Amanda 3.0

Pedicures are a great decadent celebration. Will your husband go with you? Mine will. Some men do that.

I have the same difficulties! It is really hard, but I go ahead and donate the clothes to a non-profit where they have a hard time getting clothes. I wait until is is ridiculous for me to wear them in public anymore though, because I am very frugal. With the jeans, I may wear them five or ten times and then I am done with them. There is a lady out there who needs them more than I do. We hold onto the larger sizes because we are used to failing. I worry too, but I think it is okay to get rid of the clothes.

I "liked" your post because of the bravery, not because of the pain. But, while it is obvious that your breakup is extremely painful for both of you, and he got very mean, I think you are so smart and kind to do this rather than to lead him on. Or, to stay in a relationship, "just because". You, and hopefully he, will find soul mates in the very near future.

Congrats to you! I relate to your NSVs. A glamour shot? That is a huge NSV. I hope you post it here when you do it. I let my friend take a photo of me today. It was scary, but it felt so good to not be afraid. Celebrate every moment of your new life!

I took advantage of my coupon. Definitely a good reminder! Thank you.

I've been married for about 12 years now. I am still very physically attracted to my husband, although he has gained some weight. His weight fluctuates though. Prior to my marriage, I lived with a guy, and even relocated 1500 miles to be with him. Here is what I learned from that: If you are not married, and you are not attracted (physically) to your mate, you should move on. You can say you will rely on him being a "nice guy" or having the best sense of humor, whatever, but in reality, physical attraction does matter. Especially in the early years. You have to decide what is important to you. If an attractive and trim mate is important, then you should seek that. If he plans to get married in Antarctica, and you are not sure, then the trip sounds like hell for both of you. $3,000 is a lot of money for a trip, but in the big scheme of things, you will recover from the $3,000 loss pretty quick. Don't make a life decision based upon $3,000.

I just have to warn you - I admitted to the psychiatrist that I had intentionally thrown up a few times and had to have additional counseling before being approved for surgery. You can really hurt yourself by throwing up after this surgery. They told me that if I did this I could die. Be patient. The stall will break and the weight will come off. I have stalls all the time, but then all of a sudden I will lose a few pounds overnight. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Hang in there, and best to you!

Post surgery, I was also dreaming of an egg. Five weeks after surgery, when I was allowed soft foods, I tried the egg and it was awful. It didn't work for me at all. At just over four months out I can now eat an egg. Just give it time. A lot of things will change. I can't believe I had a piece of (thin crust) pizza yesterday. Of course it was over two meals, but I ate a piece of pizza, and without pain!

Agree with Lissa as usual. I also add my Protein Powder to my coffee. I use my Blender Bottle cup: pour my coffee in the cup and leave it for a little while, come back and add the protein powder, put the lid on an shake. I don't add creamer, sugar, or anything else. But, I only let the coffee cool because otherwise the blender bottle will leak a bit from the pressure of the hot coffee. Muscle Milk powder blends very well in hot coffee, as does their Cytosport product. I am currently using the Cytosport vanilla in my coffee and when I run out of this, I will try the chocolate Cytosport. A 34g scoop contains 27g protein, got it at costco (cannot recall the price).

I am at four months post op, although it seems longer, and I have added cashews and occasional almonds. Cashews are a good source of potassium. I do chew them well. Lissa, do you know why strawberries are restricted? I have eaten some.

This is a great way to handle it. I have had my husband do this for me before. He also has some locked cabinets in his office. A thought is also to trade the candy for something else (money per ounce or pound, or a small toy if younger), and maybe have your husband take the candy to work and put it in the break room.

I can so relate. Or those smaller plastic chairs with arms - I always hoped that the chair wouldn't be stuck to my butt when I stood up.

Prior to surgery, I was at Ikea. Right by the checkout there was a display of simple kid's step stools, made of a molded white plastic. I'm a shorty, so I grabbed one and bought it. When I got home, I showed it to my husband, and started to stand on it. It started to bend! LOL - how embarrassing, I was to heavy for that kid's stool. I never did finish putting my weight on it because it was going to collapse. I put it in the closet. Last night, I was looking through the closet and came across the stool. I pulled it out and cautiously put my weight on it. It did NOT collapse. I can now use the kid's step stool. YAY! I'd post a picture of this amazing feat, but I need a pedicure. ha.

You are completely normal, IMO. You are obviously well-prepared, so now you have all kinds of free time for your mind to play "what if?" I tried to put it out of my mind in the days leading up to my surgery. You should have seen the hissy fit I threw in pre-op. I wanted to leave the hospital. Thank God for my husband and a nurse with a couple of valium, or I would not be within 20 pounds of goal. lol I had all the same fears as you, but none of those fears have happened. Also, it is obvious that you are taking this procedure seriously and I think you will have more likelihood of success because you take it seriously.

