☠carolinagirl☠

are your clothes getting looser or too big?

if so, you are losing even if the scales doesnt show it yet

stay the course, continue doing what you do and it will eventually

(inches lost are true signs of weight loss)

sounds like you are doing great to me.

I am 49 and live in the tarheel state of NC

i have been married to my hub almost 31 years

we have a 24 yr old son and a 3 yr old granddaugher

our son in stationed in england with the air force

we just acquired a 7 month old red doberman after losing our Kabo a month ago

hub/me ride harleys on weekends and like to be outside

we like rock music, tattoos and movies

kinda boring but we are whom we are

i am with @parrishel, any pain is not good

uncomfortable however could be a sign of (eating too fast/too much/need to burp)

but def not pain

What is that one thing you wish someone had told you, or are so glad someone did, about WLS or the process pre and post op??

I am glad my dr told me it was ok to use Imodium AD

liquids in mean liquid out (both pre and post op)

All these threads about the scale, and what we are eating and I'm seeing the words 'good' and 'bad' throughout them. I'm as guilty as anyone else about this but I want to put it out there that eating is not bad. Weighing is not bad. WE are not bad. We might make poor decisions about our food, or we might see weight gain on the scale, but it's not good or bad. It just is.

Why is what we weigh and what we eat seen as good or bad. Why do we see ourselves as worthy or unworthy based on our physical appearance. Why am I worthy of the attentions of a man now that I'm thin and didn't feel worthy when I was heavy? Why did I punish myself by wearing horrible clothing and not caring how I looked? I know for me it was like putting lipstick on a pig...but why did I think of myself as a pig? Or a slob? Or a loser? Or lazy?

Everytime I think I may not need more therapy, I know I need lots more therapy. I hate how much I despised myself before and I'm scared of how much people admire what I've done in the last two and a half years. I am constantly looking to others to determine my own worth because I still cannot do it on my own.

I am moving forward in very unfamiliar territory. I have no fat to hide behind. I can't blame failure on my size anymore. I can't blame rejection on my size, I have to own my life and not look to anything negative to avoid what I do.

We have to stop with the good/bad thing. If I eat pizza, it's not good or bad. it just is and doesn't make me good or bad. I want to enjoy food without fearing it. I want to enjoy my life without fearing it. I want to be physically and mentally healthy. I'm working on it, but it's still ahead of me.

right on lizzie

no food is good or bad....

just like no WLS is better than the other

i do not read threads where people are on their scales every 5 min

and spazzing over .23 oz gained and how (bad) they see themselves

unless one can use the scale as a guide and not a (device)

i know for a fact that clothes getting too big are a true sign of weight loss

in other words, inches lost mean true weight loss

people must learn to realize what makes one overweight..eating too many calories and not burning them off..i had my WLS of choice to help me not eat so much...up to me to choose what to eat...sometimes its good and sometimes its not so good...

i am like you..living/enjoying life

healthier and able to walk...

to me, that is what is good

There will always be tomorrow morning.

The only difference between one day and the next is what you decide to do with it.

What you do does make a difference, too. Even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time, and even if you seem to be headed away from your goals rather than toward them, you are the most important actor in your life.

Every day we make choices.

Every evening as we get ready for bed, we are the consequences of the day’s choices. The final choice we make at the end of the day is to either give up, especially after a discouraging experience, or to rededicate yourself to your path starting the next morning.

CG,

You continue to amaze me with the lessons you've learned, even before your surgery. I am so, so proud to see how you've worked through your WLS journey and lots of personal issues that would make a saint cry for mercy. Please, please believe me when I say,

You are a rock star!

J

Jeannie I love you 4ever ♥

after surgery, the inside is healing..testing waters is and could be dangerous. why chance it just after having WLS?? please dont.

immediately get back to the liquid and then soft phases as your doctor advised for best results and continue to follow their instructions.

and i dont mean to sound mean/nasty, but what would your doctor say if you asked him/her? i bet they'd say what i just wrote...call and ask them

hang in there

you only just begun

right now I have 2.5 CC in my 14cc lapband (i also have plication on my stomach). my dr said in about 2 weeks (when i had fill) i would begin to feel the fill...

now i understand what (restriction) is

i have always not been able to (eat) much due to the plication.

i have had restriction from the beginning. lost most of my weight w/o fills.

