SKCUNNINGHAM

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! (that is a 21 gun salute). Congratulations on hitting goal! I hope to be joining you soon. Are you going to post before and after pics?

Even if you never liked meat before, now that you are sleeved, your tastes may be changing. There are easy sources of Protein that are fast to prepare - salmon, shrimp, scallops, omelets to name a few. There are easy dishes for the crockpot, too. If you must eat in the evening, limit yourself to things that won't negatively impact your eating plan. Keep raw sugar snap peas on hand (I keep a bag of them in my fridge). If you are dying to crunch on something, have them. And, I always have SF popsicles on hand, too. Good luck.

I'm sorry your home life is so stressful and non-supportive. My recommendation - focus on what you have to do for YOU to be successfull. Tell her you are there for her if she wants your help (which she obviously doesn't at this point). Don't let her sway you from your course. Good luck.

You are not alone. As you lose those fat cells that made up your 100 pound loss, the estrogen that was stored in the fat cells is released into your bloodstream. Hello mood swings! It was like being in the worst of puberty again for me. I cycled between happy, sad, and ANGRY! Thankfully, the side effects tapered off after a while. The hormones effect different people differently. I am in my fifties and have had a hysterectomy - so it didn't cause changes in my monthly cycle. Younger women's cycles frequency changes - either comes more often, or stays longer, or a combo of the two. Don't have any magic answers to make them go away. Just wanted you to know you aren't alone. Good luck and congratulations on the 100 pound loss!

Just keep focused on doing what you know is good for you, and Celebrate your successes. Don't let a bunch of jealous women affect how you feel. Congratulations on your results! We here on the forum know how hard it is to effect real change in your life. Way to go!

Looking good, young man! You have ROCKED your sleeve.

You are doing great! My surgery date was 2/22 so I am almost 8 months out. I have lost 99 pounds as of today - but that includes the 12 pounds I lost on the 2 week preop diet. We all lose at different rates, so don't drive yourself crazy comparing yourself to others. Focus on all the good stuff that has happened to you. Continue to practice the good habits that got you to where you are: eating sufficient Protein, eating protein first, drinking your fluids, not drinking when you eat, exercising, and staying away from slider foods. This isn't a race to see who loses weight the fastest - if this WERE a contest - the race I would want to win is who stays at goal weight the LONGEST. I know it's going to take a while to get to goal - but as long as I am moving in that direction - I am OK with the pace. Be good to yourself - and good luck with the rest of the journey.

Yes, yes, a 100 times yes. I am down 99 pounds in almost 8 months. I am off of all cholesterol meds, 75% of blood pressure meds, cured of sleep apnea, and my joints don't hurt like they used to. My doctor is not saying things to me like "when you have a heart attack" anymore. I have a good chance of living to see my grandchildren grow up and maybe live to retirement. I am enjoying life a lot more than 8 months ago.

I applaud your desire to get control of your problem with your weight at such a young age. . It sounds like you definitely have problems with how you relate to food - and since your father is/was obese also, there may be food issues in your family dynamics. Have you thought about working with a counselor and focusing on changing your behaviors? Finding out why you have been dieting and gain and losing since age 9? The sleeve is a great tool for helping obese people lose weight - but for those of us with significant problems with how we relate to food - it isn't the magic wand that solves all of our problems. We also have to find out why we abused food, and find other ways to cope when food is no longer there as our emotional crutch. I am not trying to talk you out of pursuing the sleeve - I just think there are other things you could focus on, that if you get in control, might make the sleeve not necessary. Good Luck.

Kind of a long story - Six years ago I was in a car wreck that totalled my car. I severely damaged the ligaments in my right ankle - all three that attach the foot to the ankle. I am left with an ankle that rolls over on me with the slightest provocation. For the past six years I have slowly been adapting my life to dealing with my ankle. I gave up wearing any shoes except tennis shoes with my custom orthotics. Even flat womens shoes make my ankle ache by the end of the day. I normally wear some kind of ankle brace every day - depending on what I am planning on doing. I have about every kind on the market. Driving any distance makes it ache (I commute two hours each way to work). I have sprained my ankle at least once a year (sometimes more) since the original injury and it takes a month or two to get back to my "normal". I have a low level of pain all the time. Imagine a radio playing static at a low volume in the background 24 hours a day. I can mentally block the pain, but it is always there. Over the years, I have done less and less physical things that might cause me to sprain my ankle. While I was morbidly obese, I had a fear I would sprain my ankle and do major damage (broken bones, etc) to other parts of my body when I did it. So seven months ago I was sleeved. I am approaching my goal and feeling great. Two months ago I sprained my ankle, stepping off of a step while cleaning a closet getting rid of "fat" clothes. No more Zumba (I always wore a brace and was REALLY careful there). One month in a boot cast, one month is a stabilizer and now I am in physical therapy. The good news, I have strong ankle muscles that compensate somewhat for the shot tendons. The bad news? I have NO STABILITY in the muscles. I can not stand on my right foot with the left foot off the ground and stay balanced. Without strength and stability I am doomed to repeating the same situation that I have been. Now that I am a normal weight, I could have a harvest graft tendon surgery to rebuild my tendons in the ankle.(There really was no point in going down this path before.) Have a great surgeon who has been taking care of my foot and ankle for 20+ years that has successful history with the surgery. The downside is, the surgery is not easy. It is three months not putting any weight on the foot. That means crutches or one of those rolling gadgets, no driving, and working remotely after the initial recovery. Then three months in a boot cast, then a long bout of physical therapy. After a year, you are as recovered as you will be. I know at some point, I will likely have to have this surgery. There are insurance reasons that are encouraging me to have it this year or next at the latest. (in 2013, I will have a $10,000 deductible) My questions are, has anyone on this site had their ankle tendons rebuilt? Any good news on functionality afterwards? Also, I want to have a tummy tuck. What about having it while recovering from ankle surgery (or under the same anasthesia - the same day) and doing both recoveries at the same time? I'm looking for opinions here - I welcome comments.

