TBodmer71

Sadly I was hit on late last night by a gross smelly unwashed toothless gas station attendant in Maine. I need to change the vibes I'm giving off.

I have recently realized that my shapers are now too big. My belly was doing the "Bigger than it should be" when wearing the shapers. I decided to go to the Maidenform outlet store and found a huge assortment of shapers on sale for just $12.99 each. I typically prefer the medium strength shapers but If I were you I'd recommend the firm/strong/extra strength version for the costume and the weaker ones for everyday.

Congrats! Keep up the good work. I can't wait to join you, but it may take me a little while longer, but I'll get there.

I am down 60lbs. 23 lbs prior to the 2 week pre-op diet. I lost 15lbs during the pre-op diet. I have lost another 22 lbs since surgery on 8/23. Woohoo! Congrats to all of us losers!

Oops bad typo. My starting BMI was 43 not 243. I am 5'8". Sorry for the confusion.

Good Morning Ya'll, I step on my scale this morning and I am down to 230lbs from my highest of 289. When I started my BMI was 243 and I was classified as morbidly obese. I was excited when I lost enough to be classified as severely obese. But now I am overjoyed because I just hit under 35 for my BMI. I am now just OBESE! Yippee, Yahoo! My next goal is to be overweight. I am hoping to reach that goal by New Years.

Prior to my weight loss I suffered from occasional incontinence when sneezing or coughing. I am now down almost 60 lbs and it no longer happens.

I am currently 41 days post-op. I have attached 5 photos starting at the start of my journey up until this morning. The first was in April, 2013 at 275 lbs (black shirt) The second was in May, 2013 at 270 lbs (white shirt) The third was in Aug, 2013 at 266lbs (pinkish-purple shirt) This was prior to my liquid pre-op diet The fourth was in Sept, 2013 at 243 lbs (blue shirt) The fifth is now at 231 lbs (pink shirt) I was sleeved on Aug. 26th. I started this journey last November at 289 lbs, but I don't have any pictures. I was able to go from 289 to 251 prior to being sleeved. Since being sleeved 41 days ago I have been able to drop another 20 lbs. I am so excited to see my results so far and looking forward to how much further I can go. So far I am no longer pre-diabetic, my copd and asthma has been under control, my knees and hip don't hurt nearly as bad, and it just feels great that I've gone from a size 24 jeans down to a 16. Woohoo!

I have both....spanx and flexees. I like them both for different reasons. The flexees tend to rip easier (putting my fingers through them when trying to hike them up). The spanx tend to roll down more. I've only worn the ones that start just below the bra line and end with a panty, end at mid thigh or ankle. But this weekend I found.........The maidenform Tank. Woohoo I am in love. It is an over the shoulder, can wear your own bra and panty, body shaper disguised as a tank. I wore it all day and it never rolled up on me. The other great benefit is the way it helps lift the "girls" because of how the straps come around. I am glad I bought 3.

I have that same issue with the spare tire that won't deflate. I have always been a fan of wearing a coat, jacket or blazer. This helps me hide it. I have discovered a new bodyshaper item that I am loving. It is a shaper tank. It is just like the spanx body shaper that you can wear your bra with except that it stops at the bottom of you pooch and covers about 2/3rds of your rear. It does not have the awful bra clasps in the crotch region.

My husband referred to this as the "Last Supper". We had gone to a great steak house. I had a porter house and he had the fillet. It was delicious. Now that I am sleeved I can't even imaging consuming that much. Good Luck to you on the liquid diet and your upcoming surgery. Just remember every pound you lose at this stage gets you to goal sooner.

Best of luck. Demand good meds, walk as much as you can, and try to get some sleep between the nursing interruptions every 2 hrs.

I just hit the mother-load of all clearance sales at JC Penneys. They had racks and racks of clothes for only $1.97, plus the sale was take an additional 25% off. On top of all that they had a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase. I had 2 rewards coupons for $10 off any purchase. I bought $25 worth times 2. I now have a full wardrobe in a 2x and a 1X for my total out of pocket price of only $10. Woohoo for me! By my surgery date I was already down 2 sizes. In the last 5 weeks since my surgery I have gone down another 2 sizes. I went to work Sunday morning at 5 am to swap out one of the machines. Thank goodness I was the only person in the plant because as I am walking while holding this huge metal tray full of parts my once tight fitting stretch jeans started falling. I couldn't just set the tray down because it was covered with liquid plastic resin. So, I had to walk through the lab and into the cleaning room with my feet apart trying to prevent my pants from completely falling. By the time I was able to set the tray down my pants were below my butt. Luckily they never made it to my ankles. That Sunday afternoon is when I hit JC Penneys. I went forma size 24 jeans and now wear a tight 16 or a loose 18. WOOHOO!

I am 1 month post-op. I went from a size 24 to a 20 pre-op. I am now a 16 ish. Unbelievable. What I don't understand is when did the clothes on the rack get so big for the sizes. In the 1990's I weighed 220lbs and wore a size 22. Now today I weigh 234 lbs and fit into a size 16. I don't get it. I have 10 year old jeans that are a size 16 and their is no way I can fit into them. My 10 year old size 20's fit snuggly. But regardless, I am extremely happy with my sleeve. I am down 55 lbs total. Woohoo 4 me!

