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Before and After pics and stories?


Rock
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It's sounds like it, yeah... but the same surgery can cost anywhere from 12-25k in the U.S.

My great GOOD 'OLE USA SURGERY and subsequent botchment surgeries cost Aetna $226,000 That's NOT a typo, yo.

Dang! My c-section and week in the hospital (3 days to get her out of me, 4 days to recover) did cost Blue Cross Blue Shield $40k, though.

 

Alright, I've got mine. Sorry for the bad crop job, I'm on a netbook and had to use Paint.

 

 

6 months, 18 lbs (11% of body weight), 4.5 inches off of my waist, and 4 inches off of my bust (husband was pissed). In the first 8 weeks alone I shaved a full minute off of my mile time. I still can't do a damn situp (full) without someone holding my feet, though. Stupid c-section.

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It's sounds like it, yeah... but the same surgery can cost anywhere from 12-25k in the U.S.

My great GOOD 'OLE USA SURGERY and subsequent botchment surgeries cost Aetna $226,000 That's NOT a typo, yo.

 

holy ****. what surgeries did you have? I did a butt-ton of research before having mine because I had to basically pick it myself-- but I always wonder which one(s) actual doctors are recommending these days.

 

my ex had a gastric bypass back when that was the surgery du jour, and it's had some nasty side-effects that haven't shown up at all for me.

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Alright, Rock, time to throw down!

 

hot mama! you can totally tell in your face/neck and tummy area especially-- congrats girl! looks like even your posture got better :)

The posture was a big one. I know I have crap posture, and my former physical therapist told me my back was out of whack because of weak abdominal muscles. Unfortunately, I definitely feel my crap posture when I hold Quinn. It's really hard on my back and makes my stomach stick out. After I lost the first 10 lbs, one of my friends moms at a wedding asked if I was pregnant with baby 2, because I was holding Quinn and my stomach was sticking out. I'm really getting tired of being asked that question (it happened again last weekend). I don't have a 6-pack and I'm wearing size 4 jeans, but 20 lbs makes a big difference in how I feel. I think Ericka said something on the previous page about not being comfortable in her own skin. Now I am, again.

 

I was SO GLAD about the face/neck. It's one of the first places where I gain weight (other than my stomach, dur). I hate how I get double-chin when I smile, even when I'm ridiculous skinny from playing soccer 6 days a week (this obviously does not happen anymore).

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Alright, Rock, time to throw down!

I promise I will. I'll get current pics this weekend then I'll spend next week finding old fat ones and by next weekend make the post. I swear it will be done.

 

Love you guys, btw. Honest in saying that.

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It's sounds like it, yeah... but the same surgery can cost anywhere from 12-25k in the U.S.

My great GOOD 'OLE USA SURGERY and subsequent botchment surgeries cost Aetna $226,000 That's NOT a typo, yo.

 

holy ****. what surgeries did you have? I did a butt-ton of research before having mine because I had to basically pick it myself-- but I always wonder which one(s) actual doctors are recommending these days.

Well, it started out simple enough with a $30k gastric sleeve with a lap-band removal. I had a lap-band installed years ago, but it was unsuccessful. So when they went in to do the sleeve, they had to take it out, which had slipped some and gave the doctor problems. Was supposed to take an hour, wound up 4.5 hours. Not sure if you read my FINALLY thread, lots of details there, but in short I got sepsis infection, abscess growths on stomachs, more on livers, gall bladder removal, endoscopes (multiple) other procedures where they shoved extraction needles into my liver and guts, etc and I'm leaving out all kinds of ****. And I was in the hospital for nearly 3 months and you know how those costs add up. $266k

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Destiny, even your ponytail got cute and little! You look great! It's amazing the difference 20 lbs can make in the way you feel.

 

And Ericka, awesome job on taking your health into your own hands. You've done something really amazing, and I am so glad you're feeling more comfortable in your skin. I love success stories!

