LindaS

I don't see how single women who live alone can wear shapers. I've worn tanktop types a few times, and when I do, I always have to enlist my husband's help getting the thing off of me. I think I've even had to have him help me pull the back down in the back when putting it on as well.
They should put a warning on them saying you may require assistance in removing it. :-)

There are more ways to measure whether you are healthy than just the BMI. (waist/hip ratio/body fat/etc). In all of those other ways, I am in the normal range. For BMI, I am still overweight.
Before I had the surgery, almost everyone in my life didn't think I was "that fat." I was told more than once that I was "too little" to have surgery. Once I actually lost the weight, and my family looked at old photos of me they were shocked at how big I was.
food wasn't a big deal for me before, and it isn't a big deal for me now. I can eat what I want to eat, but I don't eat very much of it. For instance, I might have a bite of cake instead of a gigantic piece of cake.
I don't eat a lot of bread or potatoes, and I try to stay away from chips because those are sliders.
There are things I don't consume -- like pop (soda), but I had given that up way before I had surgery. I try to avoid empty calories, but I also don't want to settle for something that tastes horrible. If "low fat" doesn't taste good, I eat the "full fat" version but less of it.

I am 17 months out and still losing. :-) It is definitely not a race.
I've lost 83 pounds overall, and I am planning to lose 100 pounds.
August 2011: 25.5 pounds (sleeved Aug. 9, 2011)
September 2011: 14.5 pounds
October 2011: 9 pounds
November 2011: 6 pounds
December 2011: 3 pounds
January 2012: 6 pounds
February 2012: 6 pounds
March 2012: 0 pounds
April 2012: 0 pounds
May 2012: 3 pounds
June 2012: 0 pounds
July 2012: 0 pounds
August 2012: 0 pounds
September 2012: 5 pounds
October 2012: 0 pounds
November 2012: 3.2 pounds
December 2012: 4 pounds

I haven't lost any weight in January "officially." I gained some weight around the holidays, and I've lost it again.
I also went down to a size 10 in jeans in January, which isn't reflected in my weight loss and stayed true even when my weight went up a few pounds. To me, this means I am losing inches and gaining muscle tone as well as losing weight overall. This is good.

I love my sleeve! Here I am wearing my fat clothes in both pictures.

I did not post that looking for "permission" to eat junk. I was sharing my struggle and hoping for some encouragement to get back on track. And partly I was posting just to be accountable to myself by making it public. I was being honest.
I really find that there is a lot of negativity and judgement on this forum.
The best advice I've gotten so far was the suggestion about a therapist. The rest is just nasty and judgmental. And to the person who said "stop eating ****"... You are about 4 days out, right? I hope for your sake you don't struggle like I am at 4 months, but at 4 days food made me sick. That changes over time and it does get harder. I'm not making excuses for my choices. Just being real and looking for some help.

I wanted to just throw this out there and hope that someone who is on the fence or too scared to take the plunge for vsg or who is struggling post op sees this!
I had my vsg jan 29 2013 I was 330 pounds and miserable I couldnt even play with my then 1 year old the way she should have been played with. I was severly dependenet on my fiance to help care for not only me but taking the brunt of our 1 year olds care. I had tried and stuggled my entire life, I am 23 and had high blood pressure and was in pain constantly and just the simplest tasks exhausted me. I did not want to live this way any more, its not really living.
I had my surgery and bam I lost nothing for about 2 months, I joined a gym and said to heck with it I will be fit and healthy regardless of what my scale says. So I ate right and began running, I saw a whole new me come out. The better version of me that was being smothered by my fat insecure unhappy self. I found myself at 23 and as of today 114 pounds down. I regret nothing.
My now 2 year old and I play, and run to the park a mile away. She laughs and runs and I can catch her and toss her in the air til she giggles uncontrolably, I can carry her through the whole mall without putting her down. I can love and
play with her and be here for the long term now.
I am in no way perfect, and yes I am struggling now but I know I will get to my goal of 175, I am 212 now so it will happen. I am going to enjoy my size 16 butt cause the alternative was a size 26! Dont give up it is worth it, for a better future and a chance to live.

