JupiterinVirgo

The last five months has most certainly been a roller coaster. It has felt harrowing at times. I under estimated the profound effect that losing weight would have on me. It is an intense process, staying present with my quickly changing body. Things, things I have been hiding away under a lot of weight for many years rise to the surface to be processed as my fat cells break open on my body shrinks. Sadness I've held in my belly. Rage I wrapped around my hips. Grief that has laid heavy upon my chest. The peak of mountains in the landscape of my body just starting to show, formally submerged in a sea of fat. Instances of sudden ecstatic joy. Glitches, and translating what I see in the mirror into what I remember of myself. The delay in processing real time changes in my body. Yesterday, my family came to visit me. I hadn't seen some of them in a couple of months. They went on anon over hours of time and how astonish they were at my weight loss. They insisted on photographing me. And when I looked at the picture, that was the first time I actually saw that my body is starting to look like now. So I wanted to share.

Definitely don't go overboard shopping preop. I'm down 103 pounds, 85 since surgery, and my expectations of what sizes I would be wearing are very different than what's actually been happening. And my boobs change size every couple months

After losing a ton of weight I started to put it back on when some significant relationship and life changes happened. And only got worse from there, when my husband became very sick and I became a full-time caregiver, isolated in the country with a man who could not speak walk or even go to the bathroom by himself. That went on for two years before he died. During that time I put on more weight. In the aftermath, it got even darker still. Until I finally found myself in the 320s. I realized I was trapped in the cycle, where food was all I had, and I just had gotten so big that it was physically too painful and it took too much energy to cultivate new friendships and relationships that would help me break the cycle of depending on food to fill the void left by my dead husband. I had my surgery six months ago. Down a total of over 100 pounds, 85 of them since I had the surgery.

I'm still losing weight, but at this rate by the time I hit one year post surgery I should be ready. I have always had very large breasts. I have worn cup sizes as high as H. My breasts have become so flat after losing almost 100 pounds. They are still large but they hang, and look like pancakes from the side. Plastic surgery was just not something that was accessible to me before, but this is been on my mind a lot lately. Terrifying as it seems, I feel that I really need and want my breasts lifted when I get to my goal weight of 175 pounds. Can anybody guide me on where to begin? I would love so much to hear stories of successful breast lifts from women who have lost a lot of weight and who had very large breasts when they were heavy. It's hard to imagine that they can do anything, but supposedly they can. Would you share your stories with me?

This is my first post in this forum, so, hello! In the months leading up to my surgery, I put my dating life completely on hold to stay focused on the labor of preparing for a huge shift in mind, body and soul. I was sleeved three weeks ago, but dating feels like a different thing now. I would really prefer not to divulge information as personal as a bariatric surgery to people i don't know and trust, but since relationships have a physical component it seems dishonest not to tell. In a year my body will look totally different. When we share a meal, and I can only eat three bites, I feel I will have to explain. Are you dating while in process of weight loss? Do you divulge that you've had a bariatric surgery to your date? What kind of responses did you get? Are you waiting until your close to goal to start dating do you can focus on yourself? A.

Mine either! Whenever I read a post like this it gives me hope that I actually can be a thin person, not just a less fat person LOL

Incredible!

Sounds like a reaction to something-have you been on new medications since surgery? Using a new detergent? Eating food you've never eaten before? Allergic to food to use to tolerate?

P.S. When I fast, that usually consists of drinking coffee all day with protein powder in it. Lightened with organic real half-and-half, and sweetened with organic Stevia. When my body wants food again, it lets me know with very strong cravings.

Ever since surgery, I have been moving to cycles like this. I did not know there was an official technique or method for it, because my approach to long-term wellness game for my own body is a little different. But I find myself intuitively alternating with fasting and then I'll bring my calories dramatically and then moderating and then fasting, and starting the cycle over. I intuitively know when I stop losing weight. It never has anything to do with food really-it has more to do with my body needing a breather, or to be replenished with extra fats and nutrients that it needs to burn and redistribute the body fat that's coming off. It seems to be working, because I'm melting away!

You work it girl! Congratulations!

Oh congratulations! You look so lovely and so happy. Happy birthday!

Call up your surgeons office and have them call in a prescription to your pharmacy for a liquid version of your painkiller. That's ridiculous that your surgeon gave you a script for pain pills right after surgery. You should have liquid codeine, or whatever pain medication they're prescribing for you.

