MegInNOLA

LOL Kelly, it's Meg. I'll see y'all there. :-)

For Lent, I usually aim not necessarily to give something up, but to try to do something proactively in which I can learn/improve discipline; sometimes that means giving something up, and other times it means altering my behavior to a more productive/thoughtful way of acting--one year, I gave up meat and actually ended up a vegan for two years after that. :-) Other things in the past included chocolate/sodas, television after 10 p.m. (which was one of the more difficult ones I've ever done!), no online shopping (also kind of difficult, as I need tall sizes, which stores don't usually carry, and large shoes, also not typically easy to find locally), and volunteering with a local resale/donation center. This year, I've got two major goals for Lent: The first is to re-shape my spending habits regarding non-necessities--my plan is to cut WAY back on those types of purchases and be able to donate the money to charity instead. The second is to do something every day that involves strenuous physical activity of some sort--strenuous enough that I break a sweat, which I rarely do in these thinner days of freezing my fanny off! Now that I seem to have the breathing issue under control with daily Iron tablets, there's no more excuse for not moving. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my yoga pants on and get my butt out for a walk before it rains. :-) Happy Thursday, everyone.

Love the idea of putting the treadmill in front of the television! Also, just do a cabinet/fridge sweep and give away/throw away everything that you know you don't need to eat. Just keep the stuff that tempts you out of the house entirely. My snacking can easily become a habit. Hang in there--you have the tools and knowledge you need to be successful!

My size changes didn't start happening until around 50 pounds down, and then they were clipping.... now that I'm not losing very fast, I miss the excitement of the constant drop! LOL But it's nice to buy clothes and know that they're going to fit for a while. Don't worry--just keep doing what you're doing. The changes will become very noticeable soon. Most people's comments to me started around the time my size changes started happening, and they haven't stopped yet. :-)

Yes, I definitely have those days. A couple of days ago, I found myself feeling an odd physical sensation that I associate with hunger, but I was feeling it every couple of hours, which is not typical for me. I realized I was under some stress, and that feeling was probably acid!! Realizing that in my case it was probably acid from stress helped me get past it. Now I'm carrying Tums in my purse, and when I know it's not time to eat and I'm stressed and feeling that sensation, I can chew a Tums and drink some water if it gets too pesky; I really don't like taking a lot of meds, though, so unless it's really hurting, I'm just going to drink something and move on. :-) Maybe not what you're describing, though--

Oh, congratulations!!! I totally "get" what a big deal this is--I broke into 12's a few weeks ago and just about flipped out. :-) Way to go!!

Just a note that I updated my ticker to my actual, 2-weeks'-now weight of 193 instead of 191, where it had been. I had the honor of conducting an all-state choir back in January, and I ended up fairly dehydrated through that process; my lowest weight of 191 was just after that, and I know I was dehydrated and shouldn't have weighed, but you know how that goes--I couldn't resist seeing that lower number on the scale, even though I knew it wasn't real. And then I put it on my ticker, because it was on the scale, after all--just one long series of "fooling myself" moves that don't tell the real story. So I'm really at 193 and have 3 pounds to goal as of yesterday. (sigh)

I'm doing the "bounce in place" thing, too, I think, only 1-3 pounds from goal!! But I've already surpassed my original goal (a modest and obtainable one for a 49-year-old, fairly sedentary female) of wearing size 16 pants--now I'm in 12's and am happy about that. I'm not stressing about hitting that exact goal any more, although it would be nice "just because." I'm focusing more on eating healthfully, more fruits/veggies, and getting in what I call "painless" exercise--a little additional walking, additional stairs, moving around more. Where I can, I plan to consciously select lower-calorie foods--no worries, just when there's a lower-calorie option that doesn't sacrifice anything, I'll take it.

