LindaS

Hi everyone! I've just passed my 1 year anniversary and have been weighing the highs and lows of this past year. It was very hard in the beginning. I had a hard time managing my pain, was exhausted all the time, couldn't walk more than 5 mintues without wanting to stop, couldn't drink more than a tiny sip at a time, and felt like maybe I had made a terrible ( and vain) choice. Somehow everything has come so far this past year and now all that is just a vague memory. I can eat anything I want (in moderation), can drink liquid like I did pre op, can exercise without feeling like my legs are Jello, and am no longer dwelling on the thoughts that I might have made a mistake. I look at myself sometimes and don't recognize myself. But my mind still hasn't caught up to the changes, to the point that I went to an amusement park a few weeks ago and was slightly worried that I wouldn't fit on the rides (some old habits die hard). I know that is an irrational fear, that most of my pants are 2/4 and my shirts are small, just I couldn't shake that little voice in my head. The thing is, now I know that the ends justified the means. 9 months ago, I might have said 'no' if someone asked if I would do this all over again. I couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel yet. Now my body aches less, I look decent in clothes, I can eat a regular meal, and I don't struggle to walk up a few flights of strairs. IT was all worth it. To everyone in the early stages, one day you WILL get to this point.
NO BODY EVER SAID IT WOULD BE EASY, THEY JUST SAID IT WOULD BE WORTH IT!

My screen name is my first name spelled backwards.... Stacey

You got to love those NSV! “YahMon” Way to go, keep rocking that sleeve!

When you have the sleeve, you have a lifelong tool to help you control your weight.... very different from pre-op.
And seriously, if you get thin, gain 5 pounds, and someone says something snarky, okay. There's really nothing you can do to stop anyone from saying anything. :-) You'll still be thinner and healthier than you are now.
It's like the old story of someone who doesn't want to go back to school as an adult because they'll "be 45 when they graduate." Well, yeah, but they'll be 45 at that point in time anyway--why not do what's good for you?
I'm also petrified of regaining weight, but I'm just going to trust my sleeve and my due diligence (keeping on top of what I weigh every couple of weeks), and I know if/when I need to drop weight, I can do that.

Alana,
I am 8 months post op, and down 100 pounds. Everyday I struggle with the thought that I might gain it back. I am scared to death that I might gain. And somehow, my old friend--- food--- always pops up to comfort me. I struggle not to eat junk food when I am worried about weight gain. Doesn't make sense does it? I am trying so hard to break the habit of turning to food when I am stressed. It is a life long habit, and SO hard to break!!!
I was 258 pounds at my highest. I am now 158 or 159 depending on the day. But some days I actually go up to 160 or 161. Those are the days it is hardest to stay away from the foods that have always comforted me. I tell myself over and over that I shouldn't eat ___________ (you fill in the blanks, it might be Twinkies, HO-HOs, mashed potatoes, ice cream, etc. But for sure it is a comfort food.) But somedays I just can't stop myself. It makes me worry about my long term success. Every one says how well I have done, but they don't know I am scared spitless that I might wreck it and eat my way back up to 250+ pounds.
The main reason I continue to frequent this forum is that it helps me keep my determination to stay where I am and continue to lose. I am so thankful for the wonderful people here who encourage me to keep on this path I started in June. Best of luck on yur journey!

I'm down 26 pounds. It was hard because I had lost 24lbs before my leak and was put on tpn. I gained 13 during that time so I had to lose the 13 first ..anyway it's complicated.lol But as of today,,my total is 26. My first 25 pounds and I've knocked my bmi down almost 5 points. I think I'll get myself a prize Woo hoo!!!!!!

