Inner Surfer Girl

As of today I have lost 29lbs whoop whoop even tho it took me over a year! Ups and downs but I did it...yay

Stalls are normal and usually resolve on their own. Why do you think you need to eat less? Are you eating too many carbs? Fat? Calories? A lot of stalls are due to not enough water/ Protein /calories. Or it's just your body adjusting to all the changes you are throwing at it. If you are working out everyday you could be in starvation mode and suppressing your appetite and eating less is not the answer. Or you could be gaining muscle and losing fat, so your weight doesn't change. Are your clothes getting looser?
The old rules of dieting don't always apply (and obviously never worked or we wouldn't need WLS). Whenever I hit a stall I either a) didn't do anything; b ) ate more; c) drank more; or d) ate different things. (More veggies/fruit/whole grains/different kinds of protein). Never did I eat less or take "magic" weight loss supplements that never work long term anyways. They will screw with your metabolism and any temporary loss they help with will just come back when you stop.

Hi, you must try Flatouts! You can buy them at Walmart at the deli counter. They are oval shaped and only have 90 calories and 6 net carbs. Just spread a little olive oil all over the Flat out then flip it over and put it in the oven for about 4 minutes. Then take it out and spread a little pizza sauce or salsa, then spread grated cheese and whatever cooked meats or veggies you like. Then cook it a couple more minutes til the cheese melts. It makes the best pizza. My husband has gone crazy over these and he doesn't even have any weight to lose. My kids love them, too. You can also use them to make crackers. Very healthy alternative and tastes very yummy! I can't buy enough. You can Google other recipes. They are very popular!

Only three more pounds to go to hit the century mark! Five months out and life is wonderful. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Well, after 3 years on my own following the break up of a 30 year relationship, at the weekend I finally got naked with someone I have lusted after for years....
He didn't run away screaming at my wrinkly, saggy bits. I took my clothes off - ALL OF THEM!!!! And the world didn't end, he didn't laugh and I didn't die of embarrassment.
Something for me to add to my list when people ask how my sleeve has changed my life - I can do naked :-)))))))
Sorry if is is tmi, but I actually never thought at 52 that I could throw my clothes off with such abandon and without stressing -oh how I love my sleeve!

First photo taken August 2013 Second photo taken August 2014 Day of my surgery - October 21 2013 SW - 304lbs CW - 167 lbs GW - 140lbs
Oh & here
Pic one was a week before my surgery ( Oct 2013)
Pic two was yesterday

I read this article this morning and this is why you need to stop weighing yourself every day. I copied and pasted it so that those who have phones as their source of internet can read it with no issues. Break up with your scale its hurting you more then you think.
5 Reasons to Break Up With Your Scale
1. Scale weight fluctuates wildly.It’s good to measure things to track progress – and if you weighed yourself monthly, that might help you spot a trend in your body weight (gaining, losing or maintaining). But over the course of a day (or a few hours!) your weight can fluctuate by as many as five pounds – sometimes more. food and beverage intake, time of day, dietary choices and activity levels all factor into that number on the dial. (And we won’t even mention clothes, because we’re pretty sure most of you are obsessive enough to weigh yourself naked.) You can lose two pounds just by going to the bathroom – and gain it right back by eating a big meal.
Those fluctuations are not representative of body fat lost or gained. But seeing a number jump up by four pounds sure does a mental number on you, doesn’t it? Weighing yourself daily tells you nothing about your big-picture trend, and only serves to reinforce the next four points.
2. Scale weight says nothing of health.That number on a scale says nothing about whether you’re moving in the right direction with your health. You want to get skinny? We can make you skinny. Cut your daily calories in half and spend two hours a day doing low-intensity cardio. That’ll make you skinny… for about a month. Until your willpower runs out (as those behaviors aren’t at all sustainable), and your messed-up metabolism fights back. At which point, you gain all the weight back and then some. But hey, for a few weeks, you were skinny!
Is gaining or losing five pounds moving you in the direction of better health? It’s impossible to say, because that number tells you very little about what’s going on with your relationship with food, hormones, digestive health or inflammatory status. And those are the factors that impact your health far more directly than body weight.
3. The scale blinds you to real results.By focusing so much of your attention on that number in the scale, you effectively miss out on observing the other, more significant, results of your efforts. You’re sleeping better, have more energy, are less moody or depressed. Your cravings have dissipated, you recover faster from exercise, your symptoms or medical condition have greatly improved. And yet, your program is a “failure,” because the number on the scale hasn’t moved enough for your liking?
Re-read point #2, and tell us which factors speak more to your health – the scale weight, or everything else?Those results could be motivating you to continue with your new eating habits – but until you get your head out of the scale, you’ll never be able to see the health progress you’ve actually been making.
4. The scale keeps you stuck on on food.You associate that number on the scale with one major factor – food. Maybe exercise factors in too – after all, if you ate less (or differently) and exercised more (or differently), that number would start to move. Wouldn’t it? Not so fast. There are other health factors at play here – sleep, recovery from activity, psychological stress and health history – all of which play a major role in body composition. But no one looks at the scale and thinks, “Darn it – I need to get more sleep.”
Now would be a good time to revisit the Whole9 Health Equation. If you didn’t experience the Whole30 results you were hoping to see, perhaps it’s time to look at some other factors. All of our Health Equation variables factor into weight loss and body composition – but none of them are reflected in the number on the scale.
5. The scale maintains control of your self-esteem.This is perhaps the most important reason of all to break up with your scale. It’s psychologically unhealthy to allow a number – any number – to determine your worth, your value or your self-image. And yet, that’s exactly what happens to people who are overly invested in their scale. It’s tragic that your daily weigh-in determines whether you have a good day or bad day, or whether or not you feel good about yourself. The scale results can take you from confident to self-loathing in under 5 seconds, but what the scale is telling you is not real.
If this is your scenario, ditching the scale is the only way to get back to a healthy sense of self-worth. Let your actions, your intentions, your efforts and your grace influence how you feel about yourself. A $20 hunk of plastic from Target should not be the determining factor in your self-esteem.
Dear Scale, It’s Not Me, It’s You.If you’ve got an unhealthy relationship with the scale, the only way to get back to a good place is to ditch it altogether. Donate it to Goodwill, recycle it or take it out back and give it a proper beat-down, Office Space-style. Because the sooner you ditch the idea that the scale is your ultimate measure of success, the healthier and happier you’ll be.
Need some inspiration from someone who is using the Whole30 to become wholly healthy?

