jkern9110 Member

I watch the Biggest Loser. On the first episode of the new season, one of the trainers, Jenn, said something that truly resonated with me and accurately reflects my weight loss journey. She said, "you will fail your way to success." I shan't go into what all she could have meant, because I honestly don't care how she meant…

VSG on 9/11/2013 Starting Weight: 298.4 LBS Current Weight: 177.6 LBS Still a work in progress and I will get there even if it is just 1/10th of a pound at a time!

@chevakia You can absolutely do this! Physically, your body can achieve what you want it to. Recognize now that your real battle is not physical, it is mental. Make yourself mentally strong and your body will follow suit! I failed at diet/exercise pre-surgery. I failed at diet/exercise post-surgery. But I keep getting up…

I started out with the Fitbit Charge, but after a week I went a exchanged it for the Fitbit Charge HR. I have found that the charge HR is more accurate with calculating my calories burned and helps me to better target my workouts to be in the fatburn zone. It has done very well at keeping me motivated to be active :)

@garber6th You are amazing! Thanks for always sharing what is really going on with you and all of the little nuances that accompany this surgery and the new life that we all must adjust to. I am a stress eater...STILL. So thank you for demonstrating just how stressed of a situation you are going through and sharing that…

Yay! You earned it!!!

Thank you for posting this! I, too, have these episodes where things go dark after standing up. I thought it was maybe because I had been sitting too long and didn't give it too much attention. I'll definitely pay attention to my fluid intake more and see if they subside. Again, thank you :)

Pat- You are one of my absolute favorite MFP VSGer's posters. You are always so positive and very firmly grounded on what is appropriate for us WLS patients. I know that you know what you have to do! I agree with so many of you above: 1. Our body's do become accustomed to lower calorie intake; 2. Our body's do become…

I think the fact that you are cognizant of your problem and have sought help speaks volumes to the positive improvements you have made. If you are like me, pre-surgery you probably wouldn't have openly admitted to back-sliding and definitely wouldn't have sought help. You are holding yourself accountable now! You should be…

That is fantastic! That was one of my concerns was having to wait an entire year before being able to even get approved. Again, congrats on the good news! I'm sure it is a very rewarding feeling to get to that level.

This Summer!!! YAY!!! That is so exciting :) I don't know if you would know this, but I read that some insurance companies won't approve the skin removal unless you have maintained your weight loss for at least 12 months. Was this information given to you at your consultation?

Y'all are doing awesome! Keep it up :)

Oh man...this article was eye-opening. I must admit that I have watched the last 4+ seasons of this show. Before I started the process for WLS, I even auditioned for the show which was probably one of the biggest wastes of time. I am absolutely appalled by the scenarios described in the article. I'm surprised that no…

So I'm not a big proponent of the programs aimed at weight loss that sometimes resemble a ponzy scheme to me, but my co-workers all drink Spark (an advocare product). None of them use anything else from them. I tried it. It definitely gave an energy boost that was needed. It's 45 calories and I'm sure full of artificial…

The only thing I took with me was what I was wearing, my phone and my wallet (to be looked after by my boyfriend.) I had absolutely no need for my phone or any other items to keep me busy. I slept the majority of the time. My response to surgery was to go silent. I had no desire to talk to anyone. I said as little as…

Whoa my gosh! That's amazing! 16 cups a day...congrats :) Don't let the pendulum swing too much further that way...you don't want to strip your body of those precious nutrients. Have you tried varying the temperature of the water. Pre-surgery I would only drink chilled water. I found now that I prefer room temperature…

I have watched an episode here and there, but never set a recording. Y'all are making me want to watch all of the episodes!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to share a few side effects of WLS that my best friend encountered in her journey. Her "mistakes" helped to enlighten my way of thinking once I underwent surgery myself and could possibly help you as well. My best friend, got the lap band about a year or so before I had my sleeve…

Word to the wise: take the 5 hour energy as a shot. It tastes absolutely awful, no matter which flavor you choose. DO NOT POUR IT IN YOUR WATER. I like the energy boost of a 5 hour energy and the low calorie count, they just get really expensive! Even when I was buying the value boxes, it was still about $2 a shot.

Well I may end up looking like a lush, but honesty is the best policy. I had my first alcoholic drink about 1 month post op although my doctor recommended waiting 6-12 months. In the beginning, alcohol will definitely hit a lot more quickly than pre-surgery, but I'm not sure if it's because we typically have an empty…

I've had this same thought pop into my head too, that before weight loss my skin was plump and didn't sag and eeewwww yuck look at that bat wing I call an arm. But that is just me being overly critical of myself. I was too critical of myself when I was bigger and I still am now. And I probably won't be happy until they…

I gave up the morning cup the first few months post op, but it slowly crept back into my daily routine.

This hit home for me! Through my previous diets, the smallest I had ever been as an adult was 215 pounds. When I hit that number on my post-surgery journey, I had the exact same struggle. I was self-sabotaging. I went down to 209 and then I really started to flounder. I put back on about 10 pounds in the months following…

@kgrubiss I had the sleeve 16 months ago. At 6-8 months post op, I began to notice that my "honeymoon" phase was behind me. Actual hunger returned. At 11 months post op, I had to have my gallbladder removed. The surgeon who performed my sleeve was the same surgeon who removed my gallbladder. While he was removing my…

Oooooh!!! That is so exciting!!! I, too, would love to hear what they have to say. I have done MINIMAL research on fat transfer and my findings indicate that when you do a fat transfer that shape cannot be guaranteed as many of the fat cells will dissolve and is typically only done for small areas such as lips and cheeks.…

I envy you guys! I don't even know what half of the stuff y'all listed is. Haha...maybe one day I will get a personal trainer :#

LOVE!!!

These posts are a perfect example of how every physician prescribes something different and that each one of our bodies are completely unique. My recommendation: increase your daily calories by 50. See how that works for a week or two. Then increase again by another 50 and see how that works for a week or two. Keep doing…

The nurse for my doctor always helped to clarify questions I had like this. I would just shoot her an email about it and she would get back to me. My doctors was a fan of being really ambiguous in our meetings and wouldn't tell me a calorie goal, but would discuss my daily goals for protein and such. The nurse is the one…

Outstanding!!! When I grow up, I want to lift weights like you!!! Haha. Keep up the awesome work!