Vixynne

Along the lines of what Lynda mentioned, I try to picture someone saying the same things out loud to my daughter. She's 13, beautiful (in my unbiased opinion, of course!) and full of all those teenage insecurities that I still struggle with today. When I imagine someone telling my daughter that she's not good enough, or whatever the negative thought is, my blood boils! That's my daughter, ain't nobody gonna talk to her like that! Then I remind myself, "Oh yeah, I'M someone's daughter, too." That usually shakes my inner audio recording out of the negative self talk track.

I'm still pre-sleeve, but my nutritionist and surgeon both told me to expect optimum weight loss in months 1-18 after the surgery. That's not to say we *can't* lose more or keep going past 18 months, but it's the best "window of time" to get the pounds off. 45lbs down at three months in, hey, keep doing what you're doing, it sure seems to be working for you! Good luck!

Voted! Good luck!

Have you called your insurance company to get a clear answer on that? I could make guesses, but I don't know enough about the ins and outs of medical insurance to give you an accurate answer, apart from "every insurance provider has their own rules", and I know that's not a very satisfying answer.

You mean you haven't heard of "Sleevie Wonder" or "Sleevie Nicks" around the forums?

Uh-oh, I better check into that. I don't want to get hit with an unexpected bill after surgery, thanks for the heads-up!

I have a three-session psych workshop to attend that I had to pay out-of-pocket to the tune of $500. But, apart from a $150 deductible, my insurance will cover everything else (assuming of course, that they approve me after I finish all of the appointments listed in my sig line). Paying the $500 was a hit in the finances, but there are a lot of people who pay the entire bill, thousands and thousands of dollars from start to finish, out of their own budgets, so in a sense I felt quite lucky.

This thread reminds me of a friend of mine who named her GPS system's voice "Horace Vandergelder", after the cranky character from "Hello, Dolly". I think I might use that as a sleeve name, and talk to it with Barbra Streisand's voice. "Why, Horace Vandergelder, as I live and breathe--how well you look!" ...Sorry, my musical theater geek is showing. *tucks it back in*

I'm still pre-op, so mine is only a sleeve-to-be. Maybe kind of like a "fiancé" (as in "future spouse") mine is a "sleevé"--pronounced "sleeve-ay"!

*APPLAUSE!!!*

Caesar only had to beware the Ides of March, and he didn't listen. He would have never stood up to Ice Cream Wednesday! Sleeve Perry..."Don't Stop Be-Sleevin'!"

If you had made a purple poodle, I'd advise you to call your doctor!

Ohmygosh, I swear I thought you were talking about some sort of crafting achievement, perhaps a macramé poodle tea-cozy... Or a balloon animal. Wow, more proof that a bottle of haircolor doesn't change my inherent blondeness underneath! P.S. (If your non-poodle-ing had gone on for a lot longer, would you have eventually "made a St. Bernard"? Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist!)

I've lost 10lbs. in about a month by just giving up my waaaaay too calorie-heavy coffee (20 oz. cup each morning with cream and flavor syrup, total of 350 calories), and having a protein shake for breakfast instead of a fast food egg/sausage/cheese sammich on a bagel (which had to have topped 500-600 calories). Lunch is Greek yogurt with a side of cut melon chunks or a dozen almonds to crunch on. Dinner is a light meal and I use protein shakes to fill in as a snack in the afternoon if I need it. I didn't increase exercise or do anything else, and I lost more than 2lbs. per week. I just KNOW you can find a few small changes, like I did, that will add up to the magic 10%--you can do it!

I've always heard that dark circles under the eyes (if they aren't caused by exhaustion) can be traced to a Vitamin deficiency. Of course, I'm not a doctor, but here's a link from LiveStrong that talks about possible causes and remedies for dark undereye circles. http://www.livestrong.com/article/486372-vitamin-deficiency-and-dark-circles-under-the-eyes/

While reading this, it occurred to me that people would think it extremely rude and inappropriate to jog up alongside a marathon runner during the race with comments like these: "Hey, how far have you run so far? Really? Wow, you still have a long way to go, huh? I woulda thought you'd have run a lot further by now. My mom drives 26 miles to work every day and it only takes her half an hour, I wonder why you're not making as much progress as my mom. Are you sure you made the right choice to run this race? Maybe you should try driving instead; I hear running can be dangerous, I know of people who got really badly hurt when running..." It sounds crazy, but people think nothing of making similar comments to someone who's trying to lose weight, especially when they find out we're choosing WLS to get the job done. We're in a marathon, too, and it's not helpful to criticize or be negative. Miss Manners once said that a good response to nosey folks is "Why do you ask?" but I really like Hathery's option!

As a fellow teacher, I totally understand the push to get that date all squared away for summertime! I'm probably going to be a July sleever too, unless I end up having to wait longer than anticipated for insurance clearance. *fingers crossed* I'm itching to get my date set in stone, too, but in the meanwhile, I just keep planning for success after the procedure. Got my vitamins, got a protein powder that I've been incorporating into my daily diet, and so far I've lost 10 pounds. I'm trying to keep my focus on things that I can control, while I wait for The Date to be finalized. It'll get here, and then we'll really be headed for success!

I kind of like the idea of being relaxed enough to sleep through the procedure--I think being fully awake would make me very nervous! How was the confirmation test later?

I believe I've seen many people here singing the praises of the unjury unflavored Protein. Unjury Unflavored

Congratulations! You're really on your way now!

I went looking for this on the 'net and couldn't find it--thank you for posting it!

I found this forum thread from 2012, it has good explanations, as well! http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/58281-eating-and-drinking-why-you-shouldnt/

Isn't that kind of like arguing over whether a pound of feathers is lighter than a pound of bricks? BMI is BMI is BMI, no matter if it's distributed over 5 feet, 6 feet 3 inches, or somewhere in between. It's a percentage of fat content in one's body, isn't it? No matter what height or width that body measures, if the standard is 30 BMI = obese, than technically the 7-foot tall person with a 30 BMI is obese, just in a taller package than someone who is 5'5" at 30 BMI.

*puts English teacher hat on* Calibri is a font. Caliber is the American English spelling. Calibre is the British English spelling (and since they invented the language, I let them spell it as they wish, even with the "u" in "colour" and "favourite", and spelling "theatre" intead of "theater"). AussieLady meant exactly what she typed, since her screen name shows she's from Oz (-stralia, not where Dorothy went with her ruby slippers). We now return to our regularly-scheduled program of wackdoodlery, shenanigans and hooliganism.