I went to the hospital this morning to have a stress test. I need a colonoscopy and my doctor wanted something checked out regarding my ECG. I've been through hell and back in terms of my health so I'm not going to worry about anything unless or until I have to.
But the visit was chock full of NSVs from the gown being too big on me (rather than my having to hold it closed, or even wear two of them, back to front and front to back) to the nurse being blown away when she saw my pre band photo once she pulled up my electronic records to fitting into the echo machine. One time I had to have a special part put into the MRI machine so my huge trunk-like leg would fit into it. Talk about embarrassing.
I remember with such intensity, worrying about almost every situation in terms of my once obese body. Would I fit into something? Would I break something? Would someone say something nasty to me? Would I embarrass whomever I was with? Right now these feelings are very strong because the weight loss is new. I need to find that balance so I don't focus on it, but I don't lose sight of it either. I don't ever ever ever want to be heavy again.

Don't you just love those types of comments!
I especially like when people remind me that "if you just eat less and work out more you will lose weight naturally. Have you tried that?"
I want to reply with "Wow, that is amazing! Where did you ever learn that? No one ever told me that secret knowledge before, you may be on to something here. Have you ever considered sharing your knowledge with the public? "
It's either that or send them to the throat punching ladies from one of the previous threads........that would take care of it.

When I was pregnant, I promised myself that during labor, I would not scream or say "I can't do this". Seemed a little cliche and that baby is coming out one way or another so by golly you can and will do it. I was one of those lucky people which epidurals did not work on so I got to experience all those labor pains. I sweated a lot and said the F word once but I did not utter those forbidden words or scream. I knew I just had to get through the tough part and at the end I would get this amazing reward.
I'm scheduled for surgery in a little less than 3 weeks and of course I'm nervous. I've read all the stories, good and bad. I have decided that I'm going to have the same attitude I had going into labor. I just need to get through the tough part and at the end will be another amazing reward. The pain and discomfort will not last forever. And what I am not going to do is question my choice for surgery. I know that is common but in every case I have read, it's been a fleeting feeling. There's no going back once I'm out of surgery so it doesn't do any good to think that way.
And that's all I have to say about that. I will expect you all to keep me honest if I start complaining.

