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Hey guys! Another lurker here! I've been reading all of your stories from day 1 and keep coming everyday to check the thread! I found pieces of my life in each and every story and at times it was hard to read some of them and not get chocked up. You guys made me think about my own life and my own issues , even though for the last 5 years I put them in a box in the back of my head and slowly I started to let them go and I'm happier since . Well, mainly because 5 years ago I left "home" (Romania) and moved far away, to the UK. I found that since that happened I'm loving my dad more and even can't wait to see him every 6 months when I go back to visit . This wouldn't have happened if I were still living there. I met my wonderful husband when I moved here and he changed me for the better! I'm so happy I let go of the anger I had, but that only happened about 3 years after I left home, it took some time. But In all honesty, my story is not a dark one, I can't be hypocritical and say otherwise, I had a fairly happy childhood and was blessed with good friends growing up for whom my weight was never a problem. I don't know why I overate all my life. My earliest memory of me overheating was when I was around 7-8 years old and mom made donuts. And I also had to do homework. I remember sitting on the sofa with a big bowl of donuts and eating ..and eating..and ..eating.. My parents told this story over the years, fondly remembering how I was stuffing myself just to get out of homework. Now, knowing myself.. I'm sure it was because ..I loved to eat and never knew when to stop, not because of homework. I've always been a tall muscular child and until 15-17 I wasn't actually fat but since I was very young I heard how I was "fatter than other kids". My dad always called me "fatty" but in romanian(sounds a tad better in romanian) and he kind of sounded sweet, for him it really was a term of endearment ..so for me..it was very normal to be the "fatty" around..looking back..I really wasn't..and probably that's how it started. Every time we would go visit relatives, my dad would embarrass me in front of the others, telling me to stop eating . I don't remember a time when we went places as a family where I didn't cry. All my life I heard how I was "too sensitive and cry always" .. But in their defence..I cried a lot, as a kid, as a teenager, as a young adult..all that changed when I left the country...hmmm..I wonder why? Well, because I'm finally surrounded my lovely people that won't put me down at every step. My mom is a wonderful person , always doing everything for everyone, dad is a good person as well and always told me how much he loves me and my brother, always hugging us, but at the same time...he was always angry, always telling us we're doing everything wrong, we're good for nothing, etc.. It was so confusing.. He would yell at us, and threaten us with some butt whooping and in 10 minutes he would come over ,hugged us and told us, we're just "too sensitive" and that he loved us. So that's why I have mixed feelings and can't say my childhood wasn't a good one. But it wasn't the greatest either. I remember sooooo many times around the dinner table when my dad would yell and I would keep my head down, tears were running down my face straight in to the food that I wouldn't touch. And then it started with secretly eating, hiding food, eating very very fast while they were away, etc. Also, my boyfriend of 4 years in Romania.. Would not hold my hand in public and wouldn't act like we were together even though..well,everyone knew about us, as we were in a big great group of friends. That, of course, wasn't great for my self esteem and of course, made me eat even more. Where I come from, people think its just ok to tell someone how fat they are and to make them feel like they're worthless. I was working in a school in Romania and when I gave my 2 weeks notice because I was moving to the Uk, the principal wished me all the best and she added : "now you'll fit better in the society, people are fatter in the UK" or something to that effect. But again, the way they're saying these things.. They don't mean to hurt you..they genuinely think its ok to say these thing..its a damn cultural thing, I don't know. I think there are so many issues that contributed to my weight gain over the years, but I also think greed was also a biiiiig factor. I've been sleeved 6 months ago and lost 80 pounds so far and in a month we're going to Romania to visit my parents, brother and friends..and it is for the first time when I don't secretly wish that something bad would happen that would cause us to postpone the trip, this time, I don't feel so ashamed..and for the first tine, my brother won't grab my tummy and say: come on, what's with all this fat?are you pregnant or something? Mmmmmmyeah, and that would be the very first second he would see me at the airport..wasn't very anxious to see my parents and hear similar things, how I get fatter and fatter every time I come home. I think my dad made amends with me in his own weird way and paid for my gastric sleeve surgery, as I didn't have any chances of paying for it myself . He did not pressure me into it, it was my idea but when I first told him I want to have the surgery.. His face lit up, its like I could read on his face the joy and the anticipation that he'll finally have a normal looking daughter. Oh well, so so many things to say..and I really wrote way too much. I'm so sorry for the long post, I just don't know where to start..where to end..but I wanted to write a post too, as I felt bad lurking around and reading all your stories.. Anyhow, sending you all happy thoughts and you're all so brave and I respect you so much, after reading everything..all I can say is ..you are a bunch of tough cookies !

