at the status quo. He went to a support group with me before the surgery, which was good for him since it included a wide range of people. He has been a great support, but his initial reaction was very nervous about the surgery and the risks involved. He didn't want me to put myself at risk unnecessarily. To me, it was a necessary risk to put me back on the healthy track.

I ate Breakfast the other day at Bob Evans with my hubby. I asked for the nutritional info. Apparently the restaurant only had a single copy because she wanted me to give it back almost immediately. I needed to get it typed into myfitnesspal with my Blackberry. I eat slow enough and being forced to type in the stuff while also trying to eat was a pain. I tried to look it up on their web site. They have the menu but not nutritional info. The waitress came back several times wanting to grab the nutritional info back. My husband was kind of upset about it. It wasn't laminated or anything. It was paper that could have easily been copied and distributed, but she was acting like it was gold.

How awesome! I love seeing the posts announcing people made it to Onderland. I am hoping to get there soon. I'm just 12 pounds away. Great job! I also noticed that you waited until the second day before making the announcement. Smart move! I can't wait to hear more of your success stories. Congrats in reaching Onderland! Enjoy it. Plus how cool that you are only 10 weeks out. It sounds like your pre-op discipline really helped as well.

The day I started this challenge (or pretty close to it), I went into an 11 day stall. It was frustrating, but I learned from it. I think I am starting to realize that I am sensitive to carbs. I also realized a few things about relying on the actual nutrition label and not what the box promotes (and that net carbs mean there are hidden carbs). I have reached the two month mark, so I now have no weight restrictions and have started working out primarily using a stability ball and some weights as well as upping my walking. And after 11 days, I finally was able to record a loss. I'm not sure I'll make my goal by Halloween, but I will get there. SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal LindaS..........215.....................211.5...........195...........16.5

Hugs!!! You are in this for the long haul, and the weight will come off. Be proud of what you've lost and try not to compare yourself. In the meantime though, vent away. We'll listen and cheer you on anyway.

I've found that the only people who comment so far are those who know I had the surgery. If they don't know, they tend not to comment. I think it is because people are sensitive about commenting on weight loss.

I am trying to keep carbs out of my diet. Today for lunch, I had an Atkins Protein bar that said on the wrapper that it was "3 g net carbs." After I ate it, I entered it into myfitnesspal, and I learned it had 18 g of carbs. What? How? And yet another lesson that I get in reading labels. Should I care about net carbs? I don't get it. I don't know what it means, and I am so frustrated that I thought I was having a good on-the-go lunch only to learn it has way too many carbs. Help!

OK, I found an answer about net carbs online here: Net carbohydrates can be calculated from a food source by subtracting Fiber and sugar alcohols (which are shown to have a smaller effect on blood sugar levels)[citation needed] from total carbohydrates. Sugar alcohols contain about two calories per gram, and the American Diabetes Association recommends that diabetics count each gram as half a gram of carbohydrate.[4] But how does that impact us? Do we want to watch all carbs or just net carbs? I'll have to ask my nutritionist, but does anyone else know?

I drink the no sugar added version with skim milk and an added scoop of flavored Protein. This gives me 13 grams of protein from the carnation instant Breakfast and another 20 from the added protein. The carbs are a bit high on these, but they make a great breakfast on the go, which is what I need most mornings. I sometimes also use these with added protein and some frozen fruit and Greek yogurt to make a smoothie in the morning when I want a different flavor. I can only find chocolate flavor in my local stores, but I found a vanilla flavor when I went to a specialty store that sells things in bulk. If I am drinking chocolate, I add chocolate-flavored protein powder.

Congrats on being approved! It had to be nerve wracking waiting to hear even if it is a short period. I know when I first decided to do this surgery, I didn't even know if it was covered by my insurance. I was so worried that it wouldn't be. I was so excited about the surgery and reading all of the amazing stories on this board, and I was going to be devastated if it wasn't covered. Luckily for me, it was covered, and I didn't even need preapproval as long as I met the requirements and did the things like a psych evaluation and nutritionist consult. Monday, I made an appointment to meet with a personal trainer. The cost was included in my surgery costs. I'm hoping she can help me develop a workout plan now that I'm all healed up.

