B.B

Wonderful, wonderful post. Thank you for taking the time to share and you are doing amazing! Can’t wait for an update.


SW 284
CW 205
GW 141 (Normal BMI)
SD March 2017

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Very informative post, I type a lot too, lol, and relate to all of your issues (check my entries if interested).
I'm actually at 6 months exactly today and 113 lb down, it's crazy!!!!! I had a pair of jeans I couldn't put on last month and this month it slides off of me with the button fastened. I ran out of holes in the belt that I purchased 3 month ago. It's amazing feeling to be losing on a daily basis.
Had my 6 mo check up to, my doctor projected for me similar weight loss (of about 10-12 lb a month) for next 3 months, then he said it might slow down a bit. I had some stalls before, when they happened I closely reviewed what I ate and how much, and found the baddies. It's easier to find the small things now than the big things later, so when a stall happens, which can be typical, try to review all that you take in, and that you forget (like Water, Vitamins, enough protein) and adjust as soon as possible.
I'm over the moon happy with the numbers on scale but the buck doesn't stop there. There are skin issues to deal with (I find water aerobics really helps here cause it puts even pressure all over your body, and if you have knee and back problems like I do, its really the safest way to do weights), Hair loss was bad, until I started Biotin and now its much better, I don't see the handfulls anymore, and I even think it started growing back (and its the only physical growth I'm experiencing and happy to see).
I'm starting school next week, super excited about that, it will change my schedule a lot, less time to work out, but it will enrich my life differently. I'm a little worried that I may need more carbs to deal with intense learning and brain power needed for that. I guess I should wait with worry once it becomes a problem.
Love your rules, its the basics for a good post surgical life. I'd only add, for those who don't bother logging their food, like I don't, to really know what you can eat and not to buy anything else to reduce the temptations. Watching what we can eat ad how much, and how fast (or rather slow) is really becoming my second nature. My shopping trips took over an hour before, as I made my way through all the isles, now I'm in and out within 15 min, unless checkout is slow, lol. I go to 4- 5 places in the store and out. Gives me more time to enjoy other things in life too.

Good luck to all and ty for reading. May the weight be the only thing we lose this year Happy new year all

I meant to post this last month....but during the holidays, time disappears. I’m posting this because before and just after surgery I was ravenous for information. I don’t come to this forum much anymore, as life has adjusted. But I’m hoping this will help anyone like me who wanted to know as much as possible, and from as many people as possible. Please remember....everyone’s journey is different. This is just some notes about mine.
6 month lessons
Yup, it’s a long post. Settle in. Lol. So, I just had my 6 month appt. I know all of our experiences are so unique, but I wanted to share mine as a reference of what you may expect. A bit about me. I had gastric sleeve in Las Vegas with Dr Atkinson. In august of last year I had just begun this process and wouldn’t have surgery until April. My HW: was August 2016 at 345, SW: April 2017 was 343, CW: is 240.5, that’s a 103lb loss. Yay me! (Side note, my insurance didn’t require any pre surgery weight loss....and I had almost zero loss. The only rule was I couldn’t gain). My dr was amazing. If you’re near vegas, I completely recommend him. Surgery went perfectly, recovery was difficult (this crap is hard), but I had very minimal incision pain. There was no 2 week pre-op fast, the leak test was performed during surgery so I had liquid/ice chips right away (liquid was no good, but ice chips are perfect after surgery).....I had super glue stuff on my incisions so no pain and no dressing issues.....he’s one of the highest ranked and most experienced gastric surgeons in the country. I could go on....but I think you get it. His skill and his post surgery protocols are awesome. I had zero problems.
I’ve looked many times on here for how many calories at 7 weeks....how many carbs at 3 months. I couldn’t find anything and now I know why. My surgeon and nutritionist really only care about Protein until 6 months. Unless, of course, there is a specific problem or deficiency. It’s nice to now have some specific nutrient goals, but the focus is still on protein. And even at 6 months, I still struggle to get 90g daily. It’s super important to keep trying!! Get all the protein you can.
Let’s talk hair. Yup, it’s falling out in chunks. Chunks. It’s more than a little heartbreaking. But, I knew it was coming. Doesn’t help, but it is expected. It started at 4 months. As of now, still going strong. I also know it will stop. But while you’re in the falling out phase....it’s stressful. Which just makes more fall out. So try to keep positive. And take your Vitamins. I swore I’d never fall off of that, but I have periodically. It happens. Just get back on track. Biotin supplements and the hair treatment Nioxin has helped too. (Update...at 7 months this has slowed dramatically. Still losing a bit, but nothing like before. I see the light at the end of the tunnel [emoji4])
Skin. Saggy saggy skin. Another thing I knew was coming, but it’s been difficult. I didn’t start working out as early as I wish I had. Now I feel a bit like I’m fighting a losing battle. But....this is a problem with a fix. When I reach goal I will worry about the cosmetic stuff. But trust me when I say....get working out as soon as possible. Weights. Lift some weights.
Sweets. Stay away for as long as you can. I went 4.5 months without. Then I had some chocolate and it was easy. Not like trying to eat meat. Meat you have to chew to death and if it’s dry, it’s still hard to get down. I can only eat (at most) 2 oz of meat at a time. But chocolate, that went down easy. I had an entire bar in one day. Now, before surgery I’d have 4 bars in a day. But 1 bar is still a lot. So I locked that down and now only allow myself 1 square a day. Now, you might find that that’s too much for you. Again, we’re all different. But if I deny myself entirely....I’ll go nuts and eat until I get sick. Keeping myself honest, and savoring only a small piece is something I can maintain. And maintaining is my ultimate goal.
Emotions. Hear me.....get a therapist!! You are going to go through so many changes you’re head will spin without you even understanding that is what’s happening. Addiction transference is very very real. I really struggled with this and for a time, behaved completely out of character. You absolutely must deal with your issues. It’s the same as getting protein or taking small bites. In my opinion, it’s a must.
Emotions part 2. I had a hard time with the expected things. Hair loss, fatigue, heartburn...check check and check. These are struggles I knew about. But there are others that blindsided me. Like how hard it is at 6 months to still be able to only eat 2-2.5 ounces at a time. Frustrating!!!!!!! You have a craving, you make a meal that fits the bill, you take that first wonderful bite....and 2 bites later you’re full. I struggled hard with this. I know....that’s the entire point of surgery. But the actual experience was so much more frustrating and unsatisfying than I imagined. For a brief time, I tried to force the issue. Eating more than I could hold. That hurt. And it scared me, as the very last thing I want to do is stretch my new tiny tummy (not all fears are rational). My advice...be patient with yourself. Let yourself be frustrated or even angry, but keep working on getting adjusted. I still have moments of “can’t I just eat a fricken chicken breast already?!?!?” Lol. But listen to your belly and take it slow. Weird side note, for me....I know I can’t eat another bite when I get hiccups. Happens each meal. I eat slow, plan out the portion. But if I get the hiccups....I stop even if there’s some left. This has helped cut WAY down on feeling sick after eating. Everyone has their own signal....mine is hiccups.
Finally, once again this procedure is different for everyone. Don’t set too many rules on yourself. Example: I’m hungry roughly every 3 hours. My dr is big on only 3 meals a day. That doesn’t work for me. I still can’t eat enough at any one time to fill me for 4-5 hours. So, I adjusted. I eat a small (1.5-2oz) meal every 3 hours. Mostly really small portions of meat, cheese, sunflower seeds, etc. This works for me. Keep adjusting until you find what works for you.
I’d like to end with what I think are the most helpful things I’ve learned (in no particular order). Good luck on your journey!! It’s hard, really hard, but the good WAY outweighs the bad [emoji4] See you at 1 year!! I’m hoping I’ll have good news to share.
1. Drink your fluids
2. Take your vitamins
3. Be patient
4. Expect to be emotionally unsatisfied (if food is emotional for you)
5. Workout
6. Log your food
7. Avoid sweets as long as possible, then adjust until you find the “sweet” spot of what you can handle. And if that’s zero...so be it. You be you.
8. Talk to someone about what’s happening to you.
9. Take something for heartburn. Not only is it uncomfortable, it mimics hunger and will make you miserable.
10. Stick to the no liquid 30 minutes after a meal. It’s a golden rule.

