soonerorlater

Congratulations on your weight loss!! The same determination you had when you had the surgery, can help you get back to your goal weight. I have heard that if you start to gain weight trying the Stage 1 diet (liquid/protein shakes)for a week can help to get you back on course. I applaud you taking control of your weight gain now, because if you are like me 20 will become 40 if you don't do something about it. Keep us posted on your progress :-)

Congrats on your weight loss.
I don't know much about you, but I would wonder just how much you really want to lose the weight.
I remember when I (you, too?) started this journey I was DESPERATE to change my life. For me, I required that level of oomph! to decide to have WLS and then to make all the changes.
I suspect you're not that desperate at the moment. You sound pretty comfortable, actually.
What would it take for you to make the changes you already know you should make?
How would those 20 pounds gone again change your life for the better?
Those are some questions (and others) I think I'd focus on if I were in your shoes.

Hi everyone. I have not been on in awhile. I had my suregery Gatsric sleeve Nov of 2013, time has flew by. I started at 251 I am currently 166. My lightest weight was 146 in january of this year. I never had any major issues after the surgery alot has changed in my life. I have obviuosly gained 20 pounds from my ightest weight, but that is because i have went back to my old ways in eating and not exercising. Its hard yes, you have to be strong and committed. But all worth it and i do not to this day regret doing the surgery. I would love to get back to what I know is best for me before i start seeing all the weight creep back. Any ideas are welcome. Would love to hear from anyone. Thanks

