Hi Jody,
Not to change the subject, but I was looking at your signature and I am almost 2 years out, my surgery was October 17th of 2008.  We are pretty well matched as far as stats go.  I am 5' 1" and my presurgery weight ws 236 and now I weigh 121. My question is in relation to your tummy tuck.  I work out at the gym 3 days a week and still cannot get my lower abdomen to go down.  i had four c-sections and my lowest babies birth weight was 8 lbs 2 ozs...the others were over 10 lbs and being so short that was a lot of streched skin. 

How did you go about getting it done, about how much did it cost and are you happy with the results?  I really need to have that done.  Also I am very disappointed with what is left with my breasts also.  After always having a D cup and breastfeeding 4 hungry babies I now am lucky if i'm an A cup and they are saggier than I ever imagined.  I just can't justify putting all the money into plastics if the results aren't worth it.  Also how bad was the post op pain on the tummy tuck?

Thanks so much and sorry if I rambled!  i know my two year appointment is going to  include a consult with a plastic surgeon as he works hand in hand with the bariatric surgeon where I had my surgery done but I'm nervous to see him.

Thanks again,
Jennifer

Wellll... I don't measure my food anymore, and know I should, BUT - I believe I can easily eat 5-7 oz of dense protein and a veggie. 

I know my pouch has "matured" and I believe, at this stage, it is about 6-8oz.  I just read a blog from Pam T that explained how the pouch "matures" - doesn't 'stretch'.  Very interesting...

Anyway - I am a grazer and it isn't helping me 1 bit!  I don't test myself with sugars, they never were an issue with me - but carbs are my demon food of bad carb choice...

I typically snack at night after I get home from work - during the day I do well with my preplanned meals - but at nigh****ch out!  Especially if I indulge in an adult beverage or 2, it seems my "common sense" goes out the window with it.

So - I don't let myself drink during the week anymore - empty calories and mindless eating... 

Here's the link to her blog about our pouch:  http://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2008/09/understanding-pouch.h tml
 

Hi October 08 surgery folks,

I'm inviting you to a little group to help those (yes, including myself) who have gained 10 or more pounds beyond that lowest weight. We are calling it the "Drop 10 for 10 Challenge". You can easily join this group by going to www.obesityhelp.com/group/Drop10410. I'm hoping that with your help we can generate a little excitement and enthusiasm for getting back on track. We will have a monthly weighin, but it will only be pounds off since the start of the new 2010 decade. Your participation is only what you want to make it. I'm pumped up and ready to get back on track for 2010.

There are no hard and fast rules for joining, but you really should be at least 10 pounds above your lowest post-surgery weight and interested in getting things back in line.

Let's get this new decade off to a great start.

John Wurm
 

I've lost 125.  Life is so great now.  No more diabetes.  No more high blood pressure.  I've had to have a hernia repair, a total knee replacement and sagging skin removed from my eyelids.  Geesh, this old body has taken a beating.  I'm ready to go into the new year with a different outlook on life than I had  a year ago.  Congrats to all you fellow losers.

 I had laparoscopic RNY on October 27, 2008, and I couldn't be happier with the results. I'm 5 ft tall and weight 254 lbs at my first visit to my surgeon. This morning I weigh 140 lbs, so am 114 lbs. down. My size 8 pants are too big now - I was wearing 2x or size 22 this time last year. I still have kind of a large chest, so wear a medium or large petite t-shirt.

The biggest change, though, is my activity level. We just moved to Hawaii - last time I was here 3 years ago, I couldn't handle the humidity, but now I hardly notice it. Love to swim, snorkel, take long walks, do yoga, and use my hula hoop. I'm 57, but I feel better than when I was 35.

I do have some saggy skin on my legs and upper arms, so I don't feel comfortable wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts yet. I seem to be tightening up some, so will keep trying the exercise route for a while before exploring plastic surgery. I've had such a thick waist for years (50 inches at my heaviest) and I never thought I would be able to shrink it much, but I'm down to 33 inches after starting to use the hula hoop.

Foodwise, I can tolerate almost everything except concentrated sugar and alcohol, but it's still hard to digest meat thoroughly and carrots seem to sit in my pouch for hours no matter how I well I chew them. I'm still experimenting with meal patterns - I can't seem to force myself to eat more than 3 times a day, which leaves me feeling overfull some evenings if I eat too big a meal or eat too late. My husband likes large dinners and I would rather just eat a salad, so we're still working that out.

One recent problem is that if I don't eat much at dinner, I sometimes wake up at 2AM feeling shaky. I've tested my blood sugar at those times and it's always under 60, so I drink some juice or eat a PB&J and feel better, but I really, really hate that shaky feeling. Anyone else having the problem?

I've lost fairly slowiy at times, and have had several plateaus, so have tried very hard to keep up the exercise. Since moving to Hawaii 6 weeks ago, though, I've had some sort of Gi upset (diarrhea, lack of appetite), and haven't felt much like exercising, so am making a concerted effort to change that. I've lost 15 lbs since moving here, which seemed unhealthy to me, but I've been to the doctor a couple of times and all of my labs are normal, so I'm guardedly happy now with the weight loss.

I'm below my surgeon's goal for me of 150 lbs. I'm pretty happy at 140, but think that I'll keep working to lose 15 more lbs. That will bring me into the "normal weight" category BMI-wise. One table said that I should weigh 112, but I haven't weighed that little since 5th grade!

One thing that I was worried about was feeling "too skinny." Twenty years ago, I lost quite a bit of weight through diet and exercise, and ended up weighing maybe 5 lbs less than what I weigh now. I vividly remember looking at myself then and thinking "I'm too small - I don't take up any space!" and without thinking about it more than that, proceeded to gain all that weight back and more. I think it had to do with poor self esteem and lack of confidence. I was in the Army then, and I guess I felt like I would have no authority if I was too small. Crazy. Now that I've had therapy, hopefully I'm in a better place this time.

Sorry for the long post,

Marcy B

Marcy B