Heather I

What a weirdo.

I think it's a great idea!

I hear ya, @ Pedro! I'm looking at losing literally 50% of my body weight in lbs to get to a normal BMI, and at 280 lbs and not even sleeved YET, I've got people telling me to stay at 200?! What the heck? Noooooo, normal BMI for me is 140-160, tops, and it looks GREAT in other people. I agree -- we are surrounded by an overweight population, so "normal" seems to be obese in many instances. Add to that we've been overweight for so long -- it's tough to know where to fall.

Has anyone who had a panniculectomy/TT also had their FUPA (sorry! Don't know a nice way to describe it) also modified/trimmed up during surgery? Is that done? I haven't had sleeve surgery yet, but I'm expecting there to be extra material there and didn't know if that's considered a separate area to tweak ($$) or if it's pulled tight enough with the TT/panni? Thanks in advance!

Thank you!

Fitbit Blaze, love it so far. Have had it 2 months now. I wish it were waterproof, my only quibble.

My bariatric group required an ultrasound of the abdomen where they checked the size of my liver preop.

Very handsome! Great job!

Just my two cents reading these posts, and I haven't been sleeved yet (hoping June!) but what I'm hearing, respectfully, is you are trying to cut a deal or bargain your way into having surgery, but still eating the foods you love. I don't think at 400 lbs you (or any of us on here,) are good at "moderation." I've been reading for MONTHS on this site, and very few people can eat "just a few" of any trigger foods and leave it alone. There is a VERY long thread about weight regained that is both depressing and informative. I honestly think you should read all 150+pages of posts and analyze what people are saying. Honestly, your wife seems to be playing with fire, in my opinion. You say she's able to eat larger portions than you have been told was possible and having some "fun" foods that were perhaps trigger foods for her. She's still newly sleeved. Weight regain is very possible for her in the years to come. I can't have an open bag of chips around the house. Unopened on a shelf, fine. They stay left alone. Opened, forget it -- done. I love crunch. A sleeve of crackers can be scarfed with a brick of cheese in an instant. Take your time and hold off on surgery. I think you'll get to the point of needing and wanting it, but maybe not just yet. But, honestly, take a real look at the next plate of wings you are eating. Analyze if you actually love the taste of all X amount you have as a portion. So much of what we "love" loses its luster after we have gorged ourselves on it, but there is the mental food addiction that is at play that keeps us stuffing our faces. Just my two cents, but I think it's scary how quickly 400 lbs and "healthy fat" can turn into busted knees, hips, ankles, bed bound, incapacitated, out of work, and blowing up to 500+ lbs with no option of burning it off. And, lastly, I think you are misinformed that there are skinny people out there who eat fatty foods in moderation. I have think friends, and they are not neurotic about their food, but they choose to eat those things MAYBE 1x a year. They self-monitor their intake and try to eat healthy 95% of the time to allow for treats -- which is what we should be doing. Over half the U.S. is obese, and diabetes is an epidemic. Skinny people aren't eating all the wings, pizza, beer, and chips. Honestly, it's almost hard to FIND thin people. Look around you at the grocery store, airports, etc. I would say I see 85% of the population is overweight. Look at how many scooters Walmart has for overweight people. It's a lot! Take the time you need to get the food craving you love out of your system and hold off. I think you're going to be miserable after surgery -- at least right now. Just my two cents reading these posts, and I haven't been sleeved yet (hoping June!) but what I'm hearing, respectfully, is you are trying to cut a deal or bargain your way into having surgery, but still eating the foods you love. I don't think at 400 lbs you (or any of us on here,) are good at "moderation." I've been reading for MONTHS on this site, and very few people can eat "just a few" of any trigger foods and leave it alone. There is a VERY long thread about weight regained that is both depressing and informative. I honestly think you should read all 150+pages of posts and analyze what people are saying. Honestly, your wife seems to be playing with fire, in my opinion. You say she's able to eat larger portions than you have been told was possible and having some "fun" foods that were perhaps trigger foods for her. She's still newly sleeved. Weight regain is very possible for her in the years to come. I can't have an open bag of chips around the house. Unopened on a shelf, fine. They stay left alone. Opened, forget it -- done. I love crunch. A sleeve of crackers can be scarfed with a brick of cheese in an instant. Take your time and hold off on surgery. I think you'll get to the point of needing and wanting it, but maybe not just yet. But, honestly, take a real look at the next plate of wings you are eating. Analyze if you actually love the taste of all X amount you have as a portion. So much of what we "love" loses its luster after we have gorged ourselves on it, but there is the mental food addiction that is at play that keeps us stuffing our faces. Just my two cents, but I think it's scary how quickly 400 lbs and "healthy fat" can turn into busted knees, hips, ankles, bed bound, incapacitated, out of work, and blowing up to 500+ lbs with no option of burning it off. And, lastly, I think you are misinformed that there are skinny people out there who eat fatty foods in moderation. I have think friends, and they are not neurotic about their food, but they choose to eat those things MAYBE 1x a year. They self-monitor their intake and try to eat healthy 95% of the time to allow for treats -- which is what we should be doing. Over half the U.S. is obese, and diabetes is an epidemic. Skinny people aren't eating all the wings, pizza, beer, and chips. Honestly, it's almost hard to FIND thin people. Look around you at the grocery store, airports, etc. I would say I see 85% of the population is overweight. Look at how many scooters Walmart has for overweight people. It's a lot! Take the time you need to get the food craving you love out of your system and hold off. I think you're going to be miserable after surgery -- at least right now.

