Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories

So... my surgery was April 16th and it's been about a month since I have measured myself... I am happy to report that 10 inches have fallen off my Hips, Waist AND Chest!!! So, 30 inches in just those 3 key areas!! I am so happy that I am losing inches evenly!!! I was a good size 24/26 and am now fitting comfortably in a size 18... YAY!! Did I mention that I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!! Best decision I have EVER made and best money I have EVER spent!!!!

I had to get my new license last week --It is the first time in my whole driving life that I put my real weight down! How crazy is that?!! I am a little over a year out - made goal by losing 80 lbs...I don't know if I am where I want to settle, but I feel awesome!

(size 22-24 / size 12-14) Just sticking my head in. Things have beed SO incredibly crazy for me and haven't had time to really sit down and pull all of my thoughts together. I'll post the short version here: Have accomplished quite a bit since the last check-in. I finally scale moving, but my body is being sculpted at an amazing rate, due to my love of running. (left pic: from my first 5k in April. right pic is from 2 weeks ago) (Only about 5# gone, but LOTS of inches GONE) The inches are disappearing, but STILL haven't hit One-derland, and I'm almost 2 years out. More important to me though, have become the NSV's... This coming w…

I keep hearing (from doctors and boards) that with a lower starting BMI of below 35 I will loose much slower. I understand the heavier you are the quicker the pounds fall off. I'm looking for those who have had success and did it come off slowly. (Just the things that are going round in my mind while looking at another protein shake).

PRE OP Diet starts May, 2 2012 244.1lb Size 22/24 jeans Surgery Day May 16, 2012 231.5lb Today Aug 8, 2012 12 Weeks POST OP 202.2lb, -42lb, -33.5in total, Size 16 jeans

Hi, 50 lbs down and aprox 40 or so left Hanging in there.... Some days...weeks are harder than others.... But always staying the course

Hey all! My father in law was just told he has pre cancerous cells in his esophagus from when he for gastric bypass. The doctors say its because the cutting of the stomach and something about acid?!? I have my date and now I am freaking out! Anyone else hear anything about this?!?!?

Okay so my week started off with a NSV(maybe). I live in NC but home for me is SC, so I went home this past weekend and I haven't been to my home church in over a year, although I go home at least once a month. Well I decided to surprise my grandmother by attending church but I didn't tell her that I was coming home or to church. So my husband & I get to church on Sunday and my grandmother is already seated, I go up to her and give her a hug & kiss on the cheek and sit down. Well halfway thorough the service she touches my hand and whispers in my ear that she didn't recognize who I was, she said that if it wasn't for my husband sitting with me she wouldn't have …

Hi friends! My time has finally come! I am having VSG next Thursday! (8/16) I am beyond nervous. I've heard the first 2 days after surgery are the worst! Does anyone care to offer advice or suggestions? I need some words of encouragement and to help me relax!

My starting weight was 340 lbs & as of today aug. 8th, I weigh 294.8. I haven't been under 300 in at least 9 yrs, & it feels so goooood. Besides having my kids this surgery is the best thing that has happened in my life. Having this surgery, took awhile to adjust, but I thank God for it. I feel like I got my life back.

I was banded June 3, 2010 and I lost over 100 lbs the first year the second year I only lost about 25 lbs but I am happy I didn't gain. The band was the best decision I have ever made for my health. I would do it all over again in a heart beat I feel amazing I can run, I can play with my kids. I don't feel ashamed when I go out. I still have 50 lbs to lose to be at goal but the band does work miracles if you just stick to what your doctor tells you to do. the first picture is me in the purple in October 2009 The 2nd picture was taken in April 2012

Please - take a few minutes every once in a while to update your stats. I see posts everyday from people celebrating their success tht have little or no information filled out in their profile. When I see someone has a surgery date near mine, I look to see what their loss is - to make sure I am about the same as others. Or when I read a persons' comments I like to see how far along they are in their journey and how much they have lost. I think I would take comments from a successful 1 year VSG'er a bit more seriously than someone that has not had their surgery yet. Also things like your height also helps to understand if a post is written by someone that has a body…

Had my nuclear stress test and echo cardiogram yesterday and the Doc just called and told me I am totally cleared for surgery!! All I need now is for Barix to call and set me up with the nutritionist and surgery date!!!!!! Soo happy and excited to move forward!!!!!

