CowgirlJane

That is really great. I will tell you that part of my success with the sleeve was "giving up" some emotional things. I trusted more, opened my heart up, opened my truth up, shared my story with more (skinny) people. I admitted my own fears and failings. It is a little like the AA thing about realizing that you can't control everything and looking to a higher power. I am not a religious person, but to some extent I did that too. I feel like part of my journey continues to be finding the real me that i used to hide under alot of fat. This article touches on a lot of things that ring true for me.

oh, I have posted about this. coffee has become something of an addiction for me. I have always drank coffee, but, I have to count my cups these days. If a cup is 8 oz... well, I can easily hit 5 of those a day. If a cup is 16 oz, well, i am good then. Perhaps really the problem IS the definition of the word "cup"

My nutritionalist gave me the best tip EVER. she said the key, the absolute key is to NEVER EVER EVER EVER and I mean NEVER EVER - eat as much as you "can". That is exactly how the feeling of restriction goes away. Repeatedly eating as much as you "can" will eventually make it so you CAN eat more and more. I am not even sure it is stretching - I think it is the getting used to that full feeling. Pre surgery i could stuff amazing quantities into my stomach and I probably could now. I have to use my mind, my will, my determination to not do it. I have no idea what my max capacity is and i strive to never find out. I am 18 months out and I don't have a tiny sleeve - my surgeon used I believe a 38 bougie (though my memory fades on this one).

Okay, while you are "under" the antethesilogist keeps you breathing - no worries there. People with sleep apnea who don't use a CPAP have DIED in the first day or two post op because the recovery from sedation supresses your breathing. with sleep apnea, you actually STOP breathing for periods of time and your body wakes you up. When you are drowzy woozy from sedation, there is a risk that you won't wake up. View this is as minimizing your risk and potentially saving your life. I had "severe" sleep apnea prior to surgery. 150# gone and i am apnea free - so just do what the good doc says and realize this is just one more reason to lose weight.

Well, plastics consults are initially kinda hard. They point out flaws you didn't even know you had...LOL. But, in the end they made me feel good about myself. One of the docs told me how incredibly fortunate I am in that my upper chest, top of my arms, and from the general knee area on down - are all great. Not all formerly obese people are that lucky - for example really heavy calves can't really big fixed with plastics. I am disaaster on everything in between, but that all responds well to plastics. That is once I actually get that done! As the OP said - the thighplasty has alot of complications, the wound often separates and it doesn't always give dream results. For my personal case, I was warned that my thighs might always touch - just the way I am shaped. I have quite literally a blob of skin and fat cells on the top of my inner thighs so I can live with thighs that touch as long as there aren't hanging fat cell pockets...lol. I have had that since i was like 11 - but it got huge when i was obese. It used to be so bad that one blob had to fit in front of the other blob in order for me legs to be together. Now, they are fairly hidden by clothes, but nekkid... scary. If you look at my after photos on my profile, even in fairly loose skinny jeans, you can see a hint of what i am talking about.

You look great. I have decided to do my thighs separeately - for the same reasons you said. I would love to see your befores. My inner thighs are a horror but surgeons say that is good news - inner thigh fat and skin pocket up high like mine is the easiest to fix with surgery even though it looks awful right now.

Not sure i buy it. When I am craving snacky food - coffee kills that desire.

I see it as the bane of my existance, a lifetime struggle. Even so, it is much easier to manage then it was pre-surgery. You know what i do sometimes - leave the house and buy a coffee. SOMETIMES I feel so hungry but it must be at least partially head hunger that a coffee can make it go away for hours. Carbs do make my hunger much worse. I have taken to keeping this in my fridge - a cold salad made up of: -precooked shrimp, rinsed and thawed -diced english cuke -diced flavorful tomato -diced avocado -thinly sliced, then diced baby bell pepper -little bit of diced mushroom All marinated in some Newman's own Italian dressing. Then, when i serve up a bowl, I sprinkle some feta on it. The meat gives me Protein and all those fresh veggies give some bulk. I have also made it using the costco low carb / low cal chicken sausages (amy lu and other brands) but that isn't as tasty.

Well, I have been reading even longer and I guess the questions have ALL been asked. Somehow when each person asks it - it seems unique and like the first time to them. I let the not quite so new newbies answer those questions - and they are enthusiatic to do so because they have only seen the question 10 times, not 1,000 yet. LOL I try to reserve my efforts for situations that i think I can add value to. People who were high BMI and really wondering if this can work. People who failed with the band and are afraid of failing again. I was in their shoes and appreciated that people "like me" took the time to answer MY fears - even though i was the millionth person to articulate those same fears. But as far as "oh my god the sleeve doesn't work because I have only lost 95 pounds in 3 months" - I have never been able to relate to those posts and just don't read em.

My experience is that mexican surgeons will do these jumbo surgeries at once, but USA docs won't. i guess I have heard both sides of it and really don't know what to think. The USA surgeons are adament - because i am young and healthy, there is one local doc willing to do 3 things at once (lower body lift, breasts and arms) but most would only do 2 at once. No matter what, it wound up being 2 surgeries. There are lots of different theories about which ones are best paired together, but one surgeon wanted me to do it over 3 surgeries - 1. lower body lift+breasts, 2. thighs then 3. arms One thing that I did hear consisently though was that you should start with your torso if it will be staged. In my case, i am getting a lower body lift/extended tummy tuck which will be done in advance of the thighs since it changes the thighs.

I apologize too. I zeroed in on my own personal experience and didnt focus on the OP unique "war zone" situation. This body image crap is hard enough without being one of a small minority of "attractive" females among a group of sexually deprived men. Stay safe and thank you for your service.

