RJ'S/beginning

If I could up your number from 10 I would give it a 20 in the worst complications. But would I do it again...YESSSSSSSSSSS in a flash. I am very grateful for the second chance I have to live and learn and change my life. I can't remember feeling this good since I was a teenager. Even with existing complications. I am 17 months out! I am a totally different person. The girl I was before died with the surgery. Trust me it was a good thing!!!!

OMG your adorable!!!!

I really don't know.. I'd certainly appreciate some feedback on this from those who are 6 months plus. My surgeon told me that in his experience the honeymoon period is between 6 - 8 months. He said statically 18 months is the usual cut off for a great amount of weight to be lost. Your body starts to level out at this time.... Now I believe that if you have seventy pounds to lose and it takes 2 years. What is the difference. I feel that as long as a person is in control of what goes in their mouths then the weight will come off.... At 17 months out I am losing a couple of lbs a month I think...For some reason I don't think about it much.... Maybe because I have lost the bulk of it or I know my body will lose more if it wants to. I trust that the sleeve will not fail me..It can't I went through hell for this baby!!!!!!!!!!

wow Rev's i never kept any records of the loss of pounds. I just waited for the visits to the team...Down in this sense is always a good thing... Your doing aweeeeeeeeesomeeeeeee!

" Your doing it Peter" (PETER PAN) Congrats on a job well done....More good things to come

I sometimes forget that it can happen to others. I have always been the victim of the jokes because of my weight. Then to see the pain in an extremely thin persons face over the opposite was really eye opening for me Thank you for your comment!

Let me start at the beginning. A lot of you know I am taking a creative writing course. I used to have no trouble coming up with ideas and putting them on paper. After I had my WLS and all the complications I was blocked. I could not write a thing. Tried, mind you but came up empty This course came up and I thought maybe it would kick start my writing again. It has been fun but at times nerve wracking to say the least. Last night like every other class we had to write a story on the fly. I mean no prep, on the spot, no time to think. This time the teacher handed us a slip of paper and gave us a topic and let our minds go where they decided.One of my classmates wrote about her two sisters. The story went something like this. " I was always picked on at school for being bony thin. Elbows, knees and everything else. I was also tall and lanky. I couldn't even get a date. My family, especially my two sisters used to pick on me all the time. I was the different one compared to almost everyone who lived in our little town. I stood out as weird. My sisters were short, blond and saw themselves as voluptuous, where I saw them as fat. As the years went by I stayed exactly where I am now tall and bony and they have continued to expand their voluptuous bodies. They are coming for a visit and my daughter and I are taking bets on how long it will take them to start on me about putting a few pounds on and be more healthy like they are. That is the gist of the story. She went on to say that she loved her sisters but did not understand their view of her. It was a well written story and a spin on abuse. She assured me at our ten minute break that yes she did have two sisters and that they were short blond and stacked. She told me about high school and how she felt she was treated there. Her sisters are fat as she calls it but a healthy fat. I told her that it was interesting that she wrote it that way because usually the prejudice is reversed. Thin people picking on heavy people. Not where I come from she said everyone there looks like my sisters. I stood out as different. I repeated that it was interesting how they all saw her. She said why can't people just be happy with who they are and not pick on others. I said society does not like differences. They want us all to be cut from the same cookie cutters. Well she said if your fat then your fat. If your bony then your bony. I don't get it. I said that the thin is in revolution started when they saw Twiggy in the 60's and she modeled for clothing companies and they liked the way clothes sat on her frame. It spiraled from there and now bone thin, no breasts, no shape is the ones they want us to look at on the catwalks. She then talked about her daughter who is voluptuous as well and how she gets mad at her because she goes to weight watchers because of health reasons she now has to stay this size. I asked her who is voluptuous in her mind and she said Marilyn Monroe, Loni Anderson and a singer that I did not recognize the name. I said I still find it strange that a person who is thin could be picked on in our time when everyone is concentrating on the obese society who by the way out number thin people 2 to 1. NOW!!!!!!!!! This was the shocker. She said I wouldn't expect you to really understand. If you were fat you would get how it feels to be picked on for who you are....I stared at her and my head spun. IF I WERE FAT I would understand. Looking at me she new it would have been an insult to say if you were bone thin because obviously I would have taken offence in her mind. So looking at me she used the IF YOU WERE FAT instead. She continued to talk until the teacher called us all back to our places and it was over. I spent the rest of the class wondering if I should have pulled out a picture to show her I knew abuse. Tell her that one was not the same as the other. Let her know a year and a half ago I weighed 380 lbs. But I could not get it out of my head that she said " if you were fat you would understand abuse" She was telling my I was not fat....It was like I had heard it for the first time. In my wildest dreams I never thought that someone would ever see me this way. I guess you could call that a NSV.

