CrazyJaney

First time out shopping for a dress to wear to a wedding. Is it too much to ask for a summer dress with sleeves??? I have a long way to go but dropped a size, maybe 2 on top, so overall pretty excited. But I couldn't find anything with some sleeves! Any suggestions? Anyone been out shopping lately? Shawls are an option but my arm wings can't be hid as well as I'd like!

At what point did it become harder? I've lost 86 (28 of that was preop). Starting weight 325. Surgery was 3/13/14 so I know I've done great in 4.5 months but I'm starting to have to work a lot harder. I've been at 238-240 for what seems like forever (only 2 weeks but feels like forever). I'm increasing my exercise. What "levels" did you start to have to do extra work?

Celebrating today as I've finally gotten past the half way point. Wanted to post to all those on the fence about surgery (as I once was) and for those in the early-early days who can't conceive of the success (as I once did). What a wonderful tool this is! It's still work, and it's getting harder, but it's a tool that really works. I track everything. I still weigh and measure most things. I am struggling to make exercise a part of my everyday life. But I feel so incredibly good. The daily pain of my knees and feet are gone. My blood pressure is normal. My cpap settings are the lowest you can have. My energy is improving. To be certain, surgery isn't for everyone, but if you doubt yourself preop, as I did, I want you to know that success DOES happen. I started at 325. I could barely move or breathe. It's work. Some days are hard. But it's so worth it. Now - to buckle down to get to goal in the next year. It's getting a little harder. The journey is far from over but I'm so glad I booked the trip!

All of my attempts at weight loss have been in good faith and with, what I thought, was a fairly educated mind about how to do it - yet I always failed. What I didn't do, until I was getting ready for WLS, is to address the emotional part of HOW I GOT to 330 pounds. I mean, how does that happen to someone? How can I be college educated, seemingly successful in other areas of my life and be squarly on a path to an early grave at my "own doing"? I had never really let go of my ego. I always had that bargaining voice in my head that rationalized and minimized dieting and weight loss. What this site did was to help me see that I AM NOT ALONE! There was power in that for me. I can't explain why, it just was. My parents are both alcoholics. My mom has 30+ years of sobriety and has dedicated her adult life to helping others with addiction. My dad has never gotten free from his addiction. I was exposed to the tennant of AA and the 12 steps a long time ago. As a teen, the foundations were laid but I NEVER really embraced the concept of accountability. I think this surgery MAKES me be accountable. It also gives me a control I have never experienced. That concept of "control" is one major difference between food and alcohol addiction. It is not a one size fits all. It's not like there is a perfect recipe for how to be successful in this BUT there are similarities of how people become successful. For an alcoholic, you don't go to bars, you don't take the first sip. For a food addict, it's not as simple. But there are lifestyle changes that support my goals. Again, I had NEVER, EVER considered the emotional side of weight loss (except for attending one, solitary OA meeting at age 23 in which I was so full of shame I could never go back). This time, at 45 and in a very different place in life, I was able to say "I am a food addict and the data (weighing 325+ pounds) supports that. I can't run from it." And all of that self realization brought a huge amount of shame in the beginning. I am coming up on my one year anniversary for my first doctor appointment (mid August). It's gotten easier to think about my failures in the past without shame. It's still there but it's less and less. I do know that if I get too far away from this site, the voices in my brain that tell me "it's okay to cheat today" start to creep back. This site, belonging to a community, helps me stay focused and accountable. I am far from perfect (I ate a half piece of cake yesterday) but I have come so far. People tell me how great I look and I minimize it. Not because I am not proud of myself, but because it doens't support success. When I say I have so far to go, they say "but you've come so far you should be proud". I have started explaining to people that I can't "celebrate" in the same sense of before. Celebrating tells my brain that it's ok to reward myself with an extra calorie or two or two hundred. It's a slippery slope and always will be. I still have a LONG way to go to get to a goal of "normal". The hardest work lies ahead. It scares me but I have some tools for success and I am going to keep coming back here checking in and being accountable. Thanks to all who commented - it helps keep us going!

