NEW MEMBERS! Help Introduce Yourself!

Danelle,
It is so great to see you here. I would have never imagined you had 4 kids.  You are just adorable and you have always been such an inspiration to me.  I love your answers and could see how much we would benefit by having a beautiful person like you.

I hope the prescription works too but don't be afraid of the infusions.  Debra that is a member here did those.  We want you happy and healthy girlfriend!

One of the things I would love to change is some people's opinion about why they did surgery.  Of course everyone wants to be healthy but I don't think there's one thing wrong with wanting to look normal too.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to look a little more attractive because it is a normal desire so no one should give anyone a hard time about that. Many people strive for looking a bit better.

Welcome my beautiful lady because you are indeed beautiful....inside and out!!
hugs, Y

Hello All,

My name is Katie and I had my WLS on 10-19-09. I had lap RNY procedure done. It took me two years to make the decision to have the surgery..I was very scared and not ready to make such a huge lifestyle choice..but after I turned 30 and started to have co-morbidity's I decided I was ready to live my life and be there to raise my children and grow old with my husband.

I have been married 10 years to the love of my life..he makes me laugh and smile..I don't always LIKE him..but I always LOVE him..that is the secret to our happy marriage :)  We have two beautiful little girls..Beatrise who is 8 and Ellanore who is 6..they are the lights of my life. I never knew I would be so in love with my children...they are total joy.

My WLS went very well for me. I have not had any complications. My husband had WLS also three weeks after I did on 11-9-09. We have been doing it together! It is so nice to have a partner who understands what your going through and is doing it right along with you. He had the same procedure I did by the same surgeon..he has not had any complications either..we are very blessed.

I have been heavy since I was about 14 years old..I gained 100 pounds in a year and just kept going after that..I was diagnosed with PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) at age 16..I had a wedge re-sectioning done on my right ovary and then was put on a diet..I lost about 75 pounds and was down to a size 14 when I graduated high school. That did not last long..I left for college and slowly but surely have been gaining weight for the last 12 years. I never took off the baby weight after either of my children were born..I just kept getting bigger and bigger.
 
My highest weight was 386 the first time I stepped into the office at the Bariatric Center. I was horrified..I stand at 5' 7" so I do have some height on my side...but I was still almost out of a 26/28. My daughters were noticing the size of my clothes and were asking why I had to wear a 4X...I have never hidden my body from my girls..or ever said anything negative about my body in front of them..I want them to have good body image and good self image when they grow up..I had horrible self image until about 3 years ago when I heard someone say that self image and body image are two different things..you can love yourself and not like the way you look and that is OK...I was like WOW! I am an awesome person no matter how much I weigh and I will be OK even if I never lose another pound...it was a life changing moment for me. I learned to be comfortable in my skin and love myself. however I knew I was not going to be heavy forever.

I did the surgery for my health and for my lifestyle to improve..but I am starting to see the weight disappear and people are telling me how good I look and that feels great. I can't wait to go bathing suit shopping this year..I won't have to go to the big girl store to buy one!  For those of you still waiting to have your surgeries and going through all the prep work it takes..hang in there..the best is yet to come..the grass is greener on the other side of the surgery! It is all worth it when you start to see the pounds coming off..when you have more energy...when you start to feel so much better...when people tell you they notice your weight loss and how proud they are of you..its all worth it when you can look yourself in the mirror and know that you did something so awesome for yourself. I will save you a seat on the losers bench :)

So that is me in a nutshell..I'm long winded I know..thanks for reading about me and I hope to get to know more of you soon :) God Bless..Katie

HELLO KATIE!!!!!!!!!!
I love long winded posters because I am one too.  You are so ahead of the game if you are able to love yourself.  I admit that I still work on that on a daily basis.

Wow, can't believe your husband had the surgery 3 weeks before!  That's GREAT!  I understand that the surgery helps with PCOS.  I can't imagine you going through all that at such a young age.  I also can't imagine gaining 100 pounds in a year!  It's funny that I cannot tell anyone what women's size I was in because I wore men's shirts and they were 4X.  I saved one of them and a pair of jeans that were my skinny jeans at the time.  I'm not sure if there's a size on them or not.

