Sosewsue61

You won't have to spend your life's savings or retirement fund for nursing care to get your obese body in the shower, wipe your bum, you won't be riding a scooter cuz your knees and hips wore out from the weight, you won't break expensive furniture, your mattress will last longer....

Yay! See you on the 'other side'!

I was always shocked to see my fat pictures, 'lord am I fat or what!' 'I can't be THAT fat!' Some of it is because I am agile, I move well and have some grace, so I 'think' I can 'fit' into that small space between things. Ha ha what an illusion that can be sometimes when that fat gut ended up with bruises from the attempt. Oh @MIZ60, right there with you on asking the hubs to pick out the chick that I resemble weight wise lol - he squirms out of it by saying - shapes are different, your butt is not shaped like hers, you don't have arms like that, etc....BUT I seriously cannot 'see' what size I am...I hold up a shirt and think it won't fit and it does....I get amazed. I can hardly wait to see how I handle this at closer to goal weight. And even weirder, I can shop for the teenage granddaughters at resale shops, and know what I pick up will fit them...I see their size just fine. Plus I freakin' sew garments, so why my brain can't see my body is stupifying! And mirrors are an illusion - how else could you see those 42" hips in the width of a 12" wide mirror?

Congrats on gettinga surgery date. Saying prayers that you have a safe and successful surgery as new journey.

Hope this works out for you, congrats. You had surgery when? You don't post much, nor have you filled in stats or shared your journey much.

https://neurosciencenews.com/fat-consumption-weight-gain-9573/amp/ I call bs, just based on personal experience. I did not read the actual study, just this article.

I breastfed all my kids into toddlerhood and served mainly whole foods - always vegetables with the main course and homemade treats - oatmeal cookies, homemade pizza too. I was a poor military wife and on food stamps - but I learned better nutrition from La Leche League, I made all my own bread for years and years. My kids were not fat, thought yogurt was an amazing 'treat'. They all like most vegetables and eat nearly anything to this day. I used portion control with treats. I was devastated when the 2 middle kids of the 4 developed type 1 diabetes, I was totally devastated. Of course it was no one's fault - and there are no family members that have type 1 other than these two. Anyway....at least adapting to eating like diabetics was not difficult for the family. My bio sisters/brothers are/were not obese, my bio mother was not obese, nor my bio father. I was not raised by them. My paternal aunt and husband raised me from infancy and produced mega self-esteem issues in me. I used food for major comfort, was only slightly chubby all through school, weighed 135 in high school. Fast forward - I continued to eat for comfort in my alcoholic marriage for 18 years...piled on the pounds. And so on......but I still celebrate with food, food is meant to be enjoyed within reason. I think food at family functions is an important aspect that I am not going to give up. (But there are no chips in my house unless a non-resident brings them over) We eat too much processed food and took home-ec out of schools, need to require nutrition, how to shop for food, and cooking classes with those SNAP benefits. They actually did that for people on food stamps in Hawaii through the home extension programs. We also need to move more, some states don't require gym class either..we need balance.

Sew. Fabric shop. Make jewelry - a bracelet with ocean colors, soothing aqua stones and crystals.... Stay out of the kitchen. LONG HOT shower....paint my nails, put on makep, especially lipstick - who wants to ruin that by eating?

Take a small spoon and just try one spoonful and wait - that is how you try each stage anyway....nothing with chunks of ANYTHING at 5 days. Bisque might be too spicey depending on what is in it.... Milk might bother you, it does some people, others not..

Are you allergic to coconut? Try quinoa flour maybe?

Yogurt n pudding is full liquids, right after you tolerate protein shakes - week 2-3, along with blended cream soups......then pureed, then mushy/minced/blended meat. Go for high protein yogurt like Siggi or something, pudding -meh- not all that nutritional, fun tasty but not high in protein. The name of the game is protein and liquid, rinse repeat.

Congrats! And good luck. Ask for a scopolamine patch for nausea before surgery - works amazing. For pain, ask for paracetamol in an IV 1000mg - also works great. If pain breaks through that they will give you a narcotic like dilaudid, but likely you won't need it. You will be incredibly thirsty and have a dry mouth from the surgery, ask for biotene swabs, ice chips if allowed. Yes, you will mourn some food loss, and food volume - you will adjust and be fine. If not - seek counseling, seriously we all have food issues. But you WANT this surgery, NEED this surgery, and you will be successful - follow the surgeon's plan. Good luck.

Have you asked him? We change when we lose weight - less a dormat, more energy, etc. He could be insecure himself or it could be completely nonrelated. Any other changes in the family - work, etc? I suggest going for coffee somewhere as a date and talking about it (not at home, esp. not in the bedroom). Be honest, say 'I am pretty happy losing the weight, I love being more active. BUT I know all my loose skin bothers me - does it bother you? My vajay-jay is a little different too. Am I a little less sexy to you now? Can we fix this somehow by working on it together? Do we need some crazy hotel sex, change of pace?' My hubs has been 100% on board with any changes, we are old farts but only been married 21 years (2nd for both), but we still tear the sheets up!

