plane224

I can do beaches!





This one is a stretch but I love the picture so y'all are just going to have to deal with it!

Ha Ha, Me too! Too much dessert in the past ....... Even though I live in a beach city .....
No more ice-creams or chocolate .....

I will take dessert over pretty much anything. I guess that's why I needed WLS.

So I started my journey on October 30th 2015 at 540 pounds. This is the highest I've ever been. I had to be on oxygen because I was so overweight it was pressing against my lungs.
I had to do 6 months of a supervised diet and lost 60 pounds before my surgery and had my surgery weighing 480 pounds.
I had a horrible time after surgery as some on here may remember. I was in extreme pain for 3 weeks then extreme nausea for 5 months. The nausea was so bad I didn't eat or drink for over a month and had to get a picc line and give myself infusions overnight to get my fluids and nutrients.
They removed my gallbladder in October of this year and I started to feel much better.
I now feel great and am finally starting to be able to enjoy my smaller size! I'm having fun working out at the gym and I'm starting to feel pretty and trying to date.
I now weigh 336 pounds! That's 204 pounds down from my first weigh in and 144 pounds down since my surgery May 29th 2015!
I'm so excited to be going in the right direction! I just turned 30 in November and I can't wait to finally start living my life!
Here are some before and after pictures!

This is me July 2014

March 2015

March 2015

November 2016

November 2016

January 2017
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi all! Last year I had Roux-en-Y surgery at age 61 with no complications from that surgery. May 19th 2016 will be my year and I've lost almost 100 pounds and I am looking forward to actually getting to 100 pounds before the 19th. I need four or five more pounds to get to my third revised goal. All my comorbidities gone that of high blood pressure, pre-diabetes and high cholesterol. My blood work looks absolutely fantastic I feel good I exercise almost every single day some days I walk 8.5 miles and will increase that to 10 miles per day at least three times a week. I drink a lot of Water and pray each each and every day! Be encouraged the future is very bright!!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

A recent study out of Denmark shows some strange results on BMI and mortality.
Led by Dr. Shoalb Afzal from Copenhagen University and the Copenhagen University Hospital, a team of researchers analyzed data from three cohorts of the general Danish population. There were nearly 14,000 people from the Copenhagen City Heart Study (1976-78), another 9,500 from that study in 1991-94, and over 97,000 from the Copenhagen General Population Study in 2003-2013. All the participants were followed from their first enrollment in their respective study until November, 2014, or until they emigrated or died.
Typically the lowest risk of mortality is associated with a BMI in the lower to mid 20s. In the earliest Danish cohort, that nadir was 23.7. In the next one (1991-94) it was 24.6, and 27.0 for the last one. What could the progression in the nadir of the BMI vs. Mortality curve mean?
http://acsh.org/news/2016/05/16/the-case-of-the-creeping-bmi/
From my perspective, it appears to show that you do not want to be in the underweight category (especially if you are age 50 and male. You do not even want to be in the low side or mid range of the healthy category. Mortality range appears to be a little high there also. You want to be on the high side of healthy BMI to the overweight category. Mortality for males age 50 appears to be lowest here. You don't want to be in the obese or above category. You definitely don't want to be a smoker.
This is important information. Goal weight is an arbitrary number that we use after Weight Loss Surgery to set a goal. But it is somewhat arbitrary. After surgery, I hit my goal and then continued to drop the weight. Eventually my body found a weight it liked and that is where I landed. Then over time I lost a little more weight and decided to reanalyze my goal. I determined that I would like to be on the high side of normal (healthy) weight near a BMI of 24.2 (for me that was 150 pounds). In the old days, it was important to have a little extra fat on the body, so that when one became seriously ill or injured, this bit of extra fat was in storage to help the body through the recovery process. This study seems to support that decision. At least if I was a Dane.

