Chelenka

I beg your pardon for the title but a young person of the male gender (won't refer to him as a man since that implies a level of maturity that he obviously doesn't possess) hollered at me whilst I was riding my bike "you have a saggy ass so you better move it!" Although it is true that I have a saggy ass and many other saggy body parts, I've gotten complacent I guess about fitting in with regular, non-obese, folks and was rather taken aback. Having been obese and for my entire life I have been on the receiving end of many a cruel remark or look of disgust, pointing, stares, snickering, even unwanted groping, more times than I can count, sometimes from members of my own family. I usually turned the other cheek and went on my way. Today, however, I found myself boiling over with anger. I caught up to said young person of the male gender at a stop light and yelled at him "my saggy ass is better than your flat dick!" Then I stood up on the pedals and rode furiously away. I'm feeling a bit ashamed of myself for stooping so low.

According to this website I have a small frame. Huh! Me? A small frame? I've never had a small anything! I do, now, have very slender wrists. Never realized that my wrists were that fat before. It's interesting.

Thanks everyone for the great responses! It occurred to me that I pedaled my bike standing up! I never was able to do that when I was heavy. Now it's become so much easier for me that I did without even thinking. I guess that comes under the heading of NSVs.

I want to know what my bones weigh too! I am really tall, 6'1", and weigh 225-230. I currently wear L and XL on top but need 16W or 18 misses in pants so am bottom heavy and, if you saw my earlier post today, have a saggy ass! Anyway, body-types and clothing manufacturers sizing can vary greatly so try to let go of the clothing size envy feelings. My body changed so much in the beginning and it still is changing. Just try to love yourself thru this amazing transformation that you are going thru!

Dearest Lisa: your poem is so beautiful just like the love you shared with your husband. I know you are so devastated and I hope you can begin to care for your self bit by bit. Cowgirl jane and Isareno's advice is really good, IMO. May God send you lots of love and light. Helen

The only reason they would cancel last minute is if you are sick, running a fever. So try to calm down or you might make yourself sic! ;-p

I recently donated about 5 large trash bags of cloths almost 18 months post-op. I still have some special occasion gowns that I want to try and sell on consignment or on eBay. It is hard to let go of all that stuff but try to take ownership of your new life and size. Your size will keep changing rapidly in the beginning so don't invest in too much yet. I shopped at consignment stores and Walmart, still do sometimes, cuz I love a bargain! Have fun with it!

I Weigh myself every morning and have noticed a pattern of a 2 lb gain the day after I've had a big workout. Yesterday I rode my bike 14 miles and supposedly burned 1200 calories but rather than drop a lb I'm up two this morning. WTF! The same thing happened earlier in the week after a very intense 75 min Yoga class and last week after a long bike ride. My weight will drop down again after a day or two but it is very frustrating. Has anyone else experienced this? Could it be some sort of inflammation? I'm not feeling unusually sore, just the usual creaky antique-y issues.

@@MichiganChic - I have been doing some online research and haven't made up my mind about it yet. I bought a Groupon for Viera skin tightening which I just had done on my inner thigh area where I have a lot of loose, wrinkly skin. It was just 2 treatments but I think it made a slight improvement. If I do get the cool sculpting on my saddlebags then it would have to be followed by the skin tightening so that's a lot of money. I think a trip to Mexico for plastic surgery would only be slightly more expensive. My husband would freak out over that, so not an option for me, Lol! Re: exercise, I find it really helps with my moods, I'm happier and over all feel better. My knees are problematic, as is my lower back and right shoulder, oh hell I'm just an arthritic mess! If I don't exercise the pain is worse than when I do. I always stretch pre and post workout and use ice packs to reduce inflammation after a big workout or even in the morning if I'm feeling achey. I try to drink lots of water, eat omega 3 fats etc as well but really, since my appetite returned I need to work out to offset my calorie intake which hovers around 1800. Also, I've been concerned about muscle loss, especially in my upper body as I can see all my ribs, collar bones, shoulder blades sticking out and have developed so much more pain in that area. The Yoga seems to be helping with that but the process is often uncomfortable. I feel better after the class though, definitely. If you need knee replacement at this point you might try researching some pre-op exercises to help your post-op recovery process. Wishing you only good health and happiness! Helen

@ MichiganChic: I have been going to a Yoga studio nearby my home. If you are having knee problems some of the Yoga might be uncomfortable for you. Even the kicking when swimming can aggravate one's knees. With the Yoga I find that if a pose is too difficult for me I will ask the teacher for a modification or I just don't do it. I decided to try Yoga because of my lower back issues and also as a means of gentle strength building in the upper body. It is a great combination of flexibility and strength. I think weight training is a good idea too, especially to help support your knees. I don't enjoy strength training which is also why I decided to go back to Yoga but some people love it. Good for you, getting the plastics! I've been investigating some noninvasive treatments , cold-sculpting, for the saddle bags and loose flab on my thighs. It's cheaper than Lipo but I'm not sure how effective it truly is. Have to do some more research but can't afford anything now anyway.

Thanks ladies! Since I've seen a pattern now I am trying not to get upset about it. Just struggling to get my weight loss moving again. Added yoga back into my activities recently and I really am loving it. It has helped with my sciatica tremendously. My weight may be up slightly but my clothing is fitting loosely so that makes me feel better.

