jbgirl5856

I read this with interest because I will be sleeved in January and I want to hear about the "tough things" you and others have gone through.

OR put anither way, what specifically did you experience the first post-op days?

Would like to hear from some folks or be pointed to good discussions of this that already exist. Thanks in advance.

I really had zero problems with my surgery. 12 hours after my surgery I was up walking and feeling just fine. I had one meltdown 3 days post op when it hit me that I really could not eat! I did not have any tough things that were health related once I had my surgery. I mostly had emotional battles with myself. I had to let go of my addiction with food and find healthier ways to fill my day. I took up makeup as a hobby about 1 month out of surgery and focused my energy on that in my spare time. I also took exercising very seriously and worked out often. Once I realized that food did not have to control my life, everything else fell into place.

As far as what I experienced my first few days post op - BOREDOM! haha You don't realize how much time food takes up until you are drinking liquids for 1 month. The pre-op diet was very hard for me, but I stuck to it and did not sway. Do not cheat on your pre-op diet - I really feel like it sets the standard for how you are going to approach your diet after you have the surgery. Good luck!

Hey everyone!

I had my surgery August 22nd, 2012 so I'm about 15 months post op. I've lost a total of 101 pounds and I feel great I started at 231 lbs. and now weigh 130 lbs.

At 23 years old, I feel like life can't get any better I've been maintaining for about 7-8 months. I feel so much healthier and more confident. I continue to exercise and make healthy choices to motivate myself to be the healthiest me that I can be. This journey has been one of the most humbling and challenging experiences of my life. I've surrounded myself with positive people who have supported me throughout this whole process.

I'm now participating in the "Bari-Buddy" system at the hospital I had my surgery at - getting paired with people who just had the surgery to be a support to them. It's been a great experience - both rewarding and inspiring to help support other people who are in the same position I was in 15 months ago.

Since the summer, I've graduated college and started a new job. I'm now an occupational therapist working in a pediatric setting. This is something I always wanted to do but I was always too intimidated to work with kids - because let's be honest...kids are a little too honest!! I am so grateful that I now have the confidence (and the energy!!) to help these kids achieve all of their goals.

I hope everyone is having lots of success and happiness Here are some before and after pictures!

Have you had plastics? Your stomach looks great?

No I haven't had plastics. I did work out a lot throughout the last year and had a "core routine"

Thanks!

Is it wrong to still want to wear a bikini when you're over 50??

Believe me, if this surgery and I do what we're supposed to do - next year i'll post a pic

I say rock it lol

Hey fellow sleevers, down 93lbs with 15 more lbs to go. Am 6 months out - no complications except a dodgey gallbladder that I refuse to get taken out! No hair loss, no stalls, and minimal lose skin so far.

Attached is a cheesy bikini pic that I was going to save to compare to my one year when I have abs of steel and a killer tan to match - but what the hell. I was really curious to see others post weight loss to see scaring and lose skin etc but they are really hard to find! So heres mine! Please note that this is post c-section of a 9lb baby 11 months ago!

If any are brave enough to share theirs please do - I need inspiration!

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haha I had just made a post and then saw this!! Before surgery I really wanted to see what people's stomachs looked like and I could not find anything. Thanks for being brave and posting yours. I'll add mine onto here too. You look awesome!! Very inspiring Congrats and Happy Summer!!!

Excuse the horrible stretch marks from the "before" pictures - I just find the before pictures give people a good idea of the progress possible!!

LOL.. Well, crap there goes that theory. I'm 5'3" too!

haha I am sure you look fabulous!!!!! Congrats on your weight loss :)

Hi, I'm still deciding on Lapband and Sleeve.....I'm just concerned that I will never be able to go out with my friends two three years from now and enjoy a "regular" meal......Can you eat normal now?

