mngreeneyes

My last boss, I am still in the same job, but she has moved on, was very strict about, if you are sick you go home. About half my department is on a PTO kind of set up and the rest of us are on the vacation/sick leave/etc program. She wasn't really in charge of everyone, but would actually send sick people home over their refusals! I have been sick a lot less than I was even when I was a teacher, although I take more sick days now because when I was a teacher, you had to be nearly on death's door to take a day off because it was so much work to be gone! I agree that sick people need to stay home and quarantine themselves instead of making me sick! pam

I tend to log everything I eat in myfitnesspal.com. It fills the details in for me. It also adds all the nutrition and calories for me so I can't mess up the math. Otherwise, read your nutrition labels. For the cornbread it should be on the box. I assume one piece of cornbread is one serving. I just find it easier and more convenient to let an app/computer program do the figuring for me. Does that help? pam

Oh I almost forgot to mention, my other NSV this week. We had big pants day at my WLS support group meeting. I brought a dress that used to fit really well. (I made it for myself so it was literally made for me!) I always got compliments for how nice I looked when I wore it. None of my support group had ever seen me where it however, but I decided to show them the difference of almost 55 lbs. by slipping it on over my clothes. Even before I could look up from arranging it on myself, the whole room gasped! Aside from the fact that it was about 3 inches longer than it used to be, I couldn't figure out what the shock was about. I had to ask my WLS SG friend sitting next to me why everyone gasped and she said, "because it looked like you were wearing a tent!" I can tell I am smaller, but sometimes I dont' think others can necessarily tell. I don't hear it anyway except from my friends and family who know. But the spontaneous surprise from a whole room of people many of whom had never met me before was priceless! pam

First NSV, the bath towel ends meet! I wrapped my towel around me this week and noticed that for the first time in recent memory, the bath towel wrapped all the way around and met from top to bottom! Of course if I moved, it became indecent, but since I live alone no one was around to worry about! Second NSV, I had to go buy new pants for work for the first time since surgery. I have gone from a 24 pants to now an 18W. I managed to find two pair of serviceable black dress pants WITH POCKETS and no elastic at the consignment store and with my store credit, I paid $7.50 for 2 pair! These should last for at least a month I am guessing before I have to find something smaller again! I have lots of other size 18-20 clothes that fit, but there were no black dress pants in the box in storage. No more mooning anyone when I get out of my desk chair! pam PS I lost about 5 lbs the end of last week and over the weekend, but haven't lost since Monday so I must be "right sizing" this week!

A few weeks ago some wonderful person put up a topic about posting NSVs. I enjoyed reading it so much so I thought I would share two of mine from this week to get us started! Happy Friday everyone! First NSV, the bath towel ends meet! I wrapped my towel around me this week and noticed that for the first time in recent memory, the bath towel wrapped all the way around and met from top to bottom! Of course if I moved, it became indecent, but since I live alone no one was around to worry about! Second NSV, I had to go buy new pants for work for the first time since surgery. I have gone from a 24 pants to now an 18W. I managed to find two pair of serviceable black dress pants WITH POCKETS and no elastic at the consignment store and with my store credit, I paid $7.50 for 2 pair! These should last for at least a month I am guessing before I have to find something smaller again! I have lots of other size 18-20 clothes that fit, but there were no black dress pants in the box in storage. No more mooning anyone when I get out of my desk chair! Okay, who else has something for us to Celebrate with them this week? pam PS I lost about 5 lbs the end of last week and over the weekend, but haven't lost since Monday so I must be "right sizing" this week!

awesome I will move my post over there. pam

Depending on your gym, I believe most places have at least some kind of intro to weightlifting, either one on one or group. I work at a university and workout at the rec center on campus. I just finished my second week of a class called Women and Weights. We get together twice a week for eight weeks. One of the things our trainers have been stressing is that it should be hard, but not to the can't finish your reps and sets heavy. Good luck! pam

This makes me think the delays might not be him. pam

WOW! I wasn't allowed to do anything but walking for the first month after surgery. I am now three months out and I just finished week 1 of the c25k. I walk anywhere from 3.4-3.8 mph and run at 4.3-4.5. Yesterday I was feeling good so on my last running interval I ran most of it (30-45 sec.) at 5 mph. That was REALLY fast for me. I have taken my time since being cleared to run to get my cardio back in shape. I did a lot of walking and increasing my walking speed in the last 2 months. My goal is to run 80-90% of my next 5k on April 9th. I will be setting NO land speed records however! From there I will work on increasing my speed and distance. Just remember, this is not a race. Repeat weeks as necessary and go slow! The fastest way to get an injury, besides flying off the back of the treadmill ( ) is to try to do too much too soon. You have a lifetime to get faster! Good luck and great job! pam

Had you discussed this with your PCP before at any time? Perhaps its time to make an appointment and take the form that they need to sign to the PCP and have them sign it in front of you and give it to you so you can take it or send it back to your surgeon. It could be something going on with the office staff, it might be the PCP doesn't support your decision, it could be a lot of other things. Try one more time with a face to face and then decide if you need to change PCPs. Have you liked this PCP prior to this? pam

I have always heard that the best exercise for burning weight is whatever one you DO. pam

I was amazed how much better I slept after getting my machine and how badly I sleep when the electricity is out or my machine is one the fritz. I am hopeful that I will be able to leave mine behind in the next year or so. PS. When I first got mine I had a mask that just covered my nose, I kept ripping it off at night because my head would get all stuffed up and I couldn't breathe. Once I got a full face mask I was able to use my machine better and it was much more effective. Don't give up if you don't adjust to it right away. Keep asking questions. pam

