BonnieJo

What's the LAST thing that you remember before going under the anesthesia and the FIRST thing that you remember waking up?

Last thing..."wow that nurse is hot" and then out...woke up going "where is that hot nurse?" I was getting to my feet and walking shortly after that.

Congratulations to both of you!

congrats and be prepared the surgery date will be here in NO time

congrats, they approved mine very quickly too!

Congratulations! Just hang on tight; it's a wild ride!

Congrats to you mine just was approved yesterday
But it is scheduled for Monday - oh my gosh .....so close - good luck to us both !

Congrats to you mine just was approved yesterday
But it is scheduled for Monday - oh my gosh .....so close - good luck to us both !

Congrats to you mine just was approved yesterday
But it is scheduled for Monday - oh my gosh .....so close - good luck to us both !

Congrats to you mine just was approved yesterday
But it is scheduled for Monday - oh my gosh .....so close - good luck to us both !

Stop it......
Stop beating yourself up that is.
You had a piece of pizza. You got it outa your system, right?
Now you have 5 days left to stay strictly aligned to your program and ensure your success.
Nobody is perfect....nor will we ever be. Get on track and stay there and have your wls and profit.
You've got this and we are here to help in any way we can.

Congrats to you mine just was approved yesterday
But it is scheduled for Monday - oh my gosh .....so close - good luck to us both !

I just joined this board a couple of days ago and it has been very inspirational. I was prepared for a two week wait before getting an answer from the insurance company. However, I was pleasantly surprised that to be told this morning the surgery has been approved. March 9th here I come...
So thankful to God for a second chance.

Black and White, looks amazing!!! You've done the work, show it off!!!

The black and white one

definitely the second one! They are both beautiful but that second one is really figure flattering. Trust me, I'm an artist!

Black and white. It gives you more definition!

Congratulations on your decision. So much of what you said resonates with me. I have always been the fat kid too and I have 7 kids I love and want to be able to be the mom they deserve. I had rny in November and it was the best decision I ever made. I can do so much more now than I used to be able to. I would get winded walking to the kitchen or from the kitchen to the bathroom and forget the stairs! That would be a lay on the bed huffing and puffing unable to breathe event every time I had to go upstairs. Fast forward to today, and I not only can walk up the stairs without being winded, but I run up the stairs and don't double foot each step. I dance with my kids, I walk around the neighborhood and I wear clothes that 6 months ago were nothing more than a distant fantasy. It really is the best decision I made and I know you won't regret it either.

Hello so happy you made the decision to take back your life and it may seem hard but it's not keep the faith.We all go through the same thing when we decided to take the step to control our lives.I am waiting to be scheduled for surgery and is having a hard time on this liquid diet you just have to stay positive and focus.
You can do it

@@MsB7
I wonder if it was fate that you wrote that post and that I read it. I just sat here and re-read it about 3 times. There is so much of your post that brings memories and echoes to my mind. I just got to the end of my mandatory 6 months+ of PCP monthly visits, physical therapy, counseling, nutrition, Nurse Practitioner, and 17+ lab and specialty appointments. I know what your going through with that. It's a long haul and you aren't allowed to miss or just not go to the appts. It's all required to see if you are really commited and that you will be compliant to ensure your success. One day at a time; that's all you need to concentrate on. One day at a time. No one is perfect and everyone struggles and makes mistakes. You get back up, do your program, keep the faith and keep it honest. Keep it real. This is a chance of a lifetime to take back your life and live it healthy and happy. So, welcome to this forum. Explore all the forums and ask anything you want. Sending out positive energy to you! You are okay and you can do this!! ????

Very few women actually enjoy being catcalled. It's embarrassing, demeaning, and degrading. The men that do it don't actually think they are going to get a date out of it, it's just an aggressive tactic to put a woman in her place (as a sexual object for men's consumption).
I'm not surprised to hear that it made you feel unsafe. Strange men shouting sexual slurs at women are situations that rarely end well. God forbid you told them to "piss off". Who knows how they could have reacted?
For example, a woman was just shot and killed for rejecting a man at a bar. He waited outside after closing and shot her in the chest. This isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last.
Men who respect women don't catcall. They may think "damn she looks good" in their head, and that's totally fine, but they don't call out at women and belittle/scare them. TL;DR - I hate catcalling!!!

I was out for a run and towards the end of my run, a guy in a truck slows down rolled down his window and yelled out a comment about how I looked running. It totally killed my mood and my run. I stopped and started to walk. Luckily I was at mile 4.5 and only planned on running 5. I don't know, maybe I'm so used to having snarky comments made about my size that it took me right back to the "fat girl" that still lurks below the surface. Same thing happened at the park a few weeks ago, I was running with a friend and 2 guys hanging out in the parking lot shouted out comments every time we passed. It was annoying and because of their tone and choice of words, made us feel borderline unsafe.
Seriously, guys let me finish my run in peace. I don't need you rolling down your window to comment on my legs, arm, chest, etc. I certainly don't need to feel unsafe. If you think it's endearing, it's not. It's rude, obnoxious and creepy and I damn well guarantee it will not get a positive response from me.
Thanks for letting me rant. I guess it proves to myself that I am not a fan of unwanted attention and long to fade into the background!

Hi everyone, my surgery date is scheduled for January 5th. Anyone else having surgery then? I could have gotten it done sooner but my hubby can get time off easier if it's after the holidays. I've got my pre op appt with my surgeon on December 3rd, and my nutrition class on December 7th. I'm so excited!

