Fiddleman

Wow, you have done really well! What an inspiration to us all. Keep up that awesome progress.

I'm in. Having not reached my Thanksgiving goal, I hope to reach the New years' goal! Start of pre-surgery diet: 360 DOS (7-2-2012): 335 lb CW (11-20-2012): 212 lb GW (1-1-2013): 199 lb

That is a great loss!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! How do you know when to transition from weight loss to maintenance? I have seen some different responses here and there. Some women state that they are happy with size 16, some are happy with size 10-12, some are happy with size 6-7 and some are happy with size 4. It seems to be all over the board. I have seen some guy responses where they are happy with 200, some happy with 180 and some happy with 160. I would like to hear from both men and women about what goal means to them.

I can't point to any one specific incident to blame my obesity issue on, but have been overweight, unhappy and with a low self-esteem as long as I can remember. I always equated being a healthy weight would solve these issues. Decades of dieting did not solve any of those issues. So i said enough is enough and decided to research weight loss surgery. It is one of the best decisions I have made ( first is getting married to my beautiful wife). Now I have a much better self esteem and am not constantly depressed. I feel great physically and mentally. I do not think that losing scale weight is the only reason;rather, it is being free from the wicked grasp that food had on me. And loving life really for the first time.

I guess my view is the opposite. I like the structure that comes along with following a more strict diet. As my diet is so Protein focused, cravings are a thing of the past. That being said I could not develop these healthy eating habits without the sleeve and the 2 months or so following the surgery. Now i definitely feel empowered to make the right decisions that lead to an optimal body. I don't miss the carbs and love the transformation that has occurred not only physically, but mentally as well.

Thank you all for the variety of responses. It will help me envision my own goal.

I am 37 and was sleeved July 2nd, 2012.

I have a similar job that places me in front of a computer between 12-14 hours a day, starting at 5:30 am. Often times, it really helps me to take 1 hour between 9-10am (east coast lunch hour) and bust out some cardio and lifting. I have to be dedicated though about planning an hour such that it works around planned meetings and is early enough in the day or it is just not going to get done. I never have the motivation to work out after a 12-14 hour day on the computer. With exercise during the day, i have some energy to do other things with the family after work. Without exercise during the day, 12-14 hours in front of the computer leaves me drained physically and mentally and I just want to crash into bed.

Freezing all the time. I am thinking about getting a little space heater soon for under my home office desk. Temperature is setback 72 F during the day, but it does not keep me warmed very well. What does help is to wear a hoodie sweatshirt all the time inside. LOL!

Scrambled eggs. I think I still drank a lot of shakes during purée stage because I enjoyed them so much.

I lost about 20 lb pre op and ate most an atkins diet. No food funerals for me.

3 oz light and dark turkey and 1 oz green bean casserole. I think that will fill me up.

My friend that used to work at a gym turned me on to the idea of adding peanut butter to my Protein shakes to cut that weird chemical taste. I use about half a teaspoon which is enough to lessen the taste' date=' without just making the shake peanut butter flavoured. [/quote'] Another suggestion is to try the PB2 product (reduced fat and calories with a lot of protein when compared to regular peanut butter).

Do sugar alternatives like splenda or the older varieties make you tired? I have been getting seriously sleepy lately and continue to go through a lot of mio for my water intake. On a related note, I am starting to wonder what mio really is and the long term effect on the body. Anyone know?

I had acid reflex for the first time last night, almost 4.5 months out. It was a strange feeling where it felt like a simmering volcano in the middle of the night. It did not make it up my throat so could not "taste it", but I could feel quite a bit down low. I took 3 tums and the feeling did not go away immediately. It got me thinking about whether I forgot to take my morning prilosec or not. I convinced myself I took it because I am very consistent about taking it daily. Regardless, I really hope this is not the start of nightly acid trips.

I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but said behavior could lead to bulimic tendencies later on. I understand how bad the vomiting sensation makes us feel. Eating just under sleeve capacity will help.

I don't think so as both the syntrax Cookies and creme matrix product and the double cookie nectar product only claim aspartame free. Usually products are fairly obvious in their labeling when they are Gluton free.