heynowkc

After struggling with the misfit flash (I loved it a lot, but after some use, it broke twice!) I returned it for a refund and got the Garmin vivosmart which is part fitness band, part smart watch. I really like it and I find the app and the website really useful/informative. Does anyone have a garmin fitness band and use the Garmin connect app with it? If so I'd love to have some buddies over there! I am heynowkc over there as well.

Thanks for posting, @@HillaryA ! I too am only about halfway to my goal. (I use the term "halfway" loosely! What is math?) Here are my stats: 491 - 10/1/2014 Highest weight 422 - 12/17/2014 Day of surgery 304.3 - 7/8/2015 Current weight I feel like I am doing well and can see success on the horizon. But the horizon is still a long way off! Just to echo your story, I recently bought a season pass to an amusement park and was able to ride many rides (but I have been a little scared to try ALL of them, haha.) But there are so many other goals and NSVs that that have nothing to do with the scale that I have already reached! So now it seems like the sky is the limit. I am excited for the future, not just for me but for everyone here! I am rooting for us! Haha. I hope there are some women who started at 350+ who have hit goal that will come comment on this post. I'd love to hear from them as well!!!

Congrats! That's awesome news!

Sorry the recipe is around here someplace. I responded to the wrong post. I will find it when I am at my computer!

Thank you, @@Daisee68 !!!

@@Daisee68 Hey this dip sounds good! Do you have the full recipe?

I am dying to try the bari-bread. I might bake some tonight so I can have a bari-burger tomorrow at our cook-out!

Thank you!

@@Annek2014 I would suggest that you could enlist the help of the other adult in your family in grilling some lean meats and vegetables! You could even do kebabs. Skinnytaste.com has a lot of really good kebab ideas but I'm sure you can come up with your own combination! Then for dessert, do some fruit or watermelon. ( These look fun!: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/03/rainbow-fruit-skewers-with-yogurt-fruit.html ) Maybe a tossed salad and you've got the makings of a fun and healthy 4th! Good luck! Hope you heal soon from your surgery!

This is a great thread to read through. I never could stick with any fad diets too much. Although I did do the Curves diet and Weight Watchers off and on. Both were actually halfway decent and really just about teaching you to eat healthier. The Curves diet was too complicated for me though so I kept having to start over. Not very good! I am surprised no one has mentioned Slim Fast or the Special K diet. Has anyone tried those? They still have commercials that advertise the Special K diet. My dad used to do Slim Fast all the time! I am not sure how much success he had with that. Nothing noticeable. Our family also did the Hershey Medical diet which upon googling just now I discovered was not really from Hershey Medical Center, lol. You basically ate an exact diet (really simple foods) for 3 days and then for 4 days eat "responsibly." Whatever that means. Then repeat. I find it funny that you have to eat vanilla ice cream every day on the diet, lol. I found it online here, and most of it is exactly as I remember, but I definitely don't remember hot dogs!: http://www.heartnsoul.com/cardiac_diet_2.htm I think it actually worked but I certainly didn't stay on it long! Mom and dad were more diligent about it.

Awesome! I can't wait until I turn up somewhere where people I know don't recognize me! (In a non-Twilight-Zone type way of course!) Congrats!

@@Shamroxx @@WontonAnimalChIndo Good luck to you both on your upcoming surgery!

I thought so too! I don't think I've seen anyone on here that fit my early stats so closely! Sadly I don't really have a good routine to share, mostly because 75% (or more!) of my workouts are in the pool with an instructor. (Highly recommend this!! Especially if you suffer from joint/back problems!!) 2.5 months prior to surgery I began with Water aerobics 45 minutes to 60 minutes / day 4-6 days a week, and walking on the days I wasn't doing water aerobics/finning/lap swimming. So I was working out in some way or another 6-7 days / week. Only very occasional weight-training. (Thankfully, water aerobics encompasses both cardio and strength/conditioning.) As for the types of water aerobics I do, I do them all. From aqua Zumba (a lighter workout for me) all the way to "bootcamp" type classes and, a favorite of mine, finning, which is essentially lap swimming with fins and a kickboard. (FYI junonia.com is a great place to get high quality plus size swimsuits that work well for water aerobics -- I like the one-piece aquatards.) Post-surgery my life has been very busy and I haven't managed to get to the gym more than 3-4 days / week for water aerobics. However, I was doing a lot of walking in between. But about 1 month ago (maybe 1.5) I really just gave up on walking. For a couple of reasons. There would be weeks when I couldn't get to the gym at all, and the only the exercise I did during those weeks was walking. Problem was, I genuinely did not see any weight-loss benefit to it. My resting heart rate is low, so when I walk I can't really get my heart rate up to a place that anyone would even remotely consider "cardiovascular." You might have better luck than me with walking. I prefer bike riding anyway, which I recently picked back up. I really just ride around the neighborhood for around 45 minutes or so. My athlete, mountain-biking, neighbors would describe my pace as "leisurely" but it's good enough for me!! And it seems to be working! I would really like to get back to being in the water at least 5 days a week. And am actually making it a goal to do just that this week. Already went on Sunday and again yesterday! So I am almost half-way there this week! I am going to PM you with my e-mail address. If you want to chat or just have a buddy you can bounce questions off of, I am definitely there for you! Good luck! What weight were you on surgery day?

