M2G

I am a bit unusual because my surgeon's orders were NO DRINKING for one year post-op. And I actually followed that rule. (Broken others, but this one was not hard for me...lol.) So my sleeve was 10-22-10 and on 10-31-11 I had my first drink (at a Halloween party.) So I probably drink about once a month or less, and yes it does it hard and fast, so beware, the tiny tummy doesn't need much alcohol!! About transfer addiction, I guess I can understand it but certainly it seems like something that if you feel predisposed towards something, then there is always help to combat that also. We all make choices, and sometimes the choice is asking for help.

http://thisonebody.blogspot.com/ That's my blog. I started it about a month before surgery and I'm almost 20 months post-op. It's been theraputic for me to write about my journey.

Nice to know you CAN wear it from 10 years ago! And after you donate, make sure you get something new, k?

You look terrific, congrats!

Sharon, this is wonderful! You look amazing (thanks for attaching the stills and I love your tennis shoes!!!) Congratulations on being such a huge success story. P.S. - Did you know they were filming your hands so much!

Hubby and I are both sleeved as well! I went first because I wanted WLS and he wasn't planning on it. About 3-4 months into my 6 month insurance hoop-jumping, he had a change of heart and started his own journey. I will say that even though the men tend to lose faster, I've still lost more than he has. I'm 19 months post-op and he is 15 months post-op, I've lost about -100 and he's lost about -70. So we both still have work to do, but it has been great that we did this together. We share a meal at times if the mood strikes, otherwise we have leftovers. Best thing we ever did for our health!!

I'm 19 months out and no I have not yet reached my goal. I may actually revise it at some point (and no it's not a super-low weight or anything un-acheiveable) but for me personally this has been a verrrrry slow journey. Some people race down the scale and others drop a little at a time. I'm more like the latter of the two. But I cannot stress enough how much I would do this surgery over again! I've been thrilled with my sleeve and I'm not unhappy at my current weight, but would like to lose another 15lbs at least. It is hard work but so totally worth the effort!!! I had zero complications, in fact I know I'm rare but I have never once (not even due to stomach bug, flu, etc.) vomitted with my sleeve. So that makes me really happy because I hate to do that more than almost anything. I know of people who have had complications so I'm not meaning to gloss over the serious risks that are part of such a major surgery, but for me personally I had NO complications whatsoever.

I buy them at Kohl's on sale or if I lucky I find them cheaper at Ross/TJMaxx!!! I have about 10 of them in different colors and I just found out that I fit in a medium. I started out wearing them after I had lost about 35-40lbs and was in a 2XL. So happy that the Med. fit. I need to buy more in the smaller size now. lol

Love this!!! I was called a "skinny b*tch" by a girlfriend (who knows I've been sleeved) and it made my day too! (Because it was all in fun, but I have NEVER been called that my whole life!)

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm at -100 and I would definitely consider plastics, but on the other hand I'm not 100% unhappy now. The tummy skin is the worst, but I'm also not a goal yet, so I'm like Lila...basically undecided. I wear the Flexees tanks every day and sometimes I resent it but most the time I forget that I'm wearing them.

GT, I hope you feel better soon, I have not (yet knock on wood) had a single episode of vomiting since being sleeved 19 months ago (oddity I realize) but at this point since it never happened post-op the only thing that would make it happen is a stomach flu. So I feel for ya! Coops, I love the idea of writing things down, please let us know how it goes. FYE, I totally can feel you on finding balance. WHERE is the balance between obsessively tracking all food/calories and having a little nibble here or there on something. Aaack...not sure where the middle ground is, but I have NOT been tracking my food since late march and I've absolutely loved every single second of NOT TRACKING MY FOOD. I've been maintaining fine, the only problem is that I'M NOT DONE YET. arrgh. So yeah at some point I'm going to have to climb back up on the tracking wagon and see where I'm at.

