stacechase

My two cents: I posted a similar question several weeks ago, but I was just losing at a slower rate than I was previously. I upped my calories (healthy cals, of course) from about 500 to 800-850, with about 450-500 cals burned from exercise daily, and I'm back to losing my usual 4 lbs a week. Increasing calories can certainly work! Good luck, it's all about tweaking things to see what will work. I have felt really full always from increasing my calories, but I'm losing more...it's a total mindf***. LOL.

My two cents: I posted a similar question several weeks ago, but I was just losing at a slower rate than I was previously. I upped my calories (healthy cals, of course) from about 500 to 800-850, with about 450-500 cals burned from exercise daily, and I'm back to losing my usual 4 lbs a week. Increasing calories can certainly work! Good luck, it's all about tweaking things to see what will work. I have felt really full always from increasing my calories, but I'm losing more...it's a total mindf***. LOL.

Thank you so much! It was incredibly special, that's for sure!

Thank you so much! It was incredibly special, that's for sure!

Just wanted to share an awesome NSV I experienced last Friday (9/27) at Disneyland. To start, the basics: At my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. I was 302 lbs as of July 26th of this year, lost about 20 lbs on the pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 8/19. My current weight is 249. I decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland on opening night, September 27th. It's a fun family event where there is special entertainment, fireworks, trick-or-treating for kids, etc. Also, it's the only time of the year that adult guests are permitted to enter the park in costume! The thought of being in costume made me pretty apprehensive, because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since 2005. Dressing up for Halloween, for me, always meant the possibility of more fat shaming. I didn't want people to look at me and think that I was the "fat version" of whatever I as trying to be. So I never dressed up. This year, with my new attitude and weight loss, I plunged into the lost art of creating the perfect costume. It had to be Disney (natch)...it had to be relatively easy...it had to be completely fabulous. There was only one obvious answer: Mary Poppins. On the evening of the party, I put the whole outfit on for the first time, and was really pleased with how it turned out. After meeting up with a friend inside the park, I noticed a Disneyland employee standing (quite literally) right next to us, watching us. Just standing there. No talking. It was very awkward. When I turned to the cast member and asked if I could help her with something, she hit me with the following: "Um, yeah, I was just wondering, you have a great costume, and I was wondering if you'd like to be in our Halloween parade tonight. I've been on the lookout for some of the best costumes of the night, and yours is really fantastic." Wait. WHAT?!?! I was shocked. Of course, I agreed, and was scheduled to be in the parade at 10:30pm that night. The best part, though, was the realization that here I had been scared to dress up for Halloween for the past 7 years. Afraid of how I would look. Ashamed of my body and the thought of being a laughing stock. And once I finally faced that fear, and embraced a costume, not only did I feel great, but I was chosen out of hundreds of people to be one of nine people in a parade cavalcade in my most favorite place on Earth. Now that's pretty cool. Needless to say, being a part of the parade was an absolute blast. I felt like a celebrity. We got to see the backstage area and watch the dancers prepare and the floats get ready. We were driven along the parade route in an antique fire truck, with a place of honor right before the grand finale float. The cast member in charge of wrangling all of us told us that Disneyland hadn't asked guests to be part of a parade in over 10 years. Even cooler. Just a reminder that breaking out of your comfort zone can have some pretty amazing results...and I couldn't be happier with the change in my attitude, confidence, and of course, with my sleeve in general.

