Lissa

Great job!! You look like your own younger sister!! Beautiful!!

Well, I thank you for continuing to interpret my non-computer gibberish into something you could understand and giving me such an easy fix! For anyone who is like me, the broken page icon looks like a ripped sheet of paper and is just right of where you type in a website address at the top of your page. It's between the magnifying glass and the x and is where my refresh button usually sits. I had NO clue what that rippd sheet of paper was until Ken told me.

Thanks everyone! Sorry I couldn't reply before, I was having issues with VST's site. They are all fixed now!

Wow!! Ken, you are the BOMB!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just fixed it with one click of the button!!

You look great! I bet you feel tons better!! Now, if you'd only learn to turn your hat around. Truthfully, it's great to see someone who has made it to goal!!

About 3 days into the liquid diet is when it gets easier. For some reason it takes our minds that long to grasp that we are really doing it! Hang tough! The results will be worth it!

So, I went in today for my six month check up with my doc...even though I'm already 7 months plus post-op. He gave me a graph of my BMI and weight loss since my first visit with him. The graph was eye-opening! I think I'm stalled, but his graph shows that I'm losing steadily. After I asked my questions, including for a copy of the video of my surgery, he asked me a few questions. He gave me some samples of different brands of bariatric Vitamins for me to review for him and asked that I let his office know if I like them. I'll do that over the next month. Then he asked me if I'd mind answering a few questions online for him. I thought he was asking me to take some kind of online survey at first, but as he went on I realized that he wants me to answer questions for visitors to his website! WOW! I'm so flattered to be asked and, of course, I am more than willing to do that! From what he said today, I've already exceeded his expectations for my weight loss and fitness level and he mentioned that I'm staring 100 pounds in the eye. He expects that I will be well over 100 pounds lost when I go back at the end of July for my 1 year check up. My anniversary isn't until the end of August, but to accomodate both or our schedules, I have an appt nearly a month early. I've mentioned before that I think my surgeon is the bomb and he proved it to me again today! In just that short appointment, he managed to make me feel wonderful about my progress insteadof the frustration I've been feeling for a few weeks. He also explained a few different things to me about what to expect going forward. That really made me feel better about the next stage of my journey. I was worried that I am out of the "losing" stage and now am into the "have to work really hard at it" stage. I want to be his poster child for the sleeve and he assured me that I already AM a poster child for the sleeve because of the loss I've had so far and how hard I am working at my weight loss. He also told me to expect big losses over the next few months, both because of the sleeve and because of my newly formed exercise habits. I'm feeling pretty awesome tonight, especially for a sleever who went in fully expecting to find out that my results are disappointing. I'm actually pretty far ahead of the curve!

Oh, don't be so hard on yourself! You look lovely to me and you WILL see the results very quickly! I took a picture of myself when I was goofing around one night and sent it to my bestie. She pointed out the changes in my face and neck to me. I had thought that the weight loss wasn't showing, but it really was obvious when you looked at my pre-op and post-op pictures. Calling yourself names isn't productive. Try just patting yourself on the back and being positive, even though it's hard. You WILL get there and it will happen much sooner than you think!

I bought some lovely china saucers at goodwill and have been using them for my meals as well. The small plates work well and I don't even use big plates unless non-WLS folks come to visit.

Keep on "ruining" those pictures!!

Great NSV!! I am always looking for NSVs! They keep me motivated!

(((Hugs))) That's all I know to offer. I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time and I wish I had a magic wand to make it all better. Know that we're all here for you, supporting and praying for your recovery to happen soon!

I don't think it's confusing. She has links in her sidebars to many of her most often requested recipes and a search button to use within her website to find what you want to see as well.

Kim, We're making room for you! Congrats...and you'll have to change your name soon to Little Kim!

