kyllfalcon

I'd like to know the definition of "large" cookie to see how it equates to what I ate at that far out. At three weeks, I was eating 12 Special K crackers with either creamy Peanut Butter or homemade tuna salad or homemade pimento cheese, with my doctor's blessings. Nothing bad happened to me, and I didn't worry that it would, since I was permitted to eat what I could tolerate.

I'm nine months out. I eat a lot. 04:00 coffee with non-dairy creamer 06:00 half of 11 oz muscle milk 08:00 full 11 oz. muscle milk 10:00 28 grams unsalted roasted almonds 11:30 1 dill pickle spear, 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, half cucumber 01:00 10 pepperoni slices 03:00 30 grams unsalted roasted peanuts 04:00 2 slices cheese with 8 Special K crackers 06:00 about 10 steamed shrimp with a tablespoon of cocktail sauce, or similar for dinner If still hungry during the day, I may add one or two Laughing Cow cheese wedges. I do have treats on special occassions, like a Christmas Cookie or two, and maybe a slice of pizza every weekend or so. Seems like I eat all the time, but I am almost at goal in nine months.

Nine months out, started at BMI of 39-something, almost 40. Originally set my goal at 150, then as I rapidly lost weight, felt that 150 would be just too thin and revised my goal to 160. My surgeon's office agreed with 160 as a good goal for me. Yesterday I had my nine month checkup, and I weighed 166 on my home scale in jammies, 165 on the office scale fully clothed. I am really happy with my current weight. I do have loose skin and a small belly pooch because of it. If I had a tummy tuck, I am certain I would be at 160, but I'm not sure yet if I will take that step. If I do, it will be in a year or so. Meanwhile, I think I have lost to the point I want to be! I fear that instead of my pooch getting smaller, my legs will just get skinnier and my butt will just get flatter! Husband and friends agree, as did the physician's assistant yesterday, it's time to stop losing! I go in Thursday morning for a Base Metabolic Rate to determine how many calories needed per day to maintain current weight. Wow! It has really been a quick and easy journey! I have been so blessed to have sailed through the surgery, to never have hit a stall, to be able to eat almost anything I want and in portions larger than most can eat. I still truly love to cook and serve food, and I still truly enjoy food! Life is just too good! Santa came to see me too! First time in a long time that I don't outweigh Santa!!

I was at BMI of 39, and was by far the smallest person in the room at the pre-op seminar. That did not deter me. I am already at 9 months the size I want to be, and I am sure the others are still working on their weight loss. Not gloating, just glad that I made the decision before I got any heavier. If I could have lost the weight on my own, I would not have been at the seminar. And I bet the same is true for you.

Not that I'm gonna buy it, but out of curiousity searched Amazon for it. They have it.

They gave me great big ol' pills right away at the hospital, and that scared the heck out of me. But they went right down.

And after 35 years in the same company, I am looking forward to retirement and staying at home. I do fear missing folks, and I do fear missing challenges, but I am sick of always having to be somewhere, pressure from the boss, and all the stress that goes with being employed. And I also fear giving up my salary!

I am RH negative and have had 11 surgeries. No problems. That was a load of horse poop.

Dang! You must be an over-achiever! You reached goal in record time and now a little one! Congratulations on both counts!

Welcome to the best group of losers you'll ever meet!

Yes, each 401(k) plan can be different, as the previous poster said. Some plans allow loans, and some plans allow hardship withdrawals for medical expenses not covered by insurance. Our plan allows the hardship withdrawals for such medical expenses, but where the surgery would be done is irrelevant. Documentation of expense would be required, but no documentation required on where or who did it. However, I don't know if travel expense for medical services would be allowed. And if you are a certain age, usally 59 1/2, some plans allow in-service withdrawals for any reason. Just check with your HR person or your 401(k) plan administrator.

Sleeve didn't change anything there. Rather than take drugs, I use a bracelet that pulses against a nerve in the wrist. It is not hocus-pocus (I have NO tolerance for such foolishness), it works. I get car sick very easily, and could never ride in the back seat. Even riding in the front seat sometimes I get sick on curvy and hilly roads. Then I discovered this bracelet and while it is a tiny bit annoying, it works. I rode in the back of a van from Frankfort, KY to the Frank Lloyd Wright house Falling Water in Pennsylvania, and back, with no sickness whatsoever, until the battery died, then I got sick. Now I keep spare batteries in my purse. It is called ReliefBand. It's not cheap, but it works. Google it. There are lots of other similar devices on the market, none of which I've tried so cannot speak to their effectiveness. EDIT: Just Googled and learned the company has discontinued the ReliefBand and is now selling a similar device by name of Reletex. Even more expensive, but if my ReliefBand dies, I'll still buy it.