Well I didn't have to do any bowel prep at all. Remember you probably will be doing Clear Liquids the day before and nothing to eat or drink 12 hours before surgery. I was fine had no issues.

Formerly obese personal trainer Kelly Coffey talks turkey about excess skin, and what she did - and continues to do - about hers.


Dear Coffey -
I’m thinking about having weight loss surgery, but I’m not too keen on living the rest of my life with extra, loose skin. What can I do to keep that from happening?
Sincerely,
Cecelia in CA




Hey there, Cecelia -
Congratulations on taking the reigns and exploring your options. I hope you find a good, honest surgeon who can help you figure out if weight loss surgery might be a strong choice for you.
As with everything concerning our bodies, the topic of loose skin generates a whole lot of hype.
The truth is there are exactly six things you can do to minimize excess, loose skin after weight loss - whether or not you have WLS. The first three are preventative, and apply to the period before weight is lost. The last three apply to the post-weight loss period.
First, prevention.
1- Don’t wait.
Ask any aesthetician or midwife and they’ll tell you: the younger we are, the more our skin can bounce back from a stretch. If you would be more comfortable weighing less and you’re afraid of having excess skin, the younger you are when you lose weight, the better.
But don’t waste precious energy wishing you had lost weight in your early 20s. You have today, and today is where your power is. If there are choices you want to make in service to your health and happiness (whether or not they would result in weight loss) today is the day to make them.
2- Avoid the loss/gain cycle.
Imagine how a once-inflated balloon looks and feels after you let the air out. Now imagine the same balloon after 4, 6, or 10 deflations. Much like the balloon, the more times we lose weight and gain it back, the looser our skin gets.
Again, now is not the time to berate yourself for all those “successful” stints in Weight Watchers that ended with you gaining the weight back and then some - it happens to all of us, myself included. Today is the day to get yourself stronger, more sustainable tools - tools that support long-term weight loss and minimize the probability of gaining it back. These tools exist, and you can get an introduction to them in my free online workshop, W hy We Sabotage Ourselves (with Food) (and What We Can Do About It) .
3- Keep weight gain to a minimum.
The heavier we get, the more our skin stretches, and the less likely it is to bounce back after we lose weight.
You can’t do anything now about your weight history. Feeling badly about it or judging yourself for it will only make you want to numb out (if you’re anything like me, probably with food). If you are reading this at the heaviest weight you’ve ever been, then this is the heaviest you ever need to be. If weight loss is something you want to do for you, your skin will thank you for making caring choices toward that goal starting now.
That covers the things you can do to minimize excess skin before you lose weight. Now let’s look at what you can do once the weight is gone.
4- Build muscle.
Contrary to popular belief, strength training does not “tone” or “tighten” the skin. Skin elasticity has nothing - NOTHING - to do with exercise. But strength training gives loose skin something hot and firm to lie over - namely biceps, triceps, quads and abdominal muscles.
Lots of folks - especially women - shy away from strength-training, or think it’s better to use smaller weights and do more reps. This is a myth that keeps women from ever seeing the results they want and deserve. Assuming you’re being safe and reasonable, the heavier and harder and you train, the more muscle you build, and the better you’re likely to feel about how your skin looks.
5- Have surgery.
Even if you’re young, even if you lose weight just once, and even if you strength train like a boss, there’s still a limit to the impact we can have on excess skin after weight-loss.
Some consider having skin removal surgery.
If this is something you’re thinking about, be warned: Words like “lift,” “nip,” and “tuck” are misleading. Skin removal surgery is no joke. I know that because I had it. The surgery hurts like hell, and can put you out of commision for weeks or months. Also, the medication usually prescribed to manage the post-op pain is highly addictive. If you’ve got a compulsive / addictive relationship to food, you’re way more likely to get hooked on painkillers than someone who doesn’t struggle with the compulsive overeating.
6- Love yourself.
Loving your body isn’t going to tighten, lift, or shape your skin after you lose weight, but it can minimize the negative impact that living with loose skin might have on you otherwise.
Love is action. Love means making consistently caring choices because you deserve to be cared for, no matter what you weigh or how your body looks. If you struggle to make consistently caring choices, whether you’re pre-op, post-op, or no-op, you’re not alone, and there are practical, usable tools to help you get there.
Where will you fall on the loose skin spectrum? You can’t really know unless and until you lose weight.


I yo-yo dieted for 10+ years, maxing out at 307 pounds. I had Roux-en Y in my mid-twenties and lost over half my body weight. Eventually I started strength training and became a personal fitness trainer. Two years later, I opted to have abdominoplasty (aka a tummy tuck), because the excess skin on my stomach was beyond anything that could be mediated or improved with exercise.





The surgery hurt like a son-of-a-b***h and had me out of work for a month.
I’ve made peace with the loose skin on the rest of my body. The muscle I’ve built with regular strength training helps a lot. So has treating my body with care one choice at a time for over a decade. It’s given me self-respect and peace that make my batwings an insignificant afterthought.
Loose skin post-weight loss is inevitable for those of us who are or have been obese. But if you would be healthier or more comfortable in your body weighing less, don’t let the fear of loose skin keep you from doing what you need to do to get there.
Our bodies will never look like other people’s bodies, and that’s OK.
Our bodies tell our stories, and our stories are our strength.
All good things,
Kelly Coffey
PS: Whether or not you decide to have surgery - and even if you've already had it by the time you read this - you can use the tool that's helped me to turn my life and my health around. To learn it, click here to grab a seat in my free online workshop, "Why We Sabotage Ourselves (with Food) (and What We Can Do About It)"