Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories

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I'm 7 months and a week out, and I still am losing 4-5 lbs a month. I have 29 lbs to go to goal. I have not exercised, honestly. I'm kinda mushy around mid section b/c of that...thinking about taking up pilates. It has been a lot of years since I exercised so it is a big thought at this point. I focus on Protein, but I don't count so much like others. I know I could do more...but someone told me when I was thinking about the surgery that they just ate less of their normal diet and lost a lot. That has sort of worked for me as I'm not much of a counter. The big changes I've made is I rarely ever drink soda or even alcohol, I am a Kool-Aid junky and a sunflower seed fre…

Hi gang, long time no see lol! Just a minute of your time!....I want to share my story with you! I have been sleeved on april 9 2010....5 months ago! i am now 108 pounds down...at 176 pounds! I am so happy of my decision! I am more active and healthier than ever And you know what?....my sex-appeal is back lol. The only bad thing about that....I spend half of my paycheck for buying new clothes hihihi ! That's very bad....ask my boyfriend lol! For those who didn't know that I am a frenchie....sorry fot the mistakes lol! I hope you will undersrand what I am saying!

Ok Finally got my surgery date which is scheduled for Monday September 27th jsut a few days away, I am so nervous now, after all the months of preparations and waiting, the day has finally arrived:biggrin0: However I am so nervous I got Butteflies up the wahzoo., I meet with my surgeon on last time on Friday before Surgery Anyone have any advice on questions I could ask before Monday?

Well six months out and doing good. The weight just keeps slowly coming off. Down 72 lbs now. I am doing a lot of biking so I have also out on some muscle. Just started lifting weights again a week ago so I expect to put some more weight with that. Into 38 in. jeans now... and I don't know the last time that happened! Bags and bags of my clothes to the thrift store... I refuse to spend much on clothes. I going with one pair of jeans at a time through the journey... I don't count carbs or cals at all and I am enjoying eating less food... Cookies (life style kind) every day with my Tim Horton's coffee. I would like to be down 100lbs by Christmas... It will be clo…

Wanted to share with people who will appreciate this fact... I am now BELOW the lowest weight I ever achieved with the band. 146.6 today. Holy moly! The lowest I remember getting with the band was 148 (or 147 if on the right scale). Today I hit a landmark for me... below my lowest band weight! YAHHHHHOOOO. I can't say I don't want to lose more, I do... but this is a real mental victory for me, and I know others are going through some of these great moments too. My new mini-goal is to hit an "average weight" BMI... I'm so close, sooooo close! Thanks for listening!

It has been an amazing journey since I embarked on weight loss surgery. I started my journey June 2, 2010 on the pre-op diet that was prescribed to me by Dr. Garth Davis. I had gastric sleeve sugery on July 2, 2010. As of today I have lost a total of 105 pounds and I have 103 pounds left to reach my goal. I no longer take cholestrol medicine, sleep with a breathing machine, blood pressure medicine has been reduced to half, and I am able to do cardio for up to two hours a day. I cut up my Casual Male card and I now shop at Marshalls, Ross, and TJ Max. Although when I look in the mirror I am unable to see the change but my clothes and pictures tell a different story. I will…

(X-posted, sorry for the repetition if anyone read this elsewhere!) Very early in this process for me, there was a thread here as well as another forum asking people what their goals were, what they looked forward to and hoped to achieve with their weight loss. The last few days have been awesome for me! One of my biggest goals initially was to run a 5K by late summer/early fall. I've never been a good runner at all, even in my late teens/early 20s when I was otherwise in the best shape of my life. I've run a mile... one time. Now I'm doing Couch to 5K, and Saturday I ran 25 minutes AND hit two miles. That's twice as long as I've ever run in my entire life, e…

...I don't post over here much anymore, but I spend a lot of time over on obesityhelp.com. I Celebrate my nine month anniversary from surgery today. I can't believe it's went by so darn fast. I'm down a total of 104 pounds (16 pounds preop), and I feel great. I track my food, and I weight daily. For the most part, I concentrate on Protein and low carbs. But, I don't deprive myself of anything as I simply love food. In fact, I had half a cupcake today at a lunch, and I tracked it too! I just don't make bad choices back to back or on a consistent basis. Here's the latest before (day of surgery) and after (today!) photos.