I'm obviously on team sleeve! lol I just haven't heard great things about the Lapband. You have to choose what's important to you. I can order something and eat an okay amount right now. I eat much slower than everyone and don't eat a ton. But if I go out, I'll get a small salad or a Soup or something like that. I was scared of this too...but in the end loosing weight was more important than all of those things. I just figured it all out after my surgery! I'm still able to enjoy a beer if I want one...I am only 23 after all

You're amazing. What a difference! You must be fairly tall because I don't weigh much more than you and belieeeeeve me.. I don't look anything like you

Great job!

I'm 5'3" lol Thanks!

Hello All!

The first 7 months I made monthly updates on this forum. I've pretty much just been maintaining the last couple months, but I thought I would post an update. I'm 23 years old and had my surgery August 22nd last year so I am between 9-10 months post op right now. I started at 231 and am currently 139. Yahooo!

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this summer!! Last year I honestly had one ugly pair of capris and two "nice" tops. Whenever I had to get dressed to go somewhere, I would choose between those two tops. I never felt confident. I hardly have any pictures because I avoided them. Most days I would just wear baggy sweats and my boyfriend's t-shirts...how attractive!! I was also hot ALLLLL the time.

I was getting dressed this morning and thinking about how different this summer will be. This morning I woke up and went for a 3 mile jog. I came home, showered, and put on a pair of jean shorts and a cute tank top (I now have lots of clothes to choose from!) I did my make up and hair-without sweating from the heat of the blow dryer lol When I finished I felt confident. This weekend I'm going to the beach with my friends (which requires a bathing suit) and I'm also running the 5k mud run on Saturday! This is a whole new life!! haha Thank God!!

I was real hesitant to post a picture of myself in a bathing suit; however, that is the biggest question I get asked. "WELLLLL, do you have loose skin???" People are so curious. Some people have a big stigma with the weight loss surgery - like since I had weight loss surgery I must have awful skin underneath my clothes. This is not the case.

Don't let anyone tell you this is the easy way out. I've worked my butt off this past year. I work out a ton and make healthy eating choices. At 10 months out, I feel hungry just like anyone else! I'm able to eat junk food. Gaining back weight is not impossible However, I make good, healthy choices. The surgery is a fantastic TOOL, but its not a miracle. So I thought I would post this picture to show it's possible to lose over 90 pounds and not have a bunch of skin! Seeing these types of pictures motivated me to get my butt to the gym

I wish everyone lots of success and happiness!!

Picture 1: As you can see, I had serious stretch marks before. They have turned to white, but those are forever. However, I feel okay in a bikini. Beats the giant t-shirt I wore to the pool last year!

Picture 2: I'm able to wear sundresses this summer! Yay!

Picture 3: I have 3 beautiful younger sisters. I always felt like the "fat, ugly" sister. I feel like I am now the fun, older sister that I always wanted to be. The after picture is with my youngest sister before she goes off to prom! She looked beautiful.

If you want to read any of my other posts, some links are below:

http://www.verticals...eafter-picture/

http://www.verticals...es/#entry712587

Jordyn you were beautiful before but at the wedding you were absolutely stunning! You are such an inspiration to me, I hope I can be that to someone else one day. I am having a tough week (in my first stall) and seeing you tells me I can do this. Other's have done it, what the heck is stopping me?? I just have to keep with the program! Thanks for posting and for being an inspiration to me

Thanks for the nice compliment. I can't believe all the support this forum has brought me. it means so much to me that some of you see me as an inspiration....I share my stories in hopes of motivating people who are going through the same things I went through. HANG IN THERE!! Remember why you had the surgery in the first place. Find a person who will support you through this process. You can do it

Morning! You make some really good points and I think i Really needed to hear them. I was becoming obsessed with weighing myself morning and night and I originally wanted to only weigh myself once a month because I felt thatif I just focused on the lifestyle the weight would naturally happen versus the scale and the number defining how I feel. So I have not weighed myself this week and am going to try to go another week taking a break from the dear scale. It has been a relief all week almost! I have other tools I use to track how I am doing like the my fitness pal and I can tell usually with just how I feel and how things fit if I am making progress.

