Missouri-Lee's Summit

As disheartening as your first stall can be, get ready to experience the opposite. On more than one occasion I've lost close to 3 or 4 pounds overnight. What a feeling! It makes me want to dance on the ceiling!!
Also, I like to weigh myself after a big Number Two. Who knew that going to the bathroom could be so exhilarating?

As disheartening as your first stall can be, get ready to experience the opposite. On more than one occasion I've lost close to 3 or 4 pounds overnight. What a feeling! It makes me want to dance on the ceiling!!
Also, I like to weigh myself after a big Number Two. Who knew that going to the bathroom could be so exhilarating?

My hero! I'm speechless, in awe, and completely inspired by you.
Do you still have no loose skin? (If so, not fair, but I'm happy for you.)

Photographs say it all. You deserve to feel proud. Thank you for trusting us with your progress. It's hard to put yourself out on display since some people can be brutally judgmental (as a mask for envy).
I have a lot of respect for those who work hard to meet their goals. I feel inadequate in many ways because I know I'd never be able to walk 5 miles a day --- let alone 1/4 of a mile. I know there are exercises that don't involve weight-bearing maneuvers... still, I feel cheated by the post-op cramping in my leg and a chronic ankle injury that limits my ability to boost my weight loss with rigorous exercise. Yes, WLS is a tool, but when you can't do much in the way of productive exercise, it's like working with a dull tool.
I didn't intend to turn this post into something about myself. Sometimes thoughts and frustrations take over.
I am truly happy about your success and I hope that you reach all of your primary goals -- and your in-between goals, too.

You are correct. I did not know about his past. I tried (unsuccessfully) to read between the lines and give him the benefit of the doubt. It was a mistake on my part to make those assumptions. I feel empathy for the pain and hurt you experienced as a younger man. I'm sure it took a toll on your social confidence and self-esteem. Being a community of "fat people", we have all experienced different degrees of pain and self-imposed shame. Thank you for pointing out that I should not have made any assumptions about your friend when he was his younger self. I'm glad to hear that he has matured into a finer human being. Thank you for sharing your story.

@RickM. If grades were being assigned to comments, your comment would receive an A-.
I was going to give you an A, but I didn't want to risk you getting a transfer addiction involving perfect grades.

@RickM. If grades were being assigned to comments, your comment would receive an A-.
I was going to give you an A, but I didn't want to risk you getting a transfer addiction involving perfect grades.

@RickM. If grades were being assigned to comments, your comment would receive an A-.
I was going to give you an A, but I didn't want to risk you getting a transfer addiction involving perfect grades.

Outstanding response. You got this, too, Kimmie K!

As always, outstanding and succinct words of wisdom, Matt.

So, I'm confused, if men are forced to pay more for 2 categories of dress, and only 1 for women, how is this statement from your title accurate? "but almost exclusively on women's clothing, not men's" Plus-sized Men also have the added "benefit" of having to pay extra for suits, that pretty much always have to be tailored to fit, another fun additional cost, just to have something they can wear to work.
I'm not sure where I heard it, and I may be mistaken, but I thought men received altering services for free in most places (where they bought their suit), but women were nearly always expected to pay for the same services.
Shoes aren't priced according to size, are they? There's a big difference in a woman's 5 and 11, no? A lot more leather, more bling, more everything.

What an inspiring post. In just a few sentences you managed to convey humor, hope, and sweet fatherly love. You have an amazing attitude that will serve you well in the months ahead. It's important to maintain a good sense of humor and to know when not to take life too seriously.
My crystal ball tells me that you have a bright future ahead of you. And a bright future for you pretty much guarantees an even brighter future for your darling little son. Just think of all the other things (besides sharing good eating habits) that you'll be able to do together. Let's all hope that your son will be able to keep up with you!
You know those stunt chairs that break easily in the movies? Those will be to only chairs you'll be able to break in the future because the others will be too sturdy for a slender young guy like you.
Don't disappear on us, okay? We want to hear from you regularly.
It's also time for you to start paying forward by helping others who are struggling. Not everyone has your courage. Yet. This forum needs more male participation. Someone could be lurking on this forum right now... hoping for the kind of encouragement you have to offer.

