BlessedBeyondMeasure2012

One more thing, I started in a 26/28 and I'm down to a good 18 now, still some 20s and an occasional 16 depending on the size/brand. I am down almost 110 pounds. I was figuring I'd be down smaller than this by now too, but I'll take it as it comes!

It will come!I You'll find that the more you lose the less you have to lose to change sizes. I don't know about you but it seems like it took forever for me to get out of my old stuff. I think I wore it way too tight so it had to go from too tight, to fitting, to too big. It is harder, for me, to know when to move down sizes. I don't wear hardly anything snug anymore because I don't have to. Before, when I was going UP through sizes, I never wanted to buy the next size up even if I needed to. Now, when my clothes are big and I put on some that fit, they feel too tight. I usually have to ask my husband how things look. Most of the time he will tell me that things look fine even if they feel a little tight. I actually think it is harder moving down in sizes. I've never had to fight this battle before but I have to say it is one that I dont mind fighting anymore!

Baked chicken and some sauteed green beans, yummo!!

Well, I wasn't sleeved when I had my daughter just over 6 months ago (I had my sleeve done when she was 4 weeks old) but I only gained 23 pounds during my entire pregnancy and she weighed almost 10 when she was born. Most of what I put on I put on in the last 2-3 months. I stayed pretty steady for the first 4 months or so then gradually started going up. My baby girl is healthy as can be now. I have a cousin who is a tiny thing that didn't gain a pound during her pregnancy and had a completely healthy baby. As long as you are eating like you should and exercising, then you and the baby should be fine Congratulations and good luck!!!

I was beginning to think that I wasn't going to make my goal (a week ago my weight had gone up a little and I didn't think there was any way I would may my 225 goal) BUT this morning I was at 223!!! Now my goal is to be under 200 by Christmas Happy Labor Day everyone!!!

Congrats!!! You give me hope that I can reach my goal! I started out a little heavier than you, I'm down about 105 pounds but the scale has STOPPED moving. I am 5 months out and frustrated (more with myself). I haven't been doing the things that I know I should consistently lately but am back on track as of this week. Seeing that you have made your goal in a year gives me hope that I can at least come close before my year is up! Thanks for sharing!!!

You look great! You don't look like a little old man and I actually think you look younger than before. It is hard for people to see us going through so many changes. They get used to seeing us big and when we start losing it looks to them like we are a lot smaller than what we actually are. I go through this on a daily basis. People call me "skinny" every day, and let me tell you, I am FAR from skinny. I am still wearing an 18/20 in pants but for some reason, people who knew me before surgery see me as smaller than this. I keep telling myself that if someone who didn't know me before saw me they would still see an overwight woman with plenty of weight to lose. People that see you, ones that didn't know you before, see you as a healthy and fit guy, not someone who is big or overweight. I think sometimes as much as our view of ourselves is skewed, the people that knew us before also have skewed views of us. Keep your head up, you are doing and have done amazing!

So today has been a rough day and we haven't even hit 1 PM yet. This morning, instead of having my normal 3 turkey sausage links for Breakfast (100 cal, 13 gm protein) I decided to have a ham, egg and cheese croissant with only 1/2 the croissant from our local donut shop. I have done well lately and have been seeing the scale move which has made me really happy. I have been craving one of these croissants which I haven't had since before surgery so I figured this morning I would stop and get one and then do REALLY good for the rest of the day. I don't mean skipping meals, just getting the most out of what I would eat for the rest of the day. Anyway, things got hectic at work and I didn't get in a morning snack, by 11 I was so stinkin hungry and with no end in site for lunch I grabbed what was easiest and closest, 1/2 a donut... and then the other half. I haven't eaten a donut since well before surgery. Then the boss went out and bought hamburgers and fries from Burger King for lunch. I ate mine with only half the bun, and only one fry but still, not my good planned lunch that I was counting on. He also bought me a chocolate shake and I can't remember how long its been since I had one of those. One drink of it and I knew if I kept going I would feel bad because of all the sugar. It went down the drain. I haven't had a drink out of a straw since surgery and I even drank the drink of the chocolate shake through the stupid straw. I know better. I know better than all of it. I'm disappointed in myself that I let myself fall off the wagon like I did. I'm a food-a-holic, I have to watch myself just like an alcoholic does. I feel like I have failed miserably today. I also feel like I missed the good feeling of the "drunk" and went straight to the hungover feeling. None of what I ate made me feel better. In fact I kinda feel gross right now. I know it is a lesson in learning. I've been really proud of myself with how well I have done over the past 5 months. I thought I was getting to the point where battling these food demons was getting to be second nature and it wasn't so hard anymore. I don't want to do anything to screw this up. I don't want to start gaining back what I've lost... I've worked too hard. Nothing about this journey has been easy but I have been living it. I've been making it and making it work for me. I just feel really defeated. I told my sister about all of this (she is in the process of getting approval for the sleeve) and told her that tomorrow would be better. I can't wait until tomorrow, starting from this minute the rest of today has to be better. Sorry for the vent/whine. Praying for a better rest of today and for better decision making...

I was sleeved 3/25/13 and started out as a 46DDD/F. Today, I am 106 pounds down and a 40/42 DDD/DD. My boobs are way less full than they used to be and sometimes I think I still need that third D just to have room for the skin lol

I call them "my fat girl camera tricks" lol! This double chin is slowly going away but not nearly as fast as I'd like it to even with 105 pounds gone!

I was off for two weeks. I could have gone back after a week but I was also on mternity leave and I had two weeks left of it after I had surgery. It was nice to be back to eating some regular food when I came back to work. I was off of full liquids by then. Anyway, I would take two weeks and then ask for help with the lifting. I think you'll be good.

You can search the site for A Walk with Irene and it will pull it up for you. I couldn't find it just by looking either.

I had 4 plus one drain site that is more noticiable than the rest. I had none in my belly button. I am almost 5 months out and all of the scars are fading nicely. I had my gall bladder taken out so now I have 4 more incisions from that. I had a different surgeon and he didn't use any of my previous incisions. 6 months ago I had no scars on my belly, now I have 9. Buckshot sounds like as good a story to me as any! LOL!

Do any of y'all use Kaiser insurance? My sister is in the process and lives outside of Denver and was trying to get some reviews on surgeons there.

Thanks kb88! I appreciate the info!