Dashofpixiedust8

Hey everyone! I had my panniculectomy on June 5th and here are my before and afters!
Stats:
Highest: 540 Size 38
Surgery: 480 Size 32
Panni: 275 Size 24 pant 18 top
Current: 248 Size 16 bottom and 14 top
15 pounds of skin removed
I am soooo incredibly happy with the results! I don't care about scars. I went from a size 24 before surgery to a size 16. AMAZING!

I want to have more surgeries done but I need to wait to get to goal first. My panni was so bad I had to get it removed before getting to goal.

My thighs will be first. Ugh I hate them!

Hey everyone! I had my panniculectomy on June 5th and here are my before and afters!
Stats:
Highest: 540 Size 38
Surgery: 480 Size 32
Panni: 275 Size 24 pant 18 top
Current: 248 Size 16 bottom and 14 top
15 pounds of skin removed
I am soooo incredibly happy with the results! I don't care about scars. I went from a size 24 before surgery to a size 16. AMAZING!

I want to have more surgeries done but I need to wait to get to goal first. My panni was so bad I had to get it removed before getting to goal.

My thighs will be first. Ugh I hate them!

You have done amazing!!! You look entirely different!! Congrats on your success!!

Hey everyone! I had my panniculectomy on June 5th and here are my before and afters!
Stats:
Highest: 540 Size 38
Surgery: 480 Size 32
Panni: 275 Size 24 pant 18 top
Current: 248 Size 16 bottom and 14 top
15 pounds of skin removed
I am soooo incredibly happy with the results! I don't care about scars. I went from a size 24 before surgery to a size 16. AMAZING!

I want to have more surgeries done but I need to wait to get to goal first. My panni was so bad I had to get it removed before getting to goal.

My thighs will be first. Ugh I hate them!

Hey everyone! I had my panniculectomy on June 5th and here are my before and afters!
Stats:
Highest: 540 Size 38
Surgery: 480 Size 32
Panni: 275 Size 24 pant 18 top
Current: 248 Size 16 bottom and 14 top
15 pounds of skin removed
I am soooo incredibly happy with the results! I don't care about scars. I went from a size 24 before surgery to a size 16. AMAZING!

I want to have more surgeries done but I need to wait to get to goal first. My panni was so bad I had to get it removed before getting to goal.

My thighs will be first. Ugh I hate them!

Hey everyone! I had my panniculectomy on June 5th and here are my before and afters!
Stats:
Highest: 540 Size 38
Surgery: 480 Size 32
Panni: 275 Size 24 pant 18 top
Current: 248 Size 16 bottom and 14 top
15 pounds of skin removed
I am soooo incredibly happy with the results! I don't care about scars. I went from a size 24 before surgery to a size 16. AMAZING!

I want to have more surgeries done but I need to wait to get to goal first. My panni was so bad I had to get it removed before getting to goal.

My thighs will be first. Ugh I hate them!

So it's been one year since surgery. I am so thankful everyday for my sleeve. Before surgery I had to be on oxygen because I was so overweight I couldn't breathe properly and could hardly walk around a room without getting out of breath. Now I can walk 6 miles and up hills without stopping for a rest.
I'm down 200 since surgery and 263 overall. I started at a size 36/38 (probably stretching it out) and now I'm a 18/20 too and 22 bottom (though probably smaller because of my extra skin...that will be gone soon though).
I'm having a panniculectomy on June 5th. I'm nervous but also excited. Anyone who has had it...what are some things you think I'll need to help me out while recovering!
I had a really rough 6 months after surgery with a bunch of complications but even with all of that I would do this again in a heartbeat.
My stats are:
Highest: 540
Surgery: 480
Current: 277.2
Goal: 199
Height: 5'10
I am almost exactly half who I used to be.
     

i feel like some people don't know if it's okay to mention it. For me, it wasn't really that noticeable until I was down over 150 pounds since I started so high. Not everyone would mention it. I was on the fence about whether I even wanted them to say anything. Now that I'm down 292 pounds...it is VERY noticeable and I really WANT the attention. Not everyone gives it still but MANY people do. I really think it depends on how well that person knows you whether they feel they have a right to comment on it. Everyone is different and maybe they feel it would be insulting to say something.
I know it's very hard but try not to focus on any one else's reactions to you but focus on your own reactions and abilities you didn't have before. Also, I'm not saying you are but if you depend on other people's reactions to validate your choice of having surgery it may affect your commitment to continue. Only you can make you happy.
I struggle with the physical validation from others a lot. I'm trying to focus on the fact that before, I was a shell of a human in a round squishy cell. Now I am free and I am active and I am who I always wanted and knew I could be but always stopped myself from becoming.
This is both a physically and emotionally draining experience and I'm sure there is a difference, others just may not know what to say about it. But you can tell yourself, damn, I look good!


