Gigi_2000

That's awesome! Congratulations on such a wonderful accomplishment!

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I'm super excited to say that as of yesterday I am under 300 pounds! I'm 299.2. I started at 393 and was 368 on the day of surgery, July 23rd.
I never thought I'd be under 300 again!!

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you're definitely NOT losing slower than everyone else. When I was where you are (four months out), I'd lost 52 lbs. And I started out much heavier than you.
people lose at all different rates for all different reasons (age, sex, metabolic rate, activity level, whether or not you lost weight prior to surgery, starting BMI, for starters...). Other than sticking to your program and your activity level, you don't have a lot of control over these factors. Ultimately, your success is determined by how committed you are to your program - NOT to your rate of weight loss. I think losing 100 lbs in six months isn't that common, to be honest, except for people who start out much heavier than you. It took me a year to lose that much, and again, I started out much heavier than you did.
I was a slow loser the entire time, and I, too, was told by some insensitive medical resident that I was behind where I should have been at every juncture. But I ended up losing 100% of my excess weight - which means I probably blew most/all of the other people in my classes out of the Water by the time I was done.
so just keep up your commitment, follow the rules, and you should be fine.

P.S. yes weight loss does slow down after the first six months or so, but i kept losing until month 20. So don't give up hope!

Hi. I'm 800-1000 a day. And I keep my Protein and my carbs matched at around 65 grams a day. I walk 3-5 miles a day. My losses are slow but steady. Hope this helps!

WishMESmaller... you're doing GREAT! So impressed with your workouts.

I am no longer morbidly obese! Just plain obese, haha. But not bad, considering that I started with a BMI over 60.

Get rid of them!! In the future, after you are at goal, if you gain a few pounds and your clothes feel tight, it will be incentive to lose the weight. Having bigger clothes as a Plan B, means that you have a Plan B. No Plan B! LOL!! Only Plan A which is success!!

Safe or not, I have been sorting through my clothes for a while, the minute anything is too big it goes in the giveaway to friends or donate to charity pile. I have already given two large bags away. I currently have one bag of each at the moment. I never realised how many clothes actually fit in my wardrobes and drawers. I am currently wearing clothes bought years ago (luckily I tend towards classic styles) that still had their price tags on them.

I'm 7 weeks post-op and am down almost 50lb. All of my clothes are too big (literally, from underwear & PJs to jeans & sweaters - nothing fits) and I've been buying things here & there so that I have stuff to wear to work, etc. My question is, what do I do with my TONS of old clothes that no longer fit? I don't have room to store them somewhere "just in case", and I almost feel bad about donating them or tossing them, because I still have that little devil in the back of my head saying "You never know! You might fail & be a fatty again!" I have a packed armoire, dresser & closet so I need to get rid of stuff to make room for new things. I don't have an extra square inch of space for storage, so I'm wondering if it's "safe" to get rid of these clothes, or should I wait. How long did you all wait before you finally got rid of your big clothes?

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 have always wanted to keep up with my active family.
Live at the beach!

Good morning! It's been a while since I have posted on this thread...I was suffering through the dreaded week 3 stall! I'm glad I have started losing again, and I hope to continue on!
I was a little concerned about this weekend, as I was hosting my mom and my sister for Labor Day weekend. Due to a pre-surgery grill accident, I don't have a grill right now, so grilling was out! I told my mom that I wasn't up for cooking much, but I was dying to go out, since my son, Kat, will not eat in restaurants due to the pandemic. We went out for Mexican, NY Deli, sushi and seafood. And I actually LOST weight! YAY! Mexican, I ordered shrimp fajitas (ate about 1/3 of the shrimp and some refried Beans and saved the rest of the shrimp for dinner last night, although I couldn't eat them all). NY Deli, a scoop of chicken salad on lettuce with tomatoes, carrots and cucumber. I ate a couple of cucumber slices and a carrot stick before I realized that I am not technically supposed to eat raw veggies yet! Sushi - sashimi appetizer (9 pieces, I ate 7 and gave my mom 2) and seafood, ate 2 of my mom's oysters (yum) and ordered the seared ahi appetizer, which I could only eat half. Last night, my son made couscous with grilled vegetables, which I ate about 2T of couscous, with some veggies and some of the leftover shrimp.
Why am I telling you this? Because one of my biggest fears was going out to eat and not being able to enjoy myself (and my food!) I had a great time, and while both my mom and sister were aware of why I was ordering what I was...I think I could have pulled it off at a work dinner or date! I even had a margarita on Friday (with SF margarita mix) and a glass of wine on Sunday! (Shhhhh! Don't tell my surgeon or NUT!) LOL
I hope everyone had a great weekend (not that it's over yet) and is continuing to be a loser!!

