xavtay2

Hello all,
I've been MIA for a while. I'm 18 months post op and I'm pretty freaking happy lol. I now have a new career which takes up most of my days but I enjoy it very much. I have 2 gym memberships now and I'm really working on toning my body. I'm still not under 200 just yet, but I am extremely close. I'm 6lbs away and it's taking forever! I hope you all are well Take care

Here is my before and seven month after pics. I'm the one in the middle. Best thing I've ever done for myself.

I was sleeved Monday and today is Friday morning. I'm down 10 lbs from surgery and 50 since the 4th of July! Also, when I went to slowly roll out of bed just now the sharp pain never came! Its only a bit tender. Today's gonna be a good day! Now I just need to work on this dehydrated/malnourished feeling. Yesterday I got 55oz of liquid and 30g of Protein but I still feel slightly dehydrated.

WOW! Great start. Glad you're feeling better. Good luck for continued success!

Cortisol levels shouldn't have any baring on approval. And low levels, I thought, were way better than high. I thought if you had high levels of cortisol it is way harder to lose weight.Hmmmmmmm

at my heaviest


5 weeks out taken today

Umm, I am wearing khaki pants. I am Jake from State Farm.

Nov 12 my husband starts his journey and I am so happy we are going to support each other and be role models for our family to be happy, healthy, and active.

It's been up and down I had a few complications but, still would do it over again. He is ready he took his ore-op diet more serious than I did he's lost 35lbs in 3 months.

I am just not enjoying eating at all. Sad and frustrated about about how I feel afterward. Still feel yucky and sometimes nauseated too much. Drinking feels uncomfortable too this week. Know this was the right decision. But geez.

Calories aren't important right now. You need to concentrate on drinking so you won't get dehydrated, and focus on Protein Drinks. When you get to regular foods, you can start keeping track of calories. There is no way you aren't going to lose so don't worry about that!

Surgery was 9/20 and have been feeling well. We decided that since DH was leaving for Africa on Sunday we would spend the day together as a family at the fair in Waco TX. Our two grandsons (10 and 8) each invited a friend to join them. I wanted to be sure that my clothes would be comfortable for the day and chose a blouse tha5 I have not been able to wear in several years. I just realized that I really skipped this size as there is more cleavage showing than I have ever had. Means that I will be adjusting my blouse all day. Not a bad problem to have!

Sometimes I forget that this is real..and I'm really going to he that person I always wanted to be. Sad part is I can't even imagine being thin. I can only imagine being thinner..I have no idea what this will be like. I have been over weight my whole life..always bigger than my freinds..and I never let it bother me. I made it a point to always be confident with me. I'm an awesome person and I would say I have never felt judged by anyone. I don't know if that is just my defenses. But I always thought of myself as pretty authentic person. Geez..its just so crazy to think..that I don't have to be over weight. I always settled and still even today 17 days away from surgery cannot imagine myself at below 190 pounds. All these years I have been settling. WOW! I am on my 4th day of protien diet. I lost 8 pounds and I started at 334 now am 326. Huge numbers. But like I said I was in denial. Im awake now. I'm a little scared and nervous. I have never had any kind of surgery before. I have had a c section. I don't know how this compares. I have a 10 year old little girl..and I love her so much. I want to be able to go run around with her outside and play..go to a Water park. I want to still have energy after work to take care of my family. I know I'm not the girl I see in the pictures..I have been working on my masters degree for 6 years..and focused everything I had on my career and let myself get way out of control. I never thought I get this big but I didn't pay attention. Now I'm almost done with school..my career is taking off...I can work on me ..in this area of my life..I'm so exited. My surgery day is November 7th. Anyone that had seriuos fears..I'd like to hear how you overcame them and how your surgery went. ..comments on liver shrinking..leak tests..pain levels..or hunger pains and cravings after input is needed. I'd like to share my whole experience from beginning to end to help someone. I see people that don't follow up. I love before and after pictures..they are sooo motivational..I like this site because I keep learning from all of you ..hopefully I can help the next person too!

On Saturday, 10/20/12, I participated in my first 5K ever. Less than five months ago I could barely walk from my car to my house - and now I just walked 3.2 miles. I am so humbled, so thankful, so grateful. Why me? Why not me!!!! It's my turn - and I am choosing life!
The walk wasn't easy. I don't think I've ever walked that far before. I wanted to stop three times - and thought maybe I'd never get up so I just kept going. I ended up cheering other walkers on (this was the American Diabetes Association Walk for Life in Chicago). Cheering others on helped me forget how tired I was. How much my legs and feet wanted a break. But this wasn't so much about legs and feet - this was about my heart and my mind.
For most of my life I have been choosing things to lead to death (food, inactivity, isolation). Walking that walk - FINISHING that walk was all about choosing life and health and new beginnings! That's really what the surgery was all about. Sure weight - but in so many ways it's been more about taking a stand and finally fighting for myself! Fighting for my life. And giving myself - my body - a fighting chance!
I turned 50 three weeks ago. I'd say October has been a pretty good month for me!
What are you fighting for? What “clicked” for you in this process and made you finally stand up for yourself and your life? What have you been doing that you are super proud of?
Thanks for being there … I mean here!!!!
Amy (in Chicago)

All I can say is wow... I'm glad to hear that you are doing better. Best of luck to you.

Let's see....is this a trick question??? One year a go this week I love my life, I hated my life....then I had the surgery and now I just love my life! I wrote about that AND the most amazing spa experience ever on my blog this week. Thank you to all the people on this forum who have faithfully followed my journey each Sunday for the past week. Don't you just love these mutual admiration societies??? We inspire each other!
I have decided to continue my Sunday blog for a while; would love to share some really interesting stories from others; so if you have a great story to tell (and most who have this surgery do!), let me know! I'll put it in a future post.
Would you do it again?

