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I am now down 93lbs heading closer to my goal every single day. I have a lot of loose skin and I know the only way to deal with it is to ultimately have some plastics done when and if I have the money to do so. At the end of the day, my body looks SO much better than when I weighed 310 lbs and was hiding every inch of it. I look at pics of me then vs. now and I am shocked at how much better I look. I walk past ax mirror and I have to stop and look because I cannot believe it myself. I have had people tell me how pretty I look. I have had people tell me that they don't even recognize me and once they realize it is me, they cannot believe how good I look. Last and certainly most important is how healthy I am now compared to 7 months ago. I thank my lucky stars every day that doctors figured out how to save our lives! I am ok if I have to keep every wrinkle. It is worth it!

I am guessing the pain is from the gas they use during surgery. It is very painful and pain melds don't nothing for it. Make sure you are walking as much as you possibly can. When you are laying or sitting out a heating pad on your tummy which helps with the gas. Also try some gas x strips or gas x chewables. They really do help. Also, you must make sure you get your liquids in so you don't get dehydrated which will really make you hurt. I hope you feel better soon. I promise the pain goes away soon.

I am so sorry that he isn't more supportive. Much of the time it comes from three things. 1. He is afraid for you and isn't expressing it the way he should 2. He does not understand that obesity is actually a disease and it needs to be treated 3. He is afraid of change. And life does change for both you and your spouse. It might help if you can get him to talk about what is bothering him most of all. If he simply does not get that obesity is a disease, then taking him to the doctor with you may help. From what you have said it may be a combination of all three.

Way to go! It is such a great feeling when you have affirmation from your doctor that things are going well. For me it was all of my health issues improving.

I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery! I was home by Wednesday and took my last dose on Friday morning. Honestly I did that because all of my pain was from the gas they pump into your belly and pain mess do nothing for that pain in my opinion. What works is: - walking around as much as possible - using a heating pad (this actually works the best) - chewable gas x tablets - sipping as much liquid as you possibly can For me the gas was gone by Sunday which was just 6 days post op. Good luck on your surgery!

There is absolutely nothing easy about making the decision and ultimately having weight loss surgery. It is a mental battle that one fights daily. You simply have a tool to help control the amount of food you put in your body. You, are still in charge of what you put in your body. You will still deal with and learn to control head hunger. You will have to pay very close attention to your intake of Protein, Vitamins and Water. You will potentially go through a period where you mourn the foods that you love. You will have to come to terms with a whole new relationship with food. Obesity is a disease and most people do not understand what that means. It means years and years of weight gain, loss and then gaining more. It means down the road you will likely have comorbitities that can actually take your life early. At the end of the day the only advice I can give you is that you MUST be ready before you move forward. If you go into this with a scared negative attitude, you will struggle with this whole new life required of you. I can tell you from the shirt experience I have had, it is all worth it, absolutely, positively. I was in the place where my comorbitities were actually killing me. Slowly and painfully. Now, I am very very healthy and most important, I feel fantastic. A whole new life. I was ready, and excited and I try to keep a positive attitude even when things are tough. It helps me to live with my decision. My only regret is I did not do this 10 years earlier. I wish the best of luck for you. Just please make sure you are ready before you move forward.

So I learned from my nutritionist that you should be getting 1 gram of Protein for every inch you are tall. For me it's a minimum of 70 grams per day. She does not want me to go above 90 because that can become hard on your kidneys. I am usually between 75 and 95 and have been losing consistently. I am just shy of 7 months post op. Anyone else heard this rule?

I haven't partied since 1999! Just kidding! It has been a long time though. Funny clips.

Hi everyone! I am 51, married to a fantastic guy for 27 years. I have two grown boys and 2 beautiful Granddaughters. Lucky me! I am in the process of moving out of state. Today we head to Wisconsion from Minnesota. Wisconsin is where both my husband I grew up. We are headed back there to help take care of my 86 year old Father N Law. He is not doing so well and really wants to remain at home. I am excited to start a new chapter in this journey but what a pain! I have to find a new center of excellence for bariatric care and I am sad about that. I love my bariatric team at Park Nicolet in St. Louis park. I found out yesterday that I need to have 3 levels of vertebrae in my neck fused. Ouch! I have degenerative disc disease and the pain and headaches have become unbearable. That has been a problem since 2001 for me and now that I am way more active, it has become worse. I am looking forward to getting that done so I can move forward with a little less pain in my life but I do not want it nor will I allow it to set me back. I feel so blessed to have WLS come into my life. I really truly feel like I got my life back. I want to shout it from the highest mountain! I feel bad for people who continue to suffer with morbid obesity and not realize there is help when they are ready. So many are scared. Well, that's it for now, Time to get ready to make our 6 hour drive.

@@CanyonBaby, I had the same exact problem with raw veggies. It drove me nuts but I kept on trying. I am 6.5 months post op and about 3 weeks ago I had a salad with carrot, tomato, onion and cukecumbers and low and behold I did not have any problems. These days I try to get a salad with some type of Protein in daily. I love it and missed it terribly. I still cannot stomach eggs. Ugh! I used to love them and now I cannot stand the smell or taste of the. I really do hope that changes sometime soon.

