IcanMakeit

When your size 10 slacks fall down in the middle of your Christmas family gathering.

Yes, it is confusing. When I attended my first WLS seminar nearly a decade ago, I was told that we could never have alcohol again after surgery. This year they recommended waiting at least six months. There's a big difference between six months and forever! I guess the science is evolving.

I'm glad that I am one of the lucky ones with the extra burn. I wonder how long the effect will last? I still want to lose about 5 more pounds before my tummy tuck next year.

I was one of those people who lost a significant amount of weight pre-surgery. I would have wanted to blast anyone who questioned my right to pursue WLS at my new weight. I would not like to be judged by anyone who does not have all of the facts.

I'm at 129 this morning. I have blown past my goal. I don't know what is going on. It's supposed to be harder to lose when you are near goal, but for some reason December was my month. I guess even I can have good luck sometimes. I hope everyone's holiday was wonderful.

I eat out often, but when I do I generally stick to baked or grilled chicken or fish. Or if the food is wet cooked, I make sure it isn't too fatty. Although my sleeve is very forgiving, I try not to challenge it too much.

As far as I know, insurance companies only cover plastic surgery that they deem medically necessary. If you seek treatment for skin problems and your PCP documents the problems caused by the excess skin, then insurance might cover a panniculectomy. I don't think they will cover a full abdominoplasty, though. Good luck.

The longer you stay away from junk food, the easier it will become to resist it. Please give yourself a break and let your body heal. You will feel much stronger when you successfully follow the program for a period of time. You're going to be amazed at how easy it will become to eat healthily most of the time.

I'm sorry you had to suffer, but I'm glad you feel you learned something from the experience. I think nutritionists need to be more emphatic when they explain the post op phases. My nutritionist had me so scared to go off program that I never considered trying any solids before they were allowed.

They must have put those Quest bars out just for you. How great that you have so much restraint and how lucky you were to find the Protein bars just when you needed them. Protein snacks: never leave home without them.

Some people are lucky and feel little or no pain. I'm glad you are in that group. Have a great recovery. I look forward to reading about your success.

Doesn't it feel wonderful to get something done that has been bothering you for a long while? I also had a problem with my teeth that really affected my smile and I just lived with for too long. I finally got it Fixed a couple of years ago. What a boost to my morale! Why did I wait? I did the same thing with WLS. Almost a decade ago I went through the entire testing process and got approved for lap band surgery. But I chickened out and didn't go through with it. I carried around more than 100 lbs of extra weight for all those years until I wised up and found my courage. I ended up getting the VSG instead, which I am very happy with. Good for you that you aren't waiting. Go for it.

Born in San Francisco, currently living in Sonoma, CA.

I believe the only way that I have a chance of maintaining my weight loss is to 1) stay in weight loss mode and reach a new, lower goal to give me some bounce room, and 2) Once I reach my new goal, watch my weight and eating habits as carefully in maintenance as I did while trying to lose weight. That is what the thin ladies I know do everyday. This does not mean I can never have any high calorie foods, I just have to fit them in to my planned allotment.

I still eat Chinese food often. I just skip the carbs altogether and ask them to cook my food with no sugar or corn starch, and less oil. It helps that I go to the same place that I've been going for the last 25 years and they know me very well.

I'm not a very good liar so I just told everyone I was having "surgery." It was none if their business what kind. If anyone had the nerve to ask for details, I just said that I preferred not to discuss it.

I recently reached goal and have been stressing over maintenance. I lost over 100 pounds (on the Atkins diet) about 15 years ago and then proceeded to regain all I lost plus a little more. Not only that, I have had some physical problems in the past few months that keep me from exercising. I've been reading everything I can find about how to do maintenance. This time I intend to be successful over the long term. My reading has led me to believe that continuing to measure and log my food and eat Protein first are important components of maintenance. I'm hoping that doing this will keep me on track. I'm still in weight loss mode, but when I reach maintenance, I expect it to look very much like weight loss mode, just with more calories.

Half a pound today, but probably much more will be lost by next weigh-in. I noticed that I usually have a pretty good rate of weight loss after a stall is broken. Good luck.

My biggest regret is that I waited so long to have WLS. I let my fears rule me for too long. My life is so much better now, but I could have been enjoying this vastly improved health years earlier.

I weighed in yesterday morning at one pound from my surgeon's goal. Reaching goal has been my raison d'être for the past year. Now that I'm nearly there, I am reflecting on the lessons learned and planning for the next year's phase. I know that my initial goal weight was an arbitrary number and fully intend to continue in weight loss mode until my middle section has a lot less fat. But even if I can't lose anymore, I am so happy with my results so far. My diabetes is completely resolved (unfortunately not before I developed glaucoma, as I had confirmed yesterday morning). My blood pressure has been mostly stable. And wonder of wonders, I rediscovered how much I love walking, hiking and bike riding outdoors. Before weight loss, I found it difficult to walk a block. I have so enjoyed coming to BariatricPal each day since I discovered it pre-surgery. I have learned so much about what works for most people and what doesn't work for almost anybody. This is a good thing because otherwise I might continue to believe that my old way of doing things was mostly ok. Well guess what? The old way had me weighing in the mid 200's. So the chief thing that I have learned in the past year is that I need to pay attention to the experience of others and apply that knowledge to the maintenance phase. This is a big lesson for me, because I tend to be stubborn.

You should feel proud of yourself, you're doing a great job. Keep it going.

If your recovery is like mine, you will notice the discomfort less and less over the next week or so and then somewhere around the second or third week you'll suddenly look around and wonder where the pain went. I hope you heal quickly and with no complications.

This is a difficult situation that will get worse if you let it. I think it's important to try to step back and take a breath when you find yourself feeling angry and frustrated. Then, when you are in a good mood, try wooing your wife in a romantic way, rather than just jumping right to suggesting sex without building up to it. Some women appreciate romance and don't really feel that sexy without it. I hope you can work this out.

I know that I am not skinny (my BMI is near the top of the normal range) and probably never will be skinny, but people who are used to seeing the fat me keep calling me skinny. They don't apply that term to themselves at their normal weights. It makes me uncomfortable. Thanks for posting the article. I think the glass is half full. The fashion industry and the media continue to present underweight women as the standard of beauty, but now mid range and plus sized women are being included in glamorous ads and movies. This is progress.

What a wonderful little boy you have! And he's so smart. I don't think either of my children were so aware of other people's feelings at 5 year old. You must be bursting with pride.