Sorry for the long post...I think I wrote some of this to remind myself as much as I want to tell you!

I kind of just need to vent and air out my laundry. So feel free to read on and offer advice as you see fit. I know it is long so you don’t have to read it either. Maybe you can relate, maybe you can’t but I wanted to share this with people who might understand. I do have some before and after pictures at the bottoms also if you just want to look at those!
I am having a hard time lately. I had my sleeve surgery on 5/29/16. I started this process at the end of October 2015 weighing in at 540 pounds. I used to have to wear portable oxygen 24/7 because I was so overweight my fat was pressing against my lungs and restricting my breathing. I have managed to get down to 248 pounds since my surgery 14 months ago. Now I can walk 6 miles up and down hills without even getting out of breath.
I just had the first of many plastic surgeries on June 5th. It was just an interim surgery since I am not at goal yet, but losing over 290 pounds will affect your skin drastically and I needed my stomach hang removed for quality of life reasons.
I want many more plastic surgeries. My thighs are my biggest concern. My plastic surgeon told me he wants me to get to goal and wait at least 9 months at a stable weight before we do any more though.
My doctor’s just want me to get to a size 12 or 10 as my goal. I started at a size 38/40 and now I am a size 14/16. That is insane to me honestly. I don’t think I have been a size 14/16 since I was 10 years old.
Now, to be clear, I am a huge self-sabotager. I have been challenged by this since I was a kid. I have been in therapy since I was 6 with various issues and still see a great therapist every week.
For over the past month I have not been cooking. Mostly because I had no energy and I was in pain still from my surgery. I don’t heal that great after surgery and it lasts with me a long time. Instead of meal planning and cooking I have been eating take out, sweets, and junk and I know it’s not helpful. Thankfully I have only gained about .8 of a pound with my self-sabotaging ways.
Honestly guys, I think it’s because I’m scared. I’m scared of what it will be like without my fat around me. I have been overweight since I was 3 years old. It’s all I’ve known. I used to have day dreams when I was in school of just getting on the bus and unzipping myself from this fat suit I was stuck in and everyone being amazing at this beautiful girl I actually was.
Here I am at 30, basically doing that and it terrifies me.
I’m not saying I’m unhappy with the weightloss, not at all. I am ECSTATIC! I can actually live my life and join in on the world instead of being trapped in my body and only living as a shell of a human being.
I can go to amusement parks and fit on the rides. Which is what I did this weekend as a kind of declaration of freedom and just a time to enjoy myself with friends.
I can be active, I don’t need to worry about if I will fit in a small space (but still my mind tells me I won’t and I’m scared every time that I won’t fit. I was terrified to get on every roller coaster at the park. Not because of the ride, but I was afraid I wouldn’t fit and the embarrassment would kill me).
This has been a draining experience, both physically and mentally. But for me, the mental part has been the hardest.
I was able to recognize that I was self-sabotaging out of fear though. I was able to get up, shake myself off, and start again. Because that is what you have to do. I have meal planned, weighed and measured my food, tracked everything, and started more activity.
I will not let my manipulative brain win this time.
I have come too far to stop now. I will not give up and I will NEVER go back to the girl who couldn’t live the life she wanted.

Congratulations!! I can't wait to get to ONEDERLAND!!!!

Hey everyone! I had my panniculectomy on June 5th and here are my before and afters!
Stats:
Highest: 540 Size 38
Surgery: 480 Size 32
Panni: 275 Size 24 pant 18 top
Current: 248 Size 16 bottom and 14 top
15 pounds of skin removed
I am soooo incredibly happy with the results! I don't care about scars. I went from a size 24 before surgery to a size 16. AMAZING!

I want to have more surgeries done but I need to wait to get to goal first. My panni was so bad I had to get it removed before getting to goal.

My thighs will be first. Ugh I hate them!

