ArmyOfMe

My husband and my baby are my biggest blessings pre-surgery. So yes, good things did happen before WLS. Other than that, no, I was an obese, depressed, always at odds with myself individual.

Good job! You look fabulous!

Oy ... I was in pain for the first month. I have zero pain tolerance. Forget it. If I don't take pain meds, I am useless. Liquid Lortab was my best friend. I took it as needed and did not think twice about it. I still have some left for dark times.

Agreed with the wise folk above me. Don't despair, as you heal, you'll notice you will slowly get your interest in food back. I also go thru phases. To give ya an example: after surgery as soon as I felt better, Laughing Cow cheese wedges were my favorites. Ate them daily for weeks. Today? Forget it. I have no interest in them. But, I am nuts about grilled chicken Caesar salad. I could eat it every day if I allowed myself, granted I only eat the chicken and play around with the rest. Point is: you will like something for a couple of days, and later, you will not want to hear or think of it but you will replace that food with another one and so on. WLS changes us completely.

Yes, I am successfully losing weight without logging my daily food intake. I am the first to admit, I am not good at keeping up with this stuff. Bores me to death. I am speaking for myself only! I do believe logging your food is a very useful tool to maintaining a successful long term weight loss. Once I pass my "honeymoon phase", I have no doubt, I'll have to learn to log my food intake. I refuse to take my gift for granted.

You might be actually making a sound or your breathing changes when you are full and not even be aware of it yourself, but poochy can sense it right away.

Small portion of Denny's grilled chicken Caesar salad. Ate the chicken first, then picked on the rest.

Goulash soup.

Don't rush into bedroom gymnastics this early out. You don't want to snap something out of place.

Be prepared for hard times. Every day is a challenge. Keep up with taking stool softeners and adding fiber to your diet. Lots of water, as well.

Very simple: think long and hard before committing to such a life changing journey.

Why wouldn't you ask your surgeon? You are paying him for a reason. I highly doubt you would bother him unless he lacks bed side manners. Will you be any happier wondering for a whole month about an answer to your question?

Everybody carries their weight differently. To the naked eye, we might look the same but that's visual manipulation. We are all uniquely build. She might have lost mostly on her upper body and bottom has to catch up but don't think you will lose the same. I do understand your fear, though. It's natural. Have faith in your body's ability to shed the extra pounds. Important is, that you are losing.

.... And here I thought "making out with the toilet" is a sign of fullness or too much fullness. Interesting stuff with this sneezing phenomena, tho.

10 if I remember correctly. I lost it all and than some within the first week or two.

I just started going to the gym regularly. Actually, I'm officially 3 months out, so I did start after three months. I hired a PT to guide me. She is training me according to my WLS. She did her own research and knows my limits. So far, other than soreness and hating the gym, I haven't seen any improvement. Too soon for that. Hopefully, once I get down to my desired weight, I'll notice the muscle build up and the toning. We'll see what my body wants, tho.

I think those who start low, at 213-220 (also very much depending on the genes and age) can get away with not badly needing plastic surgeries. Fitness/toning serve them better than someone who started at 300lbs and has a lot of extra skin left behind by massive weight loss. Also, take into account the height. All in all, there are happy cases out there who did not need extra skin removal. Actually, in my other forum, one lady posted a picture of herself at 6 months out and she shrunk amazingly. No extra skin anywhere. She bounced back great. Young age, smaller start weight and probably good genes is my only explanation of her success.

Add prunes to your diet when you are cleared by your surgeon. They make a lot of difference to keeping you going regularly, besides the traditional stool softeners. Fecal impaction is my biggest nightmare. I learned the hard way not to let one day go by to where I don't take my stool softeners, my dried prunes, H2O and Miralax.

I love straws. I used to have a collection of them from each fast food joint or coffee/smoothie shop we went too. Other people would walk out with one or two, I would walk out with 10. Nuts, I know, but I like them plastic stix. All docs say, no straws because it just causes gas, blah blah blah. The straws actually help me keep hydrated and learn to sip not drown myself. I see more benefit in them than deservice to the pouch.

I would privately speak with the brother who had WLS and confess. Ask him to respect your need of keeping your WLS private. You mentioned how everybody treats him poorly. As a bullied person yourself, don't you think, you should speak up and not allow for him to be bullied like you were for so long? I can only imagine how miserable he must feel and his thoughts at the end of the day. Don't bother sparring your B/F's feelings, bother helping the one who had WLS and is being treated like he's worthless. I would ditch those so called friends in a heartbeat. Honestly, your B/F doesn't seem to be any better, either. He is the type of man I personally run from eating the ground on my way. Good luck to ya!

Y'all look great!

Awesome! Not much left until goal. Congrats to ya!

Yes, it is common. I haven't done my research nor did I ask the surgeon/RN but I blame it on the nutritional imbalance. Good question to ask the surgeon next appointment!

Mozzarella oven-roasted cauliflower.

It's old guilt. Like when we would eat an entire pizza pie in an hour and later sit in the recliner and feel bad for overeating. The same old "I wish I didn't eat that pizza!", "Why did I order it?" It's the fear of slipping back into old habits. Most log their food intake. It helps them be in control of their nutrition. Maybe you could give it try. MyFitnessPal is the most popular out there. Good luck and have faith in yourself and the gift you have been blessed with.