Lila21

Another lb down. Thank you, Sleeve! SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Lila21..........235......................224............199...............25

OMG, I'm praying my cankles go away! WAY TO GO!!!

Love this list, Irene! For me, my top three are: 1.) Being able to move more freely and exercise! This one is HUGE! I used to get out of breath just walking! 2.) Being able to buy cute clothes in a store that is NOT Lane Bryant. 3) Feeling like it is possible to get to a healthy weight and maintain it.

10 lbs down... um, 26 to go. Perhaps I set my goal too high, but last time it motivated me to try, so I'll keep going for it! SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Lila21..........235......................225.............199...............26

I modified the chicken pot pie crepe recipe I made the other day to make a sweet crepe. carb chocolate crepes Crepes: 4 eggs 1/2 cup ricotta 4 tablespoons flour Pinch of salt 3 tablespoons milk . In a medium bowl beat the Ricotta with the eggs. Beat in the flour, salt, and milk. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Coat with vegetable cooking spray when hot. Pour in 2 tablespoons of batter and swirl the pan to coat the entire surface in a thin layer. Allow to cook, without turning, until completely done. The top should be no longer shiny and when you touch it it’s not wet. The bottom will be have a very slight golden color. If it’s too dark, lower the heat. (These can be impossible to flip and they don’t need to be, so don’t try if you don’t want to. I do sometimes to get the same color on each side, but they are done when it’s dry on the top.) Gently loosen the edges with a spatula and slide out of the pan onto a plate. Very lightly spray the top with vegetable spray – this way you can stack them on top of each other. Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray before each crepe. Proceed with above directions until batter is gone. Allow the crepes to cool to room temperature and then wrap the plate tightly with plastic wrap. These keep well in the fridge – unfilled – for several days. Filling: Filling (makes filling for 2 crepes) 1/4 cup ricotta cheese (low fat or fat free) 2 heaping teaspoons cocoa powder I packet artificial sugar (splenda or whatever you prefer) Mix the filling ingredients in a microwavable bowl Microwave for 15 seconds or until fairly well-heated Fill the crepe with the filling and enjoy!

Randomly down another lb this morning. I'll take it! SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Lila21..........235......................226.............199...............27

I tried this recipe today and it was sooo delicious: recipes on this site worth checking out! chicken POT PIE IN CREPES So beautiful! Homey-old-fashioned gets updated and elegant in this dish. I’ve taken my family-favorite casserole and removed the carby crust – kept the gorgeous filling and simply rolled it in my higher-protein-lower-carb crepes. You can’t go wrong with this. Even if you didn’t tackle the crepe making and just ate the filling – it’s still great! ~~~~ Crepes: 4 eggs 1/2 cup ricotta 4 tablespoons flour Pinch of salt 3 tablespoons milk . In a medium bowl beat the Ricotta with the eggs. Beat in the flour, salt, and milk. Allow to sit for 15 minutes. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Coat with vegetable cooking spray when hot. Pour in 2 tablespoons of batter and swirl the pan to coat the entire surface in a thin layer. Allow to cook, without turning, until completely done. The top should be no longer shiny and when you touch it it’s not wet. The bottom will be have a very slight golden color. If it’s too dark, lower the heat. (These can be impossible to flip and they don’t need to be, so don’t try if you don’t want to. I do sometimes to get the same color on each side, but they are done when it’s dry on the top.) Gently loosen the edges with a spatula and slide out of the pan onto a plate. Very lightly spray the top with vegetable spray – this way you can stack them on top of each other. Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray before each crepe. Proceed with above directions until batter is gone. Allow the crepes to cool to room temperature and then wrap the plate tightly with plastic wrap. These keep well in the fridge – unfilled – for several days. . Filling: 3 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup diced onion 1/4 cup finely diced celery 1/2 cup finely diced, or shredded carrots 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon sage 1 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon Splenda/sugar (brings out the flavors, yes it does!) Dash grated fresh nutmeg 3/4 cup chicken broth 3/4 cup ff half & half 1 cup frozen peas, thawed 2 cups diced or shredded, cooked chicken . Melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and slowly cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, Splenda, and nutmeg. Whisk in chicken broth and cream. Cook until bubbly and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peas and chicken. Cook for one minute to heat through. Makes twelve 1-crepe servings. Per Weight loss surgery-size serving: 150 Cal; 13 g Protein; 7 g Tot Fat; 8 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 1 g Sugar; 290 mg Sodium

Wow, congratulations on all your hard work! 100 lbs! Amazing! I can't wait until I can say that! Even more impressive is that you lost 60 of those lbs before the sleeve! That's tenacity! I think a watch is a great reward! I do the same thing-- I buy myself scarves, necklaces, shoes, and things that will still fit after I've lost weight. Another great reward is to get your hair done, get a facial, or get your brows waxed (if you have two caterpillars like me!). All of those things make you feel good but will still fit while you are losing weight! Enjoy your success!

