LifetimeLoser

I am so happy for you. I'm sorry I haven't responded yet to your message. I actually wrote a whole long letter and then the computer I was on shut off (it is not my computer) and everything was lost and I was like crap!!!!! But as for my opinion...stay in Kailua if you can. It is close by, more beautiful, less traffic, easy to find parking, free parking etc. You don't know how good or ill you will feel afterwards. The less stairs, bumps in the rode, time in the car etc. will be loads better than having to travel to Waikiki. I mean who knows you could wake up and feel absolutely nothing, but just in case. Also if you or your hubby forget something, then your abode is like five minutes away instead of half an hour.

The easiest way to friend people on myfitnesspal is to go to your profile and go to the url and replace your name with their name. or it is just www.myfitnesspal.com/username mine is lanip00h o's are zeros

Thanks everyone! I will be trying ALL of the above. Anything to get through this as quick as possible. What about prevention? Is there anything I can do to make it happen less frequently or with less intensity?

I actually LOVE BEING SORE AFTER A WORKOUT. If I step out of the gym after lifting and don't feel something or doms the day after I am sort of sad because I feel like I haven't worked out hard enough. Right now though, this is bad. It is totally dehabilitating. I cannot sit or stand without assistance (like leaning on stuff) which includes going to the bathroom. The real thing I am worried about is it getting in the way of my gym time. I don't want to be like this too long where I can't go work out because I can barely walk! I will definitely try more carbs/protein after a workout. I usually eat a banana and a Protein shake afterwards.

I have seen both ends as well. When I write something on the forums I rewrite it a few times because I want to make sure I am saying exactly what I mean to say and how I mean to say it.

First off, I don't believe in being coddled. I understand people post on forums because they are looking for moral support or advice, but sometimes they expect too much. What I mean to say is if someone posts on a forum, then they need to expect to be supported even if it means being challenged! I can understand if the person posting is doing everything right to a tee and still not losing weight or hitting stalls, then yes they do need complete moral support because they are not in control. It might be metabolic, hormonal, genetic etc. The people I am talking about are those that don't get enough protein in, eat too many carbs, don't exercise enough and then complain on the forums. I see it quite a bit actually and usually just refrain from answering. In general, the same people posting and whining, are the same ones that get offended when others offer constructive criticism on why his or her weight loss has stalled or is slow. Being coddled will get you know where. If you really are in this to lose weight, then you should be willing to listen to the things you "might" not be doing right. We all know everyone is different, but when it comes to weight loss there is a general trend that works BETTER than other ways. Of course, there is a respectful way of disagreeing. I don't agree with the name calling, or yelling, or the "i did it this way and I lost this much weight". In a recent forum, I witnessed someone trying to tell the original poster that they didn't think what they were doing was working for them and offered advice. He wasn't disrespectful in any way. It just sounded like he disagreed. Well, the original poster got upset and then it all went downhill. It kind of got out of hand and everyone started chiming in. It was like the original poster just wanted to hear things that supported her, and nothing else. I think people just need to understand that sometimes being challenged and having someone disagree with you is in support. Would you want to go to the doctor and have them tell you there is nothing wrong with you just to make you feel better? Wouldn't you want the doctor to help figure out what is wrong with you and what you can do to get better? Granted, most of us are not doctors, but you get what I am saying? Having a vertical sleeve is a very personal experience. Some people get it and lose weight effortlessly. Others have to work harder and try everything possible to lose weight at a faster rate. If you have a question or a concern and post it on a forum, then you must be willing to get responses both agreeing and disagreeing, but all supportive. If you are looking for people who will simply shake his or her head "yes" to everything you say, then make a friend and send private messages. You can live happily in your bubble of only hearing what you want. *Note: I am not a "yes" woman. I am going to tell you what I did and what I helped and give you suggestions in a nice way. If I think you are doing something that isn't healthy or could stall your weight loss, then I am going to let you know because I would rather truly help you than watch you struggle and whine and complain. This is the type of friend I am and those are the type of friends I want.

You might find when you start exercising that you are able to eat more.

Yeah I don't really see the problem either. As long as you are holding yourself accountable throughout the whole day calorie and protein wise by keeping track of everything you put in your mouth. Right now we cannot eat very much so the snacking will not add on the calories. If it is a habit a year out, then your snacking might add more calories than you expected which could cause weight gain. I keep track of my calories etc. on myfitnesspal. If I don't reach my protein by late afternoon I usually drink one of my protein shakes to up the numbers.

yep I agree...ketosis. I had mine until about 2 weeks post op. Nasty feel and taste in my mouth. My husband even told me my breath was real bad. It eventually goes away. So hang in there.

yay. excited for you.

