Kris

This actually makes a lot of sense to me; thanks for sharing! I remember pre-surgery I would eat nearly constantly, and was fairly obsessed with food (so when I wasn't eating, I was thinking of what I would eat next). Food really was an obsession for me, really almost like drugs must be for a drug addict. I think it was the carbs, too -- I was not much of a Protein eater prior to surgery (I really think I was addicted to carbs!). While I still do experience physical hunger, it is nothing remotely like it was before surgery, and I don't find myself obsessing about food like I used to before surgery. Before surgery, my husband would let me plan out all the meals for the week because I was always thinking about food. Now he gets really exasperated with me because he will ask what we are having for dinner, and I will tell him truthfully that I really don't care what we eat, and that is 180 degrees different than how I used to be, and he is not used to that response! I was reading an article in a bariatric journal that indicates within a few years after surgery, the sleeve will begin producing ghrelin, which is why you will always have to be careful about maintenance. Hopefully it won't produce ghrelin in the same quantity as before surgery!

I am 164.4 lbs. this morning. I am nearly 70 lbs. lighter now than I was in the winter, and summer is much better without those extra pounds! I find I am far more active, and my energy level is far higher, than it was pre-surgery. Yesterday morning was a perfect, sparkling summer morning. We have had a very cold year this year and most days this summer it has not gotten above the low 70's (and on many days temps didn't even get out of the 60's). But yesterday was the day everyone has been waiting for ... warmer, but not hot, and no hint of rain anywhere. I am now in the habit of walking a 2.5 mile trail several times a week that has a big section of long, fairly steep hill. I did that walk yesterday, then went straight down to my community garden plot and did some weeding and garden chores for about 1.5 hours, then went home, changed, and went to the Puyallup farmer's market (it's fabulous!) with DH and had lunch (a few bites of kielbasa) and walked around to the vendors (bought lots of cherries, some garlic bulbs, and a pretty pink and white hydrangea). I would never have had the energy before surgery to do all those three things in one morning! Other news ... I am in a class at work and one of the ladies in class with me who works in our office (though not directly with me) caught up with me during break and complimented me on how good I look. Then she asked me if I had had weight loss surgery, and I said I had (I decided long ago to be very upfront with everyone about my surgery, if anyone were to ask). She said that she had a gastric bypass back in 2004. I was surprised (she has worked in our office about 4 years, and the whole time she has been at a stable size/weight ... I am guessing she is about a size 10/12). We spent some time talking about WLS. She has done very well with managing her weight ... she lost about 80 lbs. with gastric bypass and has gained back about 10 lbs. in the past 7 years. She says she does still have to take the nutritional supplements regularly, and as a result of her surgery she is completely lactose intolerant and can't have any dairy or she has horrible side effects. She also has to really watch her sweets intake. She hadn't heard of the VSG procedure and once I described it to her she said she wished she could have gotten it ... but overall she looks great. I know I will need to be vigilant about not having weight re-gain once I hit my final stopping point, wherever that ends up being. I have 32 lbs. left to hit my goal ... hoping to get there by the end of the year. We'll see how I do!

Those articles freaked me out a little ... I think one mentioned regrowth of the fundus? Does the stomach begin stretching out again? I thought that couldn't happen with the sleeve! I agree with the comments about the small sample sizes in these studies, which could lead to skewed conclusions. I'd like to studies of sample groups of at least 100 patients, not 40 or less. I go to an in person WLS support group at a local hospital ... I am the only sleeved patient (everyone else is gastric bypass). There are several people there who are 3+ years out and they are dealing with weight regain issues (some have had a lot of problems with weight regain). It does make me realize how important it is to make major changes (food choices, exercise) and stick to them in order to avoid a problem with weight regain down the road.

Thanks ladies for your comments! I love all the support here on VSG Talk! We are all going through an amazing journey!

