CowgirlJane

I was banded in 2001 at 270 pounds... i lost 28# in the first month on a liquid diet and then over the next 11 months... worked another almost 40# off via exercise and diet. I never got under 200# and at 5'5" was still a big person.
I had that band for 10 years and reached my all time high weight that was recorded 332 - in 2004 or 2005 I believe. I think I was actually closer to 350 at one point, but I had stopped weighing.
I did weight watchers, nutrisystem, those hormone drops... you name it. I considered it amazing if I could stay under 250#. I never gave up though.
Then, I got sleep apnea, high blood pressure, arthritis, unexplained body pain and general misery. My sleep doctor told me I was dying of obesity. The truth hurt but it was his shove in that direction that got me serious about revising. The surgeon he sent me to poo-poo'd the sleeve and didn't even offer it as an option since I was 300# and had already failed with the band. I started the path of bypass and for irrational reasons, chickened out.
I tried nutrisystems, ww etc one more time and then finally decided to join a 2 year lifestyle management program. They rejected me - wouldn't take my money because the disease process was just too advanced in my case. She sent me to a different surgeon who does all types of WLS and he thought I was a candidate for a sleeve. What was best was becoming educated about obesity, having a good nutritionalist (rare out there) and just that whole positive outlook that there was hope for me.
I did better than they expected in the sense of how much I lost and my maintenance. High BMI people often dont get down to what most people consider "normal" sized.
The day I started my 2 week preop diet for the sleeve I weighed 308, 300# on day of surgery Dec 2011
In 14 months I lost about 150# getting to my goal of 158# in Feb 2013. I got down to about 140 at one point but am now hanging out around goal. I am quite pleased considering I have never been able to maintain. This Dec will be my 5 years since revision.
Good luck to you!

I have two awesome sons who I admire and.love deeply.
I am genuinely friends with my EX
I have amazing friends who love me flaws and all!
My 2 lil dogs keep me so happy!
I ride horses like a madwoman - love it!
I can talk to anyone, anywhere about anything. ..comes in handy!
I have a great career!
I am half my former size...maintaining for years now. A dream come true!
I am madly in love with a wonderful man; his primary flaw is an addiction to FOX news and Trump-o-mania, but hey, nobody's perfect.
My number one brag ; I live a happy life now and people who know me have told me it inspires them to strive for the same!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

I have two awesome sons who I admire and.love deeply.
I am genuinely friends with my EX
I have amazing friends who love me flaws and all!
My 2 lil dogs keep me so happy!
I ride horses like a madwoman - love it!
I can talk to anyone, anywhere about anything. ..comes in handy!
I have a great career!
I am half my former size...maintaining for years now. A dream come true!
I am madly in love with a wonderful man; his primary flaw is an addiction to FOX news and Trump-o-mania, but hey, nobody's perfect.
My number one brag ; I live a happy life now and people who know me have told me it inspires them to strive for the same!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

I have two awesome sons who I admire and.love deeply.
I am genuinely friends with my EX
I have amazing friends who love me flaws and all!
My 2 lil dogs keep me so happy!
I ride horses like a madwoman - love it!
I can talk to anyone, anywhere about anything. ..comes in handy!
I have a great career!
I am half my former size...maintaining for years now. A dream come true!
I am madly in love with a wonderful man; his primary flaw is an addiction to FOX news and Trump-o-mania, but hey, nobody's perfect.
My number one brag ; I live a happy life now and people who know me have told me it inspires them to strive for the same!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

Ok, best I can tell glaikit bairn means "silly baby" - is that right?

There is already a huge long thread dedicated to before and afters.. but it is such a fun topic I don't mind repeating!!
This is what losing 150 pounds does for you! A girlfriend of mine said the sweetest thing "I didn't know you had a teenage daughter"...LOL. I do feel like I look younger being trimmer.
Taken within the last few weeks

This was taken in December i believe - I think I was 20# away from goal,back when I was a bit curvier. I was feeling pretty good, but, I like how I look better now even if my T&A disappeared since this photo was taken.

This is my before picture at over 300#. I don't have much to say about it but I KEEP looking at my befores to remind myself how far I have come.

I was banded in 2001 at 270 pounds... i lost 28# in the first month on a liquid diet and then over the next 11 months... worked another almost 40# off via exercise and diet. I never got under 200# and at 5'5" was still a big person.
I had that band for 10 years and reached my all time high weight that was recorded 332 - in 2004 or 2005 I believe. I think I was actually closer to 350 at one point, but I had stopped weighing.
I did weight watchers, nutrisystem, those hormone drops... you name it. I considered it amazing if I could stay under 250#. I never gave up though.
Then, I got sleep apnea, high blood pressure, arthritis, unexplained body pain and general misery. My sleep doctor told me I was dying of obesity. The truth hurt but it was his shove in that direction that got me serious about revising. The surgeon he sent me to poo-poo'd the sleeve and didn't even offer it as an option since I was 300# and had already failed with the band. I started the path of bypass and for irrational reasons, chickened out.
I tried nutrisystems, ww etc one more time and then finally decided to join a 2 year lifestyle management program. They rejected me - wouldn't take my money because the disease process was just too advanced in my case. She sent me to a different surgeon who does all types of WLS and he thought I was a candidate for a sleeve. What was best was becoming educated about obesity, having a good nutritionalist (rare out there) and just that whole positive outlook that there was hope for me.
I did better than they expected in the sense of how much I lost and my maintenance. High BMI people often dont get down to what most people consider "normal" sized.
The day I started my 2 week preop diet for the sleeve I weighed 308, 300# on day of surgery Dec 2011
In 14 months I lost about 150# getting to my goal of 158# in Feb 2013. I got down to about 140 at one point but am now hanging out around goal. I am quite pleased considering I have never been able to maintain. This Dec will be my 5 years since revision.
Good luck to you!