As far as the lifestyle change... You are right and I don't think I recognize that enough. I choose a smaller plate and I am pretty used to the portion I can eat now, so the eyes and stomach are pretty much on the same level most of the time at least. At my 3 month nutrition appointment I was told I could and should add more the fruits and veggies now. This has helped a lot this week for me. I was sooo focused on Protein, now I feel I am getting a bit more balance and the things I choose to eat are most of the timebvery different from before! I hope it's all clicking, it feels that way.

The exercise is huge a huge change, I really make that a priority. The other day I was planning to go do cardio after work and I ended up working late and I needed to skip and go home to get twins. Pre sleeve I would have just skipped entirely, instead I did the girls bedtime routine put them in the stroller in pjs with a bottle and I went jogging!! It even was misting and I did not let it stop me, that is a new me....

I think a little fear is good keeps me focused remembering where I was but thank you for reminding me to Celebrate the success and be proud of the changes I have made.

Thanks so much as always!

What size are you in these days at 143?

Good for you! Glad to hear you've been so dedicated to exercising. I won't lie...I still weigh myself often. I don't freak out over it, but I do probably hop on the scale every morning just as part of my routine. It keeps me on track and motivated. That's just what works for me

The clothes I've bought have been 5/6 pants and small or medium top depending on the style

I am sw 236 cw 199.8 so happy out of 200 dr says 143 i hope so about 45 more pounds i need to lose

YAY! way to go Congrats!

Hey jordyn, congrats on another month of feeling awesome. I always look for your monthly update first week of the month, with anticipation. I am 3 months now and my starting was 6lbs more than you and I am 5'2", I am 31 though so you def have the age working in your favor haha. But, I have this excel tracker where I track my progress and I never really set goals until I "met" you here. I now have a column where I put your monthly number so I have something to work towards bass on a real success story I can relate to. I also am even contemplating doing monthly updates on here like you maybe next month...

I have lost almost 60lbs in 3 months and feel amazing, I do have loose skin but that might also be because I had twin girls less than two years ago. So the bikini ship has sailed for me lol! I remember reading your 4 month update and I was just having it and you got me to really exercise seriously as soon after surgery as I could! You said 3 weeks after so I was right there and now I love the gym! I still am not running but I am trying to push it, I also am doing personal training twice a week which I love.

I think what I am soooo afraid of right now is that the weight loss will stop and I will start gaining, I just find I am scared to lose how good I feel. I think it is due to I can eat a bit more have a glass of wine and I have had a bit of a sweet tooth with Easter this past month. Have you experienced anything like this? How have you dealt with it? I hope to someday get in the 140s like you. I also can relate about not dreading events. I hosted Easter and usually I go through my closet and try everything on sweating cause noting fits... Ths year first outfit I wanted to wear, like a glove! And the skirt was something I bought 10 years ago! Here is to another month of progress and success look forward to next months update. Can't wait for warmer weather too!

60 lbs in 3 months! yay! That's awesome. Congratulations I'm sure you are feeling great. I'm glad you have enjoyed my posts so much. It's truly humbling!

Am I scared of gaining weight back? UM YES! haha Do I think about it all the time? Absolutely not.

Look...if you had simply had the surgery, not followed the diet, not changed your lifestyle, not exercised at all, then yeah maybe you should feel more nervous about gaining the weight back. But that is so not the case. I don't know about you, but I have DRASTICALLY changed my lifestyle. I work at keeping this weight off every day. I have people in my life who motivate me to stay on track. Do I have off days where I eat unhealthy? Of course I do. That's life. Do I have weeks where I eat unhealthy....no! Because that would be falling back in my old ways. I read my posts from before the surgery. I think about how I felt before I had the surgery. I don't want to get back to that. I know that if I work hard and continue with the lifestyle I am living, the weight is going to stay off. Find something that motivates you. Figure out ways to "catch yourself" from falling back into old habits. My favorite quote is "Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret" Corny, but so true!

Most importantly though...just enjoy your weight loss. You didn't have the surgery to be stressed out about gaining weight back all the time. Enjoy yourself and feel proud of your accomplishments. And yes...make some monthly posts! It's motivating and it's fun to look back on!

