M2G

Florinda, what a great story! I'm so happy for you, thank you for sharing. Can we get a lovey-dovey picture here (in the private group) as well? Denise, sorry Bill is sick I hope you don't get it either. Georgia, THANK you for posting that. I plan to take a good look at it in a little bit. Coops YEEEEEAH GIRL!!! Love that skirt from when you were 21..."chuffed to beans" for ya! Well, my fitbit logging is going well, I'm even logging when I eat ice cream, and half a donut (NOT on the same day, lol) but here is what my last few days have been (calorie-wise) Thurs: 1,406 Fri: 1,912 (this was the ice cream day! oh my, that is HIGH cals for me personally) Sat: 1,910 (I know 2 high cal days in a row, my only *saving* grace was Sat. I did so much lawn work, I was OUT working in the lawn...mowing, triming, edging, fertilizing, cutting branches, hauling them to a temporary neighborhood dumpster, etc. I was out from 10am-4pm with only water to drink, so then I must have made up for it by dinner time, lol) Sun: 1,069 Mon: 352 from my am breakfast and mid-am yogurt. I'm having lunch out today with my mom, so no fasting today. Maybe I will try to fast on Wed. Anyway, at LEAST (for now) I'm logging my food which is a big f'ing 100% improvement over the last 4 months of NOT logging whatever I eat. UGH! Maybe I'm back on track? Maybe...

Oh and Coops...googled the Stella comedy...just listened for a few minutes, OMG I need a translation dictionary ...haha! Love the accents! I love all the quirky differences in language.

Just popping in to say that my hubby got me a FITBIT FLEX for Mother's Day. Woo hoo! I had mentioned this about 2 years ago when they were brand new and I never did anything about it. Then I would occasionally *think* about purchasing one but never got around to pulling the trigger. I'm hoping this is the boost I need to get out of my funk in regards to my eating. I was using caloriecount.about.com to log my food but then I haven't logged in about 3-4 months. This uses a different logger and I suppose I will get used to it, but today is my first day using it. I went to my women & weights class and while I know weight lifting is vastly different than cardio, it logged my 1 hour class as "9 minutes" hummmm, need to see how accurate this is. lol Anyway, sorry I've missed a bunch here...but FWIW, I am happy with our group the way it is, and don't feel like including more. I'm always open for the SUGGESTION of people who want to join but mostly I feel protective of our little corner of the world. Florinda, so happy you are doing well (romatically!) and I hope you can straighten things out with your dr. I would imagine all it would take is for your dr. to allow you email him or text him (I can do both for my VSG surgeon, I don't often use it but occasionally I do)...there needs be an open line of communication it sounds like. Good luck. Georgia, that is A LOT to deal with all at once. Getting older sucks...lol. I hope you are on the right track with vitamins and such. Cathy so glad you have made the move and forgot to wish my UK mommies a happy mother's day (isn't it like 2 months before us here in the US?) Anyway, Coops, 2 mothers day sounds like the way to go, let's vote, I say yes! HA! Well so I'm actually logging my food and I haven't eaten lunch yet and I'm over 300 cals..YIKES. Not a fast day for sure. LOL!

Oh Wanda, please do tell us what you think of the book! Dee, I'm sorry you are struggling...me too. I just can't seem to get out of this funk I've been in...the funk where I just don't give a flying f*ck about what I'm eating. My weight is up, I can tell in my clothing as well as on the scale and I just don't know how to turn it around. So sending you hugs because I totally feel you sister... Denise, I saw this and thought of your situation: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/07/seen-at-11-positive-pregnancy-tests-up-for-sale-online/ Coops, SOOOOOOOOO glad you had a good night out and NO hangover...that's awesome. So happy for you! No coffee? Or Tea? OMG I would just probably have a miserable day without my morning cup of coffee...you are amazing my friend! Sheryl, I'm concerned because YOU are concerned. The lack of any sort of hunger, forcing yourself to eat, and just that general feeling that something is "off"...when is the last time you had labs done? Might be time to pull them (even if you had them done within the last 6 months) they might have a clue into what is going on. Sarah, glad your hubby has pulled through and hopefully recovery is going well. As for me, I just am not sure how to shake my funk...I've still been working out and already spent 4 solid hours at the gym this week came home just dripping with sweat (literally my hair looks like I've been swimming when I come out of spin class for an hour) and having a puppy means almost daily walks. So the exercise front is doing well, it's just the eating...I really could care less and I don't feel like tracking my food or fasting. And it's been a while that I've been feeling like this and not sure what to do about it. Any suggestions?

