Raine

My body looks like a crazy road map!! It is what it is, nothing I can do about it.

So happy for you Apple! Mine was at 11.1 too in August 2010 and in August 2011 it was 5.5. Isn't it amazing!!!

Mine first stall was at 4 weeks and lasted 4 weeks.

Hahaha the story of my post op life! I have gotten used to it at this point though. I look at it like this if it isn't going up thats a good thing. Regardless of how long it takes, I'll get there because I didn't cut out 85% of my stomach not too!!!

You look absolutely freaking amazing! Congratulations on getting to your goal.

haha isnt that just the best???? I do it now just cause I can.

That is wonderful. It makes this process that much easier when our significant others are so supportive of us. Congratulations, this has got to be one of my favorite NSV's.

Oh, Coops! I am so sorry you are going through all that. It SUX A BIG FAT WARTED ONE!!!! Ok, so your leg and foot is out of commission. Get a couple of 5 lb weights or arm resistance bands. I have the resistance bands and they are amazing for the arms and back. Crunches, girl! I'm also wondering if calenetics that Diva does would be good for you because it is no impact and lots of stretching. I have a bony booty too. Well basically, I have zero booty LOL. The chairs in my kitchen are wood so you can imagine how they feel when you sit, so I put one of those big throw pillows on it and sit on that. Makes it so much more comfortable. You vent all you want, when ever you want for how long you want!!! We are here for you and if I could I would give a great big hug right now. Stay strong lady.

What is the brand of totilla? Sounds great!

There are some really good recipies online about sweet mashed potatoes. I had them when I was on mushies. Really tasty. I wouldn't worry about the cals or carbs just yet, just worry about your hydration. The mushies are used to get your tummy used to having something in it besides liquids again.

Another idea is consignment shops, the clothes there tend to be a bit nicer and they are still affordable. I am doing the seasonal thing. In the beginning of the summer I bought three pairs of pants that fit me and now at the end of the summer and a few skirts I had from when I lost weight before. They are all too big now, but not so big that they look ridiculous. I just recently went out and bought some more for the fall and winter. I like Marshals too, because you can get some really good prices, I just bought 2 pairs of capri's on sale for 8.50 each in black and a stoney like black/grey that I can wear with flats until it gets cold and then I can also wear them with boots in the winter. I also just bought 3 pairs of pants, none over 16.99. Each pair has belt loops so that when the start to get a little baggy I can still wear them without having to hike them up. I have to dress decently for work so it was a must buy. That cost me a total of about 70 bucks for all 5 pairs. I went to a consignment store for shirts and got 5 button up shirts for 25.00. So now I am set for the winter with clothes for work and I didn't spend over 100.00. I have jeans that I saved, thank goodness LOL and I have sweaters from last year that are pretty generic that I will be washing in hot water and then running through the dryer a couple of times to shrink them. Hopefully that will work out well. I won't go shopping again until February or March for stuff for the spring and summer again.

So when I wear certain types of shirts I have to wear a body shaper, compression type garment. The one I use is like a long tank top with the boobs cut out LOL. Well I bought it about 3 months ago and today I put it on because the shirt I was wearing was a thinish material and shows all the stuff you don't want showing lol. So I put my shaper on, and it still fits but it doesn't shape anymore, lol, it just fits like a regular undershirt. Made me smile.

I went to buy a new one today, the one I had was Haines 2x. They only had a 1x and I wanted to get just a large, well frankly because I want it to shape LOL.

You have a serious eating disorder and this must be taken seriolusly. You went from one extreme to the other. My recomendation is to seek counceling immediately. You need to find a happy medium and become happy with yourself not with what others are thinking...you are too big...you are too small. It sounds to me like you need to find you and figure out the root cause of why you are choosing to hurt yourself. I wish you luck on better mental health.