I just got home from Maui last night and was really interested to see what the scale would tell me. During vacation I decided to not put any limits on what I ate or drank, so had many treats over the course of six days ... I really enjoyed my food at Maui, but restriction kept me in good control of caloric intake. Plus, we were pretty active ... lots of swimming, snorkeling, and walking around in the warm Hawaaiian sun. So I figured the activity would counteract the splurges at the table. So ... my final weigh in was on July 5th (the morning we left for Maui) and I was 169.6 (just barely missed my July 4th goal of 169.0). Today I got on the scale, and O Happy Day, it said I weigh 167.2 -- a loss of 2.4 lbs.! Yay! That was a happy moment for me! I had a couple of NSVs this week too. The biggest one was how easily I now fit in a plane seat. I used to hate and dread flying, because I would overflow the seat and could barely close the seat belt, but now I have no problems at all with the plane seat or seat belt. That felt great! The second NSV came this morning -- my hubby went out to get the mail and saw one of our neighbors, who told him, "Your wife is the incredible shrinking woman!" LOL! I am now wearing a size 14 (or women's Large) and that is so cool! Life is really great with my sleeve!

Wow, incredible! You are doing amazing! I just hit my six month surgiversary and am down about 60 lbs., so to be down over 70 lbs. and not even five months out is pretty amazing! Way to rock that sleeve!

Lots to talk about this week. My 6 month surgiversary is in 4 days. As of today, I weigh 170.4 lbs.; my 4th of July goal was to get to 169 lbs. so it is coming right down to the wire. I am hoping to be under 170 lbs. tomorrow ... maybe not 169.0 but somewhere between that and 170.0. When I had my surgery, I set several VSG progress goals on my weight loss journey. There were three progress goals in particular that were really meaningful to me -- first, to get into ONEderland; second, to weigh less than my husband; and third, to have a BMI of less than 30 (therefore no longer being considered officially obese). I hit my first goal the month after getting sleeved, and just hit my second goal today. When I saw my weight being right near 170 lbs. this morning, I knew I was very close to my husband's weight. I called DH into the bathroom, asked him to strip down to his skivvies (since I weighed in wearing only my skivvies), and get on the scale. Ta da -- he weighs 172.8, so I weigh 2.4 lbs. less than him! Woo hoo! June was a very tough month for me on the weight loss front. I was in a virtual stall for 3 weeks, and started eating really badly out of frustration. I hadn't been exercising, and started doing that last weekend. I really got into exercising this past week, and it definitely helped ... I dropped nearly 2 lbs. this week, even with a visit from Auntie Flo (which, when I think about it, probably also explains a bit why I went a little crazy with junk eating last week ... raging hormones + frustration = BAD NEWS). I have exercised a lot this week ... did a fairly tough 2.5 mile trail walk 5 times (including this morning). I've been getting up a bit earlier and walking before going to work, and it also helps me come to work with more energy and focus. I haven't been exercising really (except for gardening on the weekends) so I have been pleasantly surprised how much I like it. It is SO much easier and pleasant to exercise when I don't have as much excess weight to carry around. Each day I try to do a little bit more ... challenging myself every time. I am feeling good about exercising and wish I had started doing it much sooner (no doubt I would be much closer to my ultimate goal if I had started exercising 5 days a week a few months ago!). DH and I are having or 15th wedding anniversary this week and are celebrating it by taking a trip to Maui. I plan to spend a lot of time in the water (we have two snorkeling trips already booked) and am hoping that a week of downtime, and lots of fun exercise, means a nice surprise for me on the scale when I return from my trip.

Yay KathyD! Woo hoo on your NSV! Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!!!!

Well, for those of you who didn't hit goal ... add me to the group... I was SO SURE I would hit it, and then hit a 3 week virtual stall in June (my worst month for weight loss since getting sleeved in January) ... but hey, I was close. Let's see how I do for the Labor Day Challenge! SN................Starting Wt..........Current..........Goal...........Lbs to Goal Kris..................186...................170.4..........169...............1.4

Hi all my fellow sleevers, Like most sleevers, when I had my VSG procedure I set some weight loss progress goals so my ultimate weight loss goal (99 lbs.) didn't seem quite so impossible. Aside from my ultimate weight loss goal, the one goal that I really, really wanted to achieve was to weigh less than my husband ... and finally, today was the day! WOOT!?! I saw 170.4 on the scale and knew I was really close to his weight, so I called DH to hop on the scale. He obliged, and the scale said he weighed 172.8 -- more than 2 lbs. more than I weigh. This is a sweet NSV! We are having our 15th anniversary on Wednesday, and for most of our marriage, I have weighed more than DH. But not this year! This is the best anniversary present I can think of! I still have nearly 40 lbs. to lose to hit my ultimate goal, so my weight loss journey still has a quite a ways to go ... but today I am pretty darn happy!

