livvsmum

So true! Anytime I think I feel hungry I definitely go to Water first. Most of the time that takes care of it. My next course of action is either a protein hot chocolate (love those) or hot tea. For whatever reason the Hot drinks seems to take care of the head hunger, and if you do the protein hot chocolate you get the added bonus of a protein boost too.

I'm so excited for you! It's going to be an amazing journey! Lots of hard emotional and physical work ahead, but the payoff is WAY worth it! I am almost 1 year post op and past my goal weight. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything! Good luck!

Yes! The same exact thing happened to me at about the same exact time! I had a period of about 2 months where I let a lot of my old snacking habits sneak back in. They didn't "reappear" for me....I did it...I let them back in..... I gave in to a lot of my emotional eating. Thank goodness I didn't gain any weight, probably in part because of all the running that I do, but I definitely was disappointed in my self. I had to just kind of get a hold of myself and become a re-born sleever.... I went back to the pre-op liquid diet for 3 days, dropped a bunch of Water weight, kick started things, and have been back on track since then, sticking to my numbers (70g Protein, 30-40g carbs, 100 oz water), weighing and measuring food instead of estimating, and keeping up with my running schedule. I think this seems to be fairly common where you reach or near goal weight and begin to let things slide. Maybe a reset of sorts would work for you like it did for me.

I think it is definitely normal to have one last moment of fear or "freak out" right before surgery...when it goes in for approval and gets "real". I would think this would be even more so the case for you, having lost a friend to complications due to the surgery. I definitely had a moment of fear and doubt about a month before surgery, but I went back to my list that I made several months earlier of all the reasons I wanted the surgery and all of the things I wanted to do after the surgery that I couldn't do at my then present weight. That really helped to remind me that I had tried everything else (more than once) and that I was willing to do the hard work and was doing it for all the right reasons. I think though that last minute doubt and fear are pretty normal. It's a huge life change and a major surgery. As far as the exercise, You are doing cardio 3x a day?? You rock! Not sure what advice to give about that. I'm training for a marathon, so my running schedule is pretty set out for me. I do know, though, that muscle weighs more than fat, so doing a lot of muscle training you might not see the weight fall off quite like you would with cardio, but at the same time, you will still be losing inches, so it's not to say that you shouldn't do it. :-)

I had my surgery on 9/12/13 and traveled from PA to TX for work on 10/1/13. My doctor was fine with it and I didn't have any problems at all. Just had to be a little more creative when planning meals out, etc.

I am a big fan of planking...normal planking, side planking, leg lifts, etc. It's what I do to strengthen my core for running. Good luck! Being that close to your surgery though, always check with your doc first to get the "ok" :-)

Still plugging away at the Labor Day challenge here, but I will do this one too. The Halloween challenge was the first one I did last year right after surgery. It's hard to believe it's almost been a year!

I would say that on a physical level, recovery for me was pretty good.. I didn't have a lot of pain, not really any complications, etc. I was really tired the first few weeks, but was able to go back to work after 2 weeks off. What I will say that I was not expecting was how difficult it was emotionally right after the surgery. I wish I would have been more prepared for that part of it. Changing my eating habits and slowly progressing through the liquid diet back up to regular food was tough emotionally for me. A big adjustment. I kind of went through the stages of grief at the loss of my coping mechanism - food! With that being said, I wouldn't change it for the world..... Good luck!

Sorry for the crosspost in the success stories board also, but I wanted to post this here to encourage anyone just starting this journey. It's totally do-able, and if I can do it, believe me when I say, anyone can do it!!! So yesterday I reached my goal weight, losing 134 pounds in 10.5 months. I made a flipogram with all of my monthly progress pics to illustrate my journey to this point. It was pretty awesome to see and actually made both my husband and myself cry. It's been a LOT of work and I've grown tremendously in strength both inside and out on this journey. Ok, so I can't figure out how to embed it, so here is the link to the flipogram!