Any idea how many calories you are eating these days?

Pretty sure I'm at no less than 1,000

You look gorgeous! I'm so glad I read your post tonight. I'm 15 days post op and had a meltdown tonight...just feel like I won't ever recover and feel good again. It will be all worth it if I can have a success like yours! I started at 221, 5'2" tall. After 15 days I'm at 201 and have lost 2 inches in my waist already. My goal is to be about your size...which is the size I was in my early 20's.

Your success gives me hope! Thanks so much for posting!!

Hope you are getting through your meltdown! 3 days post op I had a meltdown and just started crying for no reason...I totally freaked out and couldn't believe I had done this to myself. My mom and boyfriend thought I went off the deep end lol They calmed me down and I got over it. I was truly addicted to food and I had to mourn it. You won't regret it....sounds like you are already having fabulous success!! So glad you enjoyed my post Thanks for commenting!

This is very inspiring! I am also a patient of Dr. Zeni and only 10days out

Awesome! He's great and so is the staff! Hope you are having a good experience too!

Amazing pics!!!! You give me so much hope! I am in the approval process now and I just submitted to insurance today! Thank you for sharing!

That's the worst part!! I was an anxious crazy mess when I was waiting for insurance approval! thanks a lot wishing you lots of success!

You look amazing! I had to do a double take, actually. So what kind of workouts do you do? What do you typically eat in a day? I hope you don't mind all the questions, it's just that I love to hear from those who have done this thing!!

Thanks so much If you don't mind looking back at some of my old posts, I go into pretty in depth detail as to what I was eating and what I was doing for exercise. I will try to link some posts. For a short answer, right now I'm exercising 3-5 times a week for about an hour. I'll run 2-3 miles, 20 minutes of core, and then arms or legs depending on the day. I have oatmeal or eggs every morning, usually a salad or hummus/veggies plus some Snacks for lunch, and then just normal basic dinners based around Protein. I don't track everyday, and if I'm craving something I will have a bite of it. I also drink lots and lots of water! I feel like I really have broken my food addiction....I just think about what I am eating and try to make healthy choices. I will say for 4-5 months I was extremely strict with what I ate which I recommend because that's when you are losing the most weight!

You look amazing.

(Disclaimer - I'm a guy and I think like a guy) You're right in a group of three girls there's sometimes 'the fat one' but there's almost always 'the hot one'.

You're lucky you have supportive long term relationships with them. You've gone from 'the fat one' to 'the hot one' in 7 months. Most girls would be insanely jealous!

Dean...too funny! haha "Hot" has never been a word I would ever use to describe myself, but hey I will take it. I'm lucky to have great friends....especially since they have never been able to relate to any weight issues. They've been size 0's for as long as I can remember haha

Wow!! Dean is right... and I AM jealous You look fantastic. With the weight loss in your face, you look like a different person!! Absolutely stunning! And I don't think I've ever commented on a before and after picture, just "liked" or admired from afar lol, but I felt compelled to gush this time!! Definitely the hot one!

Glad you commented1 haha I do the same thing sometimes...read all the posts, but don't always comment! I need to get better at that. Hope you are doing well

THANKS EVERYONE! You all are too kind

You look great! Congrats. Have you had any plastic surgery? How are you feeling?

Thank you. No plastic surgery and no plans for any. I had worked out since being two weeks post op and don't really have loose skin. But I am feeling good

I have been hoping and looking forward to your next post and it did not disappoint! Congrats. You are very motivating, with truth and positivity!

So my question this time is .. You are young and I am sure friends go out a lot how have you dealt with alcohol and social settings going out to eat???

Glad you look forward to my posts It's nice to know people actually read what I write, even though just writing it out is therapeutic in itself

Awesome question!! When I was thinking about having the surgery, this was one of the biggest things I was worried about. I am a very social person and I enjoy going out with my friends - what can I say..I'm only 23

My good friends and my boyfriend (we've been together for 5 years and live together) know that I have had the surgery, so going out with them is not too difficult. They will offer to just order appetizers for the table and share...that way I fit in and don't look like a bird picking at my food! When I go out with people who don't know, I always go for the soup!!! I always have the excuse, "Hey...I'm a broke college student."

