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My husband and I had been married for 15 years at the time of surgery (17 now) and for all of those years I was either very overweight, pregnant and very overweight, or just plain obese. I am now at a normal BMI and hover right around 130-135 pounds. I am still the same person. I don't go seeking attention from other men, nor do I welcome it when it happens. But it does happen, of no fault of my own. He will notice men look at me more, I get random friend requests from people I don't know at all, etc. Of course I love and adore my husband and ignore all of this other crap. But to answer your question, yes, there was an adjustment period. There was a period of time where he felt pretty insecure about things because he felt like I was going to change or something. I think as time has gone on and he has adjusted and seen that I have not changed inside, things have leveled out. It also helps to have open lines of communication too. We would openly talk about it and work through it. It never really escalated to a fight or a real problem.

Every day will get better, I promise! You are right though, those first couple weeks really are about just getting through them and getting enough fluids in. Don't even worry about Protein. Just stay hydrated! I also had to stay in the hospital a couple extra days due to not being able to drink enough fluids on my own. Hang in there! I know it seems impossible now, but you will be back to a "new" normal soon!

There are so many factors that come into play with loose skin. There's age, lifestyle choices, skin elasticity, hydration, etc. It's impossible to predict. I would think though that, yes, you will have lose skin. I lost 150 pounds and had lose skin enough to warrant a tummy tuck, but even without the TT, it still would have been worth it in the long run. The loose skin is a small price to pay for my health.

It can happen, and probably will happen. There are so many factors to consider though....age, skin elasticity, how much Water you drink, toning, etc. it's hard to predict. I definitely wouldn't let that concern deter you from surgery. It was minimal compared to the benefits I've gained from surgery.

4 before surgery easily. Now maybe 1 if that.

did you have the tummy tuck and panni, if so , as far as pain and recovery, how was it and how was it to the pain level being compared to being sleeved, ,thank you for responding Yes. I had both the TT and Panni. To be honest with you, I didn't have a lot of pain at all with the sleeve, so the pain for the TT was therefore, definitely worse. I think I was not prepared enough mentally for the TT. I got the approval and scheduled the surgery quickly and went into it thinking the recovery would be a breeze like the sleeve. Wrong. Definitely wrong. The pain was significant. The extra weight I carried around, plus carrying 4 babies did significant damage to my ab muscles and there was a lot of repair work to be done. It was rough I"m not going to lie. And I'm 8 months post op on the TT and while it's not pain, there is definitely still discomfort sometimes from it. With all that being said, the results were exceptional and in retrospect, I would definitely do it all again. I have the nicest flat tummy, and a cute little belly button. He also did a little lipo on the sides as part of it and now all of my hard work losing the weight is complemented by a nice hourglass figure. :-)

Never tried that one, but I love the Chike brand.

This is great! I made a similar list when I was pre-op and I have to say there were many times when I went back and revisited that list...either to get me through a moment of doubt or to check off another goal as "met". Keep your list somewhere handy! You'll be surprised how quickly you get to check things off!

Awesome! And that is so cool that you have been able to go on this journey with your sister!! I've been maintaining now for over a year and this post made me kind of miss that excitement of the first year. The first time in lower sizes, the first time in single digits, the first 5k, first bikini, etc. It's a very, very exciting time. Embrace it and enjoy it!

Sounds like you are as prepared as you possibly can be. You are SO right. There is nothing magical about the sleeve surgery. It gives us an amazing tool to use to get healthy and shed the pounds quickly and it WILL work if you use it correctly. The bad news is that if you don't make it a lifestyle change permanently it is all to easy once your stomach is healed to let bad habits back in. But knowing this and dealing with it up front will make you SO much more successful in the long run. I think you are going to do great!

You look awesome! Great job and congrats on your hard work paying off!!! And I hear you on the shopping problem!!!

WEll I can definitely see a difference!! congrats on all your hard work paying off!

Good for you! You are right. There is nothing magical that happens when you have surgery. We are human and after a while it becomes easy to go back to what was comfortable before. But the good news is that you still have the same tool that helped you lose all this weight. It's not going anywhere. And you know what to do to lose again. You've got this!

Great job!

Especially if you were an emotional eater in the past, losing that coping mechanism can definitely bring up a lot of unexpected emotions. It's something I struggle with even to this day, 2 years later. Not in the crying at any minute kind of way, but I have to be mindful of how I cope in especially stressful or emotional moments.

I remember it only taking maybe 3-4 weeks or so. Now, 2 years+ out from surgery, I was just looking in the mirror this morning and thinking how remarkable it is that they have faded completely. I have no reminder left that I even had the surgery.

I had trouble with eggs at first. It takes a little bit of time. Now they are a go-to for me.

It is tough! You are right! I mean, afterall, if sticking to a strict diet were easy, wouldn't we all have done it and skipped having surgery? You've got this. I promise you the end is SO worth the journey. .

That's a tough one! Kudos for you for everything you already do! First of all, after surgery, focus on the new eating habits. Exercise is not going to make or break you in those first few months. Is it important, of course! But I wouldn't let that deter you from surgery because it will work regardless. I didn't start formally "working out" until 4 months post op. I wish I would have sooner, but in any case, the weight came off just fine during those 4 months I wasn't. But, when you are up to it, you could try doing something that you could do with the kids? I sometimes will stream workout videos and my little ones think it's fun to do their version of it along with me. Or we go "on a run" together - ie - I run, they ride their scooters, bikes, etc.

I agree. I love getting my favorite "pre-sugery" subs as a salad. You still get all the flavor without the bread. Great choice!

I am currently 27 months post op and maintaining comfortably. There is a point where your stomach is fully healed and the swelling goes away and you may feel like maybe you are able to eat slightly more at one sitting. Just because you can doesn't mean you have to. I also find that if I keep hydrated I am never truly hungry like I was before surgery. hunger changes. Like it's more of an empty feeling than a ravenous hunger. Also, how I eat the day before impacts my hunger levels. If I've gone off plan and eating a lot of carbs and/or sugar I am craving those things and super hungry the next day (or two). But if I stick to the plan and get a lot of Protein in, the next day I'm feeling good and I'm feeling satisfied. You just have to learn to make it a lifestyle change instead of a diet. I would have to work really, really hard at eating lots of food and unhealthy kinds of food if I were to gain the weight back.

I agree it may be something along the lines of heartburn. The only time I ever felt truly hungry was when I needed to adjust my heartburn meds. But also, eggs did take me a while to be able to stomach.

I definitely didn't find that. Greek yogurt and 2% cheese sticks are staples in my diet during the actively losing phase and now in maintanence too.

I was close to your starting stats at 5'7" and 278 pounds. I agree with others who have said there really isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do. Skin is just that....skin. There are so many factors that determine if you'll have a lot of excess skin or not including age, elasticity, hydration, genetics, etc. I am "fairly" young....was 34 at the time of surgery,.....and I hydrate A LOT. I didn't have huge, huge amounts of excess skin, but after a 140+ pound loss I did have enough to warrant insurance covering a tummy tuck and panniculectomy for it. I am an avid runner and fitness freak and no amount of weigh lifting or ab workouts was getting rid of that skin. Does it happen? Yep. Would I let it deter me from sleeve surgery? Heck no!

Awesome!!