Excuse my bad language, but I had a total craptastic week on the weight loss front. I am only down .2 lbs. since last Sunday (172.0 today) -- awful. But even worse, this time I can't blame my bad week on my body holding on to weight -- this week it's my own fault I haven't lost weight. My eating this week has been the worst ever since getting sleeved. I've partaken of donuts, cupcakes, crackers, and rice chips -- all that junk food, ugh. I have been frustrated with not losing weight so I have fallen into my very bad pattern of dealing with frustration by eating junk. However, I will say, I am owning my bad behavior, and this morning I did something about it. I got up out of bed, got on my walking shoes, and did a killer one hour walk on a trail near my house (which has a monster hill that goes a mile and several hundred feet in elevation). Yah, baby! THAT'S the way to deal with frustration -- not putting crap food into my mouth, but doing something healthy and (dare I say) fun. I was SO proud of myself doing this walk today. I had walked on that trail a few times before surgery (when I was 220 lbs.+) and it darn near killed me. On the hill part, I would have to take it in sections, like walk 100 yards, suck wind really hard until I felt like my heart wasn't going to explode out of my chest, and then walk another 100 yards, until I got up that hill. Today was the first time I have walked that trail since surgery, and man what a difference losing 60 lbs. makes. The hill starts out gradually, then gets really steep for a while. Once I got to the steep part, I could feel my heart get going faster, and I was thinking, "Oh boy, I am going to have to stop soon," but I decided to just keep going until I couldn't take it anymore ... and lo and behold, I never had to stop ... it did get tough at some points, but I just kept walking. To me this is a MAJOR NSV because I can do something now with relative ease that I would have keeled over dead trying to do pre-surgery. Another thing that was really cool was that my husband did the same walk as me, but he used the reverse course, so we passed each other halfway. He made it home before me (he is not fat) but when I walked in the front door his first words to me were, "You're home already! I am really impressed! I just got home a few minutes ago myself!" Yay!!!! And you know, right now, as I am writing this, I am eating a lovely breakfast of cold watermelon and feeling darn good. My energy level is really good. My legs are a little sore from walking but nothing major -- it's a good kind of sore that tells me I challenged myself and did good. So anyway, some key lessons learned this week are that I still obviously emotional eating issues; but I can do something about it and deal with my emotions in a healthier way. My 4th of July goal was to get to 169 and I am 3 lbs. away from that goal. I am going to do that hill walk every day this week, by gum, and see if I can get to that goal. I was doing so great earlier in the month and thought I had that goal in the bag ... but now I am really going to have to fight for it. And I AM going to fight for it!

Hi Dari, I totally get where you are at! My surgeon told me before surgery, "This operation is only on your stomach, NOT your head. You need to work on your head too." At the time I was a little skeptical of what he said, but he was 100% right. My new sleeve helps me not eat as much bad food, but the cravings and the emotional eating are still with me to a great degree. I think just the part of expressing the problem (like we do here on VSG Talk) is very helpful -- like once we own our truth, we can start working on it. And really, when you think about it, this weight loss process is going fast -- our bodies are changing way faster than our heads can keep up. You are doing great to have lost so much weight so fast already! I hope you continue to have great success!

