mnbsleeve

This might sound a little weird, but I sorta understand balloon poppers... I certainly have read others' stories whereby they have lost 100lb by farting and I wished that I too could fart that hard! Especially as I am a really slow loser and not at goal. But I have NEVER commented on it... instead I take myself away, lick my wounds and tell myself not to be bitter and twisted, to be happy for that person and most importantly remember that I am ME, not them! This isn't a competiton with anyone else except myself.
An example: I have a friend (who I love dearly), who when I was losing started a diet. She did everything she could to get smaller than me - she was already smaller by the way! She made a lot of comments about how much smaller she was, constantly telling me what size she was knowing damn well that she was smaller than I; she even gave me maternity trousers saying they would be perfect because my tummy is my 'problem'! Anyway, long story short, she has regained and is now a size or two bigger than me. I am a lot fitter and trimmer than her. She recently told me that she had gained 20-24lb. I made NO comment. I could of, and she would of, but I am the better person. There was a part of me that wanted to say, 'oh, so I am now smaller than you!' *insert smug grin* bu I didn't. I just told her not to worry, and to stop eating sh*t! Some people just focus on themselves and do not consider others... and that is fine because it is their problem not mine.
So yea, we have all experienced these people, some we love, some we don't even know... but it's how to respond to it makes the biggeset difference.

I agree piper! Most don't realize how out of place they are when they ask others "how much weight have you lost?" or "what are you doing to lose it?" I've always equated that with asking someone how much money have you saved for retirement? or what is your salary? etc. Even pre-sleeve I've found that offensive, intrusive, and extreemely out of place. It's another example, I think, of how overweight people are seen as fair game in misstreatment and crossing boundaries. As a fat person I experience lots of other types of liberties, including rudeness, from others that I didn't experience when I was thin at that I am no longer experiencing now that I've lost weight. Isn't that something?!

I agree piper! Most don't realize how out of place they are when they ask others "how much weight have you lost?" or "what are you doing to lose it?" I've always equated that with asking someone how much money have you saved for retirement? or what is your salary? etc. Even pre-sleeve I've found that offensive, intrusive, and extreemely out of place. It's another example, I think, of how overweight people are seen as fair game in misstreatment and crossing boundaries. As a fat person I experience lots of other types of liberties, including rudeness, from others that I didn't experience when I was thin at that I am no longer experiencing now that I've lost weight. Isn't that something?!

I agree piper! Most don't realize how out of place they are when they ask others "how much weight have you lost?" or "what are you doing to lose it?" I've always equated that with asking someone how much money have you saved for retirement? or what is your salary? etc. Even pre-sleeve I've found that offensive, intrusive, and extreemely out of place. It's another example, I think, of how overweight people are seen as fair game in misstreatment and crossing boundaries. As a fat person I experience lots of other types of liberties, including rudeness, from others that I didn't experience when I was thin at that I am no longer experiencing now that I've lost weight. Isn't that something?!

I love your post Merydia!!!!! You go girl!!!!!!!

Here is a pic of my face at the end of last March. Here is my face today. I have lost around 78 pounds. I hardly recognize me! lol. Just having a feel good moment.
 

!!! WOOTTT !!! Sharon, YOU ROCK!!! I can't wait to see the ad. I'm sooo excited for you!
You've done such a fantastic job at weight loss, I can't see any reason why he wouldn't choose you, so definitely enjoy this HUMONGOUS NSV!!!
Dangit now, why did they remove the awesome smilies? I want my GIANT banana back! This so deserves it. :wub: :wub: :wub:

Well I can't believe that it has been one year since my surgery. This has been the best year of my life. when I started this I was 460 pounds. July of 2010 I was 450 when I went to the surgeons office for the first time. April 7, 2011 I was 410 pound the day of surgery. So I have lost 176 since surgery and 226 total. I have 54 pounds to go. things are slowing down and I went to my surgeon yesterday for my one year visit and he says this is normal. That I need to bump things up though with excercise and watching extra caerefully but he is very impressed with what I have done already. This forum has helped a great deal , and showed me the sleeve does work. I was suppose to get the DS surgery and when he went in I had very bad gaul stones stuck to my adominal wall and he needed to take care of that and was afraid of infestion so I got the sleeve instead. I was upset at first but got over it and joined this forum and saw that the sleeve does work. i am very happy now for the sleeve instead of the DS. Dr. G says that i could of had the rest of the surgery this year but he said that I was so successfull with the sleeve that I don't need it. I am determined to loose this last 54 more pounds but in the meantime I feel great. I am 50 years young and feel 20 again, I have been given my life back.

In the begining I struggled with this kind of "disgust" also. Eating was a chore. I called it "a feeding." shakes made me sick. Smells often made me sick. But things got a lot better. I still have the restriction and I get full - which is great and why I did this! -- however, eating has become more normal again. Some foods still seem to "shut my stomach off" in one bite -- like eggs -- but for the most part I don't have so much of that disgust and repulsion I had in the begining. So overall I would have to say: hang in there! It's a process and it does get better!

