roundisashape

I think I would've still hurt too much the first couple of months - I didn't try it until about 6 months in, but it was totally new to me. Went much better than expected!

Oh yeah. As soon as my weight loss became noticeable all of a sudden everyone seemed to have an opinion about what I should do. I'm...doing...something...that works. I have a family member I haven't spoken to since 1996 who said she wanted to catch up. We got on the phone, and there was a 3rd person on there and they hit me with a sales pitch for a weight loss program since, "well, you're losing weight and this will help you do it faster!"

smoothie King's can be dangerous - they slip a lot of sugar in stuff if you don't tell them not to, and their calorie counter doesn't do a great job dealing with different sizes and certain customizations. That said, I do drink them sometimes when that's all I'm planning to have for the first half of the day. I'm about 9 months out, and I usually go for the small chocolate gladiator with strawberries (or medium if I'm super hungry). Half of it goes down for Breakfast and half for lunch. They have a few reasonable choices in there, but I was surprised to find a lot of them didn't have enough Protein in there to be worth the calories .

I was terrified, but it wound up not being an issue. Mentally I kept obsessing over the idea that I'd end up with hypoglycemia and not be able to do anything about it, but it never happened (at least until I got back to the gym, and by then I COULD grab something). It seems like such an insurmountable change to make when you're pre-op and still have a bigger capacity, but afterwards it's not such a huge issue . Good luck, and I hope you get your date soon!

"Fits and spurts" weight loss - where you go 3 weeks without losing a pound, then drop 6. By the 3rd week, my motivation is sorely lacking. And the buffet people in the family! If it's a cheap one, fine, but $16 and I can't take leftovers? Bullsnot.

I don't really miss anything - if I want something so badly I can't get it out of my head, I have it. What I miss is quantity, but that's only in spurts (like if I'm feeling down and my brain wants to eat ALL of something instead of a few bites of it). I also miss having a taste for certain old favorites. One example is my mom's spaghetti sauce - I'm the only one in the family that knows how to make it like she did. It was always my absolute favorite, and there's not a thing in it that's bad for a sleever (especially when I go heavy on the meat). I eat it without noodles now. It just doesn't taste the same to me anymore, and for some reason that makes me sad.

So after my last body mass analysis at the gym and being fussed at by my primary care doc (who said my goal weight may be okay on the bmi chart, but is too low for me...though she didn't help me pick a new goal), I started looking up calculations for ideal body weight that account for muscle mass. Here's one of the links I found that I used to do some calculations: http://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/ I thought the difference in results was interesting. On the BMI chart, I'll be "normal" at 140. Using the fat free mass I got at the gym, the calculator showed me at an "athletic" 20% body fat at 156! According to these, a respectable (for a lifelong fat chick) goal of 30% puts me at 178 - that's less than 25 lbs away! I sure don't FEEL like I'm going to be "normal" in 25 pounds, regardless of how much effort I put into keeping / building on my current muscle mass. What method did you use to pick a goal? Every time I think I've settled on something, I start having doubts and come up with another number.

Which, btw, is working for you - you look great, Elode!

Yogurt, frozen yogurt (don't beat me, lol), milk, frozen grilled chicken chunks, laughing cow cheese wedges, some sort of finger friendly veggie (like zucchini chunks, carrot sticks, whatever it is), some sort of fruit, and Peanut Butter. Definitely a creature of habit!

Roasted chicken while I was on vacation, it was at a dinner theater. I felt the weirdest mix of sad and proud when I watched the rest of the plate go back to the kitchen!

CONGRATULATIONS! I really admire how brave you are, and you TOTALLY deserve to look the way you want to look, and feel the way you want to feel!

5'3", 204, bigger on top than the bottom, and wearing mostly 14's now. Some brands a 16. Exercise pants are usually a L or XL depending on how tightly fitted they are. SHIRTS are a different story. Still pretty firmly an XL or even XXL...ptooey!

Seems excessive. I don't feel hungry faster if I drink after eating, but still need 20-30 minutes because it just HURTS. I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack and die.

I used to LOVE hard boiled and deviled eggs. Now I can't stand the taste - it's like my throat actually closes and won't let me swallow them!

I wish I were that organized, but I'm a baggie person, too. Some chicken chunks, some veggie slices, some fruit chunks, whatever. I log it before work, stuff it in my purse, then I just grab a baggie of whatever when I'm hungry the next time.

Sasha, mine finally stopped falling out faster than it's growing in at about the 7 month mark, but it DOES come back. I got a sample of the Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco spray in my Ipsy bag (it's about $8-$10 for a big full sized can) and it works really well to keep the frizzies down without making my hair stiff. Otherwise, I walk around looking like I stuck my finger in a socket.

Sometimes I get the light ones, sometimes I just get the ones I like - regular Oikos, Dannon, etc. Those days, it's pretty much the only sugar I take in except what's naturally occurring in the milk I make my shake with, so I don't worry about it too much. Plus it's one of the foods I can rely on when I'm having a tough sleeve day and things don't want to stay down.

May I just vent for a second? This dating thing is SO frustrating. I feel like I should have learned how to do this a LONG time ago, and now I'm floundering to pick up a skill everyone else my age has long since mastered. In my head I guess I know that it's just a weeding out process, a numbers game - put yourself out there, meet as many guys as you can handle meeting, and weed out the mismatches until one sticks. Unfortunately, my head isn't always in charge. The rest of me gets quite frustrated with the "fall-off-the-earth-ers", the ones who CLEARLY didn't read your profile, the ones who take FOREVER to call, and maybe worst of all, the ones who seem like a great match...then you meet them and realize if it came down to that person or spending the rest of your life alone, you'd learn to like your own company really quickly. I guess the only consolation is that they didn't like me after we met, either. I hate that it's almost like a job, and that I need to treat it like one if I'm going to have time to build a family. I just don't understand how other people manage to stumble on the right person like some sort of magic I'm not privy to. Okay, rant over. I think I'm going to take the night off and start trying again tomorrow, lol!!

I love the discussion here, and I'm definitely learning that it's not going to be the miraculous "romantic comedy" stumble onto the perfect man right out of the gate, lol. I'm taking a bit of a break and having a friend take some new pictures and help me overhaul my profile to see if I can draw a different kind of guy. One that doesn't live with his mom. I'd been talking to a guy who seemed fantastic, who finally asked me out. We went out last night, and even though he was nice, I felt duped. He had no teeth, no hair, and I need to believe the stain on his shirt was ketchup. I don't know how old the picture on his profile was, but...no. Especially since I go out of my way to be totally honest and post full body current pictures on there so people know what they're getting and can make a decision about whether they want to talk to me upfront. All I could think was, "I got my nails done and put on an underwire for THIS?" By the time I got home, though, I saw the humor in it. Now there IS a man at work who also lost over 100 lbs, who is adorable and funny and seems to be in the "dating around" stage. I kind of like him, but not enough to make my bed where I bake my bread so I'm not saying anything.

Don't bet no one notices! It's such a touchy thing - most of the people who comment on mine really approach it with kid gloves when they do. You're doing great, and I'm sure you look amazing!

Skinny fingers. Every day I wiggle my hands around to see if I can spot bones yet, lol.