Anna, I'm 7 months out and have had 3 major knee injuries over the years. Lunges, squats and running are not for me yet, maybe never. I spend a lot of time on the exercise bike. It's low impact, but great cardio...and has the bonus of reshaping my legs and butt. I have independent verification from some male friends that it IS reshaping those areas. I also do a lot of stretching, high rep/low weight weight lifting for my arms and legs and calisthenics (like we were doing in high school). I spend lots of time on core work for my abs and back and I use the pool for things like lunges and squats to reduce the impact on my knees. Pre-surgery I was diagnosed with RA in my knees because of the previous injuries and I had a tough time even walinng. Now I don't have any symptoms of the RA and I walk without pain unless I've walked for several hours without a break. IMO, things like P90X are better for those who are closer to goal than I am and I'm not willing to hurt my knees by running until I'm closer to 200. Right now I'm 260, so I have a few pounds to go until I am ready for the really intense stuff. But, you can get a good workout without doing the intense workouts, at least until your body is in better condition.

Raquel, You will break the stall. Just keep doing what you know you must do and it will happen. Besides, you look mahvelous, darling! You've put on a bunch of muscle, which weighs more than fat, and that muscle will help boost your metabolism so that you get to your perfect weight. Good luck and I'm sorry your hurt your ribs. Definitely give them the time they need to heal. Please.

High reps, low weights does work. I've been diligently doing this since surgery and I'm seeing improvement in my arms. I don't have big muscles, but I do have definition and strength!

That's not a small NSV. It's HUGE!! I find myself taking pictures of myself now and I've never done that before. I take pics because I really like the outfit I have on, or because I like my hair that day. NEVER would have happened before. I'm thrilled that you're now in the family pictures! That's terrific for you and for them!!

And I can't upload a picture anywhere through the boards to show you what this looks like. I did email some to Ken the other night.

aLEX, i'M ON ie 9.0.5, AND I've done everything I can come up with to fix this. I've removed my signature, added it back, deleted cookies, history, shut down and restarted my computer, logged out, logged in, tried to post as a guest. Nothing I can do seems to be working and VST is the only website I'm having problems accessing.

Yes. I regret not having the surgery sooner! Seriously, I wish this surgery had been an option for me before I started having health problems. Now I'm working uphill to heal rather than knowing I'd avoided the major problems before they became an issue. Slowly but surely I am healing, but how wonderful if I could have done this before I got sick!

As dumb as it seems, walking really helped to reduce my pain, although I was lucky and didn't have a lot of pain from surgery. Mine was more related to over-filling my sleeve before I figured out my full signal. You said that you are drinking cold apple juice and SF popsicles. Have you tried sticking to warmer fluids for a bit and see if that helps to reduce the pain? Cold things really didn't feel good for me immediately post-op. That could be part of the issue. Of course, everyone does feel pain differently and yours could be more intense than others for many reasons. I've had two previous c-sections and another abdominal surgery, so the sleeve operation didn't feel as intense. My doc was actually worried that I would have a lot of pain because of the scar tissue and adhesions in my abdomen, so I know those can actually make the pain worse for some people. If you need pain meds, though, take the pain meds. You won't win a medal for skipping the pain meds. Most surgeons prescribe two weeks worth of pain meds because they expect us to hurt for that long. That's also why they give us time off work; we need the time to heal. Rest, relax, and do what you can to make the pain tolerable for YOU. Good luck on your journey!!

I'm still having problems as we discussed a few days ago. On threads that are short, I can usually see the reply box, although the ads are still stacked on top of it. However, if the thread is longer than 3 replies, I cannot get a reply box and I still have the ads stacked up at the bottom. Yesterday I couldn't reply at all and this morning, it's intermittent again. Help?

Congrats on making the decision to do something about your weight. One of the quotes I read was from Dr Oz who says that being 100 pounds overweight is similar to having a cancer. If you would operate for cancer, why wouldn't you operate to help lose the weight. For me, that was eye-opening. As you've seen for yourself, it's difficult, if not impossible, to take off the weight AND keep it off, without surgery. Since you've been reading here, you already know that any WLS is just a tool, but that tool helps us to do what we've been unable to do alone for years. But, you will always have this tool to help you meet your goals. Keep us updated on your journey, please...and good luck.

aMAZING!! yOU LOOK WONDERFUL!! Congrats on all your hard work!!