HillaryA

I started out at 463 and at 19 months out I’m currently at 232. I lost exactly 200 pounds at my one year anniversary and then hit a major, months-long stall. Which completely sucked, as you can imagine. Doing everything right and not losing weight or inches was so frustrating, but a part of it unfortunately. It finally broke and I went back to steadily losing again, although much slower. I’d like to lose another 30-40 pounds (and then start in on plastic surgery), but honestly, if I didn’t lose another pound I would consider myself content.
There really is no way to describe how different my life is. Every aspect has improved – personal relationships, work, putting on shoes, driving my car… I wanted to dance with glee the first time I slid into a booth seat at a restaurant and fit properly (because in the past I didn’t fit and my stomach would bulge over the table top). In the past I’ve suffered with mild depression and anxiety. Even though they’re still there, I now feel such a sense of hope that things can actually change and this is a way of life I can maintain.
I was very nervous about having the surgery as well. Not only had nothing ever worked for me in the past but I have a cousin who had the band, then the sleeve, and then after a few years regained half of the weight that she’d lost and was very discouraged and really struggling to take it off again. This showed me, more than anything, that this isn’t an easy fix-all. It really takes work. I’ve had to relearn an entirely new way of eating and now have a much better relationship with food.
Everyone above has already posted some amazing tips for you; I won’t repeat what they’ve already said. Just know that, yes – it can work for you, but you have to be willing to put in the effort and make some changes.
Good luck!

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm an emotional eater that turns to food as comfort as well. It's so easy to let the bad habits start snowballing, especially if one has a food/sugar addiction. I know it's tough but going to back to Protein shakes for a week, sometimes with a very small meal for dinner, really helps me break those carb/fast food addictions when I slip. Once I get past a week or two the cravings for sugary stuff disappears and I feel so much better. Also, I find eating higher fat foods helps me to feel more full and satisfied - good, fatty cheese like Gouda, olives, avocados, almonds, fish. I know a lot of folk watch fat intake as well as carbs but I don't succeed on low carb/low fat.
As far as the exercising goes, I literally feel your pain. It's only been in the last month or two that I can walk/jog on my treadmill without the extra skin pulling painfully - stomach, thighs, butt - it was so uncomfortable and made me hate doing it. Have you tried wearing a shape wear-type garment? That really helped keep everything around the middle compressed and eased a bit of the discomfort.
Good luck to you

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm an emotional eater that turns to food as comfort as well. It's so easy to let the bad habits start snowballing, especially if one has a food/sugar addiction. I know it's tough but going to back to Protein shakes for a week, sometimes with a very small meal for dinner, really helps me break those carb/fast food addictions when I slip. Once I get past a week or two the cravings for sugary stuff disappears and I feel so much better. Also, I find eating higher fat foods helps me to feel more full and satisfied - good, fatty cheese like Gouda, olives, avocados, almonds, fish. I know a lot of folk watch fat intake as well as carbs but I don't succeed on low carb/low fat.
As far as the exercising goes, I literally feel your pain. It's only been in the last month or two that I can walk/jog on my treadmill without the extra skin pulling painfully - stomach, thighs, butt - it was so uncomfortable and made me hate doing it. Have you tried wearing a shape wear-type garment? That really helped keep everything around the middle compressed and eased a bit of the discomfort.
Good luck to you

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm an emotional eater that turns to food as comfort as well. It's so easy to let the bad habits start snowballing, especially if one has a food/sugar addiction. I know it's tough but going to back to Protein shakes for a week, sometimes with a very small meal for dinner, really helps me break those carb/fast food addictions when I slip. Once I get past a week or two the cravings for sugary stuff disappears and I feel so much better. Also, I find eating higher fat foods helps me to feel more full and satisfied - good, fatty cheese like Gouda, olives, avocados, almonds, fish. I know a lot of folk watch fat intake as well as carbs but I don't succeed on low carb/low fat.
As far as the exercising goes, I literally feel your pain. It's only been in the last month or two that I can walk/jog on my treadmill without the extra skin pulling painfully - stomach, thighs, butt - it was so uncomfortable and made me hate doing it. Have you tried wearing a shape wear-type garment? That really helped keep everything around the middle compressed and eased a bit of the discomfort.
Good luck to you