Not addicted to food per se. Addicted to sugar. Love the stuff. Want the stuff. My mouth waters just typing about it. My eyes seek it out as I travel through the building in which I work. The stuff is everywhere. There are literally dozens of full candy dishes plus a legal-sized drawer filled with bags of candy, available to anyone who wants it, company paid. Geez. My eyes move toward it, but I forbid my legs and arms to do so. I do not keep any such stuff in my own home. Yes, it is a LOT of head work. The surgery and subsequent physical healing is just the tip of the iceberg. But you can do it!!

Thrilled at nine months. Couldn't be happier.

I'm about as clumsy as they come. Running into doors and such these days really hurts because it's bone instead of fluff that gets bumped!

I remember crying 9 months ago, scared I would not come out alive, but I did!! And now I'm skinny!! You will be too!!

Yep, you will probably lose hair anyway, but yours looks fairly thick, so others may not notice. No one has noticed mine. My hair loss started at about 6 months and continues at 9 months. You seem to have your head on straight. Best of luck!!

I have read that a high protein diet can break out your face. And it did on me, and I am 59! It passed quickly though, just lasted a couple of weeks.

Also just nine months out, but I don't expect further significant changes to lifestyle. I do still eat out, but of course I can't eat the entire meal like before. I always ask for a take home box first thing. I don't eat out as often as before simply because we both have adopted healthier eating patterns (he is not sleeved and doesn't need to be), and it doesn't take me very long to eat my small quantities, so it just doesn't seem worth the trouble, time and expense anymore! Sometimes hubby and I eat the same thing for dinner, but more often than not, I do my thing, he does his. This has not adversely affected our relationship. Thank goodness he is self-sufficient in the kitchen! When we have family dinners, I eat what they eat, just not as much. I still put on big family dinners and don't make anything special just for me. I just eat what I can and no one makes a fuss about it. My sons are great guys, and so are their wives. Grandchildren haven't even noticed my drastic change in size, as it doesn't seem to register with kids. They look into my eyes, not at my butt. Certainly, I can do everything physically that I could do before, and waaaaay more! It was a struggle to walk to the office from my car! It was a struggle to clean house. Heck, it was a struggle to turn over in bed. All that has changed. I will admit that I have lost a good deal of muscle mass and with it some strength. I laugh it off, but I struggle sometimes to open a jug of milk or laundry detergent! It would help if I would exercise! Emotionally and mentally I am clear and focused and happy as I can be. Like the previous poster, I was already in a good place, with a happy marriage, well-adjusted adult children responsible for themselves and their families, good job, satisfying creative hobbies. I was just fat and with that all the shame, embarrassment and disabilities that go along. Now I am even happier and will knock others out of the way to get in front of a camera! Truthfully, this has been a very easy journey for me. The hardest part was making the decision to proceed. Once decided, I admit I was fearful, but went forward. No regrets. I've lost weight steadily, never weighed the same for longer than three days. I can eat almost anything I want, just less of it. I look great with my clothes on, not so great with them off, but I'm old, who cares. I feel marvelous. I love all my new clothes, they fit and flatter and reveal more about who I am, rather than being used to hide who I am. The second hardest part was learning to live with all the supplements in addition to my regular meds. Now that is just a part of my daily routine and I don't give it a second thought anymore. Most folks do get off most of their meds, but I have not. I have highly resistant hypertension, but at least now my meds keep it under better control, whereas before they did not. I do not expect to ever get off my bp meds or my arthritis meds, but I have seen improvement in both afflictions. Life is just too dang good.

So sorry to hear of your battles. We are here. Please keep us posted.

As a Human Resources professional, my advice to you would be to tell your employer you must be off for surgery and need FMLA leave, then get your primary care physician here in the states to complete your FMLA certification. The certification need not detail what type of surgery you will have or where, just that you will have surgery and need x weeks to recuperate.

Where you have surgery and who paid for it should not be an issue. I had surgery in the US but was self pay. My surgeon still certified it as qualifying for FMLA due to my comorbidities. I received all work-related benefits that any other surgery would bring to a similarly-situated employee. The real question is whether your employer must abide by FMLA regulations. If so, where you have the surgery and who pays is irrelevant. So, do you work for a large company or a small one? How large? How many employees?

Very same as you! Gone broke twice buying new clothes, and now my second round of new pants are pinned to keep them up! Crazy good!

1. to be surrounded by my children and grandchildren 2. for all of you yet to be sleeved: to have a quick uneventful recovery and amazing weight loss success 3. for all of you already sleeved: joy joy joy!

Speechless. Wishing you a speedy recovery and nothing but the best. Based upon your anesthesiologist's behavior, perhaps you should seek legal advice. Just sayin'...