totaloser

I'm 5'3". My heaviest weight was 244. When I began this process I was 238.

_{Sorry I was overly excited this morning. I was sleeved Oct of 2013. At any rate, I reached my goal and couldn't be happier!}

I was sleeved in October of 2014. Today I reached my goal weight. After many months of being stuck a few pounds above that goal I gave up and decided it was my body telling me to stop trying to lose. So I did. I continued to exercise faithfully, track what I ate and stayed within my range of calories, drank all my Water and I even had an occasional treat. I was on vacation for the past week. I think my body relaxed enough to let go of those couple pounds. I was in shock when I stepped on the scale this morning. I haven't been one to post on here much but I do come on often to read for inspiration. Thank you for that. To those of you struggling or wanting to give up, dont. Your body needs time to rest and adjust. You can and will make that goal. Be patient and be proud of how far you have come.

In a heartbeat! Best decision of my life. Almost 80 pounds gone. Lost weight allowed me to find a lump in my breast. Stage 2 cancer. I wouldn't have found it so soon had I not lost the weight. The sleeve saved my life.

Thanks so much for your kind words! Trying to stay upbeat and positive. This won't be fun but I'll get through it. At least I'm healthier at my new low weight so that's in my favor.

Hope you all are doing well with your weightloss. It really is amazing when it starts coming off and you turn into a whole new person. So many positive changes! I'm still amazed every time I cross my legs!

I was sleeved back in October. It wasn't the easiest recovery for me. I ended up with a bleed after surgery and was put back in the hospital for a couple nights but after that everything started to fall into place and the weight started falling off. I am now 78 pounds lighter and many of my comorbidities have been resolved. I feel great. I went from size 20 jeans to a size 6. My breasts shrunk and that was the biggest blessing. With the loss off of my breast fat I discovered a lump that I would not have felt 78 pounds heavier. This was 3 weeks ago. It has been a whirlwind of appointments and procedures since but long story short, I have breast cancer. I had surgery to remove it last Thursday. This has all been shocking and overwhelming but the bottom line is, the sleeve saved my life. I am beyond thrilled with my weight loss and now as I go through radiation and chemo I may have some new challenges ahead with getting proper nutrition but my whole team is on board to help me through this. I look forward to being on the other side of this battle, but I will take it one day at a time knowing for sure that my decision to be sleeved was the best decision ever.

I have no regret for having the surgery. My only regret is that I didn't do it years ago!

I'm here! I'm 51. Sleeved 10/14/13. Down 72 pounds and feel incredible. So much energy! I even tried day one of couch to 5k today. It was tough but I did it! I couldn't run when I was heavy due to asthma. My asthma has much improved with the weight loss. I am 20 some pounds from goal and I am never going back to the old me.

Don't beat yourself up. You weren't ready 5 months ago. Now you are. Hold on tight, you are in for quite the ride!

Best of luck!

I start counseling tomorrow and I'm excited and nervous about it. Just curious if anyone else sought out counseling post sleeve? If so, did you find it helpful?

Yes. In fact I just started. I find it very helpful. Dealing with the emotional part of this has been a challenge. Counseling is helping me to do just that.

Girlfriend i had to figure out that is what this forum is for, a safe place to express the things we think and feel that our family and friends may not understand. Hell I thought all overweight ppl felt the same about weight loss and/or an addiction to food but I have learned that is not the case. You made a decision to take thee step, the one that jump started the divorce proceedings between you and food. Your fam will love you for it and you will too just give it time. I have a strong belief that the pleasure you find in being smaller and healthier will eventually take the place of mourning a faithful yet harmful friend...FOOD.

You are absolutely right. I do take pleasure in being small. I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around it. My family will come around and the friends that don't weren't true friends.

I think you are so used to being overweight that it is hard to accept the new you. I have the same fear. I have been a size 22 for so long that I can not even begin to have the image in the mirror be thinner. I think some visits to the psychologist is a good idea. Do they address issues like this in the pre-op process? I have a lot of issues (more like luggage) that have caused my weight to be my shield and losing that, honestly scares me. I am currently going through "trauma therapy" that has been very helpful so far. I know I am not ready to go under the knife yet but, I know this is the right decision for me. I have done a lot of research on the psychology of weight loss and it's insane the info out there. I am going back to college this fall to get my degree in psychology and hope to be in a bariatric setting. Hope all this makes sense, sorry for the random thoughts.

