KelseyBennett_vsg

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It was my surgiversary on Wednesday September 21,
I'm down 118.6 lbs now, CW 154.8

Okay I think I'm done with loading up pictures for today.
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Getting ready for a wedding today. Figured I would take this shot and compare it to one I did about 6 years ago. I was indeed at my heaviest weight at the time. And I dont even need a belt to wear these pants.

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It's finally happened! 9 months post op and I am a normal BMI! I am a healthy weight for the first time since I was a small child.

Hey thanks for the kind words. A few months ago once I figured out that I could shop in like the GAP and American Eagle stores for clothes, I said then and there that I was officially going to start stepping my clothing game up. Plus it helps boost the self esteem and it actually makes you wanna work out more. Today I brought two suites that cost me only $200 brand new. Before I lost the weight I would have easily paid over $600 for a complete suit. Not having those huge cost differences in clothing now is a super plus in my book.

In the blue was at almost my heaviest weight. Surgery weight was 319, in the white shirt was at about 162 lbs I think and right at one year out from surgery. I have lost another 5 lbs since that was taken and my goal is to lose down to about 140 or so.

Here my one year progress photo!

Highest weight: 294
Day of surgery: 252 (10/19/15)
Current: 150
Total loss: 144
February 27, 2016--199.8 onederland
March 16, 2016--100.6 total lost
May 17, 2016--174.8 mini goal reached
July 23, 2016--165 mini goal reached
October 16, 2016--150 ultimate goal weight
Progress:
October (252) - November (232): -20
November (232) - December (222): -10
December (222) - January (214): -8
January (214) - February (203): -11
February (203) - March (191): -12
March (191) - April (183): -8
April (183) - May (175): -8
May (175) - June (168): -7
June (168) - July (166): -2
July (166) - August (162): -4
August (162) - Sept (157): -5
Sept (157) - Oct (150): -7

This is me, 7 months post-op..79lbs lost

I had surgery almost 10 months ago. Hubby is just eatting better

I remember being pre-op and my favorite thing to do was look at progress photos and dream
I am 6 months, 10 days post op and I am down 128 pounds total. This isnt a very great pic since I have been sick, but i still took it because anything is better than my before!!

I love seeing the progress people have made after surgery. So for those comfortable enough to share them I'd love to see your before and after (and even progress) pics. I haven't had surgery yet (and wont for at least another 3mths) so I don't have any to post but I still like seeing what I have to look forward to. The pic below is me at my highest of 316lbs 2hrs after my son was born.

@@KaiserKid You're not crazy. I have a fear of failing as well. I bet many of us do. It's a full-time job to eat and drink at first - but I am assuming it becomes more routine at some point. I never thought I'd be able to stick with the pre-op diet and I did - 100% without cheating at all. I really think that helped me be prepared for post-op. I'm only a little more than a week post-op - but things are easier than I expected (so far anyway). I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Oh I feel just like all of you...a mess of emotions, lol. My surgery is Nov 7th. I joined the FB group for Oct/Nov surgeries so hopefully we can all talk & share more there.

im set for nov 8th. i was thibking of making a little fb group for us oct/nov surgeries, woild anyone be interested?
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So I had my final appointment today with my surgeon. I'm scheduled for surgery Monday. I have a mixture of feelings. Ready, scared, excited, anxious, happy, sad. It's alot to handle. I'm so ready to be healthier. I'm ready to be a better more active mom that can get on the floor and play with the kids or can go down the Water slide when we go to the water park. I'm so tired of my husband getting all those moments and memories and me just sitting and watching cuz my weight is holding me back. I'm so ready to be a better wife cuz my weight isn't controlling my self image. I've done so much to get ready for this. I've lost almost 30 pounds already. And I can already tell I'm feeling better about myself. I'm ready to be the person I used to be before the weight....friendly, and outgoing. I'm tired of hiding behind this weight and being to self conscious to be myself. I'm ready. I'm sad to say goodbye to food but I'm done with letting it control me. It's been my comfort for too long and has been my downfall. I'm ready to be the one to control me. I have so much in my life to make me happy instead of food. Two beautiful little girls and an amazing husband and great career. I've got everything I need to be happy. I just need to fight to get myself back and make me even more happy. I'm so ready for this. I'm a little scared of the changes but more scared of surgery itself.
Any kind words or advice would be appreciated lol.
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I've been sleeping on my side since the night of surgery. I have very little pain or even soreness in my abdomen. It's unusual but I'm not complaining - I sleep for 10 hours a night. Hope you can sleep better soon!

