Recent Posts
on 5/22/10 5:15 am - West Central FL☼RIDA , FL
Hello again my friend.
You know I feel for you and fully understand.
Hold your head high.....feel good about that wrinkled belly knowing it symbolizes all you've achieved. Know that one day in the not to far off future you will have the skin removed and you will be in the best possible health an condition so your recovery goes nice and easy. Before you know it you'll be on the other side of all this.
Another thing I may not have mentioned in my PM's to you.....when you do have you arms done you cannot go outside in sleeveless tops for at least 6 months(or longer). You have to be so careful that your scar does not get exposed to the sunlight or it will permanently damage/discolor it and you do not want that!. So when you are planning your surgery try to have your arms done around mid Sept so you can show them off the following summer. I made the mistake of doing mine in March the first time and was wrapped in compression thru the summer!!!
As soon as you are within 10-15 lbs of your goal or right at that normal BMI mark start going on consultations with surgeons. They normally are booking a couple months out anyway so you'll still have time to drop a couple more lbs before surgery. (FYI - all reputable plastic surgeons will insist you are at a normal BMI and stable with weight loss....some require a 3-6 months maintenance before they will operate).
Let me know if you want to call and chat about it....
TTF
on 5/22/10 5:02 am - West Central FL☼RIDA , FL
This will sound weird maybe, but I'm proud that I am not beating myself up for a little extra dessert yesterday. In no way was it outrageous but it was more than I normally do. Given I still can't exercise at full capacity I need to be extra vigilant with my food so I don' start gaining.
What's new with you all...what are you celebrating or proud of??
i also go up 10lbs the week prior to my period..10lbs r u kidding me?
i started going to see a personal trainer..i am too heavy for her treadmill, cannot do anything on my knees or elbows..everything hurts soooo bad, so hard to keep exercising, all always pull pr tear tendons or ligaments..i currently have a partially torn achilles and a knee ligament on the verge of tearing
my brain wants to ride a bike, run with my kids and exercise all the time BUT my big fat body is sooo heavy and my belly hangs and i am getting so limited and is such a burden..i am so pissed off and disappointed
my stress is sooo high right now being a single mom, financial troubles post divorce, job issues, there is just no room for the added stress of tryng to diet and lose weight..i have no reserves I feel like I am running on fumes
the high levels of stress are sabotaging my weight loss by keeping the cortisol levels too high ...dammit
sorry i need to vent too
this is just so hard
April 16, 2010 sleep clinic, April 27 echo
May 3,2010 Orientation at Met hospital--,
SURGERY booked Oct.20.2010

I think you are doing beautifully and are at a very normal stage of your journey, it is very easy to get discouraged when things are going slow, and that discouragement makes all other things distorted and out of proportion. Im sure that your hanging skin is less than desirable, I know, I feel the same about mine, But it probably seems way worse to you right now because you are focusing on it. We have a tenancy to laser focus in on the things that are upsetting when they are not changing fast enough. At least I do. Be thankful that you WILL be able to afford reconstructive surgery and you WILL have it done eventually! I still have no idea how mine will be paid for or when and how I will get it done. Try this, when you look in the mirror, and see all that hanging skin, imagine it as you want it to be, how you want to look, and then pick your head up because you already look like that under all that skin! and one day soon, you will look in the mirror and see the "real you" without the "old you" hanging all over it! start living in the freedom that you know it will bring now! I know it's tough, but you have done great and you are getting closer and closer to that great milestone of skin removal! hang in there girl!
Michelle Hendrickson Holistic Health Coach http://www.gracioushealth.net
I went and did my regular training session last night, and it went well. I felt good. I think the hot yoga is working. It is hot, but it feels kind of good to sweat all that stuff out too.
Anyway, thank you again for the support and understanding. You both are doing great, and it is always nice to hear your successes.
Heather.
on 5/20/10 2:36 pm
Feeling pretty happy with my weight loss so far. How is every one else going?
on 5/20/10 1:15 pm
Last weekend I visited my kids and DD#1 had been overweight and shed down to normal and she saved her old clothes for me - and I was shocked that I fit into some of it. When I got home I tried on this wonderful Ann Taylor dress and jacket that she gave me - a suit I adored when she bought it never realizing that I could fit into it two years later. But I'm glad she didn't see me try it on - it's sleeveless and my arms are just horrendous. I can' only wear 3/4 or full length sleeves. And then my stomach is so bizarre looking as I squi**** into clothes - and I can't stop having a muffin top no matter what I do. I knew I would have hanging skin, that's not a surprise, but what I didn't expect is how bad I feel about it. It really affects how my clothes look.
And to top it off, my weight shedding has slowed down to a real snail pace - of course it's logical because I'm not lugging around all this fat all day long. I just can't starve myself to shed the weight more quickly. My diet is very clear that I'm to eat until I'm satisfied, I'm not to go around hungry. And I don't want to punish myself by withholding food - I enjoy my food.
So I have to just be patient and allow my weight to shed slowly at it's own rate and to learn to just accept this hanging skin until it's the right time to visit the plastic surgeon. I've just got to come to terms with how my body is shaped now. I am happy that the fat is gone, I see some people say they would rather be fat that have this ugly skin, but not me, I'd rather have hanging skin than fat. I am also happy about a lot of the changes in my body - if you don't look at the stomach or upper arms, I'm happy with the way I look in clothes. I just have to learn to love the lumpy stomach and airplane wings.
Well I'm sorry this is long, I just had to vent and maybe you have some wisdom to share with me.
on 5/20/10 12:50 pm
When i started my diet, I had so much weight to shed that it was overwhelming so I decided to set tons of little goals where just meeting the goal made me feel good. But some goals were really special and for those I've done something special to celebrate. My important goals have been getting below 300 pounds, shedding 100 pounds, getting below 200 pounds and the latest was going from super morbidly obese to just overweight. In fact I think I only have one more really big goal left - to fall into the normal BMI. Of course inbetween I still have other little goals both scale and non-scale - this helps keep me motivated but I also think it's important to appreciate and enjoy where I am in my journey.
on 5/20/10 12:35 pm
I'm sending you giant cyberhugs ((((Heather)))) - this isn't easy. I think Michelle's response is really great. Shedding weight is not a fast race and then you arrive nice and skinny for the rest of your life - it doesn't work that way. Rather this is about making permanent changes in the food choices you make - enough to shed the weight and then to maintain the loss. It is hard, you're fighting against this obesigenic society in which fattening, addicting ,easy and cheap food is available everywhere and you have to fight all that. In addition, no one has it always perfect and always easy - we all have times when we slip or get frustrated or fall off the wagon - it's part of being human - the trick is to jump right back on to the wagon to continue the journey.
I don't know how you can do Hot yoga - yikes, that too hot for me. I bet you got seriously dehydrated from it and that could account for a difference in weight - due to lots of water loss. And then the water returns as you eat and drink again.
Please don't be depressed, just try to get that determination back - and venting here is a great idea because it helps you feel better.
Myself, I'm going through a frustration period - I'm so sick of my hanging skin and I can't wait to lop it off. I've been emailing back and forth with Ruth to help get a reality check. I know some people end their journey early when it gets hard to shed more weight and then get plastic surgery - but it's best to wait until you've lost all the excess fat because the surgery is easier and the results are better. I too just have to get my determination back to continue the journey until the end before having plastics. I am thankful that I will be able to afford plastics because I'm going to need it.
I hope that we can help get you back on track.
Michelle Hendrickson Holistic Health Coach http://www.gracioushealth.net