Thinking of you and sending all my best wishes for you to have an AWESOME and SUCCESSFUL week! You can do it!!!

slow week here in loserville.... down 1 lb. I sloooo want to get to Onederland! Next week, I'll up my exercise and see where that gets me! SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Lila21..........235......................227.............199...............28

For me the full feeling is much like it was before, but with much less food. I have only had to vomit once, and that was (I think) because I had drank a bunch of water too soon before eating. But, generally, I try to eat fairly slowly and stop eating when I start to feel full. If I eat too fast, sometimes, I feel stuffed and get the hiccups. Your worry that you could accidently bust your stomach open seems pretty impossible to me. I start to feel full, and my stomach says, "NO." In that way, I guess it's a little different than before surgery. Before surgery, I could know that I had plenty to eat and just keep on eating. Now, my stomach protests greatly, and I just simply wouldn't want to eat anymore because it becomes uncomfortable.

Daisy! Glad to hear it went well! I'm looking forward to seeing the pix of you, and hoping you have a very restful recovery!

Hey folks, I drink optimum nutrition chocolate Protein drink, so I was psyched to see it's on sale at 24 HR Fitness: http://mystore.24hourfitness.com/product_details.php?item=748927028669&pf_id=748927028669 Just thought I'd share with you guys.... It's nearly half off!

Sorry, I just saw your reply. I find it pretty yummy (but most people will say that finding a Protein drink you like is a very personal thing :-)) I drunk it pretty much every day.

Renewing your vows is a really cool idea! I know so many brides who would love a "redo" on their special day but in a sexier dress! I hope you do it! I love the picture of you standing in your old pants.... isn't that just mind-blowing? How much do you love your sleeve?!!!!

You look sooooo amazing!!!! I am so inspired by how TEEENY TINY you are! Congratulations on all your success!

My doc told me: "exercise as much as possible, and eat as few calories as possible." He's probably not the norm, but I don't think it will hurt to do cardio every day if you want to. I would NOT, however, lift weights for the first three months as there can be a risk of hernia doing that. I can't remember exactly what I'd lost in the first 3 months, but I think I was at 50 lbs lost at that point. Hope that helps!

I've seen this question a lot, and it was something I looked at really carefully before being sleeved. The answers vary generally to the degree that you feel hungry. For some people, they experience NO hunger whatsoever (Look at Tiffykins and JuliaRH for this). For a lot of people, it's a matter of reduced hunger. For me, personally, my hunger has been reduced a LOT. I am constantly amazed at how little I eat and feel full. This morning, I went out to brunch and had an egg and part of a chicken apple sausage, and I was marveling to myself at how full I felt. I tend to really notice it when I go out to eat because then I usually get the usual giant plateful of food that I used to eat, but can only handle eating a very small portion of it (as opposed to when I eat at home, and serve myself a tiny portion on a salad plate, which I've gotten very used to). And I don't feel hungry 2 hours later or anything, it generally takes me a good 3 to 4 hours before I feel hungry again. Also, the hunger I feel is different from my old hunger. I used to feel ravenous whenever I dieted, and it took a lot of mental self-control to stay on a diet. Now, it just feels like I am eating plenty and feeling good while on much smaller portions. I'd say my case (milder hunger and good restriction) is sort of the norm for most sleevers. There are some people who say they are hungry a lot, but I'd say that's a much smaller percentage than those who have greatly reduced hunger. And there are those with no hunger at all, but again, I'd say that's also a smaller percentage. For me, I feel the perfect amount of hunger--enough to make me crave healthy foods in very small amounts. I hope that helps!

All the comments I have gotten have been really polite, and I appreciate it. I don't like people who create nicknames for me, etc. It kind of makes me uncomfortable. But, I like it when someone politely asks if I've lost weight, and then tells me I am looking healthy. I guess I am just sensitive about my weight, regardless of whether it's up or down the scale :-))

Hang in there.... I stalled early out, too. It happens to lots of folks. I know it's frustrating, but just consider it part of the process and you'll be less frustrated! Congrats on your sleeve and on getting in all your protein and H2O. It's often a struggle early on, so you are doing very well!

Hee, good thing you have those tattoos so you can prove to people you REALLY ARE the same guy! :-) Congratulations on all your success! I love it when people share the photos.... a picture is worth 1,000 words sometimes!!!

SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Lila21..........235......................228.............199...............29

Don't worry! You start off with a lot of restriction, but as the first year progresses, you'll have less restriction. It's true that at the beginning, you'll only be able to eat a few bites, and that can seem daunting, but just remember that your capacity will shift a lot over the course of the first year.

Hm, my 1st reply went into the ether, guess I'll try again! :-) I totally agree with BBJ: rock a bikini if you feel comfortable! It sounds like you are feeling comfortable enough to consider it, so maybe get a bikini bottom and both a tankini and bikini top so you can play it by ear while on vacation! Options are always great! Also, click the link on BBJ's post to see the amazing Ms. Helen Mirren rocking a bikini! That's one of the more inspiring things I've seen in a while :-)

OD: that's so exciting! A friend of mine had a face lift a few years back, and she looks like a brand new woman! I was so impressed with how great she looked. I am hoping for the same gorgeous results for you!!