Good article, thanks Alex. Someone I know is revolted by fat people. I speak up, but not strongly enough, thanks for the reminder.

I love my BP vets! I go to them for answers. I love my BP newbs. I go to them to whine. We newbs need to feel sorry for ourselves sometimes.

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Haha..

It is false logic to think since nobody under 40 then everyone over 40 must be "in". Ha
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Besides I have a basic rule...nobody under 40 gets to see me nekkid
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I CLEARLY go to the wrong bars! I have been asked to dance, offered drinks (ok, one time a guy didnt even ask he just delivered a drink which I thought was pretty gutsy), asked for phone number etc... but I am in Seattle which in spite of our "liberal" reputation is actually a pretty conservative place in many regards.

I have done online dating on and off for a few years. I had a lot of dates and one serious relationship from it. Yes, there are weirdos but my biggest problem was so many boring, inactive guys. I am a high energy, active, articulate, outgoing person and I just kept meeting people that didn't appeal to me. Also, I am early 50s....but still have a strong interest in a physical relationship and that was a problem in that relationship I mentioned.
So, I took about 5-6 months off, and made a list of how I was going to meet compatible men.... I had plans of going to car shows, gun range, etc etc. I also decided I was going to way open my criteria. I could not handle POF, OKCUPID, match etc any longer - just jaded and done with it.
On a whim, I did something crazy and placed a very thoughtful, detailed and blunt ad on Craigslist. I was OVERWHELMED with responses and most of them were thoughtful and good. My ad was flagged in the first 10-12 hours but I still got more responses then I could read. Most of them were like 'thank God, intelligent life does exist".
I met 5 men, had ongoing dates with 2 of them for a month. It was clear early on that I really liked M, but I held off and kept things pretty "light" for that month.
I met his friends, he met mine, but we didn't even kiss until weeks into this. I don't know if it will work out, but we are having a blast together and are at almost 4 months! I see him pretty much daily, he is learning to ride horses, I am learning to golf. His friends are becoming mine, I have hosted a few parties with everyone there. One of my pals is inviting his peeps to her next BBQ ETC. He is by far the best boyfriend I have ever had and we are pretty crazy about each other.
Moral of the story is like everyone said, it takes time and a lot of toad kissing. Also, I think being really blunt and clear is helpful because I attracted just the energy that I wanted. There are a few things about him that would have previously caused me to not pursue things....but I said to myself " dang it, I want a boyfriend this summer so the heck with that!" I am glad I did because he has turned out to be a much better human being than I ever thought.

I have a hard time relating to this. Perhaps the ones you export are the drunken frat boys?

I have done online dating on and off for a few years. I had a lot of dates and one serious relationship from it. Yes, there are weirdos but my biggest problem was so many boring, inactive guys. I am a high energy, active, articulate, outgoing person and I just kept meeting people that didn't appeal to me. Also, I am early 50s....but still have a strong interest in a physical relationship and that was a problem in that relationship I mentioned.
So, I took about 5-6 months off, and made a list of how I was going to meet compatible men.... I had plans of going to car shows, gun range, etc etc. I also decided I was going to way open my criteria. I could not handle POF, OKCUPID, match etc any longer - just jaded and done with it.
On a whim, I did something crazy and placed a very thoughtful, detailed and blunt ad on Craigslist. I was OVERWHELMED with responses and most of them were thoughtful and good. My ad was flagged in the first 10-12 hours but I still got more responses then I could read. Most of them were like 'thank God, intelligent life does exist".
I met 5 men, had ongoing dates with 2 of them for a month. It was clear early on that I really liked M, but I held off and kept things pretty "light" for that month.
I met his friends, he met mine, but we didn't even kiss until weeks into this. I don't know if it will work out, but we are having a blast together and are at almost 4 months! I see him pretty much daily, he is learning to ride horses, I am learning to golf. His friends are becoming mine, I have hosted a few parties with everyone there. One of my pals is inviting his peeps to her next BBQ ETC. He is by far the best boyfriend I have ever had and we are pretty crazy about each other.
Moral of the story is like everyone said, it takes time and a lot of toad kissing. Also, I think being really blunt and clear is helpful because I attracted just the energy that I wanted. There are a few things about him that would have previously caused me to not pursue things....but I said to myself " dang it, I want a boyfriend this summer so the heck with that!" I am glad I did because he has turned out to be a much better human being than I ever thought.

