Wags

Me too! I'll be walking though :-)

Fiddle, Yes! You have helped me!!! I do not exercise like you do, but I have chronic mid back pain that I believe is from decades of poor posture due to obesity and ergonomics. I just bought the posture correction shirt from Intelliskin! I am so excited to try it!! I am hoping that it helps me to correct my posture and relieve this chronic pain. Thank you for telling me about a product that I didn't even know existed :-)

Dear Nancy, Ok. You are not a troll then. You are here for advice. Here is my advice to you. Seriously reconsider this surgery. It is HARD work. It does not magically take away ANY of the cravings. You have to be in control. If you are not able to control yourself now with one of your surgeon's pre-op rules - quit diet soda - it is going to be really difficult for you after the surgery. All the surgery does is give you a smaller capacity when you eat dense Protein. It is very easy to "trick" the sleeve and eat high calorie slider foods and drinks. I have lost 97 pounds in a little over 8 months. I have 6 pounds until goal. I am talking from experience. With that said, I hope you are able to be successful if you have the surgery. It can be a wonderful TOOL in a life style change toward better health.

Since you are still online, I will post this here too. Ok. You are not a troll then. You are here for advice. Here is my advice to you. Seriously reconsider this surgery. It is HARD work. It does not magically take away ANY of the cravings. You have to be in control. If you are not able to control yourself now with one of your surgeon's pre-op rules - quit diet soda - it is going to be really difficult for you after the surgery. All the surgery does is give you a smaller capacity when you eat dense protein. It is very easy to "trick" the sleeve and eat high calorie slider foods and drinks. I have lost 97 pounds in a little over 8 months. I have 6 pounds until goal. I am talking from experience. With that said, I hope you are able to be successful if you have the surgery. It can be a wonderful TOOL in a life style change toward better health.

Ok. You are not a troll then. You are here for advice. Here is my advice to you. Seriously reconsider this surgery. It is HARD work. It does not magically take away ANY of the cravings. You have to be in control. If you are not able to control yourself now with one of your surgeon's pre-op rules - quit diet soda - it is going to be really difficult for you after the surgery. All the surgery does is give you a smaller capacity when you eat dense Protein. It is very easy to "trick" the sleeve and eat high calorie slider foods and drinks. I have lost 97 pounds in a little over 8 months. I have 6 pounds until goal. I am talking from experience. With that said, I hope you are able to be successful if you have the surgery. It can be a wonderful TOOL in a life style change toward better health.

Walking is a great idea. I was really bloated for quite a while. Seems like a month or so. I also felt that I looked pregnant. It went away on its own. :-)

This person is obviously reaching out for help, which I'm sure at some point you have done. And while I agree op may not be ready for vsg I believe insults and name calling are unnecessary. We're here to support each other, not make each other feel worse than they already do. Seela, do you know what a troll is online? This person has been posting the same thing over and over again in multiple threads. She is not reaching out for help. She is trolling.

You are not ready for this surgery. Either that or you are a troll.

I'm glad to be an encouragement! There have been so many wonderful people here who have encouraged me too!

PS. I don't exercise. I've done it through eating "on plan"

I am 8 1/2 months out (surgery 5/31) and I have lost 96 pounds. Started at 253 and currently 157 at 5' 6. My surgeon told me 6 months was the "honeymoon" period where it was all easier. When I hit 6 months and hadn't lost it all I was disappointed, but I really don't know why anymore. I have still been losing weight after that 6 month period, although it has slowed some. But still losing. Don't be discouraged if you don't lose it all in 6 months. Just keep working the plan. You don't have any control over how fast it comes off. What you CAN control is how you eat and exercise :-)

157. Met my challenge goal!!

Me too! I am 8 pounds from goal. I also have the "what then?" question running through my mind. Please help vets - I feel like I don't want to stop the 700 - 800 calorie plan because then I will gain.

