Kimberly 20

Hello there hope everyone is feeling well and getting ready to return back to normalcy after covid-19.
Here in Australia things are starting to get back to normal with opening more businesses and stuff.
It's my monthly check in for those that are interested in my journey.
I count from the day I began my diet and my new way of life which is 9 months to the day but my surgery was 7 months ago.
Everyday I wake up and I'm amazed how far I've come this year. I look in the mirror and I still can't believe how good I look now after losing all the weight.
I spent half my life obese most of all my adulthood actually and I was always known as the fat friend or the one to be in the friendzone ONLY!!
I'm finally starting to gain some confidence in myself which I've struggled with on top of rejection from the opposite sex and I'm starting to engage in some counselling to help deal with the anxiety that comes with social interactions with women.
Um I'm regards to my weight looking back in my diary I've been in maintenance pretty much the same weight range now for 2 months.
My highest weight this year before surgery got up to 322LB and I've been in maintenance sitting between 165-168 pretty consistently these past 2 months.
I don't log my food as much but still keep a mental note of the calories and still have a habit of checking my weight most days just to keep focused and to remind myself to not get complacent!!
I will admit I've had some treats since in maintenance and it has not affected my weight which is great so I feel the bypass I was given has definitely changed the way my bodys metabolism works.
It feels great to be called skinny and people using that adjective when talking about me 😛
I'm no longer the fat friend I'm now the skinny ONE.
I just want people to know it is possible to reach all your goals and to be successful.
At my lowest weight of 165 I've lost 157lbs from my highest weight in just 7 months which is amazing.
I know I'll need to tone up and build some muscle eventually and that will add some weight which is fine.
Thank you all for your kind words throughout this journey.
Mikey.

I was sleeved on 2/27/2020. I was extremely nervous, but knew I needed to help myself. I was diabetic, HBP, arthritis and had sleep apnea. I had no complications during or after surgery, no gas pains or nausea. It’s only been 2 1/2 months and I have loss 5o lbs and no longer on meds for diabetes, no arthritis pain and only on half my dosage of HBP meds. I would do it all over again. Ultimately the choice is yours... I wish you well.

I definitely had worries before the surgery, not only whether I NEEDED to do this (as I have lost weight w/o surgery before) but I have trauma around anesthesia. But, I did it and I do not regret it. My sister was my biggest cheerleader since I told her about my plans in October. She wiped my tears as I cried on the anesthesia table.
In terms of eating post-surgery, Some things I miss, some things I don't and some things are able to be modified. The Portion Control is major and while the effect will not last forever it will last long enough to assist you in teaching your body a new normal when it comes to eating. My surgery was on 2/11/20, Since December. I have lost 91 pounds and I have not been perfect.
You can do this.

My original surgery time was suppose to be the around the end of March. Like many others I was postponed until further notice. On April 25th I started having horrible abdominal pain. It got so bad that I ended up going to the emergency room late that evening. Well due to having some of my pre-op testing already done (in January) I had found out that my gallbladder was in what the nurse referred to as “yucky conditions” and she was surprised that I wasn’t having any pain then. So after a quick google search the only thing I could assume was wrong was I was having a gallbladder attack! I had never experienced anything like it before, it was awful!
So, while in the emergency room I found out that my Bariatric surgeon was the on-call surgeon for the night and he said wanted to see me in his office on Tuesday (April 28). So the ER doc prescribed me antibiotics and pain medicine and sent me on my way. On Tuesday my husband takes me to see my surgeon and we discuss taking out the gallbladder. When my husband says that he should just go ahead and do my surgery AND take out my gallbladder at the same time. When my surgeon says that he would like to do it that way but gastric bypass is considered an “elective surgery” and he can’t do that. So my husband says he just doesn’t see why I would have to go under anesthesia twice when it wasn’t really necessary. So my surgeon makes some calls and tells me that he has been approved to do both the gallbladder removal AND the gastric bypass because the president of surgery doesn’t find it necessary to undergo anesthesia more than one time if it could be avoided! So they finished my pre-op testing and schedule me for next Thursday May 14th. The only thing that could stand in the way was my H Pylori test....I’ve been waiting to hear my results from that for a week. Well I just got my results today and I am cleared for surgery!! I AM HAVING MY SURGERY NEXT THURSDAY!!!! I am feeling so many different things right now....I am definitely scared and nervous...but more than anything I’m excited!

Congratulations! I'm sure you feel great!

It has been a journey, the last several months the hardest! The down 2 up 1 is driving me crazy after the dropping easier for the first 6 months. Now I struggle for 5 pounds a month. But today I'm going to sit back and enjoy the loss and feel very proud of myself. I never thought I'd be here a year ago. I was still trying to qualify for the surgery and gaining weight each day. Today is the start of my new me and new life. I can walk every day without knee pain and look forward to it too. For those of you thinking about it just do it. For those who think you are too old, I'm 73 and did it. Good luck to everyone out there and please stay healthy!

