Babbs

Please find the most fabulous dress you can for your now tiny body and show that bitch up at your reunion. And please take a pic of her stupid face when she see you in it.

As far as the 'wearing my shirt tucked in' I'm not quite there yet because my stomach,and panni especially, is in need of some major plastics. It's a shame really, because at 140 pounds, I should be able to wear a shirt tucked in and not feel self conscious

The only downside? The cost of shopping Also, I used to have trouble finding my size on a rack. I'm finding that's still the case. What's the deal with the lack of smalls on a rack??

I always take a little offense to people who are so adamantly against surgery, like those of us who had the surgery are weaker because we needed surgical intervention. That couldn't be further from the truth. What the psychologist said was exactly right, whether you want to hear it or not. Is it a bummer that we have a disease where surgical intervention is almost necessary to get it under control? Sure. But so is having to have surgical intervention for cancer or heart disease. Sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do, and put old stigmas to bed about it. At this moment, my disease of obesity is under control thanks to surgery. While it's a constant struggle I will deal with the rest of my life, at least I actually have a fighting chance now.

And exactly as @@jenn1 said, everyone's pain tolerance and experience is different as we see in this thread Even if we all had the same surgeon, I'm sure our experiences with pain would be different. I had 2 large babies completely natural. One was 10 lbs 4 oz. But when I get a bad headache? I'm a big baby. Don't even get me STARTED on toothaches! WORSE PAIN EVER.

The most pain I felt was when I woke up from surgery. It was on the right side at my largest incision and I'm assuming it was where the cut out portion of the stomach was pulled through. Once I got meds, it was tolerable. I don't even remember much pain after that. Just some fatigue mostly. Maybe more "soreness" than pain.

I started going back to therapy, and I feel it's really helping me focus on the things I should (the things I can control) and stop focusing on the things I shouldn't (the things I can't control). I really started on a stress spiral the end of 2015 and really caused me to lose focus on ME. My focus is back and I'm hoping to accomplish a few things this year. I'm hoping to tone up more, get plastics at my 2 year post surgery mark, and ramp up my real estate business. Here's to a great and prosperous 2016 for all of us!

Yes, initially you will lose weight only because of the surgery. Usually the first 4-6 months. Then our bodies adjust to the lower calories, and we have to help move things along. After a year to 18 months, it's pretty much ALL on us to lose and keep the weight off. That's why you start to see people gaining in that time period if they are still counting on just the surgery to do the work. After surgery, my "full" feeling was weird. I felt it waaaay up in my esophagus. That was really the only way I felt "different". Now, besides not being able to eat a lot, I feel completely normal.

. Honestly not enough and it never crossed my mind that I just might be dehydrated. I try to aim for 48 oz of water and I'm quite confused on how much protein I should be getting because my after care instructions conflict: one on page it says I need 40g minimum of protein; another page say aim for 60g. I may get 30g in a day. Do the best you can on the protein, but staying hydrated is most important right now. Most people end up back in the hospital due to dehydration, not lack of protein. You are VERY early out from major surgery. Give yourself a break. Healing takes time. Rest and stay hydrated. Each day that goes by you will begin to feel better and better

Worry not! Your weight loss will slow to a more 'normal' pace after your initial large losses at first. The weight always comes off fast at first, then usually your body puts the brakes on in the form of a stall, then the losses even out a bit. It's actually pretty rare for people to lose 'too much weight'. Most of the complaints are they can't seem to get the remaining 10-20 off the closer they are to goal. You'll be just fine Good job!

And so what if it was? (which it's not) Progress is progress. I'm sorry to sound firm, but I lost on the slower side, and knowing what I know now, all the hand wringing and worrying I did over how slowly I was losing did nothing but hinder me. I finally got to a point where I just accepted it and moved on to more positive aspects of the whole thing, like researching and learning about proper nutrition and excersise to be the healthiest me I could be. It took me a year to lose 85 pounds, and another several months to lose 8 or 9 more. Now I'm maintaining a healthy weight, and it matters not at this point how long it took me, but that I got there. You'll get there, too

Let me guess. You're eating either bread, Pasta, crackers, Cookies, processed foods or sugar. Or all of the above. You know how I know? Those things cause cravings and hunger, and never satisfy. I went through this a few weeks at Christmas time. I was RAVAGED with hunger, and no matter how hard I tried to resist, I would cave and eat the crap again. Luckily, I didn't gain because I kept excersising, but I had to break the cycle. I decided January 1st to detox. Lots of Water, Protein and veggies with every meal (aside from a Protein shake for breakfast). NO sugar or processed food. I'm on day 4, and not only have I lost a pound (I'm in maintenence), my cravings and hunger are gone and my restriction is even better. Once I got over the hump the first day or so, it was smooth sailing from there. I feel great. Give it a try! Good luck!

