Carol P

San Diego, CA

It is great to have all of you on here who are experiencing the same things and we are all about the place in our new lifestyle. I have had two recent times where I got sick from food that I thought was OK. In both cases it was grilled! I had grilled fish and a grilled burger. I think I have discovered that the food was just too dry. Almost after the first few bites I felt nauseous and actually got the "foamies" and was sick to my stomach several times over the course of a few hours. I was determined to try the burger again and this time I put melted cheese on it, lots of condiments and cut it into little bites and it went down fine. The grilled fish was at a restaurant and I wasn't brave enough to try it again so I fed it to the cat. LOL. Claire - I'm glad you are home safe again in the UK. Thank for the encouragement on my NSV's. KimR - I hope you are feeling better now and didn't buy that many of that brand of protein bars Tammy - I still can barely walk to my car so you are an inspiration to me JannetH - you are such an inspiration and supportive. Glad you are in this forum Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Carol

Oh Kim, I'm so sorry to hear that you had that terrible experience and off of a protein bar! It sure sounds like dumping. Too bad your experience lasted so long too. That is not fun at all to feel that sick for so long. I'm glad your better now and know what to look for on the labels to avoid that situation in the future. Take care of yourself, Carol

Hello Vicki, Unfortunatley, there is no right or wrong answer and it is an individual decision. I also was undecided between the sleeve and RNY. I was leaning toward the sleeve but one factor made my decision for me. It was that my Doctor has performed over 4,000 RNY's and only about 100 sleeves. I went with the surgery where he had the most experience. Sometimes I wish I would have had the sleeve because it does seem that there you are less likely to dump, but fortunately, I don't have dumping. Sleeves can have more staple line leakage which was a concern for me too in addition to the lack of long term data that you sited. Either way, I don't think there is a bad decision. You will be so happy that you started this journey and at your young age too. I found an old weight I had recorded in 1990 when I was about 30 and I weighed 300 lbs. I wish I would have had the surgery then. As Cher says, "If I could turn back time" Good luck with your decision. Carol

Hello Luka, I have some 5X and 28, 30 and 32's also. I'm wondering since no one replied to you if you found another way to get rid of your clothes? I'm still in a 4X but hoping after another 20 - 40 lbs I'll be back into my closet full of 3X and 24's. Keep up the great work. Looks like you are doing fantastic! Carol

It seems like I've been losing 3 - 4 lbs per week. I am down 55 lbs since surgery 4 months ago. I have never been a fast loser which is why I have gotten frustrated with dieting in the past and given up. This time is for the long haul.... it is forever... so I'm pleased as heck to be losing weight consistently. I say that but have had stalls for several weeks and other weeks where I've lost 10 lbs. As everyone else said, it is the process and as long as the scale is moving in the right direction, and it will, you have nothing to worry about. It is surprising how many inquisitive people ask me what my doctor expects me to loose. The good news is there is no expectation, just that the scale moves in the right direction. At my rate, I could be down 100 lbs by the end of Summer and 150 lbs by Christmas! That would be amazing!

I've thought about a handyman too. I bring home the bacon too and it is hard to find a man that isn't intimidated by a successful executive. I’m glad I’m not paying an X any alimony but I did get taken for a lot of dough in a failed business with an X so that probably counts. I’m also waiting to get a little thinner before I start dating. I went out with a few from the Big Beautiful Women site. One didn’t have a photo posted and on our first date he confessed he was married. Another told me he suffered from bipolar disorder and had depression. He said he would take me bowling after he got paid so I passed on dating him. On another first date, a guy invited me home with him and when I refused, he got mad and started calling me names and cussing at me. I’m still not ready to try it again so I’ve been thinking about attending some meetups to see who I can meet through those channels.

