Lissa

I'm joining CalicoLea's petition, but I'm adding the word "only" to her petition!

Kimberlina, Congrats on your success!! I think having pics taken by a pro is a great idea!! You know they are going to show you in your most flattering light and then you can hang it side by side with your old picture to remind you every day of how far YOU have come!!! I definitely understand how amazing it must feel to have a doctor tell you to stop losing weight! Since all we've ever heard before is that all our health problems are related to how heavy we were, that must be an incredible feeling!!! You go girl! It sounds like your life is just falling right into place. Of course, YOUR hard work and dedication is what got you to this point!!

My friend, I can so feel your pain, but WOW isn't it great NOT to be carrying around the fat suit all the time?

NSV is a Non Scale Victory, like the 3 sizes I've lost while the scale has been barely moving.

Boots, Protein bars save me from the vagaries of fast food place a lot of times! They're great also because I can eat half a bar now and save the rest for later if I'm not super hungry, but need to eat something. Good luck! I'm hoping some of the other sleevers who travel a lot will chime in with their tips as well!

missmeow, I totally get that sometimes it takes trying to articulate one's reasons in order to understand what one's thinking is on a subject. I had a lot of the same questions that you're asking. My final decision came when my doctors told me that I had a year left to live if I didn't get a bunch of weight off in a hurry. I had been researching for months, but that conversation made my path clear. I certainly didn't sign up for long term health problems caused by the sleeve, but I see many more complications from long term obesity. One of my aunts has had 20+ surgeries for various health issues stemming from obesity, including 11 eye operations to try to save her sight, at least 3 operations on one arm so she won't lose the use of the limb, and numerous foot and toe surgeries to handle infections and gangrene. My ONE sleeve will hopefully save me from those complications. Truthfully, I felt like the possible long term risks of the sleeve were still a better bet than the definite long term risks of obesity. Dead is dead, after all. I think that's the gamble many of us are deciding to take with any WLS. We're hoping for enough improvement in our health from losing the weight that it will minimize the risks of WLS surgery in the long term. Each of us has to make up our own mind as to whether the gamble is worth it. For me, it was.

Everybody goes through nerves right before surgery. It's normal. Just remind yourself that you have made this decision because you think it's in the best interests of your long term health and that you have picked the best doctor for you. If that's not enough, come here and look at some of the inspiring stories of people who have lost weight and met their goals: Stronger_Diva, Sleeve 4 Me, Coops, Blackberry Juice, PDXMan, Kemo46, MassIndex, etc. Their stories and pictures really helped me remember what I wanted from this surgery!

LOL, Normal. I usually don't catch the misspelling, either.

Yay! Congrats on doing something that is going to give you and your family more time together!!

So, over the last three months, it's seemed like I was just stuck. I've barely lost 10 pounds, although I did drop 3 sizes. In that time, I've added in more and more exercise, really watched what I was eating and been pushing more Water. I've really looked hard for the NSVs and tried not to worry that my body was done. But, I was really getting frustrated because the weight loss had slowed down so much. I was so close to the 100 pounds lost mark and starting to think I'd never get there. In my head, I knew that this was a weight where I spent nearly 10 years on the way UP the scale and that I shouldn't get excited that it was taking me a while to drop below that point, but boy was it maddening! I'm happy to report that in the last few days, that stall has broken! I've lost 5 pounds in the last few days and it seems like my body and sleeve are cooperating again to drop more pounds! I'm also suddenly seeing more definition in areas that have been of particular interest to me (waist, collarbones, arms and legs). I don't know if my mindset changed, but I know that I have increased my exercise levels to where I'm doing nearly an hour of cardio per day, in 2 30 minute sessions, and I've been fairly strict on my carbs. So, YAY, the stall is broken!!! I'll take the NSVs, but it feels good to see that scale number dropping again, too.

I think that the lifting restriction is going to be your biggest hurdle. I see that you're still on probation for your job. Do you think they'd let you have a No Lifting Restriction at work for a few weeks to recover from your surgery? That way you could still work and heal. It might be worth a frank conversation with a supervisor, but ask your surgeon's office first. I'm not sure what the FMLA guidelines are, even after reading the post above. I would like to think that any job would honor a doctor's note that allowed you to return to work with a lifting restriction. I know that the real world doesn't always work that way, though. Good luck!!

Are you on any meds? I understand that BP meds can make new sleevers dizzy because the amount needed changes so quickly once you're sleeved. Also, how many calories are you getting in a day right now? If it's very low, you could be dizzy because of that. Were you pre-diabetic or did you have Type 2 diabetes? If so, you may need a lower dose (or no dose) of your diabetes meds. I'd give my nut or doctor a call so they can advise you more fully since there are a lot of reasons you could be dizzy. The three above are the most common ones I see people posting here.

