bookleen

aiming for goal

Thanks feedyoureye, I feel welcome although I do not know where to tap into the action on VST at this point in time. I have been reading posts in several spots and the site has changed so much since my first visits that I cannot be sure where I belong. No problem. I will take roots here and try to get back into the swing of things. There are some slightly fresh points of view that I find interesting since I first joined 3 years ago. Different people put emphasis on different points which I find very informative and helpful. Bookleen

Hi Irene and your band of merry followers! I am delighted to have a group that I can relate to. Thanks for starting this up as I was feeling a little lost. I am 13 almost 14 months out and have come to a total halt. I am pleased with my results so far and in particular very pleased with my new level of health and lifestyle. I had absolutely no complications along the way and I am living a very normal life. Perhaps, I acclimatized too quickly! Stats:- 5'5" tall and started out at 213 lbs with a BMI of approx 35.6. Lost 50 lbs approx in the first 7 months and have not lost any since. Current weight is fluctuating between 160 and 163 lbs.with a BMI of just over 27. First goal will be to 150 lbs weight where I will just creep into the normal BMI range. (I really would have liked to lose a further 10-15 lbs but I am beginning to think that may never happen. My ideal would be 133 lbs). Looking forward to making a fresh start and tidying up a few shabby habits. Bookleen

hi coops, I see over on the vets forum that you now take a UK size 12. I just had to wish you well and hope you see it on this thread. I cannot reply on the vets forum as you know. Size 12 is a big deal. Well Done, Bookleen

Hi tdriver, Welcome back. I am almost in the same position as you....only a little worse. I never got all the way to goal and then gained approx 7 lbs during the last 18 months. I have 20 lbs to lose, and hope to do this for Christmas 2013. I am hoping to tidy up my act and follow the rules properly and hopefully that will do the trick. I am hoping not to go back to the liquid phase but rather drop some careless habits, e.g. cut out alcohol, never drink within an hour of eating, and take a protein drink every day. My diet is otherwise healthy and I am hoping these small changes will make a difference. I will give these a try for 1 month to see. Best of luck with what you decide to do. Bookleen

Hello Globetrotter, I can so relate to your post. I can only suppose what you intend to do will certainly work --if you can carry it through. I wish you the very best. I am Bookleen and I am back on this forum after approx an 18 month absence. I have just "celebrated" my 3 year sleeve "birthday". My birthday present from me to me is getting back on this VST forum! Well I would love to join the " vets forum" but I am not eligible for a couple of reasons. Firstly I never quite reached goal. I lost weight for the first 7 months and then hit a plateau for the next 7 months even though I thought I was continuing to do things right. I was still weighing regularly and generally obsessing about not losing weight. After being on that plateau for 7 long months I drifted away from VST and also stopped weighing myself as often, and then decided that I would live my life "like a normal person" and stop obsessing about food, weight etc etc. Well, now I am back, surprise, surprise. I enjoyed myself in the past 18 months and have every confidence that I will be able to lose the additional weight I gained and also go all the way to goal if I put my mind to it. I have gained 7 lbs in the past 18 months and I also would like to lose the last 13 lbs to reach goal. That means I now have a total of 20 lbs to lose. The second reason that I cannot join in the "vets forum" is that I have not enough posts. One needs 100 to join in. When I was at the initial stage of weight loss I used the name "Booklean" and clocked up some posts on that name. However, when I changed my PC and had problems logging on, I had to re-register. Now, my ambition is to stay on VST and be accountable. I intend to log on regularly and hopefully frequently and give an account of my "doings"--- the good, the bad and the ugly, but hopefully it will turn out to be more good than bad. I am in no rush to lose those 20 lbs. However, I will set myself a goal of Christmas 2013. Would you like to join me? Bye for now, Bookleen

