hadouni

Good for you!! You're totally beautiful! Congrats!

Wow- you look great! Keep up the good work!

Welcome! I found this to be a huge help when I was going through all the pre-op crazies. Making this decision is incredibly personal and I've only shared with a few close friends and family. Some people are all out and loud about it and that's great for them too. Each of us has to take their own journey in their own way but that's another great thing about this site!

So awesome! Thanks for inspiring us all! I was talking with an old friend the other day and I realize I literally can't imagine weighing less than 170. The last time I weighed 170 was almost 14 years ago and I was exercising 10 hours a week and going out samba dancing four at least 3 hours on a weekly basis and barely eating! Maybe one of these days I'll see 170 again! =)

What a fantastic feeling! Good for you!

I'm so jealous! I have 11 lbs to go to hit 199 and I feel like it will take forEVER! Great job!

I tend toward anemia and I have low blood pressure. I've been trying to do some yard work lately and I feel like I'm constantly in a half black-out/almost fainting state. It especially hits me when I move to stand up from squatting or kneeling. I have to take lots of breaks and drink lots of fluids. I probably out to take some Iron too. I haven't yet but I have it on hand. The others are right though- check in with your Surgeon's office is what I'd do.

My experience is some of the things I used to love just don't taste all that great any more and after a few bites I'm done and sort-of loose interest in them. I'm four months out and can usually tolerate a few bites of just about anything as long as I'm very careful to chew and eat slowly if it's a denser Protein. My mom made pot roast and noodles about a month ago and I had a little trouble with that and I'm not sure if it was the food or that I ate to fast. I have a hard time with things that are too sugary although this seems to be getting a little easier as time goes on (unfortunately!). Good luck with your sleeve. Take care of it and ease into foods as you go. That's what's worked best for me at least!

Good for you! Keep up the good work. Chasing after my son is easier with every pound off!

I've gone a week or very close to it but I'm only four months out. Have you tried mixing up your exercise routine so your body is doing different things? There's a lot of press these days about the body becoming used to activities and more efficient at them which means fewer calories to do them. Also, do you take your body measurements? (I've never bothered to do this myself and wish I had along the way so far) It might be that things are shifting around. I realized in the last five pounds clothes fit very different. I'm at 210 and I wouldn't have expected much change in size from 215 to 210. Some people further into their sleeves on the board also talk about upping calories to start loosing when they stall. I haven't experienced this myself but they have much more experience than I do. Maybe throw in a few bites of fruit and veggies? Good luck! I hope things start moving again for you soon.

One of my boobs is significantly larger/fuller than the other kind of like Oo! It's most noticeable when I wear stripes and the stripes tend to look like > across my chest!

I've started to feel like an animal shedding comic! It started about a week ago, maybe a little more so perhaps 3.5 months out. I have fine hair and not tons of it to begin with so I sucked it up and bought one of the Nioxin (sp?) systems. I'll see how it goes with that but I think all it will help with is making what I have look a little thicker and hopefully improving the regrowth. The final step has sunscreen in it of all things but I have burned my scalp a couple times in recent years. As fast as the hair grows on my legs after I wax it off I can't imagine why it takes my head so long!! =) (sorry guys - TMI on the waxing, I know)

I've had the best results from Fiber Choice chewables. They are *really* sweet tasting to me so I don't enjoy taking them but they do help me. I have some fiber gummies from costco that seem to help me less. My body is really sensitive to some fiber options. I can't use the fiber bars and cereals (is it benefiber?) they advertise on TV unless I want to blow up like a puffer fish and toot all day long. I had the best results in the past from Citrucel. Metamucil made me a puffer fish too. You might check with your surgeon to be sure they're ok with you taking fiber at (almost) a month out. I can't remember when I started them. The last four months are a blur in some ways. I've found it very important to use fiber supplements regularly or pay the price!

I think people don't really look at heavy people beyond registering someone who isn't physically appealing to them. I've had people flat out not recognize me (people who have always known me heavy) and I've had others tell me I look great. Most people say nothing but the "what's up" look is often there. I also had a much younger co-worker tell another co-worker/friend that I was looking much "healthier". She and I got a huge laugh out of that because I'm sure he was trying to be complementary without any confusion that he might find me attractive! Commenting is always hard. I tend to just tell people they look great and if I know someone well I may ask what they're doing to loose but unless I know someone well enough to have a personal conversation with them, I'd probably keep my mouth shut. The workplace is tough because one doesn't want their comment to be taken in any sort of way that could be perceived as inappropriate or insensitive (what if you were ill?). Let people's looks and body language talk for them. The double-takes speak volumes! =)

I totally get it! I painted my toes recently for the first time in ages and it was almost fun! =) Great job!

Awesome! Fitting into formerly uncomfortable places always gives me pause to think and reminds me how much better it can get! Congrats!

Good luck! I have to be super careful with senna because it works too well on me...

You're almost there!! It feels like such a long time when you're in it! Have you tried spit pea Soup? I was not a fan before surgery but it tasted pretty good post-op! It's decent Protein too. Careful moving onto more solids because it can be pretty easy to over-do it! I sure have made that mistake more than once!

Why did I never realize before how nutritionally useless most of my favorite lean cuisine meals are? At face value they have a reasonable amount of protein but WAY too many starches. It's not like I have extra food space any more! Oh these epiphanies are slow in coming!

I remember those early weeks trying to get some solids in and it was hard! I know I went though some of the feelings you've (all) shared. I remember thinking I needed to program a day for myself in the phone to keep me up on the meds/liquids/food schedule because it felt like every 15 minutes I needed to be taking/eating/drinking something! It gets easier, or maybe it's that you get used to it and it becomes less of a struggle! For me it has at least. I've been using MyFitnessPal and it's always red and telling me I need to eat more food. I think their baseline must be 2000 calories or something and I've never looked into modifying it to be more reasonable like 1200 or 1000 calories. It cracks me up because while it says that I'm consuming too few calories it always follows up saying if you continue to eat like this you'll weigh X lbs in 5 weeks which is incentive to keep eating less than what it wants me to eat.

I really like the Wacol (sp) fly back, front closure bras for an under-wire bra. Sometimes I find them at Macy's but I've ordered them from figleaves.com as well. I think 38 might be the largest around they have though- at least for the front closure bra which is my favorite. My mom gave me some of those genie bras and I'll wear those too or even Champion sports bras. The sports bras are nice because they kind-of smush everything together.

I'm back into my 38D bras but things are way lower and more National Geographic-y if you know what I mean... I've never wanted a boob job but might reconsider if someone wants to pay down the line... =)

I've been more hiding from my scale because I haven't been exercising! But... I got my fanny back on the treadmill last night so hopefully I can turn that around!

You're doing a great job! Congrats on a successful surgery and keep up the good work!

I so hear you! I started dieting at 9yrs old and have felt fat for more than 3/4 of my life. I'm 5-7 and in high school I think I was as low as 140 (was also a barfer), then in my late 20s I was my healthiest at about 170. I hit my 30s and just sort of gave up the fight (and it was a constant fight). Currently, I'm inching down toward 210 and am struggling with how different my body looks at this weight again. It's amazing the impact 10 years and a baby have on a girl's form and not necessarily an amazing I'm embracing... :/ But I feel so much better and can do much more with my son which was my goal. So I'll just have to try to let my vanity go.