OK - I am sure this will sound strange, but in 1982 I visited Ireland with my parents when I was just 16 years old. I bought a beautiful cardigan Irish fisherman's knit sweater -- you know the type - cream with the elaborate stitching pattern. It was expensive even back then, probably $125.00, but it really was a nice sweater. I probably wore it for 6 years or so before I "outgrew" it, but I always took good care of it and it is still in great perfect condition. Anyway, I haven't been able to wear it for years, but I could never part with it - it brought back a lot of memories. Well, you guessed it, I dug the sweater out the other night and it fits! It will look ev…

Ten months out, I'm down from BMI 36 to BMI 22.7 and I can safely say the surgery has been a complete success. Sure, it was difficult in the beginning, but once I learned how to eat (at the moment, I can eat anything, as long as I chew well and eat slowly) I can honestly say that in the past 3-4 months I haven't felt sick because of what/how I ate even once. You do learn, and it feels great! The thing I've noticed recently as I'm working on stopping losing weight and maintaining is that nowadays, food bores me a little. What a change from the former me, whose life largely revolved around food! Now I feel like I have a completely healthy and normal relationship with foo…

Had my LAP-BAND®®®®®® installed on Feb 19th, 2010. Today is July 30th, 2010. I've only had 2 fills but am going for another fill on Monday. I'm off my diabetes meds, cholesterol meds, have more energy and life is good. First Dr appt I was 341 lbs, but I got up to 350 at one point. Just weighed myself and I'm 265! I wanted to lose 100 lbs in 1 year, looks like I'm on my way! One of the best decisions I ever made in my life! Just posted this picture in the pictures section. It's a before and after collage. Pics really don't tell the whole story though. On the after side I'm wearing a 2004 Boston Red Sox World Champions shirt that had never fit me before! It's so cool to be …

Finally! I am 133lbs!! Total time including the 2 months prior to the op dieting was 17 months to lose 118lbs although from my very heaviest before I started logging I was 256lbs which means a loss of 123lbs. I only claim the 118 figure though as I can totally verify this one. It has been a great journey and I thank all the people here who have helped, from my lurking days nearly a year and a half ago to now. I wish MacMadame was still here as she was a great help to me back then when I was researching the route to take. I wish all of you still losing all speed to get to your goals too, and enjoy the changes in you as they happen. And don't forget to tell us all about…

3 yrs ago today I was 52 yrs old who couldn't walk a flight of stairs without being winded - I measured whatever I did on how much physical activity would be involved (if it was too much I wouldn't do it) - I was eating and sleeping my life away. Fast Forward 3 yrs - I am now 55 yrs old - I feel 10 yrs younger - have more energy than a 30 yrs old (you know the 50's is the new 30's ;0). The secret you ask - There is no secret really - this is truly all about making a lifetime lifestyle. I haven't dieted since I was banded - not one day... Diets don't work!!! I realized that - I finally realized that the reason that I always regained the weight was cuz …

I am having my surgery, and I wondering what to expect after surgery. My surgeon is Dr. Nease in Huntington, WV. Does any one have any ideas what I can expect pre-op and post-op. I know that I do not have to do a liquid diet. Does Dr. Nease require a bowl prep before. I know I have a meeting with him on Friday before my surgery, but I just wanting to get mentally prepared

I just crossed the 6 month mark 4 days ago and what an awesome feeling!!! I am so happy with this surgery and grateful I was able to have it! BEST decision I ever made! If you are considering it, DO IT!!!! Check out my youtube channel and subscribe! I will be doing a 6 month update very soon!!! YouTube - lyndacamp's Channel

