aliekat55

I was working on my daughters CRV in the garage and did not mean to park it so close to the garage door frame. I saw the space and first I walked around the other side, then without thinking i walked through the space that was clearly much too narrow for me without greasing my self up and getting two people to push me through it. However, i walked so easily through the gap that i only realized later that i had done it. Wow. I fit in narrow spots--go figure.

great question! I have had this conversation in my head a few times. For what its worth, what I came up with is the following: people get their cardiac anatomy rearranged all the time without the slightest hesitation or regret: cardiac bypass, stents. They are no more life saving than what we are doing. it may be more dramatic but both are arguably a result of genetic predisposition and lifestyle. I see no difference between the two, except that the cardiac rearangement is more socially accepted ( even if caused by decades of smoking and eating poorly and lack of exercise, excesive alcohol consumption etc.) and ours is judged much harsher.
the question i asked myself, IF I had the evidence that I needed it, would I wait until i had a heart attack to get a bypass or would i act proactively? why not the same for weight induced issues ( of which heart disease is but one consequence)?
alex

great question! I have had this conversation in my head a few times. For what its worth, what I came up with is the following: people get their cardiac anatomy rearranged all the time without the slightest hesitation or regret: cardiac bypass, stents. They are no more life saving than what we are doing. it may be more dramatic but both are arguably a result of genetic predisposition and lifestyle. I see no difference between the two, except that the cardiac rearangement is more socially accepted ( even if caused by decades of smoking and eating poorly and lack of exercise, excesive alcohol consumption etc.) and ours is judged much harsher.
the question i asked myself, IF I had the evidence that I needed it, would I wait until i had a heart attack to get a bypass or would i act proactively? why not the same for weight induced issues ( of which heart disease is but one consequence)?
alex

great question! I have had this conversation in my head a few times. For what its worth, what I came up with is the following: people get their cardiac anatomy rearranged all the time without the slightest hesitation or regret: cardiac bypass, stents. They are no more life saving than what we are doing. it may be more dramatic but both are arguably a result of genetic predisposition and lifestyle. I see no difference between the two, except that the cardiac rearangement is more socially accepted ( even if caused by decades of smoking and eating poorly and lack of exercise, excesive alcohol consumption etc.) and ours is judged much harsher.
the question i asked myself, IF I had the evidence that I needed it, would I wait until i had a heart attack to get a bypass or would i act proactively? why not the same for weight induced issues ( of which heart disease is but one consequence)?
alex

don't give up on exercise. it is winter and cold and there will be food all over the place--rich food. personally i pick it up a notch during this time of year.
congrats-- you have done a great job to lose so fast.

for some reason the one that bothers me the most is when they tell me "STOP losing more weight!" I have no doubt it has to do with their own feelings about their weight (no one thin or normal says this).

You are very young and should do well, particularly if you do as bubba says, a bit of weight lifting does wonders. But you may be getting ahead of yourself, like planning the press conference before actually climbing mount everest. the process is challenging and not for the faint of heart--at least if you want it to succeed.

CV and experience is amazing. I am not convinced that simply by being a US surgeon they are better. I would argue that the best outside the US would match the Best in the US. the trouble of course is identifying the best in either location. I looked carefully and the reports by patients and how the surgeons responded after the surgery is an important data point.
My biggest issue with traveling is that the surgeon is not readily available if a problem develops, but that was not sufficient for me not to travel. The rate of problems seems to be lower than for Gall bladder surgery and I am familiar with how low that is.
IMHO
alex

did the best i could. made a huge effort. not perfect. it is not about the weight i lost but about the emotional and mental place i was at. in short, was i willing to do what it took for the surgery to work. note that fully 40% of sleevers do not reach a minimal success! i was determined not to be one of those.
that said, it is easier after the surgery but IMHO you have to give it your all, a full court press, including exercise. i read here how only after months of failure do some people decided that perhaps exercise will help. if you query vets they will tell you that the first 6 months is the honeymoon phase, where the weight comes off easily. that is when the exercise will accelerate your weight loss.

did the best i could. made a huge effort. not perfect. it is not about the weight i lost but about the emotional and mental place i was at. in short, was i willing to do what it took for the surgery to work. note that fully 40% of sleevers do not reach a minimal success! i was determined not to be one of those.
that said, it is easier after the surgery but IMHO you have to give it your all, a full court press, including exercise. i read here how only after months of failure do some people decided that perhaps exercise will help. if you query vets they will tell you that the first 6 months is the honeymoon phase, where the weight comes off easily. that is when the exercise will accelerate your weight loss.

probiotics, fiber, colace and fluids-- in large amounts. I had a problem before surgery which got worse afterwards--perhaps because of the smaller amount of food. through much effort i have found i need all of the above to stay regular.

