SleeveToBypass2023

Thank you so much, everybody!!

Thank you!! I really never thought I would lose 100 pounds. I hoped for it, I worked towards it, but I didn't think I'd actually get here. It feels really good.

I've been doing green tea, white tea, vanilla chai black tea, and oolong tea. And I also use monkfruit sweetener. These teas taste good, help curb appetite, have some caffeine (not a lot, but enough), and help with burning fat. Man, I love tea lol

I'm surprised the surgery was scheduled before having insurance approval. Is it possible to maybe find another doctor (I have BCBS of Illinois and they wouldn't allow the surgery to happen if the doctor AND the hospital weren't both in network) and see if they can get the surgery approved based on your new comorbidities.

When we go out to eat, my meal tends to last me 3 days because I can't eat as much as I used to. So I get more for my money that way. Also, I don't eat fast food at all, I'm not buying junk food from the store, and I eat way less in general, so the food I DO buy lasts longer.

I'm finally able to keep a little food down and the head cold part is easing up. This chest cold, tho. Lord have mercy. It's just settled right in. I weighed myself today and I lost 5 pounds in 5 days from being so sick. I could only hold down liquids and protein shakes. I'm all for losing weight, but not like that. As I slooowly integrate food back in my diet again, I'm sure I'll put those 5 pounds back on. But that's actually ok. I want to lose the right way. I still can't work out, but maybe things will start to turn around before long. I just want to feel better. I really miss working out. But I have an appt on Monday with my doctor. If my coughing and breathing don't get any better by then, I have to go get xrays of my chest and get put on a nebulizer, steroids, and whatever else. Again. So working out is definitely not in the cards for a while. Grrrr.....

Man, I haven't been able to do any kind of working out for the last 5 days because my whole house is SICK. We're all covid negative, but we have a nasty flu and stomach bug and OMG I'm over it. Been resting a lot, taking echinacea, extra vit C, protein shakes with extra protein and greens (stomach bug keeping me from eating too many foods), lots of tea (green tea, white tea, oolong tea), and OTC cough and congestion meds. UGH. Not even remotely feeling Christmasy, just wanna get better. Praying this doesn't turn into pneumonia again (I've had it 5x, and I have lung damage because of it).

I've learned to only weigh myself once a week now because sometimes water weight can make a 2-4 pound fluctuation, and it'll drive ya nuts lol Watch salt intake and I bet it'll go away soon. Water weight sucks.

Thanks guys. It's super annoying, lemme tell ya.

Thank you

It's all Thanksgiving's fault. I avoided the mashed potatoes, but I had some gravy made from turkey drippings and stuffing, as well as cheesy peas and 2 Hawaiian sweet rolls, besides the turkey. Not all at once, because I can't eat that much at once. But throughout the day, yep. Definitely didn't eat right. So...today I get back to basics and reset my pouch and my mindset. I didn't workout yesterday, so today is strictly back to my diet and my working out. I've been so good at not cheating and not messing up, but yesterday was too much for me to resist. So, time to get back on track. But MAN it was so yummy lol

That's how I am. Sometimes we have to remember that slow and steady wins the race. I lost 30 pounds in the first 2 weeks after surgery. Now I am 7 months out, and I lose MAYBE 2 pounds a week. Sometimes 3. And my stalls went from 2 weeks to 3 to 4. Every 6 weeks or so, I hit another one. When It breaks, I drop like 5 or 6 pounds. Then it goes back to inching along until my next stall. It's really frustrating, but what you want to do is focus on your NSV (Non Scale Victories). Does your face look smaller? Are your clothes getting looser? Do your rinds feel bigger? Can you move around better? When the scale isn't doing what we want it to, we have to look to see what our bodies are doing. THAT's where you'll get a more complete picture of what's happening.

Did you ever figure out what it was? How are you doing now?

I was diagnosed with leukocytosis about 10 years ago. It just is what it is. As long as everything is ok, I wouldn't worry too much. One of my MS meds actually lowers WBC, so now I'm almost in the normal range lol

How did it go? Thinking about you.

