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What surprised me was me. I discovered many things about myself. I am 15 months post op and realized long ago this is more about mental battles than physical ones. For example I learned the following life lessons during this journey and continue to learn things. Self esteem- I discovered a new found confidence, but I also discovered how low my self esteem was. I see it now in others as I am in public. I notice the signs of low self esteem. Patience - this is one of the hardest things to learn. Stalls happen and although we think we should snap our fingers and the weight just drops off it does not happen that way. I had to learn to be patient with my body and brain. Perseverance - knowing that my docs plan is a proven successful one and trusting that it will work. Strength - physically and mentally. I discovered during my first 4 months that I was a much stronger woman than I thought i was. I was nauseated everyday and threw up at least once a day, but I was strong enough to get through the tough times. Happiness - I discovered I am a very happy person. Which brought forward how miserable I was with all the weight on. I thought I was happy eating everything in sight, but now I know what happiness is and food does not provide that happiness anymore. My new life does! Brightness - my outlook on life is brighter. My middle name is Sunshine and I now feel like I live up to the name. I love to smile and have been told several times the past year that my smile brightens the room. I have so many more happy days than miserable days now Goals - I started out in the journey wanting to reach a silly number on a scale, but soon realized other goals were much more exciting to reach. I am training for the police academy, a 5k, and can play 90 min of soccer with no problems. Love - my husband and I reconnected on such a powerful level. We were like newlyweds again. I realized how much he truly loves me. He accepts me for me and nothing more or less. Finally truly loving myself has allowed me to love in a deeper way. Personal demons - I came to face to face with demons I had pushed away with food. The scared little girl who only wanted friends suddenly had lots of friends. However my mind and the little voice keeps saying they only like you because your skinny. Facing that demon has been hard, because there is so much wrapped up in it. Did I eat to protect myself from pain of people, or did I make food my best friend because it never said no. I still struggle with this issue. It is hard to realize that every new person I meet only knows Skinny Samantha not big girl Samantha. Take it a step further and I think to myself - would they like big girl or are they my friend because I am skinny. Health - I am getting illness under control. I have Rheumatoid arthritis and have been able to decrease my level of steroids from 20mg a day to 2.5mg a day. My pain is better and quality of life is better. There are a lot more, but those were the highlights. This is a journey and a wild ride, but well worth the cost of admission! I love my new life and look forward to more self discovery!

I got the "hate you skinny girl" look today. I was in the elevator at Sears carrying my new bathing suit and an overweight woman got on with me. I gave her a smile and I got the look. I know the look well as I have given many skinny women the look. It is a look of envy and hatred. The if only look - if only I was that skinny, if only I had a flat tummy, if only I was a smaller size. I have never been on this side of the look and felt bad. I knew how she was feeling, but not sure what to say. In the end I did not say anything. When I see someone who is overweight I want to go to them and say you don't have to live like this. There is an answer out there and you will feel so much better, but I never want to hurt someone's feelings. Has anyone said something in this type of situation?

It is just a phase and you will grow out of it. Your choices of food will grow and grow. There is not a lot to choose from during the first couple of months.

It depends on each person. I have trouble with sweets, but some people can not handle them.

Yes you will transportation.

I don't have a set place I go to. I look mainly for cost. Wendy's has a good dollar menu. I can not handle sonic food for some reason, but love their ice and ice tea.

You are put to sleep during the upper GI. No pain at all. Just a nice deep sleep! Everything takes a couple of hours and you will be home. You are able to resume normal activities that day.

I think this is mainly head hunger. A good way to tell is if you drink water and the feeling of hunger goes away. Things I snack on are Nuts Pretzels Goldfish Cheese it's Pop corn I really like things that are crunchy. I also tend to have cycles. I really crave certain things and it change every few months. Right now I love pretzels. Last month it was cheese its.

How far post op are you?

