BlackBerryJuice

Sorry to hear about your mom. It's good that you were able to prevent the same thing happening to you - I'm sure she's happy for you now.

My preferred method of exercise these days are bootcamp and crossfit classes. There's generally a good mix of resistance training, bodyweight exercises, and high-intensity cardio, and you'll hit all major muscle groups and be totally exhausted before the end of the hour. It also forces you to push yourself harder than you would on your own, and it takes the guesswork out of planning your workouts. I've subscribed to a ton of these group-buy websites (Groupon, Livingsocial, Dealfind, etc), because they often offer discounts for either a month of unlimited classes or a pass for X number of classes for very little. E.g. I recently got a pass for 20 CrossFit classes (must be done within 90 days) for only $30.

I understand why your gut reaction may be to pause before taking her advice, but I think we should remember that just because someone is thin doesn't mean they eat well. Tons of thin people eat junk (or don't think twice about what they eat, period) and stay thin because they either have a fast metabolism, overexercise, or do cocaine. Also, just because someone is fat doesn't mean they don't know what they SHOULD be eating. If anything, I think a fat nutritionist would have an easier time understanding where you are coming from in terms of struggling with portion control, sweets, etc. That said, if you actually dislike her PERSONALITY, then by all means, switch to someone else. But don't discredit her just because she's big.

My mother saw me last winter at 150-155 and then again this summer at 135-140. This time, she told me I actually looked better and healthier than back in the winter; she said that in the winter, I looked haggard and my face was emaciated - even though I weighed at least 15 lbs more! It's quite possible that maybe we DO look more tired and sick while we are rapidly losing weight.

1-5. Only happens if there's a combination of eating junk food more than half the time, daily boozin', and complete lack of physical activity. The second I start paying even a little bit of attention to what I eat and work out once, everything comes off. You know how they say, "You did not put on this weight in 2 weeks, it won't come off in 2 weeks, either"? Well, last time I gained, I put on 3 lbs in a month, and it was gone in 2 days! Gotta love this ol' sleeve!

Hasn't been a problem, thankfully. None of my friends are obese, by the way, which might make a difference.

Before: Tops - XL or 16 Bottoms - XL or 18 Undies - 8 Bra - 38DD spilling over (so probably more like 38DDD) Ring: 7-8 After: Tops - S-M, 4-8 (depending on brand - a "skinny" brand like Anthropologie puts me at M whereas a "vanity" brand like Gap puts me at XS-S) Bottoms - S-M, 4-8 (Gap is a 2, lol) Undies - S or 5 Bra - 32D Ring - 5.5 Shoe size unchanged, although my feet are a little less wide now

Amen, sister!

Like Tiffykins, I've also been pretty lucky to date. I just had my one-year sleeveversary and in the last few months, I don't feel that my stomach capacity's increased. It did increase quite steadily for the first 6-8 months. Today, I can eat a McDonald's cheeseburger in one sitting, but I can't fathom finishing a Big Mac or a full 6" Subway sandwich, for example. I don't restrict myself too much, but I make an effort to eat healthy Snacks and avoid things like milk shakes, frappuccinos, etc. Basically, if I'm going to have a cheeseburger or an ice cream, it's going to be the only unhealthy thing I have all day. I don't count calories, either, which is awesome - I feel like for the first time in my life, I can eat intuitively and not gain weight. Here's what I've had today so far: Bfast: coffee with half-and-half/Splenda and half a whole grain English muffin with a slice of cheddar and a fried egg Snack: 1/2 pint blueberries Lunch: another coffee and a croissant sandwich with deli turkey, cheddar, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and mustard Snack: 1/2 pint blueberries, 4 Godiva chocolates Dinner: a homemade bun with salmon filling and some fish Soup If I get hungry later, I'll just have another one of these salmon buns. I feel full on that amount of food and have lots of energy, and I don't feel deprived at all. I don't regain anything on that amount of food, either, even if I don't work out at all. One of the best things is that this quantity of food doesn't look strange, so I no longer feel self-conscious eating in public. If I feel hungry earlier than normal, I have a coffee or tea and it generally staves off the hunger for another hour or so.

I used to have the same problem and once my thighs stopped rubbing together sometime around size 8, the skin there faded to match the rest of my body in a matter of a few weeks. It will go away on its own before you know it!

I think it's an ok strategy if you have an event in a week or two, but otherwise, I think it's a little excessive - assuming you mean challenging workouts rather than simply walking or something else low impact. Good pointers above on making sure your morning and evening sessions are different, e.g. cardio in the AM and weights in the evening, or lifting weights for different body parts in the AM vs. PM. Make sure you don't overtrain - your body becomes stronger during rest periods, not workouts, so excessive working out is not necessarily the most efficient way to go about fitness.

I remember doing callanetics when I was a teenager, although I'm not sure whether it's the same tape (haha, tape - I'm dating myself here) as the one you linked. The one I did was quite similar to the exercises we do in ballet, so based on that, I'd say ballet classes may also help produce the same results (and you'll learn to pirouette while at it!). Just another option.

