Question du Jour - I'm Pirating This From Carla For the Day Only

hello one and all! The boards seemed to have quieted down to a complete stop and that's never good so i'm going to revive it a bit. 1. What are you eating now that you never thought in a million years you'd enjoy 2. Are there activities that you do now that would never have entered your mind before surgery? 3. Were there any surprising results of w.l.s. that you weren't expecting? 4. Emotionally, what do you think is the toughest part of this journey? Andi's Answers: 1. I am thoroughly enjoying sushi which i never thought i'd enjoy or edamame, I guess beans in general are a new "thing" for me to enjoy i didn't like them at all before surgery 2. belly dancing to the extent that i am now would be it and walking for the pure enjoyment of getting some place. I also want to take latin dancing but my husband won't and he's not keen on me finding another partner, I will be laying down the ultimatum that he either dances with me or i AM finding a partner to dance with, it's one or the other but it's not going to go his way. 3. I didn't realize (1)how other people would view me and (2) i didn't realize how much my relationships would change and not all for the better either. My husband and I are fighting all the time now and I hate it and he keeps saying he liked me better fatter (sure, you could control me more then) 4. I think the toughest part of this journey is making myself realize that I'm a priority. I've put everyone else first for so long that there isn't much left for me by the end of the day and now i've got to make time for me and make plans and things like that

Great post, Andi! Here's my answers: 1. What are you eating now that you never thought in a million years you'd enjoy: fruit ... I've always enjoyed fruit but I never truly appreciated how sweet and yummy it tastes until now! 2. Are there activities that you do now that would never have entered your mind before surgery?: Running and just exercising in general ... I love it! I also am more willing to step up and volunteer. I just volunteered to be an Art Assistant for the music program at my daughters school! Woo hoo! This is so exciting to me! 3. Were there any surprising results of w.l.s. that you weren't expecting?: Andi, I can totally relate to what you said about your husband and how you fight a lot now. My husband and I get into arguments a lot lately and he also told me he liked me when I was heavier better. We have issues to work out! Also, I have a sister and a niece who hardly talk to me now. It's not that they don't talk to me, but they NEVER have asked how much weight I've lost or told me I look great or anything ... I wasn't expecting my weight loss to impact my family relationships at all in that way. 4. Emotionally, what do you think is the toughest part of this journey?: Still wanting to eat ... I still have that desire to sit down in front of the TV and just chow down. When I'm bored, lonely, or just having some peace and quiet at the end of the day ... I still struggle with that desire to feed something inside of myself. I've always felt like this surgery gave me a chance to start over and I don't want to ruin this chance I've been given. Deanna

I wonder why the spouses go to heck with themselves, are you and I the only ones going through this? Where have all the "others" gone.....megan, lorraine, amanda etc etc

Here are my answers: 1. Nothing really new for me...I enjoy all foods, unfortunately. 2. Working out for sure...I would of NEVER had the confidence to hire a trainer before. I would just plant myself on a treadmill and veg...now I strength train, cardio, circuit train...and just took a spin class. 3. I was really surprised how people treat you different. How people look you in the eye now. How doors get held open. I didn't realize how poorly I was treated before. Sad... 4. The toughest part is not to fall back into old routine. I am struggling very much with this. I am very social and find myself doing those things more often and the problem is I make bad choices when I do.

1. What are you eating now that you never thought in a million years you'd enjoy I actually crave fruit and veg now ... I hit the store every 3 or 4 days to stock up - yesterday it was cantaloupe and grapefruit Sadly, I've become lactose intolerant so my former fav food, ice cream, is now out (even sugar free) ... poop. 2. Are there activities that you do now that would never have entered your mind before surgery? Not specifically, but I do things like go on the playground equipment with my kids now and feel confident riding amusement park rides etc. I'm still not an "exercise" or "outdoor" kind of girl LOL! 3. Were there any surprising results of w.l.s. that you weren't expecting? The difficulty adjusting to the changes mentally ... I still feel like the "big" girl and steer clear of some situations because of it ... even though people don't even really notice me anymore I still feel like I stand out ... kwim? It's also weird to be treated nicely by strangers ... like guys at a convenience store will hold the door for me or someone will ask me for directions ... that didn't happen before ... 4. Emotionally, what do you think is the toughest part of this journey? Realising that losing the weight was not the answer to all my problems ... I went so many years believing that my life would be perfect if I could only lose weight ... now I see that there are other parts of myself I need to work on ... trying to do that now! Thanks for the fun poll! Leanne

