Pookeyism

I have not had one, except at first I wanted to get into onderland. I did - exceptionally briefly, however. I am not sure my body likes that "place" unless maybe after some skin surgery. hmmmm. I have regained a bit after dislocating my shoulder badly, and have not reset my intentions except with the goal of a daily minimum/maximum of calories, Water, rehab and waiting for my body to kick back in. It is taking it's own sweet time, however. It is a big reminder how much my activities and exercise played into my weight loss success. I never ate poorly, I was just so used to my awesome smoothies and bananas (as opposed to say, a salad or an apple) don't laugh! It's those small decisions that did me in more than any bad routine.

may I suggest looking at raw cake recipes, adjusting according to taste, and adding an unflavored powder like unjury?

Wow - you cannot cure that level of infection control malpractice with hand wipes and sanitizer. It sounds like it should be avoided. Seems like they are catering to what most will find attractive while not noticing the underlying cost-cutting measures. It would make me wonder how well they are trained. Most people I find, once they are adequately aware of microbiology and infection control by sheer self-preservation will keep their hands clean, at least. Very glad you did well! welcome to the losers bench

So what have I been up to for the last year or so? Well, I have not been on here as much as I intended to, and I miss it! To provide a brief back story, my mother passed away a week after I was sleeved (1/4/2012) and it was devastating. As the year progressed I tried to cope and put it behind me, and I think I did to an extent. However, to an equal extent I did not cope with my Mother's passing as much as tuck it away. That always ends well right? The winter/spring of '12/'13 found me at a loss to describe the constant feeling of something lacking. I questioned everything (except my marriage). I never gave up yoga, I have been doing it for over 20 years. The weight loss I realized had allowed my body to handle "hot yoga". I was well aware of the benefits but at my original size I could not handle the heat. Now I could. For the first time I felt confident enough to not just be a heavy person in a room full of thin people doing yoga. I participated, I was an asset, it left me open to feelings and I finally began to cope. Fast forward a year and I have got my hours in as an assistant yogi and working at my favorite studio, and preparing to take teacher training in the spring. Then I dislocate my shoulder. I gained some weight back. Somewhere between 15-20 lbs. I also missed my training, (I will eventually take it!) The shoulder was a bit more serious than we originally thought and it takes months to get anywhere near normal again (I am still limited in mobility). So back to modified yoga with an emphasis on my arm, and to cure the boredom I began to visit old familiar types of yoga, and newer ideas. Then something wonderful happened!!!! I stumbled upon a lady who has been a yogi for over forty years, and she created a yoga program that is designed for heavier people, the heaviest people, too. The bedridden, even. The modifications are the norm, it is done in little or no heat, the yogi is reminded they can reach down and move their gut. There is much more than that, and it makes yoga available to everyone, you walk into a space created by people just like them, and they are all able to progress and respond coming from a familiar place. It has always been my desire to get yoga out to everyone who wants to try it. To make it available that as long as they have their breath, they have yoga. I work with amputees, children, and neighbors that don't have time to get to a studio. Now I get to expand on that. So I am bringing it to Houston, and I am so excited!!! I cannot say I feel lucky - I feel blessed, I feel grace, I have been placed in a position to be the steward of something I feel very positive about, truly being able to be of service. So for me that is the biggest NSV, possibly ever.

It is probably nothing, but this is something you should check in with your doctor about. Good luck & LIFT FROM YOUR LEGS!

http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/405-elsewhere-local-gastric-sleeve-support/ Also try this forum & post your location in the subject.

Would you mind sharing more about what you are going through? Is this funded personally, do you have healthcare? How often is the surgery done there? I am not anywhere near you but will answer any questions I feel I can offer a valuable answer to, or provide you with a link to a good resource.

I only need to grow 4 inches! >.<

NW Houston here, and sleeved since 1/4/2012, good luck! Keep us posted!

