Queen of Crop

Congratulations newfoundlove......it's so interesting reading the posts of those who have just been sleeved.....takes me right back there to my first weeks and how surreal it all seemed......I was in Amsterdam at the time when I had mine done, so being in a foreign country, having had the surgery (less than a month from research to surgery!) and then going through all the baby steps.....seems like such a long time ago now (it's been 7 months). But hearing the stories of the first days is nice in a way......you have SO much to look forward to! You have a great attitude and you'll be just fine. BTW, we have friends in Mulkiteo; what a charming little town!

@ Shapeshifter.....thanks for your input; very well stated; you write beautifully. I admire your courage to be completely honest with everyone and you shared some very good points. And as we all have determined, everyone is different. If I had cancer, I would handle it the same way I handle this; telling a select few because that works for me. I don't want people seeing 'cancer' when I visit with them, the same as I don't want them to see my WLS. I want to talk about other (in my opinion) things that interest me and my connection to them, not what is going on with my body.

Today I officially hit a 70 lb weight loss - I have 12 more lbs to lose before hitting the top of a normal weight range and BMI for my height. I am SO happy with my progress and I look so much better in clothes....I'm in a size 10! And my boobs look OK in a bra; BUT without the bra they are really sagging. I haven't done any research on this yet.....but does anyone know how to either perk them up or do I have to have breast reduction done? I'm a 34B which I like; but they are so droopy...... Can anyone point me to others who have had this problem?

I think you might want to consider working this into your reply: "If I DON"T have this surgery, I will die of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, or many other problems and complications that stem from obesity"....this is about getting healthy.....lookin' good is just one of the many benefits!

For me, I was very selective. I agree with Lissa that telling everyone might help remove the stigma of WLS, and I am a 'born again' advocate for this surgery as I am convinced it is the ONLY way to get healthy for some people and I sometimes want to shout at the top of my lungs how great it is. But it is a personal choice and I felt that I didn't want to discuss my weight, or any of my body parts with lots of people. I didn't when I was heavy and I don't now. When people compliment me, I quickly say thanks! And you look great too and change the subject....I want to be looked at as normal and it works for me. I told my husband, my sister and 4 good friends. I think you have to be careful because as much as we don't want to admit it, people do judge other people and in my opinion, unless they know you really really well, this is what they will see and remember; not you as a whole. Just my humble opinion.

The body is an amazing thing!!! I have had people ask me if I had a face lift! Funny! But who knows where my extra chin went???? But the skin will often just readjust itself.....the arms; hey even thin people have jiggly arms if you don't use weights. One I think is really helpful is where you hold both weights over your head (while you are standing) and then slowly lower them in back of your head. I think it's really good for the upper arms. I am almost 60 and just wore a strapless dress (photo posted on my blog - website below) this past weekend. Felt great!!!!

Aloha Brenda.....I am also 5'3" and was 223 lbs when I was sleeved on Oct 25. At 7 weeks out I had lost 22 lbs and was THRILLED. Think about that.....when was the last time you lost 22 lbs in less than 2 months? And even though you have stalled, it happens to a lot of us and it will start coming off again. Honest. You won't be gaining it back, I'll tell you that. And every day you will get a little stronger in the exercise department. I honestly didn't exercise for 4 months after the surgery because I was traveling through Europe! So I was walking, but not doing anything aerobic. Now, 7 months post op, I have lost 70 lbs, and I run / walk on the treadmill every day and I do my strength training exercises faithfully. I love exercising now because it's so much easier. So it will all come in good time. The advice the others have given you is great advice; we all have to learn what works for us. But since we are the same height and same starting weight almost, take a look at some of the photos on my blog (link below) and hopefully you will be inspired........I think I look like a completely different person. I'm sure I'm a lot older than you, but you'll get an idea. Good luck and keep us posted.....I have a feeling in a week or two you'll see some nice steady progress. BTW, I have been losing a lb a week for about the last 2 months and am SO happy with that because I don't have lose skin issues that you can have with fast weight loss.

