Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories

10,189 topics in this forum

Hi y'all: I'm feeling sort of emotional today because when I weighed this morning I realized that I have now lost 100 pounds from my highest recorded weight. Last summer, I was so freaked out about my weight that I decided to try hard to lose it, and I did lose around 35 pounds. However, as in the past, I didn't continue with that diet/exercise program. I gained a little of it back before surgery this past April. So in a little over a year, thanks to my sleeve, I have now lost 100 pounds. I still have a long way to go, and I'm going to be working hard to hit my personal goals (my surgeon didn't set a goal for me). Post surgery, it's -69 pounds in 4 months and a we…

One of my goals was to be able to shop at Old Navy. Wearing a size 26/28 as recently as May, that has never been an option. Old Navy wasn't around when I was a skinny teen and young 20s. So today I ran over there to see if I could find any capris or jeans that would fit. I tried on three size 18s and lo and behold, I had to put them back and walked out of there with perfectly fitting size 16s and a really cute top. That totally made my day!

I have been avoiding buying pjs since surgery. I have gone from a size 20 to a size 4-6 depending on brand. So obviously I really needed pjs but I always decided to buy shirts or dresses or even pants instead:) But last night I got 9 pairs of pjs for 50 bucks...they were worth more than $240.! I have never had such expensive pjs in my life! I am going to sleep great tonight:)

Tomorrow is my Six-month sleeve surgiversary. I have lost 83 pounds! This is 3 pounds less than the goal I set for myself (as part of the Labor Day challenge) - but I sprained an ankle badly two weeks ago and haven't been able to exercise. Once I get this dratted boot of my foot and ankle, I will get back to regular exercise and break of of this stall I am experiencing. Even with that annoyance - LIFE IS GOOD. I have dropped from a 24 Womens to a 14 Petite. I am enjoying shopping in regular stores. I treated myself to a little shopping spree today, and I didn't feel like a freak from the circus wondering into the store (like I normally would pre sleeve). I have dropped…

Well since my surgery i havent been able to eat anything without having pain after just one bite. You know that feeling of your tummy squeezing down on you. It also could be described as before having the surgery when you ate a potatoe to fast and it got stuck in your esophagus. Really hurts bad enough to make you not want to eat or drink anything at all, which it did for me. Well tonight I actually felt hunger pains for the first time since my surgery. Not the kind that just knaw at you, but just the little rumble in there saying, 'hey I could use a little something.' Well I decided to give some spit pea soup a try, and I ate it at just above warm. I took my first bite, …

Just after WLS the wife got me a new belt. She was sick of my old one with the stretched holes and it bent all up to wrap around my rotund belly. I started out in the third hole, just enough left to tuck under the belt buckle and touch the first belt loop on most pants. Yesterday I had to punch two more holes in it and found the LAST hole was comfortable. The belt now wraps half way around me and touches the MIDDLE BELT LOOP in my slacks in the BACK. Yes, my belt wraps 1 1/2 times around me. Wow! I NEVER thought I'd see the day. BTW: Size 36 slacks are getting baggy, maybe time for some 34s?

I I want to tell my story. I had my surgery on July 12, 2011. I had a few dreams where I had got to the surgery door and changed my mind. But here is my story. I had tried about 2 years ago to have the surgery but it didn't work out because they had underlying fees. I refused to have to pay extra when I had insurance. So I kept looking. I was not on board at first with the my primary Dr. at first. It did take some time for me to get on board. So I went on the internet and found a surgeon that did the surgery and didn't have underlying fees. I hit the jackpot. They were at a well know hospital and there website was very good. Plus they gave you the nutritionist as an added…

Almost six months since surgery. I realize I now am no longer dependent on food for emotional comfort - just nourishment (most of the time). Here is a my top five things I have realized. Rather than mindlessly putting food into my mouth to meet my every need (or potential need) - have learned: 1. I would much rather have a good time in bed with my DH than think about what is for dinner or desert. 2. I would rather than a bite or two of something really good then stop, than stuff myself and feel miseable. 3. If I am at loose ends and restless - I go try on clothes that fit - rather than graze in the fridge (zipping my size 14's feel better than fritos taste) 4. Eat…

