ItsMeAgain

Update!!
Now almost 2 years post and 2 months post lower body lift its time to update on this page again!!
I'll have to put some old ones up too
    

Here are a couple of mine as I'm coming up on my 2 year surgiversary this week. My highest weight in these pictures was 278.4 and my "after picture" weight here is 128. It's been an amazing 2 years and I'm happy to say that I have reached maintenance now. :-) I have lots more pictures and info on my journey in my blog (linked in my signature) if you are interested.

sounds like you know what to do. I think it important to understand that losing 80 pounds is in no way failing. Really, if you stayed there the rest of your life, Im sure the Doctor would say you are a winner. First off, this surgery is mainly about health, (I like the "looks" side effect too of course) but IM sure your health is much better. I stayed at 16 for quite a while before getting down to a 12, which is not that small, but is just so right for me. My not so secret secret is TRACK. I track my movement too.... when I don't, I slowly or not so slowly gain. I do eat carb and straight out sugar Snacks sometimes, but I write it all down. The good the bad and the ugly. I keep going back to the wagon and try to eat clean over and over and figure that is ok. Its much better than giving up... which will land me back at 259 pounds plus. You can do it too. Eat a nice Protein meal, then clean out the house of crap... or at least lock it up where you can't get to it. After eating clean for a few days it will get easier.... until the next time... then do it again. I am weak. I need to build it into my plan. When I get realistic, then I succeed.

You look great!! We have the same body type...I'm also 5'7. I'm just starting the process at 308. My problem area is my stomach, I carry most of my weight there...did find that your stomach went down as you lost weight? It is so hard picturing myself after I lose the weight...but seeing your pic gives me hope ????

Hi My Gastric Sleeve Family. I dont take pics but my boyfriend and I decided that I should take a before after pic to show my transformation. I am 89 lbs down with 50 more to go. I am 6 months into my journey. My next pic will be a full body shot :-)

Honestly, I think we all compare with each other's results on this journey and I think it can be a bit emotionally damaging especially when we see those large numbers other people are putting out there (congrats to them btw). The problem I have is that I'm not losing 1 or 2lbs per week at all (I wish it were that steady). I'm on this weird stair step trend where I drop a couple pounds, gain a couple, lose some again and then stall for a few weeks. It makes me feel like I'm not doing my personal best and that's the psychological part I've hated about this journey. The diets I'd been on since 2012 had been more of a steady loss so I ended up getting used to that type of weight loss cycle. But this one is taking quite a bit of getting used to for me. Maybe I have some Fluid retention which causes the crazy fluctuations...IDK
All in all I'm very happy I got the surgery and wouldn't change a thing. I know that in the long run VSG will help me stay the course and give me the opportunity to bounce back from any future weight gain I may have. I absolutely know for a fact I wouldn't be able to do it on my own if I hadn't gone this route so I'm extremely thankful I could afford to pay for this. Good luck to everyone who's working hard to stay the course and I'm happy to be on this journey with you all!

So... what were your expectations? Because... more than 2lbs a week is a pretty good loss. You're on a good track already, losing 3x's as much a week as someone on a lowfat diet alone would lose ALSO, take note of non scale victories, like your pants falling off and your shirts getting big and your feet flopping around in your shoes. You'll see TONS more of those than you'll see on the scale.< /p>
The sleeve works. Your body is burning fat. Might not show on the scale yet, but keep pushing and have faith in the process.
Also make sure you are...GOING... ... and that you're getting in lots of water!
It might shake out that you lose slowly.....but the loss will be steady. It took me six months to lose 50 lbs, but I never lost50lbs before. And I never lost 75 lbs before. And now I"m at over 100lbs down. It didn't all fall off but the VSG has provided a steady, consistent loss over time. it's not designed to be skinny tomorrow. It's designed to help you keep losing long past when you would have given up with dieting alone.

You're losing at a steady pace, and the slower weight loss allows your body, and especially your skin, to adapt better than it would if you'd dropped 90-100 pounds in 5 months.
Enjoy this journey!

I know we're all really bound by what the scale says, but I really believe that building muscle and cardiovascular endurance is the key to great results. One of the fittest coaches in my gym is 5'7", wears a size 4-6, and weighs 160. She is a wall of muscle. And oh my god, so strong!
I decided early on that my physical fitness and strength had to be as important as my eating, going forward. So far, my result is that I have lost 54 pounds, and I am wearing a full size lower than I was the last time I was at this weight. I may not hit my stretch weight goal of 149, but the measurement of success is a lot broader than the number on the scale.< /p>

Let me do some quick math for ya.
Your starting weight was 197 and you weigh 157 now. That means with sleeve, exercise, and hard work you've lost .... 20.3% of your entire body weight.
Your husband's starting weight at the surgery was 262, and he's now 207. He's lost... 21% of his entire body weight.
And doing weights and working out, building muscle... That EASILY can account for 0.7% difference. Nevermind that he's a dude, has more to lose, etc... you guys are running neck-and-neck!!! And I bet if he worked out he'd tone up and "lose less" (not lose pounds as fast).
Look at it as a percent, not as absolute pounds. I've lost 50 pounds in 6 weeks, but I started weighing TWICE what you weighed at your highest!!! So overall that's only 13.3% - you're way ahead!!
And you're toning your body, you're still changing SHAPE even if the scale is moving slowly... My partner weighed 425 lbs and worked his ass off for a year and got down to 375... (50 lbs) And still wears EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE. I bet you've dropped more sizes than that!!!

Hi Nickole75! Don't get discouraged! I know its hard in the very beginning to deal with your new stomach and I promise it does get much easier sooner than what you think. I too was hungry when I 1st started and I found out that taking my Pepsid helped half of that (stomach acid tricks you into thinking its hunger). The other half was me really getting hungry (my stomach would growl). After a few weeks I was able to eat soft foods and I could barely eat one scrambled egg. Trust me, enjoy this now as time goes fast and you really want to lose as much weight as your body allows in the early weeks and months. I'm almost 5 months out and I still have great restriction of course but I can eat more than 1 scrambled egg...that's for sure. Rest assured that you are right on target and you're going through the same thing we all went through. In a couple of months you will hardly remember the issues you "used" to have. Good luck on your journey and don't give up!

Honestly, I think we all compare with each other's results on this journey and I think it can be a bit emotionally damaging especially when we see those large numbers other people are putting out there (congrats to them btw). The problem I have is that I'm not losing 1 or 2lbs per week at all (I wish it were that steady). I'm on this weird stair step trend where I drop a couple pounds, gain a couple, lose some again and then stall for a few weeks. It makes me feel like I'm not doing my personal best and that's the psychological part I've hated about this journey. The diets I'd been on since 2012 had been more of a steady loss so I ended up getting used to that type of weight loss cycle. But this one is taking quite a bit of getting used to for me. Maybe I have some Fluid retention which causes the crazy fluctuations...IDK
All in all I'm very happy I got the surgery and wouldn't change a thing. I know that in the long run VSG will help me stay the course and give me the opportunity to bounce back from any future weight gain I may have. I absolutely know for a fact I wouldn't be able to do it on my own if I hadn't gone this route so I'm extremely thankful I could afford to pay for this. Good luck to everyone who's working hard to stay the course and I'm happy to be on this journey with you all!

I was exactly the same, SW 301, DOS 291 a week later, I've only lost 35 lbs since my surgery on 12/16....very depressing n frustrating!!! 3 wk stall n then dropped 5 lbs n currently n another 3 wk stall!!! Ur definitely not alone, I don't want to do Atkins again because I don't want all of that weight to come bk like it did before!! All we can do is hope that sumthn gives soon...I also exercise 5 days a wk, n get around 700-900 calories a day, my nutritionist said I wasn't eating enuf before with exercising so she told me to have 800-1000 a day, but I can barely get to 700 most times!! SMH!!!

Slow & Steady for me...but I'm happy..I've lost 47 lbs in 4.5 months..I'm ecstatic!! If I was losing faster I Think I'd be frightened..hang in there ppl this is great progress!!! ????????????????

I got totally freaked out by the people on this site and others that lost 100 pounds in 3 months! I kept thinking - "What am I doing wrong?" but when I stepped back and realized that I was losing 2 pounds per week (Same as you!) and I had never done that before and kept it off, I realized that my expectations were not realistic, and that 2 pounds per week is DAMN good!
As Big Girl Panties points out, it is the long sustainable weight loss that really matters. It sounds to me like you are doing exactly what you should and reaping the rewards too. I would guess that you didn't have 5 months of 2 lbs / week weight loss with the HCG diet....

PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE!!! Come on!!! When was the last time you lost 50 pounds in 5 months??? The last time I lost 50 pounds, it took me a YEAR on JC!!!
If you remember, the tortoise wins the race...slow and steady is the way.
Your body is adjusting to changes, it's all good... you are moving forward and your weight is coming off, and if you are doing the right things, it will continue... we can't compare ourselves to others, we all lose at different rates, based on metabolism, age, amount of exercise we can get in, and even how much we started at...
don't downgrade the success you all have had...it's wonderful!!!'
SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE!!!

Tortoise here as well. Saturday will be 5 months out from surgery. 15 pounds down on my preoperative diet then 56 since surgery. I am thrilled to be down 71 lbs total... Never ever lost that much in my life! I plateau a lot, but I always have & at this rate, I'll be at goal within 7 months... I'll take it!!! Feeling great, able to get around much easier, far fewer aches and pains. I have been back teaching art in middle school & actually have the energy to do my job well again. Grateful!

Honestly, I think we all compare with each other's results on this journey and I think it can be a bit emotionally damaging especially when we see those large numbers other people are putting out there (congrats to them btw). The problem I have is that I'm not losing 1 or 2lbs per week at all (I wish it were that steady). I'm on this weird stair step trend where I drop a couple pounds, gain a couple, lose some again and then stall for a few weeks. It makes me feel like I'm not doing my personal best and that's the psychological part I've hated about this journey. The diets I'd been on since 2012 had been more of a steady loss so I ended up getting used to that type of weight loss cycle. But this one is taking quite a bit of getting used to for me. Maybe I have some Fluid retention which causes the crazy fluctuations...IDK
All in all I'm very happy I got the surgery and wouldn't change a thing. I know that in the long run VSG will help me stay the course and give me the opportunity to bounce back from any future weight gain I may have. I absolutely know for a fact I wouldn't be able to do it on my own if I hadn't gone this route so I'm extremely thankful I could afford to pay for this. Good luck to everyone who's working hard to stay the course and I'm happy to be on this journey with you all!

Oh yeah, my weight info is a little misleading. I was 301 BEFORE the 1 week pre-op diet but lost 10lbs by day of surgery.

Dannon light and fit greek yogurt. 12-14 grams Protein and less than 10 grams sugar 80 calories

It's my personal health information, and I don't feel obligated to provide to anyone who asks. I told a few close friends and family. I'm not ashamed of the surgery, and honestly, I don't think people think it's the easy way out, in general. Even if they did, I wouldn't care what they think. I wish it was easy I just don't want to talk to people about it, I don't want to be the topic of conversation, and I don't want people watching what I eat and do. When people ask how much I've lost and how, I tell them "a lot but not enough" and I lost it through diet and exercise. that usually shuts them up, because it's boring. People all want a magic bullet, and there is no such thing.

Pattierie...Don't worry about the crazy post-op diet! I've had my own issues with what exactly to do these 1st few weeks. I'm eating any flavored Soup I can find without the chunks of course. I bought plain Greek yogurt and added some watermelon crystal light to it (taste good!). I have a whole box of different flavors of sugar free jello/pudding (Costco had them on sale now!) and SF popsicles and the lovely Protein Powder of course. My biggest issue is staying FULL! My body seriously wants real food and not just liquids! I can't stop being hungry after a short time and it has nothing to do with my head or stomach acid. I stayed more full on the pre-op diet which was more restrictive (if you can believe that!) I personally can't wait until the mushies stage because this is totally bogus! Okay so I'm done complaining now. LoL

Hey startingoveryetagain, Don't worry about that mean ole scale! Its just being a pain because you probably still have some swelling around your abdomen that fools it into thinking you haven't lost weight. Also if you haven't had a BM in a while that can keep you second guessing about how the surgery will help you lose weight. Personally, I've seen my scale go down AND up which made me go...hmmm wth?! However, I know I didn't do anything wrong so I'm going on like I hadn't been checking a few days this week. My personal advice is to continue drinking Water or clear fluids so it can flush your system and in the next couple of days I'm sure you'll see the results you need to keep you focused on your goals. Good Luck!

I started at 299 now I'm 173 I lose 126 pounds goal 185 I'm 12 pounds under that normal bmi 9 pounds to get there I'm 9 months out if it take me to 12 month I'm okay with that .. Lose the first 100 at 5 month I just started exercising last week i walked a lot in the beginning but now I'm using weights