blissfulbeing

I woke up this morning and realized: This will be the last holiday season I will allow myself to be single and invisible. By this time next year I will have blossomed into my true beautiful and healthy self instead of hiding behind all of this weight and shame. I am so excited for the adventure ahead. I pray it goes well. I know it will be a tough path, but that the rewards will be so worth it.
Do you remember the day you knew your life was going to change for the better?

Yes, Minnie! I didn't expect to be this hungry either! And it's not head hunger because it's coming from my stomach! ???? I had a scrambled egg this morning and it was divine! The one egg filled me up! So cool! It feels amazing to have a new set of foods added to the menu. I feel so much more satiated and so much less deprived. Who knew that an egg would ever be this exciting?! I feel like I'm more of a normal person again now. Only two more days for you, Minnie!

GOAL! Finally! I woke up this morning and I was 129.4 and my goal was to see 129 on the scale, so 129.8 would have worked for me. I hit 130 back in January and I floated between 131-134 for the last three months. A week ago today I had my final plastics surgery, which was a posterior lower body lift, inner thigh lift, and auto butt augmentation. The day of surgery I was 133 and I’ve pretty much had no desire to eat anything while being on drugs for a few days and being back in the compression garments (which I swear squish my stomach to the point I can’t eat without barfing). So between whatever skin was removed and whatever weight I lost from not eating terribly much, today I am officially at the goal weight I picked back in September of 2013. Amusingly enough, my goal was always 119 but I thought 129 seemed a little less ridiculous and I would probably never make it there anyway.
Today is a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and I celebrated by putting on my new, size small bikini, my cute size small cover up, and spending all of 20 minutes laying outside by the pool before I got bored. I don’t really see a girl who weighs 129 pounds in the mirror…she has a lot of scars and flaws, but she is infinitely happier than she was 577 days ago when I started my pre-op diet, 1 week before sleeve surgery. It has been exactly 1 year and 7 months to the day when I started my journey and today, I got to where I never imagined I actually would.
577 days ago I was on this site, reading through all of the posts of successful people, and hoping that one day I would get to make three posts- the day I hit a normal BMI, the day I hit 100 pounds lost, and the day I hit my goal. Here’s to the last post of the three posts I hoped that I would one day be making. I'm feeling nostalgic, sniffle.
Thank-you to all of the people who have been kind to me on here- I have enjoyed having this board full of fantastic people to share my experience with.
Excuse me- I am now going to go eat a pan of brownies…Just kidding!!!

@@blissfulbeing Oh that's wonderful! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! It's perfect now that summers just around the corner. Make sure to update me on what you think

@@Elode - I bought the Yonana last night based on your recommendation in the gadgets thread! You should be getting a commission! Haha! I LOVE ice cream, so I'm hoping that this will give me a little bit of a "fix" if I ever get a craving. (I'm only seven weeks out, so I don't have many cravings.) Thanks for the great tip - I can't wait to try it!

Thank you for starting this thread. I'm getting nauseous fairly regularly now. It's a bummer. Sometimes I feel nauseous because of what I ate and sometimes I feel nauseous because I haven't eaten. Trying to look for patterns, but not really finding them. I have my six week post-op appointment so I will talk to my doctor.

I've never been happier or healthier. Recently, I wrote down the changes I made and was surprised at how many there were. Before I made my list, I would have said I hadn't made many. My guiding food principle is that I have a limited amount of space so whatever I put in that space has to count nutritionally. So here's my list:
1. I can eat anything, except bubbles, of course. No fear.
2. If I want a cookie, I can have a cookie but no boxes or bags. I have to go buy a good one, just one.
3. As a rule, I stay away from all types of Pasta, even the "good" kind. I can have it, I just prefer not to.
4. I avoid bread unless it's fabulous or unavoidable. I have a sandwich with the equivalent of one piece of bread about once every three weeks.
5. Never say yes to a bread basket. Why fill up on nutritionally empty food and have no room for the meal?
6. I exercise. Quite a novelty for me compared to my past life. I now go to the gym 4 days a week and don't feel right if I skip.
7. I can have crunchy Cheetos if they come from a vending machine, usually when I get my car serviced.
8. Ice cream is ok, it's just not allowed in the house.
9. I don't count calories or journal my food. I feel oppressed by both.
10. Be grateful every day for the miracle that's been given to me.
Hope these help you

I think I had a scrambled egg on the morning of my first solid food day and that wasn't really special, but for lunch, I had sashimi. I still remember that meal. It was the first time I felt normal after surgery.

What I do to keep my head in the game (and away from freaking out) is remembering that this is a marathon, not a sprint. My weight loss "stalled" for about ten days.. No worries! I was still twenty pounds lighter than I was. I just decided to not worry. And eventually the weight loss resumed. My "no freaking out" policy is really helping me. ????

What I do to keep my head in the game (and away from freaking out) is remembering that this is a marathon, not a sprint. My weight loss "stalled" for about ten days.. No worries! I was still twenty pounds lighter than I was. I just decided to not worry. And eventually the weight loss resumed. My "no freaking out" policy is really helping me. ????