Yes, you're losing too slowly. I deem your surgery a complete failure at 3 weeks out. Just kidding. You're losing just fine. As a matter of fact, I think I had lost the same amount at that point. My suggestion? Don't worry about how quickly you're losing and just concentrate on hydration and Protein so you can heal properly. The weight will come off at your body's own pace. Keep following doctors orders and try not to focus too much on the scale for your own sanity. You're doing just fine. Really!

When My Fitness Pal tells me "If I keep eating that amount of calories, I will weigh XX amount in 5 weeks", it's ALWAYS wrong. Like @@Djmohr said, most of us are proof positive that the " calories in/calories out" theory just isn't true. Our bodies are SO much more complicated than that!

@@Brettnbeth Sleeved August of 2014. Yes, some days it can be hard not to eat. But being fat was much harder

Almost EVERYONE experiences hair loss. I've seen a few rare exceptions. A very few. Look, it's really not a big deal for most people. I would estimate I lost 25% of my hair. Luckily, I have (had) very thick hair, so it was only noticeable to me and my hairdresser. Although at going on 17 months out its pretty much stopped and most has grown back, my hair is a bit finer and thinner now. But I'm also a bit finer and thinner now, too, so I'll take that trade off any day

What is the recommendation from your surgeon or NUT? Usually nuts are at least 6 weeks out. As far as popcorn, you need to be worrying more about foods that are high in Protein right now as opposed to snacky slider foods. Popcorn offers no nutritional value to you whatsoever.

So you talked about some follow up appointments early out. Have you been following plan since? Excercising? Tracking Protein,calories and carbs? Or did you just give up when you were losing too slowly? Speaking from experience as a slow loser, you gotta just keep at it. When things aren't working, then you change them up until you see progress. I dunno. Maybe you have been doing everything by the book. Can you honestly say you have? If so, I would definitely look into a revision to a bypass or DS. Good luck!

Keep us posted!

When I was in the weight loss phase, I would run 3 miles 3-5 days a week. Now in maintenence, I run less (things start to hurt at 48), but try to get to the gym at least 3 days a week to sweat and on the other days make sure I get at least 10,000 steps in.

According to your BMI, you're obese. You're also over 40, and believe me, that's not a good combination. It was only after I hit about 45 is when my weight issues started really affecting my health. It really has a way of catching up to you. Nip it in the bud now. Only in this day and age is being 5'2 and 215 not a "huge issue". We are so used to seeing so many obese people, we've lost perspective. I used to say the same thing at 5'5" and 235 with a BMI of 39. There was no getting around it, I was fat and unhealthy. Just like being pregnant, there's no such thing as being "a little obese". Tell your friends that.

Most of the time, I will just toss the bread and eat the insides out of stuff. I don't want to go through the hassel of trying to explain a special order, because im lazy that way On another note, Jimmy Johns has an "unwich" version of their sandwiches, wrapped in lettuce. But then I found out that the owner is a big game hunter who hunts for sport, so now I don't want to support him. I'm so torn.....

Reading these comments, I'm convinced that most of us know more about diet and nutrition than most doctors and even NUTS's do. We all should be proud of ourselves. And get paid what doctors do.

What @@jenn1 said is perfect. I would just like to add that because of our tiny tummies, Protein and veggies are the absolute best way to get the most nutritional bang for our buck. That is why flour based carbs really are no good to us anymore (were they ever?). So yes, when the time comes when you naturally can eat a little more, then you can incorporate those things in the form of whole grains to once again get more nutritional bang for your buck with every bite. But as a rule, veggies and protein should always be first

I am "detoxing" from sugar and carbs from flour by going back to basics. Nothing but lean protein and veggies, lots of water and low/no sugar and processed food. I had let too many carby foods and sugar slip into my diet before the holidays, so to get rid of the cravings I'm going back to what I know works. I've been back at it for a couple of days, and although getting over the hump was hard, my cravings are subsiding and I even feel my restriction is better