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Great deal !!!!! Cool thing about the Loser's Bench is that we claim our spot on it.........but we shrink and make room for others. Best wishes on your surgery.

I applaud you for taking action now.....during your youth. I have a younger sister who had weight loss surgery at your age.....15 years ago. She's been lean and healthy ever since and has led an active and rewarding life. I waited until I was 47 and just had mine a few days after you did. I wished I'd have done it sooner. I did it on my own....lost heaps of weight.....only to regain it. This cycle has gone on for the last twenty years. The biggest chunk I got off was 120 pounds......felt like a rock star....began partying like one, too. Didn't maintain that weight loss, either. Again, I applaud your doing this now....in your youth. There will be naysayers in your life......but you'll be fit, healthy and look it, too. Their voices will cease to be heard as you get into your new groove and stay there. Much respect for what you've done. Go forth and rock LIFE.

Waiting sucks. I truly get that. There's a few ways to spend the time. Some good....some not so good. Don't let the waiting delay you losing weight, though. You can move ahead with a strong weight loss diet now knowing that you'll be transitioning to the surgery and the weight loss will continue on. The best thing about your 2-week pre-op diet is that it's not 3-weeks. Actually, the best thing about it is that you can better ensure a safer surgery and start losing at a similar rate that you'll experience post-op. It passes quick, too. Once you begin it.....you'll be on the Final Countdown for sure. Good stuff. Go forth and kick some butt.

YOU'VE BEEN VERY, VERY BAD! YOU'RE A BAD BOY, AREN'T YOU?? Okay, I'm done..... Now repeat that but wearing a leather domination outfit and high heels. Damn right !!!!!!! That's the type of coaching I'd respond best to.........

Damn. All I can say is you are gorgeous. I'll bet there wasn't a guy at that party that wasn't drooling and stumbling all over themselves to talk to you. I'm proud of you for taking control of things while you are young. You will benefit from your actions for the rest of your life. Trust me.....old guy talking here......There are many problems you have eliminated from occurring by taking charge right now at this point in your life. Well done, young lady. Well done. That is really cool to see you not only enjoying going to the Halloween party.....but to be confused with a movie star at the same time.....really cool.

My surgeon is very strict, too. I knew this upfront and had the opportunity to pursue another surgeon. I chose not to, but to follow his guidelines. Doing so has not only helped me with the healing of my new "stomach", promoted aggressive weight loss while allowing high Protein intake it has also kept me from being "food focused". I am glad for all three. One of the biggest benefits has been breaking that food-focus. Look around on here and you'll see the same folks post day in and day out...."Can I eat this? Can I make this recipe? When can I eat this?". It seems like they are in a cycle of self-torment by staying so focused on food. This whole thing is about losing weight in an aggressive way. We had body altering surgeries to aid us with this. Becoming disassociated with food is a good thing right now. Sorry......long reply that wandered off course. Short response is: Yes, my surgeon is the same way. I am better off for it, too.

Okay....so you blew it bigtime. You went on a garbage food binge. Why? Why did you sabotage your progress? Figuring out the why is what I'd be concerned about at this point. Remember the psyche eval that was part of your checklist items? Maybe there were pre-eval videos you were required to watch....tests to take.....homework to do where you formulated how you were making this YOUR plan. Perhaps you can go back to those and get back in touch with your pre-op self and figure out why you'd sabotage things at this point. Maybe another visit with a psychiatrist will be beneficial.....or a series of visits. Maybe you have some type of counseling available through your employee benefits package. Halloween has passed.....but here comes Thanksgiving and Christmas......times when many folks just pile on the pounds without stopping......then find themselves on January 1st......hoping for control to magically come their way. Get in charge of yourself asap and solve the "why?" riddle. Nobody with any sense said this was going to be an easy path to follow.............BUT.......there is a reason you initially chose to go down it. Get back in touch with those reasons.

Hells Yes !!!!!! Gonna become a regular ole Dirk Diggler. Since starting the pre-op weight loss in June, I've been feeling better and better about every aspect of life. Getting off the blood pressure meds and gaining some larger toolage sounds good, too. Gonna be a fun ride.........

