Tiffykins

I lost all my weight and then some so the "norm" is not always the case. I followed the rules to get to goal quickly and wanted to worry about maintenance when I got there. I've been easily maintaining my current for over 6 months with the sleeve.

I started with the band at 270, the day of my revision I was 263, my initial goal weight was 150lbs, and I hit goal in 6.5 months weighing 148lbs. I continued to lose for another 4 months and my body has settled at around 125lbs. My total loss with the sleeve alone is 138lbs in 10.5 months.

I lost all my weight and then some so the "norm" is not always the case. I followed the rules to get to goal quickly and wanted to worry about maintenance when I got there. I've been easily maintaining my current for over 6 months with the sleeve.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

Non scale Victory

My favorite one to date has got to be fitting in the booth at our favorite Mexican restaurant without having to move the table closer to my son. Plus, having lots of room between my belly and the table.
The others:
Seeing all the bones in my feet and ankles
Having just 1 chin
My son wrapping his arms around me and getting excited that he can clasp his hands for a "real hug".
All of my rings and bracelets being too big
Buying regular sized clothes from Old Navy
Having my dermatologist not even recognize me until she read my chart, that was an amazing feeling.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

I started with the band at 270, the day of my revision I was 263, my initial goal weight was 150lbs, and I hit goal in 6.5 months weighing 148lbs. I continued to lose for another 4 months and my body has settled at around 125lbs. My total loss with the sleeve alone is 138lbs in 10.5 months.

Non scale Victory

My favorite one to date has got to be fitting in the booth at our favorite Mexican restaurant without having to move the table closer to my son. Plus, having lots of room between my belly and the table.
The others:
Seeing all the bones in my feet and ankles
Having just 1 chin
My son wrapping his arms around me and getting excited that he can clasp his hands for a "real hug".
All of my rings and bracelets being too big
Buying regular sized clothes from Old Navy
Having my dermatologist not even recognize me until she read my chart, that was an amazing feeling.

This is probably going to seem sooooooooo trivial to everyone else, but I had a great NSV last night.

John and I have never been cuddly when we sleep. #1 I would get so hot that I couldn't stand having him right up on me #2 He's a tummy sleeper with his elbows spread out over the bed, I sleep on my side with a body pillow.

Anyways, last night, he pulls me in super close to his chest, my back is touching his chest, and he wraps his arms around me, like completely around me (that's never happened before), and he nuzzled his head next to my neck and was asleep in a matter of minutes. I laid there just smiling like a goofy kid at a candy store, and I could feel his heart beating on my back. I laid there and actually felt his heart rate slow down as he began to drift off into a deep sleep. It felt so amazing to be that close, and not be hot and feel gross about myself. He had one arm under my head, wrap it up over me and the other arm wrapped around me the other side. I don't think I've ever realized how many "little" things we didn't do because of my weight.

He then started snoring (which he never did before), and I had to move a little because he was right next to my ear. But for the first time in 3.5 years, I literally fell asleep in my love's arms.

Ditto to what Stacy wrote. My period was totally off for the first 6 months, and I threw huge clots too. I think it's a lot of the anesthesia, the heparin/lovenox they give us, plus the insane hormone surge from the rapid weight loss. I promise it does get better. The first couple of months are the most irregular. By the 4 month mark, my periods were lighter, and less crampy. Now, at 18 months out, I'm not 100% regular, my PMS is more intense, I cramp a little more, but my periods are super light except for the first day.
The mood swings were killer for me and my family for the first 6 months as well. I was a raging witch on the verge of psychotic breakdowns early out, but it was temporary.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

This is probably going to seem sooooooooo trivial to everyone else, but I had a great NSV last night.

John and I have never been cuddly when we sleep. #1 I would get so hot that I couldn't stand having him right up on me #2 He's a tummy sleeper with his elbows spread out over the bed, I sleep on my side with a body pillow.

Anyways, last night, he pulls me in super close to his chest, my back is touching his chest, and he wraps his arms around me, like completely around me (that's never happened before), and he nuzzled his head next to my neck and was asleep in a matter of minutes. I laid there just smiling like a goofy kid at a candy store, and I could feel his heart beating on my back. I laid there and actually felt his heart rate slow down as he began to drift off into a deep sleep. It felt so amazing to be that close, and not be hot and feel gross about myself. He had one arm under my head, wrap it up over me and the other arm wrapped around me the other side. I don't think I've ever realized how many "little" things we didn't do because of my weight.

He then started snoring (which he never did before), and I had to move a little because he was right next to my ear. But for the first time in 3.5 years, I literally fell asleep in my love's arms.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

I had to keep up with John, plus the walk there was mostly downhill. The walk back took about 35 minutes because it was uphill, and we were walking against the winds.

