gustavo52974

That doesn't, however, change my opinion.

Ugh, I hate it when foreigners act like there are no fat people from their country and that obesity is unique to the USA. Obviously stupidity isn't.

August 26th? Can you tell me what the winning lotto numbers are on that day? LOL...j/k.

5 weeks out and I've lost 42 pounds so far (including two week pre-op diet), 30 pounds since surgery. I'm losing a pound about every 2 to 3 days at this point. I started with a BMI on the lower end of the requirement.

Welcome aboard. It can get bumpy in here so make sure your seat belt is securely fastened, tray table in the upright and locked position, exits are clearly marked, etc. Enjoy your trip to your new life!

I didn't mean to come off rude...I'm just always surprised when I hear about what people are eating right after their surgery that my nutritionist told me not to eat. I thinks it's safe to assume that if it's not on your list, they don't want you to eat it.

Didn't your nutritionist tell you what you can/can't eat after surgery?

I've only had soft scrambled eggs so far and they haven't made me nauseated. I haven't had a hard-boiled egg yet though.

Eat half a cheesecake every day. I guarantee you'll put on weight.

The psychiatrist that did my evaluation was a self-righteous, anorexic-looking dingbat. She put me through a series of questions relating to my support system. She wanted to make sure that I understood that people would treat me differently, including my own partner. She wanted to make sure I was psychologically ready and that the people I told about my surgery would accept me no matter what. She also asked me if I'd had any emotional problems in the past: OCD, depression, manic episodes. She also asked about the mental stability of all my family members. Then she went into my education history, acting completely unimpressed by any of it even though I had more degrees than she did. Her attitude made it seem that if I didn't answer the question to her satisfaction it would immediately disqualify me. It put me on the defensive and I ended up giving her terse, one-word answers to everything. Then I started asking her questions: how long she had been out of school, is this the only thing she's done in her profession so far (counseling weight loss patients), had she ever been overweight, etc. She said she was never overweight, which made me even less confident in her abilities. It all lasted about 15 minutes (and charged my insurance $360 for it).

No regrets. At all. No words to describe how much better I feel about myself. I keep my profile pic the same as a reminder of what I used to look like. I've only lost 40 pounds or so, but I feel and look SO much better now. So yes, I would do it again.

I've encountered a lot of skinny people who hate to be called skinny, or have the fact that they're skinny brought to their attention. This is especially true for men who "just can't gain weight or put on size". Some guys just can't put on muscle mass...they get "tone" but never really bulk up. And they HATE that they can't. I know that can often be the case with flat-chested women as well. I don't advocate the eye-for-an-eye brand of justice, but skinny people have these chinks in their armor as well, vulnerable spots if you will, that can be exploited. If one were so inclined, that is...

I can tolerate spicy food and I'm about 4 weeks out. I was taught not to chew gum in public, so I never ended up chewing gum at all. But I would imagine both gum and candy have loads of sugar in them and I know, in my case, my new stomach can't handle sugar all that well. Best to avoid it.

I hate Macy's. I have NEVER had a good experience there. Not because of my size, but because the people who work there are rude and the place is usually dirty. And I'm talking about their flagship store at Herald Square here in NYC. Mentally incompetent staff, horrible selection, you name it and Macy's is full of it. I felt like I was trapped in Mordor whenever I went there.

For some reason, my question above was posted twice. So I edited it to this. Sorry.

What did your surgeon say?

I'm not proud of this, and if the women on this forum hate me for it or are offended, I'm truly sorry. But this was one of my rock bottom moments and it made me realize that I had to do something, anything, about my weight because I didn't like the person I was becoming. And I initially ruled out weight loss surgery because I thought it was too extreme. Here's my story: I was taking my seat on an airplane and I was sitting next to this woman--not obese but very dumpy--and when I sat down, she gave me a dirty look and made that "scooting over" movement, clearly showing me that she didn't want to sit next to a fat person. I looked at her and said, "What? What's your problem?" And she replied, "Perhaps you should have bought an extra seat." Without batting an eyelash, I said, "And you smell like blood. Who's more offended?" She gave me that shocked, pearl-clutching face and wouldn't even look at me for the rest of the flight. And at the time I actually felt good about saying that to her. Then I went to the airplane restroom. I was washing my hands and realized how inappropriate I was to this woman. I looked at the person staring back at me in the mirror and whispered, "Gustavo Alexander Rena, this is NOT who you are." That was the very moment I decided to make an appointment with the surgeon.

But how many healthful choices are on a kid's menu? Which Disney? Disneyland or Disney World? At Disney World, there are some places in Epcot that have healthful food.

When asked how she lost all the weight she had gained to play Brigdet Jones in that movie, Renee Zellweger said that she went hiking for a weekend in the hills near her Beverly Hills home. Laughable to us, yes, but I'm sure people believed it.

Designers seem to think that plus-sized men only want to wear Hawaiian shirts for some reason.

I know people really like it, but I'd stay away from whey Protein. If you have any lactose intolerance problems, it is the wrong choice for you. Trust me on this one. I've created some...toxic...situations with it. And unless you're seriously into building muscle, I'd choose vegetable-based Protein Powder instead of animal or dairy-based. My NUT recommended that I take a probiotic for immune support.

Not to be indelicate, but I'd love to be able to see my junk without a mirror.

When you first told your friend about your surgery, had you made it clear to her that you didn't want her to tell anyone? If so, then she betrayed your trust. In that event, no, you're not overreacting. And I certainly wouldn't tell her anything else private in the future. I made that mistake too, actually. I didn't want anyone to know except for a few people. However, I told someone I thought was trustworthy, but he spilled the Beans to a person we both know likes to gossip. I had to forgive the friend I told because I consider it "my" mistake that I told him in the first place. Looking back, I really had no reason to consider him trustworthy because I had never had to trust him with anything before. I suppose the moral of my story is that just because someone is your friend, it doesn't mean that they will always do what is best for you, consciously or unconsciously. And, I guess the best way to disseminate information is to tell people it's a secret.

I had my surgery on July 9th and I've lost about 30 pounds post-op. I'm pretty steady with weight loss so far: I lose a pound about every 3 days. I'm sure this will taper off at some point. I'm not concerned though, as long as I'm somewhere near my goal a year from now.

Wow! Great job! My surgery was July 9th, so I'm there with you! I should take some before and after pics as well. Big hug to you! (Well, not so big hug to you anymore! )