Next goal is 190. That number actually came from my surgeon the last time I spoke to him. That'll still put me in the Overweight BMI range, but I think I need to see what I look like at that point to decide whether to push lower or not.

So bear with me on this one.
Back in February when I had my first appointment with the Holyoke Medical Weight Management program, I met with one of the two physician assistants that handle the intake of new patients. In that meeting, I went in looking into the medical weight loss program since I was under the impression that I was not eligible for further bariatric surgery. One of the first questions asked of me was what my goal weight was. I was told not to overthink it and to simply give her a number that I wanted to get down to. I said "225 pounds", which seemed like an unachievable goal, but it was what I weighed 20 or so years ago and while still overweight, was a comfortable weight for me. As that would involve losing 116 pounds, she informed me that I would be unlikely to achieve that goal in the medical program, but that it would be much more achievable in the surgical program. She quickly cleared up my misconceptions about my eligibility for revision surgery and sent me home to think about how I wanted to proceed.
A couple of weeks later, I was back in for my official intake into the surgical weight loss program to start the journey to removing my lapband and revising to a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. From that point, you've pretty much seen my progress and success.
So I only weigh myself once a week and it is on Tuesday mornings (used to be on Fridays, but once I had my surgery, I moved it to Tuesdays to align with the day I had surgery). Here's this week's update:
Starting Weight: 341.1
Surgery Day Weight: 262.8
Pre-surgery Weight Loss: 78.3
Current Weight: 225.2
Weight Lost in Past Week: 3.8
Post Surgery Weight Loss: 37.6
Total Weight Loss: 115.9
So, a couple of things:
1) I weighed myself 5 damn times this morning to see if I could get that .2 to go away. It didn't. My scale is too accurate to indulge in my shenanigans.
2) I am going to end up breaking my rule and will end up reweighing myself on Thursday or Friday, just so I can see that .2 disappear.
3) I have now lost more than a third of my body weight. 33.98%, to be precise.
4) Next goal is 190lbs. But first I have to get rid of that annoying .2lbs

I've lost 45kg total since my sleeve in October 2019 and I feel amazing! Still have days when I feel big, but then I take pictures like this and think holy cow! I've been doing bodypump classes and I'm even seeing some baby muscles in my arms and legs, and it's really helped with my loose skin.
Now to work on maintaining, which has always been the hard part of weight loss for me.
 

Interesting! I'm going to make a big Protein Shake now. My plastic surgeon is great and I'm very happy with him but no one mentioned this to me!
I also found an article that suggested drinking wine in the 2-3 weeks following surgery as a diuretic for swelling! I find this hilarious for some reason. A good excuse to hang out in my compression garments and sip wine! 😂

Thanks @Sophie7713
I really appreciated what you said about not letting the anxiety take the joy out of this amazing opportunity. I have not worn anything sleeveless since I was a teenager!! I can’t wait!!! 😊

Another quick update because it's been 5 days since my extended brachioplasty. I saw the surgeon and nurse today for my follow up appointment. The bandages are off and the drains are out! I'm allowed to shower again! I feel like a new woman! YAY!!! I haven't taken any pain killers at all today. Things are a bit itchy, my skin has small rashes from where the compression bandages are (this is just my pale sensitive skin doing its thing), so I'm supposed to use body lotion - except on the incisions. I also got a new compression garment. I'm tempted to order another one on Amazon so that I don't have to frantically wash it all the time, but we'll see. My surgeon's clinic also gave me a cute gift bag with a nice note, products and some fancy chocolate.
Feeling so happy and thankful. Hope everyone else is doing well!

