Lila21

OK, folks, here's my checkin from yesterday: B: 1 HB egg L: spicy basil chicken (1/4 cup) + steamed veggies S: String cheese D: 1/4 c. ethiopian lamb + 1/4 c. yogurt S: String cheese Here's the bad part.... 2 medium lattes! Wasted calories. I was so tired yesterday.... Here's the good part: 1.5 hours of workout (45 elliptical/45 stationary bike) Here's the even better part... down another lb. So, I am now at 207. 7 lbs away from Onderland!!! Countdown is ON!

My big piece of advice is that things will happen along the way that make you scared, make you panic, and make you doubt yourself. Be prepared for this as much as you can. It's a powerful tool, but you also will have down days or sometimes weeks. When that happens I STRONGLY recommend you come to this forum and post. You will find that most of us have been there or experienced something similar. It makes you feel a million times better!

I didn't have any problem getting in and out of bed, either. But, if it's affordable and easy to do, I suppose it couldn't hurt.

Irene!!! I love seeing your before and after shots! It's SOOOO motivational! Girl, you inspire me DAILY!

So, I went to my doctor today for my 6 month checkup. I've lost 85 lbs, pretty good, right? Not according to him... According to my doctor, because I've lost this slowly, I can only expect to lose another 20 lbs in the next 6 months. I just looked at him, shook my head and said "You are wrong." But, I'm so offended. I know he has experience with this surgery and post-surgery experience, but how can he possibly say this to me? I lost 14 lbs this month and 16 the month before. That's 30 lbs in 2 months. How can he suggest that I'm only going to lose another 20 lbs in SIX more months? Frankly, I just think that's incredibly negative, and I think it's irresponsible to tell your patients that you are predicting a negative outcome for them. I have lost 140 lbs on my own WITHOUT the sleeve, so I can damn well do it WITH the sleeve. I know that I can do this, but what about other patients who are less sure of themselves? If I didn't already know I could this, I would have gone home today totally downtrodden and miserable. And being that upset about it might have actually made his prediction come true. However, I know from past experience that I can do this, so it just makes me really, really angry. Has anyone else had this experience? Seriously, I am shocked and somewhat appalled. I can't wait to get to goal and say "I told you so."

Thanks, LindaS! I hope that's the case. I'd hate to think that he took that approach with all of his patients!

NO to the WAY! I have never heard of this. It sounds like a violation of all kinds of privacy laws. I wouldn't worry about it.

We all felt that way, I PROMISE!!!! but you WILL get through it. And on the other side, you'll be so glad you did!

Lynda, thanks for the reminder about checking in and tracking food intake. Here's my day so far.... B: 1 HB egg L: 2 oz. turkey + 1/2 oz cheese S: latte D: grilled lamb (2 oz.) and green Beans for a total of 632 cals/33 carb/ 60 Protein. Hm, I probably need to add a Protein shake.... Took my morning vites, and I'll take my others at dinner. Exercise today is 1 hour of serious muscle burn.... (combo class of cardio,pilates, and weight lifting--ouch!!!) Thanks for this extra motivation, you guys are helping me to get back in the groove!!!! Oh, and the good news? I am down a pound! 8 lbs to Onederland, folks!!! 8!!!!

Oh, that's good news! They don't teach callanetics at my gym, but I can just take the book with me and work on them from there. I thought it was a DVD routine, but it being a book is actually much more convenient for me. Thanks, Irene!

I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling a bit, but it's good to remember how far you've come!!! I agree with Globetrotter that you might want to go lower carb for a while and log your stats religiously, etc, and you'll drop that ten lbs in no time!!!

Wow, that's very exciting, Irene! Are you doing a lower body lift? Is that what helps with the knees? Excited to hear since I may have to do some plastics when all is said and done :-)

Wow, those are such great victories!! So excited for you!

Hey Irene, Do you use the book or the DVD? I want to try this at the gym because for some reason, I am too lazy to work out at home EVER! But, when I go to the gym I will actually work out! I am hoping I can learn the exercises and do them at the gym... any advice?