Ok, so I was getting dressed to run to the store with hubby, and pulled out a T-shirt. I looked at it and though, hmmm its a little small. It was one of my sons old t-shirts, a mens small, from way back when, not sure why I kept it, but there it was. Keep in mind that I have always worn a mens XL t-shirt, to hide the tummy etc. I said screw it and put it on. Yup, thats right folks it fit! Big smile about that one LOL

Hi I am not banded yet and have been researching the band for over a year. Probably too much. I have read some discouraging things about the band as well as some good things. Some bandsters on this site that are not happy with their band say it is all about will power.......and receive no restriction whatsoever from their band. this is quite discouraging as I have never had will power to lose weight and need help. That is why I am chosing to go thru surgery for this. Does the band really help you lose the weight? Also, would you do it again knowing what you know now? Sorry for the negatives but I am nervous about my decision. As you all know it is not an easy one.…

It took me 11 months and 1/2 a week to get there, but I finally made it! It's been a long road, lots of hills and valleys, but I'm finally there -- here's the video I made that gives an overview:

I;m a couple days early (surgiversary is the 22nd) but couldn't wait. I have lost 50lbs since surgery. 70lbs total. I still have an average weight 6th grader to lose but I'll get there!

Below is an encounter I had with a exceptionally thoughtful gentleman whom help me decide on weight loss surgery in a strange sort of way. I recalled attending a TCOYD (Taking Care of Your Diabetes) Conference approx 3 years ago in Kenner Louisiana. In the lobby of the conference center I met an extremely nice middle age man who happened to be morbidly obese, body weight around 375 to 400 lbs. We discuss things such as diets, glucose meters, and other things pertaining to the seminar. We walked slowly around the building, the gentleman began to tired quite rapidly. As a result, I suggested we take seat on a couch until the exhausted gentleman regained his ener…

Feeling great and loving my sleeve...for the first time ever, I really believe I can reach my goal weight! Still can't believe that I weigh less than 200 lbs...I can't even remember the last time I was under 200. My mind has not yet caught up with the loss though. For example, I have a small ladder with a weight limit of 250. I used to climb on it very carefully, well aware that I was over the limit. I was on it the other day and was thinking, "I have no business being on this ladder when I'm so far over the weight limit!" when it hit me...I'm way under the weight limit now! LOL Things like that. A few days post-op... 198!

Ok Im insane for even considering posting pics but here I am... LOL I hit 100 lbs (on the nose) down today. My husband took the before pics the night before my surgery. I hadn't looked at them until today. It was QUITE a wake up call to me. I've still got about another 50 lbs to go. It depends on how I feel I look when I get there. I'm aiming for a size 10. My "after" picture was taken when I wanted to see what the dress I ordered for my brother in laws wedding looked like (we did away with mirrors in our house years ago. I guess it's time to get some full length mirrors huh?)

I dont friggin believe it! I made it, I'm there, I just weighed myself, 198.6!! Hell Yeah, damn I doing back flips here! 6 Months, and 126+ Lbs lost!! Holy crap! When I got down to 220 I told myself, ahh heck one hundreds at such a big deal, why does everyone go so crazy with this damn Wonderland crap? Well now I know why, its the best feeling ever! Worse part is now I wanna celebrate with a fish fry, is that so bad?

So here I am… over 11 months post op now. My Sleeversary is on the 15th of every month, and my next one will be ONE FULL YEAR!! When I decided to get revised from Lap Band to sleeve, I had gone from my low of 227 Lbs all the way back up to 281 Lbs. I was only 2 Lbs. away from reaching my Lap Band surgery day weight of 283. That was not a good time for me. I was quite literally depressed. It’s not easy making a decision like this… let alone a second one. How was I ever going to get myself back on track to get to where I’d wanted to find myself? One thing I needed to ask myself was – is my heart in it? Yes, no doubt about that. I have a lot of friends who sti…

I got banded on Nov 2010, 63lbs lost! if you're looking for support come follow me on FB. www.facebook.com/kfrancolapband

I can't wait to be out of the 2's but I still feel good!

