Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories

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I have to go back to work tomorrow, I am a dispatcher and wear the same uniforms as the cops. So I go in my closet to get a uniform ready and I could not have imagined that the thing was going to fall off me. I know I have lost weight, but I really had not been able to see it. Well I am not sure what to do about tomorrow, go in plain clothes??? The uniform pants are not going to stay up! So then I had to find something to wear to an Anniversary dinner tonight and NOTHING in my closet fits! NOTHING, things that were tight before now hang on me. I started crying in the mirror because I could not see it before today. The days of baggy hoodie sweatshirt hiding are gon…

Just a quick update, or not so quick . I am 12 weeks post-op today. I lost another 4 pounds this week, even with the yummy Christmas treats! I weighed in at 286.0 today!!! I let myself eat anything I wanted Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I just decided I wasn't going to deprive myself and not beat myself up and eat some Cookies and other yummy stuff. And I didn't go too crazy on the treats, but I did eat a lot of "bad" stuff. I had potatoes covered in chesse, bacon, stuffing, cinnamon rolls, chocolate, etc.. So now I am back on track and feeling fine. I am not really craving the junk, luckily! I started walking yesterday and hopefully I keep it up. Hopefully all that…

Has anyone been able to drink diet cokes. I have done a lot of looking and have found many different answer to this question.

Just thought I'd post... I was 177.4 kg (at my heaviest ~194kg) when I had the sleeve done by Dr Goel in Mumbai at the end of March 2010. As at boxing day - I am now at 123kg and still dropping - here's hoping it will continue to fall off... and I'm able to keep it off...

My before and after 3 months out

I'm almost at my goal weight so I wanted a place to view the before and afters during these past 3 years... Before Surgery April 2008 Post Surgery July 2008 Photo of my pouch dilation (see how the top of my stomach is folding over the band? not a good thing!) Christmas 2009 Christmas 2010

I have spent most of my life feeling defeated and feeling like I could never change that. I had come to accept that success and feeling good about yourself only happened to other people. Yesterday, I reached the 100 lbs. lost mark. I weighed myself 3 times, cuz I just couldn't believe it. Even though I had been given this wonderful tool, I guess in the back of my mind, it still seemed like more of a dream than a reality. Trust me when I say that I have never been any type of motivational speaker. But, folks, I am here to tell you that I was given a chance to live my dream life. Healthy and fit. I am not 100% there yet, but have come such a long way, that now I h…

I have noticed something strange about my eating. I have definite limits that my body apparently has set up for me. When I have had enough at a meal I get the hic-ups. Does this happen to anyone else? I find it very odd and sometimes if I am out with friends it is somewhat embarrassing. Any ideas why this happens and what I can do to avoid this?

So, to all of you success stories out there, here's a question: how did you start thinking about yourself as a "normal person" instead of an "obese person?" Despite nearly losing 100 lbs, I'm still thinking of myself as the "fat blob," instead of the sexay man-hunk (okay, I jest, but still...). So, for you guys who've been through this... how did you do this? Was it just a matter of time? Did you just wake up one day and realize that you no longer saw yourself in the same light? I've seen a few similar topics on here recently, so I think that this is topical.

Finally I’ve won the battle with my weight. I am in great shape and great health because on August 16, 2006 I got a Lap-band®®®. With the help and support of a great team, I learned how to use this amazing tool. I am maintaining between 140 and 149 lbs. Some days I wonder if the scale is broken. It’s been hard work, and it certainly wasn’t the “easy way out.” It’s been over 3 years since surgery. I’ve been maintaining a healthy weight for more than 1 ½ years, but I still have days when it’s hard to believe that this is really my body, the one that I live in. One of my goals when I had my LAP-BAND®®® surgery was to keep up with my kids. Nowadays they have to keep up wit…

I'm 168 today!!!! My 170 stall is finally broken...YAYYYYYY! I haven't been in the 60's for over 19 years now! My heart is full. I'm so grateful .

