Proud2BMe

Congratulations ! Love to see the before & afters. Very inspiring!!
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@@Proud2BMe - you have done a great job and very inspirational to a lot of newbies! Keep posting!

Great work mate...
You must be so pleased...
Congrats!!

Impressive changes, congrats !

Congratulations! You look fantastic, and you definitely should be proud of yourself.

You've changed your life. And still are. So impressive.

@Beck90
I didn't have to ask my surgeon or doctor. I just rejected it the same way that I reject the notion that eating pop rocks and drinking pop will explode your stomach. It's just silly talk. Look, there is a logical fallacy called "appeal to authority". Just because a doctor or surgeon tells you something does not make it true unless he or she can back it up with actual evidence. Merely being a professional is not good enough.
Just like they say that drinking diet pop makes you gain weight because you crave more sweets. Not true for me. I drink diet pop every day and only eat sweets on special occasions (birthdays and holidays).

On May 12, 2015, I had my weight loss surgery in Tijuana. I had a procedure called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" for short. About 80% of my stomach was removed. The normal human stomach is about the size of a football. My new stomach is the size of a banana. As a result of the surgery I can only consume small portions of food, ranging from a few ounces to a cup of food, depending upon what I'm eating. However, the amazing thing about this is that I am fully satiated from eating so little. When our stomachs are full they send signals to the brain that makes us feel satiated and we stop eating. Since my stomach is so small I get those signals way quicker and with very little food. So I feel satiated off of a few ounces of food while a person without the surgery may have to eat an entire plate of food, or more. Before surgery I could eat an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. Today I can't even finish one slice. I believe the surgery, along with quitting smoking, saved my life.
My Stats:
Highest Recorded Weight - 388 lbs
Weight at Time I Decided to Have Surgery - 370 lbs
Weight on Day of Surgery - 350 lbs
Weight One Year After Surgery - 190 lbs (and still losing!)
Goal Weight - 170 lbs
Total Weight Loss To Date - 180 lbs
Highest Recorded BMI (Body Mass Index) - 50.2
Current BMI - 25.8
Largest Pant Size - 46
Current Pant Size - 32
Largest Shirt Size - 4X
Current Shirt Size - L to XL
I want to give a shout out to my niece, Jazmine, who thought it was funny to say that my legs are so skinny they look like teenage girl legs. Trust me, I am taking that as a compliment! I would rather have "teenage girl legs" than massive tree trunks. Also, a shout out to my friends who told me that I went from a "2" to an "8" on a scale of attractiveness. That was much appreciated! Finally, a shout out to my bestie Michelle who told me that "Now there is no one out of your league, only people beneath you." (Kind of a mean-spirited comment but a definite ego-booster!) LOL
So what's next? Well, I have 20 more pounds to lose and then I will be at my goal weight. I also need to start saving for my plastic surgery to have my excess skin removed. It's weird because even though I lost the weight I am still majorly self-conscious because the excess skin is so ugly. I would not be comfortable at all with taking off my shirt in public. Even after the surgery I will still probably be majorly self-conscious because I will have so many scars. I will probably look like a sexy Frankenstein's monster. So it will be real ironic if after all this is said and done that I still would not feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public. All I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best.
BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!

As far as I'm aware the studies ended at 5 years and didn't not continue, meaning that it can't be said that there is an issue of major regain after 5 years because the studies ended.
You will experience a good 6-8 months of not feeling hungry after the surgery. This is because the hunger hormone ghrelin is drastically decresed.
There's no way around loose or extra skin. You stretched it out and now you have to face the consequences. The good news is that the answer is plastic surgery.
Good Luck!

