Dashofpixiedust8

I'm glad it went well!

@Mrsburk525 You are making great progress towards that goal girl! @Judy Gaer Congrats on making it to ONEDERLAND!!!!!!

My weigh in this week is 246.4. I will definitely take that because I was up as high as 251 earlier in the week. I was eating super shitty over the weekend...I am back on top of it though!

@kozyjozie so that's like 300 calories a day?

@jess9395 How many shakes a day do you do? How many calories? I think I need a reboot. I am 15 months out now. How long do you do it for?

@Berry78 ah okay! In that case... @dreamingsmall stalls are the worst! You will get past it though! Try not to let the scale be the only measure of weight loss The numbers may not move but you will still be shrinking!

@Judy Gaer I already had you in as a start weight of 201 and updated your goal to 190

@dreamingsmallAll you can do is take what the scale says tomorrow as motivation to do better next week. You can't change what you've done but can only change what you will do. Most of us will have times when we fall off for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks. As long as you don't let it spiral out of control you will come back from it. You just have to accept the bad eating and move past it. It might not be as bad as you think!

@lil.trubl It's not a problem!

Awesome! What is your weight now and what is your goal weight for October 20th?

@BecomingMeAgain I have added you! Are you not able to view the spreadsheet or not able to edit it? If you are not able to edit it, it is because only I am authorized to edit it. If you can't view it please let me know that too! @luckylimeyI just wanted to clarify if that is your goal weight for the end or for the 8 week challenge. If it is your end goal what is your goal to be at by 10/20? @lmw8605 That's a great goal, this is only an 8 week challenge though. What is your goal weight to be at on October 20th?

@Mrsburk525 Awesome! That's why I just wanted to clarify! I hope you reach it!

@nonickname4me Sounds good. This challenge is only for 8 weeks though so for the goal weight, what is the weight you would like to be on October 20? @spowell Awesome! What is your weigh in for 8/25 and what weight would you like to be on 10/20?

@dreamynow I will put your goal at 260 for now which I'm sure you will beat soon. Once you reach your goal we can adjust your goal for the rest of the challenge. @Mrsburk525 I just want to clarify if 190 is your goal for the end of this 8 week challenge that will end on 10/20/17 or your end goal? If it is your end goal, what is your goal for the end of the next 8 weeks? @lil.trubl That sounds like a great goal but this challenge is only for 8 weeks. When giving me your goal weight, what is your goal weight you would like to be on October 20th?

You can still join! What is your current weight and goal weight?

My current weight is 246.8 and my goal is 230. I haven't been doing great but I'm hoping this challenge will get me back on track!

@luckylimey What is your current weight and goal weight for 10/20/17 so I can add you to the spreadsheet? @akaet Only I can edit the document. Just post your weights on this post. What is your goal weight for 10/20/2017?

Alright everyone, here we go again! Please be patient with my updates on the spreadsheet as I have a lot going on. This challenge will run from August 25, 2017 to October 20, 2017. This will give us a total of 9 weigh ins. I will do my best to post to the spreadsheet within 1 - 2 day of receiving your weight but I am going to be in 5 classes and working 2 jobs so if it takes me a few extra days I am sorry but I WILL have it updated as soon as possible!! Please note that I will recalculate the figures as soon as I can following the Friday weigh in - so your weight percentages may be a little off... I have made these Friday weigh ins because that will allow us to start as soon as possible. You may post your weight at anytime during the week if Friday is not your weigh in day! This challenge is for everyone. If you are pre op, post op, in maintenance or looking for some accountability; this challenge is for you! The rules and link to the spreadsheet are below! Procedures: Please Post Your Starting Weight (Weight on or around August 25th) and Goal Weight (what you would like to weigh at the end of the challenge) at the start of the challenge on August 25, 2017. Remember this goal weight is only for the end of the challenge, not your ending goal weight!! You can cut/paste this below and fill it in on your post - Goal Weight: Current Weight: Today's Date: Rules: 1. I will be awarding a prize to 2 lucky participants! The winners will be selected at random an the only thing you need to do to be eligible for the drawing is log your weight each week! 2. Post your weight on this thread every Friday. Specifically 8/25, 9/1, 9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6, 10/13, and 10/20 3. If you change your screen name please let me know. 4. If you miss 2 or more weigh ins, I will assume you no longer want to participate and your name will be removed from the spreadsheet. 5. If you miss a weigh in on Friday, no problem. Just post it asap. 6. We are all here to support each other, if you post a question anyone can answer. 7. You will know your weight is updated on the spreadsheet once I've liked your post! The link to the spreadsheet is below! Have fun, and good luck with this challenge!!! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jMtg8eT3g6JIsbB5YZ-_C_P34stfGqB0G_pmefEhA1U/edit?usp=sharing Remember we are all here to support each other! I look forward to running another challenge with you!

