LindafromFlorida

1. I can tie my shoes without feeling out of breath!
2. I have a new found love which is hiking! (Who would have thought)
3. I don't hide when there is a camera around !
* down 63 lbs in 3 months! And hopefully many more to come! I love this positive thread by the way!

Miss Mac, I can relate. Good post. God Bless.

Just tried to cope. Have never weighed anything or counted calories, Protein, etc. per the doctor's orders. Constantly drank Water, broth and popsicles first few days. Hang in there.

1. I can sleep at night without worrying my husband will be unconscious during the night when his blood sugar dropped to 40.
2. I got a kayak for my birthday this month instead of a new recliner.
3. I went to NOLA for 7 days last week and walked more than I have in 3 years.
Blessed!

52 lbs down so far
1. Finding "new" clothes in my own closet!
2. Removed Seat Belt Cincher in the car (belt used to ride on my neck because of my body shape - had a cincher to keep the belt away from my neck.
3. Able to walk and be on my feet for longer than 20 mins with no lower back pain and foot pain.

Way to go Linda! What a journey and look at you now.... 1. No need for a seat belt extender on a plane 2. Loving buying clothes 2 sizes lower than I had in May 3. Eating less at dinner than my 4 year old I love being satisfied with less - and people keep calling me skinny even though I have 80 pounds left to go.

1. I can sleep at night without worrying my husband will be unconscious during the night when his blood sugar dropped to 40.
2. I got a kayak for my birthday this month instead of a new recliner.
3. I went to NOLA for 7 days last week and walked more than I have in 3 years.
Blessed!

I love you people on here! I am from Canada, waiting for surgery and feel all of you veterans offering your advice based on personal experience (good or bad) has helped me understand and prepare for my surgery. You all ROCK!! Thanks for being here...with ALL of your responses????

Keep working the plan and it will pay off. 27 pounds in one month is amazing! Give your body a break.

Please be patient...you didn't gain your weight over night, you're not going to lose it overnight. Also, please don't compare your weight loss to others' - it's not healthy. You're body is going to lose at it's own pace, just as it gained at it's own pace.
Here are some things I learned in the last 9 months and some helpful hints...
If you graph your weight loss, it won't be a straight line down...it will look like a stair step, meaning, you're going to plateau periodically, then lose some more.
Stepping on the scale daily (or more than once a day) is bad for your soul. My husband hid the scale from me and brought it out once a week. I was happier when I did that.
If you continue to follow your plan (the plan your doctor/surgeon/NUT gave you), you will lose weight. Keep working towards your Protein goals, exercise plan (again, YOUR doctor's plan). When your body "stalls", it's because it needs to. There will be periods of time where you won't lose, then all of a sudden you'll drop 3 pounds over night.
Embrace your successes - maybe it's the fact that you can walk up the stairs without getting winded or you can move the car seat up or your clothes are starting to fit different. Celebrate those subtle changes.
Take pictures of yourself to help you document this amazing journey you are on. I refer back to my "decision day" photo all the time. It's my "before" picture - it's the day I stood on the scale in the doctor's office and cried when I saw the number - it was one of the most unhappy days of my life, but it was the day I decided to change things.
Take your measurements - you will find that you are getting smaller, but the scale isn't necessarily moving. Your body is changing and trying to figure out what's going on, but you are getting smaller. It's amazing.

Thank you everyone for the advice. Gonna try to eat more, cause I need lots of Protein. Sometimes just the thought of food makes me want to vomit. I go see the dietician next Wednesday so we can figure it out. Thank you again..

Have you tried things like turkey or ham lunch meat? What about cheeses? I liked to make little lunch meat and cheese roll ups for a quick high Protein meal. You need to focus on Protein, so avoid bread and rice, Pasta.. You might also try Beans as they have protein. Refried Beans, baked beans, Etc. You might also try yogurt - either Greek or regular. I like Greek because it has higher protein (interestingly I HATED it before my surgery, I felt it was too thick and the texture bothered me, but now it's good). You can also try to see if ground meat bothers you - turkey or chicken or pork meatballs..
You sound like one of the people whose smell and taste buds got more sensitive post surgery. I hear that that is temporary and will go away as time progresses.

I find myself doing 2 things that we're told not to do and that's drinking with meals (not all of the time) and possibly eating too fast. It doesn't take me 20-30 minutes 20-30 to finish my meal and I'm becoming a little concerned. Also, lately I've been thirsty while eating or like 5 minutes after eating and I can't help but drink!
Someone, please help me with this because I'm really not trying to sabotage this!!

Those people are like empty calories, you don't need them! (Pun intended)

We have to advocate for ourselves. We've been doormats for too long. And losing weight to "get the guy"..... Don't even get me started.

After the sleeve, our surgeon said: 1) Do not eat 3 meals a day. 2) Do not eat unless you are really hungry 3) Do not count Proteins, calories, fats, etc 4) just eat Healthy. We have abided by the rules and are are happy with the results. We are 67/68, so it might be our age, but I can tell you, even though we cannot jog, run, exercise, and swim through the mud, we are still happy! We are climbing stairs, kayaking, walking, swimming, and one year ago we could barely move. Different strokes for different folks! Good luck everyone as you find your way.

