Stacy160

How to say this tactfully. When looking to God for your answer, please don't forget that he blessed you with the brains and intelligence to make your own informed decisions in the first place.

You are beautiful and you look great! I can't wait to see wedding pics. :001_tongue:

Awesome, and good thinking on his part...that's a good sign! :001_tongue:

Not so far! I'm slightly disappointed that I do have some hunger when other people have zero, but I've also noticed that the people who have none now had TONS before surgery... I had very little before surgery, because I was always eating anyway, so maybe the "hunger" is a relative thing. I thought I'd miss pigging out but honestly, I don't. I made the most delicious-smelling white chicken chili last night and dished up a whole bowl for myself (one whole scoop, woo! lol), knowing that I wouldn't be able to eat it all but wanting to anyway. Halfway through, I was done and completely satisfied and not at ALL disappointed that I couldn't finish it and go back for more. I haven't felt deprived of anything yet and I've found it very easy to stay away from the "bad" stuff, although I did have a pinch off of a fresh-baked brownie once. My favorite donuts of all time have been brought in to the office twice since surgery and it hasn't been difficult to stay away from them. Honestly--it's so hard to imagine before surgery that you will be happy eating such little amounts of food, but you're eating slowly so it takes almost as much time to finish as it did before (so you've got that taste in your mouth as long) and you feel like you've eaten a huge meal. It's so hard to describe, it's just something you'll have to experience for yourself.

I bet they'd work great on a cookie sheet under the broiler in the oven... maybe the second shelf down so they don't burn?

HW - 258 SW - 246.4 LW - 229 Today: 225.8 Very happy with a little over 3 lbs. in a week at the 5 week mark.... hope to keep that up!!

You should be fine going back to work, just don't be lifting heavy boxes or anything quite yet. That tenderness above the big scar will go away soon. I hadn't felt anything for weeks but at the 4-week mark I was poking around in there to check out the swelling, and made myself a little sore for a couple of days. As far as a leak goes, my surgeon said the two earliest and most telling signs were high fever and very rapid heartbeat.

You didn't mention how old you are. I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds with my comments, but I've seen that the Mormon kids around here tend to get married at a very young age (20-21), usually to their first real boyfriends/girlfriends, and have seen a lot of divorce as a result of it. That's way too young and inexperienced in life to make such a huge life decision... so please don't rush it! And if you really feel that it's time, and he's waffling on it even when he says he wants to, then he's not really wanting to do it.

Tiff, can you come live at my house?

Well.... taller people have longer bones, longer muscles... I mean if everything's proportionate, then it stands to reason that everything inside will be longer and larger too.

You will! There's a lot of gas in there from the surgery, that has to make it's way out somehow. And you may get lucky with the appetite... I started getting hungry a couple of weeks out, but a whole LOT of people never feel hunger at all after surgery! Congrats on starting your new life!

I admit it... I laughed, but out of relief for you that you got the best result from what in hindsight really is an amusing story LOL... good for you!

Well, crap... the closest store to me that carries it is the Whole Foods in Rochester. Shouldn't be surprised since the closest city to me is the armpit of Michigan! (That would be Flint. There's one place worse than the armpit, which would be Detroit.) Well, next time I make a trip down there I'll definitely look for Siggis, it sounds great!

I felt great for the first three weeks (as far as energy goes), and then week four: Boom, I was draaaaaggggy and still am in the afternoon. I guess the physical stress of the surgery catches up to you eventually, huh? I slept almost 10 hours last night and still fell asleep on the couch (after the gym!) this afternoon.

Watch the stuff the bodybuilders use... a lot of it has a lot of sugar because they want the carbs. That said, some of those brands come low-carb, too. With the whey Proteins, the very best you can do is get 100% whey Protein isolate. It contains complete amino acid-chains and is more bio-available (readily absorbed by the body). Whey protein concentrate isn't quite as high-quality but can serve it's purpose if that particular brand is all you can tolerate. Also, some of them are more palatable mixed with milk, but then you've got to watch your carbs and calories closer--early out, that's not such an issue. There are others that mix with Water (Nectar) and others that come ready-to-drink with no mixing at all. The biggest thing to look for, other than finding one you like, is that it's the isolate.

I like the idea of chatting up gym guy IN the gym as well. At an appropriate point in the discussion you could always drop in the fact that "I've lost ___ lbs. in the last ___ [months/yrs].... here's me back then," and pull out a before pic of yourself. From there the conversation would naturally lead into your surgery. That way he'd be getting all the info, the idea would be planted, he'd look to you as an example, but it wouldn't be like you'd be approaching a total stranger and saying (in effect) "Hey, you sure are fat--this might help you!" :wink0:

It will fade, but keep it out of the sun this year. If it gets enough sun to darken it while it's healing, it could stay discolored permanently.

I have a tiny one right in the middle just below my bra line, another little one to the left and below that, a slightly longer one about 3" below that, the main scar (about an inch long) a little more than an inch above my belly button, and another small one on my right ribcage where they put the drain in. I took pictures of everything, before and after the drain came out, and if I can ever figure out how to get them from my hubby's camera to my computer I'll post them sometime.

Okay, you people... you just might make me have to try this thing. I've always avoided most aerobics and group exercise classes because I can't stand the cutesy little Denise Austin shoulder shimmy, shaky-ass clapping stuff. A gal at work keeps raving about Zumba too, so finally I Googled it to take a look at what it's all about... and it looks fun, and totally not stupid! There's a class at a local roller rink on Mondays and Wednesdays (guess what--my days off!) that's $65 for 10 classes...I think I'm gonna do this.

I have no experience with the Magic Bullet, but I've read where lots of people love theirs. After researching online and reading dozens of customer reviews, I went with the Ninja and I absolutely LOVE it. That thing blends, purees, and slices through ice like nothing I've ever used before! :wink0:

WOO!! I'm a month out and just took my measurements for the first time since just before surgery. I've lost everywhere but my bustline (maybe I'll get lucky and not completely lose the girls?!), but especially the thighs (measure together), butt, and waistline... 2" off each! Hard to believe with only an 18-lb loss. OK, off to my 1-month checkup I go.....

Not difficult in the slightest! You'll be so focused on taking small bites and waiting in between -- and getting full SO fast -- that you won't even be thinking about or wanting anything to drink. :confused1:

Once they get in there, it's about 20 minutes.... about 40 minutes from the first incision to the last stitch.

There's a Nair for the face which works beautifully in "that" area... it has to sit for a few more minute, but it's much more gentle on your parts. That said... I tried to do a bikini wax on myself once. OMG. NEVER AGAIN. Soooo painful.... I just couldn't do it, and I've waxed my eyebrows, upper lip, arms, and legs. after a couple of attempts at pulling the wax off I found myself sitting on the edge of the toilet, legs propped up on the edge of the counter top trying to cut the wax out with scissors, swearing and dripping sweat. How's that for a visual? Nooooooo thank you, not for me!!

Good to know!! I've been wanting some hummus pretty badly lately, but I'm not sure how to have it except on pita chips, which I can't have yet and probably shouldn't have anyway. I'll remember to look for those in a couple of weeks!