I agree this is a touchy subject. On one hand many of us have said that our only regret with this surgery is that we didn't do it sooner! We've spent countless years (and its different for everyone) living life as overweight, obese, morbidly obese or super morbidly obese. Either way, what if we didn't have to endure that? But I also feel that living life for the last 20 years as obese and morbidly obese, prepared me for the surgery and my subsequent success. Would I have been as successful without having tried *everything* else under the sun? There are two things that bother me about this video. The first being that this particular little girl didn't look obese to me at all. She looked slightly overweight. I think general rules/guidelines for WLS is usually that you need to be about 100lbs over ideal body weight. I know that there are many, many, many people who undergo WLS who DO NOT have 100lbs to lose, but obviously this girl did NOT have 100lbs to lose to get to an ideal body weight. The other thing that bothered me was this statement "I won the battle and my struggles were over!" I think that is misleading. Even though I've got a surgically altered stomach for the rest of my life, I am still going to always need to stay on top of this. It's too easy to gain the weight back, so I have to make this a priority, healthy eating, exercising, and yes IT IS a battle and I will continue to fight it. Definitely a topic worthy of discussion.

You look great Linda! (And your daughter does too!)

Cindy, I am undecided on plastics as of yet. My surgeon is pushing me to do them. He thinks when I get to a BMI of about 27 then I should have the tummy done (he thinks arms/legs look great) but I'm pretty torn. I'm not 100% UNHAPPY the way I am now and frankly I've been married 16 years to the same wonderful man who has literally loved me through thick and thin, so it's not like I need a hot wrinkle free belly to show the world, lol. I do wear the Flexees tanks daily to help keep everything "in" but at this point NO to plastics. Maybe someday. Hey thanks for the nice compliment. Thanks to everyone else who replied, you guys are the best!!!

Congrats Tiff! That is exciting news, and you sound thrilled (even while being exhausted!) My two girls are 19 months and 1 day apart and I honestly wouldn't do it any other way, life is crazy, sleep deprivation is hard, and dealing with 2 babies is hard, but so worth all the energy and effort because they are 1 year apart in school and can do all the same things and have a lot of friends in common. It was our plan to have them close together and 18 months was my minimum, so we got that at least. Glad to hear an update, glad you are doing well, and looking forward to hearing more about your new busy life! (when you have time of course) :-)

DITTO! And FYI, I think the "light" is waaaaay better than the regular, plus you save on fat and cals! Woot!

I've lost -80lbs before. And I gained it all back. I've lost -50lbs before, and gained it all back. -25lbs...yep you guessed it...it came back and it brought some friends. I knew I needed a permanent tool to help me fight the battle. You friend doesn't understand this and it's probably not your job to to teach him (nor will you be able to make him understand.) So be polite but firm that you know full well what you are getting into and that if he is your friend he will support your decision. Otherwise you might not have room for him on your journey. Good luck!

You were beautiful before and now you are stunning!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again, that blue dress is just amazing on you!!! That necklace is awesome...love it!! Thanks as always for sharing your journey with us and not jumping ship when you hit goal. Hugs friend!!!

Thanks S...that means a LOT to me! You have been here through my whole entire journey and I love you for it! :-)

You can have it again...just not right now. :-)

That is so funny because I had the opposite happen as well. I had lost about -80lbs and was sleeved first. Then my hubby got sleeved and he lost about -40lbs and people could NOT STOP raving about how great he looked!! However, now that I'm at the -100 mark, the tide is shifting again and hubby stopped loosing at about -70 (he wants to lose about -15 more but has been stalled/maintaining for about 6 months now) and now I'm back to getting all the compliments, lol. Seems like the last -10lbs has made a big difference....you know how the skinnier you are the more a weight loss shows, and the heavier you are you can lose -30lbs and no one will even notice. Crazy! Congrats to both YOU and YOUR WIFE!!!

I've lost -100lbs, 8 of pre-op the rest since surgery. I'm 19 months post-op and having trouble getting the last of the weight off. But on the flip side I'm happy where I am and have been easily maintaning for months and months! I agree that having a surgeon close to home is a big plus (FOR ME anyway!) as my sugeon has tons and tons of post-op support. I've yet to miss a support group or followup class. My surgeon was Dr. Snyder of Denver Colorado at Rose Medical center. His practice is one carrying the Bariatric Center for Excellence label. I had UnitedHeathcare and one of their stipulations was that the surgeon and their practice had to be certified by this high standard.

Meg, thanks for the recap, that is awesome that food is secondary to all other things!!! What an amazing concept that has eluded us for so many years! Interesting correlation on the body types and food consumed. I know there is much more to obesity than just that piece of the puzzle, but there is no denying that is a large part of it! On and congrats on not gaining...wow, pretty cool!

YES! Water is ok, and definitely encouraged.