AvaFern

@VSGAnn2014 Wow, rude much? First, no, I am not wearing a girdle, I am wearing a medically prescribed compression garment which fits exactly like it should. Second, I lost 10 pounds in a month because I was extremely careful with what I ate and because I didn't have the option to eat as much as I usually do.
And honestly, if you want to lose weight, you do what needs to be done and for people who no longer feel any restriction, a week or two of wearing a compression garment, which by the way is completely safe, is a cheap way to remind yourself of how to eat. Wearing a compression garment is not even remotely the same thing as any of the other things you suggested, but thanks for being ridiculous.

@VSGAnn2014 Wow, rude much? First, no, I am not wearing a girdle, I am wearing a medically prescribed compression garment which fits exactly like it should. Second, I lost 10 pounds in a month because I was extremely careful with what I ate and because I didn't have the option to eat as much as I usually do.
And honestly, if you want to lose weight, you do what needs to be done and for people who no longer feel any restriction, a week or two of wearing a compression garment, which by the way is completely safe, is a cheap way to remind yourself of how to eat. Wearing a compression garment is not even remotely the same thing as any of the other things you suggested, but thanks for being ridiculous.

There should be no reason you can't take regular bc- it's generally only a concern immediately before and after surgery because sometimes it can contribute to blood clots. Since you are quite a bit out at this point, you should be fine.
And p.s.....it's totally ok to get some action and make that pill do it's birth controlling job. Enjoy your new body and maybe let someone else enjoy it too!

I was going through pictures and I just had to share these before and after pictures. Beginning weight: 318
Current weight: 145
 

So yesterday I was at the grocery and I grabbed a hand basket thinking I was only getting a few things. A few turned into a bunch and my basket was quite heavy about halfway through the market. I hefted my basket up onto my hip (which used to be quite ample) and it slid right down my leg. Hmmm.... I tried again. And again. I seriously couldn't figure out WHY my basket didn't rest comfortably on my side like it always has. It took about 3 minutes of pondering this phenomenon before I realized I no longer have big wide cushiony hips on which to rest whatever it is I might need to carry. I seriously chortled with glee startling the produce man. HA!

Last week I had a girls' weekend away with my besties. We loaded up the luggage cart with all our stuff and I took my usual place behind the cart as the one who is designated to push it through the lobby. (I'm the only one who can be trusted not to mow innocent people down.) I couldn't budge it. I pushed and I heaved and I shoved that cart and it wouldn't move. I pulled it with all my might. Nope. One hundred plus pounds less of me wasn't going to move it no matter how hard I tried. So bizarre.
The ocean was another weird experience for me. I was a lifeguard growing up, both ocean and pool. I am a swimmer and I was even at my fattest. This summer was my first summer in 20+ years "thin". I was tossed around like a rag doll, totally off balance, barely able to gain footing because there is so much less of me. Oh, and I no longer float like I used to. In fact, I sink like a stone unless I give it a whole lotta effort. SO SO not what I'm used to.

I love the NSVs like fitting in a theater seat with my purse next to me, shopping in any store, passing by people in narrow aisles without rubbing them with my butt, etc. but some of these off the wall things really throw me off guard and it takes me a while to figure out what the heck is going on.

You?

30 years old (although I was 29 at the time of surgery), 5'2, starting weight 237, current weight 150. My surgery was 9/9/13, so I'm almost exactly 11 months out. I still have about 20 pounds to hit my goal.
I also read the stories of other people before surgery, although after surgery I was too focused on my own loss to be overly concerned that someone else might be losing faster than me. I do support the weighing everyday idea because it helps you recognize patterns in your weight loss. For example, I tend to get stuck around the 6's...196, 186, 176, 166, and just most recently 156, but I could go back and look at my weight (which I wrote on a calendar everyday) and see that the stall was normal and it would break in a few weeks, which prevented me from getting frustrated.
Good luck with your procedure!

I have always had thick, muscley legs, and now I still have thick muscley legs, lol. Ultimately though I noticed that I lost weight from all over. I can look at the pictures I took before surgery and those which I took after surgery and I do not see anywhere that has lost more than anywhere else. I just look like I shrunk everywhere.

I have always had thick, muscley legs, and now I still have thick muscley legs, lol. Ultimately though I noticed that I lost weight from all over. I can look at the pictures I took before surgery and those which I took after surgery and I do not see anywhere that has lost more than anywhere else. I just look like I shrunk everywhere.