Well I too do Water aerobics 3x a week! I started this class & a healthier diet 2 yrs before i had my surgery! The weight was coming off but way too slow so i opted to have the surgery! Its been 4 mos now & the Aqua fitness has been a great help in firming up my skin( arms, thighs, stomach & calves) it also helps that I have a good understanding instructor who by the way is my age as well,62. She also helps me with strengh training with the weights & resistance machines! Now that Im in what is known as Onederland ( when your out of the 200lb mark. Now 199) my weight is coming of slowly but thats Okay! This helps me to stay ahead of not getting too flabby! However, I have lost 4 dress sizes & 17 inches since my surgery so far! Ill take my measurments again on the 16th. Losing inches to me is more exciting than losing pounds cause that shows more!

Thank you so much for your nice and cheerful message. I have heard that loosing weight past the 200 lb mark is tougher, I hope it isn't.
If you are interested to learn more about me try my story in profile, or some of the entries in here. In short I had VSG done on July 11th this year. I was nearly 300 lb and despite working with my doctor I wasn't able to lose any weight, but I also didn't gain any, yet living with all that weight was not an option so we decided to look into surgery. Now I'm only sorry she didn't recommend it to me earlier, lol.
What I'm doing is mostly following doctors orders, watching what I eat and drink, and I try to keep busy. First thing I did after surgery (make it about a month after) was walking outside. The more I walked the more comfortable I felt with it - the first walk took me about 45 min and it was just a little circle around my block, now I can do it in 15-20 while reading a book . Then I started to extend my walking routes. I'm trying to keep it for about an hour. In the middle of October I joined a gym, It was getting too rainy outside and I didn't want to stop the moving. First month and a half I tried to get my muscles awaken and did some small weight training (really small, just to feel some resistance). If I had more time I'd add elliptical or recumbent bike. I had directions from my doctors and personal trainer what to do to minimize damage on my knees and back and to still make them stronger, so I was not allowed to use stair master, to jog or run, and do any kind of jumping. For last two weeks I have pushed myself into Zumba classes (I do take it easier than most though), yoga, aerobics with weights (low impact), and what I seem to like most, aqua fit classes. I'm trying to attend those pool classes 3 times a week. I finally feel brave enough to wear a swimsuit again, lol. When it's nice out and not too cold I'm still trying to add the 1 hour walk
So that would be all, really. Just following the nutrition rules and keeping busy And I keep up with all Vitamins too, as they are very important.
I'm curious if it really will be harder to lose weight now, that I dropped under 200 lb. I will see and let you know how it goes for me in a few months, or so.
And to be clear I don't shop in the small section yet, but I do hope one day I will again It is nice though to not have to go to Catherine's and other stores meant for Plus size women, not that I didn't like it there, but the clothing choices were not always what I liked.
I'm looking forward to less of me

Thank you so much for your nice and cheerful message. I have heard that loosing weight past the 200 lb mark is tougher, I hope it isn't.
If you are interested to learn more about me try my story in profile, or some of the entries in here. In short I had VSG done on July 11th this year. I was nearly 300 lb and despite working with my doctor I wasn't able to lose any weight, but I also didn't gain any, yet living with all that weight was not an option so we decided to look into surgery. Now I'm only sorry she didn't recommend it to me earlier, lol.
What I'm doing is mostly following doctors orders, watching what I eat and drink, and I try to keep busy. First thing I did after surgery (make it about a month after) was walking outside. The more I walked the more comfortable I felt with it - the first walk took me about 45 min and it was just a little circle around my block, now I can do it in 15-20 while reading a book . Then I started to extend my walking routes. I'm trying to keep it for about an hour. In the middle of October I joined a gym, It was getting too rainy outside and I didn't want to stop the moving. First month and a half I tried to get my muscles awaken and did some small weight training (really small, just to feel some resistance). If I had more time I'd add elliptical or recumbent bike. I had directions from my doctors and personal trainer what to do to minimize damage on my knees and back and to still make them stronger, so I was not allowed to use stair master, to jog or run, and do any kind of jumping. For last two weeks I have pushed myself into Zumba classes (I do take it easier than most though), yoga, aerobics with weights (low impact), and what I seem to like most, aqua fit classes. I'm trying to attend those pool classes 3 times a week. I finally feel brave enough to wear a swimsuit again, lol. When it's nice out and not too cold I'm still trying to add the 1 hour walk
So that would be all, really. Just following the nutrition rules and keeping busy And I keep up with all Vitamins too, as they are very important.
I'm curious if it really will be harder to lose weight now, that I dropped under 200 lb. I will see and let you know how it goes for me in a few months, or so.
And to be clear I don't shop in the small section yet, but I do hope one day I will again It is nice though to not have to go to Catherine's and other stores meant for Plus size women, not that I didn't like it there, but the clothing choices were not always what I liked.
I'm looking forward to less of me

i am sixty three years YOUNG
happily married for 25 years!!!!
married for 26 years
DH hates it when i say above attempted joke LOL
i have one daughter, (41) years old and i am
a "proud-grammy" to 3 grand-kids- 2 boys-(14 and 10) - a
beautiful grand-daughter (17)
survivor breast cancer (19 years!!)
"survivor" of the sleeve - and this board/site!!
survivor of toooo many broken bones, and
surgeries!!
survivor of the Hungarian Revolution - 1956 (I was 2
years old, 4 year old sister, and parents)
survivor of being a state employee for 30 years!
i am also "cute as a button!!" LOL
the above is my story, and i'm stickin' to it!!!
kathy

