RJ'S/beginning

A gulp will be somewhat painful going down at first.. Like a painful lump in your throat..The other is at this point not a true reading. You are still swollen from surgery and have not healed. You will not really get to know that for a while yet. But it is better to be on the safer side and sip a couple of ounces at a time and sip something often...K

I could write a book of the insults and rude remarks and ignorant comments that were made at my expense. All walks of life can be classless. I even had Doctors treat me like I was a piece of dirt under their feet... I stopped looking at the ground and started looking them right in the eye. Most lowered their heads but there were others who found that as encouragement to abuse me further. Now at a loss of 182 lbs. I am not noticed at all. I can go anywhere and wear what I want and don't even get noticed at all. No one even recognizes me who pass by me that I have known for years. Now I am truly invisible.... I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully one day I can put it all behind me..But nothing infuriates me more then someone abusing another person because they feel it is their right to..Their right to be entertained by another persons hardships or how they look or any other circumstances that free people to say what they decide is okay.... I will never let it go by me again..I will step up and defend anyone that is having that done to them......I have learned that if you don't...People will always think it is okay!!!!!!!!! And it is not!!!

It is always great to find like minded people like yourself who understand what this journey is all about! Welcome and all the best on your sleeve....

I know how you feel...i lost my pants on the side walk outside my home one day...Walking and down they went...gone from a size 8 ring to a 5.5..None of my rings fit.. So far I have not lost any but I cannot wear them and my wedding ring cannot be sized..It has a design on it that will ruin it if I do that...stuck!

Every morning I eat 1/2 c. Raisin Bran with a little Lactose free milk...it keeps me regular and I love the taste of the Raisins...

A mild laxative may give you relief. It is a 50/50 chance that you lose weight the first couple of weeks. Your body has been through a lot and so much crap they put in your body to protect you and fluid build up and swelling and everything else. pain meds... Relax and get better before you start to agonize about your weight.. You are in the honeymoon period. You are now geared to lose......K

I had the same experience last weekend with curly fries..But I was totally happy that I had the sleeve. it stopped me dead from eating more then 1 small piece...They did not like me at all..Not willing to try that again....My tool worked for me and as I watched everyone else gobble them down...I was thrilled I had my sleeve......

Glad it went very well. Almost uneventful. working in a hospital I am sure you could imagine a thousand different scenarios. good for you! Your on your way now!

I think your doing just fine................I think that you are experiencing the woes of real life....I think you deserve the right to rant. I feel it was my privilege to read it and admire your will and strength.... Once you hit that gym.........Work it off!!! You will feel better kid! Well at least that is what everyone tells me.....

Looks good!

I had a food funeral and never regretted it at all..I waited 4 years for my surgery date and things were getting tougher and tougher for me.... Just before I started my pre-op I did eat the things I thought I would never eat again. What I did not realize is that I still can eat most things just not the same amount. When the time comes for you to be a good student and do the best for your health and sleeve. You will! But do take the time to learn better eating habits because it makes it that much easier then learning afterwards. Less withdrawls. And like the previous poster. Now some of the foods I loved I cannot tolerate. I find some things too hard on my stomach and I am finding sweets really hard to eat now...Never thought that would ever happen to me!!!!!!!!!!!!

go girl go!!!!!!!!!! kick it....Your going to be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will tell you something about myself..I was the odd person on here. I could not wait to have this surgery and counted every moment until it would be done so I could have a second chance at life...I read everything I could. Watched videos on You Tube and was pacing wanting to get the show on the road...... Most people are like you, afraid panicky and worried. That is the normal response. Mine was not...You are going to do great...You really are feeling the new life that you are about to embark on and the responsibility it will put on you. But there are going to be so many wonderful changes so quickly that you will have a hard time keeping up with... i look forward to hearing your Non scale victories..Because you will have many!!!!!!!! Okay!!!!

ahhhhh..look what your feeling is normal. totally normal. This is a complete life changing no going back situation you are entering. We think we know it all by reading up on it and reading others experiences. But we don't really know everything until we go through it ourselves. The unknown factors are very scary and it is natural for your mind to affect you in negative ways when you know there is huge changes in the wind.... When you start getting weepy, think of your goals. What you want to be able to do and why you are doing this in the first place.. It is work but a good kind of work. it will be all about you and your journey to become healthy and happier and allowing the real you to surface.... So many good things ahead of you.. Write some things down that you know this will bring you..... Breath deep, calm yourself and let it happen. let the fear ride through you and know that your doing this to better yourself... You won't fail! You'll have up and downs but failing is not an option.... And on top of that you have us to help you a long the way.........K

I would never in a million years thought that the first photo was you....Total transformation....wow. congrats to you girl!

Had my second lesson with my trainer today. He assures me that when he is done with me my tire will be a lot less noticeable ..... I hope he's right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I keep feeling like I am gaining weight even though the scale says otherwise. I feel like my stomach is getting bigger. It seems to stick out more then before. I feel like it is taking over my whole body... I hate it so much and it bothers me to see myself in the mirror... I know that weight goes in different places at different times. but it looks like everything else is shrinking except my stomach. Is this an optical illusion or have others found that the stomach seems to stay forever... Kinda ranting I guess.....Is it mostly skin or what is happening here?!

Proverbs 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. Truth is truth. Yes the benefits are numerous!! Not to mention that it is the only food that never spoils or rots!!! And the healing components in it are amazing as well! But I get your thought Gman..good point!

This quote is not recommending sweets it is referring to everything in balance. Everything in life that we need to live like normal individuals. Don't look at this quote literally. See it as a quote that is encouraging moderation in everything in life including the choices we make in eating...I thought it was good and it struck me in a positive way: We'd get sick on too many Cookies, but ever so much sicker on no cookies at all. Sinclair Lewis Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis

You look amazing.............awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope I can feel as steady as you about my spare tire....it is really driving me nuts....you were one to say this too.. Thanks for the humor as well Gman

Wonderful Gman....that brought tears to my eyes!!!!!!!!!!

You go girl and feel those dreams. it was a fall in a bath tub that brought me totally down as well. The effects were devastating and the weight packed on as well. I could not walk for more then ten min. before I broke out in a sweat from the pain. i could not stand to even cook dinner for my husband. He took over all the shopping and house chores... I felt so useless and thought in a year i will be in a wheel chair or worse. DEAD! All the things you mentioned have been my reward for this long and difficult journey and like you said much more....I will always see this as a new lease on life and as a chance to live again...which i am thank goodness!!!!!!!! Hoping the same for you hun!

There are other substitutes for sugar. Real maple syrup and Agave nectar. i try very hard not to use artificial sugar in my food as well. But now I do have a more hunger issue which I had really hoped I would be one of those people who never felt hungry again...It was not to be. So sometimes I do have a sugar free hot chocolate. Not always but once in a while. It seems to help. All Protein drinks have some kind of artificial sugar as well. But as you go along and you feed yourself properly. You won't need them. only on the really bad days when you may not be well. That is what I do otherwise it is the real thing all the way..... There are Cookies out now that have fewer calories such as Life style by Peek Freans. If it gets too much I find they are great. They are not sweet at all and they seem to satisfy. I find now I can't eat really sweet things.. i actually gag on it.....