CowgirlJane

I am going to Dr Sauceda next week! More info to follow... I think there are a number of good surgeons to choose from Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rico. I guess my final reason for choosing Dr S is that his patients really feel cared for by him and his staff. I value that highly. I will be down there for 12 days since i am doing several procedures at once. In the USA, they were gonna send me home the same day as the surgery and i just never could get comfortable with that.

Here is the advice I got - and i have met 5 plastic surgeons and discussed with my sleeve surgeon. for someone like me who lost ALOT of weight, time does not really help much with the skin shrinkage. Having plastics as soon as i hit goal back in Feb versus next week (my surgery is next week Oct 14!) made no difference in the procedures i needed. However, my skin HAS tightened up in those 8 months - I need the same procedures but for someone who was maybe borderline, time can help. I also decided to lose a little more weight and get fitter - so i think my results will be that much better. Once you get plastics, they advise for best results to stay within ABOUT 10% of your weight - so i could gain or lose say 15# without much impact. Sooo... you want to be sure your weight is really stable and you aren't going to want to lose more or find yourself regaining some (alot of people do) I lost 157 since my preop diet started. I have lost 181 from my all time high. If you want to see the carnage, take a look in the vets forum for my recent post about body image where I did post some bikini poses as my "before plastics" pictures.

Well, I had already "failed" with the lapband and had a pretty miserable time of it withit too. My worst nightmares were that I would fail again AND that I would have some horrible lifelong suffering since it is not reversible. To say that I anguised over it would be an understatement. Well, in the end, the sleeve has changed and saved my life. You cant even imagine what it feels like to be normal sized -look at my profile pix and it gives you an idea of where I was. I need a new "after" picture because I look even better now... I feel great. Educate thyself, know your risks, know that youdid try everything and you are doing this to save your life. Good luck -you are in for a journey with some ups and downs, but mostly ups... keep your eye on the prize!!!

Yeah and a year ago my wonderful beautiful sister in law dropped dead of a sudden heart attack due to decades of packing around an extra 150# - but where is the fun in sharing THAT horror storty?

My stats are inmy signature. I lost about 100#in 6 months and then it took me consderably longer to lose the next 50. I have to be honest here- be pleased at losing 60% of your excess...celelbrate it, love it, make a plan to keep it off. If you want to lose more... I did... recognize that it will take more effort,but I think worth it. First time in decades I am normal looking, medium sized woman and I am 49. Life was pretty good after losing 60% of excess but it is AMAZING now!

Overlake inBellevue has (or had) a support group open to outsiders. I went a few times pre-sleeve but it was very rny focused at the time. PSSC has support groups in a couple of locations - Edmonds, Marysville Fife and Bellingham - I think anyway. I believe they allow outsiders and it is very sleeve specific. I would call first and ask though. Call the EDmonds location for info. I don't like support groups... too many years at weight watchers I guess... but I would enjoy meeting some fellow VST friends! I will have time in November as I am recovering from plastics.

This reminds me when my ex Sig other came from grocery store and said "i was looking around the store and i think you are now normal!" All I ever wanted was to be normal looking so it was a compliment but funny.

Ok, I am self admittedly vain... haha... but I wouldnt anything that changed my health or appearance in a negative way. My boyfriend got way too skinny this summer (6'2" big frame and around 170) and now that he is back at a somewhat normal weight - he looks great - younger, more robust, just plain hotter. Maybe you are young enough that too skinny doesn't look old ....but I was kinda surprised at what a difference 15 or so pounds made on him but zombie gaunt was not so hot.

I know this is crazytalk,,, but try to love your body, love yourself... no matter what your size. It may help you with the big headtrip coming your way with massive weightloss.

Yep. I regained about 5# earlier this summer and my size 8 skinny jeans were tight! B ack when I was in the W range, 5# was nothing...

493... how perfect is that. Here is what is funny, the espresso stand was still open so I could have changed that $5 bill but i didn't think of it at the time. I think I didn't really want those reeses... it was just a reminder of how i USED to live... but that was a very long time ago. I think if I ate that big bag of candy now I would be sick as a dog.