I like this ...BUT SO NOT FAIR! Men lose way quicker than women ...congrats on getting your sleeve though

LOL yes amazeballs is good! I had problem skin, like kinda blotchy just on my left cheek. It's completely gone and my skin is smooth. I met my friend for lunch yesterday and she said it looks like I lost weight. I lost 10 pre-op and I'm not weighing myself until Wednesday (just weekly weigh-ins for me).

Is "amazeballs" good?! (I'm such a square! - sorry). If it's good: awesome!!!!! Mine got dry and flaky. But it was short lived. It perked up as time went on! Now one of the comments I get a lot is that I look a lot younger. A lot of that is the weightloss but my skin is looking pretty good too. Congratulations on your surgery and glad you are feeling so good!!!!

Thanks everyone. I am so grateful to have this forum with so many who know and understand. I am on liquid loritab. I just feel like I could sleep for a week!

Hang in there Lisa!!! Hope you feel better soon!!!!

Loved your post!!!!! I have similar feelings about this. I still need to lose some weight to get to "goal" -- whatever it should be. But if I don't lose another pound I am thrilled!!!! I don't gain and I can eat "normally." I do follow rules of getting Protein in and generally eat healthy. But I don't crave sugar nor the large quantities of food I use to. I am no longer a slave to my hunger. I have lots of energy. I really enjoy excercise and a healthy life style... lots more. I just can't complain. I know the rest of the weigth will probably come off slowly. But I really am happy NOW! and the only "pain" is shopping for new clothes, shoes and styles! :-) I just feel really fortunate!!!

I am 9 months out from surgery and have been "maintaining" at 165 for about 3 months now. I have occasionally gotten frustrated at myself for not getting this last 15 lbs. off and getting to my goal weight. It is totally my own fault because I eat anything I want and don't exercise. So yesterday I stop at Wal-Mart on my way home because I have NO shorts that fit and I'm standing there trying to decide what size to buy. The shorts are 50/50 cotton and linen so I know they will stretch when I wear them and I can't decide if I should get a size 8 or a 10 and then it hits me.... why the heck am I giving myself so much grief over these last 15 lbs, this time last year I was trying to decide whether to buy size 18 or 20 shorts!!! Wow life is so awesome now. I can run with my grandchildren, plant the garden with my husband and eat a tiny bit of anything I want and maintain a size 8 or 10. So maybe I will lighten up on myself and just enjoy the moment, I will get to my goal, maybe not right this minute, but I will get there. So I say we enjoy this journey and the new life we've given ourselves. I hope you all have a great day.

OMG!!! I have been dancing around 200 for awhile but wasn't going under. So I just stopped weighing myself and this morning I thought I'd give it a try and WOO WOO!! 197!! I cheered so loud I woke up my husband!! lol. Still a ways to go but woo woo!!! Onederland baby!!

Hi Kimmr! I will be perfectly honest. My kids are in their mid 20's. If I had small children I don't know that I would consider the surgery. Not just for fear of death but also complications and becoming a burden on the family as I worked through. I would probably put my energy on healthy eating and excercise till they got older.
I really hesitate to write this because I have so much respect for the people who have made such difficult decisions to take care of themselves and I would never, ever judge them or not support them for a minute!!! I am just being honest about my own process. I passed up another important thing when my kids were very young when weighing the pros and cons honestly.
My point is that your feelings are legitimate and if you deep inside feel it's not time, then maybe it's not time yet. And no one would blame or judge you for honoring your thoughts and feelings about how you assess your personal situation. It's a tough decision with many real consequences and we have to be in it 100% -- especially as parents.
Good luck to you with all of this. I feel how hard it is!!!!