Hi everyone, I am scheduled with Dr. Ortiz in Mexico on October 8. I am having revision surgery and am one week into my pre op diet. I am a guy, 45, currently weighing in at 220. I lost almost 80lbs with my lap band and then when I was only 10 lbs from my goal it started acting up. My weight has been on the rise since. I am looking forward to reversing the weight gain and finally reaching my goal.

I have been on depo for two years. My lady doctor said that there shouldnt be any issues after surgery. There was some weight gain, but this was also when I wasnt conserned and was eating everything but the kitchen sink. But I love the depo. Its conveniant, not a daily thing and I hated the idea of inplant

Hi everyone! Just wishing everyone continuous success!!! As of this moment I will no longer continue to try and lose weight, since I am pregnant. I am not overweight, yeiii!! Im pretty happy, I will continue to exercise and eat healthy for my baby's health and of course for mine. Not really scared of gaining weight durigng the pregnancy but the doctor told me, I will probably have no problem keeping the weight gain at 15 pounds! So far I am still losing, I increased my calories and now I only focus on the treadmill for a brief one hour walk. Good luck!!!! FYI: My weight loss slowed down A LOT, but of course I did l ose about 80 plus pounds three months after surgery, so I was not dissapointed at all. In fact, with my height 200 pounds looks pretty damn good. I never wanted to be a skinny minnie!

Hi Everyone! I made it through the holidays with NO weight gain. That has to be a first. I'm down 27 lbs since surgery on 10/28 and I can't be more pleased. I've had 2 fills and am just about ready for a 3rd. The second one didn't seem to last as long as the first, seems like I adjusted to it much faster. I'm so glad the holidays are over! Now I can see what I can really do with the band when I'm not constantly tempted with a bounty of treats and snacks! I'm also back to Curves as of Saturday. I'm hoping that adding a more consistent exercise plan will keep to pounds coming off!

HW 267 SW 245 CW 213 I had a weight gain of 7lbs but I attributed it to several factors. So, I'm one pound away from my lowest weight, post-op!

It really seems odd for you to say New Orleans is just 4 hours away!! Didn't really do anything today!!! I had two days off and accomplished nothing. I switched depression meds around the first of the year, and am wondering if that has caused my weight gain.

Thanks everyone. Insurance criteria varies by providers. Most want it to be “medically” necessary. Surgery failure, weight gain, complications etc. I used a medical advocate to gain approval.

slight weight gains when you're in or near maintenance are very common, but I'd try to get ahead of that because it could start getting out of control if you're not careful. It's way easier to lose 5 or 10 lbs than it is to lose 50. I've been in maintenance for about five years now, and I allow myself a few lbs of fluctuation, but when my weight gets up to my "oh crap" number, I spring into action. It's all hands on deck until I'm safely back in range. If 172 is comfortable for you, maybe have 180 as your "oh crap" rate? (just a suggestion - you could make it anything). To get back down, just really buckle down and make sure you're following all the rules until you're safely back down to where you want to be. note that a 10% gain (10-20 lbs for most of us) is VERY common after you hit your lowest weight. It usually happens during year 3, but then, you lost your weight very quickly, so you're likely already in maintenance even though it's only been a year (and congrats, by the way!! That's an impressive loss!!). That 10-20 lb gain is not inevitable, but it seems to happen to the vast majority of us without much "effort" on our part. I think it's just your body settling in at a weight it wants to be (not saying that you're doomed to stay there - with effort, you can get lower - but our bodies do seem to want to settle in at some "set point" - unfortunately, my "set point" is about six lbs more than I want to be, so it's a constant struggle!!)

