JuliannaJ

Me too...grew up in northeast Philly and transplanted myself down here!

Today for my birthday I got some great surprises... for one I fit into a smaller clothes size, two- I realized I have lost 50% of the weight I want to lose (halfway there!) and finally I was able to trade my size 9 wedding ring for a 7! My family also made me some great food...I had a Cobb salad..the real one (like the Brown Derby) where all the ingredients are super shredded/minced, a barbecue biscuit cup (old recipe my gmom made with ground beef, BBQ sauce and onions in a dinner biscuit and baked...a little more than a bite sized treat!) And for the cake we had mini brownie muffins with buttercream icing ( was like the size of a quarter...so cute and so tasty!) It was all so yummy and I didn't feel "deprived" because I got to eat everything! Gotta love the sleeve!

I am at the shore too...but Cape May....can't get much further than that in the state!

I got rid of over 10 trash bags full of clothes....I realized I dressed like a slob to hide my weight and bought and wore clothes that were big, bulky and colorless! I went to the thrift store found tons of stuff even brand new and bought it...at one store I got three pairs of pants and 4 shirts and paid $22.50! So clean out that closet! Can't wait to purge these clothes too!

Most likely from intubation.

Genetics mainly as well as your age (younger skin bounces back more) and how long you have been heavy.....can't really change those things but also sun exposure damages the collagen in your skin....pretty much though you are dealt the cards you are dealt....blame your parents if you sag and then guilt them into paying for your plastic surgery )

By far pre op was the HARDEST time in this journey, I sucked at it! Wait till you are post op and you don't have that hunger feeling as much, it is AWESOME! Life is better post op!

In my mind I justify my slower weight loss with giving my skin more time to shrink! Don't know if there is any science behind it but it makes me feel better, especially when my hubby is losing super fast (in my mind he is going to have a lot of loose skin! Lol). We went and saw my family and they were all oohing and ahhing over his "drastic" loss and barely said anything about mine even though I had not seen them since my surgery 2 months ago. Men suck...lol. Honestly though, it took me longer to gain all of this weight than it is going to be to lose it, even if it is just 1-2 lbs a week...that can be over 100 lbs in a year!

I was terrified of having unrelieved pain so I told the doc he better give me plenty of meds...I had the PCA pump (you hit the button for your own dose). I kept hitting the button because I was scared but it just made me sleepy but no pain. My hubby on the other hand said he was in pain and they had to change his meds several times before he got relief. I know I could have gone without the meds it was just nervousness on my part. No pain post surgery except when they pulled my drain, yet my hubby had no pain with this! So I think everyone's experience is quite different...I would however talk to your doc beforehand so you have a protocol in mind...like do you do better with some meds versus others? Overall this journey has been a breeze for me and a little harder for my hubby. I can pretty much eat anything, just smaller portions. I am also slower to lose weight, took me 2 months to lose 30 lbs, yet hubby lost 40lbs in less than 4 weeks!

I have been on meds and anytime I tried to go off of them, I end up in a funk. I have a chemical imbalance and probably always will....I feel so much better on the meds and if I skip a couple of days, my hubby always knows even when I don't. If I were you I would get on the meds now as it takes several weeks in your system to actually make a difference. I highly recommend Lexapro! PS I am an emotional eater as well but the meds help me. Good luck to you!

OMG, burping is awesome! I had to reteach myself after surgery, it made eating/drinking so much more comfortable

My hubby is having this same problem....I make him purée his food in the nutribullet...so even though he eats too fast and won't change, it is like it is prechewed for him. And then I bought the 4 ounce glad containers so whatever he is eating I fill it about 3/4 full since his tolerance is 3 ounces and then you don't overeat. I find if I do happen to "overeat" i drink some Water as it flushes the food out of your stomach faster...hence the reason they tell you not to do it so you feel full longer. Truly though the big key is to chew a lot and eat slowly and gauge the size of your tummy, measure your food out to that level and stop once you are there. Good luck!

Sell them on ebay as a lot...lane Bryant clothes sell really well on there!

LOL, the plot is always the same....zombies trying to eat them...them running and killing them with headshots

Unless you build a city in the trees...the zombies can have the ground and you live up high in trees. I have obviously given this too much thought....

Oooooo and I forgot....if the zombie apocalypse happens...lets all get together at a predetermined place and we can be a group....we won't need nearly as much food as other groups since our little tummies can only hold so much. We will however have to rob some GNCs to make sure we have enough protein and vitamins. Unfortunately though we can't let pre-op people in because they can still eat a lot.

Ok here are a few questions I have...if the zombies are attracted to the sound of gunshots...why don't they use silencers? Also I have never seen a zombie climb a tree so why not make tree houses? Or when the zombies are after you, climb a tree. Also if I found other people that were alive, I would take them in...I mean it should be mankind against the zombies. Like the governor let anyone come into his town before so why doesn't he do the same with Rick and the gang. And does anyone else hope that Carl dies (i felt this way especially in season 2)? OMG I am soooo going to hell on that one! And seriously he named that kid Judith...what kind of name is that for a baby?

Just be careful, before I even had surgery I had "silent reflux" that did a lot of damage without any symptoms until it eroded and caused strictures and I needed surgical intervention to fix it...so I am permanently on reflux meds with or without symptoms. The draw back to this is when I had my EGD prior to surgery they found polyps and the culprit is the meds.

I only do like 1.5 scoops to about 8 ounces of skim milk and use the shaker cup with the mixing ball from GNC and that works.

Ironic isn't it? I did not wait until the full week was up to go to full liquids (creamed Soup etc.) because I was really hungry. The hunger does go away and not that I am telling you to go for the creamed soup but I was fine doing it a little early. By the way, Jello was on my clear liquid, stage 1 diet.

Sometimes baby oil will do it too but rubbing alcohol does seem to work best.

Also if you have Netflix...watch Hungry for Change....it is a documentary about the diet industry and why diets fail and also talks about changing how we think.

You have to replace all of those bad thoughts with positive ones! Get some post its and put positive things on them and put them all over your mirror and read them every time you are in there and when you get those negative thoughts! Before you know it, those positive affirmations will be the things you think of! By the way I still think these things especially since I am a slow loser...wow I just called myself a "loser" but in this sitch it is a good thing! Don't worry, you will be a loser too!

Great job!

At first I thought this sounded intense...but when you said take two, take one, you meant potassium pills, right? I have taken miralax post op and it is pretty gentle. I had to do mag citrate pre op which was a little rough...a lot more intense than miralax. Just keep up on your fluids you will need it for surgery...you don't want to be dehydrated.