Okay I read everything and I don't have an opinion either way. I'm sure that Suan/Irene and others did their research and went with that they felt was right at the time. Anyone can have complications no matter WHO or WHERE their surgery was. From what I can tell they feel that there was some surgical error, but what I'm having a hard time understanding is WHY this took so long to appear? Can anyone clear that up for me? Alex posted this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19949885 Which basically is a complication. But it also said this: "The sleeve volume, the bougie size, and the starting point of the antral resection do not seem to have an effect in this complication." So that would sort of eliminate the whole discussion about sleeve size... I don't know what to think. I'm sorry they are both having complications and I hope the Bypass will fix it but that means the 3rd weigh loss surgery for BOTH of them. I just don't know...

Oh thank you Sarah for the link...I am going to go read that now...

Oh my gosh so much to catch up on... From memory here goes... Cathy and Coops...I am SO JELLY! OMG love the photo of you both. Wish I could have been there!!!!! Coops...omg you look awesome in Paris, just fantastic...you are so cute and I love your red converse shoes! Sarah I'm sorry about your MIL/FIL your Dad and now your hubby. Wow when it rains it pours! Hugs to you. Denise, I tend to agree that a pregnant 53 year old sounds *almost* too crazy to be true. I suppose it *could* happen but it just seems so so so unlikely. I wonder about the mental state of this woman and if it really is true, if I were Bill I would be demanding MORE information. Like I'm sure they can't do a DNA test while in utero, BUT what about can he TALK to her Dr. can she forward her medical records, etc. I almost want to say he should hire a lawyer or a Private Investigator or something because I'm just highly suspicious of this woman. I want a happy ending for you and Bill and she seems to be swooping in determined to take you both of course. But glad you have had a good vacation, that sounds like you aren't letting this get in the way of being together and enjoying each other's company. Georgia, that tornado and horrid weather is awful. I know some people who were directly hit but somehow their houses survived while neighboring ones did not. So sad. Glad you are safe...and love that cute hat picture too! Sheryl, thank you soooooooo much for all the info on the post. I can no longer see it and totally missed it. I knew that Susan and Irene were both going to convert to bypass but I had NO idea they thought this was the fault of Dr. Aceves. I honestly thought it was because they were sick of the regain and they had the acid issues so they saw the revision as a way to tackle both at once...get rid of the regain and then cut down on the acid issues. But that sure is a complete turnaround from HELPING people have surgery in MX to STEERING people away. I guess all of us can only tell OUR story and not point fingers but I guess the finger pointing is probably what got the thread locked/deleted. I also remember Dr. Aceves as one who made smaller sleeves...which I know for a fact my surgeon tries to avoid. I think he made our sleeves a bit too big as I know a lot of people who never reached their goal (me included) but I don't BLAME him or BLAME the sleeve, it is what it is. I do have restriction when I eat protein and notsomuch when I eat crap, BUT THAT IS EVERYONE no matter WHAT size their sleeve is. So while I think my surgeon tends to err on the side of going a bit larger I think he does it to avoid complications due to the sleeve. I know personally for me and also for my husband (who is also sleeved by my surgeon) we never had any sort of heartburn BEFORE or AFTER the sleeve, no bile, no reflux NOTHING ever. So are we just lucky? I just don't think you can blame things all on ONE person or ONE surgery. Some people had never had reflux in their life and then have WLS and it happens. Some have it, have WLS and it gets BETTER. So how do you figure all of that out? The big question is Susan okay now???? I have not been around much at all, way way way too busy. My oldest daughter (age 13) has taken on too much at school. She is in school volleyball, National Junior Honor Society, (which my youngest was just accepted to also!), a Sisterhood, Yearbook staff and then tried out for and was awarded a spot for the spring musical ...NOT onstage but as a "pit band" member, she plays the flute. First performance tonight and this past week has been verging on PURE crazy the amount of rehearsals they have to do. And she is lucky she is NOT onstage as the "actors" have to do makeup and costume for their rehearsals...at least she can just wear jeans because no one sees the band and orchestra. Oh they are doing The Sound of Music and she has a solo for the song, "I am sixteen, going on seventeen...." that high pitched part is her solo. OH MY! I'm excited to see all her hard work pay off but she has been literally running on empty which means the rest of us are too. My eating has been terrible and I can't remember my last FAST I would literally have to search through posts here to see when it was...maybe 5 weeks ago? UGH UGH UGH!

