General Thread for us bigger folk

[dawn of dibley 6]

This 200+ sub forum really needs to be more active. i thought it would be nice to just have a general thread that didn't really have a topic per se, but just a place where you can come and post whatever about whatever.

Here is my random general first post:

I'm down about 35 pounds and I just really feel awesome. I mean, I obviously still look the same as nobody has seemed to notice the weight loss, but I notice and I can tell in my clothes and in my general energy level over all. I have lots and lots of energy lately and it's something that I haven't had for YEARS really. i haven't felt like doing anything at all, but now all of a sudden, things are a little easier. I walk everywhere since i live in the city, but i'm always huffing and puffing. I have noticed that the last couple of weeks in particular, that i can walk much further than I could before getting winded and my feet aren't painfully swollen after the first 30 steps and that just makes me feel great.

I haven't shared with anyone (with the exception of my husband and a close friend) the fact that I have been banded, so this is the place where i can come and talk about that stuff...i thought it would be good to just share with whomever might be reading this that just a little over a month after surgery i feel like a million bucks. hopefully things will just get easier and easier, but as of this moment, i am completely happy with my decision to move forward and have surgery. i can't even put it into words.

anyway, i still look fat, but I feel almost skinny on the inside.

now it's your turn...gimme some kind of random general post. i don't want to be all alone in here.

[ginny echols 3]

hey dawn my name is ginny.I live in granbury tx. im 57 years old and have not been banded yet it will be july for me. I have 217 lbs to loose. I must loose 20lbs before they will do the surgery required by my insurance.I am looking forward to this journey I have been fat most of my life even as a child.I have diabetes and osteo arthritis in legs knees and hips.I also have sleep apnea which i didnt know about till recently.anyway just thought id chat and let you know you arent alone here. good luck to you.

[dawn of dibley 6]

Hi Ginny, so glad that someone else posted here! whew, i thought i was alone for a second there. I have arthritis in my knees as well, and with that 35 pounds gone it has made such a difference already. please keep us posted on your progress and good luck losing that 20lbs. i think you will find that it won't be that hard at the beginning to get that weight off. people with more weight to lose, tend to lose a little faster in the beginning, so you are going to be a success.

[favoredone 590]

Hey!!! I'm Tina... or Fav.. Which ever... I'm a 36 yo teacher and singer from Chicago..... I've recently started my 6 month medically supervised program... I'm excited about starting the process to changing my life... I've never really felt my weight until recently.. I have about 200 lbs to lose.. (CW 373.5)... I really don't look like I weigh that much, but I camouflage well! I'm tired of hiding behind the camo!! I was meant to be HOT PINK!!!!

Congrats beginning your journey and your successes thus far!! Let's keep in touch!!!

[RedheadGirl 2]

I'm so glad that this area might get more active. I have felt a little loss with all the other places and have wanted to find support and offer encourgment but it's hard to "get to know" people on here when there are so many and I don't know where to jump in. So this is perfect.

I'm 33 and this month I'm being banded. I am getting banded in Mexico as I am self pay and will be doing this for my bday. I leave on the 26th for San Diego to vacation for 2 days and then get the surgery on the 28th. I'll be in the hospital there during my birthday. Happy Birthday to ME! Most expensive gift I've ever given myself.

I'm currently day 3 of pre-op and just posted a couple times about how I am struggling sooooooooooooooo BAD tonight. I want to eat. This makes me wonder if emotionally I'm ready for this. I'm so used to eating for hunger, and every emotion that I feel so "off" right now with just drinking Protein drinks and eating bars. I want to feel stuffed and that is not happening.

[dawn of dibley 6]

Hi Tina and Redheadgirl, it's nice to 'meet' you.

the pre-op diet is very hard, but you will be so glad you did it as it prepares you for the liquids only phase right after surgery. it really makes it a breeze. (as much as it can be a breeze)

good luck to both of you, and please post here often and keep us (or me) posted.

