SouthernSleever

So excited for you! Dr A is THE BEST!

Deep breath! I guess I would tell myself..."Don't overthink" just enjoy and respond when necessary. You do not sound desperate for a man... and this is mature of you... I think you will be fine!
I am getting more attention for sure... and I am 58 and married! Go figure.

It's pure jealousy and I still think the grass is greener

As far as friends wanting you to lose weight all my friends were for it too but they don't realize that you might be smaller than them. Everyone was so supportive when I started losing weight but once I got smaller I got the whole "Woah! You are getting too skinny!" which really means, "OMG YOU ARE SMALLER THAN ME! STOP IT!" Oh well! I rarely talk to my bestfriend she was always a size 6 and I was an 18. Then she gained weight when she had her 2nd kid but was still smaller than me. Now that she's a 20 and I'm an 8 I rarely hear from her. I know it must be hard and a shift in dynamics since she hinges how she feels about herself on how often guys pay her attention. I still love her and love her heart but I know it's not easy.

It's pure jealousy and I still think the grass is greener

I quit smoking to get the sleeve. I had previously quit to have my children for 5 years and had a relapse a couple months before surgery. I started again in June at Bonnaroo (a music festival). Now I'm not saying the smoking made me drop weight. Walking ALL day for 4 days in 100 degree weather and dancing my ass off had the majority to do with it but I lost 5lbs those days. I'm still smoking I plan to quit Nov 1st. The times I have tried to quit recently I have found myself munching like crazy BUT I would rather gain 5lbs or even 10 than do all this work only to get cancer and lose what I've worked so hard for, not to mention leaving my children Motherless which is devastating. Besides if you look at smokers they look tired and their skin wrinkled and ashy.
As far as gaining and normal gains and then drops again I will lose about 8lbs a month recently gain 3 and then start losing again. That's my pattern every month since 3 months out.
Edited to add I have had two 5lb gains a couple months but the weight came right back off.

That's the holy triangle *Angels singing* AHHHHHHHHHH!

It's pure jealousy and I still think the grass is greener

You are doing amazing and you look fantastic! Keep up the good work and the 100s feel better than any food ever tasted!

That's interesting I would like to know more about the pilot program. My insurance refuses to cover any obesity services.

How long have you been stalled for? I read back but it's a lot of posts and didn't see it. The way my body works is I stall for 3 weeks and gain 2-3 lbs then one week it starts dropping off. Rinse and repeat. Charting my weightloss really seems to help. Another thing is you should eat lots of small meals. Think of a bear, big and fat right? They eat huge meals and their body stores away the food for energy. Think of a deer, they eat all day long and stay very thin. Their body understands that they will be getting more food and takes that as an okay to burn what it has. Your calories look very low to me and if I were you I'd add in more fats.
Show us what you eat for meals and we can be of more assistance.

You are setting up a cycle of self hate. Hate because you are fat, hate because you have binged. You have NOT stretched your sleeve you will throw up before you do this. Listen a 3lb gain doesn't mean you actually gained that weight. Every month I gain between 3-5 and then lose it again. BUT I will not lose as much of it if I make poor food choices. How do I keep from making poor food choices?
Don't buy it if I can't control myself with it. I say, "But my kids or my husband haven't had surgery, they deserve X" the fact is they will become obese like me if I continue to do this.
CUT OUT HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! This "sugar" doesn't signal to your brain that you have eaten anything at all so you continue to eat more and more of it.
If you want a sweet or chips or a beer have some but not everyday and only have them when you go out.
STOP the self hate. Look how far you have come! You are eating 1 whole hamburger OMG (drama) how much would you have eaten preop?

You are setting up a cycle of self hate. Hate because you are fat, hate because you have binged. You have NOT stretched your sleeve you will throw up before you do this. Listen a 3lb gain doesn't mean you actually gained that weight. Every month I gain between 3-5 and then lose it again. BUT I will not lose as much of it if I make poor food choices. How do I keep from making poor food choices?
Don't buy it if I can't control myself with it. I say, "But my kids or my husband haven't had surgery, they deserve X" the fact is they will become obese like me if I continue to do this.
CUT OUT HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! This "sugar" doesn't signal to your brain that you have eaten anything at all so you continue to eat more and more of it.
If you want a sweet or chips or a beer have some but not everyday and only have them when you go out.
STOP the self hate. Look how far you have come! You are eating 1 whole hamburger OMG (drama) how much would you have eaten preop?

You are setting up a cycle of self hate. Hate because you are fat, hate because you have binged. You have NOT stretched your sleeve you will throw up before you do this. Listen a 3lb gain doesn't mean you actually gained that weight. Every month I gain between 3-5 and then lose it again. BUT I will not lose as much of it if I make poor food choices. How do I keep from making poor food choices?
Don't buy it if I can't control myself with it. I say, "But my kids or my husband haven't had surgery, they deserve X" the fact is they will become obese like me if I continue to do this.
CUT OUT HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! This "sugar" doesn't signal to your brain that you have eaten anything at all so you continue to eat more and more of it.
If you want a sweet or chips or a beer have some but not everyday and only have them when you go out.
STOP the self hate. Look how far you have come! You are eating 1 whole hamburger OMG (drama) how much would you have eaten preop?

