meamo

Only one month after surgery and I'm getting hit on everyday. Wtf was I really that fat before. I still ain't skinny yet.

As of this morning, I am officially OVERWEIGHT!!
I started this journey almost 7 months ago (May 16 '13) at 263.8. I was a tight size 20 bottom, XXL top, 42DDD boobs and a BMI that labeled me morbidly obese. As of today, I am 168.8, only 8.8 pounds away from my original goal (which I've since lowered but...). I am in a loose size 12 but could move into 10s if I liked the pants tight look. I wear a size L top but everyone says a Medium looks better. My boobs are now a 36D and my BMI has finally hit OVERWEIGHT!!!
I am so freaking happy. I haven't been this size since college. I've lost exactly 95 pounds and my new mini goal is 100 pounds by Christmas!!

I am increasingly stressed that I will not get my approval from insurance. I have done everything in my power so I feel completely out of control now as I wait for the decision. Every day that goes by I feel a little less hopeful. I just need to find some peace.

Awesome!! Congrats!

A musician I used to work for would always say, "I don't read reviews. If I take the good ones as gospel, I need to assign the bad ones just as much credence."
How does this apply?
Well, simply put…weeks or months that go really well are awesome, amazing, and make us feel like we have this thing BEAT. Bad weeks or months, or ones that don't go the way our preconceived notions think they should can make us feel like crap.
Better, I think, to realize that the scale is like that reviewer in the paper. It's taking down an impression of your performance; nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't account for difficulties you've had, other ways you've improved, or really anything about your weight loss journey except that number it takes as a snapshot.
If you give that power to a snapshot, you are missing the point. I get that it's not always easy, but one thing I see over and over again is "Put in the work and the rest will follow." It may not follow at the pace you believe it should, or that you read about others achieving, etc. But it will follow.
One other thing. We have a tendency to shout out our successes from the rooftops. Don't believe me? Log on to Facebook and see how many people posted today that they screwed something up at work, or yelled at their kids, or gained a couple of pounds. No, they post that their husband brought them flowers, or that they got a promotion, or that their kid made honor roll.
Also, they post pictures of their dinner.
Your snapshot of our lives is what we're putting out there. Maybe it's possible that plenty of others are right where you are. So don't give up!

So hey guys i woke up this morning sooooo happy....why because when i hoped on that scale i am now 235.6 befor i started my preop diet i was 252 and starting my preop diet i was 245 i lost 10lbs in 4 days .....4DAYYSSSS IM NOT EVEN SLEEVED YET!!!! I JUST THEOUGHT I SHOULD SHARE IT WITH MY SLEEVE FAM.....
I PUT A VIDEO UP ON YOUTUBE OF ME WEIGHING MYSELF ILL POST BELOW IN A FEW..(DONT MINE ME SCRATCHING MY hair ITS KIND OF A MORNING HABBIT THING)

Havent posted progress in a while.
Just past the 11 month mark.
Sleeved 12/31/2012

High weight: 303
Surgery weight: 297

First month: - 31lbs
Second month: - 11 lbs
Third month: - 13 lbs
Fourth month: - 10 lbs
Fifth month: - 10 lbs
Sixth month: - 9 lbs
Seventh month: - 4.8
Eighth month: - 8.6
Ninth month: - 6.8
Tenth month: - 4.2
Eleventh month: - 6.2

Current weight: 187.2
Total lost: - 115.2 lbs

Average Calories: 1300-1400 per day.
actually walked in the store this weekend and bought 32x30 pants and medium shirts... from a 44x30 and XXL

Hey guys, it's Brittney again just giving a little update!! I am currently 59 lbs lost and 6 weeks out of surgery! I can finally have toast!! I thought the liquid and purée stage was going to last forever Lol!
I have a my fitness pal if you'd like to add my and watch my progress brittneyrench or even my Instagram _brittneyrench !!
I had my surgery on 10/22 and it was the best decision of my life. I've set my goals high and my calories low... ahah I take in about 500 a day sadly my goal is 800.. and I run at least 3 miles a day I am so happy to be a little over a month out..
the thing I've noticed is not to worry about no movement on the scale because measurement wise there is always progress!!
I have more energy than I have ever had..
the picture below is day before, 3 weeks out and 6 weeks out today! I wish I took a side profile picture prior to surgery !! fiddle sticks

it lagged here's the imagev

So I was feeling kind of discouraged today and decided to go back through my blog looking for a picture I took about 1/2 way through my pre-op requirement process. It was at my highest weight (same as I was on day of surgery on 9/12) and I just happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror at work and thought, "I better get a picture of this because i want to remember how terrible I look". When I found it today I put it side by side with my 2 month post op pic (taken 11/12) and I was stunned at the difference. I am still not where i want or need to be, but I'm feeling better about myself today! I LOVE MY SLEEVE!

You look amazing! Wtg!

