lorri716

It's not a form of OCD in my opinion. I grew up poor. My mom could make leftovers last a week. Nothing was wasted. We also had the "clean plate club". I'm sure that many other people here had something similar. Didn't matter if you liked it or not, that's what there was to eat. We were praised as children to finish our food and "clean our plate" with the slice of bread at the end.
Now that I am older and not poor, you would think that I could break that habit. Nope. I didn't get this far by being a wasteful person. Unfortunately, I did get fat by not being the wasteful person. Here is what we are doing in my house now. We are only cooking a very little bit. If they are still hungry afterwards, they can make something for themselves. Turns out, if they have to work for it they aren't that interested in it! Maybe try that for your boyfriend and their kids.

Got home from the hospital today. The surgery day and the next day was rough!!!! Getting better each day!!! Finally got something other than water!!!!

Nothing! through out our day the scale will go up and down..also during our period, what you eat, etc.! I only weigh myself now when I first wake up...have had no food, hardly any clothes, etc. and that is the number I go by (tracking)...so much can make our weight fluctuate during the day...you will drive yourself crazy. So, pick ONE time to weigh and stick to it....and expect to sometimes go up a bit...it will be ok, it WILL go back down Been There Done That! lol...I am 6 months out....down about 56 lbs.

So, six weeks out, down about 50 pounds, stall, sort of over, not losing a ton of weight, but I am losing, so I am happy. My primary exercise is walking, and I live in New Hampshire and do not drive (long story, no DWI, I did nothing wrong, it's a bureaucratic thing), and the weather here, between the biting cold and the the seasonal rains have made it really hard to get out and get my six mile walk in every day. I do not work, I am a retired full time student at the moment, with no classes until November 30th, so......
Here is the pet peeve that I bet everyone has been through, yet we never really speak about it (and no, for once it does not involve my ass). Belt loops. I have kept my pre-surgery belt, sort of as a reminder of what I have accomplished. It is a reminder, every time I put my pants on how much smaller I am, even if the scale is being pissy. I bought a leather punch and have had to make ten new holes. I am currently between two holes. One is a tad too loose, and my pants sag, the next one, is so tight I feel like my legs are going to turn blue from lack of blood.
This is the absolute worst thing to deal with (for me (ass issues aside)) as I either am constantly pulling up my pants or trying to move when my belt is so tight I feel like I am cut in two,
Anyone else, have this issue? I've tried suspenders but wind up feeling like a farmer. Now that it's colder I can wear them under a shirt and on one is the wiser, though.
So, laugh away. Oh and i'll have that belt until my dying day. I speak at the various seminars at the hospital and people always gasp when I show them how long my belt is now. They just see a fat guy, they have no idea how much fatter I was until they see the belt.

Let me be the first to say....it's time to be selfish! This about you and your life changing experience. You do not need to tell work why you are getting surgery, atleast specifically what kind. That's why there is hipa. Good luck with your surgery.

I actually had a lower body lift (which includes TT), breast augmentation and a spiral thigh lift.

My highest weight was over 250, and after having 4 kids my skin's elasticity couldn't keep up. After my sleeve surgery, it took me over a year to hit 140 pounds. I was really big into cardio that first year, but slowly transitioned to heavy weight lifting 5-6 days a week. Even though I was like a size 6/8 by the time I reached goal, my skin hung horribly. My belly button looked like a melted face; my breasts looked like a feeding canine mother's hanging milk outlets; and the muscle mass in my upper thighs wasn't seen for its full potential because of the excess skin there. So, I had the previously mentioned plastics on June 9, 2015. The doctor removed about 2.5 pounds of skin, although the implants countered that "lost" weight. I'm now a size 4/6 or 27 waist. It was tough recovery, but COMPLETELY WORTH IT!!!

I don't have before pics because I refused to take them, but I'll post a pic of the great results of my tummy, 5 months out.

