StratusPhr

I'm almost four years out and my life feels like one of a naturally thin person. Celebrate eating very, very little. Enjoy this, a year from now you'll be able to eat much more than you can now and it will freak you out. This is your honeymoon period, take advantage of it!!! A year from now, you won't believe what you life is like.

Dillards, Anthropolgie and fun little boutiques!! I freely admit, vanity is why I had WLS. I wanted to have fun shopping, I wanted to look good in clothes!! I TELL non-ops that it was preventive maintenance, and that is partly true, but deep down. I know how shallow I am.

I didn't have a huge amount to lose, although 85 lbs was say more than I'd ever lost prior to surgery.....I did have fleeting thoughts that if failure was possible, I might be the one. Realistically, I KNEW I'd lose weight, 85% of my tummy was being removed, but still. Paranoia prevails sometimes!

I think you'll be surprised how long 1 cup will last. It was quite a while before I could 'eat' more than an eighth of a cup at a time!!! It's wonderful!!! I never used stock or bouillon, I bought Campbell's Soup, added the can of Water, as directed, and strained it. Good luck!

Forced portion control, that is why I chose the sleeve.

It's a small world!! Do you still have family in Henderson? Our oldest daughter still lives there, my dad is in Longview. Some of our very best friends live there!

I know exactly what you're talking about. I underestimated what this new little tummy could accomplish!!! I re-set my "goal" several times before I stopped! At 170 (my first goal) a size 12, I was happy as a clam, if I'd never lost another pound, I felt pretty darn good about myself.....BUT, it happened SO FAST. I knew then, I could get lower. My new goal was a single digit size, an 8!! That too happened pretty quickly. My doctor's goal was set at 150 at my three month check up. I ended up setting MY goal at 145, to give me a five pound 'pad'. I was 142.7 this morning, I've been maintaining between 143 - 146 for just over 3.5 years. Once in a while, I'll drop below 143 just a little but it doesn't last but a day or two.....if I get up to 147, I cut back calories a little. Anyway, at MY goal, reached in just under six months, I wear 4's and 6's, my tops are mediums. You'll be shocked at what you can achieve!!!! I've never been this small, I think I weighed this amount in 7th grade and thought I was fat!!! I was wearing junior clothes, which are different, I know I was wearing a 12. Body shape is different now I think!

Bougie is a 32, approx 85% was removed.

Born in San Antonio; Raised in Wichita Falls; Lived 20 years in Henderson, way East TX; Currently in Plano and lovin' it! There are some wonderful support groups I attend in the Plano, Frisco area. If anybody is interested, message me!

I'll be four years out on June 11th: * i can eat an entire small apple * Pasta & rice are dangerous for me. 1/4 cup of pasta is fine. 3 TB rice is ok. One bite too many IS one bite too many. I hope this never changes, I don't want to be able to eat much of either. * One day I woke up and could drink normally, no more sipping * I have an occasional drink, maybe one every month or two. Not often and I always log it, it has to fit within my daily caloric intake. * I am still an emotional eater, but I stay within my 1300 calories per day, even on emotional days. I seldom EVER am over. * My close relationships have not been affected, but I know some people experience this. Without a doubt, I know there are a few friends who are envious, but they could do the same thing, and they'd have ME to hold their hand and personal cheerleader!! * I do not miss being able to eat more food at all. I pray that I can never eat more than I can now. I feel no guilt for the first time in my adult life! I never feel deprived!!! I hope this helps!!!!

Only medical professionals knew my weight until I had surgery. I told him what I started at when I had lost about 40 lbs. Now, I announce it almost every morning!! LoL

At an area support group, the leader, the PhD doctor that does the psyc evals prior to surgery at Baylor Plano had a topic that's stuck with me. A light went off, 'THIS IS HOW I ended up sitting in a bariatric surgeon's office.' 100 calories per day, more than you need, is over 36,000 calories per year which comes out to about ten pounds. That's it, that is how I did it, I didn't wake up one morning, big. It crept up on me, a few pounds one year, five pounds the next.......over the course of 30 years!!! I could visualize 100 calories and HOW EASY this can happen. 1 TB of Peanut Butter is 100 calories. ONE!!!!! Think of all the little 100 calorie bags of 'whatever'. I know that when cooking dinner, I use to 'taste' more than 100 calories. It is so easy to do. A fourth cup of almost all nuts clock in at between 160 - 200 calories. Yes, they have some Protein, but not enough to justify those calories, not for me. Not often!!! For me, THIS is how calories can sneak in if I'm not careful. I log it all faithfully!

