Sweet Pee

I remember my first pair of skinnies too... i felt like I was let into that secret world I had never had the key too...LOL
I love it!

Seriously, just be direct and honest. "Thank you, but I'm not interested."

When I was down to my goal weight, a woman came into the gym for the first time weighing about 290lbs. She had on a skirt, t-shirt and tennis shoes. She sat on a recliner exercise bike. She stayed on it for 15 min. She came in regularly for 8 months. Fast forward - One day I went up to her and told her how good she looked and how much weight she had lost. (That was my first time talking to her although we had seen each other many times) She started to cry. She told me she has decided that day was going to be her last time at the gym, because she felt she had made no progress. She dried up her tears and told she will continue to come to the gym. She did and continued to lose weight.
Although I am in a skinny body now, I will alway know how it feels to be fat. Now when I see someone working hard to lose weight, I try to say something encouraging. You never know what might help.

My friend is down just over 70#. We both have the Ardyss Body Magic shapers, which sound similar to yours, open boob area.... Anyway hers is long, below knee length, mine is shorts, hers has a moveable crotch area, mine has 27,000 eyelets..... Because yes when I am dying and my bladder is going to explode after 2oz of Water and my suit is squeezing my bladder the last thing I want to do is fight eyelets. Stupid. Anyway hers was getting quite loose so she bought a size down. It is hilarious. I had to help her button up, friends.... I don't know that I signed up for that. No matter the squeezing, pushing and smoothing it shoves her belly fat up and creates a spare tire, 3rd boob shelf bigger than her boobs. It is ridiculous. She has this tiny, smooth waist and 2 sets of boobs. Why do we torture ourselves?

When I was down to my goal weight, a woman came into the gym for the first time weighing about 290lbs. She had on a skirt, t-shirt and tennis shoes. She sat on a recliner exercise bike. She stayed on it for 15 min. She came in regularly for 8 months. Fast forward - One day I went up to her and told her how good she looked and how much weight she had lost. (That was my first time talking to her although we had seen each other many times) She started to cry. She told me she has decided that day was going to be her last time at the gym, because she felt she had made no progress. She dried up her tears and told she will continue to come to the gym. She did and continued to lose weight.
Although I am in a skinny body now, I will alway know how it feels to be fat. Now when I see someone working hard to lose weight, I try to say something encouraging. You never know what might help.

I usually wrap one of those ab sweat exercise wraps around my waist, before I put on my shaper. It helps! I can't breath, or eat, or talk, but I'm looking sexy. Then I put on my high heels, and my toes hurt, my feet hurt and I can't walk, but hey, I'm looking sexy!

I usually wrap one of those ab sweat exercise wraps around my waist, before I put on my shaper. It helps! I can't breath, or eat, or talk, but I'm looking sexy. Then I put on my high heels, and my toes hurt, my feet hurt and I can't walk, but hey, I'm looking sexy!

Gyms are weird. Nobody talks much. It's like an elevator or a bathroom. Everyone sorta figures the next guy wants privacy. Don't take that to be judgement. Most people dislike their own bodies and are just as self-conscious as you!
I wish you all the best getting through the front door. If you haven't written your goals and reasons for weight loss down, do it and tape it to your visor or steering wheel! For me, attending my daughters wedding in something other than a wheel chair is worth getting out of the car and in the door (she's 2 y/o lol). Motivation is a personal thing. I also keep hockey sticks in the truck since getting back on the ice is a goal of mine.

Two days in a row of good sleep using Natural Calm. I feel quietedly alert when waking. Well rested. You never know how truly uninspiring your sleep is until you have nights of good sleep. Drinking like a horse every day still wakes me up at night, but I am able to quickly fall asleep again after returning to bed. If you have not read the need to balance out Calcium and magnesium levels, you might want to do a little research. Our diets can lead to an imbalance for the many reasons listed above.

Just took a look at your AWESOME before/after pics and have decided you are my new VSG heroine! I'll never have the view-from-behind that you do now (I'm much older and have lots of miles on my frame) but by golly, I love seeing what is possible. Seeing your photos has convinced me to stay the course and get as close to the "win" as I can. Congrats!

Today i sat in my car, outside the gym in the parking lot, gripping the stiring wheel until my knuckles went white. I am embarrassed about the way I look, and how I think my body will look whilst exercising. I can just feel people staring at me thinking 'what is she doing here, I wish I didn't have to look at that.' I know that this is exactly where I need to be but I feel like such a novice that I sould be doing the work at home. The truth is I need to be shown what to do, I need help. I know I can't be the only one who feels this way. This is YEARS of social programing by angry teens, coworkers, and strangers, talking and joking about the way I look. How do you get over it? How do you push yourself through the door, in front of that cruelly accurate and huge mirror wall, and do classes? Just need some encouragment please!

