NY Lou

bellabloom wow, what an incredible transformation, youre absolutely stunning! also great to see you maintain that weight loss years later. im 4.5 years out now and glad to have kept the weight off too. its not easy but making the right food choices and exercising is now a lifelong commitment. best of luck...

chilet071 You are beautiful before and after! Smoking hot!

Christine330 even now 4.5 years later I always put my Protein first. I make sure to get all my protein in every day as that will be important for the rest of your life. my Snacks are all high protein snacks like greek yogurt, a cheese stick or for a treat some cottage cheese w/pineapple. I still make Protein Shakes and I still count my liquids every day to make sure im drinking enough. after 4.5 years of doing this it becomes second nature. good luck to you and to everyone else reading this thread.

hi nena1204. let me assure you that what youre experiencing is very normal for someone just 4 weeks out. it takes time to get used to reintroducing food again to your body but trust me with time it will get back to feeling normal. right now your insides are still healing and will do so for months. but it will get better as each month passes. as far as eating, if youre feeling that stuck feeling you have to make sure your food is very fine with no large pieces. also you can try sticking to softer foods or possibly adding some liquid to them to soften them up. 4 weeks out is still very very new and your body is going through so many changes. hang in there and give it time. trust me it definitely gets better and will be so worth it in the end. wishing you the best...

thank you macy gray, your kind words are appreciated and I wish you success on your weight loss journey. just take it one day at a time and stay positive and you too will be successful.

thank you mytimenow17 for saying running for cancer is a great thing to do. im actually excited to be running the marathon and doing it for charity makes it even more special. if cancer has affected you in any way feel free to use the link and make a small donation as every dollar counts. thanks again and I see youre preop, if you have any doubts just go for it, its the best thing I ever did and it saved my life. have a great day!

its now been 4.5 years since I was sleeved. my high weight was 323 lbs. my goal weight was low 180's. I did reach goal weight but over the years I realized that my desired goal weight was too low for me. now for the last 2 years ive steadily maintained a weight in the mid 190's and that appears to be where im supposed to be and im happy with that weight. today 10/1/17 I weight 195 lbs. I exercise 3-4 times a week and my choice of exercise is running. I will also be running the 2018 boston marathon and im so excited about being able to run this historic race! im running it for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and ive committed to raising $6000 which is no easy task. if any of you have ever been affected by this terrible illness feel free to click the link after this post and make a 100% tax deductible donation to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. every dollar donated goes to research. you will be supporting my run and a cause that affects everyone as everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. as far as my eating, I still have to be very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can eat much more today than I could 2 years ago but still no where near what I could eat before having the surgery. hope everyone on their journey is doing well and feel free to ask any questions. im also attaching my before pic and a few current pics taken last week. have a great day! heres my donation link for anyone willing to support this wonderful cause: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

its now been 4.5 years since I was sleeved. my high weight was 323 lbs. my goal weight was low 180's. I did reach goal weight but over the years I realized that my desired goal weight was too low for me. now for the last 2 years ive steadily maintained a weight in the mid 190's and that appears to be where im supposed to be and im happy with that weight. today 10/1/17 I weight 195 lbs. I exercise 3-4 times a week and my choice of exercise is running. I will also be running the 2018 boston marathon and im so excited about being able to run this historic race! im running it for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and ive committed to raising $6000 which is no easy task. if any of you have ever been affected by this terrible illness feel free to click the link after this post and make a 100% tax deductible donation to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. every dollar donated goes to research. you will be supporting my run and a cause that affects everyone as everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. as far as my eating, I still have to be very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can eat much more today than I could 2 years ago but still no where near what I could eat before having the surgery. hope everyone on their journey is doing well and feel free to ask any questions. im also attaching my before pic and a few current pics taken last week. have a great day! heres my donation link for anyone willing to support this wonderful cause: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

its now been 4.5 years since I was sleeved. my high weight was 323 lbs. my goal weight was low 180's. I did reach goal weight but over the years I realized that my desired goal weight was too low for me. now for the last 2 years ive steadily maintained a weight in the mid 190's and that appears to be where im supposed to be and im happy with that weight. today 10/1/17 I weight 195 lbs. I exercise 3-4 times a week and my choice of exercise is running. I will also be running the 2018 boston marathon and im so excited about being able to run this historic race! im running it for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and ive committed to raising $6000 which is no easy task. if any of you have ever been affected by this terrible illness feel free to click the link after this post and make a 100% tax deductible donation to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. every dollar donated goes to research. you will be supporting my run and a cause that affects everyone as everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. as far as my eating, I still have to be very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can eat much more today than I could 2 years ago but still no where near what I could eat before having the surgery. hope everyone on their journey is doing well and feel free to ask any questions. im also attaching my before pic and a few current pics taken last week. have a great day! heres my donation link for anyone willing to support this wonderful cause: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

hi everyone, what great before/after pics so many of you have! im 4.5 years post op and im happy that ive maintained my weight loss. heres my before pic at 323 lbs and a few pics of me from last week at 195 lbs. im actually running the boston marathon this year! im doing it for charity for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research as both my father and sister are cancer survivors. if anyone here has been affected by cancer feel free to click my donation link that follows this post and make a donation to a worthy cause. every dollar donated goes to cancer research and your donation is 100% tax deductible. wish everyone the best! heres the pics and the donation link: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

thank you prayingforweightloss for your kind words. it can be done successfully, it just takes time and commitment to change your life and how you eat. and exercise helps a lot too. best of luck to you!

