Christinamo7

YES. my goal is 160. Quite frankly I could barely even get my hopes up that I could ever be that small. that would be more than 100 down from my all time ever highest of 267. The doctor thinks I'll go lower, and maybe I will - but I can not even wrap my head around it at this time. By the BMI charts I would have to get down to 120 - 129 to be in the "healthy" range. at 160 I'd still be "obese"

Thank you. We've been through a lot these last few weeks. Hopefully things are looking up. I honestly have no idea. I'm guessing it heals on its own. whatever you do - do NOT google it! I always google that stuff and it is surprising I'm not dead yet.

*replied by private message so as to not bore the group. :-D

a couple of weeks before my surgery a coworker's cousin died after having bypass. They didn't advise me not to have my surgery, but I could tell everyone knew about it and they were anxious. I just promised them I wouldn't die. Afterall, if I had, they couldn't really be mad at me then and as it turns out everything was fine. I am sorry you had this happen - but only you can make this choice.

how in the world do they treat a hole there?

7 weeks out and down 25.

I take a dulcolax stool softener daily and once I have had to take a miralax laxative pill. I do not let it go more than every other day.

I chose the sleeve because I take a lot of supplements - most importantly Salmon oil for ADD, and with the sleeve I could continue to do so. I do not have reflux or anything like that which would have made bypass the better option.

as I tell him, even if you are the one who made me mad or hurt my feelings, you need to hold me. it just helps. :-) He's getting there. The most important thing to me is I know he would never let anyone hurt me. He won't let anyone talk to me badly. He would do anything he had to do to protect me.

I have not seen it, but I will say that I met my husband online. back in the dark ages. Neither of us was looking for someone, it was just a common interest chat room. :-) he was pretty much in love with me before he ever even saw my picture - but I had been thrown in the garbage by my first husband so I took a little more convincing.

I think it helps me to view this as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

I have a desk job. I ended up needing 1 week, and then for the next 3 weeks I worked 6 hour days while I recovered. If possible I would ask for FMLA. HR will know what's going on but they are not allowed to talk about it to anyone. Your manager would only know that you have FMLA, not the reason. The coworkers shouldn't know anything. This way if you were to be one of those who had some complication or slow recovery your job is safe and you are protected.

its rare enough to even get your PCP to mention your weight !!! I am thankful my PCP was fully supportive and so was my GYN. It is worth forming a team who have your best interests at heart.

I wouldn't say I'm ever afraid exactly - but I do try to be smart about situations where safety is an issue. However. married almost 20 years this time. I was married 9 years to my first husband. why this works is because he always lets me be the girl in the relationship - and I kind of think that's the bottom line of what you posted. He could have used this book in the early days. :-)

GO BLUE! :-)

that's more than 9 pounds a month! How much more do you have to go?

Well - I have always had a lot of hobbies. I think I will enjoy them much more now. I still enjoy cooking - lots of people to cook for in my family so I get my little bit and it's nice. I just have one child (out of 7) at home - the other hungry young adults are there pretty often for some home cooking too. two college students who are home part of the year. We like to hike, and I am excited to be physically able to do longer hikes at some of the parks we love. The diabetes sidelined me for a couple of years and I could only do shorter hikes. I miss the rambles. I quilt, sew and crochet, and I am looking forward to going back to making some of my own clothes when I get to maintenance. I have a rose garden that has not been as well tended as I would like. This year is shaping up differently because I now have the energy to devote to it. I love to sing and play the flute. I want to learn to play piano. My son has tried and tried to teach me, and I am just going to keep trying. I recently wrote a short novella for a fanfiction site, and it was well received, I believe I would enjoy doing more of that. I am hoping to get back home to Michigan next winter for snowshoeing and skiing, as it has been YEARS since I have done that, and looking forward to July for swimming and beach time. (beach time - that's a laudable hobby, yes?) I also love shooting - and archery. I can only really do that to my liking when I am home on the farm, but it is enjoyable. We shoot rifles in the winter and archery when I visit in the summer. I only see out of one eye, really, and I think it gives me an advantage. I'm a crack shot if I do say so myself.

I felt hungry in the first several days after surgery. went (with NUTS approval) to some soft foods early. couldn't each much! but the hunger went away.

"I guess I wish people would perceive me as attractive whether I'm fit or fat but that's very far-fetched and I understand that. I will very likely be perceived as attractive when I'm at a normal weight, as many of you are experiencing with your weight loss (male and female alike). I accept that it is inevitable but I will still probably resent it. Just my own personal issue and my anger with society for degrading the obese population." In a perfect world? However - people are allowed to think whatever they want is attractive/unattractive. and you get to decide whether you want to be fit/fat or how you think about your own weight/shape/fitness. One thing I have found whether I am old or young, and no matter what my weight has been there was always someone out there who thought I was the hottest thing going. It's what I think about myself that matters alone. However, degrading others is never ok, no matter what you think about their outsides. edited because I don't know why the quote from the other post did not show as a quote. sheesh. the second paragraph is my comment.

Glad to hear it! how did they feel you are doing with healing up?

my nose drips to tell me it's time to stop eating.

at my doctors office when I am weighed there is a ticker that states how many calories you need to maintain that weight. If you are eating less calories than needed, and you move your body the weight will come off. some of us just seem to have more stubborn fat. Keep up your Protein and fluids and take one day at a time.

I had 3 months supervised. my weight loss clinic would have done it there, but my PCP was closer and following me for diabetes and other concerns, so I just had her do it.

Congrats!!!! how encouraging. Still feels so far away for me!

I started drinking coffee at 3-4 weeks. I have 3-4 cups a week.