SerendipityHappens

Interesting topic. I am newly out of a relationship since being sleeved and YES I had settled for this man.. I don't know that it was because of my weight or just my situation in general that allowed me to feel so beaten down that I would settle..As for dating, YES dating is different.. and I'm still fat at 244 pounds! I just started dating someone new and it's rather unnerving because I know he wouldn't have been interested in me at 360 pounds, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he's so interested in me at 244 pounds because he's NOT a chubby chaser. He's also ridiculously good looking, financially solvent, no kids, a former elite athlete who still keeps in good shape, and he's 7 years younger than me...YES, I do feel he's way out of my league.. I posted in the powder room about how we haven't "done the deed" because I am having a hard time being comfortable enough with my body to allow that to happen. Which is TOTALLY new to me.. When I was 360 pounds, I was not shy about my body at all... and now all I can think is he's going to get one look at my flabby pannus and saggy granny titties and bolt!

I still adore EVERYTHING about food... eating it, smelling it, cooking it, shopping for it... Oh Glorious FOOD!
I watch food porn almost daily.. heck, on the plane ride home from my surgery, I watched food porn... the really seedy kind (diners drive thrus and dives)When I got back, I stayed with my sister to "recuperate" and I couldn't keep myself from doing all the cooking for her and her family.. even though I was on shakes only.
The only thing that I struggle with is making bread. I can not eat wheat products (not related to the sleeve, I found out a few months prior to the sleeve that I had this problem) and it SUCKS to have the smell of fresh bread which I know I can NEVER eat. grrrrrr. I was fine when I couldn't eat the food and I knew it was just temporary until my tummy healed.. and I was fine when I'm just low carbing it and there are foods I CHOOSE not to eat... but the BREAD drives me nutty because it's something I CAN'T have at all.

Yup, I'm a juicer. I like a juice/smoothie hybrid. I juice my kale, ginger, citrus, apples or carrots, but I blend my bananas, peaches, avocados and berries. So I'll make the smoothie with the blended ingredients and mix it with a shot of juice. Best of both worlds.

the worst is from one of my customers, an old Korean lady.."oh, you lose weight, you not so fat like before.. before you was SOOOOOOOOOOO FAAAAAAAT" (complete with hand gestures to illustrate exactly how fat I was.
The best was from my Aunt who is extremely weight conscious. I figured she wouldn't even say anything since I'm still 244 pounds which is unthinkable in her book.. But she absolutely gushed about how great I look and she said that if I continued to lose weight that would be great, but even if I never lost another pound I look fantastic.. then I proceeded to get phone calls from my cousins who called me because my aunt had gone straight home and called them and gushed about how "thin" I was and how great I looked.

I had similar concerns... even in the hospital I drank 80 ounces of Water in a single day... I also ate at maximum ammounts when I was on purees and only stopped because the measured amount of food I gave myself was gone.... I didn't feel my restriction until I started eating chicken.. then it was like WAMMO! THERE IT IS!!!!!! Now I do little tricks to make myself feel restriction when I want to enjoy foods that "slide"... for example.. tortilla chips and cottage cheese are both sliders for me, BUT if I eat them together it sticks and gives me satiety with a small portion. Also a small amount of cashews at the end of a meal will help me feel full as well.

the worst is from one of my customers, an old Korean lady.."oh, you lose weight, you not so fat like before.. before you was SOOOOOOOOOOO FAAAAAAAT" (complete with hand gestures to illustrate exactly how fat I was.
The best was from my Aunt who is extremely weight conscious. I figured she wouldn't even say anything since I'm still 244 pounds which is unthinkable in her book.. But she absolutely gushed about how great I look and she said that if I continued to lose weight that would be great, but even if I never lost another pound I look fantastic.. then I proceeded to get phone calls from my cousins who called me because my aunt had gone straight home and called them and gushed about how "thin" I was and how great I looked.

Yup, I'm a juicer. I like a juice/smoothie hybrid. I juice my kale, ginger, citrus, apples or carrots, but I blend my bananas, peaches, avocados and berries. So I'll make the smoothie with the blended ingredients and mix it with a shot of juice. Best of both worlds.

