BigGirlPanties

I was furious and close to tears myself as I read your post, RJ.
To echo the above...WE NEED YOU! You have been a rock to me... I look to your experience and expertise all the time. I love your posts and insights, PLEASE you know better than to let someone effect you in that way (telling you that you don't belong HERE)...
as for the doctor...all I can say is *SMH*

@GoGoNiner I take it he is not a bariatric doctor...because it would be quite odd that a bariatric doctor would put you on something like that.
If you are planning on WLS then I'd say why put your body thru that with the diet pills...we all know they don't work long term, and if they are making you so "off", I'd tell him how you are feeling and get off them!.... but that's just my opinion...good luck

I think just about everyone on here (even those with complications) would say they would do it again...and sooner, if they could... I don't regret one moment of it! I feel I can eat what I want, but I don't "want" junk...so I've not had any big problem with that...been maintaining.
However, I have major knee problems and had to lose weight to get them fixed...one will be done next month (hopefully) and I couldn't have gotten there without my WLS.
For me, I was more excited than nervous... I knew this was for me; I have known other people that were successful... no doubts, no regrets!

That was interesting...and all the comments are fascinating...
but the bottom line is we get as "thin" as we want for ourselves...anything we lose after we hit our top weight makes us feel thin!
If you start at over 350 pounds you are definately going to feel thin and healthy at 200...even tho you want to go lower
but the media plays with our heads...I think most of us realize, at this juncture what we really need to do to take care of ourselves~!!!

@lynette85 the earlier the better right?!? less stress

@lynette85 the earlier the better right?!? less stress

That is a tough one.
I am in that position now because I am not OK with my weight or body... and I also am experiencing the same low drive as your wife.
It is HARD to feel sexy when all you can see is a body that you yourself aren't happy with. My boyfriend (bless his heart) tells me about 20 times a day how beautiful I am. He rubs lotion on my back for me. He sits out my coffee cup in the morning and puts a K-cup in the machine. He finds little ways to keep us touching or at least keep that feeling of 'I love you' going all the time.
And because of all that, as SOON as I am feel remotely comfortable in my own skin, its on like Donkey Kong!

My suggestion is seduce her. Start flirting, complimenting and noticing openly the changes she is going through. Tell her how fine she looks and how hot she is. Act like a single man trying to win her. Don't use the same "married terms" you look so pretty, use the street terms "your hot" "sexy" and others.
Its just my opinion.

As long as food companies are making billions of dollars from additives and their slogans of how food is the ultimate pleasure in life. As long as diet companies are making billions of dollars off of dieters. As long as the government allows these additives like MSG ( taste enhancers ). As long as the cat walk has bulimic models. As long as we have parents teaching their children that it is okay to bully and make fun of those who are different. As long as the medical field blames every illness on weight. ( like no one skinny ever gets sick or dies ) As long as we do not except ourselves for being who we are inside and out ( with the option of self improvement ) Nothing is ever going to really change.
My great grandmother ran a lodging house for ranch hands. she would get up at 4 a.m and start cooking. She was almost 400 lbs. And no body noticed her size all they saw was this amazing woman who could cook and put a meal on the table like no other in their lives. She was loved by all and when she died she was 90 lbs. soak and wet.
There were not the influences like there are today. Rarely did those people have to find themselves or make a statement to prove anything. They were who they were and probably better for it in most ways.
We are in a different world now and it shows. Thin is relative to our personal health and well being. not a number on a scale. For me....I will never be what others think I should be and try very hard not to let them dictate who they think I am or who I should be. My goal is to get better and health is my goal.
There is only a few people in my life that has stepped up to help me with anything to aid me anywhere so why should I let them now. Nope! Not happening! It is up to me to get a grip on what will make me healthy and improve my life.

I know that I am not skinny (my BMI is near the top of the normal range) and probably never will be skinny, but people who are used to seeing the fat me keep calling me skinny. They don't apply that term to themselves at their normal weights. It makes me uncomfortable.
Thanks for posting the article. I think the glass is half full. The fashion industry and the media continue to present underweight women as the standard of beauty, but now mid range and plus sized women are being included in glamorous ads and movies. This is progress.

If you listen to the media, you will never call yourself "thin". It's in the best interest of weight loss gurus, fitness trainers, clothing designers, and news providers to keep us on a constant Quest to be what they consider thin. And if you reach their standard of thin, they switch it up on us and now say things like, "size 0 is the new size 2" and pull out some photo shopped pics of an impossibly thin/perfect model.
I just try to be happy being my version of "normal". And on the occasion I do let myself get caught up in the marketing hype of being what they consider "thin", I have to pull out my inner pimp and pimp slam myself back into reality!
I remind myself that NORMAL people don't look like the models in the ads. And the models/actors have to resort to extreme measures (starving themselves, extreme workouts, drugs, and a team of nutritionists and trainers) to stay perfect and even then, they have to touch up their photos.
Keep Pimpin' That Sleeve!

