CowgirlJane

I also didn't experience this. Chances are that you just need to go back to "easy" foods for a bit to let your tummy rest, but I frankly would ask your surgeon. It MIGHT be signs of a problem that should be investigated and none of us really know.

Diet coke = not food - don't do it Cookies = junky, carby food makes me hungry when I eat it - don't do it Bread= limited quantities of good quality bread can be a healthy part of the diet. I really eat very little bread, even years post surgery

My current experience is I need the hip injection (had one in May) in order to tolerate riding. Before I had it, after a 2-3 hour ride, I couldn't walk when I dismounted. I had the same type of pain from hiking, riding on back of a motercycle.. you name it. I started losing my confidence because I felt like I had no strength, no ability to respond to a challenge like a spin or something. Now that I have a hip injection, I get pain from staying in one spot too long, but i ride well, i ride relaxed so I don't have a problem with that now. I ride western, and I most definately post the trot and ride "up and out of the seat" at a gallop and can do those things. I assume you don't have a horse and want to start up with lessons. I wonder if you can find a place willing to start you on 30-45 minute lessons so you can build up and assess the discomfort? So, i wonder if I have hip displasia too. I have a doc appt in a few weeks to try to understand more about my medical condition. My physical therapist told me that my right leg (right hip is my problem) is turned out - either from a birth defect or childhood injury. Good luck and enjoy!

My horse vet saw me when I had lost some weight and of course complimented me. I saw him about 6 months later at a barn Christmas party. i was very near goal (within 15# I guess) and was experimenting with dressing. First time i wore skinny jeans and boots for example. Anyway he walked in and said "you're hot!"...haha. All the barn ladies loved it because it was one of those blurt out remarks and this particular vet is hot himself. I think that was the beginning of a turning point in how I saw myself because when your friends tell you "you look great" - you think, "I have nice friends"

I wished I had thought of @@LipstickLady myself! I also like @@feedyoureye just because it is so unusual The names I DON'T like are the ones along the theme of "FatUselessPig" - okay, nobody has that name, but there are some very derogatory screen names. I find myself really believing that finding some degree of acceptance/self love, regardless of your size/looks/weight is really important.

What kind of bags? I was sleeved in 2011 and have never worn a bag of any type... My experience was I had problem vomiting with the band, but I have only vomited a few times with the sleeve - and it all happened within the first 3-4 months and was always caused by eating too fast. However, the first 1-3 months post surgery were tough in terms of getting Water in, getting used to eating small, getting used to solid food again, etc etc.

I have to ask... does ANYBODY think it is normal for a woman to lose more than 1-3 pounds a week after the initial "weight drop"? I have been successful with the sleeve, lost alot, but after the first month I averaged about 2# a week. Some weeks that was .5 some weeks it was 3... but i averaged around 2 a week. I started at a high BMI (over 50), so in theory, I should have lost faster than those who started at a smaller size/weight. I sometimes feel that people have very unrealistic expectations of the speed of weight loss

Denise - that is such great news about your health! Yeah! I hope that makes you feel more optimistic as this whole back thing has been quite a bummer for like a year! I have dated Tim a few times - last time was last weekend. We went target shooting and I did really well considering it was only my 3rd time ever even handling a gun. It was the first time I wasn't frightened/overwhelmed by the noise and experience. I even tried firing a rifle - way too heavy - didn't like it! We were at a quarry and were using cheap soda as targets. Depending on the bullet size, the popcans could explode quite spectatcularly! It is sort of funny, but I was visualizing those damn cheap sodas as some sort of enemy that made me fat. No wonder my aim was so good! Anyway, Tim and i are not compatible. He is a nice guy but I am really not into the fake biker thing. Like, we couldn't even go out to dinner without all that damn leather, the tats... and then he started talking to me about getting tattoos and I am like... blech. Anyway, at this moment, dates are casual as I have to deal with health and home issues right now. I still want a relationship, but i won't find one right now. After my epic remodel is done, I will be starting up the dancing again. I am unsure what i am doing about horses, waiting until my breast problem is fixed, waiting until I talk to ortho doc about my hip. If I need a hip replacement soon, I am holding off on getting a young horse to replace the beautiful but high maintenance Miss Mia that I just sold. I also want to get back into vigorous exercise. My daily walk I started about 2 months ago has helped tremendously, and I am losing weight, but I want to get back to working out so I get toned. I need boob fixed (swells everytime I do any kind of effort on upper body) and hip situation clarified (so I don't make it worse with lower body exercise). I have to say, I am still on the half dose of wellbutrin, but I love certain aspects. I tackled a paperwork nightmare that has been looming over my head for months. I figured out a tough problem at work - involving numbers - that i haven't been able to do (nor anyone else I might add!). It is like my focus is better and my head is clearer. I am having the remodeling done, and I have this vision of how my house will be all put together again. It is hard to explain exactly, but it has gotten me back (at least a little tiny bit) to looking forward to things and of visualizing good things. Wellbutrin is used to treat alot of things - cigarette addiction, adult ADD, etc. and it just seems to be helping me alot with concentration. I am holding off on going to full dose - with my docs approval - because i have had a few weird thoughts and done a few impulsive things. People can get manic, can get depressed, all those things while ramping up on wellbutrin (and alot of other mood drugs) and I am pretty sensitive to this stuff so I decided to pause and let myself get used to where i am at before considering doubling the dose. It also seems to remove the filter from your mouth - not such a great idea in all cases! So, if i say something mean, it might be attributable to getting used to this medication.