My name is Ken C. during the summer of 2012, I went my doctor's appointment to get a routine physical. I hadn't had a physical in years because I didn't have health insurance and plus I knew my health was horrible. A week before my wedding the doctor weighed me at 525 LBS. I knew I was obese but not in the half ton league! I was devastated. My doctor Carol asked me if I was happy with myself. She pointed out to me that I was becoming someone's husband and someday someone's father. She asked me if I wanted to be around for that. "Of course," I answered back. She told me that for someone my size, it was sort of miraculous that I lead such an active life and somehow avoided high blood pressure and Diabetes. She suggested getting into a program to get gastric bypass. Two years later, a divorce, and minus 85 LBS, I was finally on my way to getting the surgery I had worked so hard for. There were days when I wanted to quit the program. I got so frustrated waiting on a decision that I wanted to reject them before they could reject me. On the morning of my surgery I weighed 442 LBS. My best friend Ally was there for support and God knows I needed it. I was so nervous. I kept thinking to myself "life is going to be so different after today" I wanted to say I changed my mind. I wanted to put my clothes back on and leave but luckily having so much support there with me I kept my fear from getting the best of me. When they wheeled me into surgery, I was almost ready to cry. I had never had surgery before and I was worried about being put under anesthesia. To my great relief, I woke up in recovery. I said some pretty goofy things to Ally after waking up. I woke up with the worst gas pain ever. The nurse brought me to my room soon there after. Moments after arriving, I went for a small walk which helped with the gas pain. After I got back to the room, I decided that I was going to carry through with a promise I made myself earlier that day. Saint Vincent's has a gorgeous waterfall in its front corridors. I promised myself I would walk there if possible. They told me I'd but up and walking around so I decided to push myself a little. It took me about 15 minutes but I made it to the waterfall. The hospital had almost a beauty to it at night with all the lights and the sound of Water. It was a great place for me to heal. When I made it back to my room once again, the nurses were panicked because i had gone missing for a half hour. I apologized an told them I went for a nice walk around the hospital. They almost didn't believe me but I insisted that I had just come from the waterfall. I left the hospital after two days. I had a little pain but it was so small that I never used the pain medication given to me. Literally, once I got home I went for a walk and then drove to the movies. I never lost any of my freedom really except of course the ability to eat anything. If you're almost ready to have the surgery I recommend you get into the same mindset I did. This surgery is a gift at a better life. Don't take it for granted. Its been a little over 30 days now and I'm down 64 LBS. My clothes are beginning to look large and baggy on me. My sister the other night told me I looked amazing. I still want to drop another 140 LBS but I'm already so thrilled with my results. I have my moments where I wish I could stuff my face but those usually tend to go away after commonsense kicks back in. I'm excited to see how I'll feel in another month or so. I would love to replicate these results but part of me knows better. Realistically it would be amazing to lose another 40 LBS by the end of the month. I wonder what I'll look like at 339 LBS. Wait and see. Good luck everyone.

I also save a lot of $$ on groceries .
But really what my WLS saved me was time. All the shopping,preparing, cooking, cleaning
I think it cleared a shelf in my brain that all that food chatter and thoughts took up
I now find much more free time that does not revolve around food
I am thankful

I am not on a diet. I am on a program that is to last me the rest of my life. I failed miserably at diets and so I don't do them anymore.
I eat everything. Just not so much. I eat the same food my husband does but eat it in this order. Protein first, veggies, fruit and then carbs.
If I am going to eat carbs I make sure the are a complex carb so that I get the best value. I have never counted calories. But have tried to make sure I drank my Water. Took my Vitamins and got 60-80 gm of Protein in a day.
I eat like a skinny person and plan to continue that way.
My nut said that we live in the real world and that we better learn how to eat in that world as well. I have taken her advice and run with it. If I want a cookie I eat one. Not the box. That is the difference.

Troll: One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

I went out for a sleeve of ice cubes for our Labor Day party today. I paid the man and asked him for help putting it into my car as it was too heavy. The ice sleeve was 6 bags of ice each weighing 7lbs, so it was 42 lbs total. He was too busy to help so I had to do it myself I was very irked about this , and I put the ice into my car. It seemed so heavy to me! I was mentally cussing him out as I got into my drivers seat, then it dawned on me . I realized that this time last year , I was 84 lbs heavier , TWO of those ice sleeves. No one helped me carry that extra weight around. The visual of carrying 12 of those ice bags around seemed surreal to me, I blew my own mind!

Happy Labor Day everyone !