Hi I am new here but wanted to share my experience. I hope that people who are considering the LP versus the sleeve see this and keep in mind my experience when making their decision., My experience with the LB has been bad and now I am having to wait for my stomach to heal before I can get the sleeve. It seems like most people that I know that have had the band also had serious erosion into their stomach as well. I am just so thankful that I had Dr. Alvarez take it out and am waiting for my table date to arrive. In disbelief we found that my band never functioned as the doctor who put it in sliced the tubing and as a result the fills were always leaking into my sto…

"Have you been you sick?" "Are you okay?" "Have you been feeling well?" A lot of people would probably be either offended or put off by these questions. Not this gal! I went to the movies with a friend I hadn't seen since before my surgery and have lost about 80 pounds since she had last seen me. As we were sitting into our seats, she asked me if I had gotten sick and was feeling okay. Now, I actually took it as a compliment! Is that weird? I mean, I didn't take it that she thought I looked sick, just that I appear so skinny compared to before that the only explanation was that I had fallen ill! Yeah... I AM weird.... Hmm...

A couple of photos of me which I think really show the difference that having a band has made to me. The first photo was taken at my daughters Debutantes ball , in 2006. The second was 2 weeks ago at my son's Debutantes ball. I look and feel so much better, not too bad for someone that is turning 50 this year.

I'm really happy and can't wait for the rest to fall off. Funny story that made me feel good. While I'm getting into the car waiting for a few ppl get in, my brother walks up to me and tells me that an old family friend who was sitting in the car behind my husband and I, asked him "who is that girl getting in the car with Mar(my husband)" when he tells her its me she couldn't believe it and the weight I lost....I was really happy! It never felt so good to be not recognized [ATTACH]24596[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]24597[/ATTACH]

When I read this stories and see all the smiling faces on the before and after pictures my heart fills with gratitude for all of us and it renews my faith that this was the right decision. if anyone is considering doing this just look at the beautiful pictures. I would like to put mine on as soon as I figure out how. I am down 58lbs since 4/4 I am now wearing a 10/12 from a 49ers thinking maybe I would like to be a 6/8 which should be another 30lbs. Life is good my fellow sleevers. Just wanted to share how truly blessed I feel Andrea Sent from my SPH-D700 using VST

Being under 200 lbs! Weighed in at 209.6 today, and when I started I was at 250. I am 8 weeks out. The 100's are so close I can feel it happening soon, hopefully in a few weeks! I haven't been under 200 in 4 years.

I haven't told my kids that I'm thinking about and in the process of preparing myself for this surgery. They are 8, 9 and I also have a 1 year old. Tonight has been the 2nd night my 8 yr old daughter cries because she was thinking about me dying. She cries and tells me she doesn't want me to die and it just breaks my heart into a million pieces!! It makes me doubt my choices. I'm scared and this doesn't make it any better. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Today, I am exactly 9 weeks out from surgery and I got a "present" for my anniversary. For the last couple of weeks I have been gaining and losing the same few pounds. Although I understand that is part of the process, I still don't like it. Anyway, I woke up yesterday and weighed as I do every day and the scale was done 2 pounds. Yay! This morning I woke up and again weighed and the scale was down another 2 1/2 pounds. Yippppeee!!! That makes up for stall I was in for the 2 weeks prior. Okay, but all that isn't but my "present". What is my present is that I'm at 49 total pounds lost now......1 more pound till I hit the big milestone of 50 pounds. I've been wa…

So about 2 yrs ago I went to a carnival they have by my house every yr and was actually told I couldn't go on one of the rides because the seatbelt didn't fit and it was a saftey hazard..I was soo embarresed I just left..the person I was with tried making a joke about it to make me feel better but I was scarred and hadn't attempted a carnival again until this yr.. mind u I'm 7 mths post op and down 65lbs but I was still worried .... so hear I am on the line for the zipper asking what the weight limit is for the ride and the guy looks at me like I'm crazy.. he said trust me ur no where near it... happy to say I fit on the ride very comfortably and it was by far one of the …

For the first time in I don't know how long I am excited to go to band camp. I really missed the kids over the summer and I can't wait for them to see how I've changed. I'm no longer going to be the fat instructor. I have so much more energy and strength. It may all sound vain but this has been such a life changing experience that I can't help but be happy. This is step one. In 3 weeks I go back to work at school and the peers I haven't seen will see the new me!

Well I have to say that when the stall or plateau or whatever you want to call the period of time.....be in days or weeks.....when you don't lose.....finally tips and you start losing again.....it feels wonderful!!! I woke up this morning to a 3 pound weight loss. Now....what I did was just what you hear everyone else telling you to do......I drank more water for a few days......increased my protein and exercise.....and viola....that fat that was hanging on for dear life finally left the building! I am thrilled! I know there will be other stalls or plateaus....and I know what I will do to break it now too! I felt like I overate.....with the protein.....but I guess my…

Just had to share. I went to a water park tonight with my 2 children and my church and I went down the water slides. It has been over 20 years since I was comfortable enough to even attempt going on them. My girls were so happy and we had a blast. I will be attempting roller coasters next. BTW, I am 4 months out and down 94 lbs. Started at 330 and down to 236.

So I am 2 years banded and 1 year post TT. In that time I have lost 100+ pounds (idk how many inches). Gone from a 22w to an 8/10. And yet I still struggle with my body image I just don't see what others see or what the clothing size difference says. Eureka!! Today a huge lightbulb (100 watt) when on above my head. My problem is the number on the scale (isn't that what brought most of us to banding). Seriously though I mean I am relating how I think I look to that number that glows at me when I step on that scale. Has it changed - hell yes it has. 262/3 pre banding to 159 this morning. Somewhere in my brain that number tells me I am still fat! If Jennifer Ann…

I am about 3.5 months post-op. I have lost 52lbs and am down 3 pants sizes and one shirt size. This hasn't been an easy journey so far, but it definitely gets easier each day. I eat between 600-800 calories/day. I was in pretty good health before surgery and was lucky enough to not need any meds, but I certainly notice a difference in my energy levels and I just feel good all over, even mentally! I could have never had this success without the sleeve. Here are my before and after pics! For some reason they are backwards lol. My before pic is on the right :-p

I always like seeing progress photos so here are some of mine. I had surgery on 4/20/12 and have lost 85 lbs. A few of those were pre-op. I eat 600-700 calories a day that I track on MFP/min of 60 protein/min 64 oz water/max 25 carbs. I have totally got this! My only regret is that I didn't pick out a more attractive "progress photo" outfit.

So I posted a few days ago about how well I feel like I have been doing but I wanted to put up some pictures and get some opinions. I feel like something is wrong with my eyes. I can definately tell with my scale and the way I feel how much weight I have lost but when I look at pictures I dont feel like I see a big difference. Maybe I just chose the wrong pictures to compare or maybe mI just crazy!!lol!! Starting weight 257 Current weight as of today 196. If you cant see them please let me know!

Hello everyone I worked hard to get to this point and i hope this will serve as inspiration and motivation for pre and post ops. If you have any questions pls feel free to email me or send me a private msg. Good luck to all of you.

Happy Birthday to me! I turned 45 yesterday. For the first time ever, I did not have birthday cake for my birthday. Honestly, I didn't even want it, which was HUGE for me! Usually it is all I can think about leading up to my birthday. I never cared about the rest of the meal, but the cake would be something I gave considerable thought to. One year, I even baked my favorite cake for myself, german chocolate with the coconut pecan frosting. No one else in my family really likes it, so I ended up eating practically a whole cake over the course of a few days. This time, I was so full on my tiny dinner that cake (even a bite) would not have been an option. For a momen…

I'm new...and clueless! What's NSV?

I had my vsg on 4/30/12. To date I lost only 32lbs. My start weight 210lbs and today 178lbs. I hear different stories with much bigger weight loss during a 3 mo. period. I feel like I doing somthing wrong. I joined MFP so I can keep a record of what I eat and how much. I am guilty of grazing a bit because I work 16hrs a day. Can anyone give me any advice. I am so frustrated. I also work two times a week and constantly on my feet a work.(I am in the nursing field)

I need advice. I think I'm losing my mind! I've been stuck for going on 5 weeks now. I've checked the other stall threads & tried everything that I've seen. Sleeve date: 5-18-12 I lost 20 pounds in the first two weeks. Plateaued for 2 weeks. Scales has been up & down a pound or two at a time. Finally managed to move 15 more pounds. Plateaued again at 6 weeks out. Now 5 weeks on another plateau. So, to recap, I'm now 10 weeks out at 35 pounds lost. I keep trying to convince myself that more is going to come off but I'm terrified that I will be stuck at 249 (251) forever. Nothing I do seems to help. More calories, less calories, more protein, less …

I went in to get my first fill since surgery last month. I was super surprised that I had dropped another 6 pounds in 2 weeks. I've been panicking about my food intake increasing but with the help of this site and it's members, I've been able to keep myself from being so fearful. I knew when I went into the office today that it was possible I would not have lost anything, or that I might have gained a little. But when I looked at the scale and it said 280... I was so excited! To lose 13 pounds in about 6 weeks... that's never happened to me before. I've also been paying attention to what I consume. I'm proud that I stay away from junk food and don't crave things as of…

I just have to share, 50 pounds lost!! Surgery date 12/30/11. Next goal to be under 200 pounds.