Sounds like you are doing great. I lost 50# before anybody noticed! You are overthinking things but rapid weight loss releases hormones so many of us felt emotional in those early months. You will do fine.

It sucks, but slowly gets better. First few weeks were downright unpleasant and I didn't feel completely human until about 12 weeks out! Then, I started feeling better....alot better! I was exercising, increasing energy levels, clothes were too big...all that great stuff! I started at 308, lost 150# and have been maintaining for a few years. It has been so worth it!!!

Sarah, great news about your dad! How old is he? As a daughter you wouldn't see it this way, but I kinda think that older people should spare themselves the stress of traveling alot etc even if they aren't at the most prestigious hospital. Remodeling is very stressful..it's taken me a couple of years to dive in.....

Good questions, just gets lost on page 7 of existing thread is all. You will get alot more input if you post in a new thread, probably in the pre surgery questions forum is a great place to start.

congrats!!! When i got to a BMI of about 28 my surgeon told me I had lost enough to gain the health benefits of massive weight loss. I look and feel best when I am in the 24/25 range of BMI because i have a muscular and substantial build... if i get smaller I just look bony. I suspect that you won't want to be under 154, that seems really light for a full grown man! Anyway, you are doing awesome - hope you are really enjoying it!

I don'[t know about medicare, but that was my life with the lapband as well. Even after 10 years, and some pouch dialation and no fill in the band, I would still vomit if I had even a spoonful of rice. It was terrible. For some reason, the band just doesn't work right for some of us. Good luck in your search to revise.... I revised to sleeve in 2011 and very pleased with my choice even though I still work pretty hard at this.

My primary doc was against all WLS, regardless of type or where performed. She talked about how "everybody regains the weight", live a life of misery etc etc. I came to realize that she went to medical school in the 1970s, perhaps early 80s and was simply biased, uninformed and as a lifelong skinny person just told me that I needed to buy better cookbooks. I dumped her. I had the sleeve (luckily insurance covered) and 150# lost and maintaining, haven't looked back. Ironically I was seeing a counselor at the same time.I was giving it one last try to try to "fix my head" to lose weight before taking the plunge to be sleeved. I realized she was very focused on severe eating disorders, which i didn't have. She was very very very anti WLS but to her credit, gave me the psych clearance because she knew I had researched, thought about it and had realistic expectations and understood the lifestyle changes I would need to make. I dumped her too ... but it was because she gave me a book about a lady who named her eating disorder "Ed" and their ongoing relationship. I could not relate to a single bit of that book and I realized she simply did not believe that I got hungry ALL THE TIME and had physical metabolic issues related to my obesity. I guess what i am trying to say is we need to be advocates for ourselves, Docs are just humans with biases and in some cases incorrect or dated information.

Your results seem right on track to me. Stop with the magical thinking (take this in the gentlest tone please) and realize that just because you made a change that you are not suddenly slim. It took me 14 months to lose 150#, but I did it and maintain it! You will too... just keep following your program.

I didn't even stay in a hospital. I was up and walking almost immediately upon waking up. I did have trouble getting liquids in at first, but i hit liquid goals by drinking slowly. You should realize that nerves are cut during surgery and about the first 6 weeks post op you can't really count on "how your stomach feels" as you may not be "feeling" the fullness etc.

I get netflix streaming, not the DVDs. It is pretty affordable and there are 3 of us in the house that actively use it. We dumped cable, don't really do dVDs and just do the streaming stuff now.

@@UK Cathy so glad you love the new job! My weigh in day is Monday but I am holding steady at 163 this week, only 5# over goal. I am on a roll, even had a fast day without any "mood" issues. I am taking the fasting part easy though. Have you heard of the 16/8 plan? It is where you only eat within an 8 hour window each day....like 9am to 5pm and fast outside of that. I am not sure that is a good idea for WLS patients....everyday. it is interesting that the evidence continues to support intermittent fasting.