Still working on my bat wings but here's my most recent picture and I Iove my new haircut I've never had short hair before because of my fat face, short hair rules it's so easy to manage. Next on my list is a visit to the plastic surgeon to discuss reinflating the girls...LOL

Hey everyone! Was just checking in to give an update on my weight loss. I'm a few days late but as of today I am down 94lbs. I have gone from a size 26 to a size 16 pants and a size 3x to a regular xl. I love my sleeve!

So I am now beyond my weight goal. I wanted to stop at 160 due to my build and stuff but now I'm bouncing between 157 - 159. I posted this on my facebook page but figured I should post the pix here as well for everyone who's on the fence about the surgery. Take a look and tell me this surgery isn't the greatest thing on earth.

Here are some before and not-yet-after-but-maybe-soon pictures. I won't make my goal by my one year surgiversary next month, but I have hopes that my weight loss will continue, despite how slowly I am now losing. I feel SO much better! (I've never posted pics before, so I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly.)

I am half way to my goal weight! Seventy four lost and seventy four to go ... I love my sleeve!!!

Ok, so this is some very thinly veiled photo whoring, but I have been falling by the wayside for weeks, I'd lost my motivation, and have felt just as fat as I did 60lb ago. This morning I get up and can find literally nothing to wear for work because everytihng looks and feels wrong, in desperation i grab a top my husband convinced me in to buying (depite it feeling too tight AND having horizontal stripes, and a pencil skirt I've not had the confidence to wear yet), I go to the mirror, and for the first time in a LONG time suddenly see the me who has lost 60lb. Don't get me wrong, I can see the horrid mummy tummy and at least 20lb to still lose, but this morning …

The new me showing of my muscles Hi everyone....Just checking in its been a long time. I reached goal and now being 15 months out I found out im EXPECTING!! I cant believe it. I am super excited, scared and everything in between. I am most worried about gaining all my weight back. If anybody has good advice or pregnancy info I would love to hear it. Thanks

How much of your weight loss success is based on exercise? I'm 2 weeks post op and not exercising yet but wonder how important it is at my current weight of 350?

I just had WLS Tuesday, and I have four kids (ages 17, 15, 14 and 12). They have been asking questions, and I answer them as I get them. Today, my 15 year old was asking me how long I had to be on a liquid diet and why I had to be on a liquid diet. I explained to her that my stomach was healing, and I needed to eat differently to give my stomach time to heal. I also said that it is also a chance for me to learn better eating habits. Just like babies, I will start out with liquids and then progress to mushies or baby food and then start slowly adding in real food as my stomach heals and my ideas of portion changes. She's 15 and pretty darn sharp as well as an experien…

Every Tuesday I go to P.F. Changs Happy Hour to get steamed dumplings. (I peel off the wrapper) The bartender there is absolutely adorable. Usually it's pretty busy but today it was absolutely dead. We were discussing the fact that I work for a major diet company as a weight loss consultant (ultimate irony, I know) He then told me that he thinks that I am a great role model for my clients. He said he thinks I have a perfect body and that I'm so beautiful and blah blah blah. I don't care if he was just saying that to get a tip I was skipping all over the place. So happy!!

Hello All Im new to the boards although I been lurking a while. Set to have surg on Sept 1st. I was just wonderin if any of you guys that have had success have noted a change to your body smell and hygeine issues? Im a big guy and I bathe regularly and I notice that I guess cause of the weight my groin and buttock region begins to sweat like 20-30 minutes after a shower! It's kind of frustrating to always feel sweaty and smelly even after I shower, powder and cologne. I feel kinda self concious about it and hope one of the benefits of the weight loss will be better smells coming off of the ol meat and two veg. Sorry if this is gross ladies.