i have now have 2 fills in 3 yrs

but i can eat past my (boundaries and fullness signals) if i want too

and have this past week, i ate and i ate and i kept on eating.for the last 8 months, i have had a really hard time personal wise with 3 deaths in the immediate family one after the other and life issues and well, food tastes good when you are stressed..so i ate...no excuse.no woe is me...it was my reality...i was (full) or aka felt full and kept on even when it got uncomfy ...however we know we must always STOP before its get that the feeling of being stuffed or uncomfy...picture eating a huge thanksgiving dinner and you are like.....OMGod

this is how i feel after eating a very small amount now

its pretty cool but also i admit, i am missing eating..BUT
i know since i am a volume eater, that is the only way i can lose weight so i had my WLS of choice..i had WLS to help me lose weight but i have to help the WLS also

so what does it feel like besides what i wrote above (the full) feeling

well, if i eat too fast, my chest can feel some what tight...and my left shoulder can twinge a smidge (not hurt)..but what i am experiencing the most is that my stomach feels like i am full and i am not wanting to eat...couldnt care less...someone from this forum named B-52 writes that is how he feels..couldnt care less/no desire.......this is exactly how i am feeling

and i am enjoying it...its new..in a couple weeks, going back to get a little more..my dr is filling me slowly..he thinks i am very nearly that sweet spot (people call green) but i prefer to call it pink spot

BUT us WLS patients must eat *protein* to continue to lose weight..it is hard when you are not hungry let me tell you...but i am trying and i can tell that to me, in my words, this is what restriction feels like to me.

from Dr Simpson:

When you eat Thanksgiving dinner, you can feel stuffed. Contrast that with the sensation two hours after you eat your big meal, at that point your appetite is suppressed. It is the subtle dimming of the appetite that the band should provide. Being stuffed after a large meal is a complicated sensation of the abdominal wall stretching and a lot of gas in the bowel, in addition to feeling a diminution of appetite. You will not, and should not, feel the abdominal wall stretch with the band. You should not feel the "near nausea" and you should not feel bloated.

Key point:
You should NEVER eat until you feel full. It is best to stop eating before you "feel full." If you do eat until you feel full you will most likely be overstuffed. This leads to the universal key to success -- patients who eat a small volume of food (which, if you measure, is consistent) will be successful with the band. If you want to succeed, you need to know how much you are eating, and then stop eating -- it is in your control, but the band will help you -- not by stopping you, but by allowing you to feel satisfied after the small volume.

http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

read some of my NSV.........then think about your own NSV

and now ask yourself just how are you doing??? (yeah i thought you'd see it now)..

putting my socks on (hub use to have to do this for me).....although he still ties my shoes

several things...

hard to walk

couldnt stand for more than 5 min as my legs/knees hurt so bad

couldnt wipe my butt after going to bathroom

hub had to put my socks on

wearing a size 5x skirt and wonder do they come bigger

and the most important thing...my son saying i was to be a grandmother....

stay the course.......continue what you are doing and it will happen......

if you are doing what your doctor/nutritionist says to do, then you are doing a good job

stop reading/comparing your loss to someone else or because they had a different surgery than you...anyone on this wonderful earth lose weight the same way...one pound at a time..we must work off/burn more calories than we eat...that is how we lose weight...our WLS helps us eat less...UP to us to do the eating...DO NOT expect the WLS of your choice to do all the work kiddo..if you do, then you are in trouble already..

whether you like it or not, the first month or two or (three) if you are newly banded or any WLS... you are healing...you are swollen, your not hungry and then you get hungry, trust me the hunger will return...(head hunger is real btw)...being on liquids or soft foods will make you lose weight...most people lost a good deal doing liquids...i know i sure did

but NOW is the time to get your mind into the game...if you are struggling now, what will you do when the scale/weight loss does slow down for real (and it will).......this is where you need to measure your (true and actual weight loss in inches aka clothes getting too big or you need to buy smaller ones...that is a GREAT feeling)..

PS: not eating/starving yourself doesnt work..diets dont work

we all have dieted and well, you know how that turned out

eating good food in your band allotted amounts and beginning some sort of exercise/movement does work.. promise

on a side/personal note: i left this forum because it saddened me to read people saying i only lost this...and then how bad the (band) was BUT i want to reach out to those people like myself who want to lose weight...not to be a size 2 or weigh 100 pounds..but those (like me)..the larger BMI people.... when i started, i needed to lose weight to be able to merely walk again...

WLS its not an easy road but its not an overly hard road either...

get off the pity party..eat real/clean food/move your body and do what you need and know to do

it will happen if you let it..and then do it...

repeat daily for best results

here is an idea....

put on some clothes you wore at surgery...and if they are getting kinda on the big side

well, you know that you are losing weight....its hard but do try not to live/die by the scale.

if you are losing inches aka actual weight, the clothes won't lie.

i am sure you are doing great

if you follow the dr's advice and instructions, you are doing well

that funny.....me awesome LOL
as long as you love me, well then i be okay

still cant believe i had the balls to show myself on TV

well, i would ask your doctor and see if they will let you have it. i asked mine also

best of luck.

this is my fave from Walmart. about 19 dollars

i mix it with FF milk (or blend for a wendy's like slush)

or simply put in freezer and eat as ice cream (which is what i am about to do right now)

if you are losing inches (clothes getting looser/new smaller sizes) then its working...clothes are the best judgement to show any loss

found this at my dr's office yesterday

thought i'd share

Hey Cheryl

I also had the lapband/plication.

It saved my life.

