readyforthislifechange

When I look in the mirror, I still see parts of me that I think are "Fat", but in reality it is mostly skin. I have not really accepted the fact that I am at goal due to the imperfections that still glare at me in the mirror, but I know realistically I do not want to lose anymore weight. I don't aspire to be "skinny". To me that is just not healthy looking. I like the "strong" look better so I focus on continuing to build lean muscle. I am looking into skin removal surgery, but not sure yet if that will happen. In the meantime, I like how I look with clothes on!

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Its been a while since i have been here. 5 years actually. Back in 2010 I began the process of preparing to do the Gastric Sleeve. I went through all my pre-op testing. My weight was 313 and my doc wanted me to loose some weight.
Well, I did. I lost enough do drop my BMI down to below 40 and thought that I could do it on my own, so i cancelled the plan. Turns out that was a bit of a mistake. Since 2010 I have put on another 40 lbs and have gotten up to as high as 356 lbs. So I began the process again. I dragged my feet a little after the first visit, but have since locked down a surgery date....May 18, 2016.
Now my only concerns are post-op. I want to be sure I use this tool as its intended and drop and maintain a health, sensible weight. I used to be an athlete...I played rugby, volleyball, basketball....whatever was around really. Now I cant walk a flight of steps without getting winded. Standing in one spot too long causes pain. I am a volunteer firefighter and the last parade i marched in I almost passed out from exhaustion.
I dont want to become another statistic. Its time to make a change and i believe this will assist me to do that.
I am open to any and all suggestions, criticism, questions.....bring it on.

Reading your post brought back soo many memories but I had to smile and say all those feelings are so worth it once you get through it.
I am 8 months post op and it was rough all the way up until 8 weeks post op and to be honest the eating started becoming painless very recently. Maybe in the last two months. I do agree with others, the hormones at that stage are out of control and the fact that you now don't have food as a comfort anymore was such a reality check. You have to relearn everything and build an entire new relationship to food.
But if I can give you any advice is to not look to your friend or anyone for your own journey. If you take your Vitamins and Protein to the best of your ability you don't know what result you will have. Your success is not built on someone else's. The fact that you've made it to be one of the post op people gives you opportunity to build a new entirely different life. I know most people in this forum are soo happy including myself. Being down 95lbs is not even the thing I'm most happy about when I look in the mirror and see my results from sculpting my new body with the tool I have been given, a second chance, I could cry all over again. And that feeling alone is sooo worth it!
In a few months you're going to look back and you're going to laugh and hopefully have formed a new relationship to food and found a multitude of others things you now enjoy instead of eating your "favorite foods"....feel better!
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

it wasnt that long ago i walked by a full length mirror in a department store and not recognizing myself i jumped sideways to avoid walking into that strange person who suddenly was right there. lol

First let me say that i have been reading these forums for months but have never commented before. Many of your stories kept me sane because I know others are going through the same things I am right now. Yesterday I finally reached it. Beginning at 275lbs in February 2015, surgery date Nov 6 2015 (SW 255), I am now 199.1. I haven't been under 200 lbs in so long. I just had to share the news with those of you who really understand my struggle.

Oh man I'm sorry you're going through this. I have been pushed away by the same people that are on your thread screaming they're the bariatric police. Geez can't believe they are still on here telling others how to do things right. Very sad. Obviously you are well aware of your issues. The purpose of this site is to help those when they're down and empower them to do better or sometimes even understand where their possible issue could be.
Believe it or not people, some individuals are different from yourself, so maybe, just maybe we can allow them to be human and help them overcome their fear and not make them feel guilty. Obesity is a recognized disease and if it was easily cured then we all wouldn't be on here.
Some of you have to step outside yourselves and really see that were all here to help others and ourselves, not to judge and make them feel better. I went to my bariatric support group today where several people mentioned having left this site because of this sort of response.
HushxPuppyx I hope you will get back on track. The mental part of this journey is much harder than the physical part and I agree with Bellabloom. Maybe trying to reset your cravings and pouch might help. Or if you are able to incorporate exercise on a more vigorous level to where you'd need a few more calories but even then try to keep them primarily Protein. I wish you the best or luck and ignore the bariatric police, these group of hags are too perfect to be on such a humanly site lol

I'm sad about the turn this thread has taken. The OP's story is very interesting to me and I am sure to others as well.

