fernandfj

calm

Been maintaining in the low 190's for a couple of months now. Over 150 lbs lost. Hard to
believe I used to fit in those pants!

Been maintaining in the low 190's for a couple of months now. Over 150 lbs lost. Hard to
believe I used to fit in those pants!

Been maintaining in the low 190's for a couple of months now. Over 150 lbs lost. Hard to
believe I used to fit in those pants!

Been maintaining in the low 190's for a couple of months now. Over 150 lbs lost. Hard to
believe I used to fit in those pants!

Not at goal......but working in the right direction and feeling great about the decision to have the sleeve surgery.
The day before October 2015 VSG & hernia repair.
Wearing and old stretched out 6xl t-shirt.

10 months out of VSG & hernia repair.
Trying on a brand new 2xl t-shirt.....over the shirt I was already wearing.

Still some work to do. 232 to 141. Size 20 to size 5/6. 5'3. Reached goal round seven months

Highest weight - probably around 260lbs

Start weight 254lbs, Goal weight on right 160, low weight on left 150lbs

Me, rocking my new body in a bikini!!! Never thought that would happen

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I thought this might be of interest to the community: http://www.medicaldaily.com/permanent-weight-loss-bariatric-surgery-most-effective-treatment-obesity-396598

So last night was "Meet the Teacher" night at my youngest two kids High school. Hubby was out of town, so I was splitting up their schedules and doing double duty.
First of all- I'm wiped out this am lol. Their school is huge and spread out- and I was running between classes to get to each teacher like a bat out of hell.
The NSV's-
1)I did it! Easily!!! From one end of campus to the other, up and down flights of stairs, happily moving through the throngs of people and not ever needing a "rest break" due to pain or inability to walk that much;
2)I ran across tons of people I haven't seen since I began my journey and as I'm waving hello to them, I get a blank look- and then I realized they didn't recognize me!!! Love it!!!
Even sick, I was very involved in my community so believe me, there were TONS of people I know that this occurred with last night. Most, upon realizing it was me, were shocked and pleased for me, and it was, plain and simply, exciting and motivating.
The downside, I have a cousin I grew up with and live close to- two of our kids are the same age and go to school together. To this day she has not said one word to me about my transformation- nor do I now expect her to. We sat next to each other in a class last night and as one mom friend was congratulating me and gushing over my loss, my cousin just sat there and said zilch. Jealously? Perhaps. But at this moment in time I have decided ***k it- leopards,spots you know?
Finally- all that extra running and chasing for 3 hours last night on top my regular workout? scale dropped 2 lbs this am!
Love love love my new life!!!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

my starting weight at my first consult was 299 day of surgery was 277 my goal was 200 I'm now down to 192 7 months post op
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Time to "Daddy up"? Afraid of looking foolish? Ha! Believe me, my friend, looking foolish to our children ranks right up there with the ability to embarrass them at the drop of a hat. Those ships sailed long time ago.
When I was raising my two daughters alone, I always found that actions speak "their" language, where as words are as effective as spitting into the wind. I remember one incident when my eldest absolutely refused to put her clean clothes into her dresser. She just lived out of her laundry basket. I had asked her again and again and again. I finally had "spoken" to her for the last time about putting her clothes away. The next day when the school bus pulled up in front of our house, there hanging in the two Locus trees in the front yard were All of her bras and panties! Ya know? I never had to ask her to put her clean clothes away again.
Why am I telling you this? --just to say that she knows. You don't have to point out the elephant in the room. You're actions will save the day.
How about a quiet dinner, or just meeting for a cup of tea or whatever? I'm sure she will ask you "how are you, Dad?". There's your opening, my friend. You can explain to her how your WLS decision has changed your life for the better, and how you consider having WLS a life saver, etc. You know---the truth.
Then:
Take her hand and say, "If there is EVER a time when YOU decide that you want to talk about having WLS, it would make me the happiest Dad in the world if you would include me in your conversations. I am here for you now, whenever and forever."
"A son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life."
I would just let her know that you are here for her---when SHE is ready.
My opinion, my friend. I hope it helps you, Dear Ol' Dad.

ok, step 2 done. Called and made appointment with the new doctor and nut. same day so I will see one then the other, and formulate a plan!!!
feeling awesome and in control.

Quick update since I hit the 4 months mark last Friday.
I am still doing great. I have some family visiting so I have been cooking (and tasting) a bit more than usual. Nothing crazy though. I had a couple of beers that I was able to drink very slowly, which was new to me . A bit of cheese too.
I burnt the extra calories with a good mountain bike ride over the weekend (and not have to worry about the tires on that bike for once ) , swimming and jogging (my usual 5K).
I have never been so active in my life. I feel like I am 15 years old again. I also bought a new fitbit Blaze watch. I love it. Since it records also the floors / stairs you climb, I am not taking any elevator anymore .
The weight is not changing much on the scale, but I really feel a difference in my body's appearance and my muscle mass / tone / strength. I guess the extra Proteins really help.
Finally, I bought "skinny jeans" a few weeks ago in the US, and they are not "skinny" anymore. Bodyt is still adjusting.
Hope everybody is doing well.
take care,
Mico.

