changingmylife4ver

Can't gauge yourself off of others. I was 59, my height is 5', and I weighed 291. I am now 61 and weigh 137. I have lots of excess skin. However, I have weighed over 300 most of my adulthood. My stomach area has always been very big around and I have always had thick legs even as a teen because of my height. No amount of toning exercise will get rid of excess skin. Ask a trainer. You can tone underneath.

I was self pay and the doctor we my surgery 1 month from my consultation. However, I already had pcm and heart doctor clearance before I went to the doctor that did my surgery. I didn't have to have any other test

Totally agree with this. Avoiding these has been what I have done for 17 months now and I truly believe this is why I don't have the cravings any longer. I don't deprive myself, I just no longer have the taste.

Surgery weight 291, current weight 142, 17 months out. I just followed the guide I was given by the doctor's program until I was comfortable with the change in my eating habits. I still weigh my portions. I don't count calories because I eat pretty much the same food everyday. I also now just feel normal. I get hungry, I eat, get full and move on. It is just easier to get full now, which makes me feet normal. Pre surgery it took a lot of food for me to get full and then it wouldn't last very long. I no longer eat desserts or junk food. I am not depriving myself, I just don't want those foods anymore. I don't know what happened along this journey, if the surgery changed me or if my brain was reprogrammed after not having the sweets, etc., but I no longer desire these things.

I have a SF fudge pop every night after supper. All I eat at my night time meal is 5 oz of tilapia, so something a little sweet taste good. I also have a SF pudding after lunch. Both of these keep my sweet tooth at bay. I haven't had any cookies, cake, pie or other desserts since Oct 18th, 2013. My snacks are Greek yogurt. When I want something crunchy and salty, I will have an ounce of peanuts, but I try not to have those in my house very much because I tend to grab some too often.

Enjoy while you can. 1 lb a day is great. I very seldom lost 4 lbs in a weeks time, much less 7 lbs in a week. I didn't weigh for 2 weeks after my surgery. I thought I would never get to where I am, but I did. Losing that fast you will be glad when you have when a stall hits

My BCBS of MS plan did not cover weight loss surgery at all. I had to self pay

What jumps out to me, is this statement "It's bad enough that he is "having" to support my decision" He should support your decision willingly. Does he not want you to have the surgery? Just a question that came to my mind.

I was 46DDD and now I am 36DD. I haven't ever looked at bras in Victoria's But, I wear granny bras and don't like skimpy ones. May be my age. Although I am now at the size I was as a teen, I don't ever feel sexy, even if I had a sexy bra. Too much loose skin

Those and so much more! For me the year flew by. The saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. It has been fun on this journey. Easy, no,fun yes. Fun discovering what I have missed for 45 years.

I set a goal that I thought would be attainable for me. After so many years of being extremely obese, I wanted to be able to reach a goal that I felt would be healthy. So I set it at 150 even though I am only 5' tall. I am almost there and if I go lower, that is fine with me. I lose slowly and that is fine too. As of yesterday, I reached the "overweight" category. I am longer obese!! Even though I am short, normal BMI is only 23 lbs away. Will I get there? I have no idea. If I don't, I will not stress over it. No more stressing about my body size. I am healthy, love to get dressed every day and feel normal for once since I was a teenager and that was so long ago as I am 60 now.

I think it does. seems like all facial features got smaller. When I look at pictures from last year at my family reunion, my nose looks wider or something. May be just my imagination.

They will notice when you wear clothes that fit. The first time I wore a smaller top and pants that actually fit me, people were like, omg. Every time I wear smaller clothes, more people compliment me. Of course,I did not keep my surgery secret.

Best: When I walked into our reception area this past week, one of our receptionist said "good morning little bit" I have been called skinny mini a lot. I can honestly say, I have not had any negative comments to my face. I have no idea what is said behind my back. If they are talking about me then they must at least notice me :-)

Went to their seminars, but my bcbs of Ms would not cover wls. I went to mobile instead. Cost almost $5000 less than river oaks. I cant tell you anything about your other questions. You are lucky to have insurance to cover.

Sweets have always been my downfall. I am now close to 11 months out and have nit had the first bite of sweets and no longer crave them after following my doctors hearing rules, #1, I don't have room foe them, #2, eating high protein and low carbs, the cravings are not there now. I stay away from simple carbs which have always created those urges. I do eat complex carbs like fruit. Your system will change

I just found Torrid!I totally love that place. They have size 1 and 0 and I don't consider that plus size, considering I was wearing 3 and4x. Since I am only 5ft tall it takes somewhat larger clothes than taller women,but hey, I am down 101 lbs. I am addicted to Torrid, their babydollcami's buy 1 get 1 free on the clearance rack

Down 100 lbs today

I read all of these replies with encourgement. It is so easy to get discourged on this journey, but it helps to read these replies to the same thoughts I had this morning. Although I have reached by first goal of being under 200, i have been on a stall for a couple of weeks and was beginning to wonder if that was it too. We get used to stepping on the scale and 3 to 5 lbs gone and when it slows, your previous failures begin to flash in your head.

Hello, I am from Pearl but did not use any program around here. I was self pay because my BCBS of MS would not pay. I went to Mobile Al because all of the programs around here were $3000 to $5000 higher. My total cost was $11,900 (including BLISS insurance) + $127.00 for my initial appointment. I was sleeved on 10/24/13 I went to a one initial appointment with some jerk doctor at St. Dominic (their program for self pay was less than Transformations) and I paid $300 for him to be a jerk to me. He had only preformed 75 surgeries He is also associated with Transformations in Flowood.

I am usually the first to NOT compare, but, I DID! I compared!! I admit it! I got sucked into the comparing comparisons! And to further my anguish, at this point in the game, you were almost 20lbs ahead of me! S**t, I compared again. Getting back in my hidey hole. LMAO!!! Loved this post. Needed your humor

Maybe someone can help me figure out the percnetage of excess body wieght i have lost so far, becasue i don't know the formula. I began@ 291 and as of Monday, the 24th, I am @ 213. What percentage of excess body weight have I lost? I am only 5 ft tall. Charts always show i should weigh 110-115 lbs, but I don't think I will ever get to that number. I set my goal @ 150. Not that it matters in the formula, I am 59, so I think the weight does not come off as super fast as when you are young. I am pleased with my progress and don't care if it takes me longer. As long as the scales are going down. So far, I have not had any stalls, per say, just samll losses ( 1/2 to 1 lb) a couple of times.