CrazyJaney

I used mine in hospital but I had to set it up which was not easy post op. I got thrush post op which meant my mouth was nasty and even nastier when dried out. I ditched it for a while but got back into it after a few weeks or so. It's a tool in the weight loss kit though and is suppose to help us lose weight. I loathe mine in general and hope to be off it someday. Just had the settings turned down because I've now lost enough weight that I was being blown up!!! I was waking up burping!! That's a non-scale victory I suppose! But I'll be glad to hopefully lose it someday.

I wish I'd have known the pure joy of buying a dress (albeit a size 16) in the "normal" section at Kohls. NOT THE WOMENS! I was giddy at the checkout. It's sleeveless (bummer) but it's perfect in every other way. I've lost 83 and have 70+ to go. I'm only 4 months post. But shopping is fun again!

On the tip top of my "why to have WLS" (besides health) was the desire to ski again. I grew up skiing and haven't skied in 23 years (partly because I moved to the south and partly because I weighed 325 pounds). This weekend, I got my wish. Skied with my boys. It was absolutely wonderful.

Hello! I haven't posted in a while and just thought I would check back in. There are tons of threads on this topic. I am almost a year post op. I kept my decision to have surgery very private and still do. I did realize that there was just no way not to keep it completely quiet (although some do). My inner circle of friends and family knew from the beginning. I told a few when it seemed like it was appropriate or when the moment seems right. I had major fears of being judged in the begining. I put it out there to anyone who did know that I wasn't really asking permission or their opinion. If someone was the super-anxious type I waited to tell or didn't tell because THEIR anxiety would make mine worse. I didn't tell my mom until the week before. I didn't tell my dad until I was 3 months post. My sister was my biggest cheerleader and knew when it was just a "thought" rambling in my head. Most of my best girlfriends knew. I didn't want everyone's opinion though and in telling people I was planning to do this - I let that be known up front. To my surprize, very few were outright negative. I've lost 122 pounds total (100 since surgery) and it's been pretty rapid so I am sure many have figured it out. It gets annoying when the only thing people want to talk about is my weight loss. And that was one of my reasons why I didn't want to tell everyone. I didn't want WLS to be the first thing they thought of when they saw me or heard my name. It's just ONE part of me - not the only thing about me. Looking back, I worried about it more than I should have. At the beginning and end of this journey - this is about YOU! Hold your head up high and make yourself a list of all the things you want to do when you lose weight. Focus on THAT list everytime the anxiety gets to you. It is the greatest feeling to LIVE life again. If you do all your homework and this is truly for you, you will not regret anything and the people in your life who love you will go along for the ride. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!

I think you look very proportioned which is what I'm aiming for. Nice work!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who wants to lose weight but keep my boobs LOL. My mom is big-chested and is always talking about wanting to be an A or B cup but dammit I like my proportions!

Thank you for starting this thread and to the women sharing their pics! I was just thinking about this very question! I started out with 38G breasts and they are already getting pretty floppy (but then they've NEVER been perky, not even when I was a D cup as a teenager). I don't want a reduction because I like my proportions, but getting an augmentation scares me because having anything foreign in my body gives me the heebie jeebies. Having a drain in after my surgery had me clawing up and down the walls with anxiety!
I always see women who get a reduction + lift or augmentation + lift so I really appreciate hearing the experiences and seeing pictures from women who are doing "just" the lift.

Everyone always gets a lift plus reduction. If you look around on real self, you can find people who get a lift without implants but with fat transfer, and they use your skin to make an internal bra. That way you can lift, and gain volume.
That is the kind of lift I want. Big breast run in my family and I want to keep mine. I have always had large breasts and I am not interested in being anything smaller than a DD. Dolly Parton is my spirit animal.

I am sorry I can't answer your question but I too would be interested in hearing how others will reply to your question.
I was suppose to have a breast reduction/lift and a free nipple graft on March 21st. On March 20th the surgeon canceled my surgery as the mammogram and ultasound showed I have a microcalcification cluster in my left breast and need a biopsy. I went for a second opinion about the biopsy and while there explained to the second surgeon what the first surgeon was planning on doing. The 2nd surgeon said yes I did need the biopsy but also told me I would not be happy with the breast reduction lift if I didn't get implants. He said I didn't have enough dense breast tissue to create a proper mound. What is your Doctor saying? Do you have enough dense tissue for a nice mound? Have you gotten a second opinion? When is your surgery scheduled?
Of course the first thing I have to get through is the biopsy. Then do I go with the first surgeon who states he can form a good mound (B cup) with all the excess skin ( was once 70 I) I have OR do I go with the surgeon who wants to do an implant? I really didn't want anything foreign in this 61 year old body. But I am not sure if I could be happy with a B cup. I too have a lot to think about before my breast reduction/lift is rescheduled.