Hee hee congrats...now I'm going to continue giggling

I don't really know what kind of loser I am, slow or fast, but I am a loser! I think upping your carbs for a small time frame can jump start your weight loss again not because it is more carbs, but because it is a change! I don't, personally, agree that this will work in the long run unless you are extremely active etc. I am also a pear shape and have never lost any significant amount of weight with a moderate intake of carbs. I even joined weight watchers, followed my point system to a tee and gained 5 pounds!!! I eventually figured out that my body losses weight best on a low carb diet...of course the definition of low carb varies. My nut said stay below 100 grams a day and I will stay in fat burning mode. I rarely eat that many carbs because I just don't want to. Most people who are over weight have issues with carbs...good, bad...ugly! It's not a door I want to open just yet. Any sort of change is going to shock your body. As far as losing slowly, that might just be the way it is for those individuals. Stalling I think is a whole different story. If stalling is causing weight loss to be show, then there are lots of things to try like calorie cycling, changing workout routine etc. I just had a training session on wednesday and I've lost a pound a day since seeing her. I usually lose 3-4 pounds a week then stall. She really pushed me hard and I had serious doms for a few days. To put it in perspective, I workout 4-5 times a week weight training and doing cardio and I've hit many stalls. Changing up my routine had a major impact.

awesome... love the part about tying shoes. I used to have to have my husband do it. it is the small things that everyday people take for granted that shows the biggest successes.

I think it just depends on your goals. As far as healthier goes...I think it is your daily intake not the individual item you are eating. Just because you eat one "bad" food doesn't mean you didn't eat fairly healthy throughout the day. For weight loss purposes, I think low sugar is more useful. This being said, things like crystal light etc. are allowed because they are basically Water...well mostly water. I don't know about your diet plan, but nowhere in my diet plan does it say to eat sugar free candy etc. As far as my understanding goes, we need some fat to facilitate weight loss on many levels...including satiety and just basic metabolic processes. I, personally, feel that low fat or fat free items (processed stuff...not natural stuff like vegetables) is way more detrimental than low or sugar free. I also cannot stand to eat things like fat free mayo. Certain things like yogurt, cottage cheese etc. that they are just replacing with a lower fat milk is fine, but things like mayo where they actually put high fructose corn syrup is yucky. I'd rather eat something full fat that I enjoy and have every once in awhile because I feel satiated, then to have something that tastes like crap and I'll end up eating something else to feel full. I feel extremely lucky now that I have a sleeve. I am starting to wean out processed foods etc. Now that I only eat a small amount I can afford to put high quality products in my body that taste better and are healthier.

CUTE MAMA!

The scale has stopped quite a few times for me. Upon doing my own research on the web and testing things out. I find I can break a stall a few ways. Since I usually eat fairly low carb, I will eat one day of higher carb. I know this sounds bad, but I just kind of will eat sushi or Cereal throughout the day. Another thing that works for me is doing a VERY LONG cardio session (non-stop). I have done it low intensity and high intensity and both have worked for me. The scale will move though. Take some measurements. And good job on exercising. That will keep the scale moving. Do not be discouraged if the scale goes up when you first start working out. When you first get into an exercise regime the scale could possibly go up because of the blood flow throughout your body and the redistribution of Water. I'm no expert, but that is what my trainer said. And I gained about 3 pounds when I first started working out and then it came right off.

okay I might be asking a dumb question. What are air squats? Is it just a squat with no weight, but our own?

thank you for the encouragement!!!

Surgery date: 01/30/13 Starting weight was 311. I lost 13 pounds with my two week pre-op diet. Surgery day weight was 298. This morning I was 264. So 47 pounds in 11 weeks. It is very frustrating when you think you aren't losing as fast as other people, especially when you have a higher bmi or are younger etc. I try not to compare, but it's hard because you want to know how you're progress is going. What I try to remember is I can't always tell what's going on in my body. Just because the scale isn't moving doesn't mean I'm not losing inches. Another thing is you can't be sure those people losing massive amounts of weight aren't losing muscle as well which is heavy. My goal is to keep all of my muscle, build more muscle and lose fat. I feel as long as something is moving downward I am making progress. It does help that I get to check in every month and tell what my fat loss is and my muscle loss is. I've only lost a half a pound of muscle so far which is very important to me. I started weight training so I'm excited to see if I gained any muscle on my next check up. I have noticed that if I do an hour of Low intensity cardio it helps breaks my scale stalls. Just a thought. It seems everyone is losing weight and in the end that's all that matters. 3 pounds a week for a year is 156 pounds!!! And that is a lot of weight to lose. It just seems so slow when we are checking the stats so frequently.

That is so exciting for you. I'm glad you aren't pissed at your dr.s office. I would have been passed if they sent private information. As far as taking time off, a place of business only needs a dr.s note saying you can't work. They don't need to give any reason whatsoever ...

I got this from my a NUT: a handout she gave me stating the key points for those already in the maintenance phase. They basically took those who were successful a year or more out and found things that were similar in all these people. 1. They weighed themselves every day and knew what they weighed...for accountability. 2. They ate 3 meals a day and it took 20-30 minutes to eat each meal 3. Their nutrition consisted of half Protein and half vegetables 4. they drank at least 64 oz of Water a day 5. They made an effort to be more active and kept an exercise log. 6. They took their Vitamins

Focus on your protein first. I think if you stick with eating your protein first 5x a day...you won't really have room for anything else. Protein also gives you the full feeling on top of your sleeve. I think everyone is different. If you can get all the high sugar stuff out of the house, then I think that might help. you probably want to snack all day because you haven't been getting your protein in and don't feel "full"/.