I don't feel that "weighing yourself everyday is terrible and should be stopped immediately". Everyone is different so what works for some may not work for others.
When I was newly post op I only weighed a few times a month because I liked seeing a larger weight loss. Plus weighing infrequently I didn't notice the stalls nor did I stress about numbers.
Now that I am over two years post op and have been at goal and in maintenance for the last 16 months I weigh almost everyday- this approach helps me maintain my weight loss within a few pounds. For me maintaining is trickier than losing and I have to fine tune my activity and intake. Without the scale at this stage in my process the pounds could easily slip back on, especially as I can eat more and I am more hungry than I was during my weight loss phase.
Everyone has to find what works best for them.

One of the things my doctor said before the surgery was "I am operating on your stomach not your brain"
The sleeve is a tool to help us eat less but after the first 6 months the auto pilot goes off and the brain takes over.
That's when we work really hard to finding ways around the sleeve (grazing, sliders etc.) We have to face all our issues and that is more difficult for some than others. We want to be healthy and thin, that's why we have the surgery, but fighting our demons that got us to where we are is a major struggle that may never end. But hopefully we will win more often than we lose. I wish everyone strength and peace.

Reached a low of 168 lbs a few months ago after a pre-op weight of 331. Back up to 175 lbs but all the weight I've gained has been muscle. Maintenance is around 3,000 kcals a day.
Pic I took yesterday:

I dropped from a 50 to a 36 in pants and I pretty much dropped a size a month. I ended up getting a few pairs of inexpensive pants every size because of work (I hate the baggy look). I found that Haggar makes a great and cheap dress pant (about $20-25 on sale online) that did the trick. I dropped neck sizes too, but only from an 18 1/2 to a 17, so I didn't have to cycle through so many dress shirts. T-shirts and polos went from XXL to L, but those are acceptable baggy, so I used the XXLs until the L's fit. Now I am down to where I'd like to stay, so am starting to build up my wardrobe again. It's been incredible shopping in places that I never thought I'd be able to use. Best of all - I went from an XXL in boxer briefs to a S!!!!! Me in an S!!!! Best clothing NSV of all!

Most recent "during" photo.
Just made it home from gym.....old dude tired but pumped up from the werk done.

I loved pureed squash and pumpkin. Hummus was also a god send at that point. All three felt really comforting and the thicker consistency was great after the liquid stage. Corttage cheese was also a favorite. I would also blend chicken or beef and vegetable Soups into a puree. As the previous poster said, experiment with different foods and textures until you find the one that works best for you. Good luck!

I enjoy going out for meals, although I make sure that it's to a place that has something on the menu I can eat. I usually order an appetizer and have it brought out with everyone's main course and usually take as long with my plate as most do with their's. I enjoy the social aspect of dining out and find that the conversation allows me to pace myself. Yeah, I eat less than many people my wife and I dine with, but they all know about my WLS. As far as eating choices of others, that's on them. When I quit smoking I didn't stop socializing with smokers, and I see this the same way. As far as drinking, maybe a glass of wine to accompany, but normally I don't drink, so it's not that big a deal.

Congratulations! Onederland is a great place to be, and don't worry, you'll be here for good!