I've never trusted a tracker except for the GPS function to tell me how far I walked or biked (and in one case where I was, lol).

If it were strict cosmetics or that the skin was getting unmaneagable, I would agree not to try to heal in the heat of the summer (but I am in Houston). However, a hernia is kinda like a time bomb, so your doctor may have a very valid reason for getting that done now, and not being so worried about the 30 lbs left (which is a non issue if you know you are going back later, I would think) However I am not a doctor. Ask you doctor how potentially urgent is the hernia. Go from there.

So for those, say either 4 months out or about 50 lbs. down – I have a suggestion: think of the things you are going to do today or did this morning that you would not have been able to do, or do without discomfort, etc. – and share them!!!! Let’s give our brave new pre and post sleeve brethren some NSV’s to look forward to! <3

I agree it is very brave of you to post the questions here. Thank you for bringing up good points. First, the topic of growth – I know it does, because I have had some candid conversations with friends and in one instance a couple that went through surgery within 2 weeks of each other (WOW some really interesting stories there). While I can’t tell you how it will affect you overall, may I make a suggestion? I don’t recall seeing too many people do this, but consider taking some measurements, and compare them to you weight, inches lost at waist & thigh and BMI – pic if you are so bold (but don’t post here! Lol). The other guys would probably be interested to know. As for skin, everyone is different with this and genetics play a major role. In your family, who do you get the traits of skin color, skin color variation on the hands, genitals, feet etc. or have like allergies or skin conditions? If you have a few larger scars, who do you favor by way of how they look as they heal? Look to these people to see how their skin ages and droops ad they got older – that is a good indication of how this will work for you – but absolutely no guarantee. Variation genetically is how we roll, so no way of telling 100%. Also you are younger and that helps! Another factor for the skin, if you will need surgery, will be how your under skin fares. For instance, if you have a lot of issues or it is really cumbersome, you may want to consider the surgery to reduce the medical issues or pain. Two years ago I would have said NONONONONO more surgery. Now, I will most likely have at least my arms and panni by next year. My arms pinch in clothing and exercise, bruise real easy, and my panni has issues with moisture, despite constant effort to keep it clean and dry. It also prevents the level of activity I would like in some of my sports. I am also seriously concerned that if my finances were to change later in life, I would have to carry that skin possibly into situations that I could no longer care for myself, and lack of care for those areas scare me. A lot. Thanks for posting the question, and I wish you luck in, er, your growth through WLS .

Me - but I work in a facility that is responsible for weighing product to the thousandth of a pound if necessary, so I do weigh myself - but infrequently. I also adjust the scale to the +/- 2 lbs mark, to be easy on myself. You are not crazy! but consider weighing at the same time each month, to at least gauge all is well. There is another aspect to weighing regularly. Really drastic weight fluctuation can also be signs of illness, and out bodies are adjusting to so many things that we may not notice other things that, without the surgery, would have been more noticeable warning signs. Keep a food log, note your exercise and compare to your weight. That way if it is ever a question of too sudden a gain or loss, you have history for the doctor to reference.

You may need to get a tad aggressive, with mindfulness to keep the ball rolling. Make a list of everything you are going to need. Nut visits, do you need a demonstrated diet attempt, the PCP recommendation your doctor seems unwilling (I don’t buy unable). Anything you can do well in ahead, do it. Get as much lined up as possible. Contact your PCP. Include a .pdf containing a letter written for approval. Leave the edit option open in case he is truly that lazy. Tell him in the letter you are providing the example he needed, and now you need to have him clarify if he does not know how to fill this out, won’t fill it out and if he will not why, because you are going to provide feedback to the doctors that recommend him for ANYTHING. In the meantime, get another PCP in the works, make another appointment – if you get two letters yay. Keep a notebook of every time you talk to someone, an attempt – a voicemail, email, etc. This is not necessarily for the PCP situation, but if you have detailed notes on everything, it is harder for anything to become an issue. Good luck.

