LMFAO575

I order a Water just incase and don't drink it

Josie, neighborhood queen! & Christina cat.

Almost 6 months post op averaging a 10# loss a month. Eat well most of the time, 600-800 calories a day, Crossfit 4-5 times a week. 40# from goal. No regrets!

<-------------Looking for a dark corner to hide and cry in.....

Ummmmmmm
There are no words.
Feeling like I need a shower.... In a whole bunch of Lysol.....

Judging by what is posted here i'm going to bet the PM's are even better!!!

Pokey's comments are so much funnier when looking at that pic of MiMi from Drew Carey. Best pic for this type of convo!

This is hilarious!

Yes there are people on this forum who regret the surgery, but I'm not one of them! Best thing I ever did.. If I was able to be successful with diet and exercise alone then I wouldn't have ever gotten up to 360 pounds in the first place. The way I feel about it is our stomachs are not MADE for eating three square meals a day plus a few Snacks here and there.... An unsleeved stomach is the size of a FOOTBALL ya know so you can fill up and then not eat for a few days.. Do I really need a stomach the size of a FOOTBALL in a culture where you eat three times a day?????
Been sleeved for three and a half months now and it's going great. I can eat anything I want but choose not to most of the time. The portions are satisfying and I'm losing weight albeit a bit slower than many other sleevers.

I thought I wouldn't want to tell anyone. I only told a few people beforehand, and got tired of hearing "but you're not THAT big", or "you could do it yourself", so I stopped telling people. A few days after surgery, I woke up at 5 am, and it was bothering me that I had lied to people about why I wouldn't be around for a week, and would be lying to people if they asked how I was losing weight. So I typed up a long note explaining what I did and why I did it, what the surgery is, why I chose it over other surgeries, how I was doing, etc., and posted it on Facebook. I got a ton of support. Now, if anyone asks, I'm honest about it, and actually enjoy talking about it. I haven't gotten any negative comments, and have gotten a lot of questions because people are curious. I'm glad I decided to talk about it, but it was a very personal decision and I understand not everyone will make that same decision.

We set up imaginary people in our minds with their negative reactions and then look at ourselves through their eyes. It's human nature to prepare for the worst. No doubt you will run into negative folks. Look at yourself through your own eyes regardless of what they "see".
Don't borrow shame, don't accept it at the hands of others. It is up to you to know what is right and wrong.
People that get this surgery learn to know themselves and defend that identity. Adversity is a university. You have a good list of reasons to be proud of you. Unload the self-doubt along with the fat. Give yourself permission to be extraordinary. From what I see you have good reason to be proud. But it is not what I see that counts, it's what you KNOW.

I'm always touching my quads, calves, biceps, triceps.... I can't believe how much CROSSFIT has made me muscular & curvy!

Hey, I cop a feel on my abs and hips right when I wake up to predict what the scale is going to do. I have developed a really good intuition about it. It may sound corny, but I like do a little analysis on different muscles to see if and how much growth occurred over night. Oh and I like to check myself out in the mirror to see how the overall body composition is doing.

I've never let my school interfere with my education.
Mark Twain
The fact of the matter is we are all human. We make mistakes on a daily basis!
Life is short...we are fat.... And we can't spell!
I don't know about you, but I'm working on the not being fat thing, spelling can wait or should I say weight

I know what you mean. I was very happy when I was in the 180s/190s range, and I slacked off a bit.
But I didn't let myself do that for very long.
The truth is, I expect to gain weight back. Maybe not right away but eventually. I don't imagine myself being 80 years old and doing burpees to stay in shape. I'd love it if I could, but I just don't see that as feasible.
So, I am trying to get as small as I possibly can in order to give my future old self some wiggle room.
Currently, I'm in the 170s. I fluctuate between 173 and 176 most of the time. I like it when I stay below 175, which I was doing very well.
Eventually, I hope to push myself into the 160s. This means I need to diet and exercise.
Ideally, I would like to be at 155 because it means *100* pounds lost and gives me some wiggle room in the "normal" range of BMI.
I am happy where I am right now. I feel like I look great. Many people have told me I shouldn't lose more, but I am not just about the scales. I need to lose still, and I need to exercise.
I can give up here, but where will I end up in the future?
What happens if I break a leg and can't exercise for 6 months?
I need wiggle room.
So my advice is to be happy where you are but keep doing the things you need to do.
It doesn't always show up on the scale, but it will eventually.

You should be fine. I had my surgery Aug. 27 last year and I was hunting in the middle if Oct. my buddy shot a elk at the end of Oct. and I helped him pack it out. He shot it at 0830 and we did not get back to the truck until 0130 the next morning. We had to pack it straight up a hill. I had a few choice words for him around 2300. You should enjoy hunting a lot more without the extra weight to haul around. I am really looking forward to this year being down 140 pounds. Pack lots of Protein in your pack! Have fun!
Sent from my iPhone using VST

I apologize if I offended anyone! I truly didn't intend to!! Now move on with your day and get over it;-)

I never forward anything that tries to emotionaly manipulate me into forwarding no matter how much I agree with the content. I am not a cyber puppet.
Amazing how bent out of shape people get at religious expression. In no way does the post do anyone any harm. Unless someone is trying to behead you let it go.