I was allowed Isopure Protein drink--dilluted with 50% Water (it's clear....you can get it at GNC).......only buy a few bottles......I did not like it one bit.......some like it.....but I had to get my Protein in somehow.
Be careful with all the sugar free products -- can cause diarhea
I have one of those snow cones/ice shaving machines.....and bought a bottle of DaVinci sugar free syrup.......and had a very small "snow cone" when I was desperate to chew something.
Don't stock up on too much (don't want to get stuck with stuff you don't like as tastes change post op)
If you haven't yet, you might want to buy samples of protein powders assuming you'll be following up the clear stage with a full liquids stage.....Syntrax, Click (they make a nice Decaf mocha double shot expresso), unjury......not sure what other samples are out there....found them on the internet.......I liked the Unjury chicken broth---made me feel like I was having a meal.....still like it today. Some protein powders made thick shakes, and for me, they don't go down so easily -- Unjury is thinner---the chocolate is like chocolate milk......I also like Premier Protein ready to drink shakes.....available at Walmart, walgreens, costco.
I made a Syrup out of a sample of Syntrax nectar Wild Cherry Protein Powder (used less water).....and poured that over shaved ice for a snow cone.....it was okay.....but being on full liquids, nothing solid, it was nectar of the gods as far as I was concerned LOL
Good luck.......VSG has changed my life......I haven't been this weight in 25 years.....I'm 4 months out and it's had a positive impact on every aspect of my life-----and feeling better about myself is the greatest.....Wishing you nothing but the best and an easy surgery/recover...

Monday marked 4 months since having my sleeve done. I started my sleeve journey @ 321 LBS & today I weighed myself & I am now down a total of 61 LBS!!! I am so estatic at the progress I have had since beginning my life changing journey & I am so excited to see what the future holds for me. This ride has definitely been a rollercoaster ride but it has all been worth it to see & feel the difference in my body, soul, spirit, my confidence.... it is just an amazing journey to be on even with all the ups & downs we may have emotionally, mentally, physically.... I am so proud of myself for being brave enough to have a surgery that scared the crap out of me but I just knew in my heart it was what I needed to have done to become a much happier, healthier me. I am a diabetic, I have neuropathy, high cholesterol, I was on Water pills, pain meds for severe back pain. I am 33 years old & my body felt like I was 85 or 90. I feel a lot better these past 4 months & it gets better everyday!!!! Here are some pictures of my progress...

HW. 360
SW. 306
CW. 235
Went from a 54w to a 38w, 4xl to a 1xl and could not be happier!!! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Ha, I have kind of an 'all in one' deal. My grandma likes to tell me, "wow honey, you sure can tell you lost weight!" Which is great, but reminds me of how she used to say, "gosh honey, you sure can tell you gained weight!"
My favorite compliments though? Apparently surgery increased my confidence or something because people keep commenting on my excellent posture, how regal I look, how I walk with 'poise', etc. I love it.

My journy started in 2004 with a Lap Band. I had great success...well vomitng all the way...loosing 190 lbs over 5 years. During the last three years I had real issues of severe left internal pain- transvaginal US showed nothing. Constipation with ribbon stools...colonoscopy- just increase my Fiber. Cardiac issues...I could go on and on...and always in the back of my mind I thought It was the band. Fast forward to June of 2013...slowly I was gaining weight, and my abdomen was distended and firm. I went to a new PCP who ordered an upper GI. My first ever. Well...my esophagus was completely occluded...and the doctors wondered how I was getting anything in. Emergently 3 ccs were removed from my band...and in 5 days I gained 30 lbs. The surgeon said my body was in starvation mode for so long, by liver was just shooting out fat cells like crazy. I waited for insurance approval for the sleeve, working out each day and keeping my calories around 1400. By the time surgery was scheduled Oct 22, I was up about 50lbs.
Surgery...lets say my abdomen was a war zone. Severe inflamation, and acute allergic response obviously by body rejecting the band. It took the surgeon 5 hours to clear the adhesions,and work around the inflammation. My spleen was nicked...no big deal. 12 hours after surgery I was crashing, and brought back to surgery. 2 liters of liquid blood and large clots were found in my abdomen. 5 hours and 4 surgeons in my case examined each area of my battlezone belly...and the bleed was discovered under my liver- about a 50 cent peice of liver was lacerated. Turned out the band had grew into my liver (remember the pain I was having 3 years prior...yup) and when removed took out part of my liver. I will spare you the rest of the recovery details..but glad to be alive.
I will be reporting my complications to the FDA. I cannot believe bands are still put in. I will also be publishing my case, eventually. I am down about 25 lbs, but have been at a stall for the last week...I hear this is common, and hoping each day it will pass. I am very happy with my sleeve. I am hungy, which I was hoping would go away. I have no difficulty eating anything, and as a risk vs. reward kind of girl..I have tested out bread, and yep no problem. I am so grateful to be alive, and my story will be told to stop the madness of the band. It is no way to live.

