CowgirlJane

Ask him what he bases that % on. My surgeon told me the risk of leaks and excess bleeding were about twice that ofa virgin sleever... but still in single digits. If 20% is HIS complication rate for revisions, I would look for a new surgeon. I would ask how many revisions he has done. I really believe my success is at least partially due to a veryexperienced surgeon - he had done alot of revisions before me...

I know that bad day feeling coops.. I have to say looking at your avatar pic, you look very slim for a 29 bmi....

I didn't do much of it during losing phase to be honest. I do now, and order appetizers, or share a meal. A shrimp skewer would be a typical "meal" for me at a restaurant for example. If I can't find anything like that, I just order something high protein and low carb and box up 3/4 of it for another time(s)

I love cinnamon too... for some crazy reason it is on the list of pre surgery "no nos" but I add it to lots of things normally...yum~!

I think you should listen to your body. Just add back a little... slowly... and see where it all works out. i don't believe in calorie math - meaning that the formerly obese are not like "normal people". I happen to be very sensitive to carbs, so I can eat more calories as long as my carbs are in check. I weigh daily and have been maintaining pretty successfully since Feb using this method... of using my body as the feedback loop.

I think the answer depends where you start. I spent alot of time at BMI of 50++ so for me, being at 25 is like a dream come true. I am fairly muscular and and actually I think that for people who have been super obese, out blood vessels and internal organs weigh more ... so we weigh a little heavy. People tell me I look good, I feel fit. Sure, I would like to be thinner (heck, doesn't everyone!) but I am pretty content at 25 and I consider myself to be a fitness enthusiast and very active. One thing to keep in mind is that is your get older, being super thin can age your face... I am apparently quite vain as this concerns me alot...LOL

Current weight/size: 151/ size 8 pants/size 10 top Starting weight/size: 308/size 26W-28W/3x range Highest lifetime weight size: 332 32W pants Total lost from highest weight: 181 - size of a good sized man...OMG Victory i claim from sleeving: 157 - size of a slightly smaller man... OMG No wonder I have skin for two people... off to plastics in a week to get that body work done. But, the biggest victory of all is that my life is evolving and changing in ways i never imagined. I have more friends, i am changing inside in alot of ways. I am healthy, I feel attractive and vibrant. I have become a very confident horseback rider since I am so much stronger. I can hike up mountains - I am so much fitter. And, I seem to be able to maintain, so far so good anyway!!!

So eating habits are both physical and emotional. I cant advise you on the emotional issues, but I can omn the physical. Get the junky food out of your house! Go back to basics, eat Protein and green or other low carb veggies. Make a list of food and buy ONLY those foods: meat greek yogurt Protein drinks salad fixins vegetables for roasting cheese etc Remove all trigger foods from sight - no pizza - that is a horrible trigger food. What happens when u do what I suggest is yuor cravings reduce by alot. Make a plan for success... even if you need emotional help in order to reach full success... eating the way I suggest will prevent regain of what you have lost at least.

I am all set with help etc. LBL is no worse then TT- it is the abs that hurt. You know yesterday I was doing a samba dance woekout video and I realized I would never do salsa dancing in public with the batwings,but would do it with the scars.... decision confirmed!

My inner thighs are awful. i lost 157 since being sleeved... closer to 180 from my lifttime high weight so i guess I have skin for more then two people. Good news for me is that my calves and outer thighs are pretty okay.. but those inner thighs are horrid. i can wear longer shorts, I can even wear skirts above my knees without nylons. If I wear stockings/tights/nylons I can even wear short skirts. As far as I know, plastics is the only solution to this problem. The thing to know is that inner thigh lifts are a bit painful and the results aren't as "solid" as torso surgeries like tummy tucks - meaning more problems with wound separation etc. It is potentially also a very visible scar.. but... I think worth it. My thighs are firm and well muscled... covered by crepy ugly skin that's gotta go! Congrats to you for losing and maintaining so well! You must feel just great about that.

