natalie_christin

Lol...I don't eat bread

Natalie, this must be so frustrating. I am the "bad girl" as I have never followed a low carb diet after surgery. Only a "lower carb" diet, which is around 100-150 carbs a day. I try and keep them whole grain, lower/no sugar, and lots of organics and raw as possible. I am a vegetarian and getting in the Protein is not alway that great. I get back on track and try to get more of those often... its an on going problem. I have a goal range of 170-173 which I maintiained for a while, and in the past couple of months have gained 5-7 pounds. My exercise has reduced and my eating has become more mindless and emotional... which is the reason for the gain. I think you really need to get in more protein... it screws up your body not to have the Protein you need to replace muscle tissue and such... My hair still falls out because of not enough protein.... Use MFP every day, do get exercise in any form you can manage, and work to improve the quality of your intake. Sometimes a little thing can really throw off your weight loss and gain. Best of luck to you, we are here for you!

Girl,

I am right there with you. I'm not getting enough Vitamins, minerals or protein and my hair is constantly falling out. To me that was always one of my favorite quote of "features because my hair has always been in good condition.but last year there is this whole debacle in the lady didn't listen to me about my hair and she put color on it in it Friday.… I trusted this lady but live and learn right? Right now I need to figure out how to get more protein in my diet. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do the Protein shakes but I was hoping I wasn't going to have to go that route anymore. But maybe that's the only solution.

I appreciate the input. I've been researching some exercises that I can probably do. So far all of my weight-loss is been without exercise and I wish that had not been the case but it is what it is at this point and I'm trying to get motivated… Just need to get over that hump. I saw some exercises that involved freeweights and then I know of course there are the exercise bands which I have several of. Maybe I could start in one capacity and move on to the next after I've accomplished my initial intention.

I hope everyone's doing well and I sincerely appreciate the input

I appreciate the input – I really do.

I have absolutely no trouble getting in my Water intake. I gets probably close to 2 gallons of water a day. My diet however has its ups and downs. I do you need to be more proficient in getting my protien. And if anybody has any suggestions on this I would greatly appreciate it. I do think that that's where it's wearing me down right now because at Moose I might be getting 20 g of Protein a day. I just need to figure out a routine and stick to it. Once I have a routine, there's no issues withfollowing through, I just feel like I'm not here and kind of flailing around in the deep end and not accomplishing what I need to. Any ideas or suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings, Natalie

I completely understand what you're saying but I'm just surprised at the numbers in a postop situation.

In my previous post I didn't know what the numbers were and just found them out. There was all kinds of different information online and I was just trying to find out what was what

Unfortunately, spouses do you have issues when somebody has bariatric surgery. Most doctors will tell you that from the get-go. Usually they require a psych eval to make sure that people are not only obviously fit to have the surgery but there's another component to them understanding what may come. They help individuals understand that those can be concerns on both sides of the street. i'm sure that since you went to Tijuana, you probably didn't have to do any of most of the preop that doctors here require.

But regardless,it sounds like you and your spouse might need to go talk to a marriage counselor. It's honestly a good way for both of you to get your feelings out in a controlled situation.

I went to marriage counseling with my now exhusband. I realize by saying it's an ex-husband but it sounds like it didn't work but, there were problems with him that were uncontrollable (he was bipolar and abusive)

The best you can do is reassure him but like I said, I would definitely go to a marriage counselor. It's the only way to put any insecurities to rest. And the counselor can definitely help guide you guys through it.

Best wishes to you both and I hope you guys find your way back together with your relationship.

I've stalled in my weight loss for months now. I'm approximately 235 – I'll go up and down a few pounds here and there. But, I thought I would try to call the dietitian frommy surgeons office to ask a couple of basic questions. She didn't want to answer anything at all. Instead she wanted me to come in for a dietitian appointment for an hour and $75. I am disabled and on a very fixed income. I don't have extra money like that. I tried to explain that to her and try to do it least get her to answer a couple of very basic questions. She really didn't want to but finally she did.

According to her we don't consider calories at all in our diet. We only focus on Protein and carbs. I understand that completely that was the pre and post op diet as well. I'm really good at not eating carbs. I don't need bread at all, potatoes, rice, Pasta, whatever – I don't eat it. The one thing I do enjoy with moderation and proportions are vegetablesand the fruits but I was told we were allowed – berries only. So, I'm thinking I was doing pretty good but obviously I missing something here because I haven't lost any weight for months.