Argh, I just added my info from yesterday and somehow lost it. Sometimes this UI baffles me! Anyway.... So, yesterday was tough. I was soooore from my Sunday workout, and having cravings like crazy. But, here was my back to basics plan: 1 egg + coffee & milk & equal for Breakfast 1 egg + yogurt for lunch string cheese for snack roast chicken + string Beans & shallots for dinner. I need to get in more Protein and water!!

I am actually with the poster who said she tries to spend more time eating during the day. I used to wolf down volumes of food, and now I am finding that if I eat too fast, I feel really bad, so I have to eat slowly and listen to my body more carefully. But, in terms of activities, I still go out to eat (I just have leftovers!), and I am working out a lot more!

Those are both trigger foods for me, too. I don't really have good substitutes for you, but I think you will find that once you are sleeved, you won't be able to eat these foods nearly so much. I often grab my dinner from a buffet bar on the way home from work, and I'll usually put one or two noodles on the side of my chicken and salad, and it satisfies the craving. Pizza, I haven't eaten at all, but I think you could be similarly satisfied with a few bites of your kid's pizza! Hope that helps!

Brian, Thank you for sharing your touching story. Isn't wonderful how changing one area of our lives can have a big impact on other areas?! I am so happy that you are so healthy and that you are finding happiness again after going through such a hard time. Thanks for sharing your inspiring story, and best of luck to you as you head into MAINTENANCE! :-)

Hey folks, Lately I've been similarly struggling and I'm not sure exactly why. I worked incredibly hard the first 6 months of my sleeve, and going into the 7th month, it's like I got pooped or something. I started slacking and letting myself eat some sweets, then I added having a drink or two on the weekends, and then I added more carbs, and suddenly I have been lazy about working out, too (whereas I was working out sometimes 2 hours a day to get to my weekly goals). It really bums me out because I have so far to go, and I cannot afford to lose momentum now. I guess I am writing this down so that I hold myself accountable and really think about what it is that I have been doing. I am 9 lbs away from Onederland, and I should be working my butt off. I really can't understand what has gotten into me!!! So, I am going to take a deep breathe and realize that this is not helping me. That I only hurt myself when I eat junk, and that I am only slowing MYSELF down by cheating. I think I will create a meal plan and stick to it for the next week. Part of my problem is that I have just been grabbing whatever is handy for meals, and not planning. So my plan is LOW CARB, HIGH PROTEIN, NO SWEETS OR JUNK! Thank you for posting this, it really helped me to think through my own struggle!!!

I tend to agree with FeedYourEye. I'm not sure if the sleeve will help you if you don't generally eat very much to begin with. The one thing it will change in your physiology is hunger. Most people say they are less hungry with the sleeve, but , again, if you weren't that hungry or eating too much to begin with, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. I'd look into your metabolism and see if there is a problem there. Honestly, you should be losing weight at 600 - 1000 c. a day, and I think there must be something else that is going wrong. Unfortunately doctors are often not great at pinpointing these issues. Maybe even consider a nutritionist or someone who can run the right blood tests on you. I wish you the best of luck!

Great strategy, and wow do you look great!!!! Keep it, Miss Skinny!

Mini, I'm a bit late to the party, here.... but glad to hear everything is A-OK!!!

You will get there, Rootman! You've rocked it so far, so there's no reason to think you won't continue!!! GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I've mostly used eggface, but I just checked out Gina's WW recipes, and with a little tweaking, I think a lot of them could be sleeve-friendly. I am planning to try this one this week: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/broiled-tilapia-with-thai-coconut-curry.html YUMS!

Today's checkin: B: 1 egg + 1 oz cheese L: smoked tofu + salad + lt. dressing S: Protein shake + almond milk D: green Beans + devilled eggs (OK, it's a weird dinner, I know. It's just what I had on hand :-)) Exercise: 55 minutes of a combo yoga, pilates, cardio, weights class. YOW! Water: did not keep track very well. I have to work on that tomorrow. Vitamins: done and done. Things that went well: Exercise was great, and I ate low-carb and high protein, but I need to track my calories and Water better tomorrow. Cheers to day 1~