gingerbug

No, do what your doctor says.

and I am having a really hard time wrapping my mind around it: I look like a normal average person. I dont look sloppy. I have no food stains on my shirt. I can get up early and make it through the day. I dont ache all over. I dont have to wear fat people clothes. I dont recognize myself in the mirror anymore. LOL. The moment came yesterday when I was standing outside in front of our big window and I caught my reflection and I had to blink, it was really me. that normal size person was me. I have been so focused on being so close to goal that I forgot to look at myself. I am not fat anymore and I can hardly believe it.

Fitday weight tracker has me getting to wonderland in about 7 weeks with my average weight loss of 2.1 pounds a week since I started the liquid diet. I am so excited! I am just coming off of a plateau so I am hoping that things rev up at least until I get to 199! I wont mind another plateau then but it would just suck if if happened a pound or two before that, LOL

LOL, I meant that I started tracking my weight loss from the start of my my liquid diet, not that I am doing a liquid diet now. Since the 17th of December I have lost an average of 2.1 pounds a week. I am 5'11" and my goal weight is 190#. I have for sure noticed it gets harder to lose the weight as I get closer and I am just fine with that. THe average for 8 months is 2.1 but for the last two months it is 1.33 pounds per week. As far as I am concerned, being this close to goal, as long as I dont GAIN, I am fine if it takes me anouther year to lose 23 pounds. At my height, 23 pounds is going down just about one more size in clothing so the visual impact is not huge. the benefit of this is that I already 'look' like I am a normal weight. My plan for the next few weeks is to hit the gym pretty hard. I am suffering from ragweed allergies that make it hard for me to even breath but as soon as I get a handle on that I plan to go into the gym and trade a pound of flesh as often as possible. I would prefer to be at goal by no later than spring so I can buy a whole new wardrobe. Right now i have a frankenstien combo of new, used, and out of date hand-me-downs. I have an appointment tomorrow for anouther fill, I notice that while my restriction seems ok with the amount of food I can eat, it seems short lived. Food 'drops' through the band rather quickly and i get hungry. I tend to eat about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food at each meal and I think I was told no more than 1/2 cup. I have 6.7 cc's in a 10cc band. I usually get small fills more frequently instead of drastic fills because I seem to need time to adjust to them. Even with small fills I do an extra day of liquids and an extra day of mushies afterwards. The doc and i agree that this is the way to go to not aggrevate anything. This is a really long post, I just realized!

There are complications from any surgury. You could die getting your gall bladder removed, I dont think deaths from this type of procedure are anymore common than any other procedure. You could die from weight related problems, too. I suspect the dangerous health problems stemming from obesity are far more dangerous than those from this procedure. If you want to be left alone by those who want to talk you out of it, come up with a simple statement such as 'I appreciate your concern, I will speak to my doctor about any and all concerns and I will make my own decision'. Repeat over and over again, if need be.

I think some people just dont want others to succeed. Hang in there and ignore her!

Wow, it has been so busy! We had to evacuate for Hurricane Ike and came home to a mess in the yard. It made a taco out of my shed and wrecked havoc on the trees and such but I sure wont complain...my house still has a roof! We live in Galveston County. We get back home and my 4 year old comes down with an ear infection and strep and now I am feeling my allergies acting up. I just want a quiet peaceful day. A day to nap and lie in bed and read. LOL, it will be years before that happens!

I am going to look into biotin, thanks! I just had a fill on thursday and things are moving along nicely. It is looking more and more like I might meet my original goal of 190 (I am 5'11) by halloween at the rate I have been losing. I am trying to decide if I am going to go for 160 or not. That was my weight at my 'prime' whenI was 18-19 when I was pretty fit. It seems like a long shot or maybe just too much to hope for, I dont know.

wow, current status is good. Thirty more pounds to go until my initial goal and my tracker has me reaching that goal just after Halloween but we shall see. I might tweak my goal as I get to that point. I figure I may as well go for what I can as long as I am not miserable. I am really looking forward to weighing less than dh! I have 6.7 cc in my 10 cc band and i just had a fill on Thursday.

My bras are way too big for me! I dont need to go to the plus side of clothing stores anymore. I look better naked. i have a collar bone. I am no longer afraid to meet new people.

I agree, there is swelling and it is very very uncomfortable. I was told to have smaller yet more frequent, if need be, fills to help with that and to extend my days on liquid then mushies longer. I also have to ease into regular foods slowly. Makes a world of difference.

I am so glad that you posted this, I have recently (and I hope temporarily) started a 21 day cycle. I have been wondering what the hell was wrong with me! I am glad I am not the only person dealing with this!

Don't ask the questions that you dont want the answers to. If you want a ducks and bunnies answer make that clear in your original post. There are legitimate reasons to follow the rules but I suspect you will be facing some of those complications in the future, or, at the very least, not seeing the results you wish for.

Wow, the hair loss is freaking me out a bit. I went to my regualr doc and did all sorts of blood tests. I am glad they left me with enough blood to crawl out to my car when it was done! They determined that my iron and B vitamins were low and gave me pills (Shakes head - they know I cant take pills) and told me my hair loss could bed due to my lowiron. Ok, that is fine. I have lots of hair and can stand to lose some. I am really hoping that it will start to grow back soon. How long does that take? If you had hairloss, please let me know when the hair loss leveled out and if the regrowth stuck out funny from your head. Sigh.

Ok, I cant even compete with Red tulip's well thought out response, expecially at 7am but here is my update! LOL, things are going well. I have good months and bad ones but I find the good ones are really, really good. I have learned to take the bad months in stride. I am more in tune with my body and subtle changes in it, including hormones. Honestly, a person coculd drive herself crazy with too much observation. I recognize myself in the mirror again and it surprises me that I am there. I have been staring at a stranger in the mirror for many years now, I feel like I am getting myself back. Meeting new people does not send me skidding into an anxiety attack and my confidence is returning. I just wish I could find a bra that fits, I hate the assumption that a woman with a band size of 40 needs a D cup, kwim?

I think you will be fine. In my opinion, an unhelpful hubby will just hinder the healing process.

What I can eat fits onto a small plate, the salad plate. I often eat the South Beach frozen entree and that is a normal size meal for me. I dont measure it out, just eyeball the plate. I can eat more for dinner than lunch, for some reason and there is no way I can have anything more than yogurt for breakfast. I am no where near hungry in the AM.

My doc told me that I could have diet soda in a cup, let it sit a couple of minutes till the major fizzies are gone then sip. NEVER with food. I gave up my diet pepsi already so my 6 can a day habit has been replaced with a sugar free Kool aid tropical punch habit. Sometimes I miss it. Knowing my doc said I could have it, under those circumstances makes it easier for me to drink something else.

The first month is for healing and you have lost 5 pounds in a month which is GOOD. That is 5 pounds you will never see again. 1-2 pounds a week is great, some months are better than others, It will work, just hang in there

My internet JUST got back online after the last three week drama with comcast. We just got done moving and I am so happy to be in a place with enough rooms for everyone!

That is awesome! I am certain the nurse gets that a lot, being that she weights people in who are losing weight!

I am sitting at 6.2 cc in a 10 cc band and pretty happy with it. I resemble normal when eating with other people, meaning I can eat most things that are not 'doughy'. I just eat slow and dh gets to eat and I take care of the little ones in between bites. Works out well for me.

I am only 10 pounds away from being able to wear everything in my closet! Once I get there, I am only 30 pounds from my goal!

I was told three meals no snacking. I think it all comes down to the calories, though