I kind of just need to vent and air out my laundry. So feel free to read on and offer advice as you see fit. I know it is long so you don’t have to read it either. Maybe you can relate, maybe you can’t but I wanted to share this with people who might understand. I do have some before and after pictures at the bottoms also if you just want to look at those!
I am having a hard time lately. I had my sleeve surgery on 5/29/16. I started this process at the end of October 2015 weighing in at 540 pounds. I used to have to wear portable oxygen 24/7 because I was so overweight my fat was pressing against my lungs and restricting my breathing. I have managed to get down to 248 pounds since my surgery 14 months ago. Now I can walk 6 miles up and down hills without even getting out of breath.
I just had the first of many plastic surgeries on June 5th. It was just an interim surgery since I am not at goal yet, but losing over 290 pounds will affect your skin drastically and I needed my stomach hang removed for quality of life reasons.
I want many more plastic surgeries. My thighs are my biggest concern. My plastic surgeon told me he wants me to get to goal and wait at least 9 months at a stable weight before we do any more though.
My doctor’s just want me to get to a size 12 or 10 as my goal. I started at a size 38/40 and now I am a size 14/16. That is insane to me honestly. I don’t think I have been a size 14/16 since I was 10 years old.
Now, to be clear, I am a huge self-sabotager. I have been challenged by this since I was a kid. I have been in therapy since I was 6 with various issues and still see a great therapist every week.
For over the past month I have not been cooking. Mostly because I had no energy and I was in pain still from my surgery. I don’t heal that great after surgery and it lasts with me a long time. Instead of meal planning and cooking I have been eating take out, sweets, and junk and I know it’s not helpful. Thankfully I have only gained about .8 of a pound with my self-sabotaging ways.
Honestly guys, I think it’s because I’m scared. I’m scared of what it will be like without my fat around me. I have been overweight since I was 3 years old. It’s all I’ve known. I used to have day dreams when I was in school of just getting on the bus and unzipping myself from this fat suit I was stuck in and everyone being amazing at this beautiful girl I actually was.
Here I am at 30, basically doing that and it terrifies me.
I’m not saying I’m unhappy with the weightloss, not at all. I am ECSTATIC! I can actually live my life and join in on the world instead of being trapped in my body and only living as a shell of a human being.
I can go to amusement parks and fit on the rides. Which is what I did this weekend as a kind of declaration of freedom and just a time to enjoy myself with friends.
I can be active, I don’t need to worry about if I will fit in a small space (but still my mind tells me I won’t and I’m scared every time that I won’t fit. I was terrified to get on every roller coaster at the park. Not because of the ride, but I was afraid I wouldn’t fit and the embarrassment would kill me).
This has been a draining experience, both physically and mentally. But for me, the mental part has been the hardest.
I was able to recognize that I was self-sabotaging out of fear though. I was able to get up, shake myself off, and start again. Because that is what you have to do. I have meal planned, weighed and measured my food, tracked everything, and started more activity.
I will not let my manipulative brain win this time.
I have come too far to stop now. I will not give up and I will NEVER go back to the girl who couldn’t live the life she wanted.

So this may be tmi but my doctor pointed something out to me the other day and I wondered if anyone else had this issue.
Even though I'm not anywhere close to goal I have a bunch of hanging skin since I've lost 200 lbs. I just turned 30 and just started dating again. I don't feel comfortable being naked with someone because I feel disgusting.
My doctor pointed out I was fine and didn't care about how my body looked when I was much heavier.
It really made me stop and think. I don't know why I was more okay being naked when I was heavier than I do now.
The only thing I can think of is that I didn't care at all what I looked like before and now I do. I wear make up and I dress nice now.
I don't know how to become comfortable enough with my new body and hanging skin to be intimate with someone.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You have done amazing!!! You look entirely different!! Congrats on your success!!

I hit a milestone today I am super excited about!
I have finally lost 300 pounds! I have been stalled the past few months and finally lost those last 6 pounds to hit this milestone! I am so thankful to be making this journey.
It still feels like a dream to me. It's crazy how I went from having to be on oxygen 24/7 and hardly being able to cross a room without getting out of breath to being able to walk for 6 miles and still be ready to go out and do other things!
I am loving life right now and wanted to share my excitement at hitting this milestone with you!
 

I had the sleeve surgery 5/29/16. I am a very social person and very open. I was open with my friends and some of my family and some coworkers about the process I was going through and that I would be having the surgery. Since starting this process I have lost 250 pounds. That is a pretty noticeable difference!

In my experience people are curious how you've achieved such great results and when they ask I just tell then I had weight loss surgery and I just watch what I eat and exercise. Most of the time they just accept that answer and say okay! Some people ask how it was and I tell them that I had issues in the beginning but it has saved my life. I tell them about my small portions and the focus on Protein.

Ultimately it's up to you how much you share. You owe them nothing. If they ask you how you are doing it just tell them you are eating healthier and trying to be active...WHICH IS TRUE. You don't need to divulge your whole story.

For myself I tell anyone and everyone. I'm EXTREMELY proud of my weight loss. For example, I was just at the lab to get bloodwork and was so excited to fit in the chair with the arm down I couldn't contain my story and told her how I used to not be able to put the arm down and I had lost 250 pounds. That's me though. I'm very open about my experiences and I like people to know how hard I've worked. When I am able to fit somewhere I couldn't before or do something I couldn't I am SOOO surprised still. My mentality is still in the 540 pound woman who can hardly walk and can't fit most places. I think part of me telling people is that I'm still overweight and want people to know I am working on it and have already come a long way and won't be like this forever. That is my own insecurity though.