If you don't have any issues with your gall bladder, you shouldn't have it removed. Period. Any responsible surgeon will say the same.
If you take the preventative medication (actigall) after surgery it's not likely you'll need a second surgery to remove your gall bladder. Some people may still need it removed but it's not common. If it was a likely prospect then more surgeons would be removing the gall bladder pre-emptively. The more they can bill for, the better for them.

My doctor said unless there is a current or past issue with the gall bladder they will not take it out. I've only had one gall bladder attack so its going to stay put. They aren't going to take out a healthy organ because it "might" cause a problem. In that case they may as well take out my appendix, tonsils and do a hysterectomy while they are in there.

I have always struggled both in online groups and in my physical groups when a particular situation presents itself. That situation is when someone is doing something clearly against their best interests as it relates to WLS. I’m talking about the cases where people are clearly heading off track. I find myself at times frustrated and responding in an effort to get those individuals to realize what they’re doing is wrong and at times it has been in a less than tactful way. It has caused me to question why I even care or bother to respond at all. I have spent a decent about of time trying to answer this question for myself and figured I would try to explain it to y’all as well.
I view myself and all of us that have WLS as members of a community. I want every person that goes through this process to be successful and improve the quality of their life. As a member of the community I feel an obligation to help those that I can on their journey. I also have a selfish motivation in trying to help others. I hate that many people in the general public view WLS patients as cheating, taking the easy way out, or that we are just continuing the pattern of laziness that got us to obesity in the first place. I hate hearing the obligatory stories, which we have all heard that goes something like this, “My friend had WLS, lost a bunch of weight and then gained it back”. I have vowed to never be that guy in the story. Here’s the selfish part of my motivation, I never want YOU to be that guy in the story either.
Again from a community perspective we all fail when one of our WLS brothers or sisters does become that guy. We fail together when people go into this thinking it will be the magic bullet and don’t realize it actually does take a lot of work by the individual to succeed. We all fail when people don’t make the food changes necessary and instead think the only tool needed is the surgery.
Maybe I’m wrong and should not view others success or failure as my own. Maybe I’m wrong by not being a cheerleader when people are looking for a little friendly enabling. What’s it to me after all? Sure go ahead, a double cheese burger at 2 weeks out sounds like a great idea! If it doesn't hurt, it must be ok to do, right? Hell let’s wash it down with a vanilla shake!
Sorry I just can’t do it. Guess I will have to become comfortable with my role as the hard ass.
I will extend one offer though. If you do want to know how to totally defeat your sleeve (RNY, DS or Band too) let me know. It’s a road map that is not difficult to follow. I figure that would at least give those inclined a quicker way to regain instead of having to spend all the time testing the waters with various, “I wonder if I can have XYZ”? If you’re reconciled to not trying and just want to jump right to failure then send me a PM, let’s get it done and out of the way.
In any event, I hope this gives a better understand of why I care and view WLS support in the way that I do. I mean no one any ill will ever, but I also will not condone actions that are contrary to being a successful WLS patient. Best of luck on your journey.

Happiness... Oh the elusive happiness.
So here is the thing, I don't really believe that walking around freaking happy all the time is a true experience. I think that is a bill of goods sold to us to keep us discontent. Theres always one more thing we need to buy, or 10 more pound to lose and then we can be happy, right?
I've lost 70 pounds, and I find myself changing the goal post quite a bit. At first my goals were to get to 170, then it was 140, then it was 115, and recently I have been wondering what I would look like at the 100 pound mark. I am not very tall, so that is not as crazy as it might seem to some of you.
I don't know, I feel like I am really stepping into my own, and reclaiming myself. Something I have always struggled with is the fact that I AM a touch on the... eccentric side? President of the art club, wearing black from head to toe, thick glasses....
Somewhere along the time I lost touch with that girl, and I started living for other people. Went to nursing school even though it wasn't truly my calling, dressing for other people in your standard young adult getup, all the while getting fatter and not understanding why I felt so disingenuous.
I gained nearly 40 pounds while I was away at nursing school, that tells you everything you need to know about how happy I was.
Anyways, I can feel the real Grace coming back, and shes not some pink shirt wearing stiff. I needed new clothes and I went and got them, my old standard uniform of slightly offbeat mostly black, gray, and blue and I love myself again. I got a new hair-do to match also. I needed something a little different than before, to signify my fresh start so I went platinum. I've never been this light before but I love it, I love myself, and I give myself permission to be myself again, even if my mother hates my clothes. HA!

I've never thought about, considered, or worried about this "honeymoon phase" people talk about! I don't care how slow or fast I'm losing. I'm not gaining and that's all I care about! Every single day I'm conscious about what I eat and I'm working on getting physically fit. Sleeved life is good!