I will try to explain it. Lets start with not losing weight and not enough calories. Many many years ago people had to hunt for their food. They would gather as much as they could before winter because the winter time was lean times. Our bodies learned to hold onto weight during those lean winter times. If they lost weight during those times they would eventually die. So fast forward to today. Our bodies believe when we cut calories we are in lean winter times. So it holds onto the fat and weight with the idea of protecting and saving your life. It does not want you to starve to death. Since we all know we no longer have lean winter times and food is plentiful we have to have patience during our starvation times. When your body more specific your brain realizes we are not starving it starts to lose that weight. Increasing calories will help jump start it. Now on to your second question - how we lose inches and not weight. I don't have a scientific answer for it. However I would bet money that DL does have articles on it. My doc did say that this was the way it works. If I had to guess I would say it had to do with our bodies catching up to what has been happening during the weight loss. Also working out helps to sculpts our bodies. I have been losing and gaining the last five pounds for several months, but everyone keeps saying I am losing weight. I keep telling them no my weight is stable, but I believe that I am still losing inches as my clothes are fitting better and better. I hope that helps a little. Hopefully DL will chime in with articles!

Give your doc a call - you might need your gallbladder out.

Do you have your gallbladder? Regardless you should give your doc a call!

Yes you need to call and tell them. Always tell doc about the surgery. It may change the way they treat you medically. I would also put a call into your surgeons office just to let them know about it. Especially since you are only 7 weeks post op.

I have been in prednisone for 6 years now. It is doubtful that a med pack will cause that much weight gain. You are only taking it a few days. Whatever you gain you will lose again. It would be like Water weight. If your doc thinks you need it then take it. Don't suffer with back pain. It will only be temporary if you gain weight. You might notice that you feel hungrier, but your stomach will not hold what it used to. Relax and take care of yourself!

I had a proud moment this evening. I rescued a very obese cat from a storm drain this evening. I was able to fit down the manhole cover with no problem. I got in my truck thought to myself wow 15 months ago that would not have been possible. I would have need assistance with the cat. I love my new life!!

This is only the case with man made protein powders. If you are ingesting natural protein you are able to absorb more than 30g at a time.

I think this is your chance to understand a little of what we women go through every month with our monthly cycle!! As your fat cells are released hormones are released as well. The first few months are a roller coaster ride. You just have to strap in and hang on.

I have one lady that tells me that all the time. I believe she is just jealous that I have lost the weight. I have told her the last few times that I am not losing anymore weight, but I am still losing inches. I have no control over my body. Thanks for asking about my training. It is slow right now due to working nights, but last night was my last night shift. I will be able to go to the gym in the afternoon with hubby and that will help.

You will want to wait until your incisions heal, but i would bet that swimming would be good for you arms.

I have a large frame for a woman. I have broad shoulders and large wrists. I have lost about 120lbs. I am in a size 2-6 jeans (it really depends on the maker) I wear a small to med shirt. I look like a weigh less, but due to my frame size I weigh more. I weigh about 136 right now, but most women that are in a size 2 weigh 120 or so. I hope this helps.

I think one of the keys is to figure out your triggers. We all have things that trigger cravings, or wanting food. When you figure those out you are able to deal with them. I found one of mine was stopping at a gas station/ fast food to use the restroom at work. I had a real problem leaving there without buying something. I worked around that by either waiting till I got back to our station and having so many different snacks in my lunch back that I am not tempted. There are still times I have to have a conversation with myself and explain that we don't need it. Our brains are such an amazing organ. This journey has shown me how much our brains play a part in weight loss. Our success and failure depends on learning about OUR brains. Everyone is so different. My husband has no clue what it is like to have a craving for something. A craving you can not ignore and must have it. His brain is wired differently than mine. He has been thin all his life and has always said just reduce your intake and you will loose the weight. That can be hard when your brain is doing everything it can to sabatoge you. You must learn your brains tricks and be smarter than it. I have said before on these boards that if you think of your brain as a two year old you are able to deal with its tantrums. The "I want it now" mentality does not work with RNY. The first few months after surgery you want it now, but your stomach will not allow it. This is the time you develop your healthy habits. As one person said you begin to look at food as fuel not comfort and happiness. When you look at the piece of cake you think to yourself I wonder how much protein is in that. Make sure though that you are 110% ready for the change. If not you will have a hard time changing your habits. I would suggest you start keeping a food diary. Log your food and what you are feeling when you are eating that food. Also keep a record of things that are going on in your life. This will allow you to narrow down your vulnerabilities with food. Good luck.