In conclusion...just do what you want. Share what your feel comfortable sharing. You will be surprised at how little people judge you for it. At least that has been the case in my experiences.

i feel like some people don't know if it's okay to mention it. For me, it wasn't really that noticeable until I was down over 150 pounds since I started so high. Not everyone would mention it. I was on the fence about whether I even wanted them to say anything. Now that I'm down 292 pounds...it is VERY noticeable and I really WANT the attention. Not everyone gives it still but MANY people do. I really think it depends on how well that person knows you whether they feel they have a right to comment on it. Everyone is different and maybe they feel it would be insulting to say something.
I know it's very hard but try not to focus on any one else's reactions to you but focus on your own reactions and abilities you didn't have before. Also, I'm not saying you are but if you depend on other people's reactions to validate your choice of having surgery it may affect your commitment to continue. Only you can make you happy.
I struggle with the physical validation from others a lot. I'm trying to focus on the fact that before, I was a shell of a human in a round squishy cell. Now I am free and I am active and I am who I always wanted and knew I could be but always stopped myself from becoming.
This is both a physically and emotionally draining experience and I'm sure there is a difference, others just may not know what to say about it. But you can tell yourself, damn, I look good!


Sorry for the long post...I think I wrote some of this to remind myself as much as I want to tell you!

I hit a milestone today I am super excited about!
I have finally lost 300 pounds! I have been stalled the past few months and finally lost those last 6 pounds to hit this milestone! I am so thankful to be making this journey.
It still feels like a dream to me. It's crazy how I went from having to be on oxygen 24/7 and hardly being able to cross a room without getting out of breath to being able to walk for 6 miles and still be ready to go out and do other things!
I am loving life right now and wanted to share my excitement at hitting this milestone with you!
 

Haha! Love it!

I don’t have a goal weight really anymore. I have a goal clothing size. Like Berry78, many of the people who had surgery at the same time as me 18 months ago have reached goal but I had over 300 to lose. I’m now 20-40 pounds away from where I’d like to be.
You have to figure out what is right for you. The BMI scale means nothing really! Don’t let anyone tell you what your goal should be but you. Good luck!

I don’t have a goal weight really anymore. I have a goal clothing size. Like Berry78, many of the people who had surgery at the same time as me 18 months ago have reached goal but I had over 300 to lose. I’m now 20-40 pounds away from where I’d like to be.
You have to figure out what is right for you. The BMI scale means nothing really! Don’t let anyone tell you what your goal should be but you. Good luck!

I don’t have a goal weight really anymore. I have a goal clothing size. Like Berry78, many of the people who had surgery at the same time as me 18 months ago have reached goal but I had over 300 to lose. I’m now 20-40 pounds away from where I’d like to be.
You have to figure out what is right for you. The BMI scale means nothing really! Don’t let anyone tell you what your goal should be but you. Good luck!

I hit a milestone today I am super excited about!
I have finally lost 300 pounds! I have been stalled the past few months and finally lost those last 6 pounds to hit this milestone! I am so thankful to be making this journey.
It still feels like a dream to me. It's crazy how I went from having to be on oxygen 24/7 and hardly being able to cross a room without getting out of breath to being able to walk for 6 miles and still be ready to go out and do other things!
I am loving life right now and wanted to share my excitement at hitting this milestone with you!
 

I'm at the point in my journey where all my "peers" have pretty much arrived at goal. I still have at least another 40lbs to drop to a normal BMI (I started out heavier than any of them).
But, I'm not focusing on a specific #on the scale. I'm actually looking at my loose skin and calculating the sweet spot for maximal losses while retaining a hope of not needing plastics.
At this moment, I've reached a relatively healthy weight (size 12). Any extra losses are icing. Plastics aren't icing, they are a step in the wrong direction (for me).
So, I'll keep losing, for now, but BMI means pretty much nil in the grand scheme of things.
As for probable regain.. yeah, pretty much everyone gains some. I'll take that into consideration as I near goal. Might shoot for an extra 10lbs off... but not at the risk of becoming airborn in a mild breeze...

So I wanted to vent to people who would understand. As some of you know I started my journey at 540 pounds and wearing a size 38/40 I’m now 18 months out from surgery and weigh 245ish pounds and wearing a size 16/18.
Tomorrow I am flying for the first time since my skin removal surgery. When I flew in April before my skin removal surgery I still needed 2 seats and a seatbelt extender.
I did not buy 2 seats this time and I am NERVOUS!! What if I overflow into the other seat?! I know I’m much smaller than I was I’m just scared nonetheless.
I’m flying with my boyfriend so at least I would just crowd his space but it’s still embarrassing. I’m so scared to get on this plane tomorrow!
Thanks for letting me vent! I am sorry I have not been around much lately. My schedule is going to calm down in the next few weeks so I should be able to post more again!