[dave601 0]

Red,

I tell you that the preop diet is so important...maybe it will help you if I explained how I looked at the pre op diet. first off, I was on the diet for 22 days...nothing but Protein shakes...couldn't even have bars..i tried to stay busy took it one hour at a time. The outlook I had was that this was medically necessary for me to have a safe surgery. .in my mind, I wasn't going to do anything that would hinder the doc during surgery.. If something were to go wrong, it wasn't going to be my fault. I kept thinking and praying that I would keep my end of the bargain.

It was hard no doubt...but so rewarding when the doc told my wife that because I was so strict and stuck to the diet that my liver shrunk and made the surgery a breeze for him. Not to mention that I lost 58 pounds during those 22 days! Granted I was very active...being a football coach and was doing spring training for two of those weeks...i was very weak alot...but kept thinking and praying I was gonna stay true to it.

I hope this helps.

Dave

[dawn of dibley 6]

hey dave, i was wondering how the surgery went for you. glad to see you are still around and it sounds like you are doing great.

[RedheadGirl 2]

Thanks Dave, that input was good to read and you are right. I do want to make sure that I do everything right on my part to make the surgery go well. It's so very mental and I know that this is just the start of the process of getting over the emotional addiction to food. I think this time really tests your strength mentally as I don't even really feel that hungry physcially but more so emotionally. Last night was another battle and I won. I wanted to indulge in almonds and my excuse in my mind was that it was a lower carb food and if I can have bars with some nuts why can't I eat almonds? I still don't get the meaning behind why Protein bars are ok to eat but other forms of low cal Protein are not? But... I will follow this and get through it one moment at a time.

Red,

I tell you that the preop diet is so important...maybe it will help you if I explained how I looked at the pre op diet. first off, I was on the diet for 22 days...nothing but Protein shakes...couldn't even have bars..i tried to stay busy took it one hour at a time. The outlook I had was that this was medically necessary for me to have a safe surgery. .in my mind, I wasn't going to do anything that would hinder the doc during surgery.. If something were to go wrong, it wasn't going to be my fault. I kept thinking and praying that I would keep my end of the bargain.

It was hard no doubt...but so rewarding when the doc told my wife that because I was so strict and stuck to the diet that my liver shrunk and made the surgery a breeze for him. Not to mention that I lost 58 pounds during those 22 days! Granted I was very active...being a football coach and was doing spring training for two of those weeks...i was very weak alot...but kept thinking and praying I was gonna stay true to it.

I hope this helps.

Dave

[RedheadGirl 2]

This board, or thread seems slow... So I'm going to post, again! I'm day 4 of my Protein shake, Protein Bar, and broth pre-op diet and I'm down 14 lbs. I am digging the broth... as eating Protein Bars and shakes is nothing but sweets I like the saltiness and HOT factor that makes me feel more like I'm "eating" real food. I went today and bought 4 different spice blends to make the broth POP with flavor. A spicy one, Tomato basil one, fiesta lime one and I even bought lemon pepper to try to change up the chicken broth. A little variety helps.

Anyway, that's my bit of news for the rest of the day. I'm getting excited!!!! I leave for San Diego in 10 days and cross the border in 12 days! Woot Woot!

[dawn of dibley 6]

my liquid diet was liquids only, no Protein bars, plus i could have broth with a cup of vegetables. i know what you mean about it getting bland. i discovered Mrs. Dash and i still use it daily. it has replaced salt and pepper in my life. it's really good stuff and it helped me get through that diet.

by day 4, it should be getting a teensy bit easier. i know the first 3 days were the hardest for me, but by day 4 it was becoming a habit. and really, you will really, really, really be glad you did it to prepare you for the next phase. right after surgery, liquids will be difficult to get down, but by day 3 i was HUNGRY and all i had was liquids. it would have been a shock for me to go straight from eating, eating, eating to only being able to have liquids. as much as i complained about that pre-op diet, i am so glad i did it.

congrats on losing 14 lbs so far. you are doing great.

