Catracks

I was on here right after the first consult. I tend to research things to death so I read this board every day and also read three blogs from surgery day to present. I was pretty well informed by the time I had my surgery. I was even equipped with grocery lists and recipes. One thing I did learn from this board and real time support groups is that some people get surgery without knowing the first thing about it and some surgeons let their patients out into the world with virtually no guidance. Read everything you can get your hands on.

Mine is cute, but he must be 7 feet tall

Amen sister!

Quite a few surgeon and nutritionists do basically believe just that. From your initial post it appears that she either believes this or is trying to impress something upon you. If someone wasn't educated about the sleeve ... they might be inclined to take her at her literal word. Yes, there are people here who lose that much in a year. It seems that the more you have to lose, the faster you will lose at the beginning, but that is not always the rule. I think maybe we lose at the same percentage, but in heavier people it equals more weight. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. Check out the board specific to loosing 200+ pounds.

Post them! I wanna see!

I take Bariatric Advantage Calcium Chews in lemon and raspberry. They taste like Starburst fruit chews. I look forward to them every day. They are my candy. I am planning on taking them forever. http://www.amazon.com/Bariatric-Advantage-Calcium-Chews-Lemon/dp/B003JWKAA6

I just ate food that was naturally that way during the pureed/soft food stage like refried Beans, hummus, cottage cheese, blended Soups, etc. There is plenty of time later for chewing. It's not like you'll get out of the habit. Also, the bit about only having a year is BS! As you get closer to goal, it is harder to lose, but you can lose weight at any time like anyone else, plus you have the sleeve as a tool. Their is no magic that halts you at a year just as there is no magic that says we can only lose 60% of our excess weight. You're right. It takes many people longer than a year to reach goal. I have spoken to them here. It's just that some people tend to fall back into old habits. All of that is entirely up to you.

Thanks all! I'm going to take the money I would spend on a new dress and buy a kayak!

Thanks! It was a prom dress left over from the May rush at J.C. Penny. Already marked down and I had a coupon LOL! I think it cost me $40. Some might find that tacky, but scoring deals gives me a rush It has an open back. I can't believe it fits!

I love Knotts more than Disneyland or Six Flags. I don't like Six Flags AT ALL. I was going to say that you must get the boysenberry pie, but I forgot where the hell I was! I was still able to get some of their fried chicken. Two wings don't make a dent in the daily count. Had that for Breakfast. The pie is out of the question. Seriously! 500 calories a piece!!! ACK!!!! Think it's hard eating out at normal restaurants, try an amusement park. I went to Johnny Rockets and ordered a grill chicken sandwich without the bread and mayo, tore it up and made a salad out of it. Took one sip of a chocolate malt. Almost died of pleasure. Glad I seem to have control over this. It stopped at one sip. Do please give your opinions on the wedding dress. No hurt feelings here.

Forgot to mention the other NSV. My husband and I are going to get our marriage blessed and I fit into the dress I wore when we first got married 10 years ago. My daughter took one look at the dress and told me I needed a new one. Yes, this one is out of style and has crinoline under the skirt part, but it's symbolic to get back into that dress. Here's a pic from 10 years ago if I can figure out how to load it.

Oh yes: the militant ex-smoker. I know many. I will confess to turning into a health-food snob and I'm always trying to push to no sugar, not overly processed food, high Protein, low carb thing. I have also caught myself thinking how horrible it would be to be like the super-obese woman I saw in the ride-on shopping cart with all the crud in the basket. I think all-in-all that I am a nice person, but I had to remind myself that I was 50 pounds from being that woman. I was so sleep deprived from sleep apnea that I would sit down and instantly fall asleep anywhere and snore loudly only to wake up to hear people laughing at me. I would never be openly mean or hurtful to a person, but I sure better get my head in order as well as my mouth.

I would say, "Boy, you should try cheating too because doing it the "hard" way is obviously not working for you at all." Hey, it's mean but sometimes you just need a come back.

I don't let salespeople pull my clothes. I am also going the Goodwill route and will probably continue that.

Initial consult was in September I think. My actual surgery was January 11th. There were a lot of tests to go through as well as the psych and then getting the surgery approved by insurance and scheduled. The insurance approval made me SUPER nervous, but it went through without a hitch.

I think UI have turned into a bit of a health food, anti-sugar, anti-processed food, make it yourself from scratch snob. Yesterday my family went to a Chinese place and they were ordering family style. They ordered orange chicken, lo-mein noodles, fried rice, kung pao chicken, crispy fried beef and egg rolls. I told them I would have to either order the scallops and asparagus or the shrimp and snow peas. I saw the slight roll of the eyes. None of them eat seafood BTW. I have to admit that I was astounded at their selections - the very worst on the menu health-wise. Yeah, I'm officially a snob.

I think I will always be tracking my food intake too. The closer I get to goal, the slower the weight loss has been. I hike, bike, swim and walk. The once a week hikes are strenuous.

I loved hearing your story. We are always looking to hear from people who are as far out from surgery as you are. Congratulations on your continuing wonderful health. Walking and hiking is my exercise of choice as well.

The kindest comments I have received were from the maintenance and janitorial staff. Just yesterday one dear lady said, "You have lost so much weight. You are simply beautiful. Good job!" I could have kissed her. Other, more gentile coworkers are uncomfortable with it and won't mention it. Take the nice comments to heart and consider that the petty comments are from petty people and let it go.

Ya HAH! Me too. I'm not a picky eater and don't have food issues other than I really, REALLY like it, the question that stopped me was: "How was your childhood? Relationship with your parents?" I don't know how it was relevant, but my answer was: "GREAT! I had a pretty uneventful childhood." In actuality, it was a train wreck. I so didn't want to go there.

Bread swells in our stomachs. I ate a small piece of really airy yeast bread and thought I was going to bust - one of my few sliming episodes. I don't do that anymore. I can handle small amounts of toasted rustic type bread.

You have mountains and I want to go! -- not during the winter though. Do you read Cyrillic? Sorry, getting nosy.

Cheri - I can't just "Exercise." I have to do something I like. I hike, bike, swim, kayak, etc. Exercising is boring to me. Where did you live? We can get small farm produce and I grow my own stuff and have a few hens. I hate it that we can't easily get grass fed beef, wild fish and game.

Go straight to Goodwill. People sometimes throw away new clothes. If not new, they are in good condition. You have to sift, but I have found great clothes there for an absolute steal. Today I am wearing a nice pair of size 12 pants that I got there.

I confess: That I still smoke. One cigarette a day, but I still smoke. I'm not likely to give it up either. I confess: That I still drink diet soda. That's not likely to change either. I confess: That I had a carb binge the other day. Yeah, my binge was 1/2 cup of white Pasta with olive oil, but for my stomach that was a binge. I confess: That I was a biatch to a Sizzler employee that refused to give me a child's salad bar with my surgeon's bariatric card. I get impatient with people and it's something I need to work on. I confess: That I fall short of my Water intake on most days.