Congrats to your success! Your excitment has made me excited & hopeful too!👏👏 Im 4 mos PO & so far have been yo-yoing from a weight loss of 33 lbs to 35 lbs. Other than being sick what else did you do to have such Great Success? What surgery did you have! I am just so really excited & proud of you!
Is'nt it Wonderful to be able to shop in the small section!!! No more Plus Sizes!😁😁😁😁😁

Hi all
So I am finally under 200lb, whew, but still 1 lb away from losing 100 lb total I wish to lose about 50 more lb, and it seems it will be a long journey, looking at the fact that last 5 pounds took a really long time. I guess I will have to work at it a little more than usually. More gym time, less bad food choices. Seeing my own weight starting with a 1 is awesome feeling tho
Hope you all are doing well and wishing you all a good holiday season

I finally found some time to write about how I got into this mess to begin with. It's a very long story told short, believe it or not, I know it looks long already, lol, but I did cut out a lot of unimportant stuff, I wanted to focus on things that were direct contributors to my weight journey. I hope you enjoy the read
I was still skinny in my young adulthood, when I met my husband 15 years ago I was at about 115 lb. As we dated we would go out a lot but I never worried cause I also worked out a lot, yet one day I noticed weight creeping up (my x-small clothign felt too small). Doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and that took a while to get under control.
When we got married a year later my weight was about 140 and I started worrying. Felt huge and tired and disgusting, so we decided to move to Florida in hopes of being able to spend more time outside and helping me to get back in shape. That backfired, cause I didn't realize the severity of daily levels of humidity in that state. I was miserable outside and sweating more than I should, just for being out there. I did join a gym, but somehow my motivations were shut and although I liked to spend time at the pool or splashing around in the gulf of Mexico as I had to keep upgrading my swimwear from x-small to large size I also lost confidence to wear it out.
My body was changing and I didn't like any of those changes, while my thyroid kept getting worse. We also were trying to get pregnant and that seemed to be very frustrating and put additional toll on me. Eventually I was informed I wont be able to have children, cause of other issues within my body. We accepted the fate and on top of 2 older cats we already had we decided to add 2 kittens.
About a month after that I got pregnant (and I was at about 160 lb then), and my doctor worried about me a lot, reminding me that it will be a tough ride and I will have to see him often to make sure all is good, cause I was in high risk category of losing the baby, especially towards the end of the term. I took it very seriously and easy on myslef, but kept active as much and as smart as I could. Unfortunately problems started appearing very soon.
First one observable and related to rapid weight gain due to pregnancy (I was also showing very early on) was pain in my feet, both of them. I noticed it while durning my morning jog/walk time on the track behind my house. It was my heel spurs pain that went on undetected for months.
Then I started having problems with my hips, did PT for it, but since I was pregnant I didnt have any x-rays done. I was recommended to take it all even easier, to rest a lot, do simple exercises but not to overdo it.
Then other pregnancy related issues popped up, like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and I was eventually put on bed rest. Weight only kept creeping up and when at one point I took a longer look in the mirror I cried, cause I didnt recognize the person in it.
I was about 250lb shortly before delivery, felt miserable and unable to do anything to help the weight, my sole focus was to make sure I can carry to term. With preeclampsia my doc didnt actually want to wait till my due date and suggested earlier c-section, cause that condition was dangerous for me more than for the baby. Since I was also breastfeeding my baby I coudlnt go on diet asap, nor deal with the heal spurs the way my doc suggested (I had only one cortisone shot in both feet - which was super painful and did relieve some pain, but cause it was meant to last for few months and wore off after 3 weeks I decided not to go through that pain of it anymore).
Finally when I could I started dealing with those spurs and signed up for nutrisystem delivery. I was doing ok, and moved onto the steroid treatment of my feet, but as it failed and the doctor knew I had already suffered enough we decided to get on the track for foot surgery. That's when my husband announced his office will be closing and we were faced with a decision to either stay and look for another job or move within the company (relocation) and keep the employment.
With 4 cats, new baby and my health issues we thought we cant afford to lose the income or insurance, but on the other hand we had just refinanced the mortgage in our house, and did a lot of major renovations, including new windows, new AC system, pool and backyard upgrade (basically making it safer for the baby, adding a safety fence and replacing existing concrete with nice pavers). So we were in a catch-22, either way we'd chose to continue we'd lose a lot of money, and in the still very unstable market then (my son is 7 now) having a steady income won over huge losses from sale of the house.