I spent years using food as a comfort source. I had three children, lost the weight and then immediately put it back on plus some. I tried diets. They never worked for longer than a month or two and I always rebounded back. When I found myself forcing myself to vomit I knew that I needed to do something different. I decided in October 2013 to do the surgery (I had been researching for over a year). My husband's cousin had gotten the surgery with great success so I set up my appointments and got scheduled to do the surgery November 5th 2013. Mine wasn't a case of many health problems or inability to do physical things. I got up to 285 pounds with a bmi of 43.31. I still ran around with my kids, went swimming, climbed around on rocks, rode bikes. I had to force myself to do it though. My problems were mental health and emotional. I could not do ANYTHING without feeling embarrassed. I want to dress up... ha ha ha. I can't look pretty. I go to ride the bike and spend the whole time thinking that everyone is disgusted by the fat lady on the bike. I have problems with anxiety and depression... It was time.
I had no doubts whatsoever. I felt terrible about spending the money because it was self pay and spending $18,000 on myself is just selfish right? I was so wrong. I'll get to that later.
A week before surgery I go on the sugar free diet. Vitamins, Protein shakes, sugar free popsicles, Jello and drinks. It was a tough week. I had one bad day, Halloween. I ate a lot of candy. But even with that day I lost 13 pounds that week.
The day of surgery comes. They are doing the sleeve and repairing a hiatal hernia. I'm fine with my husband but then they wheel me back to the pre-op room and I sit there waiting for my turn ALONE. THAT's when it all hits me. Oh crap, am I doing the right thing? Could I lose the weight on my own? Is it too much money? OMG THEY'RE GOING TO CUT OFF MOST OF MY STOMACH! I managed to sift through the craziness and calm myself down. I needed this. I deserved this. Surgery comes and goes I wake up in the recovery room. They immediately start shoving cups in my face. Lovely little one ounce cups. They have about a hundred of them all stacked up. Only 8 have Water. My mission. To drink them. But the nausea! HOW can I drink them?!? They have these lovely contraptions strapped to my calves, they aren't uncomfortable, kind of comforting actually, consistently hugging my calves and they keep my legs warm. The only problem is that I can't get them off because I am SO out of it! I can barely do anything but lay curled up in the fetal position in absolute misery. I have them move the table around so I can reach the Water and I convince myself I can do this. I drink a cup. Wow... I didn't realize I could feel WORSE! I drink the nasty potassium crap they give me and that does it. I am going to throw up. I call the nurse, tell them I need the things off my legs I'm going to throw up. They don't make it in time. Now those of you who have had children know a certain amount of bladder control is lost. When I puke, I pee. That simple. So they come in the room and I am crying because it hurts to throw up and I am dry heaving because I really didn't have much in my stomach and it can't get the stuff out that it wants out. And of course I'm peeing at the same time! It's not fun walking to and from the bathroom or standing up but it's more nausea than pain. And the IV ugh I hate those things. After then next time that they didn't get there to get the things off my legs they just left them off and I would just go sit on the toilet with a puke cup in hand whenever I tried to drink anything. The surgeon was very impressed with how much I drank. I don't think he realized most of it came right back up! Getting discharged the next day was a huge relief. I was ready to get away from the never ending cups and demands that I puke drink.
The drive home was not fun with the constant stop and go. Keep in mind it wasn't pain. I actually don't remember much of any pain. It was the nausea! I should have expected it. My stomach has always been finicky. Car sickness, throwing up 8-10 times a day when pregnant, motion sickness. Should have seen it coming. I got home and slept. I was literally hiding up in my room for about 5 days. Didn't even bother going downstairs. I slept, peed, tried to drink but eventually just figured out I should just sit in the shower and try to drink in there. I would sit on the floor of the shower and forced down my liquid pain med (I liked it because it made me sleep REALLY well) and drink some water. Then I would continue to sit there as I heaved. I was supposed to take my Vitamins immediately. I couldn't stomach the chewables and my prescription Vitamin was huge. I would get into my stomach and I would feel like I had something stuck there and be even sicker. It took me the next 2 months to get up to my 3 vitamins a day. Meanwhile my stomach HATED me. Everything made me sick. Plain water made me miserable but the taste of anything sugar free was too sweet. I spent the next month living off of a maximum of 40 calories a day. I couldn't get all my vitamins in, couldn't stomach Protein Shakes and gagged on the foods I was allowed. I tried having different things but well, I gagged on most everything, or threw up. I was able to function (for short periods of time) after the first week. I would get kids off to school, cuddle with my 2 year old, pick kids up from school and then went to bed as soon as hubby got home. I would sleep until morning. I didn't get back to making it a full day until probably 3 months later. Even then I would crash hard on the weekends and often spent the whole day in bed. My husband was an angel through all of this and didn't complain once. Even when I stopped crashing on the weekends regularly I would randomly have a day I just couldn't do it. Meanwhile I STUNK. If you haven't read posts about stinking... you WILL stink at some point. My skin oozed a bitter nasty smell. No matter how much a washed, what I washed wish, how much lotion I rubbed on I STUNK to high heaven. Apparently it's a good thing, a sign that you are burning fat but it was miserable and made me feel super gross.
A lot of foods tasted different for me. I would have cravings and try to eat it and be really disappointed because it didn't taste the way I remembered it. And pretty much anything I put in would make me sick. I discovered string cheese and apple juice. They were all I wanted to eat, the only things that tasted good and didn't make me sick. Let me tell you, it makes it REALLY hard to cook dinner for your family when you know all you're going to do is reach in the fridge for a string cheese! I lost 50 pounds in the first 2 months. After that it slowed down a lot. I lost 10 pounds a month, I lost 5 pounds. Now I tend to drop unexpectedly 4 or 5 pounds, go back up 2 and float, go back down to the "lowest" sit there for a while and then it will start over again. In case that was confusing.... 9/2 I was 181. by 9/5 I was 177.5, 9/19 I'm 179 and in the next week I will probably be back down to the 177.5. I don't really watch my food a lot. Well let me rephrase that. I have accepted there are MANY foods that don't make me feel good so I don't eat them. I mostly eat string cheese and drink sugar free koolaid. I take my vitamins but Protein Shakes still don't work for me. It was emotionally hard for a while. I couldn't eat anything, much less the food I WANTED to eat. Food was my comfort and it was no longer available. It took a little adjusting but watching the weight change helped a lot.
I hoped that losing all the weight would help with my back. It did, for a while. It quickly came back with a vengeance and hurts in different ways. I started going to a chiropractor and getting massage therapy and that helps a ton but does not fix everything.
A lot of people would read this and feel overwhelmed and discouraged and think it was one of the horror stories. NOT SO. This surgery was absolutely the best decision I have ever made. It is so much more than losing weight. It is being able to run and play and be stupid and silly with my children without feeling like everyone is disgusted with me. It's being able to have my husband actually reach around my body and not be squished well beyond comfort. It's being able to twist my legs up however I want in a restaurant booth. It's feeling beautiful again and not doubting it like I did when I was younger. Honestly I feel more beautiful now than EVER before. It's being able to dress cute again and buy the clothes I like. It's not being embarrassed for being me. It is freedom.
I have lost 106 pounds in 10 months and 12 days, I am 19 pounds from my goal but I'm not sure it's really my goal anymore. I went from a tight size 20 pants to a size 12. I can now wear medium men's shirts and large women's, I used to be in a 2xl men's. My boobies for the ladies wondering. I was a 42J and am now a 38G. They are very flat, long and wide. I lost inches in places I didn't think I had inches to lose. I wish I could give you details but I lost my paper My joints don't cause me any pain now days except for my hips but it is VERY rare.
My next step it plastics. My boobs are causing a lot of neck pain so I'm hoping my insurance will cover them. I'm planning to get a reduction and then I'm going to be going in for a circumfrential lift (LBL). I have a lot of excess skin and fat in my stomach and a lot of skin on my hips. Honestly if I can take care of those things then I don't feel the need to lose even one more pound.
I don't know that I remembered to include everything but hopefully this helps SOMEONE out there.

