Rokumok4

Wow. Thank you for inspiring so many of us who started over 300. You look amazing.

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

I love it. Sometimes I add salsa to it.

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

Absolutely. I had my surgery in August of this year. I waited for 2 years because of my fear of surgery. My biggest regret: not doing this years ago.
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I think HFFM has the most likely explanation. She probably asked an admin or someone else to send you "something" and didn't specify what to send or go into detail about what surgery and that person thought "oh, i'd love for someone to send me Cookies so I'll send her cookies"

Wow. Perhaps your boss asked someone to send you something nice and that someone was unaware of what you were going to do?

No doubt I'd do it again. I still struggle with food but this tool is really helping. I feel much better and have way more energy. Good luck!!
HW 284, CW 179

Absolutely. I had my surgery in August of this year. I waited for 2 years because of my fear of surgery. My biggest regret: not doing this years ago.
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Absolutely. I had my surgery in August of this year. I waited for 2 years because of my fear of surgery. My biggest regret: not doing this years ago.
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After graduating from college, I looked for a job but it was in the middle of an "engineering depression". Over 6 months I sent out 500 resumes and I visited around 300 companies in person. Nothing, NADA. Then by chance my future brother-in-law obtained a job and recommended me also. I received an interview and a job offer and worked for four decades before I retired.
Lessons learned:
* It is probably not you but a sign of the times. We are still in a recession, so keep trying.
* Expand your horizons. I focussed solely for work in California at the time. But the recession was localized to mainly California. If I had included other states, I might have been more successful. Perhaps there might even be a position overseas for you.
* When you go to an interview, be professional. Dress for the occasion. Do advanced research of the company prior to the interview. Know more about them than the interviewer. Be able to explain how you could fit in and your fine attributes.
* Obtaining your first job in a profession is extremely important. Because it is a transition from academia to the real world. All subsequent employment depends on it because many companies require experienced employees. So keep trying.
* In some positions, large companies have internship programs such as summer aids. This is a way to get your foot in the door and gain experience.
Over my career, I went from one who was applying for a job to one who hires. I hired around 30-40 engineers, scientist and technicians over my career as one of my supplemental duties.