After we moved my search for a foot doctor started and it was a painful process, not only cause I was still hurting a lot every time I walked, but also cause of the type of doctors I happened to come across. After a year of seeing 3 different ones I gave up and thought the universe is against me. With nutrisystem I came close to 200 lb but never under, and as I continued to have my food delivered to new place I saw that it eventually wasnt helping me at all, so I decided to quit it. Then as I became less and less mobile cause of pain and weight gain I also became a recluse, didnt want any pictures taken, avoided family gatherings and descended into the world of online gaming and constant snacking.
Finally 3 years ago I had some eye opening facts presented to me, as my weight got close to 300 lb and I was moving out of the pre-diabetes stage. With my reg doctor we tried to fix my diet and habits, but the foot pain prevented me from most activity, it got so bad that I had to line up chairs between sofa and bathroom so I could make it there. That was no way to live, another huge wake up call was that I wasnt fitting on my son's school bus to get him strapped in (he takes the short bus cause he is autistic - and that diagnosis was also as if someone was putting up more obstacles in my way to recovery, my full focus - or whatever was left of it, cause I wasn't really myself anymore - went into trying to help him instead of helping myself).
During the year of work with my doctor I slowly changed my diet, and although I didnt lose any weight I also didnt gain anymore, but other problems came to light, like sleep apnea and high blood pressure. I finally had to also do somethign about my feet, and took it very seriously to find a doctor that will want to operate on them and I finally got lucky.
She had actually listened to me, and only suggested one type of therapy that I didnt try before - laser, but when after a few weeks the results were not what she expected we moved fast track into surgery. I had one foot operated on before thanksgiving 2 years ago, and the other before christmas (chose those dates for 2 reasons: 1. cause my son woud have time off from school and hubby some vaction too and I could rest post op, when I couldnt really walk much at first and each foot was beign kept for safety in a postsurgical boot, 2. another "good" excuse to not join any of the family events).
Those surgeries gave me a green light to living, but as I started walkign again I noticed other problems I had no idea about their severity before, cause I was never up long enough to notice. My lower back was a mess and my knees were useless, I couldnt kneel at all, not even on the sofa while leanign over to reach for the blinds behind it.
My life was pretty much a constant pain ever since pregnancy, and I felt liek trapped in a vicious cycle: one step forward - 2 steps back. I also didnt take many of the pain pills, cause they didnt really help much, and when I took the harder ones I was basically sleepign all day and I coudnt do that either cause I had to be awake for my son, besides sleep apnea was affecting my awake hours enough and often when my husband came home I was asleep on the sofa.
It was a really tough time, but very slowly I was making some progress. Eventually it was a conversation with my doctor which made me realise that my problems can only get bigger if I can't lose any weight, and staying at or around my current number (I was fluctuating between 285-298lb) wasnt an option either, so she strongly suggested I looked into bariatric surgery.
I finally did so a year ago, Nov 2016 and cause my insurance then didn't allow for the surgery to happen without a monitored and documented prequalification process that was supposed to take 6-8 months, I did some research to find better insurance and get accepted when I was ready to go through with it, after completing one sheet of steps. Ironically cause getting some of those required appointments was very time consuming I ended up having my surgery done 9 months after initial visit, but I was glad to have spent that time researching it thoroughly and learning about how it actually works.
To think back then I struggled with the thought that it was an easy way out, lol, there is nothing easy about it, it takes commitment, discipline and a complete lifestyle change, but I knew I had to do it, I coudln't live like that anymore, avoiding people, family, having trouble to keep up with personal hygiene, and most of all not being able to assist my son when he needed me - that hurt me the most of all the pains I ever had.
So here I am now, 4 months post op and feeling great. I'm still having some pain, mostly in my knees, but also in my hips and back. I had finally taken the x-ray of my hips and the reason for my back and knee problems emerged, and am currently working with 2 doctors to treat it.
Still not there health wise, and not skinny yet, but feeling hell of a lot better then a year ago and a world of difference from 2 years ago.
I'm glad to have had people in my life who inspired me, guided me and made me want to see the beauty of life at the time when I was ready to give up. Also ironically I met some of those people while playing those stupid online games. Isn't life funny that way?
I guess in the end all that happens in our live is somehow fated, and we are constantly faced with choices, and its only up to us what we chose to do. I'm happy to be alive and to be here, and am looking forward to skinny and healthy me2.0
Thank you all for reading, I did write this once before and cause of a misclick I lost all progress right before posting it, and since the site didn't save what I typed I didn't feel back then to type it all up again. Today I used wordpad to save the story as I write it Lesson learned