I have always had thick, muscley legs, and now I still have thick muscley legs, lol. Ultimately though I noticed that I lost weight from all over. I can look at the pictures I took before surgery and those which I took after surgery and I do not see anywhere that has lost more than anywhere else. I just look like I shrunk everywhere.

I'm a year out and I'm very rarely actually hungry, but I do find that I have head hunger at times. Also, fortunately, whenever I do eat anything sugary or with a lot of fat, I'm almost instantly sick, so my sleeve does its job. Before I would do a really good job dieting and then spend a day binging and gain it all back. Now, I physically can't eat too much in one sitting because the puking is so miserable.
Also, my experience with dumping has been generally that I get very hot, my heart rate speeds up, my breathing rate gets faster, and my throat starts oozing goo and foam. I found that if I would lay down for 20 minutes and focus on breathing and relaxing, the hot flash feeling would go away and I was fine. If it got to the point where my mouth started the goo and froth stage, the only thing that makes it better is to just throw up and get it over with. The more you try to swallow it, the more that comes back up.
I was very nervous before I had the surgery as well, but I can honestly say it has been 100% a good thing. There are minor annoyances, but feeling confident and comfortable in my own skin again made it worth it.

I also lost a ton of hair. I'm a year out now and it's slowly starting to grow and thicken-up again. I tried a few varieties of extensions and nothing really worked out well. Before surgery I had long, medium thickness hair, that was beautiful, and at six months I had really thin, brittle hair, that I wasn't thrilled about every wearing out of a ponytail. At a year, my hair is growing again. It's frustrating, but once your body recovers from the trauma of surgery and the diet, it will start directing resources to your hair again.

I also lost a ton of hair. I'm a year out now and it's slowly starting to grow and thicken-up again. I tried a few varieties of extensions and nothing really worked out well. Before surgery I had long, medium thickness hair, that was beautiful, and at six months I had really thin, brittle hair, that I wasn't thrilled about every wearing out of a ponytail. At a year, my hair is growing again. It's frustrating, but once your body recovers from the trauma of surgery and the diet, it will start directing resources to your hair again.

I also lost a ton of hair. I'm a year out now and it's slowly starting to grow and thicken-up again. I tried a few varieties of extensions and nothing really worked out well. Before surgery I had long, medium thickness hair, that was beautiful, and at six months I had really thin, brittle hair, that I wasn't thrilled about every wearing out of a ponytail. At a year, my hair is growing again. It's frustrating, but once your body recovers from the trauma of surgery and the diet, it will start directing resources to your hair again.

I think you should do what you feel is best for you. Let me explain though why I choose to weigh everyday. There are points where you hit a plateau, and it is SO frustrating, but when you realize you're stuck, you then know that you need to make some kind of a modification to keep going forward. For example, my biggest stall was between 165-168. I was stuck there for probably 2 months. I weigh myself once every day in the morning right when I wake up and I write the weight down in a little handheld calendar I keep in my bathroom. I've done this for my entire adult life, which is handy to have because I can look back at certain weights and see that I tend to get stuck around the same places. When I know everyday what I weigh, I can recognize when I'm stuck and make changes, but I can also notice immediately if I start a gaining trend. Last week I sat right around 145 all week, then I went out to dinner a few times and I woke up at 147 on Saturday. I've been very careful the last two days and now I'm back to 145. Weighing helps me have a quantifiable way to know exactly how I am doing and allows me to make immediate changes as opposed to waiting on doctor's visits and realizing that I just blew 6 weeks of time and gained 5 pounds.
Ultimately, you should do what you think is in your best interest, but perhaps consider the alternative options as well.
Good luck!

Awesome job! My surgery was 9/9/13. I am so far down 89 pounds. The loss does slow down quite a bit near the end, especially when you can't workout. I also do not have a single regret about the surgery and I can look back on how stressed out I was about it this time last year and be grateful that I decided to go for it. Congrats on how well you have done!

I had clothes from a size 18 down to a size 2, so I measured my progress by what I could fit back into as opposed to buying new things. For my plastics surgery though, I totally bought cute things that I knew I would look good in after surgery, before I ever went under the knife. Anticipation shopping is a wonderful thing...enjoy it.

