CowgirlJane

I remember somebody posting about buying cheap eyeglases online. I have shopged at 39dollarglasses and glassesusa - which company did you use and like? I need a new pair as i am down to one decent pair of glasses now due to a chewy pup!

The corset came prelaced and basically the lacings end in the "middle" so you get the most leverage around the waist area. This is a high quality garment by the way - it is the one that was on sale for so cheap only I got the red/black one. The red is very subdued, if I can work out the fitting, it will look very sexy under a jacket or something. I think the problem is that I need to tighten it a crapload more. What I don't like is that if it is too tight up top, my side boobs show up. I thought it would be my back, but no, it is the under the armpit area that is gross looking. I only tried it on for a few minutes so is going to take more playing. I have been toying with the waist training idea. Nothing exetreme but I have never had a small waist. My measurements were post plastics 40-30-38 but right now my waist is measuring more like 31" even though my weight is same. I would really like to have say 29" waist and I think that is very realistic with the waist training (transvestites reduce their waists 3-4 or more inches this way) without causing health problems. Yesterday I did a group class at the gym and was positioned near the mirrors. I definately look top heavy - not because of my implants as they are pretty modest but rather that i have big shoulders and ribs. Even so, I looked "tighter" than most of the women in that class and certainly the middle age looking one. Although i am far from perfect, wow, plastics made such a difference.- flat tummy, firmer butt and even wearing spandex capris my thighs didn't look too bad. Side boobs are about the only think that rears its ugly head from time to time. Oh, and another note.... my weight is actually down a tiny bit after the carb laden day.... weird

My corset arrived... it is beautiful but I think I ordered too small a size. Even laced, the modesty panel doesn't close all the way. I ordered according to my waist size but I guess I just don't squeeze as tight as some do....

You can have an acidy tummy without reflux. It is a very subtle thing if you have a mild case. You might consider taking proselec for say two weeks and see if it reduces that "constant hunger" I had this problem when I was banded. I had actual reflux at times, but other times I just had this uncomfortable hunger feeling and often self medicated with eating throughout the day. I gravitated toward soothing foods too which later was a clue for me that it was related to the excess acid. Anyway, consider trying it to see if it makes a difference.

Is it possible you have acid tummy? It feels just like hunger and is abated by eating.

Do you mean a lower body lift? I think most plastic surgeons - especially if they have any expertise in post weight loss patients - do this procedure. Check realself.com to read reviews of local docs.

It's only 10 am and I feel like I have already over eaten. I had an uber high carb day yesterday and boy is my body responding - saying FEED ME!!!! What a difference it makes if you can control those carbs... so, yesterday was interesting. Don't know if you remember, but over a month ago I had a very embarrassing incident of going out with someone I had met just a few times and having too many martinis. He swore I was fine, but, it was not a proud next morning because we made out and it was only like the 3rd time I had met him and I just didn't like that - and it was alcohol induced...not good. Anyway, we finally got together again. Spent the day in Seattle, took a walk along Alki Beach etc. We watched a movie and just hung out and talked. It was a nice time, but this guy is really high stressed out and I am feeling that energy even today. He used to live in Asia and came home 6 years ago to care for his aging parents. His dad passed away last summer and his 95 year old mom has parkinsons. There are financial matters, a house, caregivers and all sorts of stressors. He likes to talk to me because i went through similiar things with my mother, a couple of stepdads and of course my sister. That is all in my past, but I must still hold some trauma - it was HARD - because I "feel" it this morning - a bit shaken up over his stress. I need to think about this - nice guy, cool guy, loves adventure and travel - but i am not sure I need this in my world anytime soon. I have stopped dating for now, while I sort things out with getting my EX moved out and moved on, so it was kinda on a whim that I agreed to hang out with him anyway. He also eats really high carb food and I felt like just spending the day with him encouraged me to overeat. I don't blame HIM for that, but I definately try to keep company of people who are less food oriented usually.