One of the things that I would love to change is the attitude about why we get surgery and yes health IS the primary reason but I don't see anything wrong with wanting to look "normal" or more attractive.  It all goes hand in hand.  We are healthier and more attractive and it's all good!!

I'm so glad you found your way to our little corner in cyberspace and we welcome you with open arms.
Big hugs, Y

Thank you so much Yvonne for your warm and wonderful welcome..I am very pleased to find a group that is positive and uplifiting as there are way too many out there where people have nothing but stupidity and nastiness to say. I am very excited to look better on top of feeling better too. I got some money for Christmas to buy some new clothes and have not gone shopping yet...so funny I won't know what size to buy!! I will have to try on several different sizes smaller to see what fits me best..for once I get to buy smaller instead of bigger! I go tomorrow to get weighed again and to see how much I have lost since the surgery..I promise I will let you all know how it goes..HUGS Katie

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner!  I was going to say to make sure and buy stuff that will fit for a while if possible.  You might want to check to see if there are any clothing exchanges going on in your area because you're going to go through the clothes quickly!  You may not want to invest too much in the clothes you get either.  I've done a lot of shopping at Target and Walmart for sure!  During the winter months you can sometimes buy some snug clothes and cover it with a sweater.  The sweater will work for a long time and it covers the clothes that might start a little snug.  Either way, it's a GREAT problem to have isn't it?? WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!
hugs, Y

Hi Katie,
   Glad to see you're in this group to. It sounds like things are going great for you...I'm so happy. I can't wait to join you on that bench.



Krysti,
    I clicked on your name and saw the most gorgeous pictures you have taken.
 I wish you could teach me. I try and I am just not happy with what I have taken.  I don't know if it is my camera, my printer or OH NO ME.  Any way yours are very nice.

WELCOME EVERYONE!!

{{HUGS}}
Tressa

 Hey, I missed this post somehow.  Thanks for your kind words in regards to my photos!

Hello to all from Western Iowa. I had my RNY surgery Feb. 9, 2004. Highest weight and my surgery weight was 257, got down to around 174 and now I'm back up to 203. I joined this group for support because I feel that when I don't follow a diet plan to the T that I am a failure. I need support to get down to a healthier weight. I joined OH back in 2004 but left it until recently.


I have been married for almost 18 years to one heck of a guy and with this marriage I have been blessed with 2 wonderful kids. My son is 16 and my daughter is 12.

I decided to have the surgery back in 2003 because I thought I was going to die of a heart attack and would not be around to raise my kids. I had a hard time tieing my shoes, putting on socks, wiping my bum and more. I would sweat while trying to put on makeup. Most of all, I owed it to my husband to become healthier as this was not the woman he married nor intended to be married to. I became lazy and unable to control my eating habits and patterns as well as food choices. This surgery gave me the greatest TOOL in fighting against obesity.

It's now up to me to continue on the weight loss journey and to lose the extra 53 lbs I still have. I am ready to achieve this goal b/c my 20 year class reunion is this summer so I hope to have some of it gone by then.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to post to the group and I look forward to future communications.

Happy losing!

Bless your heart and thank you so much for being here!!!  First let me say how brave you are for talking about your regain.  You are not a failure!  You just didn't get the proper education and that's not your fault.  Another thing, you were not lazy...you have a disease.  We're here to help you and we'll help you get in shape for that reunion OK?  There is no better word for us than "accountability".

One thing I would love for you to do is to copy and paste your message as a new topic in the discussion area because sometimes the new posts here gets lost and I want everyone to know your story!!

Have you been involved in any support groups at all? I'd love to talk about this!!
Thanks for introducing yourself and thanks so much for joining!!
hugs, Y 

Hi Yvonne,
I have joined one other support group, BOTT, but really haven't gotten a chance to read up on it lately.

I'm at my wits end again and am really needing some help. I am on a crazy diet right now called, HCG. Kevin Trudeau brought it to the mainstream with his book, which I can't remember the name of it right now. But I again am looking for a quick solution to my weight problem. This past Saturday was a bad day as I was extremely depressed and sadened by my lack of ability to lose this weight for good. I cried all day long and was just in despair.

I just don' t know if I will be able to lose this weight or not. It's my never ending battle.