lmoore

271 to 135. Tight 18W to a 4. 56% body fat to 18%.

I had my one year follow-up appointment yesterday afternoon and could not be more pleased with the feedback I received and the results of my lab work! It's hard to believe it was slightly over a year ago that I embarked on the journey of WLS. I was and continue to be blessed by the support of my loving fiance who started his journey just 5 months earlier. Together we have lost over 250 lbs and have never felt better. I cannot wait for what the future has in store for us

Down 70 lbs since Dec 4 2014

5 months since surgery and down 104 pounds. Yay

Everyone looks amazing! You should all be so proud of yourselves. Here is my before and after! It sounds shallow but I love looking at myself and seeing where I came from 10 months ago and where I am now- 128 lbs less!!

OMG Kindle you posted that postop plan and it brought back memories. I would say the last days of the full liquid diet are a beast to get through!! I never was able to get my Water in because the restriction is no joke. It took at least a year my sleeve is so tight. But I'm thankful and would do it 10 times over to be where I am now wearing these clothes and people who don't know that I had WLS calling me teensy. Congrats to the new sleevers and the new ones to come!! I'm 18 months post, down 173lbs, and an official gym rat!! Awesome

I had my surgery this morning. I had a large hernia they repaired as well. Been sleeping pretty much all day. Only complaint is gas and nausea which is normal. Dr ortiz and Martinez are awesome.

I had my surgery this morning. I had a large hernia they repaired as well. Been sleeping pretty much all day. Only complaint is gas and nausea which is normal. Dr ortiz and Martinez are awesome.

I had my surgery this morning. I had a large hernia they repaired as well. Been sleeping pretty much all day. Only complaint is gas and nausea which is normal. Dr ortiz and Martinez are awesome.

I had my surgery this morning. I had a large hernia they repaired as well. Been sleeping pretty much all day. Only complaint is gas and nausea which is normal. Dr ortiz and Martinez are awesome.

I've lost 21 lbs! It feels great. Tomorrow is my surgery so it's been 14 days. I'm ready! Good luck to everyone!

hi...my surgery is tomorrow morning 4/1/15...would love a support pal.
Tee

Ahhh! My flight is at 615am tomorrow....getting nervous but excited!!!!!

Ahhh! My flight is at 615am tomorrow....getting nervous but excited!!!!!

Ahhh! My flight is at 615am tomorrow....getting nervous but excited!!!!!

I am mexico now!! The care that I am recieving from Dr Zalvaza's coordinator's is amazing!! I go for surgery at 7 am.

I am booked for April 7th at the Obesity Control Center in Tijuana.< /p>

where r u having your surgery? I'm going to mexico through bariatricpal

Good luck on Wednesday!! Keep us updated!

