OKCPirate

I started when I was cleared for all foods, week 5 for me.

I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in way too long and I brought my toddler (almost 2 years old) along with me. There's a daycare center that will watch little ones from 4-8 pm so I thought I'd give it a try. LO normally stays home with his grandmother during the day so he's not used to daycare. I was sort of dreading dropping him off because I was afraid he'd cry.
Upon seeing all the kids and toys, he wriggled out of my arms and ran straight for the action, banging his hands against the barrier enthusiastically to get in and have fun.
Much to my relief, I signed him in, went to the gym and... it was BLISSFUL! I could listen to my music, watch HGTV, and exercise all without a small person clinging to my legs and demanding my absolute undivided attention! Ended up doing 50 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of stretching.
Even better, LO had a great time and ended up wearing himself out so bedtime was much easier! All around, a major win in my household. My motivation to hit the gym has increased 10-fold.

@@sarahb309
I'm old enough to be your mom but thought I would chime in. I suffered really bad loneliness at your age. I was in the Air Force with no friends at all. 1000 miles away from my family and all that I knew. This was before the internet (see I told you I'm old!), so I would just read and watch tv. So lonely! Finally I started leaving my dorm and engaging in activities that other young people did like fitness programs and organized sports. I also started saying hello in the dorm halls and mess hall to people I saw regularly that I didn't really know but saw around a lot. That led to a friendship with someone who knew a lot of other people. Pretty soon I was fully engaged in a social life!
Just wanted to tell you that I understand how you feel. Loneliness sucks but you will overcome!

Sadly true that people react more positively to you when you are thinner. That being said we are all capable of flash judgements even when we try to be as fair as possible. Just be open minded and friendly and people will respond in kind, good luck and all the best :-)
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It's so nice to read about your total renewal and recommiting. Yes, the bikini thing is impressive.

I eat at nicer restaurants all the time, and I've never been charged a spilt fee. It's a bit disingenuous to suggest that it's a matter of class. It might be a matter of restaurant culture in certain areas, but it's got nothing to do with the level of the restaurant.
I'd be angry as well, though I'd just pay and never go back.
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This is the review I left on the restaurant's Facebook.< br />
"My mom and I just ate here for lunch today, and we are not pleased. Since Bistro V's food is expensive, we decided to just split a cheeseburger. When they brought out our food, they split our burger for us. We thought that was so kind of them, and were happy with that. The burger (which was listed as $9) was pretty good, but it wasn't much different than a Five Guy's burger. We chose to eat there because we like the bread they bring out, and the atmosphere is pleasant. When we got our ticket, I noticed that the bill was over $17. So, I looked at everything and noticed that they charged us a $3 split fee! Seriously?! So we notified the waitress, who said that it was automatically put on the ticket. We said we could have just split it ourselves, and that we are not paying a split fee. She got the manager (if that's what you want to call him), and he immediately had a snobby demeanor (that could just be his personality; it probably wasn't directed towards us). He said, "Y'all have a complaint?" I told him that it wasn't necessarily a complaint, but that I just don't understand why I have to pay a split fee when we could have just split the burger ourselves. He said, "Well, when two people are seated at a table, and only order one meal, there's automatically a split charge." So, I said, "That's ridiculous. We could have just split it ourselves. Also, what if someone didn't want to eat?" So then he hesitates and says, "Well, we gave you more food." (Which is a complete lie. I've ordered the cheeseburger before, and it was exactly the same size and came with the exact same amount of fries as the last time I ordered it.) They never told us beforehand that there would be a split charge. We didn't even ask them to split it for us; we just said we were going to split it. He did not apologize and he did NOT remove the fee. He made absolutely no effort to show that he is a pleasant or professional person. He took our payment and walked off. When he came back, he said, "Have a good day..." in a snarky tone. (Again, that's probably just how he acts in general.) We will not be back. It's not the fact that it was $3; it's the fact that no one should be charged a split fee, regardless, especially when the restaurant doesn't have the decency to notify the customer before the order goes through. I left my Yelp review and noticed that someone else complained about the split fee. They said that there's a split fee notification on the menu. But even still, how would anyone know to look for something like that? I've never been to a restaurant that has a split fee. It's like they were being sneaky about it; like some kind of fine print scam. It's like you can't come in and sit down in peace without looking at the menu to make sure there's not a "breathing the air" fee. I shouldn't have given a single tip, but the waitress was friendly, and it wasn't her fault for what happened. So, I left a tip, anyway."