Brains naturally shrink with age. Starting in middle age, the brains of obese people show startling differences in gray matter tissue versus white matter tissue compared to those of normal weight, according to an analysis of fMRI images. White matter tissue connects regions of the brain and allows for information to be communicated between those regions.
Scientists looked at data from 473 individuals between the ages of 20 and 87 who were recruited by the Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience. It’s a cross-sectional study (it looked at data from individuals at only one point in time) so it can’t be conclusive, but they wanted an idea of how obesity impacts brain structure across the adult lifespan and to infer if obesity caused greater brain changes characteristic of aging.
Overweight people showed differences, a widespread reduction, in brain matter structure compared with those of their leaner counterparts.
http://acsh.org/news/2016/08/04/your-brain-on-obesity-overweight-people-are-ten-years-older/
I think a more interesting question "Is this trend reversible for obese patients that undergo weight loss surgery and achieve long term normal BMI levels.
A few days ago, I posted that:
With one third of the adult American population being obese, it is no surprise that there are 113,000 bariatric surgical cases per year. Studies have shown how the procedure can improve obesity-related disorders, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension [high blood pressure], and high cholesterol levels. Researchers are adding another to this growing list – premature aging. In a paper presented at the recent European Society of Cardiology Frontiers In Cardiovascular Biology Conference in florence, Italy, Austrian researcher Philipp Hohensinner and his collaborators discussed the role of bariatric surgery in improving and possibly reversing the premature aging phenotype of previously morbidly obese patients.
http://acsh.org/news/2016/07/28/bariatric-surgery-may-reverse-obesity-associated-premature-aging/
So maybe there is some hope for us old-timers.

Starting weight 280, Surgery on 8/15/2011, 8 months out 84 lbs down. 2nd pictur taken approx 3 weeks ago? SUPER HAPPY,

Thanks so much, I am truly amazed at how fast I've lost. I'm 3 months out and down 62 lbs!

I just had to share!!! These are my biggest size jeans that I wore before surgery I haven't worn them in a couple weeks and it was laundry day and put them on to run to the store and I couldn't believe my eyes!!!

Pro-op
Surgery
About 1 week shy of three months.
Starting weight 205
Surgery weight 200
Current weight 156
Goal weight 135
Total weight loss 49

I'm down 51 pounds (as of today)...So 2.5 months out from revision. I had only lost about 65 with the band...and regained all of it back (plus 20 pounds)...I'm so happy with my decision to revise
Leslie

I do find that snacking leads to stalls and or weight gain for me. I have to be very careful because I also get reactive hypoglycemia so i pretty much eat very small meals all day long. That is a slippery slope and can feel much like grazing which is the worst thing i can do.
Early on while in weight loss mode my nut had me drink milk for a snack. it gives you added Protein, turns to a solid keeping you full for quite a while. And.....best of all you can add different types of tea to it. My favorite all time snack especially in the winter is chocolate chai tea. I use the loose tea version from teavanna and steep it for 3 minutes.
It is especially delicious, hits the spot with NO added sugar other than what is in the milk. I use lactaid because i still have a lactose intolerance.
If i dont have that, i will eat full fat cheese, pepperoni, shrimp, almonds and sometimes bariatric pal hot chocolate or bariatric pal vanilla capacciono.

I'm a little more than 16 months out.
My surgery was in July 2015. I was converting from lap band to gastric bypass. Best thing I ever did. I have PCOS with insulin resistance that lap band would never cure.
My last update was at one year. I've made a little progress since then so I thought I would share.
On the day of surgery, I weighed 275. At one year, I weighed 188. Today I weigh 174. I met with a plastic surgeon last summer who specializes with dramatic weight loss, but my insurance won't cover the lower body lift. At this point, I'm about to switch insurance anyway after switching jobs, so I'll try again in a few months. Ideally, I'd like to get to 150, however my official goal that I discussed with the medical team was 170. If I can't get insurance to cover it, i'll self-pay. I'll be damned if I've lost all this weight and have to keep a jiggly belly. To be fair, I have two year old twins (and two others), and the twins were EACH 7lbs 1oz. My belly needs serious help!
Anyway, I'll attach an old picture and some recent ones. Enjoy!   

