Queen of Crop

A few people have told me it's helpful to see what other people are eating (I agree!) so I have posted a few photos of some of my meals on this Sunday's blog. I am so happy to have had noodles (Saimin, a popular dish here in Hawaii) twice this week. First time my tummy allowed that to happen after 10 months and 80 lbs. Also I am so happy that I could only eat a little, but it was enough! AND I lost another lb this week too.... Hope everyone had a good week!

Aloha Suzcomptime! You are I are SO similar! I was 5'3" 223 lbs was sleeved 5 days after BD #58 10 months ago. I have lost 79 lbs and am within 5 lbs of goal, but like you not stressing about it. (Although I am going to be sure and reach it before my one year is up!) Like they say, the 50's are the new 40's but with the sleeve I'm dialing back to the 30's! ROCK ON!!!!

Aloha Oahu Firewater.....are you on Oahu? We have been on the Big Island for the last 10 years, are leaving TONIGHT for Honolulu for the month of Sept and then we are immigrating to Amsterdam Oct 1. Would love to meet you if you are on Oahu. I went into surgery at the same weight you are and I am now 144! If you want to meet before or after your surgery, just let me know! Our condo is downtown near China town. My blog is www.queenofcrop.com and you can contact me through that. A hui hou! QofC

It's not perfect, but it's close....still, today on my Sunday Blog I've written about the top ten things that I haven't been happy about. Posting it for all of you pre-sleevers so you can see that they really are small things.....compared to the trade off! Just click on my link below to see what they are.

I've just posted my TOP TEN complaints (annoyances really) about the sleeve, just curious what everyone else's is. My list is on my Sunday blog that I just posted today. (Just click on the link to read them). Hope every one is having a great week and I'll be curious to know what other people think. Most of the time, we just hear I LOVE MY SLEEVE, but there are those few things.....

Thanks Scotty! Good advice....I'll try the clock today; and when I go to the 20th floor I'll really be able to work on that one!

So a lot of us have bad knees due to the damage we have done because of our weight. A friend of mine had knee surgery and asked him what his PT gave him as exercises. One of them was to stand on one leg for 30 seconds at a time. So I started doing that.....in my elevator where I live! Going up (my right leg goes up-I remember it because I think of an upright piano!). Going down, my left leg goes up. When I first started a month or so ago, it was hard. Now it's easy and I can feel my knees getting better! I live on the 9th floor but as of next week we go to Honolulu and we're on the 20th floor there.....but I'm ready. Anyway, give it try; it's simple but it's helped me. I wrote about this on my blog when I first started but 4-5 weeks later I can tell the difference.

Thanks everyone for the great posts: to Newfoundlove.....so happy to hear you can eat a little pasta...maybe there is hope for me in the future....planning another trip to Italy in the coming year and thought of going through Italy AGAIN without pasta is depressing. You are right on track for the hair loss (3-5 months) but it doesn't last long; the worst of my hair loss was just a few weeks then it started growing back....everywhere! As for the NSAIDS, there has been a lot of back and forth on this on the forum. I've never been a perfect rule follower and started taking Excedrin (just one) every now and then about 3 months out. It was the only thing that would help my headaches. But check again with your doctor. My guess is one every once in a while once you are healed will be fine, BUT, I'm not a medical professional either. Anyway, good thoughts; I think over all we love the sleeve and we can work around these few issues.

For those who can't see the link to my blog, it's because you have your signatures turned off on your options. My blog is www.queenofcrop.com The reason I don't usually put it in the body of the email is for some reason (I've never known why really) the VST forum rules say you can't put it in the body....why you can put it in your signature but not the body of the message I don't know. So maybe I'll get my hand slapped, maybe not. But you should go to your settings and be sure to turn signatures ON. Thanks for all the good feedback everyone.

You must not have your signatures showing in your preferences. My link is www.queenofcrop.com Thanks! Sharene

I'm excited for all of you! The next few days will zip by and you will all be on a brand new adventure....once the first few weeks of the surgery is over (which is a bit surreal) you will wake up so excited every day to see the changes in your bodies, your mind, your self-confidence, your whole outlook! Be sure to take BEFORE photos now....even if you don't show them to anyone.....you won't regret it in a few months..... Keep us posted!

My husband and I always has a good sex life (he's tall and thin) but after 26 years together our sex life is soooooooooo much more fun!!! We not only have more sex, better sex but we talk about it and laugh about it so much more now. No longer is the 800 lb Gorilla in the room.....my weight when it came to sex bothered him but he just didn't know how to tell me, until one day he just had a melt down....that was the beginning of my journey to surgery. I think that heavy partners often don't realize just how it affects their thinner partners....but you find out once you lose.....plus it's so much fun wearing beautiful underwear now! We both love it! Have fun everyone!