Awwww, Coops, happy birthday, I love that you share it with your daughter, but make sure you celebrate YOU also, k? We tend to take the backseat in life, as being wife, mom, (for you teacher, etc.) all come first and we put ourselves last. 2 years ago for my bday I asked 3 friends to go downtown Denver with me, I got a hotel room, tickets to a comedy show and went to a fondue restaurant ...I don't do that EVERY year but once in while it's okay to make something be all about YOU! Hugs girlie! I'm sure Betty was so happy...lol at Fosters...is that beer? It's hard seeing them grow up isn't it?? Denise, so glad you are enjoying CA, and the warm weather. I'm glad you snapped out of your funk, and I hope the appt with the mask, CPAP stuff goes well. Florinda, I would LOVE to see the pics of your new beautiful clothing! I agree with Sue that those jeans sound too big. Ditch them for something more fitted. Sheryl glad the funk seems to be at bay...I hope this good feeling continues. Cathy, so so so much stress! I'm up in lbs also and have no one to blame but myself. Sigh. I just can't seem to get myself together and I don't know why. I'm doing good with exercise but my eating is just crap. Ugh. I know what I NEED to do I just can't seem to MAKE myself DO IT! Hang in there with house stuff, soon you will be all settled and ready to tackle something other than packing, moving and stressing!

Rectangle here!

I only have a quick second... totally agree Sheryl with Florinda "reframing"...and you are right Florinda everyone has what is acceptable and what is not and that is totally different for each and every person. I guess I just felt like if I'm here "venting" the answer isn't always cut and dried... I saw this today and really just wanted to share it here. I could put it out on the big group forum but I just thought we all needed a little chuckle... and this made me laugh out loud! http://www.someecards.com/2014/04/17/more-realistic-serving-sizes-pizza-ben-and-jerrys-funny

Why don't you spend some time reading here; http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/694-gastric-sleeve-veterans-forum/ It's the Vets Forum here for sleevers. We have a LOT of 3+ year sleevers a couple who are 4+ years and a lot of the 3+ will cross over into their 4th year being sleeved this year. I believe we have a 5+ year (OregonDaisy??) The vet's forum is specifically for people who are a year plus out from surgery so you can't post in there, but you are more than welcome to READ and gain insight, and you are always welcome to PM people with specific questions if you don't see them being addressed. Regain happens to a lot of people regardless of surgery type, and regardless of how you lose the weight. It's probably the single biggest issue with ANY type of weight loss at all!

Sarah can you link us to what you are talking about from the Vet's Forum? I don't think I see it...

Wow, Kelly, that is incredibly insightful, thank you for sharing this with us. Florinda, I hope you can get what you need, having a dr. "dismiss" you is no way to get proper treatment/care. Hugs! Kim, I'm glad you called hubby to task on his choice of wording. I know what you mean...I don't consider myself an artist, but at my last class we had to give an "artist talk" and I started out by saying I don't consider myself an artist, per se, but I am in a "creative" field. Also I have to disagree with Florinda (sorry sweetie!) but life isn't black and white. I know some of you single ladies have an easier time just putting your foot down on unpleasant behavior/commentary and so you just move on to the next guy. But for us who are married and committed in a relationship, it's more of a push and pull. My husband and I don't always agree on everything 100% of the time There are disagreements, discussions, differing opinions. But at the end of the day when you add everything up, and we communicate about the good the bad and the ugly, well, that is how we've stayed married for almost 19 years and been together for 23 years. So yeah, sorry when we sometimes come here and "vent" about how "my husband irritated me," it's not always a sign that we need to leave the marriage. Wanda, that is hard about your mom, I'm sure it feels like the end of a era and starting a new chapter in your life. You definitely have a lot on your plate right now!!! I didn't lose enough either and now with my 20+ regain I feel STUCK again. I am definitely in the same boat with you...sure the sleeved helped me lose but now the struggle...gah. I feel like I might never lose the regain and never get to that elusive "goal"...no matter that my goal is a 29 BMI... Cathy, I have never heard of Banksy either...cool photo! Sarah, how are you doing with FIL/MIL and the whole family drama? How is your being a PT going? Georgia how awful! I hope you feel better soon! You too Sheryl! Not sure what's going on but I'm hoping you can eat a little more and have some energy. Missing you Coops...where are yoU?

