DayByDay

Surgery day 1/21/13 299 to 218 15 weeks down 80 pounds

post is no good without pictures....just sayin'

Yes I did!

Just home from shopping trip for sandals. Walked into shop, picked a style, tried the left foot on and was very happy with the look. Asked the assistant if I could try on a pair... She went off to get the other shoe and came back very apologetically saying "we only have wide fitting left, sorry, but I can order you a regular fit" .....
She has no idea why I left smiling despite not getting my shoes. Having had "wide" feet for 30 years, this is the first time anyone has looked at me and judged that I must have "normal" feet... Whoo hoo!!!!!!

I'm pre-op, and have decided to keep this to myself....went to lunch with a group of friends, including 1RNY patient, and one who is thinking about it.......they started talking about WLS, and I nearly told them what I've been up to.....would love to talk with them, but once you say the words, you can never get them back....and I'm just not ready to tell people....wish me luck, because I am not the best at keeping my mouth shut! LOL

Your doctor is being way too hard on you. I was also sleeved in February (25th to be exact), I've lost 30lbs.
We are all different a lose weight at different rates. Most of my weight loss was before my surgery.
Celebrate your loss! Keep doing what you are doing, its working. Rather than seeing another surgeon, maybe you can start seeing a nutritionist that is familiar with the sleeve. Mine is wonderful and she has never once questioned the rate of my loss and helped me set nutritional goals. Just another option.
Take care. And be proud of your accomplishments.

Your doctor is being way too hard on you. I was also sleeved in February (25th to be exact), I've lost 30lbs.
We are all different a lose weight at different rates. Most of my weight loss was before my surgery.
Celebrate your loss! Keep doing what you are doing, its working. Rather than seeing another surgeon, maybe you can start seeing a nutritionist that is familiar with the sleeve. Mine is wonderful and she has never once questioned the rate of my loss and helped me set nutritional goals. Just another option.
Take care. And be proud of your accomplishments.

The often quoted phrase points out a human foible: judging the validity of arguments by the audacity of those who speak them. Degree of craziness is a ridiculous measure of truth but it sways ignorant people who judge not by content but by emotion and "instinct".
But then there are the multitudes who lash out at anything that disturbs their sleep. Thinking brings change, change requires energy and can bring pain or pleasure. Most are not willing to risk the effort.

5-18-13 & it had been exactly one year since I had my vertical sleeve gastrectomy. At my highest weight, I was 358, at the start of my pre-op diet, I was 338, on the day of surgery, I was 288. Today, I'm 193 pounds. (I'm 5'7) From a size 30 jeans, 30/32 tops to a MD top, & size 12 jeans. May 28th I will have my corset Trunkplasty to remove my excess stomach skin. My surgeon estimated 15-18 pounds of skin & from a 12 to an 8. Mentally, I struggle everyday because I feel like I should be smaller. But I've been exercising HARD since my 6 month pre-op diet, following my surgeons plan to a T. Not much else I could've done. I just have to love myself & where I am, but I'm going to keep on pushing towards my goal!
Kristie

6 months out and down 120!

I'm doing great. FINALLY broke a 2 week yo-yo stall and lost 2 lbs over night. Down 32 lbs since surgery. 70 total loss.

Here are some before and after photos of me.
Before (10-2011): 360 lb
In Rome near the Colosseum.
Surgery date (07-02-2012): 335 lb
I started to lose weight in may 2012, 2 months before surgery.
After (05-24-2013): 188 lb
At home in the back yard.
My lowest was 177 lb in February 2013. I have gained about 10 lb of lean muscle since then. "After" is still a work in progress as I am working on strength training over the summer months. No lose skin except for a little around the front of the stomach. It will probably go away by end of this summer.

Hey everyone!! Wanted to update you all and tell you all that I have lost 102 lbs so far! I am 8 months post op, and I feel GREAT! I am 23 years old and was obese, now I am not longer taking ANY medications anymore! , having heart disease and being obese was very scary. Now I don't have to worry about my health as much! For those who know me here know that I suffered from severe depression after surgery. I was hospitalized because I was ready to end it all... I guess I never realized how much food meant to me. I was a true food addict. Now I am on prozac and am happy as can be!! I plateaued for about 1 month at the 4 month mark, but now it just continues to come off... I am now 135 LBS!!!!! I never thought I'd see the day! The only issue I am having is eating, I forget to eat a lot, and sometimes I only eat once a day. I have no been following a diet, I eat whatever I want. I don't eat ice cream or candy, but I do eat pizza and chicken nuggets. BIG THANKS to all the people on here that supported me from day 1! I met a lot of great people on this website!

So I have to brag a little...
Today I noticed I now weigh less than the weight listed on my driver's license.

So I have to brag a little...
Today I noticed I now weigh less than the weight listed on my driver's license.