Hi friends, I am located in miramar Florida and I am looking to get the VSg surgery in a couple of weeks with Dr Emil Matei. I just wanted to hear from msomeone who has had the sleeve procedure done by him.Please drop me a line if you have, i have a few concerns. Thanks Sam

When I was considering getting banded (and for weeks afterwards) I often looked through the forums for pictures. Although I still have about 60lbs to lose, I thought I would post a few pictures for other banders. It took some courage, but other's pictures helped me to be motivated and I wanted to share. People often say it, but PLEASE take pictures if you can. Even if you did not in the beginning, it is never too late to start. There are many days where I feel frustrated, and looking at these pictures help. I often say there is only one thing about my apperance that looked better BEFORE getting my band, and that was my hair. It has become very dry and unhealthy and sta…

I have just crossed over to 299 pounds. I have not been this weight since 2002. I am now 99 pounds away from my goal. I am so excited.

So this past weekend all of our kids had plans so my hubby and I decided at the last minute to go away for the long weekend. We hopped on a plane Friday morning and went to Belize. We went snorkeling twice for a couple of hours at a time. We took the resort's sailboat out one morning. We had massages at the spa. But the big NSV comes from our cave tubing trip. We had to take a boat back to the mainlands and then an hour van ride to the tubing place. Once there we had to HIKE for 45 minutes through the jungle to get there while carrying our tubes. Six months ago I never would have been able to make that hike. My back would have been killing me, I would have been comple…

As of today I am down to 250 lbs which is 70 lbs lost since my surgery or 80 lbs total with pre-op included! I also updated my vlog on youtube if you want to check out my channel it is at YouTube - VSGswift's Channel

Well, on the NSV front, I put on some hand-me-down size 40 waistband jeans today, and I was stunned to find out that they fit. Now, they're a little long for me (I'm only 6'1 and the guy these were from was 6'3) so I'll probably have to hem them, but I'm just tickled pink that they FIT. Four months ago, I was wearing size 48 waistband. Also my weight was down to 264.9 today; creeping down towards the 250's. A month or so ago, visiting the nutritionist, I was "joking" that I'd like to break 250 by the end of September. I may not quite hit that goal, but I'll probably be in the 250's, which is something I can't say in recent memory! Also I was thinking that I might be w…

I had my 3 months check up yesterday and also weighed in at home today at 173.75lbs, so now officially am just over half way to my goal of 140lbs, having lost 34.75lbs since beginning of pre op diet and 50.25 since November 2009 when I started Weight Watchers before making the decision about surgery. Also my BMI is now 29.7 - I have never been happier to be officially fat instead of Severely Obese!! I remember the time I saw my Dr write OBESE on my medical records and I was mortified..... and then I went on to gain more weight..... So, bring it on........ I'm aiming for 140lbs, although when I get to 147lbs my husband will quit smoking, and if stay below it he'll stay…

Does anyone out there know anything about the Vagus Nerves and how they are affected after a VSG? I had to go to ER a couple of days ago due to some chest pain that went to the jaw - I was admitted and after much testing and monitoring the Cardiologist THINKS that my chest pain was actually due to "digestive" issues as a result of the VSG and how the vagus nerves were affected. ANyone know anything about this? Thanks.

Anyone else notice how weird of a sensation this is? Now that I'm wearing clothes that are closer to my "real size" (according to my bone structure, this is somewhere between a loose XL and a tight L in the shirt, and probably about a 36 waistband normal cut pants), the cloth actually touches my body. It's taking a real mental shift for me to start thinking this is OK. I think it's a self-confidence thing; it's improving as my mind makes the shift from "I'm a fat disgusting slob who has to hide his body at all costs" to "I'm a normal looking guy with a decent body" -- I'm making progress, but it's slow! I've noticing that the cut of clothes is different; I used to be…

