Momonanomo

1000 % for the better. I feel better in body, mind, and soul because I am getting healthy. Most importantly because I have hope now. It is not all sunshine & unicorns, and it is not a magic bullet. But it has allowed me to get results from the work & commitment I put into it. I would do it again in a heart beat -- it was exactly what I needed.

I have had the same thought -- but then I think about the people who would have to risk their lives just to recover the vehicle from the bottom of the cliff I don't want to be morbid, but you might find interesting the story of Martin Manley. I applaud his philosophy and what he did is certainly very...well, thought provoking. Here's an article about him: http://news.msn.com/us/martin-manley-details-suicide-sets-off-treasure-hunt Even now after all these months, his website gets so many hits that you can't usually get to it. But there is a mirror site that was set up (the link is in the article but here it is too: http://www.zeroshare.info/ ) It's really fascinating...and like I said, thought -provoking. He's kind of a hero I think. Not sure if I agree 100% with every thing he said/ did....but what he did he thoroughly thought out and was extremely practical about and ... wow. Please don't anyone jump on me if you disagree with the subject of the article/website. I am merely sharing access to information. And much love.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this, and I completely agree with you on your rant. God bless. I'm sending you much love.

A couple of nights ago I awoke at 2 am to go to the bathroom. On a whim, after I was done I stepped on the bathroom scale…to find that I have lost 100 lbs since the start of my pre-op diet; and 90 lbs since surgery on May 22, 2013. I had a hard time going back to sleep I was so excited! I want to lose (I think) about 39 to 44 more. I will be a healthy BMI for my height when I lose 20 more, so I will reevaluate then. I cannot describe the mindf*** having reached this goal is! I knew it would be though….I had faith I’d get here, and yet I am still shocked that I got here. I’ve worked hard, but because of so many failed attempts in my past, the fact that my hard work is actually paying off this time is mind blowing. I am thrilled beyond belief and am filled with wonderment! I need to post before and after pics maybe -- just to help me wrap my head around this. I can’t believe I’ve lost 100 lbs. I can’t believe I weighed 100 more lbs than I do now just 8 months ago. I still feel like me, so how can this be? I do feel SO much better. I feel totally different and very much the same – all at this same time! It is so bizarre. I feel so different in all good ways, and very much the same, also in all the good ways. All the clothes that were once too small for me are now too big. The size 12’s I got so that I could shrink into them, now all of a sudden are too big, and I think “How can this be? What is this strange phenomenon? “ LOL The holidays were an interesting learning experience for me. I got to “onederland” the morning of Thanksgiving, which was Nov 28. Between that day and Dec 30, a month later, I had lost only 4 lbs. Don’t get me wrong, I do see the value in losing 4 lbs, especially during the holidays, when in years past that was a major gain time. But it was a significant slow down from recent months. Over the holidays, I had alcohol, I had sweets, I had bread – no never in large quantities, but I loosened the reigns compared to how I have been eating. I also during this time did not always follow the “protein first “ rule, and I sometimes sipped a beverage with my food. I did all of this mindfully, fully aware of what I was doing, I went slow so as not to over do it, but I was definitely “celebrating” -- I was doing so to enjoy the family holiday meals and such. I knew the consequences would be slow weight loss and/or maintaining. But it was MY decision and I was in complete control. Ah, it was so liberating. I believe I have seen a glimpse of what maintenance might be like when I reach goal. I feel strong, ….and I feel taller I was doing some Pilates on the living room floor the other night and my husband came in. He admired me for a minute and then said “My wife has nice long legs” and I just giggled and said “They’re getting longer all the time!” Nowadays when I take the dog out for a hike, I sometimes jog for half of it. ME. I freekin jog. Unheard of! And really, aside from just being more active in general, I have not started any kind of hard-core grueling exercise routine. I don’t go to the gym, I don’t watch a clock that says I have done cardio for x minutes. I happily take my dog out & frolic a bit until my heart rate goes up, and sometimes, just because my body feels good and strong and happy, I do some Pilates-type moves on the living room floor. I suppose I may need to incorporate more formal or stringent exercise into my life as some kind of routine as I try to get closer to goal. It’s certainly not a BAD idea. But my point is, I haven’t had to break my neck to get to this point. I’ve just naturally started wanting to do more and more. And that, my friends, is what I believe is a true life style change. Hooray! So yes, I am happy. And yes, I have faith that I will achieve my goals. What do I look forward to most? Getting to goal and being there long enough that THAT is my reality, not a novelty. I want people to just know my at my healthy weight in my healthy life style, and not think of me as the girl who lost all that weight. I am so ready to have this be the rest of my life. Onward!

