SKCUNNINGHAM

My sleeve loves 1 egg omelets with ham, cheese and mushrooms.
My sleeve hates BBQ brisket. (it's almost of unheard of in Texas not to eat brisket).

I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol for ~10 years pre-surgery, with the medication needs going up. My joints were really bothering me, with arthritis in my feet, left knee and both hands. I was diagnosed wtih sleep apnea the year before surgery, but had had it undiagnosed for a few years before the official diagnosis. And, I had been diagnosed with "metabolic syndrome" which is the precursor to diabetes. My PCP was talking to me about WHEN I had a hear attack, not IF.
The apnea was gone by 6 weeks after surgery. My blood pressure meds were reduced steadily at each doctor's appt, and I have been totally off of them since mid-October. My joints feel much better, except for the foot where the joint is bone on bone. And I am no longer fit the criteria for "metabolic syndrome" and have no problems with my blood sugar.
Cholesterol is slightly above 200 - but it is not what I am eating, it is hereditary. I am working through adding things into my diet to see if I can lower it without statins.

Great topic and some wonderful answers!
The first thing I "CAN DO" is I have stopped feeling like a failure. I am a blessed woman with a loving family, successful in my career and doing OK financially. But I have always felt like a failure because I could not control my weight. That miserable feeling of being a failure is gone. I have a paperweight on my desk - a three dimensional rectangle that has inscribed on it "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?" I feel that way now - there is nothing I can't do and be successful doing.

Hey everyone!!! IT'S FEEL GOOD FRIDAY!!! It's been a long time, but it's time to get back to positivity and seeing the forest for the trees.
Tell me, what is that one thing that you are SO PROUD you can do now that you've lost some weight with your VSG, that you were unable to do before?
For me, I'd say its all internal. I have found a voice within me I never knew existed. I feel like I constantly have to express how wonderful WLS is - it has given so many their lives back. Giving encouragement and always reminding everyone living the day to day with it that though perhaps your one moment may not be the greatest, don't forget the positives you are living because of it.
HAPPY FEEL GOOD FRIDAY Y'ALL!!!!!

Recently I have been really concerned with sagging skin, so I thought doing weights in the gym after surgery would help with that. I have read some previous posts, and just wanted to ask if carbs before the weights, Protein after is the way to go? I don't want to bulk up, I am aiming for toned, and reducing skin sagging as much as possible. Also, does the resistance band workout work as well as weights? or stick to weights?
Thank you in advance!!! =)

Happy Thanksgiving
I am so Thankfull for my sleeve and have great news as of this morning I have lost 201 pounds. I lost 50 before surgery. And 151 since my sleeve on April 7 of this year. I am 50 and feel 20 again

Went for my official 9 month follow up with my PCP. The routine is put your stuff in a room and then come weigh. They have a traditional post and beam type scale, where you slide the weights back and forth until it balances.
So yesterday, this is how it went.
I rushed into the exam room, dropped my purse and jacket and hopped up on the exam table (impossible for me to "hop" up there 9 months ago) to take off my Nehi grape colored high top Chucks. Thunk, Thunk, the shoes drop to the floor. I jump down from the table and rush back into the hall to the scale. The nurse slides the weight to 150 and it is TOO MUCH. So she lets me move the big weight from 150 to 100, then move the smaller sliding along the bar to settle on 147. I step off the scale and do a happy dance standing there next too her. Probably startled a few folks, seeing a grown woman with peacock blue socks on her feet doing an impromptu dance at the scale.
I know I have been below 150 for about a week, because I could tell from my scale at home what the doctor's scale would say - but seeing it on the official scale - and actually balancing the weights is MUCH MORE satisfying to me than stepping on my scale at home. Nine months of work, summed up on the scale in front of my face.
And the icing on the cake was when the doc told me she had removed "obesity" from my diagnosis in her records. She told me it no longer applied to me. :-)
All my bloodwork was great - except my total cholesterol is over 200 at 233. I think it is because of heredity - not anything I am eating. But, I am going to up my exercise (haven't been doing much) and start working oatmeal in to my diet to see if I can lower the overall number and raise the good number before my one year checkup. I don't want to go back on a statin drug.
Life is Good!