Best: my daughter told me she can grasp her wrists behind my back while hugging me. Apparently, she couldn't even touch her hands before!
Worst: the extra skin comment...UGH. What the heck do you care what I do with my extra skin?!?!?
Funniest: an elderly lady that comes into work occasionally didn't recognize me at all until I spoke and then she GUSHED for 45 minutes over how fabulous I look now and proceeded to tell me that I need to buy some nighties so my hubby will stay interested in me. Uh, what?

the worst is from one of my customers, an old Korean lady.."oh, you lose weight, you not so fat like before.. before you was SOOOOOOOOOOO FAAAAAAAT" (complete with hand gestures to illustrate exactly how fat I was.
The best was from my Aunt who is extremely weight conscious. I figured she wouldn't even say anything since I'm still 244 pounds which is unthinkable in her book.. But she absolutely gushed about how great I look and she said that if I continued to lose weight that would be great, but even if I never lost another pound I look fantastic.. then I proceeded to get phone calls from my cousins who called me because my aunt had gone straight home and called them and gushed about how "thin" I was and how great I looked.

Best compliment I have gotten so far was from a Soldier I work with. I was having to explain a project to him that he was going to be responsible for because I am going to be out for surgery. He asked why I was going to be gone so long so I gave him an honest answer. His reply was something to the effect of "I am so happy for you. We are totally behind you." What I found out later was that some of the guys in the office have been talking about my weight and what they could do to help me. They have been concerned about my health. I still get choked up thinking about it.

Soft scrambled eggs were one of the first foods I ate at 3 weeks.. following one week of clears and one week of liquids.

Uh, pre-sleeve I could EASILY have eaten that whole thing PLUS a side of toast.

So I'm starting a new relationship and am soooooooooooo self conscious that we have not even "done the deed" yet because I can't bring myself to expose my naked body! I've NEVER EVER EVER had this issue, At 360 pounds, men knew what they were getting when the clothes came off.. and my body looked like what they were hoping for.. somewhat full breasts, my skin was filled out, and relatively un-cottage cheese like... but now.. my thighs are wrinkly.. my belly is hanging lower than ever.. my breasts are more like breastcicles. I am so not used to this feeling.. I've always been an uninhibited "lights-on" kind of woman but now I'm like a fish out of Water. Just the thought of anyone seeing my nekkid body makes me want to vomit.. and that's not exactly sexy.
Anyone go through this? Really it's bothering me a lot.

Interesting topic. I am newly out of a relationship since being sleeved and YES I had settled for this man.. I don't know that it was because of my weight or just my situation in general that allowed me to feel so beaten down that I would settle..As for dating, YES dating is different.. and I'm still fat at 244 pounds! I just started dating someone new and it's rather unnerving because I know he wouldn't have been interested in me at 360 pounds, and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he's so interested in me at 244 pounds because he's NOT a chubby chaser. He's also ridiculously good looking, financially solvent, no kids, a former elite athlete who still keeps in good shape, and he's 7 years younger than me...YES, I do feel he's way out of my league.. I posted in the powder room about how we haven't "done the deed" because I am having a hard time being comfortable enough with my body to allow that to happen. Which is TOTALLY new to me.. When I was 360 pounds, I was not shy about my body at all... and now all I can think is he's going to get one look at my flabby pannus and saggy granny titties and bolt!

I saved like crazy! No cable, no new clothes, no going out to eat, no gifts for people, no car... Now I'm saving like crazy for PLASTICS!
Also, I used the time I was saving to begin my journey... I lost 45 pounds between the day I decided to do the surgery and my surgery date and I addressed a lot of emotional issues that I had with food.

You may have a very short stomach which gives you an exceptionally small sleeve. My doctor made my sleeve tight with a 32 bougie AND an oversew and I still have a large sleeve because my stomach is LONG... I can VERY comfortably eat six ounces... and there are some who have longer stomachs than me who can eat even MORE... AND, there are some who had larger bougies combined with larger stomachs... so I can see why PERHAPS this might be an option for some people.

32 and the doctor did an oversew of the staple line... Remember also the length of your stomach affects how much you can eat. My stomach is a bit longer than average so I will be able to consume more than many... I am exactly one month out and I've never had much inflammation and was drinking relatively normally even in the hospital. Currently I can eat 1/4 cup of diced chicken and 1/4 cup of beans.. That's a half cup of very heavy food.. I could eat more if I wanted.. but this leaves me satisfied without being "full" At a year out I should be eating 6-8 ounces or a cup to a cup and a half of "fluffier" food.. Less restriction than some, but a far cry from the enormous portions I used to eat.