If you are sure you don't want to, then no one should give you any grief over your decision. I would just urge you to think it over and be sure before you give up your surgery date. But if you are sure, then I'm glad you stopped in time. I didn't have as much to lose as many, so I too had the idea that I should lose with diet and exercise. I was going to get a lap-band about seven years ago, and then changed my mind because I was going to do it myself. While I am glad I didn't get the lap-band, I did waste those seven years not losing on my own, and actually gaining some. I spent seven years avoiding work events with my husband, seven years not buying clothes, seven years feeling worthless and gross. Seven years of mostly socializing on the internet, not in person, etc. So one day, I woke up and said "I can't do this on my own" and started the approval process. I got approval and my surgery date in under two weeks. I put it out of my mind during those two weeks, and I had a really easy pre-op diet (low fat/vegetarian). The day of surgery, there was a delay, and I LOST IT. I was crying. I wanted to leave the hospital. I wanted that IV out of my hand. My poor husband was at a loss for what to do. I was determined to just do it myself through diet and exercise. The pain was going to be too horrific to bear! The nurse came to check on me and gave me some valium and I went through with the surgery. The discomfort was there afterwards, but nothing unbearable and three months out I have to remind myself that there was discomfort. The point of all that is that I think it is completely normal to have second thoughts about a huge decision like this. Many have posted that they have thought about not going through with it. It is a huge adjustment. Your head is going to rebel against this, even if it IS the right decision. That's why I say give it plenty of thought. 4ALongerLife is right, for most the battle with the pre-op diet hunger does not really exist after surgery. You might have head hunger. I eat more out of obligation than anything right now. A liquid diet for two weeks before surgery would have been very tough for me. I might have "cheated". I think the surgeons know that many will cheat on that diet. Best wishes to you! Keep us posted, regardless, okay?

I totally agree! As long as the person is not rude, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having preferences in a mate. In spite of being overweight, I certainly have my own preferences. Even as an overweight person, I would be unlikely to date an overweight guy. Of course I have been married through my last bout of being overweight prior to VSG. But I prefer a full head of hair on a guy, and if my husband were to lose his hair, I would want him to try to do something. It is just preference, and that's okay. When I met and married my husband, I was not big, so I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who has loved me through big and small. Some men might have threatened to leave or even left.

I use a scoop/serving of Muscle Milk light Protein Powder in about 10 - 12 oz of coffee in my shaker cup, no sweetener at all. I also rely on those chocolate Premier Protein drinks.

I am almost four months out and since day one, I have been able to stomach the Premier Protein shake from Costco, which is ready to drink and 30 grams of protein. I still count on those. I cannot drink the vanilla, just the chocolate.

Woman, you are an inspiration! Thank you for posting your pictures. You were beautiful before, though. I hope to have your success!

I take levothyroxine/synthroid for low thyroid daily. I just wanted to let people know that as you lose weight, you may need to see your doctor to adjust your dosage. I was taking 100mcg of levothyroxine daily, but after surgery and losing over 50 pounds (within 20 pounds of goal), my last blood test came back showing that I was maybe my dose was too high. Fortunately, my family doctor told me the symptoms to watch for, the main one being heart palpitations. Sure enough, in a few days, I developed heart palpitations, sweating, insomnia, and other symptoms of too high a dose. I was cut back to 88mcg of Synthroid, and after three days, I have no more palpitations. The palpitations were scary and I was exhausted. Unfortunately, after this procedure we are going through so many changes that it is not easy to pinpoint the cause of problems like this. I thought I might be low on potassium, which will also cause palpitations. I logged my potassium though, and found it to be good. Other people taking thyroid meds might want to be careful and watch for symptoms of too high a dosage of meds.

I am so sorry you had a bad experience! This is tough, because your friends don't know about your sleeve. While you are not asking for advice, we have Steak N Shake here and it is actually a pretty good option, so I thought I would offer some support. Those little burgers are probably not your best choice if you eat the bun. I am over three months out and I order burgers and sandwiches all the time but definitely no bread! If you go to Steak N Shake again, maybe try the chili and a side of cottage cheese. Or order those little burgers without the bread. You need to stand up for yourself and just say no to ordering foods to please or even fool other people. This is the time to be totally about YOU. You went through a lot to make yourself healthier. You don't have to explain yourself or tell everyone about your surgery, just change the subject if people start talking about your food intake. Please forgive me if I have over-spoken.

Thank you for this post. You look fantastic. Your before pictures are cute too, but your after photos are WOW. I'm not a year out yet, but I have some of the same concerns about losing too much, etc. I love seeing success stories!

My surgery was in Dallas on 12/20 and my drain was removed just before I was released on 12/23. No problems here. I was so glad to get that thing out before going home.

I ordered an inexpensive mug warmer from Amazon. It was really nice for the few weeks I used it, while still on liquids. You won't want to use it with plastic bowls or cups though, as I think it might melt them. I bought some small glass bowls and a dozen demitasse spoons at a restaurant supply. A lot of stuff is so cheap at the restaurant supply place, like the spoons were maybe $2 for 12 if I recall.

No, it doesn't bother me. I am 47 years old, have a reasonably decent IQ, know the calorie content of everything under the sun, yet I have been battling weight most of my adult life. If all it took was someone to tell us to just put down the fork, no one would be fat. I consider people who think like that to be simple-minded types who don't understand the power of the human mind.