This was addressed in my preop process however I couldn't really imagine what it was like until I reached that point. Meeting with a psychologist was part of my preop requirement. One thing I didn't do prior to surgery and I wish I would have is to attend support groups. There are people there living it now and the more you prepare before hand the less surprises you'll have as things come up. Trauma therapy is great. You are dealing with your issues now and that's what you have to do. Good luck!

Way to go Tiki!

I still have the fat girl mentality. Every compliment I second guess. My head tells me that people are just being kind. I still have alot of self doubt. I see my reflection in the mirror and it's unbelievable how small I am getting but I just can't wrap my head around it at times. I never thought this could happen for me. I deal with shame of having to turn to weightloss surgery instead of doing it on my own. I deal with guilt for making my family deal with my lifestyle changes. It's getting better but it takes time and support. I have an emotional connection to food. food was my go to for happiness, sadness, anger, you name it and it was my crutch. Now I'm not physically capable of turning to food for my emotions but I still have that thought process. Food was my drug of choice and I have to battle that addiction continually. I have learned that I eat to live instead of living to eat but it has been hard and at times really depressing. I used to really enjoy food. I don't any more. I guess I am mourning that loss. I can have a taste here and there of the bad stuff but it's not the same and honestly I am so afraid of falling back into old habits I stay away from it.

Reading the forum is so helpful because it's filled with people who are going through the same things and are at different points in their journeys. I haven't been one to post alot but it sure has helped and inspired me to read others posts. As I am getting more comfortable with myself I will start to open up more. Thanks for your response and I wish you the best!

i had the sleeve done on October14th. I had a minor bleed after surgery that landed me back in the hospital for a couple extra days but all turned out fine. The first month was not fun. I didn't feel good and it was harder than I expected to get a handle on eating or not eating. Today I can say I have no regrets. My hairloss is minimal so far. I have energy like I never had before. My bladder dysfunction has corrected itself. My asthma has gone away. I no longer have itchy rashes in my folds because my folds are gone. My upper back pain from large heavy breasts is no more. I can cross my legs. I can shop in regular stores. I don't get dizzy when I bend over. The Water retention in my ankles is gone. My list can go on and on.

It's a big decision and it can be a scary step, but for me it was all worth it. Good luck to you.

I certainly had and have the desire to be thin but for me I didn't dare say it because I was afraid it wouldn't happen. I have been fat all my life and I couldn't even imagine thin! I was filled with self doubt. Even now I can look in the mirror and see my reflection in my size 6 jeans and I can see that I am thin but in my mind I am still the fat girl. It's ridiculous I know. The mental and emotional part of this has been tough for me. I have no regrets as I feel better than I have ever felt. Keep your support systems close. Go to support groups and read read read the forums.

You are right. They don't understand. I think back to about a year ago when my boss was losing weight. I told her she looked great but she should stop now before she gets too thin. I think I felt threatened by her weight loss. I get the same comments from people now. They say I should stop losing now. Seeing it from this side is different. I now feel like I should apologize to my boss for the comment. Funny thing is she hasn't said a word to me about my loss. Not one comment.

I realized that this is an adjustment for me and all my family and friends. Me and my husband went to our first counseling session and I think it will be a big help for both of us to talk about our feelings and concerns. Your body starts changing so fast after surgery it's shocking. It's exciting for the person losing but it can be very threatening to those around us.

I'm excited for you. It will be the best thing you have done for yourself and you will feel amazing!

So today I cried in the dressing room. Happy tears! I was a size 18/20 jeans the day of surgery. Today I fit into a size 6! I won't share this with my family or friends so I will share it here. I love my sleeve. Best decision I ever made.

Surgery date was October 14th. Starting weight 238 current 170. I've had two major stalls. I don't weigh myself every day. I found that too frustrating. Stalls happen. Your body is adjusting . You will start losing again. Be patient!

