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I would be lying if I said I did it solely for my health. There were so many reasons that I did it, for my health, for my self-esteem, for my future. I was 31 with no comorbidities. I had worked my entire life to lose weight since I was grade 5 and I started Slim Fast. I hated being in my body every day. There were also a multitude of obesity related illness that ran in my family and I knew it was just a matter of time. I had 2 small children and I wanted to be healthy for them. I wanted to live to see my grandchildren. I wanted them to have a good role model.

Now I am healthier than I ever have been. I can take my kids tobogganing and play with them at the playground. And I can go shopping wherever I want. I can usually grab a size small off the rack and know it will fit. I am more at peace in this new body of mine than I ever have been in my entire life. So I wouldn't really say it was partly vanity. It wasn't just to look better, it was to feel better about myself. I love my sleeve!

It took a long time for me to be able to tolerate breads and pastas. I am over 2 years out and can eat it now, but only in small amounts and only once in a while. Starchy foods are not a sleeves friend!

Is it true the regular no flavored Greek yogurt can be made into dips and is replaceable to sour cream?

I don't even by sour cream now, my hubby just uses my greek yogurt and has no complaints!

I am so sorry that it has been so difficult. Are you on any kind of acid reducer?? It looks like they have done a lot of testing, but have they given you anything?? Sometimes the feeling of being hungry is overproduction of acid. This can also lead to nausea and reflux pain. It is a shame that your own surgeon is so un-supportive. Is there any support groups in your area that you can attend?? Through that you might be able to find not only people that support you, but a good doctor that can give you a proper diagnosis.

Well, being that I'm nearly 3 years out, I can tell you that once your belly completely heals...stay away from these!!!! You can seriously eat half of a large bag of lays chips with no problem, so if this was a favorite food don't get back started. After I had my twins (last January) and I was horribly sleep deprived, during my 3am feedings I started eating chips to stay awake. This turned back on my addiction to food and before you know it, I was eating several bags a week again and gained 12lbs! I'm now working hard to get back on track with my eating, but take it from me, don't play with fire. Once your stomach is healed you can eat everything you did before (good and bad).

I hear ya~ Chips go down way to easy. Like I said earlier on, it is the one food that I can not control so I will not keep them in my house!

I wonder if we'll ever push the thoughts out of our heads, the ones about gaining it back. Like you, I always re-gained. I make mistakes too, but I don't really think of it like that since my surgeon said, "this is not a diet, it's a way of life" I think I make poor choices sometimes, and sometimes, like when making christmas Cookies and sampling more than I should....I just felt yucky. I'm up five lbs as of this morning, from a week ago. I've had the munchies for some reason, but I just cut out a couple of Snacks and it comes right off. I am upping my Protein a little, that always does it. I've been maintaining for two years, but have been 'stable' for about 20 months. I lost too much and had to add some calories to get back up a little. I'm fine now, I know I could still lose if I wanted to. I am never hungry, are you? I have a new hunger, it's more of an empty feeling, something I can ignore if I choose to. It's weird, but I hope it stays this way forever!

I struggled through Christmas and gained 4 lbs, but it mostly gone now, just back to normal eating. If food is in front of me, I eat it, even if I am not hungry! The more junk I eat, the more I crave it too! Once I was home, it took me at least a week before I stopped craving stuff. Plus, my hormones are the devil. I can tell every point in my cycle because I will start to want to eat like there is no tomorrow! I know that I have a problem with food and being a food addict, so I have really tried to set my life up for success. I do not keep anything in my house that I know I will eat. I have turned a lot of the foods that I enjoy into sugar free, low sugar or low carb. I made many changes that I could live with, not a drastic diet that would help me lose quickly but I would not be able to maintain forever. I was a really slow loser, so I have been maintaining now for about 8 months without struggling. I wish I had the problem of dropping too much! But I never thought I would. In the past, no matter how hard I worked, the weight came off slowly, so I was not surprised when it came off slowly even with the sleeve.

I do get hungry, but it is not really the same as before. Like you said, it is sort of an empty feeling. I get a little twinge in my stomach but nothing like before surgery. I hope it stays too!

We will have to keep in touch, it is sometimes hard to find people on here that are 2 years plus out to talk too. I think this is when a lot of us need the support the most. The losing was the easy part, the maintaining is always the harder part. Most of my new habits are entrenched now, so I can't see myself having a lot of problems, it is just the brain stuff sometimes that gets to be. The 4 lbs gain over Christmas almost drove me off the deep end!

I wonder what you need to do to keep your stomach from stretching or is it unavoidable? I haven't had surgery yet, but trying to learn as much as I can.

I just realized that I misunderstood your question! Oops! From what I understand, unlike a bypass, the portion of the stomach that is the sleeve portion is very muscular and does not stretch much. I can eat more than I could at the beginning, but I still have really good restriction. The best thing is to listen to your stomach. Even now, one or two bites extra is too much for me. Eat slowly and when you start to feel even just a little full stop.

Like everyone said, it will come. They pump you full of gas and fluids and it all makes you feel like crap. I gained 10lbs after my surgery and didn't lose anything until I was almost 2 weeks post op! Take gas-x or something like that, it helps get the gas out. Also, you are not eating anything, it is pretty normal not to go. Just be careful, it is really easy to get constipated. Good luck!