Andrea K my friend! You are gonna do fantastic! Have faith and go with it. I know the fears. You were there for me when I was stressed preop. You got this! So many good things lie ahead. I won't lie, the first week, not so good. But you get through it. So excited for you!

Awesome!!!

I 4.5 months post, almost 85 down. I've purged 3 times so far. The good stuff I give to a girl at work. The rest to Goodwill. I am so pear shaped that nothing fits the same and it's do hard to find pants that fit. When the girls at work tell me to get new clothes, I listen. I bought 2 maxi dresses from Target to get me through the summer. I don't really have any pants that fit and I hate buying pants - really hate it. I think I have body dysmorphic syndrome too. I bought an XXL shirt without trying it on a few weeks ago. Too big. Went back and bought a XL. Too big. No way can I consider a L??? It's mind boggling to get out of plus sizes. But I'm still an 18-20 on bottom. Sigh....

I've been a critical care nurse for 18 years. MD means they went to medical school but it doesn't mean anything else. It doesn't mean they are Board Certified. Board Certification is a gold standard for physicians/surgeons.

That's almost a month out. It probably warrants a call. When is your next appointment? I was on soft or purees then. You might be eating too fast? Or it just might be normal as it is with some. I still get instantly nauseated if I drink water on an empty stomach. But I've never gotten nauseated from food unless I pushed the limit or when I was newly advancing textures. It will get better though.

Can I just say this is one of the most bizzaro threads, EVER. It's 40 pages long and I haven't read all the threads but let me get this straight: Latin-lover-type Omar seduces American women then dumps them. He works for a surgeon but it's a non-US business. And the OP wants to "out" him? Is there more? I would hope to find legit info on here if I was looking to go to MX but if you're a grown woman, who falls prey to a stereotypical Don Juan, and it was consensual, what do you expect to happen? Rape is another matter entirely. But I would think people who travel to MX to have surgeries would have been prepared for avoiding the seduction part. I'm thinking of doing plastics there but I wouldn't go alone and I would be suspicious of any "personal" attention.

I had water nausea for months. Day 5 I thought I might die after feeling good on day 4. Day 6 I turned a corner and decided I would live. 4 months later, I've lost 83 pounds. I can eat small amounts of anything. I discovered Diet Green Tea doesn't make me nauseous (try Diet Arizona Green Tea). Life is good. You WILL get there. The first month sucks but hang in there. I feel ya.

It took my taste buds 4 months to find something I could drink. It's not fun in the early days.

I wish I'd have known the pure joy of buying a dress (albeit a size 16) in the "normal" section at Kohls. NOT THE WOMENS! I was giddy at the checkout. It's sleeveless (bummer) but it's perfect in every other way. I've lost 83 and have 70+ to go. I'm only 4 months post. But shopping is fun again!

You are so right!!!!! Such a good point!

i I stopped taking them day 4 and it helped. I tried to find sugar free children's Tylenol liquid but could never find it. They don't make Tylenol dissolvables for kids anymore either. I did fine but I would have liked to have taken plain Tylenol a few days longer the first week or two. Get some if you can find them.

You know, this was one of my biggest worries preop as I've experienced major bouts of nausea with any surgery I've had. I had a ton of nausea for the first few days and maybe up to a week post op but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Really it wasn't near as bad and mostly related to narcotics and not the surgery. It's all very individual I suppose but I was thankful it wasn't as bad as I feared.

I added fish oil and saw a slight (very slight) improvement but I'm not sure what dose I should be taking????

I made Greek Turkey Meatballs. Used ground turkey, feta cheese and black olives. Cooked them in the mini muffin tins. Dipped them in dill yogurt dip. Delish. Oh, I added basil and oregano too.

How's everyone??? How's everyone's labs? I started taking iron. It's awful. Didn't think constipation could get worse. I'm up to a total of 83 but still have 70+ to go. Exercising going much better. Hair loss in full swing.