I saved the cash in advance - but that is what I do with all big purchases. I realize that can be hard, but if it is possible to "pay" yourself (ie deposit into savings) rather that repay loans it really is a good way to go. Some people that go to Dr S only do part of the procedures at a visit so they can afford it and then save up for a second surgery.

ms skinny - i am so sorry you are having to deal with all this drug stuff too. A good friend has essentially lost her daughter to drugs - meth I think mostly. The stories she can tell - the stealing, lying, cheating, the 100,000 spent on drug rehab, the now raising of a granddaughter... but somehow the story that kicked me the hardest was when her daughter needed surgery to remove a needle from her NECK that had broken off there. It gets worse, the needle had been there awhile but started moving and irritated her - she didn't even KNOW she had a broken off needle in her neck. Doesn't that just tell you how BAD it is? Hang in there is all I can say, Florinda, (and actually all of us!) I was alarmed by your post but I thought to myself... maybe it is just venting. I don't mean to lecture, but you can't really mean what you said. I have seen photos of you and know it isn't true, and honestly, even if you weighed 300#, I would disagree with the self loathing over physical appearance. I can see how easy it is to head down this thought path though. I had an amazing amazing time with my "friend" Steven last week. He has a way of making me feel just so beautiful and sexy and he means it, I know he does. He loved the outfit I wore and responded to my appearance in a very enthusiastic way. He often tells me I look like a pinup girl, or Betty Boop - curves in the right places kinda thing. Anyway, he brought up - not me - that he didn't even notice my scars and that he thought i shouldn't even mention it when I meet someone in the future I really want to go all the way with. So, I decided I would take updated photos of my body to show how well the scars are healing and share with the DR S plastics group I am a part of . I took a selfie in undies and was HORRIFIED when I looked at the picture. The scars were fine, it was that I still look... fluffy...round...NOT the hot bod I like to dream I might have, I still have a bit of smooshy to me, especially my thighs. More than a bit. And my waist is thicker now then it was a few months ago which is frustrating considering my weight is good. I don't know if it is still some swelling but i felt very disappointed looking at my waist in that photo - although frankly nobody else notices. How quickly I forget that my thighs were AWFUL before and being a little smooshy now is nothing. I have a flat tummy so do I really care that I measure an extra half to one inch around the waist now? But when I took that pic i started thinking how I need to lose another 20# or something like that and that I look fat and blah blah blah. All these other women on the forums (including many of you on this forum!) get down to the low end of the normal BMI - why can't I? I had to just STOP that destructive thinking because I am healthy, I know I look good. This weight and size is a good balance of healthy, looks and practical maintenance. In all honesty, even if I were 20# heavier I would still be "fine". I will never be a runway model and I don't even really WANT to be that thin but the brain takes off like a runaway train thinking that no matter - it is never.good.enough. I call Bullshit on that whole self torture. We have more important things to do in life than worry about smooshy thighs or less than perfect waist. Last night I watched a very unenjoyable Woody Allen movie "Blue Jasmine" - in the end I thought what a waste that this woman lives such an unhappy life and spews her negativity at everybody. Everything is a drama and misery - what if she had taken even 10% of her angst and channeled it to helping others or saving the planet or something useful... It isn't the same as our body image situation since we tend to spew that garbage at ourselves rather than others, but it reminded me of the wasted energy that hate/loathing/destructive thoughts bring. I only have so many breaths, so many hours to live and I am NOT going to spend them hating myself for having smooshy thighs. I invite us all to really think about that. Sorry, I didn't mean to lecture - I really didn't but life is just so precious, and for now, we just have the one we have - we need to all treat it that way as though it were worth a million times more than the hope diamond or the total net worth of Microsoft... you know - it is irreplaceable.

GT you once told me I moved out into the visible girls club....and you were right. at first it was uncomfortable that people noticed me, looked at me. It wasn't my imagination, it really happens. I am finally pretty okay with it. Look at me, don't look, like what you see, don't like - it's pretty much the same to me. A lifetime of being invisible meant that it took awhile to get to this comfortable spot.

