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Love this! You both look wonderful. Congratulations on getting healthy together! There are quite a few couples who have had WLS at or around the same time, I'm sure they will chime in.

I'm sorry, Cathy...there must be a better one out there for you.

Cathy...anxious to hear if you got the place! Let us know. Sheryl, glad you're having a good time. We finally hit 55 for a day here yesterday and it was wonderful. Tomorrow it's back to 18 and snow. Florinda, my husband is an investment guy. He's gets lots of phone calls from his clients right now about tax issues. Lmk if there is anything you would like me to ask him for you. Georgia, thinking of you.

I'm so sorry Georgia...wish I lived closer I would make you some meals and clean or do some laundry for you! Can you take anything for the pain? Sending (very gentle) HUGS your way!

Florinda, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say but I wanted you to know that I was thinking about you. Georgia, how are you feeling?

Globe, as in you made yourself throw up or you ate so much it made you sick? When you are down like this it seriously makes me want to have you come stay with me so I can help you and make you feel better.

Georgia, did you find out if you have shingles?

Oh my goodness Sheryl, the change is absolutely amazing!! You seriously need to be on a billboard for Dr. S. with those before and after pictures.

Let us know what happens...stay safe.

Probably swelling and water weight from the crappy food. How long will you be gone? Sounds wonderful, I wish I could get some warmth and sun. Enjoy! Dorrie, hang in there. Thinking of you. Florinda, to me, 600 calories a day every day seems too low. I'm not trying to add more negativity, especially with everyone else getting on you about it. It's so hard to say what will work because it's so different for everyone. With my exercise routine, I am always changing it up. Nothing stays the same for very long. I can feel my body getting used to things so I switch it up. It makes a big difference for me. How is the puppy, Sheila? Has the rain stopped in CA, Kim? I have heard so much about the much needed rain, hope it has helped some. Like many of you, I am stopping the junk eating. Detoxing from the sugar I have been eating lately. It'll be a rough few days but I will feel so much better soon. My muscles, especially in my lower back, cramp up terribly when I am eating bad. It doesn't feel good and, yet, sometimes I still give in to the emotional eating. It's March and we woke up to 20 below wind chills this morning. Every day I say to myself, "You can do this.". This winter has taken it's toll but I think the end is in sight, it has to be! Happy Monday, Ladies. I am fasting today and it'll be a double workout day.

Sue, I also want to add that on my phone I can also access our group by going all the way to the bottom where there is a list of things that say, Forums, Current, Messages, Surgeons, My Surgery...then I have to scroll over to the right and more show up. One says subscribed. If I click on that it takes me to all the threads I have commented on and this also lights up if someone has a new comment on our group.

Sue, when I'm on my phone I click on the BP app I click on Gastric Sleeve Surgery Support Groups...it's the 4th bubble thingy on my phone Then I scroll all the way down and click on Gastric Sleeve Social Groups Forums, it's the last bubble on that page Then I scroll all the way down until I find Eating the 5:2 way, it's almost at the end of the page for me. Hope that helps. Loved the pic of you on your horse, Sheryl. It looks like you had a beautiful day! How many horses do you own?

Almost 3 years out and I am still freezing most of the time, I freeze where I shiver a lot of the time. My hands and feet are always cold and, yes, all my blood work results are right where they should be. I wear layers and it doesn't help much. I will take being freezing over the hot sweaty mess I used to be any day. Not being hot and sweating is one of the best results of having my sleeve!

Kim, I love this sentence. I agree with you. We learn, we grow, we share. It's like the quote I have heard, with great knowledge comes great responsibility. Great news at your appointment! Happy for you. Did they say anything about the cholesterol? Sue, I think you are right. The weight was a cover up and now that it's gone there is a lot under there to deal with. Dee, would you share more on the mid life crisis? If it's not something you want to share, I understand. I'm going to look into this more and see if it's something I could be going through. It's as though I'm looking for something different. I want to move South, move away from WI....this goes back to years ago if I would not have gotten pregnant so young I would be have been long gone from this state. I don't feel anything crazy like I want to leave my husband or kids or anything like that, thankfully! I appreciate all of the advice and thoughts you all give. I really take them and think about them and figure out how I can be a better person with the insight from everyone. Wanda, I am wondering what you have to say about all of this. How do you stay so happy and positive?