One year seems like a long time but it has come and gone so quickly! I am celebrating my one year surgiversary on Thursday, October 3rd. I am grateful for the 84 pounds I have lost but somehow feel like I should be further along in my weight loss journey. That is only an average weight loss of 7 pounds per month. I don't want to diminish my accomplishments thus far but feel like I should be further along. I have REALLY struggled with getting the weight off in the past 5 months. It seems like it came to a screeching hault around 8 months and I have struggled to get that scale to move hardly at all in the past 4 months. I am very discouraged and frustrated! I don't know if I am grazing, eating items I shouldn't, etc. I feel like I have a very clean diet and don't eat the junk but just can't get that scale moving in the right direction again. I haven't gained any weight back (thank God) but everyday is a HARD struggle. Any suggestions to get the party moving along just like the good 'ol days in the beginning??? I'm attaching my Before/After pictures 

I never regretted my decision. I was 90 percent back to normal at 6 weeks, but I still didn't push it with too many weights and was tired. Iron Vitamins helped.

After the talk on here I decided it was worth the investment. It is a weight watchers scale from target, not sure how accurate, but I figure it will measure trends. It kind of hit me that at maintenance, having goals that focus on getting fitter/reducing body fat a bit might be good to track. I am also very curious how plastic surgery will impact these measures. I mean, does the skin count as fat, Water or bone density...LOL. anyway, we shall see... my initial body fat % is 29% which is what I expected based on photos I looked at of other women and is range of normal for my age. I could see working to get down to 25% though...
I think the % on these scales is impacted by various factors such as hydration levels, so I will be playing with it a bit to see.

Congrats!
And just think: your size 20s will never get as comfy and worn as your 26s because you'll be shrinking out of them in just a few weeks.

Today I was packing for a mini trip to Vegas.. Realized nothing fits me. All my jeans are way too big... So I packed skirts and dresses..
I hit the ca/Nv state line and thought eh ill look at the outlets I'm making great time!
I went into the old navy outlet and went over to the jeans.. And the largest size they had was a 20 now all my 26 old navy jeans always fit great and I thought NO WAY were these gonna fit me. But I went to try them on anyway and to my surprise they fit no sucking in the gut or struggling.. I almost screamed! Lol I went into a non plus size store and bought jeans! Me! So ecstatic !!!

It is a life-changing decision, and it is normal to be weighing the pro's and con's. For me, the pro's outweighed the con's and I decided to go for it- I have been so happy with my decision. I have had a few minor bumps in the road, but nothing that has ever once made me regret my decision. For me, it was what I needed to do to get my health and my life under control.

Also, call the gym and explain your nervousness:
(1) they can tell you the 'quieter' periods are while you get started and till you are used to being there, -- you might be surprised at their supportiveness... also
(2) ask for a trainer to help teach you the machines. You'll want an appointment and you may need to pay extra (and you sure can tip). Knowledge is POWER.

I never thought about the kids portions! Great idea! I am still only 2 weeks out from surgery so I can't eat it right now but I am always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to eat.
Jimmy Johns has the unwich. If you have a Jimmy Johns in your area you can order a sandwich and it comes wrapped in lettuce instead of bread. I wonder if people would be interested in that.

After hearing all your good advice it made me see things differently. I explained to him that I understand hes his own person and that Im not going to make it a issue for him to change his eating habits. I also feel that maybe as time goes on if hes not pressured to make changes that I want him to do that he will do them on his own. I know that regardless if hes on board or not that this is my journey and Im doing this for ME. And only the future will tell whats to come!!!

