Made it through "scale strike" and won!

[educationrulz 18]

Well, it's been a whole month since I've weighed myself. After my three week stall, which broke with a measly one pound loss, I was getting very frustrated. I took one member's challenge (I think it was Lisalu) and decided to stay off the scale for a month. For someone who doesn't own a scale and was fine with a weekly weigh-in, I thought it would be a breeze. Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought. But, my clothes fit was changing so much along the way that it kept me going and I was able to resist.

I went in for my 6 week followup a couple of days ago - it had actually stretched into a 8 or 9 week followup - and was excited to find that I had lost 11 pounds since my last weight check a month ago. What a confidence boost! My goal was to weigh 230 at the docs office but I weighed in at 228. Yeah!!!

I've gone from a size 22 pants and 2X top to a very baggy 20 pants and 1X and some XL tops. My pants were so baggy this last week I went and bought some 18s. I'm going to have to wear them close fitting for a while because the saggy look ain't working for me. :lol0: I'm making my way out of the Women's section and back into the Misses section. I'm looking forward to the clothing options that will open up for me then.

I'm happy to say that I'm finally settling into a good routine and feeling good about having had surgery. It's still difficult sometimes having to think so much about what and how I eat, but it gets better every day. I actually feel normal most of the time. Of course, the minute I sit down to eat I get a dose of reality from my stomach. But, it doesn't seem like such a big deal now.

I know the scale strike won't work for everyone, but it helped make this past month so much less stressful for me. I just stopped worrying about my weight and focused on getting my Proteins and my clothes fit. I don't know if I'll stick with the monthly weigh-ins. Once every two weeks will probably be more realistic for awhile, but I don't feel like I have to decide now. I do plan to get a scale as I get closer to goal because it will be more important to monitor those last few pounds that come and go. Until then, I guess I'll keep sneaking onto the display scales at Wal-Mart. :thumbup:

Best wishes to anyone starting this journey and empathy to anyone struggling with their scale. I feel ya!

[laylasmojo 10]

Yea for you!!!! scales are evil, evil monsters with a huge gravitational pull, good job staying off of them for a whole month and congrats on the loss!!!

[cwalker 12]

Wow what a victory!! 11 lbs is great and the willpower to strike the scale, well I can't- sadly I weigh every day but it does make me more accountable!

[JanePatrick 0]

Hurray! on weighing in less than the goal you set for yourself! Great job. It must also feel really good to have to buy size 18 because your other clothes are just to big.

I envisioned you sneaking around Walmart with your own personal mission impossible theme music and got a nice laugh, thank you :confused1:

[Happy Destiny 0]

Well, it's been a whole month since I've weighed myself. After my three week stall, which broke with a measly one pound loss, I was getting very frustrated. I took one member's challenge (I think it was Lisalu) and decided to stay off the scale for a month. For someone who doesn't own a scale and was fine with a weekly weigh-in, I thought it would be a breeze. Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought. But, my clothes fit was changing so much along the way that it kept me going and I was able to resist.

I went in for my 6 week followup a couple of days ago - it had actually stretched into a 8 or 9 week followup - and was excited to find that I had lost 11 pounds since my last weight check a month ago. What a confidence boost! My goal was to weigh 230 at the docs office but I weighed in at 228. Yeah!!!

I've gone from a size 22 pants and 2X top to a very baggy 20 pants and 1X and some XL tops. My pants were so baggy this last week I went and bought some 18s. I'm going to have to wear them close fitting for a while because the saggy look ain't working for me. :lol0: I'm making my way out of the Women's section and back into the Misses section. I'm looking forward to the clothing options that will open up for me then.

I'm happy to say that I'm finally settling into a good routine and feeling good about having had surgery. It's still difficult sometimes having to think so much about what and how I eat, but it gets better every day. I actually feel normal most of the time. Of course, the minute I sit down to eat I get a dose of reality from my stomach. But, it doesn't seem like such a big deal now.

I know the scale strike won't work for everyone, but it helped make this past month so much less stressful for me. I just stopped worrying about my weight and focused on getting my Proteins and my clothes fit. I don't know if I'll stick with the monthly weigh-ins. Once every two weeks will probably be more realistic for awhile, but I don't feel like I have to decide now. I do plan to get a scale as I get closer to goal because it will be more important to monitor those last few pounds that come and go. Until then, I guess I'll keep sneaking onto the display scales at Wal-Mart. :confused1:

Best wishes to anyone starting this journey and empathy to anyone struggling with their scale. I feel ya!

