Essence46

I like to keep her bald so I shave twice a week. Have been shaving for the last 15 plus years. Never had any issues but have cut myself a few times from rushing. I wanted to try to Brazilian Wax but they wanted me to let it grow out a couple of inches first then come back. It hurts when I get my eyebrows done so I couldn't even imagine doing that.

Yay!!! Congratulations!!

Those heffas had a lot of nerve!!!!! SMH! Now that I got that out, you are doing the right thing by taking the high road. You keep doing what you are doing, hold your head up high and smile.

Sleeved June 18. Down 50 pounds but have stalled the last month and a half or so. I have switched my workout routine and increased my calorie intake. I hope this helps. It seems like everyone is doing pretty good. That makes me smile.

I typed up this long comment and decided to delete it. Only you can decide what is best for you.

LOL!! Your post has me dying laughing. Not to laugh at your misfortune but, with the week I am having, you have given me the laugh I needed. Thank you. For the record, I am cold alot now too. With that and battling menopause, I am a walking hot/cold mess. My poor hubby. LOL!

The first few weeks the constipation was awful. I ended up taking suppositories to get some relief. After that, I took stool softeners for a few weeks. That helped a lot. Good luck.

My first thought while reading this is you are doing everything right but you don't eat enough. I would increase protein too.

The first day to new beginnings! Good luck to you! Praying for you.

I am almost 5 months out. It was hard at first especially being limited with what you can eat, knowing how much you can eat, etc. I can pretty much eat anything I want now but only a small amount. Since I can't eat a lot, I try to make good food choices. Unfortunately, this is not always easy when out with friends. I went out of town on a girl’s trip this past week. At dinner I order grilled Asian wings and a small side of greens. I always try to eat vegetables and Protein first so I ate the greens first then I had 2 wings. I was done after that. At brunch I order a side of bacon and two scrambled eggs. I ate all of the eggs and two strips of bacon. Then I was done. You can chose from the kids menu if you like but I have found the kids menu is usually not the best. It usually has chicken tenders, cheeseburgers, chilled cheese, etc. Stuff I try to stay away from. You can also consider ordering just a side. I am not a big meat person so I will order vegetables that I like. Either way, find what works for you and try not to let it stress you out. The last 5 months I have had to eat to live as opposed to living to eat like before. Good luck.

I usually tell people "I made a decision to save my life" and leave it at that.

I usually tell people "I made a decision to save my life" and leave it at that.

If I had $1 for every time I heard that, I could buy me a nice Coach bag. I heard it from so many people including other bairiatic patients. It was part of the reason why I didn't tell many people.

Oh man.... I can soo relate to this. I wish I could give you a hug. I agree with what the others have said. We have to love ourselves. I equated me being fat to me being fat, ugly, unworthy, etc. I didn't love myself. I let the weight destroy my self esteem.. my spirit.. my joy. I didn't realize that I was awesome at any size. Losing the weight has really helped my confidence. It's good and bad. It's good because I am on a new journey to loving me. It's bad because I was deserving of my own love 50 pounds heavier. I didn't see the beauty others saw in myself because I couldn't see past the weight. You are awesome. You are worthy. You are beautiful. Being big or small.. doesn't change that. I look foward to following you on your journey.Wishing you the best.

It's normal to feel the way you do. I think we are all afraid of the "what ifs". I agree with recycled... you should try and look more at the glass being half full as opposed to half empty. Even though fear is expected, at some point, I believe you have to find peace in your decision. For me, I prayed about it and prayed about it. A couple of weeks out from my surgery date, I found peace in my decision which made it so much easier for me. I woke up the morning of my surgery excited!! One thing I didn't do was read any stories dealing with complications, anything going wrong, etc. For me, I carry so much in my spirit. I felt anything negative would have too much of an affect on me. Wishing you the best. You will be fine. *hugs*

Hey there. I would love to be pen pals! I can use all of the support, conversation and bonding I can get. LOL!. I will send you an email shortly from my gmail account.

It will be 5 months for me next week. I used to feel that what for awhile. It has recently (within the last few weeks) gotten better. I used to dread eating because of how it made my chest and belly feel. I didn't know if something was wrong. If I was eating too fast, not chewing up my food enough or what. It's not so bad now though. If I feel it now, it's usually because I am rushing to eat. It will get getter just hang in there.

Congrats!! That's awesome!

I have got to do better with the Protein Bobbyswife. I know. I am going to start boiling two eggs at night so I can have them for breakfast. I did eat a protein bar and some yogurt though.

Megan00 I think that plays a big part in it. In my case, the doctor said I was a little smaller than most of his patients. He said if he made mine the same size, I would lose too much weight so he made it a little bigger.

I honestly have no idea. I asked the doctor how much of my stomach he took and he wouldn't tell me. He did say he made my sleeve a little larger then most because he didn't want me to get too small. *shrug*

Great points made by everyone. When I made the decision to have WLS, I told the people closest to me. Some of them were receptive of it and others weren’t. As long as my husband was on board, I was good. My mother was not happy and thought since she told me she didn’t want me to have it that I wouldn’t. She was shocked that I was moving forward anyway despite her disapproving. I remember saying to her, my kids, etc. that I was not telling them for them to try and talk me out of it. Instead, I was telling them because I thought they should know what I was going to do. That my mind was made it and it was something I had to do for me. I am not at all ashamed of having WLS. I just don’t think it’s everyone’s business. It’s no different from me sharing or not sharing any other intimate details of my life. However, since my surgery, I have told a few people. Some I told voluntarily; others I told if they asked. I am sure I will tell me people eventually. At some point, I do want to share my story and be an inspiration to others. Even throughout the 6 month process before the surgery, I had so many people (even at the WLS office) say to me “You don’t need surgery. You are not that big”. I found myself defending myself to them which really annoyed me. If other WLS patients were questioning me, I could only imagine the questions and negativity I would receive from others. I was a sick woman with numerous illnesses. I was taking 6 pills a day for those illnesses. Today, at almost 5 months later, I am off all medications. All!! I only take my required Vitamins every day. WLS saved my life and I am not ashamed of it. I don’t know if I will ever post it on my Facebook page or anything like that but I will share my story. Right now, I just can’t and don’t want to deal with all of the questions and negativity that comes along with it. Just yesterday a friend said to me “You had WLS so why do you still work out every day when you don’t need to? The weight is going to come off anyway so why bother”. I was thoroughly annoyed by that. In the meantime until I share my story, I will focus on me. I still have some internal “fat girl” issues I need to work on.

I have decided to put my scale away for a while. I have been getting on it every other day. If I gain a pound or two, I am panicking and I become afraid to eat anything. That only makes it worse because I am not getting enough calories then. I am driving myself crazy. LOL!

That is wonderful news!

I am so glad I am not alone. I was the opposite too. I avoided pictures, going out, shopping, and looking in the mirror has often as I could. I was embarrassed of my own self. My self-esteem was gone. Even now at almost 50 pounds lighter, I take pictures and don't even recognize the person in them. I am afraid I will look in the mirror and always see the fat, ugly girl. I often think to myself this can't be me. This is not the person I see when I look in my mirror. I know it's a mind thing. I have to recondition myself, my thinking from the negativity I feed myself for most of my adult life. I am determined to look in the mirror one day and see “Me”.