I concur, you are not really eating an ideal diet. Protein first, green/low carb veggies next... very little fruit and carby type veggies. Bread, Pasta and that kinda thing should be rare... if ever. So I would be looking for these kind of things on the menu: meat (sandwich meats, fish, shrimp, roast chicken, turkey, costco has some incredibly tasty low carb high protein chicken and turkey based sausages, etc etc) greek yogurt - but watch the carbs on some brands! I by a brand called carbmaster that is not as high protein as some, but is low carb cheese, in modest quantities eggs (or I often use egg beaters) lettuce, tomato, green Beans and other low to moderate carb veggies Protein drinks - low carb high quality Proteins berries, but i don't eat alot of other kinds of fruits due to the sugar you get the drift... So here is a possible day: breakfast: small omelette made from frozen bell pepper and onions sauteed with some ham or lean sausage and egg beaters with a little bit of cheese for flavor Lunch: sandwich meat and maybe a slice of cheese wrapped up in a nice slice of lettuce (lettuce wrap) snack: Protein Drink Dinner: salmon with a side of brocoli evening snack: greek yogurt with some frozen (or fresh!) raspberries or blueberries topped with a little stevia or something. It is amazing and kinda freezes up the yougurt into a dessert like dish Keep the quantities SMALL! Eat until no longer hungry, don't eat till you are full. So before somebody calls me a food nazi... I am just telling you what it takes to get to goal. I lost 150 in 14 months, and those last 30# put up a heckofa fight... I had to even give up fairly modest carb Protein Bars because of the carbs. (there are protein drinks that are very low carb and I still drink those like the Premier Protein and nectar syntrax). Even now in maintenance, I might eat like that 5 days a week and do a modified fast 2 days a week where my calories are really restricted. I am just telling you - for some of us, that is what it takes to maintain a normal body weight. Do you work with a nutritionalist?

I did "pretty well" on my fast today. I had to wire the money for my plastics and I don't know why but it really triggered an anxiety uptick. I had talked to my counselor - sorta gave me permission to use some old bad coping strategies if that is what I needed to survive the week...LOL So, I had a weirdo day and had to go into the office for a 5 pm meeting. About 3pm I was hungry, anxious and decided I wanted to EAT. I went to the vending machine and there was a couple of old friends... a snickers bar, and my real nemisis, a big bag of reeses pieces. Luckily, it cost 1.75 and the machine only takes since dollar bills - no $5s so I couldn't buy the reeses pieces since all I had was one $1 bill. Staring at the machine, I remembered many a stressed out afternoon where that generous bag of reeses chocolate got me through the day... The snickers bar i decided would make me feel sick so I wasn't too tempted. Anyway, I did buy a single serving of pirates booty since I had enough money for that...haha. You know what, tasted like damn salty cardboard and didn't make me feel emotionally any better at all! I am not sure if that is a victory or not, but junk food, my old friend let me down. I wasted 19 freaking carbs on that bag of salty cardboard (I think 130 calories)... ate half then and then the other half a few hours later when I was hungry again. So, my day went slightly over what it should have for a a fast day, but not too bad. I was reminded that junk food never did solve a damn problem for me and really doesn't even taste very good. But here was the very best part. After this late meeting I was walking back to my building with two ladies I work with. I was wearing a fall sweater dress with horizontal stripes and they went gaga over it - talked about how they are back in style and with my tights and everything that I was looking very cool and fashion forward. I made a joke that I wish I could find one with vertical stripes and one of them said "with your cute little figure you totally pull that off, its the rest of us that need vertical stripes". Trust me, at no time in my whole life has anyone used the words "cute little figure" to refer to my body. Some days I still marvel at how much I have changed... and I am telling you these last few pounds from doing 5:2 made a difference! I don't really want to get much smaller, like i said before I like having a little curve... but i just feel "right". I have never ever ever ever felt "right" about how I look and it is amazing.

You know what has happened to me... over time. I care less and less about my food addiction and more and more about the rest of my life. That doesn't happen overnight and I am FAR from perfect. I am a person who definately has "treats". I probably have one or two alcoholic drinks a week for example. I go out with friends and we sometimes like happy hours etc. I didn't do that during the loss phase, but now that i am in maintenance - it is something I really enjoy - it is a social event and in my world, "normal" behavior. I however KNOW that ice cream is a demon with a red dress on. That stuff is like poison to me... I eat it and can't seem to stop at a reasonable quantity... and then i feel physically sick. So, I don't want to tell people... go ahead and have that martini - because I don't know YOUR world and if you can control it appropriately. I do what works for me and one of the reasons I do 5:2 is so that during my non fast days I don't have to be quite so careful. I don't go crazy, but I feel normal ... and comfortable. I do really believe that people who want to get to goal should take seriously being pretty hard core in those early months... first year or so. My opinion... to each his own though.