Heather, that's horrible. Your price is more realistic, but still I know how hard it is to come up with that money last minute. I'm in your boat. Luckily, I don't think mine's an emergency. Occasionally I lay in bed and panic that the tube is loose and digging into an organ, which is why I am getting the contrast this week to check the status. Once I find out what's going on, I'm sitting on it till I can get the sleeve. I'm on the other end of the spectrum, I'm just gaining weight. I'm sad and weepy all the time too, but I can't pin point the problem. Weight gain, money, failure in general, and I think maybe too late PPD. I am going to my PCP this week and getting some anti-dep. for the time being. I am glad you're ok now, it's all behind you.. and you didn't plan on having any more kids right? If I wasn't planning to have a baby #2, I would be more willing to just fix my band. But, I'm not real confident about band & pregnancy, and the prospect of going through this again. Or any more revisions for that matter. Wicked was awesome of course.. Carson did good at his g'parents, except when we went to pick him up apparently their dog had just barked right behind him and scared the daylight out of him. I was rocking and soothing him for 30m and he still would burst back into tears. Brought him home, bathed him and re-packed and he stayed at my parents last night. I am getting in the shower, then heading to their house for our cook out. Hope everyone's enjoying the day off!

I am just starting on my way to WLS. I submitted my insurance info and I am waiting for a response. I had several things that jumped on the last straw to break it. I have been gaining and gaining over the years but really got bad after my hysterectomy 7 years ago. No matter what I do I gain. I saw a picture of myself a few months back and felt horrible. I hated what I saw and why did I let this happen? I have tried many things over the years to lose weight. Most recently I bought a Fitbit and started tracking my food and my steps. I decided to do a 5k that was hosted by my work. I was second to last and finished at 59 minutes 15 seconds. I walked it. There was a point walking it that I had to stop for a second cause I hurt so bad. The next few days I was in pain. Each time I get my 10,000 steps my feet and knees hurt so bad.I bought an elliptical machine and can't last more than five minutes and still be able to breathe. I hate how I can't be as active as I want to be. The last thing that added to my weight gain was my husband cheating on me after 30 years. I was devastated and food was my comfort. I have gone from 280 last year to 315 currently. I am done with feeling like this! So I hope I can get this done!

Good morning everyone~ Sorry for my lack of posting but I have had dss and dsd over. The house was crazy! Michelle-I am so sorry that you are in pain. When should you get to see your dr? Kat-I love green chiles...especially in cheese dip Jenn-depends on how cute he is :wink3: Suzanne-when are ya'll gonna be in this area? When are you leaving for your trip? You gonna call me? questions, questions, questions...lol (if you have answered these questions, please forgive me and reanswer them) Terri-sorry you are hungry but it will pass. My stomach used to growl all the time. You will be so glad you went through this! How is the weight loss going? Cindy-so tell me...how ya liking this HEAT! omg, it has been unreal, right? I am so ready for winter it is not even funny. So signs of fall in the south!! Angela-I saw about the creme broulee (sp).....ummm, have you made it yet? Everyone...well, I have done FANTASTIC since I saw that HUGE weight gain and I have lost 11 pounds. I am very proud. It has not been easy, but I am doing it. And today I will strive to have another good day :thumbup: Detoxing from ice cream is not easy. For those of you who do not know me that well, ice cream is my drug of choice. Last week I had some and I told dh when i was done "I can honestly tell you that I did not enjoy that AT ALL". I meant it too. So, while detoxing, I am just remembering that bowl and how I was not pleased. That has made it easier (somewhat). On a happy note, I found out that icees (which I am also addicted to) are only 65 calories for 8 oz. WHEW! :w00t: The great thing about that is I do not have an icee machine. lol, I have to drive to the store to get it. Icees are SO refreshing in 100 degree heat. So, I am rambling now so I will just go.... OH...one more thing...dh has lost 2 pounds too. We are rockin' this thing! Have a great day ladies (and gent)