What an inspiring post. In just a few sentences you managed to convey humor, hope, and sweet fatherly love. You have an amazing attitude that will serve you well in the months ahead. It's important to maintain a good sense of humor and to know when not to take life too seriously.
My crystal ball tells me that you have a bright future ahead of you. And a bright future for you pretty much guarantees an even brighter future for your darling little son. Just think of all the other things (besides sharing good eating habits) that you'll be able to do together. Let's all hope that your son will be able to keep up with you!
You know those stunt chairs that break easily in the movies? Those will be to only chairs you'll be able to break in the future because the others will be too sturdy for a slender young guy like you.
Don't disappear on us, okay? We want to hear from you regularly.
It's also time for you to start paying forward by helping others who are struggling. Not everyone has your courage. Yet. This forum needs more male participation. Someone could be lurking on this forum right now... hoping for the kind of encouragement you have to offer.

As always, outstanding and succinct words of wisdom, Matt.

As disheartening as your first stall can be, get ready to experience the opposite. On more than one occasion I've lost close to 3 or 4 pounds overnight. What a feeling! It makes me want to dance on the ceiling!!
Also, I like to weigh myself after a big Number Two. Who knew that going to the bathroom could be so exhilarating?

As disheartening as your first stall can be, get ready to experience the opposite. On more than one occasion I've lost close to 3 or 4 pounds overnight. What a feeling! It makes me want to dance on the ceiling!!
Also, I like to weigh myself after a big Number Two. Who knew that going to the bathroom could be so exhilarating?

I think it's only natural to experience such feelings. We've made a drastic, often irreversible, alternation to our bodies. We're not feeling physically like ourselves. There may be pain or discomfort, vomiting, Constipation, hunger, lack of hunger... and the list goes on. Probably even more involved are the emotional or psychological changes going on inside of us post-surgery. We know things will never really be the same. This can be both thrilling and terrifying. What if we are one of those weird weight-loss surgery outliers who doesn't lose weight for whatever reason?! We almost convince ourselves that after our first stall we are indeed one of those rare few!
We've invested time, money, starved ourselves in preparation for surgery, had labwork, had to convince a nutritionist that we are committed to the nutritional challenges required, had to convince a psychologist that we aren't nuts, and go through 6 months or more of supervised weight loss by our primary doctor. We also read about all the pros and cons of WLS until our eyes practically bled from fatigue and overuse. Arghh!
As for advice, it's pretty much the same advice for most wholesale changes we face. Time. Time heals, but time also moves so s l o w l y.
Posting this topic and asking questions and for advice was a smart move. Just bringing the subject to the front of your consciousness validates it's importance to you. Some may dismiss "buyer's remorse" as an inconsequential little thing. I'd disagree. It's something we've all had to deal with to a varying degree, whether we're able to admit to ourselves or not.
My advice is to keep thinking about upcoming goals... how you'll look in smaller clothing, how you'll feel when you finally weigh less than 200lbs, how it feels to eat half or a fourth of something and feel full. Hey, just creating a list of things to look forward to may help to counter that feeling of buyer's remorse. And, of course, leaving long, rambling comments like this one may help, too. Who knows?!

All the nurses, including their "big guns" failed to get an IV started before my surgery. I finally had two anesthesiologists working in tandem with a hand-held doppler looking for a vein. (They succeeded, by the way.)

