Miranda2.0

Welcome aboard, Allen!
While surgery can have it's problems, many folks have an uneventful postop course. The long-term consequences of diabetes are out there: kidney failure, neuropathy, retina issues, heart disease. Probably the most dramatic success with WLS is in the improvement in diabetes. I'm not diabetic, but my A1c isn't in the normal range, either. It's one reason I want surgery, I don't want to live the rest of my life with diabetes. That's just my take on it, your mileage may vary. It's an intensely personal decision. You'll find friendly folks here, whatever you decide.

Omg i had so many tests, I went to so many doctors. While it was unfortunate that I had lost my job I can't imagine having to schedule all those appointments around my working hours. I just kept reminding mysel that every test and every doctor visit was one step closer to the surgery
I went to a psychiatrist, nutritionist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, ekg, chest xray, so many blood tests, hematologist, reumatologist....and probably a couple more I don't remember off the top of my head
yeah isn't this the "easy" way out?

Hi...
I hope this is the best place to introduce myself. I'm new to all of this stuff still, although I've been thinking about it since March or April.
I'm in the research stage, although hopefully coming to the end of it soon. I've been reading here, various clinic sites, studies, etc so that I'm as informed as I can be.
I've struggled with weight for my whole life... I was an Atkins success story around 2008, but that quickly turned to a nightmare turning the 120 I lost into a 160 gain. I hit rock bottom a couple of summers ago being diagnosed with type II and blood pressure so high they almost called the squad. The type II diagnosis scared the hell out of me... I have a family member who is so type II they have an insulin pump and eat what they want. That kicked me into gear and I started eating better and exercising. I was down 60, but I've put some of that back on due to several stressors in my life.
My diabetes is largely managed. My doc was happy with my progress, but I've not had much lasting success on the weight loss front. I made an off-handed comment to him "now if I can only get the weight off". His response was "Have you considered surgery?" Needless to say, after another couple of talks with him, here I am.
I'm leaning towards surgery... on paper it all makes sense. I just am trying to figure out if I'm trading one set of problems for a different set that are more difficult for me. I also feel a bit like I'm cheating... that I'm taking the easy way out. I know it's not, and that it's a lot of work.
Well, anyway, here I am, looking forward talking with everyone.

I have been to nutrition classes, lab work, pulmonary dr. Psychologist, Nurse Practitioner and I had an EGD done yesterday and this is just the beginning, how did Ya'll get through all these appointments? It's nerve racking!!!!

Good luck on your surgery. I basically told everyone even strangers on the street. Most people were either supportive or curious. But then again I don't suffer from the stigma of going through too many yo-yo diets. (Lose weight only to gain it back and then some.) It's your decision who to tell.

I chose only to tell some very select people too, and I don't regret it, honestly. It's a huge change in your life but after a couple weeks have gone by post op, and you're healed enough that no one could tell you even had surgery, then you just keep working hard and losing and no one has to be the wiser. I, too, wanted to avoid the judgey or "well-meaning" ignorant people who think they know everything about WLS because their coworker's sister's daughter once had a lap band and she's gained it all back. It's been wonderful not dealing with that, and that would have been inevitable if I had announced it to everyone.
You do what feels right to you. You have all of us here to support you, which does help. This site has been so good for my anxiety and excitement pre and post op. The people here are generally very kind and understanding, and they will laugh with you, cry with you when things really suck (and they probably will at some point, but it will pass) and Celebrate your huge victories with you. They understand what you're going through more than anyone else would.
Congratulations on all the hard work you've done, and the super exciting times ahead. Feel free to friend me if you'd like. You'll probably be seeing me around.

Hey y'all! This is my 1st post...I don't have my surgery date yet, hopefully it will be late Feb-March 2016. I have to complete 180 days with the dietitian...then I have my appointment with my surgeon and he will schedule my surgery!! Started August 6, 2015 Finished my Psych evaluation last month!! I will be having the RNY I'm so excited to start this new chapter in my life ☺️ oh I am not planning on telling anyone!!! The only people that know are my mom & aunt!! They will be my support after surgery! Has anyone else not told people?? I'm not sure What I'm going to say I'm having done maybe my gallbladder taken out?! Aghhh I have so many judgmental people in my I just would rather keep it to myself...

Today is my one year Surgiversary!!! I went from a size 24 to a size 10. Here is a link to a video that shows the change ????https://flipagram.com/f/YXXy5eaffo

Wow you have done amazing on your pre op weight loss!! Congrats.
I am almost a year and a half post
Op and I started at 271 and I am now between 141-146. I am completely happy at this weight so I have been in maintenance for the last six months.
My surgeon never talked about a goal with me and I didn't have a particular number either. I just waited until I felt amazing and was content.
On my last appointment with my surgeon I told him that I should probably try and lose more and he said that I should be happy where I am at because I am healthy, fit and happy.
So now I am chasing life experiences instead of a scale number.
The point of all that rambling was to say.... You will probably figure out your goal weight as you progress.
Good luck on your surgery!!

Does anyone have a RECENT list of who is still sending out saaamples?