Down from HW 249 SW 238 CW 144. Down 105 lbs since 11/11/13

First picture was me at my highest weight last summer of 315 pounds. Second is me two weeks before surgery at 288 pounds. Last is me today at 184!! Best decision of my life. I'm starting to look like a normal person!! The pants are size 16 which I bought two weeks ago and suddenly they're just falling off me so I had to hold them up in the back. (Ignore the messy livingroom...my son had a sleepover).  

I've been stalled at 125lbs for over a month but I'm more than happy with that. I am very happy with my progress. I've recently hit my 100th workout this year (which doesn't count my afternoon bike rides and runs)
This is by far the best decision I've ever made for myself.
Progress pics attached.

7 and a half months out, down 111 lbs - feelin' good! Still have a ways to go, but a good chunk of what's left is just skin that's going to have to wait for plastics to take care of it :/

My hair loss/shedding started at just over 2 months and just slowed down at just over 7 months. The worst of it was in month 4. My doc said, "Anything you lose due to surgery will grow back." I'm seeing a lot of new growth - so much so, it's hard to style, but I don't mind one bit.
My doc approved Biotin and Folic Acid - for regrowth, not for stopping the loss. I also use Nioxin Shampoo and conditioner (it dries out the scalp, so I use moisturizing shampoo a couple of times a week). Toppik will cover the real thin spots (go their website - the product works just like in the videos, it's awesome - seems expensive, but I'm still on my first bottle). I also had to resort to a shorter cut to mask all the loss.
I can tell you this - even with the Hair loss, I am so glad I had the surgery...It's totally worth it, especially since I'm seeing all the new growth.

I'm currently 190 lbs even! OMG..........This sleeve thing REALLY works Love my sleeve and don't regret at all. Still walking and doing Water aerobics. MFP helps keep me on track as well. Happy Sleeving!

I was sleeved July 1, 2013 by Doctor Rayford Kruger at Tobey Hospital in Massachusetts. Here's my official before/after pic, with my stats for both the day of my surgery, and my one year surgiversary. It's mindblowing to me that not only am I NEVER again going to shop in the Plus Size section of any store, but I will willingly step in front of a camera, while wearing a bathing suit. Who is this person?!
I have absolutely NO regrets and consider this surgery to have been a total success. For the first time in decades, I'm proud of the way I look and how hard I fought to achieve it, with my sleeve's help. Happy Independence Day, indeed!!