I never thought I'd be posting these photos, but here I am! These past 6 months have been amazing. I'm down 76lbs since my surgery day, and 83lbs total. Ive gone from a size 22 to a size 12... and I'm still going strong!
The only hard thing at this point, is that I'm working out so much, and weight lifting, etc. that the numbers on the scale dont move as fast as I'd like. For instance, I've only lost 4 lbs in the last 3 weeks. But, my clothes are fitting better, and I can see a change with my eyes, just not as much on the scale.< /p>
I met with my dr on Friday for my 6 month post-op follow-up, and he told me to pull back on the carbs... I admit, I've been eating more breads, etc since increasing my workouts. But, I'll try and do my best to keep that under control. I'm trying not to enter into the "diet mentality" with this process, so I'm just eating in moderation and making good choices when I can. I'm not getting down on myself if I have something sweet or starchy, I just get up and MOVE. I have so much more energy since I started working out again, and I love it. It's ok with me if I lose lbs slowly, so long as my clothes are getting smaller and I am gaining energy and HAPPINESS!
Hope everyone is well, just wanted to give an update

so, here's the deal. I work with kids in my church and have for years. I started at 5'6" and 373 pounds. So far I've dropped 142 pounds and am down to 231. Today, after service there was a boy around 7 years old that I've known for most of his life. He was just staring at me, so I went over to talk to him. He got this great big smile and said "Dude, you used to be REALLY FAT, but now you're just a little bit fat"..... I don't know what was funnier. His completely honest heartfelt compliment, or the look of absolute mortification on the face of his older sister as she tried to correct his 'tact'. But, that totally made my whole day. Anybody else have a good, fun/awkward compliment story to share?

Finally brave enough to post a before and update pic. Still have a ways to go, but have made great progress!
Before is October 2010 so about 2 years ago, close to my highest weight. The afters are from this past weekend.

Before in pink. One month in black and white.

I found some at Sams club that has 30grams of Protein & taste great! They are called Premier. Also I like the Atkins shakes...little higher in calories but good Protein.< /p>

Haven't been here in a while! I still keep getting PMs through my email, so I figured I'd drop by. Been pretty busy with school/work lately (I'm a few months away from finishing medical school). I remember how few people still stick around the boards once they've maintained their weightloss for a few months, and how much the newbies love to see people who are a few years out.
For those who are not familiar with me, I joined these boards in June 2010 and had my VSG with Dr. Aceves on Aug 9, 2010 at 208 lbs. I reached my original goal weight of 150 lbs within 5 months; my lowest weight to date has been 135. I'm maintaining around 140 now (I'm 5'5" and have a large frame). I had a fairly simple and stress-free recovery and consistent weightloss with no major stalls. My weight has bounced up on a few occasions since my surgery, but I always catch myself after I notice a few extra pounds and change up my eating.
I went through a phase where I ate anything I wanted and maintained my weight, but back in the spring I became interested in the paleo/primal diet - which is actually fairly similar to our post-WLS diets in that it's relatively low-carb. However, you are not allowed ANY grains and NO processed foods at all. The diehards will also avoid soy, peanuts, and dairy. I personally still eat dairy, but I choose full-fat versions. I eat as much meat/fish/chicken/game as I want, all fruits and vegetables, nuts, full-fat dairy, and occasional low-sugar treats such as dark chocolate (80-85% usually), etc. I've completely lost all interest in grains and a lot of treats taste very sweet to me now. pizza, etc just tastes like I'm chewing flour; I found some artisan ice cream that's quite low in sugar, but even that's a little too sweet, so I think I'll be getting my own ice cream maker soon and make low-sugar ice cream. I eat about 2500 calories a day on average. I eat about 7-8 times a day. I can eat enough that no one notices I eat small portions.
Today, I ate:
Meal 1: 4 strips thick bacon
Meal 2: about 1/2 pint strawberries with double cream
Meal 3: lamb chop, 2 small cucumbers
Meal 4: kohlrabi and apple slaw with homemade dressing
Meal 5: 3 strips thick bacon, several squares dark chocolate
Meal 6: handful of almonds, cheese curds
Meal 7: roasted figs with goat cheese wrapped in prosciutto
I took 2 months off from the gym recently because of work, but I still biked about an hour 3-4 times a week and tried to run about 30 mins 2x a week. I'm coming back to the gym this coming week. I do Crossfit, so I have a very varied routine with lots of bodyweight exercises like pull-ups and burpees, explosive cardio such as sprints, and heavy weightlifting.
I'm attaching pix of me from the day before surgery and some pix from this summer (I haven't really changed much since).   

Excited for the continuation of this journey and blessed to have had it so easy. No complications and able to eat everything and meet liquid and Protein requirements. These pants are the one pair I have saved for photos as I travel down to my goal. Thanks to all who have participated on this site to inform, encourage and entertain me. I appreciate you all!

I am in! SW 261
Day of surgery 248
Weight now 228
Thanksgiving day down 15 more pounds

I ordered several pair of knee boots last winter knowing they probably wouldn't fit, but always seemed to do this to myself. They arrived and didn't fit and of course it made me want to cry. However, I pulled them out tonight and thought I'd give it a try and they zipped up with no problem! I was so excited. I now have 3 more pair of boots that suddenly fit which thrills me. I have a couple pairs that still wont zip up, but they are so close which has not been the case for a long time. YAY!