Glad to see you back, keep up the good work!

I finally found some time to write about how I got into this mess to begin with. It's a very long story told short, believe it or not, I know it looks long already, lol, but I did cut out a lot of unimportant stuff, I wanted to focus on things that were direct contributors to my weight journey. I hope you enjoy the read
I was still skinny in my young adulthood, when I met my husband 15 years ago I was at about 115 lb. As we dated we would go out a lot but I never worried cause I also worked out a lot, yet one day I noticed weight creeping up (my x-small clothign felt too small). Doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and that took a while to get under control.
When we got married a year later my weight was about 140 and I started worrying. Felt huge and tired and disgusting, so we decided to move to Florida in hopes of being able to spend more time outside and helping me to get back in shape. That backfired, cause I didn't realize the severity of daily levels of humidity in that state. I was miserable outside and sweating more than I should, just for being out there. I did join a gym, but somehow my motivations were shut and although I liked to spend time at the pool or splashing around in the gulf of Mexico as I had to keep upgrading my swimwear from x-small to large size I also lost confidence to wear it out.
My body was changing and I didn't like any of those changes, while my thyroid kept getting worse. We also were trying to get pregnant and that seemed to be very frustrating and put additional toll on me. Eventually I was informed I wont be able to have children, cause of other issues within my body. We accepted the fate and on top of 2 older cats we already had we decided to add 2 kittens.
About a month after that I got pregnant (and I was at about 160 lb then), and my doctor worried about me a lot, reminding me that it will be a tough ride and I will have to see him often to make sure all is good, cause I was in high risk category of losing the baby, especially towards the end of the term. I took it very seriously and easy on myslef, but kept active as much and as smart as I could. Unfortunately problems started appearing very soon.
First one observable and related to rapid weight gain due to pregnancy (I was also showing very early on) was pain in my feet, both of them. I noticed it while durning my morning jog/walk time on the track behind my house. It was my heel spurs pain that went on undetected for months.
Then I started having problems with my hips, did PT for it, but since I was pregnant I didnt have any x-rays done. I was recommended to take it all even easier, to rest a lot, do simple exercises but not to overdo it.
Then other pregnancy related issues popped up, like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and I was eventually put on bed rest. Weight only kept creeping up and when at one point I took a longer look in the mirror I cried, cause I didnt recognize the person in it.
I was about 250lb shortly before delivery, felt miserable and unable to do anything to help the weight, my sole focus was to make sure I can carry to term. With preeclampsia my doc didnt actually want to wait till my due date and suggested earlier c-section, cause that condition was dangerous for me more than for the baby. Since I was also breastfeeding my baby I coudlnt go on diet asap, nor deal with the heal spurs the way my doc suggested (I had only one cortisone shot in both feet - which was super painful and did relieve some pain, but cause it was meant to last for few months and wore off after 3 weeks I decided not to go through that pain of it anymore).
Finally when I could I started dealing with those spurs and signed up for nutrisystem delivery. I was doing ok, and moved onto the steroid treatment of my feet, but as it failed and the doctor knew I had already suffered enough we decided to get on the track for foot surgery. That's when my husband announced his office will be closing and we were faced with a decision to either stay and look for another job or move within the company (relocation) and keep the employment.
With 4 cats, new baby and my health issues we thought we cant afford to lose the income or insurance, but on the other hand we had just refinanced the mortgage in our house, and did a lot of major renovations, including new windows, new AC system, pool and backyard upgrade (basically making it safer for the baby, adding a safety fence and replacing existing concrete with nice pavers). So we were in a catch-22, either way we'd chose to continue we'd lose a lot of money, and in the still very unstable market then (my son is 7 now) having a steady income won over huge losses from sale of the house.
After we moved my search for a foot doctor started and it was a painful process, not only cause I was still hurting a lot every time I walked, but also cause of the type of doctors I happened to come across. After a year of seeing 3 different ones I gave up and thought the universe is against me. With nutrisystem I came close to 200 lb but never under, and as I continued to have my food delivered to new place I saw that it eventually wasnt helping me at all, so I decided to quit it. Then as I became less and less mobile cause of pain and weight gain I also became a recluse, didnt want any pictures taken, avoided family gatherings and descended into the world of online gaming and constant snacking.
Finally 3 years ago I had some eye opening facts presented to me, as my weight got close to 300 lb and I was moving out of the pre-diabetes stage. With my reg doctor we tried to fix my diet and habits, but the foot pain prevented me from most activity, it got so bad that I had to line up chairs between sofa and bathroom so I could make it there. That was no way to live, another huge wake up call was that I wasnt fitting on my son's school bus to get him strapped in (he takes the short bus cause he is autistic - and that diagnosis was also as if someone was putting up more obstacles in my way to recovery, my full focus - or whatever was left of it, cause I wasn't really myself anymore - went into trying to help him instead of helping myself).
During the year of work with my doctor I slowly changed my diet, and although I didnt lose any weight I also didnt gain anymore, but other problems came to light, like sleep apnea and high blood pressure. I finally had to also do somethign about my feet, and took it very seriously to find a doctor that will want to operate on them and I finally got lucky.
She had actually listened to me, and only suggested one type of therapy that I didnt try before - laser, but when after a few weeks the results were not what she expected we moved fast track into surgery. I had one foot operated on before thanksgiving 2 years ago, and the other before christmas (chose those dates for 2 reasons: 1. cause my son woud have time off from school and hubby some vaction too and I could rest post op, when I couldnt really walk much at first and each foot was beign kept for safety in a postsurgical boot, 2. another "good" excuse to not join any of the family events).
Those surgeries gave me a green light to living, but as I started walkign again I noticed other problems I had no idea about their severity before, cause I was never up long enough to notice. My lower back was a mess and my knees were useless, I couldnt kneel at all, not even on the sofa while leanign over to reach for the blinds behind it.
My life was pretty much a constant pain ever since pregnancy, and I felt liek trapped in a vicious cycle: one step forward - 2 steps back. I also didnt take many of the pain pills, cause they didnt really help much, and when I took the harder ones I was basically sleepign all day and I coudnt do that either cause I had to be awake for my son, besides sleep apnea was affecting my awake hours enough and often when my husband came home I was asleep on the sofa.
It was a really tough time, but very slowly I was making some progress. Eventually it was a conversation with my doctor which made me realise that my problems can only get bigger if I can't lose any weight, and staying at or around my current number (I was fluctuating between 285-298lb) wasnt an option either, so she strongly suggested I looked into bariatric surgery.
I finally did so a year ago, Nov 2016 and cause my insurance then didn't allow for the surgery to happen without a monitored and documented prequalification process that was supposed to take 6-8 months, I did some research to find better insurance and get accepted when I was ready to go through with it, after completing one sheet of steps. Ironically cause getting some of those required appointments was very time consuming I ended up having my surgery done 9 months after initial visit, but I was glad to have spent that time researching it thoroughly and learning about how it actually works.
To think back then I struggled with the thought that it was an easy way out, lol, there is nothing easy about it, it takes commitment, discipline and a complete lifestyle change, but I knew I had to do it, I coudln't live like that anymore, avoiding people, family, having trouble to keep up with personal hygiene, and most of all not being able to assist my son when he needed me - that hurt me the most of all the pains I ever had.
So here I am now, 4 months post op and feeling great. I'm still having some pain, mostly in my knees, but also in my hips and back. I had finally taken the x-ray of my hips and the reason for my back and knee problems emerged, and am currently working with 2 doctors to treat it.
Still not there health wise, and not skinny yet, but feeling hell of a lot better then a year ago and a world of difference from 2 years ago.
I'm glad to have had people in my life who inspired me, guided me and made me want to see the beauty of life at the time when I was ready to give up. Also ironically I met some of those people while playing those stupid online games. Isn't life funny that way?
I guess in the end all that happens in our live is somehow fated, and we are constantly faced with choices, and its only up to us what we chose to do. I'm happy to be alive and to be here, and am looking forward to skinny and healthy me2.0
Thank you all for reading, I did write this once before and cause of a misclick I lost all progress right before posting it, and since the site didn't save what I typed I didn't feel back then to type it all up again. Today I used wordpad to save the story as I write it Lesson learned