Once when I was thin and a gym-rat, I had a personal trainer I worked out with for a year. He was young, buff and in incredible shape. (I found looking at eye-candy motivated me to exercise.) Anyway, he had plantar fasciitis. If he can get it, I think it could happen to anyone. Although like all musclo-skeletal issues, it probably will get better if a heavy person who has it loses weight.

You look wonderful - THIN, BEAUTIFUL, YOUNG, and HAPPY! Congratulations! *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP* (that's a standing ovation)

Great job! And, your pants will fall off - I recommend buying an assortment of belts. I was home one day in some jeans that had gotten baggy and didn't bother with a belt. I stretched up to get something off of a high shelf (I'm short) and my jeans fell totally to the floor! Glad I wasn't entertaining company at the time. You are on a fun journey! The good stuff is already happening. Have fun.

Those things will certianly help. I also take Biotin, and wash with Nioxin shampoo. I still have some hair loss, but I have a crop of new growth (I'm at 7 months). Good luck!

First of all, give yourself a break and focus on healing. You have had amazing success losing weight. If your body needs to stay at 210 -213 until you get over your injury, I would try not to stress on it. Delay making any decisions on where you want to end up for your goal weight until you are feeling back 100% are are able to exercise at your normal level. I think your body is resisting losing while it is injured. And, you may have hit a weight that your body perceives as a natural set point for you. Those are hard to get past (in my opinion). I am sort of in the same boat - I damaged the ligaments in my right ankle over two months ago. I had a boot cast for a month, then an akle stabilizer for a month, and tomorrow it is back to the ortho for anotther reveiw. I am doing PT now 2-3 times per week. I can start now using my elliptical, but no Zumba. I could probably swim (like you) if I can find a spot to do that. I am 21 pounds from where my ultimate goal is. I am trying not to get super stressed about the dramatic slowing of my weight loss - and it is now bouncing around a 2 pound range. I'm not unhappy with my current size, but do want to get to my goal. Rootman, I really admire what you have done - how about not decing if ithis is the end of your journey - just think of it as a place on the journey you might stay for awhile?

I had this side effect. I was low on iron, I was low on B-12, and I had to cut my blood pressure medicine in half.

For those of you who think my loss has not been fast - I have not been exercising like some people do with the sleeve. I did light walking daily, and a weekly Zumba class, and some sessions on my elliptical. But not a daily strenuous workout - and I have done NO exercise since I blew out my ankle about two months ago. Even with that, I have lost 96 pounds in 7+ months. I agree with Norman, if you exercise more, your metabolism will be higher and you will lose faster. I also agree with forensikchic that this is a tool (the best I have ever had) to lose weight. My goal was never to see how fast I could get to goal - my goal is to get to my goal weight and stay there. I know I can lose the weight I want - this is the FIFTH time I will have lost 100 pounds. Obviously, my problem is keeping the d**n weight off for longer than 18 months at a time. I am now rehabbing my ankle and am starting to be able to exercise. I will be adding more exercise sessions to my weekly routine, which will help in my push to lose the last 21 pounds more quickly. Then maintenance comes. That's the hard part for me.

Doug - congratulations - on achieving your weight loss and on beating your demons. I wish you continued success in whatever you set your formidable mind to - I have NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER you will achieve it. You are an amazing man. And I second the previous comment, you have a flare for storytelling - you might consider looking for an outlet for that gift - maybe as a motivational speaker? I bet you would be great at that. Take care Sharon

My type is INTJIntrovertedIntuitiveThinkingJudgingStrength of the preferences % 1125144I am a: slightly expressed introvert moderately expressed intuitive personality slightly expressed thinking personality moderately expressed judging personality One of the career choices they recommend is engineer - nice - since I've been a practicing engineer for 30+ years.

I think it is different for different people. If the group of people who you spend time with socially only socialize based on eating food to excess, you may want to change the people you socialize with. It would be like alcoholics who give up drinking or drug addicts who give up the drugs not socializing with their previous drinking / drugging buddies. Other than that - I don't think your best friend and sister should be concerned. Good Luck with the journey! I have never been happier.

I would be hesitant with much raw celery. I made myself really uncomfortable with too much raw celery chopped into a chicken salad. I chop my salad greens and the other veggies pretty small. I put in a lot of other veggies and relatively not a lot of lettuce / spinach / etc. I didn't start eating lettuce until about 3 months out. I also do not eat lots of raw broccoli or cauliflower, but I do eat them both.

I inadvertently bought some fruity no caloric beverages that were carbonated, and didn't notice until I was drinking on in my car (opened it on the trip). It was uncomfortable for me to drink the bubbly stuff. No matter what my surgeon said (yes or no) I am going to leave the stuff alone.

I inadvertently bought some fruity no caloric beverages that were carbonated, and didn't notice until I was drinking on in my car (opened it on the trip). It was uncomfortable for me to drink the bubbly stuff. No matter what my surgeon said (yes or no) I am going to leave the stuff alone.

No one ever checked on me to see if I was actually using the machine. I was diagnosed as needing the machine - got it - and put it on the floor of my closet. Shortly after surgery, when the first 30 or so pounds were gone, my husband said I was sleeping like a baby and had no more signs of apnea. Ask your surgeon what he would reccomend you do.

I recommend staying with your doctor's plan. Your sleeve is still swollen and you don't want to progress too fast and break through your stitch line. When I was at your stage, I started my anti acid medicine and would use warm broth to combat that feeling (which for me was acid, not hunger). Talk to your surgeon or nutritionist. Good Luck.