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I'm pretty sure carbs are my issue. Tiff, how are you getting so much Protein? With drinks or not? I have gotten in more protein the past week and the scale moved yesterday and today...in the downward direction, yay! I've just been stuck in the 240's for so long that I really want to get out of them, lol. I'm burning between 500-600 calories a day, 5-6 times a week for two weeks now. The two weeks before that it was about 3 times a week, and before that, I hadn't exercised consistently at all.

I'm also a vocalist (former music teacher, now I just sing at church) and I had trouble for about 6 weeks after surgery with a very sore throat, which meant I had virtually no head voice. Of course, I'm plagued with allergies and as soon as I feel a tickle in my throat, I lose my head voice for a good 2 weeks. That has been happening all my life! After I got over that, I have had no problems singing. I have a friend who is a voice instructor, and after her VSG, she had no issues with going to back to singing. I just have a weak voice, I guess! I think it just depends on the person.

Wow, does parsley even come close??? I used to hate cilantro, but now I really like it if it is not overpowering.

So, I have not been a member of a gym since my surgery because I couldn't afford it. There is a local gym here that offers a summer special for teachers. It's $130 for May-August. I can do that! Anyway, I signed up and went to my first class yesterday. OUCH! I'm in major pain today! This class was like Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred on CRACK and every other illegal substance that will kill you. I mean, I've worked hard at home with Jillian's DVDs, but this class but tputs those to shame. Even though I've lost over 100 pounds, I was still the biggest person in the room. All of the women there were skinny, hard-bodies. I have to say I was proud of myself for mostly keeping up, and I burned 800 calories in 55 minutes. That class really showed me that I have got to get the rest of this weight off. I can't go to a class today, but I will be back on Thursday! I'm excited to be a member of a gym, and I can already tell I'll be more motivated to go because a lot of teachers from my school go there too. I just wanted to share my PAIN! It's all over...toes, thighs, butt, abs, arms...what a workout!

Well, I went a little over-achiever on myself today and after my first class at the gym, I stayed for the next one too. WOW, that was dumb. I was so tired and weak after 2 hours of exercise! So, my points for the week ended up being 36.

Oh my! When did you start your school year?! That's a really late summer start!

Posted the recipe in a new thread! I think I might have to have a bite of it now....lol

Oh gosh, I would NEVER have been able to do this on my own. Until this month, I "exercised" at home and would not have earned nearly as many points. I joined a gym and am crazy about the classes...I push myself in them, whereas at home, I don't work nearly as hard!

Thank you! So far this week I have earned 24 points and because I am just getting in on this, I will pledge 6 points for tomorrow. Fun!

Girl, that sounds great, and since I moved away from Texas, I'm the same...the restaurants here suck. Boo! I'm going to make this soon. Thanks for sharing! Have you ever been to Chuy's? It is my FAVORITE tex-mex ever, and I just made a copycat version of their creamy jalapeno dip. It's pretty good and I like it over refried Beans with a low carb tortilla. I'll share if you are interested!

Alright, well I'm glad to say that I'm loving the classes still and now that I'm officially on summer vacation, my goal is to be in the gym 5-6 times a week. I've been 4 so far this week and have plans to go to the Cardio fusion class in the morning. I'm going to dread the end of my summer membership in August, but I think I have figured out a way to keep a monthly membership....and it's a little ironic, to be honest. About 2 months ago my sister gave me a lesson cake decorating. I bake all my cakes and Desserts from scratch and I'm really good at it...sorry if that's conceited! Anyway, I have started selling them and I'm making a good little extra money, so if the orders keep coming, I will pay for my gym membership by baking cakes! The best part is, i make them and then they leave my house, so i can't be tempted to eat them!!! You can see my creations on Facebook if you are interested. Keep in mind I'm still a novice! Link to my facebook profile is in my sig.

I have a digital I got a Wal-Mart for around $30, I think. It gives me different readings, but usually they are very close to each other. I noticed one time I had my arm up resting on the window and it read about 2 pounds less than what I really weighed, so I have to make sure I'm standing completely still and my feet are centered on the scale. My husband has an old analog scale and it is about a pound different than the digital. I prefer to see that number come up.

Okay, so one hour of exercise is 6 points? Just making sure I'm thinking correctly! I'm on my first day of summer vacation and I don't plan to think much. HA!

Congrats on your success! That's awesome!!!

Well, normally it isn't too bad, but this has been teacher appreciation week. I do much better at home than at work, so bring on the summer! This morning class was good...it was a lot of step with some body sculpting thrown in. Evidently, I am pretty uncoordinated because I couldn't get some of the step moves...one girl offered to stop what she was doing to show me. I declined and just did my best. Burned almost 800 calories!

I went to another class yesterday, and it was a smidge easier (I burned 700 calories instead of 800), and I don't know if it was just because I was still sore, but it was rough! I'm sore today too and am taking the day off, but I'll be going tomorrow morning for another class. I'm going to try them all out to see what they are and how well I can keep up! Now if I could just stay out of the miniature candy in the teacher's lounge! (HA!)

You skinny bitch! LOVE IT! You look amazing. AMAZING, I say.

Hello everyone! I just thought I'd share an update since I had my 9-month follow up appointment last week. My surgeon is very pleased with my progress so far. I've lost 109 pounds in 9 months, and he said that's awesome for a sleever to do in even 12 months! All my labs checked out great and I had a discussion with him about becoming pregnant after I reach goal. He's all for it. :confused1: I'm kind of in a stall right now, but mostly because I haven't been exercising. I'm determined to lose as much as I can this summer while out of school, so I joined a gym this week and am excited about going to classes with friends. The Dr said I would just have to concentrate on cardio and good food choices to get to goal. I don't have my measurements with me right now, but here's what I do know: Pre-op weight: 351, BMI 46.3 Current weight: 243, BMI 32.1 I'm 6'1" and my personal goal is to weigh 190 and I'm hopeful I will get there this year. My surgeon told me to just get to 210 and then decide if I want to lose any more, but I really want to see a 1 as the first number in my weight! I am so happy with my sleeve. It has improved my attitude, my marriage, and it's just been the best decision I've made for myself in my 32 years of life.

You are too sweet! I don't have any recent pics, but let me see if I can find something. Since I haven't lost but about 2 pounds in the past few weeks, I think I might have something....I will post something new to my album in a few.

I mostly have been exercising at home. Until this week, I was not a member of a gym (just started group fitness yesterday), so I did a lot of walking/jogging with my dog outside. I also did some DVD workouts...Zumba (way fun), Jillian Michaels (I have 3 of hers), and that's about it. Now I'm going to the gym and yesterday I worked harder in class than I ever did on my own at home. I feel like I can eat A LOT more than I did right after surgery. But, I eat between 4-5 oz now depending on what it is I'm eating.

A friend of mine is looking into bariatric surgery and she lives in Pearland, TX (near Houston). If you have had surgery in Houston, will you please tell me who you used? Thanks!

So I'm noticing I'm a lot smaller in my upper body than in my middle/lower body. What kind of workout can I do to help get my shape balanced out?? Or maybe I'm just being picky. I want to get rid of my stomach and booty and I want my legs to lose weight too!!! Does that make any sense???

Wow, I sure hope I can remember some off these if I need them! Only one person (that I can think of) has said something about me cheating, and I can't remember what I said in reply. She was joking, but it's stuck with me.

Dr. Carson Cunningham in Lafayette did my sleeve. Love him. The two Drs that work with him are also great. Dr. Stevens and Dr. Chiu. My price was 13665.