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@@CanyonBaby I am so very very happy to hear this news! I wish you and Dave happiness together. I swear I was holding my breath for you. You were living my deepest fear and it just goes to show you that you have to stay strong and pray a lot. You both deserve to be very very happy together! God Bless you both! Deb

Yeah! I added 122 to the to Total! Congratulations everyone and Thank You Alex for bringing us such a great tool that offers such great support. I know that I love Bariatric Pal!

I would love to know this as well. I am 23lbs from goal. I plan to wait for plastics until I am 2 years post op and my weight stabilizes. I set my goal on the top end of the healthy BMI for someone my height and bone structure. As I talk to people like my hubby and a few others all of them keep asking if I will get too thin if I get to goal and then have plastics because when I have my brachioplasty, lower body lift, breast augmentation and abdominalplasty that should remove even more weight. Although I know I still have some to lose, I wonder if I set my goal too low given the plan for plastics. There are parts of my body that have no fat left and other parts like my arms, tummy and thighs where there is still fat. Has anyone run into this?

Everything you are feeling is normal. I will say that I started to feel better only after I was able to get my Water and Protein up to an acceptable level which took about a month for me. If you are finding it hard to tolerate your shakes, try switching to another type. I personally like Premier Protein ready made shakes. In the beginning I would thin them out with a little fair life milk or skim milk. These shakes have 30 grams of protein in each one, they make it much easier to get to your goals.

@@LipstickLady 3 new ones just popped in. I did report them.

This is sad, mostly because this person has to be disabled and clearly has an addictive personality. His care givers have to be strong and only give him what he needs to survive. I have, like most of you watched so many real life stories when the people around them enable this addiction. Most of those situations end in that person ultimately dying of complications of obesity. I really hope and pray this man gets the help he truly needs and begins helping himself. His Dad needs to do exactly what the doctors are telling him and not what his son wants. Very sad!

I lived on cottage cheese, Protein shakes, mashed carrots, Greek yogurt and creamed Soup during the puréed stage. I just gagged on puréed meats and eggs. I will say that once I hit the soft food stage, chicken breast and fish were my two best friends. Here are some things that went very well for me: Chicken breast with fat free gravy Chicken breast with marinara, mushrooms and green pepper Chicken breast with healthy request cream of mushroom soup Chicken breast shredded with taco seasoning Salmon Orange roughy with lemon butter sauce I always made double vegetables and stopped making all starches. This is what I cooked a and my family ate it too. I maybe made mashed potatoes once a week for my family and a sweet potatoe for me. Cauliflower was the vegetable that I used to replace potatoes or rice. I used the 2/1 method for ensuring a balanced meal. 2 bites of protein for every 1 bite of vegetables (healthy carbs). I did not really eat any bad carbs until I was probably 8 months post op and then only very occasionally. When I say bad carbs I am talking about crackers, a bite of dessert, that sort of thing. I cannot eat much so what I do eat I make sure that I get my protein in. For a snack I will usually have beef jerkey, nuts, Apple with Peanut Butter. If I want something sweet and icy, I will have some dole, dark chocolate covered bananas or strawberries. They come 4 slices in each pack, the strawberries are 60 calories with 6 grams of carb, the bananas are 100 calories with 12 grams of carbs. They take care of my need for something icy and sweet. I have also found that simply having a cup of skim milk also curbs my appetite when I am between meals.

Definately a rectangle. I no longer have any butt whatsoever. The term flat ass comes to mind! I went from a 26 pants to a 12 but have no butt. If I got rid of the loose skin in my tummy area I would likely be a size 8 or 10 for sure. And the girls have completely left the building. I went from a 46C to a 38 empty C and could easily go to a b but my hubby would freak out! LOL! I am looking forward to a year from now when I can have some plastics done to get back my hour glass figure. Abdominalplasty, brachioplasty, lower body lift. And breast augmentation.

