Lissa

If someone had told me 10 months ago (pre-op) that *I* would be a gym rat, I'd have laughed my butt off at them! But, I am, and like GivingItMyAll, I'm addicted to that endorphin high! I find myself having conversations with people about the best way to do an exercise. I'm sick, but I'm okay with that!

You're the person who taught me to just sit back and enjoy this journey! You go girl!!

walmart does carry the sugar free syrups. Usually found in the coffee aisle. they also carry the SF pudding mixes over near the baking supplies. Amazon has all of the above if you truly can't find a local store with them.

I have copies of every mammo I've ever had because of a mass in my left breast. It hasn't changed and is probably related to breastfeeding many years ago. (I had mastitis twice.) Don't let the doctor's ill-advised phrasing scare you. Just go have the mammo and cross that worry off your list when it comes back normal.

Even pre-sleeve, I found that bread actually made me hungrier. Now, it just overfills me and makes it hard for me to drink Water after a meal, even waiting 30 minutes. I'd add a piece of sausage instead of the bread... it's tastier, too. The last time I circuit trained was at Curves, and it sucked, IMO. However, you have to do what you have available to you. Have you tried leaving the weight the same and increasing the amount of reps in a minute? I don't know if that's even possible, just thinking out loud. Good luck! You're going to do great with your sleeve!

I'm in Vero Beach, which is closer to the middle of FL, but I may be able to help you figure out what stores carry what you're looking for. If you tell me what you're having a tough time finding, I'll be happy to help. You can PM me or do it here in this thread.

CJ, I wasn't going to post to this one because everyone else has answered your question very thoroughly. However, I'm 5'8 and my bougie is a 36 (I think). I have the same surgeon as LML above and he didn't even mention bougie until I asked about it. I've lost, so far, over 100 pounds in 9 months and a week. I have no doubt that I will get to goal. I still have great restriction on the amount of food I can eat, even though I suspect I have a longer stomach than many women. I can eat ONE taco, if I remove most of the lettuce. I assume that I'm completely healed from my surgery with no swelling left, so this should be my capacity from here on out. I don't think the bougie size will make a difference to your long-term weight loss. Exercise and eating right will make a bigger difference. Even more important is your Water intake, IMO. My unofficial observation is that those who stick primarily to water for their drinks seem to lose faster and larger amounts of weight. good luck!!

Aprildawn, I'm 9 months out and still losing. Like others have said, it's not at the same pace, but I'm now seeing the results of my workouts more than I did before. I weigh now what you weighed at surgery day, so my BMI was quite a bit higher than yours...which means I've lost weight very quickly. I too stalled/slowed down for all of months 7 and 8, but I've added more exercise to my routine and the NSV's just keep on coming. I lost 3 pants sizes during that stall, lol. Good luck. Just keep exercising and following your plan and you'll get to goal much more quickly than you could possibly dream you will!!

Inline, If you're insane, I must be too, because I felt the muscle a long time before I could see the muscle. To me, your routine looks pretty good. I just have one question, caution. And, remember, I'm a girl, so my goal is different than yours. Adding one weight a week seems a little ambitious. I personally think I get better results by keeping my weights low and doing more repetitions. For instance, I do biceps curls with 25 pounds of weights on the machine. The first few (15 or so) are fairly easy, but I do 45 reps per machine. By the time I get to 45 reps, I'm feeling the (good) burn in my biceps. I had NO muscle tone and started my exercise journey with 2 pound, then 5 pound, weights. I'd do 10-20 reps to start with and really hurt. Now I'm up to the 25 (which is 12.5 pounds per arm, right?) and doing 45 reps. I see definition in my arms and my batwings are starting to reabsorb some. I CAN lift more, but I'm choosing not to because my goal is to end up toned, not bulked up. What I'm suggesting, then, is that you add more reps rather than more weights. You probably have more muscle strength than I do just because you're male, so your starting weights will be well above mine, but the concept is the same, IMO. The only other thing I'd do to tweak your diet is to eliminate the bread from your Breakfast routine, or at least only eat 1 slice rather than two. Those carbs aren't going to anything positive because it looks like you're working out around dinner time. I think you're doing great!

So, here's my 9 months picture. I'm FINALLY seeing the loss. That's my NSV for today!

I'm loving the results I'm getting from the recumbent bike. My legs and tush are looking pretty good if I do say so myself.

No, not really. Pre-op, you could use them without worries, but post-op, you want to avoid them for the same reason we're told to avoid gum. If you accidently swallowed the hard candy, it could require an endoscopy to remove it from the top of your swollen sleeve. NOT a pleasant procedure and it could cause a tremendous amount of pain. Good luck!!

I second dinner and a movie! Lol I like my fit bit and I use it along with my fitness pal to track exercise and food. Lissa

drink more water, make sure you're taking an acid reducer. I'm assuming you are post-op, correct?

I'll look next time I go to the store. I didn't buy the Mio iced tea because it had caffeine in it, if I remember right. I saw where the website said it didn't have caffeine as well, but it also says that none of their flavors have caffeine, and all of the energy ones do have it. That's really tough for me, because I won't touch caffeine to save me at this point. I went through 9 kinds of heck pre-op to get off the caffeine! LOL

Rainydayz, IIRC, the iced tea flavor has caffeine.

I either have a premier protein bar or a banana on my way to the gym. If I ate a banana on the way there, I make sure I put something high protein into me asap after working out to prevent muscle loss.

Mio Orange-Tangerine is my favorite. It has aspartame, but I love it anyway.

Looking fantastic!!!

Hey Me! I reached 100 pounds gone in May as well! YAY Me!!! Great for you as well! I'm starting to think that, no matter how fast or slow we start out, eventually it all evens out. I'm working out daily, with a rest day here and there. I'm seeing a whole lot more toning, but, like you, I'm seriously starting to think there may be plastics in my future as well. My tummy isn't moving as quickly as I'd like and my legs look GREAT, until you get to my upper thighs. Size 16, down from 24/26 in shirts and work pants, size 18 in jeans (still tight though), dropped a cup size, maybe more, in my bras. I am still amazed at how fast the sleeve works!!

Awesome! You look terrific!!

Oh, this is wonderful news! Not that you have problems, but that you know what caused it and are on your road to recovery! YAY!!

I'm just now starting to tolerate jalapenos again. They were one of my favorite spicy things pre-surgery, but they've make Rex unhappy every time I've eaten them post-op until this week. I'm 9 months out.

Don't insult yourself. You're cute!!!

I didn't have hot flashes, but I've always been cold, both pre and post-op. It's June 1 in South Florida, which means 90 degree days. I have on long pants, socks, two t-shirts and a light sweater to sit by my computer with the windows open. Yeah, I'm colder now than pre-op, I think.