MMMmmmm. I love watermelon..
when I was pregnant I HAD to eat it everyday. I would go out in the middle of the night to get it if I didn't have any. It was my only real craving.
I really don't think it's that bad for you. Here is an article i found..
(NaturalNews) Who would have thought the common watermelon packed so much nutrition? The usual notion about watermelon is they are just Water with taste, harmless, but not a good choice for nutritional value. Wrong! Watermelon has the most nutrition per calorie of common foods.
Organic watermelons are hard to find and pricey when found. But conventionally grown watermelons are not among the dirty dozen of the most heavily sprayed produce. Instead, they are actually among the fifteen most clean of non-organic fruits and vegetables.
What Watermelons Have to Offer
Besides tasting great and being low in calories because watermelon is mostly Water, it is an excellent source of Vitamin C, which a major antioxidant. It has a high beta carotene concentration, thus offering a fair amount of Vitamin A as well. Both beta carotene with Vitamin A help support good eyesight and prevent glaucoma.
High intakes of combined beta-carotene and Vitamin C have demonstrated, through clinical and scientific studies, a propensity for warding off various cancers and heart disease, reducing arthritis symptoms, and minimizing asthmatic breathing problems.
A surprise nutrient is Vitamin B, especially B1 (thiamine) and B6 (pyridoxine). Thiamine is important for maintaining electrolytes and nervous system signal transmissions throughout the body. Pyridoxine is essential for enzymatic functions that convert food into cellular energy.
The meat or pulp of watermelons is usually pink or red. Those colors indicate the highest content of lycopene, an antioxidant lauded for its ability to greatly minimize cancer risks. From the Worlds' Healthiest Foods website (source below), "... lycopene has been repeatedly studied in humans and found to be protective against a growing list of cancers. These cancers now include prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancers."
Then there are the minerals of potassium and magnesium, which watermelons also offer abundantly. Potassium is important for cardiovascular health and brain health and helps the kidneys eliminate kidney stone forming Calcium as well as assists with the body's Fluid retention.
Magnesium is considered the master mineral. It is involved with over 300 cellular metabolic functions. It happens to be lacking in our diets because of our depleted topsoils. Magnesium deficiencies are directly or indirectly related to most of our population's poor health issues. Obvious symptoms are irritability, tension, sleep disorders, and muscular cramping. After that, it's heart attacks and other serious illnesses.
Picking and Handling Watermelon
Organic watermelons too rare and pricey? Watermelon is among the cleanest 15 commercial agribusiness fruits and vegetables, and it's not part of the dirty dozen of most sprayed.
Sometimes they're cut, so you can avoid any that have some white or light coloring in its pulp. Then you can press lightly at different spots to make sure they're not over ripe while observing the pink/red color quality. Deeper red/pink is better. If they are not cut, pick them up one at a time, holding them on your shoulder and near your ear while knocking on them the way you would knock on someone's door. What you hear should be a somewhat hollow echo. If it goes thunk without as though it solid, that's no good. Too hollow a sound could be less optimum. Trail and error will help you develop the knack for picking the best.
Watermelons don't lose as much nutritional value cut and stored in the fridge as most other produce. But it's wise to pull the piece out long enough for it to go to room temperature. This maximizes its phytonutrient capacity.
So allow yourself to indulge in a great tasting, refreshing, and healthy treat with watermelon whenever you desire.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/029157_watermelon_nutrition.html#ixzz1pusXRo9M

http://www.naturalnews.com/029157_watermelon_nutrition.html

OH YA!!! UH HUH!! OH YA!!! 17 day stall broken!!! I didn't do anything different than I had been doing since the beginning, and today the scale had moved AAAAANNNNDDDD I'm now in Two-WhateverLand!!!! I've been at 300 all this time, and lo and behold!! I'm at 296!! YES!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNDDDD...... I zipped and buttoned a pair of jeans that I haven't worn in years, and two weeks ago they did not fit. I got smaller during the stall, so have heart all you fellow stalled out people! Keep doing what you're doing and it will happen. Here's a couple pics from the beginning to now. 44 lbs later...Do you think there's a difference? (They stacked in the wrong order :/)

I'm a pretty adventurous person - I take calculated risks because I want to live my life to the fullest. I grew up with an older brother whose motto to this day is "Take A Risk". He even has pins with that saying on them and he hands them out to everyone he meets. BUT, for some reason, a few days before my VSG surgery I became really overwhelmed with the idea that I was going to die on the operating table. I knew it was irrational because I had done so much research leading up to that point, but I couldn't shake the feeling. I kept thinking to myself that if I could just survive the surgery (in other words, just wake up from the anesthesia) that I could get through anything else that came along in recovery.
Now, 7 months later, I feel amazing. I KNOW that my life is more fulfilled because the weight is off. I no longer suffer from weight related health issues and I can once again imagine myself living a long life. THE SURGERY DIDN'T LEAD TO MY DEATH - IT LED TO MY LIFE!

I have a NUT and physical trainer appt today! I was officially 1 month post op yesterday and I'm just so happy with how good I am feeling these days :-) I'm down 24 lbs and I'm enjoying getting to eat a little something here and there :-) my weight keeps stalling for a couple days then drops a lb and then stalling a couple more then dropping another lb. however I think I'm gonna put the scale in the closet because honestly, I don't care what it says as long as I'm following the guidelines and I feel great!

I have smoked for 40 years, yes I started at 13, so smoking a pack a cigerettes a day, will not let you run races or ride long distance on a bike. Well because of the surgery, not allowing you to smoke, I had to quit, thinking, as soon as I have this surgery, I will start back to smoking the day after, well I didn't and so I quit labor day weekend, and that was almost 6 months ago. I rode my bike yesterday 10 miles, and felt great, in fact, I can't wait to get off work today, so I can do it again. I have so much happiness, inside me, that I can't remember the last time I frowned, oh yeah, the day before surgery. God Bless all my fellow sleevers, I hope all is going good with you all. Kathy

So I got my Levi's in the mail today from Ebay and they fit great! I had measured myself according to the Levi's website guidelines and it said I was a "slight curve" - the flattest of their fits. I decided to go with my gut and ordered a "bold curve." Lo and behold, it fits like a glove!

YES!!! I recently found Levis at Macys! They now have this new sizing with three different cuts made just for women! Maybe 4: slight curve, demi curve, bold curve, and I believe supreme curve. They go form least to most curvey. I am like you, bigger hips and thighs and very small waist. I go the bold curve. This was the FIRST pair of jeans EVER, any pair of pants actually, that I did not have to alter in the back!!! They just fit!!!!! I am so hoping they have white jeans for summer. Check them out and post what you think! Maybe other brands will now follow along!!!! Here's hoping!!!!