I finally found some time to write about how I got into this mess to begin with. It's a very long story told short, believe it or not, I know it looks long already, lol, but I did cut out a lot of unimportant stuff, I wanted to focus on things that were direct contributors to my weight journey. I hope you enjoy the read
I was still skinny in my young adulthood, when I met my husband 15 years ago I was at about 115 lb. As we dated we would go out a lot but I never worried cause I also worked out a lot, yet one day I noticed weight creeping up (my x-small clothign felt too small). Doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and that took a while to get under control.
When we got married a year later my weight was about 140 and I started worrying. Felt huge and tired and disgusting, so we decided to move to Florida in hopes of being able to spend more time outside and helping me to get back in shape. That backfired, cause I didn't realize the severity of daily levels of humidity in that state. I was miserable outside and sweating more than I should, just for being out there. I did join a gym, but somehow my motivations were shut and although I liked to spend time at the pool or splashing around in the gulf of Mexico as I had to keep upgrading my swimwear from x-small to large size I also lost confidence to wear it out.
My body was changing and I didn't like any of those changes, while my thyroid kept getting worse. We also were trying to get pregnant and that seemed to be very frustrating and put additional toll on me. Eventually I was informed I wont be able to have children, cause of other issues within my body. We accepted the fate and on top of 2 older cats we already had we decided to add 2 kittens.
About a month after that I got pregnant (and I was at about 160 lb then), and my doctor worried about me a lot, reminding me that it will be a tough ride and I will have to see him often to make sure all is good, cause I was in high risk category of losing the baby, especially towards the end of the term. I took it very seriously and easy on myslef, but kept active as much and as smart as I could. Unfortunately problems started appearing very soon.
First one observable and related to rapid weight gain due to pregnancy (I was also showing very early on) was pain in my feet, both of them. I noticed it while durning my morning jog/walk time on the track behind my house. It was my heel spurs pain that went on undetected for months.
Then I started having problems with my hips, did PT for it, but since I was pregnant I didnt have any x-rays done. I was recommended to take it all even easier, to rest a lot, do simple exercises but not to overdo it.
Then other pregnancy related issues popped up, like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and I was eventually put on bed rest. Weight only kept creeping up and when at one point I took a longer look in the mirror I cried, cause I didnt recognize the person in it.
I was about 250lb shortly before delivery, felt miserable and unable to do anything to help the weight, my sole focus was to make sure I can carry to term. With preeclampsia my doc didnt actually want to wait till my due date and suggested earlier c-section, cause that condition was dangerous for me more than for the baby. Since I was also breastfeeding my baby I coudlnt go on diet asap, nor deal with the heal spurs the way my doc suggested (I had only one cortisone shot in both feet - which was super painful and did relieve some pain, but cause it was meant to last for few months and wore off after 3 weeks I decided not to go through that pain of it anymore).
Finally when I could I started dealing with those spurs and signed up for nutrisystem delivery. I was doing ok, and moved onto the steroid treatment of my feet, but as it failed and the doctor knew I had already suffered enough we decided to get on the track for foot surgery. That's when my husband announced his office will be closing and we were faced with a decision to either stay and look for another job or move within the company (relocation) and keep the employment.
With 4 cats, new baby and my health issues we thought we cant afford to lose the income or insurance, but on the other hand we had just refinanced the mortgage in our house, and did a lot of major renovations, including new windows, new AC system, pool and backyard upgrade (basically making it safer for the baby, adding a safety fence and replacing existing concrete with nice pavers). So we were in a catch-22, either way we'd chose to continue we'd lose a lot of money, and in the still very unstable market then (my son is 7 now) having a steady income won over huge losses from sale of the house.
After we moved my search for a foot doctor started and it was a painful process, not only cause I was still hurting a lot every time I walked, but also cause of the type of doctors I happened to come across. After a year of seeing 3 different ones I gave up and thought the universe is against me. With nutrisystem I came close to 200 lb but never under, and as I continued to have my food delivered to new place I saw that it eventually wasnt helping me at all, so I decided to quit it. Then as I became less and less mobile cause of pain and weight gain I also became a recluse, didnt want any pictures taken, avoided family gatherings and descended into the world of online gaming and constant snacking.
Finally 3 years ago I had some eye opening facts presented to me, as my weight got close to 300 lb and I was moving out of the pre-diabetes stage. With my reg doctor we tried to fix my diet and habits, but the foot pain prevented me from most activity, it got so bad that I had to line up chairs between sofa and bathroom so I could make it there. That was no way to live, another huge wake up call was that I wasnt fitting on my son's school bus to get him strapped in (he takes the short bus cause he is autistic - and that diagnosis was also as if someone was putting up more obstacles in my way to recovery, my full focus - or whatever was left of it, cause I wasn't really myself anymore - went into trying to help him instead of helping myself).
During the year of work with my doctor I slowly changed my diet, and although I didnt lose any weight I also didnt gain anymore, but other problems came to light, like sleep apnea and high blood pressure. I finally had to also do somethign about my feet, and took it very seriously to find a doctor that will want to operate on them and I finally got lucky.
She had actually listened to me, and only suggested one type of therapy that I didnt try before - laser, but when after a few weeks the results were not what she expected we moved fast track into surgery. I had one foot operated on before thanksgiving 2 years ago, and the other before christmas (chose those dates for 2 reasons: 1. cause my son woud have time off from school and hubby some vaction too and I could rest post op, when I couldnt really walk much at first and each foot was beign kept for safety in a postsurgical boot, 2. another "good" excuse to not join any of the family events).
Those surgeries gave me a green light to living, but as I started walkign again I noticed other problems I had no idea about their severity before, cause I was never up long enough to notice. My lower back was a mess and my knees were useless, I couldnt kneel at all, not even on the sofa while leanign over to reach for the blinds behind it.
My life was pretty much a constant pain ever since pregnancy, and I felt liek trapped in a vicious cycle: one step forward - 2 steps back. I also didnt take many of the pain pills, cause they didnt really help much, and when I took the harder ones I was basically sleepign all day and I coudnt do that either cause I had to be awake for my son, besides sleep apnea was affecting my awake hours enough and often when my husband came home I was asleep on the sofa.
It was a really tough time, but very slowly I was making some progress. Eventually it was a conversation with my doctor which made me realise that my problems can only get bigger if I can't lose any weight, and staying at or around my current number (I was fluctuating between 285-298lb) wasnt an option either, so she strongly suggested I looked into bariatric surgery.
I finally did so a year ago, Nov 2016 and cause my insurance then didn't allow for the surgery to happen without a monitored and documented prequalification process that was supposed to take 6-8 months, I did some research to find better insurance and get accepted when I was ready to go through with it, after completing one sheet of steps. Ironically cause getting some of those required appointments was very time consuming I ended up having my surgery done 9 months after initial visit, but I was glad to have spent that time researching it thoroughly and learning about how it actually works.
To think back then I struggled with the thought that it was an easy way out, lol, there is nothing easy about it, it takes commitment, discipline and a complete lifestyle change, but I knew I had to do it, I coudln't live like that anymore, avoiding people, family, having trouble to keep up with personal hygiene, and most of all not being able to assist my son when he needed me - that hurt me the most of all the pains I ever had.
So here I am now, 4 months post op and feeling great. I'm still having some pain, mostly in my knees, but also in my hips and back. I had finally taken the x-ray of my hips and the reason for my back and knee problems emerged, and am currently working with 2 doctors to treat it.
Still not there health wise, and not skinny yet, but feeling hell of a lot better then a year ago and a world of difference from 2 years ago.
I'm glad to have had people in my life who inspired me, guided me and made me want to see the beauty of life at the time when I was ready to give up. Also ironically I met some of those people while playing those stupid online games. Isn't life funny that way?
I guess in the end all that happens in our live is somehow fated, and we are constantly faced with choices, and its only up to us what we chose to do. I'm happy to be alive and to be here, and am looking forward to skinny and healthy me2.0
Thank you all for reading, I did write this once before and cause of a misclick I lost all progress right before posting it, and since the site didn't save what I typed I didn't feel back then to type it all up again. Today I used wordpad to save the story as I write it Lesson learned