You know that saying, be careful what you ask for because you just might get it? Well, lo and behold, that has happened to me as far as my weight loss is concerned. Back before surgery I had submitted a post here on VSG asking had anyone deliberately eaten more calories in order to have a slower weight loss, so the skin could catch up as the weight loss happened. I got numerous responses, nearly all of which were to the effect of, why the heck would you want to have surgery in order to deliberately slow down your weight loss? And also people pointed out your skin will do what it wants to do, whether you lose fast or slow. I was suitably chastened because of course my VSG friends were correct about that. HOWEVER, I needn't have worried about having super fast weight loss. I am losing weight nice and slow and steady, not by design but just cause my bod wants to. This week I am down only .6 lbs. for the week. Nearly stalled. This happens nearly every month but for some reason only losing less than 1 lb. feels like a total failure. I have not been eating any better or worse than usual, but my body is holding on to the weight right now. However, I can't complain that much because I am really bad about not exercising. Every week I say this will be the week it changes, and then I don't do anything different. I do work in the garden on the weekends, but very little in the way of exercise from Mon-Fri. I am sure that is hurting my weight loss. I tried on the size 18 bathing suit this weekend ... ruh roh Scooby Doo. My girls are totally overflowing the size 18 top too. Even worse, the laws of gravity are telling the girls to just hang where they want, which is not in the cups of the swim top, so as a result they keep slipping out of the swim top and below the bra area and it looks like I am deformed. So, my swimsuit purchases so far have been a total fail. My girls are so saggy and just shall I say gross .... I hate them, hate them, HATE THEM. The swim skirt on the size 18 swimsuit is a little loose; it should really be a size 16. So I have a minor disaster on my hands ... a top that is too small and a bottom that is a little loose. So much for the great deal on a bathing suit ... I am going to order some swim separates from Lands End today (plus size top, regular size bottoms). And I know for sure next year I am either going to appeal for breast reduction surgery at my *** or am going back to Mexico to get a breast reduction/lift. I want a total do-over on my girls. Speaking of saggy, I could say that about my whole dadgum body. Upper arms are saggy; my thighs are a freaking cottage cheese filled saggy DISASTER, and of course the aforementioned low rider girls. Now here I am bitching about my saggy skin, but of course in reality I am in a weird way very thankful to have this saggy skin, because it means I have lost a whole lot of excess weight. When I am wearing clothes that cover my upper arms and thighs, I feel like I look fine -- a little heavy, but normal heavy, not remarkably heavy as I was before surgery. Blah, blah, blah. I am hoping next week when I post I will have a lovely number to report, something between 170 and 171. Now off to the garden with my saggy skin self and burn some calories.

SN..........Starting Wt..............Current..........Goal.......Lbs. to Go Kris...............184.6......................172.8.............169............3.8 I'm getting closer, I think I will make this goal! I'm in a slow patch right now but am still optimistic I am going to get this!

In my last blog posting I mentioned how my weight loss goes in cycles, and that has proved to be the case this week. After two weeks of good weight loss, this week I only lost 1 lb. -- I'm 172.8 today. I expect next week will be similar, and then hopefully the last 2 weeks of June will be another good weight loss cycle. I am 3.8 lbs. from my July 4th goal, and I think I can still make it, barring a stall. I still have some of my old size 22/3X/2X clothes in my closet, but slowly but surely I am giving them away to Goodwill. I just filled another large bag with clothes to donate this morning and will drop them off today (and pop into the store to see if there's anything cute to buy). Some of the 1X clothes I bought in late March/April are definitely too big now ... that is a good feeling! Aside from my size 18 swimsuit (which I need because I am so darn busty), I am totally out of the plus sizes now. My hair loss is definitely continuing, but not as bad as I had thought it would be. I have seen stories of women losing hair in handfuls, and I haven't experienced that ... I do shed hair for sure when I am washing my hair and styling it. I have noticed time and time again that my sleeve now is just part of me ... my life is totally normal now, except I just can't eat as much food as I could before surgery. I am losing weight pretty effortlessly. I still have to battle the carb monster and not make stupid choices, but it's not nearly as hard now as it was before surgery to walk past the bakery section, or confine myself to two or three little bites of garlic bread with a meal instead of half a loaf, or to skip having lunch at fast food 3 or 4 days a week (though I do love me some Wendy's salads ... they make great salads, and they're pretty guilt free esp. since I have the half size salad, skip the cheese and have grilled chicken on the salad). A couple of times I have 'splurged' and ordered a hamburger and fries at a fast food joint, but I can only eat a few fries and really they don't feel that great in my sleeve, so it's not as tempting to eat them as it was pre-surgery. I do still love food, and I am actually glad about that, because good food is one of life's great pleasures. I just now have this wonderful, powerful tool, that helps me to enjoy the heck out of my food, in small quantities. I have seen a lot of people losing incredible amounts of weight since being sleeved ... that's not me, but I am more than halfway to goal and not yet six months out. Next month will be my six month surgiversary and I hope to be 30-some-odd lbs. from my end goal weight. I don't exercise much (really my only exercise is gardening, which I do for several hours each weekend day and some evenings after work) so I know I would lose more if I were exercising more ... now that the weather is getting really decent, I will be bumping up my exercising more. I really do need to work on toning, as my loose skin is yucky (but not as bad as fat!). So ... off to the garden now. I am going to be having some wonderful salads this year. I have two pet rabbits and DH and I make them a big salad every night for dinner (veg and little bits of fruit only, of course, no dressings or nuts or croutons or such) ... and every time I make a bunny salad I'm like, "Yum, I want to eat this too!" My dinners most summers are going to be salad with some grilled meat or fish ... YUM!!!!