YES!!! Why? This is what I keep asking myself, why? I don't have an answer yet...maybe I need therapy. I want to be happy and I want to be content. I think I need to learn to be content first...

Love that you got a mani and pedi! Hate that I had to see a pic of your feet. I hate feet so much! lol

I will be 3 years out in May... Can you eat a whole apple? Probably. I usually eat about 3/4 of an apple and I am comfortable. If I tried to eat it first thing in the morning I could probably only eat a couple of slices because my sleeve is tight in the mornings. Can you eat rice and Pasta without discomfort? Just a little. A few bites of rice or pasta is all I can eat, it still fills me up really quickly. I try to eat Protein first most of the time and then I don't have a lot of room for rice and pasta. Do you ever have the occasional glass of wine with dinner? No, but that's because I don't ever drink alcohol. I didn't drink before my sleeve either so it's not a sleeve thing. How have your close relationships been effected by your weight loss? Only positively for me, thankfully. I have wonderful family and friends and they have all been supportive of me in this journey. Are you able to quickly drink a glass of Water on a hot day or after a workout? Not as quickly as I could before surgery but much quicker than I could right after surgery. I drink a lot of water every day, at least 128 ounces so I'm drinking all the time. If you were an emotional eater, what behavior have you replaced the emotional eating with? Probably exercise and shopping. My emotional eating still rears it's ugly head sometimes. I think it's something I will have to deal with for life. For the most part I can keep it at bay and I have worked hard to learn to do other things instead of eating to deal with my emotions, but I am not perfect. Do you have any sadness associated with the inablilty to eat a large portion of something incredibly delicious? Not anymore. I did at first. I can eat just about anything now and I am used to eating small portions so it's not something that I really think about anymore. The key is to learn how to eat and control your eating/emotions in the first year. After a year or two (for some, much sooner) usually your ability to eat all the slider foods comes back and you can actually fit quite a bit of sliders in your sleeve. Learning to eat protein first, then veggies and small amounts of carbs is key. Eat clean and healthy and change your lifestyle.