I thought I would share more about my Brachioplasty. I know that I scoured these forums and reddit trying to get info and advice before hand, so it only seemed fair to share my story too. I had the surgery a few days ago. Despite concerns around scarring, nerve damage and the surgery triggering an autoimmune response (I dealt with a ton of horrible illnesses after my VSG), I decided to go through with it. My first consultation was July 7th and I had the surgery on the 23rd of July when a slot became available (probably due to a cancellation from the pandemic). I felt like the universe was giving me a nudge and I had to take it!!
While I'm only a few days post op, I'm so thankful that it went well. Minimal pain (particularly compared to my VSG). I was so relieved that I could still move my arms a bit, I was concerned I wouldn't even be able to feed myself! I can't lift anything heavy, but I could drink from a glass of Water after the surgery.
I actually ended up staying the night in hospital. I could have gone home, but the general made me pretty groggy so the nurse suggested I stay. My family was quite relieved as my VSG was quite tough on my body - my blood pressure wouldn't go down and then my body freaked out with a range of autoimmune disorders from the shock a week or two later.
While the drains are pretty gross, it's manageable. I've been able to sleep really well in my bed (I read about people having to sleep upright in a chair but I didn't have to do this). There also hasn't been any horror movie style blood on my sheets (OK, a few small spots through my PJs). My hands are a bit less swollen today so that's exciting. It really feels like I'm already on the mend and it's only been a few days.
I'm looking forward to getting the drains out in the next few days. I can't wait to walk the dogs again. I know that I've got a lot of work ahead in terms of scar management, but I'm hopeful that they won't be so noticeable with time.
I've been so busy the last few years, that it's felt weird to just lie in bed and watch Netflix. Even with the quarantine, I was working crazy hours from home. Never just relaxing. Then I started a series of projects at home. I went through my closet, organised the pantry, took longer walks, did craft, cooked and baked etc, helped a friend with her studies, etc. There's always somewhere to be, something to do. After a few days, I'm starting to enjoy this forced rest and relaxation. I don't need to be busy all the time, I can be still.
I'm so thankful that I found a surgeon and anaesthetist who took such great care of me. Even though, I have (diagnosed) anxiety, I was able to get through it all because they kindly answered all my questions.
My key learnings from surgery:
Keep the old button up PJs and zip up hoodies when they get too big for you as you lose weight. They might come in handy for plastics - they're easy to put on and fit loosely around drains and swelling. Have a surgery plan (people to take you to hospital, meals in the freezer, someone to care for pets, children, plants). Have lozenges on hand (my throat still hurts from the surgery), lip balm, a good book, pack light for the hospital (someone else will have to carry your bag). Find the right surgeon, go to multiple consultations. Make a list of questions. Call them up with more questions. Keep up hydration and walking after surgery. Hope everyone is doing well at the moment! Much love to my bariatric pals. Other than some of my family, I don't share that I had the sleeve and plastics. Sometimes I feel really weird about my "secret life" that I keep from everyone, but that's what makes me comfortable. Here with you wonderful people, I feel less lonely. I'm one of the many vets who dropped off a bit. You start living life and it gets busy! However, right at the time in my life, I'm happy to be in this community with such supportive, lovely ladies (some of the guys here are OK too).
Anyway, wow - that felt like an essay. Whew! Some pics below in case anyone is interested.

THIS!!!!!! I am so tired of medical professionals not believing me when I say "I ate 1200 cal/day for 3 months and lost only 3 lbs". I did not cheat. Yes that really happened. I logged every morsel I put in my mouth. Just because you can't figure out why my body is not losing doesn't mean I am cheating.

I always wanted a jawline!

I think bariatric clinics should let pre-op patients know about this (some do - but it doesn't seem like most). Almost everyone goes through this early stall, and people really freak out about it when it happens because they weren't told about it. If the clinics would let people know about it, it would save a lot of their patients from panicking or thinking they failed the surgery within the first month!

Today is 6 weeks post-op. I'm down 4lbs from last week, which felt good since it felt like I might have been starting a stall. Still on my doctor's fairly restrictive diet. So far for normal foods I've only done scrambled eggs and pureed chicken salad with hummus and greek yogurt instead of mayo. Both went down with no problem. This will be the second week of me mixing in regular food twice in the week. Next week I'll go to three times a week, barring any issues. Exercise has continued to be a chore due to the heat, but things are cooling down this week, so looking to increase my activity some more.
Yesterday was very difficult for me. I ended up receiving some really lousy news that completely devastated me mentally and emotionally. My usual routine would have been to indulge in some comfort food. Except that isn't possible now. Which is definitely for the best, but it really didn't help my mood or mental state any. Still feeling upset today and just trying to get through it.

that stall is totally normal. it actually will happen pretty frequently. sometimes its just a week...sometimes 2 weeks. sometimes its just 3 or 4 days...im 8 weeks out and I lose about half a pound a day..but it can stall for 3 or 4 days and then all the sudden 3 pounds overnight. lol remember our bodies are living breathing organism and needs time to ensure we can survive on what we give it...its our bodies job to keep us alive! so be thankful your body cares enough to stop and look at this trauma we did to it and it proceeds with caution somwtimes! one thing i did find after 6 weeks out was that if I take in too few calories for a day it will stall me for a couole days. i tend to be around 600 caloroes of mixed Protein carbs and fat...i have days where I don't feel like eating and my caloroes drop to like 450...and that will stall me. if i immediately next day eat 600 to 700 ill drop a couole pounds. I also notice that my body does not like Keto no carb. my weight loss was really unpredictable until I agreed to eat around 50g carbs a day and now my losses are more stable. So don't be afraid of carbs- good carbs! and play with the amounts to find what yiur body likes. just dont go extreme low calorie thinking that will make u lose weight because the opposite is true!

do I search on this site for the "three week stall". There are 17,501 posts on here about that early stall (usually the third week). And no...I am NOT kidding. 17,501 posts. We get that question at least twice a week. Almost EVERYONE has that early stall.

What do you have to inject in your stomach if you don’t mind me asking.