And yes, that .2 is very important! :thumbup: I cannot believe that it has been 7 months already. In some ways, it is a blur and then I recall the struggles, the doubts, the what-ifs. I am so glad that I had this done. I finally found a way to manage my weight and feel proud of myself. I am sitting here wearing size 8 Tommy Hilfiger jeans and a tight little purple sweater. ME!!!!! Hard to believe. I'm 3.8 pounds from my initial goal of 135. Still trying to decide if that is the "right" weight or if I am going to revise it a little and strive for 125. I'm 5'6", but a very small frame/bone structure. Still waiting for the ribs to heal so that I can …

Bloated too, of course. There must be something I'm not getting. When I had the lapband, I KNEW if I overate (or came close to it) because it would come back up. But what happens with the sleeve? What feelings do you get when you know you shouldn't eat anymore? I am so scared that I will fail at this too. Pam

I'm new here and in the process of jumping through the insurance hoops for weight loss surgery. I have my last visit with the doctor prior to them submitting for insurance approval next week and still undecided. Can anyone tell me why they chose the sleeve over the bypass? I appreciate your help. This is a big decision and I want to do it right! Tandy

I'm back into size 28 jeans!! It was stretch pants for a while there! It might not sound like much, but when you're a heavyweight, it takes about 20 lbs to go down a size.

Hey, Just wanted to share... I went for my first post-op visit today... I am down 20 lbs since my surgery! I find that so hard to believe for some reason...I'm excited Thanks everyone for your support!:confused1:

I actually finished a small can of V8 with NO PAIN! I can't believe it...sniff sniff. I'm sorry if this sounds silly, but to me it's a HUGE NSV!!!! YAYYYYYYYYY!

But it is not visited often so I wanted to post here too. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/clothing-exchange/8829-got-ton-clothes-dallas-area.html#post76243

Hey everybody. So I am 15 weeks post op as of yesterday. Got on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh-in and I weighed in at 234.8 .... well 235 is my halfway to goal mark!! So now I am down 75 lbs of the 150 lbs I am planning to lose. It feels WONDERFUL. I happened to get my hair cut and colored yesterday as well, and took a photo of it after, which is now pretty much my favorite picture of myself... and a great way to Celebrate being half way to goal I already made it my avatar on here... lol. What can I say, I am diggin' it. I am feeling so blessed and grateful that I made it here, because a week ago I wasn't doing so well. Basically when I hit 237 …

EDIT: don't read if you don't want to read borderline self-aggrandizement. But if you like to hear about NSV's and how losing weight can make you feel better, read on... Well, I'm still losing relatively rapidly, so I didn't want to buy a LOT of clothes for fall, but since my old clothes are rapidly becoming tent-like, I needed some basics. I used to wear 2XLT (double-x large tall). The "T" was necessary because my gut would hang over the waistband of my jeans and the T-shirts weren't long enough to cover it (I'm only 6'1" so I don't really need super "tall man" clothes). I was thinking that maybe I could go down to a 2XL or maybe an XLT. Well, imagine my surpris…

Ok peeps I went to my surgeon's office for my first post-op appointment yesterday. I just had to share with you guys. I HAVE LOST 30 POUNDS SINCE AUGUST 3. That's when my 2 weeks pre-op diet started. They were totally blown away, so was I. Since surgery I have had no hunger and had to practically force myself to eat a hardboiled egg with lite mayo mixed with it yesterday. My first real food since before my pre op diet. Yes, I am a heavyweight and the weight will initially come off quicker, but I AM PUMPED!!!!! I am on a mission. I AM LOVING THIS TOOL!!!! DID YOU HEAR ME? I AM LOVING THIS TOOL. So all totalled I have lost 46 pounds since April when I went to my first infor…

I can hardly believe it, but here I am about 7 1/2 weeks from my surgery on July 13th and I am just about half way to my goal of losing 125 lbs. Overall, it has been a relatively smooth journey, although there have been some difficult moments along the way. Last week, I took my kids on vacation and it was a real challenge to figure out what I could eat and timing it correctly. The trip involved driving about 2000 miles round trip, so eating on the road proved to be a bit of a challenge also. I think the biggest challenge for me has been dealing with the emotional aspects of not eating all the things I want to when I want to. Although I understand intellectually that…