So, according to the dietitian…we are supposed to have 80 g of Protein a day – I'm lucky if I have 20. I like chicken and fish but only usually eat one meal a day. Sometimes I'll have Snacks here and there but they're all controlled. Outside of protein were supposed to count carbs as well – again, consistent with the pre-op diet. I assumed thatafter surgery, carbs would be a little bit more allowable – as long as you don't eat the stuff I mentioned before but, we're still only allowed 30 carbs a day even when we're trying to just maintain our diet. So there goes any small amounts of food and vegetables… LOL

Is this what everyone's following? If so, I had appreciate any suggestions or ideas when it comes to being more effective with my diet.... My goal weight is 180 pounds. I'd like to get as close as I can to that... So as you can see, I still got a while to go.

Hope everyone's having a good day,

Natalie

I know we all have them after losing some weight… Both men and women lose weight and we're all left with the flabby arms and in my case I have flabby arms with stretch marks.< /p>

I wanted to see if anybody had any suggestions when it comes to getting rid of the flabbiness (if that's even a word) and I guess toning your arms as much as possible. The only thing is, I'm disabled so I do have limitations but I would greatly appreciate any suggestions anyone might have as to how to at least decrease them outside of having plastic surgery… Which is something I just can't afford. I would honestly prefer to do it more of a natural way even if I did have the money for plastic surgery. Unfortunately, on the year postop and I haven't exercised at all. I have a lot of pain conditions and I'm just now starting to get some sort of control over it with the aid of some medications. So I 'd like to start exercising with the hope that it would help me lose some more weight.

I'm just a girl that would love to wear dresses and outfits without having to add a sweater, Shawl, or jacket on top of it! I don't want to always have to wear some sort of cover-up.

I tried to look up exercises on Pintrist. But it was a hard thing to search for. All the results that came up that I could find was more of a bodybuilding thing. I know that I need to exercise. If anybody has a basic/ start up exercise plan that they use or had used, I'd appreciate it as well... We all have to start somewhere. So if you have some sort of plan in place, I know it would be appreciated by me and I'm sure others would appreciate it as well.

I do have some Jergens "skin firming" lotion. When I was in my early 20s, I noticed a difference with it but I haven't been using it for a long time now and don't know if it'll still work or help while I am in my early 30s... If anyone has product suggestions – I'd appreciate any info there as well. I'm give me wrong, I know that there's no miracle cure by any means but is there something out there that I can help out my skin with, I love the info. I know that their products out there that claim to aid in getting rid of stretch marks too. I don't know if that's really the case but again, is someone's had a good experience with something, I'm sure we'd all appreciate people posting it here.

I realize I'm all over the map here but I just thought is anybody have suggestions, I'm sure it could be go along way to helping not only myself out but others as well. Let's face it, we probably all have some of the same questions.

Hope everyone's having a good day,

Natalie

I've stalled in my weight loss for months now. I'm approximately 235 – I'll go up and down a few pounds here and there. But, I thought I would try to call the dietitian frommy surgeons office to ask a couple of basic questions. She didn't want to answer anything at all. Instead she wanted me to come in for a dietitian appointment for an hour and $75. I am disabled and on a very fixed income. I don't have extra money like that. I tried to explain that to her and try to do it least get her to answer a couple of very basic questions. She really didn't want to but finally she did.

According to her we don't consider calories at all in our diet. We only focus on Protein and carbs. I understand that completely that was the pre and post op diet as well. I'm really good at not eating carbs. I don't need bread at all, potatoes, rice, Pasta, whatever – I don't need it. The one thing I do enjoy with moderation and proportions are vegetablesand the fruits but I was told we were allowed – berries only. So, I'm thinking I was doing pretty good but obviously I missing something here because I haven't lost any weight for months.

So,we are supposed to have 80 g of protein a day – I'm lucky if I have 20. I like chicken and fish but only usually eat one meal a day. Sometimes I'll have Snacks here and there but they're all controlled. Outside of protein were supposed to count carbs as well – again, consistent with the pre-op diet. I assumed thatafter surgery, carbs would be a little bit more allowable – as long as you don't eat the stuff I mentioned before but, we're still only allowed 30 carbs a day even when we're trying to just maintain our diet. So there goes any small amounts of food and vegetables… LOL

Is this what everyone's following? If so, I had appreciate any suggestions or ideas when it comes to being more effective with my diet.... My goal weight is 180 pounds. I'd like to get as close as I can to that... So as you can see, I still got a while to go.