I'm bumpy too

I usually wrap one of those ab sweat exercise wraps around my waist, before I put on my shaper. It helps! I can't breath, or eat, or talk, but I'm looking sexy. Then I put on my high heels, and my toes hurt, my feet hurt and I can't walk, but hey, I'm looking sexy!

I'm the same way when I go visit my in-law's (or they come here). It's all "where are we going to eat" and "when are we going".... everything is food centered!
Because of that, I still do my exercise, and I do not change my schedule just because they are visiting. I have to adjust what I do when I'm at their house, but I still do something.

No I haven't scheduled a race yet. I haven't gotten to 10k yet, only 8. I had knee pain when I walked for about 8 hours one day and ran the next. All back to normal after a day of "rest" (only walked maybe 3 hours). I have another day off before I run again.

3 years out and I still have plenty of no-gos, however I have turned that to my advantage and whenever I feel that I am eating a little too wontonly, I eat a sticker food . Potato anything is a losing bet, more than a single bite and it's like feeding white rice to a pidgeon Dense greens in a salad are wonderful, but I can only eat 4 bites before having to stop for at least 30 minutes. It has been known to take me 6 hours to finish a nutritious salad :/ And during that time it just sits in my chest, ummph.
As for queasies/slimes, eggs are a real gamble, sometimes they slide right down delicious and nutritious, other times the mere smell has my mouth watering in the bad way. Hot dogs are my favorite junk food but more than 2 bites and I'm courting danger, painful embarrassing, slimy danger. And hamburger patties are a great source of Protein, delicious, but one bite and it's sitting in my chest the rest of the night. I have had beautiful organic delicious cheeseburgers take me 36 hours to finish! My workaround for that is to make cheeseburger salad, but alas, see above regarding dense greens.
With my new autoimmune protocol diet I'm adhering to right now, the big issue of course are the greens.

and that's your story and your stickin' to it!! :ph34r:

I stopped taking my Mg, which my Dr had recommended. I need to start back. THANKS!!!

Try increasing magnesium, as mentioned by others, to improve sleep and many other ailments triggered by magnesium deficiency.
I found this a good read (not academic, but still is based on some studies)
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/peak32.htm
The article targets magnesium deficiencies as it applies to athletes, but there is also general information for everyone.
From the article:
Eating Habits Associated With Low Magnesium Intake
You tend to eat white flour products instead of wholemeal
You have a low intake of green leafy vegetables
You don't eat much in the way of nuts and seeds or Beans and lentils
You regularly consume sugar or sugary products
You drink alcohol regularly
You follow a calorie-restricted or high-Protein, low-carbohydrate diet
Possible Symptoms Of Sub-Optimal Magnesium Intake
Muscle cramps, twitches or tremors
Regular or excessive fatigue
Feelings of irritability and/or lethargy
Frequent mood swings, including depression
Pre-menstrual bloating
Restless legs at night
We generally have an issue with the last eating habit by nature of being a VSG post op. We eat low calorie diets, high Protein and low carb diets. My daily protein consumption tends to be above average to support athletic activities. I identify with item 2, 3 and 6 from the eating habit list.
The magnesium supplement I am trying is called Natural Calm:
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Vitality-Calm-Raspberry-Lemon/dp/B00BPUY3W0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382710890&sr=8-1&keywords=natural+calm
The recommendation is to take 2 tsp (325 mg) daily. Others have mentioned they take 1 tsp in the morning and 1 tsp in the evening. This is consistent with the the body being able to absorb 100-150 mg most efficiently in a single dose.
Took it last night for the first time and noticed I woke at 6:30 am, feeling refreshed, after going to bed at 10:30pm. I still use the melatonin to fall asleep, but the increase in magnesium ions in the body will promote a restful sleep. After all this research I have done (sleep is important to me for many reasons!!), it is now clear why I started having sleep issues when increasing protein and working out hard month 5 (now month 15). You can look into increasing magnesium if you like, but as for me, It certainly makes sense.
Really helps with Constipation if you struggle with that. There are so many ailments that are fixed when the magnesium levels are sufficient in the body.
I will let you know how this goes in 1 month.

Hi I am just one year out and have been training for my first half marathon. I did a 5K earlier this year and will be doing a 10k next week. Please start slow and listen to your body. You can do this!!

Dr Victor Gutierrez in Tijuana Mexico. He is a Board Certified plastic surgeon and also a medical doctor. He is very highly educated and a gifted artist. He is also very friendly, warm and super caring.
http://www.dr-victorgutierrez.com

Tube socks!! LOL!!