LilMissDiva Irene

I'm sure some here already know that we had to lay my Mother in Law to rest a few days ago. It was probably one of the hardest moments of my life. Ugghhh... but there was a little silver lining to all of that too. My husbands family came together like never before, and they are some fantastic people. I love them, and I can't say I could've ever married into a more fine group. Anyhow, just last week my Grandfather who is 88 years young suffered a major stroke as well this last weekend. However, he is doing magnificent!! In the first few hours the Doctors were telling us the next hours would be the most troubling and to be "prepared for the worst". It was scary. My Grandfathers is an amazing man!! We've always had a special bond as I am his firstborn Grand Daughter and of course I look so much like my Gramma. They've been married for about 64 years now!! I love them sooo much!!! Together they have over 50 Grand/Great Children... He served our country in WWII by flying fighter planes in Japan, and is even eligible for the Purple Heart. He refuses however, because as he puts it - it was the men who didn't make it back who are the real heroes. Again, amazing man he is. I will have to post a picture for all of you to see them on their wedding day. They looked like celebrities!! They were and still are two of the most beautiful people I know. Well, his prognosis wasn't the best. They said he probably would never even walk again, and he even fractured his right hip. Aww.. so sad! ... but I don't cry for too long because not even a week later he was transferred out of the hospital to a physical therapy clinic. WOW!!! He's already taken a few steps (with help of course) but for someone who was expected to never again... My Grampa is a truly amazing individual. GOD has truly blessed him and my Gramma. The last bit of good news is: regarding my echo test I took 2 Saturdays ago. I hadn't heard anything regarding it, so I called my Doctors office and the assistant told me the Dr didn't require any further follow up because all my tests came back in the normal range. HOORRAYYY!!! Sooo glad!! Even my blood panels came back excellent... though I do like to purchase a copy of those just to keep an eye on it. So, all in all things are going better now. Thank you LORD for all YOUR Blessings!! And just when you wonder why things are looking so bleak and gray for the moment, your eyes are opened to new possibilities for your life. Always stay receptive to the lessons you are being taught. HE would never lead you astray. *hugs*

Thank you friends!!

Right on PapaBob!!! You ROCK!!!

Don't let the guilt get to you enough where you fear it may sabotage your efforts, because it can and it will. It's a gray day when you find out that you will still crave foods and you can still eat them. The only thing you can do it push past it, work hard to avoid them - but if you do you must forage on! Be kind to yourself, I'm sure you've lived long enough in the mindset where it's ok to feel bad about yourself. Well, its not ok - you've done too many wonderful things for yourself now to feel that way. *hugs* Oh... and 17 Lbs is wonderful. Surely not worthy of saying "only"...

Actually that sounds fantastic for being only 2 months out. Great job. Congrats on the weight lost too, breakin the stall!!

What are you looking for?

If you are allergic to shellfish, then I guess that just leaves turkey, eggs, chicken or maybe actual fish. I do just green veggies, but on day 4-5 I do start incorporating more colorful veggies. So really it's just 3 days of green only. Anyone can do what they want to change it up, everything won't work for everyONE. This diet is for me, only designed to break me of the unhealthy carbs if I notice I'm over doing it and I need to get back to healthy eating habits. I also do this to AVOID the 5 day pouch test because A. I DON'T have a pouch... B. I cannot do liquids only if my life is not threatened... and C. I like and prefer real food. This diet will work just as good as that 5 day pouch test. If you don't lose a lot of weight or even any don't worry about it. The main purpose is to get back to basics, which for a sleever is Protein FIRST and pushing lots of fluids. Be sure to measure your portions too! 3 oz of solid protein, then bulk up those green veggies. It is good for our bodies, and get that Water in! Good luck to all.

Hi SexySlim, I'm glad to see you posting!! The more the merrier. I too went to Mexico to have my surgery. I certainly came back a-ok... or even better. I don't regret my decision to go to Mexico and definitely don't regret my sleeve. It truly has saved me from myself!! All the best to you, and welcome to your new journey!!

Your best ally in this journey is first going to be patience. Next is positivity. Lastly you must have perseverance. Without these three things, this is not going to be a fun ride. Enjoy your progresses, don't focus so much on the things that aren't showing, rather focus on the things that are. The scale is just a little piece of the puzzle. But what else is working in your favor? How are your clothes fitting? What about your photos, are there differences? Are there people asking/commenting about your weight loss? How do you feel personally? Better? Lighter? So what the scale is being stubborn right now. That does NOT make you a failure. You just have to keep it moving.

Sharon's post above is exactly right. Same for me, I only feel nauseated if I eat something my sleeve doesn't like, and typically it's anything way too high in fat or sugar. Now, I know these things are bad for me anyway, so I can't argue!! Also I do feel ugly if I eat too much, which is exactly what the sleeve is designed to do. If you're making excuses for reasons why not to get the sleeve, then you probably need to continue to research and think about it. This is going to change your life, and is not something to go into lightly. You need to be 100% ready to do this and commit your whole life to the process. I certainly don't regret having this surgery for anything, it helped me lose all my excess weight, and right now it's keeping me in line while my life is bumpy right now. Something I've learned about myself is when my life's order is out of whack is when I have the worst success keeping weight off. So far, I've done good. All the best to you.