Well, the NSV's are fast and furious, but scale victories are nice too. I'd been in a long stall, and I'm starting to believe it was because I was eating these stupid popsicles at 80 calories a pop. I've cut them out and the weight has gone back to a nice steady pound or so per week. More importantly, I'm finally under 250 pounds! This is a big deal for a guy who's been over 300 lbs for at least 15 years. I haven't been under 250 lbs since high school. 250 lbs is also an important number for me for two reasons: it marks 80 lbs lost (yay!) and there are a LOT of activities that I always wanted to do "some day" (skydiving...) that have an "absolute weight limit" …

These are some pre-op and 10 weeks out photos. In grey pants I'm at 271.6 down 5lbs preop. In the jeans pictures i'm down 43lbs from 276.6 my high weight before preop diet.

Hello Friends! Today I am exactly 3 months out from surgery. I thought I’d write a little blurb (or maybe more… lol) to update how I’m doing. The numbers are, I am down 35 Lbs since surgery and I’m down 44 since starting my pre-operative diet. I am averaging 2.92 Lbs per week right now. Not nearly as fast as most here, but guess what? I am absolutely happy where I am today, and I haven’t felt this thin and energetic in many years!! I just want to get into a few things at this time, because it is something that means a great deal to me. That is the inner peace I feel for myself, and I want everyone to feel this way about themselv…

I was at my son's school the other day when a teacher's aide said, "That outfit looks great on you because you are so skinny. You're a runner, aren't you? You exercise a lot, huh?" I sheeply replied, "Yeah, I do exercise." I walk for a half hour an average of 3-4 times a week, so I don't exercise a lot. I couldn't believe she was talking about ME. BTW, I'm not skinny; I have a BMI of 24 which is awesome but definitely not skinny. So now people think I'm a runner? Man, that is awesome.

I went to see my surgeon today, and I'm down another 6 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks which is quite good for me, as I consider myself a slow loser. My surgeon is happy as well, to the point where he'll be happy if I lose only around 9 more pounds (which will put me at a BMI of 26) because of my big bone structure ( so my challenge is to get to goal by the next time i see him in 3 months-which is to loose about 18 more pounds). The funny thing is that even though I the last time I weighed this much (or little) was about 8 years ago, now I see myself fattish again, especialy my tummy seems bigger in comparison to the rest of my body. I s it that I haven't properly looked at myself …

Hi Everyone, The best decision I made was on March 6, 2008... this was the day I got my LAP-BAND®®®®®®®® surgery by Dr. Richard Collier (Houston, JourneyLite). Although all has not been smooth, overall it's been a great journey. I started at 232/size 20 and today went in and weighed 145/size 8 with a BMI of 22. Dr. Collier said... "you've reached your goal weight; you're in the normal range." Well, I haven't been in the "normal" range for... well, I can't remember when I was ever in the normal range for my weight. :eek: Pretty awesome!! I had one major problem happen about 8 months ago. My band was too tight and I waited way too long to go in and determine wh…

I had surgery on May 14, 2009 at 262 pounds. Today I weigh 194 pounds and I'm 29 pounds from my goal! This was absolutely the best decision I ever made in my entire life. I feel like a whole new person! Not only am I feeling younger, my knees don't hurt and I'm playing tennis at least twice a week. I am loving my new life! I will graduate from RN school in 18 months. One of the reasons I had the surgery was because I didn't think I could stand on my feet for 12 hours on a hospital floor - I'm doing it now! Sometimes I do get frustrated when I can't eat something that I love, but it's so worth it, let me tell ya!

Hello everyone!!! so I just posted my 10 week update not to long ago... and this weekend My hubby and I went to Montreal for a weekend away and I got all dressed up took some pictures for sharing too!!!!! Hope you all enjoy.. i will put a before and after for you ... the after will be from this weekend... I am ALMOST at my halfway point... just 4 lbs away! Here was before surgery... I am appx 214 lbs here This was on the weekend.. right now I am 174lbs ... 40lbs down!!