I am the Maid of Honor in my best friends wedding. While shopping for her wedding dress the boutique only had a size 2 in the one she wanted to try. So....she asked me to try it on. I've been married forever but dug out my actual wedding pic for a side by side. What a shock. I sure wish I would have had my sleeve years ago!! Love my sleeve.
Surgery Date: 12/2012
Start weight: 246
Current: 109
4' 11 & 1/2"
Age:39

9/9 was my one year surgiversary! I know it's not the same thing as just getting sleeved last week, but we share the anniversary date in the future!
Hope you're doing well so far!

9/9 was my one year surgiversary! I know it's not the same thing as just getting sleeved last week, but we share the anniversary date in the future!
Hope you're doing well so far!

I just had a breast lift and implants and before surgery I felt like a bad person for chopping up my perfectly good boobies simply because I wanted them to be higher and fuller. After weight loss they were like udders..hanging tube socks of breasts and I felt very non-sexy. Don't laugh, I actually gave each one of them a little talking to before surgery about how I love them and how I was sorry about what I was going to put them through. A lift involves basically cutting off the nipples temporarily and I think of all of the people who have had to have their breasts removed or significantly altered for health reasons and here I was doing it out of pure vanity. So, I did have to get over feeling like Shallow Sally, but I've largely moved on from that.
It's been three weeks since surgery and I am very happy. I have always had large breasts, except they have never been this full, and round, and perky. I can wear all those cute little sports bras with the tiny little straps and yesterday I went out to dinner for the first time since I was 10 not wearing a bra. I felt scandalous! Of course no one noticed because they now look exactly like they did before when I was wearing a bra, but it was still something that was new for me.
So, yes, I missed my old girls, but I am very much a fan of the new ones.

@Mad_Crow- Recovery was cake for plastics compared to the sleeve, lol. I thought it would be SO much worse, given that there is a lot more chopping up of the skin involved, but being able to eat afterward and not having to take major IV narcotics made it a much easier process. I had a breast augment and lift, abdominoplasty, and Lipo to my thighs, lower back, and hips. My thigh lift is scheduled for November- my doctor nixed the idea of doing everything at once since it was already a 6 hour surgery. I have been walking several miles a day since a week after surgery and I have really felt fine outside of a little soreness. I expected it to be horrible, but it really wasn't.
@finediva- My weight chart on here is accurate- so still 145 and not at goal yet. They want you to be within 10-15% of your goal before surgery and I was within that range. I have 16 pounds left to lose (2 of which are now in the form of sillicone boobs, lol) and the doctor did not feel that this was a big enough loss to affect the surgeries at all.
Overall, I am very happy with my decision thus far and I can completely understand why people love plastic surgery so much- such a HUGE difference that there would otherwise be no way to achieve.

Nope....unfortunately, depending upon the type of loose skin you have, surgery is the only viable option. You and I started close to the same weight and I had the same question. I totally did not want surgery, but ultimately there are some areas where nothing else I was going to do would fix it. I'm 3 weeks out from plastics now and it was a decision I'm glad I made, although it isn't for everyone. Clothes fit better, I can walk around in a bathing suit, and for the first time in my life my stomach is actually flat, which is endlessly amusing to look at in the mirror (sorry, I'm shallow, lol).