I relate to what you said. I don't think mine comes from a "should have been" feeling of loss mine right now is the feeling of what is ahead. I, too, have a really good life. Good home, husband, kids doing okay , 3 great grand kids but turning 60 and my hubs at 65 seemed to kinda push me into a restless state that I want to do stuff NOW, knowing that my "window" of great health and mobility has a timeframe but I know that I also am held right now almost resisting two grands while my daughter tries to finish nursing school. I feel like I've spent the last 10 years of my life taking care of all the others and not sure how I feel about it all I will be okay and "this too shall pass"but I have been doing the same thing. Reached my 5:2 goal, and in the last few weeks I think I have set out to sabotage myself! Old habits of "feeding" my mood crops up and I allow myself to slide into mindless carbing/snacking. Now, I am fasting tomorrow and fasted last week 2 days but I have been eating too many calories/carbs otherwise. Determined NOT to lose any more ground. Chin up. You are a great lady!!!! Georgia, I will be okay and "this too shall pass"but I have been doing the same thing. Reached my 5:2 goal, and in the last few weeks I think I have set out to sabotage myself! Old habits of "feeding" my mood crops up and I allow myself to slide into mindless carbing/snacking. Yes, yes, YES!!!! That's how I feel. Those old feelings of, "I don't deserve this, and "this won't last", are creeping in. But, I do believe I am strong enough to overcome these things! WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Cathy, glad you had a good time on your vacation. Now to get back in the groove of things again! Sue, sounds like your time off is already filled with things to do. Try to have some fun, too! Sheila, sorry about the puppy. I hope you get things figured out and get help with those vet bills. Keep us posted. Wanda, I love, love, love, reading what you write. Makes me feel like there is hope out there for me to be joyful and happy! Thanks for your words. Sorry for your loss. I hope you are able to help the young man you are talking to. Florinda, hope you are getting settled into your new place. Doesn't anyone around there have a scale that you can step on? Sheryl, have you heard from the new guy yet? Are you going to see him again? Dorrie, how are you doing? Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope you are ok. Let us know. Denise, how are things going with Bill? Did you talk to him yet about needing your space? Kim, let us know what the dr says. I hope you don't have to go on meds. Could be worse though, without the surgery I am sure you would be on many more meds! Sheryl and Florinda, I know you have both asked me some questions about my body fat and training. Sheryl, when I look at pictures of you I don't see you as you see yourself. I see your body as proportionate and little. I don't look at you and see your top half looking big at all. I wish I could see you in person to be able to get a better look and be able to answer your question better. What I can suggest is to work on building muscle in your legs and butt. That will give you the illusion of being more proportionate (did I spell that correctly? I am terrible at spelling and a red line didn't show up under the word...lol) Since you cannot change the way your body is made, creating an illusion is what works best. I am much bigger in my hips/butt. My hips measure 13 inches bigger than my waist and 3 inches bigger than my chest. I'm guessing you can't tell as much from the picture, although, to me I see a huge difference between my top half and lower half. Because I am strong on top, I believe that makes me look more evened out. I did notice my biggest loss in body fat from losing the last 20 pounds. I'm don't think it's just losing weight but I think it's being able to move easier and being able to do a lot more in the way of really perfecting my exercising. Sheryl, I hope you continue to work with a trainer that is able to help you. Don't give up on it. It may take a little while to find the right one but I can say that if you do it will benefit you greatly! Our bodies are so used to moving incorrectly from all of the extra weight. We have to train ourselves on how to use our muscles again. Florinda, I do not use a lot of weights for lifting. Mostly, just body weight. A ton of body weight movements and exercises along with cardio. In the past I have lifted, I even trained with a body builder lady that had huge muscles, she was so big she was manly looking. I don't train with her anymore but I did love the heavy lifting. I didn't care to look like her but I did like the feeling I had from lifting heavy. Once in a while now I will life heavy, maybe once or so a month. The muscle you see in the pics is mostly from body weight exercises.

Hello friends. I've been reading but quiet. I had a rough week last week emotionally and I ate like crap all week which didn't help me feel better. Back at it today and fasting. When I was obese I kept myself covered with fat so that I didn't have to deal with things and it kept me invisible. Then I lost a bunch of weight after surgery. I was around 165/170 and I still felt like I was keeping that last little bit of weight to keep covered up and to not quite let go of everything and deal with everything I needed to deal with. Now that the weight and extra "covering" is gone I am trying to deal with stuff. It's hard and to be honest, it sucks. I'm just trying to figure it all out. I know most of you have been there and can understand. I almost feel like I'm going through a mid life crisis. Does this happen at 41? I want something more but I just don't know what it is and that makes me feel empty inside. I have a great life, I should be happy and content but yet I am searching for something. I have a feeling this all goes back to me becoming a mom so young. I was supposed to be at college when my daughter was born. All of my friends were at school and I had so been looking forward to being there with them. Then life changed. Now that my kids are getting older I am looking for something...I will figure it out, I have faith that I will figure it all out eventually.

Whoa, Sheryl, you are on a roll today!

I love the dress! You look so good! Glad you are having fun.

