meamo

Thank you so much BestYet2Come!! so great to know I'm not alone. I just get worried since I barley eat ..today I have just ate a few grapes and provolone cheese I'm currently taking 1 prenatal vitamin with folic acid...scheduled for a ultrasound next Monday. .this will be my 3rd child my son is 14 daughter is 10..I know starting all over again..but I have always wanted to have 3 thanks again! I will keep everyone updated blessing to all on your journey!

Thank you so much BestYet2Come!! so great to know I'm not alone. I just get worried since I barley eat ..today I have just ate a few grapes and provolone cheese I'm currently taking 1 prenatal vitamin with folic acid...scheduled for a ultrasound next Monday. .this will be my 3rd child my son is 14 daughter is 10..I know starting all over again..but I have always wanted to have 3 thanks again! I will keep everyone updated blessing to all on your journey!

Meamo, don't be scared. Breathe. It has been done before. My OBGYN (yes, OBGYN!), got pregnant just 4 months after having gastric by-pass surgery. That was the healthiest of her three pregnancies, her baby girl is now 4 years old and healthy, and she looks more beautiful and fit than ever. You will have to be extra careful and diligent about your Vitamin intake, Calcium, etc. and stay in close contact with your doctors. Here is her story: http://www.endtheweight.com/bariatrics/shieva.htm
On a side note, congratulations!! Is this your first?

I'm 5 months post op and found out I'm pregnant yesterday...I can barely eat so I'm concerned for the nutrition of my baby...I will be scheduling an appointment with my obgyn. Praying everything turns out fine ..

I agree contact your doctor that was my first question at the seminar and I was told you have to wait two year before having a baby...keep us posted

Good Morning loves! So I hit my 1 year surgiversary 04/04/14. It's been one heck of a year but whoah have I grown. I feel like a new person. Not just physically but emotionally and mentally. I am more confident. More independent. More comfortable in my skin. All in all the best decision I've ever made. May we all continue to a healthier happier version of ourselves. I've attached a few shots from my modeling shoot I recently did. I'm a 33 year old mother of one. I have lost over 90 pounds. I'm not perfect but I am ME flaws and all.

1 year sleeved today--
132.8 down
362 days of logging in MFP
41.6 %change in weight
From 319 to 186.2
Pics are from this weekend at my moms for her bday weekend and a sorority alumnae event
In black was before


Before

After

After

Before--right after surgery

A few pics in the last couple of months

Hey all- Dooter here. I haven't been on here in a while, but this thought has been plaguing me, and I need to get it out. -Let me preface this discussion by saying I am GLAD I had the sleeve surgery, and I would not change it for the world. I had NO complications and I lost 102 pounds in eight months, and for that I am grateful. I needed to do that quickly for my own sanity and health. HOWEVER- that said-
DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT think for one teeny tiny minute that having surgery and dumping a bunch of weight is going to fix your head and the behavior that got you here. Not gonna happen. During the "honeymoon" period where you can sneeze off five pounds at a time and you're never hungry after your teaspoon of food, you can't imagine EVER returning to old feelings and desires. I am here to tell you that it sneaks back in a little at a time. A taste here, a taste there... "oh look. I've gained a pound. well, that was salty food, I'll just drink more Water tomorrow." HORSE HOCKEY!!!! That's where it starts. Your old head trips creep in. Hiding food. Eating junk now, figuring you'll just shape up "next week" or "tomorrow." Tomorrow never happens and you've gained 30 pounds back. Yes. With your itty bitty stomach, you have gained 30 pounds back. It can happen. Or worse, you gain it all back. That can happen too.
The reason I am writing this and being to harsh about it is that you are a person who is considering, or who has gone through a MAJOR life changing surgery. SO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!! Be vigilant. come out of that honeymoon with your armor on! You WILL stop losing at one point and your body will begin to fight you as mine has. The diet my surgeon gave me no longer works at this point in the game, as my metabolism is stuck in cold molasses and it has taken a personal trainer/dietitian to get it moving again, and it is majorly hard work and painful and distasteful at times, but I have another 100 lbs to lose AFTER the 30 lb regain is gone.
​Have somebody close to you hold you accountable for exercising and eating right. Splatter it all over Facebook if you have to (I did) so you'll have MANY people holding you accountable! Do what you have to do to reach your goal. Don't settle for less and don't eat crap. And don't think that surgery is the final solution. It's a tool that will get you halfway there. The rest is up to YOU and no one else. Thank you. That is all.