And I hope he steps up and starts figuring some things out! I am a recent (3 month) PICC line user (November 29 2018- February 26 2019) although I was happy with lessing of my malnourishment symptoms and believe you me, YOU CAN FEEL A DIFFERENCE, I realize now the 1400+ calories it contained slowed my weight loss almost to a stand- still. About a pound or so a month. March 1, so right after -267 pounds , now I do not own a home scale, after ichucked one in the dumpster after it refused work right, long before surgery, when I was trying to lose weight with my diet pills and was getting nowhere fast, bet I am the only person in history to take 1 month of Phenteramine and GAIN 30 pounds! So I only weigh at my PCP and surgeons offices. Drum Roll Please- March 26 2019- 234.6 pounds, my Golden Honeymoon Months may NOT be over- they always you have just so many months of smoother quicker weight loss and then things slow down. This makes me feel better about ME, see I started out in October 2017 with a highest admitted weight of 365+ , I say "plus" because I was so disheartened by how my body was " back-stabbing" my best efforts to lose, I refused to climb on another scale. Figured the the next step would be the Farmers Equity where they weigh out feeds on a massive scale. Went through a bariatric Plan for the second time, quite a story there, went almost all the way , my job was terminated, lost the insurance that would paid it and surgeon's office failed to inform me I could have gone with my secondary which had less stringent requirments and I could have had my surgery, although I was one month short of finishing Plan # 1 requirments, this was August 2015 through January 6 2016. PCP sent me back to that place again after the monster weight gain, went through all their. specifications, jumped in and out of hoops they erected, tried to act righteous, followed their " Company Rules" only to be told in February 2018 their head surgeon. no longer felt any urge to do my surgery, would not permit his 2 or 3 partners to do it either. Yep kicked" right to the curb" after he had raped my insurances of all the monies He could get. I finally got mental closure on it, God says I should forgive the Stupid Sack,of Offal, but I shall never forget! So I transferred to OSU, the place I should have gone to in the first place. Would you believe my PCP sent me to place #1 because he thought it was " Christian- Based" and what a Giant Farce that was! Went through Ohio States requirements, there were a few extras I still had to do, but in consideration of me not filing an equivalent of "Breach of Promise suit" they were forced to release all my previous records with no detrimental observations. And another thing to my benefit , Ohio State actually liked me, pledged to work with me to make my weight loss journey and surgery a Good Thing. And on September 5th 2018 I received the RnY bypass I had been struggling to receive for over 3 years. It will be forever my Wonder Wednesday, my Day of Days when all my mental pain, all my sorrows and my feelings of unworthiness went away.And I am eternally grateful for the second surgeon, he was a better person as well as a more skilled and compentant surgeon than that poor excuse for a Human Being I first encountered. As you may have guessed I have not had the easiest of healings afterwards, I am now 73 and some things just don't heal as qucickly or smoothly as they might were I In my 20s or 30s, but THEY have been with me, supportive all the way! " This isn't working? Okay we will find an alternate way of doing it!"And although I could not have forecast these 7 months they have still contained joys and successes. I am still in IT to WIN IT and the rest of my life will be the BEST of my life. This is a vow, I am seeing Onderland ahead for me, where I can break the 200 pound barrier and in the distance shining like a beacon is my Finish Line, my Victory Lane and I am going to make it THERE! My Will is STRONG, my body? Well it may be only along for the ride but we are going to make it THERE!

