300PoundsDown

I just wanted everyone to know that Mandisa (the singer whose song I used in my video) personally wrote me saying she loved it and it encouraged HER!! Wow! She then posted it to her official facebook page for her followers! She also told me that she's coming to Austin in February so I'm going to get to meet her!! Pretty exciting. Thanks everyone for your feedback and encouragement to me!!

Signing up for surgery voluntarily is not easy. Subjecting your body to being cut,poked and prodded by choice is not the easy way. It's courageous. It took me 10 years to get the nerve. I chickened out once 5 years earlier. We all have to face our fears and the mind games and emotional issues are still there to fight. The easy way out is to give up and kill ourselves with the food. Refusing to give up and doing whatever it takes is hard and requires courage. That's why we are all warriors!!

That's amazing!!!

Yeah!!!!!

You are so on the right track by knowing that true change means incorporating new habits including exercise. My advice is the title of your post! You spoke the truth right there! The million miles begins with a single step. Start small. I could barely walk at all so I started walking 30 seconds at a time. I added walking 2 houses and back. Stay consistent and add a little as you go. Now I'm doing 4 miles a day. I have good and bad days where I slip but I get back on track. There are more days now where I'm on track then off. You are going to do great!!

Good luck!! I can't speak to the excess skin b/c I'm still losing. I know you're going to do great!

Incredible! Can you tell us what youre doing? You are awesome!

Fantastic!!!

Fantastic!!!

YES!! First off, I have been going to a psychologist who specializes in bariatric surgery and eating disorders. I also read a lot on the topic. Secondly, I got really depressed for the first 3 months. I mean really depressed. It was like a bad break up where you got dumped but you still have to see the love of your life everywhere you go..lol...only now you can't be together!! Dealing with your mind is a tough issue but it can be done. Also if you start exercising every single day you will begin to feel stronger mentally. Every time you conquer a hard thing (like not emotionally eating or walking a little further) your mind will become stronger. And before long you will have tamed the beast. It comes back to revisit but each time you are stronger to defeat it

Welcome to the 3 week stall!! Don't worry. As long as you do what you're supposed to do the weight WILL come off. Don't let the stall screw with your head b/c I know it did mine. And there will be other stalls too but this one is the worst. By the way, I just want to say AWESOME to you walking on the treadmill. Starting exercise from the beginning is going to really make a major difference not only in your loss but also how you feel mentally when things like this happen . Stalls really can hurt you mentally but you can always progress with exercise. So just keep going for it!!

Sorry guys but I have to ask. I am struggling to get in my Protein. I was told to up it to at least 60 but more like over 100. So ONE day I decided to drink 4 of the Premier Protein costco drinks that have 30 grams each of protein. I got in 120 grams and the very next day I literally thought I would DIE. I had major bathroom issues like never in my entire life. Nothing would work. And I mean NOTHING. I thought I was going to have to get a stick of dynamite. Sorry for being so out there but it was horrifying!! I had to go to the doctor. They told me a lot of protein like that can really mess you up. Maybe my body wasn't used to it or maybe that brand of shakes who knows. All I can say is it has taken me a full WEEK to even get my body back on track. I'm on daily doses of miralax, Fiber pills, blueberries, prune juice..whatever is powerful. I never want that to happen again. I was actually scared!! LOL...I know it sounds ridiculous but it literally frightened me to death!! So how are you all really getting in these high amounts of protein and NOT having to live on laxatives b/c I really don't want to do that. But I've noticed that the higher the protein the faster the weight loss

Wow thank you all so much for the comments!! I really appreciate it!! I am so encouraged by others on here at every point of the journey. If you're just starting out or you're at maintenance. We are all somewhere along the path and get strength from each other. It takes courage to do this so we are all warriors!! Thanks again!!

I'm so thankful for all the people on this board. From the time I was in research mode through choosing this surgery through losing 100 pounds so far...the people here have been an invaluable source of info, encouragement and support. Thanks so much! Here's my success so far...I have a long way to go but I'm on my way Please check out my blog with my update including a video and pics. You can scroll to the bottom of my blog post if you want to just see the video. Thanks everyone!!

