JupiterinVirgo

Thyroid and hormones! It is not about losing insulation.

I had the sleeve and I lost a lot of hair, but not so much that I needed to wear a wig. Even though hair loss is considered normal after bariatric surgery it is not normal. Surgeon should be instructing bariatric patients to have their thyroid and hormone levels checked every few months. I'm almost 2 years out of weight-loss surgery and my hair is just starting to thicken up again and grow. I'm about 10 pounds from my goal weight and some of it is still coming out

This post moves me to tears. I am so close to being a normal weight, and I have been dreaming of having corrective plastic surgery on my body. And when you said you nearly cried when you saw your flat belly, I nearly cried! I'm really happy for you!

The most priceless thing I acquired before surgery that helped me right afterwards was a 45° angled pillow

Thyroid and hormones. It frustrates me so much that surgeons let bariatric patients think that hair loss is "normal ". It isn't! They should be guiding us to get on thyroids and hormones checked. I'm almost 2 years out of surgery and my hair is just starting to come back

Keep up the good work!

Half of my bodyweight-not half of my extra weight-gone!

Lost half my body weight!

My initial goal was anything under 200 pounds, and then I solidified it at 180 because that is the lowest weight I have ever been as an adult. As of today I'm down to 165, but I feel like I would like to get down to around 155, and I also feel that restorative plastic surgery it's necessary. Like you, imagined that if I ever got below a certain weight that I would feel great about my body, but I feel like I can't tell what my body would really look like if I didn't have all this extra skin. I think that's part of it. Not so much the actual number on the scale, but all the left over evidence of the journey that makes it feel so incomplete. After all is said and done, including skin removal, I hope to settle around 145.

After all this time, and all this work, I still love my sleeve even with everything that comes with it. I am still amazed at how my body cyclically and periodically continues to drop weight. I never dreamed that I would lose this much. I have left my stretch goal in the dust, because when I started it seemed unlikely I would ever reach it anyway even though it would still be considered 60 pounds overweight. I am now well beneath that and I am continuing. Here is a picture of before and present.

Cultivating our intuition allows us to navigate more effectively in all areas of our lives. I highly recommend it!

You know whether you're being accountable to your own goals. It is natural for the body to fluctuate due to many factors that have nothing to do with food. The scale is not the end all be all of success. For me, it was a diet mentality that made me so obese that I had to get the surgery. And ever since, I have never treated it like a diet or even owned a scale. I'm down 150 pounds and I can tell you without having checked the numbers on a regular basis that I can feel it when my body goes up or down 5 pounds or so. I know that it is normal, and I don't go seek out a scale. I weigh myself once every 3 to 4 months and I'm always down. I don't follow a strict plan of eating. Sometimes I eat poorly and sometimes I eat according to my goals. Because that's life. And overall, I am thrilled with my results so far. 20 more pounds to go before I start seeking out restorative plastic surgery and skin removal. So don't panic! The only one who can keep you accountable as you. With or without your scale.

I have not owned a scale since I had my surgery 21 months ago. From the beginning I only weighed in roughly every three months. And I am always down. Now over 150 pounds down! For me, owning a scale meant reinforcing the same diet mentality that made me fat, and cause me to need my bariatric surgery. Some people say that they need a scale to stay "accountable." I find this to be bullshit because we know damn well when we are being accountable to what is good for us, what brings us closer to our goals. My suggestion is to weigh in at your surgeons office. And the rest of the time, be accountable to yourself by doing the right thing for you.

Try to keep in mind that you have made a permanent change to your body that will help you lose weight and control regain for the rest of your life. So what is the hurry? Whether you reach your goal in a year, or two years or even three years, won't it be just as sweet as you imagined it? I'm 21 months in and I am still working toward my goal, but I am incredibly grateful for how far I have come. Some people lost when I lost in the first seven or eight months after they had surgery. Some people have lost less than I've lost in the same amount of time. Bodies are not to be compared. What matters, is your well-being and at a specifically physical level, it sounds like your well-being is improving. Really, the only thing that's happening is you're having thoughts that are causing you to suffer. But your weight-loss is well underway. Congratulations!

I think if you look at the forum so you will see that most people who successfully lost weight with the bariatric surgery wish they had done it sooner than later. I know I do. If you do a search for low BMI, you can get more information about other peoples experience. I didn't have my surgery until I was a whopping 320 pounds! Some people lose so much weight they think they've gotten too skinny! Laughs… I don't think I'll ever have to worry about that problem!