I took 2 weeks initially but ended up adding a third. I did have a minor complication with my surgery and ended up back in the hospital and that made recovery a little harder. It was nice to have the extra week just to get used to drinking and learning how and what to eat each day.

My husband will not have the surgery. It's not for everybody and I understand that and respect his decision so he should also respect mine. I think that he does it just scares him that I am losing so quickly and changing fast. I think that he is afraid it will change who I am and in a way it will and already has, I just hope he will see that it is a good change in the long run.

We had a conversation about our little argument the other night and he apologized and admitted that he is a little jealous of my accomplishment. He said it's frustrating that he is still overweight and it won't come off as quickly for him. I told him there is no hurry as long as he is getting healthier. He agreed to counseling as well which I think will do both of us good.

I decided to keep my accomplishments to myself amongst my friends and family unless they ask. The last thing I want is for them to look at me as though I am bragging (although I do have bragging rights). I am trying to have a better understanding of their feelings.

So things are looking up for the moment.

One last thing. I went to the local department store today to pick up a dress I had ordered. As I was walking through the store I saw this lady walking towards me. She kept coming directly at me and I even wondered, is she going to walk right into me. I looked down and continued walking and glanced up again. I realized the lady was ME! I was looking at my own reflection in a mirror in the distance. I didn't recognize my own reflection! It made me laugh. I really have changed.

Thanks again for all the support and advice!

Sleeved October 14th. Starting weight 238.5 current weight 172.8. Down 66 pounds. Went from a size 18 jeans to currently wearing size 8. Hang on, you're in for quite the ride and you will be so amazed!

Wow. Thank you all for your advice and support. I needed the perspective of people who understand and have experience with this. I have to say this journey is more interesting than I ever could have imagined.

My husband is overweight. I understand that he is envious and having a hard time with this. I would probably be the same way if roles were reversed and I will have to try to be more sympathetic. It was interesting at work today. One of the janitors walked in and stopped to compliment me. I couldn't help it with as low as I was feeling after last night I burst into tears. I thanked him and told him how much his compliment meant to me. Poor guy. I think he thought I was crazy. I am going to embrace those compliments and keep my thoughts to myself at home.

Madame Reverie I really appreciate the time you took with your lengthy post. So much good advice. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

In the 4 months since my surgery I have lost about 66 pounds. I am feeling great. I went from size 18 jeans to a size 8. I have energy to exercise, I can cross my legs, I am called thin! It's all amazing and surreal. The problem? Dealing with other people and particularly my family. I want them to be supportive but they're not. My husband almost seems angry about my surgery and the fact that I am shrinking. I used to excitedly announce everytime I went into a new pants size and I can see now that it bothers him. He is not happy for me. He admits he is jealous and he says I took the easy way out. I tried to have a conversation with him last night and it turned into a fight. I don't want my marriage to fail over this but I don't know how to deal with what is happening. My kids don't want to hear about it. My daughters roll their eyes and share the attitude of their father. Some of my friends act like I have the plague. None of them understand. The emotional aspect of wls is much tougher to deal with than I ever imagined. I am happy for me. I have a new self confidence but I feel like when others see it they would rather me be the old fat depressed person.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

Just have to say thanks to all of you! I stalk these threads often and I feel so connected to many of you although I rarely speak up on here. Today I feel compelled to say thank you for the support you have given me thus far through this process. I am only 9 weeks out, dropping weight and feeling great but also scared to death of what's ahead. The physical journey of the sleeve has been okay for me but the mental and emotional part of this is tough. Reading your thoughts and feelings has been such good therapy. Maybe some day I will have more to contribute but for now I am taking it all in and learning so much. It's nice to know I am not alone in this. I so desperately want to get and stay thin but I know for that to happen I have to fix my mind. With support and commitment I hope I will be able to do just that. I am committing myself to make this a lifelong change and if that means becoming obsessed with it then I guess that's what I need to do. Now if I can only figure out how to make that happen. My name is Judy. I am 51. I am happy to be part of this community. I may even get up the nerve to post my picture.