I had WLS on March 27, 2013. My husband, while he did support my decision, he did not make any changes to his eating habits. We have 13 (almost 14) year old twin boys. It is very hard to make them eat all healthy foods, so when we have pizza, I eat the toppings only. When we have spaghetti, I eat the meat sauce and cheese, ect. My husband does need to lose weight, but I know from experience that you have to do it when you are ready, no one can make you. So to answer your question, yes, I believe a relationship can make it if you partner is not willing to make changes with you. You are the one doing WLS, you make the changes you need and let him do what he needs. It's only food! right? good luck!

Made it 24 hours with no sugar and low carbs (just veggies and a fruit). No sliders people, no sliders!! It may seem trivial but it was all I could do to force myself into bed last night and turn off the cravings. It probably seems silly that this is where I am at right now but hey, going back to the basics is actually hard when you've totally derailed! On my way to another successful day today - hope everyone else here has a good one as well. Thanks again for the support.

I totally agree with all the replies. Trust me, you NEVER had restriction for donuts!! I can and DID Down bags of powdered donuts over the last year! You can pack a whole lot of junk down our small stomachs if we choose to do so.
Again, as others have said. You still have the tool you need and you can still accomplish YOUR goals! Get your head back in the game, stay totally connected to others like us who have the same struggles and are dealing daily with it and I think you will find yourself quickly in a "better place!"

Back rub??
Did someone mention back rub???
I can use one!
I slept like poop last night..

Without any text, I have no idea what the OP is looking for, that is why I asked. I don't know their background or if these are something that serves some other purpose.
Why do you say they are obviously new at this? If you believe they are seeking advice, how was I off base? My response may be viewed as harsh, but if you really look at it, it is advice based in love. So many folks get the sleeve and then can't figure out why they can't lose the weight they thought they were going to, even though they haven't changed their eating habits.
Now, I know that not everyone get sleeved to get skinny. Some people just want to lose enough weight to get off of their blood pressure medicine or insulin injections. That is fine. But the OP gave us no hint or clue what their motivation for posting a bag of chips was. If you view my response as condescending, I would question whether it is something you are internalizing and not seeing my response objectively.
BTW, there are many folks who have been sleeved for months and then join VST later in the VSG life ... As many folks here know, if you are looking for backrubs, I am not the man to give them. I share my experience, strength and hope that we all can achieve the goals we set for ourselves.

I was told that most people retain their same overall body shape. So if you are curvy then most likely you will still be a bit curvy. So for example if you're a pear, you'll be a pear but a much smaller one.
I would not worry about losing your shape. During the weight loss phase sure your body may lose and you may look out of proportion for a bit but as you near goal, you'll find that overall you look similiar.
I've always had a smaller waist than breast and hips. As I'm losing inches I've found that my chest is going down at a much faster rate than my hips so I look more pear shaped. However this week my waist went down some so I'm back to more of a figure 8.
Just go with your body's cues and you'll be fine.

My dad thought I was crazy, and my siblings thought the same thing. My dad received a letter a week before my surgery from a funeral home and he thought it was an omen of bad things to come. But I had set my mind to the idea and that was it.
I'm not so crazy anymore they see that I've changed a lot. I come from a family of HUGE portions. And so, it's hard for them to adjust to the 1/6-1/8 the size portion I eat now at family dinners. My dad still over serves me and gets awkward when I don't finish
I wouldn't change it for the world though. I am a lot happier now than I have been in a long time and though I still have body image issues, and half the time my clothes don't fit me (which irritates me when I'm in a rush), it's pretty amazing to see how the sleeve has changed me for the better. I crave veggies and Protein instead of mcdonalds or milkshakes.
Your family will get over it. Mine did

I always wonder about updating pics!
I get used to seeing pictures that's how I recognize a poster half the time by pic not name per se... I know bad but hey
Well then you guys put new ones up and I get all confused! Do I know this person? The name is familiar but they look different??
I guess that's why I've kept mine the same even though it was from many months and pounds ago...