Miss Mac

Girl, you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. I did not find my prince until we both had been thrown away twice. Had we met when we were younger with undeveloped adult personalities, we might not have liked each other. We met on-line and just laid out the truth and presented ourselves "as is". He accepted my baggage and I accepted his and we plan on walking into the sunset together, hand in hand. If I had rejected him because he smokes, and he had rejected me because of my weight, I would have missed out on the greatest love of my life. We have been together 9 1/2 years now - who woulda thunk it? Take what pleasure you can get out of life. If you have found a man who treats you well, you have found a rare gem. I hope this one works out for you. Hang in there, kiddo.

My oldest daughter has taught me a lot about how to set aside pre-conceived judgements about people and how to embrace a person for how they love and not who they love. She married her gal-pal a few months ago. Embarrassingly, I was so disoriented and uninformed to ask who was going to wear the dress, that I just waited for the surprise. It was a beautiful back yard ceremony with many of their roller derby friends in attendance. The way I look at it now is that I have not lost a daughter, I have gained another daughter.

I changed my about a year out. I bore no resemblance to my previous photo.

Clothing sizes are a mess. I had a hard time grasping the concept that others were claiming they were a size 6 at 180 pounds and I was still wearing size 16 pants. I would like to know where they shop. My body shape-shifted several times.

Well, my new tummy sounded like a dinosaur fight for about two months, and then it settled down.

Per comments 10, 15, 30, and 35........Why are you still there? Why would you love someone who treats you that way? Life is too short to live with a jerk. My perspective is as a survivor of a 23 year marriage with a prolific serial cheater and a 10 year marriage with a psycho-**it head who mistook me for a punching bag. Darlin', a one-sided relationship is not fair. You deserve to be happy. Why did I stay so long????? Because I was in a strict church where the humble wife stayed and prayed and let the husband run rough-shod over her, regardless of the fact that #1 put me at risk for aids, and #2 put me at risk for being the next murdered and missing spouse on the front page. (He kept five loaded guns in the house). I think you already know what you need to do. I wish you the best, and peace of mind going forward.

Celery stuffed with cream cheese Livers wrapped in bacon Ina Garten's Parmesan Cheese chips http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/parmesan-crisps-recipe.html Garlic Herb Stuffed Mushrooms http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/foolproof-mushrooms Cucumber Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cucumber-stuffed-cherry-tomatoes Meatballs any way you like them Taste of Home's website has many suggestions for low carb appetizers.

My insurance approved five days, but I was in on Monday morning and out on Wednesday evening.

Not to worry. I lost 23 pounds pre-op and then gained back 12 while in the hospital from IV fluids. It took me two weeks to lose that and then I hit that third week stall for about two weeks. Geeze o pete! So, I really was fully past my first month before I actually made progress at all, when many people are down 30-40 pounds already. But now I am just three weeks away from being two years out and am very close to goal. It just takes some of us longer. Hang in there, kiddo.

Six days, huh? Well, at six days out, I was on purees, and still totally exhausted. If it is a business trip and you can hang back at your hotel room to pamper yourself, it might be do-able. If there is any activity involved, it's gonna be rough going.

That was one of the things I asked my surgeon pre-op. He said he extracts as much of the CO2 as possible. Consequently, I had NO gas pain at all.

Sweat is fat crying.

My sleeve was my 12th surgery, and the easiest recovery of them all. Think of it as a nice nap, and when you wake up you will be on the way to a new you.

First, it looks like somebody is up thinkin' when they ought to be sleepin'! Secondly, I lost from the top down, then the feet up. Even though I am close to goal, I am the shape of a pencil with a donut around the middle.

Thanks. I can't believe how much food I used to put on my plate at Thanksgiving and then go back for seconds and dessert. Getting my sleeve was the smartest thing I have ever done.

From Thursday to Saturday morning, down 1.6 lbs.

I had to stop watching the Food Channel and cooking shows to, for a while.

Happy Thanksgiving. Here is a video of Jimmy Fallon's "Thanksgiving Fails" hashtags.

For me it's potato chips, ice cream, mac and cheese, stuff like that. I just have to say no, because I would lose all control and eat until my sleeve gives it all back.

Although my insurance pre-approved five days, I was in on Monday morning and out on Wednesday afternoon.

I agree with jenn1 that people who judge you are not telling you what kind of person you are. They are telling you what kind of person they are. Ben Franklin said in his Poor Richard's Almanac, "To whom thy secrets thou doest tell, to him thy freedom thou doest sell.

Scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, canned peaches, and soft moist chicken got me through the soft stage. At 4 1/2 weeks, my first take-out food was the Wendy's chili I picked up on the way home from my one month follow-up. That small chili lasted me four days. I am now three weeks away from my two-year surgiversary and still cannot comfortably eat bread, pastries, noodles or rice. That kind of stuff sits on my stomach like Play-Doh. If I eat something that Miss Tummy objects to, she will make sure that I am miserable for hours. She is still the boss of me. You have the right idea about soft and moist foods. Your new tummy will have you trained in no time. I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and an uncomplicated recovery.

I am guessing that the horror stories you hear are not from people who had a bariatric surgery with complications, but from someone who heard someone whose cousin read about someone whose aunt had a complication. We have had bariatric brothers and sisters who have had complications - and you can read about them on this forum, but it is a chance I would take again. The truth is that you take a risk every time you get out of bed. You might fall down the stairs, or set the house on fire in the kitchen or get bit by a rabid dog if you go outside. I had a 26 year old nephew who died in a car wreck on Saturday. He had no idea that Saturday was going to be his last day on earth. Staying in bed would not have been a guarantee of a good day. He could have choked on his Breakfast or a plane could have crashed into the house. You can't let other people hijack your personal decisions about your health care. Besides, once you get it done, they can't undo it. All they can do is gripe while you get healthy. I know that my sleeve saved my life, as I had already had one stroke due to my weight and high blood pressure. It was a chance I was willing to take because I was eating myself to death anyway. Doctor's and hospitals don't make money if they maim or kill their patients. My insurance required my surgery to be done at a hospital which is a Center of Excellence. Educate yourself as much as you can, and then do what you have to do. Hugs from Chicago.

If you go ahead and get the surgery, your family can't undo it. Then they can gripe all they want and it won't change a thing except you will find out how your family and friends really feel about you. Do what you have to do to get healthy.

One of my downfalls pre-op was fast food joints. I am retired now, but was 22 miles from work at the time. I would stop twice on the way to work, and sometimes three times on the way home. Oh man, what a waste of money. When I committed to the surgery I had to find a way to make the drive-throughs less compelling. So, I call them McPoison's, Poison King, Poison Bell, Poison Castle, etc....This has really helped. I wish you good luck and good health.