Bonawanabfree

i forgot to tell you why i tell everyone. I want everyone to know that this was my saving grace in life. I want others to be inspired by this decision cause they may want to make the same steps and they may need a hand to hold. I have always been an open person though. I am an open book and if people dont like my decision they can fly a kite....lol

I told everyone capable of hearing and still do.

i forgot to tell you why i tell everyone. I want everyone to know that this was my saving grace in life. I want others to be inspired by this decision cause they may want to make the same steps and they may need a hand to hold. I have always been an open person though. I am an open book and if people dont like my decision they can fly a kite....lol

i forgot to tell you why i tell everyone. I want everyone to know that this was my saving grace in life. I want others to be inspired by this decision cause they may want to make the same steps and they may need a hand to hold. I have always been an open person though. I am an open book and if people dont like my decision they can fly a kite....lol

Everyone that knew what I looked like before and knows what I look like now! I am not ashamed of the way I chose to handle my weight loss. I was ashamed of weighing close to 400lbs. I am very excited and empowered by my results both on and off the scale.

I told everyone capable of hearing and still do.

I am so excited for you. I have seen many of your posts the last 5 months and have been waiting with you. Thursday will be here before you know it!

Sherrie I cried reading this. I am right there with you!!! I'm so excited for us, I know we will do great, and in the beginning suffer together lol

Thursday!! Today is Sunday. OMG! It has been a long, hard road with many hoops to jump through, and now, "suddenly", it's here! I am nearly there. I am nearly sleeved. I'm nearly having a difficult time with pain from a drain, and not able to drink a bottle of Water at one sitting. I'm nearly barely able to eat a tablespoon of greek yogurt at a sitting. My life is nearly changed for the better. One day soon I will be searching my closets for smaller clothes which I saved back from when I was smaller. I'm so excited to begin this journey to health and happiness, I am nearly able to polish my own toenails, to lace up my shoes. Nearly able to run up a flight of stairs and not be winded and keep up with my grand kids. It's Sunday...I'm nearly there!

I have noticed that some people are not convinced in starvation mode and let me just take a moment to pandor to you. I am not at all trying to sway your opinion but i think there are some misconceptions about it and I want to explain this. Starvation mode is a term that sometimes gets thrown around in a way that makes it seem dangerous, hence the word "starvation". This word has a very morbid condontation to it and maybe we should call it fasting mode or the reset button. Your body is a machine that is highly adaptable but in the end will function the way it was created to function. If you have been use to eating high calories for years your body has been use to storing the excess calories as fat. Now on the other hand if you all of a sudden drastically cut those calories and become more active your body stops in its tracks and resets itself. For example. If a train if going at a fast speed and you hit the breaks it does not stop suddenly it slowly decreases speed and momentum over a period of time then once you have stopped and started the train back up it will move slowly in order to create momentum again. i am not trying to equate a human body to a train but i am only using this as an example as to what our bodies are doing. They are learning to adapt to the new lifestyle. Once the train starts back up the momentum will push it along but it will take time. If you have gone low carb like most of us have you will know that our bodies are now using Protein as well as glycogen to convert to glucose in oder for our brain to function properly. Our livers have to process this and it is an extra step in our body function of which our body is completely not use to dealing with. I am not a scientist i am just a curious reader that loves this stuff. I would like to end this by saying to others that this is not at all a personal attack and I respect everyones opinion and I am completly interested in your opinions of why or why not you believe in "starvation mode". I am always open to a new understanding of our anatomy. Thanks to everyone. bless

@@Bonawanabfree I think you're right that part of the problem here is the term "starvation mode". People are taking it literally, when really it might be better called "preservation mode". When you have a drastic reduction in caloric intake, you body wants to preserve itself. And while it is true (obviously) that your body will burn fat stores for the fuel it's no longer getting from food, it will also drastically lower your metabolism in an effort to preserve that fat for as long as possible. The mistake people are making is assuming that their metabolism will remain constant, whether they are burning food or stored fat for energy and that is simply NOT true. The switch to burning fat for fuel changes your metabolism as a mechanism for self preservation.