I agree....let the surgeon know now so that the anestheolgist will be prepared to help manage your anxiety. My bariatric physician changed my med from Sertraline to Buproprion and doubled the dose of that by my third visit pre-op. is this your first time for surgery?
Here is what happens: Take that first bold step and show up. Then you will change into a hospital gown and go to a pre-op area where a nurse will place you IV so that they can have a place to give you fluids and insert meds, relaxers, and anesthetic as needed. You will feel a little prick.. (My first ex-husband was a little prick!) That is probably when they will give you a little "somethin' somethin') to help you mellow out kind of like a California high.
When it is time to roll out out to the operating room you will get a hug and/or kiss from your support person, then off you go for an excellent adventure......cause now you are a little loopy and don't really care. You are rolled next to the operating table and the nursing staff transfers you over.
So there you are staring at the ceiling lights and the anesthesiolgist will ask you chit chatty questions or ask you to count backward from 100. So you count 100, 99, 98, 97...........wake up, hello, wake up...hey you're done...you did just fine! Then you are taken to your room and transferred to you bed.
Then hard part is over. You made that decision to take control of your health and are now committed to becoming a healthier happier you. And you have a new birthday where you get that second chance to start over. Congratulations.
Now, here is a quote that has helped me get through hard times and critical decisions. It helped me to leave a horrible diagnosed psycho-sociopath who had taken control of my life. It helped me decide to go back to collage at the age of 54 to finish a degree program that I had started in 1971. And it helped me decide to investigate bariatric surgery and go for it.
Here it is, and I wish you good luck and good health:
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can.........begin it. For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Wolfgang Von Goethe

Thanks. Yes I've been in oa on and off for 20 years
Yes I have had extensive therapy
Thanks for the feedback

When I see posts like yours, my fallback is always this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBJziqgrQgk

I have been following this forum since last August or September when my primary physician referred me to the Bariatric Clinic at Loyola University Medical Center. I was a scared to death newbie, but more afraid of dying like my mother did (abdominal aortic anuerysm at an age not much older than I am now) than I was of getting the sleeve.
Sure, my questions were the typical newbie questions, and my fears were the typical newbie fears, but the only place I could really find comfort was with the people here who had gone before me down the weight loss surgery path.
Of the thousands of posts I have read, very very very few had any kind of mean or judgemental tone about them. Even when I was having a crying jag day and felt that someone had hurt my little feelings, I could see that most of the time they were right even if I had to look past how they were saying it.
We have to consider that everyone here comes from a different place of family upbringing, childhood drama, marriage, divorce, babies, tragedies and triumphs. Someone posted something early on to the fact that her marriage was in turmoil and she was not being treated well. I responded back with this question: Instead of thinking "I love him, so why would he treat me this way?"....start thinking "Why would I love someone who treats me this way?"
I was coming from a place of domestic violence and escaping from a diagnosed psycho-sociopath who kept five loaded weapons in the house, and had escalated his anger from verbal abuse to physical violence. Someone responded back that people are so mean on this forum, and why would I (Miss Mac) want to break up someone's marriage?
Well, no doubt that person came from a place where marriage is forever, no matter how miserable, and a couple just needs to work out their problems and stay together. I am only bringing up this example to show that both of us meant well, but we sorely disagreed with each other.
So, I believe what others are saying. When you put a post out there, it is only reasonable to expect very different and polarized responses. You can't take this stuff personally. Get what you can out of each comment and move on.
Weight loss surgery can leave you anxious, scared, and emotionally vulnerable. Sometimes you just get tired of being strong. So...keep coming back to the forum, keep posting your questions, and hang around for a while so that you can be supportive for the newbies coming behind you.
In 2006, Hillary Clinton released her book It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. That concept is so appropriate for the weight loss community. We need each other to get each other through this so that any one of us can come back with the next success story to lift someone else up out of a slump.
Sorry that this post is so long, but sometimes it takes me a few paragraphs to explain what I am thinking.

I've started a new chapter in my life. One of the changes I am looking to make is to volunteer in some capacity. My motives aren't entirely selfless. I know that finding a hobby or a cause that I am passionate about will be good for my self esteem and give me a healthy outlet for my energies.
What have you started after WLS that "gives back" and gives you joy?

About twenty years ago, I got fired from a job for being "too nice" to my employees, even though HR was always spitting out paperwork about how important it is to be nice to the employees. Many of my staff were shocked and sorry to see me go, They took a collection and signed a card with words of encouragement. The one comment I remember more than any other was "It will all work out in the long run."
So, apply for unemployment, see if you have grounds for a lawsuit, and enjoy the unexpected time off to heal. I wish you good luck (well at least better luck) and good health.