Hello Everyone and you are all welcome to join me on this thread, even though it is supposed to be a personal log. I would love your company here. Please join in. I am Bookleen and I am back on this thread after approx an 18 month absence. I have just "celebrated" my 3 year sleeve "birthday". My birthday present from me to me is getting back on this VST forum! Well I would love to join the " vets forum" but I am not eligible for a couple of reasons. Firstly I never quite reached goal. I lost weight for the first 7 months and then hit a plateau for the next 7 months even though I thought I was continuing to do things right. I was still weighing regularly and generally obsessing about not losing weight. After being on that plateau for 7 long months I drifted away from VST and also stopped weighing myself as often, and then decided that I would live my life "like a normal person" and stop obsessing about food, weight etc etc. Well, now I am back, surprise, surprise. I enjoyed myself in the past 18 months and have every confidence that I will be able to lose the additional weight I gained and also go all the way to goal if I put my mind to it. I have gained 7 lbs in the past 18 months and I also would like to lose the last 13 lbs to reach goal. That means I now have a total of 20 lbs to lose. The second reason that I cannot join in the "vets forum" is that I have not enough posts. One needs 100 to join in. When I was at the initial stage of weight loss I used the name "Booklean" and clocked up some posts on that name. However, when I changed my PC and had problems logging on, I had to re-register. Now, my ambition is to stay on this thread and be accountable. I intend to log on regularly and hopefully frequently and give an account of my "doings"--- the good, the bad and the ugly, but hopefully it will turn out to be more good than bad. To do this I will need your help, support, encouragement,challenges and of course your sense of humour. I am in no rush to lose those 20 lbs. However, I will set myself a goal of Christmas 2013. Bye for now, Bookleen Don't forget-------I would love to hear from you!

This is an excellent 9 minute video from U-Tube. Hope you all enjoy. Bookleen

That study that the author referred to from the New England Journal of Medicine is indeed very interesting. I intend to print it out and scrutinise it in detail. It may indeed be true but alas it is not very encouraging! We must now learn how to reset our dials! Thanks for sharing Bookleen t

Hello to All, Just dipping in and out of these posts at the moment but not fully back yet, and definitely not committed yet. I have been "free lancing "for the past 18 months approx and had actually forgotten about my sleeve or weight issues. It's true. It hasn't been a severe but it has been a long dragged out Winter here. I am heading off for a sun holiday next weekend and really looking forward to it. I am now looking at Summer clothes and can see that they are tight! Still I have enough that will do. Refuse to buy a bigger size. When I get home I will weigh myself and declare to you all the damage done in 18 months! For the past 4 weeks I have stopped eating wheaten bread and since I had no will power to cut out bread altogether I substituted a multi-grain gluten free bread and I think I am feeling better. Not as bloated. Have any of you noticed problems with sleep since you were sleeved? Bookleen

Hi All, Have ye heard of the South Beach Diet? It is a heart friendly diet and easy for us to do since we are sleeved. Whenever I follow it I feel good and lose weight. I still believe that it is the most healthy long term eating plan. So why am I not following it now?? I will , when I get serious again. bookleen

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I look forward to restarting, but I will wait until after my holidays and then until 26th April (3rd anniversary) when I will officially weigh in. Just reading about your surgeries and am full of admiration for your fortitude. Well Done! Bookleen

Thank you, feedyoureye. I will join you there. Bookleen

Hi Everyone, I'd like to join this thread too. I was sleeved in April 2010. I started with a BMI of just over 35 and got down to a BMI of 27 in 7 months. For the next 6 -8 months I continued trying to lose but seemed to hit a plateau. Then I just stopped fretting about it and got on with living my life and enjoying the weight loss. Now, I am coming up to my 3 year anniversary and need to review my progress. I know I have gained some weight (my clothes are tighter) but I have not weighed myself yet and don't intend doing so until 26th Apr. In the meantime I have come back to Vertical Sleeve Talk to get back in the mood of losing weight. Reading all the posts helps to get motivated. I had 13 lbs to go to get to my ideal weight when I hit that plateau. I assume I have gained approx another 10 lbs, maybe more. After Easter, I am going to the Canaries Islands for a sun holiday and then I am getting serious about getting to goal for Christmas. That's the plan! This time I hope to stay with it.....and go all the way. Looking forward to joining your group. Regards, Bookleen i