I can promise you there is no way you will feel worse after losing 200 lbs. Trust me!! I am not sure what was going on with the woman you spoke to but I am pretty sure she must have been dealing with emotional issues due to the weight loss. Your health matters. Getting off 200 lbs will completely change your life. Getting off 10 pounds will change your life!! Every single pound will make an infinite difference to your health, heart, knees, back etc. Your life will change. Don't let negativity get in your way. If you're worried about loose skin then there is surgery for that too but not everyone has it. You look pretty young . There is a good chance you wouldn't deal with it but I can guarantee you that you'd rather have some loose skin to deal with than a heart attack or stroke which is where we're all heading with this weight on us.

I started this post when I was looking into surgery so I thought i'd come back and update. I had the surgery in July and I'm down 95 lbs 5 months later. I wish I was losing a bit faster but I have not been as diligent with my protein/water/calories as others. Basically I have no desire to eat and I am never hungry. I've kind of been relishing in that feeling! I think it's amazing. However, I want to maximize my progress so I'm going to get back to being diligent about getting all protein in. This has been a true answer from God for me in my life!

This is amazing. Congratulations and amazing job!!!!! Thanks for being specific about your plan. I needed to hear it!

I am speechless!!!!!!!

I'm not eating very many calories per day b/c I'm not hungry most of the time. I am trying to get in my 60 grams of protein by drinking these shakes that have 30 grams per shake . each shake is 160 calories. If I drink 2 per day that is still only a bit over 300 calories. In addition to that, I usually eat maybe 1 or 2 pieces of very thinly sliced deli ham and a piece of thin deli sliced cheese which may throw in another 200 calories. I was told I need to eat way more and that this may be the reason I'm losing slowly. But I don't want to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry.Advice?

I would really appreciate some honest feedback from all of you. I went to my 5 month follow up appointment today at my surgeon's office. I don't see him at these appointments but rather a nurse or a PA. She went over my labs, bp, bmi etc. All good but then she says "94 lbs in 5 months...hmmm...that's not good..what is going on here?" She then proceeded to tell me that I should have lost at least another 20 or so pounds by now but if I can start losing at LEAST 5 pounds per week from now on then "maybe" I can "get back on track". She then asked if I wanted to get squeezed into see the nutritionist while I was there to try and figure out what's going wrong. Ok needless to say this was majorly depressing for me. Also, this is exactly the kind of thing that can trigger a person such as myself to binge. Luckily my sleeve won't allow that and I have been working on my mind enough to not go down that self destructive route or even try to. But seriously for me this was like cutting it close to a mental breakdown b/c I've been working my **%!%! off but apparently it's not up to par. Now I'd like some honest feedback b/c if I am in fact not on track then I want to know. I started at the high end (417 pounds) and we all know the bigger you are the faster you tend to lose. Today I am 322. I'm close to my 100 pound goal which I was happy about except now I feel like a big LOSER. Also, she told me "Well it is critical that you get as much as you can off in that first year b/c once you hit 6 months the inflammation from your surgery has gone down and then you will start getting hungry again. But oh my..you're entering your 6th month now so yep...see that's why it was critical that you take advantage of the first 6 months but oh well" Ok SCARY. So now suddenly I'm goign to start getting hungry again?? I haven't heard this before. And she said I can stretch out my stomach. And started filling my head with all kinds of horrible anxiety filling fears. Talk about a horrible day. I think most of us who have a long history of overeating know that perfectionism is an issue. If I can't do this right, then why do it at all?? If it's not working then why am I denying myself? I should just go find the nearest buffet bar and dive in. Thankfully my tool is not letting me do this but this mentality and line of thinking...not good enough...not on track....and what in the hell is wrong with you that you haven't lost more by now?? Oh my gosh! Someone talk me down! lol

I was just wondering if you exercise. I'm too early to really be giving any advice but for me this has been a 2 part process of diet plus exercise. Unfortunately I hate exercising ! LOL...but I find that it has made a major difference in not only my weight loss but how I mentally feel. Since you only have 40 pounds to go I would highly recommend getting a personal trainer. Someone that you really like who can keep your interests and maybe join some group fitness classes like zumba. My brother who lost 250 pounds on this surgery said that you have to keep "deploying" new things or your mind/body becomes stagnant. So I would try doing something totally new and different to shock your body and shake it up.

Amazing!! You look so great. How inspiring!

I had my surgery on June 28, 2011 and so far I have lost 90 lbs :happy:

Yes you are in the 3 week stall. Don't fret! I was having a fit but trust me it is totally normal and it will pass. Don't even sweat it!!

It has been 4 months and I've lost 81 lbs. Does this seem too slow in comparison to others? I've seen others with much higher numbers than me and beginning to wonder what is wrong with me!