realrawuncutsleeve

And do they put the tube in after you get into the OR? Sorry for so many questions. I'm already an over analyzer, have anxiety and now I'm just scared lol!

Maybe you should take advantage of exercise since u moving slow that may be a good thing lose skin is going to happen so since ur moving slow why not use that to your advantage

Take it all in good stride n keep it moving

Today I went out to lunch with my daughter and for the first time in years, I sat in a booth. I fit!!!
HW 285 SW 266 CW 254 sleeved 11/18

Maybe you should take advantage of exercise since u moving slow that may be a good thing lose skin is going to happen so since ur moving slow why not use that to your advantage

Monday marks 4 weeks post-op for me. I have only lost 10 pounds. I am struggling to not focus on the number of the scale, but it is really hard. I want progress so badly. I get my first fill on Tuesday so that gives me something to look forward to. I guess I keep feeling like I am having good days and bad days. Since I have been on solid foods I haven't lost anything, even if I do not eat very much. The only NSV I have had is fitting in to a pair of jeans that I couldn't wear a month ago. But that doesn't feel like a victory because that pair is the same size as most of my clothes - it is just that I had to buy one pair a size up since nothing was fitting quite right. The new ones feel huge, my 'old' ones feel normal. Ugh. so frustrating.
When does the pace pick up a little?? Even just one pound a week would feel like progress.

What would I say!?
Ha! As I am self employed and have no worries of offending anyone or being fired, I'd say, "Surely you didn't mean that as bitchy as it sounded!" with a smile.
In a professional setting, I'd simply say, "What an odd thing to say." And then I'd walk away.

I'm about 6 week post op and finally feeling better - not as tired. I'm actually noticing some weight loss! Came back to work after the Thanksgiving Holiday and had the following coversation:
Co-worker: Wow! I haven't seen you in a while. You look great! You have really lost weight!
Me: Oh, Thanks! (feeling good)
Co-worker: I can really see it in your face. And in your boobs.
Me: (looking down, a bit unhappy now) Um, yeah, I guess the girls are the first to go huh.
Co-Worker: No, I mean your boobs aren't resting on your stomach any more.
Me: uhhhh
Another co-worker: Yeah, I noticed that too.
Me: uhhhh
What do you say to that?! It's like punching you in the face and your so stunned you can't react.
What is wrong with people?!

????????

Thanks guys for tryin to make me smile

A silly joke and a tip:
Have you heard the one about the corduroy pillow?
It's making ... HEADLINES!
The tip ... did you know that when you are feeling down you can FAKE-SMILE ... that's right, just raise the corners of your mouth, lift your cheeks, and crinkle your eyes and that if you keep doing that, you may start to feel better and even happy.
There's actual research backing up the value of this tip:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/smiling-happy.htm

Tomorrow will be 8 mths post op and I'm down 95 lbs. it hasn't been easy but it's been worth it. I have so many smaller clothes that were given to me. It's like going shopping in my own house! I have a pile of not quite yet, a couple of my biggest pants I'm keeping so I can look BACK on where I've come from. I also have a bag of clothes to take to a resale shop. It's fun! I love not having to look for clothes in the plus size section but on regular racks in xl. You'll be fine! Have you had surgery? When and how are you doing?

Maybe this will help....A limerick!
THERE ONCE WAS A FARMER FROM LEEDS
WHO SWALLOWED A PACKET OF SEEDS
IT SOON CAME TO PASS
HE WAS COVERED WITH GRASS
BUT HAS ALL THE TOMATOES HE NEEDS

I am 3 years post op, lost 160# and maintaining... transformed in looks and other ways too.
I had something happen the other night that sort of blew me away. I decided to stop at a upscale "taphouse" to sample a fancy holiday brew. I have gone in there before with my sons, but it was just one of those impulse things.
So, i sit at the bar and the place was starting to clear out as the Seahawks game was over. I sat next to what I assumed was a "couple". The bartender started talking to me in a familiar way so I figured he thought i am younger than I am so I mentioned that I had been in a few times with my sons. that shut him down. I use that tack with anyone who looks under about 35.
Anyway, the woman in the "couple" next to me said "I cannot believe you are old enough to have two sons of drinking age". I told her I am 50. She went on to genuinely compliment me that she hopes she looks as good as i do at 50. Then she told me... it was more than looks - it was attitude, comfortable with my self, the way I dressed... my "style"
Then she went on to make sure I knew that the guy she was with was "just a friend". Ha. They invited me to go to dinner with them at a nearby Italian place. I did join them for a glass of wine, but not dinner.
Anyway, I have been reflecting on this because I felt her words were genuine, and I sort of saw myself for a few minutes through the eyes of someone who never saw me obese. Who never knew that even a year ago I would NEVER walk into a taphouse by myself much less sit at the bar. Who never knew that I used to buy clothes based on they at least sorta fit... to now having my own sense of style. My confidence in this new life as a trim person continues to grow.

Don't know u but congratulations on just the 37yrs with unrelenting love! Uve seem to found the proverbial "needle in a haystack" wow!! Keep moving forward. I'll be saying a prayer to find myself a wonderful husband like this some day!!

