Vad1988

I just want to thank everyone for your feedback. I checked out all the stores that everyone mentioned and I will say my personal favorites were New York & Co, Rue 21, Macy's, and Old Navy. I am going to check TJ Max and Marshall's out soon.
@@LoseItKacy could you tell me how tall you are if you don't mind? Our starting stats are very similar and I'm just curious. I loved your outfits by the way

I just want to thank everyone for your feedback. I checked out all the stores that everyone mentioned and I will say my personal favorites were New York & Co, Rue 21, Macy's, and Old Navy. I am going to check TJ Max and Marshall's out soon.
@@LoseItKacy could you tell me how tall you are if you don't mind? Our starting stats are very similar and I'm just curious. I loved your outfits by the way

Echo most what you have said here and glad you made the post. I am a 46 so I have the other issue with not belonging in the more youthful stores.
I was so excited to go to Old Navy and purchase my first pair of jeans from a regular store. I wore the same clothes for my first 50# loss. Yes the we're baggy!
I like TJ Max because of the price and it has a nice mix of styles and prices.
This is getting fun now!

Looking forward to get more selection at Marshalls and TJMaxx, their plus size selection was always slim. Also JJill, Ann Taylor, Loft and Lucky is on my radar in about 80 pounds.

Rue 21 has pretty cute clothes. And affordable.

Anthropologie, urban outfitters, and H &M might interest you. Also check out ModCloth (website).

Venturing into the non plus sized world had been overwhelming at times... I keep waiting for someone to point me over to plus sizes.
I shop at the thrift store quiet a bit.
My all time favorite is Macy's. I also like Burlington Coat Factory. I always hesitate with Kohl's, JC penny etc because I hated their plus size sections... I have to remind myself I'm not plus size any more.
I do old navy for some pieces, but hate the quality of their tops. Eventually I'd like to venture into express, gap and Ann Taylor.
H&M is not my cup of tea.

@@Vad1988 I wonder if you have a store called Alter'd State near you? Their clothes are very trendy, but are more modest. They have a lot of the bohemian styles that are current right now. My daughter loves their clothes. I am 44- way older than you, but I have gotten a few shirts,shoes, and jeans from there myself.

Thrift stores! Those clothes won't fit for long anyway. Might as well waste as little money as possible. Plus you can get name brand stuff for a lot less.

I am So Cal there is a store called 'Tillys' take 16 yr old grandson clothes look cute for young adult even husband likes it for shirts

Ok, someone needs to cut up my VS card. Lol
But apart from places like Old Navy, and random places at the mall, no favorites yet. Some good ideas here I'll be checking out.
I've been below my goal almost 6 months and still feel a bit out of place in "normal" stores. Weird.
One thing I thought was funny was that while I was dropping weight and hitting the pool frequently, I'd buy swimsuits on line from "swimsuitsforall". They need to change their name... They don't have my size. Nothing below a 6...thought it was ironic.

I've always bought a lot of my basics at Kohls and Target. I really like Loft and was excited when I was able to shop there again.

I REALLY appreciated this thread. Here's my shopping experience.
I has bypass on 9/30/15. So less than 4 months ago. I was 257 at my highest. I LOVED Torrid. My go to store for sure. I was in sizes 22/24 and 3x.
I lost 22 pounds as a preop so I was 235 on surgery day.
Today I'm 173. So after losing over 85 pounds I've found shopping to be EXTREMELY overwhelming. I think it's cuz I lost weight SO fast that I wasn't prepared to be thrown into "normal" clothes THAT fast. In a matter of weeks. When u go from not fitting into anything and being limited to what you can wear to having SO many options I found that I stuck to what was comfortable. I definitely don't fit in Torrid anymore so I pretty much cling to Maurices.
The only time I've ventured into other stores was Victoria's Secret lol.
So I really appreciate the recommendations cuz I need ideas too. Especially cuz plus size is not even close to an option for me anymore. I'm pretty much in smalls in shirts and 9/10 in pants.
Here's what I got at Maurices the other day and Victoria's Secret.  

I have been plus sized basically my whole life and have done almost all my clothing shopping at Torrid. I LOVE Torrid, but I am now in a size 14 and the smallest they go down to is a 12, but even that's kinda rare. I am about to turn 28 years old in a week, so I don't feel I'm ready for the more mature stores yet. I'd like to find a store that is trendy but still tasteful. I've spent my whole life hating the "skinny/preppy" stores, and I still really don't want to shop at them still. I still feel like I do not belong in them. This is kinda difficult for me cause I'm right between being plus size and misses sizes. I kinda feel like I'm being judged at both the store types. I've looked at Forever 21 and Charlotte Ruse and their plus size section is nice but I won't fit in them much longer, and the normal sizes have way too much skin showing. I would just like to find a store that is trendy, tasteful, and affordable. Any suggestions?

