ReEstDec2013

The incentives of doing this surgery gets better and better. LOL!
Sex for me is always GREAT so to know that it will get better literally blows my mind...hehehehe

So Today I hit 149.2 lbs. According to my BMI I am NORMAL!
I had surgery March 20, 2013 and weighed in at 240 lbs. I have chosen to only tell 2 people. My husband and sister. So when I posted a picture this week it created quite a buzz. I have lost 91 lbs in 7 months and feel better then ever. I could not ask for a better change in my life I can run and play with my son and not get tired. I have been so blessed to have had an easy recovery and a sleeve of steel.
I have attached a picture from February 2013 and from this week.

I just got a call that my insurance company approved my surgery, and I am scheduled to be sleeved next Monday! I am so excited! Hard to believe it is only a week away.

This Friday will be my 4 week sleeve-aversary...Can it be that i actually feel normal? Every day has been something else, weather its being nauseous, leg pains, stomach pains, dizziness. Today I feel like my old self. It is like night and day between last week and this week.

Every new sleever should know that it does in fact get better!!!

Sw 261
Cw 234
Feeling pretty good finally , going for my check up today , I'm very curious about my blood work and how all my supplements are working , I'm getting the hang of life without bad food , I really don't miss the crap stuff ,,, I really thought bread and Pasta would be hard to delete but really not so much 27 lbs is pretty much on track I feel , not a big enough change for me to really notice , just subtle things ,,,, looking forward to the oh wow reactions to come .... No regrets NONE !!!! Feeling blessed and hopeful for my future health ....

Called my insurance today (I've called twice a week since it was submitted on the 15th) to find out if I was APPROVED and I am... Thank Goodness !!

Loving life! The BEST thing I've ever done. The resources and advice I've gotten on this board have been instrumental and I thank you all! About 7-8lbs more to go to hit goal and give myself a couple pound buffer but I know it will happen.
Thanks again!

I'm only 2 and 1/2 months out from surgery (8/12/13) but here is my so far progress
Before surgery black dress 1 month after stripe dress
2nd pic 1 month after and 2 1/2 months after surgery. So far so good!!

Height 5'8 cw 173 down 126 pounds 9 months

9/2012
Today
DOS 2/20/13. Height 5'4" CW 155

Hello its tosha here 10 days out from surgery and I'm feeling ok it's hard to get all the Protein but when I don't I feel the difference I just don't have any energy when I don't get at least 45grams in I'm getting better as the days pass I can't wait to be like five months out I'm just excited I guess but 10 days out and I'm down 22pounds so far so good

And I just got hired part time at Victoria's Secret. So exciting. Never thought I would have the look to work there!!!

HW 315
SW 267
CW 193
I'm 5'8"

May 17. 226. Today...147

[ATTACH]20026[/ATTACH]

Starting weight 334.9, current weight 199, 16 months post op
Sent from Gaye's iPad Mini using VST

Started at 299 now 173 9 months out

HW 388
SW. 334
CW. 304

I hadn't weight in a few weeks jumped on the scale at work down 65 lbs !!!!!I about fell over ... I wish I could post pics via I-phone but I don't think I can ...

It's been 5 months after surgery. My own surgeon looked at me standing in the waiting room, STARED, blinked, tried to focus, scratched his head... then heard me laugh and a lightbulb went on!
I look amazing, feel amazing, and still don't drink 64 ounces of Water per day! ha ha!
My primary doctor did every possible laboratory: I'm healthier than ever! My skin is clear, my blood pressure is perfect, my sleep apnea is gone, all the pain and misery is GONE.
WENT FROM SIZE 16 JEANS TO SIZE 5! I look 30 years old!
My teen girls are proud of me... I never dreamed this could happen... but it happened! I can eat everything I want, just a few bites and I'm good. I'm very lucky that I don't have skin hanging all over, just a pouch of fat still in my lower abdomen.
My ideal weight is 129 lbs, that is 23 lbs away... I don't think I want to be that skinny because I'm 45. Hope to stop at 145, size 3 jeans so I can steal my daughter's clothes!!! ha ha

Mine was a little bit of the opposite. I never really had nice clothes because I felt nothing looked good on me and the options for pretty clothes at my size were so limited. As I started losing I discovered that I could find pretty nice business style clothes at the thrift store. I dress better now in my second hand clothes than I did before and it is such a confidence builder. Getting clothes that actually fit is an important part of the process and allows you to see how much you're progressing. Don't mourn the old clothes embrace the journey and go shopping for new (or new to you) clothes that will show off how hard you're working!

I've noticed my feet too!! Come on hips!! Join this party!

4 weeks post sleeve. Lost 34lbs. Gained 2 shin bones. I'm pretty stoked.