OK, I get that I'm a guy so my contribution to this subject may be moot. I'm down 98 pounds, and 13 from goal. Do I consider myself thin? No. But I don't think of myself as fat anymore either. My goal is a target that puts me exactly one pound into the "Normal" BMI range. So is "normal" the same thing as "thin"? Ouch! That's a rough equation! But for my peace of mind, I want to get out of the "Overweight" BMI category. While that may be my weight-loss goal, I've actually been seeing a normal-weight person in the mirror for the last 25 pounds or so. I remember telling my wife, "I don't feel like a fat guy anymore," a couple of months ago. And it's true! I suspect that we all have different definitions of "normal", depending on how far our journey has taken us, our self-image (old and new), and even the perceptions of those around us. So what does "thin" mean? Or "slender"? Or even "skinny"? Everybody's definition is likely to be different. But if we equate those terms with the BMI charts, (and I recognize that many/most don't believe in them), I'm going to put "thin" and "skinny" in the "Underweight" category. And I will choose the word "slender" to define the "Normal" BMI range. In fact, this topic has made me re-think my tag-line and change the word "thin" to "slender". Lookout, Slender, here I come!!!

Check this article out:
https://www.yahoo.com/style/10-reasons-2014-was-major-for-plus-size-105447540238.html
Seriously, it's no wonder we are all on BP and in our daily lives with the inability to determine a good weight for ourselves, or determine if we meet society's weight standards, or even decide if we look good. While I thought it was a great article that and it's about time there is more options for plus size clothing than ever before, I was struck by the fact that CK is passing off a thin, size 10 girl as and "inbetweener" or plus size. Absurd!
When this is in the media and it's what we have to compare ourselves to, it adds the already prevalent body issues obese women have. It's easy to say "don't compare yourself to that", and even though the most concrete and logical thinker knows that, it still sends the message that pervades society about women should look like. And labeling healthy, thin people as "inbetween" or "plus size" when in fact they are thin infuriates me. I've fought hard to get to what I think is a normal size, and maintain a healthy weight, and if I took this sort of thing at face value, I'd be certifiable. Good thing I'm almost in a size 8 and a small/medium; maybe I can avoid keeping the label I've had all my life - fat.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Discuss.

Hospital just called and bumped my time to 9am!!!! Yaaaaay

@@HealthyNewMe Nah just stop having parties and get invited to them instead!!!!
It's so much easier to pick out the right outfit and bottle of wine!!!
OK so maybe I'm spoiled..I have all those things. I call them my husband and children

Right now I would be really happy with the personal chef!

We all got this we all going to rock are sleeves

Thank you big the girl panties

Hi, I'm 8am on 12-22. I didn't know it was possible to be both anxious and excited at the same time...lol
I've picked up extra shifts at work to keep me busy...

I am in the countdown , December 22 also, no time given yet, waiting on the call. On my liquid diet, having bad headache. Quit a lot in the last few weeks, quit smoking, quit sugar, pretty much quit all my lives of food.

Awesome, everyone!

Nearly 3 years out here and still very glad I took the plunge.
Being a child of the 60's, I laid on the morphine pump as much as possible...
Half out, my wife asked me how I felt. "Miserable but happy!" i said. My family will not let me forget that.

Glad to hear that everyone's surgery went so well. I too had a similar experience so much so that I asked my nurse whether the surgery had been aborted. Based on my excessive reading of the forums before surgery I fully expected to be hooked up to a morphine pump. I had absolutely no pain, required no pain medication and had absolutely no gas pains either. The only issue I had was from staying on my blood pressure medication longer than I should had. The benefits of the surgery kicked in immediately causing my BP to be abnormally low and a few days after I left the hospital I felt light headed whenever I stood up. My doctor took me off the medication and that solved the problem.
I know everyone is different but I do feel that people that have more pain tend to post more which creates a false impression of dread on those that are going to have the surgery. The techniques that they have today are incredible to promote speedy and realatively painless recovery. I did not post on the main board about my painless surgery for fear of beining insensitive to those that were experiencing pain. I feel that what most contributed to my painless recovery was the skills and techniques of my surgeon but also the fact that I stuck to the pre-surgery diet and lost over 40 lbs prior to surgery. The better shape you are in pre-surgery I belive translates into a more pain free recovery.
Congratulations again to everyone and I look forward to see everyone's progress as the days and weeks roll by.
Dallas

With your pretty face, those eyes just need a little help (via makeup) to POP and then I see some lovely RED RED lipstick in your future... It makes you feel so good when you have on just the right shade of lipstick...
I think I get that from my Mom ...never left the house without lipstick on ...
Enjoy...
(btw, so awesome that your doctor did a touch up for no extra charge!)

I think just about everyone on here (even those with complications) would say they would do it again...and sooner, if they could... I don't regret one moment of it! I feel I can eat what I want, but I don't "want" junk...so I've not had any big problem with that...been maintaining.
However, I have major knee problems and had to lose weight to get them fixed...one will be done next month (hopefully) and I couldn't have gotten there without my WLS.
For me, I was more excited than nervous... I knew this was for me; I have known other people that were successful... no doubts, no regrets!

I think just about everyone on here (even those with complications) would say they would do it again...and sooner, if they could... I don't regret one moment of it! I feel I can eat what I want, but I don't "want" junk...so I've not had any big problem with that...been maintaining.
However, I have major knee problems and had to lose weight to get them fixed...one will be done next month (hopefully) and I couldn't have gotten there without my WLS.
For me, I was more excited than nervous... I knew this was for me; I have known other people that were successful... no doubts, no regrets!