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Some inspiring stories, keep up the good work. :)

 

I reckon I have gained 50 pounds since 2007. I don't look that overweight, just filled out a bit. Every time I get a handle on my weight, I get injured. I lost 25 pounds over the course of 3 months back in 2011, but then an injury and badda-boom-badda-bing I gain the weight back because I can't burn calories. Due to constantly gaining/losing weight for athletics growing up, I got pretty good at packing it on or taking it off as needed, but my body is just breaking down. I will never let my kids play football, it just isn't worth the aftereffects. I'm 28 and I feel like I am 50.

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Meniscus cartilage, torn groin muscles, damaged rotator cuff, etc. I'm in recovery mode right now until May or June, but I'm looking forward to dropping some weight and trying to get my "normal body" back. Perhaps this is the new normal though. I would really like to get back down to 170-180 pounds.

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I've been living with a Meniscus tear in my knee since October. My and my kid skateboard a lot, and while we wear pads, occasional you just fall. On your knee. Like I did. I got a cortisone shot to help a bit, but I need to have surgery to fix it, and my insurance will only cover so much. I'm literally "saving up to get that operation.

 

Like I said in one of the other 3 health threads, for me to maintain my weight I have to exercise regularly. I'm still able to skate with the knee, but about half as much as I was before hand. Injuries suck and I see why a lot of athletes balloon up when they retire.

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Ericka, you look great!! Rock, I've seen your facebook pictures and you do, too! Great job, both of you, you look so much healthier and happier! EDIT - You, too, Destiny! Way to go! (forgot you posted, darn that short-term memory stuff!).

 

I will see if I can find some pictures to post. Basically, I was back at my college weight when I met my husband, gained 35 lbs over the next 6 years, then balooned during chemo and breast cancer treatment the next year by 60 lbs on top of that. Bad time. Plus I was bald from the chemo and bloated from the steriods. It was loveIy. I do have one or two photos from that time but they are frightening.

 

Anyway, been fighting it ever since. First 25 came off kind of quickly but since then all I do is gain and lose the same 20-40 lbs.

 

The last time was two years ago now. I got serious about not being fat any more, worked out all the time and did the low carb thing (tracked both carbs and calories, actually) and dropped about 55 lbs.

 

However I stopped hitting the gym the summer after my triathlon goal was complete -- and over the next year gained a lot of that back. So I'm back on the low carb and live-at-the-gym thing. If I stick to 1300 calories or so and under 40ish carbs/day, I lose 2-4 lbs a week without any extreme deprivation.

 

Going to Ireland in June and damned determined to be back down there when I go -- 18 weeks and counting to drop as close to 40 lbs as I can get!

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Meniscus cartilage, torn groin muscles, damaged rotator cuff, etc.

What do you like to do to exercise? Maybe you need a new one, yikes!

 

:lol: yeah. All I do anymore is hike for work (lots of field work). I do some light dumbbell stuff to keep my joints where they're supposed to be, but it's all residual from my athletic activities years ago. I did a lot of violent and sudden changes in direction, which led to some deep tears in my fascia and abductors. I did some jogging, but nothing too crazy. I really can't emphasize enough, don't let your kids play football....

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Wow, I had no idea about your health situation Rock... I wish you all the luck...

 

I've been on a struggle now for about 5 years. Since the downfall of my former company and including my layoff, I became very stressed and put on about 80 lbs in under a year. I reached my peak weight at about 325 lbs and decided about 18 months ago to do something about it, so I joined weight watchers. I lost up to 40 lbs in 4 months but then my contract expired (2nd temp work) and I lost control again. (Yes, I am an emotional eater) As of December 5, 2012, I said enough was enough and I'm going to do something about it on my own. I signed up with http://www.myfitnesspal.com/sakil74 (you can add me as a friend if you like). It's a great way to keep track of your food and excessive. Lots of motivations there... As of January 15, I started speed walking, eventually leading me to jog between 4 - 7 km 5 days a week. I still practice martial arts, and I just began the Spartacus workout, featured in Mens Health magazine... Now since December 5, I started off at 308 lbs, and as of last Saturday, I am now 266.2 lbs. Just to give you some idea, I am only 5'9" tall (yeah, I know!!!)...