I understand the foods that I've listed are bad...I'm keeping it real on here by being honest with myself and this online community. Thank you for the breakdown of the caloric intake that was that meal...I'm very well aware of the content though. I wouldn't say 'attacked' but there's no reason for the judgemental b.s. and condescending stupidity from others- I thought that this was a place to come to for help and lifting up...to me, when others throw that garbage out there, it just shows that they may have their eating priorities in place but not their attitudes. Good for you for coming at this with that wonderful attitude...sometimes myself and probably others on here (I may be wrong) need to regroup and get back to that mode of thinking.

Hi! So I'm a year out now - how did THAT happen? I'm not done yet, but it's been a pretty wild ride so far. I'm down 105 pounds from my starting weight, 101 from the day of surgery (I lost 4 on the pre-op liquid diet over 2 days, lol), and at LEAST 135 from my highest, which was earlier last year (that scale only hit 330 and I maxed it out).

Along the way, I've discovered a few personal realities - they may not be true for everyone else, but for me they are.

- Some days I look at stuff I've worn before and think, "There's not a chance in hell that's going over my head." Every single time, I'm shocked when it does.

- Lots of people treat me better now that I'm more "normal". But every time I start counting on it, along comes some jerk...and that's okay. I think I need the reminder that it wasn't always about me anyway!

- I need to leave my credit cards at home. Shopping is a lot more fun now.

- It's easy to fall off track with counting Protein, watching calories, and taking Vitamins. It's like I rolled over one day and just felt like a regular person. This is going to actually require diligence and consideration for the rest of my life. I knew that when I signed up for this, and I'm going to do it - I just didn't think when I came out of surgery that there would ever be a moment that it wasn't in the front of my mind.

- I need treats now and then or I won't succeed. The urge to binge and passive-aggressive desire to eat something just because I shouldn't will NEVER, EVER go away - the sleeve keeps the binges from being too bad, and if I build treats into my plan and track them, I'm a lot less likely to go off the rails. (pizza happens, y'all, and for ME that's okay - YMMV. 3/4 of a slice once a month now vs. an entire medium pizza with garlic dipping sauce, ALL the wings, and half a box of cinnamon sticks every Friday before...it's still a win in my book).

- When I'm hungry now, I'm HUNGRY RIGHT NOW! Gotta keep Snacks at hand or I will tank and hit the floor. Either because I've passed out, or because someone is going to check my hanger and KNOCK me out someday, lol. I've been trying to date and think I scared one off when he watched me shovel a salad into my face like a farm animal. He was late, I was hungry.

- Someone can watch you successfully lose weight, and still want to interject their opinion about how you should be doing it. Nod, smile, and go back to what you're doing. My "instructional guru" has gained 30 pounds back in the last couple of months and STILL wants to tell me how to eat. Life is far easier now that I've learned to take that with a sense of humor and not get angry about it.

- If you never liked exercise, you probably still won't. It'll just be easier to do. Then again...you might just find something you like! I'm a total couch potato but always used to fantasize about running for some reason. Finally launched C25K this week, and something tells me I might like it if I can keep my knees from blowing out.

- I need kleenex around ALL. THE. TIME. My nose runs when I'm full, it runs when I'm hungry, it runs when I get hiccups...sometimes I even sneeze when I've taken one bite too many.

- Speaking of sneezes, sometimes when I sneeze I vomit. I don't have to be overly full, I can eat exactly the right portion for my sleeve, but if I sneeze too close to a meal when everything seizes up it just sort of launches everything back out. That was unexpected.

- I've met guys who care that I'm still heavy. Some who think I'm not quite big enough and are afraid I'll lose more weight, some who think I'm too big, some who think I'll get bigger again. The ones who ARE into me the way that I am don't give one iota about my "shrinkles". I haven't met a good mental match, but no one I've had any physical relationship with cares. I was pretty worried about that but it's been a non-issue so far. My need to indulge in the use of "artistic lingerie placement" (ie, I always manage to keep my tummy covered somehow, lol) has never once been challenged.

- I was lucky to have a respectful, attentive PCP, but I've had issues with medical providers before. The smaller I get, the fewer issues I have.

- It should be basic knowledge for doctors, but if you need to go to the ER, watch out. I've been twice since surgery (once for a car accident, and once when my cat scratched my eyeball) and they're quick to dispense the 800mg ibuprofen even with a full medical history and a "no nsaid" note in the chart. With the eye, I took 'em anyway (along with the other, better drugs). I would've let someone hit me in the head with a bat to make that stop hurting! But it does illustrate the need to be aware and always prepared to advocate for yourself.