Went for my official 9 month follow up with my PCP. The routine is put your stuff in a room and then come weigh. They have a traditional post and beam type scale, where you slide the weights back and forth until it balances.
So yesterday, this is how it went.
I rushed into the exam room, dropped my purse and jacket and hopped up on the exam table (impossible for me to "hop" up there 9 months ago) to take off my Nehi grape colored high top Chucks. Thunk, Thunk, the shoes drop to the floor. I jump down from the table and rush back into the hall to the scale. The nurse slides the weight to 150 and it is TOO MUCH. So she lets me move the big weight from 150 to 100, then move the smaller sliding along the bar to settle on 147. I step off the scale and do a happy dance standing there next too her. Probably startled a few folks, seeing a grown woman with peacock blue socks on her feet doing an impromptu dance at the scale.
I know I have been below 150 for about a week, because I could tell from my scale at home what the doctor's scale would say - but seeing it on the official scale - and actually balancing the weights is MUCH MORE satisfying to me than stepping on my scale at home. Nine months of work, summed up on the scale in front of my face.
And the icing on the cake was when the doc told me she had removed "obesity" from my diagnosis in her records. She told me it no longer applied to me. :-)
All my bloodwork was great - except my total cholesterol is over 200 at 233. I think it is because of heredity - not anything I am eating. But, I am going to up my exercise (haven't been doing much) and start working oatmeal in to my diet to see if I can lower the overall number and raise the good number before my one year checkup. I don't want to go back on a statin drug.
Life is Good!

These are the foods I have in my credenza in my office:
Crystal lite packets of assorted flavors to add to bottled Water
Hot tea and no cal sweetener to make hot tea (instead of those to die for coffee drinks)
ready made EAS Protein drinks (low carb) in chocolate and vanilla
foil packages of tuna
foil packages of salmon
small cans of green Beans with a pop top.
flatbread crisp crackers
individual packages of Jerky (costco special)
plastic fork knife and spoon
small plastic plates
small glad container with lid (to make chicken salad in)
In my fridge at work I have:
baby bell cheese
laughing cow cheese (to spread on the flatbread crisps)
sugar snap peas
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
low cal miracle whip
shrimp sauce
dill relish
With my stash of food, I can eat lunch at my desk and not have to be tempted. I make chicken salad with 1 packet of the tuna, some dill relish and the lite miracle whip. If I can't fininsh the serving, I snap the lid on the glad container and it goes in the fridge. For veggies, I either have green Beans or one of the fresh veggies. I can also take the laughing cow and spread it on the crackers for lunch. The baby bell cheese or Jerky I use as Protein Snacks primarily, although I have had them for lunch. If I want a veggie snack, I can take a few of the fresh veggies. If I want, I dip them in a small amount of shrimp sauce. I live a long way from my office and stay at a hotel a couple of nites a week. I take food and have it in my hotel room, if I don't want to eat in a restaurant. I use the Protein Drinks for Breakfast, although sometime if I am rushed I will use them for lunch or dinner.
I eat in restaurants a lot, but I feel better knowing I am a self-sufficient island when it comes to food. If I'm feeling tempted, I can always retreat to my island.
If I want to indulge in something that is not really good for me, I decide up-front what I will allow myself to have. (say, 1/4 of a donut, or 1 cookie). Put it on a plate, move away from the rest of the food, sit down, and eat the treat. Really focus on the food - the taste, the feel, the entire experience. It may be wonderful, or it may disgust you and you spit it out. Either way, don't wolf it down guiltily. Food is something we now consciously choose to eat.
Good Luck with all the land-mines of food during the holidays. It is a challenge for me, too. I keep reminding myself "food has no power over me, I am in control of what I choose to put in my mouth."
Sharon

Irene, you are amazing! You are a beautiful, tiny woman. So, if you are going to continue to get smaller as your swelling goes down, are there sizes smaller than a zero? That end of scale was not something I was ever familiar with. :-)

Asking me to pretend to have surgery would have been just as successful for me as abstinence as a form of birth control. I could be successful for short stints, but not the rest of my life.
(that, of course, applied when I was young and had to worry about birth control - happily that worry is LONG past).

