hadouni

I actually own and wear corduroy pants now! My thighs still rub a little but not so much that it bothers me or gets irritated. I'm a little shy of 5ft 8in and weigh 178.

I think I started actively dieting when I was 9 years old. Somehow around 2nd grade I turned into the chubby kid and spiraled from there until high school, where I lost a little weight in my jr year by starving myself and some mild bulimia behavior. I fought hard in my late 20s, again with lots of exercise and freaky eating habits (one meal a day kind of thing). I had some emotional junk in my mid-20s that came up again in my early 30s and I think I totally gave up even trying to manage my weight. Career stress added on and I was a mess and getting messier. I had a baby in my late 30s and it's really for him in some ways that I did it. I need to keep up with him and be around for him. I'm not without vanity and I sure like looking/feeling better. I get very uncomfortable when people get too interested in my weight loss because I don't shout out to the world that I've had WLS. It's private to me but I feel very weird when people start asking me for weight loss advice!

I let my new PCP talk me out of doing it in late 2010 so I had to wait until early 2012 to do it. So, not doing it sooner for me, as well. My other regret, is not exercising regularly now... I'm just back to the regular treadmill gig and feeling great though!

I get the "about to faint" feeling, sometimes with the TV show vision, often. I had three bags of potassium put back in me after surgery (ouch!) too. I recently had all my Vitamin levels checked (1yr post surgery check in) and everything was fine except for the B12 which was too high, so I had to cut back. For me, I think it's a blood pressure thing. I get it when I stand up quickly, especially from bending over. I've never linked it to hydration because I'm pretty consistent with fluids.

I had two weeks (maybe even three) before puree but I've seen others post who moved much faster into food stages.

I had some clothes back down to size 14 so I didn't need to buy too much fortunately. I started out at a stuffed size 22 or 2x at 268lbs last January. By the end of February, 20s were loose and my 2x tops were too big. By June I was starting into size 16 with some smaller 1x tops fitting and even starting to buy regular size XL tops. I hit solid into 14 by the end of summer. I wouldn't encourage crazy clothes shopping for as long as you can put it off. The sized go so fast in the first year that unless they literally won't stay on you, keep wearing them until you can't! I bought a beautiful interview dress in late spring and ended up returning it because by the time the interviews happened, it was too big. That was my final Womens' size purchase/return! I've been in 14 & L or XL for several months now. I'm just back on the exercise routine so I may loose a little more but I've just started to really invest in clothes again and I'm a year out. Good luck!

Yes! Congrats on your surgery. It's a journey - a good one!

I LOVE to go out to eat! At fancier restaurants, I often eat off the appetizer menu and appetizers often have the Protein without all the excess starch fillers like rice, Pasta, potato. I don't need the soup/salad option either. Don't tell my surgeon, but I love to go out for a glass of wine and "dinner" which is often something like bacon wrapped sea scallops or seared tuna. My close friends know I had surgery so they don't question what I eat. Folks who don't know I had surgery will sometimes ask if that's all I'm going to eat. Folks who know I've lost a large amount of weight and comment on how much I eat will usually ask if I've lost the weight by eating so much less. The first six months was quite an adjustment for me and eating out was harder for me to navigate.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my sleeve. I can't believe a year has passed and even better - I feel like a normal person again for the first time since I turned 30 (I'll be 42 this summer). I even had someone tell me I was getting too thin last weekend (not true- by bmi standards I'm still slightly overweight). If you're thinking about surgery and wondering if this could help you, my experience tells me yes! I wish I could have done this 10 years ago. If I'd known about the sleeve (as opposed to bypass surgery) I'd have considered WLS sooner. I still have some real work to do. I'd like to loose another 20lbs and get down below 160. I'll have to hit the exercise hard to accomplish that and I've been a slacker for the past few months! This board has been such a help to me along the way. To be able to check in and see others feeling similar to myself or experiencing things similar to me was very comforting. Good luck to you all and keep up the good work!

oh yes... totally flat and my all-over muscle tone isn't what it was when I was at this weight last. I'd been thinking of looking into that brazilian butt lift dvd...

I got off birth control SO LONG ago all I remember now is the horrible, acne that I got all over my chest for about three months while I lived in a warm beach community... turtlenecks when everyone is in a swimsuit. Oh and I could barely walk because my boobs hurt so bad. My post-op hormonal freak out was libido related for me. I don't recall much anger, which doesn't help you - sorry... What I totally understand is food-doping! Just knowing I was going to get something I wanted to eat produced a physical reaction - I could totally feel myself calming down from whatever emotional stress I was feeling. Now if I go to sweets it just makes me feel icky. I think I get the blahs more than anger. When I feel blah, I like to turn on some music that makes me happy and makes me want to dance and just dance around the house. Sounds silly but I have fun for a bit and can sometimes get myself out of a funk. Hope you get a handle on it soon!