@@Carol Brower of course I don't know you but your words remind me of someone I knew many years ago when I was right out of college. She was drop dead gorgeous, talented singer, perfectly dressed and styled, a personality everybody both male and female adored. We became friends at work and as I grew to know her I realised she was also one of the saddest, loneliest,and self loathing person I knew too. She married a georgous guy who I think was gay and using marriage as a cover -who lnows but it was a disaster from the beginning. The reason I brought this up is because I learned alot from knowing her. As the fat lady (I had been slim a few times as a teen and in college) I learned that happiness had so little to do with looks. I am afraid that if you do get WLS you will be even more uncomfortable because you won't even have food for comfort. I get it about counselors, none of them fixed me either. I saw someone when I got to goal as i was dealing with some emotional issue. I thought alot about things she said and i plan to start again. We talked on the phone and she made the comment that she sees herself as the sounding board/guide as a patient self discovers. She cant fix a damn thing, but she can help guide and give her thoughts toward my own inner life and how my role in the world has changed. Sometimes women with these complex feelings about sex and body image and self worth have a history of abuse, especially childhood. We learned to use our physical appearance to control how the world relates to us. It protects us at times and makes us feel worthy at times, there are plenty of people here who found that fatsuit a convenient sheild. You deserve to be happy and at peace with yourself. When you become healthier you will attract a better energy I think. I mean emotionally healthy, higher self worth, specifically

Bloodlines - about a family that own a resort in Florida keys. IN Treatment - about a therapist,his patients and his own life struggles. I liked it alot. I also have Amazon Prime and they have pilot episodes of some new shows I liked. Look for sneaky Pete.

@ VSGAnn2014 you know I respect your voice on many subjects but I don't think she exactly said that. What I really can't stand is a thread starting to head down the "shaming" path. I do not believe that is your intention but it might be read that way. Life is hard in many ways and I think that obese people sometimes struggle with finding their place in the world. I feel fortunate that I self identified with my intellect and career. I was always respected in that arena and it went along ways toward defining my self worth and frankly place in the world. My midlife crisis seems to be about realizing that I don't value that much anymore, my looks are awesome since losing weigbt -haha- but don't make for happiness either. Like many formerly obese, there is repair work to be done.

A couple of things - everyone fears excess skin. It happens. However, after losing 150# and i can hontestly say i looked way better with some excess skin vs weighing over 300#. Hands down, no doubt, no question. More importantly, I am so much healthier, can move easier and enjoy life more. In addition to your focus on sex, i am hearing (maybe I am wrong) a certain tone of self identifying with the big boobs etc and fear of losing that sexual allure or whatever. I can promise you that your health, and healthy relationships are way more important than boobs, excess skin or any of that. Thanks to carrying excess weight for decades, now that i am slim i have advanced arthritis in one of my hips. I will need a hip replacement and I am only 51!!! That is the type of thing that will be in your future (or maybe diabetes, high blood pressure etc - i had an very obese niece die of heart failure at age 40) Regardless of what you decide, I do think some talk therapy might be a good idea to help you clarify your real wants and needs. Talk good care of yourself - body, heart and soul.

I had a similiar experience in a similar timeframe... weight loss slowed to a crawl, like 1-3# a month. Not good when you still have alot to lose. I had to re-examine things with the help of the nutrionalist. I have been called names on this forum for suggesting that during weight loss phase, to get the most out of it, you really skip stuff like booze etc - empty calories. In my case, it was over indulgence in Protein bars - all those calories and carbs! and then just lots of little things had crept back in my diet... I was able to turn it around and get back to losing that 10-12 pounds a month so i lost 150#, made it to goal in 14 months. Had I not started detail logging and resetting my behavior, I would not have made goal, I am quite sure of it. I always tell people I had to do hand to hand combat with that last 40# or so.... I went back to basics regarding food and introduced HIIT (high intensity interval training) for my fitness as i had been stuck in an exercise rut too.

I have never done it, but it seemed like in Weight watchers one of the techniques was kind of similar. I don't gravitate toward "creating" this sort of thing, but i do alot of internal visioning. I read a book called "That winning feeling" and it was about using visualization and words to create the reality we want. it was about sports, but can be applied to anything. For example, a golfer can mentally visualize and practice a "perfect swing" way before, and way more consistently than they can physically do it. So the use of the visualizations combined with the physical practice is a proven way to enhance skills. I used it to overcome fear after a horseback riding accident - consistently visualizing the outcome that i wanted. I think I did this in weight loss too, but maybe not as consciously. I had no idea how I would turn out so to speak after losing all that weight, but I would visualize how my riding would be as a fitter person, i visualized dancing, hiking and other things that i couldn't/wouldn't do when I was obese. I do think that helped because it kept me focused on the REASON to keep my fitness at the top of my priorities.