CowgirlJane

Your timing in starting this thread...it's just cruel.

I don't know how much longer on the last drain... it is the big one draining the area of the front part of the lift. The output is still about 70 and they don't get removed until they drop to 40 a day. I am guessing it might be as long as another week... but good heavens i hope not! I have 4 more weeks of the torture garments and 4 more weeks of very limited activity. After that I can start activity/exercise slowly... I am cleared for everything once I hit 8 weeks out (6 weeks from now) but I have talked to alot of people with plastics and know that I am in a risky time for "overdoing it". Risks of issues like seronomas etc are obviously higher when you have multiple procedures done at once and the key is to just take it easy and wear those tight garments. Sassy, i think your results are amazing. For some reason I can't access the photos right now, but i saw them before. One of the reasons I went for the "so much at once" was that I just can't take extended periods off from work over and over again. Plastics are about tradeoffs...

Well, I believe you can stop them. I know it sounds corny, but words do matter. I think it is very helpful to "talk to yourself" in very positive not negative terms. For example, I tell myself i am athletic - which was a foreign idea to me for the first 48 years of my life. It took other people telling me this at first before I started accepting the possibility it might be true, and now it is part of my self identity. For so many years, "failing" at weight loss was who we are. Now, think about creating a new vision of yourself. Stop beating yourself up, treat yourself like you would treat your best friend, or your daughter, with kindness and love. Now food related. Honestly, I think for me a huge part of it was PHYSICAL. I was raised on the whole diet soda, eat low fat and that "grains" were good for me. bull-hockey. Once I abandonned that terribly flawed view of how to "diet" and instead have a lifestyle based on high quality Protein, lots of veggies, limited carbs in the form of fruits and veggies... no junky food, no bread, no Pasta... mysteriously my desire to eat crap is nearly disappeared. I think that junky carbs trigger appetite in many of us and that whole low fat / diet food mentality created an imbalance in us. My lifestyle is also based on being active... if in doubt, choose activities that get me moving. So yes I exercise, but I also do yard work, clean stalls, move hay, why hire people to do stuff that will make me fitter???

Snohomish is perfect for me because I go there at least once a week anyway - feed store and friends! There is a location in Woodinville that gets good reviews on yelp, maybe I will check out those two and go from there. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the flooring ideas. Fiddle, that was a very detailed description and much appreciated. Question - where did you join a cross fit place? They are all over and i don't know which are good and which are not. I can't restart that kind of thing till next year, but thinking about doing it maybe 2x a week and use the home gym to supplement.

You guys are doing great. Laura, i think it was very brave to tell of your "demon" - Oreos. It is no joke. I went to an eating disorders clinic at one point. I think they correctly diagnosed me as having "disordered eating" rather then an eating disorder. Basically, I used food (and now i think I used OBESITY this way) as a ballast. If I was feeling too much of anything, excess food could simply CRUSH the pain, the happy, the anxiety... whatever it was that I found uncomfortable... excess food helped me go numb. I think that is basically what an addict seeks too. What I find interesting is that I am nearly 2 years out and I don't seek food in that same way. As I have mentioned before, i do feel like it lurks out there - like there is something inside me always looking for "more" of something. I have calmed down alot, I don't feel nearly as off kilter as I did say 6-8 months ago, but something lurks and i know it. I just try to use honesty, I mean with myself mostly, but with others as well, and accountability (my scale, my workout log, my posts here) and it seems to keep me in check. I feel like I don't struggle with maintenance - in truth I struggled more at 300# to try to keep from getting to 350# - but i do feel a sense of constant watchfullness. I am most interested to see how this evolves as i move into year 3.... Okay, I posted decent post plastics progress photos in the cosmetic surgery forum. I deleted the x rated one on here...lol I have to tell you a funny... I haven't seen my part time boyfriend since my surgery. He travels on the weekends this time of year for his motivational speaking gigs and frankly, I didn't want to see me with all those drains etc. I am down to one and am going to brave driving since I am off pain meds now. I told him that I am on VERY restricted activity and so we are just going to talk and catch up. We had an hour long phone call last week when I was pretty pain medicated up and I have a vague recollection that I may have agreed to some thing I don't really agree with, so want to have that chat over again. Anyhoo, i sent him a close up bikini shot and got back the funniest text.. he just cracks me up. Basically, he is trying to renegotiate what we are doing tomorrow - i know he is teasing and just letting me know that he thinks i look great. It made me feel good - I need reminders sometimes that this has really been worth it. sigh... tired of sitting on my butt watching my muscle tone disappear...LOL oh, and I just want to mention after watching all seasons of Walking Dead on Netflix over a couple of days - what a freaking depressing show!!!!! wow