@Missy161 I will be starting one soon! @dreamingsmall You can participate. It's not a guarantee you will get a prize, I use a random number generator and we can cross that bridge if you are a winner. I hope to see you in the next challenge!

I would definitely ask your surgeon about when you are cleared to exercise, your regular doctor would not be able to tell you that. Also ask your surgeon about alcohol. Many practices have different recommendations. My surgeon did not clear me for alcohol until 6 months out. I am a little over 14 months out and the bubbles from prosecco and Moscato don't bother me now but they may have 3 months out from surgery. I don't remember where I got my soft food recipes from but for regular food I usually use www.skinnytaste.com and www.emilybites.com

Congrats! Stalls are the worst!

@sleevedshereenI know. It's incredibly hard to just relax and let it be...but that's kind of what you have to do. My boyfriend has been thin and fit his entire life. He doesn't understand what I'm going through, but he is proud of all I've done. I talk to him about my body image issues and he just holds my hand and tells me he can't imagine what I'm going through because he has never been overweight but I've accomplished amazing things and I should be proud of what I've done. I hate my extra skin, especially on my thighs. I feel like my extra skin there makes it look like I have huge testicles, and I'm not exaggerating. But he thinks I'm sexy anyway. Who you are is what your boyfriend is attracted to. Looks are just a tiny part of it. If you become too scared of being a statistic it will come true. I promise you. It seems like he really cares about you and thinks you are sexy for who you are. Try to just enjoy being with him. If you want to get plastic surgery, get it, but do it for you. I had my stomach flap removed in June. I am not at goal yet but it was affecting my quality of life since it was so large. They removed 15 pounds of skin from that one part of me. That kind of gives you an idea of how much extra skin is on the rest of me. If he cares of about you, what you look like will not change his feelings. He will think you are the most gorgeous girl because he loves you. Try to remember that.

Definitely. Though, I was single when I had my surgery. I see so many stories of people getting divorces and breaking up after the weight loss that it has scared me alot. I'm much thinner than I was and am now just a bit overweight but even so, I voiced my fear with the guy I'm seeing now because he's said he has been preferring bigger women. I told him I was afraid when I get to goal he will no longer find me attractive. He told me he will always find me attractive, that weight isn't the only thing attractive about me. He has also seen me with all of this extra skin (there is a ton since I've lost over 295 pounds!) and he STILL loves to see me naked (TMI maybe lol). I think we worry about our bodies MUCH more than our guys do. I think my biggest advice is don't let your fear become the wedge between you two. If you worry about it too much it will make these thoughts come true. Be confident (I know this is hard) in you and your relationship. It will only cause unneeded stress that is making something big out of something that doesn't even matter to him. Good luck to you! We are always here for you if you need to vent too!

I totally get it. It's crazy how our culture is so food centric. I say find new activities to do with friends and family. I know you said you don't like the outdoors and such but there are other things to do than just physical activity. When I was so soon out of surgery I didn't do anything physically active. If your friends and family are supportive of this journey of yours (which I hope they are) they will respect the fact that right now (especially when you are still on liquid diet) your hang outs need to be without food. It will get much much easier once you can eat regular food again. When you can you will enjoy cooking again and you will just cook things that are healthier but still delicious. My friends LOVE when I cook and are ALWAYS amazed that it is low calorie. Good for you food doesn't have to mean boring. For now though, think about things you can do together that would still be fun. For me that was things like game nights, paint nights, going to a place like dave and busters and playing games, this soon out from surgery you can't go bowling but thats an option down the line, miniature golf is also fun. Doing an activity doesn't always have to mean hiking or canoeing or something. If you like music what about going out for karaoke with friends. The hardest part of this journey is right now, while you are on a liquid diet. It will get much easier. I promise. Hang in there!