Tomorrow is the six month anniversary of my surgery. I've lost 65 pounds, and I'd like to lose 30 to 50 more pounds.
Yesterday, I met with my surgeon. All of my labs came back good. He warned me that my weight loss might slow down without exercise.
One problem for me is that I am not ingesting enough fluids. I have been keeping track of my food, and I think that it has a direct relation to my stalls. When I drink less, I tend to stall. When I up my Fluid intake, I lose weight.
I discussed this with my surgeon, and he said that it takes Fluid to burn calories. If I'm dehydrated, I won't burn calories and the 40 ounces I normally drink probably isn't enough.
I increased my fluid intake yesterday, and I am down a pound this morning to 190.
I am very happy with my sleeve.
Before my surgery, I weighed 255 and was gaining weight despite efforts to exercise and eat right. It would take me months to lose 10 pounds, but I could gain them all back in a weekend if I wasn't careful.
My right ankle has severe osteoarthritis (spelling?), and it was painful. I'd take medicine for the pain and to help prevent swelling. It swelled frequently despite the medicine.
My girls' bedroom is upstairs, and I would rarely go upstairs because I was fearful of my ankle and because the stairs wore me out.
I hated buying clothes or trying anything on because I was so disgusted with myself.
More and more I found myself opting to not do things because I weighed too much.
I have gone from a size 20/22 to a 12. I now weigh 190 pounds, and I hope to break into the 180s this week.
I am active. I haven't had to take pain pills for my ankle since my surgery. It no longer swells up. I climb the stairs to my daughters' bedroom at least once a day if not more without any problems. Happily, I am eager to do things and love being active with my family.
The sleeve helped me change my life for the better.
When I first planned the surgery, I thought there was a possibility that I would lose all 115 pounds of my excess weight by this time. That hasn't happened, but I am not concerned with my progress either. There are so many other factors that go into losing weight, and I feel like I am right on track. More importantly, I am making exercise a regular part of my life.

I wish someone had told me that no matter the very slim chance of a complication, just how bad and life altering they can be. Go in to this praying you are a lucky one with no complication and that the initial time off and recoverey for the sleeve is all you have to go through. But also know if you have a leak you could be hospitalized again for additional time (1 month for me), that you may end up NPO (feeding tube for me but also TPN possibly), be prepared that you could be off work for several more months (4 for me), know that you may have a stent placed (jasleeve) and that is very uncomfortable and makes eating and drinking bad. I wasn't prepared for the possibility of complications - after all it is 1% right? Be prepared. I doubt it makes it any easier but just know it can happen and it is very serious if it does. One person explained it well by saying it is 1% until it is YOU then it is 100% you.

Tomorrow is the six month anniversary of my surgery. I've lost 65 pounds, and I'd like to lose 30 to 50 more pounds.
Yesterday, I met with my surgeon. All of my labs came back good. He warned me that my weight loss might slow down without exercise.
One problem for me is that I am not ingesting enough fluids. I have been keeping track of my food, and I think that it has a direct relation to my stalls. When I drink less, I tend to stall. When I up my Fluid intake, I lose weight.
I discussed this with my surgeon, and he said that it takes Fluid to burn calories. If I'm dehydrated, I won't burn calories and the 40 ounces I normally drink probably isn't enough.
I increased my fluid intake yesterday, and I am down a pound this morning to 190.
I am very happy with my sleeve.
Before my surgery, I weighed 255 and was gaining weight despite efforts to exercise and eat right. It would take me months to lose 10 pounds, but I could gain them all back in a weekend if I wasn't careful.
My right ankle has severe osteoarthritis (spelling?), and it was painful. I'd take medicine for the pain and to help prevent swelling. It swelled frequently despite the medicine.
My girls' bedroom is upstairs, and I would rarely go upstairs because I was fearful of my ankle and because the stairs wore me out.
I hated buying clothes or trying anything on because I was so disgusted with myself.
More and more I found myself opting to not do things because I weighed too much.
I have gone from a size 20/22 to a 12. I now weigh 190 pounds, and I hope to break into the 180s this week.
I am active. I haven't had to take pain pills for my ankle since my surgery. It no longer swells up. I climb the stairs to my daughters' bedroom at least once a day if not more without any problems. Happily, I am eager to do things and love being active with my family.
The sleeve helped me change my life for the better.
When I first planned the surgery, I thought there was a possibility that I would lose all 115 pounds of my excess weight by this time. That hasn't happened, but I am not concerned with my progress either. There are so many other factors that go into losing weight, and I feel like I am right on track. More importantly, I am making exercise a regular part of my life.

