Bobby46

I love you people.

Oh my! I love raspberry filled iced donuts! My absolute favorite! I haven't had one in about 7 mths or so. I was going to have one for my birthday last month. I planned for it. Dreamed of it! Then on my birthday I decided not to do it. Well I ended up swinging through Tim Hortons for coffee...my once a week treat when my son has a basketball game... and got a a cheap glazed donut thinking "hey its my birthday!" ....went with a regular donut because I was afraid I would start a new habit of rewarding myself with my all time favorite. Well....I took one small bite of the glazed donut and gave the rest to my son. The guilt still got to me! And it wasn't as good as the raspberry one anyway. I'm not so sure I would have done the same thing with a raspberry filled one! I like to think that if those glorious raspberry filled donuts ended up in my house I would have the courage to toss them to the neighbors dog!
Good for you! In my mind you win the gold medal for will power and determination!
I'm still dreaming of that stupid donut And I still....like an idiot....get my coffee before the basketball game just to torture myself as I go through the drive thru!

Oh my! I love raspberry filled iced donuts! My absolute favorite! I haven't had one in about 7 mths or so. I was going to have one for my birthday last month. I planned for it. Dreamed of it! Then on my birthday I decided not to do it. Well I ended up swinging through Tim Hortons for coffee...my once a week treat when my son has a basketball game... and got a a cheap glazed donut thinking "hey its my birthday!" ....went with a regular donut because I was afraid I would start a new habit of rewarding myself with my all time favorite. Well....I took one small bite of the glazed donut and gave the rest to my son. The guilt still got to me! And it wasn't as good as the raspberry one anyway. I'm not so sure I would have done the same thing with a raspberry filled one! I like to think that if those glorious raspberry filled donuts ended up in my house I would have the courage to toss them to the neighbors dog!
Good for you! In my mind you win the gold medal for will power and determination!
I'm still dreaming of that stupid donut And I still....like an idiot....get my coffee before the basketball game just to torture myself as I go through the drive thru!

I have been wondering about how I will handle the maintenance part of all of this. Thank you for a real glimpse of what its like. There aren't enough threads that point out the mental fight. It helps to see others are fighting this and winning. Its reality.
I am only 5 mths out now and am about 1/2 way to where I want to be. I have days that are super easy for me and I'm on track with everything and life is so good! "This is the best thing I have ever done for myself!".....Then I have days and sometimes weeks where I fight the fight and the scale doesn't move....that's when I start wondering about how this is all going to pan out for me.
I never expected the weight to just fall off quickly and I would be model perfect, yay me! I never for a minute had any delusions of being thin and being able to eat the way I used to. But....my little brain keeps messing with me. The whole "is this worth it" question nags at me on occasion because this is more a mental challenge than a physical one. But, its okay. I am not alone. Thank God for therapists!
I know I will reach my goal. I know I will fight until I get there. I pray that I will fight just as hard to stay there! I know my biggest battle will be the maintenance.

I wish I could quit.....cheese. I put eat string cheese once a day but I also use laughing cow once a day and if I can justify it I put a cheese slice on my chicken at dinner. "protein" I tell myself.....even though I could easily skip it and still meet my Protein goal. I'm determined to get it down to one serving a day, period!
I also wish I could quit coffee creamer.....no I don't....yes I do.....no I don't! Ugh!! I feel deprived if I don't have my chocolate carmel coffee creamer in the morning! Since I absolutely positively refuse to deprive myself of anything ever again I will probably have it every morning in my coffee until I go to my grave!

You are doing fine! No worries! I never buy organic anything and the weight is moving in the right direction.
Just get up each day and make a plan. Protein, veggies, a little fruit if you can, Vitamins and Water. I have never bought expensive anything for this. I have an occasional hersheys kiss.... a small bite of a bagel.....a small bite of cake if I'm at a birthday party. Sometimes I even skip my protein......OH NO!....and eat pasta!! Guess what?.....I didn't gain a single pound from it! I plan for it. Exercise. Drink my Water. Get back on track. I don't have anything off course every single day....I have it about 1x a week or every other week.
I try to go into the store with the mindset that I am a normal woman eating a normal healthy diet....instead of I'm a WLS patient and have to abide by this program to a T or I will be fat forever.
You're human. Eat good healthy food most of the time and enjoy a bite of something "forbidden" when you please. Don't deprive yourself, it just makes you more frustrated. This is a permanent change. Make it work for you. Its your life! No worries!
PS.....anything that makes me feel guilty is off the table....Things that make me track every single calorie and every single movement makes me feel HORRIBLE if I am even slightly off. I write down what I eat and a close calculation of the calories and the Protein. That's it. If I see that I had Pasta on Monday I stay away from it the rest of the week. That's enough tracking for me. I did weight watchers and the point system still runs through my head and drive me bonkers! I exercise 3xs a week for 30 mins. I don't worry about what day, what time of day or what kind of exercise. I refuse to stress myself out over this!