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm an emotional eater that turns to food as comfort as well. It's so easy to let the bad habits start snowballing, especially if one has a food/sugar addiction. I know it's tough but going to back to Protein shakes for a week, sometimes with a very small meal for dinner, really helps me break those carb/fast food addictions when I slip. Once I get past a week or two the cravings for sugary stuff disappears and I feel so much better. Also, I find eating higher fat foods helps me to feel more full and satisfied - good, fatty cheese like Gouda, olives, avocados, almonds, fish. I know a lot of folk watch fat intake as well as carbs but I don't succeed on low carb/low fat.
As far as the exercising goes, I literally feel your pain. It's only been in the last month or two that I can walk/jog on my treadmill without the extra skin pulling painfully - stomach, thighs, butt - it was so uncomfortable and made me hate doing it. Have you tried wearing a shape wear-type garment? That really helped keep everything around the middle compressed and eased a bit of the discomfort.
Good luck to you

I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm an emotional eater that turns to food as comfort as well. It's so easy to let the bad habits start snowballing, especially if one has a food/sugar addiction. I know it's tough but going to back to Protein shakes for a week, sometimes with a very small meal for dinner, really helps me break those carb/fast food addictions when I slip. Once I get past a week or two the cravings for sugary stuff disappears and I feel so much better. Also, I find eating higher fat foods helps me to feel more full and satisfied - good, fatty cheese like Gouda, olives, avocados, almonds, fish. I know a lot of folk watch fat intake as well as carbs but I don't succeed on low carb/low fat.
As far as the exercising goes, I literally feel your pain. It's only been in the last month or two that I can walk/jog on my treadmill without the extra skin pulling painfully - stomach, thighs, butt - it was so uncomfortable and made me hate doing it. Have you tried wearing a shape wear-type garment? That really helped keep everything around the middle compressed and eased a bit of the discomfort.
Good luck to you

@@tappingmom Interesting. I wonder if I am "comfortable" with the 230 because I don't want to be disappointed if I don't get any lower than that.
I was like 230 pounds in 8th grade , so I don't really know what it's like to be normal weight.
I wonder if I'll change my mind the closer I get to "goal".

I started at 463 and am at 256 now. I hit 200 lbs gone on my 1 year anniversary of the sleeve (1/15) and am now at -207. I seem to be slowing down and keep stalling, but I am sticking with my eating and exercising plan and keeping up with measurements as they are still going down even if the scale doesn't move. I'd like to lose another 60 lbs but I am fully accepting of the fact that it's not coming off as quickly.
I agree that either the sleeve or bypass can be successful as long as you stick to the plan. Good luck!

I started at 463 and am at 256 now. I hit 200 lbs gone on my 1 year anniversary of the sleeve (1/15) and am now at -207. I seem to be slowing down and keep stalling, but I am sticking with my eating and exercising plan and keeping up with measurements as they are still going down even if the scale doesn't move. I'd like to lose another 60 lbs but I am fully accepting of the fact that it's not coming off as quickly.
I agree that either the sleeve or bypass can be successful as long as you stick to the plan. Good luck!

I started at 463 and am at 256 now. I hit 200 lbs gone on my 1 year anniversary of the sleeve (1/15) and am now at -207. I seem to be slowing down and keep stalling, but I am sticking with my eating and exercising plan and keeping up with measurements as they are still going down even if the scale doesn't move. I'd like to lose another 60 lbs but I am fully accepting of the fact that it's not coming off as quickly.
I agree that either the sleeve or bypass can be successful as long as you stick to the plan. Good luck!

I'm just a lurker here but wanted to share as I know the frustration of not seeing a lot of people on here that started out at higher BMIs. First off, I'm not at goal, only about 1/2 way there. I started out at way more than most of you, my highest recorded weight was 463, and honestly I'm sure it was higher than that at some point. As of today I'm at 330. Altogether I've lost 133 lbs in 6 months. I've went from a (tight) size 38 in jeans to a 26. I really, really hope to be at goal by next July which will mean 273 lbs lost (seems impossible!).
The changes to my life have been staggering. I'm 35 and at my lowest weight in at least 10 years. I still have a lot of doubts about making it to goal but I just keep to the plan. At 6 months out I get in around 1200 calories and have no trouble sticking to that. A lot of people talk about the "head hunger," I never really had that. It was almost like after stuffing myself silly for YEARS I am ready to not really care about food. I still enjoy things that taste good but when people bring cake or doughnuts to work I don't have any problem passing them up. I follow a ketogenic diet (high good fats, moderate Protein, low carb) and it works for me. My body does not process carbs well at all.
I exercise 5-6 days a week, mix of cardio and strength training, and I feel so amazing and healthy. I don't gasp for air after climbing 10 steps, my joint and back pain has disappeared, and my high blood pressure has gone back to normal.
I'm not going to post any pictures - mostly because I don't have any saved to the computer, but I also still sort of hate pics of myself. I do take a new pic each month and when I need motivation I go back through them all and see all the changes and it helps keep me going.
I wish you all the best of luck! It's been a big adjustment but there's not a day that goes by that I regret it.
463 - 1/2/15 Start of pre-op diet
445 - 1/15/15 Day of surgery
330 - 7/5/15 Current weight

Highest weight was 463. I am just barely over a year out and have lost 201 lbs. It's definitely do-able as long as you stick to the plan. So happy with my decision - my life has improved in so many ways.