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've been struggling somewhat over the last week. I've not been exercising and I think that is one of the reasons I haven't been losing over the last couple weeks. I also was eating Breakfast instead of having a shake which is packed with 30 gms of Protein. Could you share with me what your typical day of eating looks like. Thanks, Sheryl

[educationrulz 18]

Hurray! on weighing in less than the goal you set for yourself! Great job. It must also feel really good to have to buy size 18 because your other clothes are just to big.

I envisioned you sneaking around Walmart with your own personal mission impossible theme music and got a nice laugh, thank you :thumbup:

It actually is kind of funny sometimes. My daughter probably thinks I'm nuts cuz I keep looking at those scales and don't ever buy one. :thumbup:

[educationrulz 18]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I've been struggling somewhat over the last week. I've not been exercising and I think that is one of the reasons I haven't been losing over the last couple weeks. I also was eating Breakfast instead of having a shake which is packed with 30 gms of Protein. Could you share with me what your typical day of eating looks like. Thanks, Sheryl

Sheryl,

I need to do better with my exercise too. It's been sporadic lately since I went back to work. I work in a school and the beginning of the year is kind of crazy for me. But, I've been easing back into my Pilates so I hope to get a routine going with that soon.

A typical weekday for me is:

Before breakfast - I drink about 20 ounces of Water while I'm getting dressed. Using straws has really helped me up my liquids.

Breakfast - sausage link or bacon/egg/cheese from a biscuit (i eat less than half of what's there) or some left over Protein source from the fridge. (I'm not a morning person so getting up and cooking food before I leave for work doesn't fit well with my morning grumpiness. I have to keep it quick and easy in the mornings.) My sleeve is pretty tight in the morning.

Midmorning - Isopure RTD 1/2 bottle or a Jay Robb powder shake. This gets me 20 to 25 grams of protein in one punch and some more liquids.< /span>

Before lunch - I try to drink at least 10 more ounces of something for Fluid intake.

Lunch - chicken salad, tuna, chili, leftover steak/hamburger. I use the little glad mini containers to take my lunch to work. I can't eat a whole mini container of anything that I take. In terms of the chicken salad, I know it's a little less than 1/2 cup. Sorry, I don't do well with guessing ounces. I usually take a Multivitamin, Biotin, and B12 after lunch.

After lunch - Another 10 ounces of Water.< /span>

Late afternoon - I try to squeeze in another lite meal or snack here to get some additional protein but I don't always make it. I usually do a lighter meat like shrimp or fish. Maybe like 3 ounces or so. This is when I take a Calcium citrate pill.

dinner - This is usually when I can eat a more normal looking serving size. I might do half of a baked chicken breast and try to eat a few sprigs of broccoli.

After dinner - my plan here is to drink 1/2 an Isopure but I usually don't make it. If I don't feel up to the Protein Drink I just take in some water or other clear liquid.

I always follow the "wait thirty minutes after eating to drink" rule and almost always "wait 30 minutes after drinking to eat". I do occasionally get off program with a half a cookie or a small scoop of ice cream. Luckily I'm not lactose intolerant post op. I definitely have not found that giving in to a craving once in a while is disastrous. It's been easy for me to cut it off pretty quickly.

I hope this helps.

[Happy Destiny 0]

Thank Mary!

[GeorgieGirl1957 0]

I have already hit a bit of a stall. Or maybe just some anxiety. I kept having dreams before surgery that I had the surgery and didn't lose any weight. I know, a nutty nightmare. So since surgery I was accustomed to losing a lb or more a day. Then I hit day 15 and gained a lb. The next day I lost it, then gained it back today. Day 16 and I feel stuck. So I tried to add some more Protein today thinking maybe my body feels starved. We will see tomorrow. I am getting plenty of Water in. About 50 ounces of smart Water plus all my other full liquids per day. Or maybe I just need to stay off the stupid scale???

gg

[stcyt 15]

Mary your doing so great!!!! I know its hard to believe, but those 18's are going to be baggy soon.

