ClinicalNurse82

So this is right before surgery and then another from this most recent weekend. And yes, I know the suit is a little big for me now, but I haven't had a chance to have my suits altered yet...Still, there's about 40lb difference between the 2 photos. Apologies for the low resolution....better pics in the future...

So Monday will be 9 months since my surgery (Surgery date was Jan 21st.). I started at 360lbs with a 54bmi. Was in 4XL shirts and size 44-46 pants/shorts. After 9 months I have lost 140lbs now weighing 220lbs and my bmi is right around 30ish. I am now in a XL shirts and in a size 32 pants/shorts.
I workout almost everyday of the week from running, the gym, and Jiu-Jitsu.
If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I am very open and love to help.
Here are some pictures

I'm finally 30 weeks this week. I can't believe it I'm still in shock that I'm going to be a mom. I remember a years ago one of my so called best friends said "well maybe you can't have kids" I felt like crap. My own BFF was telling me that maybe I wasn't meant to have children when she is the worst mom in my eyes.
Then I dropped 150 lbs and fell in love with this amazing guy. He stole my heart when his mom passed away in November and he leaned on me for support. I've always said everything happens for a reason and then my dad passed away in February. He was here for me like I was there for him. Now we are going to be parents. Two little girls coming into our lives. Our angels
I seriously thought I'd never be a mom since all my friends had kids a long time ago and here I am at 31 trying to conceive since 10 years ago when I married my ex husband.
If you haven't been able to conceive don't lose hope. If it's meant to be it will happen!!
Life's good now I'm excited to be a mom!! Super Happy!!

Sex is freaking amazing now!!! My boyfriend and I have always had a very healthy sex life but since the surgery I have been out of control with my libido.
Not to mention oh my god the positions, the multiple orgasms and the hours..yes I said hours of sex. And the lingerie!!!

I had sex after 4 days so it all depends on how you're feeling. I always had a great sex life and am only 3 weeks out so can't really comment on that. I am pretty flexible for a big woman but can't wait til my fiance can pick me up while doing it...it will make shower sex more fun.. I am losing weight and he is bulking up.

I cannot believe my size is now a medium after being 3x and 4x for so long. And the medium shirts fit very well. I also went from size 48 pant size to Levi 32. Yet I do not feel small. It is strange in a way. I am 5 ' 11 " and currently 177. I was 360 around my surgery on July 2nd 2012. Daily cross fit has given me a good build.

lucky ME!
He has lost so much weight as well (Sleeved same day as me) that I can get my arms all the way around him. It's so absolutely wonderful to be able to hold each other close like that. <3

So we go to the grocery store yesterday. My husband and I split up to divide and conquer the pesky grocery shopping. After a bit, he starts to look for me. I was standing in front of him, just down the aisle.
He didn't recognize me right away
I think he likes my new body. I suspect it makes him feel like he's with a brand new woman. hahahahaha!

So, I just got back from a week-long cruise to Alaska. As you may know, food is a huge part of cruising, so I wanted to report back my experience having been sleeved over 2 years ago and being confronted with a floating, 24 hour buffet.
I have to admit, the week prior, I was mourning the food I know I wouldn't be able to gorge on. Perhaps even a mild panic was stirring in my brain. Needless to say, I still have food issues. So, moments after boarding and before the ship has left dock, the rest of the people in my party are understandably hungry as it has been about 6 hours since Breakfast, so, we head to the buffet. As you can imagine, the food is plentiful. I look at it and sigh ... but, I don't hesitate to grab small portions of the cubed tenderloin, green Beans and fruit ... and a tart.
While my family grabbed reasonable portions, everybody else in line is piling up. As I sat at my table overlooking Puget Sound, my sadness changed to being thankful that I have a sleeve which helps me make good decisions about the quality and quantity of food I eat. I followed the guidelines eating my meat first, then the green Beans and a bite of mashed potatoes. I was full, but was able to have a bite of tart.
The rest of the week, I had a caramel mocha Cappuccino with a chocolate croissant for Breakfast, some form of a salad for lunch (cobb, grilled chx, chx caesar ...) and the most opulent dinners you can imagine. I did not hesitate to order two Entrees if I wanted to try more than one thing. I had people at my table who were happy to finish of whatever I ordered. I had fish from Australia, escargot (just one snail), lobster, tiger prawns ... the list goes on. Yes, they were rich, high caloric meals, for sure, but again, the sleeve didn't allow me to over-indulge. I had desert after every meal. I followed the basic guidelines and was able to enjoy, but not abuse food, which is what I was
accustomed to.
I did go to the spa every day except one and did the elliptical anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Whilst many of my cruising companions were in a food coma, I maintained high energy and had a great experience. BTW, I did a cruise 11 years ago and did abuse the bejesus out of the food selections. Once again, the sleeve has freed me from the bondage of food abuse and I am so thankful I had this surgery.
If you are thinking about going on a cruise and are worried about the food, just know that if you follow the guidelines, of course stretching them a bit, you will be fine. I got this surgery to live, not diet, and it is doing exactly as I needed it to. (As long as I am honest with myself about following the guidelines, that is)

I started this journey exactly a year ago today
September 7, 2012 I was so nervous and scared for how my life would change and how different things would really be from my normal life. Thank GOD I chose this for me, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm SO happy in my new body and am getting married 11/2/13 <3 can't wait to show off my new less voluptuous curves In my MERMAID wedding dress!!! Cheers sleevers, you are beautiful!
Before at 299
Now at 169
Goodbye 130 lbs! Only 9 lbs to go!! <3

This is pretty sweet. After the Seminar (in which I was the only guy), first consult with the surgeon, getting my PCP approval, Psychological eval, Pulmonologist eval and Nutrition course and sweating it out for about a week and 3 days I got the phone call this morning that I was approved for surgery.
Stuff just got real. I go in for my upper GI on August 9th and I should have a surgery date shortly afterwards.
I kind of enjoyed this process, even if it was a bit laboring. Boy they make you jump through some hoops but I think others have it much worse and I consider myself very lucky to not have to appeal an insurance decision.
What are your stories about this point in your process?

