STLoser

Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

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"Liberace goes to the North Pole" [emoji1787]

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Last year around Christmas, I found my perfect Christmas sweater. It is a fair aisle St. Louis Cardinals Christmas sweater. I'm a very big fan. It was on clearance for 15 bucks and an Xl. I was a 5x at my biggest and 3x when I bought it. When I showed it to my husband he said he couldn't picture me being small enough to wear it. It is more like a large or medium than and xl. I told him you wait. I will wear this next year at Christmas. Well, I DID wear it this year and he thought I looked hot! [emoji16]
It's probably dumb to some people but being a big baseball fan I was always sad I couldn't get the cute women's clothes they sell for fans. This is probably my favorite NSV!!

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I just wanted to share since this is a safe place.

my wife bought the whole family Christmas pajamas. I was annoyed, mainly because I didn't want to be one of those families that do that and the PJs for guys are never flattering. On top of that, she got me a medium. I haven't worn a medium since I was about 12, so I didn't even want to put it on. But... it actually didn't fit too bad. It was a little tight, but didn't look like a body suit like I thought it would. A few Christmases ago, I would have probably needed either 2x or 3x, so that's a big change.

I can't stop touching my collar bones and my hips!!!!
Also, I made a Santa suit in 2003. I sewed it by hand. It's red sequin fabric with white fake fur trim. Think "Liberace goes to the North Pole". I wore it at my heaviest (293lb) and now I'm 192! I know it will be falling off, but I have worn it every year and I will "make it work" at Tim Gunn would say.
Happy Holidays Everyone!

It's been freezing cold here in SoCal (don't laugh, our homes are built to vent heat, not retain it, so 33 is truly cold). I went to the outlet mall and saw massive markdowns in Hollister. I kind of laughed, because that store is basically aimed at teenage lacrosse players whose bodies turn calories into inches and muscle without even really trying, and because pre-op I would never have fit in anything at all.
Well, I found a pair of joggers that looked warm and fuzzy and wonderful, and automatically grabbed an XXL, the largest size... and they looked like clown pants on me. Waaaaaves of fabric. I ended up buying a large and could theoretically have made a medium work! You could have knocked me over with an economy-size feather.

Back with more NSVs and LOVING reading all of yours. Here we go:
I am fitting into the smallest "skinny pants" I bought back in June. When I bought them I couldn't get the zipper even close, but today I am wearing them. My mom is at my house rehabbing and I am giving her a lot of intensive round-the-clock physical care. There is no way I could have done this without the weight loss I've had. I have so much collarbone and a lovely visible jawline. I can't stop looking at them every time I pass a mirror. Space between my toes. I can cross my arms across my waist and still fold forward, in fact it turns out that without a big belly in the way this is a very comfortable position. I can also cross my legs or sit on the floor in a resting position with one leg comfortably crooked up into a bend. my balance, it is so much better.

So, here is the one my gfs said that I need to talk about when I do stand up comedy
.....I can comfortable masterbate again!! I have a reachable woo-hoo!!!!!

Thank you....that is enough sharing for today! Haha

I think you were smart and brave for backing out if you felt that way. You just need more time to prepare and decide if and when it's right for you. It took me 20ish years from when I started thinking about surgery to when I actually had it done, and while of course now I wish I'd done it sooner, I know that I did it at the right time for me and have no regrets. Be kind to yourself and give yourself more time to decide what is right for you. You're not a failure for taking this seriously!
Good luck to you!

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I think you were smart and brave for backing out if you felt that way. You just need more time to prepare and decide if and when it's right for you. It took me 20ish years from when I started thinking about surgery to when I actually had it done, and while of course now I wish I'd done it sooner, I know that I did it at the right time for me and have no regrets. Be kind to yourself and give yourself more time to decide what is right for you. You're not a failure for taking this seriously!
Good luck to you!

