LadyK44

Carrollton TX sleeved on 8/15/16.

Every single day, first thing in the morning. I lose one or two pounds in a week and I know that's damn slow but I don't care. When I see that number declining on the scale, I feel like .. I don't know.. I feel amazing. It motivates me and I love it. As others mentioned, I need to know that I am not gaining. If it stays the same or reduces slowly, that's alright. Rome was not built in a day.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

It's been a while since I've been on here and just wanted to share my progress. My starting weight was 314, I'm currently 196! I'm amazed at the difference and progress I've made! I wish anyone thinking about surgery or just beginning their journey the best! This was the best decision I've made and it has truly changed my life!

Well as of yet I have been give off from the 21st of Aug (the day before surgery ) through the 19th of sept. And all of my shifts have been covered. Now just to see how things go when I go back
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using the BariatricPal App

I didn't tell her myself. She overheard a conversation I was having with my mother. I was even in the bathroom, and she somehow heard me! I don't know if she was listening intentionally, because when I get excited, I talk very loudly. But you're right. People say that since I'm still young (I'm 25), that I will care more about what people think. They say, the older I get, I will care less about what people think. I hope this is true because, I am very extroverted and outgoing. I want people to like me. It's not a common thing for people to dislike me. I'm always so friendly and compassionate. So I guess I'm trying to make sure I'm not doing something to make this woman dislike me so much. Because, if I ever do something wrong, I try my very best to fix it. I guess you could say I put others first. Putting others first has always been something I do. It has hurt me many times in the past. But I just can't stop!

For me the scale is like the best-friend that you sometimes want to slap because she insists on telling you the truth when you don't want to hear it.
The scale keeps me sane. When I was overweight and not losing weight, I hated the scale and I would avoid it, which then resulted in gaining even more weight. Since the sleeve, I have weighed myself and written down the weight every single day (which is coming up on 3 years). Every morning I weigh myself on three scales- not because I'm crazy, but because scales fluctuate sometimes and when I see that all of them went up, or that all of them are getting close to the top of my 3-pound fluctuation allowance, then that same day I go back to watching what I eat. One scale syncs to MyFitnessPal, one has cool measurements (body density, etc) and one has giant numbers and it was the scale I bought before surgery and I like it, so it stays. I can say that it is my scale that keeps me from obsessing over my weight and it is what has kept me thin.
It is also my scale that keeps me from wondering why suddenly all of my clothing is a little looser and people keep telling me I look like I lost weight. I've been at goal for about 1.5 years now and within 5 pounds for about 20 months and my weight hasn't fluctuated. This summer I had some dental work done, which I think has contributed to a total lack of interest in food because it all hurt my mouth. For a few weeks I just haven't had much interest in food, so while my clothes are a little looser, my scale just says I am at the bottom of the fluctuation range I give myself, so I know that I'm healthy and not actually losing any significant amount of weight. My scale lets me know when I eat too much and I need to cut back, but it also lets me know that if I've gone a few weeks without eating a lot and not feeling great that no, I'm not actually wasting away like my clothing makes it feel, but that I lost 3 pounds and that I am actually well above the healthy low-weight for my height. The scale gives you a reliable, quantitative number to base your decisions on...like it or hate it, for me it's what keeps me healthy.

I had a few sips of champagne at three weeks post-op. It was a dinner in my honor and it would have been rude and entirely unnecessary to not be polite and sip tiny sips at toasts. I didn't really drink anything again until probably about a year later, which was a few shots of tequila. After that, my next drinking night was about a year later, which then led to a summer of having a darn good time and probably too much tequila. It was fun, I was careful with how much I consumed, and I was just fine. It's now been a year since that time and since then I've had a few glasses of champagne, 1-2 cups of scotch, and a giant shot of tequila- all of which got me supremely blitzed, very quickly, and ensured I had a fabulous time, for very cheap, without a hangover.
You can have a sleeve and drink. You can have a few sips of booze shortly after surgery. You will be fine. Don't do shots, keg stands, or beer bongs....save those for a few months from now, hahahaha.

Imma' lush. For realz...

There are lots of reasons doctors have no alcohol or a fairly long wait on drinking.

First and foremost. Empty calories. Your goal is to lose weight, I assume. Drinking your calories is a really bad idea. And once you've had that alcohol, many people tend to make bad decisions on what they put in their face. Are you (general/plural) really going to reach for SF puddding (sic) or greek yogurt or are you going to finish off that bag of popcorn or the infamous box of Cheez its?

Secondly, your stomach has a fresh incision and it takes time to heal. The acidity in wine, soda, and jooce (sic) mixers can irritate that tender tummy. No bueno.

Third, you don't know how alcohol will affect you. I got totally blitzed off a glass of wine, and was dead sober an hour later with my first drink. (And the heartburn that commenced had me rolled up on the floor in tears for an hour.) You really shouldn't be eating and drinking at the same time, so there goes the option for foood (sic) in the tummy to soak up some of the booze.

But you are an adult and only you can decide for yourself. I am sure you will make exactly the right decision for you.

That's awesome @@OutsideMatchInside ! At size 12 you can start wearing a lot of the Italian designers. And Chanel.

