gowalking

Absolutely!

Congrats Lisa. Hope you can make it tomorrow.

Yay!!

Yes! Bandista is right. I got scholarship money from NYU because I was widowed and head of household. They paid about 20% of my tuition and for a school like that, it wasn't chump change. They didn't even ask for financial info...just documentation that I was widowed and head of household. Make sure you check into it.

The new head of my department only knows how I look now...not what I used to look like. So when he complimented me recently, it meant alot as it wasn't in reference to looking good as compared to before....but just for looking good...or should I say professional. FYI, the comment was not inappropriate in any way..lol.

Congratulations. The hardest step is the first one. As a 'mature' student, you will likely do very well because you will be focused. I went back to school and so did my son and there's something to be said about doing so at an older age when you can appreciate what an education can really do for you. Be proud of yourself. What you're doing is awesome.

I went to the cafeteria at work yesterday and just didn't feel like having a salad or half a sandwich as I usually do. I took a little bit of what they called a 'BLT salad', which was all the fixings without the bread..lettuce, tomato, bacon bits, mayo. Then I took a slice of pizza. Now...living in NYC, you may know that we eat thin crust pizza here. And when I say thin crust..a good slice of NY pizza is really thin. So this slice I took at work was supposed to be thin crust, but was doughier than what I'm used to. I ate the salad and then ate the pizza slice and about a half hour later, it was laying in my belly like a brick. I felt so uncomfortably full that I was actually rubbing my tummy in discomfort and even my dress felt tight because I ate too much. What a difference in terms of how much food I used to eat vs. what I eat now. Was a time I could put away three or more slices and now, one thicker slice obviously does me in. Sometimes I think my band isn't doing anything and it's just me being mindful of how much I am eating, but every once in a while, I am reminded just how much the band is doing its job while I do mine.

...and I'm happy for you!

From what I've read on this forum, alot of bariatric docs don't like to take on patients that other docs have operated on. Not sure why, but this seems to be pretty prevalent. Do you know if there are any other doctors you can go to? You shouldn't have to deal with a doctor you can't be comfortable with. Not to say that a doctor can't be straightforward with a patient, but there are ways to go about it and berating someone is not how you get results. Good luck and let us know what happens.

I've been on my own for a long time and am happy with my life so if the person I'm seeing/with isn't improving the quality of my life with their presence , I'll move on. That's exactly how I feel @hadouni. Not sure how long you've been dating but I'm at it nearly a year and I've certainly had to kiss plenty of frogs. I've met some nice men but either there's no chemistry, or timing isn't right, or not a good fit. But everytime I think why am I bothering, I meet someone who I enjoy talking to or going out with and even if that relationship goes nowhere, it makes me realize that there is probably someone out there I would enjoy spending time with. I have a date on Sunday with someone I like talking to so we'll see...

...and I love how my behind no longer juts out like something foreign stuck onto my lower back. I stare at it when I put on a dress for work and how nicely my back and bottom fit together now.

I try to think of how I would respond to a guy who looked fantastic in clothing and for the most part out of clothing who had a morbid obesity problem in the past, and I'll be honest- I would judge him as harshly as I judge myself. I can't get mad at someone for thinking I was a lazy, no self-control fatty when my inaccurate, but honest, thought about them is the same thing. Jeez. Louise. S.M.H. AvaFern ... speaking purely from inside a blissful marriage of 18+ years ... I think you don't have a clue what love is all about. With all due respect, AvaFern is not talking about love....she's talking about the negative feelings we often have about morbid obesity due to our own self hatred of how large we have/had become.

Speaking of walking stairs, I was recently notified by a friend of mine that he wants to walk up the Statue of Liberty and look out from her crown. He wants me to join him. Oh my! I haven't walked up that staircase since I was about 12 years old.

I felt the same way and then when you realize men are looking at you...and attracted to you, you start to think about it and for me, I just decided to jump into the deep end of the pool and see if I could swim so to speak. It's an awfully powerful feeling, to know that you are attractive again. I've gone from the slacks/shirt/flats gal to wearing dresses, heels, makeup, jewelry...all of it. I'm not interested in anyone from my office mind you, but it's a hell of an ego boost to know that you are getting their attention.. Maybe you don't mean this the way it reads to me and I'm sincerely glad that it's something you enjoy and it makes you feel good, but not everyone is waiting for men to notice them for an ego boost. As I mentioned, I'm truly not interested in dating and am happy to be a single person. The only powerful thing I'm interested in is having my body back to good health, not feeling attractive to the opposite sex. Hopefully we both get what we want. Yeah, you did read it differently than I meant it. I was also doing this for health reasons. I have joint disease and without losing weight, I couldn't get the hip replacements I needed so badly. It was never about vanity. That's why I was so taken aback when I realized while I was focused on getting healthy, others were looking at me in a way I hadn't been looked at in a long time. I just didn't realize it and once I did, I admitted that I liked it. Wasn't easy to admit for sure..and only with help from my therapist could I even think of myself as an attractive woman again. All I'm saying is that you might find as you go through your journey, that your outlook might change, and what you want and need may change as well. Here's to heath and happiness for us both.

