Remix

Bucket List:
Fitting it into my size 12 jeans, dresses, and cute skirts.
Then donating them two months later, because they are too big for me.
Becoming an adjunct (part-time) professor at one of the local colleges or universities. Have been wanting to do that for a couple of years. But not wanting to stand in front of a classroom of college students in this body.
Go swimming without shame.
Take pictures with my daughter. (I hate seeing how chunky I've become in photos, so I avoid taking pictures like the plague).
Enjoying the summer, because I won't be so hot inside 50 pounds of extra fat.
And other basic things that I'm looking forward to taking for granted a year from now.

It is completely up to us to maintain. You don't lose the restriction, you learn to eat around it.
Your pouch begins to empty 30 minutes after eating, I guarantee you that I could graze to keep my pouch full all day long and gain every pound back.
The most I should ever be able to eat is about 1 cup of food. (Think of that 1cup as already chewed up food). Of course I can eat a lot more salad than 1 cup in its original form yet dense Protein I cannot even come close to a cup.
This is why it is so Important to ensure the food on your plate is Protein heavy, with good carbs like fruit and veggies.
If I were to fill it with Pasta bread and rice, I would become hungry faster and therefore would eat more frequently.
Having this surgery takes a lot of hard work on your part. It is a tool that can help you achieve your goals if you follow the rules. If you don't and you graze you will gain your weight back. If you don't and eat garbage you will become malnourished.
It is a huge commitment and requires 110 percent focus every single day.
I have not entered the maintenance phase but I am close and I know that my focus will need to continue. My life has completely changed for the better and I never want to go back there.
I hope that you guys continue to research until you are positive this is something you want to do. For me, it was a no brainier, I am the healthiest I have been in 28 years. My only regret is that I didn't do it 15 years ago when I was in my forties.

Just had someone who was rude to me when I was on Match.com a couple of years ago ping me Match yesterday, and wanted to know if I was interested in meeting. She didn't realize we had already met, but this time she said said she liked "fit guys who took care of their bodies." I still think she was a b*tch, but I'll take the compliment as an NSV.

I also have no doubts that a lot of us were "fat shamed" just not to our faces. Most people are too much of a coward to say it to your face like that Nichole bi*ch that made the YouTube video. She had a whole lot to say to a camera but I can almost bet my left foot she never said it to anyone's face. She's a nasty person and if I had the chance to speak to her I'd have no problem having a come to Jesus meeting with her.

I never would have dreamed of showing anyone my weight on a scale. I absolutely dreaded weighing in at the DR's office. As if they cared right?!. Scale numbers are the thing nightmares are made of in my world. I think I was traumatized as a child when they would do "health checkups" at school, everyone would get called to the cafeteria and have to be weighed in front of the people standing behind you. Horrible experience!! Not today folks!! I am thrilled to share my scale experience! My starting weight 10 months ago was a even 267 Lbs on the day of surgery. I am now officially over 100 lbs lost (barely). This process has defiantly been a complete life changing experience. I still have a hard time accepting the numbers, it just doesn't seem real so I weight a good 5x in a row just to make sure I'm not delusional Only 5 more lbs and I will be considered "normal" I have never wanted to be more "normal" in my life From morbidly obese, obese, overweight to normal in 10 tiny months! I would do this surgery 100x again if I had to just to have these moments. I'm incredibly grateful. God is good all the time!!

I agree with @@Inner Surfer Girl. Your journey is your own. Don't compare yourself. Stalls are inevitable. Starting weights, heights, body type, and activity levels differ. I've learned to enjoy where you are today, because it's a better place than last month!

This is not a contest, nor is it a race. As someone who started at a super high BMI, believe me, there is nothing to be jealous of.
Focus on your Protein and Fluid and let go of trying to control the results.
The sooner you learn to let go, the happier you will be.

Hi all my name is heather I had the sleeve done on July 13 15 I have loss 41lbs

Happened to click on the 'YEAR' view on the Health app dashboard on my iPhone. Was amazed to see improvement in walking steps taken over time since my GSV on 4-16-2015. You can clearly see the vast improvement and trend in my ability to walk.
What is really awesome is that I have two bad knees, scheduled for replacement before end of year. So, its a miracle that I have improved my walking and steps taken each day this much.
A huge NSV indeed
-RC-

Something about this rubbed me the wrong way. Keep in mind that my vent here this is only a fraction of our life. It speaks nothing to how we've connected and grown as a couple or the life we've made for ourselves. There are many aspects where he's great, this whole WLS arena is new (for me and him) so it means finding our footing.
If your life/relationship is pure rose petals and sunshine-- good for you-- but storms can and do come. Everyone weathers them differently.
The only scale my husband will be meassred on is mine-- none other turly matter

So I am going to approach this from a different angle...My weight was never an issue for my husband. He was concerned about my health, but never ever said anything about my weight. He truly loved me when I was at my lowest (the day we met) and loved me at my heaviest (the day I decided to have surgery).
While he supports me, he's not he rah-rah type of a guy who makes a big deal out of things - I had surgery, I worked hard to lose weight and come to terms with my food addiction. Every once in a while, like every other leap year, he gives me an "I'm proud of you comment" or "I'm glad you had surgery", but it's not like he celebrates every 1/4 pound weight loss with me.
My husband wrote this for my blog at my 7 week post op mark. Is still brings tears to my eyes now...This helps me sometimes when I think he needs to "be more supportive" - he is supportive, just in his own way.