This is long and possibly triggering so you don't have to read it all but this is my story.... I was sexually abused by a neighbor when I was 5. That was when I started emotionally eating and packing on the pounds. It was also when my depression started. I was suicidal at 6 years old. My parents were thin their entire lives but also started putting on weight around this time. I think we all dealt with it in a negative way. I was always much heavier than my classmates. At age 10 I was already wearing an adult size 14/16. I am and always was the tallest in my class. At least until the boys started growing. I am now a little over 5'10. I struggled with depression and bipolar my entire childhood and adolescence. I even got so bad I tried to runaway at 15 and I also tried to kill myself when I was 16. My weight was a big factor in that but I never had the strength to change it. When I graduated high school I was wearing a size 22/24 or 26/28. I tried so many diets over the years. I did medically supervised, liquid, jenny craig, weight watchers, south beach, atkins, I even went to the weight loss center at Duke when I was 18 years old and lost 30 pounds but then gained it all back when I got back. In 2007, age 21, I went for a consultation to get lapband surgery weighing in at 380 pounds. I had to do 6 months of a supervised diet and had the surgery in 2008. The lowest weight I got to after surgery was 280 pounds. I started having complications with the lapband and everything made me throw up. They loosened the restriction completely and my weight kept piling on. By 2012 my weight was up to 480 pounds. They then removed the lapband because of the issues. Over the years my weight stayed around 480 until I started gaining again. The scary thing is I was okay with being overweight. I saw no issue in it. My breaking point was in October of 2015 I went to the hospital with chest pains at 28 years old. They kept me for a few days because my oxygen was low. The doctor wanted to get a cat scan and the radiologist didn't even want to do it because I was over the weight limit. I had told them I weighed 480 pounds because that's what I thought I weighed, I hadn't gotten on a scale for many years. It suddenly hit me that I was getting so heavy that doctor's couldn't even treat me. My doctor had to fight and push for them to preform the cat scan. I ended up having to go on portable oxygen 24/7 because at that point I was so overweight the fat was pressing against my lungs and restricting my breathing. I realized if I didn't do something drastic about my weight I was going to die, probably before I hit 30 years old. The day I was released from the hospital is the day I called the bariatric surgeon. On my first visit I got on the scale and saw the number 540. That shocked me. I weighed a quarter of a ton. That hit me hard. I had 6 months of a medically supervised diet and had to lose at least 40 pounds before surgery because my surgeon doesn't even operate on people weighing over 500 pounds. In the 6 month supervised diet I was able to lose 60 pounds. I had surgery on May 29, 2016 at 480 pounds. I did have complications after surgery for 6 months but I would go through all of that again in a second to do this surgery again. Today I weigh 245 pounds. I wear a size 14/16 pant and size 12 top. When I started this in October of 2015 I wore a stretched out 6x. I have not been this size since I was 10 years old. I NEVER thought I would ever succeed at this. I NEVER though I would EVER be able to buy from the nonplus side. I feel like my life is a dream every day. I am so thankful for this surgery. I am so thankful for my team of doctors. And I am so thankful I finally woke up and saw that I was killing myself with food. I definitely still struggle, and I know it will be a lifelong struggle, but I am stronger emotionally and physically than ever before. I am finally able to actually live my life. I have a boyfriend who is amazingly sweet, funny and super hot. I am almost done my degree and I am able to go out with friends and even walk faster and longer than most of them now when before I could hardly walk 6 steps without having to stop. People call me an inspiration and honestly I don't feel like an inspiration, I feel like a warning story. My life until now is what you aren't supposed to do. All of us are here to change our lives for the better. I'm just glad I had my "aha" moment before it was too late.