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This bikini thread needs........MORE BIKINI pics. Great thread topic, too. Pretty amazing development: Women going from being pre-op to reaching the point where they want to rock their bodies in bikinis. Tremendous accomplishment. Speaks volumes about not only the obvious weight loss but also speaks to the healthy state of mind that's been reached. Huge respect, ladies. Huge respect. I promise to never show off pics of me in a Speedo suit......because, well......I'll never own one. Maybe I'll throw up some shirtless kayaking pics or such when I get there. Threads like this are huge inspiration. I know that when my 47th birthday arrives.....I'll be 9 months post-op and feeling much, much better. By the 48th birthday I'll feel better than I did on my 28th. This is going to be a fun ride............

Amazing thread !!!!!! The folks posting in here are doing more to promote the benefits than a billion typed posts. Seriously. Everyone wants to jump in and give advice.....share this.....share that.....etc. It's all great and helpful.......but it's simply words....talk. The before and after pics nail it all down and motivate in a way that nothing else can. THANK YOU !!!!! I don't understand why more people don't want to post before & after photos.

Great points about a conversation. There are plenty of folks who need CPAPs that aren't overweight. Also.....losing huge amounts of weight doesn't ensure they'll be "cured".

Yup. No desire for them. Maybe in a couple a years.....a 1/2 a doughnut may be okay. For now.....up to the surgery.......and hopefully again in a few months after surgery.........the java is all I want from any doughnut shop.

Title says it all. Was out running some errands and couldn't resist hitting the drive thru at the doughnut shop......a place I know all too well. Not the way I'd spend my money there in the past. I truly have zero desire for the rest of their menu right now. I'm going to enjoy this for this duration of this week. I'm still 4+ months out from surgery so I'll continue to enjoy. Looking forward to getting through the surgery.....adapt to the new food intake and adding my coffee back to the daily grub. Love my java.

I agree that their Diet Lemonade is awesome. I always order that with my grilled chicken sandwich.

I hope it goes well for you and the problems you had all go away.

I fully understand not wanting to sit around.

Great news !!!!

I ask this because it seems like a very tight window. I'm having to satisfy a 6 month supervision period under the NUT with monthly meetings that begin on July 7th. Program nurse said that this begins the 6 months. She seemed confident but I'm clueless as to how this stuff generally tracks. I'm hoping to have all the other requirements done earlier in the 6 months so I'm simply waiting on that 6th appointment to roll around in early December.

Under Armor is the ticket !!!!

Hoping that all will go really well for you !!!!! Much better Thanks! Still have gas though so going for my first walk out of the house tomorrow in the hope the exercise helps move it The GasX strips were great in hospital but don't seem to do anything now. You will feel so much better once you are home, in your own bed. Don't overdo it!! http://www.gas-x.com/gas-relief-products/gas-extra-strength#ThinStrips Very glad to hear about this product. The pill version helped me during the past two hernia surgeries. Glad to see there is a strip version. I'll be taking these along with me !!!!!!!!!

Congrats for taking actions. This burden can't be removed without considerable sustained effort. You've demonstrated that with the steps you are already taken. You are so wise to do so right now in your life. Let me tell you a true story of two people: Person one: Successfully kept weight under control due to constant participation in athletics during high school. Went to college and gained the freshman 15lbs.....and then a bit every year since over the next 20+ years. Has lost tons of weight with various diets.....and regained them. Spent tons of money on clothes just to accommodate bigger/smaller/bigger again sizes. Dealing now with weight related health issues, severe arthritis in knees and back, pain and fear from doing a lot of physical activities. Is now finally going to use the tool of WLS to help get the weight off. Person two: Kept weight under control during early high school years due to parental nagging and participation in athletics. Went through college and gained a large amount of weight. Binged and struggled. Graduated and began working. First year on the job had WLS. Became someone who actually met their height-weight numbers on the charts and has lived slim-trim and fit the next 15 years. Over that time has employed small course corrections that would keep weight within a 5 pound range without some huge struggle or "new diet". Does NOT have weight related pains and is very active and has been since the WLS (bypass) some 15 years ago. These two people share the same parents and genetics. They are my younger sister and I. I am finally.....at 46 years old.....going to follow her lead and have the surgery in the next 5-6 months. My only regret is waiting so dang long to do so !!!!!!!!!!! Study up.....make the sensible changes all along.....plan well and take action. Spend the effort and profit from your hard work.

Did you do weight training and Pilates at any point before surgery? Does it seem like a good idea to jump into these 3 weeks after surgery? What does your doctor say about this?

When you go to church.......do you sit there and feel like you are a sinner and shouldn't be there? Of course not, everyone in there is a sinner. You all are better for being in there. Most that are going to the gym are in there to better themselves, too. Assume that they have the same agenda as you.....pop your earbuds on and get to work. Nobody cares if you are large. They do care if you don't follow proper gym etiquette, though: do not sit on equipment between sets....get your set in and wipe down the gear and move. Do not park your butt there. Make sure to always......always use the supplied wipes to clean up your gear as soon as you are done. Also keep in mind that not everyone is using their own iPods and just listening to the gym's piped in music.....they don't want to hear you sing.....enjoy your music silently. If you feel compelled to carry on conversations....then go to the gym's lounge area. Do not hold other folks up by camping out around gear and chatting. It's not that folks don't care what you have to say.....they just don't care when they are working out. Stick and move........stick and move........stick and move.........and wipe down you gear every time you get off it. Nobody is judging you in the gym......unless you break etiquette rules....then expect some rudeness to occur. It's nothing personal.....it's not that you may or may not be large.....it's simply that you've done one of the above items an incurred the wrath of others. It's like golfers who play slowly.......they are holding up the entire course. If they are beginner golfers...then they shouldn't be playing during primetime hours.....but getting their practice rounds in at non-peak times. If you feel that you are going to be slow or self conscious then consider going to the gym during non-peak hours a few times until you get into the swing of it. I will admit that there is a social thing that is undercurrent at all gyms.....at certain times of day. It's just the regulars acknowledging each other. Don't get torqued up about it you aren't part of it.....just keep going in there and doing your work and you'll be benefitting hugely.