Absolutely. I had my surgery in August of this year. I waited for 2 years because of my fear of surgery. My biggest regret: not doing this years ago.
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A long time ago I was thinking I might start a VSG blog. I thought I'd write about my experiences and my amusing every little thing I thought about while losing weight, but over the months I changed my mind. First of all, I'd probably be banned by the vsg doctors for my stubborn insistence on refusing to eat 800 calories of pure Protein per day and second of all, I've got lots of emotional baggage other people may or may not have; which makes me like a really bad cheerleader and mostly sore loser -- even though I am at a new low today of 194.5.
When I thought I would start this blog, I had something in mind to write about because I knew it would get people to come -- because everyone wants to know something I already know about one particular thing.
I know how to lose lots of weight and not have your skin sagging off your body like a spent balloon.
The reason I know is because I did intense research on this when I lost 135 pounds on a lowcarb diet. I actually lost that weight *faster* than I'm losing this time around -- I have *already* done the nine hundred calorie pure Protein anorectic diet and it took me...let's see...about half the time it took me this time to take off a hundred pounds.
Anyway, problem was that after going through all of that I had a stomach that actually looked like a second butt. You who have lost a hundred pounds really fast and have checked out what your belly button looks like lately know what I am talking about.
There was no way I was getting a Tummy Tuck back then -- I couldn't afford it and it seemed hugely drastic to me at the time. To tell you the truth, getting your skin razored off your body for some reasonstill seems drastic to me, and I have had my stomach cut out.
So this is what I know about attacking your saggy bits. I know it works; I'm doing it myself, and even though my skin is a little loose in places I don't have serious problems. I don't have a dreaded "pannus"; my arm skin is not falling down like a saggy stocking. So if you don't want a second surgery, can't afford a second surgery, and are willing to spend a little time and some money, here are my suggestions.
1. Dry skin brushing.
There are several published methods on the internet that you can buy that will tell you how to do this. If you don't want to buy them, then this is the upshot. You need a good skin brush with tough natural bristles that are going to hold up. This one is my favorite because it's got a nice paddle action to it and a good strong handle and no this is not an Amazon affiliate link:
http://www.amazon.co...30481589&sr=1-2
You do this before your shower or at night or whenever but once a day, no more, no less. Again, there are programs you can buy with DVD's and stuff, but the basic way to brush is:
Start at the bottom of you. Brush upwards, thirty times; each side of your calf, each side of your thigh, etc.; each butt cheek, and the dreaded stomach area -- firm upward strokes. Then go to the top of you and brush downwards; each side of your arm and your chest area. The point is to "brush all toxins towards your heart." The reason you do this is because you're stimulating the lymph in your body through the lymphatic system which has to go through your heart to get processed and eliminated.
2. If you want more help, look into Carole Maggio's No-Lipo Lipo system, which costs some money but actually does work if you work it. Her program takes dry skin brushing to a higher level by incorporating a fat-busting self massage protocol and skin conditioning system.
3. Topical exfoliation.
You can do this several ways, but the easiest is to go to Skinbiology.com and buy their "skin tightening" protocol which includes several choices of natural acids to take off the top layer of skin so you can work through to the lower layers.
4. Copper Peptides.
Skinbiology.com.
After you do your dry skin brushing and take your shower; apply an appropriate strength copper peptide to the affected area. You can do this with extreme success at the lower belly and on the insides of your upper arms especially.
5. Pilates
When cosmetic surgeons do tummy tucks, one of their primary concerns is the fact that the recti muscle -- the one that holds the lower girdle of your organs in place -- has split apart due to the extreme pressure of obesity on those muscles. That's why it's major surgery -- they're not just slicing some skin out and stretching it back into place; they're actually repairing the muscle by stitching it back together across the expanse of your lower abdomen.
Pilates can repair that muscle. It's not because Pilates emphasizes "core work" -- it's because it realigns the whole body and *then* works the core -- in time, just like physical therapy, these muscles strengthen and move back into position.
6. Dot Laser Therapy ( or Fraxel, with reservations)
The basic strategy behind skin rejuvenation through laser is controlled injury. When the skin is injured, it makes new collagen; this increases elasticity and you snap back. I know dot laser works because I've had it -- but the issue here is really the expense. Treating your belly is a *large* area and you could run into about the same money as your tummy tuck with varying results. But if you're not interested in getting cut open, you will see a result from either of these.
7. Exercise the wattle.
Here is an exercise I've been doing to minimize the wattle where my double chin used to be:
Lie on your bed backwards with your head hanging off the edge, Lift your head so it is parallel to the floor. Hold for twenty counts. Drop your head. Lift again for another twenty count. Do that three times. On the last one -- lift for twenty, turn to the right for twenty, then to the left for twenty. Do this once or twice a day.
8. DMAE for small areas.
DMAE tightens skin, but it's expensive and there is a whole issue -- listen to me now, don't get the stuff from Walgreens -- with making sure that the DMAE is *active* and deliverable to your skin. Perricone makes one and Skinbiology does too. Another option is to make your own -- you can dissolve DMAE capsules in olive oil and slather it on your neck, under your arms, inner thighs -- etc -- and get a therapeutic result. If it's not fresh or deliverable,though, what you're going to get is sort of forty dollars you spent on a nicely scented type of Vaseline.
9. Slow down.
If you're very overweight and you've just gotten weight loss surgery, chances are the first one hundred pounds are going to run screaming off of you and you will be left with the aftermath. But after that -- slow down. *Most* people have great elasticity in their skin even into their late fifties, and your skin needs time to adjust. If you're in your first year of a massive weight loss, don't assume that hangy stuff is going to be there forever. It probably won't be. What it needs is time. The rule of thumb is one year per one hundred pounds.
10. Lose more weight.
A lot of people complaining about saggy skin are really complaining about extra fat. Let me put it this way: At 175 -- a reasonable amount for my 5 foot 10 frame -- I was still bothered by bits of myself that had shapeless, untaut attributes. At 158 this was not the case at all. You might still need to drop another ten or twenty pounds for the "skin" you're upset about to go away. Fat will fill out the least taut parts of you and that might be part of the problem.
11. Time and time again.
If you are not 100 years old, and you have lost somewhere near 100 pounds, your skin is actively trying to contain your internal catastrophe. It is spending 24 hours a day calculating and responding, trying accommodate and contain you. If you have lost 100 pounds and you have had weight loss surgery, that is one hundred pounds that is never coming back and that means your outermost layer has to adjust to this new reality. Six months is all it takes to convince it that there is a reason to shrink. One yea\r is enough to tell it you are now less massive perpetually than you used to be. In a year you might see straight up miracles you never expected. Don't go cutting on all this biological genius prematurely. What if you save ten thousand dollars by just hanging back and waiting to see how your brilliant body responds to being half of itself?
Think about this logically. You are an amoeba, pretty much. Your skin is the membrane that separates you from the environment. If you take away certain stressors over time; the membrane is going to behave intelligently and differently. Don't underestimate it. Work with it. And wait.