Went for my official 9 month follow up with my PCP. The routine is put your stuff in a room and then come weigh. They have a traditional post and beam type scale, where you slide the weights back and forth until it balances.
So yesterday, this is how it went.
I rushed into the exam room, dropped my purse and jacket and hopped up on the exam table (impossible for me to "hop" up there 9 months ago) to take off my Nehi grape colored high top Chucks. Thunk, Thunk, the shoes drop to the floor. I jump down from the table and rush back into the hall to the scale. The nurse slides the weight to 150 and it is TOO MUCH. So she lets me move the big weight from 150 to 100, then move the smaller sliding along the bar to settle on 147. I step off the scale and do a happy dance standing there next too her. Probably startled a few folks, seeing a grown woman with peacock blue socks on her feet doing an impromptu dance at the scale.
I know I have been below 150 for about a week, because I could tell from my scale at home what the doctor's scale would say - but seeing it on the official scale - and actually balancing the weights is MUCH MORE satisfying to me than stepping on my scale at home. Nine months of work, summed up on the scale in front of my face.
And the icing on the cake was when the doc told me she had removed "obesity" from my diagnosis in her records. She told me it no longer applied to me. :-)
All my bloodwork was great - except my total cholesterol is over 200 at 233. I think it is because of heredity - not anything I am eating. But, I am going to up my exercise (haven't been doing much) and start working oatmeal in to my diet to see if I can lower the overall number and raise the good number before my one year checkup. I don't want to go back on a statin drug.
Life is Good!

Went for my official 9 month follow up with my PCP. The routine is put your stuff in a room and then come weigh. They have a traditional post and beam type scale, where you slide the weights back and forth until it balances.
So yesterday, this is how it went.
I rushed into the exam room, dropped my purse and jacket and hopped up on the exam table (impossible for me to "hop" up there 9 months ago) to take off my Nehi grape colored high top Chucks. Thunk, Thunk, the shoes drop to the floor. I jump down from the table and rush back into the hall to the scale. The nurse slides the weight to 150 and it is TOO MUCH. So she lets me move the big weight from 150 to 100, then move the smaller sliding along the bar to settle on 147. I step off the scale and do a happy dance standing there next too her. Probably startled a few folks, seeing a grown woman with peacock blue socks on her feet doing an impromptu dance at the scale.
I know I have been below 150 for about a week, because I could tell from my scale at home what the doctor's scale would say - but seeing it on the official scale - and actually balancing the weights is MUCH MORE satisfying to me than stepping on my scale at home. Nine months of work, summed up on the scale in front of my face.
And the icing on the cake was when the doc told me she had removed "obesity" from my diagnosis in her records. She told me it no longer applied to me. :-)
All my bloodwork was great - except my total cholesterol is over 200 at 233. I think it is because of heredity - not anything I am eating. But, I am going to up my exercise (haven't been doing much) and start working oatmeal in to my diet to see if I can lower the overall number and raise the good number before my one year checkup. I don't want to go back on a statin drug.
Life is Good!

These are the foods I have in my credenza in my office:
Crystal lite packets of assorted flavors to add to bottled Water
Hot tea and no cal sweetener to make hot tea (instead of those to die for coffee drinks)
ready made EAS Protein drinks (low carb) in chocolate and vanilla
foil packages of tuna
foil packages of salmon
small cans of green Beans with a pop top.
flatbread crisp crackers
individual packages of Jerky (costco special)
plastic fork knife and spoon
small plastic plates
small glad container with lid (to make chicken salad in)
In my fridge at work I have:
baby bell cheese
laughing cow cheese (to spread on the flatbread crisps)
sugar snap peas
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
low cal miracle whip
shrimp sauce
dill relish
With my stash of food, I can eat lunch at my desk and not have to be tempted. I make chicken salad with 1 packet of the tuna, some dill relish and the lite miracle whip. If I can't fininsh the serving, I snap the lid on the glad container and it goes in the fridge. For veggies, I either have green Beans or one of the fresh veggies. I can also take the laughing cow and spread it on the crackers for lunch. The baby bell cheese or Jerky I use as Protein Snacks primarily, although I have had them for lunch. If I want a veggie snack, I can take a few of the fresh veggies. If I want, I dip them in a small amount of shrimp sauce. I live a long way from my office and stay at a hotel a couple of nites a week. I take food and have it in my hotel room, if I don't want to eat in a restaurant. I use the Protein Drinks for Breakfast, although sometime if I am rushed I will use them for lunch or dinner.
I eat in restaurants a lot, but I feel better knowing I am a self-sufficient island when it comes to food. If I'm feeling tempted, I can always retreat to my island.
If I want to indulge in something that is not really good for me, I decide up-front what I will allow myself to have. (say, 1/4 of a donut, or 1 cookie). Put it on a plate, move away from the rest of the food, sit down, and eat the treat. Really focus on the food - the taste, the feel, the entire experience. It may be wonderful, or it may disgust you and you spit it out. Either way, don't wolf it down guiltily. Food is something we now consciously choose to eat.
Good Luck with all the land-mines of food during the holidays. It is a challenge for me, too. I keep reminding myself "food has no power over me, I am in control of what I choose to put in my mouth."
Sharon