Let's get this party started!
I'm Alexis, from the New Jersey shore, sharing my house with a 5 year old Great Dane and two cats. I'll be 31 next month (August 18th for those inclined to give gifts ) and have been banded since February 3, 2003. I was banded in NYC at Lenox Hill Hospital by Dr. Marina Kurian. The hospital was great, Dr. Kurian is amazing, and my surgery went off without a hitch. I'm a restaurant manager and just love my job, as tiring as it is!
In October, I weighed 345lbs. Somehow managed to lose 25lbs before surgery, despite many, many last suppers at the likes of Wendy's and McDonald's. Yes, Virginia, I AM a fast food freak. Although, not so much anymore. As of my last doctor's visit on July 11, 2003, I weigh 259lbs. So, if you count from my highest weight, I've lost 86lbs. Went from a size 28 to a size 18 and I'm not nearly finished!
I just can't say how much this band has done for me. Simply put, it's given me my life back.

I been YoYo dieting for so many years. Back in 2009 I was 270lbs. Our company have a family party every year in October. I remember taking that picture and hiding it cause I felt so ashamed at how big I was. I remember I signed up at the gym ymca and went straight for one year. I lost 80 lbs and unfortunately letting my self get back to 253 lbs.
This year when we went to the party another picture was taken and I got my old picture out. I now have it here at my desk at work to remind myself I don't EVER want to be at that weight again. This time I don't see this journey as a diet is all about changing my eating habits and remind myself everyday to see food as fuel.

Update, I am now around 190lbs give or take a couple, and have been so for the last 3 to 4 months. As most people indicated, my body just needed to get where it was "comfortable" and it has seemed to stay there.

Surgery date 8/10/2015, HW 253 lbs, CW 196 lbs (incl 2 weeks pre-op) 41 years old, height 5'6"
Hi everyone! I been learning so much from everyone's comments and still in the learning process. I was sleeved on 8/10/2015 and just this week I hit below 200 yaay super excited!! Haven't seen this number since 2010.

I had been trying to take measurements monthly, but life happens!! I found my binder cleaning out a drawer after not noting my changes for 4 months. It's amazing to see, in writing, how many lbs and inches I've actually lost, especially when I've been feeling a little discouraged because I feel it's coming off a bit slower now. Of course, I had to weigh and take measurements today, since it had been so long!! I'm not at goal yet, but I'm 138lbs and 84" closer than I was almost 11 months ago!!

Getting closer to done!

10 months out and realized I've never posted pics of my progress.
SW: 232
CW: 169

My surgery is today 19/11. Happy day!!!! I'm at the hospital and just waiting to be called. A bit nervous but excited for my new life.

Mine is tomorrow also. Scheduled at noon. Good luck and congrats to is all!

Mine is tomorrow too. I have to be at hospital at 5:00am. Don't think I am gonna get any sleep tonight.

My surgery is tomorrow also at 1145...im really nervous also but im ready to get it over with...good luck to you!!!!!

My surgery it's tomorrow I have to be in the hospital at 6AM I'm so nervous !

Finally it is here...scale read 198 this morning! I am down 60 lbs since 8/19/15! YEAH!

Let me be the first to say....it's time to be selfish! This about you and your life changing experience. You do not need to tell work why you are getting surgery, atleast specifically what kind. That's why there is hipa. Good luck with your surgery.

I've always had a fan in my office cubicle. I could break out into a sweat walking to the copier or going to the bathroom. This year, for the first time, I've got a space heater on my Christmas wish list.
Today I'm wearing a sweater that is at least three sizes too big for me, but it keeps me warm so I'm hanging onto it.
It's amazing how different it is after surgery.

I am on Jolessa and had no issues taking my pills before and after surgery. My doctor didn't say anything about it being unsafe.

I think you are probably like some of us who left life get in the way and put yourself last. I've done this for the last 24 years while taking care of my kids, my house, my husband, and my job. You need to start understanding that you deserve this. There will be no shame from this step forward. Put your shame behind you and embrace the fact that you are getting the chance to change your life for the better and for you, not anyone else. Good luck to you.