So far I'm loving my new sleeve..... This new tool has showed me new ways to cook healthy and appreciate the simple things in life like:
1. Walking up and down stairs
2. Wearing yoga pants
3. Going shopping in a non plus size store or section
4. Thighs not rubbing together
5. Sitting comfortable in the middle airplane seat
6. A bikini wax( I see ms kitty again)
7. Have a cheat day and eat like my skinny friends ( I still don't eat that much but I fake the funk lol)
8. Noticed a tattoo I forgot I had.... It was hidden under my blubber

You are super cute and look great iin yours. Some things are not meant to be shared, and me dressed like that is one of them, lol! Too scary for general public = Still fat + 50 years old + road worn!
Anyway, good for you and anyone else who can! I'm impressed

I got asked out today!! Made my day...but hubby wasn't too happy when I told him!!! :-P

My 3 months post-op appt with my doc is next week. Today my scale says 196....hope his scales concurs. Want to document in my medical records that I hit onederland. My pre-op and post-op weight loss total is 60 pounds...although I seem to have hit my first stall. Like many who have posted here, I still struggle getting all my Protein and Water in. It's a full time job...and I already have one of those...lol.

JeffA70
Thank you. This was a great post. And I so agree.

I don't typically cross-post between here and my blog, but I wrote this last night and thought it'd make for good discussion here too.
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The issue of weight and body image has been on my mind a lot lately. I guess it’s somewhat natural that it would be, but I truly didn’t appreciate how it would come into play every single day until I made the journey that I have.
Life is pretty good right now in the health and weight department. I’m down more than 130 lbs. from my peak, and I’m at a point where I feel healthy, am fitting into clothes that I could have worn 20 years ago, and all vitals are positive. My BMI is very close to “normal” (almost not even “overweight”!), my blood pressure is low, and I’m having few problems adjusting to my new diet. But the day-to-day living with this new version of myself is proving to be very different from what I expected. Not all good, not all bad. Just different.
A great case in point: I was in an elevator today, the kind with mirrored doors on the inside. I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time in front of mirrors, but this elevator kind of forces you to look at yourself. I checked myself out, even did a glimpse from the side, and thought, “You’ve still got more to lose there, buddy.” In case you’re wondering, there was no one else in the elevator.
Then the doors opened and I made my way to my desk. In the span of about 50 steps, literally, two people commented on my weight and how I’m looking good these days. It’s flattering; I get some kind of comment from someone daily, and it’s really nice. The kind words make me feel good. Hell, I think I thrive on them; I couldn’t have done this without the support of my friends.
But the disconnect between what I see and what others do troubles me. I’ve had two people recently tell me that I’m “slim.” I can’t see it. Can’t imagine it, really. When you’re fat for a long time, the notion of being slim is so foreign that they may as well have called me plaid. But words have meaning, and enough people have said it that I think they truly are perceiving it.
So, why am I unable to do so myself? Part is, I suspect, that this new body is still unknown to me. I lay in bed in the morning and feel my ribs as if I’ve never noticed them there before. I can feel their edge, the individual ribs, and if I suck in my stomach, I can almost reach under the curve of them. I’ve been working out a lot more and I step out of the shower to see something close to pecs forming in the mirror. Not to drag a cliche or movie into the mix, but it’s a little like Freaky Friday. I feel like the same person inside, but that guy in the mirror isn’t me. The fat cheeks are more or less gone. The skin around my waist and chest is no longer being pushed out by all that fat. And the change has been--most dramatically, anyway--since January. Four months. There are bottles of salad dressing that have been in my fridge longer than I’ve been living in this body.
The other part of my disconnect, I think, is our larger definition of people based on their looks. Without piling on the jackass from Abercrombie and Fitch who was in the news lately, we pigeonhole people. Marketers do it, sure, but we each all do it too, and shame on us if we can’t admit it. There are a lot of people who talk to Me 2.0 who probably wouldn’t have talked to Me 1.0 in the same way. It’s not that no one talked to me when I was fat...far from it. I’m an outgoing guy. But a lot more people are talking to me now. Friends, co-workers, employees at stores, people in line with me. Men, women, young and old. Attractive people, normal people, and attractive people. I may have mentioned attractive people. It’s noticeable, and more than a little weird.
I got to thinking: do I do that too now? I suppose I do, in a way. I certainly don’t think I’m a different person inside, but I’ve noticed overweight people a lot more than I did before, and I definitely notice people eating huge portions more than I ever did. I HATE this new enhanced vision I have. Mere months ago, I was the one ordering the combo plate and finishing it without a thought. Mere months ago, I was wearing size 54 pants. It’s ugly and it’s unhealthy to have this combination of constant self-criticism of myself, and what seems like a constant view that centers around obesity.
So, as I remind myself that I’m the same person inside, I think it’s a lesson for us all that the outside is really what society transforms us to see. We prize slimness, we eat a lot, we look down on people who are overweight. But it’s the inside that really counts, and finding peace and balance with who you are. I have the same moral compass I did at 362. I have the same big picture values.
Another step in the journey, I suppose, and one that I didn’t see coming.

Hey all you fabulous February 2013 sleevers! This is the best thread!
Happy to report I've lost 51 lbs as of this morning! I was hoping to reach the 50 lb milestone so the extra lb is a great gift!
Happy Thursday everyone!
pre-surgery weight 325; surgery date 2/28/2013; surgery weight 307; 8 weeks past-op weight 281.4

Great job! You're looking good!

Sleeved 2/16/2013....hit the 50lb. today!!!!!
starting:232
CW:182.......so worth it!