I started this journey last November with a yearly check-up with my pcp. At that appointment I inquired about weight loss surgery. My doc handed me a referral to their bariatrics team. My weight was 289 lbs. I went to the informational meeting in Dec.
Between Dec. of 2012 and August of 2013 I went to monthly meetings with the bariatric team, monthly appointments with my pcp, and had all sorts of tests and appointment to cover all of the requirements for my insurance. During this time I lost 23 lbs.
On August 12 I started the 2 week pre-op liquid diet. It was hard at first but after the first few days it wasn't so bad.
Aug. 26, my day for surgery I weighed 251. The 2 weeks of liquids allowed me to lose another 15 lbs.
My surgery went well. I had no complications. My pain was minimal. For me it was pretty routine. I have had many abdominal surgeries in the past. When I got home and stepped on the scale, to my surprise I went up to 259 lbs. From reading so many postings on this sight I found out that is pretty common.
After surgery I was on Clear Liquids the first day, full liquids for 4 more weeks. Then I was graduated to a soft, mushy, pureed diet for 2 more weeks. On Monday Oct. 21st I finally got my clearance to eat real food. (keep in mid I have to chew, chew, chew and hope my tummy tolerates it)
As of right now I am down to 223 lbs. My jeans have gone from a size 24 to a 14. My shirts have gone from a 3X down to a 1X. I have had to put 6 more holes in my belt. I am getting complements from people almost everyday at work. I also go for a half hour walk for my lunch break. I try to get 10,000 steps on my pedometer everyday. Currently I am not working out but I am researching personal trainers and hoping to get on that bandwagon soon.
The pictures I have posted show me in the black shirt at 275lbs in April, The pink blouse @ 266 in August, the teal shirt @ 243 lbs in Sept, and In the pink T-shirt @ 231 at the beginning of this month. I am now down another 8 lbs since the last picture.
My highest weight was 289. My surgeons goal weight for me is under 200. My personal goal weight is 160. ( I am 5'8") At this moment I am currently just past the halfway mark to my personal goal. Woohoo!

3 years ago today I had the VSG!
So much has happened in the last 3 years in regards to my attitudes, abilities and awareness surrounding my body, what I eat, and how I exercise. I will do my best to keep this short!
First and foremost, I am one of those people who had a surgical procedure to help me lose weight. And I hit a "low" weight and then, in the space of about 10 months, regained about 20ish pounds. Nothing is more humbling than being a "statistic" in this way. I had always heard that this regularly happens to WLS patients and a part of my brain said "oh that won't be me!" Haha. Lessons learned the hard way are sometimes the ones that stick with us the most.
So if any of you have the question "is it possible to regain weight with the sleeve?" ...the answer is YES it is possible. The regain is actually quite easy. You quit tracking your food, you eat a few more calories than you need to, extra "treats" find there way back into your life, and you slack off on the exercising. Losing the extra regain...well notsoeasy. I have lost -12lbs of my regain and will continue to fight until the regain is gone.
Here are just a few quick things that are true for ME, personally.
1. We can live on a lot less food than we think we can live on. If you take nothing else away from this post, please remember that statement. During the time that I had regained some weight, I found myself wanting to eat more and the truth of the matter remains that my daily caloric intake needs to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,400 calories or less for me to maintain or lose weight, regardless of how much I exercise. This is completely reasonable, doable and normal for me. And I am finally OK with this. (Yours may be completely different!!)
2. Don't underestimate the importance of exercise!! It's taken me a while to finally push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to exercise, but I've found out what a really challenging workout does to me mentally and physically and I know when things get to easy that I need to push myself farther. If you have never exercised before in your life, then your goal is to GET UP OFF the couch and DO SOMETHING. And if exercise is not completely foreign to you, then you need to set some goals to push yourself harder.
3. Plastic surgery. I have not had any...yet. I went for an initial consult this past May. It was really hard to see how much damage being morbidly obese has done to my body and how much it would cost to get a nice "perfect" body. I've had a lot of time and space to think about what I learned at that consult and what I realize now, is that I'm not sure I can afford perfection. Or that it necessarily exists. I just know I could put one of my kids through college for what I was quoted for plastics. So I'm currently on the fence and in the mode of trying to be happy with where I am and not worry about chasing a down a body that might not exist for me.
4. I constantly drink Water. I drink (half-caf) coffee (usally 2 cups a day), I rarely drink alcohol and I never drink anything carbonated. I've been carbonation free for over 3 years now. I also rarely use any type of crystal lite, or flavor enhancers etc. Sometimes I drink plain (unsweet) tea.
My net loss is somewhere around -90lbs. My husband is also sleeved and did NOT regain any weight. He is 2.5 years post-op and seems to maintain his more modest loss (-70lbs) more effortlessly than I do. He also can eat more calories than I do, so right there are complete differences among sleevers! I just don't think we can ever "give up" ...and there is no "finish" line! There might be a GOAL WEIGHT, but once you are there, it's still a journey to keep the weight off. And for that reason I'm eternally grateful to my VST 'family' for always being here!
BEFORE VSG 2010

AFTER VSG 2013 (all of these photos have been taken in the last 2 months)

SIDE BY SIDE

Just wanting to say a quick thank you to my fellow VETS here in the Vet's Forum for encouraging me, lifting me up, and being there for the long haul! I know several of you who went before me OD, Coops, GT, etc. and a few of you who were really close to my date as well and a lot of you were who were after me.
But staying HERE at VST and being encouraging to me is awesome and I just wanted to say thanks.
(If you want to see my before/afters I posted here)
http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/97887-3-years-ago-today-i-had-the-vsg/
I celebrated by purchasing some new spin shoes and doing a double workout (weight lifting for a hour and spin for an hour!)

I have wanted some of these for so long and a 3 year 'anniversary' seemed like a good time to treat myself!

They weren't cheap but totally worth the investment and way better than cake (well, ok, *almost* better than cake...)

Anyway, 3 years is a long time to be on a message board but I wouldn't be here without some of my fellow vets and for that I'm so grateful. THANK YOU!