JupiterinVirgo

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.

Lost half my body weight!

Lost half my body weight!

When I was preparing to have my sleeve surgery, I spent a lot of time on this forum. I found most of the people here to be very helpful. Even though there's every kind of personality here, we all have one thing in common: we wanted to lose weight and be healthier.
Approaching any surgery is scary. There are real risks, and real rewards when all goes well.
I have struggled with weight my whole life. Total sugar junkie. Used food to replace every unmet need I had, to repress every emotion for which I was unprepared to deal.
I gained and lost hundreds of pounds over the course of my life. Hundreds.
When my husband died eight years ago it broke me. I shattered, and it took me almost a decade to put myself back together. During that time, I lost everything: my beloved, my home, my income, even my sense of self. And I spent the next eight years eating to fill this giant empty void inside my being where someone who I thought of as the love of my life used to be.
I ballooned up bigger than I had ever been, surpassing my previous high weight and moving into the 320s.
I avoided social situations, and only left the house when necessary. I was afraid I would have to ask for a stronger chair when invited to sit down for dinner at somebody's home. I was afraid that I would need to sit down every 20 or 30 steps during a leisurely stroll through the mall with a friend. My body ached; sometimes the pain was so bad that I could scarcely move-even sitting still was painful.
Life had become extremely small.
Deciding to get the surgery was surprisingly easy, but getting through the approval process and going through with the surgery summoned up terror in me that had been there since my first surgery when I was three years old.
I thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get the surgery, simply because my trauma was so severe for so many years that it seemed like an impossible feat to put myself in the hands of medical professionals, who I have never trusted all my life.
With lots of support from my mother, my sister who had already had the surgery, and my therapist, I was able to get the sleeve.
And it changed my life!
I also decided that I was going to make up for lost time now that I was going to be able to physically get around again. I sold all my stuff, ditched my apartment, bought an RV and moved in! And it's wonderful! I could not have fit in here, nor could I do the things necessary when living in an RV, at my previous weight.
This surgery has allowed me an opportunity for a whole new lease on life. I am officially one year postop, and I am down about 130 pounds, with another 30 to go. It's amazing the difference a single year can make!
If you know that this is right for you, and the only thing giving you pause is fear that is not coming from your true intuition: there are many people on these forums who feel that this surgery has saved our lives.
I am one of those people. Here is a before and present a photo of me, in a year, this could be you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Lost half my body weight!

Lost half my body weight!

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.

I really try to put fruit in my body every day. The sugar in an apple or a strawberry is not the same thing as the snickers or a Coke. My body needs these nutrients and I find I actually lose more weight when I eat more real organic food, especially fruits and nuts.

You look wonderful! Does she offer financing? Did you fly into San Diego and they picked you up there? Did she make you separate the surgeries or was that your choice. I will need neck, boobs, 360 tummy, butt and thigh lift.
Can you stray longer than a week if you had more done or by choice? Thank you!

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.

I really try to put fruit in my body every day. The sugar in an apple or a strawberry is not the same thing as the snickers or a Coke. My body needs these nutrients and I find I actually lose more weight when I eat more real organic food, especially fruits and nuts.

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.

You look great! Congratulations on your success!!
I love your mindset, and I hope that I can get to a point where I can eat intuitively after my surgery.

@bellabloom you look beautiful!

Dr Carmina Cardenas recently did my tummy tuck, breast lift and neck lift. She is amazing. She is in Tijuana. You can read her reviews on real self. She is a former bariatric patient herself and is the kindest and most commentary doctor. Yes it sucked traveling but it saved me $15,000 dollars.

Thanks for the inspiration. I am having surgery Monday. I am hoping for a transformation close to yours.

I never fully subscribed to the bariatric gospel as I call it. My personal experience has been that long term I was guided to eat in a highly and balanced way that had consequences to how well I felt. So my tip is, listen to your body. If it is asking for nuts or a certain kind of cheese or certain fruits or vegetables, eat them. I have found that my body loses weight the most efficiently when it is well nourished. I have never counted calories since I had my surgery.

I have to be honest with you: I never followed a daily meal plan. Certainly immediately after surgery but since then, I have followed my intuition. I have slipped, and slid. I have binged, and exercised. I have worked really hard, but I never ever let this become a diet. And I honestly think that for me that has been one of the biggest keys of success. Diets made me fat. And now I eat whatever makes me feel good, and my sleeve helps me not to overdo it. I generally try to stay away from highly processed junk food. My digestive tract can no longer handle it anyway.

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

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.

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 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.

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: