PopsFury

48 minutes ago, aggietop said:

How much actual weight did you lose from the skin removal surgery? Im still debating the surgery.

Great question... I've been curious how much that excess skin weighs as well.

Fascinating responses... I'm on the "I have 1-2 drinks and I feel like I used to after 7-8 drinks" side of the equation. So I'm trying to slow down and really enjoy each sip.

And I'm a much cheaper date. Luckily I'm hilarious when I catch a buzz

15 hours ago, BlueCrush said:

Almost 2 years to the day separate these photos.

Me at 406lbs on Memorial Day 2017 in the pic to the left. I started my diet and exercise journey the day after Memorial Day 2017. I lost 88lbs through diet and exercise, then had VSG surgery on 12/11/17 and got down to 220lbs by August 2018. I added 5lbs back in muscle with my weight lifting routine, and just had skin removal surgery on 5/2/19. Currently sitting at 225lbs on the pic to the right. Still a bit swollen and healing from the skin removal surgery.

Guy's over 400lbs, IF I CAN DO THIS, SO CAN YOU!!!

WOW! Congrats! I started around 420-430... Had surgery in August 2018 and I've been stuck at 280 for several months now. What did you do for exercise/diet that helped you get so low?

I really want to get down to at least 250 this year.

Also, I also have some ink on my upper arms... did getting rid of your excess skin impact that? Were they able re retain the art?

Literally feel your pain. Hoping to build up a tolerance to this?

Lots to unpack in this topic. I used to drink a LOT of Diet Coke (thanks to free soda at work!)

A few things I realized, half of a real Coke would satisfy me more than 6 Diet Cokes. Real Coke wouldn't make me crave other sweets, which the artificial sweetener does to me.

But what I missed most of all was the bubbles, which were easily replaced with Talking Rains - no artificial sweetener and no calories.

Now post-op I take caffeine when I need it, sometimes in black coffee but more often in Yerba Mate beverages which give me a more pleasurable energy uptick than the jitters I get from coffee. Some of the bottled beverages have calories, but they are calories I'm happy to consume.

6 minutes ago, Kimmie K said:

Crappiest part is, I won't even have my depression meds anymore after about 7-8 days (not sure how many pills I have left). Trintellix has given me my brain back. I'm kinda dreading what's to come...waiting on my doctor to get back with me about what to do next

The American for-profit health care system in action. I am so sorry.

Most Insurance plans allow for exceptions. If you've shown success on Trintellix, your doctor might be able to appeal? I got my weight loss drug Saxenda on appeal, but only for a few months. Still, it helped my kickstart my success.

Take care of your brain!

2 hours ago, jasmineinmymind said:

CBD is legal where I live (I mean if you combine with TCH) but I have an impossible time trying to pick something out. How do you choose? strength? brand? Are you ingesting the oil or is it topical?

Topical did nothing for me. I've been ordering from https://www.thecbdistillery.com/?homepage=new which has a good range of products and lots of information on their site about dosing. It's been really helpful as an anti-inflamatory for me.

I've been experimenting with dosing, and put the drops right under my tongue in the morning. It gets me through the bulk of the day, sometimes I'll take some more in the evening. Worth a try!

I think I lost about 60 lbs pre-surgery. First time in my life I'd ever felt full! Down another 80 post!

I've worked with some amazing, knowledgeable dieticians. The ones I worked with for weight loss were quoting 20 year old research and were useless. But they were an Insurance requirement so I nodded and smiled and did what was right for me.

Maybe you'll get a good one?

I was super successful with Saxenda. Phen Phen wasn't an option for me because they worried about my heart. Sadly, I'm not sure Saxenda is offially used as a weight loss drug, and my insurance didn't cover, but maybe yours would? Ask about it!

Sorry if this has been mentioned, but CBD oil is saving me from devastating arthritic hip pain. Still hurts, but more tolerable!

I could fart on demand pre-surgery, always had a full tank. But now it is extremely rare. I'm 3.5 months post-op.

I still stick mostly to yogurt and Protein shakes... Other foods still give me a stomach ache.