Howdy folks. I hope you are all doing well. I will officially join your ranks in a few months when I have my bypass. Until then I'm trying to get ready as much as I can. I didn't want to intrude into anyone's thread so I figured I'd ask here and hope people joined in. I've been warned not to stock up too much on powders, bars and such as things may taste different later. I'll just have a variety of stuff here but not big quantities of anything. Some Chike Protein, Oikos Triple Greek Yogurt and Quest bars for starters. We always have chicken breast and tuna on hand. Anything else that you recommend having around those first several weeks? I'm concerned about comments concerning difficulty drinking the required amounts of Water. I've always just gulped down what I needed.....when convenient. I suppose now I need to get used to having a water bottle close by all day long for sipping. Kinda freaked about this because I enjoy drinking water and maintaining that good well-hydrated feeling. I'm planning on taking two weeks off work for the surgery. Interested to hear what your experience was on time off and how you did going back. I can minimize or maximize the amount of walking I do on the job. I already keep packs of tuna, powder & shaker bottles, sugar-free drink mix and quest bars in my desk. I only have a couple meeting-lunches at work each month. I'll deal with those as they arise. No control over the menu. I can always just say I've already eaten and sit there sipping my water. Clothes? Did you already have clothes ready for the shrinking new you? I have some smaller sized stuff that will most likely see me through until surgery, but then it's going to be hard to gauge what to do. What has your level of exercise been post-op compared to the months before? What's been the biggest surprise to you after having the surgery? What do you wish you'd done differently in the months leading up to it? I've got a ton of random questions. Hope you don't mind chiming in. Thank you !!!

The math of your schedule isn't working out for me.....but then again, I suck at math. Hope it all does come together on time for you.

I've got some serious questions to pose to my nutritionist next week. There is no way in hell it can be healthy for me to live at a daily deficit of 1,500+ calories......which is where I'd be on 400 calories eaten, working 13+ hour shifts and exercising on my days off. Dangerous for vital organs. I want to lose weight but do so safely.

Thanks. I'm not talking about anything crazy......just preserving as much muscle as I can and lifting to enhance it. I know energy will be low at first....just hoping I can get my Protein and Water down each day with no trouble.

Not only are we all different.......we are all different from our own selves, it seems. For example......five years ago I decided to get rid of my excess weight. At first my knees were the limiting factor. I could only get 1/2 mile of walking before one would lock up. Awkward when you are 1/2 mile away from home....... I then started using the gym only. Treadmills with hand rails.......adding incline. Remained disciplined in the kitchen, too. Weight came off over the next 8 months. Huge amounts. I reached the point where I was using elliptical machines for an hour at the time with little pain. Addicted to the weight loss and great new feels. Started lifting weights and really became addicted. Stupid me, though, though I could just jump in and start lifting like I did for high school football & wrestling. My calorie intake swooped upward.....mainly additional Protein.....but calorie dense stuff, too. Wound up making killer muscle gains, but created several injuries that are still needing repair. A double umbilical hernia ended things. Surgery took me out of the gym (lifting wise). I could have gone back to walking.....but had burned myself out. It had become lifting or nothing. The injuries kept me from lifting........so the "nothing" option was what happened. Fast forward four years of "nothing" along with poor kitchen discipline and most of the 125 lbs had come back. No problem, right? I'd just burn it off again over the next year......... Great plan.....but some new health problems showed up and derailed my plans to exercise. All I could do was cut calorie intake while being inactive during healing. This proved harder than I thought.....inactive and trying to lose weight. During six weeks of being knocked out of work.....sidelined......considering my future.......I decided to pull out all the stops and employ ever tool I could. It was then that I've chosen bypass surgery and proceeded with getting in a program. I'm still limited on exercise......but am losing small amounts. After the first 30 came off I can see a big difference in the end of day swelling in feet and ankles. Knee pain is much improved. As I make small gains with back issues I am able to walk more at work and short sessions on treadmill on days off. I remember how hard it was on the knees just 5 years ago. I can do a little more now...at the beginning stages than I could then. Limited only by back......which is improving slowly. I know that when my bypass surgery comes, I'll be trying to kill it during the honeymoon first year, too. The key is that I have to do it on a way that works for me......working safely with whatever my current limitations are at that time. I can't compare myself to others.....and really not to myself either. It's what I can do at the moment that matters. I truly hope the bypass will provide a lasting tool that will help me in a great way......not just to reach my goal weight......but to live at the goal weight for the second half of my longer life. Best of luck to us all.

Please be careful. Your calorie intake is so low that you are likely losing more muscle mass than you'd want to be losing. This can only escalate with the calories burned from exercise. I can only pause and wonder what I'd look like if I'd been walking 8 miles each day like you were while keeping my calorie intake to 1,800/day. I'd be at my goal weight........without the surgery. Your drive is impressive. Hopefully you'll find a way to up your Protein intake and find balance with all things. No doubt you are really dropping some serious weight.

Well done. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted as you can. You are going to burn through that weight loss quickly.

I keep it simple and buy my music from iTunes. I have a nice collection that is frequently synced to the iPod Classic in my glovebox and to my iPhone.

Awesome ! I hope you do great. This is my plan. Always a bottle at hand.