From Mr. McButterpants:
The wife recently asked me to write a little something for her blog. Not much on writing more than witty quips in response to my friends Facebook posts, my first response was a “oh sure” and then to politely ignore the request. It’s a tactic that works I’d say 75% of the time. I was hoping that she would be so excited (or distraught) about weight loss/lack of weight loss/not pooping/pooping/someone else pooping or not pooping, she’d forget that she asked. So a week passed and then I get a, “So I’d really like you to write a post for my blog. You know, from the spouses point of view.” I thought I was home free with her focus on the stall. Guess not.
My wife’s weight has never really been an issue for me. We met over the phone and had a 3000-mile long distance relationship before the Internet and unlimited phone service. We worked in the same industry and developed a relationship over months of hours-long, bank-account-crushing phone calls. We have always said that if we had come across each other in a bar or other typical meeting place, we wouldn’t have been each other’s type, physically. Since we fell in love before we ever met, we got what we got. Which by the way, I was pretty happy with upon our first meeting. So when she informed me of her thoughts on surgery I tried hard to keep the slack jawed WTF look off my face as much as I could. I initially thought, “Your going to cut out most of your stomach just to lose a few pounds. What?” What I didn’t realize is that it wasn’t a few pounds. Much like your surprise when someone comments on how much your child has grown because they only see him once a year, I hadn’t noticed she had gained a hundred pounds since we first met. She had always just been my wife, my best friend, the person I would spend a long wonderful life with. My attachment to her has always been so much more than physical, and when I look at her I still see that 25-year-old girl I fell in love with. So when she told me how much she weighed I thought, “Holy shit, when did that happen?”
My blessing of the surgery wasn’t without hesitation. I know what obesity does to a body over time and have witnessed it first hand in my father and mother-in-law. The breaking down of joints, the insulin injections, heart issues and on and on…I know, preaching to the choir. But what if something happens during surgery and I lose the love of my life? What if our boy loses his mother? The mere thoughts made my heart hurt. How would I ever cope if something tragic actually happened? But you can’t live life on the basis that something bad MIGHT happen. Its what kept my mother from fully experiencing life and I always hated that. I wanted to have the healthiest wife possible as we get older. I wanted her to be comfortable in her skin. I wanted her to wear clothes she likes, not just the ones that hide the most. I wanted her to not feel awkward around others. I’ve never really struggled with weight. Sure I could lose more than a few pounds, but it falls off with little effort. I don’t fully understand the angst that the weight causes my wife but I know she isn’t as happy as she could be because of it. Life isn’t a dress rehearsal. You gotta make the most of it. So I agreed, reluctantly.
After coming to grips with the minimal risk involved and nervously waiting for good news from the operating room, it’s been a pretty easy journey for me. I’ve had to do very little except listen. Listen about the surgery, shakes, stalls, pooping, not pooping and then pooping again. My wife is hard-core about obtaining information off the internet. So much so, she once gave her GP a tutorial on thyroid testing and the latest acceptable ranges for each test, which came as news to her doctor. Still not sure why we had to pay for that office visit. So nothing came as a surprise. It made my life easier knowing that if anything came up post op that might freak me out, she had the stats on how many patients experienced the same thing, why it happened, how long it will likely last, and what the next day, week, month has in store. Easy for me, but I know it hasn’t been easy for her and that each day brings a new challenge. I am so grateful for what she is willing to put herself through for a healthier future with our son and me. Recently she’s been in the dreaded stall, but it’s subsided, and she has a little pep in her step. I love the gleam in her eye when the scale tells her what she wants to hear. I love how she gleefully shows off how crappy her clothes fit. Mostly I love that each day she seems to feel more comfortable in her skin and happier with herself. What more can you really ask for?

Well damnit come get your compliments from us! Lol you look good girl! Congrats on the decision for surgery and your recent weight loss !!! Keep it going! Operation coke bottle in full effect!
* I will post this regularly for those of us with clueless husbands* ????????????

"It" doesn't make anything work. YOU make it work. And if you want it to work, it will work.

155 lbs.
I gained?!! And I'm freaking out cuz I don't know what I did wrong! The gain happened shortly after last weigh in. I was sure it was Water retention but it's been stuck at 155 for like 5 days. Not sure what I've done wrong. Trying not to become discouraged.
But looking at the big picture, I am thrilled overall. I had my surgery about the same time the challenge started and I'm down 30 lbs!! My BMI is now in the normal range and I feel amazing!! If I stay focused on that, I cant wipe the smile off my face ☺

Like some others here, I have told everyone at work. They have all been very supportive, and have even talked to me about people they know who have had the surgery and were very successful. In the end, if people have bad things to say about it or are negative/nonsupportive, who cares? They haven't had to live my life, and I could care less what they think.
At least that's what people say
That's what people say
But I keep cruising
Can't stop, won't stop moving
It's like I got this music
In my mind, saying it's gonna be alright
Cause the players gonna play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate
Baby I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake
Shake it off

-- Taylor Swift, "Shake It Off"

Couldn't have said it better than Sleevenv!! The scale will shift & you will settle in. I am 4mos post-op & have hit this same problem a couple times. I just kept on doing what I was supposed to & in a couple days the scale tipped the other way.
Good luck!

