*Lexie*

@@Elode Victoria's Secret is that it really only has to cost $50 for the girls to look good. LOL I wish I would have gotten the implants at the same time but I had enough money saved for just the tummy tuck and didn't want to go into debt for plastic surgery. If your stomach doesn't bother you that much, then you may want to skip that surgery. You'll have a scar from hip to hip. It's really low and fades quite a bit but it's still there for the rest of your life. I'd really like a thigh lift now but that surgery is really scary to me. The recovery seems like it could be rough and I don't want to risk being inactive for that long. I think being active really helps me prevent regaining weight. So I just wear skinny jeans and my legs look great in those.

I have definitely noticed this. From people opening doors for me, getting hit on, to getting more opportunities in my career. I enjoy it, particularly when it comes to career opportunities. I enjoy it intentionally because like @@OKCPirate mentioned, this can be tough for women. When I lost weight on my own around 6 years ago, I was very uncomfortable with people noticing me. I'm sure you can guess what happened. I gained the weight back. I think I still wanted to hide. I am not making that mistake again.

How exciting!! I had a tummy tuck and the doctor told me that it's best to get the implants in the same surgery. It's cheaper and you don't notice the discomfort of the implants as much because the tummy tuck is a little more uncomfortable. I opted for just the tummy tuck (this was around 6 years ago) and when I lost my weight this time, those beautiful abs were still under there. I'm actually very close to having a 6-pack. You will be very pleased with the tummy tuck. If you're a belly sleeper, that will change though. They really tighten those abs. Oh, ask if they use epidural analgesia for pain control. I think that's what it's called. I had it after my sleeve. It was a thin line inserted into my abdomen hooked to a bulb of pain medicine that slowly provided pain medication over approximately a week. It worked very well. Once it was empty I just pulled it out (you don't feel it). I remember wishing they had that when I had my tummy tuck. It would have helped so much.

I enjoyed reading every single post and I agree with so many of you on what I miss and don't miss. I miss having full course meals. I still have such great restriction that I often only have enough room to have one food type (protein). I miss having a salad, entree and side when out at a restaurant. I do not miss shopping for overpriced, ugly plus sized clothes. I don't miss how exhausting it was just to move my body. I can run for miles now and never feel as tired as I did pre-op.

I agree with @@Inner Surfer Girl on clothing sizes. As they size goes up, there is a lot of size difference between two sizes. As they get smaller, that difference gets much smaller. And I remember having the same issue where it took forever to go down in sizes. And then my size would change so fast that I would only wear something once or twice before it was too big. (both of those are frustrating for different reasons) Our brains take a while to catch up. I am at my lowest weight since like early high school and yet sometimes I can't see it and still feel fat. I think that's pretty normal. Oh, and I remember feeling exactly like you do at 5 weeks. I was frustrated and felt like I wasn't progressing and couldn't see any difference. You will, just hang in there!

I had my TT 5 years ago and just started ab work a few months ago. I found it to be very uncomfortable to work my abs. And they were super tight so I didn't worry about it.

I used that stuff for around 8 weeks. My scar is pretty light (5 years out). I wonder if those things help at all. Scarring is mostly location, genetics and surgeon skill. I agree with you that recovery is rough! I've thought about a thigh lift but then remember that tummy tuck recovery and I think I'll pass for now. But now that I'm at goal and my stomach is looking extra slim, I'm working on building visible ab muscles.

My husband has lost almost 50 pounds since I had surgery and he is looking quite hot! Change is hard for everyone involved. I found out recently that my husband was jealous of my progress because he'd stopped losing weight and was feeling a bit insecure. So I helped him step it up a bit and he's losing again and is now within 10 pounds of his goal. Sounds like your husband wants to be healthier too but doesn't quite want to give up his carbs. Understandable, I didn't want to give up carbs either. You might have to baby step him into it. Now I make a half portion of the rice (the flavored packets can be halved if you use a measuring cup) for my son and me and my husband have the meat and veggies. I'm gradually reducing the junk the my son eats and offering healthier options. He used to hate grilled chicken breast and now he likes it.

Super cute!

@@Babbs Great analogy, I laughed when I read that!!! Oh, I remember how I was never going to let my child watch television or have junk food and they would be perfect little specimens. Now I'm just happy if my son can manage to pick up his shoes... it's funny because it's true! @@Nibbler I was a basket case at 6 weeks. It does get better.

Great thread, I've been away for a while so this was a good read. I sure wish I still believed all those pre-op fairy tales; the sleeve will do all the work, once you lose the weight it's gone forever and being thin will make me happy. Go ahead and laugh but I actually believed all that. But I am "lucky" because I had a good doctor that set up great support and this site that educated me otherwise. I am sad for those that have the surgery and don't lose weight, even when it's their own undoing. We all have our unhealthy relationships with food or we wouldn't be in a place of needing surgery to lose weight. I think some people don't become aware of their food issues and continue with the same bad habits. I'm so happy that I'm no longer in denial about my unhealthy relationship with food and I'm working to improve it (slowly but surely). I believe anyone that tears down other people does so because they are unhappy with themselves. @@Elode, every time your family members minimize your success or send you food pictures, the underlying message is that they are sad they haven't had the same success as you.

My guideline is I can drink right up to when the food comes but need to wait 30 minutes after. My doctor says it's because the food stays in your stomach longer and doesn't wash the food through making me hungry again quickly. I don't deviate from this because it makes me physically ill if I drink with my meal. I get overfull and throw up. I don't enjoy that so it's a great natural reinforcer of the rule.

149 this week.

151 today

152

154 today

That phrase doesn't mean that the good things will go away. It means that you will be happy with things you didn't even realize you weren't happy with. I was in pretty much the same situation as you, happy with my life, etc. What I didn't realize is that I wasn't really that happy with just sitting on the couch all the time. Now that I've lost weight, I feel like I'm participating in life now instead of just watching it happen. I've gone zip lining which was so much fun and I would have never done that before surgery. I get out more and have more fun shopping for clothes. Traveling is more fun when I'm not self conscious. The list goes on.

Still 153 this week.

Tomorrow is my 1 year surgery anniversary. It's a been a great year, I've lost more weight than I thought possible and I'm very close to my goal. Best decision I've ever made, I feel like I'm living my life instead of being a bystander. Weight lost - 104 lbs Inches lost - 40 Starting size - 22/24 Current size - 6/8

Those first few weeks were miserable. I wasn't hungry, I just wanted food and felt deprived. As soon as you can start soft food, it will taste like the most amazing thing you've ever eaten. That's how I felt about each stage. So it gets easier as soon as you can start eating food. Even once I started eating, I felt deprived by the quantity of food I wanted versus what I could handle. That went away too, it was head hunger.

My tummy tuck was a pretty painful experience but I also have issues with pain medicine. So most of the issues I had were because I was violently vomiting (and using those newly tightened ab muscles) all the time. If it weren't my reaction to the pain meds, I probably wouldn't have thought it too bad. Go through with it though, pain is temporary and it's not unbearable. You'll feel so much better.

Get the muscles tightened!! Getting the skin removal without the muscle tightening is like getting a base model Mercedes. If you're going to do it, get the extras. I've had a tummy tuck (prior to WLS) about 5 years ago and my abs were tight! I'm just now getting to where I could use a little workout to tighten them back up. It's so difficult to get that sculpted look on your own, regardless of how much you work out.