I've stuck to the plan thus far and see no reason not to.

I've got 9. I'll be glad to loan ya one ir you'd like. Some of mine were for the umbilical hernia repair done right after the sleeve.

I hear ya!!!! That has to be a great feeling to have done so well and in sight of where you want to get. Hoping you have a lot of fun on Wednesday night. Enjoy thyself.

I don't have a clue, but simply wanted to comment on your strong motivation. Way to go !!!!

You'll be back home and better than new in just a few days. You'll heal up while staying on track with your plan. You'll have to be careful with the 3 & 5 year old that they don't pile on top of you at times when you aren't ready. I was very, very pleased with the anesthesia, too. I've had a few surgeries over the years and it seems that the most recent ones have found me awake sooner after recovery room and no ill effects. The advances in the medications used is clearly improving. I sorta kept it to the bare minimum on my hospital trip as far as stuff goes. A couple new magazines, my iPhone and a remote battery, toiletries, changes of loose fitting gym clothes and that was about it. Oh yeah....a big bottle of hand sanitizer, too. I had that thing right beside my bed and hit it whenever I returned from my walks. Two helpful things I found for the car ride home: A full sized pillow and my post-op pain meds. After walking from my room out to the car......I sat down, took a swig of the pain meds (same as what I'd had that morning in hospital), placed the pillow over my abdomen and held it there for the ride home. It takes all the road shock and impact out of the equation and made the ride home very comfortable. I still sleep with one over my abdomen, too. It is comfortable and helps me ease off to sleep. ​You are going to do great and you'll feel better once it's all done and you are awake in your room and enjoying a cup of ice chips. Good stuff and good times. Those little munchkins will be super happy to see you....be careful not to let them hurt you. Best wishes !!!!!

Yup. She's got some kinda issues bouncing around in her head.....Her lack of progress compared to yours. I imagine it's a sore subject with her and probably will remain so until she gets things sorted and on track.

Thirst has never been a concern whatsoever. It's funny....once you get used to sipping.....you'll be involuntary reaching for the cup/bottle. Good stuff.

"Young?" Did you call me "young?" Men are so easy. I'm yours. Keep your glasses on and we'll get along famously. The only problem may be that, unlike Marlene Dietrich and @@Elode, I have no need to insure my legs. In fact I have to pay hush money to the insurance salesman to keep my dirty secret. Speaking of "dirty," it's not so much that my mind is such, it's more that some of your brethren are transparent. Speaking further of "dirty," is that what your phrase, "grind phase," is? See ya 'round, Sailor. P.S. You, too, fella. ........I'd better wait a while before I post up my photos. Folks may hurt themselves from laughing too hard. I gotta lot more grinding to do before I'm ready for pic. Damnitman.......That made me laugh too hard and remind me I'm still healing up. On a serious note. I'm hoping for equal balancing as things......normalize. It'd be weird having a crooked appendage. I'd feel compelled to tug on it all time.....in hopes of straightening it out.

I guess it depends on the surgery you had and what stage of weight loss you are in.

I'm going real slow right now, too. I was sleeved on Oct 13 and I'm staying on Protein shakes at least until my next surgeon's appointment on the Nov 9th. I figure it won't hurt anything and the weight loss has been nice. Looking at you stats fills me with confidence, too. You've really made a major change. Highly impressive.

It'll go by quicker than you may think. The Atkins (blue top) shakes were on my plan, however I avoided them due them only having 15gr of protein. Pure Protein and Premier Protein were the two I had the most often. The Pure Protein Shakes are really thick and Fiber rich and kept me from feeling hungry. Good luck, man....it will pass and you'll be able to go after it easier after the surgery when hunger isn't much of a factor.