So, my ticker shows that my goal is 135. This was picked because I weighed that when I was 17 and thought I looked good. It's also the exact 1/2 way point on the "Normal Weight" for the BMI chart. As I got in the 140's, I thought, maybe I'll go for 125. Not really sure ... I'm bouncing between 138.8 and 141 for the last week or so. (Today exactly 140.0 with no changes to my diet.) I'm sure it's a stall & that of course, the closer I get to goal, the slower it will come off. Part of me is wondering if I'm "there". I am wearing a size 8 (and a couple of 6's). I put on a bathing suit last night & my husband just about went nuts. He couldn't beli…

And what a 4 months it has been! There have been so many changes...all good. I really have nothing negative to say....with the exception of the fact that I only lose weight two weeks out of the month. That annoys the crap out of me! Let's see...some of the positive changes. 1. I fit into my seat at the superdome comfortably with room to spare. I don't feel like I'm taking up TOO much space anymore. 2. I can walk about a mile to a mile and a half at a time now without my back screaming at me that payback is a bitch. 3. I fit in booths at restaurants with room to spare and don't have to say...Can you seat us at a table instead? 4. I can shop in regular stores now..…

I am so excited to report that since my surgery on Oct. 29, 2009, I have lost 102 lbs! I have 77 lbs to go to reach my goal of 170lbs, but it feels so much more within reach to have to lose 77 lbs than to have to lose 180 lbs. So far, my keys to success have been eating healthy foods for the purpose of fueling my body and exercising in enjoyable ways like Zumba. Our brains like to be on autopilot and stick to habits. I have become an interruption to my brain's habits and I am developing new, healthy ones. I feel wonderful and I am looking forward to posting again when I hit my goal. Good Luck to all other bandsters and stay strong and in control!!!

I posted my 3 month videos in my previous 3 month progress thread but I know they are harder to notice over there. I wanted to share the videos with you here! As well as a bonus video I made today, a little fashion show of the new clothes I got :001_tt2: [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDLkEd-qArQ]YouTube- 3 Months Post-Op VSG (Part One)[/nomedia] [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7M9-P8TLQs]YouTube- 3 Months Post-Op VSG (Part Two)[/nomedia] [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPX24qFVr00]YouTube- Fashion Show[/nomedia] Thanks!!

I'm now 11 weeks out and lost another 1.5lbs this week, taking my sleeve weight loss to 31lbs. My heaviest weight really was back in November when i was 224lbs and did Weight Watchers until I made the decision to get the Sleeve. So when I told hubby of my weight loss this week he had a challenge for me - to put the same amount of weight that I had lost in a bag, and lift it. So I thought about it and counted it from my heaviest and put 46.5lbs in a bag. OMG :001_tt2: - it was SO HEAVY!!!!!!! Hard to think that was spread all over me, let alone doing anything whilst walking with it....I could just lift it!! I'd advise everyone to do this along the way just to…

Hello all, Today it's officially a week and a day post op:lol0:. I feel great. My stomach scars look like a 5 small scratches:thumbup:. No pain anywhere. I feel like I have not done a thing EXCEPT when drinking my Soups. My Dr. said on 7th day I can start creamy soups:001_tt2:. I figured out I need a small dessert spoon instead of a regular big spoon for soups in case I forget and take too many in a row which make me feel . I've been exercising lightly at gym on crosstrainer lightly :confused:. I find that while drinking my soups I get bored and the desire to continue eating goes away and leave them. I have been drinking 2 20ml bottles a day of Cytomax Protei…

