Margie122

Your surgery is today.....Hope all went well!

Hi shortstuff4ever78 My mom is going through the same thing, only when she eats. Sometimes I think it's because she is eating too fast. It will get better. How are you doing? Hope all is well.

So I have been researching plastic surgeon's in my area and I have booked a consult with a plastic surgeon I have heard very good things about. I am not planning on having surgery until the Fall of 2017, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to talk over what I want done with the surgeon and get prices etc. I reached out to the office yesterday evening via the web site and gave them some idea of what procedure(s) I wanted done and they emailed me back this morning with some info and some "average" prices. The cost includes the surgeon fee, hospital fee (overnight stay), anesthesia fee, as well as all pre-op and post-op surgical visits. My consult is on Monday August 1st. I would love to be at my GOAL weight by then. Correction - I WILL BE AT MY GOAL WEIGHT BY THEN! Dina A. Eliopoulos, MD Center for Plastic Surgery www.DinaMD.com

I thought I would put in an update for anyone who might be interested or who was following this thread. I lost a total of 4.2lbs after my 5 day liquid reset. I found that I had good restriction yesterday after eating. Last night I had some slow cooker mongolian beef and broccoli and I still had good restriction. I really haven't had strong cravings for anything but last night I did have to talk myself out of having a peanut butter Power Crunch bar (I love those things) and instead had a cup of decaf choc peanut butter coffee. I think it more had to do with habits - watching TV and it was early evening - a time I would typically "like a little something snacky". I've decided that I need to restrict myself to weighing only 1x a week on my designated Monday mornings. I have also realized that I need to ensure that I am getting at least 64oz of water in a day. The 5 days of liquids wasn't a walk in the park, but it wasn't that difficult either. I would do it again in the future if I needed to. @@proudgrammy your 5 days are over! Hope you got the results you wanted.

Congratulations on your accomplishment!

My NUT said that sometimes the body is just happy at a certain weight and it wants to stay there. He also seconded changing up the exercise routine and working out a little harder to challenge myself. Give it a try the only thing you have to lose is WEIGHT!

Had a yogurt this morning for a snack - a Siggi's mixed berry. It's about 5oz. I could really feel the restriction...YAY! Someone brought in those softball sized blueberry muffins from BJ's - the kind with the large crystals of sugar on the muffin top.... but I don't need them for my muffin top. They did look a little tempting though....see how easy it would be to go down the slippery slope into Carbville and never emerge?! Lunch is going to be some chicken salad....Need to try to eat slowly. It's hard to make it last more than 10-15 minutes though. Today I'm shooting for 20!

189.6 this morning....scale is moving in the right direction.

I made it the 5 days! As of this morning I am down to 189.6 - it's the lowest weight I've seen on the scale since starting this weight loss journey. I am very excited. Surprisingly even though I can have food today, I am not starving. Going to have a protein shake for breakfast later and will then have a yogurt for a snack. @@proudgrammy this is your day 5.....you can do it! I had a dream last night that I was so swollen it was like I had an allergic reaction and that when I stepped on the scale it read 259lbs!!! Ok it was more of a nightmare. I woke up thinking....am I really 259lbs??? What is strange though is that my pants that normally fit me fine are a little tight. I'm definitely a little bloated this morning. It's almost that time of the month and last month it was virtually non-existent. How weird would it be if after five days of liquids I was retaining water??!! Still....it was a loss and I will take it! I'm considering it a win/win.

Yes how is it going? I'm very interested!