I had surgery on Dec 17th and was 422 at the time of surgery, and 491 at my highest (2.5 months prior to surgery). As for what my surgeon and I discussed... We haven't really talked about my starting weight and what that means for my journey much, except at the very beginning when deciding what type of surgery I should have. I think some people who have more to lose end up getting Gastric Bypass, but my surgeon suggested the Gastric Sleeve because he said that Gastric Bypass was a one-shot deal. You have that surgery and then your outcome is whatever your outcome is, generally speaking. With Gastric Sleeve, if I end up hitting a long-term stop in weight loss, there are further surgical options for me at that point, I guess VSG revisions or possibly Gastric Bypass as a last resort? Anyway, I'm going to be six months out tomorrow and have lost a total of 115 lbs in those 6 months and a total of 184 lbs in the past 8.5 months. I'm not sure if these results are typical for someone of my starting size (or anyone for that matter?) I get the feeling that it really varies for everyone. I'm only part-way through my journey, but if I could give you any advice, I'd say that as long as you're following your diet plan, physical exercise is going to be the major factor in how successful you are. I have not hit a point where I can slack off at the gym for a few days and it doesn't effect my overall weekly loss. Any slow-downs in loss for me are DIRECTLY related to how much exercise I do, and how closely I follow my dietitian's guidelines. (Apart from period/hormone-related Water retention from time to time - but that's just life as a girl!)

This may not be what you mean, but I still can't really eat salad/lettuce since surgery. I miss it so much! If I have just a few pieces of shredded lettuce over taco meat or something, it doesn't effect me much. But if I try to eat just a salad, I can't stomach it.

Just a quick note to say that I am getting all of your invites, but I ended up returning my vivosmart. I actually really liked it but am trying life without a fitness band for a while. Maybe at some later date I will try one again.

Hit my 5 month anniversary date last week. (Surgery was 12/17). Anyway, today (wednesday) is my weigh-in day and I'm proud to say that I have hit 100 lbs lost since surgery! (A little over!) It was a big week for me... I lost 6 lbs. I thought those days were over. I'm losing closer to 2-3 lbs most weeks now. Well, maybe for 2-3 weeks in a row and then out of nowhere I will have a 5-7 lb loss one week. Then back to slower (comparatively) loss. I haven't really hit a stall. I've had one or maybe TWO weeks (in all, not consecutive) where I didn't lose, but that's not a stall, lol. I agree that how fast I lose depends on my exercise/activity level. I definitely feel 100% in control of that. For now at least. I'm sure that will change. My overall loss from my highest weight (on 10/1/2014) is now 170.8. I feel really great! Hope all the other December folks are doing well!

@@WasBigInMaryland Wow that is very fast!!! I'd have to lose another 100 lbs in the next 5 (4.75) months to hit that loss in 10 months. Not sure I could do that too (your results are definitely not typical I am guessing!) but hey, I'd love to try! Hit my 100 lb mark since surgery today btw! Actually a little over. Yippee!

Wow this type of thing seems to be more common than I would have guessed. See now you guys are making me question myself. I don't THINK I get a runny nose too, but it's possible. Sometimes after sneezing I BLOW my nose just out of habit but it doesn't run... ?? MAYBE? LOL. I will pay more attention next time

Perhaps it's because I work in academics... and feel like I run across a lot of atheists in my work and personal life... but I have a feeling that the real number is much much higher. Most atheists and non-believers do not identify themselves because there is a huge social stigma that comes along with it. I believe I read a study once that cited that atheists were one of the most disliked/mistrusted groups in all of the US.