I felt the same way and then when you realize men are looking at you...and attracted to you, you start to think about it and for me, I just decided to jump into the deep end of the pool and see if I could swim so to speak. It's an awfully powerful feeling, to know that you are attractive again. I've gone from the slacks/shirt/flats gal to wearing dresses, heels, makeup, jewelry...all of it. I'm not interested in anyone from my office mind you, but it's a hell of an ego boost to know that you are getting their attention..

I'm also back in the dating scene and have told a couple of men about the surgery or that I've lost alot of weight. No obviously stupid reactions or responses...or at least none that I'm aware of but I've not yet been fully naked with any of them either..where they can easily see and feel the port...and see the hanging skin. It's actually a good thing in some ways because I'm being really careful about not going too far physically with any of them and for me, that helps to keep my head on straight and not get too caught up in mistaking sex for love.

The surgery is a tool...not a magic wand. Having said that, if you follow the doctor's instructions, and pay really close attention to the feelings of satiety...not fullness, I think you will see that this works pretty damn good. I'm banded so I can't say how you will feel after surgery but based on what I've seen others write who have had the sleeve, you eat less because the stomach is smaller. You still have to eat smart and likely walk away even if you still feel like you can eat more but...I found my appetite suppressed just enough to stick with around 1,000 calories daily and I weigh today, what I weighed when I was a 13 year old. Even when I got married, I was 125 lbs. and thrilled to be at that weight. Good luck and keep us posted.

Looooook at you! Wow!!! Thanks. Still struggling with the 'fat girl' living in my head. You're correct...the pictures are really important. My family thinks I'm consumed with taking pictures because I look so good. They don't get that I need those pictures to help me to see what I actually look like.

Hi friends. Happy Easter to those who Celebrate. Funny NSV yesterday. I was walking with a friend and the wind was gusting. A few times, I nearly was blown off my feet. Didn't have this problem at 267 lbs. but at 115, well that's another story. My poor friend had to hold onto me once or twice so I wouldn't go flying off.

I'm still trying to get used to it. Not so easy when there's such a before and after difference. My surgery was just over two years ago.

Hi @Dragonrider. Welcome to the forum and congrats on your upcoming surgery. As you can see by my forum name, it was all about walking without pain for me. I had horrible knees and every step was torturous. Can I suggest rather than walking, swim laps if you have access to a pool. Anything you do in the Water is easier on your joints than out of the water. I still exercise in the water even with the enormous weight loss. As far as feeling better...if your knees are not shot, you will feel better the smaller you get. If the damage is done however, you may need to have surgical intervention but that's a conversation you will have with your orthopedist at some point if necessary. I needed replacement and my doctor said without a 70 lb. weight loss, I'd have a poor outcome even with surgery. I lost the weight, had the surgery, lost more weight, and now I'm nearly back to normal. When you can't walk, you don't take it for granted when you can. And I can. Good luck to you!

My deepest condolences @amponder. I am blessed to still have both my parents but my dad has been sick lately and all of us children are very aware that one or both of them could go bad at any time based on age and health issues. Most of my contemporaries have lost one or both parents and I've been to many many funerals over the past few years. They all say similar things about having to feel like grown ups now that a parent has passed so know that what you are feeling seems to be perfectly normal. Do whatever you need to in order to not lose control over the food. If that means shakes again, do it. If that means being away from the food, do it. You know how much your dad was proud of you and you will know what to do so you stay on track. Putting my virtual arms around you and giving you a big hug. Just post when you need us. We're here.

The difference is very obvious Debbie. I know how hard it is to see it..even when the clothing sizes go down. Believe me..I can see it and so can everyone else. Keep us posted on the meet and greet. Wish I could have gone too.

Remember what I said? The closer you get to goal, the slower the losses are. You've done remarkably well so far. I'm sure as long as you continue with whatever you are doing, you will reach goal weight.

I lost more than 150 lbs. I suspect most people..women in particular, figured I had surgery. I don't lie, but I don't provide full disclosure either. It sort of depends on who asks. If it's someone who is honestly interested because they are struggling with weight issues, I tell. If it's someone who's nosy, I tell a version of the truth by saying I am watching what I eat and exercising. A former coworker I hadn't seen in quite a while recently asked me how I lost all the weight and I initially told her diet and exercise but she pressed me and asked if I had WLS. She kept saying she needed to lose weight which was ridiculous...she looked perfectly normal. But I finally said I had surgery as I knew she wasn't being mean...in her culture, there is no subtlety...it's just all out there and I know she wasn't aware that she was being inappropriate. I chalked it up to Cathy being Cathy and since we don't work together anymore, I let it go. Once you have the surgery and start losing, you'll figure out the best thing for you to do about revealing what you did to get the weight off.