Comfy_Blue

#1. Not having to wear shorts under my skirts! My thighs rub together something fierce so even on the hottest summer days i have on some kind of spandex shorts underneathe. it's so annoying b/c if the dress is close fitting you can totally see the shorts. Plus it's so hot and uncomfortable. I need some air up there (lol)

my anxiety seems to be increasing which has made my pica a lot worse. i am looking forward to finding a good therapist to talk to so I can get my mind right.

210lbs as of 1/10/2013

I'm a married woman but i gotta say you are a cutie! Glasses suit you. Keep up the great work :-)

That's wonderful! Sleep apnea is the worse. You dont even realize how sleep deprived you are until you finally get a good night's rest. I've never heard of a band causing it, but i am a sleever, so i'm by no means an expert. i'm just glad it was able to be corrected. My bff has a band, and she has never complained of it causing her sleep apnea or anything issues with sleeping. I'm not sure how it could to be honest. My husband has severe obstructive and I have mild, so i understand your pain. well, regardless of what caused it, i'm glad you're doing better!

When i met my husband i was almost wearing a size 14 and he completely fell for me. While we were dating i gained about 35lbs and was wearing a tight sz 20 at my heaviest. Now i'm almost in a sz 14 again. I feel like his interest in me has remained the same. He loves my curves, but at the same time he wants me to be healthy and happy. Plus even when i was thinner, i always had decent sized boobs and an ample behind. So unless i lost a disgusting amount of weight and got down to like 100lbs or less, my big boobs and ample behind are here to stay.Sure, they'll be smaller, but so will the rest of me, so it's not like i'll go from a curly fry to a shoe string. When i was 150lbs i wore a C cup and had thick thighs and a nice perky backside. I think it'll be the same for you. If you have generous curves now, you'll still have them when you are smaller and really it's the curves most men love. My husband loves to put his hands on my shrinking midsection that is starting to go in and become a waist again and is like "whooo, look at you! Mmm, mmm, MMM!" He also grabs/smacks my backside (playfully) and seems to enjoy as much as when it was an almost 14 as when it was a 20 going on size 22.

i hated plain water prior to surgery b/c it always made me have to pee right after. now i can't get enough. i can finish about 8oz in 30 mins if i go slowly.

My question is will Care First accept one month of "Weight Watchers e-Tools"? I have my bank statement to show that I have paid for a WW membership for the last year, plus I have my WW weigh-in card with the stickers. All the dates below that are in black are dates that I actually went into WW and received a sticker with my weight on it. The only problem is that you are supposed to have 2 three-month concurrent (back to back) periods where you tried the program. My card looks like this: Feb. 23, 2012 Mar. 1, 2012 Mar. 8, 2012 APRIL WEIGHT DONE ONLINE WITH E-TOOLS MAY WEIGHT DONE ONLINE WITH E-TOOLS June 28, 2012 Nov. 17, 2012 Nov. 24, 2012 Feb.16, 2013 Feb. 24, 2013 March 9, 2013 March 23, 2013 March 30, 2013 April 6, 2013 April 13, 2013 April 20, 2013 August 2013 Nov. 16, 2013 My surgeon's office says that sometimes insurance companies don't accept WW e-Tools, but the fact that I have so many dates that I actually went in for weight in, will that help? Also I was forced to use e-Tools for April and May because my grandmother was extremely ill and ended up passing away, so we were in the midst of a family crisis and I was the first responder because my parents and cousin (her daughter) all work in the city from 9 - 5, whereas I am a teacher and was able to leave work easier because I have a really amazing boss who understood my circumstance. So getting to meetings was hard, so I purchased a Weight Watchers scale from Target and used that Should I write a letter explaining that part?

I think this is exactly why our (well-meaning) friends and family members often think we look unhealthy with weight loss...they've gotten so used to seeing us heavy that it's become our new "normal" and seeing us getting smaller is a bit jarring, especially since it becomes so rapid. I remember when I was at my heaviest (i'm 5'6 and was 245lbs) I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to lose 100lbs. Immediately my mom started in about how unhealthy that was and that if I lost that much weight I'd look anorexic/sickly, put myself in the hospital and possibly die. Now my mom's a smart, logical woman, but that makes no sense. If I had lost 100lbs, that means I'd have been 5'6, 145lbs. That is by no means sickly. I think it just seemed like such a big number to her because she was thinking of me at 245lbs as my "normal" weight, so 100lbs off a "normal" weight is scary. But it's like, "Dude, I'm morbidly obese. 100lbs off would bring me back to normal." Plus, my senior year of high school I weighed 150lbs and I didn't look sickly at all. Back then that was my normal. But I gained weight gradually over the years and I think Mom and most people have forgotten that yes, I used to have visible collar bones, thin wrists and my waist went in.

I think it's very brave for you to come on here and admit your mistake. It's even better that you have put a plan in place to correct it. Like i always tell my students " anyone can make a mistake and confess it, but it takes a truly special person to confess and correct it". Keep going and if there're any questions or tips or aditional support you need from us, the bp community is here for you. It mig help to join an offline support group or to have a walking buddy. I'm in the process of trying to find both.

Howdy and welcome! I'm happy to hear you're already working to improve your relationship with food and breaking bad habits. :-) I took off two weeks after my surgery to recover. I work a rather physical job tootoo (i teach 1st grade in a 3 story bldg) so there's a lot of walking to the copy room, library, playground, cafeteria, etc. The pain hasn't been bad at all, iI just felt weak/tired and needed time to get my energy up and work on getting all my Protein in and just getting used to all my physical changes.