I did a 2 1/2 hour workout today, and while my body is sore now, it felt SO GOOD. I did 1/2 hour of weight training, 1 hour on the treadmill with 3 pound ankle weights on, and 1 hour on the bike with the weights on. I also did 30 stomach crunches and 50 sit ups. Very happy with the workout. Definitely making up for yesterday.

That's awesome!!!!! Congrats

My last stall was 4 weeks. I was also getting frustrated and stressed about it. I started tracking EVERYTHING I ate and drank (you'd be surprised what "healthy" drinks still have a lot of carbs and calories) and I added weight training to my exercise routine. 3 days later, my stall broke. This was on the advice of my nutritionist, and it worked. Track every single thing you consume and change up your exercise routine.

I sometimes do this. I have a chart on my fridge and I list what I eat, when I eat it, the calories and carbs I eat (did this because I noticed that I was paying way more attention to carb consumption and not calories, and I was having WAY too many calories per day, so now I can track it easier and make better choices). I have 3 meals and a snack per day, but I always allow for a 2nd snack in the evening if I really need/want it. If I don't, then those budgeted calories/carbs go uneaten for the day. If I do, it was already budgeted in and I'm still within my limits. Sometimes it's all about playing head games with yourself....and winning lol

My turn!!! First pic is pre-surgery. Needed a cane to get around. Was in a size 28. Second pics are from today (about 10 minutes ago) and down 90 pounds. In a size 22. No more cane!!!

Had my 6 month post op appt on Wednesday. Went FANTASTIC, but still in this stupid stall. Officially 3 weeks on Wednesday. So so annoying. Really ready to have it break so I can get on with it. Have to get bloodwork done, but all vitals and stats look excellent. Happy with my progress and my NSVs and my improved health. My dietician told me to keep my calories between 1100 - 1200 per day and add 2 days of weight training to my workout routine. I was doing light weights and cardio 5 days per week and she said to add the weight training to the 2 days I'm not working out. She said my diet and drinks and Snacks are all good, the amount and frequency I'm eating are good. So hopefully this will help. Today was my first day doing it. This stall is just driving me nuts. She also said if I get to 5 weeks, it's considered a plateau at that point and not a stall anymore. And then there's different things I would need to do if I'm in a plateau. Hope it doesn't get to that. I know stalls are normal, but I haven't even lost 100 pounds yet, and I'm nowhere near my goal, so slowing down this much at this point is really frustrating. Just gonna keep on keepin on until the stall breaks and the scale makes me happy again.

I have BCBS of Illinois and from my first appt to surgery day was 2 months and a week months. My first appt was Feb 28th and my surgery was May 3rd.

I have 2 tricks. I eat half my allotted dinner at dinner time and the other half later that night. I also take an appetite suppressant after dinner so by the time I'm starting to feel hungry it's not too far off from my bed time, so I finish my dinner and then I'm good for the night. Late night snacking has always been my weakness, so I made sure I had a plan for it. Doesn't do much for head hunger, but when I know I have food allotted for later, and I know I'm not feeling hungry, it makes it easier to resist giving in to it and makes it easier to distract myself with other things (I tend to watch true crime youtube videos lol Really works).

No. That's got nothing to do with a PAP. Ways to find it are through blood work and classic symptoms such as irregular or non existent periods, skin tags, dark areas under arms and under breasts, predominant weight gain in the stomach area, inability to get or stay pregnant, major hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, etc...

I finally weigh less than 300, for the first time in 17 1/2 years!! I'm off all 3 diabetes meds, my anti-inflammatory/joint pain med, and my blood pressure med. I do cardio 3 days per week and weight training 2 days per week. On cardio, I'm up to an hour and a half. On weight training days, I'm at right around an hour. Never in my LIFE did I think I could ever be here. I know I need my rest days, but I actually hate taking them LOL I look forward to working out, which is so crazy and foreign to me.