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This is sort of weird, but today I had an appointment with the surgeon who started me on this whole path. Years ago I went to him for an umbilical hernia, but it was small and not painful, so nothing needed to be done. Last year in January, I went back to him to have my gallbladder removed and mentioned that I had been having elevated liver enzymes for a while and would be seeing a specialist. He biopsied my liver when he took out the gallbladder. At my follow up, he said my liver was really bad (NASH, hepatic fibrosis), and recommended wls. He told me he couldn't see me living past 60 if I stayed that way, at 393 pounds. So I took his advice and had my Loop DS in July. Last week I had severe stomach pain and nausea and dry heaves, and would have vomited if my stomach wasn't empty at the time and I almost fainted, but was able to lay down in time to stop that. I've fainted before so I knew what was coming and was able to avoid it. The pain in my stomach was severe and then I noticed the hernia was big and sticking out and I couldn't push it back in and realized it might be the source of the pain. Anyway, I saw the surgeon today and he said the hernia was originally fat, but since I've lost so much weight,(148 so far), it is now intestine and the pain was because intestine got caught in the hole, and later when I laid down the intestines fell back through the hole and the pain got better.
Anyway, sorry this is long, but now I have to get this hernia repaired, but I got to show off my weight loss to that surgeon that recommended it, and he was so happy for me. It was a great feeling!
He is the trauma surgeon in the ER where my best friend works, and he saw her after my appointment and told her he didn't even recognize me!
It's just a wonderful feeling!

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Oh, speaking of jewelry! My neck size has also changed.. About 10 years ago is when I really got up in the high 300s in my weight and my neck got big. It was a 16 or 17 I think. I have a TON of jewelry and none of my necklaces fit anymore. I had to use extenders, but even some of those weren't long enough. Now my necklaces all fit again and I measured my neck the other day and it's 14 now!

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I was able to climb the ladder to help my husband hang Christmas lights on the house. I used to be more than 100 pounds over the weight limit for that ladder and now I'm 100 pounds UNDER. Also, I couldn't physically climb a ladder even if I wanted to because my stomach was so big it got in the way.



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I think you were smart and brave for backing out if you felt that way. You just need more time to prepare and decide if and when it's right for you. It took me 20ish years from when I started thinking about surgery to when I actually had it done, and while of course now I wish I'd done it sooner, I know that I did it at the right time for me and have no regrets. Be kind to yourself and give yourself more time to decide what is right for you. You're not a failure for taking this seriously!
Good luck to you!

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I had my gallbladder out 6 months before my wls. Overall, it was a fairly easy surgery, but I found it more painful than my wls. I had much more gas pain with the gallbladder than wls, but I did have nausea and vomiting after my wls, which for me is worse than pain. As far as surgeries go, and I've had 7, I found my wls to be one of the least painful.
Since a large amount of weight loss can cause your gallbladder to act op, it's actually good to have it out before surgery. I'm glad I did. It was one less thing to worry about.

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I know for me, at 50 years old and 16 months out from my surgery, I'm up to around 1300 calories a day. Now I don't get that much all the time, but it's what my plan says I should have. Some days it's just hard to eat that much. For the first year I hardly ever got up to 1000. I also never felt unsatisfied with my food and I wasn't hungry for the first 6 months.
I weighed 393 at my highest and I'm sure I ate around 3000 calories most days. You'll be amazed how different it is after surgery though.
I deal with a lot more cravings and head hunger in the last few months , but I am still losing weight. It's has slowed to about 5 pounds a month, but I'm getting close to my goal so I am very happy.

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Now, I must say, I'm still 250 pounds, so I have at least 60 or 70 pounds to go to get to goal and actually more than that to not be considered overweight for my height, but I was almost 400 pounds, so this a huge difference and I'm feeling amazing.
My wedding dress is a size 24. I got married in 2006, and I have not been able to fit into it since 2010. It is now too big! I had to get something notarized the other day and when I got out my driver's license I noticed my weight said 350 and realized I am 100 pounds less than that weight now, which was a lie anyway. Lol That is an amazing feeling. I have never, ever weighed less than what my drivers license said. Even back when I weighed around 150 I never thought I was thin enough and always lied. When I renew it, I will tell the truth, because I accept myself now at any weight. It's been a long journey to get to that point.
I got a new dress the other day and thought it needed a belt and the only one I had was from my highest weight and I can wrap it around me twice. It's crazy!
This might be dumb, and maybe tmi for some, but my belly was so big before I couldn't use a squatty potty, and now I can. I just bought one and it really helps with my Constipation. Lol