ornament17, thank you so very much for your kind donation to such a worthy cause. that is very generous of you! I have sent you a more detailed email reply as I don't want to post too much info here in this forum. please check your email for the message I sent you. thank you again, youre awesome!

Back2fit, youre doing great! just keep doing what youre doing and youll get there. congrats on a job well done!

Thank you Berry78 for your kind words. The transformation has been hard but it’s a lifelong battle to make sure I stay healthy. As far as running for cancer research, I have a father and sister that have both been affected by cancer and I also know so many other people as well. It makes me feel good to run for a cause such as cancer research and I hope that in the future our younger generations won’t have to face such a terrible illness. If cancer has affected your life in anyway, feel free to click the link and make a donation in support of my run and cancer research. 100% of money donated goes towards research and even if it’s just a few dollars it makes a difference. Thank you again for your kind words and have a great day!

that is so true, the surgery is just a tool and we really do have to do the rest or the surgery will have been for nothing. best of luck to you, looks like youre on your way!

hi sara. first let me say that we are always so hard on ourselves regarding weight loss. you should definitely see the positive side that I see and that is youre still about 85 lbs less now that you were before. I always look at my old pics just to remind myself that ive come a long way and should be appreciative of what ive already lost. now as far as what you can do now, you have to get back to being more disciplined regarding what you put in your mouth. that really is the only answer. its easy to start getting back old habits and making bad food choices. that is probably 99% of why people gain weight. you have to go back and start thinking about when you was at your heaviest and use that as motivation to try and change how youre eating again now. I get the impression that youre not making the best food choices and if im right that is something that you need to change if you want to lose more weight. also, I don't know if you exercise but exercising is another crucial element in losing weight. it not only burns calories and speeds up your metabolism but you can actually eat a little extra because youre exercising. its never easy to exercise but that's just another way to make a big difference in your ability to lose weight. the last thing I will say is that some of us are genetically programmed to be at a certain weight. or example even though I reached my goal weight of low 180's it wasn't a weight my body was comfortable at. I had to struggle to get there and couldn't stay there. now ive been around mid 190's for the last 2 years and that seems to be the weight my body is comfortable staying at. maybe your body is programmed to be in the 150's/160's range? good luck and I hope you can continue to be successful in the future with your weight.

its now been 4.5 years since I was sleeved. my high weight was 323 lbs. my goal weight was low 180's. I did reach goal weight but over the years I realized that my desired goal weight was too low for me. now for the last 2 years ive steadily maintained a weight in the mid 190's and that appears to be where im supposed to be and im happy with that weight. today 10/1/17 I weight 195 lbs. I exercise 3-4 times a week and my choice of exercise is running. I will also be running the 2018 boston marathon and im so excited about being able to run this historic race! im running it for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and ive committed to raising $6000 which is no easy task. if any of you have ever been affected by this terrible illness feel free to click the link after this post and make a 100% tax deductible donation to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. every dollar donated goes to research. you will be supporting my run and a cause that affects everyone as everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. as far as my eating, I still have to be very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can eat much more today than I could 2 years ago but still no where near what I could eat before having the surgery. hope everyone on their journey is doing well and feel free to ask any questions. im also attaching my before pic and a few current pics taken last week. have a great day! heres my donation link for anyone willing to support this wonderful cause: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

its now been 4.5 years since I was sleeved. my high weight was 323 lbs. my goal weight was low 180's. I did reach goal weight but over the years I realized that my desired goal weight was too low for me. now for the last 2 years ive steadily maintained a weight in the mid 190's and that appears to be where im supposed to be and im happy with that weight. today 10/1/17 I weight 195 lbs. I exercise 3-4 times a week and my choice of exercise is running. I will also be running the 2018 boston marathon and im so excited about being able to run this historic race! im running it for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and ive committed to raising $6000 which is no easy task. if any of you have ever been affected by this terrible illness feel free to click the link after this post and make a 100% tax deductible donation to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. every dollar donated goes to research. you will be supporting my run and a cause that affects everyone as everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. as far as my eating, I still have to be very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can eat much more today than I could 2 years ago but still no where near what I could eat before having the surgery. hope everyone on their journey is doing well and feel free to ask any questions. im also attaching my before pic and a few current pics taken last week. have a great day! heres my donation link for anyone willing to support this wonderful cause: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