On May 12, 2015, I had my weight loss surgery in Tijuana. I had a procedure called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" for short. About 80% of my stomach was removed. The normal human stomach is about the size of a football. My new stomach is the size of a banana. As a result of the surgery I can only consume small portions of food, ranging from a few ounces to a cup of food, depending upon what I'm eating. However, the amazing thing about this is that I am fully satiated from eating so little. When our stomachs are full they send signals to the brain that makes us feel satiated and we stop eating. Since my stomach is so small I get those signals way quicker and with very little food. So I feel satiated off of a few ounces of food while a person without the surgery may have to eat an entire plate of food, or more. Before surgery I could eat an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. Today I can't even finish one slice. I believe the surgery, along with quitting smoking, saved my life.
My Stats:
Highest Recorded Weight - 388 lbs
Weight at Time I Decided to Have Surgery - 370 lbs
Weight on Day of Surgery - 350 lbs
Weight One Year After Surgery - 190 lbs (and still losing!)
Goal Weight - 170 lbs
Total Weight Loss To Date - 180 lbs
Highest Recorded BMI (Body Mass Index) - 50.2
Current BMI - 25.8
Largest Pant Size - 46
Current Pant Size - 32
Largest Shirt Size - 4X
Current Shirt Size - L to XL
I want to give a shout out to my niece, Jazmine, who thought it was funny to say that my legs are so skinny they look like teenage girl legs. Trust me, I am taking that as a compliment! I would rather have "teenage girl legs" than massive tree trunks. Also, a shout out to my friends who told me that I went from a "2" to an "8" on a scale of attractiveness. That was much appreciated! Finally, a shout out to my bestie Michelle who told me that "Now there is no one out of your league, only people beneath you." (Kind of a mean-spirited comment but a definite ego-booster!) LOL
So what's next? Well, I have 20 more pounds to lose and then I will be at my goal weight. I also need to start saving for my plastic surgery to have my excess skin removed. It's weird because even though I lost the weight I am still majorly self-conscious because the excess skin is so ugly. I would not be comfortable at all with taking off my shirt in public. Even after the surgery I will still probably be majorly self-conscious because I will have so many scars. I will probably look like a sexy Frankenstein's monster. So it will be real ironic if after all this is said and done that I still would not feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public. All I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best.
BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!

On May 12, 2015, I had my weight loss surgery in Tijuana. I had a procedure called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" for short. About 80% of my stomach was removed. The normal human stomach is about the size of a football. My new stomach is the size of a banana. As a result of the surgery I can only consume small portions of food, ranging from a few ounces to a cup of food, depending upon what I'm eating. However, the amazing thing about this is that I am fully satiated from eating so little. When our stomachs are full they send signals to the brain that makes us feel satiated and we stop eating. Since my stomach is so small I get those signals way quicker and with very little food. So I feel satiated off of a few ounces of food while a person without the surgery may have to eat an entire plate of food, or more. Before surgery I could eat an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. Today I can't even finish one slice. I believe the surgery, along with quitting smoking, saved my life.
My Stats:
Highest Recorded Weight - 388 lbs
Weight at Time I Decided to Have Surgery - 370 lbs
Weight on Day of Surgery - 350 lbs
Weight One Year After Surgery - 190 lbs (and still losing!)
Goal Weight - 170 lbs
Total Weight Loss To Date - 180 lbs
Highest Recorded BMI (Body Mass Index) - 50.2
Current BMI - 25.8
Largest Pant Size - 46
Current Pant Size - 32
Largest Shirt Size - 4X
Current Shirt Size - L to XL
I want to give a shout out to my niece, Jazmine, who thought it was funny to say that my legs are so skinny they look like teenage girl legs. Trust me, I am taking that as a compliment! I would rather have "teenage girl legs" than massive tree trunks. Also, a shout out to my friends who told me that I went from a "2" to an "8" on a scale of attractiveness. That was much appreciated! Finally, a shout out to my bestie Michelle who told me that "Now there is no one out of your league, only people beneath you." (Kind of a mean-spirited comment but a definite ego-booster!) LOL
So what's next? Well, I have 20 more pounds to lose and then I will be at my goal weight. I also need to start saving for my plastic surgery to have my excess skin removed. It's weird because even though I lost the weight I am still majorly self-conscious because the excess skin is so ugly. I would not be comfortable at all with taking off my shirt in public. Even after the surgery I will still probably be majorly self-conscious because I will have so many scars. I will probably look like a sexy Frankenstein's monster. So it will be real ironic if after all this is said and done that I still would not feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public. All I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best.
BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!

@Beck90
I didn't have to ask my surgeon or doctor. I just rejected it the same way that I reject the notion that eating pop rocks and drinking pop will explode your stomach. It's just silly talk. Look, there is a logical fallacy called "appeal to authority". Just because a doctor or surgeon tells you something does not make it true unless he or she can back it up with actual evidence. Merely being a professional is not good enough.
Just like they say that drinking diet pop makes you gain weight because you crave more sweets. Not true for me. I drink diet pop every day and only eat sweets on special occasions (birthdays and holidays).

