kellym1220

I was actually prepared to make spontaneous plans to see my high school buddies on the 40 year anniversary of our graduation! I was ready to book the plane ticket and go, when they ended up re-scheduling due to other's conflicts. 80 pounds ago, I wouldn't have even considered going...even with 3 months to "lose some weight"! Now, I'm like "Tell me when and where, and I'll be there!" It felt great!!

I was actually prepared to make spontaneous plans to see my high school buddies on the 40 year anniversary of our graduation! I was ready to book the plane ticket and go, when they ended up re-scheduling due to other's conflicts. 80 pounds ago, I wouldn't have even considered going...even with 3 months to "lose some weight"! Now, I'm like "Tell me when and where, and I'll be there!" It felt great!!

I was actually prepared to make spontaneous plans to see my high school buddies on the 40 year anniversary of our graduation! I was ready to book the plane ticket and go, when they ended up re-scheduling due to other's conflicts. 80 pounds ago, I wouldn't have even considered going...even with 3 months to "lose some weight"! Now, I'm like "Tell me when and where, and I'll be there!" It felt great!!

I was going to the beach and grabbed one of my Rip Skirts, that I bought 3-4 years ago, when I was about 30 pounds lighter then my heaviest...it was WAY too loose for my waist, but did rest comfortably on my hips. I should be able to have it adjusted (with more velcro) but it was WAY TOO BIG! And...I went to the beach and wore a bathing suit!

Putting on a pair of stretch pants that were TOOOOOO stretchy! LOL Throwing away my saggy, granny panties (Thank goodness I kept some cute underwear!) Digging out my old bras...down from a 40DD to a 38DD...I'm glad the girls are sticking around for this journey!

It's hard to remember, but I think I lost about 50 pounds. The next 30 have been MUCH slower!

I was going to the beach and grabbed one of my Rip Skirts, that I bought 3-4 years ago, when I was about 30 pounds lighter then my heaviest...it was WAY too loose for my waist, but did rest comfortably on my hips. I should be able to have it adjusted (with more velcro) but it was WAY TOO BIG! And...I went to the beach and wore a bathing suit!

Congratulations! You look amazing!

Don't yell at me, but my nutritionist told me ANYTHING could be a puree if you chew it well enough before you swallow.

Congratulations! It gets better every week!

Don't buy EVERYTHING just because it worked for someone else. I spent a TON of money on stuff I thought I would need and have never even opened and now I'm throwing things away because they have gone bad.
Try not to measure your success against others...the more you have to lose, the faster you will lose it...and some people are just slow losers. Have faith that if you stick to your program you will get there!
Programs are different...very different. When in doubt, ask your doctor. As an example, I love my morning coffee...my line is "I need coffee to MAKE coffee" but my program said no coffee for the first year. I whined at asked my doctor and he said one or two cups a day won't hurt, they were just trying to stop people from drinking coffee all day long. So now I have my two cups in the morning and I'm happy as can be! (I use Fairlife Protein Shakes instead of creamer).
Take before pictures!! I didn't and regret it now!

Don't buy EVERYTHING just because it worked for someone else. I spent a TON of money on stuff I thought I would need and have never even opened and now I'm throwing things away because they have gone bad.
Try not to measure your success against others...the more you have to lose, the faster you will lose it...and some people are just slow losers. Have faith that if you stick to your program you will get there!
Programs are different...very different. When in doubt, ask your doctor. As an example, I love my morning coffee...my line is "I need coffee to MAKE coffee" but my program said no coffee for the first year. I whined at asked my doctor and he said one or two cups a day won't hurt, they were just trying to stop people from drinking coffee all day long. So now I have my two cups in the morning and I'm happy as can be! (I use Fairlife Protein Shakes instead of creamer).
Take before pictures!! I didn't and regret it now!

I am almost 7 months post op, and thus far I’ve not really had any regrets. I also had concerns about all the food I was going to be giving up- truth of the matter is that I haven’t really given up anything outside of candy. Physically I’m sure I could eat it, but I made a personal choice that I have too many issues with it and I needed to leave that behind.

But this last weekend I had beer and wine (albeit much less than I would ever have had before), sushi with rice, and no stomach problems at all. I’m just very mindful of portion sizes and tracking what I eat since I’m still losing. Some people end up with certain foods they can’t eat, but I didn’t.

I tried to sit down pre op and think about certain foods and why I was so worried about “missing out” that I was willing to stay 340 lbs. I finally came to realize that you can’t have everything in life- of course I wanted to be a healthy weight and still be able to gorge on candy and chips and fast food without a care in the world. But that’s not how life works, and being a normal weight and able to enjoy all that life offers outside of food outweighed my desire to keep the eating habits I had.