I would say the "wrong" way are things that are unhealthy like starving yourself or taking things that are possibly dangerous like untested herbs and pills that are hawked on TV. I would give her the benefit of the doubt.

This week has been frustrating. I've gotten down to 215, which is a 2.5 pound loss, but it also goes up to 217 and then 216 and then 217 and then 215. It just keeps bouncing around. I figure I am in my first stall. I think part of the problem is that some carbs have snuck into my diet, and it seems like I see the gain the day after eating too many. I am trying to get "real food" into my diet, and this is where I am getting the carbs too. I'll figure it out. I hope I see a weight loss before next Thursday. As of tomorrow, it will have been 8 weeks since my surgery, and I've lost about 40 pounds. I'm not complaining, but I hope to get to onderland before Halloween.

I loved your video and your smile throughout! I'm here buttdancing along with you although it would be better if I got up and moved.

How exciting! You look so cute pregnant. I love your adorable baby bump. I envy that! Your first pic was one of my favorite things about being pregnant -- lying back and watching my belly move as the baby's feet and hands and head made my belly bulge. It is a fantastic experience. Thanks for sharing yours with all of us.

I started to watch before my surgery, but I quit watching not far into the movie. I did finally watch the whole thing after I had the surgery. I'm glad I did.

It was at a bar, and I have no idea what they charged for it. They gave me about a shotglass of juice for each drink. We ordered three bottle beers, one draft beer, one seven and seven and my drink, which came to about $16.

In a post somewhere in this forum, I read that someone orders Water with a splash of cranberry juice when going out. I want to thank you! I went out last night, and I ordered that. It was wonderful. I was able to drink 5 glasses over the course of the night. It was more Fluid than I've been able to consume in a very long time. I plan on buying some cranberry juice for me to mix with water at home too. (It also helped me match the pace of bathroom trips with my beer drinking friends. LOL!) Plus, it wasn't immediately obvious that I wasn't drinking alcohol, so I didn't have to "defend" myself for my drink choice. (I don't mind doing this, but it is nice not to have to.) I hated cranberry juice when I was a kid. I had to drink it because of kidney and bladder infections before Welch's juice blended it with other things to make it tastier. But now, I like the taste mixed with water. It isn't too sweet, and it makes plain water taste much better. Thank you for suggesting it. :-)

Good luck!

Congratulations! I am really impressed with your stats and the multiple ways you are recording your progress! From your stats, we are the same height, and you are 3 pounds lighter than me. My Halloween goal is very similar to yours (onderland!), and I hope we are both successful. Good luck to you!

Congratulations, Wishes! I love reading the updates and seeing pics as well. :-) It is all so encouraging. You said, " I feel like I have missed out on so much of my life being obese." And you are 21! I'm 40 and just had the sleeve. To me, it feels like your life has barely began. It is wonderful that you made such a positive change so early on. It means you have so much of your life left where you will be able to participate fully and get in front of the camera instead of hiding from it.

So basically your 17 pound loss was in a single week? Awesome job! You should be proud of the progress you've already been making. Plus, I wouldn't discount the weight you lost pre-op. My ticker includes it. :-) I think about the weight that we gain from surgery from the IV fluids, and it makes me realize that you really did lose more than 17 pounds in that week since surgery.

I bought a stability ball, and I already had resistance bands. I use those in addition to walking/dancing. It is fun and tough, and it helps me strengthen my core, which is where I have always been fairly weak. I found some ideas in the fitness area of this board as well. I ordered a book on calistenics (spelling?) from Amazon that I'm waiting on. For me, I feel like I need to get the toning and strength exercises as well as the cardio to get the results I want. I just started the strength/toning stuff. I also plan to try Zumba and am considering joining a gym or Curves. I am being hesitant about the gym because there isn't one close to where I live/work. I do however tend to haul my kids quite a bit to various after school things, and I am thinking it might benefit me the most to go to a gym while they are at their activity. I'm going to try it for a while before signing up for a membership I might not use. As part of my surgery cost, I get a consultation with a personal trainer. I am planning to schedule that consultation for next week and hope she can help me quite a bit as well.