Luvin_Life125

Lands end is my absolute go to for swim suits. They have suits with underwire and compression to keep the girls where they belong and the jiggles contained. They also aren't trying to show off everything I have and then some. Make sure you check for coupon codes. No sense paying full price if you don't have to!

Being a day off for us, my husband and I went to town. It is spring, now, so it's time for motorcycle gear. New for me, as I am 50+ lbs lighter than last fall, so a new jacket and helmet were in order. Lo and behold, a size large as opposed to a 3x (motorcycle jackets tend to run small) for the jacket!!!! And a size small (does this mean my brain shrank, as well?!) for the helmet, down one size. Then, the dress I had ordered on line came in the mail, so I tried it on. Down to an xl from a 2x! I looked in the mirror, and for the first time since I started all this in November, I thought "WOW! I look GOOD!!!!". I NEVER expected to see that "skinny" person again, and even though my husband tells me all the time I look great, you still have to hear it from yourself, you know? Kind of a "self-affirmation". With my new haircut, my "new" body, and a few new clothes, it sure turned my light ON!
SO! For my motivation to keep losing, this is now going to be my motivation: whether or not I have money to spend, I am going shopping. Not necessarily to spend, but to keep my motivation going on losing the rest of my excess "baggage". When I feel depressed, sad, un-inspired to keep going, I AM going to go and shop. I WILL try things on I have never had the nerve to try on before. I WILL find that desire to keep on my path. And I needn't go broke doing it, because I DON'T have to spend money to find VICTORY in my experience!
ONTO THE STORES!!!!!!

Ouch! Hang in there. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince. I can't imagine how tough dating is and would be. I give you a lot of credit for broaching the subject and handling the less than stellar responses with grace.

chocolate chip cookie dough is my addiction! The taste and texture are really great and it feels like a naughty treat. I also enjoy the cinnamon roll flavor warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave.
Right now Groupon has a box of 12 Quest bars for $24.99 with free shipping. And if you shop through ebates you get 6% ($1.50) back per box. There is a limit of 5 boxes per customer.
The hardest thing with Quest Bars is limiting myself to just one a day.

My hope is it finds all the people who are cruel and degrading to the obese! Let them live in our shoes and see how horrible you already feel without their assistance!

Great post -- and so important. I am reallly glad winter is nearly over so I can crank up the outdoor exercise again. I can definitely feel the flabbiness when I'm not working out enough. For me that is a lot of walking then stretches, weights, etc. at home. Today I went for a PT session (hip stuff) and I got on an elliptical. That was an eye-opener. Geez, I can fast walk four miles but could barely do four minutes on that thing. Hello! Big plans for my body this spring, summer and fall, then a better strategy for next winter.

I agree. Exercise should be seen as a lifetime routine. We need it at every stage and at every age.

@@x0CheekzVSG
The surgeons and NUTS don't give you Protein goals just for shits and giggles. There's a reason. At a week out, you are not at the point of worrying about what you sleeve wants and doesn't want. Your sleeve is still healing, so you won't have any kind of normal feelings of hungry or not hungry. At first it's all about HEALING, and you need Protein and Fluid to heal. All that other stuff you are talking about comes way later down the road. Just do your best to meet your liquid and protein goals right now.
I suggest when you ask for advice in the future, you actually listen to it instead of getting short with people? We are just here to help....

Yay! NSV's are wonderful and inspiring. Congrats on your awesome weight loss before surgery! Don't worry about not changing clothing sizes much at this point. Plus size clothes are cut generously and usually have a lot of give in them. Also, I tended to wear my same size clothes even as I gained weight the clothes just gradually stretched with me. I started in a very tight size 22 jeans and it took almost 50 pounds before I was able to get into a size 20 jeans. It took so long because my jeans were so tight prior to surgery and I refused to buy bigger pants because I knew surgery was coming and I wouldn't be wearing them long. Secondly, I carry my weight around my middle which sucks for pants because even though my legs, butt, and arms were losing quickly, my belly and waist line didn't. I was stuck in my baggy jeans until I lost enough in my waist to be able to wear the smaller jeans. Hang in there and you will be dropping sizes soon. Keep up the great work and we will see you on the loser's bench soon!

LOL! Go to bat for @@LipstickLady?? Um, I don't think she needs ANYBODY to go to bat for her!
If "going to bat" means agreeing with her, then yes. Her first advice was spot on, but because you felt she has a "tone', you chose to dismiss it. Like I said, we are just trying to help, and some of you newbies make it very hard when you automatically become defensive and combative when you don't automatically get the answer you want to hear.
I gave you friendly advice. Listen to the people who have been there and done that, because they really do know what they are talking about. I think that's some pretty sound advice if you ask me.