I just had my lift without implants last week, and I'm really happy with the results. Here's my before & after pics. 

I was just sleeved so can't comment on skin yet. But I love the Philosophy stuff. It is expensive. I used it for a few years and I kinda think it made a difference in my arms (pre surg). Not sure anything will really work for this kind of weight loss though.

Hello! I haven't posted in a while and just thought I would check back in. There are tons of threads on this topic. I am almost a year post op. I kept my decision to have surgery very private and still do. I did realize that there was just no way not to keep it completely quiet (although some do). My inner circle of friends and family knew from the beginning. I told a few when it seemed like it was appropriate or when the moment seems right. I had major fears of being judged in the begining. I put it out there to anyone who did know that I wasn't really asking permission or their opinion. If someone was the super-anxious type I waited to tell or didn't tell because THEIR anxiety would make mine worse. I didn't tell my mom until the week before. I didn't tell my dad until I was 3 months post. My sister was my biggest cheerleader and knew when it was just a "thought" rambling in my head. Most of my best girlfriends knew. I didn't want everyone's opinion though and in telling people I was planning to do this - I let that be known up front. To my surprize, very few were outright negative. I've lost 122 pounds total (100 since surgery) and it's been pretty rapid so I am sure many have figured it out. It gets annoying when the only thing people want to talk about is my weight loss. And that was one of my reasons why I didn't want to tell everyone. I didn't want WLS to be the first thing they thought of when they saw me or heard my name. It's just ONE part of me - not the only thing about me. Looking back, I worried about it more than I should have. At the beginning and end of this journey - this is about YOU! Hold your head up high and make yourself a list of all the things you want to do when you lose weight. Focus on THAT list everytime the anxiety gets to you. It is the greatest feeling to LIVE life again. If you do all your homework and this is truly for you, you will not regret anything and the people in your life who love you will go along for the ride. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!

I got up about 15 lbs at one point, and occasionally stray over into the "red zone" by a couple of pounds. The basic principles of how I lose weight are the same:
--eat less than 1200 calories per day
--weigh or measure all food and track religiously on myfitnesspal to make sure I am confident about staying under 1200 calories per day
--eat at least 75 grams of Protein per day
--avoid: grains, starchy veggies, sweets, processed meat (sausage, bacon, Jerky, deli or lunch meat), liquid calories, and tropical fruits
--moderate intake: Beans, nuts, fruit, dairy
--eat mostly: lean, dense protein, green veggies, eggs
--vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, but do not attempt to 'eat back' calories burned via exercise. Ignore them.
When I have gotten uncomfortably over my goal weight, I may start with a "3 day meat test" or "5 day meat and green veggies test." They are just what they sound like: three days of eating nothing but lean, unprocessed meat (and eggs) and small amounts of healthy fats -- no counting calories or restricting amounts to eat, eat as much as I want, but very severely limit the kind of food I eat. Alternatively, I can do this for five days if I add in green veggies as an "allowed" food.
But in either event, if at the end of three or five days I haven't gotten back to where I want to be, I restrict amounts and journal all calories, carbs, etc. faithfully.
A few things I do to make it easier -- 1) get all off-plan food out of the house entirely (no one needs to eat that crap, the rest of your family can live without immediate access to it for a little while); 2) recognize where I tend to struggle and stop myself from being able to "give in." For me, I really want to snack on junk food at work. So, I stopped taking any form of money with me to work. No cash, no credit or debit cards, no checkbook, nothing. It's scary to leave the house without money, but it's never caused me any sort of emergency. Other people might have trouble with driving by their favorite doughnut store -- in that case, change your route so you don't go by it. I call these brute force methods -- they are tough, but they work (unless you are willing to rob the snack shop at work, which I am not).
Good luck everyone!

the day i couldn't fit into my fav jeans.... i woke up and said.... Not me. Im not going to be one of those people that gain it all back.... So i did what i know worked... stopped buy the bad stuff... (happy foods) Ice cream, chips, Cookies... If you don't buy them, you can't eat them.
A year ago this past July i got back to 160.... today im 134....
Remember what got you at your lowest and set your mind to do it again......