I was SO excited this morning to weigh in and see that I passed my goal of 145 pounds. I am about 10.5 months post-op and down 133.6 pounds. I could still stand to lose a few more pounds, but I am super proud of myself for reaching my original goal in less than a year. I'm also super proud of my non-scale goals that I've accomplished like improving my health, training for a 1/2 marathon, and working on my emotional eating issues. I've done a lot of hard work this year, and I wouldn't trade the changes I've made for the world. For those of you just starting on this journey, hang in there! It's so worth the effort!

To be honest, I probably should be eating more as well, esp with the running that i do. But here is a pretty typical day Breakfast: Dunkin Donuts Iced Caramel Latte Lite (it is my one indulgence that I will probably never give up. Only 80 calories though and 11g of carbs) Hard boiled egg OR light string cheese Lunch: Scoop of chicken salad made with light miracle whip and some lettuce, OR, a grilled chicken salad w light dressing (I eat all the chicken and just a few bites of the lettuce if I still have room Snack: Light n Fit Greek Yogurt Dinner: Grilled shrimp & broccoli in lite soy sauce OR Fish OR chicken breast

It was SUPER hard to take the first step and go to the gym. I started out with running because it seemed least intimidating, downloaded a couch to 5k app and just started doing what it told me to. The first 2 weeks I was so sore I thought I would die, but after that, once the soreness went away, I started to really find it a good stress reliever and important part of my journey. Also, I signed up for a 5k to keep me motivated. I enjoy having goals to work towards :-)

There's much debate about it, like others have said. I had my first post-op drink at probably 3 months post op and am a super light-weight now. Definitely a cheap date. But I really just try to avoid it altogether because once you start researching it I think you will find there are more calories in drinks, even wine, than you think and I just don't want to add on the extra calories while I'm still in the active weight loss phase.

What worked for me was reminding myself of why I chose to do it, revisiting the bucket list post on my blog, and searching through this website for success stories. My struggle with the pre-op diet was emotional and mental, so focusing on emotional and mental outcomes helped me through. I agree with what others have said though, the first few days are the hardest. I also don't believe that if you struggle with the pre-op diet that you will necessarily "fail" with the surgery. I struggled BIG time with the pre-op diet, definitely had some slip-ups on it, and at 11 months post op, 136 pounds lost, and hanging out below goal, I consider myself to be successful despite the struggle with the pre-op part of it. :-) Hang in there!

Good luck tomorrow! I don't think you will regret it!

Check in for this week: 143

Lol... definitely not photo shopped, I promise! :-P

Thank you! It is awesome to know that I've been able to help some other people along their journey. That is honestly one of the things that keeps me going on the not so great days.

Food - I try my hardest to stick to my numbers. 70g of protein, no more than 35 carbs, and at least 96oz of Water (12 8-oz glasses). When I stick to this everything else (sugars, calories, fats) seem to fall into place. Exercise - Currently I'm training for a 1/2 marathon, so I run 4 days a week (3 base & 1 long run), then cross train 2 days/week. I don't think it matters what you do as much as it matters that you find something that you enjoy and motivates you. It definitely gets me through the stress that food used to get me through.

Thank you! The skin is not bad. I mean, it is there, but it bothers me more than anything. I don't think people look at me and say, "Oh wow, she must have lost a lot of weight because look at her hanging skin." I do plan to have a tummy tuck and skin removal from my under arms, but I have to save up. :-)

That just made my day :-)

Thank you! I started running at 4 months post op. I SO wish I would have started sooner, but exercise just seemed so intimidating to me. Honestly though it has been the life-changer. Finding some physical activity that frees your mind, destresses, and brings me joy gets me through the hard days, and gives me something to focus on other than the scale.

I read an article last night that really kind of shocked me back into reality. I may just have saved my life by taking this weight loss journey. scale and how you look in skinny jeans is really what I think about the majority of the time I am losing weight.....or trying to lose weight. BUT....the reality is that I could very well have saved my life, or in the very least, added some years on. Years to be with my kiddos, take trips, see them graduate, get married if they choose, have kids of their own if they choose, and grow into who they were always meant to be. Years to continue to learn who I am. What a gift we are giving ourselves by going on this journey!

Wow~! You have been through a ton with your family and your health as well. I really hope you are able to get approval. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

146 today