hap314ness

Congrats! Best of luck as you continue to lose and eventually maintain.

So many of us are convinced people are looking/judging/disgusted by us, from the largest we've ever been to even the smallest. My wish for you is that you can get out from under the "fat girl on the inside" mentality. You are you no matter what size. You're @ReddGypsy on the inside! Those insecurities are just carried with you no matter what you weight, so there are really two battles here. The first battle is with yourself. Try to remember that it doesn't matter what you think a guy wants you to look like. That insecurity is coming from you! You are beautiful now and you were beautiful before, regardless of validation from someone else. You have to convince yourself of that and keep on with positive reinforcement. Instead of picking an outfit and wondering if he'll like it, ask yourself if you like it! The second battle is learning to weed out the guys you are deciding to meet with. I suggest agreeing to meet a guy in person if he's already taken the time to have nice, vanilla, get to know you conversation within the website. You might be able to pick out very quickly guys who only want to meet you to hook up based on the amount of time they are willing to continue an online conversation or the type of conversation they are trying to have (overtly sexual, flirtacious). I had to be very, very, very picky when I dated online. All but one of my dates were OK I just knew we weren't compatible. One date was especially nice but he wasn't really my type. I kept seeing him, though, and 6 years later I'm still happily married and he is quite honestly the best man I've ever known. You deserve a wonderful love and someday you will find it.

Big congrats to everyone who had 11/1 surgeries and are on the mend! Good luck to everyone on your pre-op diets, I know every surgeon is different so some of you really feel deprived and I hope it flies by. I'm booked for 11/13! 11 days away now. Actually enjoying the regimented pre-op diet, it's keeping me organized and accountable. I'm having this weird anxiety that somehow something is going to go awry and they'll tell me "nevermind! you can't have surgery!" So many emotions. Can't wait for more updates as the days pass and more of you have your procedures!

I can't even imagine what I'll be like after my surgery. Hoping I can maintain as regimented a routine as I started now. Sounds like it's going to be tougher than I thought!

Today marks two weeks until my surgery date. On the 25 my surgeon gave me two pre-op diet options. I wanted to try the liquid diet option, so I began right away. About half an hour after consuming a Premier Protein vanilla, I developed one of the worst migraines of my entire life. About an hour later I got violently ill. My headache lasted three days. Needless to say I will not be having that product again. Luckily my pre-op diet doesn't have to be liquid, but I'm now terrified for my post-op diet because it will be exclusively protein drinks. Has anyone else had a similar reaction to any of the protein shakes or powders?

@FluffyChixYes that is what I will be trying! I realized after the fact that the one I drank is made with milk. I also discovered that whey protein is a by-product of dairy, and even though it may not be triggering my lactose intolerance since the lactose is mostly non existent, my body may have an aversion to the other milk proteins which totally makes sense. It could also be some artificial sweetener like you said, I'm known to get headaches from certain "no calorie" drinks. I'm going to try both a whey and a soy unflavored to see how I do. Does the Isopure need to be mixed with your broths under a certain temperature? I know the UnJury has to be under something like 130/140 degrees.

Congratulations! Hope I'll be just like you someday!

Way to go! Next up: Thanksgiving!

This post makes me so happy! It's so awesome to see how proud you are of yourself. Really takes an edge off my pre-op jitters.

Let me be agressive agressive, then. If someone had commented on my post that my weight would make them run to a surgeon I would be hurt. I think while your intentions may have been good, and that you were merely offering your opinion, it did not come off kind. My main goal was to lift @wjgoup with support and I wanted to address that comment. I don't want to sabotage this post going back and forth, so feel free to reach me privately if you have any more to say .

Just thought I'd update everyone. Now that I'm less than two weeks post op I am getting down to business and preparing for thingsthat need to be regimented with post-op. That means I took a page from @njgal's book and have put so many alarms on my phone I may as well be an advanced security system. I'm currently drinking 54-60 oz of water a day, pushing to get in the full 64 oz. I take 2oz sips every 15 minutes. I also use sugar free popsicles (thanks @Nancy MBGC) as my evening snack to get in some of that liquid count.