As embarrassing as this is to admit I have to say the biggest NSV for me thus far is not having bathroom complications anymore. It is so much easier to get in and get out now.

I think it is relative to people. I have seen people say they dont get hungry but I on the other hand get hungry. I will eat something and be completely unsatisfied psychologically cause I hype myself up before i take a bite of food thinking it is going to taste devine but much to my dismay I am bored very quick with eating cause it is not meeting my high expectation of food. This is all mental.

As embarrassing as this is to admit I have to say the biggest NSV for me thus far is not having bathroom complications anymore. It is so much easier to get in and get out now.

I know you said that you do not believe in starvation mode and I just need to preface this by saying that i believe in it wholeheartedly because I have been dealing with the effects of it in a classic case I might add. I have gone up on the scale aswell in these past few weeks but I know that i retain Water frequently. It could be an issue of water or you are losing inches instead of pounds becasue you are gaining lean muscle and losing fat.

Are you taking measurements? That may be a much more reliable way to track your progress than the scale. I know you said you don't believe in "starvation mode", but do you believe in anorexia? There is a form of it called anorexia athletica, which is when you are burning more calories through exercise than you are consuming (not accounting for basal metabolic rate). So if you are burning 800-900 calories through structured, formal exercise and you are only consuming 800-900 calories a day, you are essentially anorexic.
You NEED to consume enough calories to sustain your exercise. While you need a daily deficit in order to lose weight, too large a deficit will definitely impede your weight loss and cause other health concerns.
Another thing to factor in is that building muscle can cause you to retain some Water. As you push your muscles to the limits through strength training, the microtears you create will cause your muscle to retain Water to protect itself and repair. This should NOT deter you from doing weight training, because that is ultimately VERY good for you, but it can cause some fluctuation in your weight as you step up the intensity.

As embarrassing as this is to admit I have to say the biggest NSV for me thus far is not having bathroom complications anymore. It is so much easier to get in and get out now.

I know you said that you do not believe in starvation mode and I just need to preface this by saying that i believe in it wholeheartedly because I have been dealing with the effects of it in a classic case I might add. I have gone up on the scale aswell in these past few weeks but I know that i retain Water frequently. It could be an issue of water or you are losing inches instead of pounds becasue you are gaining lean muscle and losing fat.

Just because you don't believe in something, doesn't mean it isn't true. Famous last words! What do you think your body would do if, indeed it is starving? And what is starving? To the body it is a massive reduction in nutrient intake, and that is what you have given it. And so it reacts to that by shutting down and conserving nutrients, sending them to the most vital organs. Thus hair loss. Thus skin dryness. Thus lack of energy. Thus, thus, thus... Respect the starvation, and how your body reacts to it. It will hold onto whatever it can to survive. It is not HAPPY with you. And it is nature.

As embarrassing as this is to admit I have to say the biggest NSV for me thus far is not having bathroom complications anymore. It is so much easier to get in and get out now.

I know you said that you do not believe in starvation mode and I just need to preface this by saying that i believe in it wholeheartedly because I have been dealing with the effects of it in a classic case I might add. I have gone up on the scale aswell in these past few weeks but I know that i retain Water frequently. It could be an issue of water or you are losing inches instead of pounds becasue you are gaining lean muscle and losing fat.

The apple/melon is okay. I have not tasted the others. It is very very sweet. The texture reminds me of watery Jello. I have not had it since I had surgery cause the artificial sweetners make my mouth foam up. Not a good feeling

Today is my day!!!!!! I report at 9 & surgery at 11..I'm so excited.

Today is the big day! Surgery is in 2 hours and I cannot wait. Labs check, hot anesthesiologist check. I'm ready to get this party started!

At the hospital to get my blood work, ultrasound of my gallbladder, xray of my lungs, and an ekg done! And then I'm done with my testing and just need 4 more months of weigh ins left!