Exactly one year ago today I had my sleeve surgery and it has been a truly wonderful year! In the past I have dieted down to 120 and then ate my way back up to 200 at least 10 times, however I started 2013 weighing 197 and then I found myself at 237 by August. I simply couldn’t control my eating and I had gotten to a point where I wasn’t able to exercise a whole lot because my feet would swell up when I ran and I was a slug in the classes I took at the gym. Worst of all, my siblings had come to visit me in the summer of 2013 and the last time they had seen me I was around 130, so much as they assured me I looked great, I could see that they were shocked at my size. It was humiliating.
The third week of August I decided to go to the bariatric surgery seminar that the hospital in my city held once a month. The next day I had scheduled a consultation with the surgeon, and a week later we had my surgery date set for 9/9/13. Since I am a super impatient person, I had no interest in waiting around for my insurance company to possibly deny me six months down the road, so I was blessed in that I was able to go with the self-pay option.
I was SO worried a year ago that I was possibly destroying my life. I read all of the horror stories about people who had the surgery and experienced leaks or other complications and I had generally worked myself into a hot mess. Fortunately, when you shell out 20 grand, you minimize your chance of chickening out and a year ago today, around this time I was just waking up enough to be somewhat cognizant of the fact that I was in a hospital. I chose to tell no one about the surgery at the time, although since that point I have told my three best friends and they have been a great support system. I spent the first three days so ungodly sick I was positive that everything I had worried would come true. Fortunately, once I was off the IV narcotics and finally at home I started to feel a bit better. The effects of the anesthesia and drugs didn’t really start fully wearing off until week two, however I worked from home starting four days after surgery and I returned to full-time office work a week after surgery.
I think the worst part about the first few weeks was not being able to comfort myself with food. I felt rotten, I was terrified I was going to spring a leak and die, and I could not eat Cookies to feel better! Fortunately, I had an excellent surgeon who, while not a really nice person, was exceptional at his job, and I have never had any complications. Also, apparently when you’re self-pay, no one ever follows up with you to make sure you didn’t die, so I would totally advise if you go this route to find a doctor that has a great surgical skill set, but also one who is invested in your success outside of simply whether or not you live to leave his operating room.
By last Christmas I was in the 190’s, where I stayed for awhile because I enjoyed some Christmas chocolate, but by January after all of the junk was cut out again I started to drop. The 190’s and 180’s flew by, but getting out of the 170’s and under 160 took forever. I was stuck at the same weight for months, so for those of you who plateau, all I can say is, look at what you’re eating and how you’re working out, adapt, and keep going! I finally kicked the plateau and as of this morning I am 145.
Three weeks ago I had my first set of plastic surgeries, which included a breast lift and augmentation, an abdominoplasty, and Lipo to my inner and outer thighs and lower back. I don’t notice a huge difference with the lipo, but I can see a huge difference with the rest of the procedures. There is a reason people love plastic surgery! I will admit I tend to prance around in front of my bathroom mirror, naked, checking out my new figure and maybe at some point I will be able to do that in front of a man again instead of locked alone in my bathroom, lol. I have a groin incision thigh lift scheduled for the last week of November, but after that, I’m done with the worst part, and I don’t imagine I will have any major procedures done again anytime soon. I also lucked out and got a massively talented plastic surgeon who also has fantastic bedside manner. If you’re in Florida and you’re looking for an awesome practice- message me! My PS is awesome!
I’d still like to lose about 20 pounds, but I don’t feel worthless anymore. I’ve wanted juvederm and botox in my face for years, but I was always of the opinion that spending money to make my face better when the rest of me was fatzilla was just an expensive waste of time and cash. I have an appointment next week for both and I am excited, instead of sick with guilt and shame. Now, I don’t feel guilty about spending money on clothes or cosmetic things because I feel like I worked hard to get to this point, I look decent, and I deserve it. I can enjoy getting dressed up to go out and even though I catch myself occasionally still feeling like the fat girl, no one ever treats me like one anymore. There is such a night and day difference between the way people treat you when you are large and when you are regular sized, and it is nice to not feel instantly judged anymore (especially since I’m sure half the time no one was even looking at me me and it was all in my head!).
Overall, I can certainly say that the only thing I regret about the surgery is not having done it sooner. Sure, I have to be careful when I’m out to dinner because I tend to get instantly sick if I eat a few too many bites of the wrong thing and yes, there are times I wish I could bury my bad day in a bag of oreos, but I can still enjoy all of the food I love, I just do so in very small portions. I love my sleeve, I love the life that it has allowed me to have, and I look forward to continuing to log onto here and read everyone else’s stories!

I'm a year out and I still have that problem occassionally. The first few months anytime I had more than a few bites I was puking...now it seems mostly limited to anytime I eat something that the sleeve decides not to like, then the barfing begins. The trick is to eat really slowly because first, you will recognize faster when you are getting sick and you will not have already eaten that much and second, my nausea tends to subside if I just stop eating for awhile and then try again.
It was far worse the first few months than the entire rest of the time...at least for me.

I'm a year out and I still have that problem occassionally. The first few months anytime I had more than a few bites I was puking...now it seems mostly limited to anytime I eat something that the sleeve decides not to like, then the barfing begins. The trick is to eat really slowly because first, you will recognize faster when you are getting sick and you will not have already eaten that much and second, my nausea tends to subside if I just stop eating for awhile and then try again.
It was far worse the first few months than the entire rest of the time...at least for me.