Last week, I was not successful on my fast days. I was getting a cold and just wasn't feeling well so didn't do it. Today is my normal fast day, I woke up feeling good, not hungry, I can do it!... I work from home, BTW. My freaking roommate cooked bacon 30 minutes ago. I have been starving since then. I know it is my problem and responsibility, but it is so frustrating to go from feeling good to feeling so hungry just over a smell. Part of my resentment toward my roommate is that it is my ex significant other who still lives here because he can't afford a place on his own. I have been supporting him for 15 years and am pretty done with that. we get along fine, but it is like an irritant, a pebble in the shoe type thing. He will be here till at least january, and is helping me with the animals while I recover from plastics so it is a fair trade at this point, but doesn't stop me from feeling irrate and looking forward to January when I can institute a bacon free zone, at least on fast days. Okay, my "b***h" of the day. Back to trying to convince myself I am not ACTUALLY hungry and craving bacon. It isn't time yet to even have my Protein Drink, but I may need to soon.

It is normal to be apprehensive, scared and alot of other things! Hang in there - you will get through this just fine.

It is normal to be apprehensive, scared and alot of other things! Hang in there - you will get through this just fine.

Don't borrow trouble from tomorrow. You don't "need" to get any plastics done... I have lost over 150 from my start weight (and more like 170 from my all time high) and yeah.. i have extra skin. i am very happy being fit and healthy - i do plan to get plastics, but I could live without it. For now, focus on getting your weight and health in shape and worry about plastics later. And I am sorry, i have done weight lifting, boot camp type fitness and all sorts of things... my arms are toned and have some muscle, but i still have hanging skin. skin is not fixed by weight lifting. It is influenced by your age, how many times you have gained and lost weight, how much weight you lost and the genetics of your own skin elasticity.

Don't borrow trouble from tomorrow. You don't "need" to get any plastics done... I have lost over 150 from my start weight (and more like 170 from my all time high) and yeah.. i have extra skin. i am very happy being fit and healthy - i do plan to get plastics, but I could live without it. For now, focus on getting your weight and health in shape and worry about plastics later. And I am sorry, i have done weight lifting, boot camp type fitness and all sorts of things... my arms are toned and have some muscle, but i still have hanging skin. skin is not fixed by weight lifting. It is influenced by your age, how many times you have gained and lost weight, how much weight you lost and the genetics of your own skin elasticity.

You have all given me good feedback. You know what happens.. i almost convince myself its "not that bad"... because my arms are fairly shapely from a certain angle...haha. that third photo... well, it was enough to make me never want to be in certain positions... like pushups...LOL. Seriously, just when I am feeling good about my body, I get a look at what looks like wrinkly pantyhose or perhaps an elephant leg wrinkles and I just can hardly believe it is part of my body. I came to peace with the scar tradeoff before, but someone on facebook posted her scar photos about 4 months post op an they are dreadful. They went ketoid on her. And then someone else posted their one year and I seriously couldn't even make the scar out on the photo... so... actual results do vary. In truth, I am doing plastics for ME. I think for ME, a toned and comfortable arm is more value then the down side of a scar. I realize it may be off putting to guys I meet in the future... but that is not something I can worry about. I only have a week to go, and i am the kind of person, that once it is done - no regrets. i mean it is pointless right? All the sleeve post ops that lament how horrible it is they can't eat the way they used to.. like... duh, you didn't anticipate that? So, I am sure I will struggle with my arm scars but, once the deed is done, no room for regrets. I hope I feel that way anyway!

It can be an emotional rollercoaster...if you have challenges with emotional stability, the WEIGHT LOSS, not so much the surgery is very likely to trigger it. Some people do get distressed over not being able to stuff themselves, but I personally was so OVER using food that way... Okay, I do regret waiting so long as the sleeve has saved my life. However, in the 2 years before I was sleeved I tried EVERYTHING one last time ... just so I knew that I really didn't have other viable options. I am not saying you need to do that, but it sure did get me past any self doubts about the surgery. I never for a minute regretted the surgery - even when I woke up all sick from the anesthesia... even when my Christmas dinner was a chocolate Protein drink.... Here is the deal - I was on the track to early death with a detour through disability. I know it, handwriting was on the wall. Now, I am active and busy and living the life I could only dream of. sometimes, I do have some sadness and I no longer have food or extra weight to dull those emotions. I do not take any antidepressants, I sorta feel like I have a lifetime of buried emotions that I need to process - both good and sometimes bad. Whenever I see someone who is morbidly obese - I remember that stuffed in my skin feeling. That low energy, that feeling so unattractive and incapable of doing so many physical things. I think I WAS depressed and didn't really realize it because I didn't know anything better was really possible.

