AmandaRaeLeo

That's my plan. I withdrew money from my 401K to pay for surgery so the deductions will hopefully balance it out.

You are able to do it.

That sounds like you're trying to justify it. You're an adult and not one person here can give or deny you permission. You asked for honesty and you have it. And I may be one of the few who reject the excuse that they "cannot stick to a diet". What we eat and how much is a choice. We choose to "cheat". In no way am I saying that choosing to stay committed to a food lifestyle change is easy. I am a woman who has damn near cried when my sleeve restriction kicked in. It's hard. Extremely hard. But it's still a choice.

I was, and am still, rarely truly hungry. However my head hunger rears its head a lot and it feels just as real and twice as powerful as genuine hunger. During Clear liquids the head hunger was at its worst. It lessened as I progressed through the postop diet stages.

Lol Laura!

When I quit smoking 8 years ago I every time I was tempted to smoke I reminded myself that giving into the cigarette would essentially undo all of my progress. It helped.

Heck no I didn't cheat! I stuck to it for the sake of my health. We are taking a risk with surgery in and of itself. Add that we are overweight/obese/morbidly obese people having surgery. Some/many have comorbidities to spice it up.... Why on earth complicate it intentionally?!?!

It's my daughter's and mine favorite form of exercise.

I've lost 120 lbs in 8 months but I'm only half way to goal. Don't use my weight loss as a gauge. I started at 405 lbs. Life changing events can be super overwhelming and anxiety inducing. Even happy occasions. Take a deep breath.

For me it went really well. I had my surgery in Mexico. I'm glad I did it and I'm healthier and happier because of it. I went into it hopeful and terrified. I came out of it hopeful and terrified. :-)

I can relate to the anxiety you're having. I damn near drove myself crazy stressing about it. Sometimes it would keep me up at night. I hope you find peace with whatever choice you make and everything works out.

Oops. Lapband Land!

I tend to modify recipes I love and make them healthier yet still very tasty. This way I enjoy eating it but don't obsess over it.

I won't achieve the body I want no matter my weight without plastics. That's stressful to know. It's hard on my self esteem.

Like most individuals I have body image issues. I try so hard to avoid labels and status quo. I want to be healthy and fit. I want to feel confident and attractive. That's what I remind myself and tell my tween daughter. I hope to help her have the confidence I lacked. Great thread! For some reason it's making me emotional!!!

I'm not trying to simplify because I've debated this issue in my head constantly. I don't want to be "skinny". At least not what comes to my minds eye when I think of skinny. I want curves, not angles. I want to be healthy and fit. Feminine, not androgynous. Given my pear shape I want to take the mASSive out of ass and add the "oooo" to booty. I want to drop the "hippo" but keep some hips. Reduce thunderous thunder in my thighs to a dull roar. But that's just me.

I just started Divergent at the insistence of my daughter and sister. Catching Fire stayed pretty true to the book. The whole time we watched it it all seemed "familiar". A few things were left out and a few things were played up. But all in all.... Two thumbs up!

Yeah I took a group of teens and tweens on opening night. The movie was excellent.

Me too, only we toasted the bread. Oh and my recent pre-sleeve vice? Honey butter and Nutella on toast. So totally yummy!

Ok I'll peruse the forums and see if I can dig something up... But in the meantime a shameless plug of my family hike and mushroom hunt What a great way to enjoy family time. You have a beautiful family.

Must be a hiking kinda day!

A brisk hike today with my daughter.

Oh. Yum.

You are exactly right.

Thank you! I was shaking my head asking the same question. The human digestive system requires it go through a series of "steps" before being deposited into our toilets.