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

GCJ - i don't know what to say in the face of so much loss. You are an amazingly strong person and I know you will find your way through this difficult time and thru the grief. There seems to me to be many, deep, psychological reverberances to these events which will take a long time to unravel. Please be loving and kind to yourself and try not to "fix" everything or take on more than you can handle. Sending you love, light and a big cyber hug ((()))! Helen

Hi Jess and welcome to the forum! You are so lucky and brave be able to do this at such a young age. Even if it had been an option when I was 19 I don't know if I would have had the courage and determination to go thru with it.

It is partly to help you feel full longer. Those of us who have done Weight Watchers have been brainwashed that drinking water while eating helps you feel full. Not true, at least for me. It washes the food thru too quickly for your brain to register that you've eaten. This is a hard habit to break but I started working on it pre-surgery and now I don't really think about it anymore. I'm not perfect, I sometimes eat cereal w/ milk as a treat or sip a glass of wine w/ dinner on the weekend but, in general I drink my beverage 1/2 hour before a meal. Looking back on my past behavior I realize that I used to drink a glass of milk or a cup of coffee w/ cookies or some other sweet food. It was a comforting behavior left over from my childhood that helped me feel temporarily calm and and breaking this one habit was a big change for me. Post surgery I find that drinking when I've eaten can be quite uncomfortable. So I sometimes wait an hour to drink anything after eating.

Ask them to try it themselves for a month and find out if can do it, if they think it's so damn easy! Oh sure you would lose weight but no one, even us veteran sleevers, can sustain such deprivation indefinitely.

You are doing great! Your apprehension is totally normal. I am almost 18 months post-op. The pre-op diet and first week post-op was the hardest part for me. Mostly it was just the adjustment of not eating for approx a month and just drinking the protein shakes. Since your dependence on the protein shakes is temporary the cost wasn't part of my concern. I went online and read lots of reviews and chose several brands based on the reviews, dynmatize and syntrax are both brands that I like and still use occasionally. These are available at the Vitamin Shoppe. It's a good idea to buy some samples beforehand so you can try them. Also, sometimes post-op your tolerance and tastes change so don't invest too heavily in one brand or flavor until you are post-op. As for losing 85% of my stomach, I would NEVER have lost my weight otherwise. I have been over weight / obese / morbidly obese my entire life. At about 8 months post-op my capacity increased somewhat and now I can eat fairly normally, so some self-control has to come into play at some point for most of us. The difference is that I now have a fighting chance to keep the weight off and hopefully lose a few more lbs. I weigh myself every morning which helps me to stay on track. I also log my food using the Loseit app. Lots of people use Myfitnesspal or other apps to keep track of their food. So long-term this surgery doesn't end dieting it just makes it so much easier to control your eating and stay on your plan so that you actually lose weight and keep it off. Regarding complications, there are many things that can go wrong with any surgery. It is a risk, a calculated risk. I am so glad that I made the choice to take that risk. My life is so much easier than before and I am much happier. Best of luck to you and congrats on quitting smoking!

Please be sure her Dr. / nutritionist gives you some directions. I wasn't allow pureed food until three weeks post-op. Here's what my instructions were: Week one: Clear liquids only - sugar free Jello is fine. Week two: full liquids i.e. Protein shakes. Week three: pureed food, refried Beans and soft cooked Cereal made very thin. Week four: start to work in regular food as tolerated. The thing is to go slow and carefully during the healing process. You are a sweetheart! God bless you!

My upper ribs and collar bones stick out a lot. My butt is another story, LOL!

I had the laser skin tightening on my neck and jaw area pre weight loss. At the time I didn't see much difference but my turkey wattle is pretty minimal so maybe it helped. Thinking of doing it again.

Water, pro-biotic, magnesium supplement, senna or other laxative occasionally if needed. Chia seed in yogurt or your protein shake are also helpful for regularity if you are far enough out to be able to eat seeds. Also, once cleared to do so eating salad greens helps one stay regular.

Hey sweetie: you are so young and your feelings are so normal. You are trying to cope with a huge physical and psychological change that you chose to undertake. It's hard in the beginning but gets easier after about 6 months or so. I don't think I would have had the courage to do this at age 20. So kuddos to you to make this choice for yourself. People who haven't undergone WLS can't truly understand how freaked out you can get about everything. Try to be as kind and loving to yourself as possible in ways that don't involve food, like go get a manny peddy or a massage, take a bubble bath, you get the idea. Stick to you plan and stay connected here and with your surgeon's team. We're all here to support eachother. Lots of love to you!

My dear RJ I am so sorry to read about this latest complication. It sucks! You have been thru so much already! I am sending you lots of love and healing prayers. Please keep us updated when you can. BIG (bur very gentle) HUG!!!!

I seem to have a healthy appetite most of the time and thus am struggling to maintain. I've still not made it to my "goal" weight and am resigned that it may never happen. As long as I stay where I am now I'm OK with it. Still trying to figure out the right balance of food and exercise. Last summer I rode my bike a lot and I was loosing fairly steadily but the last two bike rides I've taken have brought on a sciatica attack and I'm really frustrated that my body doesn't like my idea of fun and good e exercise. Plus I lost my part-time job at the gym and thus cancelled my membership there. They fired my boss so my position was also eliminated. I had planned to quit anyway but not til mid-August. I miss my friends there and am kinda bummed. All this just makes me want to eat. Sigh. Sometimes I wish I had no desire to eat but I know that isn't truly healthy. It's just so frustrating that after going thru surgery and losing 100lbs nothing has changed in terms of my basic behavior around food except I can't eat as much as I used to. Nor do I want to really so in that respect it's an improvement at least. Seems like the struggle with food and weight is unending.

Congrats! You look great!