What an honorable way to memorialize your brother! It is truly beautiful.

Yum! I will be making this as soon as I get settled in my new home in Wisconsin and can get my grill going.

Good for you! Way to take control of your future for both you and your children. This disease kills! It can make our children frustrated when we cannot do the things they want to do. They are young and have their whole lives to live. It should not ever come to them having to care for us at such young ages. I lost my mother to complications of obesity and at first I was sad and depressed. She was my best friend outside of my husband. Suddenly at 66 I was making life altering decisions for her. I was much too young to have to do this. She ended up losing a toe, then a foot and then finally her leg. She was then not capable of getting up and around on her own, she had rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes and severe sleep apnea. It was the sleep apnea that killed her. She was told she would have less that a couple weeks to live if she would not use a CPAP. She refused and died on St. Partricks day in 2005. Now, I am actually angry with her for quitting. For not getting up and saying my children need me in their lives. I swear, I will never do that to my children and grandchildren. It isn't fair to them. So, while at first I was sad and depressed, now I have motivation to focus on me for a change. I have been doing that for the last year and I feel fantastic, I am about 90 percent healthier. I won't let anyone sabotage me or tell me I cannot do it. I am proud of you for taking the next steps. Your positive attitude will aid in a successful outcome for you. If you need anything, feel free to reach out.

How long has it been since you were losing? Are you gaining or remaining consistent. Are you exercising and if so are you taking measurements to see if you are losing inches? It's hard to provide potential solutions without knowing more. Sometimes I will go 10 days back and forth on the same pound and then all of a sudden it kicks in. I would not call that a stall. I call that my body taking a bit of a breather. The longest actually stall I had went 3 weeks without any weight loss but I did not gain either. The only thing that worked for me was adding a Protein heavy snack to raise my caloric intake. At the time I had been only getting around 400 calories a day. Now I eat about 950 on average of protein heavy, good carb meals. I have been losing consistently ever since. Of course I sometimes will fight with a pound for about a week but I always win that battle.

Thanks Alex! I am excited to see this new forum and what it has to offer.

@@LipstickLady, I completely agree with your points. I was one of those people who was in a state of denial about how much or how bad I ate. I really did not eat big portion of food and I did all my own cooking. Problem was, I always ate my starch's and carbs first because I was not much of a meat eater. I would eat a small portion of meat. If we were eating Pasta which happened 4 out of 7 nights a week, I would go back for a second helping. Oh, and I had a sweet tooth so I had to have something sweet after each meal. Ice cream, candy, pastries, (pie was my absolute favorite) Even if it was non pasta night and I really only ate a small portion, I made up the difference in crap. I know exactly how I became to weight 310lbs and I also know now what a correct portion is. My husband, bless his heart had been gaining a lot while I have been drastically losing. About two weeks ago, he said if you can live on 1000 calories, so can I! He has not had WLS but needs it if he cannot get it together, he has a heart condition and must lose weight before it is too late. Anyway, he is now following the same food plan I use. I make his dinner and lunch portions a little larger but he is doing fantastic! He is down 16lbs in two weeks.nwe track his food on myfitness pal and it holds him accountable. I am hoping this approach lasts with him cause he his doing great. This is all about both how much one eats and the quality of what they are consuming. When you are obese you have built very bad habits and you tend to make excuses about other critical factors like exercise too. I know because that was me and my husband was an enabler.

The other thing I would call out is the feelings of hunger at this point. Stop and ask yourself the question am I really hungry? In the first few weeks/months your head plays tricks on you. Many time what your truly feeling is a symptom of dehydration. When you feel hungry sip sip sip on liquids. It will make you feel better and give you more energy if you are dehydrated. I suspect that you may have a combination of head hunger and dehydration. You need to try to understand the difference so you don't eat everytime you have that feeling. Sip on Water or some type of liquid with Protein in it. It will make you feel better and give your tummy more time to heal properly.

Congratulations on your weight loss and your positive attitude! As I am sure you discovered, it really does take a positive attitude to help us get through surgery.

I am guessing we all do it once in a while. For me, we are moving states on wednesday. One of the things my husband and I love to do about every 2 or 3 months is go to our favorite movie theater which is a high end movie theater where they have a restaurant and restaurant quality Snacks that you can take into the theater with you. I was excellent all day long knowing I would indulge in their homemade onion dip and homemade chips. I never eat this kind of junk food and have not had that treat since prior to surgery last September. I made sure I had a good Protein rich dinner before hand so that I would not be able to eat much. Given we will never go to a movie in theater and have this naughty snack again (it is outstanding), I decided I could indulge a little. It was so delicious but I am proud of myself, I only had a very small portion of chips but of course with lots of this homemade dip on it. I was not disappointed. This morning I got up and walked 3.5 miles with one of my fitbit tracker buddies and I feel much better about indulging for this time.