Hello clairec, How was Hawaii? Are you tanned and relaxed? Carol

WOW sawyersmommy, you look amazing. Congratulations on lossing 100 lbs! And congratulations on getting into the twos! I have a goal similar to you to get to 175 which would be exactly 200 lbs from my high weight of 375. You are only three months ahead of me and doing fantastic. I've been on a stall the last several weeks but know that the weight loss will kick in again. I know my body is probalby adjusting. I was at 307 on the scale today and can't wait to get to 299! :-) Enjoy your day and thank you for posting. Carol

I wanted to start this thread as I think those of us with 200 plus pounds to lose have unique challenges. For one, it is going to take us a couple years to get to goal. Many of you on here have been an inspiration to me so I wanted to start a thread. In September 2013, I finally made the decision to have the surgery! I had the RNY in February 2014 and I’m on the road to successful long term weight loss! Looking back, I have been on a weight roller coaster my entire life. It started when my mom took me to Weight Watchers in 1970 when I was just 10 years old and weighed 125. I first hit 300 lbs. in 1990 and then lost 80 lbs. because I was horrified at hitting 300! Over the next ten years, I lost and gained and gained it all back and then some to top the scale at 350 in 2004! Again I dieted and lost about 75 lbs. and kept the weight off for over six years. Then over the last four years, I have gained, gained and gained to reach 375 which was my highest weight ever. Does this sound familiar? I tried every diet. I was most successful on Weight Watchers and medically supervised Protein diets. I tried Jenny Craig and even went through a weight loss hypnosis program where I received a “mental” lap band. This didn’t work too well for me. Does this sound familiar too? It was reaching my highest weight and the difficulty to move around that do basic household chores that I decided WLS was the only road that could rescue me. I can’t believe I have already lost 60 lbs. since January 1st. This is one of the first times in my life I’ve been able to lose so quickly. I can’t believe how the weight has just dropped off and I’m not starving to death on 750 calories a day. Please share ideas to success and challenges we can expect over the next few years working toward our goal weights. I’ve chosen 175 as a goal that will be exactly a 200 lbs. loss for me. What is your story?

Hello All, Well I've been hoping for some NSV's but they seem to be slow in coming. The good news is that my 5X's are too big now and my size 30 slacks! It has taken four months to get down a size! What a victory!

I had one of those days yesterday and it was misserable. It was the first time in probalby six weeks! The good news is that I put my size 28 jeans on today to go to work that I dug out of the back of my closet and they are really too loose on me! I guess that is a little comfort for the foamies and burping I had all day yesterday. Keep up the great work everyone! You are all an inspiration.

I was at a loss on soft foods too and Googled "Soft foods" and found several sites and recipes for people with Head and neck cancer. I pick through those recipes and adapted them to what I could have. However, I found that I was full on just a few go to foods like cottage cheese, yogart, Soups, Protein drinks, sugar free Jello and pudding, etc. Here is one pdf with some receipes but again you need to look through ingredients or modify them to take out sugar and fats. http://www.uchcancer.org/attachments/recipes-and-diet-tips-for-head-neck-cancer.pdf And I agree with Sugarfreeme! Egg face has great recipes. I'm her friend on Facebook. Good luck on your exciting adventure in weight loss! Carol

Hello All, I'm glad you all can identify with so much to loose. Sbell35 - It seems like we were the same and obese at a young age. I'm glad that you nipped 415 in the bud. I knew with out RNY I was giong to be 400 lbs soon. AutumnPunkin - Welcome to ONEDERLAND! Is there a name for the Twos? I'm giong to be there in a few weeks! I love the photos. You look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Wizzyglick - Enjoy the process. This is still the fastest I have ever lost weight. Just trust the process and enjoy it. It's the journey not the destination! I'm glad to have new friends that are supportive. THANKS and Keep up the fantastic work!

This made me laugh out loud and really made my day. I know I still float! I made a long, long list of about 100 NSV's that I anticipate to achieve and I'll have to add this to the list. I'm going to mark them off with the date I achieved them. I've been around Water my whole life and was a swim instructor and life guard and always been a good floater! I can't wait to SINK for once in my life! Thanks for sharing this NSV, NMJG Carol

Hello MissTrish14, MthrEffinPrncss1126, Chelly, James Marusek, Thank you all for your comments. I know it will be a life long journey and it is great to hear from all of you about your unique challenges. Miss Trish - Sounds like you are doing fantastic with your surgery! I'm so glad for you that you were approved and the weight seems to be dropping right off of you. You are welcome for starting this post. I'm glad you wrote a reply. Bobby Jo - You will be happy you had the surgery. I wish I would have done it back in 1990. I always thought I could do it alone and eat like I had the surgery but that never worked. I even just went to the WLS Seminar expecting to not get the surgery but just to check it out and I was almost the largest person in the room which was a shocker to me. That is what sold me to be honest. Chelly, it sounds like you have had great success! Congratulations!I can't wait for the day I can fit into a 14! I'm already down from a 32 to a 28 size jeans I got into today! Good for you, James! You have had fantastic results in a year and are an inspiration to all of us.