Hi I live in south broward and will be having my surgery on July 31 with Dr. Emil Matei at Memorial Regional in Hollywood

ClinicalNurse82
I had some set backs so I am finally getting sleeved this Monday the 29. I am so happy for you. You are down 68 pounds A-MAZ-ING!!!! It makes me so sad about all of these set backs but it is finally happening I am will be there soon. Do you go to the support groups?

That's awesome!!!!!! I had mine done two weeks ago and so far so good. You are right about a "life change". Before anybody gets this they need get there mind right, and ready for a different life and life style, not going into thinking that the sleeve is going to fix everything. Like you said "it was tool" to help get you where you are now. The rest is getting your mind in the right place. Thanks for your inputs, very informative.

I am a huge fan of the Premier Protein shakes. Easy way to get in 90g a day just by drinking 3 of them. One for Breakfast, one for lunch, one for afternoon snack. I always make sure I'm done with supper before 7pm. For supper I eat either eggs, tuna or some type of grilled or baked fish, chicken grilled or baked, I love cheese but you have to watch the calories and portion sizes, I also love some beef Jerky cause of the high Protein low carbs. I really just focus on my protein and getting in over a 100g a day and minimizing carbs to less than 20g. I keep portion sizes small to 4 or 5 oz max cause I get full fast. I will use my elliptical machine at least 4 times a week for an hour each time but when I started using it I couldn't go 10mins and it took time to build up to an hour. I'm not a super gym rat by any means and could definitely do more but I have been pretty rigorous with my diet. I try to focus on the protein and everything else kinda just fell into place. I have never been a big sweets person but portion sizes was my problem. It really took me mentally making up my mind that I needed to make a life change if I wanted to live a long happy life. The sleeve was the tool that made it possible and has been the best decision I ever made. I call it a tool because it still took me making an effort everyday become healthier.

So it's been just over a yr since I had my sleeve done and it's definitely been the best thing I ever did. I followed the diet as directed and ate what I was suppose to do. I did exercise but could have done more an even though I'm still 30 lbs from my goal I feel that even if I don't lose another 30 lbs I still feel like it was worth it. I have lost 154lbs total as of today an I feel great! Very little loose skin and with some more sit ups and cardio I can and will tone but all in all just overall healthier. No more meds for diabetes or blood pressure. Just high Protein living. ;o) Wishing everyone well on their journey to living healthier!"
Before
384lbs
After
230lbs

Thank you so much I was really nervous to post these for the record I'm am still single ladies lol

Well things have changed 100% getting hit on rather then hitting on a woman is always nice

So you went to TJ, had surgery and four days later had consensual sex with your doctor? And you are upset at who?

:thud:

92.2 lbs! Started at 353 and now im 260.8!!!

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Hi Cheri,
I'm at goal and have been maintaining 15 months now. I was two years out from surgery in May. I maintain by weighing every day and cutting back on Snacks if I am not within bounce range. I had a bounce range of 5 lbs but decided that was too big of a window and have reset my bounce range to 2 lbs.
I do exercise, but I do not exercise more to get in range. Currently, I'm walking about an hour four days per week. I walk first thing in the morning because I simply won't exercise later in the day.
My basic clean eating plan is:
Low fat meats, non fat dairy, non-starchy veggies, fruit, and whole grains. I've outlined it below, but often eat part of the meal as a snack. So for example, I may have a soy latte at 8 a.m., then around 9 have the Protein and fruit.
I shoot for:
2 oz. of Protein, 1 serving fruit, and 1 serving non-fat dairy or soy milk for Breakfast
1 starch, 1-2 servings veggies, 2-3 oz. protein and 1 fruit for lunch
3 oz. protein, 1-2 servings veggies, 1 starch at dinner
1 serving non-fat dairy or soy milk after dinner.< /span>
I know we are out there at goal weight. On the OH board there are few long-timers who stay at goal too.
For me, one key is staying vigilant. It's one of the reasons I stay active here. When I was in WW I always swore if I managed to get to goal again (which I never did), I would teach, work, or volunteer with WW so I would keep the weight off. Staying active here helps me keep my focus on staying at goal.
I do think it's important to lose the weight and get to the goal you want. As far as transitioning my mind set, the fear of weight gain is enough to do that for me. It's why I reset my bounce range too. After this long at maintenance I know that for me it takes continued eating of crap to gain 5 lbs and I'm just not comfortable with that. I probably would need a bigger bounce range if I still got the monthly, but I'm past that! I could always count on a few lbs of Water weight with that for a few days.
Lynda

I hit a huge victory today as I am down 100 lbs since starting this process!!! I lost 11 before surgery, and 89 since surgery on 12/24/12. I am almost 6 months to the day from surgery and I cannot wait to go for my 6 month checkup next month!
...
Size 22/24 to size 10/12 in 6 months.
I'm still planning on losing more, however this is my biggest victory to date..even bigger than getting out of the 200's!!!!
Keep up the good work everyone it is SOOOOOOOOO worth it!!!

Did you log it in mfp? Hahaha I read the average ejaculation has about 20calories lol.

today is my first anniversary of being sleeved.
Before 373 lbs, 5'6" tall, 56" waist, 5-6x shirt
Now. 192 lbs, 5'6.5" (I guess my spine decompressed or something) 30" waist, large to 1x shirt.
Life is good,
Love my sleeve.