I'm now 10 weeks out after surgery and as of my last weigh-in am 195.8 I've lost about 31 lbs. since surgery; a bit over 3 lbs. a week on average, although the average is very misleading since I lost so much weight the first couple weeks after surgery. I have really been slacking lately and am in a funky place emotionally and in my head. I'm not eating as well as I could and not exercising at all. My weight loss has really slowed down the past couple of weeks; I'm not in a stall but this week I didn't even lose 1 lb. I have this weird weight loss entitlement feeling going on ... like I had surgery, so the pounds just should be falling off no matter what I put in my mouth or what I do with my body. I know this is a horrible attitude to have and I've got to work to change it. I think it started a few weeks ago. A dear friend of mine has an aunt who had VSG a bit over a year ago, and she's lost over 90 lbs in a year, and according to my friend she never exercises and she doesn't particularly watch what she eats. When I heard that, I think I used that as an excuse to slack off ... like I will lose weight no matter what I do or don't do. I know, however, that this is the prime weight loss time -- right now -- and if I don't get at least to midway to goal soon I am going to have a really really tough time getting to goal. The flip side to this devil may care attitude is the unspoken and very scary fear that maybe I will fail at this ... I've failed at every other attempt at weight loss I've tried for the past 15 years ... I don't know if I have confidence to succeed. Maybe subconsciously I think I deserve to be fat the rest of my life and am sabotaging myself. I clearly still have food and self esteem issues to work through! OK, to switch to a more positive note, I had to go shopping today. My bras are all way too big now and aren't giving me decent support. I didn't even know what size the girls are now, so I went to Lane Bryant and got a fitting, and the lady told me I was a 40G. My last fitting before surgery I was a 44H (but only had one bra in that size; most of my bras were a 44DDD or a 46DDD, depending on whether my weight was in the 220s or in the 230s. I'm a little suspicious and disbelieving at the fitting, and unfortunately the store didn't have any bras in my size, so I couldn't try on the new size to see if it was right. I am going to order a couple of bras online and hope they fit OK. In the mall near the Lane Bryant store is another plus size store, CJ Banks. I popped in there to see what they had and found several cute tops. I tried on a size 1X and 2X, and definitely the 2X tops were too big ... yay! So, I bought a couple of 1X tops. I am hopeful once I get a new bra I will look a little better too ... I am looking pretty saggy and pathetic in the chest area using the current bras. I still wear my old size 22 clothes a lot (I donated most of the summer clothes to Goodwill already) and they are definitely too big ... I veer between being highly annoyed at how loose everything is to realizing how cool it is that everything is so loose. I hope my next post is going to say I am below 195 ... that will be cool. I am looking forward to being in the 180s -- I hope to get there sometime in April. Because once I am in the 180s, it's not too far to be back in the 170s, a place I am really really wanting to get to again. Back in my late 20's, when I started gaining a lot of weight, I remember being in the 170s and being fairly worried about my weight, but not seeing myself as really huge. I could still squeeze into "normal size" clothes (albeit a tight size 14P). And I remember my health was really good -- normal blood pressure, normal blood tests, everything normal. Even though I was a good 40 lbs. over my lowest maintained weight, I still saw myself as plump rather than fat (actually, I was definitely obese at that weight, but didn't "feel" obese). And so a big part of me really, really wants to be in the 170s again, and sees that as a happy place ... like if only I can get there and stay there, and not gain weight, I will be totally fine. I am still not fully sold on the concept that I will ever actually get to my goal weight of 125. I have always had reservations about that number. According to the BMI charts, 125 lbs. puts me at the top of the normal range for my height. However, I haven't been that low since jr. high school! In my 20s, when I was very active and looked/felt my best, I was always in the low-mid 130s ... I wore a size 8P and felt good about that. I am deeply skeptical that I will ever get to the 130s, not to mention the 120s! Well, I really am rambling on this post ... hope next week brings some good weight loss news!

