Hollyhock

Wowie zowie! You and your kids look great! What fun to make it a family event!

I don't know. The first surgeon I went to when I was preparing for a sleeve told me no alcohol for a year. Alcohol is an extremely concentrated sugar. She said I would eventually be able to tolerate a few sips now and then, but because you don't break it down the same way, just a few sips will get you very drunk. Also, it becomes much is easier to become addicted to alcohol and there are a number of people who fall into substituting alcohol addiction for food addiction. So if you drink wine, be very careful about it. You should probably check with a medical professional first.

Maybe in your head when you are thinking about how much you weigh, silently subtract the 40 lbs of xcess skin that you will one day remove. This is not weight you can lose through diet or exercise. I'm sorry my response was so brief. I am feeling very sympathetic to what you are saying. My husband had a heart attack last Wednesday evening so I've been very caught up with that. I brought him hom yesterday and he's doing very well. No permanent damage to his heart. I've had a few binges myself this week and have not done such a great job of eating every few hours or diarying. But now that he's home, I hope to change that.

Temporary relapse is a normal part of the recovery process from addiction. It is important that you have developed the skill needed to reverse relapse and continue on the road to recovery. This is an amazing accomplishment! You should be proud of yourself for this. I am proud of you!

@@bamagal76 @@Queen of Crop Back in the day, when I was in my mid-twenties, I moved to Japan. I had a scholarship to study in Tokyo. I arrived with $40, couldn't recognize anything in a grocery store, and had a strong tendency towards anorexia anyway, so I conserved money by limiting myself to a bowl of noodles in the evening and walked five to ten miles every day (thus minimizing train fares). The weight rapidly fell off...about 4 lbs per month (or one a week). So bamagal76 is losing double what I lost in my twenties never eating, and walking several hours a day. (Also going for runs or stair running in the evenings.) Now nobody should restrict the way I was doing and I wouldn't encourage that. (At one point, I went on a walking tour of Korea carrying a heavy back pack in July. I got dysentary and couldn't ingest anything other than digestive biscuits and green tea, and you are still losing at twice the rate I was!) Your weight didn't take a month to put on, and it will take you awhile to lose it, but I would be surprised if you aren't already noticing clothing fitting way too loosely. My point is, I was at my highest metabolism and starving myself while over exercising, and you are losing weight, in a healthy manner, at double the rate. It is important to feel proud of yourself and also to maintain your health! Minimizing your progress can lead to unhealthy restricting and permanent problems.

@@flip26 Look for someone who specializes in behavior modification practices such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. There are also very helpful outpatient eating disorder clinics that specialize in helping you to recognize hunger and fullness cues, and to find ways of coping with stress that don't involve food.

That is just awesome and I am proud of you! It takes a lot of courage to break compulsions. After awhile you may even find yourself looking forward to walks. I went through about eight months of an Intensive Outpatient Program for eating disorders before beginning a bariatric surgery program. It really helped. It includes 12 hours per week of: dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), movement therapy, nutrition counseling, supported eating (to help you learn to recognize hunger cues), and individual and group therapy. It was REALLY useful. The DBT is especially helpful for learning ways to structure your life so you are less vulnerable to stress and less likely to engage in addictive behavior. If you have anything like that in your town, it might really help. I have not been scheduled for WLS yet. I am almost through with all my requirements, but my surgeon up and left, and now I have to find a new one. When I do finally complete surgery and go back to a diet of solid foods, I intend to return to the IOP for a few months because I will experience hunger and food in a different way. I also had to go through six weeks of Physical Therapy for a torn meniscus. The therapist decided to put me in a pool to walk and jog through Water with styrofoam "weights." I really enjoy splashing around because it doesn't hurt my knees and I don't get sweaty, but it is a great cardio workout. I'm joining the hospital pool so that I can go splash a few days a week. I rarely look forward to walking these days because it hurts but I love walking in the pool. (Obviously not in the deep end!)

Wowie Zowie! You are rocking that suit! That is a great look for you.

Really great job!!! You look wonderful and so happy!

Amazing. I am SO looking forward to crossing that line!