I'm tall, like you. For me, it was that each year (or so) I would gain 20 pounds, and I would say/think, "Well if I could just lose 20 pounds, I would be back where I was last year, and that wasn't so bad." Then I realized that if I said/thought that next year, I would be over 300 pounds. Real eye opener...so I decided to do it, even though it was not covered by my insurance. Best decision of my life!

I would stop the Miralax if I wasn't constipated! Diarrhea is a side effect of too much Miralax!

I also ate a lot of refried Beans at this stage...so if you have a microwave available, bring a couple of cans. If you go out, at a Mexican restaurant, you can order those. Also, obviously check with your surgeon, but my Nutritionist said that any food can be pureed if you chew it long enough!

Going to the beach and finally removing my coverup/moo moo/ 3XL tee shirt and just wearing a bathing suit like everyone else!

Congratulations!!!

I had multiple food allergies as an infant and toddler and became a chubby kid with a mom that restricted my eating. At age 7 my mother committed suicide and I began stealing candy from the local drug store. I hated vegetables, loved carbs, cheese and fried foods. I was alternatively rewarded and cajoled for my eating.
I managed my weight in early adulthood by doing 500 calorie a day diets and staying active. I gained 80lbs with each of my pregnancies, and stopped nursing my second child early so I could do a calorie restrictive diet. I got down to almost normal weight, then started gaining, weighing 280 lbs in my mid thirties. I divorced my husband, lost some weight, started working out. Decided I'd just get comfortable being 50-60lbs overweight and was for fifteen years. By the time I hit my 50's I was steadily gaining, then losing (no carb diets, doctor supervised diets, calorie restricted diets, personal growth programs - because certainly there was something wrong about me that I could fix!) I was depressed, borderline diabetic and took meds for blood pressure, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, PPI for reflux and used a CPAP.
I gained an additional 40lbs during the pandemic because I literally decided I would eat anything I wanted - and I did. Shortly after the first of this year, I realized I was constantly thinking about dying. The only future I saw was of my continual decline. I could see no way to interrupt the path of my life. Then, I saw a post of an acquaintance on Facebook who had VSG four years ago. She looked fabulous and seemed so happy. I contacted her and we met for lunch. I began to consider surgery and started doing my homework on it. When my insurance turned me down, I again reached out to my friend who had gone to Mexico to have hers. She offered to accompany me if I decided to do it. I discussed it with my kids. I met with my doctors and told them what I was thinking. They all supported the surgery, although one was concerned about me traveling for it. I researched the surgeon, found Bariatricpal.com and read some of your stories. I journaled and wrote about my big why, and I began to have hope for my future. I started to imagine my life without the shame and fear around eating and food. I called everyone I knew who'd had bariatric surgery and asked them about their experiences. Finally, I called my Facebook friend back and told her I was committed. I paid my deposit, scheduled the surgery and I haven't looked back once.

@lizzlosingit...so true! Pick your hard! I will never forget my sister (who is also overweight) saying "Are you sure you want to do this? It will change your relationship to food FOREVER!" And I just looked at her and said "That's kind of the point!" Every weight loss plan needs to change your relationship with food, or it won't work long term!

Finally!! I have to say, for those of you that are "slow losers", keep the faith! These last tw o months, I have been down to 2-4 pounds each MONTH, but it came off!

I'm tall, like you. For me, it was that each year (or so) I would gain 20 pounds, and I would say/think, "Well if I could just lose 20 pounds, I would be back where I was last year, and that wasn't so bad." Then I realized that if I said/thought that next year, I would be over 300 pounds. Real eye opener...so I decided to do it, even though it was not covered by my insurance. Best decision of my life!

My sister has always been overweight...I have been overweight for the last 15 years (or so). She is on a diet (Dr. Livinggood) and told me that she had told a friend NOT to get the surgery because it would change her relationship with food FOREVER. I told her "That's kind of the point...even with the program YOU are on". But I will say this, I do not regret it at all! (I DO however, regret the Reeses' Peanut Butter Egg that I just ate...but only to the extent I would have regretted it BEFORE surgery! LOL) I echo those that said wait until you are sure...but I wish I had thought about doing this 10 years ago!

@lizzlosingit...so true! Pick your hard! I will never forget my sister (who is also overweight) saying "Are you sure you want to do this? It will change your relationship to food FOREVER!" And I just looked at her and said "That's kind of the point!" Every weight loss plan needs to change your relationship with food, or it won't work long term!

@lizzlosingit...so true! Pick your hard! I will never forget my sister (who is also overweight) saying "Are you sure you want to do this? It will change your relationship to food FOREVER!" And I just looked at her and said "That's kind of the point!" Every weight loss plan needs to change your relationship with food, or it won't work long term!