- It's so nice to have a lap now. I can hold my computer! My critters! My nieces and nephews! It's wonderful.

- How I see myself is not always how others see me. My boss and my friends all look at me and think I should be done now. I look at myself and still see a butterball. The charts say I'm still 55 pounds overweight, but my doctor (who won't give me a goal) says I shouldn't be aiming that low because she's shorter than me and small boned and weighs what the chart says I SHOULD weigh. At first, I wasn't worried about where to try to settle because it seemed so unbelieveable that I would ever get there. Now that I know it's possible, picking an end point is HARD (and harder still when I factor in a bit of dysmorphia, because I'm not sure I'll ever look in the mirror and see someone small enough to go to maintenance).

- Sometimes I discount the journey I've made, or I want to eat something I know will make me sick and have a momentary pang of regret. I don't feel bad about that anymore, I just try to go do something I couldn't do before to remind myself what a great decision this was. Sitting in a bathtub, going to a store and trying on something in the misses department (that actually FITS), running up the stairs (instead of having to practically crawl up them using my hands for balance), going through my closet and bagging up something that's too big, stuff like that.

- I knew that things wouldn't change in my life by magic, and that not all of the stasis I was in was caused by my weight. It's true that the poor physical condition and lack of confidence both contributed in a very big way, but it wasn't all of it. I understood that, and decided to work REALLY HARD on the areas I wanted to change the most. What I wasn't anticipating was that, in some of those areas (like finding a relationship), the work hasn't seemed to pay off either. I took that pretty hard. Ongoing therapy is an absolute must for me. You may not need it, but if you DO, then GET IT. There's no shame in it.

- Once you've been sleeved, you'll always be sleeved. That built-in off switch is ALWAYS going to be there. I've had some stretches where my eating has gotten a little out of control, but the beautiful part of this is that the sleeve keeps me from going too far. I can recover from those mistakes now, too. More Protein, more liquid, and I'm right back on track. That's why I got this - not because I ever had any delusions that I could or would be "perfect" at it, but because I knew I COULDN'T and I needed help or I was going to die. Suicide by donut - it's a morbid joke my siblings and I use about our parents, but I was on my way there too.

- I have to resist the urge to act like a salesperson and let my results speak for me. My sister and my niece both desperately need to do something and have vacillated on surgery for a while now. I never felt good and healthy as an adult and it's such a huge difference - sometimes I want to shake them and scream, "BUT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH BETTER YOU'RE GOING TO FEEL???!!!???". The reality is, I have to shut up unless I'm asked a question and just live the best life I can as an example, because if someone had harped at me about it a couple of years ago I probably wouldn't be sleeved now. It hurts my heart to see people I love in the state they're in, but everyone has to take their own journey and live their own lives.

- Tiny goals are where it's at for me. I never set a goal more than 9 pounds away - no double digits . I tried to assign meaning to all my goals, too, though ones I had to split up to stay under 10 pounds are just "split goals". But things like "driver's license weight", 20% EWL, 50 from highest ever, graduation weight, etc. I was blowing through them pretty quickly at first, but now that things have slowed down a lot keeping my goals close together is helping me stay motivated.

I can't wait to see what the next year holds.

You're the exact person I had in mind when I mentioned the judgemental people. This is why people can't feel comfortable sharing honest feedback. I never said that I know it all and I'm first to admit I've made mistakes but I don't give into it, I pick up and make better choices. 3-4 years from now you won't hear anything from me, thanks for proving my point. I don't believe alcohol helps you lose weight by any means but id be lying if I said I never drank since surgery. I was just sharing my experience I'm not here to tell anyone the right or wrong way to do things because I don't claim to have all the answers. But thanks for you criticism ????????

I know and have read a few people such as myself becoming sick of the Protein shakes, so I decided to try and make a Protein milkshake and OMG it was the best! I highly recommend it, tastes like a McDonald's milkshake with less calories and hardly any carbs. I will say I am 3wks post op and it's tolerated very well.
For the ingredients I used 3/4 cup bryers sugar free vanilla ice cream, 1 cup low carb fairlife protein milk and 2 scoops of publix organic vanilla whey Protein powder. YUMMY 50g of protein total and you can't even taste it!
Well it had me so excited I had to share haha!