Starry*Night

Holy cow that is incredible weight loss!!! Congratulations! I just moved out of super-califragilisticexpialidociously obese to just severely obese or something once my BMI got below 40. Celebration! ?

Okay, so, this is from my experience - In the beginning, I was SO ANGRY with my boyfriend for not taking his health as seriously as I was taking mine. He was not pursuing surgery, but I still wanted him to get healthier with me - I wanted a partner for the journey. Angrier than I'd ever imagine myself being btw, because for once in my life I was taking my weight seriously and giving it MY ?? ABSOLUTE ?? ALL ?? and he was not. 5 months after starting the bariatric process and 3 months after surgery, I am no longer angry. In fact, while I care about his health, I now consider it his burden, not mine. I hardly care at all. You can't force someone to want to change, or force them to have the willpower, conviction, and discipline to change. You can only accept whether you want them in your life or not. As for me and the bf, it will likely be a factor in us breaking up; I find the lack of attention to his weight unattractive now, whereas before I started this process I didn't mind it. I want to surround myself with people who care about health and fitness because it is now a major part of my life. Of course, you are married so the decision will be harder for you. I just wanted to share my experience in case it helps - you're not the only one who feels this way.

Your ability to drink water will get much better as time goes on. However, in the beginning, yes, you will need to sip constantly - it will HURT if you drink too much too fast! By 6 weeks post op you will be able to drink MUCH easier, and even gulp a bit if you're like me.

You look so pretty in that dress! GREAT JOB! I can't believe that's only 6 months post op, that's incredible!

You may have stalled. I hit a stall 3 days after surgery and didn't lose a pound for a couple of weeks. I was super afraid the surgery didn't work, but it did! Search for "3 week stall" to find more info on it - yours may have just come early ?

Veggies. I never thought I'd like them, now I just wish I could eat more of them!

Sis you are on FIRE! ? Good luck keeping the boys away!!

@Mikeyy Thank you ? Down to 223 now. Looking forward to losing more and getting curvier!

Link to story So sad I know a lot of people here watch the show so I figured I'd share. I never realized till I watched the show how hard obesity hits the body, and that even something as simple as an infection or cold can kill you when you're severely overweight. Sean is the latest example of that. Let's use this as a reminder to be happy that we are working on our health, and that slipping is never worth it.

I'm not saying this is an idea solution, but this is what I've done, in order of best to worst: Look up KETO recipes for sweets! You can make your own chocolate (yes, even bars!), use fat alternatives to reduce the fat in the recipes, and eat it pretty much GUILT free. Make it with erithrytol or stevia as your sweetener so you don't have an insulin response. You can also look into Lily's chocolate bars, your local super market may have them and they use stevia. Buy Slim Fast fat bomb peanut butter cups and have ONE. They're made with erithrytol so they're good! Or look at Quest protein bars or Atkins candy. Try to avoid Maltitol, which is a sugar alcohol that WILL spike your insulin and can perpetuate further cravings. In a pinch, get sugar free chocolate (like Russell Stovers SUGAR FREE) and only have a portion size or less. Definitely don't have more or you'll be married to the porcelain throne all night. Warning: they are dangerously delicious and, much like sugar, won't fully satisfy that craving and will leave you wanting more so exercise extreme caution and willpower here. Good luck!

My surgeon recommends low carb, low fat, high protein. I know protein is most important for us, but if we have the room after eating our protein (at this point I hit my protein goal easily each day), what about fats? I'm wondering because there are tons of awesome keto recipes I'd love to try, and after trying a few, my body feels even better and I'm still losing weight at the same pace. But I want to make sure I'm not making some huge mistake if I do this. Edit: if it makes a difference, I'm about 3 months out from surgery and dealing with sugar cravings something fierce, and being able to have peanut butter or something would be awesome for staving off the cravings.

@Lynnlovesthebeach @Frustr8 Thank you! I'm pretty surprised by the results for the relatively small amount of weight loss. Huge difference in my stomach! Gosh I can't wait till the day the rest of it is gone! I'm super pumped. Still loving cycling every day, on my way to completing my first virtual race! Frustr8, how is your journey going? Are you out of the hospital at this point?

It adds up fast! I use something called the DeskCycle, you can find it on amazon. It's amazing. My surgeon told me to exercise 45 mins a day, so in that time I usually cycle 12-16 miles depending on the resistance I use. Do that every day and the mileage adds up before you know it! I just manually track my mileage and submit it, but some of the virtual racing sites connect to fitness trackers, I just prefer doing it manually. Now that I read about exercise on here, I'll probably either increase the time I cycle or add more resistance. I usually just watch TV while I cycle anyway, so it gives me an excuse to keep binge watching my shows while making it productive ?

