JustWatchMe

Welcome and good luck! Post often!

Came back to this post today with an update. I switched to decaf only about two months ago and cut way down on even the decaf since then. I drink more tea and Water now. I sleep better and am not as jittery. My reasons for giving it up had to do with anxiety. I was also tired of having coffee breath all the time which led me to chewing gum all day long. I'm feeling much calmer without caffeine and glad I made the switch. Less coffee breath, less gum chewing. Me again! Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I got off caffeine. I'm still drinking decaf, but not so much at work. Mostly after work. I'm still sleeping better and I'm very glad to be off the caffeine. Less anxiety overall.

Congrats!! This is an exciting time and you have so much to look forward to. Good luck and keep posting!! And hey, you're on liquids. Drink what you like. (Except alcohol!)

This is NOT my house but I drove by and loved it, so I took a pic.

Yes sounds like post op gas pain. If I remember correctly mine lasted around a week or so. Walk a lot, and have someone karate chop your neck and shoulders a few times a day. Good luck.

Yep. Until you are adjusted, which could take a few fills, you're going to be hungry. Tips: make that cup of food count. P rotein p rotein p rotein. You don't need carbs now. Have a veggie once in awhile, but p rotein will hold you longer. Hang in there and get your fills. It will work, but it takes time and patience to get to green. Good luck!

I feel that once in awhile. It is puzzling to me as well. Why sometimes do I just feel a normal grumbly hunger, and why other times the burning, strong hunger? I don't know, but Debbie gave great advice. First, hydrate. Then if you have some p rotein available, eat it. Better yet, have a meal if you can. If you can't, the small p rotein snack should tide you over until you can sit down to your meal. I keep pecans or almonds or p rotein bars or shakes in my desk at work. Are you going too long between meals? When I go longer than 3-1/2 or 4 hours, I get too hungry.

Never give up on yourself! Get your team to help you make a plan and see them regularly. Best wishes.

Never heard of that before. If you ask your doc and learn why, let us know.

Morbid obesity taught me that there's no free lunch. Some of the damage it did to my life/body is permanent. Examples are knee joint damage, a metabolism that now requires an insanely low caloric intake in order to lose weight, high blood pressure (still not back to normal even after dropping 100 pounds), losing out on career opportunities while I was young, losing decades of my life with the wrong partner because I had no confidence to make a change. What I don't want to forget: how it felt to not fit in a rollercoaster test seat. How it felt to sit in a movie theater with my husband and an empty seat between us for breathing room. How it felt to squeeze into an airplane seat with a seatbelt extender and feel the looks of the passengers assigned to sit next to me. How it felt to binge eat until I got sleepy each night. Not having clothes that fit one season to the next. Avoiding social engagements. Hiding from cameras. Praying nobody would tag me in Facebook pictures. Not being able to ride a bike for even half a block. Not being able to walk the two blocks to church without feeling like I was having a heart attack. Being the mom on the college walking tour whose makeup was dripping down her face while struggling to keep pace with the group, yet being a block behind. Changes just because of weight loss: I can breathe when I walk. I've dropped several daily medications. I can walk a 5k easily. I only get cortisone shots in one knee now, not two. I enjoy trying on clothes. Instead of my makeup sliding off my face from exertion, I'm often cold, and frequently put a sweater on, even in summer. I welcome random people sitting next to me in movie theaters now. My clothes still fit from LAST YEAR. My dog gets walks. I left the jerk.

Just beautiful!

I went faithfully the first year to my own hospital and another one. They were both very far and difficult to get to after work. I miss them. I do go to OA but I don't really talk about WLS.

It's a process, right? That's how I feel after I went back on a second blood pressure med this month. I was so sure that particular rx was a thing of the past. Oh well. I need to maintain a normal BP, and you need to sleep. Taking good care of ourselves isn't always done exactly how we would want it , but we have to do it.

Take it easy. Lots of bathroom breaks and remember to drink water. Good luck.

I fit in theater seats. The final years of my marriage, my husband would sit one extra seat away from me because we were both so big that we were crowding each other at the movies. That's a depressing snapshot of our relationship right there. By the time I started losing weight, we weren't going to the movies together anymore. Now I go alone and don't bat an eye if someone sits next to me. I can fit, they can fit, and they don't mind being next to me because I'm not spilling over into the next seat. Yesterday I pulled out the one outfit I saved from pre surgery. It was a pair of jeans and a top. The top was very loose, but the jeans were enormous. I literally got both legs into one leg. It made me smile and be sad all at the same time. That was me. This is me. I don't ever want to return to those days. But it could happen. I don't ever want to forget that.

Every day should feel a little bit better. Walk as much as you can. Stay off the scale for now.

Congratulations! Take good care of yourself. Welcome to your brand new life!

Nope. WLS was absolutely the best decision for me. It's hard but living obese was so much harder. You can do this. Just surround yourself with support and keep to the program. Once the weight starts coming off you'll feel better. I did!

Congratulations !!!!

Please do get help with this. And beware, it is easy to turn to alcohol during this time. I myself had to give it up completely. I practice deep breathing and I see a therapist for my divorce. Life is very stressful and without my old comfort, food, I don't want to turn to anything else dangerous. Take care and keep posting.

I've always lost in my lower body first, then face and neck, and belly last. No exception with WLS.

Good luck and welcome to your new life! Post when you can.

This is awesome!

Wow!!!! Thanks so much. Such great resources. Has anybody out there changed careers at my age? I'd love to hear your story.

I was surprised to find that I am still able to swallow my extended release blood pressure capsule, which is even bigger than a Tylenol caplet. I had to go back on it several weeks ago and I was nervous. But you may just want to try. If you're able to swallow a Tylenol caplet it may give you a reference point.