Heather I

This seriously brought a tear to my eye. Have a wonderful time, as I'm sure you will. Very poignant being with your family members in such poor condition. That stinks you can't share more with them, but it's nice you are at least all together.

August 1st over here! So excited and ready! Been working on getting surgery going since November of 2015, so 9 months start-to-finish process for moi.

Hi! I was just curious, my scale says pre-surgery I'm at 50.1% body fat. After the sleeve, is there a range people go down to?

I found this after noodling around: Thinking 23% might be a worthy goal? I'm 43 currently. I actually enjoy a variety of activities; walking, hiking, spinning, swimming, jogging, badminton, tennis, Jillian Michaels DVDs. Maybe need to ramp up the weights after healing. "It is important to note the differences between men and women when it comes to determining healthy body fat percentages. Mainly, women are healthier with higher body fat percentages than men. This is because women require higher fat levels for safe pregnancy. As a result, different body fat percentages will be provided with the same health assessment for both genders. For women between age 20 and 40, 19% to 26% body fat is generally good to excellent. For women age 40+ to 60+, 23% to 30% is considered good to excellent. For men between age 20 and 40, 10% to 20% body fat is generally good to excellent. For men age 40+ to 60+, 19% to 23% is considered good to excellent."

I guess both? LOL. I'm reading on exercise sites (heavy weightlifting/shred-type promos) these super athletes get down to 8% for men and 10-15% for women, but healthy for women is like, 20-22%. Does that happen just by virtue of losing lbs and going high Protein, or do you have to do weights/major cardio to hit 20-25%?

Wow! Thank you! Totally inspirational!

@@JoeVegas, I feel for you, and July 27th will be here before you know it -- and the two-week pre-op liquid diet! I'm 8/1, so hot on your heels. Let's make 2017 the best year ever!

Holy crap!

I'm so excited for you! Congratulations!

You are beautiful! Great job!

I have to say, I think my bariatric group's procedure to obtain surgery is great; but every single person I have worked with has been a bit of a flake and not specific AT ALL about the nitty-gritty. I followed their outline to the letter and did everything required on my end within a month; necessary labs, sleep apnea test, using CPAP machine, support group meetings, follow-up appointments, etc. HOWEVER, the psych evaluation was kind of a joke -- a VERY young psych who weighed maybe 100 lbs gave me Bambi eyes and rattled off questions from a screen. I asked very sincere questions about follow-up psychiatric care/counseling as I don't think you get to the point of needing surgery without some underlying emotional issues -- and not only did she say she didn't do that kind of counseling, she had no referrals to anyone who did -- nor did she make any effort whatsoever to FIND a referral. The NUT was a no-nonsense, again, very thin (which is only appropriate,) woman who looked over my food diaries, chastised me for eating a cookie (warranted,) told me to cut down on cheese to only one meal a day, and had me go back for the required 3x, then passed me for surgery. I asked the NUT about what macronutrients I should shoot for, what ratio of carbs/protein/fat, to which she refused to answer and said we'd go over that post surgery. I was then given a folder of copied suggested healthy foods and given the bum's rush. Met with the surgeon, had the personality of naval lint, and asked about lifting restrictions (I have two 40-lb toddlers) and being out of work (self-employed from home, desk job,) and was met with a flat expression and told "If it hurts, stop." Um, thanks so much. That is so totally unhelpful. I asked pointed, detailed questions -- and got bupkiss. I have learned more from this site than anyone affiliated with the bariatric "team." Heck, the most informed person I have talked to that spent TIME answering my questions was the CPAP rep who fitted my face mask! I know it's annoying to read the same questions over and over, but I DO think there's a lot of grey area that isn't covered. As well, there are still the lazy slugs who want to be spoon-fed the information or be told they are the exception and; yes, you can still drink soda, eat chips or crackers, etc., at X interval after surgery without consequences, LOL.

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I *just* went through the nighttime eating to stay awake scenario you described and had a little *ting* that I can't do that again. I easily wolfed down 1,000 calories in 10 minutes. Can you try switching it up, getting up early to finish work? I'm a morning person, and drinking a coffee/tea/water early won't trigger overeating, but forcing myself to stay awake hours after the kitchen is "closed" from dinner -- that's much harder for me to manage.

Question. LB is having a big 40% off sale today, and I am getting sleeved 8/1. I have plenty of clothes to get me from my current 22 down to a 10 in my closet, but I'm going to need bras and underwear eventually. I have been as much as 100 lbs smaller than my current size and have always been some form of a C cup, just the band size has gone up over the years. Should I take advantage of the sale and buy the next size down in bras and underwear in anticipation of losing the lbs this late summer/fall? I'm thinking it would be great to have some of those annoying/expensive things bought ahead of time so I don't have to think about it. If you think yes, should I buy more than one size down? I'm currently a 42C, should I buy the 40C AND 38C? Maybe 2 of each to get me over the humps? I know everyone's shape is different, but I'd honestly be shocked to get below a 36C within a year's time.

LOL, glad it all worked out! Sounds like you got physical, emotional, and um, more stress worked out of your system in the best possible variety of ways! Catch up on rest, and watch that scale move in the next five days!

@@Kindle, what tests do you recommend having done to check your baseline on hormones? I'm premenopausal but feeling more hormonal, not looking forward to the dump post surgery and ensuing craziness. Is there a baseline of things you think are good to be tested for before and after surgery?

Thank you, Kathy @@proudgrammy! I'm sooo excited for surgery, and your stats are AMAZING! I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but boy, you blew threw those numbers great! Keep these great stories coming, so inspiring!

Mine didn't set a target, said he didn't want to either set me up for feeling like a failure if I didn't reach it, and he didn't want to give me too "easy" a number and have me quit before reaching my potential. Basically, up to me. I'm 5'8" according to them measuring me, but I always thought I was 5'10". BMI range is 140-160. Initially I was thinking 160, but now I want to try for 140 within 18 months so I have some wiggle room and not freak out, but we shall see. Frankly, anything in Onederland will make me orgasmic at this point!

Thank you! I'm going to ignore the sale email and hold off until I lose lbs. Better to pay $50 for a bra that fits later than $200 on a bunch of bras that may never fit. I might jump on the underwear though . . . .

@Stacyrg2. Maybe just one size down then and take it from there?

I'm getting sleeved 8/1 and take my kids to a pond to play. How long do you think I should wait before going in that kind of Water? I mean, it's clean, but it's still a pond, not a pool.

I love this! Keep these updates coming! Wonderful job, and you're gorgeous!

Wonderful job! You look great! Very inspiring!

You're gorgeous! Thank you for the longer-term update! This is so encouraging. Great job!

Wow. Geez. Debbie Downer, much? IDK what to say, I'd just run for the hills every time I ran into her. Let your results speak for themselves. You're doing great, all prepared, and that sucks she put that nasty ear worm in your head.

I just got confirmation I'm 8/1! Yay! Protein drinks/liquids start 7/17. I can't WAIT for surgery! Been on this journey since 11/2015. Ready to start the next phase of my life!