You look great. Breast size is sort of hard to decide. I have an "athletic" build, meaning broad shoulder etc. I want implants but have been worried that going to big will make me look heavyset due to my build. I was looking at something in the 300 or so cc size.

Great thread, and I didn't read all the replies yet - but i will. Let me make one simple comment. You and I have a CHOICE of how we respond to this attention, to this no longer being invisible. WE HAVE THE POWER OF HOW IT WILL IMPACT US AND OUR BEHAVIOR - NOBODY ELSE HAS THAT UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO GIVE IT TO THEM. At first it was scary to me too. I felt like all eyes were on me, everywhere I went. i felt... naked. I felt both too ugly and too attractive all at the same time. I wondered if I was dressed too revealing/too sexy but friends often told me i dressed to baggy and illfitting clothes. There was a weird couple of months when long time friends and colleagues were wowed and amazed and calling me hot... Now, I am in a much better place. I do get appreciative looks sometimes stil but it doesn't impact me much. I am me, whether men look at me or not. I am comfortable in my own skin. It is empowering to realize that they can look or not look. I can respond or not respond. It makes me feel good to be appreciated (much like I appreciate an attractive man!) but - i have a perfectly wonderful day with or without that glance. I think it starts with accepting yourself and being comfortable with you - just the way you are.

I failed miserably with the band and actually wound up weighing alot more post band then i did preband. It is different - the sleeve just works better HOWEVER, it is still possible to fail with the sleeve. I think the key is to really get the weight off - really get to a reasonable goal weight. It is so much more motivating to maintain a size 8/10 then it was to maintain at a size 18 or whatever my loswest was with the band. I was still fat - now, I feel normal. I like it and I want to stay normal sized! I worked really hard to look at all the "failings' and for me, having surgery out of country with no support was a contributing factor to my lousy results with the band. I needed more and I made sure I got it this time. Lots and lots of successful sleevers went out of country, I am just saying I did a heart to heart with myself over what i needed to do different this time. I think part of it for me is I am just over it, I am done with being morbidly obese.done.done.done. Nothing I can eat is worth going through that again.

Death in family, issues at work, severe neck pain... just stuff. I have been hungry and not wanting to work out. I had too many "meals out" - and even a couple of "drinks out" - just too much. I moved into stage one of denial and stopped weighing myself about a week ago. Today i finally stepped on the scale - only up 2# so i am okay. It is time to return to daily accountability and eating the way i should. There, i said it. deep breath - there was this little part of my brain that expected to be up like 10# or maybe 100#, who knows... LOL... just goes to show that facing the honest truth is easier then whatever it is we might be imagining. My clothes still fit, I just feel very fat which is completely illogical, but it is how i feel.

I felt happy and grateful for many things in my life...even at my heaviest but quite literally - shedding the burden of carrying around the weight of two people so improved my life. Everything was just hard work at 300#++ and it is so liberating to be fit. I do agree that losing weight wont make an unhappy person happy. Might make them sadder even since food gave solace.

Ms skininess...that is a new one... Buying tvs.

Oh ms skinniness, I am so sorry to hear this. My dead sisters dog just died yesterday too... I am okay, but it was a little emotional. She loved that dog - she has been gone for 6 years and in some ways he was a little bit of a living reminder of her. She died in May too. But, good news is that I am back to my goal weight! Now, I want to get a few pounds under, since my goal weight is my upper threshhold. I somehow feel fatter though and i don't know why...

I am interested but I am moving into the fun season. I ride horses, go camping and all that so it is very hard to committ to this type of program. I do the harder training stuff in the winter. Let me think about it. I don't really want to lose a bunch of weight, but do want to keep getting stronger and of course transform more of my current weight to muscle which makes maintenance easier. I am pretty happy with my cardio fitness - so again, want to maintain it.

I set my goal with the intention of it being the upper end. I have been maintaining 156-158 range for awhile. I hit 160 this am and that is the official panic button...LOL the important point though is that i actually weighed myself. Stage 1 of denial is misplacing the scale every morning... and it goes downhill from there if I let it.

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Congrats! You are beautiful - but you will be healthy AND beautiful after getting some excess weight off!

don't feel disgust - in my opinion that is a hurtful emotion and also part of the addicts routine. Feel gratefulness.. .the wagon is circling back and you have climbed back on. I had 2 days of overeating. Went out with my girlfriend, then next day out with my son, then mothers day...yadda yadda yadda. My first symptom of old ways is that I didn't weigh myself every morning... my denial routine is beginning. I made a note on my bathroom mirror that tomorrow am I weigh - no matter if I feel fat. The point is doing exactly what you are doing - getting back on track and loving ourselves enough to do it!

It is funny that I too thought of the band as "less Drastic" almost like it wasnt REALLY WLS. Well after 10 years of the band and18 months of the sleeve....too me the band seems more drastic now. Implanting a foreign object that becomes encased in scar tissue and yet ALWAYS needs removal eventually - now that is radical!

My tastes really changed... but it was temporary. I went through several months where I basically could not stand plain Water. Favorite foods were all just blah. so, that was good! It gave me a chance to put food in its proper place in life. It is not recreation. Food can be pleasureful, but the main reason to eat is nutrition, it is fuel it is not to make your life happier. Now, almost a year and half out, food tastes good again, I sometimes do still hear it's siren call, but overall, it has a much healthier place in my life. I still am not crazy about plain water but I can drink it. If I have one sadness about the surgery it is that I used to love plain water and now, I don't love it but like it okay. That isn't so bad though.