I never received a recommendation to pursue therapy for dealing with 'food issues'. I had the required psych eval (and our psych leads the monthly support group - I rarely attend as it usually is on a night I square dance.) I did tell the psych about my self-esteem issues from childhood abuse, he said i could come for counseling if i needed to talk about it. I have however benefitted from reading Geneen Roth's books and a few others, and I think if counseling is not part of the surgeon's toolkit, the least they could do is provide education and a reading list in the support meetings - worksheets, something. We most certainly 'use' food as a coping mechanism.

I had a relatively easy recovery, not quite as bouncy as yours, but other than a little dizzy when I didn't get enough fluid - not bad....Just be careful not to ruah the food stages - there can always be a surprise or two along the way. You are still healing and have inflammation, just be cautious and have fun. No guilt allowed.

I am still experimenting with what will work long term... In the past I have done Atkins, I am a serial Weight Watcher's member from the age of 15, Diet Workshop, TOPS, South Beach, etc. I lose fastest on Atkins, cannot lose on unlimited fruit on WW, lose slower on mixed balance carb/protein/fat diets. Potatoes don't impact my losses, I do not eat pasta since vsg, have had 2T servings of rice about 5 times in 5 months. I eat rye toast for bf most mornings with avocado on it, plus my egg. I stall right now if carbs go above 70gr and/or calories above 1200, and I am fairly active with all the square dancing. So still experimenting....

I take 2 - 5000mcg/day. I have lost hair, but not tragic amounts. I also put peppermint oil in my leave-in conditioner, it is supposed to stimulate regrowth similar to using rogaine - according to one gov study. I have baby hairs growing back in now. I started with the biotin six months before surgery, and regular vitamins as well. I also take an extra folic acid.

Dense protein will allow you to feel your restriction more than soft foods, don't worry. Just follow your NUT's plan.

I have to take magnesium, but a form of magnesium salts that absorb better called Triple Calm - if I don't take this I would punch holes in every wall of my house from the painful cramps or kill something....the pain is THAT BAD!!!! If I get a cramp - ice helps, or a heating pad when I first crawl into bed. I get them in my calves, thighs, top of my foot, front of shin, toes - miserable, miserable, miserable.

Drinking what other stuff? Anything with sugar in it, or juice is going to cause cravings for carbs, and then more cravings or more bad choices. You are not very far out from surgery and still healing, have inflammation, and in the learning phase of eating. Follow your surgeon's food plan. As far as head hunger - you might want therapy or at least to do some reading on emotional eating - you have to find other ways to cope with things without resorting to food. It sucks, but that is what we have to do. Get rid of the clothes, you are NOT going back, don't look back! Celebrate and embrace the new you all along the way, take care of you, pamper yourself - you just had major surgery, and did a brave, hard thing - enjoy it! Go to resale shops and get some 'new' clothes that fit, get a pedicure, etc... The best is right in front of you....

Stalls happen, and sometimes it's difficult to pinpoint why or how long it will last. You can ask your nutritionist and surgeon's office for help - they should be able to analyze your food journal, etc and help you change something if needed. Sometimes we eat the same foods over and over, and our bodies get used to it because we are insulin resistant, so you may need to lower your carbs, or up your protein, or just change the types of protein - example eat more fish for a week, or carb cycle - have some whole grain carbs for a couple days then drop your calories down by 200 for a few days, then back up for a couple days, then back down for several days, upping protein to 100gr/day and carbs below 30gr/day plus water upped to 100 ounces - just water not other liquids. And then sometimes just waiting for your body to adjust to the weight loss, then bam you lose 5-6 pounds in a whoosh after a stall.

A very merry birthday to you!!!🎁

Oh Kathy, (((hugs))) so sorry this has happened!!! I hope you feel better with treatment and also that you can get a transplant at some future date. Not much consolation but home treatments sound better than many trips to a dialysis center weekly.... Best wishes.....💖

You have to follow the procedure for insurance and well as whatever the surgeon has for a program as well. There are no shortcuts to any of this. It will go faster than you think, the time gives you the chance to really examine your relationship with food and for you to make permanent changes - quit drinking pop, start tracking food, macros, and water, start logging walking or other exercise, etc. Start journaling stressful events and ways to cope without turning to food, it's a marathon and not a sprint anyway. Good luck.

I am 90 mi west of Chicago - but as a square dancer I do some 'circling around' - to dances, conventions, mtgs about conventions, lol etc Illinois Convention used to be in Peoria until the convention center became too pricey - nxt 2 years in Decatur then Itasca. Pic is National Convention in Kansas City MO last month. Illinois is 26th-29th this month.