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I never was that into sweets anyway, but after surgery I found them disgusting, especially the shakes. It took everything I had to get them down early on. After about 6 months I was able to tolerate them and now I like the shakes again.
I have never been a big bread or sandwich eater, but especially since surgery I find that I just don't care for bread very much. I can't even explain what it is but I don't enjoy it.
I LOVED speaking Water (like LaCroix) before surgery and drank it all the time. For the first year I was not allowed to have it, but then I could in moderation. I am 16 months post op and I've tried it twice in the last 2 weeks and it does nothing for me now. It even seems to upset my stomach a little now. I'm so surprised by this!
I've always been a bit of a saltaholic too, and now things take a lot more salty to me. It's crazy!
Other than those things, I still like most of the foods I liked before. Now that I can eat more I'm super happy to be able to fit in some veggies, which one always loved.

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I keep telling my fiancé I'm gonna be his arm candy. 🤣

Today - almost 18 months out - I met my first goal: over 200 lbs lost, and joining the double digits club (in kg... of course 🙂 ).
99 kilos today (218 lbs), lost 204 lbs from my top weight. Feeling good!

Friends, it's a (life) long process, hang in there and have fun with it. Never mind the small ups and downs, look for the trends.

I’m 15 months out from a revision (gerd caused by hernia), have been at goal for about 11 of those months and maintain on around 1300-1500 calories a day. Most of the meals I eat are pretty plant-based as most animal Protein sits heavy these days.
These are pretty typical days when I’ve packed all my meals for the day for work. The red Blender Bottle is a green smoothie with kale, spinach, a frozen fruit, protein powder and almond milk. The little thermos is almost always some kind of vegetable heavy Soup. The calories for the day are pictured after each one. While they’re convenience food heavy (protein shakes and bars) I know that’s what I need at work as I rarely have time to sit and eat regularly meals.
As you get closer to surgery and after surgery you’ll eventually find what works for you and you’ll be able to better gage hunger/fullness cues, what your body needs and the calories you’ll need.
For now, work on tracking what you eat and making small changes, mindful eating, and finding ways to make your favorite dishes healthier.
If you ever have questions we’re here to help the best we can even if that means directing you back to your surgery team and dietitian.

Here are the before pictures.  

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I considered wls for many, many years, but never seriously. When I was a new RN in 1997, it was fairly new and I saw people die from it, so I was always scared of it. I also never had insurance that concerned it, so I knew I'd have to pay out of pocket, and I was overall healthy, so I figured I could do it on my own. I had my son in 2010, and that's when I really started to gain a lot of weight. I had done WW before I got pregnant and had lost 45. I was down to 263. After he was born, the weight started piling on. I was sick all the time and got diagnosed with asthma. I was in pain all the time. My liver enzymes increased slowly year by year, until 2020 when my doctor decided I needed to see a liver specialist. That same January, I had my gallbladder removed and that surgeon offered to biopsy my liver and it showed Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis, with hepatic fibrosis. As a nurse I had seen people die of liver failure and it is awful. This scared me to death. That surgeon recommended wls, and he was one of the only doctors who had ever acted compassionate and non-judgmental about my weight. He told me I had very little chance of losing it and keeping it off on my own. I took his advice and made an appt. That day with a bariatric surgeon. I saw him in March and he recommend gastric bypass. I started getting the required testing and had just had my EGD when the hospital decided to let a bunch of staff go due to COVID. That surgeon was one of them. I decided to go to a different hospital and surgeon and this one recommended Loop DS. I had not heard of it, but he said I was a perfect candidate with a BMI of 69.9 and since I was paying for it myself, as it was a newer procedure that insurance didn't usually cover. I researched it and decided to go with it.
My high weight was 393 pounds. I am 5'3". I was 368.8 on the day of my surgery, July 23, 2020. As of today I am 226.4. I never thought I'd be even close to this weight again. I am hoping to lose at least 200 pounds total. I am getting close.
I was close to borderline diabetic, had just been diagnosed with hypertension, and had liver disease. I could barely get around or keep up with my active 10 year old son. My hypertension is gone, my blood glucose is normal, and my liver enzymes are now normal, so I have reversed my fatty liver disease. I turn 50 on August 2nd and this will be the best birthday ever! I am so happy I had this surgery!
I can't get my befores to post right now but I'll put them here once I do. Here is me today.  
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3 years out.
I *thought* I had broken up with bread, but we got back together. 😆