@@bellabloom Get out now! Honestly you can do better, you are worth it! More importantly, you cannot fix him if that is what you are thinking. He has to fix himself and clearly he doesn't think he needs fixing. Trust me, I have been around alcoholics my whole life. My step dad, grandfather, sister n law and now my oldest son. They have to want to fix the problem themselves. You on the other hand can do something about this situation now. Walk out and get on with your life! You will not be alone but you need time to get your head focused on who you are. I wish you the best of luck, please don't continue to abuse yourself in this manner. You are worth so much more! Hold out for your real true love, he is out there waiting for you!

Oh my this topic is hysterical! I think I spit my Protein shake out my nose twice! Love that pirate joined the conversation. What a scream! Oh and sign me up for that tummy tuck too!

We are so close to 3M!

You will get there! I remember wanting to get past that point so badly and for two weeks I would be there one day then my weight would fluctuate back up and down and up again. Now I cannot weigh daily anymore, it actually began to make me mad. I lose a pound and get stuck for two weeks on that darned fluctuation roller coaster. This morning was my weigh in and whoop, down a pound. Thank goodness!

@@bikrchk You mentioned redistribution, I have noticed that happening to me even though my weight loss has slowed to a crawl. I swear I am losing inches in places even though the scale is not changing much. I did have an awesome NSV today. My husband who does the laundry (yes, I know how lucky I am ) was hanging up my jeans. I hear him yell from the bedroom. "Geez, the waist on these jeans are tiny. Everytime I fold your clothes it astounds me how far you have come!" It made me grin from ear to ear! Of course I told him how much I love him and that he got extra credit for being such a fantastic man. He is also obese and was going to have sleeve surgery but then had to deal with AFIB ablation twice in the last year. He has since decided not to have this surgery but at some point I suspect he will. He needs to be ready and he is not quite there yet.

Here's the deal, you know exactly what you are or are not doing that is impacting you at this point. The big question is why? Maybe if you can answer that, you can stop doing it?! Once you figure that out, do a reset. You obviously know exactly what you need to do to be successful. You have done this, you lost over 80lbs and came so very close to your goal. They are called lifestyle changes for a reason. You have to be committed to them or you will go right back to the yo yo diets from before. They are not healthy. You cannot get to goal and say ok, I have arrived, I am happy with where I am at so I guess I can stop eating healthy and eat the way I used to. I think you already know all of this so, pull up your boot straps and get yourself busy! How is this for tough love?! I wish you all the best and I absolutely know you can do this because you have done it before. Only time will tell if you are committed to actually changing your life to make it permanent. You have taken the first steps and recognized the issues and have asked for help. That my dear is progress! Now take the next steps.

You can also make chips out of cheese. There are recipes all over Pinterest for these but it is pretty simple. Take a small thus slice of cheese and place on parchment paper in the oven. You can use shredded cheese too. Bake it until slightly browned. Take the whole sheet of parchment with the chips on it and place it on the cool counter. As the cheese chips cool the become crispy. Very low carb, has Protein and works great with dips. You can also add seasoning to your little piles of cheese. Italian seasoning, taco seasoning. Whatever floats your boat.

I am so sorry that you are going through all of this! You have to do what is right for you but I would ask myself a couple of really important questions. 1. Regardless of whether or not I have this surgery, is the stress from my family situation going to resolve itself anytime soon? 2. Who's support do I really need to get through surgery and recovery? 3. What is the reason I decided to have this surgery in the first place? If it is truly my health, will my health get any better without surgery? 4. If I choose not to have surgery, what in my life will change if anything? It is impossible for any of us to make this decision for you because we don't have to live in your shoes. I will say based on your original post that not having this surgery likely doesn't change anything in your family life. The mental abuse continues. The results of Weight Loss Surgery are empowering to the patient. As they get healthy and the weight continues to drop off, their confidence grows and they become more and more independent. You literally become strong and realize you can pretty much handle anything. Don't let them take away your power! By cancelling your surgery you are only hurting yourself by delaying getting healthy. You cancel, you give them your power.

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I appreciate your taking the time. I do feel like most of this was because these people have not seen me in a very long time. There are time when I see it and there are times I still see the fat me. I will say when I am wearing clothes that actually fit me, I can definately see it. Again, thanks!

