JerseyCityGal

Find a hobby that doesn't involve food and that will engage your brain, something like genealogy, really fast. This will sound trite, but every day really is a new day. You don't have to carry yesterdays mistakes into tomorrow. You blew your diet and that's over with. You don't have to do it again tomorrow. We all have our moments of weakness. Don't let it get you down and then turn to more bad choices for comfort. You can do better tomorrow. If you don't buy it, you can't eat/drink it. Clear out everything that aren't the best things for you to consume and it will make sticking to your diet & exercise plan a lot easier. Out of sight, out of mind.

My top two scars look like freckles, not scars. My main incision looks like a little dash, like my belly button has a mustache or something, lol. They aren't bad at all.

One of the differences I first noticed was sitting in a booth. I was a lot farther from the table than the 1/16th of an inch I had been before, lol. Also, when I am sitting and look down, I now have a lap and not a gut. One by one, you will start noticing all these differences. I won't allow certain foods in the house because I know that I will start eating them mindlessly. Nuts are on the list. Get rid of all the things on your list. The drop on the scale keeps me motivated, even during stalls. I know it's going to keep going down.

Put the Protein shakes in the blender with ice and make a real shake out of it. It will make you feel fuller. You can also add sugar-free Torani syrups (0 calories, 0 carbs, etc) to make any flavor you want. I personally love the cinnamon sugar, belgian cookie, pumpkin pie or gingerbread flavor(s) in a vanilla shake blended with ice. It really makes it delicious, like a coolatta.

That outfit looks great on you. Keep it up!

My hair started falling out at about 3 months, and it stopped at 5 1/2 months. I started on Biotin before my surgery and still take it every day, but it didn't help, lol. I'm always high Protein and that didn't help either.

I was on it years ago. You will lose weight, but when you stop taking it .... your appetite comes back with a vengeance.

I had laser hair removal after years of waxing. The cost of the laser treatments pays for itself when you figure out how many waxes you are going to pay for during your lifetime.

Bob, I wasn't scared at all, not even for one second, until I was in the operating room. It was right then that I became terror-struck. I got my hands on a Filipino nurse and wouldn't let go. I was yelling "Please pray for me!" at her. Mercifully they put me out pretty quickly after that, lol. The surgery is a new beginning, a fresh start, and the best thing that is ever going to happen to you. Just keep thinking about what your life will be like in 3 months, 6 months, a year. I'm exactly 6 months out today and have lost 79.5 lbs. I feel so good, and I keep feeling better every day. There really is nothing to be nervous about. You will make it through just fine.

I love Chike. They even have a coffee flavored one, along with all their other delicious flavors. I actually look forward to drinking them. I add ice to the blender and make them all shake style. FYI, the coffee flavor is cheaper on Amazon than on the Chike Nutrition website.

I would say something like "Mom, you know reality tv isn't exactly "real", right?" along with a sideways look.

My hair loss stopped at 5 1/2 months, which was good because I was going to look like Captain Picard if it kept up much longer. I got a shoulder length layered cut to make it look as best I could for now. I can get away with wearing a winter hat for the next few months, so that will help some too while it grows back in.

You really don't hear what people actually say, do you? What you were told, by two people who have PCOS - same as you, that they were able to lose weight. PCOS is not an excuse. It's harder, but it can be done. I went swimming every morning for 45 minutes before work, not dog paddling but Olympic size pool laps. Then I hit the gym, with a personal trainer, 5 nights a week. On weekends I literally walked for miles. If you want to lose weight, surgery or not, this is the kind of effort it takes for someone with PCOS. You think it's commendable that you are able to walk. You need to do a heck of a lot more than making it up the steps or the hill to your house to lose weight unless you live on the summit of Mt. Washington and park at the base. No one said you have no right to be happy or healthy. I've read the thread twice, and there is no such post where you are told this. That's your belief, not what anyone said. Yes, being almost 300 lbs and 5' 4" is abusing your body. There are thousands of reputable websites that detail what all that excess weight is doing to your body. Everything from increasing your heart attack risk six-fold to wearing out your joints. Even your chances of getting cancer are increased. Would you subject someone you loved to something that would do these things? Nooooo. Your digestive issues and allergies don't prevent you from eating foods with a lower carb, sugar, fat and calorie content, do they? Never in my life have I seen someone besides you claim that a bagel with butter is a "healthy food choice". Bread is not your friend. For instance, Chickpeas vs Black Beans. You chose chickpeas. 1/2 cup of chickpeas has 269 calories, 4g fat, 45 carbs and 15g of Protein. 1/2 cup of black beans is 90 calories, 0.5 g fat, 12 carbs and 7g of protein. You could eat three times as many black beans as chickpeas and still be better off. 45g of carbs for a 1/2 cup serving of anything just will not work if you are trying to lose weight. Your carbs have to be restricted. There isn't anyone who is going to tell you that you can have all the carbs you want and you are going to lose weight. It doesn't work that way. It's like you can't even imagine that there are better choices than the ones you have made. If you want to lose weight, you will have to change your mindset first, then your habits. You think there is nothing you can learn or be taught because you believe you have a "healthy lifestyle". You don't. Just because you aren't eating a tray of cupcakes at every meal doesn't mean you have made the best choices. I want to loan you a book, on Kindle. You can use the Kindle app on your phone or computer to read it, you don't need a Kindle. It's by Dr. Duc Vuong. He's the weight loss surgeon that treated TLC's 900 lb man. He wrote a book about Gastric Sleeve Success, and it's great. It explains what you have to change and why, along with explaining the entire sleeve process. If you message me your e-mail address, I'll Kindle lend you the book.