I completely understand, I started the whole process back last November it's just barely shy of a year.
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@@Ignatius
Apologies for the delay in replying...
Apologies for the possible length of this post...
Once I get on a roll, who knows where I could end up...
Anyway, here goes...
Firstly, a little about me...
I was sleeved on Feb 25, 2015.
I was 45 yrs old.
At my heaviest, I weighed 255kg..
That's 562 pounds.. (We use kg in Australia but as the majority here use pounds, I usually do the math to make it easier)
I was one of the lucky ones...
Despite my weight, I had NO co-morbidities...
No diabetes, no cholesterol, not even high blood pressure...
In the lead up to my surgery, my surgeon pulled no punches..
He made me fully aware that there were no guarantees he'd go thru with the surgery until he'd opened me up..
He was concerned about the fat around my lived and his ability (or inability) to get into where he needed to...
To give me the best chance, he put me on a 'liquids only' diet for 4 weeks prior to the operation...
I can tell you now, that was the hardest 4 weeks of my life...
What made it worse was knowing that it could all be for nothing...
Anyway, I stuck with it for the four weeks (had a couple of hiccups along the way, but nothing I hid from the surgeon) and surgery day came...
Long story short(ish), the surgery was a success...
I did three nights in hospital...
Again, I must be one of the lucky ones...
I had no complications...
No pain...
Nothing...
The nurses kept insisting that I use the 'pain pump', so I did...
But I didn't really think I needed to..
The worst part of the whole thing was, for the first eight hours or so, I was unable to even get out of the recovery chair...
This wasn't so bad for me because I slept for most of it...
But the poor nurse who had to hold the jug for me every time I had to pee - I reckon it might have been a different story for her...
Poor woman...
Anyway, three nights in hospital...
I was hooked up to a machine for my sleep apnea and that SUCKED BALLS!!!
The day after the op, I was up and about, walking the ward and peeing by myself whenever I wanted to (woooohoooo!!)
The doc was really pleased as he thought I'd struggle because of my weight, but I didn't... (Again, lucky?)
By day three, I was itching to get out, and out I got!!
Self administered injection for (blood clotting) for ten days and the all was good...
The progression of diet from liquids to solids was difficult, but nothing compared to the 4 weeks prior...
Once I got home, I struggled a bit with energy/tiredness..
Lugging 560 pounds around on no food and just after surgery was always gonna be tricky but I got there...
Once I started losing weight, I kinda looked at it as a percentage of what I wanted to lose rather than the actual poundage..
While the big numbers are great (really, who LOSES 230 pounds??) it's more realistic to look at it and be aware that I'm 70% of my way to target..
It's a much better way when you compare yourself to others (and you will, despite how bad an idea it is) and give you an idea of where you're really at...
I really like your question re 'losing motivation when you get to a stage where you can lead a fairly normal life".
It's not something I've ever thought about...
But I guess the answer is "YES", it's certainly a possibility...
I'm at the stage now where I'm finding myself able to exist quite comfortable, especially compared to where I was at...
And I guess that is very possibly a contributing factor to my recent 'funk'...
In short, this honestly the best thing I've ever done...
Like many people, my biggest (only) regret is that I didn't do it years ago...
Mate, I'm not sure what else you want to know or even if this has been any help to you...
I've not read it back so it may not even make any sense..
If there's ANYTHING you think I might be able to help with, please don't hesitate to contact me, either here or via private message..
Take care...
Jason

We have BCBS of AL. My wife and I had the surgery together. I was missing one year of medical records and she was missing two. We submitted photos for the missing years and were approved in about a week.

I'm going to Birmingham. Just had my first consultation yesterday! Sent from my VS985 4G using the BariatricPal App

Good news, y'all! I've been approved! After five months I finally got good news. Now just waiting to hear from Lindsay so I can get scheduled![emoji4][emoji106]

I'm a sleever who dumps and what you are describing is a bit different. For many, dumping is almost immediate sweats/chills/need to vomit and poo all at the same time. Dumping indicates that everything is coming out one way or another. I dump from rich ice cream, cream based Soups, rice, Pasta and potatoes. Other people dump from other things -- there is no one magic thing that causes it.
I have pooping issues after meals and my best advice? Probiotics if/when approved by your doctor. They have really helped balance out everything that is going on in my gut. They don't stop dumping if I eat something my body immediately rejects, but they do help the poop factory that occurs hours after meal and/or the next day.

Variety? I really liked hot bone broth (fairly high in protein) and would get different flavors or have my husband doctor it up and strain it. chicken Bone Broth simmered with a Parmesan rind; beef bone broth with a spoon of miso paste stirred in after heating (bonus probiotics); or some of the flavors like chicken and ginger, maybe with a splash of soy. He'd put it in a thermos for me and I'd just work on drinking a couple of ounces at a time for hours. If I was having a hard time with Protein, he'd add extra Gelatin to the Soup. I should have seen if the Pho place could have sent plain broth...
I also liked the ... Sleepytime Peach Tea, maybe? I think it was Celestial Seasoning. It was chamomile and peach, with a little mint that soothed the stomach. No Protein, but good for staying hydrated. Hot liquids were a lot easier in my stomach, though I also threw in a teaspoon of collagen powder sometimes. If you're low on calories (and it's not a gateway drug, I mean food) you can always add a quarter teaspoon of raw honey.
I also liked the Syntrax nectar fruit flavors, really watered down. They're just so much thinner than most Protein shakes and more like flavored Water. I also really liked the Ultima Replenisher (stevia sweetened/no cal) electrolyte powder for getting hydrated, and would sometimes add a scoop of the Syntrax Medical Unflavored.
As I improved, I added Greek yogurt with a few drops of flavored stevia (couldn't stand it that way before) and kefir, sweetened the same way.
Jello was great for mouthfeel, and Eggface has great recipe where she combines it with Greek yogurt for a creamy, Jello salad kind of thing. You can mix Protein Powder straight into Greek yogurt (I think I used a nectar fruit flavor) but it was a little thick/weird. Eggface also tells you how to mix SF pudding into Protein Powder to get it to set up. (Seriously, her website is bomb and she has a whole section on liquids and purées.)
But yeah, an hour at a time and weeks of doing nothing but eating, drinking, and moving around to get rid of gas.
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Ha best mantra yet! HW 341 lbs
07/19/16 - 298 lbs
08/09/16 DOS - 286 lbs
CW 253 lbs

Thanks again, everyone. My stall broke last week. I list an additional 6 and stalled again. ???? Luckily I have your posts to reread. ????. Gonna bust this thing. I think it may be calories too low and not enough Water. I am struggling in those areas.
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