Globetrotter

Hmmm, I have an idea ... What if all of us from VSG sent individual email complaints to the same address you did? That way, they would notice a spike in displeasure for their Albuquerque store,and pay attention to it? Coud work ...

I realized this morning that my sweets intake has really sky rocketed, which is confusing because I thought I was making the good conscientious choice by using stevia rather than sugar? In any given day though, I drink 4-6 cups of (stevia) sweetened hot tea, put SF torani in my yogurt and protein shake (that stuff is SO sweet), also put stevia in the yogurt, and have some kind of chocolate. Wonder what the trigger for all this is, am I not getting enough protein? Water? Is it because of my running? Hmm.

The chocolate craving might actually be a need for magnesium, studies have shown that the link between women, TOM, and chocolate cravings isn't just a cliche. Rather, that we are super low on mag during TOM and chocolate is super high in mag, not to mention the fact that magnesium is a mood stabilizer and chocolate also contains the same chemical compound released by the brain when in love and most definitely yes, chocolate makes you feel better!!

I can now wrap my ankle around the back of his opposite hip =P

And you know it's not just that, it's everything, just touching is so amazing now! Being able to press warm skin against warm skin and really be able to press and be close, awesome!

Coops - oh dear! Sounds like the universe is telling you to slow your roll, and for your loved ones to take care of you for a bit =/ 600 calories was not good, to say the least. A Very Low Calorie Diet may be correct when one is super morbidly obese but it is not right for an average overweight person, my heart fluttered rapidly, I was dizzy and lethargic and could hardly move. I'm trying 800 instead plus steady daily running.

So ... we lose weight everywhere. everywhere. So um, does anybody have any advice on how to keep the lady bits from getting bruised after a vigorous go-round? It wasn't THAT crazy and yet I feel like I've got bone bruises because certain areas are no longer protected by a cushiony fat pad.

Go to an air conditioned gym!

A truly meaningful NSV for me: apart from all of the appearance-based motivations as I've lost weight, I had fitness goals. They included being able to do one perfect push-up, one classic pull-up, and being able to run 1 mile comfortably. After a year and a half I have now achieved the mile, and it feels awesome!

I'm impressed by your embracing of such a healthy mind set! And how warped is it that my next emotion was jealousy, that I weigh only 2 pounds more than you, and wear 14's! not fair.

Some addicts say they don't need a reason to drink/drug/binge, but I eat when I am scared. I eat when I am afraid of harm/beingpunished/having done something wrong. I eat to seek not just comfort but ...so I won't feel so afraid? It is difficult to express tihs feeling. I just realized it this morning when, confronted with the idea of actions on the part of my boss, sent me head first into my lunch bag. It is 7:30 in the morning. Why would I think that food would "fix" that? Anyone have any cognitive therapy advice, or any thoughts?

Okay, here goes my experiment! Today I will eat one egg, one protein shake made with water, one container of greek yogurt with walnuts, and one protein shot, for a total of 600 cals, 78g protein, 21g carbs. After work I will go for a 2 mile run or 20 minutes of intervals, and lift weights. If it works like I hope it will, I should be down 3 pounds by the weekend. Let's see what happens!

Thanks Iowa, as of this morning I am 168 and am going to try the 600 experiment. I have to remind myself that this won't actually hurt, because I don't feel hunger. It will be interesting to note all of the emotions I feel, that will be brought up, like anxiety. Today I will have one egg, one protein shake made with water, one container of greek yogurt with walnuts, and one protein shot. 600 cals, 79g protein, 21g carbs. After work I will run 2 miles and lift weights, let's see what happens!

The only time I saw significant loss was when I kept to around 600 calories a day <30g's carbs in my first 6 months. Since then as my calories have gone up, so have my struggles to lose every frickin' ounce increased.

Does anyone remember or know where I can find a recipe for crustless pizza? I know of the Eggface pizza bites but those are egg-based and don't sit well in El Sleevo. I'm craving the taste of pepperoni and the gooeyness of cheese ...

Honestly I don't know anymore what amount I should be eating and I have no guidance on this! Nobody ever seems to talk about the drastic changes in how your body loses weight once you are no longer morbidly obese and are just chunky trying to get to goal. I am 40 lbs away from goal and take in around 1200 calories a day. I upped this from 800 cals a day. My energy is better, but I whether at 800 or 1200, I haven't lost weight since the new year. =(

Group therapy is not for me, but I will see what my insurance covers.

I would love therapy, but am intimidated by the cost.

@Lila21 - intervals is what I've been doing, that 1-2 miles is cumulative.

I forgot about Eggface's tortilla pizzas, I may try those, but I'm really trying to cut out all unnecessary carbs right now, sort of a back-to-my-roots carb cleanse. @ SweetP, I've got all the ingredients for that at home right now, I will make it for dinner and report back!

I am 18 months out, 128 pounds down, still 40 away from goal. I have recently started having painful attacks that are being attributed to my gallbladder, an ultrasound revealed stones. I've done some research though and have discovered that just because you have your GB out doesn't necessarily mean that the painful attacks will stop! I've also heard that it can completely derail your weight loss or even make you gain weight, and that for the REST of your life, you will never again be able to eat some of the more beautiful things in life - a good french cheese, red wine, a rich sauce, red meat. =( =( Can anyone weight in and clear some of this up for me? I'm putting off having surgery because I can't get an answer that I trust from anywhere, so I'm coming to my VST homies.

I have a friend, non-VSG, who had hers out a few years ago and she blames everything on her not having a gallbladder, claims she can't lose weight because of it, claims she gains weight more easily because of it, is adamant that it is unnecessary to have it out and that all manner of bad things are a result of having it out. She blames quite a bit on not having a gallbladder, come to think of it. I'm 40+ lbs away from goal so it is scary to think that having it out could negatively affect my weight loss =(

If you can't handle the Toranis, Da Vinci also makes syrups, though I do not know if they are also sugar free. I love my greek yogurt with a drizzle of SF vanilla Torani, some walnuts, and some truvia. Between the syrup and the truvia it is so sweet preserves would be overkill for my tastebuds. Plus we're not getting any nutrition from preserves or jams so if I were to go that route, I would add fresh or frozen fruit like blueberries, high in antioxidants.

I did not have a doughnut or anything evil yesterday. A tiny, humble, accomplishment but, there it is. I work in the kind of office where people are constantly bringing in Krispy Kremes and homemade brownies. I ran for over a mile and danced for over an hour. So far so good today, eggs for breakfast. If I can stick to my meal plan for today then I should get <50g carbs and around 1000 cals. I intend on running 1-2 miles, then doing an hour + of yoga, hope to keep my water up.

I actually use this to my advantage; whenever I feel like my sleeve is being too accomodating, I just eat some scrambled egg, then I feel so icky and full and am so turned off by food that it keeps me from eating! =)