5 weeks ago today I had my surgery. As of this morning, I have lost 22 pounds since that day. That has included a 4 pound re-gain about a week and half ago that stayed with me for a whole week. I have lost that 4 pounds plus another 3 pounds in the last 4 days. I have not taken any medication for my diabetes since the surgery and my fasting glucose numbers are below 120. I am moving around easier and don't loose my breath like I used to. My size 28W pants are becoming looser and I'll soon be wearing smaller sizes that I went out and bought from the local thrift stores. In just under 2 weeks, I'll be going back to my surgeon for a followup and I am hoping that he clears me…

Hi Everyone, I haven't been on this site in a while maily because I haven't been doing that great with my lap band. I know this band is a gift from God and I need to embrace it. I am crying while writing this because I really need support. I see that everyone has been losing so much weight and I need some help knowing how. Could you please share what you eat for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner and how much? Along with your excercise routine? I have had my lap band for a year and have lost 40lbs.. mainly because I'm not eating right. I want to get my life back on track. I am getting married in 4 months and would like to lose 25-30lbs before the wedding. Can you g…

I have a thread in the tell your story area but since I'm post op I thought I would be presumptuous enough even this early to say so far it's been a success. I am post op 6 days and between my prep diet and since sleeved I am down 26 lbs from 258 to 232. My surgery was done more for risk factors than being really obese. Due to that this was a tough decision for me but boy I already feel so freaking good. Can't wait to feel what 190 feels like.

Well, my 28W's are starting to get big. While they aren't falling down on their own yet, I realized last night when I took off my pants without thinking and didn't unbutton or unzip them (and they were loose when I took them off like that!), that I probably should find some smaller pants. So, today I found a couple of local thrift stores and found myself some 22W's that are still a bit small for me, some 24W's that I think will fit or will in a very short time and a pair of 26W's that I know will fit. I had a hard time finding the 26W's that's why I only got one pair of those. Some of the pants still had the original tags from the "name brand / big box store" on them. I g…

I see lots of people on here and on other forums that are at goal - starting in the 200's or maybe even the 300's. I was exactly 400 lbs on the day of my surgery. My highest weight was 442 lbs. As of this morning I'm at 321 lbs. Is there anyone on here that started at 400 lbs or higher that is at or close to goal? I'd love to hear your story - how long did it take, any stumbling blocks, where are you now in your journey? And of course, pictures. TIA. Sharon

Guess what? It is OK to feel good about yourself!! It is OK to pat yourself of the back for your HARD WORK and ACCOMPLISHMENTS!! It is OK to feel SEXY and Celebrate your inner DIVA!! It is OK to share your story without feeling like someone will try to blow your house down!! Go out there and be yourself, enjoy living and loving the new life you have. To all BE BLESSED!! So that said, tell me... what about YOU makes you feel sexy??? For me? Well, my CONFIDENCE does that for me!!!!

I am 4'11" tall and weight 182 bmi 36. I will like to get everyone's outake on their success after surgery. I am worried on calorie intake and how to maintain goal weight of 105lbs. All input is greatly appreciated.

So mu husband just says to me in all his eloquence "Dude, you're looking wicked skinny." I'll take it.

Hi all, Today I stepped on the scale and was greeted with 184.9!!! I am officially overweight, not obese! I have not been merely overweight since the 1990s. I still can't believe it is true!! I'm on track to lose another 10% of my body weight by the end of month three post-surgery ( I lost 10% of my body weight in the first month post-op). I can't wait for my energy to be back to normal. I'm hoping that happens in the next few weeks around my three-month surgiversary. I've hit a number of little goals in my time following surgery: Lost 10% of my total body weight: A little over 1 month out In Onderland: 6/24 First number starts with 18: 7/22 Overweight BMI: To…