I wish I could quit.....cheese. I put eat string cheese once a day but I also use laughing cow once a day and if I can justify it I put a cheese slice on my chicken at dinner. "protein" I tell myself.....even though I could easily skip it and still meet my Protein goal. I'm determined to get it down to one serving a day, period!
I also wish I could quit coffee creamer.....no I don't....yes I do.....no I don't! Ugh!! I feel deprived if I don't have my chocolate carmel coffee creamer in the morning! Since I absolutely positively refuse to deprive myself of anything ever again I will probably have it every morning in my coffee until I go to my grave!

Everyone will hit a stall...or two....or three.........ugh! Its part of the process. Your body is adjusting to this whole thing. Stay off the scale for a week and then recheck. You will probably not get anywhere near 1200 for a while. That's normal too. I am closing in on 6 mths and am suppose to be at 1200 right about now. I am lucky to get in 950. Most of the time I hover around 850 to 900. As far as gaining......I promise this is part of the process too. I was told it is Water and metabolism adjusting. These stalls are brutal! Personally I think its a winter thing too. Typically I have a very hard time losing weight in the winter. I eat saltier things....chili and Soups....the winter comfort foods. And exercising is harder if you don't have a gym membership and cant get outside. I have a treadmill in my basement but its just as cold down there as it is outside! I struggle to get down there 3 days a week.
Relax. Unless you are eating chips, candy and other junk in between your healthy meals I can promise this is just the huey you can expect every now and again as you ride this rollercoaster : ) Hang in there! It will start falling off again soon, no doubt!

@@freshair
I can't speak for the opinions of others but for myself I have to say that the issue I have with presenting extremely obese people in a positive light when the focal of that light IS their weight is exploitative. Making the symtoms of a dangerous, desructive, debilitating, life-threatening addiction seem like an alternative lifestyle choice is UGLY. Replace it with any other similarly destructive addiction and we would not be applauding. The girl trying to be a dance instructor in spite of being a toothless meth addict is not inspiring...she needs help! Or how about in spite of being a black out drunk? The thing we got away with was seeming normal but just heavy when there are, in fact, underlying issues that are just as destructive and painful as the ones that drive any other addiction. We shouldn't be normalizing destructive behavior. Offering compassion, love, help, understanding? Absolutely! But let's not pretend it's OK.

I am about to say something that will make some people mad......but keep reading.....just giving my point of view. Don't want to make anyone mad. This is just my experience.
I used to get soooo mad at people who said WLS is the easy way out...............
I have been on just about every single weight loss program known to man kind. About 37yrs worth of it. I have lost and I have regained. Most of us have traveled together on that same stinking road, I'm sure. WLS has been the easiest for me. Yep, I said it. My surgery was so easy. No pain. Recovery super fast and super easy. I was very blessed. The weight just fell off. I didn't struggle with emotional issues regarding food. I didn't cry. I didn't fight it at all. So to me this has been the "easy way" considering all the other avenues I ventured down.
WAIT......That being said......
I am only 5 1/2 mths out. I have hit a stall, a huge one.....about 6 weeks now. So....about 6 weeks ago #%^& got real!
I understand why people who don't have weight issues.....or those who do and refuse to face it......say that this is the easy way out. To them they see surgery 1 day and weeks or months later people are 1/2 their size! Easy peasy.
No one outside of this experience will ever understand how difficult this is. They just wont. I really doubt we will ever make anyone understand that WLS is just as difficult as any other weight loss program out there. We will never be able to show them the hard part.....the fight in our heads and the fight to avoid certain foods, maybe forever. They only see that the weight came off fast and that equals easy because dieting without surgery is a slower process.
Little do they know.....little did I know....the real work begins when that grace period ends. For me I had 4 glorious months of "easy". But, I realize the rest of my life this is going to be one difficult fight!
My 600lb life to me is inspiring and sad. I worry that the general public is just gawking at them. Makes me sad for them. They may be inspirational to those of us who struggle with weight.....but I feel they are just entertainment for those who don't.
I've never watched the other show about the young woman who is "happy" as a very obese person. But, there are issues there. In my opinion, no one who becomes obese...with or without medical issues....is "happy". They adjust to it, accept it, and make the best of it....but I guarantee that if there was a "miracle pill" that would turn her into a thin, healthy woman, she would take it.