This is worth posting here... Here are some snippets from recent posts on the Too Much On Her Plate blog. Click the links to read more! There will be a place to share your comments, thoughts and ideas at the end of each post. 1. Podcast: Why Smart Women Struggle with Weight Loss Last week, my friend Scott Tousignant invited me to record a podcast for his blog. The topic was Why Smart Women Struggle with Weight Loss. We covered a lot of important material, including emotional eating, tips for helping busy women trying to manage their weight while juggling everyone else’s needs, and the mindsets that can sabotage weight loss attempts. If you have 20 minutes, I strongly recommend you take a listen. 2. What Could You Do in 100 Days? I received an email this morning alerting me to the fact that there are exactly 100 days left until the end of the year. What a great time to assess where we are with our health, our personal and professional goals, and to ask how we want to spend the final 100 days of 2009. Are there changes you would like to see with your eating, your weight, or your fitness? Would you like to readjust your life balance? How would you like to spend the next 100 days of your life? For many, the holidays—and all that comes with them—will be here before we know it. (Stay tuned, you’ll be hearing more from me about this.) What would you like to do differently this holiday season? 3. The Great Plate Experiment: Week 1 Week one of the plate downsizing experiment is officially over. We’ve moved the old tired chipped dishes out of our kitchen and are now eating off pristine, white 10-inch plates (9.75-inches actually), just like Brian Wansink recommends. As you may recall, the author of Mindless Eating and his team have done research on plate size and food intake and found that simply reducing your plate size from 12-inches to 10-inches could result in an 18 pound weight loss for the average American. I promised I’d report back in and I’m here to tell you that the results so far are promising. 4. Do You Have Time to Stop Overeating? Do you have the time to stop overeating? To take control of emotional eating? To get on track with your healthy lifestyle goals? Lately I’ve been encountering many women who tell me they don’t. I’ve been hearing from women who are incredibly frustrated with their eating habits, their weight gain, their lack of progress on important health goals. I’ve talked to women who fear their family history of diabetes or heart disease. I’ve talked to women who’ve even had weight loss surgery and are terrified because they are seeing the weight they’ve lost start to creep back. I’ve also talked with too many women who have put some aspect of their life “on hold” until they can start losing weight. Their struggles with food and emotional eating or overeating are something they think about every day. 5. Free Teleseminar: One Minute Plan for Dealing With Challenges How many times have you set a goal or started down a path towards change only to fall off track because life got too hectic, you got busy, and your plan fell off the radar?How often do you feel so busy that you aren’t even sure HOW to slow down? Do you sometimes feel you don’t even have time to think let alone create a plan for success? Slowing down is hard. Stopping and listening to yourself is hard. Being mindful of where you want to go is hard. What if I told you that there is a one minute plan that could start to make these things easier? I’m thrilled to be interviewing Stacey Mayo, The Dream Queen, and the creator of The One Minute Meditation™. on Thursday, September 17 (that's tomorrow!) Our Topic: The One Minute Plan for Dealing with Overwhelm, Stress and other Life and Business Challenges 6. Business Travel and Healthy Eating October will be a travel-rich month for me and I’ve been busy this morning firming up some travel plans. Booking an airline ticket is high on my list of “not fun” activities, as is the actual airline travel. Travel days seem to get longer and longer–and then there’s the food. Maybe it’s boredom, the stress of flying, or just being out of my routine, but I get hungry the minute I get on a plane. Without pre-planning, I’m likely to be stuck with unsatisfying junk food (or nothing at all). Does traveling tend to knock your healthy eating plans for a loop? 7. How to Make Time for Fitness “How do I create a fitness program that will last—when I’m time crunched, stressed, and overwhelmed?” This is a question I’m asked all the time: “How can I fit it all in? I know I should exercise regularly but I just don’t have the time/motivation/resources/energy to do it.” Consistent exercise is a big challenge for many women. Whether you are a busy professional, a solopreneur working from home, or you are home juggling the needs of small children, consistent exercise can be a difficult habit to start AND a challenge to maintain. 8. Is Night Eating Sabotaging Your Weight Loss? The after-dinner hours are a prime time for overeating, emotional eating, boredom eating, and eating out of tiredness. Not only do the calories add up, preliminary research may support the theory that our bodies actually put on more weight from calories eaten at night. 9. Personal Health Care Reform It’s mid- September. If you’ve been telling yourself all summer that you’re “waiting ‘til September” to take better care of yourself . . . you’ve just run out of excuses. 10. Tooting Our Own Horns I see it over and over again, and okay–I live it too. We may be smart, we may be strong, we may be very good (or think we are) at doing a million things at once, but most of us aren’t very good at giving ourselves credit (dare I say, indulging ourselves in our just desserts?).

Phyl, remember they have been pumping you full of fluids. Naturally you are going to have a weight gain. Right now it is about healing!!

