IcanMakeit

I am 6 months out and can fudge a little on the 30 minutes before a meal part of the equation, but I need more than 30 minutes after a meal before I can drink comfortably. I guess you have to listen to your body to know what's right for you.

My restriction is still pretty strong. I am worrying about what my behavior will be when I no longer have it to lean on. I know I will start out by continuing to eat healthfully (that has been my pattern in the past), but I'm not confident in my ability to avoid drifting further and further from my healthy habits (because that has also been my pattern in the past). I don't want to end up, a couple of years down the road, hearing my doctor warn me about my weight.

In the first couple of months after surgery, I had trouble getting to 700 calories in a day. And now, 6 months out, I'm at about 800-900 calories on idle days and 900-1000 on exercise days. I worry that when I reach goal, I won't be able to raise my intake by much without gaining weight. My intake now is governed by my sleeve. I'm really not very hungry most of the time. What will happen when my restriction lessens and I am able to eat more? I'm not sure if I have really learned how to eat less or if I'm just eating less for now because I can hold less. My problem pre-surgery was not so much what I ate but more about how much I ate. I never felt full until I was stuffed. I know that my stomach has been greatly altered, but I fear that I'll return to that pattern in a year or so. I don't want to be on a diet for the rest of my life, but I'm afraid that when I allow myself more calories in maintenance, I'll slowly regress to my old, bad eating pattern.

Congratulations. What a great accomplishment. Thanks for sharing your great news.

I agree that extreme low calorie dieting (below 800 cals/day) seems to slow your metabolism. My personal plan is to eat a little bit more when I exercise more and eat a little less on days that I can't exercise. (But I don't try to eat the calories MyFitnessPal says I burned.) I track my intake on MyFitnessPal and weigh myself every week because I need good information to make good decisions. Weighing and tracking is a good way to get that information. However, I keep reminding myself that I am not on a diet. I try to keep the mindset that my goal is to eat healthfully (most of the time) for life, and to learn that I don't have to be stuffed to be satisfied.

141 this morning. I'm getting close.

I am definitely going to wait until I can afford the full tummy tuck. I would look strange with a large abdominal buldge and a tight panniculus(?). Too much like a ball, I think.

We're going to be away for Thanksgiving this year so the focus on food will be a little less than normal. But I do intend to taste some stuffing during dinner and some dessert. I 'm afraid that even a small taste could affect weight loss, however. I've been avoiding simple carbs completely. I'll log my food and stay within a 1200 calorie limit on each holiday. That is a nice relaxation of my normal limit, but not so much that I'll be throwing my progress out the window.

It's great to hear how well my fellow class of May 2014 is doing. I hit the 100 pounds lost mark last week and have gone from size 26/28 dresses and size 18 pants to size 12 dresses and size 10 pants. I am more than thrilled. But I know the harder part is still to come -- reaching goal and then maintaining it. My greatest fear is that I will regain, just as I always have in the past.

Don't forget about shopping in thrift stores. Especially stores in affluent communities.

You were wearing someone else's clothes -- they belonged to the former you. Congratulations on entering the next phase of your life.

Good luck with your test. I hope they find that all is well. Judging by the experience of some friends and family members, an enlarged heart might not be a real impediment. Let us know.

I understand how mothers can guilt you into complying even with their unreasonable strictures. But this time, you need to let her know that her advice is contrary to your surgeon's and that you are going to follow your surgeon's advice and go out walking every day. Once she sees that you are fine with walking, she will probably ease up. (I assume your surgeon gave the standard advice.) i don't blame you for not wanting to hurt her feelings, but you have to do what you know is best.

I hate to sound like a cranky old lady, but I miss the days when people undestood that comments about people's appearance and eating habits are rude and out of line. Just tune them out.

My friend and I formed an "aspirational Christmas dress pact." We each bought a dress that would look better with a 5 - 10 pound weight loss. Mine is a size 12. It looks ok on me now, but I expect it will look better after losing a few more pounds. My only concern is that my office Christmas party is less than two weeks after my breast reduction surgery. I hope I won't still be in bandages and unable to wear the dress. I'll try to post a picture.

I will discuss this with my surgeon. My plan was to apply for the panniculectomy through my insurance and then pay the difference for the full abdominoplasty. I wonder what kind of issues I would need to document to get my insurance to cover the abdominoplasty? I really want to get rid of my skirt and my jelly belly.

I want to get a tummy tuck next year. How did you get your insurance to approve it? I thought no insurance companies covered "cosmetic" surgery. (Although I believe after a 100 lb weight loss, the amount of loose skin I have is uncomfortable and is an impairment.)

I’m feeling kind of “cry for happy” today. I’m wearing a knit dress that I bought a couple of years ago for my birthday. At the time, it was meant to be an incentive to lose weight because it was at least two sizes too small. But today when I went to put it on, it’s about two sizes too large! I still love the dress and will continue to wear it, but it being so loose is making me happy.

I don't know what I'm going to look like immediately after surgery. I thought that because of the swelling, it might not be apparent that I've had a reduction. I guess I need to ask more questions when I next see my surgeon. As far as work goes, I decided that I'll make sure there is no backlog before I leave and set up my laptop to work remotely as necessary. I think things will be fine. The place isn't going to blow away just because I'm not there!

I'm so happy to have received the approval letter from my insurance company today for breast reduction. But now I'm trepidatious about telling my bosses that I will be taking more time off for surgery. They were pretty nervous about me being gone for two weeks when I had my WLS in May. Now, only 6 months later, here I am asking for time off again. I had originally planned to wait until next year. But my back pain has been so severe that I don't want to wait. I want relief now. I work for a very small company and when I'm away, my work just piles up. Last time, I hired a bookkeeper to fill in for me, but she was only able to do the easy, routine tasks. I don't look forward to having to catch up again after another absence. How do I reassure my boss that everything's going to be ok when I know my absence will really be disruptive?

I'm so glad I stumbled on this thread. My wonderful daughter was never overweight until she had her first child. She lost some of the extra weight after her first was born, only to gain even more extra weight during her second pregnancy. Many months later, she is still overweight. I want to say something to her to warn her that extra pounds not only don't fall off by themselves, they frequently recruit more. I so don't want her to repeat my mistakes, and live the bulk of her adult life as an obese woman. But you guys are right. It's never helpful to point out something that someone already knows. And I certainly didn't appreciate my mother telling me that I needed to lose weight. I'll just keep my mouth shut.

144 this morning. I have now lost 100 lbs.

Whenever I read amazing stories like yours, I wish I could go out and proselytize on street corners. Everyone who is suffering from poor health because of obesity needs to hear these results and know that there is hope. Congratulations and good luck on your continuing recovery.

I guess I could set things up so that I could do some work from home. It's a hassle because some of the information I need only exists on paper, but there are plenty of things I can do on my laptop that would help keep things moving at work. But I wonder if I really will have the energy to do much directly after surgery? I was pretty tired after the VSG.