I had often told myself during my journey that even if I were to ever possibly hit goal I would never post a success story. Maybe I was being modest or perhaps just really hard on myself or…just not able to forgive myself for ever letting my weight get out of control as it had. I guess a lot of it no matter how you sum it up is really just embarrassment.
Well I had a change of heart. That change of heart came because I can remember so vividly the feeling of the hopelessness and despair. At times I felt I was knocking on deaths door and that there was nothing I could do about it. So I am writing this tonight in hopes that if I can help just one person even if only one tiny bit then it is my responsibility to do so. I believe in paying it forward and giving back. If it wasn’t for the people before me that helped me then where would I be? It would be irresponsible for me not to do the same. You are not alone and there are people out there, really good decent people who can help you but YOU have to want it and at some point you need to swallow your pride and ask for the help. Help will not come to you. YOU have to seek it out.
I have told my story several times and you can read it on my profile. I lost 170lbs doing Atkins between 2003 and 2004. I went from 393 to 220 and felt great…and then I got sloppy and let my guard down and weight started packing on. I went from 220 to 488 in 8 years’ time.
At 488lbs doing day to day activities was quite a chore. My knees were taking a beating carrying so much weight on a 5’6 inch frame. I developed arthritis and serious sleep apnea. Walking from the parking lot to my office was a real task and that was even with the use of an elevator. I had to sit out in the car and have my Wife do the grocery shopping because I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes on my feet. I had to sit and fold laundry sitting in a chair. This list could go on and on about the limited mobility. My amazing Wife stood by me and encouraged me to make a change but we both knew until I was ready to commit to change it would not happen. I am not sure how many other women out there would have put up with what she did. My weight affected us both physically and mentally. I did not feel like much of husband at times and I am sure there were plenty of times she felt more like a caregiver than a wife at times although she never said so or complained.
Something had to give and it finally did and in September 2011 with my wife at my side I attended a local seminar for WLS. We listened to the Doctor discuss all the surgical options available at the time and being new and somewhat naïve we decided Lapband was the way to go. It was reversible and probably the least invasive of all procedures. I signed up for a one on one consult with the Surgeon that night. October 2011 I met with the Doctor and told him I ready to make a life change. He told me he wanted to see me lose 24lbs and work on shrinking the liver. Insurance required me to do a 6 month monitored diet so instead of losing 24lbs preop I lost 38lbs. My Surgeon was impressed and after completing all the preop requirements I finally got a surgery date of April 16, 2012. I weighed in on surgery morning at 450lbs on the button.
So there I was April 17th and getting discharged from the hospital and all that went through my mind is why the hell did I do this? There was no way it would work and I will be known as the fat guy who couldn’t lose weight with WLS.
As much as you research and prepare for this new life it seems at some point you say OK well I had the surgery why is the weight not coming off?? This is so frustrating!!! Well apparently I had never heard of bandster hell. Bandster hell is that time from when you have the surgery to the time you actually get the necessary fills to get the need restriction to control your portions. Some very few people are lucky they have the surgery and automatically get that restriction. Not me, it took me 6 months. 6 months of frustration.
Probably one of the most difficult pieces for me to learn was patience. Lack of patience made this road even longer. I stepped on the scale almost daily these last 2.5 years waiting on a large drop in numbers that never happened. How on earth could you possibly see a large drop if you’re stepping on the scale daily? Do yourself a favor and don’t do it. To this day I still step on it daily but now it is about accountability not so much weight loss.
Always look for other measures to success. We call them Non Scale Victories or NSV’s. Losing weight is not just about numbers. For a while I was buying new clothes every other month because I was shrinking so fast. I went from a size 62 waist to a 34. I went from squeezing into theater seats to have padded space on each side.
I could go on and on here rambling about all sorts of stuff weight and band related. If you’ve read this far then thank you and thank you to those who helped me get here. I would like to especially thanks @@Alex Brecher without him I wouldn’t have a home here and I perhaps would’ve remained lost.
If anyone has any questions or comments or just need someone to talk to don't hesitate to message me regardless how personal you think your question may be.
My name is Jim and I am junk food addict. I have lost 300lbs and the lapband saved my life. 2yrs and 8 months 488 to 188.
Peace!!

Getting ready to leave to go to the airport. This just got real! In a few hours I will be in Mexico settling in for the night then surgery tomorrow. The past 30 days have flown by!

Well we are 14 hours post op. Leak test tomorrow. Lots of gas. Remember your gas medicine! Ouch. We have walked some and can only have ice chips. Looking forward to popsicles and gatorade after leak test. Tijuana is beautiful and the people are so nice. We hope to come back for a family vacation sometime. Yea! We are sleeved.

When I had it done in Dec 2013 this was my plan...
day 1-3 clear liquid
day 4-17 full liquid
day 18-27 pureed
day 28-40 soft food
day 41 + solid food except crunchy stuff like chips, nuts, seeds, grains, celery until 3 months.
(I actually had to progress slower than the recommended stages because I had such tight restriction)
Postop plan called for a minimum 64oz fluid/day and minimum 60g - 100g Protein. There was also recommended Vitamin doses, but I adjusted those based on my post labs.