Chefman77

All good in the neighborhood now!

I like Premier caramel and chocolate the best.

I had to stay 3 nights because I couldn't pee... Welcome to the loser's bench @Megans0988!

Congratulations @TammyP! You've done an incredible job getting to goal. I wish you the best as you transition to maintenance.

@Nana Trish Truly Remarkable! Looking at the photos and thinking about all you've been through brought tears to my eyes. I'm so happy for you!

Outstanding! Congratulations Trish! So happy for your success!

My doctor put me on ferrous sulfate 324mg. One tablet every other day.

Congratulations @Megans0988 and welcome to the loser's bench!

Welcome to TT Susan. Your brother has been an inspiration for me on here and always has great insight. I look forward to following your transformation.

I am sorry to hear about your struggles with bulimia and I completely understand. I had the same issues with night time hunger and giving in to them. I looked forward to the time everyone went to bed. I'd stay up, watch tv, and eat. My intentions were always to just have a snack. However, it always turned into feelings of guilt, remorse, self-hating, etc... I felt as though I'd already blown it so I might as well really blow it knowing that I was going to purge it all anyway. I'd go to bed feeling defeated and depressed, but I'd repeat the same behavior night after night. This went on for years and years. I developed severe GERD and eventually was diagnosed with Barett's Esophagus which scared the crap out of me. The fear of esophageal cancer was eventually enough to get me to stop purging, but the binge eating continued until I reach my maximum weight of 371 pounds. I hated myself and who I had become. I had finally become the morbidly obese person that I saw myself as for years. I don't want to cross any boundaries or offend anyone here, but I need to share what changed and probably save my life. My wife and I got together in the spring of 2009. She had a strong faith in the Lord and she showed me unconditional love like I'd never felt from someone else before. Over time I was saved and learned to let go and let God. It was a process for sure. Not trying to control and manipulate situations and people anymore gave me freedom like I never knew. I eventually realized that I wasn't a bad person and in time learned to like myself. So there I was morbidly obese, but I actually liked myself for the first time in my life. Liking myself has allowed me to love others like I never could before. There is so much more that went into my mental and spiritual transformation that I really can't put into words. I know for me looking back it has been nothing short of a miracle by the grace of God. I just wanted to put all this out there so that you wouldn't feel so alone and to give you hope for change. There are many things available to help with eating disorders. I had and still have counseling. It's not easy and is most definitely a process, but there is hope. You can do it and it all has to start with change. Make yourself go to bed when everyone else does so you don't have to fight that fight every night. Stop beating yourself up and know that you're going to come out of this. Owning it and wanting to change is a huge step. You're obviously a caring person given your profession. I'm sure that you bless many people through the care of people through your work as well as in your family. I pray that you find peace within yourself and conquer this! I'm proud of you for putting this out there. I know it wasn't easy to do. God Bless You!

Congratulations on the success and transformation to this point. You're looking awesome! The gym is your friend. Keep up the great work!

No, I never had the sleeve just rny.

LOVE THIS!

I truly don't know what I would have done without TTF and the wonderful people that are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. I knew two people prior to my surgery who'd had wls. One had the sleeve and the other rny. I don't know what either of their goal weights were/are, but I'm certain neither one is within 40 pounds of it. My bariatric team is pretty much non-existent in my journey. None of them were wls patients, they're nearly impossible to get a hold of, and I put more stock in the feedback I get here than they would give me anyway. I know staying grounded and plugged in to TTF is going to be instrumental to my future success in achieving and maintaining my weight goals. Thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart!

Thanks for this @Res Ipsa! Very keen insight to the wls journey. I think failure is everyone's greatest fear. I love how you talked about daily weight checks and using the rny as a tool to get/stay in the 5 pound range you speak of. I pray I'm able to stay in tune with my body and use the tool I've been given to maintain a healthy weight and enjoy life. I want to be harder for people to describe to someone else. I don't want them to be able to say "you know, that BIG guy" (or worse) when trying to describe me to someone else. Failure is not an option! Thanks again! Thank you for your true confession @msmarymac! I'm glad it scared you and that you are getting control back. Fear can be a good thing. I think it's so important to hear this kind of truth. It's kind of like growing up as a kid. I could have saved myself a lot of heartache if I'd taken the time to really listen to what some of my elders had to say about their life lessons and apply them to mine. Definitely easier said than done, but something to strive for. I like to think I'm more teachable than I was in my youth.