On May 12, 2015, I had my weight loss surgery in Tijuana. I had a procedure called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" for short. About 80% of my stomach was removed. The normal human stomach is about the size of a football. My new stomach is the size of a banana. As a result of the surgery I can only consume small portions of food, ranging from a few ounces to a cup of food, depending upon what I'm eating. However, the amazing thing about this is that I am fully satiated from eating so little. When our stomachs are full they send signals to the brain that makes us feel satiated and we stop eating. Since my stomach is so small I get those signals way quicker and with very little food. So I feel satiated off of a few ounces of food while a person without the surgery may have to eat an entire plate of food, or more. Before surgery I could eat an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. Today I can't even finish one slice. I believe the surgery, along with quitting smoking, saved my life.
My Stats:
Highest Recorded Weight - 388 lbs
Weight at Time I Decided to Have Surgery - 370 lbs
Weight on Day of Surgery - 350 lbs
Weight One Year After Surgery - 190 lbs (and still losing!)
Goal Weight - 170 lbs
Total Weight Loss To Date - 180 lbs
Highest Recorded BMI (Body Mass Index) - 50.2
Current BMI - 25.8
Largest Pant Size - 46
Current Pant Size - 32
Largest Shirt Size - 4X
Current Shirt Size - L to XL
I want to give a shout out to my niece, Jazmine, who thought it was funny to say that my legs are so skinny they look like teenage girl legs. Trust me, I am taking that as a compliment! I would rather have "teenage girl legs" than massive tree trunks. Also, a shout out to my friends who told me that I went from a "2" to an "8" on a scale of attractiveness. That was much appreciated! Finally, a shout out to my bestie Michelle who told me that "Now there is no one out of your league, only people beneath you." (Kind of a mean-spirited comment but a definite ego-booster!) LOL
So what's next? Well, I have 20 more pounds to lose and then I will be at my goal weight. I also need to start saving for my plastic surgery to have my excess skin removed. It's weird because even though I lost the weight I am still majorly self-conscious because the excess skin is so ugly. I would not be comfortable at all with taking off my shirt in public. Even after the surgery I will still probably be majorly self-conscious because I will have so many scars. I will probably look like a sexy Frankenstein's monster. So it will be real ironic if after all this is said and done that I still would not feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public. All I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best.
BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!

On May 12, 2015, I had my weight loss surgery in Tijuana. I had a procedure called Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" for short. About 80% of my stomach was removed. The normal human stomach is about the size of a football. My new stomach is the size of a banana. As a result of the surgery I can only consume small portions of food, ranging from a few ounces to a cup of food, depending upon what I'm eating. However, the amazing thing about this is that I am fully satiated from eating so little. When our stomachs are full they send signals to the brain that makes us feel satiated and we stop eating. Since my stomach is so small I get those signals way quicker and with very little food. So I feel satiated off of a few ounces of food while a person without the surgery may have to eat an entire plate of food, or more. Before surgery I could eat an entire large pizza by myself in one sitting. Today I can't even finish one slice. I believe the surgery, along with quitting smoking, saved my life.
My Stats:
Highest Recorded Weight - 388 lbs
Weight at Time I Decided to Have Surgery - 370 lbs
Weight on Day of Surgery - 350 lbs
Weight One Year After Surgery - 190 lbs (and still losing!)
Goal Weight - 170 lbs
Total Weight Loss To Date - 180 lbs
Highest Recorded BMI (Body Mass Index) - 50.2
Current BMI - 25.8
Largest Pant Size - 46
Current Pant Size - 32
Largest Shirt Size - 4X
Current Shirt Size - L to XL
I want to give a shout out to my niece, Jazmine, who thought it was funny to say that my legs are so skinny they look like teenage girl legs. Trust me, I am taking that as a compliment! I would rather have "teenage girl legs" than massive tree trunks. Also, a shout out to my friends who told me that I went from a "2" to an "8" on a scale of attractiveness. That was much appreciated! Finally, a shout out to my bestie Michelle who told me that "Now there is no one out of your league, only people beneath you." (Kind of a mean-spirited comment but a definite ego-booster!) LOL
So what's next? Well, I have 20 more pounds to lose and then I will be at my goal weight. I also need to start saving for my plastic surgery to have my excess skin removed. It's weird because even though I lost the weight I am still majorly self-conscious because the excess skin is so ugly. I would not be comfortable at all with taking off my shirt in public. Even after the surgery I will still probably be majorly self-conscious because I will have so many scars. I will probably look like a sexy Frankenstein's monster. So it will be real ironic if after all this is said and done that I still would not feel comfortable taking off my shirt in public. All I can do is take it one day at a time and hope for the best.
BEFORE and AFTER pictures below!

