deedee

I had the same exact thoughts/questions...would this work for ME? What I discovered is that the sleeve is a wonderful tool that does work! It restricts you from eating too much and by taking in fewer calories than you burn, you lose pounds. Good luck!

Congratulations on getting it all planned. I really hope you enjoy your time there.

I'm so happy you are you are planning to do something to help improve your health. I could of written your entire second paragraph, except my bmi was higher. Good luck on your journey, both with the surgery and discovering (rediscovering) yourself.

I never set a goal weight with my surgeon. At my last follow-up appointment he asked me about it and I responded that I wanted to be in a normal weight range. On here I had set my goal weight as 138 lbs (23 bmi), because that would be exactly 100 lbs from my consultation weight (although not my highest weight). This weekend I did some thinking and have adjusted my goal weight to 148 lbs. This puts my bmi at 24.6, which I know is the high end of normal, but I think it's a great goal for me. In high school I managed to get down to 158 for a few months, but cannot ever remember being lower than that. My goal may get adjusted again, I'll just have to wait and see. I have also decided to begin eating as normally as possible as I work on dropping the last 23 lbs. I've really struggled with whether or not to push myself to goal as fast as possible during my "honeymoon" stage by staying on a high protein and low carb diet or use this weight loss process/journey to develop some new habits with food while I have such good restriction. The latter choice entails not depriving myself of any foods as long as I limit the portion and/or frequency. For now this is what I will try to do. I am continuing with my protein supplement and eating protein first, but I am also allowing carbs back in and no longer tracking them. I JUST WANT TO HAVE A NORMAL RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD! We'll see how this goes, if that's even possible for me. I figure if I can manage to lose these last pounds with this diet in place, there shouldn't be any reason why I cannot maintain my weight loss. Now, if I really start to stall then I will be back to high protein, low carb.

Welcome to VST! I had never participated on a message board before this either, but I found this place to be so inviting with a lot of great people, that it wasn't hard to start. I can't wait to hear more about your journey, good luck!

Time really does fly. Good luck with all of your appointments!

Congratulations! Keep us posted.

I forgot about that outlet, pretty much stopped shopping at Talbot's when I had to exclusively shop in the woman's section. I would love to meet you there when you're ready. Never heard of Shopittome.

Thank you for checking in, was thinking of you yesterday, but wasn't sure if you'd be home yet. Rest, sip, and walk:-)

That is so WONDERFUL!!! I am so proud of you, you are such an inspiration to us all. I'm so happy for you...you deserve to treat yourself (or better yet have your husband treat you) to something very special. Congratulations!!!

I work at a school about 10 minutes from there. I agree with the outlets, too bad I haven't always followed that advice and spent too much money on regular priced clothes. I LOVED shopping in my own closet, but now I'm through all the sizes I had, so when I'm out of these I have nothing to go to.

Cold's suck, I had a really bad one last weekend that carried into Monday. We have the day off here in honor of Veteran's Day, and I was able to sleep in until 7:00 AM (I'm on the East Coast now). I'm still in pajamas and laying in the recliner, so technically I'm not "up." :-) I hope you feel better soon!

I think you are doing FANTASTIC! In my first 4 weeks, I lost 21 lbs. and at 6 weeks my loss was 29 lbs. There are some people I remember reading posts from, on another board, that lose in large chunks quickly and then plateau for a while. Good luck! Like Charitymarroquin said, you are doing the right things and eventually your calorie deficit will give your body no choice but to drop the pounds.

Wow, 12 hour night shifts, I have never been in this or a similar situation, but that sounds a bit tough. In my job I've done my fair share of 12 hour days that were very draining, and I know that exercise was one of the last things on my mind when I was finished. You mention that on your days off you like to catch up on family time. Do you think you could incorporate some exercise/physical activity into this time? Maybe plan bike rides, hikes, take an exercise class, mall walk, walk to the park and play (this of course would depend on your climate and/or kid's ages)?

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Here's a link with some basic information about it. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome << Frequently Asked Questions << womenshealth.gov

Newmom- I actually live in Maryland now, but work in Arlington. I would love to get together for a shopping trip! Outlets maybe? Just let me know when you are ready and I'm totally there. Tiff-You are my hero in so many ways, I can't wait for that normal relationship.

Thank you so much, this comment just made my night. Good luck with your goal as well.

You definitely have hope and have done terrific so far! If you average the loss, that is 12.6 pounds per month. Have you added in an exercise routine yet? The exercise I do really helps me to create that calorie deficit needed to lose the weight. Also, what is your food intake like. Maybe you need to mix it up to break this stall? Some days I do quite a bit of carbs, other days very high protein and little carbs. We'll help you work on breaking this stall.

Tomorrow will be my three month surgiversary. I cannot believe how fast the time seems to fly by. I truly feel like I'm learning to live with this wonderful tool by trying to develop habits that I can sustain for life. I'm exercising at least 5 days a week doing things I really enjoy. My vitamin and protein intake still needs work, but it continues to get better each week. Currently my biggest dilemma is how I want to go about the rest of my weight loss phase. This morning I weighed in at 174.5, down 47.5 lbs since the morning of surgery, for a total of 63.5 lbs since beginning my pre-op diet. Lately I've been torn on whether I should begin adding more carbs into my diet (well, I've actually been doing that) so that I lose the rest of the weight (about 38 lbs) in a way that I know I can maintain once I'm finished. The other part of me really thinks it would be great just to lose these last pounds as quickly as possible before my "honeymoon" period ends and then worry about maintenance because I know to get under what I am now will take a lot of work. Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go. Overall, I am soooooo happy with the weight loss and grateful that I was able to have this procedure. Accomplishments so far: *Wearing sizes 12-14 depending on brand (22-24 before pre-op diet) *28 day cycles (50-80 days before surgery) *Exercising at least 5 days per week AND loving it *No desire to eat McDonald's (ate there 5-7 times per week before surgery) My hopes and dreams over the next few months: *Fit into the size 10 Lilly dress I just purchased *Pass the Jazzercise audition *Get pregnant (that's quite a ways down the road, but still) *Continue towards my weight loss goal of 100 lbs. gone

My husband called and talked with the lady who does our taxes. She said that it was deductible. I'm not sure exactly what we will need, but I need to call the hospital and have them reprint some of the receipts for the pre-op testing, but other than that, I have kept all other receipts.

I was the same as you, started looking and planning for the lapband, but after researching further decided the sleeve was the right surgery for me. It's such a personal decision, but I really liked the permanency of the sleeve...I didn't want my weight loss to be temporary. Spend some time reading here on the forums, check out the revision from band to sleeve forum, and ask any questions you have. This is the first message board I have ever participated on because I have found the people here to be wonderfully supportive and knowledgeable. Good luck on your journey!

Good job on the workout! I too want to lose my spare tire. What type of protein bars did you find? Oh, I totally think you should try Zumba, just stand near the back and shake your money maker.