I love Old Navy and Kohls. I like Forever 21 too. Those are my regular everyday clothing store choices. I occasionally do Nordstrom and Macy's as well. I'm sure you will find a place you like.

I am not young and trendy, but I am looking forward to shopping at regular stores, too.
I stopped at our local JC Penny right before Christmas and bought three sweaters off the sale rack and was thrilled.
I like more classic clothes so I want to shop at places like Talbot's and J. Jill when I get smaller. I also want to invest in at least one "designer" dress.
I agree that a lot of the clothes marketed at young women are too short, tight, and revealing. I want to buy what flatters ME!
What department stores do you have near you? You might have better luck exploring different styles at a larger department store that has a broad selection.
You might also want to try some thrift stores and resale shops for inexpensive options. They would be great places to just experiment.
When I get to goal I plan to use a personal shopper at a nice store to help me build a good work wardrobe.
I read a book last year that I gave all of my nieces for Christmas called Lessons from Madame Chic. It talks about finding your personal style. You might find it helpful.
Best of luck and have fun!

Unfortunately there is nothing they can do about a ruptured internal stitch. It just has to heal. I ripped my twice and I could physically feel it tear both times. It was terrible pain for like 3 weeks! My doc told me you can buy like a wrap to support it if you want but other then that and pain pills you just have to let it heal. Good luck!

I felt the same exact way so I decided to make baked ricotta. Which is basically lasagna without noodles and meat. Just make sure to puree the sauce for any Tomato chunks beforehand.

My recovery was a breeze. I was feeling so good, I went back to work on day 4! It's been two weeks and I'm still going strong. Tomorrow I check in with my surgeon and the nutritionist. Totally looking forward to explore soft foods and get to chewing soon.
Happy that I'm in good company. Keep up the great work!!

EVERYONE IS SO DIFFERENT - YOU'RE ONE OF THE EXTREMELY LUCKY ONES AND THAT IS WONDERFUL! - I WASN'T

@@Vad1988 @@OutsideMatchInside
i agree
Dr. Phil - "no matter how flat you make a pancake, it always has 2 sides"
you do frequently see posts saying no problems with surgery, recovery, etc
there are some posts that tell of problems with surgery/recovery
good and bad stories
unfortunately, the bad stories stick out/remembered in newbies et al minds
i "think" .01% WLS patients have bad results (not sure of that stat)
these positive threads are great for newbies and others to see
my pre, post op, surgery, recovery etc went wonderful
3.5 years PO later
still smiling
kathy
happy camper

So I've been working for months to get all the tests and diet done for insurance and it's finally been submitted. I literally had everything done and submitted on day 90 of my diet. Now I'm really beginning to question if I want to have VSG. Let me start by saying that I am doing this for the sole purpose of getting healthy. I just turned 27 and I have a BMI of 47. I found out something was going on with my liver because they found some "spots" on it when I had a CT for a unrelated issue. And of coarse the first thing that anyone thinks when they see spots on a live is "are they tumors?" After they told me this I went to the first WLS meeting available because it scared me so much to think that I could not be around for my 2 year old daughter. She is my motivation for being healthy and really for everything I do. It took months to finally find out that yes they are tumors but I'm very lucky that they are benign but I do also have fatty liver disease. I have tried several diets over the years and failed. I know that by loosing the weight now I'm preventing soooo many life threatening complications. I want to set a better example for my daughter and be able to keep up with her. These are the reasons that have been pushing me to get this surgery done. I considered LapBand but my Hepatologist doesn't recommend it and my mom had it about a year ago and hers already prolapsed.
Before all this happened with my liver I was a foodie and really still am. I love everything about food. I love to cook, try new things at restaurants, and I also do baking/cake decorating as a hobby. I really don't mind being overweight. Yes I do want to loose some weight because it has gotten a little out of control but never have I wanted to be skinny. And the thought of getting down to 120 lbs which is what is considered normal for my height scares me! I don't want to have a bunch of saggy skin and I love being curvy. I love my hips, boobs, and butt. My fiance loves curvy women and is also a foodie thought he's lucky to have a fast metabolizem. I don't want to be a skeleton with saddle bags of skin. So now I have the horrible idea in my head that I'm just not going to be happy after surgery. And what's the point of living a longer life if your not really enjoying it? Giving up my Pepsi and Taco Bell makes me sad and add being in a body that I don't love, and giving up baking all my favorite treats makes me almost depressed. Yeah I know it's what got me here but I can't help but feel this way. I can find the time to become more active, take my Vitamins, get the Protein I need daily, but to give up my fried food and sweets completely UGH! Will there ever be a time where I can go to taco bell and get a taco or to the cheesecake factory and eat a piece of cheesecake? The doctors are making it seem like if I even try to eat these things that I will dump and be sick. Yeah I know I can't eat this crap every day but I'd like to know that on my birthday I can go to my favorite restaurant and get whatever I want even if I can only eat a few bites. I'm really struggling with this. I know it sounds silly to most people but I literally am having anxiety right now just thinking about it. You guys on this board are great and always know what to say so I'm counting on you guys

