Dani.o.dani

Today I got my date of January 21st. My surgeon requires the 2 week liver shrinking diet so I snuck in just on time! I'm so excited!

Maybe your husband's issues are about him and not about you at all? I'm in a 12 step group and a lot of the men there are workaholics who were able to woo their wives, but then disappeared into work and their addiction to avoid intimacy. Their wives become this distant island that they visit for sex but in general avoid because they don't know HOW to maintain true intimacy, vulnerability, and presence. Something about the way you described him made me think about my fellowship, I could of course be totally wrong and off base. I don't mean to offend, just wanted to say that you could be experiencing a byproduct of something about your spouse instead of yourself. I wish you nothing but the best of luck on your journey!

Hi! My NUT thought I was crazy for wanting to become a vegetarian post op. I pressed her for info and she recommended unflavored soy Protein powder in everything. GNC sells it. She also said Beans, beans, beans. I'm not into eating dairy (I think that I may be lactose intolerant), eggs, pork or much beef. I can eat some chicken and fish sometimes, but I feel sick when I eat many animal Proteins. I also got kidney stones and don't want to overload my kidneys with animal proteins and Calcium. Soy does contain estrogens so that's something that you need to keep in mind. Testosterone is created from cholesterol (and other fats) in the middle of the night. If you want to keep up your free testosterone levels eat a Brazil nut six times a day (according to Tim Ferriss in the six hour body). I asked my NUT about this and she agrees. I think that getting off grains (refined carbs especially) is the number one thing that is helping me lose weight. Not having my body constantly feeding me hunger signals what I'm most looking forward to post-op. Good luck on your journey.

(Ugh silly send button, anyway)... How has being sleeved impacted Bipolar disorder? Has anyone struggled with exercise bulimia pre/post op? What are your experiences? Thank you.

I have Bipolar disorder and I'm currently off both of my antidepressants. The last six months have been really good, I changed jobs and have been 12 step recovery groups for my addiction. My addiction was my main way to self-medicate my disorder. Now that I'm sober I have a real concern about exercise triggering mania. I don't exercise now because times in my life where I did exercise I would also become manic, and then I would exercise more, hours a day, because I couldn't stop. Does anyone have any experience with mania and exercise, or with exercise bulimia and

"Yeah, it's always heartwarming to see a prejudice defeated by a deeper prejudice"-Lone Star(1996)

I was at lunch with a friend and she had been approved for surgery. She is considerably smaller than me. I had been trying to lose weight on my own for years, only to be at an all time high weight of 299. I went home and looked at myself in the only full length mirror in my house, the one hiding in storage. I saw myself, really saw myself and saw a future of disease, discomfort, and denial. That night I tried to sleep but my fat was in the way (as usual). The next morning I tried to get dressed, but all I could see was the fat I had piled on. I saw it as a coat of armor I used to protect myself, but much like real armor, my fat was limiting me. I woke up and could no longer pretend that the fat wasn't there. I called my PCP for a referral to a weight management program that day.

Because my employer is changing their plans there is a now a 100% coverage for bariatric surgery under the kaiser permanente platinum plan, which my employer gives a stipend for. Not only is my birth control free, but my surgery will only cost me the $250 copay. I absolutely love Obamacare. Look at all of the plans available and see what (If anything) your employer covers or will give a stipend to. I know that I'm very lucky, and who knows they could eliminate the bariatric benefit in 2015. But I'm very grateful today. I couldn't afford to have this surgery without it.

Mexico. One of my former co-workers had WLS done post baby at a BMI around 30. most people told her just to eat less and exercise, and that she shouldn't get the surgery because she was only temporarily heavy. she said her body hurt all of the time and being the size she was at was causing her extreme anxiety and depression. So instead of listening to naysayers, she paid 5k (this was some years ago) in cash and had a lap band put in. the last time i saw her she was extremely happy and very slender. If your mom has the cash it's amazing what doors it will open. Just because your mom may not fit into the ideal surgical candidate category, it's her body, it's her health, it's her money and it's her quality of life. Hopefully she finds a quality and reputable doctor. This site is filled with dr reviews and information about WLS in Mexico.

I got my surgical consult! I'll be meeting with Dr. Frank Chae in Denver, CO on the morning of Jan 8th (Elvis's birthday) which means I'll probably have surgery the first week of Feb. I am so excited!

Strength training and weight lifting to build muscle, cardio to burn fat. The skin is a highly elastic organ that requires lots of lubrication, so make sure you are drinking adequate amount of water! Also skin cells need omega 3,6,9 fatty acids, collagen, biotin and essential oils. Make sure you are getting enough protein to build muscle so it will fill out the skin. Good luck!

