PopsFury

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

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.

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!

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)

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

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!