So my five month surgiversary is in two short days. Today I was 173.8, up a couple of oz. from Friday I think, but still, getting pretty close to my July 4th goal of 169 lbs! I had DH weigh himself yesterday to see how much he weighs. He weighs 170.8 so I am 3 lbs. above his weight. It will be a happy, happy day to make my July 4th goal, as I will also weigh less than my hubby. I am just shy of 42 lbs. above my ultimate goal weight, so more than halfway to goal, and not even six months out. Yay! Today DH and I went to Seattle Suntan for our first-ever indoor tanning experience. Let's just say it can be pricey to get a tan (and maintain it) but I have pretty fair (AKA *white*) skin and don't want to go to Maui next month (exactly one month from today, woo hoo!) blinding people with the whiteness of my skin. We went on one of the newer premium beds -- it was so weird. I didn't expect it would be so hot in the tanning bed .... and your skin stays warm for quite a while afterwards. I didn't put on any tanning lotion before tanning but ordered some on Amazon after I got home so will have some for next time. I tried on that Speedo swimsuit I got from Cosco ... fit everywhere but in the bust area (too small in the bust, alas). So today I went to Sams Club and bought a size 18 2 piece (tank top and swim skirt), and hopefully that will have better coverage. I've bought several items of clothing, all size 16, so it was kind of a bummer to have to bump up a size in swimsuits, but c'est la vie. My legs are awful, lots of cellulite still in the thighs (all the way down to the knee) and I have quite a gut still ... let's just say men won't be gazing at my bod with desire at the swimming pool, LOL! But, on the other hand, my mom says she is JEALOUS of me now that I weight less than she does ... first time in a long time that is the case. But it is good natured jealousy, and not mean spirited. I've also gotten quite a few comments from co-workers about how different I look ... it's funny, when you see yourself in the mirror you don't notice change as much as others do. The only time I really notice how much weight I've lost is when I put on a piece of clothing I had worn before surgery ... I really can't wear most of my old clothes anymore, they are horribly loose. Only the clothes that were really tight can still be worn (and now they are loose). I've also noticed my weight loss definitely goes in cycles ... I will have a couple of good weeks of weight loss and then a couple of weeks where nothing happens. And I am not doing anything different. It's just odd the way that happens. Anyhow, five months out from surgery and I am feeling really good and am still so happy with my sleeve. I love how it helps me manage my volume eating problem (can't volume eat anymore!). And I really have a different relationship with food now. I just wish I would have had this surgery years ago! But am glad I'm still fairly young (43) so plenty of life ahead of me. This is the first summer in MANY years where I will be doing things I really love to do ... and not be ashamed (so much) to do them (swimming, wearing shorts, able to keep up with people while walking, etc.)

Awesome, amazing! Yay for you!!! I want to lose a total of 100 lbs. too and have a ways to go, but whenever I pick up something heavy (like a 40 lb. box of cat litter) I realize I used to be carrying that weight (actually more) around with me, every minute of every day, and it's like, Holy Cow, how did I function?!? You must look and feel wonderful! Congrats!!!!