Good stuff: 95%! You've read all the testimonials here......what you give up? 5%! And at least for me, I don't really miss it and the control over my life far exceeds the fact that I don't eat Pasta or rice any more. If you have a chance, take a look at my blog;(link below). Even if you just skim it I think you will find that although I'm honest, there are very few negative things in there. I'm starting Week 45 and have been writing about my journey every Sunday for the last year....that should give you some idea of what to expect. The first few months? You'll feel weird and exhilarated at the same time, because for the first time, something actually works and the progress is fun! You are all in for a very fun year with changes to your body and your mind and your relationship to food. Go embrace it! Many people would love to have this surgery to improve their life and they have no insurance or cannot afford it. You are among the lucky ones! HAVE FUN AND KEEP US POSTED.

So reading through all these posts, I guess the answer is consider surgery after a year and no one has any exercises that will help..... I'm 58, 9 months post op, my breasts weren't bad when I was 80 lbs heavier, at least they were full; not they are pathetic deflated balloons. They look good in a bra, but once that comes off, it's a sad state of affairs......at this age I don't think I'll go for surgery and just be thankful I still have 'em!

I get it from my naturopath. I can give you her info; she ships if you're interested. She's a firm believer that not all supplements are good and she only orders high quality stuff. The name of it is Nordic Naturals ProEPA xtra It's says it's Ultra Concentrated Superior Triglyceride Form Pharmaceuticla Grade Molecularly Distilled Omega-3 Fish Oil Hope that helps!

I had a really really hard time taking Vitamins for the first few months, but once I could start swallowing them, this is my daily cocktail (I worked with a naturopathic doctor to come up with this:) Multi Vitamin Fish oil Biotin (for hair) Vitamin D Glucosamine (I have knee and hip joint issues) Calcium (very important!) B12 tablet I take the Calcium at night; the rest in the morning. Hope that helps....BTW, I hated the chewables...yuck.

I was out laying by the pool today (in my small strapless swim suit) and there were some very young kids in the pool, maybe 3 and 5 years old. A few other people around too. A guy comes out and he's watching the kids and says to me; "your kids sure are cute...." I quickly looked around to see if he was talking to someone else.....he was talking to me....I'm almost 59 years old!!!! That was a sweet one!

I have 11 Pretzel Thins every day (110 calories) and I love love love them. Can't live without them. Moving to Amsterdam in a month and I'm taking a supply and anyone who comes to visit will not be let in the door unless they bring me a bag. They are not just good, for me, they make my tummy happy. Somehow, my stomach feels settled if I have a pretzel thin or saltine cracker. Lucky for me, I don't over indulge in them, but happy to grab a few several times a day.

This may have been posted somewhere in this section, but now that I am almost at goal, and faithfully doing my weight training every other day, I'm coming to the realization that nothing will tighten my upper underarm skin but surgery. Does anyone know what this is called and if it's a major procedure? Thanks for any info!

Thanks for the site and all the suggestions; I think I might forgo the tattoo one! Don't get me wrong, I like tats, just not droopy ones!

Oh! Please take photos now!!! You don't need to show them to anyone and if you really hate having them around, then throw them out next year. But seriously, it's a true moment when you can look back 6 months from now and really see how far you will have come. You can never go back and really, haven't we all wanted to compare a great AFTER photo with a terrible BEFORE photo? Trust me on this one. If you can figure out how to do the automatic timer then you can do it yourself. I'm sorry I didn't take a photo every Sunday so at the end of the year, I could go back and see each one, week after week. Too late now.

@ Mimismom: the sleepiness does pass....honest. But it took a few months. I now look back on those days and just laugh about it; because it always caught me off guard.....I would look suspiciously at my husband and say slowly....I....HAVE....TO....GO.....LAY......DOWWWNNNNN.....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ But at some point, it stopped happening and got replaced with some good energy!

Just posted my Week 42 of 52 (and have 5 lbs to lose for goal before my year is up). This week I talk about strong women and the newest best seller out there: Fifty Shades of Grey. I'll be interested to hear others thoughts on this popular book. Written from the island of Kauai this week......thanks for following my Sundayy posts and hope everyone has a good week.

223 at my highest 204 at surgery October 2010 145 today Only 4 lbs from my goal weight, but it's tough getting this last 10 off!!!!!

First of all, great replies! It just goes to show that this book and sex in general is a hot topic for all people, women, men, strong (sorry I spelled it wrong in the title....geez!) and those who are not strong in terms of feeling good about themselves. I posted it on my Sunday blog and here for three reasons: One: to show that I see people write on the forum growing in so many ways, reading about the exciting changes not just to their body but their self confidence; that the weight loss journey impacts our sense of self in so many positive ways. Two: to show that our sexual preferences have a million different aspects and whatever they are; conventional, different, extreme, making babies or pulling out the whip, as long as they are completely consensual between adults, then go for it! (I especially liked ouroborous' post). Three: It is just a book, but I have to admit, it has gotten people thinking and talking, and hey, maybe opening up some erotic side that has been dormant in some and for that, OK. It's still poorly written and I wish Anastasia's character was more dynamic and interesting. Thanks everyone for all the great posts!!!