Tomorrow is the six month anniversary of my surgery. I've lost 65 pounds, and I'd like to lose 30 to 50 more pounds.
Yesterday, I met with my surgeon. All of my labs came back good. He warned me that my weight loss might slow down without exercise.
One problem for me is that I am not ingesting enough fluids. I have been keeping track of my food, and I think that it has a direct relation to my stalls. When I drink less, I tend to stall. When I up my Fluid intake, I lose weight.
I discussed this with my surgeon, and he said that it takes Fluid to burn calories. If I'm dehydrated, I won't burn calories and the 40 ounces I normally drink probably isn't enough.
I increased my fluid intake yesterday, and I am down a pound this morning to 190.
I am very happy with my sleeve.
Before my surgery, I weighed 255 and was gaining weight despite efforts to exercise and eat right. It would take me months to lose 10 pounds, but I could gain them all back in a weekend if I wasn't careful.
My right ankle has severe osteoarthritis (spelling?), and it was painful. I'd take medicine for the pain and to help prevent swelling. It swelled frequently despite the medicine.
My girls' bedroom is upstairs, and I would rarely go upstairs because I was fearful of my ankle and because the stairs wore me out.
I hated buying clothes or trying anything on because I was so disgusted with myself.
More and more I found myself opting to not do things because I weighed too much.
I have gone from a size 20/22 to a 12. I now weigh 190 pounds, and I hope to break into the 180s this week.
I am active. I haven't had to take pain pills for my ankle since my surgery. It no longer swells up. I climb the stairs to my daughters' bedroom at least once a day if not more without any problems. Happily, I am eager to do things and love being active with my family.
The sleeve helped me change my life for the better.
When I first planned the surgery, I thought there was a possibility that I would lose all 115 pounds of my excess weight by this time. That hasn't happened, but I am not concerned with my progress either. There are so many other factors that go into losing weight, and I feel like I am right on track. More importantly, I am making exercise a regular part of my life.

I have received a couple notes from folks asking why I haven't put my 2 cents in here, since I seem to put my 2 cents in on anything remotely controversial. Well, it's because it is like trying to explain the color green to a blind man. This fellow came here looking to validate his opinion and the folks here didn't give it to him. He truly believes he is not controlling. He has no objective perspective on the relationship and we surely are not going to change that. I mean, come on ... crying for 3 hours ... talk about manipulative:
http://en.wikipedia....al_manipulation
He has never walked in the shoes of a person with issues surrounding food, body image and all that goes with this. He doesn't even know the size of the shoe. He has his opinion and that is all that matters.
He says he has never thrown an insult at anyone shortly after he says how VERY VERY VERY close minded everyone is.
I do have one question for you, though Husband ... What makes you think this is the "easy" way out? This is the hardest thing I have ever done. More difficult than any of the successful diets I did previously, but far more rewarding knowing that I have a tool to help me not sabbotage myself gaining it all back.
My spouse doesn't always make the best decisions, but I committed to supporting her no matter what. Perhaps this may be the hardest thing for you ... but, I'm afraid you won't take the time to become fully educated. There are risks everyday.
There is a saying that ignorance is easier than knowledge, and I think an ignorant person wouldn't take the time to see things from the other side of the coin. I applaud you keeping this dialog open. It tells us you are willing to learn.
I know you say it's about the family, but let's let it be just about your wife. Step away from it to get some perspective. If you are always going to fear being that 1 in 10,000, then your life is going to be paralyzed.
Also, we don't know what your wife has or hasn't done. I'm not sure how well we can take your word for it. She may have been making attempts you were never aware of. I know I made several attempts my wife was never privy to. I didn't tell her because I didn't want the humiliation if/when I failed again.
Good luck to you and your wife.

Lovinghusband, you asked for advice, if you are still around.
Here is my advice:
If she is planning on using insurance to pay for the surgery, let the insurance company deny her if she doesn't qualify. During the time she is working towards insurance approval, support her and encourage her. If she is approved by insurance, continue to support and encourage her.
If she is planning on being a self-pay, look up the average insurance requirements for this surgery and if your wife meets those requirements, support and encourage her.
Insurance requirements often include:
A BMI of at least 40 with no comorbidities, or a BMI of 35 with two or more comorbidities (diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.)
Psychological testing
Sessions with a counselor if suggested by psychiatrist
A minimum of three sessions with a dietician
Documentation of prior weight loss attempts
Letter of recommendation by primary care physician
Weight loss of 5 - 10% in six months prior to surgery.

Personally, I think you come across as very controlling. You don't mention any facts about your wife (could have been lost in the long post which lacked paragraphs, making it hard to read). What is her BMI?
You sound like one of those people who thinks the answer to weight loss is to "put the fork down". That's true, but unrealistic as there is a HUGE psychological component to weight and food. Did you know that for some, the act of eating affects the brain just like heroin?
Anyway, you asked for advice, there's mine.
Oh, and my husband is getting some tonight too now. :smile1:

Lovinghusband1979,
Hi, if your wife is only 40 lbs over weight I doubt she will find a Dr who would give her the surgery. I had a bmi of 32. That is about 200 lbs at 5'6" and I just qualified. My husband thought I was beautiful and didn't need the surgery. He loves me for the beautiful person he sees on the inside. I should tell you I love my husband of 20 years beyound reason and I am a mother of 6 children. I didn't ask permission or what he wants of my body because it's my body. I would have had the surgery with or with out his blessing because it was what I needed. Being married doesn't mean you give the rights of your body away. I understand your fear. You don't want to lose the woman you love, but she may be feeling she is loosing herself and doesn't have an out. This may be a chance for her ( if she does qualify ) to be the woman SHE needs to be. If you are open to her idea to this she would more than likely make you part of the process. Help find the doctor ( personaly I wouldn't go to a Dr who didn't do a least a thousand sleeves ). Help her with the foods for the pre diet. Tell her you don't understand, but you love and suport her choices. This is what my husband did and I respect him the more for it. He knew telling me what to do would put a fire into this Irsh womans' heart that would make me deaf to all he would say.