I'm praying for you it all turns out wonderful. Sometimes, life is just messed up. I truly hope this is the godsend you deserve after struggling so long and you end up with a healthy baby, healthy life, and a new beginning a year from now. Not that you wouldn't adhere to a healthy post-op diet, but man, there's nothing like pregnancy to give you laser-like focus for the health of your baby. You'll do fantastic, I'm 1000% positive, after all you have been through. It does feel like you are holding your breath with every blood test, amnio, ultrasound. I don't think the low-grade stress goes away until that baby is in your arms. When can the doctors do tests to see if anything is going on? Any ultrasounds planned? Or is it just wait and pray for the next 9 months?

Two things on this. I used to be a court reporter and took down testimony in civil litigation for over 20 years. I did about a dozen fatal RNY lawsuits where the surgeon "nicked" the liver and the patient bled out and died. Granted, the technique has certainly been refined over the years, and physicians learned a lot about performing the surgery, but the liver-shrink diet is a really big deal and needs to be taken seriously. When they say it can be too large to perform surgery, they mean it. They WILL cancel it. I actually just had my surgeon meeting yesterday before we submit the docs to BCBS and book a date, and I asked about the diet, how much it shrinks the liver. He said he wasn't aware of any before/after studies of how much it shrinks, but he said if I'm not compliant and it's too big to work in there, the surgery is cancelled. Anecdotally, I asked if he could take out my gallbladder while in there since I hear that has a high probability of needing to come out after weight loss. He said they don't do that at the same time for a couple reasons. One, your GB may never need to be removed, so that's another surgery site hampering recovery time. Two, the GB is wedged near vital organs, and when it's surrounded by fat, it's very dangerous to be noodling around in there trying to take it out. My doctor prefers to take it out after weight loss (if necessary,) when he can move around in there. He also said if he goes in there and sees the GB is in bad shape, he cancels the bariatric surgery and goes ahead told to the GB first, then reschedules the bariatric surgery. Ahhhhh!

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You look amazing! Great job keeping the old outfit for a real good before and after!

@@FinallyFree! Have you tried LongTallSally mail order? Great jeans!

I get it! I can't wait to cross my legs!

So long as you can afford it, I'd enjoy the shopping! If you really want to curb it, my thin friend who is the epitome of self-control (in a healthy way,) ONLY buys "perfect" clothes; the exact shade, cut, fit, length, style, etc., of what she is looking for. I tend to buy in bulk a bunch of "meh" clothes at my big size, but she stays on a budget really well by only buying what she honestly loves. I've marveled at her self-control -- walking past racks of clothes, trying on TONS of stuff that looked great on her -- only to walk away empty handed or with maybe ONE shirt out of 15. She's REALLY discriminating. As a result though, she's in great financial shape and always looks lovely, appropriate, and comfortable in her own skin.