As far as drinking...I wish I could say I just never drink but I would totally be lying haha I loved trying different beers before the surgery and was terrified I would never be able to have a beer again!! I did not have one sip of alcohol for the first 4 months after surgery. Now when I go out (It's not all that often-maybe twice a month?), I will order a beer or a glass of wine and it's fine. I get tipsy quite fast, so usually one is good for me. Beer gets filling and I have a hard time finishing one. I've had one night where we "got drunk" and were at the bars all night and I had 2 shots. Yes, probably not the best decision but I honestly eat healthy 95% of the time and I work out a lot for this reason. I don't want to be so restrictive that I can't have fun with my friends. Hope that answers your questions. Feel free to ask whatever - I'm a pretty open book

Overall, I've been lucky - I have a great support system. My friends and boyfriend have been awesome. We like to joke and say "through thick and thin"

Omg!!!! You look great!!! So happy for you...I'm 3 months down can't wait to see what I look like at 6 months down...and also do you workout?

Yup I work out quite a bit. 4-5 times a week...consisting of running 2-3 miles plus 30 minutes of core and then some arms and legs depending on the day.

Thanks everyone And to those of you awaiting your surgery date good luck!

Hey Everyone!

I had my 6 month appointment on Thursday and cannot even believe how much has changed in 6 months. I am now 88 pounds down. I couldn't be happier! I'm feeling like a new person. I thought it would be good for me to reflect back a bit on how far I've come. I had started a website/blog when I started thinking about having surgery.

Here is an excerpt from a post I wrote in July when I was awaiting my consultation appointment.

"I wake up every morning feeling completely disgusted with my body and my behavior. I avoid the mirror when getting into the shower. I can hardly look at myself when I have a towel around me and have to put on a baggy shirt to blow dry my hair. I struggle to get dressed knowing that my clothes are too tight for me. Every activity is filled with anxiety for me. Eating meals is like experiencing an out of body experience. It's as though I have no control, yet the whole time I am beating myself up over what I am eating. I am embarrassed to go anywhere knowing that I am overweight and people have probably noticed that I've gained even more weight. I look at my friends as they talk about "feeling fat" or "needing to exercise more" and know that I would die to look like them. Every time I sit down I want to cover my stomach up with something. Every time I walk I have to adjust my pants, bra, underwear, shirt, tanktop to make sure that I am 100% covered. I feel a depression at night - an overwhelming guilt. I lay in bed thinking how tomorrow needs to be a new day...how tomorrow I am going to be different. I will stay up for hours in bed thinking about it."

When I read this, I feel sad for the girl who wrote it. I think it is important for me to look back at how I felt during that time to continue to motivate myself to do well. I am to the point where I can eat more and I have to work harder for the weight to come off. I never want to feel like girl in that paragraph again. I wake up every morning looking forward to the day, excited to pick out an outfit, feeling happy about the decisions I make, and overall just taking pride in being healthy. This was the best decision I could have made.

For those of you interested in the website/blog, the link is below. It is a personal site, but it does give detailed information on my pre-op process. I haven't posted since September since I started writing on this forum.

Surgery Date: August 22, 2012

Starting weight: 231

Current weight: 143

Height: 5'3

Age: 23

website: weightonmyshoulders.weebly.com

Picture 1: Day before Surgery

Picture 2: The before/after picture Dr. Zeni's office gave me on Thursday

Picture 3: Me in the jeans I wore at my consultation

Picture 4: Same as picture 3

Picture 5: Getting my bridesmaids dress taken in!

Picture 6: Standing with my best friend for her bachelorette party last night!

love your dress! congrats on the 45 pounds - that's great

Welcome to the forum! I just turned 23 and am 5 months out. I'm really happy with my sleeve and have enjoyed using this forum as an added tool! Good luck to you!