To be perfectly honest. I eat whatever I want only a very small portion. I put Protein first though and if there is room I will have a bite or two of anything else I chose. For me this program is not a diet it is a change in the way I see food. The way I feel about it. The way I handle the hard times now. Everything in balance and moderation. When I started this journey I thought that the thing to do is be totally rigid with everything I put in m y mouth. But realized when I used to do it that way I was setting myself up for failure like all the diets I had already tried. I even had a food funeral before I had surgery to say good bye to all the food I would never eat again. I was soon to find out that there is nothing you can't eat in moderation. We need all of it to survive.I have been known to even have a cookie now and then. But I eat like this...Water all day long..meals protein first, next veggies, fruit, carbs last. I try to keep that balance in my life every day. Sometimes when I am eating my meal I see the thing that I used to totally indulge on and then thank whoever that I have my sleeve. I tell myself almost everyday how grateful I am for this miracle. Seriously!!!!!!!!!!

Right now @@Teachamy I am enjoying the fact that I am there and no one knows one thing about what I have gone through. It is like being thrown into a new world, you know. I did not want to tell her about my life in any way. I just took it in and was blown away that she said if you were fat you would understand.....35 years no one has ever said that to me... i just wanted to enjoy that part of it without giving away my secret!

If they were 10's or 12. I'd be all over them. You have good taste!

Well except all the people who post they lose weight and are in smaller sizes, posting excitedly about things they can do now they couldn't before... I more so meant that there aren't people on the forums talking negatively about surgery in general, that it doesn't work...etc. I welcome all the positive posts I can find. I'm clearly someone who commented in this post after only reading the first page of comments. Now that I've read through all NINE pages.....my comments seem out of place and all I can say is that this forum is a lifesaver for me. I get knowledge and support and guidance from all the posts, positive and negative, but sometimes people need to just let stuff go. You've made your point and the posts lose the validity when people are just squabbling over semantics. Your comments were not out of place. it was something you observed. I think you made valid points. This thread has been beaten and kick and beaten again. I just wanted to reply to your thoughts.....

I think you are right in some areas. Research and knowledge is so important. But I also think that dedication to improving your health is the most important.. not 100% because that would mean we were perfect..And we know none of us are. I was one of those that thought I had it all sewed up. I knew what I was getting into and researched it for 2 years. After the surgery I realized I knew nothing at all. Sure I watched a few videos on how the procedure was done. Followed experiences on You Tube. Spent some time on here reading others experiences. Here is information you need to continue and succeed. Fight your way, day to day. Learn to fix your brain by reading how others did it or are doing it. Fight your fears by seeing how others have handled it. And realizing that it is a life time war that you win one fight at a time. I could broad cast my own loss every day on here but that is not the real deal. I lost my weight differently then most people on this forum and lived to tell about it. I never ever thought about stalls, weight gain or loss. I have gone by what I felt like and clothes sizes. We don't have a support group here either and it ticks me off so much because hundreds of people in my area have had WLS and it is like the biggest secret in history. Go where you learn the most and be as prepared as you can. My experience was that I would never have been ready if I looked into that completely..And never could I have looked into it completely anyway..I think you and I need to use every venue available to us. And start making a dent in the spots where there is no support or help for us. There is so much more then losing the pounds. There are the emotional, mental, physical and constant self doubt and not to mention how others treated us and now treat us differently. It is such a merry-go-round it makes my head spin.

I just bawled my head off reading this.....You just want to crawl in a corner and die....doesn't matter what your co-worker said. It was you who felt this woman's pain and it was you who knew what she was feeling and it was you who cried for her.... One change at a time.....One changed feeling at a time.... Your right you know...A lot of people are exactly what the scarecrow said in the wizard of Oz: Scarecrow: "...some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?"

Last night we watched a movie and my hubby said " anything good to eat in this house?" I got up and got him a snack brown rice chips. 20 chips for 80 calories. only 1 gm of Protein and too much sodium. But it is better then lays chips by far. I have been getting him lentil chips and hummas chips etc. He told me last night that if he eats one more healthy snack he is going to rebel. Not totally healthy I said. There is a lot of salt in them. And no taste he added. I asked him to please eat better. Your getting older and health becomes an issue even for you skinny guys. He replied that he has eaten enough legumes and seeds to last him a life time..Laughing I told him that is because they are better for you then beef. He ate them but he was not happy. I told him he will get used to them...He said fine!!!!! I won't complain much! He is such a hoot!!!! LOL

I know they have a lot of salt. I am trying to win him over slowly by starting this way...I love chickpeas. LOL It's not about me it is about him. He loves salt and oil and bad stuff. I at least give him lentils...It's a start but he is not taking it well.. You know those guys who miss a meal and loses 10 lbs. That is my hubby!!!

