gmanbat

As a sleever with an RNY wife I went through many things in my mind to say about this and kicked them all out for the sake of decorum and peace. So I will just say this: You've never seen my wife at a Black Friday sale...

One nice thing about the Tampa area is that real estate is relatively cheap and that there a lot of ways to cut corners here. In Zephyrhills and surrounds are many thrift shops, farmers markets, and flea markets. Cooling can be tough but we are in a lot of shade and cut it down. Heating is not much of a problem. Old folks like us like to save money so we can afford fast motorcycles.

My "fatter look" came because my belly was so big that the fat loss on the rest of my body was easier to see. When the rest got smaller the belly seemed bigger. The keg is not yet a six pack but it casts no shadows on my legs.

You look great! Wife and I decided long ago that we would be as annoying as we want to be as far as dressing young. If it bugs young people..too bad. We wear what we like. Grey Panthers!

Look at it this way. Say you were getting just enough calories to maintain a weight. Then you decided to add one Twinkie a day to your diet. You would not see the weight gain immediately but over the course of time it would show up. This is easy to believe. Why is it harder for us to believe the opposite? If you maintain a calorie deficit over time your body will lose to fit that reality. It may hold on for awhile but eventually it will give way. I realized this early on. I weighed out of curiosity of how my body was doing it, it was fascinating. Up, down, stall, up, down, down, etc. I should have kept a chart for fun. I had no doubt that goal would be met. My body had a lower goal in mind than the arbitrary one my mind picked as you can see by my signature.

Many things cause weight fluctuations on the way down. In my case, exercising caused gain because my pumped up muscles took in Water during the recovering time. When they recovered they dropped the water and my weight went back down,...only now I have bigger muscles and more fat burning potential. Muscle takes up less space than fat pound for pound...that's why you shrink when your weight stays the same or gains. Eventually I hit goal and went beyond. Your body knows what it's doing even if your brain doesn't get it.

Ya,and pythons eating the alligators and the birds in the Everglades. We have fire ants, and large nasty snails, poisonous cane toads that will kill your dogs, and intense traffic around major cities. You'd miss those endless blasts of cold air that make you tough and grateful for the few months of summer. People down here get soft and lazy. I'd tell you more but .....yawn.....time to get in the hammock for an afternoon snooze.

Your post made me smile. You got it going on! Way to think it through!

Being thinner has not helped me with line cutters. They can now get up easier when I sit on them.

Zephyrhills here. Cocoa Beach is one of our favorite places! Miss the snow in Ohio though........ like a paper cut.

You could be fighting a metabolism slowdown due to the lap band problems. You can heal it with exercise, water, and proper eating. Stress definitely slows down fat loss. By all means don't stress out about weight loss, you will lose it, don't defeat your purpose. And....WELCOME Theresa!

Gman... The average person has 8-10 lbs of skin. Well the formally obese person may have a lot more considering the stretching of the skin. Ex. When you blow up a balloon and let the air back out it does not go back to its original size. If you do that to a balloon over and over again. It will not even go back close to the size it was. We are all different and have been bigger or smaller. Age and genetics also play a part in how much skin would have to be removed...This info came from my doctor this morning........ I found it interesting! Even a plastic surgeon can't tell for absolute how much skin he will remove until you are on the table. He can estimate but not calculate until it is being done. I never thought of that. That 's right. So if a guy is average if he weighs 200 pounds but is 300 pounds at the most he would be 50% bigger in the skin department. So instead of 8-10 pounds he would have 12-15 pounds. That does not take into account internal fat which doesn't stretch skin. That sound right?

Squats will not make your butt smaller. In fact, if anything they will make it bigger and better shaped. Spot reduction is a myth. Working leg and butt muscles is a key to overall strength and losing fat. To those who say putting on muscle makes you stop losing weight, maybe, but it does not make you stop losing fat. It makes you better able to get rid of fat and keep it off. Don't worry about being too muscular! Serve your body, not your scale! edit: Some natural bodybuilders, no steroids, figure division. You have to work real hard in workouts and dieting to even look this muscular. In shape ladies look better. Work it, ladies!