Great post Andi! Very thought provoking. 1. What are you eating now that you never thought in a million years you'd enjoy Cottage cheese! I eat it, I don't dislike it, but would I prefer something else...hmmm duh yeh. But I would NOT have eaten it pre wls and definitely would not have thought it tasted ok 2. Are there activities that you do now that would never have entered your mind before surgery? Walking to work, to pick up daughter from school, upto town. I swing on my daughters swing - couldn't fit before! Run upstairs - I used to have to heave myself up. Wish I could get my butt into gear to do more exercise. 3. Were there any surprising results of w.l.s. that you weren't expecting? Being able to eat the variety and quantity of food that I can- I thought I'd be eating like a freak, yet I can eat 'normally'. (can I mention painful s*x a few months out for a while?? ok now though I might add ) 4. Emotionally, what do you think is the toughest part of this journey? Realising that losing weight does not solve all lifes problems. Realising that people will like me or not like me, and (for me) weight has probably not been a part of it. I put all negative stuff in my life down to being overweight, how wrong was I? Realising that it is still down to me and good old fashioned wise choices at the end of the day. I also thought that my husband would physically fancy me more the thinner I got - though he loves me so much, he is a reserved character, and I am a demonstrative touchy feely person. I was hoping that he would change, but infact with the skin issue, it has become mroe difficult in this area

Oh this is fun.. here we go... 1. What are you eating now that you never thought in a million years you'd enjoy. I liked fruit and veggies before but now.. i cant get enough of them. they are just my main love. I never really realized that I really only liked the meat in my meals.. i always ordered doubles so i could taste the meat.. now I can eat the meat all i want without the bread and I love it that way. 2. Are there activities that you do now that would never have entered your mind before surgery? I do everything now.. i hide from the world for fear someone would see me. I love riding horses, exercising, walking around the mall.. most of all i love SHOPPING... i am addicted to it.. i actually have different shoes for my outfits.. you were lucky if I bought a pair before when the soles fell off.. 3. Were there any surprising results of w.l.s. that you weren't expecting? I never in a million years expected to get down to 120 pounds. I actually thought I would be lucky if I got to 150. I never realized how much my body was weighing me down and how wonderful I feel. People treat me so different as well.. they open doors for me, offter to carry things. it is so weard all of a sudden being seen in a world that I not only wanted to hide from but the world didnt want to acknowledge. 4. Emotionally, what do you think is the toughest part of this journey? I still see the fat girl when I look in the mirror. I have tried ways to change that but it still pops up. I dont want to eat.. i need to loose more weight.. than I remember.. no no you dont.. that is the toughest for me.. i was struggling with clothes buying but I am getting use to buying the smaller clothes without going to the big racks out of habit.

Hi Andi! I thought this post is an awesome idea and I have been totally lurking for quite some time now so I thought I'd answer... 1. What are you eating now that you never thought in a million years you'd enjoy- It's not so much what I am eating that surprises me but really what I hate now that I used to love. I HATE fast food. It is sooooo bizarre to me, I used to live for double cheeseburgers and fries and now if we have to have something even remotely like fast food I always opt for Subway... I would have never imagined this! 2. Are there activities that you do now that would never have entered your mind before surgery? I'm going sky diving this month!! I always thought it'd be kind of fun but I would have never gone through with it before. 3. Were there any surprising results of w.l.s. that you weren't expecting? I am also a unhappy member of the "My spouse and I are fighting a lot" club. He has also told me repeatedly that he liked me better when I was heavier...yeah, because I was a doormat then and didn't dare say anything because I was afraid of voicing my opinion about anything back then for fear of losing him. I mean surely he would have left me if I had said anything that didn't go along with what he thought or felt (probably not but that's how I felt). I wish I'd have had more self confidence before, maybe then everything wouldn't have gotten this messed up in the first place... 4. Emotionally, what do you think is the toughest part of this journey? Learning that I am important and the things that I think and feel do matter and that they should matter to those who care about me. It's hard for me to let go of those self doubting feelings but I'm doing it. Even if hubby doesn't like it... I need to like myself and it's ok to be who I am. I'm not going to hide "the real me" anymore.

Hi Bobbie! I'm so glad you came out of lurking!!! Your new pictures is GORGEOUS! Well, I'm glad we are not alone in the "hubby and I are quarreling" group! It seems to be going around! It's good to know we are not alone! Don't be such a stranger ... we miss ya around here! Deanna

Ok...i don't usually participate but I'm giving this a shot. 1. What am I eating now that I would have never thought in a million years that I would enjoy? I have to say I enjoy most of what I eat, but I guess i would have to say that I order more fish and am enjoying the taste of it much better. I recently had some kind of stuffed fish at a cousins b'day party and it truly tasted delicious. 2. Are there any activities that you do now that you would have never done before WLS? Sure, I went on a cruise in Feb. and went go-kart riding, swam with stingrays, climbed a 600f****erfall and went tubing down a river. I went to Las Vegas, hiked in the canyon and actually rode a horse for 2hrs. I never would have riden a horse previously because I just couldn't do that to the horse!!! 3. Were there any surprising results of WLS that you weren't expecting? My lack of desire to ever eat at a fast food resturant!!! I have tried it on a few occaisons and yuk..., previously I was addicted to Mc Donalds. It just doesn't taste the same. Many of my tastes have changed, some of the bad foods I have eaten just don't taste as good as they did before. 4.Emotionally, what is the toughest part of this journey. Being terrified of gaining back the weight and having all the doubters say " see I knew she'd gain all that weight back". Also, now that I am feeling well, I sometimes can't get that "you can eat anything you want" mentality. When I am out to eat, i get jealous of others ordering diet pepsi, even though I have tasted it and don't like it anymore.