The pre-op diet in my opinion was the hardest part of this whole journey. They are asking obese people basically to go cold turkey and that is hard. I don't know what your doctors specific diet is for you but mine was just a liquid diet for 2 weeks and making sure I got a minimum of 60 grams of Protein. What I did was drink all day long. At any given time I had a minimum of 4 different beverages on my desk. I would mix it up for the different flavors but my thought was as long as I keep drinking my stomach would stay full and I wouldn't be as hungry. To give you an idea of what and how much I drank here was an average day. Keep in mind that this is after I tried multiple Protein drinks and settled on the Atkins. Morning when waking up: 2 big cups of coffee, (I know I had to give it up post surgery, but I didn't until then) Through out the day: Coffee, Diet Snapple drinks, Welches diet peach drinks, V8's, 2 Atkins Protein shakes mixed with a cup of skim milk. Each Atkins has 15 grams of protein and with the milk it added 8 more grams. When I got home: Tomato Soup, cream of brocolli soup (strained), I had other Soups too but those were my favorite. Sometimes I would even get a beef and country vegtable and just have the gravey, 2 Atkins protein shakes w/skim milk, SF jello's, SF ice pops I would also keep a thing of the chicken and beef bullion cubes on my desk and at home for whenever I felt I needed a savory flavor and just added it to super hot Water, some pepper and stirred it till it disolved. Another thing I did was ice because I missed chewing so much. Thank goodness my teeth are rock solid and cold does not bother them. I also heard that chewing gum makes you hungry because it gets the juices in your stomach going in anticipation of food. Don't know if this is actually true or not, so I just didn't do it. Like I said I don't know what your doc's specific diet is or if its just to be on liquids, but this is how I got through the 2 weeks. I lost 13lbs in those 2 weeks too. Hope this helps! You can do this, its hard but the ends justify the means and you will come out on top in the end. Good luck on your journey!

2 more down, 8 more to go! SN: Raine Starting Wt: 176 Current: 173 Goal: 165 Lbs to Goal: 8 18 more to my surgeons goal, so close I can almost touch it! I'm hoping to get there by January and then my personal goal of 140-145 by April 27, my 1 year anniversary. My all time highest weight has been 280+, that would mean that from highest to goal 140+ lbs. Sometimes it just blows my freaking mind. I'm in a size 10, and I see glimpses of me as skinny! My brain is actually starting to catch up. One thing I realized and do not do anymore is wearing clothes that are too tight, or even a little bit tight. I did that a couple of weeks ago and the whole day I was misreble, because it made me feel fat and I never ever want to feel that way ever again.

Job well done! You look like a completely different person! Congratulations.

I used the chantix but like someone said before it has its side effects. Unfortunately, I went back to smoking. My sister used the e-cig, if you can, get one! I will help. Good Luck.

Go out and buy yourself a couple of pieces of clothes that fit you perfectly. Even if you are not at goal or are just part of the way there. It is a feel good thing to do. I know we walk around in our "fat" clothes because there is no doubt that we are going to lose more weight and eventually just have to buy more, but here is the thing, sometimes you just need to hear that you are doing a great job. People will notice even if you are wearing your loose baggy clothes but it is so much more apparent when you dress in stuff that actually fits. Remember a couple of days ago I broke down and had no choice but to buy some pants? Well this week I have been wearing them and you know what, I can't tell you how many people asked if I was losing weight, or said how great I looked, or came up to me and sincerely asked me how I was doing it and if I had tips for them. It made me feel great to be noticed for my hard work, I know this is easy for some, but for some it is still hard work even with our wonderful tool the sleeve. What made me feel even better was telling an aquaintance at work who is obese how I truly lost the weight. She asked me a million questions about my research on the different procedures out there and how and when I realized I had to do this. So a my little piece of advise is as you lose weight, buy yourself something to wear that fits and looks good. Go to a thrift store, go to the sales racks or where ever. It will make you feel good and you just might help someone along the way too.

Ditto on everything everyone said! Great job.

Awesome job!

I am hoping that it doesn't happen to me. I am going to NY during spring break and going to see one of my oldest friends. A month ago she made a really catty comment and it really bothered me. I told her about my how much I was down to and she said she had to get a move on because I weigh less than her now and we can't have that. She was always the tall thin blonde and me the short fat brunette. I hope it was that I inspired her to get on track rather than her thinking that I have to always be the "fat" friend. We have been friends for 25 years and when I see her it will tell me what she truly thinks. I'm praying for the best, but I fear the worst. We shall see. Either way, if it is not what I want from her then she is out, I will not have that negativity in my life and will cut it out like a cancer. Everything I am doing I am doing to better me, my health and my life and I will not let anyone hinder that process.

congratulations! its only going to get better!

OMG that is great! Feels wonderful to be able to do things without thinking about how we will manage them, they just come naturally! Congratulations, great NSV.

Oh, Apple, I am so happy for you This has got to be one of my favorite NSV's