Everyday is a challenge. Every meal is a question of "do i really want that?". Every month is a question of why am i not loosing more. When i look at myself in the mirror i cant see the difference. People keep telling me that i changed, but i cant see it. I went from a size 24 to a now 16/14 and im 7 month out. From 318 lb to 228lb. 90 lb difference that i cannot tell by looking at myself. Maybe its a good thing, it wakes me work harder at the gym, helps me make better decisions with my diet. This is the first time i compared pictures of my face....definitely looks like a different person
Dasha

I am 13 months post op. Down 137 pounds. I am very happy with my results. I feel blessed to have this chance for a great outcome. 54 years old 
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sent from my VS995 using the BariatricPal App
Left was in Jan. 231 Right was October 140 pounds
Sent from my VS995 using the BariatricPal App

Well what tastes good is a matter of opinion. I can't stand Quest bars. I think they taste like cardboard. I like Pure Protein Bars a lot

Rny 11/18/14. Sw289 cw184. I've never counted calories just estimated, kept the Water and Protein up always! My workout is an hour on the treadmill 3-4 times a week. I've had many plateaus and one lasted over a month! I'm losing so much slower now and it's not every week that I can see a loss. I have 24 pds til goal which I set at 160. Once I get there I may reevaluate and take it from there. Moral of the story, keep going..work hard and enjoy the progress you make no matter how much you lose or how fast you lose! You will get there and that's all that matters!
http://flipagram.com/f/YXXy5eaffo

Forgot to attach my pic
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Hi guys, its been weeks since ive checked in. Last time i was having surgery because of a blockage they found. Over 5 wks couldnt have a bowel movement for nothing. So plz be careful. Any signs, let someone know. I literally almost died, but i didnt and im so happy to be here to write this and say its never to late to get some help to get this weight off of you. This time last yr, i spent the holidays with family in dallas and was on a walker. Needed total knee replacement. Those same family members are with me this yr and weve walked 3miles every morning and they cant believe this is the same person, and i refused the knee replacement. Since i started this process in may, ive lost a total of 101lbs. Went from a 3xl now in a 12. Nothing but a great dr, and God.....what do you think
Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Way back in 1997, I drove my K3500 down to Ft. Lauderdale. It was right at the end of February, going into March, so it was as cold as could be up here, and hot down there. About 200 miles north of my destination, the AC crapped out. I was seriously bummed. I made it down to where I was going to be staying, and called the local dealership. Apparently they had stacks of AC units lying around, because of the climate.
They fixed my truck right up, but when I came to pick it up, the service writer was laughing. He said the guys in the shop wanted to know who drove these kinds of trucks! It was a 4WD crew cab with an 8' bed. He said, "Boys, this man is from Pennsylvania. This is the family car up there!"
I told him he was closer than he knew. It was indeed the family "car". I was running a woodworking business on the second shift, so to speak, and home schooling our daughters during the day. Mrs. LittleBill was driving a sedan to work that would not even fit all of us if we had to. A year later, we were able to step into a Suburban for her. We got a lot of looks when we told people our Suburban was the little vehicle.

Wow you are lucky...I probably spent 20 minutes talking to the doctor but I also had to go through a 600+ questionnaire!

So now that I've met my goal I wanted to post an updated picture. My high weight was 252....that picture was taken Easter Sunday 2016.....I had surgery May 16, 2016.....and now 7 months and one week later today Dec 23rd....102 pounds gone forever! I've never been happier!!!

Honestly, I think this is the best time of year to just have had surgery, we are restricted as hell and so we don't binge and gain a bunch of weight. We'll be losing fat and be ready for the summer. Also, if we can get through this, we can get through anything!
Sent from my LG-K330 using the BariatricPal App