I used to avoid posting much on VST because I thought too many of the people were mean. The exception was the band to sleeve forum where I found much inspiration. After awhile I started noticing people werent mean, it was more that my tender heart couldnt take some of the more "in your face" style people here. Over time as I became confident and less emotionally fragile I realized that I learned a lot more on VST and now seldom read/post on the "gentler" forum. I apologiZe if i hurt feelings but I am 2 years into this, researched it long before that and was well educated by a center of excellence team and have paid attention to trends of forum posters who gets to goal and who doesnt. Guess what - the ones who follow the silly rules seem to be on to something. I do agree that misinfo abounds so pick a good surgeon with a great track record and follow his/her advice.

And kiijohns you look wonderful i am so happy for you!

After discussing it with several people...women and men BTW I decided to stay smaller. There were many convincing arguments .. Mostly for the staying smaller, but discussing it helped me visualize my idealized self and what i consider sexy... And that is an athletic build. My implants were 240 gummy type and look like I will be a C cup but only 2 weeks out so not sure yet. So far they just feel right for me especially with that flat tummy.

I have a question in with the surgeon, but I wonder if anyone had excessuive thirst following plastic surgeries? I have been tested for diabetes in the last month, so I doubt that is it. I am drinking huge amounts of non caffeinated beverages - Water, Vitamin waters, Protein drinks. My urine is basically clear or close to clear and I have to go often. I realized that due to my fear of swelling I have been avoiding sodium like the plague. It occurred to me that I might be creating an imbalance so I had half an Ostrim Jerky stick and my dinner had canned diced tomatoes as an ingredient - I could taste the salt - so that seems like it would bring me up to the a normally daily level. Anyway, I have been resting, taking it easy and other then some trouble sleeping so I feel like I am doing well. Today did a short trek to the store (I didnt lift a thing but did eat a few samples so I probably got some salt that way to). My surgery was two weeks ago 10/14 - so curious if anyone has insight on this while I await a return message from the surgeon on a sunday night. I should have contacted him Friday, but I attributed it to dehydration from airplane travel home from Mexico.

If I had the motivation I would go and find and delete my photo then, but in truth I don't really care that much..lol I am so bored and yet have the energy of a wet noodle for that sort of thing

today is the first day I feel really good since leaving Mexico. That travel day kicked my butt AND I think I got too worried about the scale. I was starting to wonder if I was having some obscure complication, not sleeping, really thirsty and just not feeling as well as I had. Sunday morning, I nearly fainted and my helper/roommate could hear my stomach rumbling as he was helping me with the morning "compression garment" ritual. So, I added back some carbs, some high fat and some sodium and low and behold, I woke up feeling great this morning. I am not going crazy with eating, but decided that the number on the scale is lower priority then feeling good and healing well for the next few weeks.

Well, I only got one PM from a male viewer regarding my post plastics nude shot... and he is a member of this group. No worries, it was a very nice PM just telling me he saw it and congratualating me. Obviously, I am not shy about these things..haha. I don't think you can read/view unless you are a member, but i am not sure.