I'm a year a three months out of my surgery, and I figured this is as good a time as any to share my story. I always found other people's journeys so helpful, and I hope someone can benefit from hearing mine.
I definitely struggled a bit with my weight when I was younger. Even with playing sports I was heavier than my friends, and I have a critical mother who frequently put me on one diet after another, fostering some pretty unhealthy feelings about food. My weight didn't really become an issue until my late teens, when I struggled with some mental health issues that resulted in a weight gain of more than 50 pounds in a year.
In between high school and college, I went to a summer weight loss camp, and that helped bring me down to a more regular, albeit still unhealthy, weight. However, the following years I really struggled and was eventually diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. In the period leading up my my diagnosis, some poor medication decisions and my emotional struggles contributed to a rapid weight gain of around 80 pounds, bringing me to my all time high of 250lbs. I tried dieting, weight loss programs, weight controlling medication, and I never could get more than 20lbs off. I had finally got my psychotropic medications right, but I was left feeling pretty defeated and exhausted by everything that had transpired.
Even though I was struggling, I was always an excellent student and I was accepted to attend an Ivy League school for my master's degree. My program was extremely intense, and my peers were all very high achieving and disciplined. I was one of two people in our class of over 100 with a weight problem, and I isolated myself a bit because I was so uncomfortable.
I am an avid traveler and studied and work in the International Development field. During my lower weight in college, I spent close to a year studying and working in Madagascar and Uganda, and felt very much at home traveling and learning about other people and cultures, and working on projects to tackle rural poverty. My early twenties were very fulfilling, and I went to grad school wanting to continue the work I had done.
Towards the end of grad school, I was on a trip to Alaska with my family and it struck me how miserable I had become because of my weight. I had already been participating in a weight loss program luckily run by a physician, and so when I decided to have surgery I had already fulfilled all of the requirements. I decided to have the sleeve, and within a month I had surgery.
My life has improved drastically and I am ten thousand percent certain that this was the best and only option for me to be successful. Seven months into surgery, I accepted a position with a very large US NGO, and was relocated to South Africa to begin managing the NGO's 21 country programs in Africa. I work on public health programs for people with intellectual disabilities, and am so thankful that I have been able to work in an area that I am passionate about. I would not have been able to do this job at the weight that I was.
Just in the seven months I've worked in South Africa, I have traveled to our programs in Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. These trips require a lot of physical activity, and I'm often in areas where you have to walk long distances is very warm weather, and spend a lot of time sitting on the ground and working long hours. For a vacation this summer, I went on a horse trek to Kyrgyzstan, riding for 6-8 hours a day and sleeping on mats in rural yurts with nomadic people. I cannot properly articulate how amazing it feels to be able to do the things I've always wanted to do.
Having WLS was certainly not a walk in the park. I struggled a lot for the first several months with fatigue and a series of frustrating medical issues. I had my gallbladder removed a month after surgery, and I got c diff in the hospital. Finally being able to lose a significant amount of weight helped me to stick with the program and kept me motivated. As of this morning, I've lost 103 pounds and am solidly a normal weight. I'm still working on those last stubborn pounds, but I feel confident that I am going to reach my goal.
I'll end with this--last week I was working in Malawi at a training for Optometry students to help them learn how to work with people who have intellectual disabilities. We screened a hundred kids, and many of them got new glasses to improve their vision. It was close to 100 degrees, and I was able to walk kids between different locations and carry heavy equipment for over eight hours. People didn't look at me strangely like they did when I was obese (unsurprisingly, obesity isn't as common in many parts of Africa), and I just felt normal. I've realized that being a healthy weight doesn't necessarily induce euphoria like I imagined it would when I was at my highest weight. Instead, it is the constant noticeable absences of discomfort, shame, and sadness. We all have our own feelings about body image and weight, but for me, I have a new perspective and appreciation for my "normal" problems. My boss might piss me off, I might get stressed about money, I might just have generally bad days sometimes, but I don't spend my day feeling like everything about my body is uncomfortable, embarrassing, and limiting.
I very much admire and appreciate everyone on this site. If you are new, know that there will be some very serious struggles, and that perfection is not a long term reality. The further out you are the harder it gets to stay focused. But don't let that stop you from fighting. The sleeve helps stop the spiraling out of control that many of us have experienced, but ultimately your brain and attitude are responsible for keeping you on track. Good luck to everyone, and when you inevitably fall, get the hell back up.

Obviously complications do happen, but before you panic remember that there is a big difference between surgery failing and the patient failing to use surgery correctly.