I know you probably don't want to hear it, but it honestly gets better. I remember being exhausted for at least a month afterward. By 6 months out I was eating fairly normal, and now over 2 years out, I live a pretty normal life. The beginning is the worst. You feel like ****, you can't eat anything, and you keep thinking "What the hell did I just do to myself". Good luck and I hope you start to feel better sooner rather than later.

We are not too far apart, my two year anniversary was at the end of November 2012. You look amazing and have done amazing! You should be so proud of yourself!! Congratulations!

You look awesome and I bet yo felt sooo good!

Thanks Ladies! I have never worn anything so tight in my life! And when I got married, I was at my heaviest, so I didn't even feel that nice. I did feel good, and my hubby really appreciated it too!!

OK, not a black dress, but the fanciest dress I have worn other than my wedding dress almost 10 years ago!

I am not sure when you had your surgery, but it can be common to get depressed afterward. I had to try 3 different anti-depressants before I found one that worked for me. Everyone is different, so I recommend that you go talk to your doctor as soon as you can. Is there any surgery support groups in your area that you can turn to for support?? Family?? I know logically you know that your husband can not help that he is deployed, but emotions are not always logical! And for me, my depression was an angry depression. I called myself mean mommy because I was always irritated and yelling at everyone. You are not alone. I really encourage you to talk to your doctor before things get worse, especially between you and your hubby.

I have not heard anything like that either. I know with my program, they want you to stay away from alcohol in the losing phase because it is very high in calories. You will also not be likely to have any kind of carbonated kind either, especially beer. The carbonation is very painful. The only other caution is like mentioned above. It takes very little to start feeling it, so take it slow! I am over 2 years post-op and enjoy the occasional beverage.

I am o- blood type and have had no issues. I am not sure why he would mention it. The only thing I can think of is that when you are o- blood type you can only get o- for a blood transfusion, so your options from the blood bank are a little limited! Other than that, the negative Rh should have no impact on your surgery.

Congratulations!! That is an amazing accomplishment!

The way you are right after surgery and in the few weeks following is NOTHING like it will be, so don't worry. Like many have said, it gets better and pretty soon you will be able to drink pretty much like normal. I am 2 years post op and can drink a 500ml bottle of Water quickly, without issues or pain. At first, really cold drinks bothered me, but not anymore. Now it doesn't matter! The only thing I have had trouble with, believe it or not, is plain water. And I have heard it from others as well. It just does not sit right. So right now I drink Arizona sugar free Lemon Iced Tea because it is sweetened with splenda until I can find a stevia alternative.

That is the great thing about the sleeve, it is so much easier to get back on track. I am also 2 years post op, and I still follow a lot of the the post-op guidelines. No drinking with meals, Protein first, lots of fluids. The biggest thing for me is keeping the junk out of my house. If it is not there, you can not eat it. I think this is the biggest part of my success. The sleeve did not give me more will power and it didn't change my tastes. I still love the bad stuff, and if it was in my house, I would eat it.

Also, the 5 day pouch test is a good idea. It is tough, but it is meant to help you get rid of those carb cravings. The more high sugar high carb foods you eat, the more you crave them.

And look at it like this. You lost 90LBs! That is a great accomplishment. And, yes, you gained back 7lbs. But without the sleeve, you probably would have gained back all 90 and maybe then some! If you have great restriction and you are committed to trying, you can do it!! The sleeve is a great tool, work with it and you will do great!

I have tried NOW brand Better Stevia. It is a liquid form and I have not had any experience with it being bitter. Swerve is an Erythritol sweetener, which is a type of sugar alcohol, but it is not suppose to give the tummy troubles and I have read good things about it.

And just an FYI, even with the sleeve you can dump. It is not common, but it can happen.

Love these!! There is a melon apple one that is the best!

I think it is a really touchy subject. I know even for myself, I am always worried to say something if someone hasn't been publicly open about it. I am always worried I am going to offend them, almost like I am saying "you needed to lose weight". And I am coming from a point where I know how good it feels to get compliments, and I am still scared!

Weight loss surgery is just one piece of the puzzle to achieving and maintaining long term weight loss. It is so important we continue to monitor our daily food intake, see what works for us and what doesn't. If you eat junk, you will gain weight. You have to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat nutritious meals and exercise. Just because you reach goal, you can't stop doing what helped you get there and revert back to your old habits or you will end up back where you started. I know, I was headed that way but fortunately caught myself before it got out of hand. Now I am back on track again and even lost five pounds this week, yay me!

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That is the nice thing about the surgery. It can't stop you from getting of course. But it is much easier to get back to good habits and lose the weight. Plus, if you do start gaining, it is not like before. Optimal for early intervention. It is a lot easier to lose 5 or 10 lbs than 50 lbs!

I have been overweight my entire life and I have had to babies. There is no solution for me other than a Tummy Tuck after losing all my weight. It does all depend on how well you heal and how skilled your surgeon is. I haven't had the surgery, but I have seen a few others scars. It is hip to hip, but it is very low. Most can still wear a bikini (as long as it is not a g-string type or super skimpy). For me, I would take the scar over the amount of saggy skin I have any day, just trying to save for it now! I would probably be a pants size smaller if I didn't have so much skin. But, I would take the saggy skin over being overweight in a heartbeat! Clothes can hide almost anything!!

Guess what?! The stall is broken!! Down 5 lbs today on the scale! YAY!

Congratulations! And like everyone said, make sure to keep drinking, it actually makes you retain less fluids!

Don't feed the troll.

I agree, don't let comments like that get you worked up.