54 and pregnant? Whaaa??? I can't even imagine. Like Cathy said, doesn't bear thinking about. I agree with Florinda on this one! Florinda, can you stay with a friend until you find a job? Or even do a monthly rental at a residence inn or some type of hotel that you don't have to prove income? I know they are expensive but it could work out for a few months until you find a job and secure a living space, etc. Sorry that you are getting your time cut short but maybe this will all be a good thing after you are out of that environment. Sarah, I'm so sorry about your MIL. That is just so sad. My own mother will be 70 in a few months and I just put her and a buddy on a plane to Turkey. She is going on a tour, etc. But I can see how much she has slowed down in the recent years. She just doesn't move as fast, she has two torn ACL's that she opted to never "fix" and now it's kind just getting harder for her. She can still walk, has all her brain functioning, etc. but I just can see the toll that age is starting to take on her. ANd I can't help but wonder what the next 10+ years will bring.... Cathy good luck with the sorting and packing...I hate that part the most about moving but there is something cathartic about getting rid of stuff you don't use/need/want. Best of luck to you!

I totally ^^^agree^^^ with this. Also Pure Protein has a pretty good line of bars that you can find at Target, Wal-Mart, most grocery stores, etc. GNC sells Quest otherwise you have to order them online (not sure if any other stores are carrying them.) My advice is to only use them as necessary. I met someone at support group who was eating them as his primary source of protein. Also remember you can cut them in half and only eat half a bar. The other half won't go bad, and you can save it in a snack size ziplock for another day. I keep a Protein Bar in a hard-shell eyeglass case in my purse (not that you have a purse but maybe a glovebox in your car?) that is filled with a protein bar as an emergency in case there is just no other good choice around. I keep it in the case so it can live there for a few months without turning into a crumbled mess for carrying it around for so long.

Oh and I almost forgot: I earned a 4.0 for the entire year. That means that every single class I took I got an A in. Wow, makes me feel confident!

Just popping in here ladies with some good news.... I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!! As of yesterday, I had my last class. So now, in addition to my bachelor's degree (from oh, 20 years ago) I will now hold a Certificate of Web Tools! Woo hoo!!! It's been a long time (a year basically of school) and I won't actually have my certificate until May, when they will mail it to me. Now my biggest obstacle will be finding a job....sigh. I'm going to continue to freelance until I can find a full or part-time job and I'm actually thinking I will apply at some temp agencies. Anyway, that is my big news, my big update. Sunday was a really great eating day then sort of notsomuch yesterday. I can't seem to be consistent. Ugh! Florinda, I hope you don't get hung out to dry over your complaint...I really wish you could get out of there, and soon! Hugs! Denise, good luck with the CPAP hunt and sleep studies, I think Bill sounds like he worth ironing out the the kinks with this whole thing in order for you to get a good night's sleep! I know I'm missing some other posts...sorry!

Congratulations! What a great accomplishment!

Beautiful! Congrats!

I was also asked to do something similar but also declined. It IS a good feeling to be a success story though!

Thank you for being a support system for your friend. Just knowing that you are going to be able to check in on her will mean a lot to her. The first few weeks are the toughest from a physical standpoint, but hopefully she will be able to get through that part without any major problems. The mental part is a harder part of the journey and takes a lot longer. I would just ask her where and when you can support her and if you guys have a great relationship hopefully she can communicate when she needs something. Just having a cheerleader can make a tremendous difference for someone!