Wow! Great job! I love the distressed jeans. It must be fun to wear them like the badass dude you are!

I think you look beautiful in all your pics! But yes, the change is very dramatic. Congratulations on your success and hard work. And thanks for telling us about your nine month wait. I'm still waiting on my surgery date...had a set back when my surgeon up and quit. But at least it is probably only a one or two month set back!

@@bamagal76 You've lost 25 lbs! Two lbs a week is actually very good. If you keep doing that, in ten months you will have lost 80 lbs. That's very exciting. It's really important to Celebrate your successes. Sometimes not seeing success as success causes us to give up. To put it into perspective, 25 lbs is 10.4% of your body weight at your highest weight. That's a lot to drop in a month or two!

I think you look amazing in ALL your photos. But great work and it shows. Some people in your life are going to be very jealous and will say things to undermine you. Find new people to replace them with. They are frosted flakes and your new friends are carrots.

@ Thanks for the support! I know I'm bitching a lot. What frustrates me most is the lack of support from the first program. It is good to hear that you found your way out of the medical labyrinth. Good for you for hanging in there! I'm so happy to hear that you were able to overcome the thyroid problem and move forward in your life. I will, too. I was very excited at my last three visits to have actually dropped weight consecutively, even small amounts. That has not happened for at least two decades! It was so weird to be told, "Congratulations, you are doing really well, and you're doing so well we have to stop seeing you and hope you find a new place." I look forward to being able to simply post my joy at being able to do things I love again like hiking, running and almost every kind of dance. Also, tying my shoes. I'll even be able to go shopping IN MY OWN CLOSET!

@@Babbs, @@LipstickLady @ What a bunch of inspiring stories! Thanks for the posts.

@@seeingme What a beautiful story. Your courage is inspiring. I wish you a wonderful journey. It sounds like you are someone who is not easily intimidated by obstacles!

@@Dub Wow! Amazing transformation! This gives me hope. I am at the moment frustrated. I finished all the necessary tests, nutrition, counseling, etc., required by my surgeon and started on the CPAP. I was about two months out from surgery. Then my surgeon had a falling out with the hospital admin and quit. There is another good surgeon about two hours away and I've called for an appointment. I won't be able to talk to their program coordinator until October 6 (about a month from now). Fortunately, they will accept all my diagnostics, but I will probably have to go through their pre-op program all over again since their nutritional requirements differ. The first hospital (in a town about 30 miles from me) kicked me out of their program because they said they would be holding me back since whatever surgeon I transfer to will have their own requirements. So, no support to continue with the weight loss I've begun pre-surgery. In the meantime, in order to not lose momentum, I've gone back to the nutritional counselor I was seeing prior to entering the bariatric surgery program. At least I won't be on my own till I can switch surgeons. I will also be allowed to join the hospital gym and pool in my hometown where I completed Physical Therapy for a torn meniscus, but not until the orthopedic surgeon signs my application. Which hopefully will be tomorrow. Then at least I can continue the Water walking and jogging that have helped facilitate the small amount of weight I've lost so far. I guess this is the down side of living in an extremely rural state. It had been looking as though I would be scheduled for October but now I guess I will be lucky if I can do it in December. The worst part about it for me, is I wish the first hospital would have at least allowed me to remain in their program until I found a new surgeon as the support and constant review of my food and movement diaries was helpful. I am also frustrated because the only way I can get my medical records transferred to the new program is if the doctor requests them, and they say that it is my responsibility to bring them. I really have no desire to repeat an upper endoscopy, two sleep studies, six weeks of physical therapy, a complete psychological assessment and months of nutritional counseling!!! I am just hoping that once I can speak to the nurse program coordinator at the new hospital, she will be willing to actually request the medical records so I don't have to pay the first hospital hundreds of dollars just to print them. I guess I'm just bitching, which never solves anything. Your story is awesome and makes me happy just to read.

So happy to hear it!

@G33kg1rl Oh my goodness! This certainly puts things in perspective for me. I hope that you are able to safely accomplish your goals. Now that I have had a day to think about it, it's much worse for all the staff who are heartbroken, and there are far worse things that could happen! Thank you for your post!

