Thin1day

I'm afraid that that will be me, my dream is to be able to walk into any store, regular clothing store and be able to buy something that fits. All my adult life I have been a fat girl, its time for a change. Can't wait till I get there.
Fran

My journey into WLS began over 5 years ago. I went to Dr. Clif Thomas' seminar on WLS options and why WLS is a good idea. I knew he was right. I worked with his office staff to get Gastric Bypass approved. Denied. Appeal. Denied. Appeal. Denied. A year or two later I ended up with a new insurance. Denied. Appeal. Denied. Appeal. Denied. And yet a 3rd insurance company... same results.
I was finishing nursing school at the time. I knew I wanted to work for the State in Mental Health and I've always heard that the State's insurance covers it. I committed myself to getting it ASAP. I started my new job last year. I check out the insurance... Oopsie... You have to be employed for 5 years, 1 year of psychological counseling, another millionty hoops to jump through. I was so sad and distraught. I kept my vow that if I ever worked out a way to pay for it, it was totally happening.
I should mention... during the 5 years of all this mess of trying to get approved, I decided VSG was the way to go. Good results, less invasive, fewer negative side effects... it's a winner, all around.
Late June 2012 I get a call from my Mom. My parents are getting a lump payment and are fronting me the money for my surgery. Time to get a surgeon, get a date, and get back with her with the total. Late June I go in with Dr. Clif Thomas for my consultation. The following Thursday I go in for my EGD. Two weeks later is my follow up appointment with surgery details. I have a massive hiatal hernia that he will repair for me. 07/19/2012 I am sleeved and I wake up into a new life.
PreOp Weight: 290lbs
It's funny that I truly feel like a new person since I woke up from surgery. food is not the forefront of my mind any longer. It's funny that I am getting ready for my drive to work and I think "Oh, I'll go to Sonic... Oh wait... why would I do that?" LOL! I have had little interest in food since surgery. Sure, recipes look good and I cannot wait to cook them... but the day to day drive to eat constantly is gone.
My parents are both proud of me. My GRANDFATHER is proud of me... and I can't remember any time in my life that he's ever actually told me that he's proud of me. My Mom is actually working on her pre-operative stuff for her insurance to cover her procedure.
Today is 08/19/2012... I weighed in 260.4lbs. I'll take a 30lb weight loss for my first month... sure I was stalled for 10 days... And it's over. Hooray! My goal weight is probably 145. In my mind I'd like to be under 150lbs. I'm 5'3'' so I don't think that's too small... My surgeon says 150-160lbs.
My newest goals are more simple... at least on paper... 48-64oz fluids daily... 80g Protein daily... Walk my Zoee girl daily... In September I'd like to get a cruiser bike and have a little variety...

Thanks everyone for their input. I know I am not alone in this, but it always nice to hear someone else's experiences. We will all be better for it!! There's just some cruel people in this world. And I agree with VSginn... it does seem like a fat on fat crime. I think that person was so unhappy with themselves that she put her own negative opinions on me.
Well... I am so looking forward to that sleeve date... I got 38 days to go!

Thanks!! I love you guys! I know I would have NEVER been able to lose this much weight without my sleevey. I said in the beginning that I wouldn't do it again if I had to do it over, but ... I would! Some people have an easy time and some have really bad complications. I think I was somewhere in the middle of that and I am so blessed by my savior , Jesus Christ, because he brought me through this and I prayed for years for him to release me from this addiction. He did! All the glory to HIM!

aliandrews
i have shopped in the plus sizes for so long, i enterred Kohls a while back, and the plus size area tried to pull me like a magnet for me to shop there
i felt weird going into normal size area.
i gave in to my feelings and said to myself, bye bye plus sizes - never will see you again, leave me alone
happy shopping to us all
kathy

Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. Saw the post-op bariatrics team last Wednesday. Kaiser defines a sucessful bariatrics patient as one who has lost 50% of the excess weight within one year following surgery. I have lost 81% in 7 months.
This forum is a wonderful resource, with many people who are very successful with the sleeve in the long-run. I want to add my experiences to the pool of information. I plan on being one of the long-runs.
To keep losing weight, I have to eat fewer than 50 grams of carb a day, and stay under 1200 calories.
No, I usually don't get all my Water in. I also drink coffee, with 2% milk. This is the source of most of my carb.
Eating too much is as bad as eating too little. Doing either one can make my weight loss stall.
I can't snack anymore. The surgeon told me that, after 6 months, it's three meals a day, period. He's right.
I still use baby bowls, a baby spoon, and 5-inch plates. I plan to use the small plates forever. I like my baby spoons, and the bowls are still portion-perfect.
Too much Protein triggers insulin, and I gain weight. At my weight, 166.6, I only need 65 grams of protein a day, according to my NUT.
If I don't eat enough fat, my weight stalls.
Fruit = stall.
I cannot lose without low-intensity exercise. 3 - 5 sessions a week, 30 minutes, on a treadmill that keeps me at a pulse rate of 107 (based on age) is the key. I also lift heavy weights twice a week. Throwing a 20-pound weight around does nothing for me. I use as much weight as I can lift for 5 slow reps. I am almost to the point of being able to do a real pull-up.
I have loose skin. I am a shar-pei. But I am a proud, getting-healthy shar-pei. It doesn't bother my Best Half. Why should I care? I wore a bathing suit in Hawaii, and no one reported me to the Skin Police.
Yes, I lost hair, starting at 3 months and it has slowed almost to normal. I ate my protein, took my Vitamins, and I still lost hair. It's based on hormonal changes, just like after childbirth. I still look like a girl. If you are scared to have a sleeve because of the potential hair loss, you aren't a good candidate for the surgery. You don't want to lose weight badly enough to be successful.
I did not have a "food funeral" before my surgery, and I followed my surgeon's pre-op diet to the letter. I've spent years eating crap. Two weeks crap-less wasn't going to kill me.
I don't miss any foodstuff. I don't cry over crap not eaten. I pull my vintage sized 14 Liz Claiborne clothes out of the closet and rejoice that I no longer wear a size 26, like I did back in 2000. If I really, really want it, I eat one small bite. Most sweets that I used to crave now taste terrible. One sweet potato fry satisfies as well as a bag of gingersnaps used to. Soda tastes like chemical-salts-bilge water. Yuk.
I goof. I screw up. I eat too much. I still emotionally eat. That doesn't make me a bad person. There's always the next opportunity to make a much better choice.
Veterans, please feel free to add on. I'd love to know what is down the sleeved road!