M2G

I'm down 95lbs from my highest weight. Down 87 from the day of surgery. (I didn't have to pre-op diet!) Oh and I'm 13 months post-op.

I have been using caloriecount.about.com for about 2 years. I had heard of some others (my fitness pal and spark people, etc.) so I finally decided to try my fitness pal and I didn't like it as much as calorie count. I think the reason I didn't like it as much is there is too much guesswork involved in the quantity of food. At calorie count you can do a serving, enter in oz, grams, tsp, tbsp, or sometimes there is choices like a single baby carrot, etc. So I really like that flexibility of the way you can enter your food quantity.

Excellent post Tai29! I have not yet looked into plastics (I do have UHC) but I am 100% grateful that my husband's employers INCLUDED WLS as a covered benefit. When I told my Nurse Case Manager "thank you" she directed the thanks back to his employer. We have a high-deductible plan and we were both sleeved in two different years (me 2010, him 2011) so we have had to pay about $8K out of pocket (the remaining $2K came from his employer...the amount they tossed into our plan {$1K each year} at the beginning of each calendar year) but it was worth every penny and I was so happy to not be SELF-PAY. Haven't done a stitch of research on plastics yet...need to get to goal and maintain a while before figuring that all out.

Best wishes for an easy surgery/recovery!

My surgeon is big on plastic surgery...I'm not sold...yet. It is worth thinking about, but I haven't gotten any farther than that yet. My surgeon says to him having WLS and not finishing the job with plastics is like driving around an awesome car with no paint. He said I was "too pretty" not to finish the job...lol, bet he tells all the ladies that! I definitely want to wait for at least one year at goal before considering anything...my mind still tricks me and thinks that I'm as fat as I used to be once in a while...need time to adjust to the mental shift.

Definitely do not use an orange as a 'capacity' test. And definitely DO NOT EAT MORE just because you can. The size of the bougie is really just a measuring device, and as someone else said anything less than 40 should be fine with restriction. But definitely to not get hung up on the bougie number! Measure everthing! Do not just eyeball it...you are retraining your brain to recognize an appropriate sleever amount. Use a good food scale or measuring cup or some way of measuring your food. If you follow the rule of Protein first I'm guessing you won't have room for an entire orange after 2 or 3oz of dense protein.

WOW!!! Incredible! Congratulations on knocking it out of the park in your first month!! I totally agree with what you say about the food no longer having control over me. Amazing what not having true hunger can do to our relationship with food! LOVE THIS!

What a thoughtful gift, and I would vote yes on the carriage ride too...cliche or not it's a nice touch. :rose:

Yep, love the camis too! I find the mid-priced ones (like Flexees NOT the expen$ive Spanx) at Ross and TJMaxx. I keep looking for Spanx but so far none have turned up in the discount stores. I will keep looking though! Yay on the smaller panties... I wear 7's now too!

WOW, Paul, that is just amazing! You already know how I feel about the warp-speed that you have lost weight at...it is just jaw dropping amazing and I'm so happy for you! Keep up the good work and you will make that second goal in no time flat!!! Here's to your first goal being met! :Banane02:

Congrats on your loss! I still maintain that having NO HUNGER has 100% made this journey easier...who would have ever thought we could go from thinking about food constantly to feeding our bodies because it is necessary. :lightbulb:

Awesome NSV!!! Love this!

Congrats, you are doing so well! May it long continue...and it's okay to be checking yourself out...we all do it, hey it's part of the fun stuff!

WOW! You look INCREDIBLE!!! Look at your flat tummy! Woo hoo! Congrats!

Hot Mamma! Love this photo!!!

WOW, I bet it feels AMAZING to be DONE! I can't wait for the results, and I'm so happy the pain on the second go-round isn't as bad. Also, um, YAY for free...OMG you are going to look so great! So happy for you!

Congrats, you look great!!! Is all of that post-op loss? WOW, that was FAST girl!

Those are some VERY TRUE WORDS right there! YOU are doing fantastic and you are sooooooo right about the attitude. Makes a world of difference and you are living proof my friend! I am so happy for you, you are totally rocking that new body...you've earned every inch of it. Thanks as always for sharing your journey with us.

http://www.5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html It's like a back-to-basics plan designed for RNYers but it works for sleeve as well (we just don't call it a "pouch") It's going back to where you were right after surgery, starting with liquids and moving through the steps, but condensed into 5 days. Sugar = crack. I am fortunate to be a person who can have a little bit and NOT overdo it, but the more I eat the more I want for sure. So I do have to be careful about the little "bits" of sugar that enter my mouth. Maybe try giving up the coffee and see if it helps. If you can have surgery and lose over 130lbs, then you can elimiate coffee for a few days and see how you feel. YOU CAN DO THIS! Hang in there!

Anyone who is less than 4 months out and hasn't lost hair ...I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn't usually start falling out until 3-4 months post-op. When it stops just depends on how much weight you lose, how quickly you lose it and other factors. It is AWESOME to keep up your Protein and Vitamins (Biotin will not prevent loss, only help grow new hair) but just because you do doesn't guarantee you won't lose your hair. It is extremely common to lose hair after any type of WLS, bypass, band, sleeve, DS, etc. Most people just lose volume, etc. Mine was mostly noticable to me (and my family and my vacuum!) But I would rather lose my hair than be morbidly obese any day of the year!

YAY Coops...I just saw the proof pictures...love this! And yes, I HATE being between sizes so much that it will actually help me determine my actual goal weight. When I'm solidly into the size that I feel most comfortable at I know I will be "done!"

Incredible! You look like you've never spent a day in your life overweight or obese! I do think though that in your second photo, it might be time for new jeans...those are a bit baggy on you! :wink1:

Beautiful!!! You look so fabulous and petite!!! Slow and steady is the name of our game! Love ya Coops!

Wow. Double wow. That just rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are sleeving supa star...congrats! What an incredible milestone!!!!!!! :first:

WOO HOO! See it pays to keep clothing that never goes out of style! I was a good yo-yo dieter and had clothing in every size in my closet from 16-24. Now I'm wearing 12's woo hoo!