Preparation, preparation, preparation. Not having food prepared, or having a plan for healthy things to get while you're out and can't get home, is DEATH to weight loss. As you have seen, surgery didn't fix your mind. You are not a different person after surgery. The behavior part is on all of us to fix.
The grazing is going to create so much calorie creep in your diet, you'll be shocked.

Linda is right, we all lose differently. I lost 28 pre op. Dropped 18 the first two weeks post op and then NOTHING for 2 weeks (eating 400-700). It was maddening! Then the stall stopped about a week ago and I've lost 5 in the last week. I started exercising and started my diuretic back. I don't have all the answers. Stalks are real and mostly mental. Measure yourself ( I finally did last night) and it gives you a good mental boost. Just stick to the program. You got this!

Quick and easy for lunch or dinner.
Premade chicken Meatballs (found organic at Whole Foods). Place in mini muffin tin and cook per directions (these were pre-cooked but I heated longer than it said to). Heat some marinara out of a jar. 2 meatballs, 2 T marinara, add 1/4c mozerrella. About 170 calories. About 16g Protein. Very good and a nice change from plain chicken.< /p>

Quick and easy for lunch or dinner.
Premade chicken Meatballs (found organic at Whole Foods). Place in mini muffin tin and cook per directions (these were pre-cooked but I heated longer than it said to). Heat some marinara out of a jar. 2 meatballs, 2 T marinara, add 1/4c mozerrella. About 170 calories. About 16g Protein. Very good and a nice change from plain chicken.< /p>

I never did a formal 1 year picture. This is a few months before VSG (date of surg 3/13/14 about 330#), and today (13 months post op) 130 gone. 20 to goal. Would love to have plastics someday.....

Either way, WLS is the best thing I've ever done. Looking back I think I was very pro VSG. Now, I realize it's hard work either way but much better than having waited for some random diet to work. Best of luck!