Thanks so much ladies!!
@Kindle I think that might be what has surprised me most of all thru this journey, is how normal I do feel. I wasn't sure what to expect after surgery. That is one reason I post like this is for the newbies, I know these were the posts that helped me the most!!

What I do to keep my head in the game (and away from freaking out) is remembering that this is a marathon, not a sprint. My weight loss "stalled" for about ten days.. No worries! I was still twenty pounds lighter than I was. I just decided to not worry. And eventually the weight loss resumed. My "no freaking out" policy is really helping me. ????

What I do to keep my head in the game (and away from freaking out) is remembering that this is a marathon, not a sprint. My weight loss "stalled" for about ten days.. No worries! I was still twenty pounds lighter than I was. I just decided to not worry. And eventually the weight loss resumed. My "no freaking out" policy is really helping me. ????

What I do to keep my head in the game (and away from freaking out) is remembering that this is a marathon, not a sprint. My weight loss "stalled" for about ten days.. No worries! I was still twenty pounds lighter than I was. I just decided to not worry. And eventually the weight loss resumed. My "no freaking out" policy is really helping me. ????

I started my journey at 268 lbs and today I am 170 lbs. my survey was 9/11/14. It has been awesome. My energy level. My ability to just move. Yesterday I went to Old navy and tried on a size 12 pair of jeans and they were to big. I am happy to say. I walked out with the size 10. I have never been able to fit a size 10. My next NSV will be running the Susan Koman 5k here in Philadelphia this Mother's Day. I thank God everyday for giving me the courage to decide to have this surgery.

My biggest fear is failing. I'm only three weeks out and I am doing really, really well.. But what about a year or two or three from now.. Will I, for once in my life, be able to maintain my weight loss? That is my biggest fear..

My biggest fear is failing. I'm only three weeks out and I am doing really, really well.. But what about a year or two or three from now.. Will I, for once in my life, be able to maintain my weight loss? That is my biggest fear..

Actually, none of these foods are diet no-nos. In fact, the diet no-nos I have are high fat and high sugar foods. All of the foods you listed are acceptable on my diet in limited quantities. For instance, Bagels are high carb, but I can have them - only post-op, I have just 1 per week. I have noodles too, but I have low-carb noodles (Dreamfields brand), once a week, 2-3 tablespoons worth. My dietician gave me a food period (not the ridiculous USDA food pyramid, what a crock!), and these foods are on it. She said that being deprived is not what this surgery and this diet is about - I could have done that without the surgery (and boy did I try). She said that it is learning to have balance in my diet, and that's what my sleeve is for. I actually had my first doughnut yesterday - but notice I said doughnut, singular. I can no longer eat 3 at a time, and thanks to the sleeve - I don't want to! In fact, I was actually satisfied - I won't need to eat another doughnut for months
Radically overhauling my diet has been hard, which is to be expected. Being able to have some of the foods I used to enjoy, in very limited quantities, has allowed me to accept the diet as a permanent lifestyle, with a much reduced risk of falling off the wagon.

My biggest fear is failing. I'm only three weeks out and I am doing really, really well.. But what about a year or two or three from now.. Will I, for once in my life, be able to maintain my weight loss? That is my biggest fear..

I've seen lot of 5 month+ success stories, so I want to share my 60 day success story for those of you who are recent sleevers like me.
I'm down 76 lbs (currently 284 from 360). Before the operation, I was borderline diabetic and borderline high blood pressure. In fact, a couple of times my doctor told me I should start getting on blood pressure meds. To top it off, I had severe heel spurs and my knees hurt all of the time. I felt like eating was a chore, because I was always hunger and always stuffing my face. Well in early November, my wife got pregnant with our first child and I decided it was time for a change. So I opted for the sleeve.
I love my new stomach. I really don't crave anything unless I'm thirsty. I haven't had a soda since the operation and no breads. I can enjoy the foods I like, but in small portions (except for anything with bread).
I have so much more energy than I have had in years. My knees don't hurt as much (They still do from time to time, but it is minimal compared to what I went through before. Not to mention, I haven't met my goal yet.) I have zero issues with my heel spurs. My blood pressure is now 116/70 and my blood sugar is in the 70's. I am biking again and I am never depressed anymore. To top it off, its so much more easier to lose the weight and like I said I'm never hungry.
This is where I'm at now.

I'm down 62 pounds as of last week. Surgery day 1/5/15
I haven't weighed this week yet
Best thing I've ever done for myself!
Before pic -December 27th
After- Feb 27
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Sassy welcome and yes you do want to have the procedure. My life has gotten so much better. My self confidence has increased my body image is so much better. When people start noticing it's the best feeling. Also living without constant pain is great. Good luck on you're journey and I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I
Onward Congradulations on the fifty pound drop!!!!!!!!

Officially 50 lbs down! Feeling sooooo good! Love seeing your triumphs, too. Mariah is right...it is shaping up to be a fantastic summer!

My biggest fear is failing. I'm only three weeks out and I am doing really, really well.. But what about a year or two or three from now.. Will I, for once in my life, be able to maintain my weight loss? That is my biggest fear..

My biggest fear is failing. I'm only three weeks out and I am doing really, really well.. But what about a year or two or three from now.. Will I, for once in my life, be able to maintain my weight loss? That is my biggest fear..