What do diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiac hyper tension, and a severe case of denial have in common? Many of you would say something akin to, “early death” or “signs of an inactive life” and you would not be wrong. However, my answer would be “me” - more specifically, the old me.
Not too long ago, I was sitting at a dinner with a group of friends when one asked an other, “Are you sure there is no way you can do the Spartan Race with me?” I had heard of a Spartan Race before, so I paid attention to their discussion. While I was not so shyly eavesdropping, two things occurred to me. The first realization was that neither of my friends were including me in this adventure. The second was why they hadn't included me. A slow yet consistent thought came to dominate my head. It was the realization that I was not seen by other people as I viewed myself. As that truth unfolded in my mind, I slowly came to the realization that I was living a lie.
I believed that I was in shape. I believed I was athletic. I believed I was tough. As much as I believed these things to be true, my friends did not. The realization that my friends didn't think I would be interested in, or able to complete, an obstacle course race was compounded by the fact that I was realizing that my self-image was not accurate. Talk about a shock to the system! The image my brain created and the image my eyes saw in a mirror was not a true representation of who I was. My mind had created a shield. My friends accidentally shattered my manufactured self- image as I quietly looked down into an over filled plate of self-realization.
As they talked, and I listened, something happened. Something quick came alive in my head. That something made me say out loud, “I will run it with you,” to the apparent shock of my wife and the rest of the table. Maybe it was denial being pushed into realization. Maybe it was false pride making me say something out of haste. The thought that I was not perceived by the others as I perceived myself was shocking and eye opening to me. The call to arms was sounded, although unintentionally. My brain responded confidently.
Whatever it was that made me speak up, I am grateful for it. Now, I had a goal. I had a timeline. I said to myself, “Quit lying to yourself and get to work. It is time to be the person who you have been pretending to be.” All of these positive affirmations and goal setting were great except for one thing. I had one more realization coming around the bend and it was the most important one yet.
Over the following weeks, the barriers that had kept me from making a commitment like this to myself were falling down as the number of sit-ups, pull-ups, and miles I could jog increased. As all the excuses melted away, their absence reveled the one main reason that had kept me from making this commitment before now. I was afraid.
I was afraid of failure and comfortable with mediocrity. That fear had paralyzed my ability to achieve anything past the self imposed limitations that I had lived in for way too long. Gradually, I came to realize that I was showing myself that I could run a Spartan Race and not be afraid. The commitment to the physical training and practice of overcoming obstacles led me to a point where the fear of failure was not nearly as strong as the rewarding feeling I received when I climbed my 1st rope or completed my 1st mile run without stopping. Minor successes were destroying decades old fear and I came to love that feeling.
I completed the first Spartan race I ran. Did I come in first place overall? No. Did I win? Yes. I outran the only opponent I really had when I stood at the starting line – the old me. Needless to say, the commitment I made to myself has stuck. Obstacle course racing , the exercise, and diet I have adopted to help me run more in the future will be the vehicle to make me physically and mentally healthier. If I can offer some advice to those people who see themselves in the “old me” description it would be simply this: You don’t need to be able run 6 miles, you don’t need to be able to do 20 burpees, you don’t need to be able to climb a 20 foot rope. You do need to be honest with yourself about why you aren’t trying to do the things you really want to do. After all, you are reading this for a reason. I think that reason is you want to try obstacle racing. Trust me, a newbie like you, that you will lose that “old self” mentality very soon and discover a whole new world of possibilities that you never knew were within reach. I hope to see you at a race sometime soon where we can both outrun our old selves.
Starting weight: 310 lbs. Weight at race day 6 months later: 175 lbs.

37 years today I married my husband Roy. He has stood beside me through everything I have experienced in this world. The good days the bad. The good times and not so good times. The heavy times and the thin times. And just when I thought it could not get any worse. He stood beside me through the last 14 years of hell with my mental health as well as my physical health.
I want to thank him for the last two years mostly as I have tested his strength and love more then any woman should. But he was there almost every day accept 4 or 5 at my bed side encouraging me to move forward. 5.5 months he came and held my hand, rubbed my feet and combed my hair. He had a regular routine he did to help me get through it all. He kept the extreme Hair loss from me so that I would not know how bad it all was. He even read me Moby d**k. Which I had read before but did not tell him....lol The staff at the hospital said they had never seen a man like him. I am sure they are out there and if you are then the woman who has your love is fortunate to be sure.
He cried with me. Smiled with me and never let me think I would not make it. For this I am truly thankful. He made me fall in love with him all over again. As I continue to fight the many complications I can see the pride in his face when people say nice things to me. I have seen him break down in tears as he relives the last 2 years. And I have seen the worry he shows for the next upcoming procedure.
Last night he told me not to worry that this was a positive surgery. One that will make things better for me....I love him for thinking that and never giving up.
Thank you and much love your way!
Jane

Hey everyone I have been following this site forever I have been off track and need all off you but I was sleeves july 2012 at 287 my highest 316 feb 2012 i m now 235 dec 2014 my lowest 188 dec 2013 I no said and tears but here some before 1st one is jan 2012 second one is march 2014. The one is me today fooling around with a strep throat and ear ache uggh...

I didn't

Last week: I am actually forgetting what it feels like to be huge. Strange!

Left photo, 1 week after VGS, 7/23/14. Right photo, this morning.
Heaviest=265/6
5 days before surgery=244
CW=198
Goal=125
Scuze the messy hair and background. Was getting ready to exercise. LOL

Did you have skin surgery?

HW: 255 CW: 147

Hello all: it has been a while since I have posted. Wanted to say at 3.5 years out I feel great and look ok. Wish I had done it sooner.

230 pounds 9 months later 159