its now been 4.5 years since I was sleeved. my high weight was 323 lbs. my goal weight was low 180's. I did reach goal weight but over the years I realized that my desired goal weight was too low for me. now for the last 2 years ive steadily maintained a weight in the mid 190's and that appears to be where im supposed to be and im happy with that weight. today 10/1/17 I weight 195 lbs. I exercise 3-4 times a week and my choice of exercise is running. I will also be running the 2018 boston marathon and im so excited about being able to run this historic race! im running it for the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and ive committed to raising $6000 which is no easy task. if any of you have ever been affected by this terrible illness feel free to click the link after this post and make a 100% tax deductible donation to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. every dollar donated goes to research. you will be supporting my run and a cause that affects everyone as everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer. as far as my eating, I still have to be very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can eat much more today than I could 2 years ago but still no where near what I could eat before having the surgery. hope everyone on their journey is doing well and feel free to ask any questions. im also attaching my before pic and a few current pics taken last week. have a great day! heres my donation link for anyone willing to support this wonderful cause: http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

hi everyone! its been awhile since ive posted. im actually going to be running the boston marathon in a few months and im so excited about this! ill be doing it again for charity, the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. ive committed to raising $6000 to fight this terrible illness and If anyone here has been affected in some way by cancer and you would like to donate to the jimmy v foundation for cancer research and support my run as well as a worthy cause, feel free to click the link that follows this post. your donation is 100% tax deductible. thank you and look for another post from me in the forums with my 4.5 year update (for the last 2 years or so ive steadily stayed in the mid 190's and that's where I am today). thank you and everyone have a great day! http://jimmyv.convio.net/site/TR/Endurance/General?px=1409952&pg=personal&fr_id=1370

jess9395, congrats on running a marathon! ive only run 2 full marathons and that's probably going to be it for me. it takes too much to train and prepare for that distance and I think ill just be sticking to half marathons from this point forward. being that im from nyc I wanted to run the nyc marathon once to just run my hometown race. it was an incredible experience as there was so many people cheering us all on and I don't think any other race ever can compare to that one. I didn't get in through the lottery so I ran for charity, the jimmy v foundation for cancer research. if you do ever decide to run another marathon definitely try and make it the nyc one! and again I say great job on your weight loss, you look awesome!

yes jess9395 it is an older post but I did just run the 26.2 mile nyc marathon on nov. 1 which was 2 months ago. I try to run 3-4 times a week for exercise and schedule a few races a year to have a race to look forward to. thanks for the kind words and best of luck to you as well and I can see you too have done very well regarding your weight, so congrats to you too!

^{if I had to pay for the full Tummy Tuck it would of cost about $14,000. because the insurance paid for the panniculectomy part of the procedure, I only had to pay the difference which was $8500. also remember im in New York City and prices here may be more expensive than other areas. it was the best money ive ever spent! take care.}

reply to olronir:

hi and thanks for your message. i see your numbers are very similar to mine. you started about the same weight as my high weight and your goal is what my goal was, which is 180. unfortunately I had a lot of loose skin and I just got a Tummy Tuck 2.5 months ago. I got my insurance to pay for a panniculectomy which i had to prove was medically necessary, but the panniculectomy only covers the hanging loose skin from your belly button down that overhangs your waist and basically only in the front of your body, it does not cover anything above the belly button or really any part of your sides/hips. I had to pay out of pocket to get a full tummy tuck which then added in the area above my belly button up to the chest bone, some of the side/hip area and I also got my stomach muscles tightened to create a flatter look. as far as clothes size, before I wore a size 50 pants and a 3xl shirt. now I wear a size 34 pants and a size large shirt. hope this info helps and best of luck to you on your journey.

^{reply to lexie: theres no reason you cant meet that goal of running a marathon in dec 2015. just remember its small steps forward now that equal those bigger steps later. so start slow, be safe, follow your doctors advice, listen to your body and youll do fine! best of luck.}

^{reply to mermaiddreams: there have been a few ah-ha moments for me. looking at myself in pictures and realizing I no longer had to try and hide my stomach any more as that was just the normal thing I did. I would always hide behind someone so only my shoulders and head were visable in the pictures. also, when I completed my first half marathon I actually cried and realized I had become an athlete. I never thought of myself as an athlete as that was never a thought I believed possible. lastly I would say just accepting the mental realization that I wasn't that heavy guy anymore. even when I had lost 60 or 70 lbs I still saw that heavy guy in the mirror. then one day I looked in the mirror and that heavy guy was gone...and hes been gone ever since! best of luck to you in all that you do - stay positive, believe in yourself and you will achieve whatever you dream.}