Congratulations on your decision and your surgery date!!! I hope you continue to stay positive and even get excited about this life changing event. Do keep us posted; there are so few people who are not thrilled with the outcome of this surgery. The honest truth is the first month is a bit surreal and like any surgery you have new territory to navigate, but this forum is very helpful if you have any questions! You may want to take a look at my posts from Oct / Nov to give you an idea of what to expect (the link to my blog is below). Just think how much better you are going to feel and look in a few months! Good for you!!! Do keep us updated.

Just got back from a fabulous 4 days in San Francisco where I really indulged in high calorie foods......I posted the details on my weekly blog (link is below). Most normal weight people who do that; cut back and hit the gym to get those 1 to 2 lbs off when they get home. Such a simple concept....why did it take this long to figure this out? Thanks to all of those who left such nice comments on my blog this week. Sorry it was a couple of days late....so appreciate the support and all of those who follow my Sunday updates. For me, I've off to the gym right now!

After talking with several people this week (including my best friend from high school who I am hoping will have this surgery) I realized that I was really in denial over my weight problem. Why is it that we see things so clearly when we are outside the problem? Anyway, I posted some thoughts on my weekly blog; please take a look and I would be happy to hear your thoughts on the issue.

Fantastic news TJmom!!!! So so happy for you.....we are about the same age; and if you have been reading my weekly updates, I suspect you will have a similar ride......and it's a good one! So, any plans to celebrate the Big 60 when you are nice and thin?????

If you think you might not be convinced about if this is right for you, then please read my blog this week. I had a couple of conversations with people who were post-op (and one who is in complete denial at almost 275 lbs) and wanted to share this with the forum. You can take a look by clicking on my blog. I post every Sunday (often from different places so it's a bit of a Travel/Weight loss blog!). But this week's is an important one I think. Good luck to everyone who is pre-op and thinking about this or in the queue!

Have I thanked you for this yet? Not sure; I'm getting a little behind here......but I SO appreciate your offer of help for my friend. It's a slippery slope as you know; I don't want to hurt her feelings but I want her to be happy again. Her name is Linda and she lives in Alaska. I will ask her to contact you but it may take a while.....thanks again! Queen of Crop

Mahalo to everyone for the great responses.....and to Jazzie and MrsNate.....welcome to the club!!!!! So eager to follow your progress as well...... Andrea....I so appreciate your compliments on my blog; as I have said many times, I write it because I was so inspired by another person's blog last summer (which I can't find any more sadly as I would really like to thank her). I have no other ulterior motive....so comments like yours mean a lot. Hard to believe I only have 5 more months to write it.... And @ CLK....right on! Love your well thought out response.....I am going to forward it to a friend who is in the "can I do this" stage...... I love this forum....it has helped me and so many others.....

Yes, denial can stay with you a long time....I am feeling positively svelte and skinny these days at 154 lbs....because this is the lowest weight I have been in 25 years....and people keep commenting on how 'thin' I look.....so I believe it! Then I was having lunch with a friend the other day who is at the highest weight she has ever been and she's miserable.....at 149 lbs!!!! The great thing about all of this though, is that we feel better, we're more conscious of our health, our bodies, our life; and we feel so encouraged and hopeful that we have finally found something that really helps us live our dream life instead of another stupid diet that just makes us feel like failures. And I think we should feel great at every weight we hit on the way down......the journey should be as much fun as reaching the goal!!!!

It will piss you off first!!!! Boy was she right.....I was pissed, in denial and very defensive...... Now, after 7 months post-op, I now realize how much in denial I was.....and it feels great to admit that. Easier now than then....I wrote a piece about this in my weekly blog today (click on link below). I think it's something we all need to realize.....that it's hard to admit we have problems when we can't see a way out.....but once we've achieved success.....it all seems so clear.....if you know someone who is struggling with denial, or is coming up with every reason not to do this, please have them read this week's post. Thanks for all the support.