The green dress is June 2013- a tight size 20 dress from Lane Bryant... The white jeans and polka dot shirt were purchased from the regular women's section at Macy's today, June 28, 2014, (I didn't even look at the plus size section and didn't think about going to a plus size store) - the jeans are a size 14 and the top an XL. This is 79 pounds down from last June (49 down from surgery on April 21st). The next ones are from various weddings over the last couple of years next to the photo from today. I'm still a work in progress, want to lose 70 more, but am feeling quite incredible, am so excited and wanted to share! I had so many doubts before surgery, thinking I couldn't do it, that I'd fail, but I'm feeling great, doing well and just generally am super positive and happy. I hope everyone else is having a great and positive experience!! Hana
HW: 301 SW: 271 CW: 222.2

I had a wonderful NSV over the weekend, for the first time in my life i wore a pair of WHITE pants. I was so nervous and almost chickened out...But i got so many positive reactions. more than 5 people actually said WOW you look GREAT! I dont think im quite brave enough for a swimsuit yet but Im happy with this! loving my sleeve!

Your tiny! U look great

Please enjoy these pictures. I hope they will lift your spirits! And there is more than appearance in these victories. My hubby's back and knee pain is reduced greatly. My acid reflux is almost gone. Hubby and I lived through this and regret nothing. It's worth living without pastries. It's worth walking past the Baskin Robbins, and it gets easier. It'll be hard, but stick with it. Everything gets better.

The sad thing is when I was my heaviest I was too uncomfortable to take pictures. I have very few photos of me and my kids together. I feel like my weight loss is going slow. I have lost a total of 60 pounds. I have hit a stall that seems like forever. I think my body wants to stay this size.
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I'm five months post op...a little more than halfway to my goal.

I mostly think I just look taller at this point but those close to me are saying the change is "drastic". I don't see it that way yet but I am excited to keep progressing!

Before surgery

Surgery date 11/18, now down 101 pounds! A year ago I never would have thought this would be possible.

I am 7 months post op. I started this journey at 397 and lost 35 before surgery which ended me at 362. I have lost 81 pounds since surgery and all together 115 pounds. Still have more to go. So far this journey has been a roller coaster but its been worth it!

Yesterday was my one year surgiversary of the sleeve. I was so nervous about it, but it was one of the best decisions I've made. I've lost 131 pounds and counting. My foot pain is gone, I'm active and feel great. I've gone from a size 22 to an 8 and actually enjoy shopping now. I'm able to do any activities my kids ask of me. I couldn't be happier!

I didn't like McD's before my surgery, let alone afterwards. It's funny ur mentioning this right now. Last month, McD's came out with the buy 1 get 1 free of Big Macs. haven't wanted a Big Mac in about 10 yrs. Till I saw the commercial. About a week ago, my poor hubby had to get dressed (we're usually in bed by 9) at 9 pm (cuz it's only after 9) and go get me a Big Mac. It's been 11 mths since my revision and that 1/3 of a Big Mac was yummy, not at all like I remembered it from 10 yrs ago.
Hope this isn't the start of something...
But, since u asked, I DO eat most of my fav foods (incuding pizza, tacos, burgers, fries) occasionally and a very small amt (like I can eat about 1/2 pc of thin crust pizza, 1/3 of an In and Out cheeseburger, 2/3 of a Del Taco soft taco, about 8 fries-and this isn't all in 1 meal, btw! LOL). I luv my tiny tummy and I don't want to ruin it and it's affects by eating too much/too often.
When u start sliding into a single digit pair of jeans, u really don't want to go back to a size 22 again...
Good luck!

I am 6 1/2 months post op, down 63lbs from 211 to 148! I feel amazing!

June 2013 vs June 2014....best year ever

7 Months out, over 120 lbs down.