Congrats, Kiddo!! Enjoy!! Yep, I sure remember John!! So much enjoyed the music, and he is a pretty interesting guy! AND, he doesn't like Obama!!! LOL!! Earl's antics are never-ending!! Told the neighbor, Jim, it was all his fault because he started this cement thing!! I watched World News TWICE!! I LOVE Charlie Gibson!! Especially when he says, "I HOPE you had a GOOD day!!" I told Earl he was going to cry at the end, and so when Charlie got all choked up, so did Earl!! I will really miss him! And I will hate not hearing him say, "I HOPE you had a GOOD day!!" Who will say that to me now????? Oh, Gosh... I think I had too much wine again!! Earl forgot to tell me the neighbors invited us for a party. So after the Christmas potluck, we went to the neighbors' for a patio party!! I walked home from the clubhouse, BTW, to walk off some of what I ate!! So they were surprised to see me arrive on foot and Earl on the scooter!!! :smile2::biggrin: Our cinnamon roll was only about half the size of a cinnabon, so hopefully half the calories, too. Didn't even really enjoy it!! Now the Lady Godiva truffle, that's another story!! LOL! Crap! I can't get started on sweets again! This has got to stop! The cinnamon roll was NOT worth it, but as I said, the truffle is another story!! And tonight was a bust! Too much food... I had some ham, some scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, corn casserole, and a small piece of... oh, I HATE to say it, carrot cake. After my resolve to stay away from the dessert table.... carrot cake!! Crap! It wasn't worth it either. We decided that we will SKIP the chapel potluck on Sunday. Potlucks are the devil's work! I will have to walk, walk, walk this weekend! I cannot give in to any more temptations! I am WEAK!! Oh, but I gotta tell you a couple of things... if I can remember them. These are NSVs, since I've been bad this week and had a weight gain.. have to focus on positive things and resolve to do better so I can look forward to more of these! First, I discovered that I can put my socks on by putting my foot up on my opposite knee. HAH!! So what, you say!?? Do you know how long it's been since I could do that??? A LONG time! So that's been several weeks now. So, I'm sitting at book club the other day and I had this sudden urge to cross my legs! I had this voice in one ear saying, "You can't do that!!" and in the other ear.... "Oh, yes, you can!! Remember the socks????" The rest is history... I sat there for the rest of the meeting with my legs crossed! HAH!! Another victory! Janet, hope you can come and hang out with us Sunday. Program starts at 6pm, but I have to be there at 5 pm... but you can come over whenever. We will just be chillin' all afternoon. Not sure what we'll do about dinner. Before 5pm is too early... might have to eat "dinner" after church and keep it light in the afternoon. We'll figure it out.

lol Steph - I ordered 2 of those - one black & one beige - I go the medium cuz the host said that's what she had on - well I should have gotten the small - I would like them lower cut in the front :0) I have the black one on today and it's seems a little tighter than the beige one - My gf has the beige one and if it fits her (she's bigger than me) she's going to buy them off me... Hell I forget you are QVC girl too :0) - but since I were shapers - I don't have regular panties - had to go buy some :0).. Karri - I love this in the beck book - you eat lunch and you are still hungry or you get hungry before you next snack or meal - you say to yourself - I only have 3 hrs till dinner - I can do that - and then you give yourself credit for doing it I know that stress here at work makes me want to eat - I will go into gf office and eat a small handfull of peanuts - well that 160 cal x 5 = 800 cal of unplanned snacks - so I went an put a sticky on it - No unplanned snacks - I go in there when I am hungry (or should I say think I am hunger) and get a small handful - but that 800 x 5 x 52 is 41,600 cal over a year - that's 11 lbs Another thing and this one goes for me Everything little thing you put in your mouth counts - you can't say it doesn - just 20 extra calories a day over a years time equals a 2 pound weight gain - so it is important to know what you are eating - we can't say to ourselves - ah this won't matter - yes it does !!! So all I have done is eaten 50 extra calories a day to gain 5 lbs - we all think - oh what's 50 calories - well over a year it's a 5 lbs weight gain - We have to think of these things...

I hate clothes shopping, and fortunately, I wear scrubs at work, so don't need a lot of work clothes. I tend to do mail order, and have a roomful of clothes mistakes from things I should have returned but never did (one of my postop projects). Fortunately my best friend is a shopaholic who considers it a challenge to find things at TJ's, thrift shops, etc. For her, it's a stress reducer, for me, it makes me want to jump out of my skin. Part of me still wants to hold back some fat clothes, just in case. After years of different diets, and the inevitable weight gains afterward, it's hard to have faith emotionally. Although with the band, I gained some back but not up to my top weight. Does anybody else feel this way?