Hope everyone's having a good day,

Natalie

Thank you Bella,

I'll definitely look into that. I'm just trying to do the best I can with what I have and my weight-loss is completely stalled for months. So it's really bothering me. Ideally I have about 50 more pounds to go – that'll put me at 180. I realize that that's notThe norm but to me, I was healthy and happy at that weight and I'd like to shoot for that if possible. If I can't get down to 180 then I would like to get as close as possible. I really appreciate your comments and suggestions. It all seems like an uphill battle but one way or another will make it work.

If you are taking Yoga classes that is great!

I just joined a gym on a Groupon for 2 months. When I had the free consult, the trainer said that Yoga is the best thing for now, post surgery for me. I was pretty inactive prior to surgery so starting with Yoga classes was perfect !

He gave some great technical reasons, and said his mom also had the same surgery so he was very familiar with it. He also added stationary bike ( I can't walk well due to pain issues still) and upper body light weight training to help build muscle.

Any movement is better then no movement.

My sister is on a very strict budget, she is on disability and when she had the Lapband, her doctor told her to have Carnation Instant Breakfast with skim milk for her Protein. She did really well with it. Just an idea????

Hope you are doing well????????

I actually do cook two separate meals for myself and my dad. I'm being very cautious about what I eat. As far as the pain goes, I have multiple chronic pain conditions and I just try to do my best with them day by day. Today I'm hurting quite a bit but I'm going to try to go take a yoga class. I realize it isn't major cardio or anything but something is better than nothing. I actually took it for the first time last week and had a really good experience. I couldn't do all of the moves because of my own limitations but,I did what I could do and I know that that's better than nothing.

I called the nutritionist from where I had my surgery from and they were adamant about me making a new appointment and didn't want to answer any of my questions over the phone but I explained to her that I do not have the money to come in and see you then – it's an extra $65 to see the nutritionist and let's just say that my financial situation is very minimal on and I just don't have the money forlike that. She didn't seem to like the fact that I said I couldn't afford it but… Let's face it, I have to make sure that the electricity is still on and that the bills get paid.

So I was able to get her to at least answer two basic questions and one of them was how many calories I and supposed to have a day – she said not to measure calories at all only carbs and Protein. Were supposed to have less than 30 carbs a day and we have to have at least 60 g of Protein a day. I'm definitelynot in that guideline. I don't eat potatoes, rice, bread, anything of that nature but let's face it there are are carbs in Greek yogurt there's carbs in strawberries – There's carbs and vegetables and it's very hard for me not only financially but also just eating this much protein. I have a hard enough time buying groceries –that's a lot of meat to have to buy. Like others, I don't touch red meat anymore… It just doesn't work for me – so it's chicken breasts or fish or turkey and99% of the time I eat chicken breasts. The turkey and the fish are a great deal more expenses. Anyway, you guys don't need to listen to me babble about my own financial problems but I'm gonna do my best to get in those guidelines and see if it can kickstart my weight loss again.

I really do appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions. I think that this forum is a great place to find support and the support others. Let's face it, we all need it one time or another.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend.

Natalie

Thank you – I was just afraid it sounded pompous or something like that… We all have our issues and we all had our ups and downs and try our best to deal with them.

I hope I didn't sound bad by Nice talking about the degrees I had… I I hope that it didn't sound snobbish or anything of that nature because it wasn't intended that way by any means. It's just one of those things where logically I know what to do or what not to do but at the same time it's easier to help peoplewhen you're on the outside looking in versus being the person that's dealing with it yourself. I too would really like the opportunity to go to counseling but I'm in the same boat you are – it's just not feasible due tomy financial situation. I really appreciate it but you had to say. I think that I overwhelm myself with all these things that I know that I have to do but then in conjunction with my health and other things that I'm dealing with, I don't end up being able to do something that I wanted to do or what have you and I end up… I guess feeling bad about myself or down. I'm not one of those people that has pity parties – who knows maybe I am having one and I don't realize it but I want so much to do better and have better and it honestly scares me that I won't have certain opportunities. This honestly has more to do than just weight-loss – there's more to it but I'm just scared I guess.and that's hard for me to admit.