I also had surgery with Dr. Aceves almost 3 years ago. I didn't have any problems with clots. You will get a shot before your surgery to help with the blood clots. After surgery I walked and walked and walked some more. One thing that was suggested to me before I went to Mexico was to call the airline and have them reserve a wheelchair for me on the flight home. Then I was able to get on the plane first and I took the first seat where I had extra leg room. I made sure to move my legs around a lot. My plane ride was over 4 hours.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words about my pictures. I was very surprised at the difference 10 pounds and the lower body fat made. I thought I would post because some have asked for pictures but I thought you all would find the difference interesting. I do carry quite a bit of muscle all over but it is mostly noticeable on top. I do have muscle in my legs but there is so much skin on my legs and butt and thighs that it's not as easy to see it but I do feel it. My butt muscles are finally starting to appear. It is a work in progress. lol I have found out with losing weight that I wasn't using my butt muscles when I was heavy. Instead I was using my lower back and this has caused a lot of pain for me over the last couple years. Working with my trainer and seeing a wonderful chiropractor who also does sports medicine has helped me in changing the way I walk and exercise. When I have my regular clothes on I don't think that the 10 pound difference is very noticeable to others, which is fine. I have never been comfortable with people noticing my weight loss. I actually hated the attention I received during my weight loss phase. I notice the extra loss in how I can move and exercise and that's what I like so I'm happy with it. As far as the personal training goes, I am taking a "course" to become certified. I work at my own pace and when I'm ready I take an exam and if I pass I become certified. Right now I'm going through NCCPT. I am strongly considering changing and getting certified through ACE. They are more recognized if I would decide to work in a gym. Currently, my plan is to train in my basement. This is what my trainer does. I started going to her 8 years ago. I don't need to be certified to do this but I would like to get certified because it's just something I have always wanted to do. I have always been interested in exercise and health, ever since I was a child. I'm also looking forward to being able to help people who are overweight since I have been there myself. I would like to train at home because it's much more affordable for the client. In gyms around here you pay $50-$65 for a trainer. I can charge $25-$35/hr to train at my home. Now, the issue I am having with all of this is fear. I really want to do this but fear is holding me back from just taking the exam and being done with it. It's the same kind of fear that I had for years when I was obese. The fear that kept me from doing so many things. I thought I'd bring this up and see if you all have any advice for me or if any of you deal with this fear in your lives.

Wanda, thanks for your advice about the teenagers. I love hearing any advice from those who have been there and done that. I soak it right up. My daughter is 23 but now I have a 14yo and 10yo son. Raising boys is so different from girls. And to top it all off all three of them have completely different personalities so it's been interesting. Thinking of you as you are making these decisions for your mom. That's tough. My husbands parents are getting close to 90. He was the youngest of 6 kids so he is starting to deal with a lot of this as well. His mom was diagnosed about a year ago with alzheimers and there is so much that goes into that alone. Sue, how are you doing? Feeling any better. Sorry about the rough day at work. Hang in there. Sheryl, I really like what you wrote...about us and the negative talk. I'm willing to give it a try. I feel like I go in spurts, sometimes my self talk is mostly positive. When I am down or depressed it's negative. I will say, though, that it is a lot better than it was 5 years ago. I started working on that before surgery. I wonder if it will always be a struggle? I also appreciate so much your advice on plastics. I love how honest you have been through this whole journey. I know you have helped me and so many others on here. I will be calling to talk to you about it. I'll pm when I'm ready for that. It is so expensive but I know it's something I have to do for me. Now I just have to talk the husband into it! He did promise me many years ago that once I lost all my weight that he will agree to a tummy tuck. I guess I need to remind him of that. Sheila, are you feeling better? I haven't been ignoring your questions about training, I'm going to answer them in a few minutes. I just needed to find some time to answer. Dorrie, thinking about you. The sugar detox is so hard. I know that I feel so much better when I detox from it. When I am eating too much sugar my lower back starts to ache, along with other muscles. Sugar really is a drug. Denise, looking forward to hearing about your trip with Bill and how the family got along with him. So glad you found your purse. Florinda, I don't know how you do it. I am so incredibly spoiled with my life that I can't even imagine doing what you do. Kudos to you, and I sincerely mean that. All those women living together, isn't there constant petty bickering going on? I picture it as a constant PMS party, for lack of a better word. I would love to go to Mexico and have plastics at the same time! The earliest I would be going would be in the fall. Unless, I could do it before June but I can't imagine that happening. I need to be in good condition in the summer when my kids are off of school. Kim and Georgia, just giving you a shout out because you two are some of my favorite people! I am sure I forgot someone, please forgive me for that. I always feel bad for forgetting but I know you all understand. Cathy, see I just remembered you. Hope you are doing well. Happy Thursday, Ladies!