Highest weight was 463. I am just barely over a year out and have lost 201 lbs. It's definitely do-able as long as you stick to the plan. So happy with my decision - my life has improved in so many ways.

Highest weight was 463. I am just barely over a year out and have lost 201 lbs. It's definitely do-able as long as you stick to the plan. So happy with my decision - my life has improved in so many ways.

Highest weight was 463. I am just barely over a year out and have lost 201 lbs. It's definitely do-able as long as you stick to the plan. So happy with my decision - my life has improved in so many ways.

Highest weight was 463. I am just barely over a year out and have lost 201 lbs. It's definitely do-able as long as you stick to the plan. So happy with my decision - my life has improved in so many ways.

I had a very similar experience with my clothes. The thing is, I'm pretty sure the clothes I was wearing at 463 were actually fitting very tight on me and I was willfully ignoring it. I continued to wear those same clothes through the first 80-100 pounds lost, I think, until they were so baggy I couldn't stand it.
What helped a lot for me was taking pictures, even if it was just my face. Just looking at my body in a mirror didn't encourage me at all. The scale dropping and watching my face slowly get slimmer is what gave me the biggest boost. Try not to get discouraged - you'll be dropping those old clothes off at Goodwill before you know it!

I had a very similar experience with my clothes. The thing is, I'm pretty sure the clothes I was wearing at 463 were actually fitting very tight on me and I was willfully ignoring it. I continued to wear those same clothes through the first 80-100 pounds lost, I think, until they were so baggy I couldn't stand it.
What helped a lot for me was taking pictures, even if it was just my face. Just looking at my body in a mirror didn't encourage me at all. The scale dropping and watching my face slowly get slimmer is what gave me the biggest boost. Try not to get discouraged - you'll be dropping those old clothes off at Goodwill before you know it!

December 22nd, 2014 was the day that I had changed my life and body forever. On that day I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy done to help me lose a lot of excessive body weight. In 366 days, I have gone from being 463lbs to now 267lbs as of yesterday afternoon. I though that by having the surgery that I was taking the easy way out......Boy oh boy was I freaking wrong.

There is nothing about this process that is easy. In fact its the total opposite of easy. Its hard as f**k. Probably the hardest thing I've had to overcome in my life so far. Besides the reality of having one's body altered forever, I had to learn how to eat all over again, deal with emotional issues I've spent a lifetime trying to avoid, and also dealing with some of the complications post surgery, that even now 1 year later I still have to struggle with. So what are some of those bad, not so easy things have I had to deal with within the past year.
Well for starters I've had to give up the following items for a time period and/or forever:
Bread/Wheat - Forever Pasta - Forever Rice - Forever Red Meat/Pork - 6 months Sugar - 6/8 months Soda (Carbonated beverages) - Forever Alcoholic beverages -6/8 months Smoking - Forever And then there were the habits and routines I had to take on as part of change. Things that I had to make habit forming and stay consistent with in order to be successful with this.
Multivitamin supplements - Forever Iron supplements - Forever B12 supplements - Forever Yearly blood/cholesterol checks - Forever Daily walking/cardio work outs - Forever Yearly checkups with Surgeon to make sure I have no ulcers or leaks from staples - Forever Yeah, and then there were the complications from the surgery that I had to and still am having to deal with. One of the main ones was short term memory loss and comprehension issues. Issues that even as I type this post I am still dealing with in some shape or form. Just this past Monday morning I had to have spinal Fluid drawn from my back (better known as a Lumbar Puncture Procedure) to be analyzed by my Neurologist to give a final determining cause as to why I've been suffering from short term memory issues post surgery. Right now the major ruling is some sort of allergic reaction to the general anesthesia I was under during my surgery. Its funny cause I have been under anesthesia before, its just that I wasn't under for longer that 15-20 minutes at a time. When I had the surgery I was under for almost 3 hours.
My life has gotten a lot better in the last year, its just that things just haven't returned to a state of normalcy that I would like it to be at before the surgery. So as I sit around and wait for the test results of my spinal tap to come back, I move on and keep moving forward. I have too. If I sit around and dwell on everything that has/had gone wrong in the past year, I would be so depressed and miserable . And I refuse to allow that to be. So I stay focused on the positives of what has happened. I take comfort in all of the things I can check off my list as successes, and I continue on to the next goal.
I look in the mirror and I see a person staring back at me that I am now getting use to seeing. A person that I am actually comfortable seeing in the mirror. And not the stranger I was seeing for the first few months of this year as I was drastically dropping weight off of me. Dropping years of the affects that emotional eating had caused me. Its a change that I can now say that I comfortably welcome, from both the physical and now emotional aspect.