Thank you for offering to talk additionally… This app keeps acting up for me but if I can send youAPM, I will see what I can do.

I hope everyone's having a good day/weekend.

Natalie,

Trust me, you are far from alone. I do not have any degrees in psychology or social work but I have always been the knowledgeable person. People have often come to me for advice because I pride myself on being informed, non judgmental and fair. I believed going into this I would have absolutely have no issues. I researched and studied and found every bit of information I possibly could, both positive and negative. I sailed through my psych evaluation with no problems at all. I had the tiger by the tail going in and KNEW I would succeed. Yet during the past year I have struggled more than I ever imagined. Of course there is the "honeymoon" period when you have tons of restriction post op, where you want to eat but the urge is not that intense yet. Then you heal. Your body adapts to the new stomach. Your urges increase while the restriction isn't quite as limiting as it once was. I found myself slipping back. What I swore I would never eat again I started taking a bite of here and there. My will power started to dwindle. Yes, I lost weight. At first I lost well, was thrilled. Then the weight loss started to slow down. I hit a wall in June that absolutely killed me. I was within ten pounds of my first 100 lb lost, yet I could not manage to get over that hurdle. I finally started to work out and did drop enough to get down a few pounds. During this year I had a friend who also had the sleeve. He had his two months after me, yet he is now very close to goal, maybe 20lbs to go. I realize everyone is different. I know in my head I should never compare myself to anyone else, especially a male. Yet seeing how well he has done, seeing how close he is to his ideal weight, it has been hard. It messes with your mind. That is something I have struggled with more than any other in this process. I never imagined going in just how much of a mental battle this would be. I did not realize just how messed up I truly was in my relationship with food and my self image. I fooled myself in thinking I had this. I know now, looking back, I would have benefitted greatly with some counseling. ( not an option financially) I have used this site as a lifeline at times, it truly has been a saving grace.

So a year out and a hundred pounds down I have learned these things...1) I am slow at losing weight. While many lose what they want or need to within the first year, I have not. I will have to work harder and keep going to reach my goals. 2) I am in this for the long haul. While I accepted this was a "forever" deal going in, I had assumed I would lose weight quickly then maintain it with the sleeve forever. That is not my reality. My long haul will be my weight loss journey. I know losing 100 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. But I still have quite a ways to go before I am "normal" weight. 3) I only fail if I quit. Each day I get up with the intent of doing my absolute best for my health and weight loss. Some days I am more successful than others. Long as I keep trying then I keep succeeding. 4) I have a life to live. For a few months post op life seemed "surreal". I felt I had shaken the very core of my existence and nothing would ever be the same. I was right and I was wrong. While changing myself through surgery and the resulting weight loss has dramatically changed many aspects of my life, it hasn't changed my life. I still have the same responsibilities as before. I have my daughter to raise, a job, bills to pay etc. I didn't suddenly become the most desirable creature on planet Earth so my love life hasn't really changed. ( Ok, I do get more attention paid to me but that hasn't lead me to finding a soulmate....yet.) I am still pretty much living the life I lived before. Granted it is more active. Not as much sitting on my butt doing nothing, I do get out much more. But overall I am still me and my life is still mine. And finally 5)..I thank God I had the surgery. While it has not been the perfect miracle I had dreamed or hoped for, it has saved me. Today I am better than I was last year. Next year I hope to be better than I am today. Because of this surgery I can have that hope. Before I had lost all hope of being healthy, having a body I could actively live in. I was drowning in a sea of despair. With each passing pound I went up I saw my future fading away. I have that future back now. I can see living a long life. I get to do so much more now with my daughter than I had, and I look forward to many more years spent with her. I thank God for being given the opportunity to lose 100 lbs and for the chance to go even further. I still need to work on my head and will power, to regain some of the early excitement I had for the sleeve. But I can say without shadow of doubt I am truly happy I decided to do this, the struggle has been more than worth it. (and continues to be)

If you want to talk more I would be happy to do so in the messenger. It does help to have someone in your corner who KNOWS. Support is huge in this journey in my opinion.