This is going to be long so if you don’t care about the story part, skip to the bottom for the numbers.
I never thought I would be here, post-op from WLS surgery, especially a surgery that removed most of my stomach but here I am, and I am thrilled to be here.
I grew up in a healthy, athletic family, really athletic, at the Professional level. We had healthy food and some not so healthy comfort food, but always real food in the house. I was always athletic, but slightly overweight growing up. Then in college, I started to yo-yo. My weight would change between 20 and 40 pounds. Then I had a baby, BOOM. I gained 70 pounds with the pregnancy and never lost it. I started working with Tech Startups in the dot com era and we had all the perks. Free food, free alcohol, all day every day. I moved up the ladder and with all the five star hotels came high calorie free meals. Extensive business travel meant eating out 5-6 days a week 3 times a day. On the days at home the eating out continued because I was so exhausted from the work week.
I was healthy with low to normal blood pressure and not diabetic most of this time. I was a healthy fat person for a long time until I wasn’t. I was active. I exercised, I could walk circles around even my thin friends in a mall. Then 10 years ago, diabetes. It was easily managed with pills and diet, so it didn’t create drastic changes. I never took it very seriously because I was never really extreme in my high sugars. Then about 4 years ago it seemed like things took a turn, I could never lose more than 20 or 30 pounds. My ability to exercise and be active seemed to diminish. Carrying all that weight was finally catching up to me and my body was breaking down and suffering. Then last year, high blood pressure came. After taking high blood pressure meds for 2 weeks that made me sleepy and made it almost impossible to run my business. I decided to have WLS.
I had researched and looked at WLS for years. I read WLS forums and talked to people, but always talked myself out of it. I finally decided that even if I died on the table that was better than dying slowly. So I knew I was ready. I went through the process very quickly. Almost not trusting myself to drag it out and I felt a real necessity to get the weight off quickly. I went from my first visit with the surgeon to surgery in 8 weeks. BCBSIL was wonderful and the whole process was fast and easy for insurance approval.
Another deciding factor that WLS would work for me, was because the post-op diet was something I was already familiar with. Low carbing? Sign me up. I had been an avid low carber off and on with varying levels of success for years. I realize now that the reason I was never successful was I gave up in stalls, but with the sleeve there is no giving up during a stall. I have always enjoyed low carbing because for me it makes my mind sharper, it is like doing coke or Adderall (no, I have never done either but I have been told the experience in great detail multiple times from multiple people). I have never viewed it as a punishment but a perk.
My issue prior to surgery has always been Portion Control. I skipped meals, focused on work and then would be ravenously hungry, and consume a whole days plus worth of calories all at once, or maybe in 2 meals. Even low carbing and eating healthy I would eat huge amounts. A 12 to 16 ounce ribeye is 900-1300 calories.
I was lucky to have an uneventful, rapid and easy recovery. I had very little pain, went back to work as soon as I came home (I work for myself), and stopped taking the pain meds within 36 hours of surgery. I met my Protein goals after the 2nd day. I eat all of the foods I enjoy, just in small quantities. I was lucky in the sense I never ate or liked a lot of the things that people have issues with giving up post-op. So I don’t have issues with avoiding them. I gave up sugar years ago to try and control my diabetes. I gave up alcohol for the same reason. I was already years out from either of these things when I had surgery so I didn’t have to give them up post-op.
Okay that is by backstory and how I got to the point surgery and why I felt it would work for me. This is where I am now.
Numbers
The weight I have on here is the weight when I first went to the Dr. It is not my actual highest weight.
HW 377
SW 358
CW 231
Total weight lost 146, 134 since first surgeon visit, and 127 since surgery.
Inches lost
Measurements in Inches
Bust (fullest part of bust):
20
Pecs (just above the bust line):
15
Ribs (top of rib cage just below the bust) :
21
Waist:
25.5
Abdomen:
22
Hips:
17
Right Upper Thigh:
8.5
Right Lower Thigh:
9.5
Left Upper Thigh:
8
Left Lower Thigh:
10.5
Right Calf:
2
Left Calf:
2.25
Right Upper Arm:
6
Left Upper Arm:
5.5
Total 172.75
I wore a tight size US Womens size 28 plus and a comfortable size US Womens size 30 plus. Now I wear a Misses 14/16 I am almost to a 12.
I have boundless energy to match my personality. I am so active in my everyday life in big and small ways. I don’t hurt all over anymore at the end of the day like I did before. I thought that was natural, because I had been so heavy for so long, I didn’t think there was a different way to feel, I thought that was norm. Now I know the difference. I feel like I have taken 20 years off my age.
So that is my story, if you read it all, thanks. I hope it can help someone. Obviously I am still not done. I need to lose at least another 50 pounds and once I get there I am going to evaluate and see if I want to lose another 20 or 30. I never thought that would be an option, to get my weight that low, but I think now it is a possibility.

This site and all its members have been a part of my journey since it began over a year ago. The people who seek justification for not following instructions bother me, especially when they get offended when reminded that eating an entire pizza the day after surgery might be a bad idea. But I also remember how crazy and confused the early days were and how reading about others' experiences gave me a notion of what I needed to do. This site, and its honestly, have been a blessing for me. Many are at their most vulnerable when seeking advice and hence the emotional over-reactions. One does get a sense,. however, of when a topic will be heading the wrong way and then you can just switch to the next one. I am definitely a fan of keeping things real.

Yeah, I'm an animal alright. I'm like a pumped up and pissed off tortoise! I make slow progress, but I'll get there eventually.
I had the sleeve, so I cannot give you my experience as testament. If you are looking to build muscle, it may be more difficult than it is for me but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. You must continue to think long term. 5 years down the road where will you be instead of in 6 months I want bulging biceps. If all you want it to keep your current level of strength, sure you'll be able to do that after the first 6 months. You will lose muscle mass in the beginning. It is unavoidable, but it isn't gone forever. Follow the plan and stay determined and you can accomplish great things.