 

Anyhow, I plan on loosing another 70 - 75 lbs to reach my ultimate goal, hopefully by the end of this year, and I plan of getting into the best shape of my life. My wife and kids are worth it, not to mention all the things I''m missing. I will try and put an album together as well. Good luck to you all and just so you know, you are all doing great!!!

 

edit some silly typos.

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Ericka,

 

Damn girl when did you become a woman?!

 

Technically, when I was 11

 

Didn't really start feeling like one until a few years ago though. A lot of that has to do with the sexual discovery that comes along with being comfortable in your skin. Good stuff!

 

TAMI-- picture the worst stomach flu you've ever had and multiply it by 1000. Or do you has specific details you're looking for?

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Well, here's a couple of mine.

 

 

 

 

Old me, pre-2010

 

 

Recent me, late 2011

 

 

 

However, that's not current me, I don't actually have any photos taken in the last year that weren't in ski gear or just head shots. As I said, I'm currently between the two and working my way back towards that last one (and lower, if I can). Having it here will be good motivation!

 

 

 

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Rock, I'm glad you're doing well. And good job, Destiny and Erika, I know how hard it can be to lose weight.

 

I find the well publicized obesity epidemic fascinating. For most of human existence food has been scarce. Up until the Neolithic Revolution we were all hunter gatherers, so if you wanted to eat you had to kill something, which required a considerable amount of energy. Once farming came around you still had to bust your ass in the fields to make grow enough food. This whole notion of having enough wealth to obtain enough food to make you obese without having to get off your ass is a very recent thing.

 

Having said all of that I still don't understand how people let themselves get heavy. Several times in my life I've gained too much weight, and once I crossed a certain threshold I took steps to lose it. Fortunately I've always been successful.

 

For all of you who are struggling with your weight, I'd like to know how it happened. Was it eating habits you were brought up with, a life event that made you stop caring about what you ate, or just an affinity for unhealthy foods?

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For me it is a combination of many things.

 

I have always been a yo-yo-er. Even alllll the way back in elementary school. If you look at pictures from back then one year I am skeletor (seriously underweight and bone-y) and the next year I am chunky. Rinse and repeat. Growing up my home life was very volatile- an abusive alcoholic step-father and a bi-polar mother. I remember weeks where I was hardly able to eat anything because my stomach was always upset. And then months where the only thing that made me feel good was food.

 

Fast forward to high school and you see similar levels of yo-yo-ing. Right out of high school I joined weight watchers and lost 50 pounds. I am 5 '7" and I weighed 140 pounds at my lightest. I was very healthy. Weight Watchers was an obsession, though. I became obsessed with losing weight and obsessed with eating in general. It was almost literally the only thing I thought about. (Interestingly this obsessive behavior was not new; in the past it manifested in the form of obsession about the Oakland A's, a tv cop drama, poetry, and a specific alt rock band)

 

After I lost the weight I joined the Coast Guard. I was doing well keeping the weight off while I was in the service because I was very active and forced to exercise a lot. After I got out I started to put weight on. I began to go through an intense depression and I gained 20 pounds. Then I evened out when I became happier. Then I hit an even worse depression and my mother's health began to decline. I started shoving my face with terrible food choices. I knew they were bad, I knew I shouldn't do it, but it was the only thing that briefly made me feel anything other than a negative emotion. And that made it worth sabotaging my health.

 

Now I am at an all time low (or high, LOL) so I have decided to stop trying diets and to stop being so hard on myself. I'm not counting calories. I'm not obsessing about food. I'm upping my protein intake by a lot. I'm cutting out filler carbs like white bread, white sugar, potatoes, chips. I'm eating more vegetables. I'm cooking more of my own food. I'm eating more fruits. I hike my dog every single day.

 

I've lost 10 pounds. Each 5 pounds is like a break through. Who knew I could do it? Where did this will-power, which was so dramatically absent even 6 months ago, come from? I don't know. But I'm going to stick with it because I'm tired of hating myself.

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