MandoGetsSleeved

@Paul.VDH I'd also like to add - Please don't be ashamed on this forum - It's a journey - We all make mistakes, some of us get complacent, some of us get plain ole lazy (ME!), but we just have to keep on trying. Using the app is one way to hold yourself accountable without feeling the "shame" of sharing it with the world. I know if I stop tracking, I start snacking (It's easy to convince myself that everything is good...).

I was on two blood pressure medications. One contained a Water pill, and my PCP decided that since I'll be struggling to hydrate, I don't need to take the one with the water pill.
In two days—TWO DAYS—my uncontrolled (pre-meds) blood pressure dropped from 155/95 to 134/75.
I really don't understand how that would work physically, but I'm not going to argue with it!

Crossing my legs!

Interesting article - Thank you.

I think for many people obesity CAN and DOES affect income. I have to ask "why" though in many cases. Is it because we were perceived as "fat and lazy" or is it because others do? Let's face it - When you're obese, you often DON'T have the energy or stamina to keep up with someone else who's fit. The other side of that, when you're obese in the workforce, you may try harder so that you're recognized for your work vs. your size.

As someone who fell into both of the above categories. I have been successful at work over the years by proving that I could take on just about anything thrown at me. On the other hand, I know there are opportunities that I've missed because of my weight/size. For a period of time, I thought I would like to be on the demo team at work, but self-realized that wasn't a possibility because: 1 - I'm not sure I could physically keep up with other team members, and 2 - I would have looked like &#*% in the "uniform" (everyone matched on demo days). Honestly, I never even applied for the position. Alternately, I proved myself elsewhere and I have risen in the company to a senior management position. Perhaps it would have been sooner had I been thin? I really don't know. Now, as a normal sized person, I do see more opportunities at work, but I believe that's MY confidence rather than what some would perceive as discrimination.

One thing I think that happens is that in life, many people are beat up for being overweight and lack self-esteem. They use weight as an excuse to be disappointed rather than just going for it. When I say "excuse", please don't take that as an insult. So many overweight people have food issues because of crappy lives and it's the one thing they CAN control. It's a vicious circle and in no way meant as criticism. I was lucky - I have an amazing and supportive family so my issue was simply that I love food - It wasn't a coping mechanism. I feel like that is the reason my income wasn't directly assoicated with my weight.

1 year post op - ZERO regrets. Hair loss - From about month 3-4 until about 7-8 for me. At around 8-9 months it all started growing back and you would never know it was thinned out some. On the plus side, it dried a HECK of a lot faster than it does now.

1 year post op - ZERO regrets. Hair loss - From about month 3-4 until about 7-8 for me. At around 8-9 months it all started growing back and you would never know it was thinned out some. On the plus side, it dried a HECK of a lot faster than it does now.

1 year post op - ZERO regrets. Hair loss - From about month 3-4 until about 7-8 for me. At around 8-9 months it all started growing back and you would never know it was thinned out some. On the plus side, it dried a HECK of a lot faster than it does now.

1 year post op - ZERO regrets. Hair loss - From about month 3-4 until about 7-8 for me. At around 8-9 months it all started growing back and you would never know it was thinned out some. On the plus side, it dried a HECK of a lot faster than it does now.

Crossing my legs!

Crossing my legs!

Fan-freaking-tastic!! Great job and very motivating.

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

First I want to say thank you to so many of the veteran posters on here. I hope you gals and guys know how much your experiences and feedback have helped me and I suspect many others. There's just such a fantastic mix of people and experiences - It's great knowing you aren't alone in this journey.

The first few months after surgery were easy. The weight was simply falling off, there wasn't anything I couldn't eat or drink - And better yet, I couldn't overeat because of the restriction. I felt fantastic most of the time, had all sorts of NSV's and loved my new life. From August until January I lost almost 50lbs - I was so close to Wonderland I could taste it. THEN reality struck - Suddenly I was one of those "slow losers" - It took almost 2 months to lose 13lbs. UGH, I WAS going to be one of those slow losers. OK, fine, I'm 52 and it is what it is, right? From January until May, I "only" lost 33lbs. Again, every week/month I told myself that I would lose the weight, I was just in some sort of a stall and things would magically pick up. Well, they didn't, I would lose 2-3 lbs and then I would gain 2-3 lbs. Again, "it's normal" I told myself.

Fast forward to a week ago - I jumped on here for some motivation (reading stories, etc.) and I took a hard look at what I was doing. Basically, I was being lazy - I was eating whatever I wanted and justifying it by saying "I only eat small portions" - Well, yeah, that was true...BUT I was grazing, I was drinking too much alcohol, and I wasn't tracking. I honetly have no idea how many calories I was consuming (especially on weekends with family and friends). I played mind games with myself and said "As long as I'm not gaining, I'm doing things right." - Well, that was a giant load of (@*$.

This past Tuesday (after a weekend of Mimosa's, Crown Royal, and some really great BBQ), I woke up to a 5lb gain (BTW, yes I realize some of that was Water retention). WAKE UP CALL. 5lbs? Seriously - Time to go back to basics before that's a 10lb gain. For the first time in MONTHS, I tracked every thing I tracked everything that went into my mouth (water, food, etc) - I did 3 days of liquid - In two days, those 5lbs were off. Rather than what I've done in the past, I didn't stop there - I continued tracking, I continued being cognizant of what and when I was eating. I said "no" to many things that I thought I wanted. I lost 6.8lbs from Tuesday to Sunday. What? I'm NOT a slow loser - I'm a LAZY loser.

Folks, for many of us, it's EASY in the first few months, it's EASY to convince ourselves that we're doing OK, it's EASY to compare ourselves to others, it's EASY to ignore signs that you're falling into bad habits, and it's EASY to get lazy. In reality, it's HARD to stick to your plan when you're feeling fantastic and patting yourself on the back for losing so much weight. I'm choosing to be thankful that this happened now rather than 2-3 years into it. I'm glad that reality smacked me in the face and forced me to face the fact that i wasn't doing what I needed to do. Right now it was EASY to get back on track before I let it get out of control. For those of you experiencing the same - Buckle up buttercup, start tracking, weigh yourself often if you need to, and take a good look and when and why you're losing weight and when and why you aren't.

Again, a very special thank you to you old timers for always keeping things real and giving out such fantastic advice.

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!

For those on the fence about surgery…it’s been a wild and crazy year, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Thank you to everyone here for the motivation and tips. I still have 20-30 lbs to go but man am I proud of my progress. From a 22 to a 10!