Great--just to be clear, that's the one in Covington, not the one in Mandeville. :-) 12:15--you'll know it's me when you see a 6'2" woman. LOL

Okay, found you again! How about let's meet on Thursday at Coffee Rani--here's a link to their menu. Note the "Rani Watchers" menu (towards the end) with several low-carb options. http://covington.coffeerani.com/?page_id=10 Did we say 12:15?

You describe exactly the symptoms I call "dumping." I get it with sugar-fat combination foods, but everybody is different. Even if it wasn't "dumping," it doesn't sound pleasant or like something you want to repeat, am I right? :-) If you hadn't eaten anything before that, try a few bites of yogurt or cottage cheese (some protein) before taking a bite of the jello/topping combo and see if that helps. Hang in there, too--sometimes the stuff that bothers us early on is very well tolerated in a couple of weeks/months.

Congratulations on your successes so far! :-)

In Covington, there are a few places that would suit post-sleevers, I think. Cafe Rani has sandwiches and salads and sometimes soup that would work. The Cheesecake Bistro (on Columbia) has soups/salads/sandwiches. In Mandeville, there's La Madeleine and Chili's. There are also places like Morton's (seafood of all sorts), Friends (salads, seafood, etc.), and a couple of other places in Madisonville on the river, any of which has sleeve-friendly food. I think some of you who are earlier in the process might want to decide what kind of food will work, and we can go from there. Oh, Isabella's usually has soup and salads, and so does the Italian pie (a surprisingly good French onion soup, IMHO) on Hwy 21.

I like the pasta fagioli soup at Olive Garden and just eat around the pasta. It's beans and hamburger meat and veggies in a savory broth--and a bowl is more than enough for several meals for me, even without eating the pasta!

Hey y'all: Hang in there! At this point, just focus on getting in Fluid. I sipped Gatorade many a day to stay hydrated (and I didn't worry about the sugar, as I watered it down and put ice in it). Just do what you need to do to stay hydrated and let your body heal. It really does get better and easier to eat as you go--no need to rush it. Feels like you should be "doing something," but don't push your body. If it hurts to eat, focus on sipping and rest as much as you can. Hugs to both of you!

I definitely have "dumping," which has helped me avoid sugary foods (or sugar in combination with fat, like a former favorite frozen coffee drink). If you're going to have a bite or two of something sweet, definitely be sure to get your protein in FIRST, for two reasons: having the protein in your tummy first makes it less likely that you'll have the dumping symptoms, and if you have eaten your protein, you'll be more full and less likely to succumb to too many bites of that sweet stuff! I find that if I stick with the "protein first" rule, I don't have a lot of trouble resisting sweets.

Hey y'all: I'd love to meet up with you even though I wasn't a Dr. Lavin patient--would be nice to meet other sleevers in the Covington area! I'll keep an eye on this thread over the next few days. I can definitely find something appropriate at any restaurant, so no issues for me, and I'm happy to meet where everyone can find something good.

I would love to meet everyone, too--and I live in Covington! There's a nice PJ's on Hwy. 21....

In my opinion (LOL--not a doctor or nutritionist!), if you're going to have fruit, have the fruit, not just the juice. Juice is concentrated sugar, and yes, it has Vitamins and minerals, especially if you're having it fresh, but it will slide down with no added fiber--you get the calories without getting the "full" factor. And watermelon doesn't have a ton of calories, but watermelon JUICE sure does--almost pure sugar. And I'm saying all this with regret, since I, too, love watermelon. I ate small cubes of it this past summer and enjoyed it a lot. I would stay away from just the juice, though, of watermelon or really any fruit, just because I think it's smart to get that sugar along with some Fiber and bulk to avoid overdoing. Now, if you were to take your watermelon juice and dilute it with some Water, okay, that I can see, but again, if you just love the sweet flavor of the melon, that won't cut it after a while, and I think I personally would gradually be lowering the water content in order to taste more of the juice (I know my tastebuds!!). Just eat some fruit! I have enjoyed juicy fruits like melon and citrus from around 3 months out. In fact, that sounds good right about now--grapefruit, here I come!