I will be 5 years post sleeve in December. It is my opinion that you will lose weight due to the quantity restriction, but you will have a hard time maintaining if you continue to eat these slider/junky food as a mainstay. Maintenance is harder than losing....

I was high BMI, had the sleeve. i had an irrational fear of the gastric bypass at the time.
My band to sleeve was Dec 2011, I lost over 150# and am maintaining reasonably well. My perspective now is that they are BOTH good procedures, the RNY has way more data/history and for that reason alone is a good, rational choice. I think you have to pick what you believe in. 80% of this battle is a mental one, and believing in it is a great start! Good luck - just do it!

I have a hard time relating to this. Perhaps the ones you export are the drunken frat boys?

I have done online dating on and off for a few years. I had a lot of dates and one serious relationship from it. Yes, there are weirdos but my biggest problem was so many boring, inactive guys. I am a high energy, active, articulate, outgoing person and I just kept meeting people that didn't appeal to me. Also, I am early 50s....but still have a strong interest in a physical relationship and that was a problem in that relationship I mentioned.
So, I took about 5-6 months off, and made a list of how I was going to meet compatible men.... I had plans of going to car shows, gun range, etc etc. I also decided I was going to way open my criteria. I could not handle POF, OKCUPID, match etc any longer - just jaded and done with it.
On a whim, I did something crazy and placed a very thoughtful, detailed and blunt ad on Craigslist. I was OVERWHELMED with responses and most of them were thoughtful and good. My ad was flagged in the first 10-12 hours but I still got more responses then I could read. Most of them were like 'thank God, intelligent life does exist".
I met 5 men, had ongoing dates with 2 of them for a month. It was clear early on that I really liked M, but I held off and kept things pretty "light" for that month.
I met his friends, he met mine, but we didn't even kiss until weeks into this. I don't know if it will work out, but we are having a blast together and are at almost 4 months! I see him pretty much daily, he is learning to ride horses, I am learning to golf. His friends are becoming mine, I have hosted a few parties with everyone there. One of my pals is inviting his peeps to her next BBQ ETC. He is by far the best boyfriend I have ever had and we are pretty crazy about each other.
Moral of the story is like everyone said, it takes time and a lot of toad kissing. Also, I think being really blunt and clear is helpful because I attracted just the energy that I wanted. There are a few things about him that would have previously caused me to not pursue things....but I said to myself " dang it, I want a boyfriend this summer so the heck with that!" I am glad I did because he has turned out to be a much better human being than I ever thought.

It is false logic to think since nobody under 40 then everyone over 40 must be "in". Ha
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

I have a hard time relating to this. Perhaps the ones you export are the drunken frat boys?

I have done online dating on and off for a few years. I had a lot of dates and one serious relationship from it. Yes, there are weirdos but my biggest problem was so many boring, inactive guys. I am a high energy, active, articulate, outgoing person and I just kept meeting people that didn't appeal to me. Also, I am early 50s....but still have a strong interest in a physical relationship and that was a problem in that relationship I mentioned.
So, I took about 5-6 months off, and made a list of how I was going to meet compatible men.... I had plans of going to car shows, gun range, etc etc. I also decided I was going to way open my criteria. I could not handle POF, OKCUPID, match etc any longer - just jaded and done with it.
On a whim, I did something crazy and placed a very thoughtful, detailed and blunt ad on Craigslist. I was OVERWHELMED with responses and most of them were thoughtful and good. My ad was flagged in the first 10-12 hours but I still got more responses then I could read. Most of them were like 'thank God, intelligent life does exist".
I met 5 men, had ongoing dates with 2 of them for a month. It was clear early on that I really liked M, but I held off and kept things pretty "light" for that month.
I met his friends, he met mine, but we didn't even kiss until weeks into this. I don't know if it will work out, but we are having a blast together and are at almost 4 months! I see him pretty much daily, he is learning to ride horses, I am learning to golf. His friends are becoming mine, I have hosted a few parties with everyone there. One of my pals is inviting his peeps to her next BBQ ETC. He is by far the best boyfriend I have ever had and we are pretty crazy about each other.
Moral of the story is like everyone said, it takes time and a lot of toad kissing. Also, I think being really blunt and clear is helpful because I attracted just the energy that I wanted. There are a few things about him that would have previously caused me to not pursue things....but I said to myself " dang it, I want a boyfriend this summer so the heck with that!" I am glad I did because he has turned out to be a much better human being than I ever thought.

I'm doing great, it's been two months now. I was a lower bmi to start, 36, so the loss has been slower than others but I'm ok with that. I'm down 36 lbs so far and still losing. I can't believe how different this is compared to the band, it's what I'd hoped the band would be like. Definately the best decision I ever made. I haven't had any problems so far. I do at times have trouble getting in as much Protein as I'm supposed to have. I don't know if I ever got this much protein before. I think the best part is the loss of hunger. I know it will come back eventually but for now it is great. I do have a craving every now and then, especially if I smell something I like, but just a couple bites and I'm satisfied.