I was just sleeved on Oct 18, 2017. I am a white male, 46 years old, 5' 8", and a devout follower of Christ. My highest weight ever was 270. I lowered this slowly during the first half of 2017 to 255 when I signed up for the surgery. In August I started my life reset in preparation for surgery and followed the pre-op diet. I started running a lot and was doing 1-2 miles most days, and 6.55 miles on weekends. I ran a 5K the Saturday before surgery. The day of surgery I weighed 232. Now, four days out, my weight is 228. My goal weight is 170, I believe. (Not sure how to decide about that.)
Since surgery I have had a lot of abdominal pain, but it has gotten a little better each day. The night after going home (day after surgery) my calf muscles started hurting. Doctor didn't think it was clots. I started walking a lot and enjoy it quite a bit. I've walked between 6-12 miles each day since I've been home. I only threw up my pain medicine once (which was painful) but haven't thrown up, or even felt like it, since. Each day I reduced the frequency of taking the pain medicine and today went without it. Today my calf pain was almost gone. The first two days after surgery I only drank around 30 oz., I think, which might have contributed to that pain. These last two days I've gotten my 64 oz. down or more.
I've noticed last night and today that food my family was eating looked REALLY good and I wanted to eat it so bad. Felt hungry. This worries me some.
I can't wait until my belly stops hurting and I can start running again. My belly still looks bloated out from the incisions. Wondering when I can expect for that to happen. I also wonder when the reduced hunger pangs are going to happen, if ever. If I feel as tempted as I did today it will be a difficult journey for me.


Also, the only person in my life who knows I've had this surgery is my wife. I haven't told parents, kids, friends or coworkers. My parents expressed opposition a couple years ago so when I made the decision I decided that it was a personal one that they didn't need to know about. But I would like to make a friend or two on here so I can discuss things on this journey.

Hi there
I have been reading through your posts and I'm impressed! At one point I started liking them as well, and what I really like is your commitment to chronicle all of your ups and downs so honestly and personally. I wish you staying strong and on track and like you said, follow your doctors advice, cause that one is specifically made for you. There are general rules that work for most, but they don't apply to all.
You seem to be very well educated in whats right and whats not and you are doing best you can while being a dad, a husband, and a coworker. It is surely harder to blend in with a crowd where nobody knows about the surgery, but you are making it possible while following the basic rules. Kudos to you!
I also think since you were leading a very active lifestyle prior to surgery and for an average height male didnt have a really high starting weight it all comes easier to you, as it should be. Existing muscle helps burn more fat, all the work you are doing definitely helps it, as well and you are surely eating less now. I have been very strict with myself at first, cause I wanted to get into the right mindset and change my pre op habits. I changed them a lot and keep changing them, adjusting to current situation which is a work in progress - daily work. I also have to admit that recently I have been allowing myself not to have to be too strict. To avoid eating what I shouldnt I simply don buy it anymore, and even if I wanted to eat more i cant - there are days when I cant have more than 2 meals (if my Breakfast was late). The only 4 things I'm really strict about are: portion size, drinking Water only, taking all my Vitamins and while having meals eating Protein first. All other things that I get usually done during the day I'm trying to fit comfortably into my schedule without overwhelming it, and my schedule changes all the time as well. I know I'm doing well cause my doctor keeps reminding me of it every time I see him, and my 3 mo blood work came back all good - I'm very proud of that
There is something you said that I'd like to shed some objective light on. Please think of it as an observation from a person who just read in one take all that happened to you in the past month. In your very first post you were expressing hope to find a buddy to help you tag along in your journey, and its very understandable especially cause of your situation where you cant really talk about it to anyone other than your wife and doc. Then you decided you will use this medium to post daily updates like in a blog, or diary, which is fine too, that's why this forum is here, so we could write what we think and want to write, or show our progress. I don't have time to post daily but when I can I write what I want to write about, so I get your point of view.
Then eventually you started writing this post, and I got worried that you will quit updating us on your impressive progress, that is bound to inspire many people who will happen to come across your thread. As much as I understand your reasons for posting here and I respect your wish to do it blog style, I also wish you understood that it is still an open, public forum, and people who will read it might want to comment on it, praise it or find problems with it, just like in a blog. This is actually also how the buddy system (one you originally wished for) should work: we support each other, and also try to keep each other accountable for all of our actions. Its both productive and helpful, cause in the craziness of every day, or special events, like upcoming holidays, more and more of us will need extra support, and it has to work both ways for the system to be effective. Remember, we are all buddies here , and although each of our journeys is different, we all came to the decision to get the surgery done with different motivations behind it, we all also have the same goal - weight loss. Sadly not everyone realizes that fact, and we all like to think that things which work for us should work for others as well.
I personally like to hear about all ways to make the most of the surgery, and if I read here something that I like, I will ask my doctor for his opinion before applying it into my routine. Every little thing might help, but we might not know about the options if nobody would want to share them. So keep on sharing people, and be supportive, and when faced with criticism, well, think about it, maybe its valid, and if it doesn't apply simply move on.
I seriously hope I didn't discourage you from writing more, cause I find your journey both honest and inspiring, and that's the only criteria I need to keep wanting to read more.
Keep up your awesome work and keep making good choices, now is the time to set a solid basis for the future and keep up with it. I hope to read more of your adventures in months to come.
Good luck! May the only thing we lose here be our weight

Honestly, I've felt less motivated to post updates of my journey here because of the thought that people will question it. Decided that I should post again, anyway. If it feels to me there is too much opposition I will leave this app behind. I am not looking for advice, unless I ask for it, but primarily ask and take advice from my doctor. I'm not trying to get anyone to follow my example but just want to log my journey here. Hopefully there will be encouragement. If not, oh well.

I'm at a week-long training away from home and forgot to bring my scale. So, last I checked I was at 215 four days ago. I might be the same or I might be at 214 or 213 but have no way of knowing until I get home on Monday.

Running has been going excellent! I ran a quarter-marathon (6.55 miles) on Sunday evening. Pre-op I had been doing that weekly. Well, this time I did my fastest time ever--1:02--just over an hour. Today I ran 3.8 miles (1/8 marathon) and again had my fastest time ever--28:48. Felt great. Back in my room I did 40 sit-ups, 30 push-ups and 20 squats.

I was nervous about eating at this event with other people. It is cafeteria style. But it hasn't been a problem. I'm just taking very small portions and chewing a lot. Even though everyone has noticed my weight loss, no one has noticed (or mentioned, I should say) my small portion sizes. Eating very soft meats, soft vegetables, eggs and Soup.

Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 215 (or less), GW: 170.

Yes, I don't keep any secrets from him. The goal is to keep under 100 carbs a day, which I do most days, easily. So he wasn't worried about that. However, I did not report eating these things here as if to say it is okay to eat those things--I reported them as lapses. There are two concerns with eating--one is how food will physically "push" the sleeve's seam and the other is nutrition. Chewing food well makes a big difference for the former, and keeping your macro/nutrients at the daily goals is what's important for the latter. I know what I need to do and will stay committed to eating right, and according to the plan, in spite of those lapses.