Just wanted to share an awesome NSV I experienced last Friday (9/27) at Disneyland. To start, the basics: At my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. I was 302 lbs as of July 26th of this year, lost about 20 lbs on the pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 8/19. My current weight is 249. I decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland on opening night, September 27th. It's a fun family event where there is special entertainment, fireworks, trick-or-treating for kids, etc. Also, it's the only time of the year that adult guests are permitted to enter the park in costume! The thought of being in costume made me pretty apprehensive, because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since 2005. Dressing up for Halloween, for me, always meant the possibility of more fat shaming. I didn't want people to look at me and think that I was the "fat version" of whatever I as trying to be. So I never dressed up. This year, with my new attitude and weight loss, I plunged into the lost art of creating the perfect costume. It had to be Disney (natch)...it had to be relatively easy...it had to be completely fabulous. There was only one obvious answer: Mary Poppins. On the evening of the party, I put the whole outfit on for the first time, and was really pleased with how it turned out. After meeting up with a friend inside the park, I noticed a Disneyland employee standing (quite literally) right next to us, watching us. Just standing there. No talking. It was very awkward. When I turned to the cast member and asked if I could help her with something, she hit me with the following: "Um, yeah, I was just wondering, you have a great costume, and I was wondering if you'd like to be in our Halloween parade tonight. I've been on the lookout for some of the best costumes of the night, and yours is really fantastic." Wait. WHAT?!?! I was shocked. Of course, I agreed, and was scheduled to be in the parade at 10:30pm that night. The best part, though, was the realization that here I had been scared to dress up for Halloween for the past 7 years. Afraid of how I would look. Ashamed of my body and the thought of being a laughing stock. And once I finally faced that fear, and embraced a costume, not only did I feel great, but I was chosen out of hundreds of people to be one of nine people in a parade cavalcade in my most favorite place on Earth. Now that's pretty cool. Needless to say, being a part of the parade was an absolute blast. I felt like a celebrity. We got to see the backstage area and watch the dancers prepare and the floats get ready. We were driven along the parade route in an antique fire truck, with a place of honor right before the grand finale float. The cast member in charge of wrangling all of us told us that Disneyland hadn't asked guests to be part of a parade in over 10 years. Even cooler. Just a reminder that breaking out of your comfort zone can have some pretty amazing results...and I couldn't be happier with the change in my attitude, confidence, and of course, with my sleeve in general.

Hi August sleevers! I was sleeved on 8/19, and am doing great! My highest weight was around 305 on July 26, before I started the pre-op diet. I lost about 18-20 lbs while strictly following the pre-op diet, and am now down a little over 50 lbs. I go for a walk/run every morning at 6:30am for 2.5 miles, and my times are getting faster and faster! I need to start weight training too. I found that when my weight loss slowed, I needed to eat more (healthy) calories, and now my weight loss is at a faster clip! I weigh in on Monday mornings and Thursday mornings only, and usually lose about 2 lbs. each weigh in. My friends & family are super supportive and I feel wonderful in my clothes, and proud to be able to RUN, something I hadn't voluntarily done since they made me do that God-awful timed mile in high school. Hope the rest of the August sleevers are doing well!

New Orleans, how fun! I've always wanted to visit. The great thing is that New Orleans has a very bustling & vibrant foodie scene, and you're almost certain to find something that will work with your healthy eating habits! I tend to order off he appetizer menu and even then, can't finish it all. If you like seafood, that's a great option, especially in New Orleans. Also, make sure to bring some protein bars & shakes with you for "just in case" moments. Those are always great to have on hand, even if you just need a snack! Otherwise—don't be afraid to have bites here and there of some of the more decadent foods that others in the party will be eating...don't deprive yourself of a taste, you are on vacay after all! Just make sure your basic meals are healthy and have a great time!

Happy Birthday!! Mine is tomorrow! So happy to be able to celebrate this birthday 40+ lbs down as well!

I'm actually attending a Halloween party at Disneyland (my favorite place!) on 9/27, and I'm going as Mary Poppins!

Not much planned here, but I love all the football on Sundays! Just getting my exercise in both days, maybe try some new Paleo recipes, OH, and doing some work on my Halloween costume! I haven't dressed up for Halloween since 2005 because I never wanted to be seen as the "fat version" of whatever I was trying to be...now that I'm more confident, I'm excited to dress up again! I have almost all of the components of my costume, I just have to do some craftin' this weekend on some details!

I'm looking forward to doing more Paleo recipes once I am cleared to eat regular foods again! I've been getting some good recipes on Pinterest.