So I have been AWOL from the forum for months, and to be honest I've been struggling a bit, still under goal, and loving my sleeve, but a few bad old habits have started to creep back, and I just got diagnosed with FOUR Vitamin deficiencies - just lots of little irritations adding up really. Back in January I started running determined to do a 5k in August and to run it, in march I got I'll, and couldn't face getting up most days let alone getting my trainers on! So training stopped, and August crept up on me. Today my boss and I turned up to the 5k, under prepared an intimidated (she was not letting me drop out!!!), I just wanted to get round in 45 mins, I hated pret…

Hi all, I have been tracking my food and can't seem to get over 800 calories on a good day. I've been all over the net looking for some higher calorie foods that are nutritious. I'm already drinking home made Unjury shakes with 2 scoops, eating avocado and cashews, and really focusing on lean protien. Fast food makes me gag! I'm never hungry and I'm sure this is why I'm losing my hair. any quick ideas would be much appreciated. I'm 7 months out, lost 80 pounds, feel great at 5'7" and size 8/10.

Well I had my first visit with everyone. Took my daughter with me cause I thought she was going to be my support system but when the doctor talked about all that can happen she decided it was not worth the risk. She said if I can lose weight in the three months then why don't I continue that. It is hard to explain that I am already at risk for Many things. I am sorry I took her. Any suggestion or advice

Hello All! For those who have reached their goal or almost reached their goal weight, I am interested in finding out about stalls during your journey. Can you please share how frequently you stalled and how long it lasted over the course of your weight loss journey. I am not going to compare or obsess about it....but I am just curious what it MIGHT look like. I am a little discouraged right now as I keep losing and gaining the same 1.5 pounds..... over the last few weeks. I KNOW the stall has to stop and weight loss be more consistent for a period of time.....and then another stall apparently.....with ups and downs......and just curious what to expect.....and what it…

I am just curious if there is an "Easy Button" I need to get to my goal weight. My motiviation and will power are fading fast. Perhaps, I am not in the zone yet (?) Just curious if you reached your goal weight through DIET and EXERCISE or if the Band helped out. Thanks for sharing

I barely see her witty humor and words of encouragement anymore since she has fallen in love! ....I miss you girl! Sent from my Nexus S 4G using RNYTalk

So, I'm going to consider this a major NSV for me. For the past several years, I've suffered from episodes of excessive sweating. Heat, humidity, crowds, anxiety, exercise, exertion, you name it, I could be completely drenched, especially from my scalp. It's been a horrendously embarrassing experience, to the point where I've avoided social events because of my fear of causing a scene. I've barely gone outside during the summer the last couple of years. FYI, the sweats began before I was terribly overweight (my lowest weight was 154, I remember the sweats starting when I was in the 170's). I could be drenched in sweat just from walking around on a cold but damp day. An…

How did you decide on which surgery to have . Between sleeve and. Bypass

Well, I hate to say it but I might be *mostly* at goal. I've been the same weight for about the last 6 months now and while I'm not at my personal goal, I am extremely happy with where I've landed. I'm definitely NOT giving up but I wouldn't be sad if I was to stay at this weight forever. That being said, I decided to go ahead and post my photos over in the BEFORE/AFTER photo thread on the General Sleeve Discussion board. I figured I might as well share them here also. I was 21 months post-op on July 22, 2012. I'm 5'6" tall and weigh about -100lbs less than when I started this journey. Thank you sleeve! Click on the attachment to view larger...

Anyone else been having problems with the app? Or the site in general even? The app won't show my subscribed threads and I'm not getting email notifications for a lot of threads im subscribed to. I went back to look at 'all posts' so I could follow my posts that way and can't see any of my recent ones (this is in the app- not sure about the full site) Hopefully they are glitches that will be worked out? Anyone else having issues?

I had my surgery in November 2009. I spent 5 weeks in the hospital due to complications with a previous gastric banding (Molina Band). During that time I could not eat anything, was on TPN almost the entire time. Everything came out fine, I managed to lose 100 pounds, down from 238 to 138. Now, after 2-1/2 years I am gaining, gaining, gaining. I don't know how to stop it. I have considered OA, just to try to understand how I could have gone through all that I did with the surgery and then gain the weight back. Sometimes I panic and sometimes I just think I should let it go. I am going to be 50 years old in September . Can't stop myself and I really need some help…

On August 19, 2011 I went in for my consultation with my surgeon. I weighed 319 lbs. I don't let people know that number. Even my husband doesn't know. I had to complete a 6 month medically supervised diet. I lost 33 lbs. I had my surgery on January 27, 2012. I celebrated my 6 month surgiversary last week and I'm 2.5 weeks from 1 year from my consult. This morning I got on the scale and it read 219.0. 100 lbs gone! I lost 33 lbs pre-op and I've lost 67 lbs since surgery. In this last 6 months and 1 week, I've had 2 month long stalls where I vacillated between the same 2 lbs for 4 weeks. I'm a slower loser than some, but it's not a sprint, it's a marath…

When were u sleeved & how much weight hv u lost so far? Just curious. My surg will be around October-November.