M2G

OH and I forgot to mention...so on that drive from Denver to Glenwood Springs, I CANNOT tell you how many insane...er biking ethusiasts I see biking over the moutain pass from Vail to Silverthorne and vice versa...OMG, that moutain pass taxes CARS and I cannot fathom being out there on a bike. It's humbling to watch, really. Let me know if you are ever in the area!

Oh my gosh there are too many to list. There are a lot up by the divide, but you have to be careful. Denver's weather can be unpredictable. The old adage around here is "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it will change." One that is close to by where I live is called Castlewood Canyon and there are several trails to take (no boredom) that are clearly marked with varying degrees of difficulty. http://www.parks.state.co.us/parks/castlewoodcanyon/Pages/CastlewoodCanyonHome.aspx Another that I have heard about (but never done) is up near the Continental Divide (that is an area where the weather is also several degrees cooler than whatever the temp of the day is down in Denver) We pass by this all the time because while we live in Denver, my whole family lives between Glenwood Springs and Apsen, so we DRIVE by it and never stop to hike it. Prob. need to change that. http://funcoloradohikes.com/tag/continental-divide-trail Anyway, there are hiking trails just about everywhere you look. It's really just a matter of preference. We also have over 53 "Fourteeners" that are coveted by the hiking enthusists. http://www.14ers.com/ Sounds like Denver would be worth more than a stop thru the airport for you Fiddle...

I take a class called fusion at my local rec center. BUT the class *right* before my Fusion class is a class called Tabata. Sometimes I get there early enough to watch for a few minutes. The lady that teaches it is hard core. She scares me. lol My Fusion instructor does a bit of tabata in our class as well. One day I will get up the nerves to go take the "scary" instructor's tabata class. lol

Waving from Denver! It's funny because my surgeon actually talks about this in his seminar and I'll be darned if I can remember exactly what he says. Because even being #5 on the list, and knowing all the running jokes about having bikes and skis attached to cars that are worth more than the cars they are strapped to, I will tell ya what, my surgeon brings the crowds when does his seminars. I think he basically talked about the data and how's pretty skewed because it's still a LARGE % of Amercians that are overweight/obese/morbidly obese and beyond. I will say one thing about Denver, there are a lot of health nuts here (waving to Boulder... ) and honestly we get so much sunshine it's hard not to be addicted to getting outdoors. I think we have a really high number days of sunshine per year...300+ I believe. :wub: Even on the snow days sometimes we all just wait for the sun to come melt the snow. We're all slightly addicted to that because people here get grumpy about more than 2 days of no sunshine. Not sure if that helps put us up higher on the list, but thinking there might be a correlation.

Wow, I think this is one of the best "NSVs" I've ever heard!

Totally second this post Georgia!

JUNIORS SIZE? Awesome! I have a daughter who wears juniors sizes and they ARE cut small! WTG! Just do the best you can while on vacation and get back to it when you are home. I found that I lost a lb while up visiting my mom for 5 days. That NEVER happens. But I wasn't going to argue with my scale.

You sound like YOU would make a good PT!

I'm sorry, but you just made my day. I'm laughing because I "get it" and nothing is worse than being put under the glare of perfect strangers.

Well, honestly Fiddle, I'm nearing in on 3 years post-op, and from what I can tell things have improved from when I was about 9 months post-op, so I think that is a completely valid response. It really depends so much on age, heredity, amount lost, amount of time spent being obese, etc. There is just not one way that works for everyone. I also drink a ton of water, but no amount of water is going to shrink what I've got. I'm still very much undecided on plastics. I'm currently in a mode of trying to love the skin I'm in. I'll let you all know how that works out for me. Ooooh let's have a contest...which is worse...no triangle to cover it, OR the huge giant poster size computer screen that magnified the skin! I hope you get your money soon!

My husband and I are both sleeved (about as far apart as you and your husband...I was 10-22-10 and he was 3-7-11) and I don't remember having too much anxiety about his surgery. BUT I was there, giving his hand a squeeze before they wheeled him into the OR, my in-laws came to the hospital and kept my mind from doing any damage. I think it would be hard to have a spouse travel and NOT be able to go and be that physical support. Use your prayers, keep your faith strong, and most of all be positive. When my husband was sleeved, he got to choose his surgery date. He chose his birthday. And that made a huge impact on me because getting healthy was the best birthday present he could have ever given himself! Everything will turn out ok, hang in there!