I'm sorry I haven't sent it sooner but I want everyone to know how much I appreciate their input and suggestions.

I agree with you all, I do need to just take one thing at a time and concentrate on that.there's been so many things that I want to do and I just can't seem to do them. I can't seem to accomplish anything which is so very much unlike me because I am an individual that has always gone through my life accomplishing goals that I said. I guess I'm really off my game… LOL but since becoming disabled I had 27, it really set my life into a tailspin. A great deal of it stems from me not feeling worthy of things anymore and even though I want more for myself, it's very much difficult for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Obviously the divorce didn't help either.

And for me this sounds completely crazy becausei've always been able to see the bright side of things. I know we all have our own fears and so for this use from time to time and I just need to figure out how to overcome it.

I also appreciate the dieting suggestions.I was trying to look online and for the lack of a better word get back to basics and find a regular postop diet in the sense of how much Protein to eat and how much carbs to eat, etc.… But I can't seem to find that. It's all primarily postop and preop from surgery. So I'm trying to figure all that out as well.

Again, I sincerely appreciate everyone's suggestions and the care involved. I guess I'm realizing how much I need support right now. I'm the type of person that always sucks it keeps going and deals with whatever I have to deal with and sometimes sucking it up all the time just isn't the right thing to do. For me at least… When I was younger I always laughed at the notion of "finding ones self" until my early 20s when I realized that does really exist. Now at 32 going on 33, I am most think I need to do that again because I've had so many life changes and maybe I really don't know who I am anymore; I guess I have to figure out where to focus my life now since I got sick and can't work anymore. I know this must seem like crazy psycho babble but believe it or not, I should be pretty good at this… I have a bachelors degree in social work and a Masters in psychology – I'm the one that usually helps everyone else. But I guess it's a different thing entirely to help someone else andrealizing that you need help yourself. It's hard for me to ask for help.

I sincerely appreciate everyone. Is any of you guys are interested, I'd really like to talk more but… That's entirely up to you guys.

Have a good day.

Natalie

I'm sorry I haven't sent it sooner but I want everyone to know how much I appreciate their input and suggestions.

I agree with you all, I do need to just take one thing at a time and concentrate on that.there's been so many things that I want to do and I just can't seem to do them. I can't seem to accomplish anything which is so very much unlike me because I am an individual that has always gone through my life accomplishing goals that I said. I guess I'm really off my game… LOL but since becoming disabled I had 27, it really set my life into a tailspin. A great deal of it stems from me not feeling worthy of things anymore and even though I want more for myself, it's very much difficult for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Obviously the divorce didn't help either.

And for me this sounds completely crazy becausei've always been able to see the bright side of things. I know we all have our own fears and so for this use from time to time and I just need to figure out how to overcome it.

I also appreciate the dieting suggestions.I was trying to look online and for the lack of a better word get back to basics and find a regular postop diet in the sense of how much Protein to eat and how much carbs to eat, etc.… But I can't seem to find that. It's all primarily postop and preop from surgery. So I'm trying to figure all that out as well.

Again, I sincerely appreciate everyone's suggestions and the care involved. I guess I'm realizing how much I need support right now. I'm the type of person that always sucks it keeps going and deals with whatever I have to deal with and sometimes sucking it up all the time just isn't the right thing to do. For me at least… When I was younger I always laughed at the notion of "finding ones self" until my early 20s when I realized that does really exist. Now at 32 going on 33, I am most think I need to do that again because I've had so many life changes and maybe I really don't know who I am anymore; I guess I have to figure out where to focus my life now since I got sick and can't work anymore. I know this must seem like crazy psycho babble but believe it or not, I should be pretty good at this… I have a bachelors degree in social work and a Masters in psychology – I'm the one that usually helps everyone else. But I guess it's a different thing entirely to help someone else andrealizing that you need help yourself. It's hard for me to ask for help.

I sincerely appreciate everyone. Is any of you guys are interested, I'd really like to talk more but… That's entirely up to you guys.

Have a good day.

