JerseyCityGal

You should tweet a link to Ivan and than him for that AhHa moment

How much time do you spend analyzing other peoples plates, what and how much they are eating and how fast they chew?
That's how much attention they are going to be paying to you - hardly any at all.
I eat out a lot. I always end up with a doggie bag. If anyone comments that I didn't eat very much I say "I had a huge lunch. Now I have lunch for tomorrow too!" and move on. It's just small talk. They don't really care.
I wait until I get home to have post-meal liquids.

You are doing so great!

How much time do you spend analyzing other peoples plates, what and how much they are eating and how fast they chew?
That's how much attention they are going to be paying to you - hardly any at all.
I eat out a lot. I always end up with a doggie bag. If anyone comments that I didn't eat very much I say "I had a huge lunch. Now I have lunch for tomorrow too!" and move on. It's just small talk. They don't really care.
I wait until I get home to have post-meal liquids.

Don't give up! You can do it!
Here is my story:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ivan-lendl-motivated-mississippi-man-lose-150-pounds/story?id=29732379

I very rarely post before and after pics, but I feel safer doing it here than I do anywhere else. Since I'm only 9 months out (I was sleeved 6-30-14), I consider myself to be a work in progress and not necessarily at my ultimate "after." I've lost 100 pounds, though, and I'm very happy where I am. I'd like to lose a bit more, but if I was told that I had to stay at exactly the weight I'm at now forever, I'd be blissfully happy.  

Oh, I look at sites every night, lol.
I'm 54, almost 55. Nothing is snapping back, lol. Trust me. I pull it out and it just lays there like a dead cat in the road for the next 6 months.
I was looking for people who actually had it done; some before they lost all the weight, some after, for their personal opinions. If they had it done before, did it still hold up after all the weight came off, etc? Do they wish they waited, etc? Or did they wait and wish they had done it earlier?
Been there, done that and glad you did OR wish you hadn't opinions are very valuable. Nothing is better than the words of someone who has been there before you.
I work out with a personal trainer 3 times a week and on my own the rest of the week. Because I was shaped like a top before, my middle is disproportionate skin-wise. That and my arms.
I was in the bathroom at work when I took that pic so I couldn't strip down bare ass and get a real good photo, lol.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

I've said this before and I'll say it again:
There will not be a food Rapture while you are in surgery.
Delicious food will still exist when you are wheeled out of the operating room. When you get farther along you can work small portions of your favorites in.

I, too, fall into this category. Although I am just starting this journey and am going to my first free seminar tonight to get information on which route is my best option. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the sleeve and have no intention on telling my husband or anyone else for that matter. I've learned the hard way that loosing weight on someone else's terms or for someone else will only keep me in a dark mindset that obviously hasn't worked before. This is for me. I want to do this for me. I want long term happiness and I will obtain that with or without spousal support. I applaud you & support you all the way!!

You're 4 1/2 months out and almost at goal?
Yeah, I'd say that was VERY good.

Whenever I feel myself slipping, I give myself a pep talk too.
Naked.
In front of the fridge.
With my iphone 6 plus (HD camera) and my selfie stick.
Then I download it, print out a few copies and stick them on my food cabinets, fridge and freezer.
I save the original on my phone to look at when I grocery shop or when I feel my resolve slipping and I'm not at home.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

I never tried them before surgery, but I bought every single sugar-free flavor post-surgery in one big order and I just love them.
I add the flavors like Gingerbread, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, S'Mores, pumpkin Pie, vanilla Bean, English Toffee, Belgian Cookie, etc to Chike vanilla Protein shakes with ice in the blender and it's just like having a Coolatta except for the calories. Delicious. I bought the dispensing pumps to get the servings right ... two big squirts.
The fruit flavors are great in ice Water. Maybe you aren't using enough.
On the website they have a lot of great recipes. sugar-free Coconut iced coffee was very good.

Yes, search for "3 week stall". You will see hundreds of posts about it.
Most of us have had this happen.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

She had surgery just a few weeks ago and you think she should just go ahead and "have it!"???
Why don't you just drive her to McDonalds while you are at it. Unreal.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

Your going to need a mind adjustment. Start now and throw all the junk away in your house. Sit down and write out a healthy grocery list. Research healthy snack options and get some. Track everything you put in your mouth. Drink more Water. Try to focus on something besides junk food. Maybe start a hobby. Whatever just don't go back down that road. I had an aunt who did the same thing after WLS and put all her weight back on and is now miserable and depressed about it. You don't want that. Stop while your ahead!

This thread has caused me to reflect on my own process and I realized something. At some moment, I realized that "normal" was just an idea I needed to let go of. This didn't happen in an instant, and I recognize it may not be the same for everyone... but I just don't even have the same idea about food and meals that I used to. I can't fathom (anymore) calling a happy meal either happy, or a meal.
This was one of the key reasons i "failed" with the band. I didn't understand how fundamentally I needed to shift to find lasting weight loss.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

Personally I would think that any doc who would perform a gastric sleeve for a 50 pound loss on a guy as tall as you would be medically irresponsible if not downright negligent.

I think you look great, and if you're at a weight that you've stabilized at, my thinking is that if you "diet" to lose more, you may end up gaining those last pounds back in time anyway. I've been wondering about this stuff too - I feel like I should try to eliminate all the fat that's mixed in with my extra skin before doing plastics, but I'm not sure I really want to get THAT skinny. I'm already getting comments that I shouldn't lose any more.
I'm curious to hear how your consultation goes. Please keep us posted. But I think you're definitely slim enough to do it.

@chunkymonkey86122 I was 153 when I had my first plastics procedure, 137 at my second, and I will be 130-133ish for my last one next week. My doctor told me that as long as I was within 15% of goal, then I wouldn't mess up my results with weight loss. My boobs and stomach were the first things I had done and they look just as good now as they did before I lost 20 more pounds. I LOVE my results and I am glad I didn't wait to lose more weight first.

I had my first plastics procedure at 11 months out, but I scheduled it at 9 months out. If your current weight is 119 pounds (go you! I cannot for the life of me get under 130) then you are more than ready for plastics. I read a study that showed that people who had plastics after a weight loss surgery were less likely to regain than those who did not. I LOVE my new stomach (and my new boobs, new arms, and new thighs) but my stomach is the thing that consistently amazes me. How can MY stomach be so flat and hard?! I am glad I didn't wait any longer before I had surgery and I hope you find it to be as awesome as I have.