I am back at work after a very interesting weekend. I'm now 6 days post-op and feeling a lot better than I thought I would. I know the following post is going to sound like a plug for the Ready 4A Change people, but I can assure you I am writing this on my own free will and am very satisfied with my surgery so far. I just wish I could have found more information about the Ready 4A Change group before I traveled down there so hopefully this post will help others with the same decision. Feel free to send me an email with any questions you have! alma - patient coordinator: She talked with me on the phone and through emails several times pre-op. She was amazing, and to…

I feel like I am posting a lot, but I just had to share a few more victories! I hope everyone isn't getting sick of all my posts So, tonight I figured out how much weight I have lost in a percentage. I have lost 20% of my body weight!!!!!!!!! That is so awesome to think of it that way, and I am only a little over 2 months post-op. Not sure if this is NSV or not, but it shows that I am getting healthier everyday. For probably 2.5 years, I did not have a period. Instead, I would bleed ALL the time. It was horrible!!! I went to a GYN but felt like she blew me off. She put me on meds which made me want to kill someone so I stopped taking them. I just put up with it for…

After 2 weeks of not losing an ounce, my scale finally moved. As of today, I finally dropped another 2.4 lbs. Not a lot but I will take it!!! Down 30 lbs now!

HELLO SLEEEEVERS!!! So, today I am 10 weeks out from surgery and I only weigh myself once a week on fridays... SO, this morning I weighed myself and the scale went down again YAY!! ... I am now 40lbs lighter than I was 10 weeks ago!! THATS 4lbs a WEEK!!! and Im only 4lbs away from being at my halfway mark!! I love looking at my ticker and seeing my little bikini girl so close to that middle mark!!! it really puts it all into perspective!!! SO, I just want to share what I normally do in my days since having the sleeve operation... in the morning I have a Protein shake with milk... the kind that i drink is called isoflex and im on vanilla right now.. the chocolate…

TODAY...hang on...I am normal. What? Please repeat this outloud because this has not been said about me in ages. I am in the normal weight range according to BMI calulator. food needed at this party.

Has anybody on an individual insurance plan gotten approval for the VSG? If so, what insurance company?

I just updated my ticker this morning and realized that I have passed the halfway point!!!!! 90lbs in 5 months! If I wouldn't have had this surgery, I would still be desperately trying and failing at losing 10 or 20 lbs, and I would still be miserable and soooo unhealthy. Words can't even describe how blessed I feel to have been given this gift. :heart:

Just a quick note to the board. Tomorrow I fly to LA for my tenure track interview. I was worried about having this surgery only three weeks before the interview. Wow, I'm really glad that I did it. Just like you all said, eating won't be a problem (and no one will even notice that I'm hardly eating at the faculty dinners), and the extra confidence that comes from being almost 30 lbs lighter is going to make a huge difference. I wouldn't have taken this leap without the information that's on this board, so I want to thank you all for your posts.

Down 75 lbs!!!! Just wanted to share my excitement and joy!!!!

Recently my wedding ring fell off so I put it way to get sized when I reach goal, so yesterday at the mall we passed Kay Jewelers and they had a sterling silver/white sapphire ring special for 20 bucks! and I asked to see it thinking it would be a cheap in between ring. The salesman took it out of the cabinet and I asked what size they come in and he said they were all one size and I would have to have it sized up or down. Suddenly the 20 dollar special was not such a special, UNTIL I tried on the rind and it fit perfectly! I asked what size it was it is a 6 and 3/4! I wore a size 9 before:o I did not know what was more thrilled with, the price or size! Then w…

Wow this gets better every day. . . so today at work they announce that all the supervisors will be having their pictures taken. . .but they want everyone to wear green. . . ok I'm wearing blue today, so they give me a ladies shirt. . . yeah as if this will fit. . . but i go to my office pull off my uniform top and PUT ON THE SIZE L LADIES CUT SHIRT!!!!! AND IT FITS PERFECT!!!! Wow did i get some compliments on that! So I asked if I could keep the shirt! the answer was "sure why not, it doesn't fit anyone else around here! " I felt sooooooo good!!! :lol:

Went shopping for some new pants today, looking for a size 10 since my twelves were starting to get loose. For fun, I grabbed an 8 and . . . they fit! Sure I was a little muffin topped, but they fit and I looked good! I'm am just about t months out and am 25 lbs down weighing in at 165 now! Just had to share!