You may not be able to conceive it, but it happens. Also, with self pay there is no approval except the surgeon taking the money. I believe that most are reputable, but I think surgeons are people and there are just as many of them who just want money as any other profession.
As for being incredulous that someone would blow their surgery for a cocktail or a hamburger, I hear what you're saying but I think it's more complicated than that. I mean, didn't we ALL blow our lives for food to get to the point where we needed WLS? Couldn't someone with more self control than I had/have look at me and say "God, look how fat she is. She's putting her life at risk to be so heavy. Why would she risk her life for a hamburger?" They'd be right about me and probably about you and all of us because we DID eat too much and the wrong foods when we knew better. It's easy to say what you would or wouldn't do. It's harder to keep on track and change your life and as the saying goes... the surgeon operates on your stomach, not your head. My head is the same one that decided to eat too many french fries before. It could do the same thing later and foul up what I've worked for.
Why do you think there is such a large number of weight loss surgery patients who lose a ton of weight and gain it alllll back? I'm not usually a superstitious person but I'm afraid of giving myself bad juju by judging someone for their choices lest I be that person who thought I'd be a gastric sleeve superstar but ended up gaining most of my weight back. I don't plan to be that person, but I doubt anyone does.

pack chapstick, be brave, don't back out!

I am pre-op and completely understand. I will be in your shoes soon!
My advice...breathe! You are going to be fine.

So much has happened to me since I had my VSG 3 years ago. I look back at the man I used to be with sadness in my

heart. I used to hate myself. I was sick and tired of well .. being sick and tired. I had no energy so I slept all

day. When I wasn't sleeping, I was thinking about what tasty treat I could devour to sooth the pain of my existence.

I hated my job and hated socializing with people. I simply wanted to stay home in my protected bubble full of various

electronic entertainment devices and a fridge full of goodies to dull the pain. At the time I was married for a total

of 8 years. During those 8 years I continued in my lazy slothful and selfish ways. It is impossible to truly love

someone if you do not love yourself. She has forgiven me, but sadly we have peacefully went our separate ways. There

comes a point in relationships when too much damage has been done and no amount of effort can fix it.

During those 8 years I had aspirations of becoming a Pharmacist. Year after year I talked about how I was going to go

to college but never took action. As the years passed, the weight continued to pile on making my dream fade away.

Deep in my heart I knew that if I could conquer my weight that the rest would follow. I was desperate and willing to

try anything to get thin and healthy. After tons of research I came across the information regarding the VSG and knew

without a doubt that this was the answers to my prayers. I began my fight. The first step was to figure out how to

pay for it. After some investigation I found out that my insurance from work covered VSG after a 6 month required

waiting period of seeing a Doctor and nutritionist. Of course I ended up gaining weight while waiting which luckily

didn't affect my approval.

Finally the day had come for my procedure. Everything went smoothly and I woke up in not too much pain. I remember it

feeling like I did 1 million crunches and was super sore but not in agony. I did have very bad gas pain after the

third day, but after lots of walking the gas was gone. I was now on my way to the promised land of the skinny.

I followed all the doctors orders and dietary recommendations. I followed all the do's and the don't s to a tee. I

was not going to risk screwing up this last chance at a new life. I picked my high school weight as my goal weight

since I didn't really know which number to pick. After about 6 months I lost most of the weight. About 6 months ago I

decided to really kick things up a notch and finally get to goal. I already exceeded my goal and weight 180 now.

I did get an extended Tummy Tuck as the icing on the cake after all my hard work with my weight loss. I really wanted

to be able to hit the beaches and not be ashamed to take my shirt off. Honestly the tummy tuck was MUCH more

painful that the VSG. It was a pretty rough surgery indeed. I really recommend you not only reach your goal BEFORE

getting any plastic surgery, but also be stable at your healthy weight for at least a year to make sure you can keep

off the weight. Trust me - you do not want to have to endure a second tummy tuck - not fun. While my results look

awesome I did lose most touch sensation around alot of my stomach especially near the bellybutton. I was a little

dissapointed, but I have no regrets and was more than happy to accept the tradeoff.

So now for the latest update. I have been attending college for more than a year now. I will be graduating from

community college in August 2016 and will start Pharmacy school the following year. I have exceeded my goal weight

and currently weigh 180 lbs and wear a size 32 waist and Medium to Large shirt depending on the style. I have

experienced so many NSV's (non-scale victories) that I have lost count. I now have high self esteem and confidence in

myself. I know that now that I have defeated Obesity in my life, I am an unstoppable force filled with drive and

passion. There are no ladies in my life now, but I know one day I will attract the lady of my dreams. Matters of the

heart cant be rushed.

If you are debating whether or not VSG is worth it - for me it was a second chance a life. Embrace the VSG blessing

and enjoy the incredible journey and absolutely life changing miracle that this surgery is.

And now here is some before and after pics for you. - Be inspired - Shayne