Through someone else's eyes

I have a friend in our ward who is thin and very attractive. She called me one day for some advice. She feels like she would like to lose a few pounds (post baby) and asked me if drinking water stretched the stomach. It told her that YES drinking water would stretch her stomach if she drank it with a meal. I told her that her stomach has a valve at it's outlet into the intestine, when her stomach is full of food and she drinks 16 oz of water then she could be stretching her pouch with the combination of the food and the quantity of water. We then got onto the subject of weight. She asked me how much I weighed. That day I weighed 123 pounds. I learned that she and I were within one pound of each other. (this morning I weighed 121 pounds). I look at her and see a slender person. I look in the mirror and see a whale. It's tough to retrain our minds to see what others see. Melody

I meant to tell you how awesome your new picture is. You look great !! I still see myself as ORKA the whale to. Don't get me wrong I know there's a difference but I'm not close enough to where I want to be yet. I'm gonna catch up with you though !! have a good day Alfie

So, did your friend have WLS too?? In a regular stomach, the food will sit at the bottom for a bit before exiting. They won't wash food our like RNY WLS does. If we drink with meals, then we wash the food out and not so much that it stretches the pouch....is the need for the "no water with meals" rule, as it is that it washes the food out too fast and we will be hungry and consume too many calories. We need to maintain tension on the pouch to have saiety. Fluid with meals or too soon after a meal defeats the pouches purpose. I'm assuming from your advice to your friend is that she had WLS too. As for body image...I suffer from that too. Today at school, one of my students made the comment that I was very skinny. I was surprised by that because I don't see that. Other people say it too, including my plastic surgeon and yet, I don't see it. I still see the fat in places I wish I didn't have it. I even had my aide outline my body shape on the ground in chalk so I could see my body shape. When I got up, I looked at it and thought, "Man, I'm small!!!" But I find myself looking in the mirror and still see fat. Its a main battle for me to accept my body where it is. Why is that? Christy

No Christy, my friend has never had the need for WLS. She's been thin her whole life. The advice I was giving her abou****er was because she told me that she can eat huge quantities of food and then drink huge quantities of fluid with the meal and she wanted to know if that would stretch her stomach. Hence the advice I gave her about "yes" that would indeed stretch her stomach if she continued that practice on a regular basis. I think many, many of us suffer from the same image problem. Our minds still remember the years of being obese and it's difficult for us to get past that mind image. If anyone has a help or solution for that problem I'd love to hear about it. Melody

Hi Melody long time no chat he he he he. I too look in the mirrow (sp) and think is that really me. I don't like to hear some one call me skinny because yes that is the after affect of this I did it to live longer and healther. O yes skinney is nice. I have almost made my goal of a 140lbs I should wiegh in about 135 but I think when we get over 50 that thin look to thin. : I am always contipated and keep seem not to be please advice. I know that Tame said something about flax seed?. I have been at girls camp and because of not pooping and just having outhouses I didn't want to stay. so I came home yesterday afternoon and will go back up to help load up and come home on Sat. If I have to sit on the potty I want it to be mine and the fumes from the biffey are so stronge. well no need more to say on that. You know I wish I could take some of our girls and tell them to straighten up because your choices(sp) will effect U for a lifetime alot of the time. well enough preaching Love u Mellody want to meet U in person Saralan U are a of Heavenly Father

Dame Tooter swears by flax seed. Pre-surgery I took flax seed and it did wonders for the bowels, post surgery I haven't taken any flax seed because it swells in the stomach/pouch and I'm afraid that I would be full of flax seed all day and not get in my protein nor my water. I suffer from constipation too. When it gets unbearable I use a glycerin suppository. They're not addictive (if you use laxatives your body can become accustomed to them and the ability to have a bowel movement on your own without the laxitive becomes a danger). The glycerin suppositories are inexpensive and work for me in about 30 minutes. I insert one and go do something until the urge to have a bowel movement and then I go back and sit on the toilet. Question for you Saralan. Why does your name come up as Ruthy? I've been curious about that since the first time I saw you post. By the way. Your pics are awsome. It's probably too late for girls camp this year but I thought I'd share a fun girl's camp song. To the tune of "Popcorn popping on the Apricot tree" I looked out the window and what did I see? Tall dark and handsome returned missionaries. I could take an armful and kiss all three, but only one for eternity. It wasn't really so, but it seemed to me Tall dark and handsome returned missionaries. Melody