@wjgo You are the only one who can truly answer the question of whether you should move forward with the surgery or continue making strides without it. Once upon a time I was a lot like @dreamingsmall. I thought of a number that I would "never" be and somehow felt superior for it. For me it was "well I'm fat but at least I'm not 200 lbs." And then I hit 200. But "at least I wasn't 250." And then I hit 300. Do NOT let a number on a scale determine your level of readiness for surgery OR your worth. If I were you I would direct this question to your surgeon/dr/therapist whoever is a professional and has experience with the emotions that go along with this surgery. They may be able to help you come to a decision. My other suggestion is to flip a coin. I've heard that if you leave a choice up to "fate" by the time the coin is in the air you already know in your heart which side you hope faces up. Best wishes as you find your way, and hope you are getting support from friends and loved ones.

Seriously losing it at work

@Fibro QueenI haven't had my surgery yet, but my surgeon and his team all said no to both. I'm not sure about longer term, but they were very clear that immediately following those are "no-nos" for all the reasons people have already mentioned. I'm doing my pre-op diet now and it's very difficult not to be able to grab anything from the cabinet when I get home (especially since my husband leaves his croissants and pumpkin bread lying out on the counter). The one thing that has kept me on track is the reminder that everything I'm doing is medically necessary and I am following Dr.'s orders. A woman who gives birth can't swim for a period of time afterward, and even though she may really want to enjoy a relaxing dip she wouldn't, because the fear of doing harm is greater than the want of a nice cool pool or jacuzzi. You can do it! The Sprite isn't worth the possible reprocussions (even if there won't be any is it worth the risk?) And no judgement if you do have some Sprite, just sharing what has worked for me!

Thanks @Rae5148. I have been eyeing the Unjury chicken soup for months knowing I would enjoy a more savory option in general but am too stubborn about paying the money for something I won't know if I like or sits well with me. I swear the surgeons need to havea surgery party for people at some time around the pre-op with samples of all the different protein shakes. Oh well.

I've loved reading your progess. Thank you for being so candid, can't wait for future updates.

I don't have anything intelligent to contribute but thought you should all know I am living for this post.

In September I joined a gym and started going 5 days a week for my upcoming Nov surgery. Unfortunately with all my extra weight, the usual routine I did when I was smaller did a number on my feet. Developed plantar fasciitis and now working back up towards just being able to walk without excrutiating pain. Exercise physiologist says I did too much too soon. TL;DR - I think it's a good idea as long as you take your time and don't push yourself.

@colleen 5595 My surgeon has two options for us. The first option is a regimented solid food diet of 1200 calories or less. Essentially I'm eating five times a day. Three meals and two snacks. The second option would be two protein drinks as meals with a third meal a regular lean protein with a non starch veggie. I was worried at first, too, since everyone says they are on liquids for two weeks, but I am content to follow my doctor's orders.

I am browsing the Bariatric Pal store looking through some of their recipes and wondered...has anyone ever tried these? Are they good? Do you have your own favorite recipe that isn't on this site? I am realizing now that my portion sizes will change so my cooking will probably have to change, too.

@jenn1 This looks great! Thank you for including her recipe website so that I can browse some more on my own! @Catden I imagine you wouldn't be able to fit the recipes I was asking for into a meal plan until well into the recovery period, and perhaps you can add an unflavored protein powder to the broth once it's luke warm to help keep your protein levels up. I think if you search topics with "soft food" in the search bar maybe there are old posts with ideas? I probably should've done that for my own question too... oh well

I chose my goal weight because it is the lowest weight I have achieved in my adult life. I know I can get there because I have done in the past and I would like to hit the mark and maintain. It is a lofty goal, and I will probably hit and maintain a weight 10-20lbs higher than that one.

Thanks everyone! It helps knowing a lot of the liquid I have counts toward my intake and I will definitely be downloading an app and buying a water bottle to keep me motivated. I liked the timer idea, too, I'll probably do all of the above just to keep myself on my toes.

Now I'm looking and there's so many! Adorable. Thanks.

It's not that I don't like water. It's that I don't drink enough. I'm lucky if I get in 12oz. I need something to keep me drinking the 60something oz that we need to maintain.