*Lexie*

@@Babbs I'm going to Hawaii in December of this year. My goal is to run the Honolulu marathon and then lounge at the beach for a week as a reward. I have a lot of work to do between now and December. Let me know how your trip is and I would love any suggestions on hotels or things to do.

I learned that what I see in the mirror does not resemble reality. When I weighed 250+ pounds, I didn't think I looked that fat. Now, I can't see the weight loss and keep thinking that I'll look better in 10 more pounds, 10 more pounds, 10 more pounds. I've also realized that I have some disordered eating habits and it seems like the surgery shined a big spotlight on these issues. It's amazing that I never saw these issues before surgery. I'm working on them but it's a process.

This is motivating to more than just those starting the process. I had surgery a month before you and I find this very motivating. You look so good!!

I stalled for 3 weeks early on and thought I was going to lose my mind. People on here tried to be so encouraging and telling me to be patient. I wish I could say that it helped and I became the most patient person ever. I did eventually start losing weight again and the good news it, it didn't stop again. Doesn't mean it won't happen again but having like 4 months of pretty steady weight loss is amazing.

I just watched this episode on Hulu. I was a little frustrated at her denial. It's one thing to need to work on the mind stuff, I sure need to work on it and am by no means perfect. It's another thing to lie and manipulate others. On a side note, I have watched a few other episodes and find this show really motivating. It's amazing to see people work so hard and change their lives. I think that's what draws me to this site, there are so many people here that have or are in the process of changing their lives and that really keeps my head in the game.

Wow, great progress!

Yep, I watched it....without the ability to shovel popcorn in my mouth to stifle my emotions. That was painful. But I sure will think twice before feeling sorry for myself for not losing a measly pound.

If you can, then by all means, give it a try. I don't think I could have followed it without the surgery. It's pretty tough. You could try a pre-op diet version. Mine was 2 Protein shakes and a healthy meal (meat and veggies). Sort of sounds like the Slim Fast diet, LOL. Having at least one meal a day really helped keep me sane.

I have had issues with all sorts of food but oddly celery is not one of them. I was told it may be difficult to digest. I eat a few stick of celery with veggie dip a few nights a week and it's a good snack. If you try it, just have a little and see how it goes. Also would help to pick the lighter color stalks from the center of the celery, it's less stringy.

I bet you do look fantastic! That was a nice response. Regardless if the compliment is accidentally backhanded or intentionally cruel, I think a genuine thank you is a great way to respond. If the person didn't understand that they were being offensive, you are genuinely thanking them and if they are trying to be mean, you are showing that you're not letting it get to you.

My insurance covered the surgery but I have been surprised that they have not billed my insurance for any of my follow up care. Maybe that varies by practice but it should be included in the price because if you don't go back, they can't track their weight loss success rate. There's a benefit to them for you to return. I'm with you, I don't get a lot out of my follow up visits. My office does offer advanced skills classes (for free) and I am taking advantage of those and attending. Helps with emotional eating and such. I need all the help I can get.

Today's weight 199.6 - goal weight 190

Yay, congratulations!! It is a big deal and you are over halfway to your goal. That has to feel good too. Love that you have a trick of weighing yourself with a bunch of heavy stuff to make sure the scale works. We do the craziest things. I just got under 200 this past Friday and was so excited about that. I celebrated by getting myself these cool blue tooth headphones that I've been wanting. Couldn't wait to get to the gym to try them out. We both has plastic surgery around the same time after having previous weight loss and I started gaining weight back during that recovery. My tummy held up pretty well despite my gaining weight, how about you? This time we will not gain the weight back.

I'm not so lucky. My sleeve doesn't like anything. It's certainly a reinforcer to stay away from certain foods.

I probably got around 800-1000 at 3 months out and honestly that's still where I'm at in the 5th month. My doctor wants me off of Protein shakes by my 6 month appt and I noticed that days I don't drink them, I have less calories for the day.

Mine fell out like crazy for about a month and stopped as suddenly as it started. Now my nails are cracking and breaking. Hopefully yours is short like mine was. I didn't even notice that I lost any but I have really thick hair.

I was not given calorie goals but encouraged to track my food. I try to stay around 1000 calories per day.

Love the title of this post. Congrats on the extra action you're getting!

I thought the exact same thing. Especially because in the first week or two I was on liquids and couldn't feel the restriction yet. Honestly, I still think it from time to time but it keeps me motivated to keep working.

I was out for a holiday dinner with coworkers a few days ago and now that I'm not spending the entire meal stuffing my face with food, I notice more how much others eat. appetizers were brought to the table, bread was served, then salads, then meals and then giant Desserts. Since I have limited space, I have to skip straight to the main meal and am only able to eat a fraction of that. I used to eat that much. No wonder I needed surgery. It's amazing how much my perception has changed after a few short months. Do you notice how much others eat?

What you are doing wrong is having too high of expectations. I did it too, I think most of us did. 15lbs in 3 weeks is pretty good. Your body is adjusting. Just relax and soon you'll start seeing fairly steady weight loss.

I'd like to join. My goal will be 190.

I'm almost 5 months out and I have issues with spicy food, salmon or anything fried. Really shouldn't be eating fried food anyway so that's good.

I lost my hair for about 4 weeks and it suddenly stopped about a week ago. But now my nails are cracking and peeling. Hoping that doesn't last long. I just got a cold this weekend but it's been pretty mild. It's my first cold of the season so I don't think it's related to the surgery. Sorry I'm not much help on this.

@@Wynnie has solid advice. I tried that and it's probably in my head but I really struggled with going to full liquids for a few days. So I went back to my pre-op diet which was 2 shakes and a healthy meal and that got things moving for me. Things are slowing down for me right now and if I don't lose this week, I'll probably go back to that for a week or so.