Ok, I feel bad invading the man room with all my estrogen but I had to tell you that you are NOT alone! I questioned myself so many times. I didn't talk openly with many about what I'd planned because I didn't want to hear others' opinions about what I knew I needed to do for my health. Of the few friends I told, one freaked out and went on and on about the mistake I was making... all that drama coming from botox & liposuction girl! =) I even wrote in my journal to my young son the night before my surgery just in case I died on the table! When I doubted myself, I tried to remember all the reasons TO have surgery. I can say without doubt, almost a year later, that I made the right decision and if there is any regret, it's that I didn't do it sooner. I also totally get the double cheeseburger thing. Food was a coping mechanism for me for much of my life. I remember the feeling of calm I'd experience when I was stressed and I decided to eat something. Being sleeved has really helped with my food issues. Now that I feel better about myself, it's easier for me to slow down when I'm stressed or upset and look for a healthier outlet. Good luck to you!

I so feel your pain! I've been stuck just under 180 for two months now. I've sort-of lost the inspired feeling and have let myself get sloppy with what I put in my mouth. Forget about exercise - my treadmill is dusty! I need to figure out a way to give myself a good swift kick in the butt! I go in for my one year check-up in a couple weeks and I have a feeling I'll be getting that swift kick in the butt then...

not my problem, that's for sure! I'm just happy mine seem to be tightening up a little along with the rest of my skin so I feel a little less like an image out of National Geographic!

Yes, I figure I've probably lost about half my hair and for whatever reason more seems to have come out of the top than the back, or so says the gal who cuts my hair. It started around 4-4.5 months out from surgery and lasted pretty heavy for six months. Now I loose what I consider to be normal amounts when I wash/dry my hair 11 months out from surgery. I have lots of regrowth that's up to an inch long. I've cut it pretty short and plan to let it grow back out as the hair grows in thicker. At least my thinner face looks decent with the short haircut! =)

You look so beautiful! Congratulations to you!

wow... amazing. just the look on your face is wonderful. you've reclaimed your life. congratulations.

You look great! Congratulations.

no razor stubble on your face because it HURTS... hello! the skin on my face gets shredded by stubble let alone the sensitive other areas your face could come in contact with! beard, handlebars... whatever as long as it's soft but I'm never going to love it. chest hair... yum. excessive back hair could go. man-scaping is fine as long as you don't look more "done" than I do (my preference!). I think it would freak me out to see a man waxed/shaved down south... just the thought of it is a little freaky...

I slept in a reclining lazy-boy type chair for the first several nights. I sort-of treated myself like I had when I was pregnant - pillows sort of propping up my belly. It really helped. My very large, three year old son came out in the middle of the night on my first night home and crawled up on me. Fortunately, I was propped in well enough that his weight wasn't totally on me. My mom was sleeping soundly in my bed and didn't hear me calling for her and I had to get up with my 40+lbs son and take him to her. I was fine but talk about taking it slow! It gets easier each day - or it did for me!

I haven't taken the pill for over 20 years and have always been fairly regular; 26-31 day cycles. Since June (6 months post-op) my cycles have been every 25 days. Don't know if it's my age (41) or the weight loss, but I'd like to head back to 28+ days myself!

Sounds good. I so need protein inspiration these days! I use too much dairy based protein and not enough meat.

All I can say is that I'd do it again in a heart beat, would recommend it to anyone who struggled as I had with their weight all their life and I wish I could have done it years ago! I started dieting at 9. If the sleeve had been out there 10 years ago, I probably would have had WLS much earlier. It was personal observation with GBS that had me fearful of WLS. That just wasn't for me - but I love my sleeve!

Oh yes! July was six months post-op for me and since then I've only lost 2-4lbs per month and I seem to loose it all within a day or two of starting my period. I'm not exercising like I should either though. I've become real complacent, which isn't good. I need to tackle the toning exercises now and just haven't kicked myself hard enough in the tush to get going!

I'm not big on sweet drinks either but I can tolerate the muscle milk light chocolate flavor. I have one often times on work days because it's easy. My surgeon actually frowns on Protein Drink use, preferring his patients get their Protein from real food. I use a don't ask, don't tell approach with him on this. If he asks me, I'll tell him what I do, if he doesn't ask... =) I'm almost a year out and really need to find more healthy protein options to get excited about eating. I'm tired of preparing things that leave me with lots of left-overs I often don't eat. Even opening a can of Beans - I eat 1/3 of the can and end up throwing the rest away a few days later...