Atheist Zealots... religious zealots... vegan zealots... animal rights zealots....It's all the same, people who think that somehow because of a belief they hold that they are superior to others.
For me clearing my head of religion and getting rid of all the cognitive dissonance it created was the best thing I ever did for myself. I am happier. I'm a better person. I care more about investing in myself.. damn it, I'm even pretty sure my hair has more luster. Shedding religion MADE ME A BETTER PERSON.... but it didn't make me a better than anyone else.

Hello, I used The team of Valenzuela/Cabrerra and I have 100% confidence in this team. I could have chosen other more well known doctors for the same price, but I chose THIS team and have no regrets! My Primary care physician has been impressed as well. She said my incisions look fabulous and all of my bloodwork is perfect so I should continue to follow the instructions of my surgeon.
I will say there have been recent posts about Mexico Bariatric Center which were not so favorable. (not getting back with people in a timely manner, telling incorrect information etc) These complaints seem to involve new coordinators.. but when I went through them I had CHRISTY as my coordinator and she was AWESOME.
So I guess, I'm going to change my recommendation based on new information from other patients.. I still recommend the team of Cabrerra/Valenzuela without reservation BUT I only recommend MBC if you are using CHRISTY as your coordinator as the other coordinators through this company don't seem to be getting good reviews recently.
Edited to add: The doctors do a leak test during surgery and then after surgery as well. This team also uses a drain which is what I felt most comfortable with.

Atheist Zealots... religious zealots... vegan zealots... animal rights zealots....It's all the same, people who think that somehow because of a belief they hold that they are superior to others.
For me clearing my head of religion and getting rid of all the cognitive dissonance it created was the best thing I ever did for myself. I am happier. I'm a better person. I care more about investing in myself.. damn it, I'm even pretty sure my hair has more luster. Shedding religion MADE ME A BETTER PERSON.... but it didn't make me a better than anyone else.

I'm posting this in the 200 pounds forum because I know that for us, our NSV's can be very different from the run of the mill NSV's the lightweights have... so here are some NSV's from a (former)super-morbidly obese woman....
Being able to shop in ANY plus size section of any department store or chain with plus sizes (some of which carry up to 22 or 24 only) and not just the store with "extended plus sizes". *cough* Catherine's. BOOYEAH! It's awesome. But now my problem is TOO MUCH selection... I'm looking for a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding but I have too many options and can't decide!
Not having EVERY SINGLE SHIRT I own have a hole/stain at the belly from where I rub up against everything. Still waiting for this one... RUINED another shirt at work yesterday :-(
Being able to grab my own ankle without assistance in order to do quad stretches. It's embarrassing to have to have a stranger in your class push your leg up far enough for you to grab your ankle!.... I'm almost there but not quite.. I think my entire aerobics class is going to Celebrate with me when I can stretch my own quads.
Having the nasty yeasty fat lady feet problem go away. I had some sort of fungal/yeast infection thing going on on my feet for YEARS.. (ya know, that yellow chalky peeling cracking ugly old people/fatpeople feet) My right foot now looks like it belongs to a newborn baby and my left foot is ALMOST completely clear and I can wear SANDALS for the first time in a decade!
Bending over to pick something off the floor without thinking about it/without dreading it. A larger lady at the store dropped a quarter the other day and I KNEW she was thinking: "is that quarter worth bending over to pick up?" UG, I remember that feeling well... I didn't even really realize what a NSV this is until being reminded what a struggle it was for me before, because now I just bend and get stuff all the time now without even thinking about it.
OK so there you have it.. some of my favorite NSV's So let's hear it What NSV's made you the happiest.. or if you're just starting, what NSV's are you looking forward to?

I saved like crazy! No cable, no new clothes, no going out to eat, no gifts for people, no car... Now I'm saving like crazy for PLASTICS!
Also, I used the time I was saving to begin my journey... I lost 45 pounds between the day I decided to do the surgery and my surgery date and I addressed a lot of emotional issues that I had with food.

I would have told her that perhaps there is a reason she's not to give "off record" advice is that it is so incredibly rude and unwelcome.. and that you'll be sure to let your doctor know that nurses in the hospital are dispensing medical advice that conflicts with his course of treatment.

I saved like crazy! No cable, no new clothes, no going out to eat, no gifts for people, no car... Now I'm saving like crazy for PLASTICS!
Also, I used the time I was saving to begin my journey... I lost 45 pounds between the day I decided to do the surgery and my surgery date and I addressed a lot of emotional issues that I had with food.