cdeisroth

Here is a better progression photo of before/during/after

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Wow! What a transformation!!

Any advice for those of us earlier in our journey?

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I think the biggest piece of advice I could give for successful weight loss would be to stick to the plan your doctor or nutritionist prescribes you. It will work! Once you are on solid foods, try new things, expand your menu, don't get trapped in the grilled chicken/protein shake "is all I can have" mentality. It will make it feel like you are on an endless diet and it will be unbearable. Make learning healthy habits a priority, like measuring and weighing food, not drinking during or after eating, planning your meals in advance and stopping before you are uncomfortably full. These are the changes that will matter 1, 2, 10 years out when you can eat anything and are working to maintain.

Also, enjoy the process. I just wanted to be at my goal, I was never satisfied whether I lost 1lb or 5lbs in a week, I felt like success was at the end. Now that I'm here I realized I stressed too much about things like stalls or eating a chip and feeling like i blew it! Looking back there were so many milestones, achievements, and personal growth. I wish I could do it all over again. It was the most exciting year of my life with so many accomplishments and successes...so yeah, enjoy the process and Celebrate your success often. Take pride in the change you decided to make, its a big deal!

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Did you still continue to lose weight after the year mark i just hit my year mark June 2nd?


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I hit my goal 11 months after surgery, which was 136. I lost 2 more lbs the next month and I've been maintaining ever since. It's hard, I can eat a lot now so I have to watch myself!

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It took a while for my brain to catch up, actually its still happening, so the adjustment wasn't so hard. What was hard is that I still felt huge, even as I approached my goal weight and only now am I realizing that I'm a "normal" size. It's hard to explain. Now that I'm more comfortable in my skin I'm having a lot of fun trying on new clothes and playing around with styles that compliment my body type and make me feel confident.

Fyi...im 5'2, starting weight 261lbs. Current weight 134lbs.

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Awesome!! Got any before pics to compare you'd care to post?


H 5'6" HW 253, CW 245, TBS 9/19

Here is one, I know I have more, just have to find them!

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Yes, you will eventually even out! I carried most of my weight in my midsection and it was not really until I lost the last 50% of the weight that I started to see a drastic difference in that area. I'm now a few lbs below goal and while I have a small belly "flap", my waist is now defined and proportional to the rest of my body. Congrats on your success!

I take 1 multi, 1 Iron, 2 Calcium, and 1 Biotin (10,000 mg) per day. Here is how I take them

AM- multi, biotin and 1 calcium

PM After work- iron

PM before bed- 2nd calcium

Yup! Welcome to the world of loose skin. I can tell you they do lighten again, but yes, this is normal and expected. For me seemed to be more visible when I first started loosing weight. Now, my skin just looks permanently puckered on my stomach.

A Tummy Tuck can improve this. I've chosen not to have plastic surgery because I still want to have children so I want to keep the "extra room" I currently have.

1 minute ago, Big2Tiny said:

Oh I am so happy for you and I loved reading that. I am about same height, age and same weight before you had the surgery and i am having my first consultation next tuesday. Hopefully I get to have it as soon as possible because I am paying for it myselve. Gave up on the insurance way to do it, would have been a minimum 1.5 years from now to get it paid by them. And I have already waited 4 years at least, since I had waited over 2 years to get it and I had at least one more years to go when I got pregnant in febrúary 2015. Done with the waiting, now it my time.

I completely understand! I was lucky that I had a pretty easy insurance approval but I waited 10 years. I wanted to do this so long ago, and a few times I started the process, only to find out my insurance wouldn't cover it at the time. I even had an emotional breakdown at one point after finding out my insurance wouldn't cover it about 3 years ago and ended up in bed for 3 days crying and finding myself a therapist. I felt hopeless, like I was stuck. But I kept going. As luck would have it the next year I was able to switch to my employers health plan and life just seemed to "make room" for me to be able to go through the pre-op and surgery process. Whether you are self-pay or insurance you wont regret it if you are ready. I'm excited for you and cant wait to see your progress!

57 minutes ago, kerrymarie32 said:

Congratulations & happy re-birthday to you!! well done you are doing great, It will be one year for me 22nd April & looking forward to Celebrate, it's also the best decision I've ever done too

I'm excited for you! Congrats on your one year (coming soon). I really didn't realize how much it would hit me. I just thought it would be another day but I kept finding myself breaking out into tears, thinking about the past year and how much I've been through. Its been an awesome experience for me and I'm glad to hear you feel the same for yourself.

3 hours ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

Several doctors have told me that being morbidly obese changes your body. Your body has to adapt to carry the additional weight. Your bones are denser (mine are about 3x as dense as the average woman my age), and you have more muscle mass. I weigh more than I did in HS but I am about 2 sizes smaller. Most women in the 190 weight range at 5 foot 6 inches are not wearing a size 8 dress, but I am.

Loose skin has something to do with that but the information from my DEXA scans let's me know that my body is different tham most.

This explains a lot! Me and my mother are the same height. When she was younger she weighed between 97-105lbs which was very normal for her. Once I got to my goal she asked me what I weighed and was "shocked" when I told her 136. She could not understand how i looked so "skinny" but weighed so much. She's a bit bigger now with age so would love to be 136lbs now but said she was at least a size 10-12 when she weighed that much. I chalked it up to vanity sizing but I've never heard the explanation you gave which makes a lot of sense.