OK, confession time -- I love a good bargain and I lurrrve me some Costco -- even though DH and I have no kids and don't run a business, we spend quite a lot of $ there -- they have so many good quality things, and such great prices. One of the things that always made me sad about being a size 22 was I could never ever buy any clothes at Costco (the highest size they typically go on women's clothes is size 16 and occasionally size 18). So now, I can officially buy clothes from Costco! Woot! I bought a pair of size 16 Dockers capris and a pair of shorts on Friday. Costco doesn't have a dressing room, so it's always a risk when you're not sure what size you wear. But, the clothes are cheap (esp compared to dept. stores) and I figured what the hey, buy some size 16s and see if they fit. I am still in the phase of picking up a pair of size 16s and thinking there is NO WAY these will fit (my brain still thinks I wear size 22), and then pulling them up and finding they do fit. The dockers are cut differently than other clothes -- the waist is actually loose, the hips/butt are fine, the legs are not as loose as the waist and truthfully I would be happier if they were a little looser -- but overall, I would still wear them now for sure (if the weather wasn't so dismal here -- still chilly and today it's very gloomy). I also bought a size 16 swimsuit ($20 for a speedo, score!) but haven't worked up the courage to try that on because I am afraid of how I will look in a swimsuit. I am still bigger on the top than on the bottom so that should be interesting! I am 175.4 today, only have to lose 6.4 lbs. by July 4th to hit my goal of being under 170 for the vacation to Hawaii. I really hope I can get there! It was kind of a crazy month in my weight loss journey -- May started off great, then I had a big lull in the middle where nothing much happened, then I had a good week this week. I am hopeful to end up with an 8 lb. loss, which is what I've had each of the past 2 months -- if not the full 8 lbs. I should be close (I think I need to lose slightly under 1 lb. to get there, and I'll be doing some physical labor today, which should help with the calorie burn). My BMI is getting ever closer to the 30 mark, and boy oh boy I can't wait until my BMI puts me at merely "overweight" instead of "obese!" (When I weigh 159 I will be officially below a 30 BMI). That will be a great day to celebrate on my weight loss journey -- of course, at the rate I am going, that won't be until the end of July or maybe early August, so it's not imminent -- but that will be my next major progress goal.

A little over a week ago I saw my primary care physician for a checkup (actually saw the PA but that was fine, it's not like I even know my PCP as I only see her once in a blue moon). Anyhow, I brought along the XRays of my sleeve from Dr. Aceves and told her about the surgery. She didn't even know what VSG was so I had to explain it to her (I never told my PCP I was going to have the procedure before I went to Mexico). She seemed happy with my weight loss and didn't make any negative comments about me going to Mexico (which was good, as that would have really upset me). She ordered a battery of blood tests, which I had done early last week (I hadn't fasted prior to my dr. appt. so needed to come back another time). I got the results on Thursday, and to my delight, everything was within a normal range. In 2009 (last time I had blood tests) I had elevated fasting blood glucose -- not quite high enough to be confirmed for diabetes, but higher than the normal range (normal range tops out at 99, I was 110, diabetes is 125 or higher) -- basically, pre-diabetes. And my blood pressure was higher than normal, too. Well, this time my fasting blood glucose level was 85, right smack dab in the middle of normal! And my blood pressure is normal too (it also had been elevated -- not high enough for meds, but higher than normal; this time it was 118/80). There was not one area where my blood was not within a normal range! I am only halfway to my long term weight loss goal, but one of my major goals/hopes for this surgery was to have my health issues resolved, and I am thrilled that they really are! I feel like I have already added years onto my life. Even if I never lost another lb. (which I don't think will be the case), I consider this surgery to be a success because it has really, measurably, improved my health. I am SO thrilled with my sleeve!!!!

Yay Fern for your nsvs (which are both way cool), but WTH is up with your "best" friend????? I meant it's one thing to have concerns before the surgery, but come on to be like that 3 months later, what is up? I'd hate to have a best friend who didn't support me in something to improve my health and quality of life. I hope she comes around soon!

Yay, you are doing GREAT!!!!!