Go buy yourself a large Yeti stainless tumbler & lid. Fill it up with ice & Water. (It holds 30 oz and there will still be ice in the cup at room temperature after 30 hours. Amazing cups) Take it everywhere you go.....sip on on all day long. Refill as necessary. 3 days out from surgery and I was getting well over 100oz a day. I normally would frown on spending money on such stuff......but the performance of these cups is simply unbelievable. Drank ice water on the way to work. Left it in my cupholder of car. Worked a short day (6hrs). 90 degrees outside. I return to car and there is still ice water in the cup for the trip home. I had a local guy re-finish a pistol for me in two Cerakote colors. He'd told me ahead of time that he was working on an order of Yeti cups for a local store, too. I had him go ahead and do mine in the same colors as the pistol and I bought one on the way there for him to do for my wife. He texted this pic to me to let me know they were ready: On the way back home I made a pitstop for the best lemonade on Earth for her to break in her new cup with. They've got to be hand washed, but it's no biggie. These things are insane. Fill 'em up with ice and water....put 'em on your nightstand (no condensation....no water marks) and you'll still have ice water the next morning waiting on you. Everyone in my family has gone nuts over these things. They are available in 3 sizes now, I believe. I recommend the largest size (30oz).

Surgeon and I covered a lot of ground but the subject of goal weight never came up until I mentioned it. I went back to the weight I was a junior in high school. I played football and was on the wrestling team and lifted weights in the off season. Very active. Lean. I was in the best shape of my life. I took that weight and added 15 pounds to it and asked my surgeon if that was an attainable weight. He said that he felt I could achieve and maintain this weight. We shall see. I'm closer than I was, but still a long damn way to go.

I know one thing......I was mad as hell at the person who first told me I had to give up the BigMac's, fries, apple pies and pizza if I wanted to reach my weight loss goals. The gall they showed. How dare they question my desire to succeed just because I wasn't willing to make the needed changes. No pizza and Cookies right now???? They were being mean. I should be able to have at least 2-3 biscuits every morning, right ? No? WTH ??? I'm leaving. I'm not feeling the support....yada, yada, yada................. Thank God for the folks here that post true and accurate information and are willing to share the good, bad and ugly about wls and their path to it. I'm reminded of Jack Nicolson from "A Few Good Men"....."You want the truth? You can't HANDLE the truth !!!!!!". Some folks want a hug and a lie. They want validation that it'll all be easy and they can keep on doing the same old thing. Some folks really want to get real.....make a change. Some already have. Their input is what fuels my interest here. So.....where's the support ? It's evident in the candid responses. Simply going along and passing out blankets and cookies isn't support. It's enabling.........

It's hard.......damn hard....to be patient during those months. It seems like it'll take forever.....but once you are into the pre-op weight loss it seems to fly by. Every few pounds you lose will give your body a break and feeling better will encourage you to lose more. Before you know it those first few months have passed. You'll participate in the various classes and workshops than can be very valuable later on. This will help the time to pass, too. It's tough, sure.....because we are are simply worn out and ready to get "there" and feel & look our best. A lot of good things can happen for you along the way those 6 months and you can learn from them. You can, in great confidence, make a strong run at losing weight pre-op with the knowledge that you are ensuring a safer surgery and you'll continue with the great progress once you have your surgery. The months ahead will pass and you'll look back and laugh. Best wishes.

Couple trips to Walmart grocery store early in the morning before they get busy. I loaded up the freezers with easy to prepare sutra they like. I made sure the fridge was loaded with staples. They can microwave and heat stuff up in the oven with no problem. A couple huge bags of dog food so the puppies would be covered. It's gone well with minimal problems.

Outstanding information @@rickm I really appreciate your insight here. @@737captain you really drove home a point with the dog food observation. Just before my sleeve & umbilical hernia repair surgery, I went out and stocked up the house on stuff......frozen foods and staples for my family and two huge bags of dog food for our two dogs. I distinctly remember walking out of the veterinarian's office with those big bags thinking that I had been "wearing" the equivalent to 4 of them for too dang long. I understand your questions about "overshooting" your goal. I had the same questions. I think that RickM really laid it out nicely. I'm looking forward to the lean days ahead.......