I would venture to guess the danger is more with the tortilla chips etc the guacamole is eaten with than with the avacado itself ...just my humble opinion

I have half a small avocado in a green smoothie every single day, and have since about week six, if I remember right. I give credit to this healthy fat for keeping me from experiencing hair loss commonly asskciated with WLS. Really, after you are healed there is nothing (except carbonation) that has to be given up forever. And some will say they have returned to their carbonation. You will find perhaps that your tastes will change a bit. For me, I gave up the "whites"....white bread, white rice, and for the most part, sugar. I dont do high fructose corn syrup at all but that is because of GMO (scary stuff). I used the preop diet and food progression during healing time to really detox from the highly processed carbs like the whites, and now I finally feel free from their addictive grip. I do on occassion have a bite or two of corn tortilla, but i am still in my losing mindset, so I am following the protein first rule. Theres just not much room for low priority foods like that in my tiny tummy

I had so much fun closet shopping! Had 24s to 14s. I missed a couple of things on the way down and shrank out of them before I got to wear them...oh well there are worse problems to have If I had been more organized that wouldnt have happened :/ I am now needing to shop for real because the smallest in my closet are things getting too big. I have had to get new nightclothes, new bras & undies tooo. It is incredible! Lol i had some baggy undies my husband said i needed suspenders with them. I dont want to invest too too much shopping right now because i still plan to lose another 40-45 lbs. Old Navy had a great sale at the new year so I bought the same pants in my current size and the next 2 sizes down because they were only $12 each. Hope Im not jinxing myself I was glad i had all those sizes in my closet to work my way through. There was something very satisfying about it! And to have that one special pair of jeans....the ones i couldnt even get up my thighs go to 'just a little tight' to 'they fit!' to 'uh oh these are too big'....well that just tickles me to death!

I never had reflux before surgery...my surgeon has all his patients take nexium for exactly 3 months after surgery. For the first month I opened the capsule onto my tongue and swallowed with some Water -- it was pretty easy. After that, when the surgeon cleared me for taking pills, I just took the capsule whole, no problem. I stopped the nexium as instructed after the three months and holy hell I had some serious acid reflux! It sucked! I checked with the surgeon and he said everyone is different, some people never have a problem, some do forever, or it may or may not get better over time. I'm now a bit over 7 months out and take an OTC (zantac) as needed. I do seem to be needing it less and less, currently about 3 or 4 times a week. Hoping the whole reflux thing will become a distant memory in the coming months!

You are an awesome, AWESOME woman! I have taken frequent full body selfies in my underwear....probably wont be posting those should have thought that idea through more lol. But I suppose for me & my husband it will be interesting at least. I loved your lessons learned statements. You speak the truth in them all. Congrats! All your hard work has paid off!

Wags, my May sleeve sister, you gorgeous girl! You have done so well! Congrats!

Gg you are so wonderful for sharing these things! I still feel the fog sometimes...and, although I think it peaked around month 5 for me, I still do not feel as quick n clever as I did preop. I am definitely going to inquire about testing to see if there is room for improvement. GG please do let us know if/when you feel a difference!!!

Brilliant advice! I love this!

Good for you for recognizing whats going on and addressing this in a healthy way! So pat yourself on the back for that! My recommendation would be to get busy doing things that will distract you from continuing to think about whatever it was that upset you. You have journaled and you have vented to friends, so if you have said all there is to say, then just try not to let yourself obsess over rehashing it over and over. The best way to do that is to move on and occupy your thoughts by turning your attention to other things. Get involved with whats going on in hte life of friends or family, and talk about whats going on with them, or start a project of some sort --- anything that will get yourself out of your own head and into thinking about other things. Best of luck and happy holidays!

I have never regretted surgery for a single second. I did not make the decision to have surgery in a hurry; I did not take this decision lightly.I made sure I understood and knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I was prepared to no longer enjoy eating like I had in my presurgery life. I realized that ultimately I wanted exactly that. My over enjoyment of eating was what led me to the hell of obesity.

I'll start by saying I enjoy Quest bars as an occassional treat That being said, and having read both links (the bars and the Pirates Booty), it reinforces my minds et that the very best food is real, unprocessed food. America has produced (processed!) SO many miracle foods & diet drinks in the last 30 years designed to help us lose weight or not gain weight in the first place, and what has happened in the last 30 years? America has exponentially increased its obesity rates. Add to it the ambiguity or outright "errors" in labeling, and we're really in trouble. There is no way to fudge the nutritional content of spinach, or an avocado, or some good lean meat. K...I'll climb down off my soap box now....

Congrats on taking care of business ! I dont know how tall you are so I cant say whether theres any wiggle room in your goal weight. I agree the body is going to settle where it wants, so just make sure you are eating heathfully, and exercising, and getting your vitamins, and you should end up at a weight that is right and does NOT make you look sickly. I also want to say that I am 92 lbs down and 7 months out (as of today!), and sure as s**t , like clockwork the weightloss is slowing down. So dont expect to keep losing rapidly forever. Try to concentrate on living healthy and the number on the scale will end up exactly where it is supposed to be

Great job! I love how in your afters you look so much taller it's because you are long n lean. Congrats!

Yes coffee can irritate the lining of the stomach, which is less than ideal while healing from surgery. I resumed drinking coffee 6 weeks post op with no problem. The best advice I can give preop is to not quit cold turkey.....start EARLY reducing your daily intake and until you quit completely PREop, because you do NOT want to be recovering from surgery with the added fun of a caffeine withdrawal headache! O_o