http://www.healthche...weightchart.htm
The link above is from the Metropolitan Life Insurance company - it is their official height / weight tables. It lists the target weight ranges for women assuming 3 lbs of clothing wearing 1" heals. It also lists the ranges by frame size (small, medium and large). If you don't know your frame size - it also tells you how to measure and determine that - by using the distance between the two prominent bones in your elbow when your arm is bent at a 90 degree angle to your body.
So first, determine your frame size. Then, find your target weight range from the chart. Determine how much weight there is from where you started to both the top and bottom of the target weight range. That would be the high and low numbers for how much excess weight you started with. My surgeon told me a VSG sleve patient usually losing 85% of their excess weight in the first year. So take 85% of both your excess weight numbers and subtract that from your original weight. That will give you your high and low numbers for how much weight you will probably lose in the first year.
Here's an example using my numbers:
I started out weighing 253. I am 5'4 barefoot
Using the method described on the link, I measured the distance between the two bones in my elbow at 2". This means I have a small frame (hard to believe).
Going to the chart for height and weight, a 5'5" women with a small frame should weigh 117 - 130.
That means I was carrying between 122 to 136 pounds of excess weight. (253-130=122, 253-117=136)
85% of these numbers are 104 and 116 pounds projected weight loss at one year (85% *122=104, 85%*136=116 both numbers rounded up)
So my goal weight for one year is most likely between 137 and 149.
Hope this helps

These are the foods I have in my credenza in my office:
Crystal lite packets of assorted flavors to add to bottled Water
Hot tea and no cal sweetener to make hot tea (instead of those to die for coffee drinks)
ready made EAS Protein drinks (low carb) in chocolate and vanilla
foil packages of tuna
foil packages of salmon
small cans of green Beans with a pop top.
flatbread crisp crackers
individual packages of Jerky (costco special)
plastic fork knife and spoon
small plastic plates
small glad container with lid (to make chicken salad in)
In my fridge at work I have:
baby bell cheese
laughing cow cheese (to spread on the flatbread crisps)
sugar snap peas
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
low cal miracle whip
shrimp sauce
dill relish
With my stash of food, I can eat lunch at my desk and not have to be tempted. I make chicken salad with 1 packet of the tuna, some dill relish and the lite miracle whip. If I can't fininsh the serving, I snap the lid on the glad container and it goes in the fridge. For veggies, I either have green Beans or one of the fresh veggies. I can also take the laughing cow and spread it on the crackers for lunch. The baby bell cheese or Jerky I use as Protein Snacks primarily, although I have had them for lunch. If I want a veggie snack, I can take a few of the fresh veggies. If I want, I dip them in a small amount of shrimp sauce. I live a long way from my office and stay at a hotel a couple of nites a week. I take food and have it in my hotel room, if I don't want to eat in a restaurant. I use the Protein Drinks for Breakfast, although sometime if I am rushed I will use them for lunch or dinner.
I eat in restaurants a lot, but I feel better knowing I am a self-sufficient island when it comes to food. If I'm feeling tempted, I can always retreat to my island.
If I want to indulge in something that is not really good for me, I decide up-front what I will allow myself to have. (say, 1/4 of a donut, or 1 cookie). Put it on a plate, move away from the rest of the food, sit down, and eat the treat. Really focus on the food - the taste, the feel, the entire experience. It may be wonderful, or it may disgust you and you spit it out. Either way, don't wolf it down guiltily. Food is something we now consciously choose to eat.
Good Luck with all the land-mines of food during the holidays. It is a challenge for me, too. I keep reminding myself "food has no power over me, I am in control of what I choose to put in my mouth."
Sharon

Let's see - "Downside" of the sleeve:
- You will be tempted to spend $$$ buying a wardrobe of new, sexy clothes once you get to goal (in additon to all of the in between sizes)
- You will spend a bunch of time going through your old clothes to find what fits, and getting rid of "fat" clothes and you shrink out of them
- You will get LOTS OF ATTENTION as you are shrinking (and when you are at goal - I'm not there yet).
- You will be COLD - but sweaters look really nice on thin people!
I think these are the "worst" of it. I LOVE MY SLEEVE.