@@2goldengirl Thanks for the clarifications. That makes a lot of sense. I am fortunate to work at a large university so my insurance in "reasonable" for what I pay and has fantastic coverage. I am glad to hear that ACA has covered those complications now. pam

It is my understanding that the better shape you are in when you have surgery, the better off you will be after surgery. I don't know that it would have helped my chicken wings or not, but I do wish I had been more diligent with my arm exercises before and right after my surgery. I am now starting back to weight lifting 3 months approx. out and I have some crazy wings under my arms and have lost a lot of strength/muscle tone in my arms. I did a lot of walking after my surgery so my legs dont' seem to have lost nearly as much. pam

WHOOOHOOOO! Congratulations! pam

@@OKCPirate I am so glad you found what worked for you both with your insurance and surgery. Mexico would not have been an option for me. I'm thankful for both of us being able to have options and choose the options that worked best for both of us. @@2goldengirl You make great points and I think they are a key to this article. This is largely about obesity being a medical issue and surgery being a tool to aid in getting a handle on it. Education and understanding are keys to that. There are too many people/doctors/insurance analysts who still feel that all fat people are lazy and surgery is the easy way out. I think also its interesting that WLS became a pre-existing condition for so many people, like the author, and gave insurance an excuse to not cover any thing they saw as a complication. It makes me even more thankful for the great insurance that I have through work. pam

I also am blessed to have incredible insurance. I think I paid the remainder of my deductible for last year (about $6.00 for my surgery!) I only have $100 deductible per year. I also had to pay my copays, but otherwise Everything has been paid. Now I can also get reimbursed from my flex account to pay for my supplements! I heard a story recently about a friend of a friend who had WLS a number of years ago. She eventually developed what sounded like some kind of strangulated hernia. She ended up the hospital for more than 2 months in ICU a bunch of that and the insurance refused to pay for any of it because she basically "voided her warranty" when she had weightloss surgery! They said it was all related to the surgery so they didn't have to pay! I couldn't understand how the insurance could do that until I read the article! pam

@lamulatona WHOOOHOOO!! Congrats on your surgery. Welcome to the club. I pray all goes well for you. pam

I use Secret antiperspirant. When I use it under my arms, I put a layer on under my belly. I found that the powders only work to a point for me, but the antiperspirant has worked much better. pam

Having read about "friends" on here before surgery, I have been expecting some distancing from some people. So far I haven't noticed anything except me distancing myself from anyone who is overly negative. For example, the "friend" who frequently told me that I couldn't understand her life because she was treated differently because she is pretty! Or the chronic liar and drama queen. I am being much more selective about who is in my friend circle. I chose people now who bring value to my life an appreciate what I bring to theirs. I had too many "friendships" that were one-sided with me being the friend and being taken advantage of. It helps that I am doing the choosing. Its still scary, but I think it hurts less than being rejected. Chin up everyone! We are great and deserve to have friends who build us up and appreciate us for our gifts. pam

Your profile photos are amazing. I know how you feel though, at least a little. My 3 month date is Thursday. The first month I lost twenty pounds, the second month I squeaked by with 20 more pounds. This month my "goal" was to get twenty pounds again. As of this morning I am at 14.5 for month three. So close and yet so far. But the truth is I am still doing really well. I am to the point where even if I only lose 14.5 for the next couple months I will be in onederland by summer and that's amazing. You've already done a fantastic job and you can get there. Sounds like you are doing it the right way with exercise and all, I would wonder if you aren't getting smaller, even though you aren't seeing a change in the scale. In month 2 I lost about 12 inches from top to bottom. I am pretty sure that number will be higher this month eventhough the scale hasn't moved as much. There is a reason we Celebrate NSVs as well as weight loss. Take care of yourself and enjoy/relish the rest so you are ready to get back at it when you feel better. pam

I am nearly three months post op and down 54.5 lbs. I started at a 24 pants and 26/28 top. I am now in 20/18 pants and 20/22 tops. In both cases it varies on cut and brand. I went to my nephew's wedding the first weekend in February (about 10 days ago) and wore a size 20 dress from Dress Barn and rocked it! I brought several items up from my storage unit recently that are size 18s. One or two pairs of pants fit mostly and the suit jackets are REALLY getting close. I have avoided trying them on since I brought them up so I don't get sad because I can't wear them yet. I have started a weight lifting class this past week and am looking forward to seeing how much toning up will change how things fit as well as how it affects the weight loss. I am also at my three month surgiversary Thursday when I will measure to see how many inches I have lost and this weekend my sis-in-law will be taking 3 month pictures for comparison. YEAH! pam

YEAH!! I'm a cougar! LOL

Welcome Kelsie! I gave up a fairly major Diet Coke addiction the end of July, right after deciding to get surgery for sure (I took it gradually and it took the better part of the month of July). I had read on here about the people who went through caffeine withdrawal and post surgery pain together and knew I DID NOT want to try that. By surgery I had been caffeine free about 4 months. I have not regretted it. I really do think that recovery was much better without the extra pain. I also don't miss it. By then end of February I will be 6 months without a diet coke! I agree with @@miiasan that planning is huge. I have to plan everything and that is so not my personality at least not where food was concerned. I was more of a whatever I am hungry for kind of eater. Now its all about Protein and hydration. Best of luck to you! pam

I also felt really good after surgery and was able to eat almost a full amount almost right away. One of my indicators that I needed to be done (before I learned the feeling) was the hiccups. I always knew that meant I needed to stop NOW. Not one more bite, but NOW!! I have been really careful about making sure that I don't eat more than the recommended. Even now I can eat a cup of food most meals, but I focus on it being mostly Protein. I also don't generally feel hungry unless I completely skip a meal. I have learned to schedule meals and Snacks and try not to deviate. Otherwise I get hungry and then am tempted to eat too fast and then I suffer! Good luck! pam