I noticed is that the thought of Pasta, bread and rice bring an image of gooey paste in my mind. They told me that those things gum up and can get stuck easily in the beginning. So that image is very vivid in my mind. I still have a few bites of Pasta with veggies every once in a while. But I stop when I think about it.
I don't crave cheeseburgers, pizza, nachos much anymore. I might have a little bite of the topping of a pizza or a bite of a cheeseburger without the bread. But one bite is enough to realize its not healthy for me and it doesn't taste as good as I remember it once did.
I honestly crave veggies now. When I am asked to go out to dinner I start thinking about what kind of roasted veggies I can get. I think that eating healthy for so long now has actually made me start craving healthy over the unhealthy way I used to eat.

I noticed is that the thought of Pasta, bread and rice bring an image of gooey paste in my mind. They told me that those things gum up and can get stuck easily in the beginning. So that image is very vivid in my mind. I still have a few bites of Pasta with veggies every once in a while. But I stop when I think about it.
I don't crave cheeseburgers, pizza, nachos much anymore. I might have a little bite of the topping of a pizza or a bite of a cheeseburger without the bread. But one bite is enough to realize its not healthy for me and it doesn't taste as good as I remember it once did.
I honestly crave veggies now. When I am asked to go out to dinner I start thinking about what kind of roasted veggies I can get. I think that eating healthy for so long now has actually made me start craving healthy over the unhealthy way I used to eat.

Oh good....glad you are going to talk to your doctor. Be completely honest with him/her. Maybe find a therapist because it does sound like you are developing (developed) an unhealthy relationship with food. You are at goal, you need to be at or close to1200 calories. That's the minimum your body needs to function properly. Not healthy. Your blood pressure could be really low too causing your dizziness and that's not a good thing!

I wish I could quit.....cheese. I put eat string cheese once a day but I also use laughing cow once a day and if I can justify it I put a cheese slice on my chicken at dinner. "protein" I tell myself.....even though I could easily skip it and still meet my Protein goal. I'm determined to get it down to one serving a day, period!
I also wish I could quit coffee creamer.....no I don't....yes I do.....no I don't! Ugh!! I feel deprived if I don't have my chocolate carmel coffee creamer in the morning! Since I absolutely positively refuse to deprive myself of anything ever again I will probably have it every morning in my coffee until I go to my grave!

Oh good....glad you are going to talk to your doctor. Be completely honest with him/her. Maybe find a therapist because it does sound like you are developing (developed) an unhealthy relationship with food. You are at goal, you need to be at or close to1200 calories. That's the minimum your body needs to function properly. Not healthy. Your blood pressure could be really low too causing your dizziness and that's not a good thing!

I wish I could quit.....cheese. I put eat string cheese once a day but I also use laughing cow once a day and if I can justify it I put a cheese slice on my chicken at dinner. "protein" I tell myself.....even though I could easily skip it and still meet my Protein goal. I'm determined to get it down to one serving a day, period!
I also wish I could quit coffee creamer.....no I don't....yes I do.....no I don't! Ugh!! I feel deprived if I don't have my chocolate carmel coffee creamer in the morning! Since I absolutely positively refuse to deprive myself of anything ever again I will probably have it every morning in my coffee until I go to my grave!