Since this is a procedure that cannot be undone, if you are feeling unsure why not go with the less invasive procedure? If you find that overtime the sleeve does not work for you, the bypass is always there. As a general rule of thumb, I tend to go with the less invasive, less extreme medical procedure if I find myself with the condition that needs to be treated by Western medicine. I have the sleeve. And I love it!

I only read a few of the comments, and so many of them were wagging their fingers at you that I felt the need to step forward with some genuine moral support. The surgery does a lot to help support our goals of losing weight. It restricts the amount of food we can take into our bodies at a time, it removes the part of the stomach that makes the hunger hormones, which is also the part of the stomach that stretches. Is made to stretch. The rest of the equation, is our personal responsibility. That said, if your only source of information are bariatric forums and your surgeons office, that can create a distorted view of the reality for almost all of us. And the reality is, that just as it always has been, whatever has been compelling us to eat- still must be contended with. You will have good days, and you will have bad days. Some days you will stick very closely to the regimen you believe to be most healthy. And some days, you won't. And this is what you need to remember: if you keep trying you will still lose the weight! Despite the bullshit you see on forums like these, it is not true that every bariatric patient immediately becomes Jane Fonda. Do not use what you see on these forums as a measuring tape for your personal progress. Because they are bias! By all means, I think it is wise for us to address the emotional and personal needs that have not been being met, that we have been replacing with food through therapy, movement, spiritual work, etc. But don't let a bunch of strangers on the Internet beat you up because you are normal, you are human, and so are the people who are so quick to correct you. Things will level out for you. Turn inward and trust yourself a little bit more. You can do this! All of us had the surgery because we felt out of control. It doesn't go away just because of this surgery. Don't let a bunch of strangers on the Internet make you feel discouraged-anyone who tells you that they have been perfect since surgery long-term is full of it. But you know what? Theyre still losing weight. And being dishonest, or telling a half truths about the struggle after surgery, is driven by shame. Please please please do not let your opinions of your progress be affected by what other people claim has been their journey. Yours is unique to you!

NO.

When preparing for surgery I stocked up with hundreds of dollars of a variety of high quality organic and grass fed whey and protein powders. I hated them all. A friend turned me onto doctor axe collagen powder and I have been using it for the last five months to get enough protein. Collagen powder is also known to be very good for skin hair and nails! This particular collagen powder is high-quality, and it dissolves completely and tastelessly into anything. I drink it in my coffee. It is a priceless nutritional support for me. And recent bloodwork indicates that I am getting plenty of protein just by doing this!

When I was in my 20s, I lost most of my excess weight. When I was in my 30s, I had weight-loss surgery. Because I had put it on-all of it back on-with extra. I wish that I had done this in my mid 20s, my life would've been playing out differently.

It's about getting all the way to the goal that you really want, and staying there. Almost everybody who has the surgery has lost a huge amount of weight on their own. The problem was that we could not sustain that weight loss. The sleeve makes it much more possible to do so, as it is a permanent alteration to our anatomy.

Down about 80 pounds from top pictures. Bottom pictures just taken today. #happy

You should be so proud! You look beautiful. What an incredible accomplishment: 130 pounds! I almost lose my breath just thinking about that. Very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

Losing a large amount of weight will inevitably leave extra skin behind. There is nothing you can do about it. You can have it removed when you've reached your goal, if it bothers you that much. But honestly, loose skin, even never removed, is still leaving us all in a much much better position than having all of that skin filled with fat. I don't know why so many people worry about this so much as if we are protecting our fat-why would we struggle with the thought of trading in fat for extra skin? The fat is what is killing us, causing us pain on a daily basis. Extra skin is not a big deal. And if it's a big deal to you, then after you're finished losing all your weight you can have it surgically removed.

Tell them thank you for their unsolicited and uninformed opinions, and that you would like to now share your opinions about their bodies!

When I first came to knowing that I needed to have the surgery, that I wanted the surgery, that the surgery was going to be the best thing for me, the first thing I did was go to the people closest to me and ask them for their support. This included a couple of close family members, a couple of close friends, and a couple of professional people with whom I had a well-established repoire. A couple of these people had concerns, but because they love me they heard me out. They bore witness to my reasoning, and had already born witness to my struggle over time. It did not take long to get all of them on my side, most of them were on my side from the minute I asked for their support. In the time leading up to surgery, there was a lot of preparation. Psychological and emotional, spiritual and physical. So other than the people who are closest to me I kept my cards close to my chest because I was not interested in the opinions of people who did not love me, and I am very protective of my sacred tender space. There is a rawness and a vulnerability that we experience when we finally admit the depth of our problem, and find the courage to take right action and address it. Just remember, your body your decision.