As far as weight lost goal, I am still about 70-80lbs away from the goal that I had set for myself. These last 70 -80lbs are going to be the hardest to get rid of, but I accept the challenge. I have no choice but to, because I didn't come this far, sacrificed so much just to quite 3 quarters of the way from completing the race.

I share this with the world because I know that my words, my thoughts right now, may not only help me down the road at some point, but it may help someone else out there right now who is struggling with self-image/body issues, obesity, diabetes, and/or deciding whether or not to have weight loss surgery. I hope that my words and experiences can help you when it comes to making a decision on surgery or not.
The question I am sure that anyone who is reading this would ask me:

"knowing now what I know, would I still have gone through with the procedure/surgery?"

My answer would still have been yes. Yes because now I no longer have to take insulin to keep my body's blood sugars under control. Yes because I can now buy clothing out of Walmart & other stores like a normal person and not having to go to the Big & Tall custom stores to find simple things like underwear and socks. Yes, because when I look in the mirror I see the person I was meant to be and not the person I was dreading to see. And finally yes, because I know that by doing this, I've given myself a fighting change to reach a longer life expectancy than 50-55 years. So did I do this all for me, you better believe I did!

I went on a date on Friday night. We went to a blues club where people take dancing seriously! I wasn't sure what the dress code was - ha - since Seattle is a pretty casual place (frumpy some might say!) when it comes to dressing "norms". My date and I are not very good dancers, but we braved the dance floor along with all those spinning and dipping couples that have been doing this awhile and we had alot of fun even if we didn't have the best technique.
I decided to dress how I thought I would like to look - not too concerned with what other might wear. I chose an above the knee black skirt (not a mini, but short) with flouncy ruffles. I wore a really cute patterned top that I like alot but seldom wear because it is dressier. I work dark hose and the most awesome multi color shooties (really, they are shoes, but they call them shooties when they look like booties influenced).
Once I selected my outfiit, I didn't give it another thought until this happened.... I went to the restroom and a very nice looking stylish woman came up and said "I have been admiring your outfit from across the room". We chatted a bit... she left... I did my thing, came out of the stall and another woman walked in and she said "I love those shoes - they are just perfect with your outfit"
It was nice to be validated, but I realized that I had no self consciousness, no thoughts about "am I dressing too young" (you know, fill in the blanks of self doubt).
It kinda hit me that the rest of the world really really really no longer sees me as morbidly obese... and maybe I am kinda reaching that state too. I look like a pretty normal woman and to be quite honest, much fitter than the average woman of my age range. It is an empowering feeling to no longer feel like I need to blend in or worry about how my "rolls" look.
In addition, I sometimes feel a certain amount of grief/shame about the physical problems I have as a result of a lifetime of obesity (mostly arthritis and joint problems). I am not sure how it came up, but my date mentioned he'd had a total hip replacement when he was about my age! This guy is slim, and has been an athlete his whole life. In his case, he took a huge fall while mountain climbing in his youth and it eventually caught up with him. It helped me reframe my own emotions about the damage to my body.
It is the past, we all have our stories and history and all we can do is make the best of right now and build toward an even better future. I am currently rehabbing my bum hip with a much more positive attitude than I had when I was first diagnosed and guess what - getting better results! It is estimated I have 3-4 years before I need that replacement, and I say bring it - I will be ready when it is time!