Kelly what a beautiful and amazing gift to give your CPAP to Bill. You are wonderful! Sheryl, wow, that landslide, awful! Thank you for the photo illustration that really helps me see how easily that could all happen. So sad! Coops, OMG, Betty found a dress just like that! Woo hoo! That is awesome, my mom and I used to have the worst time because I was a chubby girl and nothing ever fit just "right" and she was pretty good with a needle and thread and so we would argue and clash and she would say "I can make it work" but then complain the whole time about what a pain in the arse it was to have to fix up a dress. lol And I went to such a SMALL HIGH SCHOOL (less than 200 kids in grades 9-12...graduated in a class of 32) I ended up going to 4 PROMS because the whole school was invited since it was so small. Chuffed to beans that she found something and it was stress-free for you both! Georgia that weekend sounds so fun and foody and I'm sorry that someone you know lost a beautiful soul. So tragic and sad. I pray for peace for that family. Sarah, good to see you here! Sorry about your MIL and FIL and how that has shaken everything up. I'm glad the surgery is over and hopefully some of the family drama will lessen as your FIL heals and can help MIL out a bit more. I wish my plastics consult had gone well. It goes down as one of the WORST days of my life. Honestly. It was just horrid. I went in feeling like I could have some surgery to correct the skin and shape my body to reveal my weight-loss and came out feeling like I must be the worst-case senario and that even after spending $25,000 I still wouldn't look good, etc. It was just awful. I will maybe muster up the strength to visit another plastic surgeon but there is no way I would move forward with the one I had the consult with. Florinda, ugh. I fell off the wagon too. Had a fast day and felt sooooooo good about myself only to have a horrid weekend that then spilled into this week and now it's Wed. and I haven't mustered up the strength to have another fast day. I do agree our metabolism is shot to he%%. I don't know much about the "science" behind it but something *must* change when we have surgery and exist on such low-cal diets for long periods of time. There are just days that I curse the fact that eating too many calories wrecks havoc on the scale. But then I also remind myself the idea of having surgery was so that I COULD EAT LESS CALORIES, and so I have my pity party and then pull up my big girl panties and get on with it. But, nevertheless, it IS frustrating to have to be so careful. I'm almost done with school (yay coops thanks for your encouragement!!!) I have ONE CLASS LEFT and then I will have my Certificate of Web Tools. Funny, Kim, for my last class I have to give an "artist's talk" ...do you ever have to do this about your art? Duh, of course you have. You linked the video to it one time here (could you do that again for us??? thanks!!!) Anyway, it feels a bit funny because I'm not an artiste, but a graphic artist. I do what people pay me to do ...lol. So from that perspective it's challenging to talk about my "art" ...but after Monday I will be done with school ...YAY!

Happy *belated* Birthday Cathy! Globe...OMG OMG OMG! I'll be excited for you, how's that? Wish I knew something about worker's comp. Could you hire a lawyer? Although hiring a lawyer doesn't sound fun, you might need to in order to get everything paid. Glad skiing was fun instead of anxiety filled, Sheryl. Coops, hiya...good to see you. Totally understand the busy thing! Dorrie, I wish I could just give you a hug. I hope things are better and sort out soon. You have such great analytical skills to be able to step back and "view" your life. Come here and have your woe is me moment anytime. It think this place plays a part in keeping us all sane. Denise, that wording sounds fine. Sorry about the fight with Bill. That CPAP has been an issue since the beginning, ugh. I hope you guys can have a dialogue about it and maybe other things too? Good idea to calm down before talking...things said during the heat of an argument are usually not good things. As for me, my status update is: I FINALLY HAD A FAST DAY!!! OMG!

You will find some inspirational pictures here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/193973-ill-show-you-mine-lbds/ It's a whole thread dedicated to showing off those new LBD's! Great goal Kiara I have no doubt you will soon be rocking your own new LBD!

I'm always cold too! 3+ years later and never hit goal but apparently lost enough of my "warmth layer" to make me cold always. Also going to agree with girliegreeneye...you need to be evaluated. It could be an Iron deficiency that is causing you to be tired (among other things) a blood panel is definitely in order to make sure there isn't something else going on.