Natalie

I had to sleeve done just over a year ago now and I have lost an incredible amount of weight – I can't complain. At my worst I was at 335 lbs and now I'm at 235 lbs. I stopped losing weight at about 9 to 10 months. To be honest, I haven't exercised at all. I am disabled and I have multiple pain conditions where it prevents me from exercising. I'm trying to get my medication straight so hopefully I feel a bit better and am able to at least do something. Other than doing basic things around the house when need be, I'm pretty much in bed80 to 90% of the time. I also don't eat like I should. I'm pretty good about not eating too many carbs. I probably do have more than I should at times but for the most part I'm rather proud of myself in that regard.

I honestly haven't done the Protein shakes sense postop and I don't eat nearly as much as I should. Typically I'm just not hungry. When I am hungry, it's difficult to make sureI have food on hand that is accessible and meets my needs when it comes to high-protein low-carb – my father lives with me and he's very much a meat and potatoes type of guy and so when I cook meals, and cooking two separate meals which takesseveral hours and it's hard for me to do that. I'm one of those people that cut everything up and prep everything from garlic to herbs and things of that nature. I'm not a shortcut person I guess you could say. So, I'm only able to do that a few days out of the week. Then with chicken, I can't think of things to do with it that are easy and accessible.chicken is pretty much what all eat 90% of the time – chicken and vegetables of some sort. I tried looking up recipes and things to change it up a bit but I still need food that's easy and accessible, especially when I don't cook.

It's really hard to find a balance between being in pain all the time and being able to stand and cook and then try to accomplish things around the house when I can. I also just got through with a divorce – that wasn't fun at all. I'm 32 years old and now with my physical situation and not being able to work, it makes me wonder if I'll ever have the opportunity to meet someone again, get married, have children, etc. i'm not sure what to do there either. I've always wanted children and my doctors have told me that the work with me when it comes to my health to enable me to have children. I'm hoping that I'm able to –and I do fear that I'll be alone for the rest of my life. LOL – I realize this is in the therapy session but it's part of what I'm going through right now and I realize that it can impact my overall weight loss situation.

My goal weight has always been 180 – I realize that that is high but at 180 I was in a size 10/ 12. I was content there and I have no urge to be "skinny mini" and even though I know that it 180, I'm still considered obese I'm sure… I just want to be healthy – as healthy as possible. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions/ideas or whatever information anyone is willing to provide – I just want to find my groove and get into things that I can and try to lose at least a little more weight. If I can't make my goal weight, it is what it is but I would still like to lose at least 35 more pounds. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on easy and accessible Protein foods/recipes. I'm also hoping to get more active – well as active as I can obviously… I'm hoping that my rheumatoid/psoriatic arthritis meds get squared away in conjunction with mypain medication so that I can at least be more active and not have to be curled up in bed because I'm in pain all the time. I would love some simple inside of a life. I don't know if anyone has any suggestions for getting backin the dating world… Don't get me wrong I realize I have to take one day at a time and do one thing at a time but dating is not something that comes easily to me – and that's not counting my physical situation. I only dated a handful amount of times and I have primarily been in two long-term relationships. So dating is quite foreign to me. I don't have any grandiose expectations but I just overall would like the opportunity to be healthy and happy.

Thanks so very much for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any input.

Have a good day

Natalie

I'm so sincerely sorry for your loss. It's a tough time to not only deal with the grieving process but also have a surgery where it requires you to focus on yourself in order to be successful while you'restill in the grieving process. Give yourself some time and don't be hard on yourself. I know it's easier said than done but you'll find your path and you'll also be successful. I'm sure this is it what you want to hear but just give it time. Things will unfold and you find your niche and lose the weight that you want. I think you said that you put off blood work and things of that nature but it's really important to follow through with that type of stuff because could be going on and preventing you from losing the weight – you never now. I know it's hard to focus on yourself when you're grieving for someone you love so very much but you'll find your way.

You're in our thoughts and prayers

Blessings

I'm in the same position – I really want to try to "restart" weight loss. I'm just past year and in reality I've lost a good amount of weight but I want to lose a bit more to get it closer to my goal. I need to start doing better and I guess examine what I'm doing wrong.

I know it's hard to be proud of yourself when you haven't done what you wanted to be happy and proud of yourself of what you've accomplished because let's face it it's hard to do. I think in reality we are all very hard on ourselves and I don't know about everyone here but I know that with me can be counterproductive.

Good luck with your journey and I hope that you're able to attain the goals that you have set for yourself.

shake the other partner psychologically when one loses weight, gains confidence and starts getting more attention. But the experience taught me that someone who is jealous of something that makes me better, healthier and stronger never had my best interests at heart.