Gosh - I don't think my journey is all that different than most of the successful people here. If I sit and reflect on it, probably the NUMBER ONE thing that has made a difference is I surrendered my ego about food and my ability to control it without "help". I don't go to OA and have not worked with a couselor BUT I have done a ton of reading and soul searching and spent a TON of time on this webstie preop and post op. The only way to go into this successfully (in my opinion) to to be "all in". The emotional side matters. Like everyone else, I have had some success with diets but not long standing. I could minimize my obesity with all kinds of rationales. It took some life changing events in my marriage and my own deterioration of my health at 45 to take this head on. Failure at 45 is not an option. I have a disabled husband and two kids (16 and 9 years old). I have NO OTHER option but success. SO, in knowing that, I invested my everything into this. I looked at how others were successful and followed suit. I am NOT perfect but I am consistent and accountable. The way to win this:
1) Track everything - even on bad days. This is my #1. Without it, I fail. I also weight EVERY DAY. You will see some very succesful people being against this. It is data/feedback that I need to know where I am. It's like checking in with myself. The stalls are tough when you weigh every day. But the succes is SWEET! I know what I am doing every day works. I have emotionally embraced the stalls - to understand that they are normal and a way for your body to adjust. I didn't get to that place emotionally until recently but I think I am fnally at peace with knowing the scale won't always move.
2) Protein first, every meal. Total of 60-80 grams a Protein every day. It's all about choices.
3) Carbs. I have a love/hate relationship with them. I have surrendered my powerlessness over pizza. Truly it is a trigger food. I have fallen off the wagon post op with pizza. But I have identified it and turned it around - in part because of tracking. Try to average about 50 carbs or less a day. There are different schools of thought on carbs. At least once a week I DONT track or care about carbs and I think it help reset me metabolism. By carbs - I don't mean sugar. Sugar is reserved for small BITES (and I mean only bites) of Desserts on special occassions. CARBS are my downfall and I have to respect that weakness.
4) Portion Control is hugely important. I meansured and weighed everything in the beginning. Still do to some degree. Tracking and portion control are RETRAINING tools - your brain HAS got to learn what real portion sizes are. 300 pound brains DO NOT understand portions - we just don't. Brain has got to be retrained. IT's not as hard as it sounds. The sleeve makes portion size much easier to handle.
5) Stay active. Like anyone who has been obese most of their life, my body had been abused. It's HARD to become addicted to exercise. I am not there yet. My body feels great, until my joints start to remind me that I have abused the hell out of them. But - and I highly recommend - Water aerobics helped me lose weight pre op and in the first few months post op. I have graduated to speed walking and machine weights and I am struglling with an ankle injury now. BUT - at 222.0 pounds, activites of daily living are monumentally easier, thus I stay active. For example, I park farther away in parking lots, I don't avoid walking, I can manage a full day of activity without exhaustion. I have a teenager in marching band - we travel for contests and go to all the football games. I was miserable last fall at 300+ pounds trying to keep up with all that. This year, I have been sooooo involved and active and right in the middle of it - Activity is the way you keep this off - even the little stuff matters. I use a Fitbit. It's also important "data" that keeps me honest.
6) Keep calories low. I didn't believe I could live on 800-1200 calories a day. But I do. Average about 1000 calories a day now but some days are 800. I am very satiated if I eat well. I rarely ever feel like I am sacrificing or being restricted. I eat a little of everything with protein at every meal.
I guess those are my keys to success. IT's DATA that keeps me focused and honest. Much like others who post on here - data keeps them focused and honest. I stay involved with this community to keep myself reminded that this is a long term, "forever" fight and does not just end at a goal. Recently, at almost 6 months post, I went home to MI for a family event. I didn't track. I ate carbs of all kinds. I gained 6 pounds in a week. Granted some of that was because I was about to have my first period in 5 months - but - it was a huge wake up call for how "new normal" works. New normal means I can't look away from this. The good news is, I had a period, I immediately identified the cause, I started tracking every morsel, and it fell off in a few days. I have the tools to be successful. I can eat ANYTHING I want but how much is up to me.
My BMI is about 35-36 right now. I still have 50-60 pounds to be at a "goal" of 155-165. I am very pear shaped so my upper body looks "goalish" right now but my legs have a way to go. I have lymphedema of both legs so I have swelling that is tricky to get rid of. My legs will never be normal. Even at goal. So I don't really know where this ends. It doesn't end in me in a bikini at 47 - I do know that. I know the end will definitly involve an appointment in a plastic surgeons office - I hope! Regardless, I am certainly on track to better health.
Good luck to you! I appleciate the opportunity to reflect. Every few months I have to sit down and process this. I feel so incredibly blessed to do so!

Hello! I haven't posted in a while and just thought I would check back in. There are tons of threads on this topic. I am almost a year post op. I kept my decision to have surgery very private and still do. I did realize that there was just no way not to keep it completely quiet (although some do). My inner circle of friends and family knew from the beginning. I told a few when it seemed like it was appropriate or when the moment seems right. I had major fears of being judged in the begining. I put it out there to anyone who did know that I wasn't really asking permission or their opinion. If someone was the super-anxious type I waited to tell or didn't tell because THEIR anxiety would make mine worse. I didn't tell my mom until the week before. I didn't tell my dad until I was 3 months post. My sister was my biggest cheerleader and knew when it was just a "thought" rambling in my head. Most of my best girlfriends knew. I didn't want everyone's opinion though and in telling people I was planning to do this - I let that be known up front. To my surprize, very few were outright negative. I've lost 122 pounds total (100 since surgery) and it's been pretty rapid so I am sure many have figured it out. It gets annoying when the only thing people want to talk about is my weight loss. And that was one of my reasons why I didn't want to tell everyone. I didn't want WLS to be the first thing they thought of when they saw me or heard my name. It's just ONE part of me - not the only thing about me. Looking back, I worried about it more than I should have. At the beginning and end of this journey - this is about YOU! Hold your head up high and make yourself a list of all the things you want to do when you lose weight. Focus on THAT list everytime the anxiety gets to you. It is the greatest feeling to LIVE life again. If you do all your homework and this is truly for you, you will not regret anything and the people in your life who love you will go along for the ride. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!

Life is good!

first 5K today! Walked all except 1 block (ran across finish line). Next time I run more than I walk. So much fun!

That's amazing!