A week ago on Friday I had a checkup with my primary care physician's office. I asked to have blood workup to make sure everything is A-OK since it's been 4 months since surgery. I had a bunch of blood samples taken, checking cholesterol, iron, folate, vitamins/minerals, and fasting blood sugar. I got my results back this week and I was SO happy to see that everything is within normal ranges! In 2009, the last time I had blood drawn, it was because my dr. was worried I had diabetes. My fasting glucose level was 110 -- higher than the acceptable normal range of 65-99, but not quite as high as to confirm diabetes (a reading of 125 or higher is indicative of diabetes). I was "pre-diabetic" and that was one of the things that was worrying me (not to mention I had somewhat high blood pressure too). Anyhow, as of last week, my fasting glucose level was 85 -- well within normal range, and a drop of 25 points (about a 30% decrease!) from my 2009 levels. So -- only 4.5 months out of surgery and all systems are in good order -- yay, yay, yay!!!! I had a mini stall on my weight loss but it seems to have broken; as of this morning I am down to 178.0, a drop of nearly 2 lbs. since last week. I am getting ready to go out to do some gardening so that will give me some needed calorie burn. I am pretty sure I will not make it into the size 14 land by the time of our Maui trip, but hopefully by then my size 16s will be nice and comfy-loose and I won't look completely hideous in a swimsuit. I'm going to start going to a tanning salon (first time ever) this week to build up a base tan for the Hawaii vacation and a tan does make people look thinner -- hopefully it will help me! All in all -- a golly gee good news week. I feel really good, I am losing weight, My health has improved markedly, and all is well in my world!

Thank you starygrl, I love your name and your avatar! I have a bunch of cats so love anything with Hello Kitty!

OK, so I'm just about 3 months out, and LOVING my sleeve! I'm down into the 180s now (189.8 to be exact) and it's hard to believe ... I had a big slow patch in March but the past two weeks I've had good weight loss. I am going to Orlando on a business trip this week and am so excited to be wearing size 16/18 WP vs. the 22/24 size I was wearing pre-surgery. I know I still have quite a long ways to go to hit goal but I am now loving my weight loss journey. I am finally pretty much used to my new portion sizes and am getting good at pushing the plate away when I've had enough. I am good at chewing my food, very good about not eating and drinking at the same time, and good about getting protein in first before anything else. I am starting to work with light weights (do sets of arm exercises when I watch TV). DH and I are having our 15th wedding anniversary this July. I am so excited about this because for the first time in nearly the entire 15 years we've been married, by July I should be getting relatively close to my wedding weight (I never weighed myself then but am guesstimating I was in the high 130s or low 140s when we got married; I was wearing a size 10). To celebrate this milestone anniversary, we are going to Maui for five nights. I am so, so excited about this trip -- not only because I will be able to do things I absolutely love to do (swim, relax by water) but because I won't have to be terribly self conscious about my weight. By early July I am hoping to be in the low 170s and hopefully comfortably wearing a size 14, which is by no means a bikini body, but I hopefully won't be totally mortified to wear a bathing suit like I have been for at least a decade. I've been looking at the Lands End catalogs and they have a great selection of bathing suits that have good coverage (especially upper thighs, a nightmare zone for me), so I'm going to buy a couple of bathing suits from them as I get closer to the big date. So tomorrow I have to fly to Orlando, and I used to hate flying because I was so self conscious about how much space I took in a seat (basically overflowed the seat into the poor passenger's seat next to me). I still hate flying and am still self conscious, but hopefully I won't be overflowing too much into the seat next to me. My challenge this week will be to not cheat badly and stay disciplined with the food choices. I know I will be walking around a lot so that should help counterbalance any splurge meals or treats I have. I will be so, so happy to be in a sunny, warm place ... it's been a dreadful spring here in the Seattle area. This weekend I've been sprucing myself up a bit. I got a pedicure yesterday, colored my hair this morning, and am going shopping to buy a couple of new t-shirts to wear in the evening after our conference ends (going to Magic Kingdom one night, which should be lots of fun, and I want to be comfortable). I am going to be meeting some head honchos in our organization and don't want to make a bad impression. It is SUCH a relief to not have the same level of embarrassment about my weight that I used to have! I am still well aware I'm very big for my height, but I don't feel quite as self-conscious about it that I used to. I am so, so glad I got sleeved and already the changes in my life are fantastic, only three short months out from surgery!