Annie, While I don't travel outside my general area, I spend a lot of time on the road. I do several things to make life easier. I carry Protein bars with me always, usually the Premier Protein Bars that I purchase at Sam's Club. They have 30g of protein, so a nice protein boost first thing in the morning. I know that you probably can't carry liquid Protein shakes, but you could take Protein powder with you and a shaker bottle to prepare them, even on a plane. IF you have a fridge, you could purchase lunch meat and cheese to keep in the hotel fridge. I routinely buy 1/4 pound of various deli meats and cheeses. You don't need tons for just M-F. If the Water where you're staying is questionable, you could purchase a 24 pack of water and put them in the fridge to get cold so you have them for the next day. The bottles are also a great way to make your water portable. There are lunch kits with tuna or chicken in them that would work to keep on hand for lunch or dinner. A rotisserie chicken also goes a long way for protein requirements and is small enough to fit into a hotel fridge. I've been in love with rotisserie chicken for awhile now. If you eat out a lot while you're on the road, just make sure you're ordering protein and veggies rather than a carb-laden meal. Most places have some kind of grilled chicken or steak option, which is good, and many have decent vegetable option like broccoli or green Beans. I've also eaten a lot of BBQ ribs over the last 8 months. I always ask for my ribs with no sauce or sauce on the side. I can eat 2-3 ribs and a few bites of steamed broccoli. I'm not sure if any of that ramble helped, but, good luck!

I caught myself rubbing my upper arms tonight and marveling at the muscle definition. And, your post just made me sit here and rub my collarbones for a few minutes, too!

SkinnyAgain, I just wanted to let you know how proud of you I am! You've done great at getting yourself back on track and your scale results show that you're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing! You go girl!! You've got this!!

Shelly, I feel for you on that stuff!! As I've said before, I used to have to give it to inmates at my last job. Some of them decided that the mag cit was SO bad, they'd rather be constipated!

Rex didn't like sweets from day 1. Sometimes now he'll let me have some chocolate, but he usually balks after a couple of bites. If I have any, though, I count it as if I ate the whole thing on My Fitness Pal.

I finally gave the 30 year old a test drive, and he couldn't keep up! LOL It was fun, but he was begging for sleep. I guess I'm going to have to drag the boy toy to the gym and make him work out with me, just so he has more energy for play time!

I think a lot depends on what you do for work. I was back at work and feeling fine in 8 days. I probably could have gone back sooner, but I waited until my drain was removed on the morning of the 8th day. I was at work within two hours of that. If you have a very physical job, though, you could need more than just the 8 weeks off work. Follow your doctor's recommendations.

My sleeve is named Rex, and Rex is male. Rex is because he's been downsized from a T-Rex (big to little) and male because he doesn't like for me to eat chocolate. Only a man would deny a woman some chocolate!

I've had two milestones in two days. The first was trying on bathing suits yesterday. My cousin, who works at the store, kept insisting that I try on a 16 rather than the 18/20 I was looking at. To shut her up, I did...and it fit, as did every other 16 she handed me. Then she said "This won't fit you for long, maybe you should just wait a couple of weeks and buy the 14." I was stunned to fit into a non-plus size in anything and even more stunned to realize that she's right, the 16 won't fit for long! My second milestone was with my pulmonologist today. I've been on coumadin for blood clots for most of the last year. My most recent test came back still on the high side for clotting, but my doc actually told me to refuse the medication, citing my increased activity level! He's going to run a couple more tests for me, but he thinks it's a "false high" on the test and, as long as my other tests come back fine, he's cool with me staying off the coumadin. He also did lung function tests today and told me that I have rewound my "breathing age" by at least a year, possibly more, with all of the cardio work I've been doing. Oh, yeah, I had a third one today. A girl at the gym complimented my arms, saying that my biceps are looking really good. I'm pleased that someone else notices the hard work I've put into my arms, even if it did feel a little weird to have a girl be the one paying the compliment!

My late mother-in-law lived for over 15 years with a gastrectomy after stomach cancer. Her "sleeve" was smaller than anyone's here, holding less than two tablespoons of food at a time, even after all those years. She survived three more rounds of cancer, including chemo and radiation for two of those, after the gastrectomy. She didn't die of cancer or starvation, but of "natural causes" unrelated to her sleeve.

I'm working on becoming addicted to exercise. It's a stated goal of mine!

Yay!! Congrats!!!

kmbrly, The same way I do it. Do NOt have them in the house. If they are there because hubby or kids love them, then they need to be hidden. Put them away, in the pantry, in a cabinet, but do not leave them out where you can see them all the time. Since I live alone, I get to say NO to even bringing trigger foods into the house. No cheetos, no pretzels, no junk.