It will break. I had a six week stall that broke a few weeks ago.

Yup. Two surgeons.

That's great. I didn't get gas either. I bought like 3 boxes of Gas-X and didn't need them at all.

I'm six months out. I too tried every diet, medication, etc. I just got fatter. Lose 15, gain back 20, etc. The sleeve makes you very mindful of how much you are eating. You have to stay on top of what you are eating, preferably with an app. I use MyFitnessPal. That only takes a few minutes a day. Before I eat, I log it in to see the effect it will have on my daily totals. I can see if I need to make a different choice BEFORE I eat. It takes about a week to get in the habit, then it becomes second nature. The reduced capacity is great. You get full fast. I use 4 oz ramekins to put my food in, and I measure everything. Before I used to pour or scoop as much as I wanted. You will get in the habit of self-control and measuring after you end up throwing food away because you took too much. Your stomach will be like a gas tank. It fits x ounces, and that's it. Overfilling won't do you any good. You don't need to keep going after you are full. You've had enough. I have experienced hunger all along, and not just in my head. From all the people telling me I would never be hungry again, I figured that was how it was, but I had a different experience. I keep things like cherry tomatoes in a baggie in my purse and I have 2 or 3 when I get hungry. It's very low calorie (I think 50 calories for a whole cup - about 20 of them), so it's under control. I'm not suffering. You do have to put in effort, but the sleeve is seriously like the difference between taking off a lug nut with your bare hands or using a key wrench. It makes it doable.

And $8,781 would buy 3,512 of them. That's 9 3/4 protein bars a day.

It was really hard, but I did it. FYI, there were no video games in the 1960's and nowhere in my post did I mention cigarettes. What I was pointing out was that he was perfectly happy with a situation that most people would have been clawing their way out of. He had no desire to change or make things what most people would consider better for himself. He was just fine with the way things are. Maybe you are too. You don't have to have surgery if you don't want to .... just don't fool yourself about what your situation really is. Whether you think so or not, you aren't eating for optimal nutrition and weight loss. Do you know how much sugar is in sundried tomatoes? How much sodium? For you to get in the proper amount of Protein with all those ingredients, your salad would have had to have been MUCH larger than you stated, and the calories would have been pretty high. Skipping meals causes weight gain. For one, it slows down your metabolism. I could go on and on. You're just not eating the way you need to. If you want to have surgery, you are going to have to take a crash course in nutrition and really grasp what you are putting in your mouth.

The deductible is ONLY for what exceeds the cost of a normal meal and the total of all these deductibles must exceed 10% of your AGI if you were born after 1949. Before 1949, it's 7.5%. And it's only what is over the cost of regular meals. The IRS national standard for food is $315 a month or $3,780 a year. If your AGI is 50,000K, you need to exceed $5,000 less the $3,780 standard for food. Unless I'm missing something, that means you would have needed to have spent $8,781 ($168.87 per week) on protein shakes and protein bars for one person per year to qualify for a $1 deduction. Vitamins are out unless you have a severe deficiency because they fall under general health. Just how much do these protein bars cost?

The first few weeks when you melt like a snowman in July are so thrilling, lol. It's a great feeling. Your sleeve is still swollen, so you won't be eating a lot. I had mashed squash, mushroom gravy, avocado, hummus, tomato Soup, strained Soups, etc. Any fruits and veggies that go in the nutribullet are fine. Don't worry about weight gain, unless you plan on living on hot fudge sauce for the next month, lol. You won't be eating a lot, and everything is going to taste soooo good. I felt like the Queen of NJ after 4 oz of tomato soup. When you go on solids, you will start to know what "full" feels like. My friend bought me some 4 oz ramekins on Amazon.com to put my food in so I would always know what enough was. I still use them.