@@proudgrammy I am far from normal! So you had a couple of protein bars and some yogurt....no big deal...you are down 2.9lbs that is awesome! I am excited for tomorrow morning. Not Christmas morning as a kid excited but still..excited! I am really hoping to be at 190. That would make me very happy. If I'm not at 190 though I will still be a big girl. No tantrums, no wailing or sobbing. I promise not to tell anyone you weighed yourself. Your secret is safe with me No we weren't competing against each other.....but I can honestly say I'm hoping we both do great! I didn't get a chance to have a nap. That was my only disappointment today. I did score some new cool socks at TJ Maxx and a really pretty swimsuit coverup. I will post my weigh in tomorrow! Best of luck to you today and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Day 5. Tried a new flavor of decaf today - chocolate fudge. Not bad....I had some cinnamon last night and it was interesting. Not sure how I feel about cinnamon coffee. I woke up this morning and my ring was feeling really tight. It's weird I could barely get it off my right ring finger but it fit fine on my left finger. Is it possible to be swollen on one side only???? I do tend to sleep on my right side for most of the night, maybe that was it. It was also my first night on the new mattress. Who knows...I just hope my body isn't rebelling and holding on to water. I resisted the urge to get on the scale though. No weigh in until tomorrow morning. So this morning was the perfect day to wash windows. I got the ladder out and did the outside Windows on the back and side of the house. I just have the front bay windows left to do. I bought this spray cleaner at the hardware store designed just for glass and the stuff rocks! So much better than Windex. Amazingly it was very satisfying....the outside kitchen picture window was really dirty and now it's sparkly. It was also a bonus that it made my mom very happy. I have some tomato soup for this afternoon once the rain comes in and it gets chilly. Already had one chocolate protein shake this morning with a little PB2 mixed in to make it interesting. Last night at my nephews baseball game someone brought their new cockapoo puppy. He was so small I could've scooped him up with one hand. I WANT A PUPPY! But I think my kitties would be very upset with me......and I don't have the time for a puppy. One day I will have a dog but I will go to the shelter to adopt one . That's all for now.....

My mom is 66 and she had the sleeve done in March. I know there are people on the boards who are over 65 who have had it done. I think what might make it difficult for the over 65 crowd is if they have a lot of other health conditions. As long as it's safe for you to have surgery I don't see why they wouldn't do weight loss surgery on you.

@@proudgrammy you are doing great too! Movie popcorn is downright delicious. My first job was at a movie theater and I sold the soda candy and popcorn. That was back when we popped it fresh each night. I would come home and smell like popcorn. Good for you for saying no. That popcorn has so much fat in it.....but goodness it's yummy. Today I was assaulted by food commercials . I had to turn off the tv. There were SO MANY and for so many different things. It was too much. I am currently enjoying a cup of decaf chocolate Peanut Butter coffee ☕️. It's not bad. We have a discount store nearby where you can get 24 K cups for 12.99 AND they let you mix and match if you want. I bought a ton of different flavors today (all decaf) to try. You can't beat that price AND the expiration dates are all well into the future ☕️ I checked. It was hard today I'm not going to lie. It was especially hard when my mom asked me to pick her up a chicken kebab for dinner. Boy it smelled like all sorts of deliciousness. I stayed strong and got some Soup and ate it while cheering on my nephews baseball ⚾️team. They lost but it was a beautiful night and you can't ask for much more than that. OK you can and I am hoping that the scratch ticket I JUST remembered I bought is a big winner Tomorrow is day five for me and I know I can do it. My long sleeve T is practically ordered. I'm looking forward to jumping on the scale Monday morning. Fingers crossed this helped jump start my weight loss again. We shall see. Tomorrow I have exciting things like washing the outside windows and taking a nap.

Day 4 of liquids. I made it through Zumba this morning. I'm going for a short hike this afternoon. I am amazingly not starving. I really thought I would be hungrier. Keeping busy is key. @@proudgrammy stay strong today!

@@LisaMergs - I really like Isopure.....but you are right it is expensive as all get out. I am getting quite a bit of Protein in my GNC Lean shake 25....but I might have to check out Isopure again once the weather gets warmer...they have a ton of good flavors and sometimes I get tired of drinking "plain" Water.

I submitted all my transcripts to the College. You need 120 credits for a Bachelors. I was given 78 credits for my prior degree and coursework. I can test out of a computer course for another 3 credits and if I submit add'l transcripts I can get 7 more credits for electives for the designations I received at work. That means I need 32 credits for the degree! That's only 11 courses.....I could be done in a year.....WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Morning of day 3. Doing ok. Savoring my decaf hazelnut Dunkin Donuts coffee this morning I drank a 16.9oz Water on the bus on the way in here. I think I do better when I start with water first thing and then have a coffee. If I have a coffee first, I can't get the water in. Weird ehh? So glad I went to yoga last night because it was just what I needed to stretch and focus. Yoga is no joke people....my back bends are getting way better! Hope everyone is doing well today.