Relax! Stop weighing yourself so you don't drive yourself crazy. It will come off, your bodies are just readjusting. I'm only a few weeks past you two (sleeved 6/30/15), but I've learned the body does weird things. I'm settling into a 2 lb per week average, but when I looked at the daily amounts it was stressful. A month or so down the road you'll just giggle at how you drove yourself nuts. Just follow your rules from your surgeon/nut and you'll do fine!

I was 151.4 this morning!
The last day to add weights to this challenge will be on Saturday. I will update, and let everyone know how awesome our stats are on Sunday!

155 lbs.
I gained?!! And I'm freaking out cuz I don't know what I did wrong! The gain happened shortly after last weigh in. I was sure it was Water retention but it's been stuck at 155 for like 5 days. Not sure what I've done wrong. Trying not to become discouraged.
But looking at the big picture, I am thrilled overall. I had my surgery about the same time the challenge started and I'm down 30 lbs!! My BMI is now in the normal range and I feel amazing!! If I stay focused on that, I cant wipe the smile off my face ☺

I can burn 1000 calories on the treadmill in 1 hour when only a year ago I could not even walk 10 minutes on a treadmill . My hubby refers to my clothes as doll clothes . Going from a size 32 pants to a size 12 I am loving life .

GOALLLLLL!!!! Actually I have revised it to 169 so I can hit the 100 lost mark. 170 as of today. Thanks to all that took part in this!

I was sleeved June 30th and I'm retuning on the 8th. I'm 50 lbs lighter and wondering if anyone will notice.

The fact that I can't go to my child's performances at her school. The fact that I have to order food to be delivered because I can barely walk because I am so big. at 450 pounds and all of my life heavy it was either this or die.
Sleeved on 9-2. Looking forward to living a little longer.

I posted a thread a few days ago about grocery shopping but things other than food are on my mind. I had a response to a couple in the store that surprised me and made me feel bad about myself for a moment.
I saw a couple shopping. She was in a motorized cart while he was pushing a regular grocery cart. Both were sweating profusely. The woman looked like she might be close to 400lbs and the man was much larger. (Keep in mind I used to weigh almost 450lbs myself.) He was the one I reacted to. I passed him in the aisle, he was struggling to walk. He was clearly in pain and he smelled bad. The smell took over that whole section of the store. I noted people recoiling and walking in the opposite direction when they got close enough to smell - which wasn't very close. Most showed no outward reaction but a few were muttering. One shopper called him an "Obeast".
I found myself agreeing with the people who were acting a little rude. I mean, their carts were FULL of every high fat, high calorie, high carb, deep fried or frosted thing you can think of. I started to recoil and thought to take another route through the store before I realized this was hypocritical and just ugly of me.
I don't think I ever let myself smell bad but other than that, I WAS one of them for a long time and it wasn't very long ago. I understand this addiction. I understand having given up on yourself. I understand being taken over by something you need help taking yourself back from.
I believe this is what happens to pain that can't be processed in some people (it's too big maybe, or it doesn't stop). Addiction always looks to me like pain filling the place where love was meant to go. It hurts, can't be tolerated and whatever we're using hurts less or becomes so necessary that we're just lost and can't find our way out. (Not everyone who needs WLS is going to relate to this but I hope many will.)
Coming from where I started and also having a degree that should sensitize me to human behavior, prejudices, etc. didn't help. Most people in my life describe me as the consummate mommy. I don't treat people in ways that make them feel bad about themselves, ever. With my history, with my education, my usual treatment of everyone I cross paths with; my first reaction was still disgust and judgment. It didn't last and I most certainly didn't act on it but I'm still a little upset with myself - not even sure why. Maybe they scared me. I know I can return to that path any time I start letting myself think the wrong thoughts or lose sight of how powerfully I was held in the grip of an addiction that called the shots in my life for many years.
I feel bad because my reasoned response was understanding, compassion, well-wishing, kind thoughts. My initial reaction was the same ugliness as everyone else around them.
I suppose I'm starting this thread because I hope we can just talk about it. I'm curious how other people who've had struggles with weight feel and react to such things.

Hey there! July 11 here. I was doing well and then yesterday woke up to a 4 lbs gain?!! It's not even my time of the month. Must be Water retention or something cuz I've been working hard at eating correctly and exercising. It seems like 1 day I get all my water in, then the next day I dont so I need to work on that.
I'm down from size 16 pants to size 10 or 12! I'm a teacher so just finished my summer off. The looks on people's faces and compliments when they saw me was the best!! This includes students and other staff so I'm just basking in the attention, and why not? I worked hard for this!!