Okay, GO ahead and add me to the group of "First Consult with a Plastic Surgeon Was the Worst Day of My Life" ...gah! I had a first consult in May and was horrified. Checked in with the friendly receptionist who promptly ushered me to what I can only describe as the Blue Room. That beautiful blue background that they shoot the pictures in front of. Handed me a triangle to cover my girlie bits... (Butter you didn't get a triangle???) and commenced with the "photo shoot." Oh, and my absolute FAV shot off all was me standing sideways and arched over like I'm about to dive into a swimming pool. THAT WAS FUN. And I AM a woman who has birthed TWO children and been to the OBGYN dr. many times and THAT is pretty much NOTHING compared to this. I guess I probably wasn't prepared as much as I thought I was. Then off to what I would call the Computer Room with the GIANT screen, where the surgeon pulled up my fresh skin photos complete with blue background and lovely blue triangle so that he could draw all over my body on the screen showing me what he could and could not fix and how much it would all cost. The final and third insult was getting all nekkid in front of the surgeon who did push and pull the skin while I got to watch in a full length mirror. Horrifying. Truly. Not. Fun. I left feeling horrible. If I do have surgery at some point I will be looking for another consult. Or two!

I don't post my weight (probably an old carryover hangup about weight in general) BUT Start Date: 7/16/2013 Loss as of: 8/1/2013 -5lbs!!!

Georgia...that is FANTASTIC! WOW girl, you totally inspire me!!! :wub:

Interesting topics ladies. When I was about 14 months post-op I went to a sports medicine guru (who my surgeon loved) to get my BMR or RMR (resting metabolic rate) done. I stepped up on his big fancy machine and it spit out a paper with all kinds of info that I wish he could have explained to me (he was a bit on the rambly, lofty side and his jargon was confusing) but basically it said my RMR was about 1450. I have not experimented with TDEE, but usually try to stay below 1500 calories on a feed day. Just based on my own personal experience, that seems to be my limit. If I go over that amount, I can usually expect it to show up on the scale. If I stay below that then it's maintenance.

FYE ---OMG I love this!!!! Hey a new low bounce range sounds pretty good. Woo hoo! I have never been a juicer/detoxer...but I think it would have to taste ok or it just wouldn't be worth it. Can you add an orange or a bit of honey to it, so that it tastes better?

I have made some lifelong friends based soley on our desire to exercise. I think it would serve you well to join other "like minded" individuals. Be careful about the shoulder strain and baby it nicely. I injured my back this month and tried to rush too quickly back into my normal exercise routine. Not the wisest of ideas.

FINALLY home from vacation up to visit my mom and extended family. I did NOT plan to fast today but I have had nothing to eat at all. I woke up feeling out-of-sorts, did NOT sleep well and basically had some coffee. Nothing sounded good, and then had about a 3.5 hour drive home. Girls slept most of the way, we didn't stop and the "snacks" were in the back with the girls. Will plan to eat something later tonight, but still nothing really even sounds good. Nice unexpected day to fast. Love it when that happens.

If I don't want to talk about surgery and someone is giving me a compliment, I just say thank you and move quickly onto other subjects. If they are hard core asking about "how" I did it, I usually say portion control, monitor my intake, lots of water/exercise. The usual answers. That way I'm not actually lying. They would have to out and out ASK me if I had surgery AND I would have to say NO for me to consider it lying.

Congratulations! You look wonderful!!

Wow. Thank you so much for telling your story. I sincerely appreciate your honesty. And the words of wisdom, to "never give up" ...so powerful and so true. We are in this fight for life and I know that sometimes I do feel like giving up. But then I know what the consequences of giving up mean. So sorry about the DS not working out but enlightening to know about your friend who revised. At some point the surgery will only take you so far and the rest is up to you. Thank you again for sharing your story with us.

chicken. Always chicken. Good thing I like it. Also I'm getting close to 3 years post-op and I've been really focusing on waiting 45-60 minutes to drink after eating. I notice that it really does help keep me fuller longer.

Very well said Georgia. Butter, there IS something to that 'losing high' that disappears when you see your weight stay the same week in and week out. Or like Georgia said, see it go up 3lbs after a careless weekend. And the weight NEVER leaves as fast as it came on. Never. And while it sounds fun to say "oh I had surgery so I will never have to diet again" yeah, well, I totally agree with you, call it what you want but maintenance and losing, well it all takes hard work. Call it a meal plan, or a strategy, or the evil "D" word, or whatever you want but surgery doesn't do the work for you for the rest of your life. And maintenance is FOR life. Losing is temporary. But at least with the sleeve I feel like I have a fighting chance!

WOW! Great job fiddle!