There must be something else going on here. The other girls are pissed at you because you are not eating the way you used to? If this is true, turn it around on them. My mother would often comment about my tiny portions, so, when we are together, I beat her to the punch. Before our first bite, I say, "Isn't it amazing how little the human body actually needs in order to thrive? I am a full grown man who is more than twice as active as you, yet not only do I survive on less than half of your portion, I thrive!" She just blinks. What can she say to that? If you are dealing with people who are consuming even more than that, I wouldn't get too dramatic with the comparisons. People do not like to be called over-indulgent and may react by lashing out even more. But my guess is it will shut them up a bit. If it does escalate, you can also just tell them that, "My decision to live a healthier lifestyle should not impact you. I need this for me, not for you." I used those exact words the other day when a lady was concerned about my food intake. I said I am still alive after a year of doing this and feeling better and better as time goes on. I find it amazing how little the human body needs to eat to be healthy and strong. She shut up and ate her cookie in silence...killed me..lol

If you lose it she wins...Could you talk to your bosses ab out moving you to another place....this is so pathetic on her part..What is she 7 on the playground being a bully!!!!!!!!!!! She needs to grow the h#ll up!

You know what happened to me @@Ree I came home from the hospital after a 5 month stay and I had only socks that fit. My hubby went out and got me a couple size 20 nighties and they were snug....Down from the largest size you can buy in a store. A few weeks later they were too big. I had nothing to wear. Nothing at all. I was so frightened you can't believe it. Gradually he got me more and more clothes and now...Now my closets are bursting again....With clothes I can wear now and clothes yet to wear...Love it... So I understand. I kept only 2 shirts from my former days. When I am at goal I plan on showing the difference on here as a celebration of the facts.... Good for you..Your doing great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started using a heaping teaspoon as well. Still gag though until it turns to liquid. Can't believe how white my teeth are looking. The pain in my teeth is a lot better. I told my Osteopath about it and he told me that he swallows 2 teaspoons of coconut oil a day. But that he will start to use it this way as well. I did not ask him why he was eating it...sure he has some healthy explanation but just doing this is a big change for me. Will continue until 2 weeks up and then decide if it is going to be part of my daily routine....... Never heard of it. Will look it up and take a peak about it..Thanks!

See if they can give you an anti nausea med for that...It should help. Plenty of different pain meds as well.. Don't just settle with okay this is my case......

Saw this article this morning. Hate, hate, hate the way everyone who is overweight is put into one slot. It is acceptable to verbally harm those who struggle with this issue. Fat Shaming does not work as the article points out....They talk about it like oh well I think I will butter my slice of bread now....no emotion, no feeling and absolutely no outrage.....The dawn of a new order it seems with obesity as the target......It just disgusts me! Where in the He double hockey sticks do people think they have the right to make any sort of judgement about anything another human is suffering with... I have never understood how the outside of a person could make people decide that you are not worth anything and decide that those who are over weight are lazy or any other comment.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr http://www.livescience.com/13478-fat-stigma-spreads.html

All we can ask for is one person at a time seeing us all differently!!! Thanks for posting!

Yup you said it..no one looks like the pics in real life!!!!!!!!!!!

I have always been told that I am a big girl...i really hate that...but it is true. I am large framed and want to be a size 8 and weigh 135 lbs. But I think I might be dead before I get there. Sometimes we are never satisfied. And when I talk about it to my family they raise their eyebrows at me and say " are you nuts! " Ii really need to see myself for who I am a body size that would be right for me...That is what I am aiming for...... Thank you for the reminder! My daughter works with all kinds of people who have gone way beyond the normal stage and are dying from it.....One can be as bad as the other....

Try to keep a larabars bar with you or a Protein fruit drink. A few nuts maybe just to get you through. Working out like that is great but you are burning a lot of calories and if you have something small on your way home or after your work out then you will be able to take the time needed to make your meal. I eat 1/2 a bar before workout and 1/2 bar after. Seems to really help. Remember you are burning a lot more calories then before so you need to compensate for that or your body will go into protection mode!