I had a very interesting chat with my EX sig other yesterday. He knows me well and I was complaining that I am so excited about getting my plastics, not overly scared of it (worked through my fears pretty well) and yet my anxiety and restlessness has been a real issue. He gave me a little speech that really resonated and might with some of you too. He told me that I have been wrestling with this whole weight things for DECADES; I tend to think of this journey as starting two years ago with the sleeve. He is right, it took me two years of doubts, trying everything etc BEFORE I was sleeved to committ to it. I had the lapband in 2001 and to say that my weight loss dreams were shattered was an understatement. It was a devastation, at the time I thought i was the only person who ever failed with the band. Then, I had lost 85# on WW in the mid 2000s decade, but regained 50 of it over time... and of course never really left the obese catagory. His point was that I never got under 200# pounds and frankly spent most of my adult life between 220-300# - morbidly obese for sure. I never gave up trying and it was a central issue in my life for a very very very long time. He mentioned that I seem to have it whipped now, with the help of the sleeve. When I get stressed, I no longer turn to food. Not to say it is all smooth sailing, I still have to maintain of course - but in his eyes, I have the tools and know how to use them. He also knows that if for some reason I can't maintain a healthy weight with the sleeve, I WILL revise to the DS - I am NEVER going back to being morbidly obese, it is just not an option for me. So, he went through all the reasons that I NEED to have these plastics in his mind.... but ended it by saying that it is like a milestone, or the end of a certain chapter. It is the throwing away the "fat pants". It is the really committing to maintaining in some sort of healthy weight range. What my real anxiety is about is now that the obesity dragon ... well is maybe not slayed, but is beaten back deep into it's cave and has armed guards posted at the entrance - NOW WHAT??? I had been having some of those thoughts myself even before he mentioned this. I am a goal driven person, I am persistent beyond reason when I really want something in my life (an attribute that makes me hard to live with at times I hear...haha) He talked to me about considering changing my career and refocusing my energy on that. He reminded me of the personal characteristic that I have that makes me successful at my job (besides bullheaded persistence...lol) and told me I will be so much happier with a career that centers around that characteristic. you know what, my anxiety level dropped about 1000% after that conversation because it rang so true. Like I can finally name the beast that has been stressing me which gives me a more meaningful context for my emotions. Don't get me wrong, plastics are scary, but I have a proportionate level of "nerves" over that. What is really getting at me is what the heck am I going to do? My kids are grown, my body is finally at the level of health I want, my career is boring... so, truly - what next? I post like mad on VST, but frankly that is not how i want to spend my life.Yes, I have tons of friends, my horse hobby keeps me busy, I go out to movies and other fun stuff with friends - I am not bored, but, I do feel a little aimless at times. I am not asking for suggestions - i am putting this out there to find out if any of this resonates with others? I think it might be a middle age crisis thing too... I turn the BIG 50 in 2014....

That is a very interesting perspective and i do see your point. I actually DO see 2014 as ongoing change, but nothing as massive as losing 150# and then having major plastic surgery..haha. I have some things I want to do to my house and farmette. I have a new horse, and 2014 will be the year we start doing our thang together. (still have my old horse too, but I needed a younger one to bring along as he is slowing down). I want to travel again, i used to do alot of that. I have this pretty great boyfriend I have been seeing for a few months- but he lives a crazy busy life so it is really part time so i think I might be looking to date someone who is more available and do more fun things. I think 2014 will have changes, but more in the nature of expanding on what I already have in my life, not the major overhaul type stuff. I was thinking about moving to Atlanta for a work opportunity but decided I am just not ready to leave my extended family - including my grown kids.. that sort of thing... not gonna happen in '14

I think this is a really important point. By the time I had my VSG I was so OVER food - know what i mean? Like I had enough "treats" for a lifetime. That helped me with compliance, I didn't go through the food grieving so much but, I after I lost about the first 100-120 pounds or thereabouts I had to really really work it, like I have said before, those last pounds were wrestled to the ground one at a time. I think I faced more of the good addiction/food demons then because I had to really decide if having that latte or whatever the small indulgences were preventing me from getting to a normal BMI was worth it. More importantly it was those times of eating when I didn't really need food, but really needed comfort. Now, so far, even in stressful times, I don't turn to food. i realize that is my long term issue with maintenance, but so far so good - food doesn't make me feel "better" when what I really need is a hug. I researched plastics a long time before signing up for the big surgery - and mine WAS huge. One of the things I did in the process was correspond with and talk on the phone to several women who had gone through plastics... most of them a few months or even more out. The thing I noticed with some of them... it was never enough. It is like for some people there is this all or nothing thinking and they get obsessive about trying for a degree of "beauty" or "perfection" that is probably not attainable, and certainly not practical. It is like getting the big problem fixed tends to make people obsess over tiny problems. I was originally scheduled for surgery in May but postponed it due to some life stressors. I am glad I did because I spent alot of time thinking about surgery, why I was doing it, my expectations about it etc. The surgeon says a hundred times that the goal is significant improvement, not perfection. I like how the guy I am dating puts it "you already look like a million bucks, after surgery it will be a billion". What he really meant was - you are fine just the way you are, but it is understandable to want to get rid of extra skin. For me the worst was my inner thighs and the belly skin. My belly wasn't too horrible standing up, but riding a bike for example, there was belly skin on my lap. I could have lived with that, and been happy, but it was pretty severe extra skin and just felt like wearing oversized sweatpants when the real me wants to wear close fitting yoga pants...lol. I think that having plastic surgery is a big decision and although the pain wasn't that bad, the healing time is significant and the risks are real. Don't take it lightly. More importantly, be sure you really KNOW yourself, the why you are doing it and what your expectations are. The mind change will NOT automatically come with the physical change of surgery. I think a person needs to really do some self examination on the topic. Ask me again about it in maybe 3 months... wonder what my perspective will be then. Right now, I am thrilled with my results, but can certainly see where it could be better... it isn't perfect but i didn't expect it to be. I take that step back and realize that I look pretty dang good on the 49 year old woman spectrum, and now the same will be true even when i am not cleverly hiding my rolls of skin. i didn't want the huge scar down the thigh so my 'small' thigh lift doesn't give me those tight thighs you see on some of the websites, but, I no longer have elephant skin wrinkles and globes of cellulite on my inner thighs. I am thrilled with the tradeoff so far.