Freezing all the time, especially in the evenings--my husband was cold for a couple of months after being sleeved, but mine seems to have lasted a lot longer. Can't wait until summer, though, since I hope to get through our sweltering tropical weather this year without being a wilted, sweaty mess. :-) Meanwhile, there are fuzzy socks and lovely fluffy sweatshirts, and I'm wearing them--ALL THE TIME! I sleep in sweats and sometimes two sweatshirts, plus an extra blanket. Ridiculous! But I'll take it over the insulating layer of fat I used to have any day of the week.

Oh, Crosswinds, I've been doing the exact same thing this week! My goal of 190 is completely arbitrary-- I set that for myself because I remember weighing that in grad school (I'm 6'2" and that's near the top of a "normal" BMI for my height). I hit the 190's back in November, I think, and I'm STILL HERE. I've been bouncing back and forth between 191 and 194, panicking a bit when I was 195 this morning.... yet I haven't changed my eating habits or anything else. I'm starting to worry that "this is it," and when I say worry, that's kind of a relative term--I'm in a size 12/14 and get tons of compliments daily--I feel great. But now I'm wondering if this is where I'm going to be and what if I should aim lower and if so, what do I need to do differently to get there, etc. etc. etc. And I'm checking my body and not liking what I see all that much--still have weight that could go, you know? I am so much smaller than before--I definitely was HUGE at 306. And some of what I hate is loose skin, but some of it is definitely NOT just skin.... ICK! I have never been good at "diets," which is why I ended up where I was, and I absolutely hate having to think about what I'm eating. I have had to eat mindfully for the last few months because of my picky small sleeve, and I just do it because I have to, but I've gotten into a groove with this eating plan--and thinking about adjusting it again to continue to drop weight (and all the hassles that involves with new foods/possibly not acceptable to my sleeve foods) gives me serious pause. I don't know; I just don't know. It's so strange to try to rationalize and plan something like this.

Oh yeah. If you do a search for my posts, you will see the exact same "oh, my gosh, what have I done?" post from me back when I was first sleeved. I had SERIOUS buyer's remorse! And it took what seemed like forever for my sleeve to heal and for me to be able to tolerate more than just a couple of bites of food. I still can't/don't eat much at a time, but I'm healthy and full of energy. And yeah, losing over 100 pounds ROCKS. Y'all hang in there--you will soon begin to feel 100% better and be able to enjoy your new, slimmer, healthier lives. I promise it gets TONS better.

I enjoy the smell and flavor of my food--I try to Celebrate every bite, savor and enjoy. One time early in my sleeve journey, my mother-in-law watched me eat 2 shrimp for lunch (yep, that's 2 shrimp!!) and asked me, "Are you satisfied?" I realized she wasn't just asking me about my hunger; she was asking me about my head. Was I satisfied--different question from "Are you full?" It's the difference in physical and head hunger, I think. I was satisfied. I don't really mourn food much. I eat, it's delicious usually, I enjoy it thoroughly, and I'm done. I wasn't a big emotional eater pre-sleeve, and I'm not a very sentimental person in general (food isn't tied to special events or special memories or whatever); I'm lucky in that, I guess. Hang in there--sounds like the sleeve might have been just exactly the right choice for you. I'm not trying to be anything but helpful here, but are you seeing anyone for counseling? I did, before being sleeved, and it was really helpful in getting my head together. :-) They might have some suggestions for you so that you don't constantly feel deprived or like you're missing something. Hugs to you!

Wow, congratulations on your loss so far! Keep rocking that sleeve!!

Maybe your sleeve just isn't ready for that sort of food yet. Mine took a lot longer to heal--and it's okay, everything will be fine. It just takes longer. Don't worry about pushing yourself; just try a tiny teaspoon of your "soft" foods at a time, and then eat majority yogurt or broth; gradually change the percentage. Hang in there--it will get better!