Your comment sounds like a rebuke or as if you've caught me in hypocrisy, or something. I am using this space to log my journey--not to boast or expect others to follow my example. I want to be completely honest as I log my experiences--it does me no good to lie and say I didn't eat some pizza, when I did. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I don't need to worry if people will like or agree with what I have to say because I'm not trying to convince anyone about anything--just telling my story.

Yeah, I realize I am not most people and my doctor realizes that, too. People should not follow other people's examples but follow what your doctor orders.

Depleting energy--calories are a measurement of energy. We don't lose weight unless we deplete calories/energy. We build muscle mass by breaking our muscles down and then our bodies build them stronger. I am both losing fat mass and gaining muscle mass. My doctor says this is excellent and I'm doing exactly what I need to be doing for me.

Another important milestone happened yesterday. My endocrinologist took me off of all diabetes medications! Very happy about this!

Milestone! Today I weighed in at 216.4 lbs. My lowest weight when I lost weight 4 years ago was 216.5. So now I'm thinner than that and as thin as I've been since 1998 when I ran a marathon. Woohoo!!
Day 21, Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 216.4, GW: 170

Day 20 now. I'm doing well. I've ate some solid foods ahead of my plan, but I chewed them up VERY well before swallowing and I seem to be okay. But I am still going to do my best to stick to the plan in spite of these few lapses. My weight has started moving down again, very slowly. My exercise has been fantastic. Ran my 1.3 miles this morning at my fastest pace ever and even forgot for a while that I had had surgery. Did my dumbbell, sit-up and push-up workout after running. Felt great all day.
I do feel restriction now with those solid foods. Don't feel a need to finish a plate full of food. But could snack on pudding and applesauce all day, if I wanted. Still trying to fight the sense of hunger, but winning the battle mostly.
My clothes are all loose now. I will need to buy new clothes soon. Clothes I had saved because they were too small for me are now too big.
Today the president of our org commented on my weight loss for the first time. He congratulated me. He, like everyone else, doesn't know I had surgery. However, I don't feel bad or dishonest like I thought I might. That is because I still feel I am earning all of this weight loss myself with my continued diet and exercise. The surgery just helps my body to cooperate.
I definitely feel additional confidence coming on to a level I didn't have before. I'm not embarrassed by my body as much as I was. I feel like I look good, even though I realize I'm still fat. I never wanted my wife to take or post pictures of me online and now I am posting selfies quite often. Just happy with the results so far.
I am blessed because I feel like I am doing well with the sleeve, no complications and good results. I'm down to only one Metformin pill per day and expect to come off that soon. My blood glucose numbers have been perfect. I find out my A1c numbers tomorrow. Off blood pressure meds and blood pressure is perfect. Plantar Faciitus is gone. I feel like my sleep apnea has gone away and don't need my CPAP machine like I did before. (But I will wait a few more months before doing another sleep study.) I don't know how long it will be until I no longer have fatty liver disease, but I pray that this day comes soon, after which I think I could declare: Clean Bill of Health!
Sleeved on 10/18/2017
Male, 46, 5' 8"
HW: 270, SW: 232, CW: 217, GW: 170.

Hi all,
its been a while since I posted any updates, but that's good actually
Who am I is changing constantly. I am currently so close to dropping under 200 lb, I'm so excited, last time I was under 200 was during my pregnancy and my son turned 7 last month. I find myself having so much more energy, its CRAZY! I joined a gym over a month ago, cause it was getting to wet and cold outside to continue with my walks and I also wanted to work on my muscles, well to wake them up and start moving them. I also started working with a chiropractor on my back, hip and knee issues. Tomorrow I'm signing up for classes to go to college, finally , to make me feel more like a teenager, lol (all I will need is braces on my teeth to complete the picture). I'm not at my goal weight yet, but I'm already feeling like a different person, also looking differently too. I missed wearing one pair of jeans that was too small for me last year and is already to big, lol. My local Goodwill will know me soon by my full name
There are also few downsides to weight loss surgery, which I was not expecting to be so bothersome. One is my Hair loss. I have been losing hair on a massive scale, clumps at a time. I remember having hair done before surgery and my stylist kinda complained to me saying I had too much hair. Now my ponytail looks really pitiful, I actually avoid pulling my hair back into one cause it makes my hair look really bad. I started wearing baseball cap most of the time at the gym, to hide my thinning hair. After talking to my doctor's office I was recommended to take Biotin to help with it, maybe there are other things I could do? I also asked him if there is a chance i could lose all my hair, he said it's very unlikely, but I can honestly say I lost more that 50% of all my hair so far, and keep losing daily. What is really ironic is that I'm noticing extra hair on my stomach and upper thighs - really bizarre.
The other really big thing is the loose skin. I get that it's a tough one to avoid, but now its becoming really annoying, especially for a woman. At first my breasts were gone, which saddened me a lot. I used to fill a D size bra now I can hardly make it with a C. I did have a stomach pouch post c section, that really never went away and the skin was kinda hanging over the incision site, but now I also have chin pouch, and that's a bad one to have, cause you can't hide it, disguise it or make it look tight. I noticed when I tilt my head to either side, the pouch follows and then hangs down the side I'm turning towards. I'm afraid to be mistaken for a turkey in the next week or so, lol, but all kidding aside, it is annoying.
Worst thing is that it's my face, and if I decided to surgically fix it I'm afraid of changing it too much, or that something could go wrong or I wouldn't be happy with the result. Not to mention it's also gonna be super expensive. Does anyone relate to that issue? What have you done to fix it? Can it still change over time? I'm only 4 months post op, maybe there is still some hope for me and my skin? I did notice the skin on inner thighs and upper arms isn't as loose as it was before I joined the gym, so I'm assuming gym has helped me there. I don't really know of any chin exercises I could do, does anyone know of anything besides stretching?
If anyone has any ideas they want to share please do, either here on forum or message me. I appreciate all input.
Thank you all for reading, all best in your journeys.
May the weight be the only thing you will lose

Honestly, I don't remember. It was right after my birthday and I had spent the week pigging out. I felt so fat and disgusting. I don't think there was any one thing I can point to other than I wasn't able to get myself under control.

I had a few that all happened around the same time:
Realizing I was over 300 pounds - my highest weight was 311 Not being able to fasten an airplane seat-belt without asking for a seat-belt extender Getting tired more often Having to buy bigger and bigger clothes, not fitting into clothes that were already my "fat" clothes Not being able to look in the mirror without becoming very upset about how I looked I stopped taking selfies, I stopped wanting to be in pictures

Went on a trip of a lifetime and was miserable most of the time because my feet hurt and I couldn't keep up to doing everything I wanted.