Okay deep cleansing breath, I'm including my FACE in the pic this time! Look at my husband's pics! Can you believe it? Dang man is at 70% of his excess weight lost, I'm at about 54% of mine.
pics are day of sx, 8/2/2013 and today, 11/11/2013
We are all so hard on ourselves btw. I saw mine and went, "eww! tummy rolls!" My husband saw mine and said "You're looking skinny babe".
He saw his and said "My stomach shows." I saw his and said "...."well, I can't tell you what I said on this site but I'm sure you can guess :-p

Hey everyone!
I had my surgery August 22nd, 2012 so I'm about 15 months post op. I've lost a total of 101 pounds and I feel great I started at 231 lbs. and now weigh 130 lbs.
At 23 years old, I feel like life can't get any better I've been maintaining for about 7-8 months. I feel so much healthier and more confident. I continue to exercise and make healthy choices to motivate myself to be the healthiest me that I can be. This journey has been one of the most humbling and challenging experiences of my life. I've surrounded myself with positive people who have supported me throughout this whole process.
I'm now participating in the "Bari-Buddy" system at the hospital I had my surgery at - getting paired with people who just had the surgery to be a support to them. It's been a great experience - both rewarding and inspiring to help support other people who are in the same position I was in 15 months ago.
Since the summer, I've graduated college and started a new job. I'm now an occupational therapist working in a pediatric setting. This is something I always wanted to do but I was always too intimidated to work with kids - because let's be honest...kids are a little too honest!! I am so grateful that I now have the confidence (and the energy!!) to help these kids achieve all of their goals.
I hope everyone is having lots of success and happiness Here are some before and after pictures!

So today I go to see my nutritionist for a monthly follow up. My insurance require me to follow up with her four times and attend two bariatric surgery classes. I have 3 more follow ups with her and 1 more class to attend. I have four more months until surgery, even though that is a while from now I feel a little more closer to my goal and new life. I am just so excite today because it really hit me that I am actually going thru this and refuse to look back. Today is a happy day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not good, not good at all.... Please people don't do it, and please stop suggesting for other people to do it.
First, this behavior is the first steps of bulemia and getting into the habit of chewing food and spitting it out can lead to a very serious eating disorder. After WLS we are already dealing with changing the way we relate to food, so we want to instill good habits all along the way and avoid the bad ones as much as possible.
Second, there's a biological reason not to do this too. When you smell food and when it enters your mouth and you begin to chew, the body goes into Prep Mode to receive food. Your salivary glands produce saliva, your pancreas produces insulin, your liver produces gastric acid and your brain begins to calculate how much nutrition you're about to receive from the food you eat so it can keep track of it's daily needs/calories --- the body is a well tuned machine and it knows how to deal with food when it knows it's coming. But then you spit out the food. Your body still has excess saliva, insulin, gastric acid and it can't figure out why it didn't get the nutrition it thought it was going to get so the brain accountants go nuts.
Excess insulin in your body causes your appetite to increase so you'll eat more food to soak up all that extra hormone. Excess gastric acid in the stomach -- now released at the Y of your common channel -- can cause indigestion or heartburn or ulcers. And those brain accountants are now doing some creative math to recalculate the nutritional value of food because it thought it was going to get a certain number of calories, but none came, so next time you try to eat that same food the brain thinks you need twice as much to get the same nutrition as it thought it should have gotten last time.
So not only is the whole "chew and spit" habit a training ground for bulemia, it's also a way to tease your body into thinking it's getting food when it really isn't. Bulemia is a very serious illness and not something you want to play around with.
From the unknown sleever.

I'm pretty excited.. I'd had lapband march 2008 and have done very well so far- but about 2 yrs ago it just stopped working.. So after a lot of tears and beating myself that I must be doing something wrong my doctor looked at me and said stop blaming yourself for the tool not working and let's do something about it...
About 6months ago I started jumping through the insurance hops to get approved for VSG.. Finally everything's approved and surgery is set for Nov 18... I still have my sleep study to complete Wednesday but barring something massive coming up I'm good to go!!!

Tried posting this in the other thread that was already started but it won't let me. My surgery date was June 17 of this years...so I'm 4 months post op. Started at 230 pounds day of surgery and today I am 149 pounds. I'm 5'4ish I took these after pics yesterday and the befores are from the week after surgery. My goal is to reach 135.

Congrats!! It is scary and the recovery sucks but just know this... no matter how crappy you feel tomorrow, it only gets better from there. Really think about why you're doing this... pray/meditate/think about the new transitioning state you will be in for a while and let yourself heal, physically and emotionally.
This has been a great journey so far.

Hello everyone I am so nervous! I have cooked,cleaned cooked some more and cleaned some more! Help!!!!!!