haha and i really do apreciate the entertainment!

well, I use a basic rule when evaluating the information posted - the source. Some people have lots of success, lost their weight etc and other people are just learning and often post inaccurate things. I had the lapband (pouch) for 10 years and now the the sleeve (no pouch, smal stomache) for 2 years. The no drinking with meals has two different reasons for for the two different procedures. With the sleeve keeping that "tight feeling" really helps us get to goal and maintain. Its really important to not overfill it... consuming only to the point of "not hungry" helps keep that tight feeling over time. Not drinking with meals allows you to get that dense Protein and veggies in without getting too full. Now, on the digestive issues. I was never lactose intolerant before in fact ice cream was my favorite food. Now, even small portions of ice cream gives me diarrea. I generally dont eat Protein Bars and have experimented with not having Protein drinks and I am still lactose intolerant. was a good thing for me... ice cream is NOT a favorite food anymore.

I feel better already (next morning). I have had a huge appetite since plastics so when i woke up starving I had a few triscuits, cheese and the other half of that ostrom stick. I am not super bloated or swollen and I just feelbetter. I think in my parania about weight gain and my big appetite I was restricting carbs and sodium too much - eating basically Protein and greens / low carb veggies only. Adding in a few more carbs and a little bit of salt seems to have helped. I drink vita Water zero but not gatorade. What does gatorade have that the vita waters dont? Gatorade many years ago upset my GI tract so havent had it since. My weight is dropping daily so the water weight gain post surgery is flushing out and I need to focus more on healing then the scale. I am down to 151 - came home to 157. I expect to settle at around 145+/- since my start weight was 150 and he removed 5.5# skin.

Its a surgical technique thing. They look like credit card slots whrn that happens. pick a surgeon you like his results.

Hope you know I was poking fun. A little vanity is a good thing..keeps us on our toes in maintenance!

I lost over 150# since my vsg and have been maintaining since feb 2013. I could not have done it without the surgery, but it DID require major lifestyle improvements. I eat much less quantity and much higher quality of food. I have changed my life from being food centered to food being fuel. I am active. I have to tell you, the last 40-50# required alot of diligence and just plain hard work, but even if I had only lost 100# of my excess I would still be better off. I have spent literally decades and who knows how much money trying to lose and maintain the lose via other methods (including thelapband) and was never able to make it work. Part of it I was more then ready, I was just DONE with junky eating and part of it was I needed the sleeve to control myappetite and be tht "tool" for weight loss. In the beginning I would say it is 80% sleeve... for me that started changing around 8-9 months post op an now I would say it is 80% my effort and 20% sleeve but it is alot easier to live a healthy lifestyle at 150# then it was at 300++++++

My surgery was 2 weeks ago Monday - Oct 14 - the thirst kicked in last week about Thursday. I think I am going to ask the surgeon because it just seems excessive. I am behaving myself, just resting, with a little walking because I am exhausted...