Hey there, have you tried Journaling your emotions about food before you eat? I am a recovering binge eater. Every day I would start out strong, and after 3 or 4 hours I would hit my willpower limit. Then my binges would start. I got a handle on my emotional overeating by writing what I was feeling before I ate, and then writing down everything I was eating during the meal and after. I kept my journals private because of how ashamed I was, but i told the truth in them. They were not pretty. It took a few weeks before I could stop binging. But for me journaling my emotions before, and my actions and emotions during and after eating helped me to stop binge eating. Willpower is a finite resource, and when we are low on it our reserves are depleted quickly. The journaling gave me a pause, a few moments to reconnect with myself, and I envisioned increasing my willpower by 1unit with each journal entry. I seriously drew little pictures of my willpower meter and it was getting the tiniest bit bigger with each entry. There are some neat psychological studies on willpower and habits which give the scientific background for what I'm saying. The brain is highly plastic and it can learn new patterns, but it takes time, consistent effort, and above all, willingness to continue trying to change even in the face of repeated challenges and "failures". The sleeve will be a successful tool, but it takes patience and a willingness to change everything in order to wield this new tool properly. I believe in you. I believe that you can and will be successful at this one small step at a time. Changing is really, really hard, but you are worth the effort it will take to save your life. Good luck!

You look amazing! Wtg!

Thank you all so much for your replies! I am really happy that I joined this site. I am so grateful on this Thanksgiving that my life is going in the right direction with the right people. :-D

Side and rear

Today was my third (of six required) nutrition class. I am also down 2.8 lbs from last week. SW: 299 CW: 294.8 Goal: no longer obese Today I took my starting pictures. I'm sort of in shock about the current state of my body. They were taken in the full length mirror which is hiding in my storage area. I have a lot of mixed feelings about my body. What I can see most clearly is that I need to take better care of myself. I need to make amends to the woman in the mirror that I've hurt so much. I am going to love myself all the way through this process.

I was slender as a child, but when I hit puberty I began to binge eat. I grew up without access to a lot of food, so whenever the opportunity to eat arose I dug in. I graduated high school about 30#s overweight. My self esteem was really low. I started college two weeks after graduation and I began to eat fast food for the first time in my life. My freshman year of college I gained over 100# in 15 months. I went on to lose and gain the same 100# for the next few years. Having small success only to rebound with even more pounds. I lost weight around my pregnancies but gained a lot with post partum depression. 3 years ago I started working 3rd shift. I was awake over 20 hours a day, which meant I was eating most of the time. I tried changing my diet, exercising, going back to the things that helped me lose weight, but I couldn't maintain any momentum. I was battling severe sleep deprivation and fatigue. I was overwhelmed. Along with food I have another addiction which was totally out of control. In the beginning of 2012 I started getting help. I gained even more weight during my recovery, because as my other addiction began to be slowly healed, my food addiction flared up, then calmed down too. I am in therapy and 12 step groups. I'm also at the absolute heaviest I've ever been. I changed jobs six months ago, and now I sleep every day. I have a great support system, therapist and sponsor who are working with me. I started to try and lose weight on my own, but now that the extra 100# is an excess 170#. I am in constant physical pain. I need a tool to help me with my portion sizes and a support group to help me maintain accountability. I looked into WLS seriously this year, after many years of my doctors expressing concern. I wanted to be able to do it on my own, but I have learned that if I keep trying the same things and expecting a different result I'm absolutely crazy. I need to try something different. I need a long term solution, and I believe that support groups, food journals, and regular exercise are the solution for me. The surgery will help me with my hunger and will help me with my portion sizes, but it's not a magic cure all. My surgery is going to be in January of 2014. I am looking forward to it!

Best of luck!

All of our cells are made up of the food we eat. We literally are what we eat. Nutrition, stimulation, and realistic expectations are our best friends. Skin cells require a lot of water and healthy fats, so make sure that ALA, CLA and Omega 3,6,9 are part of your supplements and drink lots and lots of water. Collagen and elastin are found in bone marrow, so soups made with stock from animal bones (Pho) are fantastic for the skin. Eat a healthy diet! Rubbing bio oil into the skin will help. Saying kind things to your body about your body also help. Your skin is part of you, and it needs nourishment. Surgery is an option if you can afford it, but don't assume that it's going to make you look perfect. The best plastic surgeons in the world are still only doctors, not magicians. Surgery still has scarring, and cellulite in many cases. Loving and accepting your body will help to have the most positive outcomes. Take care of the skin you live in. I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

When people say "I'll pray for you" to someone they know is a nonbeliever it is a subtle attack on the atheist's way of thinking. When someone says it to another person who they don't know what their religious beliefs are, they are projecting their own religion onto that person. Either way it's a way to force religion into the conversation and it's also a way for the religious person to assert their "rightness". What may appear as well wishing is actually a form of manipulation. This manipulation becomes clearer when we substitute the word pray for the word sacrifice. "Hey June, heard you are having surgery soon, I'll make sure to sacrifice a dog for you." The religious person is actually excluding June's beliefs and wishes and indulging in their own. It would be far less offensive to say "Hey June, heard you are having surgery, is there anything you would like for me to do?" keeps the well wishing focused on June and her actual experience, not the belief system of the religious person. "You'll be in my thoughts" is still selfish false sentimentality from the point of the believer, but it doesn't thrust their own religious perspective into the conversation so it functions as a better phrase.