For those following the pregnancy, super quick update. Tatum is perfect, I've gained a solid 18-20lbs, and the ob told me today that I needed to hide the scale, focus on getting my Protein only because I told him I was having mad cravings for red velvet cake, and then told me to indulge in as much red velvet cake as I could get my hands on. I still struggle with the physical changes, and to some degree weight gain, but it's getting better every month. I also get a lot of questions about my skin after losing 140-145lbs so I decided to be brave today, and share some fully sleeveless pics. Personally, it doesn't bother me. I have an aversion to armpits so I don'…

I Just had my gastric sleeve surgery August 9, 2011 and I am not quite sure what the heck is going on in my stomach. I sip water and maybe a popsicle but I don't get a full feeling like everyone said I woiuld. I get a funny gas feeling in my upper right of my chest almost like gas pains but not the same. Is this the full feeling everyone talks about? My weight start was 542 pounds before 2 week boost diet. Today weight 502

I was banded in Sept. '10. I am 19 lbs. away from twoderville!!! I am so sexcited. The band has been a life saver. I love my new healthy life and the fact that the lbs are just melting away.

Raise your hand if you have ever had to bend forward or look to the side when weighing yourself because BOB (big old belly) was in your way. Yeah, I thought so! Me too, except this morning when I got on the scale to do my daily weigh in, I looked straight down and saw my numbers. I tell ya, even though the numbers didn't reflect what I wanted, the action sent me over the moon and damned if I didn't work 10x harder in my Fitness Kickboxing class this morning. I think this is one of my favorite NSV or is it an SV LOL either way when I realized what I was doing I almost cried.

So here I am, about 6 1/2 months out, and my own mind still hasn't caught up to the fact that I look a little different than I did. I've lost more than 100lbs, and have gone from a size 22/24 to a size 10 (really probably an 8 now, but havent been shopping). I know that I must look different, but I still don't see it. So this ,morning, my 6-year-old son comes to me, very seriously, and asks me "Mommy, are you one a diet?" As I didn't realy discuss my WLS with my kids, it suprised me a bit, but nonetheless I responded with the "Ive been eating a lot less" answer that I give anyone that asks about the weightloss. Then I ask him why. He tells me that he doesn't want to tell …

I'm up at 1 am, jet-lagged to bits, and then I realize - today's August 9th! It's officially my 1-year sleeversary! One year ago I was resting up at my hotel in Mexicali, getting ready for my VSG with Dr. Aceves. I had been perusing other people's profiles on this board, watching other people lose tens of pounds a month, and fantasizing over how nice it'd be to finally get into the 150s for the first time in my life. Little did I know that a mere 6 months later, I'd hit 140, and even see 130s on the scale (maintaining 130 proved to be more work than I was willing to do, haha). The best part is that not only did I lose weight - which has happened many times before, alth…

...and only 6 lbs away from "One-derland". I'm sooo excited and happy with this decision!

I have to travel quite a bit for work and for the last few trips that have been on the large jet planes, I have been pretty comfortable without a seatbelt extender. I celebrated my first flight without one in April but not all of my seven flights on that trip were as successful. On Tuesday this week, I had to fly to Orlando (yes, I know...I said, "had to"), and one of the segments of my trip on the way home was a short 30-minute flight on a teeny-tiny airplane that seats like 30 people. The seats and seatbelts on these planes are also teeny-tiny and when your butt is nowhere near teeny OR tiny an extender is required (or I would have to fake wearing the seatbelt because I…

My weight is finally less than that on my Drivers License! I have been listed as 185 for YEARS... I am now 183.6....I am finally not lying on my DL!

I remember last year, flooding my brain with information about lap band & the sleeve. I didnt feel comfy with my intestines being moved so that was out. After very throuough research, I decided to go with the sleeve. I cannot tell you how happy I am, Sept 9th will be my year. I was terrified but looking back now, its the best thing I did for myself. I wake up every morning so happy,, happy that I can fit into normal size clothing, happy I'm not unhealthy, happy I'm not the fattest in any room at any given time and just mentally happy.. The year FLEW by, I cannot believe my year is almost here. I have lost 98 pounds and have about 20 more to goal. Size 8 are starting…

Way too tight...but they zipped! THE ZIPPED!