I am 5 weeks post-op, and twice now I have experienced 3-5 lb weight GAINS. The first time was random, and it really upset me. The second time was after I hurt my back and was basically immobile for 3 days as well as taking (liquid) pain meds (hydrocodone). It is very frustrating, especially when I think that I have only lost 20 lbs (+/-) total since surgery, at a time where I thought my numbers would be much higher. Is this typical?? Right now, I just got down to 1 lb BELOW the last 5 lb gain (so I lost 6 lbs, verrry slowly) and now I'm up almost 2 lbs. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!! Especially when I don't know if anyone has ever experienced such a strange phenomena. I can't call my regular doc since they are closed for the holidays. I have to admit, I am not exercising (because of my back issues, in tandem with the stress of the holidays), and I'm hoping that this, in conjunction with my choosing high carb items (baked potato Soup, cheese soup, noodles, etc) has something to do with it. Please tell me that this is actually what the problem is, so that I can begin that rapid downward scoop that I was looking for pre-surgery!! Or, am I just expecting too much, and should I be happy with my weight loss to date? I began at 245 which is comparatively low for GSS patients, in general (I'm told). Could that be it?? I'm just stumped, and frustrated.

Still loosing and almost 6 months pregnant. No weight gain yet

I used the preop phase to ease people into the fact that I'm making lifestyle changes. So I told them that I was trying to lose weight by replacing two meals with high protein shakes and having a low carb dinner. I also bought a 64oz water bottle and have been toting around non stop. Since I had my surgery in Mexico I said I was going to visit family with my parents (my step dad is Mexican and his family lives in Tijuana) couldn't be more perfect. While I was there I made sure everyone took plenty pictures of food as well as tourist sites so I could post them on my social media to make things seem more normal. Now that I'm back no one has noticed too much of the weight loss, the few that have I just keep advertising my protein shakes and exercising my will power when they bring in food for employees. I saw someone post once, "No one asked me the details about my weight gain or how I got there, so they don't need to know the details of my weight loss or how I'm getting there" LOL!

You guys. Wow. Thank you for the responses. I mentioned earlier that we have other marriage problems... most of our marriage (since I was pregnant with #1 so 8 years at least) has been fighting about beer/drinking and also his weight gain/unhealthy life choices. I realized last year that he was early stage alcoholic, he uses it for coping with stress from a high power job. Didn’t know what being an alcoholic really meant until I educated myself and once I figured it out I was done (another story for another day). Once I realized this I was very clear, quit or we are getting divorced. Through a few ups and downs the last few months he’s admitted he has an alcohol addiction and had quit. But this has to also go hand and hand with the weight gain. The two have been so intertwined. I feel bad for him, I want to help him and I’ve told him for a long time that I want him to get healthy so he can be around for the kids and me. ugh this is so complicated. Sorry to spill here. My life is complicated. I go to therapy myself and we’ve gone together as well. So much therapy. I worry that if he decides on WLS it will only be to save our marriage and I don’t know if that’s a good enough reason to do it, I don’t want him unhappy with his decision and ending up making things worse. yes, I also think deep down he’s depressed and I pray he works through that with his therapist. so I guess I support him if he decides to look more into WLS. We have a consultation tomorrow so I guess I’ll learn more there.

My thoughts, even with weight fluctuations, I see you as tiny in the OOTD photos. You are maintaining and it’s reasonable to enjoy the occasional indulgences. Is it weight gain? bloating/water retention? Insulin response? body image or TMI constipation? I have no idea. I’m older, I will never look like @ms.sss. I'll never have six pack abs. *laughing* You asked "Question for you...had you started weight loss shenanigans with food/sugar and booze at 137lbs?" The example in the photos is body composition. The link below will explain. https://8fit.com/fitness/weight-loss-vs-fat-loss/

Pcos is poly cystic ovarian syndrome. It is a hormonal/metabolic issue women have. The signs are no period, hair loss, facial hair growth,weight gain and other wonderful things. One of the issues is it is really hard to lose weight even with weight loss surgery. They recommend a very low carb diet with this because the way we break down sugar is like that of a diabetic. Metformin is a medication that we take to help with the symptoms. The dr says that as we lose weight the symptoms improve but nothing has changed here for me. I have not had my period since my daughter was born in October of 2010! Almost 2 1/2 years. If you have any of these symptoms it might behoove you to get it checked out! GREEN- I am on 1000 mg right now. My surgeon said Ido t have to take it but my obgyn told me to continue taking it. Who do I listen to??