You are setting up a cycle of self hate. Hate because you are fat, hate because you have binged. You have NOT stretched your sleeve you will throw up before you do this. Listen a 3lb gain doesn't mean you actually gained that weight. Every month I gain between 3-5 and then lose it again. BUT I will not lose as much of it if I make poor food choices. How do I keep from making poor food choices?
Don't buy it if I can't control myself with it. I say, "But my kids or my husband haven't had surgery, they deserve X" the fact is they will become obese like me if I continue to do this.
CUT OUT HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! This "sugar" doesn't signal to your brain that you have eaten anything at all so you continue to eat more and more of it.
If you want a sweet or chips or a beer have some but not everyday and only have them when you go out.
STOP the self hate. Look how far you have come! You are eating 1 whole hamburger OMG (drama) how much would you have eaten preop?

Can't wait to hear about your experience! Good luck girlie!

Woah, I think that's the fastest weight loss I've seen. WTG!

I beg to differ. I'd say that emotion eating and addiction play the biggest part in weight gain. I know several people who eat only healthy foods but way too much of them. It is okay to enjoy ALL foods in moderation. If fastfood is a trigger for you (mine is sodas) then stay away from it. Make the best choices you can and understand that treats, like fastfood, are just that. They are not everyday food.

Don't compare the band to sleeve. From everything I've read they are nothing alike NOTHING! The bad fails SO often and the sleeve, if you follow your guidelines, is cake to take off the weight. It's as if you are comparing riding a tricycle to riding Harley. You put a lot of effort into the peddling that trike but the Harley will get you there faster and easier.
PS Dr A is amazing! You can't get better!

I beg to differ. I'd say that emotion eating and addiction play the biggest part in weight gain. I know several people who eat only healthy foods but way too much of them. It is okay to enjoy ALL foods in moderation. If fastfood is a trigger for you (mine is sodas) then stay away from it. Make the best choices you can and understand that treats, like fastfood, are just that. They are not everyday food.

Nice boobies! I want a pair! Your waist looks so much slimmer now with all those boobs. Did you just get implants or implants with lift? I'm looking at lift/implants. Which Surgeon did you end up seeing? Sorry for all the questions! I'm very excited for you to be completing the last phase of your weight loss and total body transformation!!

I listened to a great lecture about biology and calorie vs carb counting. We are eating the way our ancestors did, the way our bodies know how to work. If you are eating low carb it's probably meat (that you have killed) and veggies you have found with the occasional fruit in the summer when you use more energy. When you eat low cal you have settled down in order to process those grains. The humans as a whole haven't been settled down for long. Okay okay, this is getting wordy. Look at what happened to the Native peoples when they were shipped in flour and grains. They became fat and riddled with disease. By keeping carbs under 30g you are going to have rapid weight loss, 50-100 some weight loss, 100-200 maintain, and 200+ gain. That is just a frame of reference and I've found it to be true.

Great post Diva! I'd add,
"DO keep a list of NSV (Non scale victories) to reflect on when times are getting hard. Can you walk up 2 extra flights of stairs before getting winded? Cross your legs?" and
"DO NOT be afraid to change things if they aren't working. Stalls happen even gains happen. If you are on a long stall look at your eating and decided if changes need to be made. Utilize your tool!"

I listened to a great lecture about biology and calorie vs carb counting. We are eating the way our ancestors did, the way our bodies know how to work. If you are eating low carb it's probably meat (that you have killed) and veggies you have found with the occasional fruit in the summer when you use more energy. When you eat low cal you have settled down in order to process those grains. The humans as a whole haven't been settled down for long. Okay okay, this is getting wordy. Look at what happened to the Native peoples when they were shipped in flour and grains. They became fat and riddled with disease. By keeping carbs under 30g you are going to have rapid weight loss, 50-100 some weight loss, 100-200 maintain, and 200+ gain. That is just a frame of reference and I've found it to be true.

Thank you for all the wonderful replies. I'm seriously smiling from ear to ear I was in a size 22/24 and they were tight. The jeans in that pic are 11 juniors I wear a 10/12 depending on the maker of the pants. Size medium or large in shirts (depending on the boob area). That shirt, which i adore, wouldn't button in the boob area which is why you can see my bra. I think size 8 will be goal clothes wise for me.
Pre op **** 10 months
Pants 22/24 **** 10/12
Shirts xxl **** M/L
Bra 44F **** 36 D
Panties 9 **** 6
Shoes 10w **** 9 1/2 Reg
I'm still pretty stoked about going to victoria secret and getting a matching bra and panties set when we have the funds. I've never ever ever worn anything from VS.