What Have You Done Today to Make You Feel Proud?

Well, in the interest of fair play...Kim and I cheated.  And Kimmie's had hers worked on TWICE.

But you were never as heavy as we were, so I say that evens the playing field.

Squeeze and squat and squeeze and squat.....

Mary

And think, I'm 30, I'm 30, I'm 30.... ha ha ha

I'll take the photo in the dark.

Squeeze and squat, squeeze and squat... hubby's gonna like this contest.

OK.. I'M PUTTING IN MY 2 CENTS!

So sorry, I don't consider what you and Kim have done "cheating".  I don't consider it a "short cut" and CERTAINLY NOT "cowardly".

ANYONE who actually CHOOSES to go under the knife to improve themselves is BRAVE.  In my humble opinion, it's a difficult and painful route and choosing such proves your passion.

Sorry... reading that just struck a nerve in me..(but I'm a nervy biatch anyway).. lol

My my my...I didn't know I would spark such intensity from a simple statement, BUT I LOVE IT!!!

I don't consider reconstructive surgery cheating either, I only meant we cheated in terms of a "contest".  Kinda like being in a wet t-shirt contest after you've had breast implants.  That's 'stacking' the deck...pun intended!

Girl, don't even get me started on a conversation about reconstructive surgery after massive weight loss.  We've had some rather 'intense' discussions on the plastics board about whether it's purely vanity or whether we deserve to do this for ourselves when the money should be used for our families, or whether we should stay deformed because we did this to ourselves and we deserve to be deformed.  To me...that's Bull****! 

My body totally rebelled against 'normalcy' and there were no short cuts to get this weight off of me but pure hard miserable deprivation and lots of time pushing my body to it's limits.  And making the decision about spending the money to do this was a personal decision that I reached with my husband, and him knowing how miserable I was with all of that hanging skin made it a no brainer. 

But you're right, making the decision to have my body cut in half was an act of bravery far beyond the norm for me.  I'll let you in a li'l secret,   For most, it's not that painful, anymore.  They put some remarkable stuff on those incisions to make them numb.  Regardless, there are no cowards in plastic surgery.  Living in those garments for six weeks and having drains that pinch and make a mess, ain't easy.  And then if you have complications, it can get scary.  So yeah...it ain't for sissies!

But I will say this.  Before my butt lift, I wouldn't have even been in the conversation about a butt contest!

Mary

Baby.. I had a breast reduction and tummy tuck at the same time.  At the fifth day in the hospital, the drains were RIPPED out of me as I screamed bloody murder.   I had so much morphine in me and it didn't even TOUCH the pain....

  Now maybe I just have a very low tolerance.........  but I think I'll live with the deformed body from here on out.

I have a lot of respect for you gals who do this stuff... after what I've had done... I'd be **** scared to ever do anything like it again (even though I want breasts really bad).

As far as the money.....  Jon whipped out a $25k cashiers check for the work I had done without blinking.....................  if we are not happy with ourselves.. we will never be able to make anyone else happy, and I think our men KNOW this.  Besides.. they do get a little somethin' out of it too.. no?

Five days in the hospital?  How long ago did you have this done?  Now it's done as an outpatient.  And I don't know about the masochist you had working on you, but my doc tries NOT to hurt you!  Girl, having implants was one of the EASIEST of all my surgeries.  And also one of the most rewarding.  Sometimes we just don't discuss how are bodies affect our sexuality and what losing our femininity does to our psyche.  But to me, it was worth every penny spent to get that back.  And as far as what Robert got out of all of this, let's just say he's a very happily married man.   Ooo la la!

Mary 

I'm proud that yesterday I didn't have a meltdown when I saw 218 on the scale.  I reacted like a normal human being which is something major for me... and something to be proud of.  So...I guess I'm proud of my response.

I got depressed..which is normal... and did something I never do in the late afternoon... I slept.  I've tried to take naps before but can't do it in the daylight, but I slept until Jon got home at 9:00pm!  I think this is a normal response... so I'm proud of that.

I'm proud that I didn't get so upset that I blew off a workout... instead I worked out harder... got a good, solid, hard 3 hours in... and it's 6:30am right now .. as soon as I finish making Jon's breakfast and put it in the microwave for when he gets up... I'm outtie to the gym.

I'm proud that I smiled at people as I passed them while getting around the gym instead of keeping my head down.

I'm proud that I didn't go running to the bottle of xanax which could have been so easy.

I'm proud that I took JUST WHAT I NEEDED for pain medication instead of trying to make myself feel emotionally better about the sudden fluid gain through chemistry.

I did a lot to be proud of!

Hey Lori:
Congrats!    You have a LOT to be proud of.  I gave in and hit the xanax but after the hellacious day I had, I couldn't resist.

Hope you have a good weekend,
Kim

Honey.. with all you've been through lately...  I would have personally sent you a qualude the size of a horse's ass and a little chisel so you could chip pieces off as you needed 'em!

I'm guessing you're a lot more responsible with xanax than I am.. LOL  To me, burnt bacon is a reason to pop a couple of mg's!!!  LMAO

Lori Lori Lori..."You've Come a Long Way, Baby!"  I guess if our bodies have taught us anything, it's that we have to be patient.  Now I didn't say we WERE patient, but it's kinda nice that we don't freak as much as we used to.  I'm so prouda ya!

Mary