LipstickLady

Mine are back from the early 90s. And I am my housekeeper.

I have an in at DFS because of the shelter.

I've donated 280 pounds of clothes so far. Most went to a battered women's shelter where I volunteer. A carload went to Dress for Success, some went to friends and the rest went to a church group who donates to various charities. It was so hard at first because of the little voice in my head that told me that I would be back in those sizes one day, but I refuse. I FRICKING REFUSE. I still need to clean out all my winter clothes and sweaters and then on to the jackets and coat. I have a basket in my closet where I dump clothes immediately after putting them on and then seeing that they are even slightly too big. I'm done being fat, dammit. DONE.

While I enjoy the compliments, I understand those who do not. I am not defined by my body size, fat or thin. I have much more interesting things going for me over what size pants I wear. Is that hard to understand?

I called it my First Trimester in reverse. I was just as drained as I was during the first three months of pregnancy, just as cranky, but instead of growing, I was shrinking.

I feel ya'! It is still so bizarre to have more than one thing on my plate. I know I can hold 5-6 bites max, so it seem ridiculous to have three things all at the same time. If you like it, get some really finely chopped salsa to spoon on top of the whole mess. It's ridiculous how yummy it is to me post-op.

I love scrambled eggs! If you aren't full with one, try adding a little cheese. If you still aren't full, serve them cheese and a little spoonful of your refried Beans and hot sauce. YUM!

I was exhausted weeks 3-6 and I couldn't sleep without waking up several times through the night. I wasn't uncomfortable, I felt fine, I was just pooped. NP said it was so normal and many of her patients complained of sleeplessness. She told me to take melatonin, get my butt to bed earlier and nap during the day if I could. (HA! As if.) By 8-9 weeks out, I was fine. Back to normal. It's all good. You will be better soon.

I put avocado and guac in almost everything during the pureed stage. I got so tired of mayo.

Yup. If it's forbidden, I want it. If I am told no, I do it twice. Unrelated/related story here. When my husband and I were first married, we both had good jobs, no kids, we had a house, new cars, we were very comfortable. I was out shopping and I found a ring I really wanted. It was about $400 and when I called him and told him I was going to buy it, he said NO. WHUCK MOTHA FUCKA!?!?! Like a good wife, I "obeyed". I bought a tennis bracelet instead. It wasn't $400. Add a zero plus a lot. HA! He's not told me NO since.

Because I am on the road so much, Panera was a GODSEND. I asked for more broth than Soup, and they were happy to comply. Many restaurants will even run soup through a blender for you if you ask. I ate a LOT of hummus (single serve cups!) and guacamole. (Waiters kept asking me if I wanted chips with my guac. Yes, I *wanted them*, but crapdammit, NO, FOOKING THANK YOU. Keep your eye on the apps and the sides menu. You will be able to eat so little that a cup of soup is two or six meals and you will learn to love flavors you never expected to like.

I'm only 6 months out and I've learned that there is no generally "right" answer. We are all on different journeys and everyone's path to success is going to look a little different as well. You need to make your choices on what your body can physically handle and what you can mentally handle. Your choices may possibly determine how quickly you get to goal or if you even GET to goal. I chose sleeve over bypass because I didn't want to be as restricted as I believed bypass to be. I wanted to be able to eat sweets in moderation, but sweets aren't a trigger for me. I didn't get fat eating cake and so a few bites don't make me crave more. On the other hand, I cannot have open bags of chips in the house. I will eat them. All of them. And lick the bag. And then buy more. It's bad. Instead I buy individual serving sizes of chips for the kids because I am too cheap to touch them. I don't know what it is, but having an open bag is a siren call for me and I cannot tear my thoughts away from them until they are gone. I am also staying away from nuts for awhile. Yes, they are healthy and a great snack and I fooled myself into believing I could measure out a portion and eat just that, but I can't. I dip into the can before and after measuring and when I am done with my allotment, I get "just one more" multiple times. I can, on the other hand, stop at the grocery store and buy a small baggie or an individual serving from the bulk aisle and be fine with just those. I am choosing not to for now, though. My long winded answer to your question? There is no answer for all, there is an answer for YOU, you just have to find it. Don't be surprised if that answer changes on a regular basis. Mine has many times and I am sure it will change again. For me, moderation works until it stops working.

What were you drinking?

) In several colors.

I'm still losing so I am shopping mostly consignment. I am loving the clearance racks at Loft, banana Republic, Anthropolgie, and Limited. H&M is fantastic (and cheap!) as is New York and Company. I get very overwhelmed in Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillards, etc. because there are so many fooking choices. I feel like I want to crawl back into my plus sized ugly old lady clothes section and cry because I have no clue where to even start.

Wait. Y'all don't just remove most everything in the doctor's office? No wonder she looks horrified when I start the stripper music.

Darn you! I thought this was going to be a good adult type story involving a slutty you, chocolate body paint and firemen with big hoses. Sigh... It's all good. You slipped, you realized it. It's what you do with the aftermath that's important. How many miles are you going to log to work those icky chocolate bars off? :wub:

Sigh...

So I am just going to throw out the opinion that this thread could be asking for trouble. We all na-na-KNOW (sorry about my stutter there, haven't had my coffee yet) that some people see THEIR opinion as facts and there is no medical journal or expert that can tell them any different. We have them on all the boards, so let's hope they don't find their way here. If so, I'm claiming all rights to the refreshment stand and I have a feeling I may be making some serious bank!

I know there are no words that I can say take away your heartache. I can't even imagine the devastation you all are feeling right now and I'm so sorry for your loss.

My hair loss slowed to almost normal right at six months out. That seems to be the norm...

I was joking!

The dreaded question that no smart man will answer with anything less than an enthusiastic "NO! Your ass looks great!!" while still fearing for his well being and wondering where he might be closing his eyes for the night. My husband now LOVES the question and actually (GASP!!) checks it out for me eagerly where he used to slink out of the room right after the aforementioned response. He knew I was going to be pissed no matter what he said -- not at him, but at myself. Problem? He now goes overboard. He wants to check to see if my pants are too tight -- you know, where he has to insert his hand down the back and see how much room there is. He also has this weird obsession of checking to see if my boobs have shrunk more. Hmmm... Every day. By feel.. And then by sight. And then by feel again. Weirdo.

Damn, girl!!

You calling me stoopid?