Wow, congratulations on all your accomplishments!!! The fact that you did this while you were working (and still are) as a baker is incredible!!!! That's amazing in itself. Love your story..... On the link, you may not have your settings set so you see others signature so you may want to check that. For some reason this forum doesn't want you to put the link to your blog in the message which I disagree with because I think we are all here to support each other and many have told me that they don't know how to get to my blog. But we are allowed to put them in our signature. I write my blog every Sunday for NO other reason than to perhaps inspire others because I may not have had this surgery without the inspiration of someone elses blog. So I'll go out on a limb here (and maybe get my hand slapped again) by giving the link here: www.queenofcrop.com even though it's also on my signature. Thanks for your story too, I'm going to share it with my friend I mention in my blog as I hoping she will also consider having a sleeve done. All the best

Thanks for the reading my blog and the reply!!! And welcome to the club.....I would LOVE to know where yo went and how much it cost; I'm trying to convince my girlfriend from HS to go....but the money is stopping her....any info you can share would be great!'

I honestly can say that I don't have the same satisfaction after a meal as I did before being sleeved (I am 7 months post-op). But it's not to say that it's bad; and I feel I can eat almost anything (pasta and rice are not on the list yet). The things that go down really well and that I feel very satisfied with are pretzel thins, oranges and popcorn. Weird combination I realize. But I just know when I eat these things (small portions of course) I feel like a perfectly normal person. I go by an acronym my husband came up with and that is OBTM......One Bite Too Many and I will feel uncomfortable.....and at this point I know where that is at each meal; thank god for the sleeve for reminding me; it was the OBTM that got me fat in the first place...... You'll figure it out, just give it time.....

Thanks for all the nice comments.....and for those who are about to jump into the pool with us......come on in, the water's fine!!! So excited for all of you.

Thanks for the wonderful response! Thanks for taking the time.....I had to laugh at your seat belt story....you and I sound a lot a like in the self-confidence area....I never lost my sense of self even though my weight ballooned....surely my pants shrunk in the wash!.....or, I hate it when they mismark clothes; no way is this an extra large!!!!.....or, damn! my scale is broken again???? I suppose my intelligent self always knew it wasn't anyone else's fault but as you said, the brain is interesting. Congratulations on your wonderful weight loss......soon you will be in onederland! I never was a size 6 in my entire life so I'm just enjoying being a size 10/12....that seems just right to me.....for now. Take care and thanks for reading my blog and for the wonderful post.

It's right below my signature at www.queenofcrop.com For some odd reason (I don't know why) but we're not supposed to put a link in the body of our posts which I find weird because aren't we all here to help each other? Thanks for looking!

I was sleeved in Germany 6 months ago and I have a friend who has watched me become happier, healthier and slimmer.....she is self-pay so she will have to go it on her own......could have it done in Alaska, Mexico, or Hawaii......can she have this done for $10K or less? Also, any doctor recommendations?

This was a great thread.....in so many ways....but, it sounds like WE'RE DONE HERE!!!!

@ PDXMan....you're not just cute....you're smart! I would like to say one thing in defense of men.....poor guys; they often do say things that come out wrong; but how many men out there have been supportive of us through this weight loss journey and loved us through all of our weight gains? Speaking for myself; I was very defensive in the beginning and very much in denial and had every excuse in the world for not losing weight (some of the valid mind you). Still, my guy stood by me and loved me at 223 lbs, and was there every moment on the way down (with some really really intense talks along the way). Does he love me more now that I am thinner? I'm not sure, but I do know this experience has brought us much closer because we are so much more open now than we ever were.....I guess I'm just saying, that we're not perfect either and that opening up to each other in a loving, non-defensive way is a good thing; men and women are wired differently, but look at the big picture.