I was so proud of myself today. I got professional pictures taken I HATE getting pictures taken, but I wanted to do this so bad. I am going to make my Christmas cards out of one of these pictures, probably #8. If anyone has a favorite, please let me know. I let my sister take a picture of me the other day which was a huge step for me, and now I did this! YEAH! Maybe I will do it again June 8th.... it will be my 33rd birthday and Izzy's (fawn boxer) 6th birthday! I don't like looking at these pictures because I still have so much to lose, but I can't imagine what I would have looked like 72 pounds higher! I need to be happy about that 72 I have lost so far. Hopefully by …

I didnt know where else to put these. Because I feel like I'm already a success, I figured I'd put them here. I took some pictures of me in a brown dress I bought on my way home from my Sleeve surgery on September 19th. I bought this dress too small on purpose. It is a Size L. This is me wearing this dress barely two months later!! ) I"m all smiles!!!

Well during thanksgiving i had my mom come to San Antonio (she is from Canada) for 1 week. I went to pick her up at the airport. I haven't seen my mom for 3 years. She knew I had the sleeve done, but didn't believe me that it would work. . .sooooooooooo when she got to the airport, she walked right past me. . . I grabbed the coffee i had for her and went galloping after her. . .MOM I yell, well she turns around and after hugs she says "Is this really you?" Really? Please don't lose anymore weight and what happened to your hair? You used to have such thick beautiful hair". . . .well I just brushed the comments away and told her I was so happy to see her. . . that was t…

Not sure where to post this... please tell me if it would be better elsewhere! Since my surgery (which was excellent), I have met another surgeon here in France who would be willing to operate on anglophones waiting for the operation. He is an excellent surgeon, and a very pleasant, personable man. It is a fabulous, modern clinic, and he has worked extensively in his field both here in France and in London. He no longer does the band, and he specialises in the Sleeve procedure. For those who don't know, France is rated as one of the top countries in the world for health care. The costs of the operation are very reasonable, there is practically no waiting list.…

Im 23 years old and have been overweight ALL MY LIFE!!! i've tried soo many diets. I did loose weight at one point doing the low carb and those two years I was thin were the best years of my life so far.... I have gotten to a point where I cannot do it bymyself anymore and this is why Im choosing to do this. Please give me advice and let me know how it went for you!!! Thanks A LOT!!! wish me luck! Marisela

My first goal for myself was to get under 300. I thought it would take awhile, since my highest pre-op weight was 369. Date of surgery I was 356. Today, I stepped on the scale and LOOK!!!!!!! Surgery was about 8.5 weeks ago :)

I am five months out and fifty pounds down! I feel great, and I think I look pretty good too =p

Hi All I think I like the NSV over the scale victories yesterday I put on some size 16 jeans that use to be tight they were so loose I could put them on and take them off easily without unbuttoning!

I just wanted to show everyone my progress since May 14th, 2010. The before picture was taken just 1 month before my surgery and the after picture was on Thanksgiving day! I cut my hair short. New me, new style!

Hi All, I am 12 weeks post op and have lost 38 lbs. I am noticing these strange hard things under my skin, along my collar and on my hips I am told these are bones who knew I had bones under all that fat(G)

I love my Wii fit!!!>.. today I weighed myself because its the 9 week mark... and to my surprise i have lost another 2 lbs since wednesday bringing my total weight loss to 38lbs!!! I am now in the over weight category!!! Im soooo pumped!! yay! BMI today on the Wii had me at 29.7!! whoopti whoop!!! I love my sleeve and I have loved using this tool to abolish obesity from my life!!