159 today :-)

Is that a picture of your daughter at the bottom of your original post? She is BEAUTIFUL!!! Has she asked you to have the surgery? I would NEVER "suggest" the surgery to my teenage daughter. I was crushed during my teen years because my mother said I needed to lose weight. I was 5' 7" and weighed between 140 and 150. She and my sisters were all 5' 2" and under and weighed in the 100 pound range. I was NOT fat, just bigger than they were. I never got over her view of me as fat. Eventually it became a self-fulfilling prophecy - highest weight 270. I am 54 years old now and it took a lot of work to get rid of the feeling of being fat (and therefore ugly) because my mother thought I was. If your daughter asked you if she could have the surgery, then that is a different story. But even then, this is a rough road - not a magic solution. She would have to be very mature and realize that she would have to eat (and drink) like a well-disciplined adult for the rest of her life. Just my 2 cents.

162 today :-)

167 last two weeks - 163 this week :-)

167. I think I stayed the same?

I went back to look on my fitness pal and it looks like my first stall was at 2 weeks and it lasted 9 days. I think that's about when I started adding purées or mushies. So once I went from all liquids to adding some food - that's when I had my first one. I'm really in one right now too, but that's because of the holidays. Usually, I would gain 5-10 pounds over the holidays, but this year it was 2 pounds and I've already lost that. It gets a lot easier to eat after 6 months. But if you stick with dense Protein like meat first, then it's hard to get more food in. Good luck with your competitions! It's those little things that add up to bigger losses!

So exciting! The 6 month honeymoon is definitely over and weight loss is slowing down, but still losing. It's been an incredible journey so far.

You're right! I didn't start tracking at first. Basically, that part was fluids and Protein and then mushies, purées and soft food. I know I didn't start tracking until after that. I lost 28 my first month and then after that it's varied but usually about 2 pounds per week. Your recovery sounds like mine. It was pretty easy. I agree with you - this is like a dream! Try not to get frustrated with stalls. I have figured out that if you lose 2 pounds per week, then most of the days that week you wouldn't have lost anything. It all balances out in the end. I weigh every day, but some people think it should only be once a week. I need that feedback every day, but I don't stress over slight changes each day. I only COUNT it once per week. I have joined all the "challenges" since Labor Day because it helps keep me track and keeps me accountable on a weekly basis. Bea Amaya is always nice to keep the stats for all of us. If you have any questions at all, please ask. I'm not an expert, but I've been where you are, so maybe I can help :-)

Thank you! When was your surgery? How have things been going for you so far? My weight loss has been slower than some of my "sleeve sisters" because I don't really exercise. In the past (before surgery) I had lost and gained tons of weight through diet and exercise, but it was never sustainable because I would always quit the exercise and then give up on the diet. So this time I decided that I would not add exercise as a component and work only on the diet portion. I feel embarrassed to say that I don't exercise because I know almost everyone else adds that component, but I know myself and I know that I would not stick with it. For me, at first, I built up to walking my dog 30 minutes, but then I haven't done that for a while because it's so freezing here. I am trying to add things that are fun that might just happen to be exercise. So I tried belly dancing for a month, just for fun. I walk my dog when it's warm, just for fun. And I got a cruiser bike for Christmas so that when it's warmer I can ride around town, just for fun. Does that make sense? As far as diet, which is my most important component, I log my food intake on My Fitness Pal. I feel like this is the most important thing I do. I try to keep my Protein at 60 grams or above, my carbs at 50 grams or less, and TRY to keep my protein at 50% of my daily intake. I keep my calories at 700-900 calories, but I didn't get that high until my sixth month or so. Hope this helps. I wish you the best in your journey. It's an amazing one !

Sure!! Starting weight: 253 Height: 5' 6" Current weight: 166 Goal weight: 150 Surgery date: 5/31/13

Thanks so much! I think this is the most amazing tool for health ever! I hope you're doing well too my sleeve sister!!

Congrats on meeting your goal AND reaching "Onederland!"