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My face on my weight loss journey, from 421 pounds to 213 pounds (18 more pounds to go!!!)

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a successful journey to better health. On March 1, 2023 before heading to the airport traveling to Piedras Negras, Mexico for my scheduled March 3rd VSG with Dr. Alvarez at Endobariatric; I logged my weight and recorded my measurements. I have kept a running spreadsheet, updating the stats the 1st of every month. Ten months later, I am down 75 pounds and fitting comfortably in a size 6. I am not finished. I had set my goal at 112 which in reality is too thin for me but I wanted to allow for the common 5 to 7 pound regain from the lowest weight, hopefully settling in the 117 to 118 range. I have not had one moment's regret. This is the greatest gift I have given myself and look forward to a healthier and more active 2024.

(Also my status update, btw) It's finally here!! My last day with a "normal" digestive system. Tomorrow morning I go in at 10:15am to check in, go through all the pre-flight checks (IV, vitals, sign consents, talk to anesthesia and my surgeon, etc), then into the OR I go! This process has taken what seems like forever. Way back in April of 2022, I saw a general surgeon to have a Nissen Fundoplication to deal with my (horrible!!) reflux and repair my hiatal hernia. Problem was....my weight made it so there would be a high risk of both failure after a couple years and potential complications. He then suggested I see a bariatric surgeon (which was the first time anyone had ever made that suggestion. So off I went to see bariatrics. From the first appointment, Dr. Beekley was nothing but supportive. He never once belittled me over my weight, or made me feel like I was making excuses for my health. The entire team has been awesome. They keep up with me in myChart, letting me know what Pre-op clearances I needed, or if anything extra was needed from other providers (which, given all my health issues, there was always something extra that was needed lol). But all that hoop jumping was worth it. Now I'm packing my bag and getting ready to have my life completely changed for the better. While I may be increasingly nervous the closer I get to that OR, I'm also excited beyond belief. I've been stuck in this messed up body for entirely too long, and I can't wait to start leaving it behind and meet the woman I know is inside.

Oh yeah. I'm 3.5 years out and the honeymoon has long been over. If I weren't extremely careful about what I eat, it would be terrifyingly easy to fall off the wagon and jump on the regain train. The surgery still helps, for sure; even when I eat too much, I think back to how much I would have eaten before the surgery and realize that my overindulgence now pales in comparison. But it still takes a lot of effort and attention to maintain my weight. My first recommendation for you is to get back on the scale and see exactly where you stand. No matter how much you've regained, stepping on the scale isn't going to change it. Believe me, I understand not wanting to know (take it from someone who did not own a scale for over a decade before my surgery), but staying in denial will only make things worse. I found a fantastic podcast called "We Only Look Thin," hosted by a husband and wife who each lost over 100 pounds. They did NOT have WLS, but they have so much insight and advice. They address a lot of the things that you worry about, so if you are open to listening to podcasts, I highly recommend this one.

I signed up on here awhile back and waited to post anything until now and hope I can give some of my experience. March 1st of this year I had my gastric sleeve. I went in with a weight of 363 pounds and am 6’1. As of today posting this I am 225 pounds. Definitely was one of the smartest decisions I ever made for myself. Everyone’s journey is different. I was met with immediate energy following my procedure, like waking up everyday and ready to take on the world. And it’s still like that. For whatever reason for me, my eating habits and likes and dislikes immediately changed. I hated fish my whole life and now find myself craving it. Once loved ranch dressing, not it makes my stomach feel yuck. You hit these plateaus where your weight doesn’t change, sometimes for a couple weeks at a time, it’s easy to get discouraged but trust me, stay the course, don’t go back to bad habits and then bam! Next thing you know, you’re dropping a pound or two a day, followed by another plateau. This will happen repeatedly. For me I’ve noticed that walking 4 or 5 miles a day and being as active as possible REALLY makes it come off even quicker and maintaining a diet with no sugar for me has seriously helped. I treat myself to a little bit of carbs daily but mainly all proteins and it has worked great for me. Again, these are just the things that have worked in my journey and no two are the same. I’m fortunate that my job is pretty active so I keep track of my steps climbed and steps to get my exercise minutes in while I work. I also find a reason to be active when I’m not working. I wish everyone luck that is or has had this procedure done. And like I said, it’s the best thing I ever did for ME.

I am officially in the pre-operative bariatric program through Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic! I met with the surgeon yesterday and we determined that it was better to do the bariatric surgery before the ventral hernia repair. She set a pre-surgery goal weight of 264 and we will decide on the type of procedure (sleeve or bypass) in January. Surgery will be in April or May. I've already made my first nutritionist, lab and psychologist appointments, with the dietician being the first one next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving! I'm motivated and ready to change my life and it finally feels like I will have to tools to do it.

Tomorrow will be my 1 year anniversary since my gastric bypass surgery. I have lost 86 pounds. I’m not going to lie, I honestly thought I would have lost more by now. Although weight loss has slowed down tremendously, I have yet to see a gain on the scale so I take that as a win. I would like to lose at least another 50 pounds so I have to remember this surgery is not a cure-all, it’s simply a tool. I’ve been extremely lucky and have had no complications whatsoever. I don’t experience dumping syndrome at all (well I did once when I ate some ice cream and have steered clear ever since) but other than that there really isn’t anything I can’t eat, I just eat a whole lot less. I can definitely be better about my diet, like always, but one thing I’ve incorporated into my life that has stuck is exercise. I don’t feel good unless I exercise so it’s become addicting (in a good way). Anybody who is reading this and contemplating this surgery, or is in recent post op and struggling, I have absolutely no regrets about having this surgery. The first 2 months were rough, but I got through it and so will you!

Same here. I'm usually kind to others, male or female but if they cross me all bets are off. xD I used to work in an all-women's health club and have never seen so much competition and cattiness firsthand. Sad but true. I have since adopted this methodology.

I'm so excited, I got my surgery date today and we finalized all the details of the surgery!!! I'll be doing the duodenal switch with a longer common channel since I have a history of vitamin D deficiency and anemia. The surgeon talked to my GI specialist and they signed off of on it so everyone is on board thankfully. We picked December 13th, since I'll be in New Zealand for most of November. He said 2 weeks is standard for their liver reduction diet but if I added in a gradual 3rd week it would probably help as a bonus week. Their liver reduction diet is 2 shakes, 2 snacks and a lean, green dinner until one week before surgery, when it switches to all fluids. So basically I'll be starting the diet as soon as we get back from traveling... I already have 7 flavors of premier protein shakes in my closet. LOL (They require the shakes be either those or the bariatric advantage powder as per some study they are following). I'm really happy to be at this stage of everything, I know the 2 months will fly by fast!

What everyone else said, plus screw 'em. For me, I did this for me. My health. My confidence. My life. Next time, I'd just walk away and tell them I don't need your judgment and negativity. Sorry that happened to you. People can be so insensitive.