Hey everyone
Its been over a year now since my surgery. Ive lost over 100 lbs and I am now at my goal weight!! This surgery has definitevly changed my life and its the best thing I have EVER done! If anyone has any questions dont hesitate

A couple of weeks ago I was driving to an appointment and I saw a really large man walking down the street. Because of his size and the near 100 degree temperature, I knew he had to be extremely uncomfortable. As I pulled into my parking place I glanced in my rear view mirror and watched this man trip with a force that propelled him like a rocket to the concrete. I bolted from my car and ran to him...his arm was already bloody.


"Let me help you up". He had salt and pepper hair and perhaps the kindest sky blue eyes I have ever seen.
With a perfect Texas drawl he said "Little lady you're gonna have to pack a little more lead in the rear to help me up!" My heart was breaking for him. I grabbed him by his good arm and we rocked....1, 2, 3, and I pulled with everything I had. No matter how much I wanted to help this man, I couldn't get him off the ground. He explained he was walking to work and I at first got the impression he was trying to get some exercise. I asked him to stay put and I'd get some help and as I ran into the building, there were just a few tiny women and elderly people that could be of no help. By the time I got back out, a man had stopped to help him up. He was hurt....I told him there was a doctor inside, would he please come in? I know he was both surprised and ashamed that I would help him. He chuckled and said he was alright (he wasn't). As he walked out of my sight he said "It's time to go on that diet".
Of course I knew he'd been on hundreds of diets, just like I had. It was the perfect time to have shared my story but yet it wasn't. I wish I had at least gotten his contact information so that maybe my signature on my email would perhaps spark a conversation.
Maybe he didn't have a car and had to go into work anyway for fear of losing his job because of his size. Maybe he couldn't afford to call for an ambulance. So many "maybes". Every day since then I have considered waiting at that parking space to see if I could locate him again. He felt so much embarrassment and I wanted to tell him that I knew there was a perfectly loving man inside trying to get out. I wanted to tell him so many things but most of all that I didn't see him as just a morbidly obese man....that he was just as valid and worthy as anybody and the shell he lived in did not make him "less than".
I fell a few weeks before that and was in extreme pain so I could only imagine what he was dealing with. Tears ran down my face for the rest of the day. Call me silly for wanting to do this but I'm going back to try to find him. I want him to know why I didn't judge him that day.
And why I cried.
p.s. I just added this because I do want everyone to know that I would NEVER give anyone unsolicited advice because I have seen it happen and someone got the response "I've already had WLS". Much like asking a woman if she's pregnant....not until I see the crowning of the baby's head would I ever ask when someone's baby is due. I just wanted to make sure everyone understood that.
*Note- I wrote this in 2011 and reread it the other day. I decided to share it here because the comments left on this blog post were so memorable and heartfelt. If you'd like to read them you can see them here.
I've been back to that same parking spot every month basically at the same time of the day ever since that day. I have unfortunately never found him again. If I ever do, I hope he'll let me take a picture with him so you can see his beautiful blue eyes and the kindest face you could ever imagine.

meamo omg!! well, thanks for your answers friends, keep in touch!

One thing I find that is helpful for my mind is to really live this WLS in the present moment. When I would do the "traditional" diets, I was always about weight loss x time = goal weight. You know, "if I lose 2 lbs a week, I'll hit my goal in a year!!!!"
I don't do this at all, thanks to my lapband. It really keeps my mind in the here and now, the day to day.
Maybe because it's always there? I'm not sure how this tool altered my old way of thinking, but it did. Not hitting the gym on one day (or several) no longer makes me want to go off the wagon (because I can't anyway, with my wonderful band), but also because with WLS you have an auto-reset each second of the day. With traditional diets, you don't....the reset is up to you. Which relies entirely on will-power alone, which, for me, was not easily summoned up.
You are early out, but my sense is with your continued success, you'll also be able to release some of these old fears that you won't be able to do this or maintain this. Those fears were legitimate, because it is true that very few people lose lots of weight and keep it off when using a non-surgical method. But it's a whole new empowering ballgame when you bow down to WLS.
My advice is live this fully in the moment, renew it every 24 hours, and you'll be able to let go of those fears for the future. What you are doing now, with your WLS, is doable and sustainable. Keep it up!~