I'm on a scale strike too. I'm not weighing till the 21st. I didn't weigh at all durring month 2 and I was soooooooo much happier. Month 3 I started weighing again and I was freakin miserable and obsessed. At the end of the month I had lost just as much as I would have had I not weighed every day.

Its hard to stay away from the scale... but my frame of mind is completely different when I do.

Keep up the great work

stacey

[coops 1,790]

I need to do better with my exercise too. It's been sporadic lately since I went back to work. I work in a school and the beginning of the year is kind of crazy for me. But, I've been easing back into my Pilates so I hope to get a routine going with that soon.

Hey Mary,

I am with you there... I also work in a school and I've just started back after our 'summer' hols. I haven't been in work since my op so routine is going to be important for me too... this morning I managed to eat some youghurt before I left, but it was a struggle as I ain't good in the mornings either... I think the next couple of weeks will be the biggest learning curve for me! x

[Donna4545 13]

I'm also in an educational setting and this is the 2nd week of classes and I am so busy (I know, excuse) that I haven't exercised at all. It's all I can do to get to work in the morning, and to get my fluids in. Oh the self-hate!

[educationrulz 18]

Mary your doing so great!!!! I know its hard to believe, but those 18's are going to be baggy soon.

I'm on a scale strike too. I'm not weighing till the 21st. I didn't weigh at all durring month 2 and I was soooooooo much happier. Month 3 I started weighing again and I was freakin miserable and obsessed. At the end of the month I had lost just as much as I would have had I not weighed every day.

Its hard to stay away from the scale... but my frame of mind is completely different when I do.

Keep up the great work

stacey

Thanks Stacey. It is weird to think about my 18's getting loose. I just bought those from the JCPenney outlet so I didn't pay more than $15 per pair of pants, but I'm a little worried about having my wardrobe turn over too fast. But, it's a consequence that I'll happily deal with. Moving down one more size will put me in the smallest size I've been in since about 6 years ago when I last lost a significant amount of weight. That was with the aid of diet pills and almost obsessive exercising. It's kind of strange to know that this time my weight will keep going down instead of stalling out and going back up.

As for the scale thing, I agree with you about how being tied to the scale can affect your mood. Now that I've somewhat committed to not weighing myself too often, it really doesn't seem like such a big deal. It's like I"m kind of free from worrying about how much I lost because I don't plan to get on the scale anytime soon. It's definitely easier having made it through that first month. I really have no desire to get on the scale right now. I'm too excited about my new clothes to give it much thought!

I'm trying to decide about buying a new suit or waiting to go down one more size. I've been applying for some new jobs lately and I might need something for an interview in the near future. I'm going to try to hold out but if an interview presents itself, I'm running to Macy's. I don't have anything really good enough right now for a big interview. I guess I need to find out how much it costs to have a suit altered and then I can go ahead and buy one and have the size adjusted later.

Happy VSGing everyone!

[educationrulz 18]

I need to do better with my exercise too. It's been sporadic lately since I went back to work. I work in a school and the beginning of the year is kind of crazy for me. But, I've been easing back into my Pilates so I hope to get a routine going with that soon.

Hey Mary,

I am with you there... I also work in a school and I've just started back after our 'summer' hols. I haven't been in work since my op so routine is going to be important for me too... this morning I managed to eat some youghurt before I left, but it was a struggle as I ain't good in the mornings either... I think the next couple of weeks will be the biggest learning curve for me! x

One good thing about working in a school is that you tend to settle into a routine once the dust settles - whether you have morning hallway duty, P.E. at 9am, homeroom then transition to 1st period, morning announcements at 8am, etc... Even administrators are able to establish some sort of pattern to their day due to typical lulls in activity in the building. Once this pattern is established, you can build your eating/drinking routine around that. That's what I did anyway and it's worked out well enough for me that I can get my fluids and Proteins in during the day without thinking about it constantly. And of course it will get easier as your swelling decreases and your sleeve loosens up a bit. I can't eat much at all for Breakfast and I've decided to stop forcing the issue. I eat a tiny bit of Protein for breakfast and then an hour or so later (when the morning rush has calmed down), I have a high impact Protein shake. That keeps me from feeling weak or deprived until lunch, when I am able to eat more. It feels pretty normal now and the people I work closely with are getting used to seeing me with my little bottle of Protein Shake in the morning.