I am in the same boat with you. I am smaller than i was in 7th grade! and only now am I beginning to see myself as small. I find it easier to see it in a picture of myself dressed in clothes that i would not have normally worn ( case in point- halloween costume) So there was no old 'tape' for the brain to put in the place of reality. this is now the fight of our lives.
I have on advantage in that i see patients all day long and when i get a man about my height I look at his weight and then reset my brain by noting that i am either bigger or smaller than the person in front of me. almost always smaller these days. my brain responds by "no f--- way!" but i keep trying.

Today, I leave at 11:00 to go to the hospital. Surgery at 1:15. Getting panniculectomy AND Tummy Tuck. Would post before pics, but this page seems to be having issues. Will post before and after, when I can.

To date, I've lost 91 pounds. At a smidge under 5'3", I've gone from a tight size 20 to a comfy size 12 pants, from a 2x (42DDD) top to a L (36D). I weighed 263.4 at my highest, I am 172.2 as of this morning. I still have 23.2 pounds to go to my personal goal but that's a number I just picked out of my ass, with absolutely no idea what that's going to look like or where I really want to end up.

I'm just realizing what a delusional fat person I was before. I could look at myself in my bathroom mirror thinking I looked good. I had my "skinny" days quite often where I went out with my head held high thinking no one could possibly see how morbidly obese I was. At the same time, I always tucked myself in the back of pictures if I wasn't offering to take them. As one of the shorter people, that was no easy task as everyone tried to shove me up front. (As if they could move THIS mountain! HA!) The result from this is that I have very few pictures to compare my current body size to.
Now, my head is telling me that I am "normal" sized. I am no longer the largest size in the store. I am no longer the largest person in the room anywhere I go. When I go shopping with friends who I've always considered average in stature, I am in their size or one smaller. I can pick up clothes and think that there is no fuckeding way that my assed will fit in that and it does. I am not skinny by any stretch of the imagination but I do think that I am fit. I am no longer afraid of a fitness class. I am no longer afraid of a day of hiking in the apple orchards. I am no longer afraid of a marathon day in hot weather at the park with the kids and the dog. I can easily jog in place for 45 minutes while I teach a kickboxing class joining in seamlessly whenever I care to without losing my breath. I am willing to try new exercises not caring what I look like and no longer making the excuse that I am uncoordinated so I can't possible try. All that said...

I CAN'T SEE IT. I JUST CAN'T SEE IT!!! I am in constant doubt that I really am normal sized. I am in constant doubt that I am not still the big girl. I look at pictures of myself and while I know in my head I look better, all I can actually see is my fat thighs and the roll that's still apparent around my belly. I used to be able to pick up an article of clothing and know if it would fit and now I am terrified of being disappointed because it's too small because I am so unaware of my body size.I am constantly trying to compare myself to everyone around me, not because I want to tear them down and make myself feel better but because I want to see what everyone else sees. I am dying to ask everyone around me what size they wear, how much they weigh, if I can take a picture next to them so I can compare. I restrain myself, but it's hard. It's really really hard. You know how when you hear yourself on a recording, it's bizarre because that's not what you sound like in your head? You know how you can't hear your own accent? That's how I feel about my appearance. I can't see it.
I am not fishing for compliments. I am not asking for reassurance because intellectually I know I am getting there. I just want to know when my self awareness will catch up with my actual being.
ARGH!!!!! HELP ME!

I make sure i only serve myself about half of what i can easily eat. then when i am done i wait for at least 5 minutes to evaluate cues from my body and stomach. Only then do i go get a small portion, wash rinse repeat.
even so, the amount of food that sends me from feeling nothing to getting full blown full feelings is razor thin some days. It wasn't a problem when i was trying to lose but i am trying to maintain and can't get enough calories in.
my wife says i should stop the low cal foods but I can't emotionally do that right now.

After four months since surgery and after one month since reaching goal i decided to go out to eat with my family for my birthday. I scoped out the best place to eat, where there would be good choices, my wife agreed to share a plate. It was so much easier than it used to be. i had half a cup of french onion Soup (none of the bread, a bit of the cheese, most of the broth and onions) One half of the steak cut up into tiny portions and did not even finish it (ate 3.5 oz) and my extravagance: two of my daughter's french fries. I was not only full, but satisfied! that never happened before, even if full i wanted more. i ate less than everyone at the table and they are all tiny people. I took a good 30 minutes to eat my food.< /p>
i did not think eating out would work and don't want to do it again for quite a while. but it was fun! i even joined in the conversation which used to be a problem because the food was always talking to me.
i love the sleeve. it has given me my life back.