Just wanted to give you ladies some hope.
Here's a little background:
Had surgery April 3, 2012. Tried to get pregnant since September 2009.
Started trying to get pregnant again in April 2013 (one year post op).
Got pregnant in October 2013 - NATURALLY (tried fertility treatments in the past).
Started pregnant at 163 pounds (5 feet 6 inches tall - was 271 on day of surgery).
I am now 26 weeks and 3 days pregnant (due June 22, 2014!) with a healthy baby boy!
Went from 163 to now 169 pounds! 13+ weeks to go!

Hello everyone! I officially hit the 3 month post op mark the other day and wanted to share a photo! On March 17th (3 month anniversary), I weighed and had lost exactly 60 lbs, which I was thrilled with! Clothes are falling off (amazing) and I have gone from a size 22 and am now wearing size 14!!! I think it's been 6 years since I have been able to wear this size and luckily I saved nice jeans and all of my business suits from the Limited that I couldn't handle getting rid of so I now have a good selection of clothes for awhile! I knew they would come in handy one day! It feels like years ago that I had the surgery... Can't believe it's only been 3 months! To anyone out there contemplating whether or not to have the surgery, DO IT!!! I'll post more pics in a month or so!

I saw this online in another site and thought I would share with everyone. It got me to thinking about ways to insure my success:
1. Not taking Vitamins and supplements.
2. Assuming you have been cured of "obesity". We have to live a healthy WLS life-style for the rest of our lives or the weight WILL come back.
3. Drinking with meals. The tool of not drinking with meals is a critical key to long term success.
4. Not eating right. In today's society it is a challenge to eat right. Make it easy on yourself. Don't skip meals, don't keep unhealthy Snacks around, feed yourself at regular intervals so you won't make poor choices about meals. Consider having some personal absolutes such as: avoid all fried foods, avoid all sugary foods, always use low-fat options, or only eat in a restaurant once per week.
5. Not Drinking enough Water. Most WLS patients are at risk for dehydration. Drinking a minimum of 64oz per day will help you to avoid this risk. Drinking Water flushes out your system, helps you lose weight and avoid kidney stones.
6. Grazing. Nibbling small amounts here and there throughout the day can make your weight creep up. Make a plan for what you will do when you crave food so you will do something constructive that will not involve eating.
7. Not exercising regularly. Exercise is one of the best weapons a WLS patient has to fight regain. It boosts your spirits and keeps our metabolism running strong. When you exercise you build muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn even at rest.
8. Eating the wrong carbs (or too many). Face it, refined carbs are addictive. If you eat them you will only crave more of them. Eat complex carbs.
9. Drinking Sodas. Some people claim that drinking sodas stretched their pouches. What we know for sure is that sodas keep you from getting hydration you need after WLS. Diet soda has been connected to weight gain in the general population. Find other drinks to fall in love with.
10. Drinking Alcohol. If you drank alcohol before WLS you will probably want to drink it post surgery. Most surgeons recommend waiting one year after surgery before drinking. Be very cautious, you may get drunker quicker which can cause health problems and put you in dangerous situations. Alcohol is connected to weight gain because it has 7 calories per gram where Protein and vegetables only have 4 calories per gram. It is noted that some people develop ad addiction to alcohol after WLS so be very cautious. If you notice a problem, contact your doctor.