They proceeded to leave snarky replies in response. So I emailed the owner in a very professional manner. She emailed me back saying, "Yelp about it". I was shocked. I could not believe that they were refusing to handle this situation like professionals. Not only that, but the owner's friends got on my review and began insulting me personally. The owner's mother-in-law even got on there and said things along the lines of, "People of certain class know that high end restaurants charge split fees. Since when does someone go to a high end restaurant and buy only one meal?" So I said, "I recently had stomach surgery. Why would I buy a meal that I cannot finish, when I can just split it with someone?" Then, a few minutes later, the owner emailed me back and said, "We will not tolerate abuse from our customers." Since when is a complaint abuse? They claim that I insulted their employee by saying he's snarky. Well he was! Wouldn't it have been easier to just say, "I apologize for the misunderstanding."? How hard is that? When they responded to me the way they did by saying "they won't tolerate", that makes me wonder if they will try to sue me for defamation. I did my research and found that the only way they can is if I make false claims. Not a single statement was false. I'm so livid and shocked by the complete disregard for my situation.

Some of my friends got on the review and began cussing the owner's friends out, because they were insulting me. I publicly tried to contain the situation by telling them to not cuss or call names. Not once did the owner publicly try to contain her Facebook friends. Not once did I receive an apology. She even tried saying that I could have my $3 refunded to me. Why would I drive 15 minutes to get $3? Why couldn't they have just given me the refund while I was at the restaurant? I told them I didn't want the refund of $3. I said that they could just give it to my waitress, because she was actually friendly; and that if she declined, then they could donate the money to the charity of their choice.

Hey! So I will be 5 months post-op on January 9th. I started slacking on counting my calories over the holidays, but now I'm back on track! But I feel like my calories might be off. I also workout 2-3x a week... I called the hospital where I had surgery and they said 600-800 calories a day.. Just curious to see what everyone else is doing this far out? Darn holidays messed me up! Thanks in advance!
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Same here. Lots of frequent walking.
Each step felt like I was moving closer to a new life.

What kind of physical activity are y'all doing by day six post op? I haven't really had it in me to full out exercise but I have been walking a bunch.
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Two years and a couple of months post surgery and I am in that "new normal" area. For the last 18 months, I have been buying size Large shirts, 36" waist pants. My weight has been consistent. I pushed myself early to do a 5K and climb a mountain. But 2016 was busy. I met a spectacular woman over a year ago and was more interested in building the relationship than trying some new physical challenge.
Last October she did a six-week 20-pound weight loss challenge (which she really didn't need to do, but she felt like she needed to reset her system). I didn't have time then to join her, but she did well, she lost 18.2 #'s, and her abs are killer - she is 54 and can rock a bikini, I find that impressive. After the program, she had an accident and needed knee surgery just before Christmas. Because she was in such good shape, her recovery is going better than expected. That was a wake-up call to me that I can do better than just being average.
So I decided to jump start this year by doing the same program she did. Four weeks ago I already started doing the C25K program again to get ready for another race in April. So things are getting moving again. But today as I was cleaning up old files and I found a picture from 10 years ago, and my first thought was "who's that?"
I didn't recognize myself.
We joke in the beginning of our weight loss journey that we often have a moment where we don't recognize ourself in the mirror, well one cool thing to look forward to is getting to the place where you don't see yourself as the fat guy anymore. And even when you don't, it's also fun to push yourself a little further and strive for an even better normal.

Great response, although I would just say that you might surprise yourself about being thin. And I say this from a personal perspective. I, also, said/thought I would never be thin. I was always fat with the exception of a few years where I wrestled/played football as a kid.
When I started out, I was 333 at 5'8" and just the thought of being around 200 seemed impossible. I am 9+ months out from surgery and about 11 months out from starting the weight loss process. I am now 148lbs and thin by any objective measure.
I'm not saying you will be thin, that you even desire to be thin, or that you should aspire to be thin. Just saying that this surgery is really amazing thing that may surprise you in a lot of ways. I'm not special. I got thin just by following my plan and doing what I was supposed to.