@@turndown4what91, You are so brave for taking this step to get healthy! Now it is time to focus on building good habits as you get ready for surgery. This will help keep your mind off of all this other stuff. The few days leading up to surgery always seem to be the hardest for most people. I know having surgery like this is scary and not knowing the future can be just if not more scary. For me, it was very important to remain focused on the end result. Why I was having this surgery in the first place. I was able to visualize what life would be like without all of the health issues I had. I was able to think about life without as much pain in it. I called it having my eye on the ultimate prize. I am only 6.5 months post op right now and down 91lbs and still would like to lose another 55. For several months I have been looking and feeling the positives that come with losing this much weight. The reality is, I am a whole new me! One that is living life to the fullest. - I can run up the stairs without feeling like I am going to pass out - I am NOT afraid to get on the scale or go to the doctor for fear of more bad news - I can fit in an airplane seat without using and extender (in fact, there is a lot of room left in the seatbelt - I can keep up with my Grandchildren - I can run around the house and my husband cannot catch me - People who did not know me before surgery have no idea I was ever morbidly obese - People who do know me do not recognize me (happened twice this week alone) - I can buy my clothes in any store I want - I can also wear Victorias Secret lingerie (who new that that would feel so great) - All of my health issues have resolved with the exception of 1 that I was not expecting to resolve (I had MANY including stage 3 kidney disease) The moral of the story is you should focus your time on why you are having this surgery and try to let yourself get excited about it. It will make the anxiety go away and you will actually become excited before surgery. I know the morning I went to the hospital, I no longer had any fear, just pure excitement and could not wait for it to be over so I could start my new life. You won't lose yourself, you will just be amazed at the new you! Good luck to you! I will say a prayer for a safe and speedy recovery

There is a misconception that Biotin will stop your hair from falling out. This is NOT true. Biotin will assist with hair regrowth. The reality is for many some of your hair will fall out and there is nothing you can do to stop it from happening. You will not go bald unless there is some other condition going on like Alopecia. It will not leave you with bald Patches, it will simply thin. A lot! The hair slows down when the weight loss slows down and will stop when you hit the goal your body wants to be at. Biotin helps with new regrowth and that begins right away as well. You will have a lot of short hairs growing in at the same time you have a lot coming out (if you are like me). This week I went and got a shorter haircut because I felt like the way I wore my hair the thinning showed more (which by the way was in my head). Anyway, I got it cut short, added some bangs and voila, I look ten years younger. It really compliments my thinning face and I feel fantastic. Don't let this get you literally freaked out. It is a part of the process for many but this too shall pass and it is worth all of this in the end. Good Luck!

I am so happy that you are making such a fantastic change to your life even after going through WLS once. You have the right attitude for this surgery to be a success. You are well on your way mentally and soon will be there physically. Please keep us posted on your progress and feel free to reach out if you need anything at all. Good luck and I will say a prayer for a safe and fast recovery.

@, I have read on here quite a few times that medicines used for depression have been reduced and sometimes even discontinued following surgery. I am not sure about other psych illnesses. I do not know what your current situation is but this type of transformation can be life altering. For me, it has been one of the most positive experiences of my life. I believe when I am 10 years down the road, I will feel the same way. Anyway, maybe do a quick search on here and see what you find. Good luck on your next steps and if you need anything feel free to reach out.

Honestly I started to feel my best at around the 12 week mark. I felt very good right after surgery but I would get very tired in the afternoons. I remember clearly about the 12 week mark everything just clicking for me.

I had RNY gastric bypass in September 2014 so I am 6.5 months post op. I had a very easy recovery and can pretty much eat anything I want. Just because I can does not mean that I should. I have never had a full on dumping syndrome episode. I have been what I would describe as uncomfortable after eating too fast, or eating too much. I have tried all kinds of food but I typically eat very healthy at this point. I do this because it makes me feel good and my weight loss remains consistent. If I do eat things I shouldn't I find I don't lose as consistently. My typical day: Drink a premier Protein chocolate shake usually shortly after I wake up. This kick starts my day getting 30Grams of protein About 1.5 to 2 hours later I will have a Light yoplait yogurt with High Fiber, protein granola lunch - I will always try to have some type of meat to get my protein and good carbs as in a salad or vegetables Snack - I will have some nuts, beef Jerky or cheese if dinner is going to be later in the evening or if I am feeling a bit hungry Dinner - Always have a few ounces of protein and good carbs About once or twice a week I will have a forkful of some type of starch like potato, sweet potato or rice. I steer clear of Pasta as it is a trigger for me. This bite of starch only happens after I have eaten my protein. I have been coached to eat two bites of protein for every one bit of good carbs (veggies/fruit) Its funny because I never thought I would be able to stay away from sweets and now I do not even like anything sweet. Ice Cream used to be my favorite treat and I ate it probably 5 out of 7 nights, now I could honestly care less. If I want something cold and icy, I will either get Healthy Request small individual frozen yogurts or I will actually freeze a yoplait light. I love it, get protein and am very satisfied. I have only had a frozen yogurt twice in 6.5 months. I just really don't care about dessert any longer.