Same! I wanted to be able to exercise more - I have an autoimmune condition that is helped by exercise, so being able to exercise is really important for me! I love my indoor cycle - sometimes it feels tedious but it always feels amazing when I'm done. I've actually started entering virtual races so I can complete mileage goals from my home and get a medal lol. For me it's really motivating. This month's goal is to get over 200 miles! Funny cause I never thought I'd enjoy fitness as a hobby and something I look forward to every day, but I do!

Thank you! Can't wait till I'm at the point where you are. I've never been a normal weight in my adult life and have no idea what I will look like!

For me, the most valuable part (and it makes total sense!) is to exercise as much as you can during the period where you don't have hunger. I'm still in that period and have been feeling the desire to exercise more, but in the back of my mind I was worried about overdoing it and then burning out. But usually exercising increases hunger, so if you're able to do it without that happening it makes sense it would boost your weight loss. Now I don't feel guilty about wanting to exercise a bit more ?

What an amazing find! Read the whole thing. Wish they had one for the sleeve - I wonder if the 6 month thing is true for the sleeve (I've heard it's not) as well as the water loading

Thank you! I was slow recovering - I still felt pretty bad through week 6 cause I caught a stomach virus - but now I'm feeling really good! As soon as I started hitting my protein, liquid and exercise goals every day, the weight started falling off!

I didn't know where to share my excitement, so I had to share it with you guys! After a slow recovery, my journey is going so well. I'm 7 weeks post op. Never in my life did I think exercise would become a hobby I love I have an indoor cycle I use and I've fallen in love with the darn thing! It's like moving meditation - I can zone out from my day, close my eyes if I want to, and breathe and clear my mind while I methodically pedal. I'm actually seeing myself get more fit with it, which for some reason I didn't expect, probably cause I've never stuck to exercising long enough in the past to see myself improve. I now sign up for virtual races to keep me motivated to cycle more than my regular 45 mins a day - and I love it! Who EVER thought that would happen? Errands aren't so exhausting I just got back from grocery shopping, and my mind is blown. I'm used to going to the store and expecting to be wiped out of energy from shopping, have back pain and pain throughout my body, needing to lean on a cart to support my weight. No more! At 45 pounds lost combined with the cycling, I now know what it feels like to be a normal person shopping. Just wait till I lose more! Here are some pics: Last year, ~260's (my starting weight this year was 280) (maroon top) vs now at 236

Can you have the dresses made out of a stretchy/spandexy material? I started my weight loss at 280 and am currently 239 and all my dresses still fit me because they are made out of jersey or some other material with give

At least you caught it, great job on being diligent!

It's all relative! Personally I think you looked great at both weights - like you have a big, brawny build. It is amazing how fast you've gotten into shape though, you're going to be giving Jason Momoa a run for his money! ?

For what it's worth, when I started having heartburn, here's what my surgeon told me - I was already on Pepcid 2x a day as a preventative. He told me to do a round of omeprazol on top of the Pepcid, and then take Tums as needed. For me, that got my heartburn under control. My acid still feels a little out of control but it's getting there. I hear it settles down after 6 or so months. See how your body changes - way down the road, there's always the option for a revision to bypass to eliminate the problem should it be necessary, but hopefully it won't be! My surgeon's office also told me to make sure I'm drinking all my water for the day, cause the stomach continues producing acid, and if there's nothing in your stomach to mix with it, it can cause problems - hence the sage wisdom of sip, sip, sip!

I personally come here whenever I get nervous or stressed or, I suppose the right word is anxious about this journey. I read a few posts and it calms me. It would be nice having more people, but I like the tight-knit community as well! It's a pleasure getting to know everyone and instantly makes me feel more grounded seeing familiar faces ?

So, I FELT my first results during the pre-op liquid diet. The lack of carbs made a tremendous difference in the inflammation in my body - after losing 5 lbs, I felt better than when I'd lost 40 in the past. It was eye opening! From my HW of 280, I saw a difference when I recorded a video of me on surgery day at 259 - and I see a really big difference now that I'm at 239. Now I was in the 230s back in 2017 so I'm not totally ecstatic yet - but when I get into the 220s I might just die of happiness! ?