Queen of Crop

Thanks Steve! Wow, a guy who has read my blog...that makes me happy! I just looked at your blog as well....nice! So when was your surgery? Very excited for you.... So are you German? Perhaps you and your wife should consider a trip to The Spiritual Tantra Lounge in Berlin when you reach your goal! If you want to get my next post, be sure to sign up on my page so you get it automatically. At this point, I am posting every two weeks. Thank you again for your nice compliment and keep me posted on your progress....a whole new world awaits you!

Hi everyone....I'm new to the 60's group....have been hanging around the 50's group, but the honest truth is I am 61 so I really need to play with people my own age! I am 3 years post op and some of you may have read my blog 2+ years ago....www.queenofcrop.com I wrote every Sunday for the first year after my surgery. I decided to start writing again....why? Because of the the surgery, I am living a total dream life! So I decided I had more to share....hoping it will be inspirational, especially as we get older..... Anyway, Hope it's OK that I come in here for a bit and see how all of you are doing!

Hi everyone! Hope all is well here in the 50's group....Traveler....I hope things are going well for you...wow, what a strange trip you have been on! Anyway, for those who are interested, I just posted a new post on www.queenofcrop.com....it's all about WHAT HAS BROUGHT YOU JOY IN YOUR LIFE? Happy reading everyone!

HI Funsize!!!! Just think how you will feel after the first of the year!!!! You are about to embark on a total mind / body / soul/ connection that will allow you to become the person you were meant to be!!!! I don't have any suggestions for a pre-op (I actually had no pre-op) but I do know you are in for a great year!!!! Welcome!!!!

OK CowgirlJane or anyone of my BP buddies....if you want to go to Hawaii...talk to me! I lived there for 10 years and still own property there; one is a fabulous vacation rental on Maui....if you want to go to Maui, I will give you a very good deal.....(we have owned this for many years and run very very full so I'm not just trying to fill it up, I truly will give you an incredible rate if Maui is where you want to be). Just let me know but give me some advanced notice because it really does run pretty full. You can see it here: www.makai-vista.com Aloha! Queen of Crop

I have been on this forum for over 3 years (I had my surgery in Oct 2011) and have been at goal weight and maintained it for 2 years. But in all the thousands of posts I have read, I rarely see a post where the people who have been sleeved have not been happy with the results. There are some that don't quite reach goal, but they still have lost 70% of their excess weight. Some start to gain back after a period of a few years but usually get it under control because their quality of life is so much higher as a thin person. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I would ask yourself the question. What is your alternative? I suspect you are considering this because all of the traditional methods have failed. I think you will find in your research, that this surgery has been a life saver and life changing event for the majority of people who have had it. Talk to your surgeon on the best option for you, but from what I have learned, I would not recommend the lap band. Hope that helps. And if you want some inspiration, read my blog and see how this surgery has changed my life; or just look at the photos! Trust me, I am grateful every single day I had this done. I am 61 and living a dream life.

Thank you for the nice compliments Grandma2tweetie! Remember, we are about the same height and I'm probably not that much older than you are....so I hope I have inspired you to live life to the fullest!!!! I love reading about the all success stories here from women in their 50's.....we're not dead yet!!!!

Thanks for the vote of confidence kathy812! I do agree, my blog certainly is different than any one elses! But if it helps inspire and encourage people, then I have done my job! I actually just redesigned the site... Will write my next installment this week.....and for all of you in your 50's.....I really think it is the new 30's.....there is so much life left in all of us!!!! Rock on... Yay to the 50's! (I feel a bit funny saying that since I am 61!) Queen of Crop

OK ladies....we are all in the same boat here, so we need to help each other if we can. RJ's....what happen at the plastic surgeon that depressed you? I'm about to make an appt to see about getting a stomach and pelvic lift..... I can't say I'm hungry but I am eating way more than I should...luckily I am not gaining because I move so much, but I am on the edge....and I know if I have the stomach lift I should lose 10 lbs first and that I know will be really really hard. I would like to say this....we must do whatever we can.....5:2, exercise, therapy, whatever it takes....we CANNOT GO BACK THERE!!!!!!! Right now, I am not doing the 5:2 but I do have two days a week where it is a NO WINE NO COOKIE DAY. I know that isn't much, but it's probably 600-800 calories a week that I am not having...and I am still about 1200-1500 calories a day. So maybe start with something small.