Congratulations!! Great Job! I'm almost 7 months post op and have pretty much hit goal. Do you still feel your restriction? I worry that once that goes away (does it go away) that I'll start gaining back the weight. I feel so good right now. I never want to go back but I know how it can slip back so easily.

We will always have restriction, just not like it was when we first had the surgery. Around month 9 I noticed I could eat a lot more. Around month 11 even more. I'm maintaining my weight now eating around 1200-1400 calories a day. That would have been unheard of at 7 months where I was still eating 700-800 a day. How my restriction works depends on the density of the food. I know my max is 4 ounces of meat in one sitting. I can eat 1 yogurt with 1/4 cup of granola and will be full.

I hear you when you talk about fear, I'm always scared too that I'll slip back to the old me, so I give myself rules. 90/10. 90% of the time I follow the bariatric diet. 10% I get what I want, whether it's a peice of toast with my eggs, a glass or two of wine on a Saturday night, or a small fun size pack of M&m's after lunch. I don't believe in restricting certain foods into a "never again" category but what I have learned is moderation and control, so I'm learning to trust my splurges, knowing that I'm in full control and will not go overboard 90% of the time.

May I ask how you are coping with loose skin? That is just such an incredible loss! Congratulations

Thank you
I have loose skin on my stomach (a small "apron"), on my upper arms, and inner thighs. I was always small chested but my breasts are now completely deflated. How do I deal with it? I really have to think about that. None of my loose skin is what I would consider severe, it does not get in my way, cause any rashing, or prohibit me from any activity or wearing anything I want (except a bikini, I will never wear a bikini)

I wear clothes that compliment my shape and avoid things that highlight my flaws (like we all do). Most people cannot tell i have sagging skin. Spanx work wonders (theres a picture in my profile where im wearing a white dress, spanx and a padded bra are holding it all together). I never had a tight body, I was very big before, and now I'm small and my skin sags. I guess I don't feel bad because I don't know what I'm missing.

Other than that I just accept this as my new body, my sags and stretch marks are my battle scars, proof I won the fight!

I was never thin so i had no small clothes to try out but now I'm one year out, RNY. Went from a size 22 to a size 6. Was obese since age 3. I have "shape" for the first time in my life. It's so cool! I'm learning how to dress myself and work with my new body type. For the first time ever my hips are wider than my waist. I now love trying new clothes and tucking shirts in. It's like a whole new world of fashion for me!

I had gastric bypass a year ago and I can share my experience as someone who was very open about it. I didn’t shout it from the rooftops but I did tell close family, a few friends and colleagues before the surgery. After, as I noticeably started to lose weight a lot of curious people asked "how are you doing it?" , "what's your secret?". I've always been honest and said I had weight loss surgery. 95% of people respond with "good for you", no more questions asked. The other 5% want to know more, what you can eat, what it feels like to lose that much weight. They're generally curious and 2 ppl I know have since had the surgery. At this point if you know me you know I've had WLS.

I don't feel like a poster child nor do I feel like im spilling all of my personal details everyday. I've been super lucky to never encounter any negativity from anyone.

Not saying you should share with everyone and you should only do what makes you feel comfortable. Just wanted to give the perspective of someone who has been through it and has decided to be open.

I didn't realize how emotional I would be today, on my one year anniversary. I'm not a sentimental but I feel like I got a second chance at life, a new birthday to celebrate! This was by far the best decision I have ever made in my life. I am healthier, happier, and feel like I can accomplish anything. I am in full control at this point and it's liberating. Just needed to share, I'm celebrating and I know all of you understand what an emotional journey this is!

Starting weight -261lbs

SW-March 14, 2016- 239lbs

Goal weight February 2017-136lbs

Current weight-134lbs

Height-5'2

Age-35

The more weight you lose the slower it will be. I'm one year out this week and at my goal weight. Lost 125lbs total. 100 of that was in the first 7 months. Took 4 more months to lose the last 25!

You are doing this for you, no one else and it will be one of the best decisions you ever make. Your family may or may not come around but you will be healthier! I'm one year out this week and no regrets. Best of luck to you!

The unevenness after surgery took about 2 months to clear up for me. My scars were almost invisible at 9 months. I however will never be in a bikini. I've had stretch marks on my stomach since age 12, and those never go away. My skin is now loose and a little saggy, you can't tell under clothes, even tight clothes, but uncovered it's not a pretty site.

Everyone is different. I'm almost a year out and can drink big sips -almost 1/4 of a bottle of Water at a time

Could be anything, but based on where you said the pain is you may want to check your gallbladder. It's very common to have gallbladder issues after bariatric surgery.

Omg you are sooo pretty and you look AMAZING! CONGRATS

That's very sweet, thank you!

I'm not religious but I appreciate those who are. He does not hate you, maybe he's testing your will? Time to prove that you can do it, not only to him but yourself as well.

Dont count lbs day to day. Your six days post op which means youre probably swollen, bloated, and still retaining Water from the anesthesia and countless IVs. Count week to week. So what if you "only" lost 3lbs in a week. Keep that up and a year from now you could lose 150lbs+ (I don't know how much you have to lose but regardless, those are some pretty good #s right there)

Keep following the plan and it will come off, I promise!

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Talk to your surgeon and get their advice. I'm a bypass patient but mine cleared me to start trying at the 1 year mark because I have lost 100% of my excess weight and am eating enough calories and Protein to sustain a healthy pregnancy. I recommend highly that you talk to your dr.

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