I really wanted to share this, because I feel very proud. And because I often see people posting about whether or not they should do it and how afraid they are, but I am one of these people who says: this is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my adult life! The pic on the left was taken Aug. 31 2015 at around 320+ pounds. I had my surgery Nov 23, 2015. The photo on the right was taken a little over a week ago. 54 pounds until I reach my goal weight.

I have a strong desire to update this post with new progress pictures! I look at that picture that I was so proud of that I took last summer and I have come such a long way! So here's a new one:

I would like to add an update to my progress. Here are some new pictures! I am the original poster.

Hello my friend! Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. It made my day! From the beginning of this journey, I refused to own a scale. I did this, to avoid the stressful diet mentality and constant temptation to check on what my body is doing from day to day or hour to hour. Because the surgery was a permanent change to my body, the wanting to lose weight quickly, I embraced early on the reality that speed is dramatically less important than permanence. Since the beginning, I have only weighed myself once every few months, and thus I am always down. In order to do this successfully, I have had to cultivate the skills of being more in touch with my body. More aware of it. More aware of its needs from day to day. So while I do not have a numerical records of my route fluctuating doing these months. I have been very aware of my weight going up and down before releasing a significant number of pounds. I can feel it on my body puts on weight, but it is always temporary. I often naturally cycle between unplanned, unstructured and natural fasting, with periods of eating much more than normal to load up on nutrients, which is when I normally drop a chunk of weight. My approach to losing weight is nothing like what the surgeons office told me to do. I started out following their direction but began feeling very sick and unhealthy within the first couple of months and decided to take matters into my own hands. I am so glad I did! My suggestion is not to stress out about the fluctuation of a few pounds which literally can happen throughout the course of the day. It rarely is a permanent gain I.E.fat. It is usually just water weight that will go on it's own. I hope that's helpful! Keep up the great work!

You look incredible! Congratulations on your amazing transformation! Did you really lose nearly 200 pounds in only seven months? That seems virtually unheard of for people who are not starting over 400 pounds or so.

I think many of us felt like you do in the beginning. For some people, they feel this way through the whole process. From the get-go, defining this surgical procedure as a permanent change to my body and lifestyle helped me to focus on the long-term goal instead of the immediate pay off that comes from either eating poorly or losing weight in a way that cannot be sustained long-term. This has served me well. In fact, I don't even own a scale. Every 3 to 4 months I usually come across to one and weigh in. It is always down! And it doesn't matter if it's down by 4 pounds or 20 pounds. As long as it's lower than it was last time. And it always is!

Outside of the context of body and weight, I live in a way that puts emphasis on intuition and instincts. Because of this, I live a very different kind of life than most people choose. It looks riskier, but really it is a life that has greater creative rights. And I approach my weight loss no differently. The new skill that has come with the surgery is learning how to hear, read, and listen to my physical body which was lacking before. And still leaves much to be desired. But this ongoing effort is most certainly paying off. I haven't dropped my weight as fast as some people, but I have a system that is very intuitive and thus sustainable for me. Following a menu, and tracking 100 different things a day is not sustainable for me. In fact, it keeps me focused on lack. And ironically, weight loss seems to be about abundance!

OMG you look incredible! I'm at 21 months and down over 150 pounds wondering if I should keep striving for further weight loss as I am already thinner than I've ever been as an adult, but after looking at your pictures I think I can go all the way!

I don't know if it's inevitable but I lost a lot of my hair. It was always fine, and the breakage and thinning did bother me a lot but other people said it was barely noticeable. Everyone says this is normal, by which they mean it is common postop. But it is not normal. Hair loss is a sign to be checking out your hormones and thyroid, specially if you'd like for it to grow back!

I have been on this forum for two years. And I have born witness to a lot of stories, and very few of them relative to the whole has anything to do with depression and suicidal thinking after weight loss surgery. I also have had gastric sleeve done and did not suffer the symptoms you were talking about in relationship to my surgery or my weight loss. People are people. Those subject to depression and suicidal thoughts anyway are likely to have their mental condition aggravated with the stress of having surgery and the healing required. People who did not develop any other coping mechanisms besides food are more likely to experience these negative mental states more intensely and more often when they realize that they cannot bury them under amounts of food postop. I think it is unfair to blame the surgery on the mental states of people when the reality is that the states were already there, buried underneath addiction. These Patients should have been in therapy long before they had the surgery. I know I have been.