I wrote the following around 8 a.m. but it wouldn't let me post -- luckily I copy & pasted it and didn't lose it. This site is terrible Goooood Morning All!!!! I agree that we need time to laze around and yakkity yakkity yak while in Chicago. That's why we need a week! LOL. I'm hoping most can come Thursday evening and leave Sunday or Monday. I myself will probably plan to get there Thurs. and leave Mon. Morning since I'm taking the train -- I'm in no rush to return to work. LOL. Apples -- are there trains from your area? I'm excited -- I love travel by train -- so interesting and relaxing. Sandy, I too used to be like you -- I was soooooo clean it was sickening -- I'm still fussy (no one can ever clean to my satisfaction -- I always end up firing any and all cleaning people I hire), but I'm not nearly as bad as I was in my younger days. My ah ha wake up moment was when I had kidney failure -- that was when I decided i wanted to live and get healthy and enjoy life. I agree with you about the 50 thing of realizing we aren't going to be around forever -- I quit smoking right after I turned 50 but it took me longer to realize my weight was also killing me. I used to say I was a "healthy fat woman". Wow, who the heck was I kidding? I used to say, "I'm never going to deprive myself of anything again cause it doesn't do any good." I also used to say "I can't exercise cause of my back - it will make it hurt worse" when in fact it doesn't hurt any worse and often feels better after exercise. That was just the fat chick inside me determined to take over and kill me! Once my GD was born it made me realize I wanted to be around to see her grow up. I'm so happy I made those choices. Eva and Apples sounds like a fun day - even if you aren't into sewing I'm sure the quit show was interesting. Apples, I am like you -- I have gotten away from all my creative projects as well -- especially sad I have not finished my book. We must vow to get back to these things this year. I too have a huge stamp collection and never make cards -- I have all these supplies and they sit, year after year unused. I must stop procrastinating and to it this year!! My DH was not feeling well when we returned from Des Moines yesterday. Tried a new bbque place that someone recommended and it was good -- I had turkey and a few bites of Beans -- couldn't eat much - DH had brisket and garlic bread (including mine), beans and french fries so not sure if something he ate made him sick or not. I felt fine -- it might just be the regular flu - -he had chills and aches and upset tummy. Hope he's better today - he's still slumbering - I really want to see the King's speech. Hope we can go. Aylah called and said she made us some refrigerator magnets and wants to stop by and bring them to us. She's so darn cute -- she's so excited. Spent about 2 hours in the kitchen after our return cleaning my chicken breasts and butterflying them in preparation for freezing - bought 10 lbs. of breasts - and it took awhile. Then I took the meat off the rotissiere chicken for DH - will make him some more homemade soup today -- that will cure him. Julie, sorry you are still having problems -- have you been to any doctors recently? When is your DH having his shoulder surgery? When is your DD due? Is it March? I can't remember. Sorry to hear about the weight gain -- try to eat mostly Protein and maybe some sugarfree puddings with extra protein in them -- that will help your hunger and shouldn't put on pounds. Have some protein drinks when you get hungry -- it's quick and easy - add a banana in it -- some Peanut Butter (or our powdered peanut butter) really helps fill you up -- DH is right - you need to have food to keep up your strength -- but the right kind of food is what you need --not carbs -- they don't build up your strength. Hope things turn around -- maybe you'll start to feel better when the cold weather passes -- it may be linked to cold, damp weather. I'm trying to remember when all of this started -- was it during winter? Hugs to you Julie, we think of you often. Hope it gets better. Cheri, Kaye has information on dumping syndrome on her site -- from what I remember reading it sounded like we could get it -- not just the by pass patients -- if I see that article again I'll send you the link. Arlene, you mom sounds like quite a lady -- I'd love to see a picture of her. I'm so glad she's doing better and ready to get back to her old life -- she's quite a fighter by the sounds of it. Good for her - you are such a great daughter -- glad you have such a good relationship with her - it's nice to hear about. I miss my mom and wish I could have some more time with her now that I'm older I think we'd have a better relationship. So please hear me when I tell you to enjoy her and be thankful she's still in your life -- once she's gone you'll miss her everyday. Well, DH isn't up yet so I think I'll get dressed and go work out. Have a good day everyone. Linda