Wow this group is really growing in numbers (but losing in lbs!). Welcome to all the new people....and hey, 50 is definitely the new 30....especially after weight loss surgery....at 61 I feel like I am 20-25 years younger. At three years post op I can barely remember pre-op diets (or any diets), I don't count calories, and I don't worry about my weight, but I do pay attention....have been trying to drop 5-10 lbs all year and I can't seem to do it....I move ALOT and go to the gym, but I have contstant company so there is always more carbs around than there should be. But life is great (and it wouldn't be this great) without my sleeve.....so pretty soon all of you who just had surgery or are about to have surgery will be on to your new 'normal' life too!

For all my subscribers to my Queenofcrop.com blog....I AM SO SO SO SORRY!!!!! I am having my site redone and something went haywire! I think all my subscribers (over 1,000 of you., I feel so bad!) just got about 30 weird messages.....please please know I have not given you email address out to anyone! I would never do that. I was just having it updated so it could be read by mobile phones and to give it a new look, and somewhere in the testing something went wrong....so again, my deepest apologies! YIKES. I wasn't sure where to go to tell people this, so I will just start here.... Other than that, hope everyone is having a better day!!!

Welcome mjmboston! 51! Wow, 10 years younger than me (and thanks everyone for letting me stay in this AWESOME GROUP OF WOMEN!!!!) How I wish I would have had this done when I was your age....seriously, you have many many more miles to go and once you get your body and health back I'll bet there will be no stopping you! Life is short and for me and most of the people here, we are making every day count....and it's so much easier as a thin, healthy person! Very exciting times ahead for all of us!

I was 223 lbs at my highest.....I am 5'3" 3 years post op (as of October) and have been at my goal weight of 138 for 2 years I am 61 years old, feel 35 Can hardly remember being fat. I feel, eat, think, live my life as a thin person. But the two photos below (taken exactly a year apart) are a good reminder to keep me on track. It isn't so hard really. It has been a very fun, exciting adventure!

Hi everyone....first Michiganchic...thank you SO much for your very thorough answer to my questions! I so apprciate your honest answers....I am going to make an appt with my surgeon to go over the details for me. I don't think I will have my arms done since I live in Europe, I rarely go sleevless anymore. If I were still in Hawaii that would be different of course. I will keep you posted. And yes, the botox did help my neck! I go to my 2 week follow up appt today and he will take the after photos which I will share. It's not perfect, the results are subtle, but just enough to keep me from freaking out. I will talk to him today about fillers as well as I am getting more encouraged that these non-invasive options are better than a face lift. So stay tuned!

You are doing the exact right things! You are noticing the little weight gain and trying to figure out what to with that....I don't know about you, but I rarely did that when I was 200+ lbs.....I just thought it was a lb or two, and I did that every year for 25 years, so 50 lbs later (on top of being a heavy to begin with got me to 223). Thin people have a little fun, indulge a little bit like we do as veterans, but like them, we must say....whoa boy, a couple of lbs; I need to cut back for a few days or work out a little harder at the gym and get them off. For me, I do the 5:2 fasting (basically you eat 500 calories or less 2 days a week). But when I don't do that, I at least do two days a week where I call it my NO COOKIE, NO WINE DAY). Don't freak out....just try to think like a thin person; and you are! You will be just fine. Don't go back....that other place 2 years ago was not fun....I don't know you, but I know it wasn't fun. You may want to read my last post on my blog to help inspire you to move forward. I have gotten lots of comments from people that have told me it was very encouraging to them. Just click on the link below and good luck!

I think everyone has to find the weight that is right for them. When I was heavy, thinking about weighing 165 was so exciting for me (I started at 223 and I am 5'3"). Now that I have been about 139 for 2 years, when I gain a few lbs and go up to 143 I start to feel very heavy, very uncomfortable and fat! So it's been an interesting mind set that.....and the thought of being 160 something would be so weird to me at this point. But again, we all have the weight we feel comfortable at.

Hi everyone....good post. I too was suffering from some chicken neck and I just had some botox injected 2 weeks ago and I can tell the difference....a 15 minute appt, no bruising and affordable. But Michiganchic, I am considering a body lift. Not sure what a lower body lift is. I just want some of my loose stomach gone and the warbling around the area between my tummy and breasts. And I'm interested that you had your arms done at the same time. Can you tell me what the recovery period was. And if this isn't too personal, did it lift your vagina area up? Mine is pretty droopy. Thanks!