I think it's only natural to experience such feelings. We've made a drastic, often irreversible, alternation to our bodies. We're not feeling physically like ourselves. There may be pain or discomfort, vomiting, Constipation, hunger, lack of hunger... and the list goes on. Probably even more involved are the emotional or psychological changes going on inside of us post-surgery. We know things will never really be the same. This can be both thrilling and terrifying. What if we are one of those weird weight-loss surgery outliers who doesn't lose weight for whatever reason?! We almost convince ourselves that after our first stall we are indeed one of those rare few!
We've invested time, money, starved ourselves in preparation for surgery, had labwork, had to convince a nutritionist that we are committed to the nutritional challenges required, had to convince a psychologist that we aren't nuts, and go through 6 months or more of supervised weight loss by our primary doctor. We also read about all the pros and cons of WLS until our eyes practically bled from fatigue and overuse. Arghh!
As for advice, it's pretty much the same advice for most wholesale changes we face. Time. Time heals, but time also moves so s l o w l y.
Posting this topic and asking questions and for advice was a smart move. Just bringing the subject to the front of your consciousness validates it's importance to you. Some may dismiss "buyer's remorse" as an inconsequential little thing. I'd disagree. It's something we've all had to deal with to a varying degree, whether we're able to admit to ourselves or not.
My advice is to keep thinking about upcoming goals... how you'll look in smaller clothing, how you'll feel when you finally weigh less than 200lbs, how it feels to eat half or a fourth of something and feel full. Hey, just creating a list of things to look forward to may help to counter that feeling of buyer's remorse. And, of course, leaving long, rambling comments like this one may help, too. Who knows?!

All the nurses, including their "big guns" failed to get an IV started before my surgery. I finally had two anesthesiologists working in tandem with a hand-held doppler looking for a vein. (They succeeded, by the way.)

All the nurses, including their "big guns" failed to get an IV started before my surgery. I finally had two anesthesiologists working in tandem with a hand-held doppler looking for a vein. (They succeeded, by the way.)

This topic makes me crazy. I was a chronic pain patient BEFORE my bypass surgery. To my horror, I was not treated for my existing pain but given such a low dose of morphine that it did nothing for me. My surgeon left for Sweden right after my surgery, his assistant never visited me, and the hospitalist failed her responsibility toward me miserably.
Leaving a patient to suffer needlessly is just wrong. And there's a big difference between being an addict and being dependent on opiates for pain relief. If I'm addicted to anything, it's not being in unrelenting pain. Pain medication allows me to lead a semi-normal life without feeling out of control. Only someone who has chronic pain can understand this. It's a horrible cycle. And for the record, pain medication does give one a "high"; it merely takes the edge off so that you don't feel the pain as much.
Nothing makes me crazier than being treated as a drug-seeking, attention-seeking hypochondriac. Some people in the health care field have become cold and indifferent to the suffering of those who live with chronic pain. They assume everyone is abusing.

I think it's only natural to experience such feelings. We've made a drastic, often irreversible, alternation to our bodies. We're not feeling physically like ourselves. There may be pain or discomfort, vomiting, Constipation, hunger, lack of hunger... and the list goes on. Probably even more involved are the emotional or psychological changes going on inside of us post-surgery. We know things will never really be the same. This can be both thrilling and terrifying. What if we are one of those weird weight-loss surgery outliers who doesn't lose weight for whatever reason?! We almost convince ourselves that after our first stall we are indeed one of those rare few!
We've invested time, money, starved ourselves in preparation for surgery, had labwork, had to convince a nutritionist that we are committed to the nutritional challenges required, had to convince a psychologist that we aren't nuts, and go through 6 months or more of supervised weight loss by our primary doctor. We also read about all the pros and cons of WLS until our eyes practically bled from fatigue and overuse. Arghh!
As for advice, it's pretty much the same advice for most wholesale changes we face. Time. Time heals, but time also moves so s l o w l y.
Posting this topic and asking questions and for advice was a smart move. Just bringing the subject to the front of your consciousness validates it's importance to you. Some may dismiss "buyer's remorse" as an inconsequential little thing. I'd disagree. It's something we've all had to deal with to a varying degree, whether we're able to admit to ourselves or not.
My advice is to keep thinking about upcoming goals... how you'll look in smaller clothing, how you'll feel when you finally weigh less than 200lbs, how it feels to eat half or a fourth of something and feel full. Hey, just creating a list of things to look forward to may help to counter that feeling of buyer's remorse. And, of course, leaving long, rambling comments like this one may help, too. Who knows?!

It's nice that your poo-pourri does your job decently. What is your job? (Just funnin' with you Matt.)

@GreenTealael All I crave are nuts, seeds and dark @chocolate. Not even fruit anymore. I will have fruit occasionally because I work it into recipes but I realized I bought watermelon and gave it away because I had Brazil nuts I wanted instead. Save me.
Brazil nuts are one of the best sources for selenium, a micronutrient you need. How can you go wrong with that?