DestinClair1983

I'm 3.5 months out, and I'm now able to comfortably chug down about a third of a 16.9 oz water bottle. I'm so glad that it doesn't hurt anymore to drink Water, that was terrible the first few weeks where I could only take a few sips when I felt like chugging down the whole thing!

That has happened to me. I think that it starts small...maybe a little bit of something here...why not a little bit of that there, hey while I'm at it, I'll have this the next day. It's very hard mentally. I just reflected on the reasons why I had the surgery in the first place: to get healthier, to be happier, to be able to do the things I want to do that I currently can't because of my weight. I say to myself, after everything that I've been through to get this surgery, am I really going to sabotage myself and not reach my goals because of what I want to eat right now? It has helped me stay on track.

You can definitely reach your goals and lose 100 percent of your excess weight, but it will require dedication and hard work, sticking to your nutrition goals such as adequate Protein intake, adequate caloric intake, Water, etc, exercise. I believe that the average 66% excess weight loss you mention includes people who lose all their excess weight and those who either lose very little or regain because they don't stick to the plan. It's all about adhering to your nutrition plan and exercise because if you do, there's no doubt in my mind that you can lose ALL of your excess weight.

I didn't use her, but I did want to chime in and say that U of Penn's bariatric program is excellent. The CRNPs are very supportive, and the pre and post care with them is great. My surgeon was Dr. Noel Williams, who I believe is the director of U of Penn's program. Good luck!

I didn't use her, but I did want to chime in and say that U of Penn's bariatric program is excellent. The CRNPs are very supportive, and the pre and post care with them is great. My surgeon was Dr. Noel Williams, who I believe is the director of U of Penn's program. Good luck!

HW: 284.6 SW (surgery day) 272 CW: 192.4. Sleeved 10/24/13. Hope I can make it to goal by the 1 year mark!

It could take anywhere from several days to several weeks depending on the insurance. If the coordinator doesn't get back to you, I'd keep on persisting to get a response to see if she's submitted. I had to call my surgeon's coordinator to find out she hadn't submitted, and when I spoke with her directly, she submitted that same day. Hang in there!

I actually had to stop taking my multivitamin, because every time I took them, I would get violently nauseous and throw up. I thought maybe waiting a month or two before starting them again would help, but when I retried taking the multivitamin, I still got sick even several months out from surgery. I've been meaning to try the Gummy bear Vitamins, but haven't gotten them yet.

I had gained more than a few pounds at my last weigh-in and I was terrified that they were going to delay my surgery because of it, but the CRNP didn't say anything about the weight gain and I surely didn't bring it up lol. Afterwards, someone else told me that as long as you didn't gain over your original starting weight, it wouldn't delay the process, so hopefully it'll be the same for you. I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

@@MichiganChic your a stunner! but I know where you are coming from. I have driven my husband and daughter to extremes because of the same question. They now don't answer. They just walk away...They are tired of it...
The thing is we may quite possibly see ourselves as fat for the rest of our lives. My nut calls it a fat head...Our brains may never get to the point where we say..I made it..Why would we. food was and is an addiction that we have to be aware of the rest of our lives like alcoholism. We can't take it for granted that we have it whipped..
That said we don't want to go the other way and end up in treatment for Anorexia or Bulimia. My daughter works with a couple of patients that have had WLS and have gone the other way. They traded one addiction for another. Once we get to goal the point is to retrain ourselves to maintenance. The thrill of losing is over. It is so hard to handle the changes. And that is why we need to change the way we think...
I am working on it..You need to work on it too!!!!!!

@@DestinClair1983 thanks for your response. I can remember being 140 pounds in my 20s and thinking I looked fat, and that picture in my head still says I was. I'm generally a sane, realistic, common sense person, so this is mind boggling to me that I can't come to a conclusion in my mind that makes sense to me! When I had the surgery, I figured if I made it to 180 I'd be happy, but I guess everything is relative. Thank you for answering!

Honestly, you look great to me. You are not fat. You've accomplished a great feat, and I know sometimes when we lose a lot of weight, in our minds we still look fat. That happened to me 10 years ago when I lost a significant amount of weight. I looked in the mirror and saw fat, even though I was in a size 6-8, my BMI was still in the overweight range. Everyone told me I wasn't fat, but I refused to believe it, because I wanted to believe the mirror, and my BMI, and the mirror said I was fat. I realized looking back after I gained all the weight back that I actually did not look fat at all, it was all the body dysmorphia. So, believe me when I say, you're looking wonderful and healthy!

Yes, I would say 3 things:
1. very common...and then "suddenly" PLOP a good loss
2. LOSE THE scale...at least for now...weigh yourself once a week
3. Measure yourself...you should feel/see a change in the way things are fitting etc.
You've got this...stay the course and you will be fine!

I know my peers will get this:
http://thescrambledalchemist.blog.com/2014/04/12/shame-success/

Had my EGD today.. Wow that was so easy not what I expected.. Thought I would wake up with a sore throat. Didn't know I even had it done.

I was out of work 8 weeks because that's how long the doctor had me on lifting restrictions which I can't have at work. I got FMLA for those 8 weeks. I told my employer exactly 3 weeks before the surgery. Everything worked out smoothly, I was worried about the paperwork involved etc, since that was my first time ever being out of work for so long and having to use FMLA but everything turned out okay.

You can definitely reach your goals and lose 100 percent of your excess weight, but it will require dedication and hard work, sticking to your nutrition goals such as adequate Protein intake, adequate caloric intake, Water, etc, exercise. I believe that the average 66% excess weight loss you mention includes people who lose all their excess weight and those who either lose very little or regain because they don't stick to the plan. It's all about adhering to your nutrition plan and exercise because if you do, there's no doubt in my mind that you can lose ALL of your excess weight.

It happens to me every single time I drink any type of liquid, and it's uncontrollable, so it's highly embarrassing! I've resorted to ensuring that I'm nowhere near anybody when I'm drinking and even eating sometimes will do that too. I wish it would go away. I'm almost 6 months post-op and no improvement on that.

You can definitely reach your goals and lose 100 percent of your excess weight, but it will require dedication and hard work, sticking to your nutrition goals such as adequate Protein intake, adequate caloric intake, Water, etc, exercise. I believe that the average 66% excess weight loss you mention includes people who lose all their excess weight and those who either lose very little or regain because they don't stick to the plan. It's all about adhering to your nutrition plan and exercise because if you do, there's no doubt in my mind that you can lose ALL of your excess weight.