[RedheadGirl 2]

It's been a few days since I've been in here, had computer troubles.... Anyway, to my shock I have only lost now 15 lbs on this pre-op diet. I lost 14 in four days and one more pound over the next several. I just found out yesterday that this whole time I could of been eating pure Protein, like chicken, turkey, low fat cheese etc... I was SOOO bummed that I wasted so much money on bars and drinks and went through all that hard time of watching others eat when I could of been having Protein with NO carbs. Oh well, I'm hoping that the change in adding in protein yesterday and today until surgery will do something with my metobolism to get my weight to come off again. I don't understand why I haven't lost anymore weight since day FIVE??? I feel like I'm doing something wrong but I'm not. I've been drinking plenty. I leave in 2 days now for San Diego and then after being there for 2 days I cross over the border for surgery! YAY!

Another thing that sucks, I have a cold. I'm coughing, sore throat and feel plugged up. I am hoping this doesn't mess up my surgery.

my liquid diet was liquids only, no Protein Bars, plus i could have broth with a cup of vegetables. i know what you mean about it getting bland. i discovered Mrs. Dash and i still use it daily. it has replaced salt and pepper in my life. it's really good stuff and it helped me get through that diet.

by day 4, it should be getting a teensy bit easier. i know the first 3 days were the hardest for me, but by day 4 it was becoming a habit. and really, you will really, really, really be glad you did it to prepare you for the next phase. right after surgery, liquids will be difficult to get down, but by day 3 i was HUNGRY and all i had was liquids. it would have been a shock for me to go straight from eating, eating, eating to only being able to have liquids. as much as i complained about that pre-op diet, i am so glad i did it.

congrats on losing 14 lbs so far. you are doing great.

[favoredone 590]

Hey!! Take care of yourself!! You have plenty of time to get more weight off when you get banded.. The added Protein will help boost your metabolism. Don't be so hard on yourself, you are doing great!! At least you didn't gain any weight!!!!

It's been a few days since I've been in here, had computer troubles.... Anyway, to my shock I have only lost now 15 lbs on this pre-op diet. I lost 14 in four days and one more pound over the next several. I just found out yesterday that this whole time I could of been eating pure Protein, like chicken, turkey, low fat cheese etc... I was SOOO bummed that I wasted so much money on bars and drinks and went through all that hard time of watching others eat when I could of been having protein with NO carbs. Oh well, I'm hoping that the change in adding in protein yesterday and today until surgery will do something with my metobolism to get my weight to come off again. I don't understand why I haven't lost anymore weight since day FIVE??? I feel like I'm doing something wrong but I'm not. I've been drinking plenty. I leave in 2 days now for San Diego and then after being there for 2 days I cross over the border for surgery! YAY!

Another thing that sucks, I have a cold. I'm coughing, sore throat and feel plugged up. I am hoping this doesn't mess up my surgery.

[dawn of dibley 6]

don't be discouraged at the weight loss during the liquid phase. you are doing very well and you still have a few more days on it, so you could lose another pound or two. keep in mind that some of that weight is just Water weight and it's not all fat and also keep in mind that just after surgery, it's a time for healing. you may not lose anything at all during the first 4 weeks. just hang in there and do what you are supposed to do and the weight will eventually start to come off.

your body is about to go through some trauma and it's going to want to hold on to every fat cell it has and it will be a mental battle as you have thoughts of "what in the heck did i just do to myself ??? and why am i not losing any weight????"

just keep the big picture in mind, a month will pass by very quickly and you will start to see results.

above all else, do not get discouraged. come and post your frustration here on the boards, but do not give up.

[dawn of dibley 6]

i have nothing new to report on the weight front. as of this morning, and by chance as of this evening as well, I am still fat

i DID put down a deposit for our anniversary Cruse to the Caribbean today. it's 447 days away, so i hope that i can at least lose another 60 pounds by then....or maybe even more, but i would be totally great with 60 more pounds. that would put me at around 100 pounds lost. i am so looking forward to going on that cruise and being able to do things that have weight restrictions...that's my motivation right now. i want to parasail and ride on a zip line and of course hike and walk around without feeling like dying...i just have to lose more weight and i can do it!

what are you planning to do for yourself when you have lost enough weight?