FLORIDAYS

no weight posting on my DL...thanks goodness. LOL But my latest NSV was yesterday. It was a birthday celebration in the conference room at work. They had one of those HUGE Cookies. I took a piece about as big as the size of 1/2 a teabag. One of my newer employes said.. are you dieting? I said actually I am just maintaing my weight. One of the long term employees piped in and said she'd lost over 200 lbs... the new girl said...wow... I wouldnt think you'd ever been anything but small. I was stunned. SMALL? And you are talking about me? What's in that cookie? Of course I didnt say anything but thank you... but then my long term employee whipped out her phone which had a pic of me at the CHristmas party several years ago and proceeded to show it to the new girl. LOL It was a pretty nice feeling!

Just returned from the consult.... I have to confess I am SO excited at the possibility of the results. I feel like it will be the crowning glory on what I have worked so hard to achieve..... now I need to come back to earth and have a long talk with myself and hubby to decide what is right for me. I am so impressed with this Dr and his facilty. He has a JCAHO accredited OR on site.... his staff is amazing and are all long term employees. If I make the decision to do this he will be the one I choose. He answered all my questions and then some. He feels based on my size and from the pics I showed him of me heavier I should have a breast lift with no implants. That surprised me but after hearing his reasoning I must say I agree. He even molded my breasts to show me what they will look like. And the no inplant part of it was an unexpected treat for thinking long term. As for the tummy tuck... he said no exercise in the world with get rid of the flap I have and while not as severe as he has seen... he said the results would be amazing. He would even lift the private area and remold the belly button while he was in there. He didnt even want to discuss my thighs and legs or even the arms. He said he didnt think it was necessary and that I wouldnt think so either after the TT and lift. He said we could revisit it at a later date if I was still interested. I thought that was pretty cool actually. Now the bad news.... insurance will not cover it. Its not severe enough to be medically necessary. Sounds like the song I heard when I went for my band. So thats a hurdle I need to decide if I want to jump over.... Carecredit does offer 6 months interest free so that may be an option to explore. Just wanted to give you the feedback. PS... I was thinking I could have the surgery on 12/18... and since I am off 5 days between then and New Years not counting weekends.... it would be viable to make this happen without taking 2 weeks off.... But not to get ahead of myself..... back to reality LOL

It was supposed to be at 6 wks but I had lost 30 lbs so we waited another month.

We go to Jamaica on vacay every year...to the same resort. Over the years we have become friends with lots of locals and they Jamaican women called me their "Jamerican" friend...because my butt looked like a Jamaica's girls butt...shelf and all. Until this year... This year they were all telling me I had lost my Jamerican butt and all wanted to know how I became a skinny white girl. I guess you had to be there...but it was pretty funny. My advice To you is to take it 10 lbs at a time. I had to lose a whole bunch of 10 lbs but because I took it one step at a time... 23 months has flown by.

I understand.... The band is th unknown... That's why this forum is such a great place to hang out... Nothing can replace your dr's advice but it can help to read stuff others are going through and recognize similar circumstances.

Agreed...especially if you plan on flying. TSA doesn't have much if a sense of humor about these things.

Glad things are going well. I am always surprised when I hear how dr's differ. I couldn't eat solids for 3 weeks.... Lucky you!! Best wishes on your journey.

I would not think one thing has to do with another. Check with your dr if it persists.

I averaged 10 lbs a month... With or without fills

Mkne was also 2 weeks... Lucky you Even in 5 days you will learn you can live without food.. Just not nutrition. Best wishes for a successful surgery.

Well it worked for you but clearly you wouldn't recomend not following the doctors instructions. That was a huge chance you took. Glad it worked out for you.

Any loss is a great one. Congrats!

I dont concern myself with counting protien, fat or fiber specifically... but I do count calories and I would lose at 1000. I would not lose at 1500. But thats me. You should check with your Dr on what is best for you. A typical meal is 3-4 oz pf Protein, 1/2 c verggies and 1/4 c starch. meals have 250-300 calories each. The 2 Snacks ...one in the morning and one in the evening... about 50 -100 calories each.. usually fruit in the AM and a treat like skinny cow in evening.

Since I havent been for the consult yet I certainly dont have all the answers I need but what you say makes sense. I think I would be most apt to do the tummy tuck with the breast. Since the breast bothers me the most... I am pretty convinced that I will get that done. If I can do the tummy at the same time that might be a added bonus. The legs while bothersome would be something I think I would do as a last resort. I need to see if exercise might helpf them before I resort to surgery. The Dr just sent me a 3 page questionairre that seems very comprehensive so I will complete that and see what tomorrow brings.

Since you identified the problem it should be easier to deal with it. If you really want this to work... Make a deal with yourself that maybe for a week you will try to eat 3 meals a day of than 3-4 oz of protien, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 starch , 2 Snacks if needed and keep your calories around 1000-1200. Drink 8 cups of Water and track everything you eat. You may find those meals will hold you and prevent the mindless grazing you are doing.

Might it be possible that you need a fill? If a meal of 3-4 oz of protien, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 starch isnt holding you for 4-5 hrs... it may be time.

I would wait until you attend the seminar. You may not find this Dr is the right one for you... or you may be rethinking your decisions after you go to the seminar. I was self pay so didnt need to get a referral from a Primary Dr.. if you need that you may want to schedule that appointment.

I eat soup alot. I just make sure to eat an amount appropriate to the calories I have slated for that meal. I find if I eat it too fast... its just like drinking too fast... it may come up. You should take 20 minutes to eat. And this includes soup.

I didnt exercise.... so I am proof that you can lose with out it. SInce you are aware of all the typical responses... I wount give you any of thoise either. But I am going to ask you a few quesitons. You can answer if you want. Do you track your calories? If so... How many calories do you eat every day. And lastly.. do you eat more than 3-4 oz of protien, 1/2 c veggies and 1/4 starch at your meals?

I admire you for your courage... you are tackling some big projects in your life in an effort to gain control of your life. Someone who judges you should not be anyone you concern yourself with.

My goal was not to be fat anymore. I was over it. It makes everything difficult... getting in a car... airplane travel, buying furniture (chairs specifically) , walking, shopping, standing, finding clothes and shoes to wear....... ..... you name it ..... it was such a chore to just live . And I turned 50 and my mother had just died at 79 of complications from being obese the last 20 years of her life.... She hated that she was a burden on me. I decided that wasnt going to be me in 30 years.

I wish you success on that phase of getting healthy. I havent tackled that project yet... I know I need to... but my head isnt there yet. I justify it with being a very light smoker... which I know is lame. But after losing all this weight I know when I am ready... I will do it.

thats good... I will do this. My focus is on the breast since that is really an issue for me. I feel that one I really need. The rest would just be superficial and I am not really sure I am willing to do it... thanks for the suggestion

They didnt pay for my surgery...but you never know. I will most certainly ask.

Validation