I was told that I didn't have to eat when I wasn't hungry AS LONG AS I got in my 64 ounces of Fluid, 70 grams of Protein a day, and required vitamins/supplements. Starvation mode may be a myth because I lost 100 pounds in five months while eating a daily total of 500-600 calories a day. However, my weight loss slowed way down during month 6 and eventually picked back up once I increased my daily calorie intake.
I was also one of those people that didn't have much of an appetite early on after surgery. After a few months post op, I started to go through different phases that consisted of days when I felt no hunger to days when I continually felt hungry. I've also just recently started to crave sugar again.
Chances are your appetite will return, but it is most important to follow the post op plan set by your surgeon/bariatrician at this time. Like others have mentioned, your lack of weight loss may be due to not getting enough liquids and Protein in everyday. It is vitally important at your phase to meet that requirement to promote healing and ward off dehydration. I did liquids for a full month after surgery. Sure, I crazy hell wanted to chew on something, but sometimes you just have to suck it up and do it to get the desired outcome.

You should still try to get a full one in per day. Less loss of muscle and your body will heal faster.

I'll be changing jobs week after next and just had a thought... My new co-workers have never know me fat. How weird\wonderful will it be to have a truly fresh start?

Cowgirljane,

I just started maintenance and just recently returned from a vacation that was number one on my list of things I was shooting for when I reached my goal weight. And almost like clockwork of times past, I felt myself subconsciously easing up on the level of workouts I was doing during my weight loss.
as in.......goal reached....vacation's over.....I can relax now....right !!..... Deja Vu.....
This is the eye opener I needed as well. If it takes me creating another distant future goal to keep up the routine.....then so be it. Or maybe just to keep topic fresh in my mind by frequenting Bariatric Pal often to read posts like yours. Maybe even just set little goals of 2 more pounds to lose or attempting to build some more muscle in my arms to fill the saggy skin. Anything to keep me motivated so I won't backslide.
Thanks for the reality check. Probably the most important issue of the whole process.

I used exercise to help me get to goal. I had quite a bit to lose, so felt I needed "everything" to attain my health and weight goals. Well, I did better than I dared dream - hitting my goal over 2 years ago.
For a variety of reasons, I have backed off on intense exercise over the last 6+ months and Saturdays shopping trip was quite an eye opener.
At the same weight, I wear 1-2 pant sizes bigger than I did when I was working our regularly. Worse than that, the gain in inches seems to be mostly in my waist, so I am losing that "younger shape" and getting the middle aged thicker waist look. yikes! Well, I am middle aged, but I am fitting the thick waist as long as I can. My arms no longer get that - wow, you have beautiful swimmers arms... they still have some tone to them, but not that youthful defined look. My calves are still quite defined, but i am guessing they are next if I don't get on this!!!
i remain "active" and when I get back from an upcoming vacation, I am returning to my tried and true exercise program. Glad i noticed sooner rather than later.
So - my study of one person did prove that all those crunches, planks, pushups and sprint cycling etc etc DOES make a difference!

I just had to share!!! These are my biggest size jeans that I wore before surgery I haven't worn them in a couple weeks and it was laundry day and put them on to run to the store and I couldn't believe my eyes!!!

Thank you Luvin_Life125.
She's been in the ER twice for this in the past two weeks and they rehydrated her with IV fluids. She felt better for a short time after each. But then it would just come back again. It's really wearing her down. She's so young for this too but all of her doctors and specialists agreed this surgery would be great for her.
She's sipping Propel which has electrolytes, I'll check to see if Pedialyte has more than Propel. I don't hold out alot of hope with the doctor. His MA has been a bit harsh about all of this. But, I will still push for SOMETHING to help her.

@@Luvin_Life125
As I was laying in bed last night, TRYING to get to sleep, I was thinking I should tell you what I have learned about the Sleep-Number beds. First, if you can, try it out somewhere before you commit. If you know someone who has one, ask to try it for a night, or for a few hours, to see if it will work for you. The big downside of Sleep-Number is that once you buy it, you can exchange it for another one if you don't like it or it doesn't work for you, but I don't believe you can get your money back if you decide it isn't for you. So make 100 percent sure you LOVE it before you commit to it. They tend to be very expensive, and if you don't like it, or it makes your situation worse, you may be stuck with it. What my husband and I did was get a twin size, xl, to fit alongside his twin xl regular mattress, to fit on our king size frame. It works well that way.
Another point is they tend to be HOT. Especially in the summer. I purchased the warming/cooling pad that fits on top of the bed, and a fan pushes either warm or cool (NOT cold) air throughout the pad. Each setting has 3 fan levels, but the room temperature needs to be at about 72 degrees for you to really notice the cooling effect. And then it has just a regular fan that pushes through room-temperature air, if you choose. The fan is rather loud, but I have learned to ignore it. Ask to hear it before purchasing it, because again, you can't get your money back, they just exchange it for another product. My husband doesn't notice the noise, but a bomb going off wouldn't wake him, either! Not sure how long the fan will last, and again, it is expensive.
One nice feature about it all is the fact it is so lightweight. The mattress, with all the upper pads, are quite deep, requiring deep-pocket sheets, or at least the sheet grippers to hold them in place. It took me a LONG time to finally find my correct number, and that still changes from time to time. My set-up is as follows: the bed, the 2" memory foam pad, the heating/cooling pad. We adjusted the box spring on my husband's side with additional composite wood panels to accommodate the height of my set-up. Now they are the same height, so the bed doesn't look weird! Good luck in your endeavors, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Great answer!
I usually just think of it as pee, tears, sweat, and breathing. It consoles me when I am living in the bathroom and boo-hooing my eyes out.
Metaphorically, I also remind myself that "words are units of energy" when I journal.

