MzB

Jumping up and down here... my goal for the challenge was 215. I hit 215.8 this morning!! Still counts, right??

I'm not your age, but the thing you have on your side is your youth. Losing a large amount while you're still young means your skin likely will rebound much, much better than in your 30s or 40s.
If you lose weight slower, and make sure to exercise and keep hydrated and hit your Protein goals, you should be okay, and once you hit goal weight, your skin will continue to improve; most plastic surgeons won't even evaluate you until you've been a stable weight for one year because they know skin continues to tighten and adjust during that time. You may be lucky and not have any issues after a few years. But anything that doesn't tighten up can be fixed eventually if it is really bugging you.
The big thing is that a little loose skin is nothing compared to how great you'll feel losing all that weight.

Rebecca, I got in 2.5 hours this week.

I struggled with obesity my whole life, I would lose 30 lbs. just to gain 40 back. Quite frankly as a kid/teenager I did not care about my health. I cared about my appearance but it seemed "too hard" to make those changes. It was finally when my doctor told me I was becoming a pre diabetic that it all fell into place.
22 years old, 5'2" and 287 lbs. I went to the first meeting that I could. I remember that the 9 months my insurance required me to wait for the surgery seemed like forever. But I lost 50 pounds pre-op! Immediately after my surgery I out about 30 pounds and then kept hitting stalls. I got so depressed, for a year I lost nothing! I worked 7 days a week, and ate what was convenient vs. what was healthy, and I didn't make the time to workout. I never over ate or gained, thank goodness, but it was a terrible feeling having such a big dream and finding yourself at a halt. Finally once again, something in my life clicked for me, I have my healthy mindset back! I track my calories and exercises everyday, and don't feel like I'm suffering for anything. I now weigh 185, my ultimate goal is to be in the 120-130 range.
It's so crazy how at one point that goal seemed so impossible and now it doesn't seem so far away at all. Even during my tough year I always said that the sleeve was the best decision I ever made and it truly was!

Welcome! Best of luck on your journey and approval process.
Feel free to ask questions of the group as you go along. Also, there are a lot of questions that you might have which have already been asked and answered. My best advise is to learn how the search on this site works. It isn't super intuitive... I find you typically have to change it to search all forums, not just the topic you are on. But this is the way I found some great advise on stalls, slimeing, Protein in-take, hair-loss and more. It is great way to dig through all the great discussions that have come before.

Lucky you!
The other day I said to my husband "I wish I could see Adele." His reply was "why don't you just invite her over to the house?"
He has no idea who she is.

Agree with McButterpants... Focus on the fluids and Protein and don't worry about the scale. Your body is probably just holding on to excess Water to help it heal.

I've been in maintenance phase since April. I think the one thing that has helped more than anything else is weighing every single day. I started gaining a little bit back in October but because I knew about it right away, I could fix it right away. It took me almost 2 months to lose 5 pounds, so that makes me even more motivated to not gain again. Also, clothing...I love clothing and if I gain weight my entire closet will not fit me, lol.

I'm breaking a one year stall by weighing my food, measuring my portions, tracking it in MyFitnessPal, and committing my food plan in advance to my OA sponsor every day.
Today and tomorrow are just Thursday and Friday. The food may be different and fancier (and prepared with love by me for the family), but it's still just fuel, not my reason to live like it used to be.
WLS operated on my stomach, not my brain. The brain work is the hardest part, and I do it for life. One day at a time.
Merry Christmas to you all. As my sponsor says, a clean food plan is the most loving gift I can give to myself. Today I happily open that gift.

Here you go Kathy...https://screen.yahoo.com/mom-jeans-support-000000467.html

@@OKCPirate
hey dude
i've lead a sheltered life
i never heard the expression "mommy jeans"
explain please
regular jeans size
now that's what i'm talking about!!!
89 lbs gone
(don't look at me, i didn't take them )
keep up the good work
i know you will
kathy
congrats

My daughter (16) has been ragging on my jeans. "Oh dad they look like mommy jeans, Get something that fits." So for the first time since the Reagan administration I ordered 36" regular fit jeans. She really liked them.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! Hope you enjoy the magic of the season!!

Sorry about the multiple

203! 4 pounds from my challenge goal and from Onederland!

From someone who is 16 months out, believe me when I say it's not always going to be that way.
My grown sons birthday was yesterday. We went out to eat, where I made a healthy but delicious choice of a honey Chipotle salmon with vegetables and took the rest home for lunch today. Then we went home where he wanted his favorite ice cream cake, and I had a tiny sliver and sent the rest home with him. I knew I was going to, so I ate light most of the day to save up the calories. No harm, no foul.
Always remember that things will be different 6 months, 12 months, 2 years from now. It is possible to live a relatively normal life with the sleeve. Even for birthdays
Happy Birthday!!