Where can I find "gonna get to goal,want to join me".? I would love to get to goal too, and would appreciate being part of that group. Bookleen

hi Coops, Welcome on board.This thread is just exactly what you need. You say you had a TT .Does that mean a tummy tuck? I would expect you will have lost some more lbs because of that? You sound as if you have put in a great effort, so you deserve to get to you goal. Lets all get on board together and sail into our destination. We also invite everyone who is within 30 lbs of their goal to join us. Together we can do it! Bookleen

Hi. I am pleased to find this thread. It is almost 3 years since I was sleeved and I also am still within 30 lbs of goal. I never reached it! I reached my lowest weight approx 7 months post op and have stayed there , or "there abouts, " since. I have not been on this forum much in the past 2 years, nor have I been thinking much about my weight. But, it is coming up close to my anniversary and I am in the mood for a bit of a stock taking and would like to lose a few lbs before I document my 3 year wt loss. I have not been following the rules, and have a kinda forgotten them. Getting back to this forum will help me get back to basics I hope. Bookleen

Hello to all the April 2010 sleevers! and everyone else who wishes to join in too. It is that time of year again and we are coming up to our 3rd anniversary. Now would be a great time for us all to do a stocktaking and review our current situation and also review our past 3 years. It would be very interesting to hear how everyone is doing 3 years out. My date is 26th April, so I will do a full summary on that date. That gives me a few weeks to tidy up my act, so to speak. All long timers are welcome to join in here and express their joys or woes. Looking forward to hearing from you all again. Bookleen

Hi to all you April 2010 sleevers! Just wondering if anyone is around. would love to hear from you. I have put on a few pounds and would like to get them off for XMas, so I am looking for some support, and also a nudge to get back to basics Bookleen

Hi Shell C, Thanks for your reply. Must make sure we don't press "I like it" or we might end up on facebook. I am already signed up for facebook although I never use it. My niece logged me on to it. Like you, I would also like to keep my anonymity if possible. Also would like to help others with their choice of selecting the sleeve as I believe that it is worthwhile and a support group like this is helpful to anyone making the choice.I suppose it is a bit of a dilemma in selecting a balance in meeting our own needs and also helping others. I wish we were not linked to other sites as I find it invasive. Bookleen

Hello Shell C, Congrats on your 95 lbs weight loss, that is really amazing. Well Done to you. I am having problems logging onto this site and I have not done so recently, until I got your message. I see we are prob on facebook and I don't fully know what that means? Not sure I want to be on facebook, but if this thread is on facebook, then I assume I prob am already? This new technology is mind-boggling! Hard to keep up up with the times!

Hi Everyone, I use Sanatogen protein powder and find it very useful for sprinkling into food as it is tastleless. Does anyone know if we can use protein powders in baking? Would the protein be made useless by the heat? I sometimes use it for making pancakes and like it. I would now like to use it for muffins and bread if it did not effect the nutritional value. Thanks in advance for all comments, suggestions or ideas. Bookleen

Hi Everyone, I have just received a reply from the company and they have confirmed that their Protein powder can be used in baking. Now, all that remains is to learn how to bake! I have a few recipies with oatbran instead of flour, and I will also include some of Tifftkin's flaxseed (linseed ) too! Bookleen

Hi Tiffykins, Thanks for your reply. I don't bake either, but I have got a few receipes using oatbran that I want to try. Oatbran seems to be the new health fad, even better than oatmeal. It is higher in both protein and fibre(both soluble and insoluble) and cardiologists are recommending it to lower cholesterol. I was trying to sneak in some extra protein too! Flash frying the pancakes make not de-nature all the protein....I hope...but maybe? But baking? I have written to the company and await their reply. Will post here if I hear anything back Bookleen

Thanks Emily. I must look out for that Beneprotein. Sanatogen does not specify on the box whether or not it can be heated so I suppose that means it cant! I suppose bakeries would add Protein Powder to breads if it was that simple.