Do you have to let your ‘fat self’ go?
You are still her.
She is still you.
You’re the same, real person.
Her memories are your memories.
Her fears, your fears.
Hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes…
All shared.
That part of you hasn’t changed.
What’s changed is your ability to do something about those fears, hopes, dreams etc…
Fat is what you were, not who you were.
Fat didn’t define you.
It may have ruled how you were, but it didn’t rule who you were.
It may have influenced your decisions, but it didn’t have the final say.
It may have been what held you back, but it wasn’t what held you down.
It’s only your shell that was fat. Your outer layer. Your physicality.
Your brain wasn’t fat.
Your mind…
Your soul…
Not fat.
These things remain the same.
What’s changed is the vessel in which these things (and more) are contained.
Old you versus new you is old shoes versus new shoes.
The old shoes are comfortable but they’re not functional.
They’re easy to put on and easy to take off but they provide you with no support.
The new shoes are clean, shiny and look really good.
They’re not tarnished with years of wear.
They don’t have the mark on them from being kicked and trodden on repeatedly.
New shoes take a bit of getting used to, but with a little patience, their true value quickly becomes apparent.
Of course, there’s always the option to go back to your old shoes…
But when it comes down to it, you know that your heart now belongs to your new shoes.
They're the same shoes...
They just look different...
Of course, this may all be the rambling jibber-jabber of a crazy man…
Or I may be using this as an excuse to get some of my own thoughts or insecurities out in the open…
But maybe, just maybe, I’m onto something…
I guess time will tell…
And @@bellabloom
Time is something that you've given yourself...
Apologies if this entire post makes no sense...
Kinda..

When do we put the past to rest? I feel like I'm living in this state of "I'm going to wake up and this will have been a dream".
I'm afraid to let my fat self go. I want to fully move on into the present and future as my new self. A part of me is afraid I can't do this. Like I have to hold on to her because she's either going to come back, and I shouldn't get too comfortable, or she's my legacy and I need to wear her like a chain around my neck, or she's a me that's died and part of me misses her.
Do I just miss the life I lived while I was her? So much happened in that life. She was real.
Now I sound like I have split personalities.
Is there a point that one can just let it go? I'm tired of talking about it, thinking about it. I feel like I'm living in the past. I think that may be one of the reasons I'm struggling with entering maintianence because I can't let my old self go.
Does enough time eventually go by that we just move on? Do we get comfortable? Does the fear or regaining ever go away?
I don't want to live in a shadow of what I used to do and look like forever.

Yep, I'm closing in on the two-year mark since my sleeve procedure, and the scale reads 147 pounds this morning. At 5'10", that brings my BMI down to 21.1, and that's a number I could NEVER have imagined after life as a size 5X, tipping the scales at 378 pounds! I'll be 56 years old in April, and I can honestly say that the last time I weighed less than 200lbs was in junior high school. I'm still coming to grips with the ridiculous amount of weight I had carried around all those years, all the abuse my poor body endured...it really is amazing that I am even here to share this experience! So, if any of you readers out there are still hesitant about "taking the plunge", all I can say is DO IT...Do it and don't look back!

Today is 5 months post op started at 303 now 218 40 more to goSt

I guess I posted in the wrong place before.

Hi all,
Its been just over a year surgery on 25th October 3015. I started at 294ib's and now 181, about 14lb's away from target.
Before

After.

6 months and 86 pounds! I've gone from a size 28 in pants to an 18. Best decision ever!!!

Five months post op! Down 99 pounds!

Okay, I lost 160+ due to sleeve and honestly considerably more than that from my lifetime high and I had kids and old stretch marks so I don't run around in a bikini as a matter of course..haha.. i burn too easily. Post plastics though I have been seen seen in a bikini a few times. I would look alot better if I had the "long" thigh lift since I still have skin on my thighs.
My advice though is to not get too hung up on goals like that. Many many women look wonderful and yet feel too low confidence to wear a bikini. Plenty who have never been obese don't even have it as a goal - so don't be too hard on yourself.
I am in the black and white top with black bottoms

on the collage - mistake on date, the before picture was from 2011.

Or better yet, I am looking forward to buying my undies and bras at Vicortorias secret! That is one of my goals!

My photographer friend asked me if I would model for her boudoir portfolio. I said yes because I thought it would be a good way to Celebrate myself now. Still, it's shocking this is me. I still feel fat sometimes and I admit these make me feel really good!!
    
Me before:

As an obese person I did not know the meaning of in moderation. As a WLS patient I have been taught over and over by my nutritionist the meaning of in moderation.
There are some things I have been taught to stay away from, that includes carbonated beverages and liquor. And I absolutely do.
Others like pizza or even ice cream, there are rules to follow: once in a while in very small amounts. Eat your Protein first so there is little room for the other stuff.
Then of course there is what your tummy will not allow. I listen to mine because I don't like feeling like garbage.

pizza isn't what made me fat.....Eating a whole large pizza(s) in the past, was one of the reasons I was over 300 pounds. I'm 6 years post op now and I eat pizza occasionally. Matter of fact we had some this past Saturday evening from a local place that makes them in a wood fired oven, super thin crust...with a nice cold beer. YUM! Things that would make a dieter cringe! But I'm way past all that.... My lapband has helped change my life
PS. My "skinny" friends eat pizza, they drink a beer, have some wine, eat ice cream, etc. It's all about the VOLUME of calories I used to eat...day in and day out. Many, many more than I was burning.

At the end of the day we need to do what works for us. This may be completely eliminating all processed foods, sugar, Pasta, bread etc from your diet or allowing yourself small portions of them occasionally, I don't think either one is wrong, but then again I have not yet been sleeved and I may feel differently when I am, just my two cents.

@@Sharon1964
There are healthy bariatic friendly pizza alternatives to get the craving out of the way after WLS
http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/14230-cauliflower-crust-pizzas.html?c=jer