LipstickLady

Tell her to suck it. You are doing great.

Pros: I am no longer fat. I have more energy than I have in decades. I can do mud runs, zip lines, zumba, ride horses (scared of them, but I could), ride amusement park rides, etc. I can shop anywhere. I am no longer the fattest person in the room. I can grocery shop without feeling self conscious. I can fit in theater seats, airplane seats, down aisles without feeling squished or squishing others. I can eat whatever I want, I rarely WANT junk and when I do, I eat very little. I am a cheap date. (See above.) food no longer rules my life. I could truly go on forever... Cons: . . . . . . . . . <crickets>

SF chocolate pudding with a bit of Protein powder mixed in, pureed avocado with plain geek yogurt mixed in and a squeeze of lime juice, hummus on a spoon, cream cheese on a spoon, Peanut Butter with a bit of Water and warmed in the microwave to loosen it... Get creative! Your head is craving FLAVOR. It's out there.

Buying a bathing suit is exciting! Yes. I still wear a tankini, and yes, it still has a skirt bottom but the choices are amazing! So many colors, so many shapes, and I'm not the side show fat lady at the river/pool/ beach when I remove my cover up. I don't even get pissed off when someone pulls out a camera and I'm in the shot or when it ends up on facebook. Y'all know, that's HUGE.

I either sneeze or have a terribly runny nose when I overeat. Fixed your title!

I eat tortillas almost every day. I did have sleeve surgery over the others so I could eat as normally as possible without the fear of dumping or productive burping. Unfortunately, even with my sleeve, I got both. I disagree that we should not be finding substitutes for foods we used to love. Why not? Doesn't adapting old favorites into new healthier options make absolute sense, not only for us but for those we love and cook for? I would much rather my kids eat spaghetti squash as noodles instead of white Pasta. I would much rather my kids eat high Protein greek yogurt over the sugary oreo topped versions. I used to make subs, now I make wraps in low carb, high Fiber (gasp!!) tortillas. I want them to see me enjoy a mini ice cream sandwich or a kids' scoop of sherbet instead a behemoth sized serving and see that it's perfectly OK to enjoy treats as occasional goodies, not diet staples. Oddly enough (wink wink), they are following my lead. Yes, this surgery gave me back the gift of good health, but it's also affecting my kids in a very positive manner. That's priceless.

We all have our own reasons for having weight loss surgery. For some of us, it's so that we can stop the progress of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity related illnesses. For others, it's because we are starting to feel pain in our knees, our backs, our feet. And of course, many of us want to look great in skinny jeans, in a bathing suit, a summer dress. (There is NO SHAME in the vanity aspect of WLS, who doesn't love an admiring glance, a great compliment, a quick head turn?) Personally, I had WLS for all of the reasons above. Not only did I want to extend my life span, but I wanted to improve the quality of my life for myself and my family and I wanted to look and feel great for these prime years of my life. I really had no way of picking out a weight goal as I had been obese for decades and after two children and a few dozen years, I had no idea what 160, 150, 140 would look like any more. I chose to make my goal very Fluid, one of those "I'll know it when I get there" ideas, more focused on pants size than an actual weight. The day of surgery, I did pick the number 159, which is still "overweight" according to the BMI scale, but that was a number that seemed so lofty and it was a number my doctor was thrilled with. When I hit that goal 9 or so months later, I decided that I'd really like to see 149 (WHAT!?!? UNDER 150!?!?!?!), a number that still alludes me to this day. I often get messages from people asking me if I am unhappy that I've not reached that number and the answer is HELL NO. What I really imagined for myself was to be in pant sizes that were in the single digits, to be able to do a 5k with my kids, to eliminate all traces of pre-diabetes, to be able to shop in any store I chose. I've done all that and I've maintained it now for over a year. No only that, but I've maintained it without a whole lot of concerted effort -- something that amazes me every day. I KNOW I could hit 149 -- my stretch goal -- if I worked at it. In fact, I think I could hit 139 and one day I might feel the need to, but I doubt it. I did not have WLS to live the rest of my life fully focused on every morsel that enters my mouth, counting, weighing, measuring obsessively. I still track, I still plan, I still log and measure much of the time, but I choose not to center every meal around my food log like I used to. Why am I even bringing this up? Because I see some people here and elsewhere who I am scared for. I see a few members who are dipping dangerously close to the underweight end of the BMI scale. I see some people on other boards who are beating themselves up because their size 2s are tight. These people are oozing panic and anxiety over every gram of carb eaten and over every ounce of movement on the scale. Clearly they have traded one eating disorder for another and I fear for them. I also see people on the other end of the spectrum who think that because they've had this surgery, they are free to eat whatever they desire because their restriction will keep them in check and they are shocked when 6 months later they are up 30, 40, 50 pounds. If you are just starting this journey or are midway through your weight loss, I'd love for you to write down your goals -- what's really important to you about this whole process. Revisit those thoughts as you get close to goal and write down what you feel really good about and where you feel you might be struggling. Use those thoughts to guide you when you feel your thoughts are going haywire and you might need a reality check. And seriously, do NOT listen to your friends, neighbors, family when they tell you that you are too fat, too thin (at 200 pounds, you are NOT too thin), need to lose more, gain some back, etc. Go to your doctor for that. Keep your perspective in check. This whole process is a real mind fruck ( ) if you allow it to be.

I have one, too. I won't use it. I've not anyone tell me no to my requests yet. Maybe they can sense my inner b/tch...

That's a significant difference. Twice the calories and more than four times the fat? And the carbs, too!

I got nothin. I just wanted to see if the tag worked.

You GO girl!

I'm sure I'm in denial about it, but leave me alone in my happy place, mmmmm'kay?

My NP wasn't big on anything stringy either for 6 months. No string cheese unless I bit into it (what kind if monster does that!?!?), no beef jerky, no spaghetti squash, celery or rhubarb.

Most fast casual (Chipotle, Qdoba, Panera, Noodles &Co, etc.) just use adult foods in mini portions as their kids' menu. I agree, though. Most sit down places have a crappy kids' meals. In those places, I go for an appetizer.

Oh! At costco or Sam's, I get a hot dog for $1. I add lots of relish, skip the bun and it's delicious. If I am near a grocery, I have no problem asking for a source or two of shaved lunch meat and good cheese. Costs less than $2, and I can eat it on the go.

I love spaghetti squash but I'd hold off a bit. It is very filling, and you really should be concentrating on Protein right now. I am two years out and 3-4 bites of it and I'm stuffed.

I didn't. I don't.

If you are afraid, don't do it. I didn't start solids until 12 weeks post op and it didn't go so well. I stuck with chicken and seafood salad, cheese, eggs, Beans, shaved deli meats, etc. until about 6 months post op. No need to hurry if you are meeting your nutritional requirements or are close to it.

Can you grab me a beer, then?

@@Alex Brecher Didn't work here either.

It works for others, just not for me. Good news? I have no secrets so it doesn't matter if boys read/respond to my posts.

I couldn't eat meats other than really wet chicken salad or seafood salad for three months. Veggies, took almost 5.

I guess I'm the only tag failure. Sigh.

Wait...

@@Alex Brecher The females only tag bombed. The boys are looking at me again.