I think all the fat and inches wind up in the same place as all the missing pairs to socks - some kind of clothes dryer Bermuda Triangle thing going on! Spooky!!

We talk a lot about dieting and burning off fat, but we actually have a lot of misconceptions about weight loss. Some people think fat is converted into energy or heat—a violation of the law of conservation of mass—while others think that the fat is somehow excreted or even converted to muscle. I was told early on that you can never lose your fat cells (adipose) once you gain them...they just shrink if you work it off.

When you lose weight, you exhale your fat. There is surprising ignorance and confusion about the metabolic process of weight loss, The correct answer is that most of the mass is breathed out as carbon dioxide. It goes into thin air.

Excess carbs and Proteins are converted into chemical compounds called triglycerides (which consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen) and then stored in the lipid droplets of fat cells. To lose weight, you’re attempting to metabolize those triglycerides, and that means unlocking the carbon that’s stored in your fat cells.

Losing 10 kilograms of human fat requires the inhalation of 29 kilograms of oxygen, producing 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide and 11 kilograms of Water. That’s the metabolic fate of fat. Turns out, our lungs are the primary excretory organ for weight loss. What remains becomes Water, which is excreted in urine, feces, sweat, breath, tears, and other bodily fluids.

My hope is it finds all the people who are cruel and degrading to the obese! Let them live in our shoes and see how horrible you already feel without their assistance!

My hope is it finds all the people who are cruel and degrading to the obese! Let them live in our shoes and see how horrible you already feel without their assistance!

I don't mind answering questions at all. I am always looking for anything to try or new approaches. I will try just about anything if it has the potential to possibly help. I have been re-evaluated about 4 months ago. It included a MRI and consults with my primary care, pain clinic, a neurologist, and a surgeon. Unfortunately, the general consensus is I am not a surgical candidate because my spine is working hard on fusing itself and is steadily making progress. The thought is an auto-fusion will be so much better than the surgeon going in and breaking all the bone built up by my body and then turn around and fuse it surgically after all the trauma. I have a lot less chance of the pain continuing longer than 10-15 years if I let my spine continue. The fusion may leave me worse off long term. I am only 37 years old, which is a negative when considering disc replacement or any other devices/implants. I would need them to last for so long and unfortunately the technology hasn't advanced that far. The hope is eventually the nerves trapped between the bone will eventually die from lack of nutrition and constant inflammation. I have had over 40 steroid injections into my spinal canal over the last 12 years. They used to help a lot, but haven't worked much in the last 3 years. I had a spinal cord stimulator trial to see if it could potentially help alleviate some of the nerve pain. It didn't help the pain much, but made my leg even number and with less control than I usually have. They have tried radio frequency nerve ablation, but couldn't get to the part of the nerve causing most of the pain. We have been playing with medications for over 5 years and seen to need changing the meds every 5-7 months because I build a tolerance and start losing ground quickly. I just keep playing the game and buying time hoping we will find a combo that works for a while.
We have looked at the sleep number beds and are seriously considering getting one. Thanks for the info on how much yours helps. We have a supportive inner spring with a built in memory foam as the top layer and it has made a difference. We are considering the switch though.
I welcome any other suggestions or questions you may have. I really am open to any suggestion that I can discuss with my healthcare team. I am willing to try just about anything if it has potential to give me some of my life back.

@@CanyonBaby
Thank you for your compliments. I always try to help if I can because that is why we are all here. I have received so much support and help from these boards, I hope I can help others as much as I have been helped.
THanks for the suggestion of looking into a compounding Vitamin shop. We are in a very rural location and the closest larger city is at least a 90 minute drive each way, and the Twin Cities are almost 3 hours away. Unfortunately, that kind of drive will limit my choices. I am going to search online though and see what I can find. It is always worth trying! And please don't worry about all of the crap. It is part of life and is much easier to go with the flow. I don't even think about it much, I would rather spend my time finding ways to streamline what I need and then forget about it. Life is much easier this way.
I hope you have a wonderful day today also! It is rainy here, so it looks like a good day to clean out a closet or 2. My kids are outgrowing all of their clothes and it is much easier to purge their closet while they are at school!