@@sharonintx this one is called gustatory rhinitis... I ran across that last night when reading! @@VSGAnn2014 Yeah that's probably accurate. The difference between "fullness" and "overfullness" with me is very minute, haha. Hard to tell a real difference. I recall reading last night that it occurs when the stomach becomes "completely" full. Which I guess is what causes the discomfort most of us feel when we "over-eat." @@Miss Mac Not both at the same time I hope!!!

I may have different gripes since I was on the higher end of things and couldn't even shop int he plus size section of most stores. I had to get my clothes from Woman Within, Catherines, and other online retailers. 1. Dumb embellishments on so many larger plus size clothes. Really cheesy prints and embroidering and sequins and... bleh. Catherine's is especially guilty of this. 2. No creative cuts/buttons/shape(!!!)/cable or other types of fancy knitting/etc. Yes, I really want to look like I just threw a solid-color tablecloth over myself. I don't need shape or buttons or anything cute/classy (not embellished/shiny) to distract from the mile of fabric I'm wearing. 3. Sleeves Part 1. Why do I have to pay 45 dollars for a shirt and I only get 1 inch of sleeve? Might as well wear a tank top! 4. Price. Wow is it expensive to be a plus size lady. One thing I really look forward to is being able to buy cheap clothes. (That are 10x cuter than anything available in the store.) 5. Color choices part 1. Why does this pair of pants come in 10 different colors, but only 2 in my size? Black and Grey (or black and brown, or JUST BLACK.) 6. Color choices part 2. Just a general lack of creativity and originality in color options for plus size clothing overall. Especially when it comes to subtle color choices. 7. Nothing youthful. I've been overweight since the 2nd grade and have been wearing "old lady clothes" (no disrespect to anyone who self-identifies as an old lady) since I've been an adult. I'm probably going to go through a "dresses too young" phase once I can buy stuff from regular stores. 8. Sleeves Part 2. Maybe this is not just a plus-size problem, but in winter, why are so many plus size tops 3/4 length? Even bulky sweaters! I guess the ends of my arms don't get cold like normal people's. It's my superpower. 9. Neck holes. Maybe this is just because I have those aforementioned narrow shoulders. But nothing beats finding a top that is actually cute (or that I can at least tolerate) only to find that I can't keep it from falling off my shoulders. What is that about?? That being said, there are a handful of pretty cool options that I sadly didn't discover until it was (mostly) too late: 1. modcloth.com (only online) -- I've known about them for years, but only realized about a year or so ago that they carry up to a 4x!! Have gotten a couple cute dresses and sweaters from here. 2. eShakti.com (not sure if they have storefronts) -- Just discovered these guys several weeks ago. They have really cute stuff. Their dresses rival (but don't 100% match) the cuteness of Modcloth, and they go up to a 6x and also offer CUSTOM SIZES at only an additional $7.50 per item. Well worth the upcharge for something that fits you PERFECTLY. (Especially for the girl with big hips/butt and super narrow shoulders!!) 3. torrid.com (and in stores) -- Even though their styles are more urban-ish than I usually wear, I was able to buy a Johnny Cash t-shirt here recently. Even with losing as much weight as I have, graphic Ts are hard to come by for the plus-size crowd. I have worn the Cash shirt twice and have gotten easily a dozen compliments each time.

Yeah I also get annoyed when people say my "attitude" has changed and I seem much happier now. I... don't feel any happier. (And what exactly was wrong with my attitude BEFORE, thank you very much?) I was already happy! I think they're just looking at me differently... so it's more about them than it is about me. Maybe before they were sympathizing with what pain they imagined I must be in, and so they projected this imaginary unhappiness onto me? But it's definitely all in their heads. Also so annoyed at people calling me skinny. Specifically one of the Water aerobics instructors at the gym. I've been going to her classes since my highest weight, and she is so supportive and nice, but every time she calls me "skinny" when I am standing there dripping wet in my bathing suit I just want to shove a sock in her mouth! I'm not skinny. Not by a long shot! Though I appreciate her enthusiasm and kindness, calling me skinny just makes me self-conscious of how very "un"skinny I actually am.

Also jealous! I hit five months last week and am crossing my fingers to hit 100 lbs down (from surgery) at tomorrow's weigh-in. But I had/have a lot farther to go than you. You must be feeling great!

I definitely get this a lot, as I am sure anyone who has surgery probably does. I just say thank you. It helps me to think of it as "I'm thinking about you/worrying about you/hoping the best for you." I may not be a believer, but it's always nice to have people rooting for you, that's for sure!