In need of a change of pace? Overwhelmed by current events? Here's a physical challenge for challenging times. It has been proven that exercise can reduce anxiety (https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-exercise-help-treat-anxiety-2019102418096 ) so maybe a distraction is needed in these exhausting times.
Do only what you are comfortable with, even if it mean just watching while laying on the floor. Feel free to set physical goals or follow along in anyway you prefer. If you are interested, please join me in also leaving a bit of positive news daily (no matter how small)
Stay strong & we will get through this, together
Hope, Peace and Blessing to everyone ❤

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It's totally natural to be scared! But trust me when I say this, there's very little to be scared about. Having any kind of gastric surgery has about the same risk as having an appendectomy. However, the thing to remember is that the heavier you are, the more risk there is for you on the operating table (assuming you have no other major health issues which would impact this). The good news is that surgeons have been doing this for quite a while now and have reduced surgery times significantly. Of course, you have to speak to your doctor about your own issues, but I imagine you would have to lose some weight before surgery (often you need to, to be approved by the insurance company). This is not only better for the surgery itself (in terms of complications, it also helps to shrink your liver, which is important for the surgery as well), but to get you on the right track in terms of eating habits.
Also, having surgery is NOT CHEATING. It is NOT THE EASY WAY OUT. I've written about this extensively before, but basically obese people, especially morbidly obese people, have a ton of things stacked against them when it comes to losing weight. Low metabolism, lots of fat cells (which you can never lose, only shrink), leptin-resistance, insulin-resistance, food addiction, etc -- all conspire against your weight loss efforts. There's a reason why people lose weight, then plateau, then regain (probably more than where they started from) - it's the body fighting back to get back to where it was. There are lots of books and research done about this, I highly recommend the book Fat Chance as a good overview. What surgery does (bypass or sleeve) is it "resets" the body back to normal. Hunger is gone (literally - that part of your stomach gets cut out). Metabolism goes back to normal. If you're diabetic, you have a good chance of not being one after surgery. They're still not sure why this happens, but it does. And what that does is it gives you a fighting chance to lose weight and to keep it off.

To answer your other questions:
What if I still want to use food to cope, what if I fail, what if I die? This is probably why you'll need a psych evaluation and you'll have to have some kind of counselling, or group sessions, or something like that, to help you deal with these issues. A lot of people who get the surgery are able to deal with their food addictions afterwards, but you have to be careful about transferring your addiction (as a coping mechanism) to something else, like alcohol. That happens. As for dying - honestly, at your current weight, that is a reality that will come sooner, rather than later, if you do nothing. The chances of dying in surgery are extremely low, and the success you can achieve from it is worth the risk.
Is it worth it/ do you regret it? Yes! I've done it twice now - sleeve, and a recent revision to bypass. Why? Because I failed - I went back to old habits, and after a while it was too difficult for me to realise any kind of success. I'm angry that I had to do it twice, but I don't have any regrets about it. I feel great, I have a different relationship to food, and my failure the first time taught me a lot about what I can and cannot do. I'll have to be careful about what I eat for the rest of my life.
Do you feel like your life is normal? Yes. In the beginning, it's a bit harder due to food restrictions and the size of your stomach, but after a while you just get to know what you can handle and what you can't.
Can you do it with 50/50 support from those around you? I did it with ZERO support from anyone - I did this by myself (self-paid) and have not told anyone about it. Not family, not friends (well, a couple of old friends, by they live halfway around the world from me). It's nobody's business but my own. Not everyone does this, a lot of people share, but many people regret sharing. Unless you are truly confident in what you are doing, and you are confident in the support of those you confide in, you may want to consider how much you tell, and to whom.
Do you have to lose weight first? In most cases, yes.
Is the loose skin as bad as people make it out to be? It depends on the person. Your age, how long you've been overweight/obese, how much you lose, etc. all impact what your skin will do afterwards. In many cases people will opt for some sort of plastic surgery afterwards to deal with problematic areas.
Hair loss? It's common to have Hair loss after surgery, during pregnancy, etc. It happens to most people but it only lasts for a couple of months, is probably not noticeable to anyone but yourself (unless you already have extremely thin/thinning hair), and it will start to grow back.
Tips? Think of things you want to do in your life that you can't, because of your current weight. It may help you with your motivation about what to do. Educate yourself - not just on forums like this, but find real articles, books, that look at real research and make your own decisions based on that. It seems overwhelming at first, and it can take time to overcome your reluctance, but in the end it's worth it.

~Thank you all for your love and support!!!
Also how do I update my profile? CW, surgery date, type, etc.?
It's better to do this on a computer, not a phone. Go to the top of the page and click your username. There's a dropdown menu. You can update your profile there. Near the bottom of the menu is says "My Surgery" - that's where you can put your surgery information, and update your weight, etc.

What kind of clothes are they? Do they have elastic in the waist? Are your jeans true jeans or "stretch" jeans? Were your tops modestly fitting before? Sometimes if we don't wear figure-hugging clothing, it's harder to tell from your clothing. If you've lost 34 pounds (congrats!), go and get a piece of clothing you haven't worn for a while and see how that goes. Be kind to yourself.

@catwoman7 Thank you for the sugarpop suggestion. I'll take a look. Congrats on your journey!

@CammyC Thank you! I have been trying to be consistent with my "laps" around the block while the gym is closed. I thought I had some weights around here but I think I will have to order some from Amazon.

@Stinkerbells2ndact Thank you for the welcome and I will revisit the profile page to try your recommendation :-) Congrats on making it through Pre and Phase 1

@catwoman7 Thank you for the sugarpop suggestion. I'll take a look. Congrats on your journey!

@Stinkerbells2ndact Thank you for the welcome and I will revisit the profile page to try your recommendation :-) Congrats on making it through Pre and Phase 1

@CammyC Thank you! I have been trying to be consistent with my "laps" around the block while the gym is closed. I thought I had some weights around here but I think I will have to order some from Amazon.

Welcome and I was wondering who was lurking in the bushes and peaking in my windows!

Hi and welcome,
I’m relatively new too. Just joined a couple days after my surgery 3/9.

If I remember correctly you put your stats in under your profile under “My surgery” tab towards the bottom. I remember some stuff being laid out very different in a computer vs. your mobile device. Hope that helps. If not, lmk and I’ll do more investigating.

Best of luck ❤️

Hey! I'm currently loving this YouTuber

Thank you much!!