I am about to say something that will make some people mad......but keep reading.....just giving my point of view. Don't want to make anyone mad. This is just my experience.
I used to get soooo mad at people who said WLS is the easy way out...............
I have been on just about every single weight loss program known to man kind. About 37yrs worth of it. I have lost and I have regained. Most of us have traveled together on that same stinking road, I'm sure. WLS has been the easiest for me. Yep, I said it. My surgery was so easy. No pain. Recovery super fast and super easy. I was very blessed. The weight just fell off. I didn't struggle with emotional issues regarding food. I didn't cry. I didn't fight it at all. So to me this has been the "easy way" considering all the other avenues I ventured down.
WAIT......That being said......
I am only 5 1/2 mths out. I have hit a stall, a huge one.....about 6 weeks now. So....about 6 weeks ago #%^& got real!
I understand why people who don't have weight issues.....or those who do and refuse to face it......say that this is the easy way out. To them they see surgery 1 day and weeks or months later people are 1/2 their size! Easy peasy.
No one outside of this experience will ever understand how difficult this is. They just wont. I really doubt we will ever make anyone understand that WLS is just as difficult as any other weight loss program out there. We will never be able to show them the hard part.....the fight in our heads and the fight to avoid certain foods, maybe forever. They only see that the weight came off fast and that equals easy because dieting without surgery is a slower process.
Little do they know.....little did I know....the real work begins when that grace period ends. For me I had 4 glorious months of "easy". But, I realize the rest of my life this is going to be one difficult fight!
My 600lb life to me is inspiring and sad. I worry that the general public is just gawking at them. Makes me sad for them. They may be inspirational to those of us who struggle with weight.....but I feel they are just entertainment for those who don't.
I've never watched the other show about the young woman who is "happy" as a very obese person. But, there are issues there. In my opinion, no one who becomes obese...with or without medical issues....is "happy". They adjust to it, accept it, and make the best of it....but I guarantee that if there was a "miracle pill" that would turn her into a thin, healthy woman, she would take it.

I had my surgery in June of 2013 and 19 months later I stepped on the scale and saw the happy number I had been waiting on for so long! I made goal at 160 pounds and I can't believe it finally got here!! I have now lost 133 pounds and have a whole new life! I still want to lose another 10 pounds just for a safety factor but I couldn't be happier!! For all of you on this journey you can do it!! Attached are my before and after. LIfe is good! 

I wish I could quit.....cheese. I put eat string cheese once a day but I also use laughing cow once a day and if I can justify it I put a cheese slice on my chicken at dinner. "protein" I tell myself.....even though I could easily skip it and still meet my Protein goal. I'm determined to get it down to one serving a day, period!
I also wish I could quit coffee creamer.....no I don't....yes I do.....no I don't! Ugh!! I feel deprived if I don't have my chocolate carmel coffee creamer in the morning! Since I absolutely positively refuse to deprive myself of anything ever again I will probably have it every morning in my coffee until I go to my grave!

The main thing that has changed for me is that I am really "all in" on this "Protein first" concept. Anytime I eat something that was one of my old favorites (pizza, ice cream, nachos, Cookies, etc.) I am HYPER aware that by eating that thing, I won't have enough room for the Protein i need. I still do and have eaten those things on occasion, but it's very rare now and, like I said, I am very aware of what it costs me now.
The other thing I am getting better at every day, is knowing how much I can eat without getting overfull. I was always a binge eater, so this has been quite an adjustment for me, but I am definitely improving!

I am about to say something that will make some people mad......but keep reading.....just giving my point of view. Don't want to make anyone mad. This is just my experience.
I used to get soooo mad at people who said WLS is the easy way out...............
I have been on just about every single weight loss program known to man kind. About 37yrs worth of it. I have lost and I have regained. Most of us have traveled together on that same stinking road, I'm sure. WLS has been the easiest for me. Yep, I said it. My surgery was so easy. No pain. Recovery super fast and super easy. I was very blessed. The weight just fell off. I didn't struggle with emotional issues regarding food. I didn't cry. I didn't fight it at all. So to me this has been the "easy way" considering all the other avenues I ventured down.
WAIT......That being said......
I am only 5 1/2 mths out. I have hit a stall, a huge one.....about 6 weeks now. So....about 6 weeks ago #%^& got real!
I understand why people who don't have weight issues.....or those who do and refuse to face it......say that this is the easy way out. To them they see surgery 1 day and weeks or months later people are 1/2 their size! Easy peasy.
No one outside of this experience will ever understand how difficult this is. They just wont. I really doubt we will ever make anyone understand that WLS is just as difficult as any other weight loss program out there. We will never be able to show them the hard part.....the fight in our heads and the fight to avoid certain foods, maybe forever. They only see that the weight came off fast and that equals easy because dieting without surgery is a slower process.
Little do they know.....little did I know....the real work begins when that grace period ends. For me I had 4 glorious months of "easy". But, I realize the rest of my life this is going to be one difficult fight!
My 600lb life to me is inspiring and sad. I worry that the general public is just gawking at them. Makes me sad for them. They may be inspirational to those of us who struggle with weight.....but I feel they are just entertainment for those who don't.
I've never watched the other show about the young woman who is "happy" as a very obese person. But, there are issues there. In my opinion, no one who becomes obese...with or without medical issues....is "happy". They adjust to it, accept it, and make the best of it....but I guarantee that if there was a "miracle pill" that would turn her into a thin, healthy woman, she would take it.