Tracking is very important for us to do forever, for numerous reasons, but what you are saying is why I do not keep track of ANY exercise. I never have. I do not want "additional" calories. I have my activity level set at sedentary!!! Don't get me wrong, I am not an exercise guru by any stretch of the imagination, I'm a housewife, I purposely make additional trips up and down the stairs. I park WAY OUT in the parking lots when I'm out. I "move" but I do not go to a gym or do any of the things many WLS patients do. I wanted to lose weight by making lifestyle changes, making wise choices etc, and that's what I do. It works for me. I know how many calories I need to maintain, I MANUALLY entered 1300 and that is the number, I don't add calories for anything I might do. It's worked for me for over 3.5 years. Of course, 1300 is maintaining, the number was much less when I was losing. My suggestion is, manually enter a number and set your activity level to sitting around twiddling your thumbs!!! See if that works for you too. Good luck, you'll get it figured out, you'll figure out what works for you!!!

After leaving the hospital, my best friend for the first couple of weeks was a heating pad. I only used pain meds (other than Liquid Tylenol) at night for the first week, when I was sitting around, I had the heating pad, on low, on my tummy!

I absolutely enjoy food just as much as I did prior to sleeve surgery. I eat, but feel no guilt for the first time in my adult life. I eat less, I am choosier but I never feel deprived. I enjoy each and every bite. It feels as though I eat like a naturally thin person. Life is good.

Nothing carbonated since spring of 2010, a couple of months prior to surgery.

It did matter to me, Dr. Davidson is my doctor too. My bougie is a 32, surgery was in 2010.

I was self pay. My cost in June of 2010 was $12,500. It hasn't really changed much since then.

I was a lower BMI, just like you. I'm 5'6" and two months prior to surgery (April 2010), I weighed 228. That was the day I attended the seminar and had my first doctor's appointment. I didn't have a 1 or 2 week liquid diet or anything other than the normal liquid diet the day before surgery, but he told me at the first appointment I needed to lose 10 - 15 lbs pre-op. I lost 23, ahead of the game!! The day before surgery I weighed 205. I really did not have a goal, I wanted to lose 50 pounds. I had NO idea what to expect. I definitely underestimated what this new little tummy could help me do!! At my three month checkup, my doctor set a goal for me, 150 pounds. Wow, I'd have been happy at 170 but it just happened so fast, I knew I could lose more! I reached Dr. Davidson's goal at five months and MY goal (145) a month later. Right at 60 pounds, post-op. My total loss varies between 83 and 86 pounds. It happened really fast, but I was very rigid, diet wise, during those six months! I hope this helps! * Saggy skin has not been a problem, arms aren't great, but they aren't horrible * Hello Everyone, I am new to the board and to the WLS process. I have been lurking on here for a few months now and have found everyone's posts so informative and helpful! I had a few questions regarding rate of weight loss and sagging skin for those people who have 100 pounds or less to loose. While I know everyone is different, I was hoping to hear people's real life experience. I am going to assume that when you hear of someone losing 40 plus pounds the first month, it's because they were several hundred pounds over weight to start. Obviously the more weight you have to loose, the quicker it will come off in the begining. Does this amount of significant weight loss happen for people with less weight to lose? What is typical? How bad is the saggy skin? I have had two pregnancies and already have stretch marks on my belly as a result of that. I have come to terms with the fact that I will likley have saggy belly skin. I'm curious about the rest of me though! I am 5' 7" and currently weigh 231 pounds (BMI is under 40 but I qualify because I have PCOS and insilin resistance.) I would like to set my goal weight between 140-150. I am almost done with the required classes at Kaiser and scheduling my sleeve surgery for early summer. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

Pre-op: Sizes 18 - 20 shorts & dresses, 38x34 jeans and 2 XL tops Post op: Size M shirts, 4's & 6's jeans and size 6 dresses.

I attempted to 'enter' the Vets forum. I'm almost four years out, but needed a password to gain entrance. It seems like the Vets forum would be a great resource and great motivation for people who are not as far out, and even good reading for people who are pre-op and 'investigating'. If someone figures out how to proceed, please let me know.

I took all my stuff to shower, do my hair and make up. It felt wonderful to shower and do my hair the next day before I was discharged!! I did skip putting on make up.

I can and do drink normally now. Just all of a sudden I could. I don't remember when that was, I'm not sure how far out, a year, maybe longer.