After four months since surgery and after one month since reaching goal i decided to go out to eat with my family for my birthday. I scoped out the best place to eat, where there would be good choices, my wife agreed to share a plate. It was so much easier than it used to be. i had half a cup of french onion Soup (none of the bread, a bit of the cheese, most of the broth and onions) One half of the steak cut up into tiny portions and did not even finish it (ate 3.5 oz) and my extravagance: two of my daughter's french fries. I was not only full, but satisfied! that never happened before, even if full i wanted more. i ate less than everyone at the table and they are all tiny people. I took a good 30 minutes to eat my food.< /p>
i did not think eating out would work and don't want to do it again for quite a while. but it was fun! i even joined in the conversation which used to be a problem because the food was always talking to me.
i love the sleeve. it has given me my life back.

After four months since surgery and after one month since reaching goal i decided to go out to eat with my family for my birthday. I scoped out the best place to eat, where there would be good choices, my wife agreed to share a plate. It was so much easier than it used to be. i had half a cup of french onion Soup (none of the bread, a bit of the cheese, most of the broth and onions) One half of the steak cut up into tiny portions and did not even finish it (ate 3.5 oz) and my extravagance: two of my daughter's french fries. I was not only full, but satisfied! that never happened before, even if full i wanted more. i ate less than everyone at the table and they are all tiny people. I took a good 30 minutes to eat my food.< /p>
i did not think eating out would work and don't want to do it again for quite a while. but it was fun! i even joined in the conversation which used to be a problem because the food was always talking to me.
i love the sleeve. it has given me my life back.

After four months since surgery and after one month since reaching goal i decided to go out to eat with my family for my birthday. I scoped out the best place to eat, where there would be good choices, my wife agreed to share a plate. It was so much easier than it used to be. i had half a cup of french onion Soup (none of the bread, a bit of the cheese, most of the broth and onions) One half of the steak cut up into tiny portions and did not even finish it (ate 3.5 oz) and my extravagance: two of my daughter's french fries. I was not only full, but satisfied! that never happened before, even if full i wanted more. i ate less than everyone at the table and they are all tiny people. I took a good 30 minutes to eat my food.< /p>
i did not think eating out would work and don't want to do it again for quite a while. but it was fun! i even joined in the conversation which used to be a problem because the food was always talking to me.
i love the sleeve. it has given me my life back.

Fear will do amazing things. I routinely have patients that will worry about the most rare of diseases while not paying attention to obvious dangers as not using seat belts, smoking, excesive drinking, routine immunizations, yada yada.

There are many challenges. will you think ahead and not put yourself in a place where you have few options but to eat poorly? how much alcohol is in your life? ( no judgement, just huge amounts of calories and bad choices if alot has been imbibed). will you tire of the limitation and being unable to eat like your friends and therefore stretch out your sleeve or will you eat slider foods? there have been very successful young people but they were willing to change their attitude to food and exercise. for me it was "am i willing to do whatever it takes?" i waited years to get the surgery until the answer was a resounding yes.
I wish you the best of luck.

it is not magic. i know many people after a gastric bypass that are bigger than when they started. a full 40% of people after wls do not even reach the very easy goal of losing 60% of their excess surgery. if you are not willing to do the fairly minor things of measuring and counting your food and daily exercise i think you will be highly dissapointed. this site is full of people that are having a hard time losing after surgery even with exercise and counting their meals.
the one good thing for many of us is that the hunger changes, there is still head hunger, there is still stress eating, poor choices, poor planning, etc.
Of course this may only be my experience, but check out what the vets say, the successfull ones. I have yet to see anyone say that it was easy that they did not have work the sleeve, that there were periods of failure to be overcome by focused determination. in fact most of them say they wished they had worked harder, exercised sooner and harder.

Yeah!

Yesterday i went in to see a patient who had not been in the office for a few years. His face said it all-- who the hell are you?
when i told him i was still me he hessitantly asked, are you sure? he was looking hard trying to see any semblance of the doc he had seen before.
pretty cool

Three months to the day. from what i figure that was fast. I love exercise so that helped also. despite my Y chromosome I managed to follow directions