As of this morning, I have lost 77.8lbs. I realized that my 10 year old daughter weighs 71lbs. I've lost a 10 year old child!!! SO happy with my sleeve!

Every once in awhile I try on my fat pants and stare in the mirror at just how far I have come. WELL today I finally had my husband take a picture of me holding up my fat pants that I used for my pre-op pictures and WOW! Seeing it in a picture is even crazier than just looking in a mirror. As stubborn and cranky as my sleeve can be, I am SO thankful to be where I am today :smile1: Sorry can't seem to shrink these pictures down, I will work on that when I get home
 

I am approaching my one year anniversary on February 12th. I have had a good first year, have lost all but 10 pounds of my excess weight, and have made many behavior changes. But I have always been worried (scared!) about being successful in maintenance, since that has been my lifelong pattern. I have lost close to 100 pounds 4 times previously, and haven’t successfully kept it of for more than a year or two after achieving goal.

I did something positive to help me get into maintenance. It is another “tool” to help me be a healthy smaller person – just like the sleeve itself is a tool. (That’s my NSV – I did something positive for my maintenance). I enrolled in a class taught by the nurse that runs the WLS support group at the Baylor Carrolton (Texas) hospital. Baylor is a big medical system in the Dallas area, with hospitals in several suburbs of Dallas and the main facility in downtown Dallas. My surgeon, Dr. Nicholson was the head of the WLS program at Baylor Plano. I chose to attend the support group through the Carrolton office, since it was closest to my office.

The class is “The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients”. The class is several sessions, with each session focusing on one of the Success Habits. The material in the class is based on material by Colleen M. Cook and developed by the Bariatric Support Centers International. The material includes a book, workbook, website membership and additional information given in the individual sessions.

The Success Habits Principles are now taught in hundreds of bariatric support groups each month and are recommended by many Bariatric Centers of Excellence (per the material – I haven’t verified this independently). It is great material for those in the losing phase and those that are going into maintenance.

The premise behind the material and the class is a survey of patients who had WLS surgery, and what behaviors are in common for those that are successful versus those that are not successful. The average time from surgery for the patients was 7 years. The average amount of weight lost was 103 pounds

The habits are follows:

PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: I recognize that I alone am responsible for my success and failures
PORTION CONTROL: I understand the importance of satiety and understanding my body’s signals
NUTRITION: I make good healthy food choices each day.
FLUID INTAKE: I drink the right amount of the right kinds of Fluid at the right times each day.
EXERCISE: I have adopted the habit of exercise as a regular part of my lifestyle
VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS: I take good quality Vitamins each day to support my good health.

Sounds simple, right? Well, I have taken classes on the first two classes and I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH – particularly about accountability.

I am not scared like I was about maintenance – these classes are really setting things out for me in a clear way that I think I can successfully do going forward. And, if I hit a bump in the road in the future – I think I will be able to recover – rather than spiraling out of control.

If there is interest, I will set up a sub-forum for the “Success Habits” and have threads for each habit, or each key learning I have from the classes. I am so pumped up about these classes; I am considering taking the classes to become a Support Coach for WLS patients.

Let me know if you are interested in hearing more about this on this sight.

Sharon

To date, I've lost 64 pounds, and I am a couple of weeks shy of my 6 month anniversary. I feel great, and I love all of my energy. It is hard to believe that photos taken just 6 months ago are really of me. I never felt like that was me. I feel like I am myself again.
My diet has recently had to change back to mostly liquids and soft cheeses. I have braces now, and the lower brackets were installed just over a week ago and boy did it hurt. It still doesn't feel great, which is why I'm on a mostly liquid diet.
And I am thrilled with the results I am seeing. I can't wait to continue to see improvements.

