Did you meet your expectations... do you think you are going to meet your goal or was your goal unattainable...

Are you exercising to get great results..???

My surgery is changed to Jan 26th... I started today on the treadmill walking a mile but I have a backpack on my back with 25 extra pounds... My goal is to keep that up until surgery and when I start jogging hopefully in Feb... to transfer to 10 pounds in the backpack rather than 25 (running is harder than walking)

At this weight I don't have to do the Pre Op diet but I am going to do a week of the Cabbage Soup diet, a week of pre op, then Cabbage soup again.... then back to Pre-Op.... that will be a struggle to get thru but I got down on my hands and knees today with my son and man did I feel the extra weight...

So any tips to help me thru my next month... Send them my way!

Um... just that you dont want to stress your body too hard during this time - you are about to have major surgery, and you dont want to chance injuries that will make it hard to keep up walking later (pulled muscle, back spasms from carrying 25 pounds in a bad place on your back, etc). If you really want to do that, look into a weighted vest instead - it distributes the weight so it is more "natural" and doesnt strain all the wrong places. Can only post 1000 chars at a time in here, so breaking this up into a few messages since I am very wordy

The sleeve's purpose is to help you lose weight in a healthy way and to get off the fad diet merry-go-round and onto a "permanent" diet mantra you can follow for life - high protein/low carb/low fat. Cabbage soup diet? Sounds pretty gross Just dont try that after your surgery - cabbage produces gas, just like carbonation in soda, and is one of the things that will "stretch" your new (and your current!!!) stomach out. Anything that expands inside you should be avoided for life after this, and cabbage is a biggie! Professional food contest winners eat nothing but cabbage in prep for an eating contest to expand their stomach volume... not something you want!! not to mention its GAS

I set my goal at something very reasonable for me - a place I have been before and know what I look like. It is a "first" goal - not my "final" goal. It is a weight that I will be thrilled to stay at the rest of my life if that is as far as I get. Once I get there, I will decide whether or not I should set another weight goal, or if I want to switch to a more "healthy" goal like running in a marathon, climbing a mountain, etc - something I have to train for... Rather than focussing on a number, I want to build up strength and really get out there and do stuff. I am so tired of caring what my weight is! I have people now saying I look anorexic (I dont!) and I am still 6 pounds away from my first goal! I dont want to hit a particular weight just to look "sick".

And I dont want to set a goal that is unrealistic given my body type and metabolism and then get discouraged because I "only" lost 55 pounds and not 70 pounds. So set your initial goal a little higher than you think, then re-evaluate when you get there if going lower is really a good idea or if you like where you are and just need to tone up etc.

Good luck You have definitely the right attitude for making this work for you!!