@@theantichick
I have to say I HATED clothes shopping with a passion. I would avoid it at all costs and spend my money on designer hand bags instead. It's funny because when you carry a gorgeous handbag, people ask about it instead of what the hell you are wearing.
Anyway, once I lost enough weight that I was literally drowning in my clothes I was forced to go shopping. I did, and I began to find more clothes that would fit me. I found it to be super motivating to get the hell out of plus size clothes. At about 70lbs lost I could no longer even wear anything in lane Bryant and before you knew it I was shopping anywhere and everywhere.
I enjoyed it so much that once I went into a dressing room during the holidays at Macy's. The dressing room was loaded with clothing others had tried on and left in there. Things I would never consider trying on.
Well, while my poor hubby sat in the hubby chair and waiting. I put on a fashion show for him. I tried on stuff I would never buy just because I could fit in it. It was the funnest shopping trip ever. I ultimately ended up with what I went in to find (sweater dress) and 3 other outfits that my hubby loved on me.
I now LOVE shopping for clothes. I would bet my hatred before had everything to do with being so fat, looking in the mirror and hating myself and never finding anything that fit right. I also lived a life of black and navy.
Now, I have every color of the rainbow and they look good on me!

If you wish you were on a liiquid (sic) diet, do a Liquiid (sic) diet.
It's normal to be nervous, but you'll be fine!!
Best wishes.

It clearly takes a long time for your head to get straight with the weight loss.
I am now nearly 2 years post op and down 152lbs. I weigh 158lbs and I am 5'10". I went from a size 26 on top, 24 on the bottom to a size 8 on the bottom and a size 10 on top.
When I look in the mirror on purpose, I still see a very fat me. When I catch a glance of myself in a mirror walking by, I sometimes don't recognize myself.
For me, pictures are the really telling story as is trying on clothing both my big clothes and new clothes. I have noticed that I take my picture more just so I can look at it and compare. There is some part of me that still cannot believe that this is real and that I lost nearly half of me.
This week I finally broke down and bought a fall jacket for myself. I used to buy a 26 coat and many times would have to have the arms altered because I carried a large amount of weight in my arms. I bought a size large north face jacket on line. It came in the mail and I put it on and it fit perfectly. I just had Brachioplasty so my arms now fit in EVERYTHING! Woo Hoo!
After I tried on that jacket, I went to the closet and grabbed my old fall jacket and put it on. I kid you not, I was literally drowning in it. It used to be very tight on me in the stomach and arms but I refused to go up another size back then. I walked out and showed my husband and he was shocked as was I.
It is the clothes, pictures and time that is helping me see the new thin healthy me. I am so happy I did this!
I am going out with friends tonight for dinner. It is the first time anyone will see me with my new arms! I am so excited to go but I still have not decided what I want to wear. I am still in compression garments so it will have to be something long sleeved but instead of them being pulled tight, I now have room!
WLS not only brought me my health but it helped me to see the small person under all that fat and now loose skin. I am so thankful every day for the doctors and nurses that make this happen for us!

I struggle with this a lot too. At my heaviest, I was 450 pounds (or maybe more, I never stepped on a scale back then...) and now I'm 217. I truly still feel like a 450 pound person. Seeing myself in a mirror, especially when I wasn't expecting it, is shocking and confusing. Seeing pictures of myself is also extremely weird, and I often ask my friends/family/boyfriend "is this accurate? Is this a good representation of what I actually look like? Do I look like a different person? Do I look anything like myself anymore?" Because I feel all of these things. It's so strange, but honestly, it's also incredibly wonderful. I never believed things would really change, even after I had the surgery and was dropping weight like crazy. I still don't really believe I'll ever get under 200, and when I get under 200, I won't really believe I can make it to 170 (my goal weight), and so on. We accept who we believe we are and it's hard to change that identity and self-image after many years of it being who you are. It's hard to adopt a new one so quickly, and to truly say goodbye to the person you used to be. 2 years ago, I was over 230 pounds heavier. It's going to take some time to see the new me for who I really am and what I really look like, and I'm still changing! But I keep trying every day and I will keep trying until hopefully someday I feel like "me" again. The new "me". Here's a progress picture! You can see how different I am from the person I used to be 2 years ago...
http://imgur.com/wxCv8k6

Like others have said - it's the photos that blow me away. I love the Timehop app, although there are mostly only face selfies with my kid from years past.
I'm still in process but about 100 pounds down. I just purged my closet of everything pre-sleeve (except one token outfit for remembrance).
I

I didn't see my weight loss until I turned in the mirror. Most of the weight I'm carrying and WAS carrying- was on my back! But if you compare photos of before your surgery and now- you will see the progression! Sometimes that's what it takes. Don't get discouraged!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Trudy

Down 120!!!!

Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Late to the party as well, but I live on the outskirts of Houston in Baytown. My insurance had a WLS exclusion so I will be getting sleeved 3 weeks from today in Mexico, just across the border from Eagle Pass.

Welcome, Chuck.
I was sleeved 2years ago at age 68. Like @@SassyNanny I have been issue-free.
I've lost 100 pounds and now weigh 135. More importantly, I have my life back now better than ever.

Looking at and taking pictures helps me a lot. However, the best thing I have found, is looking at my shadow on the floor of a parking lot. I use to look like Alfred Hitchcock. Now, not so much. ???? I love my shadow. I have almost walked into the back of several parked cars! LOL Be careful!!
Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App

Looking at and taking pictures helps me a lot. However, the best thing I have found, is looking at my shadow on the floor of a parking lot. I use to look like Alfred Hitchcock. Now, not so much. ???? I love my shadow. I have almost walked into the back of several parked cars! LOL Be careful!!
Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App

I ended up moving out of our home. Our lawyers were able to help us come to an agreement and once that was done, I decided to move out of the city. I'm no longer surrounded by those painful memories and phony people who claimed they loved me yet we're loyal to my ex husband. Now I just need to work on my heart and mind. I hate dealing with trigger moments and thoughts of how he rejected me. It hurts so much. Hopefully it will all heal as time goes on.

Looking at and taking pictures helps me a lot. However, the best thing I have found, is looking at my shadow on the floor of a parking lot. I use to look like Alfred Hitchcock. Now, not so much. ???? I love my shadow. I have almost walked into the back of several parked cars! LOL Be careful!!
Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App