I am looking for those who are more than a few months out and aren't in the possible period of "buyers remorse" to answer this. I've had my band for 5 long years. All the hell I've gone through is somewhat normal to me at this point. I'm used to being primarily on liquids and pain when eating, etc. My surgery is on Thursday for a Band to Sleeve Revision. Has anyone had one and regret it or wish they would have either not had surgery to begin with (no band, no sleeve), or regret/miss the band? Thanks. I'm just having some serious doubts and after 5 years and 3 surgeons I am tired of being screwed over to line wallets. And I don't want to go into a much worse situati…

I'm only 4-5 days out depending on how you count. I had a good 5 months or so on a liquid diet due to the now deceased Lap Band that had invaded my body controlling me like some alien would on a horror film. So I'm not necessarily wishing to eat as the smell of food bugs me at the moment, no nausea, I just don't like the smell of cooking food. Anyone else going on youtube to find people who are a year or two out who are successful for inspiration? I find it amazing to watch them. I don't really watch the post op period as everyone is different but after 6+ months it seems interesting. I thought I might remind someone who is wonder why they did this to themselves a cha…

Hi Everyone! Well Kathy and I are doing great. I am down to 298 as of this morning, an overall loss of 55lbs and 45 since the day of surgery. Kathy is down to 196 which is down 26lbs since the day of surgery! We are finding we can eat pretty much most foods, nothing has had any omg moments. We both have had a couple, ok that was one or two bites too much! But other than that it has really been smooth sailing. Her blood pressure and blood suger are great numbers and she is off all meds for those things. Both of us are doing well on endurance at work ect. I find on the days I have to go up and down the ladders inside the ships I get a little more tired but each day…

I was brave enough. Last I remember saying before being put out was "Dear Lord, Please let me live to see my babies". It's about 28 hours later and I'm home now. Not so much into cold drinks more like room temperature. I got to meet a buddy off here who was sleeved yesterday as well and I hope you are doing good girl!

and I couldn't be happier. I've lost 41 lbs. and 19 inches. Life is good! Gotta love the sleeve! Patti:biggrin0:

When I got my surgery, I had stopped wearing jeans because I had to lay on the bed to zip them up. I had been wearing a very tight 24. This week I decided to go root around in my closet and try on some old clothes for the first time since my surgery. I got into a size 18 jeans, zipped and buttoned (without laying on the bed, lol). I turned and looked at my backside in the mirror and noticed that my a$$ has fallen off. :confused1: Also, my BMI has fallen under 30, which means I am no longer morbidly obese, or obese, I am just overweight. I never thought I would be happy to say that. Then, I noticed how bad I needed to clean the streaks off my bathroom mirror. L…

Folks, as of today I am at my lowest adult weight EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lol0::thumbup::mad::thumbup: 236.8!!!!! My lowest ever before was 238.... which lasted about 5 seconds. 240 is truly the weight I usually would stay at for long periods of time. On Tuesday this scale told me 243. So here I am in my 14th week and I managed to lose 5 more lbs in 4 days. Thank you extra workouts!!!!! I really stepped it up this week. Hubby joined the gym too so some days I work out twice, once in the morning and once in the evening with him. Don't worry not overdoing it or working out every day though. This week I worked out Monday morning, Tuesday morn…

everything was just perfect!!!!! i must say august must be my month or something. anyway just thought i share. the ring is beauitful and every diamond is real! it took him eight months to pay for it. although i didn't need a set that expensive after all we have students loans waiting for us at the door here any min now but im just soo thrilled at this moment all i can do is cry...................

I was banded over 2 and 1/2 years ago and I'm here to inspire those that fall off the wagon! After being banded I lost 90lbs in about 9 months... I looked and felt so good, I went and got pregnant. Fast forward 18 months and I had completely fallen off the bandwagon and started gaining weight. I was depressed and frustrated. It finally took me relearning the band rules and following them meticulously.. since then I have lost over 60 lbs and I'm still going. I'm not a complete success yet:wink:, but I want people to see a different perspective. The band is always there and ready to work, when we are REALLY ready to use it!