Shontel

How easy is it to get addicted to that f****** scale???? I swear, mine is in my closet, and every time I go to get something to wear its just staring at me with this evil glare going 'you KNOW you want to step on me' ahhhhhhhhhh!!! I have forced myself to only get on once a week, and I try to do measurements once a month. Its a battle isn't it, when your fat, when you lose, when your losing..and everywhere in between...(btw, can you tell I'm catching up on your blogs today?? ha ha)

Mother daughter relationships can be so complex. I love my mom, but she can be sort of a know it all sometimes. I'm independent, she wants me to be more dependent I think (like my younger sis) The main thing you have to do is take care of yourself first..I hope things get better for you girl, hang in there!!

I've done the par-tay thing several (ok maybe a little more than several) times since surgery, and I have no issues whatsoever. I can't drink nearly as much, in terms of quantity, but what I do drink is satisfying and I maintain a nice buzz like a bee...lol

Yay for you! What part of La are you from? I'm from around the Lake Charles area!

I'm from the south, and down here, rice and gravy is a staple food, lol. I eat rice and love it. I don't eat a lot of it, as I can't eat a lot of anything but its satisfying to have those few bites. I know others can't tolerate it, and when I had the lap band, I couldn't, but the great thing about the sleeve is that I can pretty much eat all foods, even ones that were off limits with the band. The sleeve is the BEST!!

I'm 4.5 months out and knock on wood, it hasn't hit me yet (gasp) However, I do fully expect it too, although I have to say I didn't have any with my weight loss before from the Lap Band...I guess we'll see, it is very common, and from what I understand, as Tiff says, no way to stop it, just help your re-growth.

The first few weeks are DEFINITELY the hardest, I had everything you mentioned, including depression. It gradually gets better, I'm 4.5 months out and I feel totally normal minus intense hunger. Take one day at a time and realize that this is just a temporary and necessary phase to get to the prize!!

Hey there, I'm in Louisiana too! What part are you from? I had VSG in Mexico in November and have lost 64 pounds since then. I had a lap band for 3 years, then had it removed after many problems. This is the BEST thing you could do for yourself! Good Luck and look forward to hearing your progress!!

Cross posted from my blog: So, as all of you know who follow my blog, I haven't been the best a the big E....yes, sad to say, but my exercise has been lacking. So, while surfing YouTube a few days ago, I noticed a lot of those who had WLS were trying/doing/completed this Couch 25k program. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, its a 9 week program that trains you to run a 5K. Its for beginners so I thought, well, I'm a beginner, I'll try it. Lemme just start by saying that, its been more than 20 years since I have jogged. Now, mind you, the last time I jogged, my body was ripped like Britanny Spears (ok, maybe not that hot, but I was an athlete at least..ha ha) Sooooooo....the workout goes like this: work out 3 times a week, walking and running in intervals (more walking than running at first) for 30 minutes. You can download various podcasts with someone guiding you when to walk/jog. OK, I got my 3 sports bras on, my skin tight leggins, and my running shoes..I get on the treadmill and start, hmmm..as I'm warming up I'm thinkin I'm going to rock this workout!! HA HA HA. I can report that I DIDN'T QUIT, and I DID all 8 (was it 8? I coudn't count much less breathe) sixty second jogs...however, I was seriously sweatin, huffin & puffin...but I DID IT!!! I am so proud of myself, even though I was jiggling in places I didn't know a person could jiggle..lmao! I felt like my body just 'woke up'! I know tomorrow I will be looking for the Ben-Gay or Icy-Hot, but for now, I'm damn proud of myself!! Friday is my next workout day, so wish me luck and stay tuned!!