Just had an interesting interaction at work. An admin stopped into my office asking for a pen to borrow to sign off on a lunch order for a meeting. I like to kid around so I said, 'sure...but it will cost you a cookie.'
As a fat woman, I would have never said that. It would have been embarrassing because I would have expected her to think that the last thing I needed was a cookie. But as a normal sized person, there is no embarrassment when it comes to 'bad' food. I don't think twice if I have ice cream in my shopping cart...or some other item that once upon a time would make me look around and wonder who was checking out what I was eating.
And by the way....she brought me two Cookies. I told her that I was only joking and all she did was wink at me.
I know people say all the time that they have not changed...only their bodies have changed. I know that everything has changed for me. Yes...I'm still basically the same woman I always was, but a better, more outgoing, comfortable in my skin woman now. Not that I don't have my issues still...nothing is perfect. But even little interactions are different..and big ones as well.
I look people in the eye now. I used to look down. I have a sense of confidence I didn't have before. I'm understanding that it was the confidence and satisfaction in my life that attracted my boyfriend to me...and not just that I was a small body. Especially as he's seen all the loose skin, hanging boobs, etc. and he tells me how much he loves to see my naked body..how it turns him on. He's seeing something else in his mind's eye...and not my physical 'flaws'.
I just think we don't always see or realize all the changes. We notice the big things...the typical NSVs but not necessarily the daily interactions that shift as we change...or should I say 'evolve'.
Anyway...just wanted to get my thoughts out on a post. Back to work now...

Just thought I'd post a little update. June 5, I was at my heaviest 410 pounds. I felt like DEATH...literally. I had SEVERE sciatica which caused me to go onto disability after working for YEARS...I couldn't walk. I couldn't stand. I couldn't sit. All I could do is LAY THERE and cry because of the nerve pain down my left leg and lower back. It was either back surgery or weight loss surgery. Since I also HAD high blood pressure and PCOS plus VERY obese and the severe sciatica...I thought weight loss surgery would be my best bet. Plus, healing would be 2837739354928 times harder if I were to under go back surgery at my weight. Dr's told me over and over again that losing weight may or may not help my bulging disc which was in turn causing the sciatica but I went for it and just hoped for the best. Day of surgery 9/2, I was 367 pounds (I went on a damn strict diet) and today...I am 314!!! I am also BACK AT WORK with no more sciatica pain what-so-ever!!! I'm off all meds for high blood pressure and I'm feeling fanDAMNtastic!!!!! I love the way o feel and more so, I LOVE ME. I've never been one to post pics....but here we go. Not ready for the whole "body shot" because this girl is under construction but here goes nothin!!! Top picture is day before surgery...the collage pic on left is last month and on the right is yesterday! I drink 64oz+ Water each day...and always try to get 90g of protein...even if I finish my day with a premier protein!! Alot of you girls and guys on here don't know how many of us look forward and look up to your updates and advice...@Babbs...@Elode...@InnerSurferGirl...all 3 of u girls I look up to and I cannot wait to keep on keeping on. Thank You from the bottom of my heart!!! -Vanessa

Yes, people treat you differently (better) and no it isn't just because you feel more confident, positive, outgoing, etc. There are studies that show that given the chance, people will discriminate against fat people based on nothing more than photographs of fat people vs. slim people. For example, shown resumes that include a picture of a slim applicant will get "hired" far more often than resumes that include pictures of a fat applicant, even when everything else is identical. Similarly, college applications that include a picture of a slim applicant will be "granted admission" as against the same application accompanied by a picture of a fat applicant. Obviously, the photograph isn't somehow radiating a level of confidence or energy or anything like that. It's just a picture. So yes, fat people are discriminated against and treated worse. The idea that somehow we bring this on ourselves by acting badly etc. is just victim-blaming and self-shaming IMO.
This kind of discrimination is very common. I'm ashamed to say I've even noticed it in myself -- I've had applicants for open positions and found myself hesitant about hiring someone morbidly obese. I'm really trying to do better. This bias is MY fault, it is NOT the fault of the obese applicant for somehow causing me to be biased.

I'm a VSG who on the day of my surgery I weight 463lbs. That was almost 10 months ago. About 18 months ago I weighted close to 580lbs, and as of two nights ago I am down to around 281. So yeah I would indeed say that the VSG will work as far as you losing weight. I choose this route for I wanted the least evasive surgery out of the 3 options I had, with the better success rate I felt for me. Any choice you make to try and lose the weight and become healthier is a going to be the better choice than to do nothing at all and continue to just gain and gain. Good luck to you and whatever decision you choose to make.

Thank you for starting this thread. I'm scheduled for surgery in two days. I chose the sleeve over the bypass due to concerns about dumping syndrome and malnutrition even though bypass is probably better for someone my size. My highest weight was 410 two months before I started pre op. I imagine I was heavier when I started pre op. I've lost approximately 20lbs so far. I am so excited for Thursday! I am in my second day of the all clear liquid diet and I'm HANGRY!