Hiii everyone, i just wanted to take the time to do an update i just realized that i am 6 months post op today i was sleeved on September 10th 2013 and what can i say other than i am so thankful at the opportunity life has given me its like being reborn again. Back in July 2013 my health took a toll for the worst, that is when my doctor recommended i get Bariatric Surgery because loosing weight would be the only way 2 control my PCOS symptoms i finally decided to do something about it and went ahead and started my WL journey i was then 250 lbs my highest weight ever being 5'1 it wasn't good at all for me along with my PCOS i started having back problems, knee problems, achillis tendons problems, ankles were always swollen, my BP had started to get out of control, along with a few other things. Today at 6 months i couldn't be happier with the way i feel, today i no longer use any medications, i am still in shock when i see myself in the mirror in my head i still think of myself sometimes as being heavy even though i know i am not and peoples reaction when they see me is priceless =) words will never describe how Amazing this journey has been and how i feel i thank God first and for most and my awesome doctor Scott Shikora and Team for giving me this second chance in life my highest weight was 250, today at 6 months post op i am 147 lbs and still counting even my doctor was amazed when i saw him last month he said and i quote (remember we spoke that people who are sleeved loose about 50-60% of their excess weight well you have lost already 75% of your excess weight) he was sooo happy my goal is 135 i am very close i went from size 22 or 2x 3x to my now size 6 and that size is now fitting loose so am i Happy? Heck yeaaah i am Extreeeeemely Happyyyyy! 88 lbs since September 10th (day of surgery i was 235lbs) total weight loss 103 lbs from when i was 250 lbs till now i'll take it! =)))

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Found a full length one

My sure I should have somethig with my body but I can't get over my face at the moment. This was exactly 3 years ago. HW 255 surgery weight 241 and this am 166! 89!!! I've lost a super model

Thanks everyone My best advice be would follow the plan. Mine was protein/non starchy veggie (2:1 ratio), minimum 64 ounces Water (I get between 100-150 ounces a day), 30 minutes of cardio/5 days a week. Don't beat yourself up if you fall off track. Just get back up and keep going. I haven't been perfect on this journey but I feel like the sleeve has helped me get back on track where as pre sleeve if I would have got off track I wouldn't of been able to refocus and keep going.

Still losing (more slowly)-- still following the rules-- still LOVING my sleeve.... 105 lbs down! Getting closer to my goal!!!!
Here's a couple pics:
( I also added a few photos in my gallery "8 Months PostOp" including pics of food I'm eating)

It was just a year ago I first heard about the sleeve. I hit the grounds running and flew through all the hoops to make it happen. I was sleeved on May 3rd, and now I have hit my goal of losing 100 pounds! It has been a great journey!

This is my journey in video. Check it out.
http://fgr.am/f/reyoRbcmuE

Best decision I made
Sleeved April 29,2013 at 320 lbs
Today I'm 190 lbs

I'm not fat (on the outside) any more! I'm not skinny by any means, but I'm not fat. I weigh 157 pounds which is still far too much for my 5.3 frame, but I wear size medium tops and size 8 pants, which is officially smaller than the average American woman.
I am no longer shopping in the women's section.
I am no longer wearing the largest size in the ladies' department.
I pick up clothes in consignment shops and often have to reject them for being too big. ( WTF?!?!?!)
I fit in bathroom stalls and dressing rooms with room to spare.
I can walk through turnstiles/bus aisles/theatre rows front ways instead of turning sideways and sucking it in.
I no longer stress when some jackhole parks too close to my minivan when I can barely open my car door to squeeze in.
Every seatbelt fits.
I can put my handbag in my seat with me instead of on a different chair.
I can sit in a booth without my tummy and/or boobs smooshing up against the table.
People don't mind sitting next to me at the movies or in tight restaurants.
More people make eye contact/open doors/smile/initiate conversation with me than ever before.
I am no longer looking around to see if I am the biggest person in the room because I'm not. Ever. Not even in Zumba.
I can wear my leggings home from the gym and stop at the store without caring if I run I to anyone I know.
I could go on forever. I'm still a fat girl on the inside so this whole thing is very surreal. It's just finally starting to set in that after 20 years of being obese, I'm now just a regular sized fit mom (with some loose skin) who can do anything I fracking want to do because I gifted myself with the least easy "easy way out" I could have ever chosen to do.
Love love love. Love.

Before/ during (posted in another thread previously)