Well, my humble opinion is that I think it's good to tell people how you feel (one of my favorite quotes is "THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE, BUT FIRST IT WILL PISS YOU OFF" by Gloria Steinem). But I also believe that we would live in a better world if you could figure out a way to say things in a calm, non-confrontational way and try to be diplomatic. And use the "I or me" phrase a lot. As in "When you tell me that I took the easy way out by having surgery, that makes me feel bad; I made the right decision for me, so I would appreciate it if you would stop saying that". Instead of getting made at them. Just my humble opinon anyway!

I am 61 years old and am living my dream life, a lot in part due to my WLS 3 years ago. This forum has been so valuable to me and I recieved much support from it. But I thought some of you might be interested in how sensuality can come back into your life after WLS and when you are older. It's never too late to start having fun again. I decided to write about this topic on my blog (I did a blog for the first year of my WLS but now I am 3 years out). There are so much good information out there about diets, exercise, Protein shakes, but not much out there about other important topics like how we have missed out on so much intimacy because we were heavy. I just started up again, and have really just scratched the surface on our new life. I have learned so much in the last 2 years about about intimacy, and I personally think it's an important and healthy topic. Not sure if BP will like me talking about it, but we will see. Check out my blog if this topic interests you. www.queenofcrop.com And remember, it's never ever too late.

Definitely have NOT looked back. I am 3 years post-op, and could never ever ever have lost the weight in traditional ways. It changed my life. Read my blog. Good luck!

YES YOU ARE LINDA!!!!! YOU WILL BE JUST FINE AND JUST THINK HOW GREAT YOU WILL FEEL BY CHRISTMAS, BY NEXT SPRING, AND NEXT SUMMER YOU WILL BE A HEALTHY, GORGEOUS, CONFIDENT NEW YOU!!!!!! THIS IS A GOOD DAY.....AND IT IS EXACTLY THE SAME DAY I HAD MY SURGERY 3 YEARS AGO....A GOOD OMEN!!!!!!

@ FineDiva....oh I am SO SO happy with my boobs....actually I did not have my arms done....if I were still in Hawaii I would. Zero reqrets on the boobs though....so worth it.

BTW, the Jawbone looks awesome....I have had a Fitbit for about a year now and I love it. It clips on and like most of these things these days it has a social connection so you can see how you are doing compared to other friends. I am very faithful and wear it every day. I used to get 10,000+ steps in every day (I live in Amsterdam so I walk everywhere). But I have now joined a gym and I am concentrating on strength training because I'm so weak and not very flexible so I'm getting in less steps now. But I think whatever works and can motivate you and is easy is what you should get! But if any of you do get a FitBit, let me know so we can be FitBit friends. BTW, someone just told me I had not put on the link to sign up for my blog....so it is back up there on the right hand side if you don't want to miss any updates. Sorry about that! Just go to www.queenofcrop.com Have a great day everyone!

So many exciting new journeys on here! Congrats to those who are 'on the other side' Wow. I can feel the excitement jumping off the pages here.....@Kathy812.....I also had to take naps every day...usually after I ate about 3 teeny bites, I would look at my husband with these exhausted eyes and he would say "nap time?" And I barely had the energy to get up from the table to the bed! Those days are long gone now and they will be for you too.... VSGlady....your day is here!!!! Happy for all of us!

Hi everyone....I'm back....some of you might remember that I wrote a blog every Sunday that followed my weight loss journey for the first year.....like all of you, it was a huge year of transition for me. But even I couldn't imagine how vibrant and incredible and amazing my life would be 3 years later and it would never have happened without WLS. I have created a dream life that works for me (trust me, it would not work for 90% of the readers here in my opinion). But I have decided to start writing my blog again in hopes of inspiring people to have the courage to create and design their own dream life. So if you are new to the forum and want to read what it was like during the first year after surgery, or you are a veteran, and especially if you are older, 40's, 50,s, 60,s, I'm here to tell you it is not too late! Tomorrow I turn 61 and I am the happiest I have ever been in my life.....just click on the link below.....and happy reading! To read my most recent post (just posted today) just go to www.queenofcrop.com If you are interested in reading about my first year, just follow the link below.