Don't waste your money. Youre removing 80% of your stomach. You will not be able to eat like you used to. There is just no room for it. The only way you will not lose weight with sleeve surgery is if you are grazing/nibbling/constantly eating all day and making horrible choices. If you follow the nutritionists guidelines and eat the way you are advised after surgery, not only will you lose weight (the purpose of the surgery), you will do it in a healthy way.
If I had every dollar back that I ever spent on weight loss programs, diet pills, diet gadgets, exercise dvd's, diet books, diet shakes, hypnosis..... I could have paid for this surgery out of pocket with cold hard cash. Most of these things worked to a certain degree.....but I always put it back on with in several months. ALWAYS.
This surgery is not a "diet". Its not a "miracle cure". It is the permanent reconstruction of your stomach to decrease the amount of food you can eat. FOREVER. You can choose to eat healthy and be healthy with it. Or, you can choose to do crazy crash diets and gimics that leave you more frustrated after. You will lose weight either way, no doubt, your stomach is mostly gone. But, wouldn't you rather eat good food and enjoy it rather than drink weird drinks, pop pills and deprive yourself of good tasting food?

I think people believe its the "wrong" way because we are choosing to physically alter our bodies "just to lose weight". I heard it from a few people, not many. Mostly heard the "easy way out" stuff.....so "easy" and "wrong" probably do go hand in hand. But from what was said to me...they had a very hard time understanding why I was choosing to permanently cut out a portion of a vital organ. Its just "wrong" and "crazy".
No amount of justification on my part changed their minds. I still have a stomach, I still eat.....but with the way I am built mentally and physically I couldn't control this without a drastic choice. Now I can.....Thank God! I explained that I HAD to take advantage of this opportunity to gain control so I can live a healthier life. This is the right choice for me. Every other avenue failed me. Still got the "I just don't understand why you don't just eat less and exercise more, its about choice." They don't understand.....so its "wrong"

On the one hand, I can't even fathom...on the other hand I suppose I do think low BMI/young/recently obese should at least try pretty seriously before WLs so I guess I judge too. What I noticed is that people who had known me FOREVER who were not obese were my cheerleaders. My family who are most overweight were less so. I was 150# overweight, most of them are say 50# overweight. My general feeling is that it is other fat people who are the most judgmental perhaps?

You are doing fine! No worries! I never buy organic anything and the weight is moving in the right direction.
Just get up each day and make a plan. Protein, veggies, a little fruit if you can, Vitamins and Water. I have never bought expensive anything for this. I have an occasional hersheys kiss.... a small bite of a bagel.....a small bite of cake if I'm at a birthday party. Sometimes I even skip my protein......OH NO!....and eat pasta!! Guess what?.....I didn't gain a single pound from it! I plan for it. Exercise. Drink my Water. Get back on track. I don't have anything off course every single day....I have it about 1x a week or every other week.
I try to go into the store with the mindset that I am a normal woman eating a normal healthy diet....instead of I'm a WLS patient and have to abide by this program to a T or I will be fat forever.
You're human. Eat good healthy food most of the time and enjoy a bite of something "forbidden" when you please. Don't deprive yourself, it just makes you more frustrated. This is a permanent change. Make it work for you. Its your life! No worries!
PS.....anything that makes me feel guilty is off the table....Things that make me track every single calorie and every single movement makes me feel HORRIBLE if I am even slightly off. I write down what I eat and a close calculation of the calories and the Protein. That's it. If I see that I had Pasta on Monday I stay away from it the rest of the week. That's enough tracking for me. I did weight watchers and the point system still runs through my head and drive me bonkers! I exercise 3xs a week for 30 mins. I don't worry about what day, what time of day or what kind of exercise. I refuse to stress myself out over this!