You do it the same way toddlers do. They have a small stomach, don't eat a lot and stop when they are full. You aren't dieting, it's a complete lifestyle change. You have to learn about nutrition and log every bite that goes in your mouth. The cravings were rough at first, but I got through it. Now I'm not interested in certain foods I used to scarf down. Seriously? If you had such a "healthy" relationship with your body, you wouldn't weigh close to 300 lbs. What you are is accepting of yourself and the way you look. Not being self-loathing doesn't mean you have a "healthy" relationship with your body. You are living in an abused body. Don't make your husband an excuse. It's extremely rare to find a mentally and emotionally healthy person who goes "ewww" when their partner gets in shape and healthy. What you think you look like in your head right now is not what the rest of the world is seeing. You can save up for plastic surgery. It will be a few years before you lose all the weight, work out to get as much muscle tone and definition as possible and stabilize so you have lots of time.

I'll get real with you too ... and believe me, I'm being realistic, not mean. PCOS makes it much harder to lose weight, but not impossible. I lost 70 lbs at one point through diet and exercise. It can be done. I went through early menopause so my symptoms are pretty much nonexistent now, but women with PCOS can lose weight. It's harder and slower than the average person, but I did it and I didn't have superpowers. Don't use PCOS as your catch-all excuse. Lots of women with PCOS have the surgery. I've been a vegetarian for 30+ years and I have to tell you, as far as weight loss and real nutrition, your diet is crap. Bagel with butter? Skipping a meal? Chickpeas (btw, I love them) have 45 carbs in a cup and close to 300 calories. 1/4 cup of feta is loaded with sodium. A cup of quinoa has 39 carbs. Where's the Protein? You think you are eating a lot healthier than you are. You're not in "great health". You're 5' 4" and almost 300 lbs. You are a morbidly obese woman who is used to walking. Not having a heart attack at this very moment doesn't mean you are in "great health". What you are is someone whose body hasn't started showing the signs of breaking down yet. The key phrase is started showing. It's breaking down. You can walk? Great. We're SUPPOSED to be able to walk without effort. You're not getting the Gold Star of Health because you can still walk and you don't have obesity hypoventilation syndrome ... yet. I weighed 268 and was 52 when I decided to look into surgery, and I could actually sprint, touch my toes, run up the subway stairs, walk for miles, you name it. I also had a family history of people dying in their 40's and 50's, and if they made it to 60, it wasn't for long. I really didn't want to die. That was the tipping point for me. I was in my genetic "dead zone". I was 53 when I had the surgery, and I'm 54 now. I'm confident I'll live to see 74. Have you seen any 5' 4" 300 lb women in their 70's and 80's walking around? No. Do you know why that is? It's because there are aren't any. They are all dead. If you aren't ready for surgery or just plain don't want it, there is nothing wrong with that. It's not for everyone. If you want making it up the stairs to your house to be your personal best, go for it (and I'm not being sarcastic). Sometimes people are happy with the way things are and don't adapt well to change. I had this sort-of uncle who lived in his mother's basement his entire adult life. He had a pool table, a full bar, a dart board, state of the art (for the 1960's) stereo, color tv (a big deal back then), fridge, some type of velour sofa and a bed. The only time he would leave was to buy beer and Slim Jims. He was truly happy. His whole life was spent in that basement. He loved being down there until the day he died. I personally am so grateful for my surgery. Every day I wake up and think about what I was this time last year. I ate clean before, but now proper nutrition is a priority. So is exercise and making the best possible choices for me at all times. What I put in my mouth, what I do with my time, what I will accept from myself. My personal standards for myself and my goals are a thousand times higher and it really shows. Is there something you are afraid of? There are some downsides (like sagging skin), but it's small potatoes compared to all the health and personal benefits. I don't pray to not die in my sleep every night before I go to bed any more. I'm not jonesing for bagels any more. I get excited about working out. When stuff happens, I have to deal with it instead of eat. The happy switch has been turned on for me. I wish I had done this years ago.

Not getting exactly what you wanted doesn't mean you aren't getting exactly what you need. Remember that.

I have had obstructive sleep apnea my entire life and can tell you why it's a problem. The reason why they want you on a cpap before and after surgery is because the low blood oxygen levels you get from not breathing increases your risk of a heart attack greatly after surgery. You don't want to go in for a sleeve and come out with a sleeve and a pacemaker. Anesthesia also relaxes your muscles, and people with an obstructive apnea have enough of a relaxed airway as it is. Obstructive apnea increases your possible complication rate, but untreated obstructive apnea puts you in the high-risk zone. FYI, the dry mouth is usually caused by snoring. Snoring can also make you thirsty. And the nighttime urination isn't really what they are asking you about. People with apnea normally don't remember waking up during an event, but they WILL remember waking up and going to the bathroom. Since people with apnea wake up a lot during the night, a large number of them are roused enough to the point where they think they have to go to the bathroom, so that's where they go. The question is used as a marker. It doesn't apply to everyone who has apnea (I hardly ever get up to go unless I drank 32 ounces 15 minutes before bed or something), but it can be a marker for a lot of people.