Fiddle, today I drove past a Dairy Queen with a sign out "half prices Today" and I was eating light (hungry) due to evening out plans. Years past no WAY could I have just kept driving but I did. That wasn't the sleeve, that was 100percent me. It is hard to understand when you are pre op 1 What makes the sleeve so different than anything else I tried and 2 Doesn't this miracle last forever Sleeve helps most people who really work it by permantly reducing food volume and at least temporarily reduce appetite. The wise take advantage of the "I don't like food anymore" months and get as much weight off as possible. Why did I drive past that dairy queen? I LIKE being fit, I LIKE how I look and feel at goal, I like fitting in my wardrobe and no dang ice cream is gonna ruin that for me. The sleeve only helped in that it is how I lost the weight....now, I need to keep working it in order to keep the success.

Started at 308 now in the 147-150 range

I approached the sleeve as the "last time" I am going to lose a bunch of weight. No regain. That meant I really thought about everything that didn't work in the past. One of the things I used to do was keep a fat wardrobe. I owned clothes that ranged from a size 16 to about 28W (around a 3X) to accommodate my slide up and down the scale. this time, I got rid of clothes as soon as they were too big. When I gained 5# last summer and my favorite fitted jeans were feeling a little tight i sucked it up, didn't buy new ones and did 5:2 to get rid of those 5 plus a few more. I find that this method of being really tough about clothing (ie stretch pants are a slippery slope back to 300# theory) has helped me alot since I don't track food. Clothing and the scale are my "accountability" tools. I can buy smaller clothes, or same but NOT bigger. Anyway, for some odd and unconscious reason, I have been hanging on to oversize underwear. I didn't realize it at first. Then, when I realized it, I thought, oh, I will surely need these after plastic surgery as I was visualizing horrible pain and needing to wear the loosest of clothing. That was a crock, I could wear my regular size underwear right after my plastic surgery! So, I started throwing away my huge granny panties and I realized I had tucked some away in the back of the pajama drawer... etc. Just yesterday I found another two pair put away in a storage bin in my bedroom... tossed em. I am not sure... I hope it is the last of them. I did not make this hoarding decision consciously and I find it very humorous but also interesting to reflect on WHY. I suspect that this little part of me holds doubt about maintenance and this is my physical expression of it. I think if I regain 160# finding fitting undies is the least of my problems so it is pretty weird.

oh, and my standard breakfast is a veggie based egg white omelette... bell peppers, brocolli that kind of thing are great choices for a low glycumic index type food. I rarely eat bread, Pasta, potato, fruit or rice even now - but don't worry about the low GI veggies

Mental health update - a few weeks ago I was really worried I was losing it. I would wake up each day feeling like a caged lion pacing his enclosure. I had so much angst - I couldn't exercise my way out of it, couldn't talk to people out of it, couldn't even drink my way out of it (okay, didn't try that very hard, but you know what I mean - just no relief). I had one apppointment with a therapist who can prescribe meds. She used some words to describe my situation that was like a fresh perspective - you know when you only have an hour to boil down everything it tends to frame the essentials. It was an eye opener. Then she came up a plan that is based around me getting sleep first and using anxiety meds very limited way to get work done. Part of the problem was my anxiety and nervous energy was preventing me from getting any paid work done which was causing me even MORE anxiety. I was genuinely getting worried about the impact on my career and reputation at work. It really helped that I had kept a log and could spot the patterns. I cannot begin to say what a difference getting enough sleep has made. I am not "cured" but I am functioning again. I am more optimistic. I am happily singing along on the radio again. I am upset about what is going on with my EX, but I am able to function. I do often have to take half a xanax when I get choked up about something - ie can't focus at work, but then am able to push through. But, it isn't every day and I am getting things done. We agreed to a 6 week trial period and i am only into it just under 2 weeks and see significant progress. The goal is that I no longer use the xanax and return to being productive without the wind up and anxiety.

Well, I ordered on the corset on the 16th... just seems like it has been longer...ha. I don't think i got a tracking number though.

I also have a big frame and even though my weight is high by some people's standards - at 150 I look healthy, feel good, wear a size medium top and 6 or 8 pants in most brands - I like the size i am.

How long did it take for the corsets to come for those of you that ordered... still waiting...