Yesterday I had a follow up post op appointment with my spine surgeon. I had a 3 level cervical spinal fusion in June. I have also had a lower lumbar fusion in 2001 and I have severe arthritis in my mid spine that I am also dealing with. I have lost nearly 30lbs since June when I had my surgery and it seems the closer you get to goal the more noticeable a 30lb loss is. This doctor is a big wig and has an ego the size of Texas but he is an exceptional spine surgeon and I really would not have felt comfortable having someone else do this surgery so I flew in from Wisconsin to have it done. This doctor walked in the room and did a double take. After going through all the surgery details we were finishing up and he said, "Deb, have you lost more weight? You look stunning!" That led to discussions about all the loose skin and I told him I still have another 24 to go to get to a healthy weight. He then asked me if I had lost a lot of breast tissue. Of course I laughed and said "yes, the girls have left the building along with my rear". I told him I was planning on having some plastics to deal with bat wings, tummy, breasts and maybe even put a little back in my rear. He then said he obviously deals with a lot of female patients with natural large breasts who have severe back problems but has never had someone who has had augmentation where they placed the implant under the muscle. He said that muscle really does a much better job and therefore those women don't have the same pain in their backs.he has had women with issues when the surgeon does not place the implant under the muscle. It was actually great to hear from a renowned spine surgeon that getting breast augmentation is actually a better solution for those of us with back problems. Of course he said you would not wAnt to go crazy up in size..... I do plan to go up a size to a full D. Of course my husband who is definately a boob guy then got all happy and told him thank you! He is all excited now because he gets new boobs! At least that's how he sees it LOL! For those of you that have had plastics, when did you start shopping for a surgeon that would give you a plan? Did you wait until you had stabilized or did you start shopping ahead of time? I know that I definately want to wait for the actual surgery until I am at least 6 months stabile but I am not sure when I should start shopping.

I am 12 months RNY post op. I planned to have the sleeve but my surgeon recommended bypass given I had severe Gerd, diabetes and a few other comorbitities. My surgeon recommended bypass because it can cure both reflux/Gerd as well as diabetes. For me, both of these diseases are gone and 121lbs to boot! It is the best thing I ever did for myself. It was done laporascopically, and I have had no complications. I have met many people who have had both the bypass and the sleeve and are happy with their choices. Some have had no complications others have had minimal complications. I am also of the opinion that both have their own risks and both are equally invasive. Bypass, your intestines are rerouted which provides you with malabsorption which helps your weight loss and is designed to do so. Sleeve, 80 percent of your stomach is permanently removed which also removes the hunger hormone permanently, obviously a huge plus. Both equally invasive. Definately do your research and better understand why your doctor is recommending bypass. There is usually a very good reason for one vs. the other. Good luck to you!

Hi there! I am just going to say ditto with @@CowgirlJane! Then again, I have the mentality that I am never ever going back there again. It is up to me and I can control what I put in my mouth and how often I put it in there, while my new pouch controls how much. Never, ever, ever! I will say that I kept 2 pairs of my largest pants and tops so that I can do the look where I was fashion show. For me, that is so very motivating! I have 24lbs to go and so far this has been the hardest 24! I lose a pound or two and get stuck for a month. Then lose another pound or two and then I get stuck again. The good news is, in the 4 months this has been going on, I have never gained, only lost.

I am so sorry! I can imagine how you feel right now. Personally if you can deal with it I would stay on them. I think it would be much harder to start again vs. simply stay the course. Now of course that all depends on quickly they are going to reschedule you. It If is longer than a week or two I would go back to a high Protein very low carb diet.

It will get better. Are you getting your water/fluids in? Honestly that is why will make you feel better as it helps get all the toxins from surgery out of your system. It sounds like you are walking which should help with that bloated feeling. I also used gas X and a heating pad. I hope you feel better soon!

Congratulations! This was one of my favorite NSVs! Everytime I get in an airplane seat I am reminded of what it was like to ask for that damned extender. Now, I strap that belt on and I have nearly a foot of extra! Speaking of which, I have a flight to catch tomorrow morning. Going home from Minneapolis after having my 12 month check up post surgery!