So here I am 18 months post-sleeve, loving life, staying busy, and just living. Yes, I can eat twice as much as I could at the 2-3 months post-op, but it's still a small amount. No more than 6-8 of mushy foods, and max 5oz of dense Protein. I can not even eat 1/2 chicken breast unless I take 45 minutes, and have some food lube to go with it. 1 Taco Bell soft taco, or 1-2 wedges from their steak quesadilla minus the top part of the tortilla, 3 subway meatballs with cheese, 1-1.5 slice of thin crust pizza, 4oz of steak with veggies, 1/2 Peanut Butter sandwich, etc etc. I still take Prilosec once daily, and have no plans of stopping it any time soon. I just started…

This might not sound like a big accomplishment, but I am soooooo proud of myself. I went to the grocery tonight (which I hate to do because I just want to buy junk) and I didn't buy ANY junk food!!!!! I wanted to soooo badly. I walked down the ice cream aisle and looked and then started walking faster and told myself NO! I walked thru the candy aisle too, and I wanted a resses cup sooooo bad! I saw a pudding cake, and thought, OH YUM, that will go down so easily!!! I kept walking past that too! I even made it thru the checkout lane too without grabbing a resses or anything else! YEAH FOR ME!!!! I had a slip a few weeks back where I did buy a resses that I ate, and I did …

This Thanksgiving was my first since having my surgery on July 13th. I've really done very well and have lost just about 100lbs in the 4.5 months since surgery (including 15 lbs before surgery). Anyway, my kids and I travelled out of state to spend the holiday with relatives and we had a very nice holiday. One thing did scare me though -- I was able to eat a whole lot more than I would have expected. I snacked a lot in the hours before dinner (a couple of chips here and a couple of pretzels there) and then at dinner, I was able to eat a small plate of most of the dishes. Granted, I ate a whole lot less than I would have in the good/bad old days, but it did make me ke…

Hi everyone, I just thought I would share some exciting news! I had set a personal goal to no longer be classified as obese before the end of the year. For me, that meant 175 pounds and a BMI of 30. Well, today I hit that goal! And I still have a month until the end of the year! I'm soooo ridiculously happy. I was trying on old clothes yesterday and I was swimming in my old pants...I can't believe how different my body is! I'm still shocked when I look in the mirror some days! I'm not there yet, I still have 30 pounds to go until my goal weight, but it has all happened so quickly that I just have to pinch myself sometimes. Anyways, I was just in a great mood and t…

Ok last month I posted my pre-op and my pics thus-far in my journey. I think I stated on the post that the pics were taken in June and I ended up not having surgery until middle of August and had gained 14 more pounds between those dates, but I didn't have pictures reflecting that weight. Well, I sent my recent pics to the doctor as a testimony for her facility and I was sent a very sweet thank you for my correspondence and they attached my surgery day pre-op pics. WOAH, I was surprised when I saw those puppies...I thought I would share them with ya!

Just wanted to say hello to all my previous friends and hello to new. I am now 15 months into my journey and down about 150 pounds. From a 48-50 pants, to a 38, and not even a snug 38. I am working out with a personal trainer and feeling good. Only problems I have is occasional acid reflux-type symptoms. I am off all meds except vitamins. Still have occasional energy issues, but this too is off and on. If anything, I do not eat enough. Too often I have 1200 cals a day or less, and this is not healthy. But I do keep my protein levels up and solid. If you want to shoot me a message, please do! Always happy to see others succeed!

So, it's no secret on here that I'm a Black Friday Fan. Yesterday, we decided to go to the Outlet Mall around 3:00. We did some shopping & got some great deals. We were walking past Coldwater Creek and my husband suggested we go in. (Most items were 60-70% off lowest price!) So we did and I grabbed a few items in Small and a few things in Medium. Went to the dressing room and discovered, that everything I picked out was too big! My husband was a big help and kept running around the store finding smaller sizes. The Sales Woman gave me that "crazy girl" look - apparently, I was grinning from ear to ear and floating around the dressing room. I finally told her …

HAHAHAHA...So if any of you have ever been to O2BKids, you will have seen the netted climbing structures of connected tubes, tunnels, slides, (and so on) that extend about 40 feet into the air. Well...I took my grandchildren yesterday to visit their other grandparents and they wanted to take the kids to O2BKids. Of course the first thing the 2 year old and the 4 year old wanted to do was to scramble straight to the top of the nets. A few minutes later, when the two year old started wailing and claimed to be stuck, the other grandparents were wringing their hands and talking about looking for an employee. Not necessary...'cause SpiderNana just climbed up to the rescu…