Doreykn

Wow. Ok, so you value people telling it to you straight right? Your post was mean spirited and totally inappropriate. And as long as you are diagnosing people, may I suggest you take a look at yourself. What did you accomplish by that post?
Passive aggressive or not, DeeDee needed support. Maybe she was reaching out hoping someone would convince her to stay or maybe she really did want to delete her profile and get away from any more attacks. Everybody was stepping up to plate, realizing they hurt her and hoping/asking her to stay. NOT YOU....for some reason you found it helpful to further alienate her. Good job.
I don't even know what transpired, but I can guess.... DeeDee please don't leave. The positives here on VST outweigh the negatives, I promise. xoxo

tuna and some whole grain crisp bread. Jerky. Protein shake. Yoghurt. A measured amount of nuts occasionally. A Protein Bar very occasionally. Sliced lean deli meat in lettuce wraps. Homemade bliss balls (some good recipes on the net). Left over Protein from last nights dinner.
I just try to have something with a protein focus.

I still do 5 to 6 small meals & I'm 16 months out. I'm maintaining with 1000 - 1200 calorie intake.

I have read way more good stories on here than bad. Just look through some of the before after pics and posts. Look at people's weight trackers and see what they lost. They are losing and they are feeling good if you read them. The biggest trap people can fall into on this or really any forum is reading the negative posts. Its almost human nature to see a title like "OMG I ALMOST DIED" and read that post then start reading other posts just like it. Read those to be educated about the dangers but also read the "OMG I lost a million pounds and feel great" threads too.

I came home from a week of restaurant eating limited excercise and instead of gaining, I actually made goal. I am beside myself with joy. I never really believed this day would come.
11/30/2011 Start of preop weighed 308
12/11/2011 Day of surgery weighed 300
2/23/2013 - 14 months later I weigh 158/size 8/fit and healthy!!!!! wooo hooooo
I will have to do a post with photos later... but off to the gym. I was just so excited I had to share with my fellow vets!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not yet sleeved- looking into it- from downriver Michigan...Trenton to be exact- looks like surgery will be performed at Henry Ford Wyandotte...anyone have any advice or tips for a newbie?!

Hi Everyone, I'm from Newport Michigan (little village in Monroe). I had my sleeve on December 19 at Toledo Hospital in Toledo Ohio by Dr. Patrick White. Nice to see so many from MI here!

Thank you for that post. I love being a comfortable size 12 also!

So I am 15 months post-op.....
Just thought I would share my experiences and what life is like for me as a sleever in maintenance. I made my weight loss goal ( a very modest goal in fact...) at about 8 months out. So I have maintained my weight loss with ease for the last 7 months. I chose a higher goal than many sleevers for several reasons....
1.) easier to maintain
2.) no lose skin. That's right people, I have no lose skin, my butt is still round and the girls are still perky!
3.) I am normal, curvy healthy and average. That's all I ever wanted!
4.) I wear normal sizes. I am in a 12 and as a nurse I wear medium scrub tops and large bottoms. I LOVE BEING NORMAL. (preop I was in 2x and 24s)
I don't really care that my BMI is not "normal" it never will be, I am happy and healthy. My surgeon and primary agree I am in a great spot.
So what do I eat? a typical day is about 2000 calories. I was eating 1400 a day for weight loss.... I got up to 1000 cals as soon as I could post op so I wouldn't tank my metabolism. I don't eat low fat anything, I don't drink diet anything, no sugar free toxic crap. I eat small and healthy amounts everything. I have a vanilla latte everyday.I eat cheese at least twice a day. I eat lots of fruit and veggies and of course Protein. I go out to eat, have dessert a few times per week. I eat like a healthy, normal person.
I still have started a real workout routine at the gym... I have a fairly physical job as a nurse and I take the dog for walks all the time, I plan to workout at the gym this winter for health purposes.
All in all my point is.... I am so happy I was sleeved!!
below is a before and after.....:-)

I really don't like Spanx. They're too tight in certain areas. I don't exactly want all areas to look smaller.

if you put your wee wee out the pee pee hole....
Ummm I tried to make that acceptable to the rules

I wear a cheaper version of Spanx every day.(the granny pantie kind). EVERYTHING gets saggy (if you know what I mean)... and they help hold it all together. At my age, I don't plan on having plastic surgery.

Yep, all great advice above. I brought my robe and draped it over my shoulders to walk in hallways because I still had an IV for two days. So I just kept hospital gowns on. By all means walk, walk, walk, it makes such a difference and helps rid the gas. You will feel much better. Good luck to you!

My husband and I have lost over 100 lbs collectively, and I can confirm that, uhm, new depths have been reached *blush*.

Good job!

Isn't that a great feeling?

I went to my PCP yesterday and he took me off my dibetes and high blood pressure meds. I'm thrilled. That was my biggest reason to get surgery. And I'm only down 34 lbs. best decision I ever made.

So excited, almost 7 months out and down 90lbs, I've been contemplating getting rid of my old clothes for awhile, I've gave a majority of them away but really should have sold them! I ways bought quality plus size clothing at Addition Elle.
I thought hey, why give clothes away when I payed lots of money to clothe my old body, and now that they new has changed and I'm needing new clothes lets just sell them, I made 160.00 dollars today just getting rid of some old work scrubs and some hoodies!
This will help me buy new clothes, I love it.. So excited I thought I'd share...
Just not wanting to sell the new silver jeans I bought in November first pair of silver jeans and they now fall down when I walk, let's hope I have nothing in my hands...

Riverview,MI. here! 20 minutes south of Detroit. Had my sleeve done @ Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, MI, by Dr. Kharbutli on Oct.26,2011... Best thing I ever did for myself!

Looking for local mi support

Hello all!
Its been a while since I have posted. Thought I would correct that. Without giving all the back story since it's all in here in various posts. I reached goal 7 months after surgery (sugery was may 2011) i gave been at goal for 13 months now. It is still better than I ever dreamed or imagined!! What an amazing thing to have this gift of life, true unabashed, suck the marrow out of, running, rock climbing, children proudly smilling, wear anything in the store, life! (Though what i'd give for a pair of jean that fit right in the butt!! All to big now:-)
My life has improved in so many ways, more more than I ever contemplated. I was already a happy upbeat person, now that guy is wearing the right body! I hope for each of you a journey as easy and rewarding as my own! May all of you rest fully on the losers bench.
Pasquini

Sorry for hijacking your thread.
To be honest, for me, the days of fast food as we know it are over.
There's a girl on my office who has had a band for ages. She's lost nearly no weight. She's a single mum and takes her daughter to McDonalds a couple of times a week for dinner. At times I've seen her complain about the band not working and if someone brings up fast food she says "but I only have it in moderation".
Long story short - there are lots of better options

I am sorry to hear about your sister. Leaks are just one of the known risks of this surgery, and was a risk I was willing to take given the percentages of complications.
Everyone has their own reasons for having the surgery and each of us has our own risk tolerance. If your risk tolerance is very low, then I agree, don't have any surgeries. But, for myself, my quality of life was going downhill fast. A complication of a leak or otherwise was just another risk of being morbidly obese. I was willing to take the chance to fall into the 97% of patients who don't have these types of complications.
Again, I am sorry to hear about your sister and I will keep her in my thoughts.

You are an idiot to post this here. I don't have any problem wih people posting their stories (even ones with bad outcomes), but in no way shape or form is this kind of situation common. The opposite is true. So stop trying to scare people away from LIFE SAVING surgery with your story. It would have been fine if you had told the story and left it at that. But no, you have to punctuate it at the end with your moronic advice and how you would never have weight loss surgery. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx violation of forum rules. People die from having their wisdom teeth out- should they not have surgery to alleviate their pain?
I hate trolls.
-Kendra

I lost the cushion in my butt... now I have a bony butt. Hurts to sit on the floor & play Barbie's with my grand daughter, so I sit on a pillow! But at least I can get on the floor & back up now! Yay for NSV's!!!!