My dad used to tell me that I was fine as long as this was the case. It hasn't been the case for a long, long time but will again soon. Thank you for sharing, jacileggs.

I go into for my 12 week checkup tomorrow and agree that I still have a fickle pouch. Like my NUT said, many patients name their pouches because they have their own personality. :-) I'm trying to figure out what it likes and what it doesn't and what makes me nauseous and what doesn't. Like bloreorbust said, some days I can be stuffed to the gills and other days I'm hungry and feel like I can eat anything. My doctor prescribed Omeprazole too and I take that once per day. He mentioned being on it for about four months to help with the healing. So every day is a new experience. I have great experiences the last two weeks trying lots of new foods without much adverse reaction. I'm thrilled about that as I travel a lot for business and it isn't fun to be at a dinner table with clients and have to constantly excuse my self or feel like I'm turning green. Keep up the great work all! I really am blessed to have the support on this site.

Thank you very much, Ladies for your support and inspiration. Jeanaluvskisses, thinndskies and Gingersnaps! You have great reminders of NSV's. I've started a list of all the NSV accomplishments I would like to see and many of the ones listed here are reminders of items to put on my list. Like you have said, it may not be just a clothing or shoe size but ease of movement, walking without puffing or the ability to get up out of a chair easily. I'm looking forward to following this thread in the weeks, months and years to come as I progress and experience many successes on my new journey.

ReaRaes, you might want to call your Doctor and ask him about your pain while drinking and tell him it is impacting you taking your meds. I have had pains like something getting stuck in my chest and they say it is a sign of eating too fast or too much but I would have these pains with one bite sometimes. While drinking, if I drank too fast or too much the same pain would happen. It feels like the pain is in your chest (and not the pouch). My pain would subside after 20 minutes or so. I would caution you to take very small sips and wait a minute between each small sip. I sometimes would chew a few Gas-X tablets and it would help too. I hope this helps!

This is inspiring to me as it is not all about the scale victories! I’m 12 weeks out today and haven’t had many Non Scale Victories (NSV’s) yet! One big one was last week and I didn’t need a seat belt extension on one leg of the flight! My 5x clothes are starting to get loose on me which is a good thing. I wanted to post here so when I start chalking up all my NSV’s I remember how far I have come. At this time I still use beach towels, wear a size 30 but can get into my 28’s now. I usually sit while I’m in the shower, still don’t sit in a booth and chairs with arms at restaurants make me nervous. I can’t get down the airplane isle without bumping into people on each side. It doesn’t help to turn sideways either as I’m wide both ways. I still pull myself up the banister to get up the stairs. I can’t really shop or go site seeing as I get winded too easily. I have to lean on my shopping cart to get around the store. Okay, this is sounding like a laundry list of why I had the surgery and it is. I’ve noticed all of the posts on here about those that have crossed these hurdles and had major NSV’s! Bring it on!

Fantastic results in a quick 2 months! Congratulations!

Hello Srreader, I'm in San Diego. I just got back from Dallas yesterday and get there about four to six times a year. Looks like you are doing great with your weight loss. I can't wait to get under 300! Only 16 more pounds to go. Where do you live? Carol

ReaRaes, this is fabulous news! You are doing wonderful and even in your own PJ's and have been walking which is tremendous and out of pain which is wonderful. CONGRATULATIONS on a fabulous. successful surgery. I wasn't able to sleep on both sides, had pain and wore the stupid hospital gown until I checked out. It sounds like you are on your way to a successful weight loss journey.

It is so refreshing and inspiring to hear about all of our challenges and accomplishments! I'm waiting to hear from ReaRaes to see how her surgery went. Princess Erin, I can't believe you are going to run a race! That is amazing. I'm glad that Kimr is getting her boot off! Clairec and Zom, I'm really missing carbonization too. I tried a diet cherry limeaid from Sonic. It was really refreshing and sat well but that is the only time in 12 weeks I've strayed to carbonization. It sounds like all of you are doing fantastic and it is good to share our stories. I adore you all. Carol