I was 429lbs when I started. I would start by just walking across the house and pushing a rolling chair for when my legs were too tired to hold me anymore. Then I built up to doing laps around the kitchen island and then to walking the end of the block and eventually around the block and then around the subdivision. Then I added resistance bands and a fitball and started doing basic floor exercises like leg lifts and such. THEN I got an elliptical when I hit my 100lb milestone and currently I'm running 65 min programs each day and doing core building exercises or resistance training every day and when the weather is nice I can easily walk 3-4miles without huffing and puffing like a dying fish. Just find where you are starting from and challenge yourself to do a little more next time. When I first got my elliptical, I could maybe do 3 mins at a time and each time I would strive for 1 min more then 1 more and 1 level more intensity and incline til I built up to where I am. Same with walking or doing leg lifts. Start with like 5 and challenge yourself to do a few more each time and see how far you can go.

I was over 350 lbs when I started using DVD's to exercise at home. Leslie Sansone does great dvd's that are extremely low impact and easy to follow -- especially for a uncoordinated klutz who can't dance a step like me! She has a great variety and some of them do involve using hand weights and stretchy bands for resistance/strength training. They were a really good starting point for me.

Confession....
I only came for pics...
Congrats...
But byebye...

I just had my 2 week follow up last week and had basically the same issue. I felt as though I could intake more than I should be able to. But they said it was fine, some people's sleeve heals faster amd can tolerate more than others. They also said it would take a lot and be difficult to stretch the sleeve at this stage.
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It's been a wild ride with many ups and downs, but continue working at your goals guys! And I think it's time for a new navy pinstripe!
Send me a request on myfitnesspal (sanjumelts) to follow my daily journey!
Weeks out: 24
SW: 371
CW: 269
WL: 102lbs

I did it! I'm finally out of the 400's! I started this journey late October last year at 540. Had surgery 5/27/16 and I am now 392!! I can't wait to say good bye to the 300's too!
Me a year ago

Me today!
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Wow. Thank you for inspiring so many of us who started over 300. You look amazing.

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

I am 6 years post sleeve and couldn't be happier with my results. I started with a BMI of 50, lost 160 pounds and maintain with a BMI around 22-23. I saw hundreds of WLS patients Come and go through my support group. These included band, sleeve, RNY and DS patients. The one common thread among the success stories was the individual's commitment to their new lifestyle. It is the food choices we make that determine success or failure, not necessarily the type of surgery. I saw just as many failed bypasses as sleeves. The "failures" were the ones that went back to eating the way they did before surgery. No surgery can overcome bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. The person you mentioned who regained 40 pounds would have probably done so with bypass as well.
For me, personal therapy was the key to my success. Without the help of my therapist to change my thought patterns and discover new ways to deal with stress and sadness and anger and every other emotion out there, I probably would have failed my VSG, just like I failed every other diet in my life. These mental changes have been far more important to my ability to maintain my loss than my sleeve itself.
Not everyone needs therapy, some are able to conquer their demons alone, but those people are rare. I would suggest taking an honest critical look at why you failed with the band. That will give you a starting point to know what you need to do different moving forward. One of the surgeons in the bariatric group I was with absolutely would not perform any revision surgery unless his patients first underwent extensive therapy with a psychiatrist. Kind of like a 6 month mental preop diet. I guess he didn't want to waste his time with someone who will waste their surgery a second time around. A lot of his patients were pissed about it and some even went to other surgeons, but in the end, the stats of his patients were impressive.
I will leave it up to the revision patients to tell you the specific physical differences between surgeries because I have no personal experience with that. Good luck with your decision.

Regardless of what you choose...you still need to do the work...you still need to manage cravings...you still need to make healthy choices...you still need to exercise..I choose the sleeve and am very pleased with my decision...
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Most freeing is not to be the biggest mom in the classroom any longer.

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

Plano

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

Most freeing is not to be the biggest mom in the classroom any longer.

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

Most freeing is not to be the biggest mom in the classroom any longer.

Note to self: I don't have to take this day all at once but rather one step, one breath and one moment at a time. I am only one person.

Freed me from being self-conscious. Nobody wants to walk in every room, at every party, every meeting being the "fat guy" or the most heavy.