I've got a rant about three different types of calls. 1. The no return call from contractors - I'm having work done on my house, I've called various trades including plumbers, roofers, landscapers and masons. The masonry job is estimated to be at about $15,000. I had a guy give me an estimate last Fall and we parted saying I would call him in the Spring. Fast forward to MARCH when I email him with the photos of similar work that was done at my brothers house (per his request) and with the info on the material I picked out. Crickets. I emailed again two weeks later asking when he might be able to come out again and start the job. He emailed me that he would be out that weekend and would call with the date/time. Crickets. I called him. He said he was really busy but where he had given me estimate last year he would make time for me. (GEE THANKS!) I had a neighbor and a good friend use him last year and they both said he does awesome work but he's hard to get a hold of. He finally called and said he would be out on this past Sunday.........NADA, NOTHING...no call/no show. He better not call me any time soon. I had a tree limb fall off a very high Pine tree and it crashed into my garage in the back of the house. I didn't realize that the branch had actually put a fist sized hole in the roof and damaged it a few more places. I also developed a leak in the main roof after the guys shoveling the roof hit the pipe coming out of the roof from the bathroom with the shovel. I don't know the technical name for that pipe, but it vents the air from the bathroom. I went on Angie's list and looked up "roof repair". I called 8 roofers. 4 of them called me back and "they are only doing entire roof jobs, no repairs", 3 never called. The last guy is great - and is fixing the roof and my chimney (he's putting a cap on it) tomorrow. I will definitely be giving him a good review online once the work is done. 2. No return calls from LICSW/Therapists. I've been looking for a therapist for a while. I went online to my health provider, put in my info and found two therapists that have some experience with bariatric patients. I called one and left a voicemail with my info. CRICKETS. No return call. I emailed another - she initially emailed right away and said she would call me to schedule the following week. Never happened. I called a referral service that my NUT gave me. They called me back right away and gave me the names of two therapists - one of whom I had already emailed and she ignored me. I gave her another shot. NOPE. No return call, no return email. The other therapist who was new to me - I called. I left a voicemail. That was three days ago. Good thing I wasn't in crisis huh?! I am at the point where I am ready to give up. 3. This call JUST happened while I was typing this. I got a call from the "BLANK PARTY" on a recorded line telling me that we couldn't let SO AND SO into the White House and should they send out my party material confirming I would pledge $200 or should they put me down for $100?! H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEYSTICKS NO????!!!! No sweetheart - I don't know how you got my cell phone # but lose it fast and don't ever call me again. The nerve. I don't want to get into politics but both sides are making me ill. I'm not at the point where I'm moving to Canada or going to load up on shotgun shells or anything but the political landscape right now is just downright depressing. Luckily I have an awesome plumber who recommended a masonry guy and I called him today. He's coming out TOMORROW to price the job. He was pleasant and courteous and I'll be making sure that he gets a good review online too if he decides to do the work (and does a good job....I'm figuring he will Ok - RANT OVER. Thanks for listening!

@@proudgrammy how is day 2 going for you? Not going to lie, it's harder than yesterday. I'm sitting here drinking Water. I have a metallic taste in my mouth and I'm sure my breath is killer. I'm from the Boston area so lets say it's "wicked killuh". And yes I brushed and flossed! I have yoga tonight. It's kundalini yoga and it's very relaxing. I hope it takes my mind off of food. I've been seeing food everywhere.......I'll have to concentrate on not letting my third eye wander. I'm staying strong though. That Life is Good T-shirt is in my grasp. Hope things are going well for you.

I would be willing to bet that a good amount of the 20lbs you lost pre-op was Water weight. Most obese people (myself included) lose big the first week or two. Give your body a break. It just went through major surgery. It's still in shock. Search for the 3 weeks stall. Do yourself a favor and stay off the scale. I did so I didn't drive myself crazy. The only time I got on the scale the first 2 months was at post-op appointments. Trust in yourself and the weight will come off. It's not magic you know. You don't miraculously wake up 2 weeks after surgery and lose 100lbs. You said you are hungry - are you taking an acid reducer? Sometimes the stomach acid mimics hunger. It could also be "head hunger" so watch out for that. I wish you luck. Keep doing what your doing and I"m sure you will do well. I was never one of those sleevers who was "full on 2 oz" of food. I can usually eat up to 6 oz with no problems. If it's a really dense Protein then I am satisfied with less. I have to remind myself to EAT SLOWER, it really does make a difference.

@@AvaFern - I feel the same way. If you can't bother to call me back or you keep me hanging...you've lost my business. @@becomingmandikaye - I'm glad you were finally able to get through to someone. I am at a loss as to professionals who are in the business of HELPING people who are usually in some sort of crisis not returning calls or not having an answering service. It just sucks. @@JamieLogical - I'm going to check out that site. Thanks for the info.

Thanks @@LisaMergs ! I appreciate the cheering.