I should probably have commented on the "mental" aspect of this journey. It deserves full attention. Honestly, I think the hardest part has been the mental side of it. There are so many physical changes and hurdles but the I think it was actually harder pre op and first month post op. The "new normal" as someone said has been a little hard but not as hard as the preop worries it induced. But the mental hurdles, challenges, changes have been enormous overall. Facing your inner most fears about facing food addiction when you have essentially been in denial for 30-40 years was huge for me. That was my preop journey. I had no idea how preparing for surgery would force me to do that and I think it left me in a much better place emotionally when I was post op. Food/carb addiction, how others see me, how I see myself, feelings of shame, of resentment for things in my past all came up and out on this journey. But I tell you, I'm more at peace now than I've been in 20+ years, maybe ever. This website helped me more emotionally and to prepare mentally more than anything (which is why I posted today). I have a great surgeon and team but it's very "clinical" unlike the fellowship here (although you'll find some gratuitous snarky-snarks) and the accountability is what really helped me. They say denial has to fall to recover from something and for the very first time in my whole life, I felt I had a safe place to admit my failures. Shame is a huge, common theme for many (not all) of us. Reading and posting help me face that preop. So I encourage all those in the early stages to come here, everyday, and treat it like homework. I looked at others who were successful and I saw some common themes. The were honest. They tracked faithfully. They put Protein first always. They plan ahead. They exercise. All those have worked for me too. Essentially, I eat 800-1000 calories a day. At least 60 G protein. I aim for 50 or less of carbs but a few days a week I'm closer to 70. I struggle to make exercise a priority but I do Water aerobics and treadmill/weights (typical gym stuff). I've also started riding my bike (which I suck at). Basically I MOVE! At 325 I avoided moving. Now I'm game to try anything. Unfortunately I am so not athletic. I wish to God I had that natural inclination but it's always been hard. My energy was GONE the first 6 weeks post op. It's much better now but I still fatigue a lot when I exercise. I do feel better after, but during is a challenge. I use My Fitness Pal every day. Even when I don't eat clean. I hate the word "cheat". I struggle between 2 mind sets of "NO CHEATING EVER, EVER. EVER" and "moderation". The good thing about the sleeve and WLS in general is you have a forced moderation. I have good restriction. I hope that my new habits are reinforced for when I don't feel the fullness so much. My habits are good. I have a bite of something "bad" every now and then but it's literally one bite and I'm done/satisfied. The true miracle for me is the way my brain senses hunger. Before, my hunger would feel like a 12 out of 10, truly a panicky feeling. I still get hungry and feel a need to eat, but it's more like a 5 at worst, usually less. I have cravings, but nothing like I had before. I make good choices. That's a mantra I've used. I MAKE GOOD CHOICES. That and FOOD IS NOT LOVE. FOOD IS NOT COMFORT. Those have helped. My goal is 165. I'm 5'6. I started at 325 (332 was undocumented but I know I was there once). I'd really love to ski again so 165 might be not low enough but no matter what, I don't think I'll get there without exercise. I have absolutely no regrets other than I waited until 45 to have surgery. I'm so unbelievably thankful today. A year ago I was miserable beyond words. Life is not perfect but boy, it's pretty good! Wishing you all good luck. Reach out if you need help and post when you need to.

Man I hate that voice! I hear it too sometimes. Not as much as I used to but it's still there every now and then.

I agree. Great brand for the early days.

There are many of the NSV (non scale victory) that make all the hard work worth it! It's an awesome feeling! Sometimes I just do a little jig for the sake of being happy!

I concur with McB. Totally worth it. When I remember how I FELT at 325 I know it's worth it. At 247, I feel a bazillion times better. As I go through all of these drastic changes, the outwardly changes are more apparent to others. But the internal way I FEEL is what's drastic to me. I still have a long way to go. More change to come....