Christinamo7

oh @@gpmed I have a few of those shots on my phone too but thankfully even that part of my body is shrinking away. this WLS. wild ride, but so rewarding!

this morning I was walking the dog at "dark thirty" wearing a tee shirt that I honestly thought before was just skimpy on the fabric as I bought it at Target last year. sometimes cheaper stores cut their shirts shorter.... anyway. I used to have to tug at it so my belly wouldn't sneak out and show someone (that belly I had was quite a flasher) I must have been stretching it side to side well darn if that shirt doesn't hang past my hips to the top of my thighs now that this fat suit is melting away. I'm now in danger of the v neck revealing something more substantial than flashing my tummy! so glad I wear it with a sports bra.

if you find you are obsessing you can just stop doing it altogether again, and we will be here to try to find a different way to help you figure out what's going on.

Hey, that's very encouraging. I have had some progress in getting my eyes and tummy in sync - but I'm not quite there yet.

welcome! I look forward to seeing how things go for you.

if everyone could please take turns coming by to massage my head for the next 6 months, I'd like to test this theory out.

congrats you two! I am looking forward to following your progress.

ah, I was wondering how you were doing with the soft foods! I think figuring out how to fit our new dietary needs into our work lifestyles is one of the hardest things, it's like learning a new dance routine. Some days when they want me on the front desk (where we can't eat) it has been a challenge - it took me a while to figure out a routine that worked for me and so I hope, and trust that you will also find a routine that works for you. I do have to pack all my food and drink for the day, except dinner unless I am the late person in the morning and dole it out as I can to make sure I meet my needs. it's a challenge for sure.

hahaha! that's so sadly true for me too! It is normal to be nervous, I sure was! I am looking forward to following your progress.

I don't like to track either, and I don't want my life to be about that. however. I do eat similar things a lot of the time so about 3 times a month I spend a day tracking - and measuring. the only thing I weigh all the time are the almonds in my biweekly snack. nuts are healthy and good - but I need to make sure I am having the amount I need. I wonder if this kind of approach might be helpful for you?

do you still have follow up visits with your team? maybe if you give more information people can help you get a plan together - tomorrow is always a brand new day.

from what I understand you still have hunger hormone in your system. and then there is always head hunger as we make the changes. it is kind of the worst part of the process, at least it was for me. Hang in there, it will get better quickly.

you do *not* look sickly at all. I am sorry they hurt your feelings.

@@LipstickLady please make up your mind if you want a general answer or a specific one. you can't have it both ways and I have already told you I am not going to dig through old posts to find you an example and I doubt anyone else will either. I worry about the people who are researching WLS and need to confront *why* they don't want anyone to know - because I feel if they are ashamed or even if they just feel like they are lying that could have serious implications for them during the maintenance period when the hard work of keeping the weight off begins. privacy? not an issue or a problem, but the other things are landmines. much better to get your emotional crap together before surgery as much as possible.

well since you want a more general answer - I feel from reading these posts 'ad nauseam' some people are conflicted about not telling, and seem to attack those who tell because it makes them second guess their own decisions as far as transparency. it makes them *feel* like they are lying. and lets face it - there are *some* people who do not want others to know they had WLS because they truly are ashamed of their choice, or need of the choice. they want to present themselves falsely as being something they are not - and some of those some are here on those threads being every bit as unkind as some of the "tellers" are. I don't think keeping your medical history to yourself is lying in any way shape or form unless you imply that the dietary changes are all there is to your success. just omitting that part is not lying if you are doing it for privacy reasons. I doubt you do that if privacy is what you are after. I am pretty transparent, but I do not tell everyone all of my business, medical or otherwise and I try to have good sense about when it is appropriate and welcomed. but seriously, why should anyone even care what someone else, especially someone online, thinks of their choice? Even if I did think you were a little liar - so freaking what? the only thing that matters is if you are content with the choices you are making. I love the saying when you are 20 you worry about what others think. when you are 40 you don't care what others think. when you are 60 you realize they weren't even thinking of you at all. I think there's a lot of truth to that.

welcome to the club!

of course you are! I was the first time I had surgery too. but most of the time you will be fine. just be honest with your team and most especially your surgeon and anesthesia so they will know how to take care of you. and keep us posted about your journey.

Since they said to try the diet alone for a month - during that month try other ways to manage your stress - yoga is very effective - look for a *relaxing* yoga video like peggy cappy yoga for the rest of us, not a super hard yoga work out, as that would not be relaxing. or look up bedtime yoga poses on google or your search engine of choice. relaxing walking pace, see this article: http://www.metaboliceffect.com/can-your-chosen-surroundings-help-you-burn-more-fat/ I also like epsom salts baths with lavender oil, and afterwards I rub melted coconut oil on to further help me relax. resting with quiet music (I am not kidding even 15 minutes can make a world of difference) dancing for 15 minutes with loud obnoxious music on (scorpions and def leppard for me please)

you're just looking for a fight, you can't possibly have read the same threads I have and not seen people put down or slam all people who tell in a group. Truth is I would not have reacted to your labeling the whole lot of us as "tellers" in a very disparaging way if I hadn't seen the same behaviors from others. if you choose to believe one side is completely appropriate and not in any way defamatory to the other side so be it. stay in your happy 'one way street' place. I certainly am not going to go looking for past examples to point it out to you because it just isn't worth my time. I called you on it because as a host and veteran there is a higher expectation on you than on others.

foot. the broad definition of "shaming" used around here would include any number of arguments I've seen on the other side, but I don't really feel like going through old threads to dig them up. will try to remember to point them out to you when I see them in the future, because there are some on both sides, really of any hot button issue I see here. but really what goes for shaming is in large measure people who don't know how to frame their disagreement with a topic in a way that is not inflammatory and disparaging to their fellow posters, or they are not people who can easily and unemotionally articulate the reasons they are on whichever side of the fence they are on. and I'll quote them so they can't go back and change it, lol.

yes, this sounds normal for 2 days out, and it does get better - should be some better every day.

yup - most of the battle is in our minds and emotions. but for the first time I am not hungry and feeling the need to eat 3 plates of food. I am full after a small amount. so if I want to eat after that I have to ask myself "why"? in looking that monster straight in the eye we can get the answers we need to make long term changes in our eating habits, so that as we are able to eat more we can choose to eat appropriate amounts.

no. the sleeve makes changes to your body, not just the physical stomach portion being removed - also the hormonal factor. So you shouldn't have any problems loosing weight in the beginning months (time frame varies from patient to patient) and the dietary changes you need to make will be SO MUCH EASIER during that time. If you also use that time to work on any mental and emotional issues that drive your eating (don't we all have those?!?) you will be fine. your weight loss prior, depending on how you managed it, may have altered your metabolism. but hey - there are things you can do to alter it upwards too. Most of us, probably the vast majority have lost, gained, lost, gained in the years leading up to WLS.

feels good doesn't it?!? I rarely have a shake now - but occasionally there will be days when we just can't quite get there - or when I don't have time to fix an egg for Breakfast - you know? the shake is good to keep on hand for those times. but I didn't like having to *rely* on them.

yes! there are and you will just have to try some brands on to see what you like. I have gone places like Dick's Sporting Goods to try things on in the past, and then you can buy there or shop around once you know the style/brand you like.