I posted last week about my update, but today is my official (by day) 4 month...I guess I'm posting because I lost 3 more pounds and wanna bring my monthly total up a little..lol...so this month that would make 8 pounds instead of 5 (isn't it nice how I manipulate my numbers...lol) Also my 'time of month' today, so feeling pretty crappy, maybe more than that. On a side note, just wanted to let everyone know that I am FINALLY going on a VACA!! YAY...I've been dreaming of a beach and a drink for about 6 months now (we usually travel about 2x's a year, but with this crapola economy we've cut back) Sooooo....I cashed in my points, got 2 free tickets and 4 free nights at a Marriot...either Miami or Key West here we come in May...YEEEEE HAAAAAAA!!!! I plan on turning the cell off, being a beach bum & sip adult beverages daily. I don't care how much flab I have baby, I'm buying a sweet bathing suit, and am going to soak in the ocean...ahhhhhh....CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

Tiff...I'm glad I'm not the only one! I never thought I was vain, but I, too, am all about what will make me look younger...planning a consult with an anesthetician...bo tox me baby...lmao...I guess I am getting what I asked for, but before, I never realized aside from the 'health' benefits what that was, harsh reality no doubt. ToonTown- Guess we all learn as we go. I am learning things I really don't want to, but such it is and I've always been resilient that way. But I'm not going down without a fight, i.e. wrinkles, flab, sag...I'll fight you to the death!! lmao... thanks everyone for your kind words and comments, really means alot to me!

I've been thinking a lot about my new self. The outside, because of course, I'm completely the same on the inside. But yesterday something happened that took me by surprise and frankly stopped me in my tracks. My fiance' and I were sitting, talking as we've done hundreds of times before. Some days we are really in tune to each other, and others not, we own a business so mostly these days it's not. But it was one of those days where he was taking countless calls while we were trying to catch up so he wasn't really in tune to me like I was to him. Here is where I'm going with this story. As we visited, I noticed him looking at my arms. (sidenote: I talk with my hands a lot, and my arms are sagging to high heaven right now if ya know what I mean) so as I was talking, he constantly stared at my arms. I noticed him doing it and said, "Do you like the way I look now" He literally paused (ok girls, you know that pause before the answer...sort of ok, what do I need to say or how can I say this without hurting her feelings) He went on to say "of course I do!" However, that second of silence spoke volumes. When we met I was over 200 pounds..and he likes 'thick' women. I wonder now, if I am as attractive to him as I once was...sure I was overweight, but I have always been height weight proportionate. My skin was fat but wasn't sagging off my bones. I guess I'm just having self-doubt today. I mean, its funny, all my life I thought "....if I just lose this weight, I will be so much happier/better/at peace or whatever. The truth is, I am happy, but its not what I expected. I have to come to grips with the fact that I am 42, and my body looks like a 42 year old that has been overweight for 20 plus years and has yo-yo'd the majority of those years, now my body is a reflection of that. No matter how I try to change it, there are permanent stretch marks, excess skin, indentions, scars from multiple surgerys etc that are a part of me now. The realization that the weight did not DEFINE me after all is harsh. I know I'll overcome, but I wonder how those around me will accept me LOOKING so much different. I went to a family event last week. Most everyone there commented how 'skinny' I looked. I wonder if they were saying that in a bad way. I never wanted to lose too much weight. I don't want to look sickly. This is why I haven't changed my avitar pic yet. I am over 200 pounds in that pic, but as vain as it sounds, I think I look younger than 41 in that pic. When I look at myself now, to me, now that the fat is gone from my face, I look OLD. wrinkles that were stretched out from the fat are now clearly visible. THAT is to me, shocking, I have NEVER had that. (big sigh) I guess I'm whining a little. But just feeling a little down, and know I have done the right thing for myself and health, none of that has changed, just a bump along the road in my lifelong journey to be healthy and happy. Thanks for reading!!

So, week two on the couch 25K has been challenging to say the least. The jogs are upped from 1 minute to 1.5 minutes. Now, for someone like me, who hasn't run in better than 20 years, it was tough for me. That being said, I DID IT!! I'm worried about moving over to the 3rd week, as you have to run a segment for 3 minutes (yikes!!) But may try it and if its too much, go back to week 2 till I feel ready. I've been doing all the workouts on my treadmill, but soon want to hit some pavement or trails. Nothing better than sucking in some fresh air and scenery while gettin fit :scared0: I have noticed a change in my stamina. My runs are more thought out, more deliberate. At first, I would just do whatever it took to get through, now I am watching my form more and it feels GREAT. I can feel my body responding to the intensity. My thighs, my butt (no hope for the flatlands, lol) my arms, it feels great. And let me just say, that the energy level is THROUGH THE ROOF!! I have been a walker nearly all my adult life, the energy I feel after an interval run is SO MUCH more than if I'd walked for 30 minutes. I went from low energy to high def energy...woooooo hooooooo!! I got me a new pair of running shoes, and watched countless YouTube videos about running, so I'm pumped to continue the program. I'll let yall know how I do on the 3rd week workout (which I'm trying today) Also for anyone interested, I'm vlogging about all this as well on YouTube, just search my username: scneaux. Stay tuned and thanks for reading/watching :sneaky2:

I realized that I've not been keeping up my blog because I've been doing videos on YouTube alot with my updates. (if interested, I did a 4 month video my user name on YouTube is scneaux) However, I wanted to keep my blog up as well because this is where I began recording my thoughts. At 4 months I've lost 57 pounds. By my calculations, I think I've lost only 5 pounds this month, but am sort of glad to have slowed (trying to keep my hair as long as possible...ha ha) I noticed my hunger is sort of coming back. Not severe by any means. Just a nudge to let me know its time to eat. My favorite snacks are beef jerkey, string cheese and sunflower seeds. Still struggling with ny protien shakes and vitamins. I do take Prevacid still and this past month as everyone knows, I began training for a 5K. I am noticing my body transforming! yay! still got the skin issues, and the going south issues, but noticing some muscle definition which I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE!! One thing I am going to do this weekend is to try on some jean/capris and see what my true size is. Up to now I am still floating around in my 14's and a few 12's. I'm gong to buy at least 1 pair of capris this weekend (mall, watch out! lol) I may do another update this Friday, because its by date my exact 4 months. Stay tuned!! :scared0:

thanks Lynda! I'm glad they are helping ya!!

So, being the private person that I am, I cringed at the thought of ever posting videos for the public to see. Something changed that though. In researching I found some valuable information on YouTube. Personal stories that inspired me. I thought 'I can do this, but who would be interested in my boring life?' After someone found me on YouTube and recognized me from this board (same pic) and asked me some questions about my surgeon (she had the same one) It sort of got me going. I did private video to her, and have done some on my WLS progress and Couch25K progress (and other random things I think about..lol) anywho, if anyone is interested, my name on YouTube is scneaux. Not very exciting videos, but hope to help people have a better understanding of VSG through my personal experience. Guess we'll see how it goes!

Lynda, you got great advice. I would also suggest not weighing yourself everyday. It will DRIVE YOU INSANE..lol. Its really easy to get obsessed with the scale. Follow the rules and take all this great advice...You WILL be successful!!

So I dove into the 2nd week of the program on Wednesday...(gasp) I blogged (and vlogged, in case you just can't get enough of me..ha ha) The runs were upped to 1.5 minutes...but I DID it!!! I'm doing the second workout of week 2 today...wish me luck!! Bought me some new running shoes for some motivation! yay!!

I drink socially and have since month one. Tiffy is right, for me, it did burn at first, which limited my intake to a few sips of wine (my favorite) and it WILL hit u hard and fast. I notice that the effects wear off fast too, at least for me. If I indulge, I usually have something easy for me to handle, a daquiri, coconut rum with juice, or a vodka & cranberry juice...I normally just nurse the drink, no more guzzling for me...lol If you are controlling the making of your drink, then you can put a tiny bit of alcohol with a mixer, or better yet, just juice or the mixer, who will know but you? Good Luck!

I think this is a major issue for all of us. In general in my life, I go in and out of 'exercise mode' I don't do gyms, so its even harder to stay motivated. I'm really in the motivated mode right now, but ya know, that can change in the next few weeks..lol...but I do like the way my body is re-shaping, and how great I feel and the added energy of working out. Good Luck and this place is a great place for support!!

That is SO INSPIRING!!! Way to go girl!! Awesome!!

Really not that fast, 4.0-4.1 mph. But I hope to get faster as I go! I actually vlog about it on YouTube if anyone is interested. My username on YouTube is scneaux, search Couch25K.

that is great advice! Thanks so much!!

Hey Linda, I'm so glad your doing well! I had the worst time my first month or so, but since then its really been a breeze, Good luck and keep us posted!!