Thanks, everyone!

I'm up at 1 am, jet-lagged to bits, and then I realize - today's August 9th! It's officially my 1-year sleeversary! One year ago I was resting up at my hotel in Mexicali, getting ready for my VSG with Dr. Aceves. I had been perusing other people's profiles on this board, watching other people lose tens of pounds a month, and fantasizing over how nice it'd be to finally get into the 150s for the first time in my life. Little did I know that a mere 6 months later, I'd hit 140, and even see 130s on the scale (maintaining 130 proved to be more work than I was willing to do, haha). The best part is that not only did I lose weight - which has happened many times before, although not to the same extent - but that my weight has been stable for months! It's amazing to have dessert without guilt and let go of 6x/week cardio sessions. I still work out regularly, but 3 times a week is enough. I try to make the bulk of my food intake healthy, but generally I eat what I want - and yes, this may include lots of chocolate and the like. It's almost like my body WANTS to maintain my new, healthy weight. I just got back from one month of travel, where I hardly exercised save for walking and some bike riding and ate TONS of chocolates and fatty things my mom cooked, and guess how much weight I've gained? I'VE LOST A POUND!!! That's how great it is! And did I mention I've had no complaints or complications? The only downside has been mild occasional reflux - maybe once every two weeks, and most of the time I don't even take an antacid. I've been posting progress pix in my swimsuit since my VSG, you can see those if you want to check out my album, but today I decided to upload some candids. One, in the t-shirt and pants, is from a week before my surgery; the other, in the blue dress, is from a month ago. I went from 208 lbs to 139-140 and size 16-18/XL to size 6-8/S-M, and I even have some XS and size 4s in my closet! I haven't been posting as much as before due to travelling and being busy with school, but rest assured, I think of the folks on this board often! Good luck to those who are still on their journey and to those who are still thinking about having this surgery - GO FOR IT! If you have any questions, I'll make sure to check this thread and respond to them, although don't fret if it takes a few days.

Haha, thanks! I'm pretty sure I'd be totally skeletal if I got down to 115, I'm too big-boned. I wouldn't say I'm tiny - I'm 5'5" and my measurements these days are 28" waist and 38" hips - but it sure does feel insane to have a 32 bra band!

No problem! Looks like you've done great yourself!

So my 5-yr university reunion is coming up this summer. I was coming to town regardless to visit some friends, so I registered for it, although I haven't really heard from anyone from my class so far, so I was checking out people's Facebook pages yesterday to see if any of my old college buddies will show up. Then I saw this guy from my class on someone's friends list, and it brought back this really traumatizing memory from freshman year. That guy was just really slimy and unpleasant and he took a particular disliking to me right off the bat, for no reason. One day, I was sitting in the cafeteria and talking to a male friend. This guy comes up to him and says in a foreign language he obviously thought I did not know (fortunately - or unfortunately - I speak almost 10 different languages): "Why are you sitting with this fat cow?" My "friend" didn't say anything, but he told me he had to get going. Oh, and I was maybe 165 lbs at that time, just in case you are wondering how fat of a "cow" I was. I had totally forgotten about that incident, but seeing that dude's slimy mug on my old classmate's friends list just made me so f**king ANGRY. Pissed off that that asshole would insult me right when I was there, thinking I don't speak his language - obviously he didn't have the balls to do it in English; pissed off that the guy I had been talking to didn't have the nerve to say "What the hell are you talking about?" as well as pissed off at myself for not picking up my plate and throwing it in that asshole's face. I was 17 at the time, so I was too shocked and taken aback to do anything - obviously, today I'd just hurl my food in his face and make a huge scene to embarrass him publicly. It also reminded me of a bunch of other episodes like this with random men harassing me when I was hardly 20 lbs overweight and saying all kinds of insulting shit, but that was outside of school, so I'm not going to talk about them here. Suffice to say, I spent the evening really angry/anxious/depressed and then downed 2 drinks and a sleeping pill and went to bed. I hadn't slept the night before and had to be up early today, so I absolutely had to get some sleep and there was just no way I would've fallen asleep before 3 am without some sort of help. Anyway, I'm just wondering if I'm gonna see that asshole at my reunion....I'm obviously dreading it, but it's also very difficult to decide whether to pretend it never happened or just call him out on it and tell him I understood everything he said and ask him how he feels about doing stuff like that now that he's almost 10 years older. And I'm pissed that almost a decade later, this episode still riles me up so much that I have to resort to substances to fall asleep. That asshole really got under my skin, I really wish I had stood up for myself back then. [/RANT]

Let us know how it compares to that website reading! I have an Omron bodyfat reader, it reads me at 21-22%, and the website put me at 25%. Unfortunately, there's no Bod Pod readily available where I live.

I have basically zero sex drive, but I am not sure if this began shortly before the surgery or only right after. But it was definitely right around my surgery time that I started having these problems.

I also get stared at all the time, but no one ever tries to talk to me, thankfully. I'm not very approachable outside of work situations (where I have to be), from what I've been told.