I had a new one today. Skinny shadow!! I was walking on the sidewalk and didnt even recognize my shadow! Last time I remember seeing it I was alot bigger. My shadow has been short and round (picture an orange with legs) ever since I can remember. Not any more!! I love my skinny shadow!!

You need to hike that skirt up and show more of dem legs !!!!!!!!!
Well done. Getting new clothes is something that I've never been enthused about. I'm finding that is changing, though, as I'm leaning down.
Some Western boots are in the future. By the time they fit me, though, it'll be Summatime. That's alright.....I'll be pimp walking around the swimming pool......wearing a bathing suit and those new boots and singing cowboy songs.
Now show off those legs, young lady !!!!
Bam !!!!!
Congrats. You look great.
That had to feel good to slip 'em on and look up in the mirror and see that. Very cool !!!!!!
That is neat.
Recently went to my favorite Mexican restaurant with some buddies. We sat in the outdoor section. I never sit there due to the cramped evil armchairs.
I proceed with a bit nervousness.....I even veered off course on our way to be seated. I went to the bathroom and just stood there washing my hands and looking into the mirror.....wondering how to play it......what if I can't fit ????
Walked out and stopped at the bar and talked to the hot bartender a minute or two.....declined when she offered my usual, a 36 oz ice cold Dos Equis Ambar draft....just waved it off....we chatted a minute and then I finally faced up to the challenge.....and went to the crowded outdoor section and found my pards. There was one empty evil armchair sitting there waiting on me. I swear I got a lump in my throat.
I sat down like I owned that damn chair. Room to spare.
Hell yes !!!!!
Fun and general chaos ensued that afternoon........

I have had to order or have most of my clothes made for several years now. The last time I placed an online order for a sweater it turned out to be too big (even though I had measured a few weeks before). Today, I stopped at the local JC Penney and bought three sweaters a size smaller and they fit. This should tide me over through Christmas and New Years and I hope I can make it a couple of months before having to buy more since I don't mind sweaters that are a bit big. The next time I go in there I should be out of the Women's section, at least for my tops!

I understand your frustration completely. When it comes to weight people seem to think that boundaries and courtesy don't matter.
I am fairly thick skinned. I have also noticed that even though I have been losing weight rapidly since my lower legs are still disproportionately large, I get questions and comments quite frequently.
Some random person asked me about them the other day and then she asked "Have you been teased about them your whole life?" I frankly told her that they haven't been this large my whole life. That really set her back. I could tell it hadn't occurred to her that I wasn't born this way. Most people in my opinion just don't really think.

I just had to give myself a little pat on the back today. 200 days of logging into MFP in a row. ???? I am so grateful I did this surgery, but the logging on MFP is more about accountability on my part and reminds me that it is up to me to make this a success.

171.9 ..No change this week.

Was sick last week so only got in 1 hour. ????

I just had to give myself a little pat on the back today. 200 days of logging into MFP in a row. ???? I am so grateful I did this surgery, but the logging on MFP is more about accountability on my part and reminds me that it is up to me to make this a success.

If your are still close to your surgery date, I think the repulsion response is probably pretty typical. Your body is still adjusting to the new smaller stomach and your hormones are adjusting too. I remember that sensation of watching others load a plate and thinking "wow! how on earth?". But then I recall that when I had the same response when I had the flu or a cold, the thought of eating anything major was sort of sickening. this thought reminded me that we just did major surgery and our body is healing. Our bodies natural signals to our brain will be "don't you dare feed me!" This can translate to how we view all food, even that which is consumed by others. I liked @@HopeandAgony 's response as well. When watching others it is good to remember that this was us only a short time ago.
Something I noticed about myself was that I was a little too self-righteous about my ability to turn down food those first few months. Something I had always struggled to do now became soooo easy. "No, I am fine and don't want a cookie", "Thank you, but I am going to pass on the chips", "No alcohol for me, thanks anyway...." Mentally, I was saying to myself. "You go girl, you are rocking this!" Just be aware that the further out you get the more that turning food offers down and sitting there while everyone has cake and ice cream gets much harder. I have to remind myself that they don't mean to sabotage me, they are just being nice. Such a different perspective now. I think it was at about 4 months head hunger really kicked in for me. Thankfully I had read things on these forums that helped me be somewhat prepared, but my self-righteous attitude went out the door and now I find that I have to work at setting myself up for the tough moments when someone offers me something. I also learned not to beat myself up too badly when I give in and say yes. I just remind myself to be careful or only take a small portion. But that is my journey, each person can be different.