I measure once a month. This morning, for the first time I can remember, my BELLY measurement (the biggest part of my lower abdomen) is not larger than my HIP meaurement (the biggest part of the hip area including my butt)! Yea! It measured the same. Maybe next month it will even get to be smaller than my hips (here's hoping!). No wonder my pants are fitting better.
My belly measurement started out a whopping 49.5". Now it is 36" - not tiny by any means, but getting there.
My hip measurement started out at 48". Now they are at the same 36".
Since I am in my last 13 pounds, I am really starting to focus on doing toning / firming exercises, and will be trying to whittle my waist down. Since my ankle is stronger now after recovering from the bad sprain, I am going back to Zumba - that should get my waist smaller.
For you new folks, take your measurements before you start losing. Sometimes, the measuring tape can really show your loss better than the scale does.

I think what you are feeling is the effects of the surgery and excess acid in the stomach. Are you on meds for acid? The thing that made my hungry feeling go away was warm liquids (broth or tea) and a GASX strip along with the warm beverage. I was taking Famotidine (Pepcid) morning and evening and a prilosec at night. If you work to get your liquids in (64) and try to get your grams of Protein (60) in, and you get your acid under control your hungry feelings should subside. I think the acidy/ crampy feeling, combined with head-hunger is what you are experiencing. ,

I am sorry your feelings are so hurt, this just sucks. i have to tell you though, maybe in some kind of strange way this is a good learning experience. A friend of mind has a saying "you don't have to get on the crazy bus" meaning, it is your choice in how to react to someone's meanness (hysteria, irrationality or whatever it is).
This woman has some kind of game she is playing and she has reeled you in! I personally think that the next time she wants to discuss your size, your weight, your clothing, giving you clothing or really anything of a personal nature related you should just politely tell her to "get lost". By politely tell her i mean something like saying "no thank you, I am not interested". Or when she asks you about weight loss say something like "I am really happy with my progress" and just walk away. It will drive her bonkers as you won't be so much fun to toy with anymore, but she'll get over it and move on.
Next time she hurts your feelings and you just politely say "no thanks"... just visualize that crazy bus driving off without you and don't give her another thought. And part two of my friend's saying "don't worry, another crazy bus will come along soon, you aren't missing out"

I would recommend pulling up your big girl panties and go be social with your friends. Visit, laugh, talk to them like normal - just don't eat. If someone asks why you aren't eating, another good lie to tell them is that you are fasting today due to medical tests the next day (everyone understands prepping for certain tests - colonoscopies, for example). Deflect the questions about you with questions about how they are going to Celebrate their holdiay. People love to talk about themselves more than wonder why you are doing or not doing something.
Have a clear image in mind of something you want to do or wear when you are at your goal weight before you go be around the food. If you indulge in the food, you will be that much further from what it is you desire. Nothing you can put in your mouth will make you feel as good as being thin will. A moment of fleeting pleasure from food is nowhere near as satisfying as knocking down the barriers that stand between you and being at your goal weight.
Try to enjoy the holiday - as I few days where we focus on being thankful for the blessings we have received. There are many things I am thankful for besides being able (or not able) to eat a huge meal. You have a wonderful thing to be thankful for - you have been approved for surgery! YEA!! You have been given the key to join the "skinny" people - it just requires you to perform certain tasks - like your preop prep diet.
Hope this doesn't seem harsh - I don't mean to be. Preop is not easy - the "head" part of the preop is much harder than what you aren't eating. The "head" part after surgery is much harder than the eating part, too. Try to get a handle on being around food and not letting it bother you. The sooner you can master this, the better for your success.
Good luck.
Sharon