I love this article.
I'm also feeling pretty smug about the lackluster results they got with the "gold standard" gastric bypass.
The girl realizing that she was screwing up at life because of her own choices and not being able to use being fat as a crutch stood out to me.
They both seemed to have not the best food choices or diet.
Edited to add. I have a similar feeling about foods. I have wrote about it here before. There is a complete disconnect between my head and my stomach. I can think and crave whatever food I want, my stomach doesn't react. I only get physically hungry if I have not eaten in 16 to 24 hours. I never get physical hunger. I crave things but one bite is usually enough for me if that. I very rarely crave anything off plan. My sleeve is golden and is working perfectly for me.

You might find this article interesting, it explains why WLS is not like wiring your jaw shut...in other words its not just about restriction, but bigger changes in your hormones, hunger signals et.al. But if you have to take care of the emotional issues which got you into this place, or you will find yourself back at square one...http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/26/the-humble-heroes-of-weight-loss-surgery-stomach-acids-and-gut-microbes/#comment-3309413

If you can physically handle it, I'm experimenting with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). The idea is to deliberately work to muscle failure by working hard in short bursts. The fatigue creates a huge increase in lactic acid and has been shown to increase the hormone levels for muscle growth and fat loss. It looks like it is not recommended for the long haul, but for a month long period.
It hurts, but only for 20 minutes .
But thanks for the liquid diet idea. I will keep that one in the tool chest.

Yeah, what @@Babbs said. For those of us with long term weight issues, even the best supervised weight loss programs have a very low long-term success rate. Another round of yo-yo weight changes messes with body's weight set point at the hormonal level. If you take care of the emotional issues, along with this tool, your chances for long-term success jump from 5% to over 40%. @@pvechiola please take a look at this: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films/main-films/Choices And the younger the better as far as skin sag and less damage to our joints and organs.

You might find this article interesting, it explains why WLS is not like wiring your jaw shut...in other words its not just about restriction, but bigger changes in your hormones, hunger signals et.al. But if you have to take care of the emotional issues which got you into this place, or you will find yourself back at square one...http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/26/the-humble-heroes-of-weight-loss-surgery-stomach-acids-and-gut-microbes/#comment-3309413

Yeah, what @@Babbs said. For those of us with long term weight issues, even the best supervised weight loss programs have a very low long-term success rate. Another round of yo-yo weight changes messes with body's weight set point at the hormonal level. If you take care of the emotional issues, along with this tool, your chances for long-term success jump from 5% to over 40%. @@pvechiola please take a look at this: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films/main-films/Choices And the younger the better as far as skin sag and less damage to our joints and organs.

You might find this article interesting, it explains why WLS is not like wiring your jaw shut...in other words its not just about restriction, but bigger changes in your hormones, hunger signals et.al. But if you have to take care of the emotional issues which got you into this place, or you will find yourself back at square one...http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/26/the-humble-heroes-of-weight-loss-surgery-stomach-acids-and-gut-microbes/#comment-3309413

Yeah, what @@Babbs said. For those of us with long term weight issues, even the best supervised weight loss programs have a very low long-term success rate. Another round of yo-yo weight changes messes with body's weight set point at the hormonal level. If you take care of the emotional issues, along with this tool, your chances for long-term success jump from 5% to over 40%. @@pvechiola please take a look at this: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films/main-films/Choices And the younger the better as far as skin sag and less damage to our joints and organs.

You might find this article interesting, it explains why WLS is not like wiring your jaw shut...in other words its not just about restriction, but bigger changes in your hormones, hunger signals et.al. But if you have to take care of the emotional issues which got you into this place, or you will find yourself back at square one...http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/26/the-humble-heroes-of-weight-loss-surgery-stomach-acids-and-gut-microbes/#comment-3309413

Strangely, no. Not at all. But I fully embraced my new normal, I have really enjoyed my two-year ride.

Strangely, no. Not at all. But I fully embraced my new normal, I have really enjoyed my two-year ride.

dinner out? Three meals!!!

Yeah, what @@Babbs said. For those of us with long term weight issues, even the best supervised weight loss programs have a very low long-term success rate. Another round of yo-yo weight changes messes with body's weight set point at the hormonal level. If you take care of the emotional issues, along with this tool, your chances for long-term success jump from 5% to over 40%. @@pvechiola please take a look at this: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films/main-films/Choices And the younger the better as far as skin sag and less damage to our joints and organs.