I decided to follow my normal fast day too... I just want the routine. but, I am not going to try to make it 18 hours. i have made it about 13 hours and calling it good. having a protein drink...

It happened to me. I was preapproved for the sleeve in I think Sept 2011. I was still too freaked out to do it, but did get my slip band removed. Found out my insurance was changing to a company that at that time was not approving sleeves, but would likely approve me for the RNY. Now you know why my surgery was right before Christmas 2011 - it was the kick in the pants I needed. So, I didn't have to do the big long leadup that others seem to. I had been obese for so long and and done so many medically supervised (and other methods) of diets and failed that they were convinced without all that. I wonder if there is any way they can accelerate this so you can DO IT this year?

I think I mentioned, I bought a scale that shows body fat %. Mine was 29.something when I first got it a few weeks ago and is now at 28.5-28.9 range. Now, you have seen my photos.... other then losing some skin and those inner thigh fat pockets, I am just not sure how to get much leaner. I DO have a hard time telling extra skin from fat though. Docs tell me it is skin, but it sure seems like fat, so maybe it really is fat.... haha I find this a curiousity - but my plan is to monitor it during 2014 and hopefully edge down closer to 25% but I kinda like some roundness so dont have a goal to get athletic looking lean. Well, who am i kidding - even if I wanted it, that just isn't my body type and I do want to have SOME ass left...haha. What I have also noticed is that the last say 10-15 pounds of weight loss came from my ass and breasts - inner thigh fat pockets must be cellulite or something because it never really seems to shrink much. So, how have the rest of you experienced this whole body fat % thing - when you moved down closer to 25% was it more of an internal distribution of things or did your body visually change? Oh, and although my boyfriend/playmate is a skinny guy he says he really isn't that picky about body on women except he can't stand obese or too skinny... isn't that funny - good ole normal sized woman is what he prefers. He did one time tell me that nobody really likes model skinny - they are for hanging designer clothes on not for real life sex appeal. For ME, I like to wear close fitting clothes and like to not be lumpy, but still have some roundness. Do you ever think about what you find attractive in a woman's looks? do you ever think about your own body in that context? This sounds very conceited/vain and I realize it - but I LIKE my body and how it compares to other women my age and even a bit younger. My body dismorphia is probably that I think I look better then I really do....haha

Keep calling me Jane, doesn't bother me in the least. Besides the fact that I thought it sounded good for an anon name, Jane has another significance for me. My brothers wife is named Jane and she just has this confident, lean, healthy athletic body and was a person i wanted to emulate. She is in her 60s,, but seems younger then many 40 year olds due to a lifetime of good, but not radical, health habits.

Think of it this way...u only need willower to keep the food out of the house-at the store. Then u dont even think about it the 50 times a day at home. Its amazing what eating a slice of sandwich meat or other dense Protein before shoppingcan do to your willpower...

listen to lipstick lady... At this stage eat by the scale and clock...you just dont feel it due to nerve damage and soft/liquid food. It will change, so dont cause issues by overdoing it now.

I have help lined up...backup plans and frankly friends who are driving me crazy checking in on me daily. I havent even told my siblings... Will tell them AFTER. I don't want them to worry... You know... the whole Mexico thing. This is how my life has changed these last 2 years...I have a posse of friends and supporters and feel so blessed by it all.

Well... Finally some interesting "dirty little secrets " ... this is what happens when they banned the women from the mans room... The silliness spills out elsewhere.

I have been at goal more or less since Feb 2013. In hindsight, the speed at which it happened matters less and less... it is the getting and staying there that count.

No, I met him after I was at goal... I guess 5-6 pounds more then I weigh now. I have made several friends in basically since getting under 200# and none of them can fathom me as super morbidly obese or whatever the hell i was. Actually, as time goes on, I can fathom it either...

I just re-read your post and it was very interesting-and yes very brave. I also reread the link and thought it was great too. My boyfriend said something kind of similar to me... along the lines that all women who have had kids look like me... just shows we have lived real lives. Of course I assumed he was some combination of blind/crazy/lying...ha We have since discussed this more... with my pending plastics and he of course does see that I have more extra skin then typical, but he always tells me that I dress just amazing, like he would never have guessed I used to be obese. I love the basic point of that article though - real people are beautiful!