Dating after that was a struggle, until I met my current boyfriend six months ago. Most guys got scared because they were afraid to take me to dinner, afraid they would break my new diet resolve, and when they saw a picture of what I used to look like, they started to wonder what would happen if I gained a few pounds again.

What else has surprised me about losing weight? No one ever told me that it would upset me when severely obese people get special attention because they choose to be heavy -- like when TV shows feature people who are happy to weigh 600 pounds, or people who post YouTube videos professing love of their excess weight.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is great that people are comfortable in their own skin, because many times I'm not always comfortable in my own skin. But for me, being heavy wasn't a choice. So I guess I have a hard time identifying with them.

Obesity is debilitating to your health. I used gastric bypass surgery as a tool to save my life so that I wouldn't develop diabetes, have a heart attack at age 35, have a stroke, and to hopefully lower my risk of cancer. Now I have no tolerance for excuses about not being able to eat healthy and exercise.

See, here's the bottom line: The biggest thing that no one ever tells you about losing weight is that eventually, the number on the scale no longer matters.

What matters is how you feel, how you look and how happy you are. I know at my current weight I am still medically obese, but I have a clean bill of health. Through my bad days and my good days, I am happier now than I have ever been. When I struggle or feel myself about to slip into old habits, I pull out a picture of what I used to look like.

And I remind myself that nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.

I'd really like to participate – I keep teetering on the scale and it would be nice to March the numbers go down versus up-and-down.

I take Celebrex a few times a week with no problems, & ok'd by my GP. This NSAID has less gastric side- effects than ibuprofen, voltaren, naproxen, & others. But I try to take as few as possible.

I'm glad they cleared you for it… I was told it was a no go by all my doctors involved… Surgeon, primary care, pain mgmt, and rheumatologist. Other than that the injection I mentioned before, I've been told it's too much of a risk. Maybe they'll come out with something that doesn't affect things so much. We can hope

Oh gosh, well, good luck! And the silver lining is, at least you know the cause and even if it takes three months, you have a likely solution.

Hopefully… There's no guarantee that it will clear up at all but the medication says it takes at least three months to start working. Hopefully it will.

But would psoriasis cause lumps under the skin? You should really have it checked out.

Yeppers, it is apparently a byproduct of my psoriatic arthritis. Hopefully the new med will help.... Unfortunately it takes 3 months to kick in.

My new breakfast...... Odd thing is I never liked oatmeal but I seem to be doing well with it now. One package of Quaker Protein instant oatmeal One cup of almond milk or 1/2 cup milk & 1/2 cup of Water ( heated up) 1 1/2 scoops of vanilla Protein powder (i've been using Chike) 1 tbsp chia seeds Cook in microwave until it thickens- usually about 2 1/2 minutes Additions: I've been adding some chopped up walnuts and little blueberries just to give it a little something but I'm sure you could add whatever you'd like. Gives it some of the good fats, a bit more protein and antioxidants. Being that I have trouble getting my protein, this is been a successful breakfast that I've had twice now. I'm also disabled and cooking, especially in the morning, is not easy for me at all. This is easy and healthy.

Ok... Maybe this shouldn't be my new breakfast.. I just calculated all of the numbers.... How it is 618 calories... I don't know... I thought I was doing good finding something that had a good amount of protein in it… – 40 grams...

I have Unjury and you can heat it but only to140 degrees then the Protein begins to break down, check their website for the specific effect over 140 degrees. The unflavored is fine in creamy Soups. I don't know the diff between the 2 types of protein, but use which ever you like best and if your dr office utilizes chike then it is appropriate as per your provider.

According to the Unjury people, doctors offices get incentives for recommending or offering certain protein companies. So, I don't know for sure if that's the truth that at the same time I can see it happening… So it really doesn't really matter to me which one my doctor suggests, especially since on nine months postop… My biggest concern was getting something that was good for me in conjunction with something I like. That's why thought I would throw this question out there… I'm not one that really likes Protein Shakes per se but I've been finding new uses for the protein powders and is I'm trying to incorporate more protein in my diet because there's only so much chicken one can and there's only so much I can eat period... I've been having trouble eating at all – I'm just not hungry.