The belief that it will stretch your sleeve is nonsense. However, what it can do is cause you pain if you are still close out from your surgery. The pain is of course from gas. I will be one year out tomorrow and I drink diet pop every day. I think I began drinking it again close to 2 months outside of surgery.

@Beck90
I didn't have to ask my surgeon or doctor. I just rejected it the same way that I reject the notion that eating pop rocks and drinking pop will explode your stomach. It's just silly talk. Look, there is a logical fallacy called "appeal to authority". Just because a doctor or surgeon tells you something does not make it true unless he or she can back it up with actual evidence. Merely being a professional is not good enough.
Just like they say that drinking diet pop makes you gain weight because you crave more sweets. Not true for me. I drink diet pop every day and only eat sweets on special occasions (birthdays and holidays).

Some stalls can last a long time. You need to shock your system. First make sure you are eating enough calories. If you have too few calories your body will cling on to fat instead of burning it. Then check to make sure you aren't eating too many carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss. Finally, makes sure you are exercising because there are indeed people here who complain about weight loss stalls who do not do any exercise. Finally you can try to shock your system. One easy way is to eat lots of carbs for a couple of days and then go to no carbs. The sudden shock can break a stall. Keep in mind that you will experience all the withdrawals of going without carbs, such as headache, fatigue, feeling of faint, irritability, etc., until you reach ketosis. If you already consuming carbs then cut out all carbs right now. This works for me.

Some stalls can last a long time. You need to shock your system. First make sure you are eating enough calories. If you have too few calories your body will cling on to fat instead of burning it. Then check to make sure you aren't eating too many carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss. Finally, makes sure you are exercising because there are indeed people here who complain about weight loss stalls who do not do any exercise. Finally you can try to shock your system. One easy way is to eat lots of carbs for a couple of days and then go to no carbs. The sudden shock can break a stall. Keep in mind that you will experience all the withdrawals of going without carbs, such as headache, fatigue, feeling of faint, irritability, etc., until you reach ketosis. If you already consuming carbs then cut out all carbs right now. This works for me.

Some stalls can last a long time. You need to shock your system. First make sure you are eating enough calories. If you have too few calories your body will cling on to fat instead of burning it. Then check to make sure you aren't eating too many carbs. Carbs will sabotage your weight loss. Finally, makes sure you are exercising because there are indeed people here who complain about weight loss stalls who do not do any exercise. Finally you can try to shock your system. One easy way is to eat lots of carbs for a couple of days and then go to no carbs. The sudden shock can break a stall. Keep in mind that you will experience all the withdrawals of going without carbs, such as headache, fatigue, feeling of faint, irritability, etc., until you reach ketosis. If you already consuming carbs then cut out all carbs right now. This works for me.

Your tastes will change the further you go out from surgery. You will probably notice that you can eat in the future the stuff you can't tolerate now.

Well, it all depends on how big you are. The larger you are the more weight you should be losing at the start. I was 200 lbs overweight and I lost 100 lbs in less than 6 months, which is on target for the rate I should be losing. If you were very large like me and you are not losing at the rate you should be losing then the doctor may be worried.
When you are really big your body needs thousands of calories a day just to maintain that size and move that big honking body around. So when you stop eating like that you will begin to lose weight extremely fast and then it will taper down and slow down to normal weight loss rates.

Your tastes will change the further you go out from surgery. You will probably notice that you can eat in the future the stuff you can't tolerate now.

Nope. You've stretched your skin out and it will never go back to being normal again. The only solution is plastic surgery. I'm suffering the same thing by the way. My friend jokes and says that I should use chip clips on the back of my neck when I take pics. lol

Nope. You've stretched your skin out and it will never go back to being normal again. The only solution is plastic surgery. I'm suffering the same thing by the way. My friend jokes and says that I should use chip clips on the back of my neck when I take pics. lol

Nope. You've stretched your skin out and it will never go back to being normal again. The only solution is plastic surgery. I'm suffering the same thing by the way. My friend jokes and says that I should use chip clips on the back of my neck when I take pics. lol