Oh yes, there are tons of photos from my surgeon. Not the ones he cherry picks either - ones from a facebook support group so the good, the bad and the ugly. some are so faint.. you think... there is a scar there? Others are horrible and red.. having to do with people who do too much too soon and also just your skins own tendency to scar. Be really careful about internet before and afters... some of the surgeons that look amazing only put their cream of the crop photos out there. anyway, I think I am going to go for it, I know where the scar will be - I am just hoping I don't regret it. The 3rd photo I posted is sideways. That is the view I see when my arm is down and in front of me. It is absolutely hideous... that bothers me more than any other view. Okay, sorry for TMI, but I often see that view during sex or even when I am working out, and everytime it kind of gives me a startle...LOL

coffee addict... my only problem with it is I would drink it all day ...hot in the morning... iced in the afternoon..haha. Seriously, heard of addiction transference? I didn't become an alcoholic, but realized last summer that I had become a complete and total coffee junky. doesn't help that I live in the land of coffee stands every 100 feet... It sounds like a joke, but I realize that coffee not only made me "feel good" but also curbed my appetite and so at an unconscious level I started drinking it for those reasons. I have changed that, my appetite is in good control and i have in fact LOST WEIGHT since cutting back on the caffeine. interesting, huh... Anyway, I have cut way back, not because my tummy is bothered but because i was having OTHER ill effects.

I have plastics in a week. It is very individual so get free consults! Plastics are best after you are in maintenance. I am almost 2 years from sleeve... hit goal in Feb.

My surgery was at Puget Sound surgical in Edmonds.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the scars will not be visible with arms down at side, like walking along. They show up when you raise your arm, or wave or something like that.

Marvelous!!! It is so great to hear from veterans! BTW, there is a veterans forum now should you ever want to join in discussions on life at or near goal.. or just longer term sleevers!

I rode when I was heavy... but only my horse, a very steady eddie paint. I mostly walked, a little trotting, very little cantering. I would never do speed work, gaming or anything for fear of hurting him... or of me just rolling off so since more core was weak and I had so much weight on my upper body. Last winter, I practiced with a very fast and competitive drill team. My old paint LOVED it - I felt like he was saying "I have been waiting for you to be ready to GO". We had a ball. I didn't compete with that team due to the time committment, but riding with them was a thrill. this summer, i borrowed a friends endurance racing Arab. i rode him at breakneck speeds everywhere...haha... in a teeny tiny little flat seated endurance saddle. He took issue with mountain bikes on chairlifts up at the pass when I was heading for the pacific crest trail... and shot sideways about 50' as arabs are prone to doing... and i rode it out, no problem. I would not have felt confident to keep my seat in that situation when I was so topheavy and not as strong. I feel like my body is finaly caught up with my skills... i can do lots of stuff now I just aquired a young horse and plan to do some speed stuff with her. Cowboy mounted shooting is something I have my eye on for 2014. My riding has improved about 1000% How about yours?

Also glad you are back Globe! i often feel that you are in about the toughest situation and still manage to be so successful. You inspire me! I have to say, i am an imperfect 5:2 participant. Thursday, my fast day, I went to a baby shower...argghhh. I avoided the sugar, but did eat some meat, cheese and veggies. I know I went over 500, but you know what... I am reveling in bouncing between about 150-153 instead of 160-163 that I was back just 2 months ago. Even being less then perfect, this thing really works for me. I think part of it is that it tends to encourage me to eat less even on my normal days. I went into the office yesterday, and saw a lady I haven't seen in about 2-3 months. She is quite heavy, but when I lost my initial say 125# was just joyous for me. Yesterday she said "I can see you just get fatter and fatter". Of course, she was kidding, but I was sort of taken aback at first. The clothes I wore in Feb - when I hit goal range of 156-158 - are too big for me now even though my weight hasn't changed that much. Muscles are rearranging I guess and people are noticing that I look different even though i don't really notice it too much. The tone of her voice was not nearly as supportive feeling as in the past, but I don't let that bother me. I do what I do and just trying to be healthy. It was interesting though.