I may try a Brussel sprout or two at Thanksgiving tomorrow, wish me luck!

(now burps, those are still frequent if I eat too quickly)

28 minutes ago, NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM said:

Weight is 418 lbs. (Started at 569 lbs)

Amazing accomplishment pre-surgery! (or even post!) Keep up the good work!

13 hours ago, Syrina said:

One of my intermediate goals is to get my BMI down to 39. It's kind of a weird thing, but I am a medical coder, so I have to add BMI codes to charts all day long, and from 20 to 39, they get their own codes. Above and below that a range of several points will share a diagnosis code.

That's fascinating, and not weird at all. At least as far as my hip replacement, no doctors would even talk to me if my BMI was over 40. I look forward to going into a doctor's office for a cold and not getting lectured about my weight.

Met with my primary care and surgeon in the last week and forgot to ask both of them about what my goal should be! Anyway, I'm 4 lbs away from my first goal where I qualify for that hip surgery, then I'll think of my next goal!

6 hours ago, abefroman329 said:

My back hair has definitely gotten denser.

That's the dream, isn't it? 😂

I've been disappointed my hip pain hasn't gotten better with the weight loss. Glad your knees feel better!

36 minutes ago, CrankyMagpie said:

BMI is bull💩, scientifically speaking, but 165 puts me at a lower BMI rating and, one assumes, better treatment by medical professionals (because they use BMI for every-dang-thing, despite what nonsense it is). So it's worth striving that extra little bit, to me, if I'm still feeling good when I hit Goal 1.

Tell me about it. I've needed a new hip for over a year and I can't find a surgeon who will even talk to me about it until my BMI is at 40. I'm at 41, and they wouldn't schedule me for a CONSULT. Ludicrous.

And I've been doing research on the complication rates for BMI over 40. They go from about 4% to 6% and can be influenced by other things. Denying me care should be criminal.

I see a lot of you talk about your goal weight. Sure, I put one in here, but it isn't anything I really thought about. I'm curious, how did you choose your goal weight?

• Was it a weight from a point in time of your life?
• Did your doctor help you choose?
• Did you reference height/weight charts?
• Something else?

I've shied away from thinking about an ultimate goal, but have set some smaller, more quickly achievable goals. I like things I can reach within a month or two vs. focusing a year away. Still, I'm starting to think it might be fun to have an end goal, and perhaps a stretch goal as well.

How did you think about it?

Weird, I feel like I'm actually hairier, hypothesizing that my hair follicles are just closer together now. Same amount of hair, just more dense?

I second thecbddistillery.com. I've been using it for a few weeks now, sublingually. It really helps my hip pain, doesn't eliminate it, but helps it and gives me an overall sense of well being. I'm sleeping better and just feel better in general.

I've read different reports on if you should start with a low dose and build up or start with a higher dose and back down.

For me a dose in the morning lasts for most of the day. I'll sometimes take a second dose in the evening, or I'll just deal with the increase in pain.

Good luck!

For those with bad knees (i have a bad hip) check out your local pools and their Water fitness courses. I do a deep water fitness which takes all the pain off my hip and gives me a good cardio workout, and the water resistance helps build muscles. It's me and a bunch of little old ladies Been doing it since my high weight, and always feel better after a class.

7 minutes ago, NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM said:

So...I have a large pizza and sub setting in front of me. WHAT AM I DOING! IT'S NOT LOGICAL! I'm a very LOGICAL thinking person. Got to get a grip!

Have one slice and and a quarter of the sub and save the rest for another meal.

Congrats on the loss, that's a huge accomplishment!

As far as gym motivation, a few things work for me.

- Just go, even if you only do one exercise there, or just use the sauna. Just physically get yourself there

- Figure out what time of day you like to go, I happen to like when it is crowded as the people watching distracts me.

- Chat with the front desk people. If I feel like they will notice I'm not there, I feel more motivated.

- Don't push yourself too hard right away. Hurting yourself on day 1 is not a good path to success.

I used to hate people who complained about being cold because I was always warm. Now I'm one of them. I'm always under a blanket or turning the heat up!

Good to hear it levels out...