I have been participating in a bariatric surgery program for four months, and before that, an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for eating disorders for eight months. The IOP required twelve hours per week of nutrition, supported eating groups, individual and group therapy, movement therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). I have completed my two sleep studies, my psych eval and my endoscopy. I learned from the endoscopy that I had an ulcer, so I completed two weeks of an intensive regimen of antibiotics (blech!). I start my CPAP tomorrow. I have also completed six weeks of Physical Therapy for a torn meniscus and learned all kinds of fun things I can do in the pool while the knee heals (or not). I decided that rather than pursue knee surgery, it made more sense to keep working towards weight loss because it is probably the weight, combined with running and jazzercise, yoga and a feeble attempt at tennis that injured the knee. (I weighed 250 lbs. and am still up there at 243.) So I went in to my appointment today hoping that maybe they could finally schedule me for surgery. I was delighted to find I'd lost five lbs this month ( a total of 8 in the last three months). It's not a huge number but is extraordinary for me to have lost three months in a row! But then when I met with my team they told me the surgeon had had a falling out with the hospital administration and left. They had just begun searching for a replacement. They are referring everyone who is close to surgery out as the delay will probably mean a minimum of six months. I don't like the hospital I was at at all and only went because the surgeon there has such a phenomenal reputation. I plan to go back to the first hospital I'd approached even though it is in another town a few hours away. They also have a good reputation but it is hard to travel so much when I work full time. More than that, I am frustrated as I was told that while all my diagnostics will be accepted, I will probably have to start all over as their dietary recommendations and processes will be different. I will have to redo the seminar and orientation and who knows what else. This is frustrating. And while I'm waiting, I have no support from a nutritional team. I guess I'll go back to the IOP, at least for the interim. And pay down the costs of the sleep studies which wer only partially covered by my insurance. Aaarrrgh!

Wow! That's extraordinary!

I haven't been scheduled for a date yet. I have been going regularly to the nutritionist and for DBT (mindfulness therapy). They haven't given me specific weight loss or calorie goals, although I am supposed to lose a little at each visit. We are focused on things like cutting out starches, using My Plate, and learning to make zoodles. My next appointment will be a bust because when I did my upper endoscopy they found an ulcer and I had to take two weeks of very strong anti-biotics that made my mouth taste like a sewer. I couldn't eat in the morning and Water tasted horrible! I ended up sucking on mints for two weeks straight. I actually went through eight months of an Intensive Outpatient Program for twelve hours a week. It included nutrition, individual therapy, DBT, movement therapy and supported eating. That's where we all eat supper together and learn to recognize hunger and fullness. It was really worthwhile and I intend to return to it once I have had the surgery and resumed solid food. I am hoping that since I start my CPAP tomorrow, I can finally be scheduled. I have to be on the CPAP for four weeks before surgery. I am taking this time to try to learn new recipes that will be good for my family but also support my weight loss.

Have you had your surgery yet? How did it go?

Yeah, I recently injured a knee and it is not healing. No issue with the joint, but the meniscus is torn. I'm normally a reasonably active person, but now I can't do most of the things I like to do in terms of physical activity. Which is only strengthening my resolve about surgery. Thank you very much for the reassurance! I also have a torn meniscus, which has halted my favorite activities: African Dance, jazzercise and hiking. I started physical therapy and my therapist taught me all sorts of fun stuff I can do in the pool. I jog laps with various kinds of "weights" made from styrofoam and plastic, walk forwards, backwards and sidewise, kick with a kickboard, lunge walk, and do squats and heel lifts. I suspended my jazzercise membership and as soon as my PT period ends, will join the hospital gym and pool, and go after work. I am also in the process of completing my pre-requisites for bariatric surgery...I am just completing a horrid round of anti-biotics to get rid of an ulcer caused by painkillers for the knee, and will be issued my CPAP next week. I hope to have the surgery in October or November. My plan is to see if weight loss relieves the joint pain. If not, then I will look at knee surgery in the spring. Oh yeah, I'm 56.