Best of luck.

click here to see story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3098288/Fashion-label-Lilly-Pulitzer-slammed-customers-images-taken-inside-company-s-office-reveal-fat-shaming-cartoons-posted-walls.html

I found this article on a website and the link above has a picture of this clothing designers office with a couple of pictures showing fat woman and some comments next to the pictures..

its no wonder women of size dont like to shop at stores...i myself at my highest had to buy clothes online...one because i was too big to park in parking lot and walk into the store much less stand for 5 minutes.......and two it was easier to not have people looking at the fat lady

women, if you are a large person (i am now and will forever see myself as large) try NOT to let things like this get to you. WE are beautiful no matter what size we are.

i myself struggle with this every day at work..the women i work with are smaller than me, most are way younger and well, i spend time wishing i could be them..in my mind, if i was thin (or whatever my fat mind thinks) things would be perfect…world peace, i would be happy….well we know that is a load of crap dont we?

what matters is the INSIDE

the outside matters in regards to our health…it is best to not weigh a lot to be healthier yes but we should not be punished or judged for the number on the scale or the size of the tag on our britches..but i am guilty as charged with thinking the outside only matters. it is what my mom thought and said for my young life and def made me have a warped thinking process right out of the gate…

so today…..look in the mirror and go you sexy thing…no matter what the scale says or your pants or skirt size say…so the f**k what…you are SEXY and you are GORGEOUS right now..yes you are

just walking.....

I can't find the ladies only area, so sorry guys - look away

My surgery is tomorrow. My period looks like it's coming on time, tomorrow most likely. Will I be allowed to wear a tampon during surgery? Will I be able to tend to it post-op (meaning, will I physically be able to reach down or will it hurt my incisions?) it will probably not be full flow tomorrow so that's a blessing.

TIA ladies

i was on the tail end of my cycle and wore a pad/panties with no issues..i told my dr and he said he was a dr and this was not unknown to him LOL

all is well i am sure

It amazes me that so many get their panties in a wad when they post their opinion on a public discussion board and someone else disagrees or posts a counter opinion.

Seriously! It's OK. In most cases, that counter opinion is just that -- opinion. While I do take issue with those who take themselves very seriously and post their opinion as fact, I am happy to say they are few and far between.

We, for the most part, have different surgeons, different NUTs, different metabolisms, different builds, different backgrounds, different thought processes, different psychosis... (JOKING! Kind of.)

There are very few doctors or therapists here. There are NO experts on YOU here, with the exception of yourself. No one is qualified to give you *absolute do or die* advice. No one is in a position to tell you that you are !!!WRONG!!! or that everyone else is.

Relax. Breathe. Discuss. Share. Vent. Listen. Learn.

We all have our hot buttons, we are human. We all have topics we are passionate about. Debate is fun! It's healthy. It's how we learn and grow. It's a positive form of interaction until someone takes it personally. (I'm guilty at times -- I know it!) As long as it's respectful, there is no name calling involved, and there are no personal attacks, there is nothing wrong with it.

I'll tell you a few things about me that are "wrong" and I don't give a rat's patoot if you want to tell me so:

I drink soda. GASP! Even worse, I drink it through a straw! I would never tell anyone else to do the same. That's between you and your doctor.

I graze all day. My sleeve is small, my restriction is fierce. I graze to keep myself from getting too hungry, eating too fast and then vomiting it all back up.

I eat while I work, when I drive, when I watch TV. I find that when I do this, I get distracted and I eat slower. Weird, I know.

I weigh myself 2-4 times a day. First thing in the morning (usually fully dressed in my PJs as I get up at a ridiculously early time of day to get my kids out of the door.) I weigh myself buck naked after kissing them goodbye when it's time to get myself dressed. I weigh myself before and after a poo (giggle) because I have a middle school boy sense of humor. I weigh myself at night, again buck nekky, just before I get in the shower. I call it my step aerobics. It works for me. I don't get frustrated or upset. I never have, even at my fattest.

I eat real chocolate every day. Just a few Hershey Kisses or a Dove Promise (dark!). It quiets the sweet tooth I didn't have pre-op and keeps me from thinking about sweets all day. It's better to feed the beast a nibble and shut it up. FOR ME.

I eat full fat everything except the things I don't.

I am choosing not to be a WLS advocate. I don't care HOW people think I am losing weight, I don't care who supports me. I don't tell my business to everyone and it's not up to me to save the world from obesity one fatty at a time. I'm not embarrassed, ashamed or a liar.

Your personal experience, your advice from your NUT/surgeon/NP may differ completely. You may be of the opinion that I will be the size of a small whale in 5 year's time. You may think that I am failing myself and my surgery. You may think I am a hypocrite. It's OK.

You do you, I'll do me. We can talk and share and be opinionated together, even when our opinions don't match.

This is a public DISCUSSION board. It's ok to discuss, it's ok to be opinionated. Just expect the same in return.

so you saying its ok to be ok..

i can do that..