My surgery/recovery has been easy also. Almost to the point I feel guilty even talking about it because so many people are miserable.
I wasn't sure about how small my stomach was until I really started trying to eat food. Not being able to finish one scrambled egg was very sobering. Unable to finish even one crab cake. Full off 3oz of swai. That has helped make it real.
Trying to remember to take all the supplements and take them apart from each other is really challenging.
The weight isn't dropping off like I expected but hopefully that starts changing next week.
We need more threads like this so people can see there is a chance for a positive outcome.

Okay I want to start by saying I in no way am ungrateful for my surgery or recovery. I feel so lucky and blessed to have been able to have it and my insurance cover it. I had sleeve surgery 3 weeks ago and I was prepared for the worst. I kept reading how people were miserable for the first few weeks and that they at one point or another regretted it.
My journey is completely the opposite. I went into surgery not really even nervous. I kinda looked at it as any other kind of surgery and that I needed it to get done so I can move forward with my life. I was up walking the halls with no problems about 5 hours after my surgery and left the hospital 24 hours later. I took 2-3 days of my pain meds before not needing those anymore. I never felt sick, or like I had an alien in me, absolutely nothing! As for eating I don't really miss it very much. salad I do but I know I can have that in a few weeks. The only thing I can honestly say that has been rough is getting in my Water everyday.
I had a great surgeon and I know without a doubt that is a huge part of why I'm doing so well. The center I went to does the most sleeves in the country. But sometimes I feel like did they really take out my stomach? Did they forget it or not make it small enough? Is something terrible going to happen to me in the future cause this has been too easy. I know it's strange that I'm complaining about doing too good but it's like almost scary how amazing I am doing and feel. I'm down 32 lbs also from pre-op which also feels great. Everyone around me keeps telling me how surprised they are about how well I'm doing. My mother who had lap-band also commented on how she didn't feel as good as I do until like 6 months after her surgery. I am very thankful I am doing so well but it's kinda one of those things where you think to yourself if it seems to good to be true it probably is. I know everyone's journey is different and I sympathize for the ones who do have a harder road then me so I feel somewhat guilty for not feeling like this is hard. I have a long road ahead and I'm sure there will be plenty of rough Patches but so far I can't believe where I am.
Can anyone relate to this at all?

Okay I want to start by saying I in no way am ungrateful for my surgery or recovery. I feel so lucky and blessed to have been able to have it and my insurance cover it. I had sleeve surgery 3 weeks ago and I was prepared for the worst. I kept reading how people were miserable for the first few weeks and that they at one point or another regretted it.
My journey is completely the opposite. I went into surgery not really even nervous. I kinda looked at it as any other kind of surgery and that I needed it to get done so I can move forward with my life. I was up walking the halls with no problems about 5 hours after my surgery and left the hospital 24 hours later. I took 2-3 days of my pain meds before not needing those anymore. I never felt sick, or like I had an alien in me, absolutely nothing! As for eating I don't really miss it very much. salad I do but I know I can have that in a few weeks. The only thing I can honestly say that has been rough is getting in my Water everyday.
I had a great surgeon and I know without a doubt that is a huge part of why I'm doing so well. The center I went to does the most sleeves in the country. But sometimes I feel like did they really take out my stomach? Did they forget it or not make it small enough? Is something terrible going to happen to me in the future cause this has been too easy. I know it's strange that I'm complaining about doing too good but it's like almost scary how amazing I am doing and feel. I'm down 32 lbs also from pre-op which also feels great. Everyone around me keeps telling me how surprised they are about how well I'm doing. My mother who had lap-band also commented on how she didn't feel as good as I do until like 6 months after her surgery. I am very thankful I am doing so well but it's kinda one of those things where you think to yourself if it seems to good to be true it probably is. I know everyone's journey is different and I sympathize for the ones who do have a harder road then me so I feel somewhat guilty for not feeling like this is hard. I have a long road ahead and I'm sure there will be plenty of rough Patches but so far I can't believe where I am.
Can anyone relate to this at all?