1Day1Life4Now

great job. Photos like that are pure inspiration. Thanks for sharing.

wonderful transformation. You are looking fabulous. Keep up the good work.

Want to be sleeved... you can chew on a popsicle....its a liquid.

Donaboss, thank you for sharing. I am 15 day pre-op so I love hearing all of these things so I can get prepared. I am traveling for business 3 weeks after surgery so do you have any helpful tips of wisdom to share?

One hot mama. You look great. How much weight have you lost? Are you at goal?

I'm with you on that one Violet. I will celebrate by 1. having surgery 2. eating healthy 3. buying smaller clothes 4. being active in life rather than a spectator.

Don't worry. All will be well. The echo was part of the regular tests we have to take for my surgeon and it tells a whole lot more than the EKG. You will do fine, it's just a simple test and they will clear you. They just want to make sure. Please don't worry, it will happen.

You look fabulous. Of course you were beautiful even when you were heavy but now you look fit and fabulous.

Good luck to rcruse. I hope you do well and have an easy and quick recovery from surgery. I am scheduled for Feb. 10 so I too am excited. New life here we come.....

Great job WhoDat. Not bad for a Louisiana boy. congratulations to both you and your wife.

you can private message me on the BariatricPal website or you can send me a message on my email address of jigrillis@gmail.com

This show has become one of my favorites too but I was enraged after watching this episode. The woman is delusional and mentally ill and really should not have gotten the surgery. She has no desire to work at having a healthy life or at being at a healthy weight. She enjoys being a victim and having her husband wait on her hand and foot. She is a master manipulator and her husband is her patsy and her enabler. I don't mind my tax dollars going to help people who can't work due to legitimate reasons but this is ridiculous. The husband needs to walk away for 10 hours a day and get a job and if she wants something to eat then Ms. Penny can get her butt up and walk to the kitchen and fix it. I have no compassion for her or her husband but my heart breaks for that little boy and his questionable future.

I agree with everyone's comments about this woman. In the beginning I was so hopeful that she would progress enough to at least get out of bed and become mobile. I became angry at her when she made the comment that she thought she was a better mother than most women because she was at home with her child while the rest of us went out and had jobs. She perceived it as quality time with her child. Really? How much quality time can you spend with your child when your big butt is laid up in the bed and the father has to do everything for the child? She is very much delusional. The child is young and loves his mother but in a few short years his social interests will take him outside the home and this woman won't be seeing him... so how much quality time does she think she'll spend with him then? Her husband should be arrested for what he is doing to her. She can not stay that large without him feeding her all that junk. I was shocked that she was able to eat all of those solid foods so quickly after surgery, and the massive amounts of them were unbelievable. My heart breaks for that young boy as his future will be bleak if his dad keeps feeding him the junk I saw in their fridge. Why did this woman even agree to the surgery? I am so angry that it all came so easy to her and I've been jumping through hoops for a long time. Okay... rant over.

Good move RJ. You will feel fabulous.... after the tiredness, soreness, and sweating go away. All worth it to look and feel your best and you deserve that.

Hi ReeRee, I am scheduled for Feb 10th as well. Woo hooo. A valentines present to us both. Would love a sleeve buddy to go through the journey with. Just let me know. Will be looking forward to hearing from you.

Want2besleeved... I know how you feel, I am on my pre-op diet too. It is very difficult but we can do this. I got some SF popsicles and sf jello to help me along. they are zero calories and are in the liquid diet so they do help and satisfy me just a bit. YOU CAN DO THIS, be strong. Good luck and let me know if you need some encouragement. I'm here for you.

Congratulations on your latest victory in the war on obesity. 50 lbs is a lot of weight and you are almost half way to goal. You should be flying high right now. Keep up the good work.

Hi Sandee, you are right, the waiting is torture. I finally got my approval and will be sleeved on Feb. 10th. Did your surgeon give you a date yet? The approval will be coming through at any time so use this waiting time to get all of your post surgery supplies in order and your house and life organized to make the recovery as easy as possible. It's going to happen....be positive. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Im with JeanZ and magtart, I've never heard of program fees and my doctor certainly doesn't charge those. Allycat, what part of the country are you in? Maybe its a regional thing. You are probably too far into it to change doctors but we're with you... all that extra stuff is just bogus. Good luck to you and hope it all turns out.

Hi Morticia,<br />To be honest, I was very nervous about the Psyche evaluation but it was not as bad as I thought it could be. They are looking to see if you have any severe psychological issues, if you have any drug or alcohol addictions. I spoke with the Dr. for about 20 minutes about why I wanted the surgery and what I expected the surgery to do for me. I then answered a multiple choice test of about 900 questions asking a number of questions about my eating habits, mental state of mind, addictions, personality traits etc. Sometimes the same question is asked multiple times but worded differently. Just be honest with your self, the test and the doctor and you should be fine. If you act like you are trying to hide something the doctor might think you are hiding "issues" and he/she might be inclined to stall your surgery. Don't worry about anything, just go in there with the attitude that you've got this and complete the interview and the written test. You will do great.

Hi Maria, It's okay to be scared. This is a big step, and it will make major changes in how we eat as well as changes in our life. Read all the literature you can on the surgery to make yourself more comfortable with the concept. Knowledge is power and having all the information you need will make you more comfortable with the surgery. I bought the book Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies and I've read it from cover to cover twice. It has so much information about every aspect of this surgery and answers every question you could possibly have. I highly recommend it. Read everything you can on the boards for pre surgery and post surgery too, I think that will put you at ease. Take care and best of luck to you.

Woo hoo....I'm doing a happy dance. They called today and I'm officially approved and my date is February 10th. They had given me a tentative date of Feb. 11th and had hoped to move it up to Jan 27th but now it's officially 2/10/14. Happy Valentines day to me. I am continuing my pre-op diet and will have my last visit with Surgeon next week. Its been a long long wait and I felt it was sooo far away but I've finally arrived and the count down begins. Can you tell that I am excited?

Hi Blue, welcome to the site and to a new healthier life. How far have you gotten on your process? Have you had all of your preliminary tests? You have done very well on your weight loss so far. Looking forward to hear how you do too. Good luck.

Hello Benny, I know you are waiting on some guys to weigh in on this topic and Im sure they will soon but just wanted to say that other than my Husband and daughter, I've not told a single soul. I don't intend to tell anyone either. I am not interested in anyone else's opinion of whether I should or should not have the surgery, I don't want anyone watching what I eat or don't eat and I don't want to be judged by others. By not telling others about the surgery, I don't have to put up with any of that. If they want to be supportive of my diet and weight loss, then they can do so. The surgery is my business and not a decision that I came upon without great thought and research. I do not feel I am deceiving anybody...it's my prerogative and legal right to keep my medical information private.

I have found that some people have control issues and its easier for them to control those of us who have self esteem issues and feelings of inadequacy. Not all overweight people have these feelings but many of us do. The more weight we lose, the better we feel about ourselves and then we are so empowered, we feel we can do anything if we put our minds to it. The power-mongers don't like this and use abuse to put us back in our place. It doesn't matter if we're in a hetero or same sex relationship, the abusers are all the same. We must all recognize that the problem is actually their problem. We can either choose to stay and accept the abuse or pick ourselves up and move on to a better relationship. I have been fortunate in the fact that I have an awesome and wonderful husband who loves and supports me but I grew up with a step-father who was an abusive and violent drunk. At the age of 14 I decided to move on and live a healthier life. We can do whatever we need to do, its not ever easy but it is always do-able. I wish you all much luck.