Small increments in walking are just fine. You do what you can. Google office yoga/ yoga in chairs - and consider "mindful breathing". Google ujjayi breath or ocean breath - a beautiful, powerFULL thing to do at your desk.

Not 'after' guys and dolls!!! NOW!!! You can do more now than before, and you will be able to do more tomorrow than today. Don't wait. This surgery/weight loss is not an end goal. It is a journey. Much love!

hmmm...maybe stay a step down from puree for a few more days?

Don't be discouraged, 25 lbs in 6 weeks is great. but also take a look at whatever foods you are eating. do you keep a journal?

What are the costs?

I eat mostly raw, but you tube and pintrest offers so many ideas for healthy Snacks. One of my faves is thin apple slices with a small bit of apple butter wrapped in spinach. You can do this shredded also and bake it. never underestimate the awesomeness of mono-snacks. Just a cut up melon or an orange or carrot, apple or grapes. The blueberry/walnut/chicken/apple salad is great, and a tangy wasabi mayo is a healthy fat to bring it together.

I have a similar situation, but no child. My husband is slowly creeping up in the weight to the point that he is now officially morbidy obese, and has co-morbidities. Many more than I did at the equivalent rough BMI. He has always been uber healthy and a quick healer. Not so much anymore. He does not say it is easy cause I had surgery, he has just seen too much that I think he would even dare say that – even if he thought it! LOL! But he does say things like “Wow you can eat so much more than you used to”, which at one point I used to reply “as opposed to 2 oz. of Jello, back when I was bald?”. I think maybe he has come to have a feeling if overwhelming discouragement over seeing other people lose weight with or without the surgery. It is an ongoing effort to be kind with this. Mostly, I can’t control what he eats when he is not around me. So I don’t try. At home, I fix it before it happens. No breads at home, no sugary foods, no morning cereals or processed Snacks. With the exception of his “hidden” chocolate stash. Which is ok for now, I can’t win every advancement in every battle. When we eat out, I do not give in on the bad foods. No chains, like Chili’s or macaroni Grill, nothing. Fast food? Does My Fit Foods or Jason’s Deli count? If so then yes, if not then no. Our together rituals have begun to include long mornings going to get farm raised eggs and milk, pick strawberries or such, farmers markets, etc. Evenings taking healthy cooking classes, or painting, or how to juice or make raw meals. Yoga, swimming, SUP is a new “thing” and the hubby is surprised he is good at it. I’m not sure if I would do it or not, but I would be tempted to point out (to someone if this were me) that my surgery has WHAT to do with them choosing to eat poorly? Tell them to eat as much as they can hold, of a healthier fare. Or perhaps ask back "are you trying to get a big as I was so you have to go through all this? I am not always tactful, so I would be kind with getting this message across. Just a bit more advice - you control what your child eats, not the other way around. Your wife can sabotage her health but you can intervene with your child. Make time to go eat healthy foods with her and participate in fun, active events with your daughter even if your wife does not attend.

Go be AWESOME! yayyy you! (((hugs)))

Beautiful. Do you have copies for sale, signed? Any first prints left? Let me know, I WANT ONE!

Can I suggest you post this to the guy forum and put the title as "need info from xxl travelers and businessmen"? Or something like that? I think you may come across alot of gentlemen that will be able to give you first-hand advise. What I can tell you is at 285 +/- lbs and some of that muscle, my 6'2" hubby is nearing the reasonable limit for 1 seat in the newer aircraft. What i mean by reasonable is after a certain size, even if they do not make you, common courtesy is to not spill over into the next person's space. You don't know if they are already scared or tense or have issues (especially women) with men being really, really close, which you cannot avoid. We pay a bit more for our seats, but it keeps hubby at the window or in the isle, and me as buffer to the next person. Also - some aircraft have 2 seats to a row, so it would be only the two of you. Generally I say avoid travel agents for domestic flights, but in this case they may be of service.