I think it is a little irresponsible to assure you that you will lose to 150#. There are no guarantees, the sleeve is a tool. You will lose weight pretty easily at first, but over time it becomes more about your choices with the tool supporting you. Having said that, I could have NEVER lost 160# to get to 150# current weight without the sleeve. I am a big advocate - don't get me wrong - but it takes lifestyle changes, focus and long term committment. Everyone is different, but for me, I had to realize that I can NEVER eat like someone who was never obese even after losing all that weight. Weight just finds me - I can't eat the typical 2000 calorie a day average woman's diet.

Quick question re the low Iron. Have have never had low iron, didn't even get it after plastics where at least in theory I lost alot of blood. I don't supplement for it. If I get my bloodwork checked yearly, would that show problems before they become critical? I have "graduated" from my surgeon's two year program and don't need to be seen by him anymore but he invited me to come every 6 or 12 months or whenever I want to - lifelong if need be - and I think an annual blood draw from a bariatric point of view is a good idea even though so far my labs are always "perfect" this thread has pointed out that can change.

I talked to the head of personal training at the gym about my concerns 1. joint - knee/hips and 2. excess sweeling in ab area which is caused by doing too much even though i am 3 months post plastics. my waist measures about 1-2" larger then it did before i started at the gym and I haven't gained weight. The personal trainer "manager" remembered me...haha.... he remembered my looks, isn't that funny? He was there during my last workout and agreed that I was on a pretty high intensity program. It is because the easy stuff is easy for me - i am fit. Doesn't change the fact that they are about to kill me with the current workout approach. anyway, he is going to review my file and help create a safer workout. I need to take another week off - still do other workouts but give a chance for everything to settle down and we go from there. Of course my concern is they will give me something that doesn't build me stronger, but I have to keep the faith that I will find a nice middle ground. Personally, I think they should give me a free session or something as a thank you for being a good client and calmly explaining the situation, including how much I LIKE my trainer but rather that I fear he lacks the experience and maturity to understand that I need to be treated like someone recoverying. I am not sure, but I think my young trainer sees me as a MILF...LOL... the risk of plastics is you look better then your underlying structure really is. I don't think he sees me as a middle age lady with no cartilidge left and even though i keep telling him that....he just doesn't seem to believe me.

I am blessed that I have friends who helped me through this transition. I didn't lose friends, my family was supportive HOWEVER, my life has in many ways been turned on end. i like to think of it that I the real me is now showing through rather then being buried. I also make my own health a very high priority these days.... other things get neglected if need be... I have been told that i am much friendlier, more approachable and basically just have a high level of positive energy - it ATTRACTS people! I surely look better too, and get attention from the opposite sex, but that is a secondary thing. I am no longer invisible - to both men and women. I feel no resentment about it - I like myself better this way so no wonder others feel the same way. Having said all that, it hasn't always been easy. I am no longer willing to settle for things in life that simply do not support my good mental, emotional and physical health. That caused some big changes. I am going through a great deal of inner change.... I am turning 50 this year, empty nest, single.... it is a time of deep reflection about what the next 30 years look like so to speak. My weight is no longer a reason to block me from ANYTHING. This means trying new hobbies, being confident in new social situations - considering even career changes!

I think that it is normal to feel hunger when you haven't eaten in hours. The difference for me is that it is more... appropriate. It isn't all consuming 24/7 like it used to be. I do find that I am super sensitive to carbs - maybe i always was and just didnt realize it... but carbs, even healthy carbs like fruit, trigger hunger for me.

Okay, in my seminar class they provided so much junkie food - cookies, brownies, morning pastries, CARROT cake - good lord. Resisted all that, but did eat a package of almonds or cashews each day which was two servings. Yikes, that was like 700-800 calories in just nuts on top of my normal food. Salty too. Guess what, my 2# regain since joining the gym disappeared. I sometimes wonder if that whole startvation mode thing does have some credence (not that i was starving mind you) and this extra shot of fat, carbs that nuts provide shook things up. Today should be a fasting day, but it won't be - I am too emotionally wracked. If I can just keep things going for now... well, that is the best I can do.

Good wayy to shop for a local surgeon is read reviews on realself.com