I think mixing it with almond milk would be fine. The little card that came with mine recommended using milk with some of the recipes. I would email Dr. Ortiz because some doctors check their email over the weekend. Also if he is connected to a hospital they may have an answering service that will connect you to an on call doctor.

it sounds like you may be having heart burn/acid reflux. are you taking anything for that? i wasnt vomitting but before i got my stomach acid under control i used to feel hungry a lot. i started being afraid my sleeve wasn't working. once i started taking my prilosec and the acid died down i didnt feel hungry anymore. my nutritionist reccomended i eat/drink 2 to 4oz every 30 minutes all day. that also helps me feel full since i'm on full liquid diet and the only things i eat are still liquidy in nature, like yogurt or pudding. i'm wondering, have u been cleared for o.j? that has a lot of acid in it and i know some people havent even had wls have trouble stomaching o.j. my nutritionist says i should be having apple juice or sugar free crystal light, no o.j. maybe limiting your intake or diluting it with Water will help. these are just tips based on my experience. u definately should follow up w/a doctor.

whoa, 180lbs in 8 months? that's like 23lbs a month or 4 - 5 lbs per week. i'm with lipstick lady and the others. i'd like to know some more details and if you have a lot of excess skin. also, a before picture.

My understanding is that (excess) sodium makes you retain Water and overtime can give you high blood pressure. Retaining water can make you look and feel bloated. Prior to WLS, I believe that the recommended daily intake is supposed to be 2,000mg. I'm not sure what it is after WLS. I'm only 11 days out, but I've used a sprinkle of salt here and there in my food. Before I was sleeved, I used to put salt on EVERYTHING (even chicken noodle Soup which is already super salty) and I would often put salt on things before even tasting them (like a naked burrito bowl from Chipotle with tons of salsa, cheese and sour cream really doesn't need a load of salt). I think as long as you're not engaging in those types of behaviors and eating tons of processed food, you'll be okay. But of course, you should talk to your nutritionist because everybody is different.

Jan. 3 Starting Weight: 217lbs

i ate some rice pudding yesterday (90cal, 5g) and felt fine but have opted to not have anymore because it has carbs and i am in my losing phase right now. i've been looking for substitutes because i love Pasta and rice and i don't know if i can help myself with them. if u google ''cauliflower rice'' you'll find a recipe. i haven't tried it yet b/c i am still on full liquids but it looks good and some of the comments i read under the recipe said that when u cook it w/other stuff like gen tso chicken or beef and salsa it gives u the same feel and taste of rice. as for pasta. i found a recipe for zucchini fettucine w/a creamy squash sauce that looks good. nice and cheesy. same for zucchini lasagna

Oh no! I completely understand your pain because I teach first grade and believe me their personal hygiene habits leave MUCH to be desired. In the two weeks leading up to my surgery, I hand sanitized my hands raw, wore a hat and coat buttoned up under my chin everyday, wiped my desk down with Clorox wipes before eating my lunch, etc. And I STILL got a bug about a week before surgery. If you have the option, I would highly recommend taking off from work and staying home to rest. On those rare occasions that I come down with something on a Friday, I find that if I literally stay in bed resting and sipping lots of Water and broth on the weekend, by Monday I usually feel much better. I also take NyQuil at night and sometimes during the day to help me rest comfortably. Not a doctor, but I feel like when your body is sleeping, it can focus on fighting the germs with all it's strength. But when we're awake, we're spreading that strength out to do other things like walking, talking, driving our car, reading, etc. That's what works for me anyway. Good luck and I hope your surgery doesn't get post-poned, but if it does, don't be upset. It feels like it, but it isn't the end of the world. But again, I know that you're eager, because I was too.

I know the OP has left this conversation, but I wanted to just send a shout out to Laura-Vet for her response. I am still on full liquids and I confess that I have done the swallow spit a few times (mostly at holiday parties so that no one will notice i can'/am not eating). However, now that I see why this is a bad idea from Laura, i have decided i will no longer engage in that behavior. I find it more helpful to learn WHY you should just say no rather than a "healthy" way to do something that is nit good for you. To add to the OP heroin addict analogy, if a heroin addict could have a surgery to make their body physically stop craving heroin and have a much lower tolerance for it, it doesn't make sense for a doctor to say "hey here's how to clean a needle incase you want to engage in your pre surgery behaviors safely". The point of the surgery is to BREAK the cycle, not to continue it a little here and there. That's how we addicts (drug and food) got to where we are in the first place. Maybe some people can handle swallow and spit and keep their weight off for life. I am not one of them. A bite here and there turns into a swallow (which is what happened to me almost everytime I engaged in this behavior. Sometime it would be a full swallow, sometimes a partial one because of the residue, but a swallow nonetheless) After the first couple times I did this, I found it harder and harder to spit out that bite. I ended up swallowing some of my coworkers amazing buffalo, chicken dip (brought some home from the party) and I was in acid reflux agony for what seemed forever because I swallowed some. So anyway, thank you Laura for being brave and speaking up. You have helped me tremendously.

I saw Chia seeds at GNC. What's the advantage to using them? Do they make you feel more full or give a nutrition boost of some sort? The ones I saw were really expensive, like $40 for a small bag, so I wasn't will to try them until I knew more about.

Looking good girl! The crossed leg pic is my favorite. You look so sassy and comfortable in your own skin. I hope that when I've met goal I'll still have some of my curves.