I have a love/hate relationship with it. I have the jumbo face mask one (friends and family have compared it to "Bane" on Batman. I think it's more Alien face-hugger, but whatevs, LOL. Freaking bulky and, ahem, not attractive.) However, the damn thing DOES help a ton. I no longer snore like a wildebeest and keep my husband awake. My sinuses are fabulously cleared because mine hydrates the nostrils (TMI? LOL) so I don't wake up with a crusty nose, and I AM sleeping way better with it. Having said all that . . . I can't WAIT for surgery, and the second I'm breathing/sleeping more normal, I'm going to throw it in the closet and happily ignore it I think. Like a previous poster, I am monitored remotely for compliance. I need to keep it on a minimum of 4 hours a day, 5 of 7 days a week to keep the machine. After 9 months of good-girl usage I can keep it. Until then, they are charging my insurance $250 a month for the privilege of me using the darn thing. I'm a number-cruncher/MFP/Fitbit tracking nerd, and the CPAP machine has a link where you create a user ID and can see your nightly results and get a score, which I like. 7 hours is the magic number to get 90-100. I average 5-6 hours a night. It tells me how often I had waking incidents, usage time, etc., etc. Kinda cool. It DOES help. I was skeptical but going along with it for surgery compliance, but now I really do miss it if I don't use it at night. I feel about as sexy as a troll strapping the stupid thing on after kissing hubby goodnight, but what can you do? P.S. I dangle the extra cord over my bedpost so it doesn't wrap around anything.

I started closed captioning in December, 2014. I began covering high school football games in September of 2015. Hearing over and over and over again how "big" and "huge" and "intimidating" these 6'2'-6'4" players were -- at 220-240 lbs, tops, when I'm shorter than they are and weight 40-50 lbs more than them -- it got old, real quick. Every damn time they said it, I cringed inside. All the other things people mentioned, too, played a factor, but football did me in.

Hmm, Cape Crooner, I think you have a couple good things going for you to continue to just go along as you have been. I get why you feel it's "lying," but a few things to consider: Most people are pretty self-absorbed and don't pay nearly as much attention as we think they do. Yes, you've lost a large amount of weight, but most men I've seen, when they dive into any diet, (Atkins, WW, etc.,) tend to lose HUGE amounts quickly -- and keep losing. I'd just keep saying the truth; you've changed your lifestyle to protect your health and have wonderful results doing it. I keep reading from vets that 1-2 years out, once the weight loss has stabilized and people get used to the new you, it's a nonissue. I think, once you have a snowbird rotation this year and next year, it's going to be commented on, "Wow, you look great!" -- and then a quick, "how'd you do it?" "Exercise and not eating out of control." Done. Women want the nitty-gritty, but men (IMO) are just like, "great job," and move on from there. Also, we are all yo-yo dieters. Many may not comment waiting for your eventual regain. It may not be as big a deal as you think. Take the compliments and turn the conversation back to the speaker. "Thank you so much! I'm working hard. How are the kids?" Good luck. You're not a bad person at all for not divulging 150% of your life. I'm an oversharer, but I'm being selective who I tell and when -- and I still was surprised by one friend who is kinda ankle-biting about it. Her issue, not mine. Enjoy the praise! You worked hard for it!

I am understanding better now what you are saying. What does your therapist recommend to get over the hump? I'm curious for myself, honestly.

I'm so jealous! LOL. No insight or information, but if that's the case for you, AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS AWESOME!

Yup! My mom had the band and regained most lbs, family friend had bypass and regained 90%. I'm freaked out I'll blow it after a year or two of getting comfortable -- if it even works. I know, logically, it will work (or else I wouldn't be killing myself to get the surgery,) but it's very hard to think in a year from now I could be 140 lbs lighter!

Sounds like he's a keeper if he's been patient so far and taking his cues from you for pacing. I don't know how old you are, but guys can calm down a bit 40+ in terms of pushing going to the "next level." My completely unscientific personal experience is they've been burned, burned out, and want companionship and company -- in addition to the fun stuff:-) Don't pressure yourself. You really like him. My guess is it'll happen organically sooner than later and this will be a blip. Smart guys know NOT pressuring a lady can sometimes be the biggest aphrodisiac. Works for me! LOL. Sounds like he's a keeper if he's been patient so far and taking his cues from you for pacing. I don't know how old you are, but guys can calm down a bit 40+ in terms of pushing going to the "next level." My completely unscientific personal experience is they've been burned, burned out, and want companionship and company -- in addition to the fun stuff:-) Don't pressure yourself. You really like him. My guess is it'll happen organically sooner than later and this will be a blip. Smart guys know NOT pressuring a lady can sometimes be the biggest aphrodisiac. Works for me! LOL.