Nine months ago today I had my sleeve surgery with Dr. Nick at the Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas. Highest weight (a year ago Septmeber was ~265. My start weight was 253, my weight Day of Surgery was 241. I now weigh 150 pounds, with 15 pounds to go to goal. My highest BMI wass 44.7 -now I'm at 25.3 - almost in the normal range!
I have lost 13.5" from my waist and 11.5" from my hips. I was in a 24W or 3X top, now I am wearing 12 Petites and a Medium top.
This nine months have been spent learning - learning how to make the sleeve work for me, learning how to handle stress without shoving food into my mouth, learning how to relate to food in a totally different way.
I still have a ways to go to cope with being a "normal size" food addict (kind of like a "dry" drunk) but life is really good now.
I have the confidence to jump into the job market. My company is offering me early retirement with a settlement, so I am going to take it and get back in the job market. I already have some companies interested in hiring me, but I know that is a long way from having a new job (yet). I don't think I would have put myself on the market this way if I had still been morbidly obese as I was before my sleeve. I am keeping my fingers crossed until I get a new job!
Thanks to all of you on this forum who have given me support and encoragement during my journey. It has really helped. I wish all of you continued success with your individual sleeve journies, and also a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.
Sharon
NB - I have attached a picture from today and one from about 2 weeks after my surgery.

I would recommend pulling up your big girl panties and go be social with your friends. Visit, laugh, talk to them like normal - just don't eat. If someone asks why you aren't eating, another good lie to tell them is that you are fasting today due to medical tests the next day (everyone understands prepping for certain tests - colonoscopies, for example). Deflect the questions about you with questions about how they are going to Celebrate their holdiay. People love to talk about themselves more than wonder why you are doing or not doing something.
Have a clear image in mind of something you want to do or wear when you are at your goal weight before you go be around the food. If you indulge in the food, you will be that much further from what it is you desire. Nothing you can put in your mouth will make you feel as good as being thin will. A moment of fleeting pleasure from food is nowhere near as satisfying as knocking down the barriers that stand between you and being at your goal weight.
Try to enjoy the holiday - as I few days where we focus on being thankful for the blessings we have received. There are many things I am thankful for besides being able (or not able) to eat a huge meal. You have a wonderful thing to be thankful for - you have been approved for surgery! YEA!! You have been given the key to join the "skinny" people - it just requires you to perform certain tasks - like your preop prep diet.
Hope this doesn't seem harsh - I don't mean to be. Preop is not easy - the "head" part of the preop is much harder than what you aren't eating. The "head" part after surgery is much harder than the eating part, too. Try to get a handle on being around food and not letting it bother you. The sooner you can master this, the better for your success.
Good luck.
Sharon

I can relate to this post. People are telling me I have lost enough weight. I am not even in the normal BMI range yet!I still weigh 150 pounds - I don't think that is "skinny" on a person who is 5'4" tall. I remember when I graduated high school at 135 pounds - my (soon to be ex)boyfriend at the time told me I would be much prettier if I would lose some weight. (SIDEBAR: I also remember at that size, I wore 12's and 14's - and now I am into 10's and 12's. So there is definatley something to this vanity sizing these days.) Someone told me "you don't need to lose any weight, your husband loves you the way you are". While that statement is true (about him loving me), he also loved me 103 pounds ago - so that is not a determinate of my stopping point. That person was well-intentioned, unlike some of the jealous nozy people who make some of the rude and stupid comments mentioned by posters on this thread.
It was nice attending a class last week where no one had ever met me before. They just thought I was a normal person - not some ex-fat person who needs to be watched like an animal in the zoo.

Nine months ago today I had my sleeve surgery with Dr. Nick at the Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas. Highest weight (a year ago Septmeber was ~265. My start weight was 253, my weight Day of Surgery was 241. I now weigh 150 pounds, with 15 pounds to go to goal. My highest BMI wass 44.7 -now I'm at 25.3 - almost in the normal range!
I have lost 13.5" from my waist and 11.5" from my hips. I was in a 24W or 3X top, now I am wearing 12 Petites and a Medium top.
This nine months have been spent learning - learning how to make the sleeve work for me, learning how to handle stress without shoving food into my mouth, learning how to relate to food in a totally different way.
I still have a ways to go to cope with being a "normal size" food addict (kind of like a "dry" drunk) but life is really good now.
I have the confidence to jump into the job market. My company is offering me early retirement with a settlement, so I am going to take it and get back in the job market. I already have some companies interested in hiring me, but I know that is a long way from having a new job (yet). I don't think I would have put myself on the market this way if I had still been morbidly obese as I was before my sleeve. I am keeping my fingers crossed until I get a new job!
Thanks to all of you on this forum who have given me support and encoragement during my journey. It has really helped. I wish all of you continued success with your individual sleeve journies, and also a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.
Sharon
NB - I have attached a picture from today and one from about 2 weeks after my surgery.