Nycole

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

60 pounds is great, you look happier!

Awesome!

You look great! Keep up the good work

That's awesome!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Keep up the good work.

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Well I decided to put some pics up here this is after 60lbs lost...I was 270 and on March 27 I had my surgery....now today July 6 I weigh 210...I am proud of my progress and would like others to stay motivated!!!!

Nice, you look soooo much happier. Good job. Keep up the good mark!

I know most people are looking forward to ONEderland but as of today I am under 300 pounds for the first time in 15 years and I had to share my joy!
Highest weight 353
Day of surgery 329
Today 298
YAY ME!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I've dropped by, but I just want to give an up date and a word of encouragement. I had my one year post-op yesterday. It was a bit late (2/14/12 surgery), but anywho. I was down #160 (335-175), twenty dress sizes (28-8) and over 252 inches. If I can do this, anyone can. I had my toes in the grave. I was on 21 meds and the doc told me I would die that way...whether I lost weight or not. Because of my problems he (my PCP) didn't think I would lost a huge amount (50-60#), but he encouraged me to have it do so I could 'feel a little better about myself.' Well, I'm glad to say I proved him wrong. I did lose weight and a lot of it. I also lost all of the meds and the cane/walker/wheelchair. I am a WALKING miracle. I give praise to God for my healing. Now because I was instantly miraculously healed, but because he allowed me to find the path and the means (insurance) to get what I needed to be healed. I do believe God instantly heals somethings in some people, but I also believe he uses the hand of good physicians to administer healing. This is the way he chose to give me mine. I encourage anyone that has had a long, unyielding struggle with obesity to talk to a doctor about WLS... Sleeve in particular. If you are on the edge trying to make up your mind, take my advice. Do it! You are sick? In pain? Lonely? Depressed? What are you holding on to! You have nothing to lose, but all of that. Are there risks? Yes. Is it hard? Yes. But come on. We all know the fat has a 100% chance of causing complication/death. Is it really that much of a gamble to take a 1% chance with a surgery. You're more likely to get killed in a car wreck on the way to get your next fast food burger. Do yourself and your family/friends a favor and choose life. I did and I would do it again and again.

Before surgery (28, 335#) and on my 1 year Surgiversary (8/10, 178#)

At my 1 year post op (8, 175#) holding my old size 28 skirt.