Yes, majority of my drinking is plain water. I don't drink much of anything else flavored other than my morning coffee. I also do not count that in my daily totals.

Hiya Albany Dan, welcome to VST!!! 10 lbs per month lost is a great goal. It's very cautious and it will keep you from losing your sanity should one month you don't hit it. All the best to you! I know I sure don't regret having my sleeve done. Nope!!

I'm still considered "overweight" according to the BMI scale. Do I still want to lose more weight? NO. I'm healthier than majority of those Regular BMI'ers.

Hi Sunny The only day you will become a failure is the day you give up and stop trying. Never forget that! So, until then you just keep getting up and trying and trying and trying again. I am attaching a link to my version of the awful pouch test. I hate doing all liquids unless my life's being threatened, so that is why I basically just do hardcore very low carbs for 5 days to break the cycle of carb cravings. I also drink a lot of Water to get those spent fat cells out along with any extra water weight I'm probably carrying around. Once those 5 days are up, I encourage you to get back to a normal eating plan. For a sleever that means Proteins first (around 80g-100g total a day if you workout - around 60g if not), 64 oz of water minimum, but more if you can!! - and I used to keep my total Carb grams to about 60g per day in my super weight loss mode. Good luck!! http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/28139-the-basics-boot-camp/page__fromsearch__1 My 4th month post op was when I really kicked back into a hardcore workout routine. I've never in my life paid to have a personal trainer. I never felt like I needed one. I was personally capable of keeping up my own research whereas food and nutrition were concerned, and had some previous knowledge from when my insurance assisted in having me see one for 6 months before being lap banded. I've been working out my whole life and anything I needed to know I could find out on my own. I'm also not one to need someone yelling in my ear to work harder, I do that on my own as well. That said, I do not tell others NOT to get a personal trainer. They can be a great asset to many people. If you feel you need one, then definitely get one!! I have a lot of DVD's ranging from Leslie Sansone, to Jillian Michaels. I also have Billy Blanks and a great Kettlebell workout. I highly recommend these! Cheers!!

I seen this on the TV Show The Doctors around a month ago. Right now it's only being done on the stomach area in the US and it's running around $2,000 USD. I have to admit, I was incredibly interested once I'd heard about it, and they did say it does work. It takes the body around 3-4 months to completely rid the burned fat cells out of the body through our urine. Quite interesting. Hopefully someone with first hand knowledge will check in!!!

LOL!! Ah well, your back. I'm surprised I'm even logging in right now myself.

Awesome you all rock!!! Hopefully some people will contact you wonderful ladies.

No worries, that's normal. :)You know I'm here for you. BTW, I should mention that some speed walking and light cardio and maybe some light weight lifting should be enough right now. You will be able to pick up the pace in time, once you are healed post op. *hugs*

My Mother in Law has been extremely ill for the last month, and finally yesterday the LORD has called her home at around 3 am. It has been a very very stressful time for me and my husband and his family. She always called me her favorite Daughter in Law.. (LOL) and I am truly grieving at this time. Forgive me but I just haven't felt much like posting lately. Not only that I was told I have a heart murmur (confirmed as I'd been told this before) just last week and my PCP is running tests on me to find out how serious this might be. So, I do have that additional stress upon me too. I have fought for so long to get my health in check, and becoming very serious when I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure at 31 years old. Today I am 38... and going through a failed first WLS it took all my mental strength to believe the Sleeve could ever help me. It did... and today I am forever grateful. I do feel very sad however, because there is a possibility that I may have damaged my body in a way that I desperately tried to avoid. I ask for your prayers right now in hopes that it is nothing more than just a simple heart murmur. I may not be on much for awhile, I'm going through a lot. I may check in and answer a few posts, but I find that more than a few and I simply feel I want to move on to something else. In the mean time I'm doing my best to maintain my mental fortitude and continue my workouts and eating healthy. Eating healthy has not been easy lately. I have to keep in my mind though that if my heart does need special care, the best thing I can do is continue with treating it with TLC. Hugs and Blessings to all of you. Keep fighting to change your life!! YOU ARE WORTH IT!!! Absolutely.

That is a wonderful goal for you! I'm glad you have made it. That said, don't worry about wether or not you're keeping up with others. That will just end up bringing you down if you don't feel like you are measuring up. Be proud of your successes and all the goals you are tacking on to your "sleeve". Best wishes!!

Kayte, definitely one month post op is all trial and error. If pudding is making you nauseated and sick, don't eat it. Our stomachs will be sensitive enough during that time. You might get tired of your limited choices, but you will only have to endure this for a few months. If your stomach likes mahi mahi... keep eating it. It's amazing and great for our bodies. I was eating a lot of pureed foods around 1 month post. I like to puree rotisserie chicken of all things. I thought it was heaven. I also loved cream of wheat!! Yum!! My stomach also tolerated tuna with mayo on saltines. I was super limited on what my stomach liked. I went through it!!! LOL It's okay though because today I'm at goal and life's good. *hugs* you got this!

Sure I think 3 months is far enough out. You will always be at least 3 months further along than the person you are helping. Sometimes it's even better because everything you are experiencing will be fresh in your mind. I think you'd be excellent!