Last Friday, January 20th marked my six month post-op from my surgery on July 20th, 2011. This has been such an amazing journey...nothing like I could have ever expected. My surgery weight was 264 pounds and today I am weighing in at 185.4 pounds. That is a total loss of 78.6 pounds. (about 80 is what I tell everyone, lol). My ultimate goal this whole journey has been to get to 145, but now after doing some researching, that would be too low for my body fat %. So now I'm just not sure where goal will be for me. I have gone from a size 18W/20 pant to a size 10 and I have lost 9.75" off of my hips alone, 9.5" from my waist, 8" from the girls :Banane20:, 4" off of each arm and 2.5" from my neck. It may be hard for me to see the changes every day but when I look at those numbers and my before pictures, I think there's definitely a difference.
I have learned so much about myself in the past six months and my entire view on food and nutrition has changed for the better. I realized that I don't have to gorge myself at every meal and I don't feel like I failed if I make some wrong decisions in my journey...that there is always my next meal to do right again. I also learned that this is in NO WAY the easy way out and I wish people around me would realize that too. I do my best to eat my six small meals a day with 70 grams of Protein, less than 30-40 grams of carbs, and keep my Water intake above 64 oz. I also go to the gym 3-4 times a week.
Anyways, I was very hesitant on posting these before pictures because they are horrendous, :blushing: but I figure if I inspire even one person on here to keep on their journey, then it's worth it. Plus I don't know any of y'all in person...haha.

Lissa- You did read that right. She has been saying for years how she wished she could have it done. That was her first comment to me when I told her that I was having it done. I decided that I could not live without her and we both have obesity issues, so why not help her to get healthy so we can be around for each other for as long as possible. My father is helping also. She is a teacher and will be having the surgery with Dr. Alvarez in MX in June (after school is out). Its two hours from here (San Antonio) and of course, I will going with! She lives in Mississippi, where I am originally from, so she will be staying with me in south Tx for a few weeks, until she is healed enough to go home. I will be driving her back and she will be on full liquids then for another week. I think she will be fine and do fantastic! I have been trying to talk her into getting on this website to gain more knowledge but so far... she hasnt. One day soon, I hope she will join us.

I am back on the losing side! I got the ok to go off my feeding tube Tuesday and also my drain taken out! YAY! I have lost a few lbs this week and am down to 164.4, just a smidge higher than my lowest weight at the beginning of December! I have about 40 lbs to goal, a little more than half way there. Ready to be back to normal and exercise!

Please don't speak in absolutes as if this is for everyone. As noted, there are some of us that have been quite successful and do drink with our meals and have not had any issues. Speaking for myself, sipping small drinks is all I can manage, but I DO drink before, during and after and do not have issues. I also have not experienced any stretching of my stomach because I am taking very small bites, and chewing well.
My surgeon didn't have any issues with drinking with meals as long as I was getting in my Protein first, small bites and chewing well.

Some of us are obsessed with numbers and need consistent sizing, darn it! HAHA I need to know exactly how big I am!! (or small;)

This is an interesting thread. The immediate post op time period isn't a time for cheating for sure. But I know I have made choices in the past month that were mistakes.
This may be a bunny trail, but, the word cheating is one I have issues with. Anyone reading or read Beck Diet Solution? It talks about mistakes versus cheating. I think the majority of folks in here who talk about cheating on their post op diets make mistakes, they don't cheat. In all likelihood, a few bites too much or the wrong thing are not going to be the undoing of our sleeve. But when we attach words like cheating to it, there is such a message of immorality and failure to it..I dunno.
I guess apart from the extreme posts like eating a burger and popcorn a couple of days post op, I'd rather see us encourage each other in getting back to doing the right thing. Many many of us got here because of emotional eating and black and white thinking, so I'd rather us offer each other support to do the right behaviors.
While we did have extreme surgery, for many of us the ability to be perfectly compliant doesn't magically occur just because we had the surgery. Maybe I shouldn't have been approved, dunno, but I think I am doing a helluva lot better, even with mistakes, now, than preop!! But by my former harsh use of the word cheating , I definitely have done so many times in the past month. But each time I eat I have a chance to do it better.
Eta--not upset by original post, just challenging us to think about what cheating really is and encourage us to help each other out of black and white thinking!!!!

Your hubby is probably very worried about you and afraid you might have something bad happen because of the surgery. Mine was very worried. He got better and now, he knows it was the right thing for me. The surgery scared him.
I think the pre-op diet is the hardest part of the entire process. You are being asked to eat as if you have a sleeve while still having a football-sized stomach. It doesn't make it easy. Eating right will be/is much easier after surgery.
You can do this.

I like lane Bryant's cacique undies. They are stretchy and fit snug without being too tight. I'm not sure what I will do when I undergrow their undies!
Lissa