Side view. Now a size 8.
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I’ve been lurking around these forums for over 2 yrs and decided it was finally time to post something.
This coming July will make two years for me and I’m down 78 pounds, 8 pounds under my original goal.
The last time I felt that I was losing control was when I made the decision to see a doctor about weight loss surgery. I had always been an extremely active (hyperactive) skinny kid and adult through my 20s and most of my 30s. My mother called me “Skinny Malink” when I was a kid. Then in my late 30s I suffered a serious knee injury from a soccer accident that led to gradual weight gain to 245lbs!!! (I’m 5’10”).
As soon as I was able to start eating solid foods (14 days), I began tracking every morsel of food that enters my mouth on MyFitnessPal.com. I mean I track everything, from the 6 grams of coffee Creamer I put in my morning coffee every day to the half serving of hash browns and ¾ portion of the Sausage McMuffin I have once a week at McDonald’s with the guys (a 10 year tradition for us that I wasn’t about to break). (I used to eat 2 orders of Sausage McMuffins without egg, 2 orders with egg, and 2 orders of hash browns in one sitting.) If my wife asks me to try a sample of a cake batter she is about to put in the oven, I figure out a way of entering that too. Everything. Strict monitoring is the key to successful weight loss and weight loss maintenance.
I wear one of those body monitors that they use on The Biggest Loser. I track every calorie I burn 23 hours a day. Everyday my goal is to eat just under or around the calories I expend, which for me is around 2200 to 2400 calories a day. That’s with some light exercise meaning a 30 to 40 minute slow walk every day (I had corrective knee surgery about a year ago and today I can walk slowly, like 2mph).
For the past six months I have also been following that British “Fast Diet” by Dr. Mosley. Basically you eat 600 calories of mostly Protein for two days out of the week (500 for women) and then anything you want on non-fasting days. This a very easy way to maintain weight loss for sleevers and the health benefits are truly amazing. Intermittent fasting lowers your chances of getting cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. I have a lot more energy now since fasting than I ever did. (I do track my food intake on non-fasting days even though you’re not supposed to). You can look up the Fast Diet on the internet or on Amazon.com. There is a U.S. version of the book and it’s available for Kindle.
Because I’ve been using intermittent fasting for half a year, I guarantee that the hunger I feel is not just “head hunger” (if by head hunger you mean purely psychological). It is true that the docs remove a part of the stomach that produces the majority of one of the hunger hormones, ghrelin, but there are many chemicals in the body that cause the sensation of hunger, not just one. Besides, not all the ghrelin is eliminated from your system because 15% of it is produced in other parts of the body. When you have some free time, look up a Protein called neuropeptide-Y. It plays a major role in hunger sensation and regulation and it increases during periods of stress. It is true that the hunger pangs I feel today are different in intensity and quality from what I used to feel before the surgery but not all sensations of hunger that I feel are in my head. Even after a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, there is a chemical basis for hunger, it’s just that the chemical composition is different for VSG patients.
I eat exactly the same foods today that I ate before the surgery except just a lot less of them. That includes pizza, my famous homemade Texas chili, Red Lobster’s lobster bisque, and spaghetti with meat sauce. I don’t think of any food as “bad”, not even candy bars like Baby Ruth, my favorite. I just monitor everything I eat on MyFitnessPal.com and force myself to stay within my daily maintenance calorie intake of 2200 to 2400 calories. What is different for me today than from two years ago is that because I am tracking all my food, I am aware of how many carbs, Proteins, and fats I am eating for the first time in my life. I follow the nutritional guidelines recommended by MyFitnessPal.com (just select "guided" goals).
If you’re in a stall or having trouble losing those few extra pounds, I encourage you to try the Fast Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley. It’s also called the 5:2 Diet. Especially for people who have had 75 to 80% of their stomachs removed, it’s a very easy way to lose and maintain weight and the long-term health benefits from intermittent fasting are awesome.
IMHO, stick with the counseling and try to allow yourself to enjoy your comfort foods in moderation without guilt. The more you beat yourself up for eating foods you enjoy, the more stress you feel, the more your hunger Proteins will surge, and the more you will crave those foods you are trying to avoid. That’s why will power alone never works over the long haul. I have more will power than anyone I know and I still got uncomfortably fat.
Instead of seeing yourself as losing control whenever you eat comfort foods, try to turn that around so that you are gaining control. What I do is I take out one portion of candy or cake or whatever it is I feel like eating for that day and then deliberately plan on eating it at my usual snack time. For me, I take out my Baby Ruth bar and leave it on the end table for when I am watching TV at night. Every time I pass it, I smile in anticipation. I also make allowances during the day for that snack by monitoring everything I eat and by exercising so I know I have enough calories to “spend”. This way, I am gaining full control over these food choices instead of feeling like I am losing control every time I eat them. Anyway, this approach has worked beautifully for me.
Everyone has a different history with weight and health issues so I don’t know if this method will work for everyone. I’ve been able to comfortably stay under goal for over eight straight months by using this system of intermittent fasting combined with strict monitoring of all the calories I eat and use. I wanted to share my experience with it in case others can benefit too.
Best of luck.

Well, I took my first trip to Whole Foods today.....I bought a few things for when i go on regular foods in a couple of weeks. So while I was there, my kids were going around getting samples from all of the little sample people, and we come to one table where they had different chesses and preserves to taste together, an before i knew it i had tried the goat cheese and strawberry-basil preserve......OMG, it was DELICIOUS, then i realized what i had done????. So the good thing is that i am on day five of pureed foods and smooth cheese is included in that, but i really thought it would have that "slider" effect but nope new tummy was fine even with the preserves.....I will definately be more careful for the next few weeks though, until i'm cleared for regular diet. But I LOVE Whole Foods...these are some things i bought to try when I can.......

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Hi guys so I'm three months and 3 days post op starting weight was 268 now I'm 214 yay ....