I hope that like me, most everybody here has NOT gotten negative comments or feedback. i have generally gotten mostly positive responses.
i am also THRILLED to give answers and responses. in nursing school i was told that my BIGGEST gift was that of teaching and education. i am so happy i can use my experiences to help others through this awesome journey!
one thing that i HAVE noticed is that anytime the topic of carbohydrates comes onto the boards, there are definitely some folks out there that love to express the fact that maybe those that choose to have some carbs ( for ME, it's on my physician ordered eating plan, and part of my bariatric center's program!) aren't totally dedicated. that's one topic that seems to bring out some ugly comments.
i spend a lot of time on the boards and have read a LOT of topics...i think that there are many wonderful people here and i feel very blessed to have so much help available to me!

More importantly, I hope they didn't spring leaks eating like that the morning after surgery.
BTW, I'm not fat shaming those three people. I'm nominating them for a Darwin Award.

I have been following this forum since last August or September when my primary physician referred me to the Bariatric Clinic at Loyola University Medical Center. I was a scared to death newbie, but more afraid of dying like my mother did (abdominal aortic anuerysm at an age not much older than I am now) than I was of getting the sleeve.
Sure, my questions were the typical newbie questions, and my fears were the typical newbie fears, but the only place I could really find comfort was with the people here who had gone before me down the weight loss surgery path.
Of the thousands of posts I have read, very very very few had any kind of mean or judgemental tone about them. Even when I was having a crying jag day and felt that someone had hurt my little feelings, I could see that most of the time they were right even if I had to look past how they were saying it.
We have to consider that everyone here comes from a different place of family upbringing, childhood drama, marriage, divorce, babies, tragedies and triumphs. Someone posted something early on to the fact that her marriage was in turmoil and she was not being treated well. I responded back with this question: Instead of thinking "I love him, so why would he treat me this way?"....start thinking "Why would I love someone who treats me this way?"
I was coming from a place of domestic violence and escaping from a diagnosed psycho-sociopath who kept five loaded weapons in the house, and had escalated his anger from verbal abuse to physical violence. Someone responded back that people are so mean on this forum, and why would I (Miss Mac) want to break up someone's marriage?
Well, no doubt that person came from a place where marriage is forever, no matter how miserable, and a couple just needs to work out their problems and stay together. I am only bringing up this example to show that both of us meant well, but we sorely disagreed with each other.
So, I believe what others are saying. When you put a post out there, it is only reasonable to expect very different and polarized responses. You can't take this stuff personally. Get what you can out of each comment and move on.
Weight loss surgery can leave you anxious, scared, and emotionally vulnerable. Sometimes you just get tired of being strong. So...keep coming back to the forum, keep posting your questions, and hang around for a while so that you can be supportive for the newbies coming behind you.
In 2006, Hillary Clinton released her book It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. That concept is so appropriate for the weight loss community. We need each other to get each other through this so that any one of us can come back with the next success story to lift someone else up out of a slump.
Sorry that this post is so long, but sometimes it takes me a few paragraphs to explain what I am thinking.

When I was preop and early days I seldom posted to this site as I thought it was mean...haha. i posted mostly to another site. What happened over time is I realized that the people here were often quite successful and while the choice of words may not have always been perfect, the main messages were very helpful to me in my success.
Now, years later, i have experienced the opposite which is being "yelled at" for answering a question. Occasionally, no matter how gently you think you are replying, if it is an answer a person does not want to hear they can get hostile. i don't take it personally as i realize that this is a tough and emotional process. I don't have all the answers, I just know what worked for me. I feel like through the help of my surgeon, NUT and many people who have gone before me and shared their knowledge I have found a solution to my lifetime of obesity and I hope I can help someone else from time to time along the way. I wish us all great success.

Just google his name - it's there in black and white on a government website. Amazing invention, the internet.

There is another thread ongoing right now, and Shersun adds this to her post. I don't take anything personal unless it's a compliment.
I am a lot older than most people here. I have been posting since ?October, 2013, and never met a bxxxx here. Please look at the number of posts I have made. I am opinionated (like your Grandma lol). I try to roll gently and give good, solid, and kind advice, and I probably target more older people because bariatric surgery can be a life or death matter for some, like my husband. This site is to build people up. Please do not take a few snarky posts and turn it into something. Bariatric Pal is the best thing going. In almost a year, I have seen two people stomp off and say I am done here. Well I can tell you it is their loss, because there are many kind and wonderful human beings here, committed to helping each other. I would not have it any other way here. I can tell you if I think you are hurting yourself if you ask me a question, and if you get mad that I said you should not do this, does that make me a bad person? Relax and make friends here. It is awesome!!!!!! Linda

It is a poor attempt at humor, but at whose expense? The women who were victimized by Omar and that's just not funny. I will never "lighten-up" about bashing victims. Never.

Tell me why you did this. Only you know. I did the sleeve, with my husband, to have a life before we died. Scared, hell yeah! But diabetes, asthma, HBP, joint replacement, sleep apnea, swollen ankles, inability to walk, gasping for breath, scared us more. It has worked. After spending the first year of my retirement in a recliner, I did not want to die in that chair. We are 67/68 and we have lost a total of 160 lbs, we are kayaking, swimming in our pool, boating, offshore fishing again, and just walked all over NOLA for 7 days. You may be suffering a little post sleeve anxiety. God Bless you and have faith that you did this for a good reason, to save your life. I wish I had found the sleeve before all the comorbidities. Hugs, Linda

I understand addictions in a terrible way. Your Mother cannot make informed decisions for you. Change your life. Go to Alanon. Like my deceased sister said once, we are all addicted to something. Fight your battle and be strong. Love, hugs and prayers. God Bless.