I am also wondering this same thing. My surgery date was Aug. 26th. At first I thought mine was infected because it still hurt, was really red, and had what looked like puss showing up around the edges of the scab. When the scab came off the "puss" was actually this rubbery glue. It is so grose. It is still sore. I have to keep it covered with a very large band-aid to prevent my pants from hurting it further. When I am walking I tend to have to hold my belly in that location because of the movement makes it hurt too.

You have approx. 10 weeks to lose 28lbs. That is certainly do-able. that is less than 3 lbs a week. A "dieter" is supposed to aim for no more than 2 lbs a week. But you are just starting out with your sleeve and we tend to lose quite rapidly at the beginning. Just make sure you keep up your Protein and Water consumption. You should have no problem reaching your goal. But please do not let the numbers on the scale rule your progress. Instead of fixating on a number, you may want to choose a goal not related to the scale like a smaller pant size for example. Best of luck and enjoy the journey.

I am currently 4 weeks post-op. I am 5' 7.5". My highest weight was 289. My doctors goal for me is to lose 50 to 70% of my excess body weight. So if my ideal weight is 160 then I had 129lbs of excess body weight. 50 to 70% of 129 is between 64 and 90 lbs. So my doctors goal for me would be between 225lbs and 199lbs. The reasoning for the 50 to 70% is because that is the average that people tend to lose. Keep in mind some will lose less and some will lose more. I want to be one of the ones that will lose more. I want to end up between 160 and 180 lbs. With that being said I am following my doctors orders to a T. I have restarted my exercise program. As of this morning I am 236 lbs. That means I am only 11 lbs from the high end of my doctors goal for me and I am only 4 weeks post-op. Woohoo for me.

I am another victim of the dreaded 3 week stall. I was just given the OK to start the pureed/super-soft diet, Now 4 days later the scale hasn't moved at all. I am putting the scale away and now plan on weighing in once a week from here on out. I also got my clearance to restart my exercise program (walking, resistance training, and kettle bells). I am going to start these today. I would never have known about the "3rd week stall" and I would have thought I was doing something wrong if it wasn't for the great information I've gotten from this site.

Congrats on making it this far!. Your surgery date will be here in a blink of an eye. Start to get prepared now. Best of luck to you.

Just before surgery my husband and I went lay-z-boy recliner shopping. I bought one with heat, massage, cup holders and even a small fridge hidden in the arm (frozen ice packs that holds 4 cans). I found it a big lots. It is a stratolounger brand so it isn't their cheesy one. I got it on clearance for only $220. I slept in that baby for the first 2 weeks. I would use the back "vibrate" to help me burp. The lower lumbar "heat" felt great too. When I bought it I wasn't planning on keeping it, because my living room furniture is a bit more formal and a recliner just doesn't fit in. But my son is moving out in 2 more months and he is looking forward to taking off my hands. Even though I spent over $200, it was well worth it to me. My suggestion..... get a recliner. Whether it is new, used, rented, or free from craigslist. It was great to be able to sleep slightly up-right for the first 2 weeks.

OMG! You are rockin' that sleeve. Keep up the great work!

This procedure isn't for everybody and it is just a tool to assist us on our weight loss journey. By no means is this the easy way of going about this. Diet and exercise will still plat a critical role on the outcome of our journeys. But for me the sleeve has been an awesome motivator. Once I decided on weight loss surgery and then specifically the sleeve, I started being more alert as to what I was putting in my mouth. I also bought a pedometer and tried my darnedest to get between 7000 and 10000 steps per day. My heaviest weight (Nov 2012) at the start of my journey was 289 lbs Before starting the 2 week pre-op diet (Aug 12th) = 266lbs Day of surgery (Aug 26th) = 251 2 days after surgery (Aug 28th) = 259 23 days post op (Sept 18th) = 238lbs I am down 51lbs since I started this journey. I took it upon myself to get a head start. I followed the instructions given to me by my bariatrics team. I did lots and lots of research. Joined this forum and one other. I am off to a great start. I know this journey will never end and I am looking forward to my sleeve assisting me in maintaining my goal weight which I hope to achieve by this time next year. I have no regrets. Best of luck to you and I hope you obtain the state of "healthy" that you are looking for regardless of which path you decide on. But for me I plan on "Rocking this sleeve"

You are doing a great job. Keep up the good work. ROCK THAT SLEEVE!

please keep in mind that people that have been sleeved still had to change their diets and exercise in order to achieve the best possible results. If you are looking for a quick fix, weight loss surgery is not the way to go. The sleeve is just a tool to help us reach and maintain our goals. Diet and exercise is still and will always be part of the routine. Only you can decide what is best for you. My suggestion would be is to take the time to do as much research as possible. While you are doing that, start watching what you eat and move a little more each day. I was down 38 lbs from the time I started this journey until the morning of my surgery, If you are still on the fence continue your research. Best of luck to you.

doing the happy dance for ya......You have rocked that sleeve like nobodies business. You look awesome. Not only are you an inspiration to others but you are a great example of somebody that followed their sleeve instructions.