Fluffnomore

It's interesting. My husband is the worst "fat talker" out there. He is a performer and feels that everyone judges on appearance. They do, but not solely. We have had this conversation a lot…I know fat shaming exists in the profession, but no one can possibly be worse to him than he is to himself. He is working with the therapist on this too. This is a multi-layered beast...

I went back almost right away too. Work from home, though, and mostly office work. Had to staff an event exactly two weeks out, from 3 to 11 and mostly on my feet. I wore my abdominal binder for a good 3-4 weeks. It really helped.

It's going. I only made it twice last week due to scheduling and I'm weak. Thursday I made it through 3.5 rounds of a 5 round beast and the warmup. I fell on my face (and totally cracked up) doing a push-up... Overall it is going about how I expected it would. Trying for 3 days this week. Our box only has three class times per day and the morning one is staffed by the least experienced guy, so I'm staying away until I feel more secure about form. How's your back?

Based on the stats in your profile, you're doing more than great. If you start at a relatively lower weight, you're not going to drop the same numbers of pounds as others...

The one thing I had, the week before, was some gnocchi with carbonara sauce. It was prior to my liquid diet starting. The night before I was kind of feeling "meh" about the whole thing and couldn't get into the idea of a food funeral. I was just ready to start.

When my husband and I met, he was very successful and well-known in his field and I was not. People used to tell me all the time, and with great frequency, how lucky I was to have "caught" him. (Full disclosure I was younger and much cuter than; it wasn't so much about appearance.) People are rude. I am sure they didn't think anything about how they were coming off. The best advice I ever got came about 10 years into the marriage when a former colleague said, "Please. That you are married to him is the least interesting thing about you." I heard Ethan Hawke once say the same thing about Uma Thurman being gorgeous, back when they were married. Just remember, your weight loss is (or should be) the least interesting thing about you…to both you and your spouse.

I find with my family that when I say things like, "My stomach…" and make a vague motion, not only do they not want to ask any further questions, they also don't really want me around in case it's catching. You can only use that once though. :-)

She doesn't see it this way, but she is harassing you and it's not okay. I would find a way to say that. I like 2Big2Skate's suggestion a lot. I might also add something about "You wouldn't dream of talking to me this way if I was changing my hair…suffering from cancer…whatever." I would add that you are working with a medical team on this, and as such it is a personal matter. But they know better than she does what is appropriate for you. So hard. I'm sorry. I admire your restraint so far. I have a long fuse, but when it finally hits the end, watch out.

What a fun NSV!

When I was pre-op, I skipped a couple of events I thought I couldn't handle. I made modifications with a couple of fairly immediate post-op things (brought my own Soup, etc.) I learned that if I didn't make a big deal of it, people hardly noticed. I'm 7 weeks out now and have had quite a few things come up (holiday parties, etc…) including a luncheon and a party tonight. I'm also trying to get a workout in at 5:30. So, the thing is, just a couple of months ago I would have had a couple of glasses of wine at the luncheon, bemoaned my bad choices, skipped the workout, and gone on to the party. And felt bad physically and mentally about what I had done. Yes, today will take a little more planning…but it will be so worth it because this is what I am choosing for my new life. I'm nowhere near done but I am starting to look and feel better than I have in years. I can already tell that I look more "normal" and less "fat" although I still have 50 pounds to lose. So, I figure I can still have fun at these two events. Let's face it. It's really more about seeing people I love than it is about drinking wine and eating too much. But obviously for years the two things took equal billing. It's a mind shift, and maybe it's not easy but it is worth it. This surgery is not easy to obtain, and pre-op is something you can do.

Like Arts, I am not willing to give up my cup of coffee in the morning. However, I do not have reflux from it…I was a pre-surgery GERD type, and I know what it feels like. Also, it is allowed by my program (thank goodness.) I probably would stop if I felt the symptoms increase but so far so good.

Our office allowed the Wonderslim pudding/shakes (made with water) for the clear liquid phase. It was great to have the variety.

They sell them in cases in the US Costcos.

A staple-studded one.

I posted the article on it above.

One of my good friends had a scratch on her uvula from the anesthesia/tubes and she threw up a lot at first. Definitely check in with your doctor though.

7 weeks out and I can drink normally. Can't chug water but can easily get through a glass of anything liquid in a normal amount of time.

Hi, that's not really a stall. It's a slowdown. It seems hard but here is the article that we continually are referred to here by forum vet Butterthebean: http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html#.UqjoTqVA_wI

I accidentally ate a strawberry the other day, went home and thought, "Oh crap." But have lived so far.

Wonderful! Congratulations.

I told some, didn't tell others. Like one of the first posters, I had a hiatal hernia repair also done, so if someone wanted details that I didn't feel comfortable sharing, I just left it at that. The post-surgery diets are quite similar. It has been fine. This was a big deal to me before and right after my surgery but now it's not such a big deal. In fact, my father doesn't even really know that I had surgery. (My mother does, and what kind.) But I saw them over Thanksgiving. He looked at my plate and commented that I should put salad on it, and I started with the words, "I'm recovering from an abdomi…." and he said, "Stop! I don't want to hear any details." And that was that. Now it's starting to look like I've lost weight, and so I'm hearing about that…but strangely enough no one really seems to care much or want to know how. I am still maintaining the belief that knowledge about how I chose to do this is on a need-to-know basis only. My trainers at the gym? Need to know. The 60 volunteers I work with? Not so much.

Heh. My husband and I are working with the same surgeon. I have been calling to see the status of his appeal almost every other day. I'm sure she's ready to kill me.

Right! And there is so much more to this around socialization, habit, whatever. I had yet another reception last night and ate 3 shrimp from a shrimp cocktail, came home and thought, "What should I have for dinner?" And had to have a talk with myself…after tracking there were no calories left for anything else. And three shrimp are about 3 oz anyway: aka dinner. Then I realized that I really wasn't hungry either. So I shut it down for the day. I could have had a snack, sure, but I also thought that I didn't want to encourage the habit. I think I'm getting it down and then little things pop up like this. It's like killing Medusa; there are always other snakes.

One of the fittest women I know (CrossFit coach and personal trainer) shared with me right before my surgery that she weighs 160. We discussed it because she and I were talking about how much weight I wanted/needed to lose, and how I don't want to be 130 if 130 means skinny-fat. She is maybe 5'6", so she's not a tall girl either. It gave me great perspective. At 5'5" it would be easy for me to say that I *should* be 125 or 135, but those are pretty randomly chosen numbers. I might get down that far, I might not, but I intend to be strong and if that means I bottom out at 160 rather than 150, so be it. Good luck! I'm pulling for you.

It is so true.