margarita81

I was 7 months out yesterday and I am officially down 124 lbs. I started at 330lbs and I am down to 206. I feel great. I have had no problems at all and my only regret is that I did not do this sooner.

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Surgery was 5/10/12
Lost 72 lbs since pre op

Here are some pics from 8/18 3 days before I started my liquid diet, then today, 10/3. I weighed in at 213 my last preop appt, today I weighed 189. :-)

So do you see a difference?
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Ok, this may not be important to some, but I did a summer sault today with my teenage girls. I landed in on point. I have not done that or even attemted it in over 20 yrs. Im 34 yrs old and I was outside flipping and jumping with my kids. WOW. cant describe that feeling to be able to play with my children like this. Its almost euphoric. What a blessing. Glory to God

Hi -
I don't get on the boards much but wanted to share a NSV I had this week. I'm 9 months out from VSG surgery & noticed how much I loved my school yearbook picture this year (I'm a teacher). What a difference!
Love my sleeve!

... 70 since surgery on July 12th and 100 total! Yeah!

The first is in March 2012 when I was in Bali. The second was in July and much less exotic because I was at work but wow I look better! I was sleeved in May.
I will need to get an updated photo the weekend.

Minus 117 pounds

Thank you all for your encouraging words and congratulations! This group has meant so much to me. Thought I'd post one more picture of myself and my daughter, who weighs 54 pounds. That's exactly what I've lost as of today. An entire 5 year old! LOL

Finally, 3 months 2 days and 45lbs later I finally have left the 300's. Never to return. Pic morning of surgery and pics today.

I am not a victim of that scenario, but my sister was. The insurance company told her to go to her HR department and have that rule changed when the contract is
renewed, she has to wait another year..

I asked. And if I needed my gallbladder removed and it could be directly related to WLS, they will not cover it. But, my insurance has no idea I had WLS, because my PCP (whom was totally on board with WLS) is very forgetful, and 'forgot' to mention it in her dictation, so it has never made it onto my list of diagnoses, (wink). I'm 6 months out, so I'm feeling pretty safe. One benefit of being a slow loser, is its easier on the ol' gallbladder!

I am going to try this, hopefully it works! I had my sleeve surgery November 29th, 2010. The first pictures are at my highest when I got married (I love my husband, he has loved me no matter what size!), around 260ish lbs. The second are the day of my surgery, 220ish lbs. The last pictures are at my current weight, 135-137lbs (I LOVE my hormones, I LOVE my hormones). There are 2 standing in my old jeans and I fit in 1 leg (1 is me AND my daughter in my jeans). There is also a picture of my biggest jeans (size 22), and my new jeans (size 4..I wear a size 4-6). I never dreamed I would ever be this size or weigh in the 130's. I honestly never thought I would even reach goal because I had tried and failed so many times in my life. I hope these pictures are inspiration that, if you let it, the sleeve is an amazing tool! And I hope it inspires the slower losers too! It took me 18 months to reach my goal weight of 140lbs, and I have even lost a few more pounds in the last couple of months. So don't get discouraged if you don't lose all your weight in the first 6 months. If you make the changes you need to make to have a healthy life, it will happen!
    

Today I submitted all of my documents were submitted to my insurance. The funny moment of it all was the pre cert coordinator must have showed my letter documenting my weight loss attempts in the past 12 months...all i heard was "OMG! Why do these people write books!" I looked at her dead in her face as she said it and then she walked away as if she had been caught robbing a bank. It was kind of hilarious, but unbeknownst to the mortified nurse I would have been negligent had I not given them a sneak peak in the 20+ years of weight loss attempts. 12 months to me just barely hit the surface. Needless to say my paperwork has been submitted to Horizon BCBS. Right now I have a tentative surgery date of November 9th.
Send prayers and positivity out on my behalf for an approval.

Before and during!!! Started at 295 July 2, 2012 and now at 236!!!

I loved looking at the before/after/progress pics while I was just getting started here, so I always try to reciprocate
Before: 241 (probably got up into the 250's but wasn't tracking)
No real pre-op loss.
Currently: 166-168.
Nutrition: Focus on Protein and Water. Can basically eat and drink whatever I want in very small portions. Foods that don't agree with me: bread, tortillas and rice generally don't sit well so I avoid them. Pasta is ok, and so are crackers/toast. My favorite foods: anything seafood. In the last few weeks I've eaten salmon, swordfish, shrimp, and sushi. Also: cheese, in any way, shape or form. I've had more caprese salad in the last month than in the rest of my life combined. Yum yum! My not-guilty-at-all guilty pleasure: coffee, with full fat Creamer and occasionally some sweetener (read: on my period, heh). Every day. Mmmm. Stuff that goes down easier than I wish it would: Anything made of potato. DAMN YOU, POTATOES! *shakes fist*
Also worth noting - I can eat as much fruit and veggies as a "normal" person. No one would ever know I had surgery when eating from a veggie tray. For some odd reason, there's no restriction with those two items. I can't eat as quickly as I used to, but I could graze all day. Weird!
I've taken a purposeful no-stress policy over this. Stress stalls weight loss. You heard it here first! I had no pre-op, I have very, very laid-back post-op, and although my weight loss has slowed, I'm still losing consistently. 75lbs in 4.5 months is more than good enough for me My current exercise routine is... well, nothing. Not NOTHING, I guess, if you count typing as exercise. I work a lot and am terribly out of shape. So it's been slow going to get started.
Pictures:

Size 18/20. That's an XXL shirt from Kohl's. Summer 2011.

This is a before/progress. Winter 2012 on the left, and about 40lbs down (or about 35lbs ago) on the right.
Approx. 168lbs
Approx. 168lbs. Size L yoga pants from Target (Champion) and size M shirt (unisex)


Trying on at Old Navy Sweetheart boot cut jeans in 12 short. Hoodie is a L. Both fit comfortably and will likely be loose in approx. 2-3 weeks.
IF I CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN. Hope this gives someone out there the inspiration they need to get healthy!

Im down 127lbs from my highest weight, I still want to lose 73lbs.
Sent from my iPhone using VST

I am only 7 weeks post op, but here is is a before and update on progress.

Terrible photo with the iPad but look at the seatbelt! That is the excess once I pulled it in. Presurgery I was struggling to do it up and on the border of asking for an extension belt. Today, I got to tighten it. And LOOK!

Congrats girl! U look great.

19lbs......Yayyyyyyy!!!!! Confetti is flying, and I am kicking and screaming. To God be all of the Glory! I knew that I had lost weight obviously, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I had loss 19lbs. I was completely blown away. I am truly overjoyed by this news, and motivated to continue. It got hard the one night that my DH and kids were eating McDonald's, and we all know how those fries smell. I thought that I was going to have to go outside. Although, I am not having hunger pangs, my nose works fine.lol But I have to get used to that. At work, there are always potluck luncheons going on, and food aromas are the norm everyday. So I will be tested on the regular, but I have got to get the victory over food, if I want this sleeve to be a success. So please keep me in your prayers, and as usual I will pray for you as well. Remember, we are in this sleeve together!

I wish you all the best!