Well said, Linda! I like my wrinkles and loose skin. If they were not wrinkles and loose skin they would be all puffed out with fat layers. Under that shifting covering is a healthy and a yet alive body. They are a badge of victory and freedom! That said, if I hit the lottery or something I'd probably get plastics. I'm not a fanatic.

How much we can change! I was thinking about when my obese wife came home to her obese and very sick husband and began talking about the gastric sleeve bypass surgery that a coworker of hers got. At first I tuned her out with my wife frequency filter. When she persisted on I moved into arguing and ridicule mode. Yes, I said many of the Jerky things that are posted here that husbands say to wives about the surgery. "Why don't I just hold a gun to your head while you're eating!" "Why can't you just stick to a diet?" "You just need to exercise more!" "This thing could kill you!" Finally she talked me into going to a support group featuring the bariatric surgeon. I agreed out of a secret plan to find things to argue about. I may be stubborn but good science and logic speaks to me. The man presented a great case. In that hour I saw a way out of my impending death. On our way home I let my wife know that not only am I solidly behind her surgery, I shall have one myself. In January of 2010 it started. A year later I was virtually at goal. So was she. Our relationship changed. With the horrendous health problems that came with obesity removed we grew very close with the new energy and freedom from pain. Now I am here trying to help others with you wonderful folks. Happiness loves company.

Veterans...why do we do it? Answering the same questions thousands of times, saying "good luck" or "my prayers are with you" to people about to go to surgery, welcoming countless newbies, dealing with people who are easily offended and strike back, trying to give solace to people who are being chewed up by family, coworkers and relatives, ....why? Empathy. The ability to share someone else's feelings. I believe it is the hallmark of mental and emotional maturity. It is.....being human as humans were intended to be. Think about it, with just a few lines or a paragraph we can alleviate the suffering of another human being. Our triumphs become theirs, our knowledge from mistakes made relieves them from falling into the same traps, our battles won becomes the catalyst for their struggles to overcome despair. Who needs grateful feedback? Realizing that our small effort destroys misery is an amazing reward. We are helping people create beautiful lives, helping humans rise from the ashes. Empathy acted upon is love. Love, ...the more you give the more you have ...and the more you want give it. Now there's an addiction worth diving into!

I saw no need to memorialize or indulge enough to last a lifetime before my surgery. I had recognized my overeating as my mortal enemy and saw no need to party in honor of him. In hindsight I could have had a food funeral. I would have loaded up an old boat with donuts, chips, pork rinds, velveeta, Cookies, cakes, and candy...poured the contents of the fat fryer on it...set it on fire...shoved it out into the lake...played Bjork music.....Viking funeral...

Wow! Fantastic!!!!

Not TMI, good I... Accessibility, essential to any good maintenance man...or woman!

Well written and wonderful! In studies I have been involved in it was stated that at a certain stage in life, leaving things behind for others moves to the forefront. My heart's desire now is to give what I have gained to those I will leave behind. Along with that desire is the passion to know that what I am leaving will be valuable to them and make a positive difference in their lives. I want to live a good life...and contribute to a good life for those who carry on.

You look sweet! Go get em!

I think the operation puts a real strain on the brain. A lot of things have to be reorganized. Sometimes the clerk in charge of senses gets freaked out. Things get misfiled. Hang on, they'll get it sorted.

I have been under a number of times so at my surgery I told myself to remember what the guys in the operating room were saying while i was out. Didn't work, close eyes, open eyes. No memories. Not scary, just weird. Most definitely the best sleep you can possibly have...without dreams...I think.

Hang in there, Sweeteyes. People may let you down but don't let yourself down. Never give up on you. Make a future that is much brighter than your past. You can do it!

Glad you came through OK! When I was still quite groggy my family was present and one of them asked me how I was doing. I said in a drug stupor," Miserable! ...but happy!" They still kid me about that.