Ugh, freaking site pasted my reply like a zillion times. Sorry!

I've worked in the legal/court field for 20+years and have seen and heard sooooooo much rape and molestation against women and children, so I'm very attuned to it. I DO feel so much better with my husband nearby. He's 6'4" and looks pretty badass. I'm no teeny-weenie at 5'8" and overweight, but still, I've had the creepy catcalls and had a gross guy rub up on my randomly at a street parade, been groped and grabbed at bars trying to get through a crowded room, actually been chased to be robbed/who knows across a city street in broad daylight -- it's freaking scary! I have gone to jail cells and sat next to rapists and molesters to take down their testimony, stayed late at courthouses and walked to my car when defendants out on bail notice me walking to my car, and been heartbroken hearing other women's stories of abuse, rape, and violence. I worry about my friend's super petite daughter who is 4'10" and about 90 lbs, who looks like she's about 14 when she's 23. Now I have a beautiful little blond haired, blue eyed baby girl who is 2.5 and lovely. My husband and I are paranoid for her (and her brother.) I had a late hearing for police officers to cover, and my car was broken into -- surrounded by cruisers. I'm definitely more situationally aware of my surroundings and very grateful to be working from home now. Less exposure to the crazies out there. I've worked in the legal/court field for 20+years and have seen and heard sooooooo much rape and molestation against women and children, so I'm very attuned to it. I DO feel so much better with my husband nearby. He's 6'4" and looks pretty badass. I'm no teeny-weenie at 5'8" and overweight, but still, I've had the creepy catcalls and had a gross guy rub up on my randomly at a street parade, been groped and grabbed at bars trying to get through a crowded room, actually been chased to be robbed/who knows across a city street in broad daylight -- it's freaking scary! I have gone to jail cells and sat next to rapists and molesters to take down their testimony, stayed late at courthouses and walked to my car when defendants out on bail notice me walking to my car, and been heartbroken hearing other women's stories of abuse, rape, and violence. I worry about my friend's super petite daughter who is 4'10" and about 90 lbs, who looks like she's about 14 when she's 23. Now I have a beautiful little blond haired, blue eyed baby girl who is 2.5 and lovely. My husband and I are paranoid for her (and her brother.) I had a late hearing for police officers to cover, and my car was broken into -- surrounded by cruisers. I'm definitely more situationally aware of my surroundings and very grateful to be working from home now. Less exposure to the crazies out there. I've worked in the legal/court field for 20+years and have seen and heard sooooooo much rape and molestation against women and children, so I'm very attuned to it. I DO feel so much better with my husband nearby. He's 6'4" and looks pretty badass. I'm no teeny-weenie at 5'8" and overweight, but still, I've had the creepy catcalls and had a gross guy rub up on my randomly at a street parade, been groped and grabbed at bars trying to get through a crowded room, actually been chased to be robbed/who knows across a city street in broad daylight -- it's freaking scary! I have gone to jail cells and sat next to rapists and molesters to take down their testimony, stayed late at courthouses and walked to my car when defendants out on bail notice me walking to my car, and been heartbroken hearing other women's stories of abuse, rape, and violence. I worry about my friend's super petite daughter who is 4'10" and about 90 lbs, who looks like she's about 14 when she's 23. Now I have a beautiful little blond haired, blue eyed baby girl who is 2.5 and lovely. My husband and I are paranoid for her (and her brother.) I had a late hearing for police officers to cover, and my car was broken into -- surrounded by cruisers. I'm definitely more situationally aware of my surroundings and very grateful to be working from home now. Less exposure to the crazies out there.

I was frustrated -- but then got more and more tense watching it, and the whistling in the woods was eery! Glen's contract was only renewed for this year (ending this season,) and Daryl's got the new motorcycle show and is supposed to leave the show, so I'm thinking it's them.