This is probably going to seem sooooooooo trivial to everyone else, but I had a great NSV last night.

John and I have never been cuddly when we sleep. #1 I would get so hot that I couldn't stand having him right up on me #2 He's a tummy sleeper with his elbows spread out over the bed, I sleep on my side with a body pillow.

Anyways, last night, he pulls me in super close to his chest, my back is touching his chest, and he wraps his arms around me, like completely around me (that's never happened before), and he nuzzled his head next to my neck and was asleep in a matter of minutes. I laid there just smiling like a goofy kid at a candy store, and I could feel his heart beating on my back. I laid there and actually felt his heart rate slow down as he began to drift off into a deep sleep. It felt so amazing to be that close, and not be hot and feel gross about myself. He had one arm under my head, wrap it up over me and the other arm wrapped around me the other side. I don't think I've ever realized how many "little" things we didn't do because of my weight.

He then started snoring (which he never did before), and I had to move a little because he was right next to my ear. But for the first time in 3.5 years, I literally fell asleep in my love's arms.

Non scale Victory

My favorite one to date has got to be fitting in the booth at our favorite Mexican restaurant without having to move the table closer to my son. Plus, having lots of room between my belly and the table.
The others:
Seeing all the bones in my feet and ankles
Having just 1 chin
My son wrapping his arms around me and getting excited that he can clasp his hands for a "real hug".
All of my rings and bracelets being too big
Buying regular sized clothes from Old Navy
Having my dermatologist not even recognize me until she read my chart, that was an amazing feeling.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

Non scale Victory

My favorite one to date has got to be fitting in the booth at our favorite Mexican restaurant without having to move the table closer to my son. Plus, having lots of room between my belly and the table.
The others:
Seeing all the bones in my feet and ankles
Having just 1 chin
My son wrapping his arms around me and getting excited that he can clasp his hands for a "real hug".
All of my rings and bracelets being too big
Buying regular sized clothes from Old Navy
Having my dermatologist not even recognize me until she read my chart, that was an amazing feeling.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

I'm almost 11 months out, and this is what I ate yesterday. It was a crazy carb day, and I grazed quite a bit. A lot of my carbs come from the fruit juice and fruit Loops, potatoes with dinner and yogurt/fruit I ate for Breakfast. I do not eat like this every day. I actually keep my carbs around 80grams per day now. But, yesterday, I wanted fruit, and Cereal for some odd reason.

Breakfast - 1-6oz Chobani strawberry Yogurt, 3 large fresh strawberries

Snack - 3oz of teriyaki beef Jerky, 3 saltine crackers, 1- 2% extra sharp cheddar wedge

lunch - 1/2 peanut butter/honey sandwich on whole wheat bread (no crust), 10-12 tortilla chips with sour cream/salsa dip

Snack - 6 iced circus animal crackers

Dinner - 2oz of steak, 1/4 cup of steamed green Beans, 1/4 cup of pan seared new potatoes

Snack - 1 cup of fruit loops Cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk

Calories - 1387
Carbs - 226
Protein - 84
Fat - 36

I got in about 50 ounces of Water, 8oz of the the grape juice, and 8oz of coffee.

I eat out 2-4 times per week.
Thai places - chicken Satay skewers with dipping sauce and I can at 2 skewers.
Chili's - my son and I share a half rack of ribs, I can eat 2 of the ribs, and a few bites of the various side dishes, we also share the Cajun chicken Pasta entree (yummy chicken alfredo with penne Pasta and grilled cajun flavored chicken breast)I also order the 1/2 order of nachos from the appetizer menu, I can eat about 3 of them with salsa and sour cream, I order and split the Quesadilla Explosion salad with the kiddo.

Mexican food - my son and I order beef and chicken fajitas for 1, I can eat 1 fajita with 2-3 strips of meat, loads of sauteed onions, sour cream, salsa and a little bit of rice. I do eat some chips and salsa before my meal. I may have a few bites of the refried Beans, but I like to save room for the actual fajita.

Taco Bell - Steak quesadilla with extra sauce. I can eat 2 of the 4 wedges, but I pull off the top of the tortilla. I wait about 3 hours and eat the other 2 wedges later. Or, I order a bean burrito with extra red sauce and sour cream, and peel off the extra tortilla that doesn't have any filling.

TGI Friday's - I order the appetizer course of Pot stickers/chinese dumplings, and I can eat 3 of them, the inside mainly, and the outside shell of 1.5 of them with dipping sauce.

Logan's steak house - my son and I split an 8oz ribeye and a few bites of the side dishes typically rice or loaded mashed potatoes with a green veggie. I typically eat a few chips with their spinach/artichoke dip before our meal.

Mongolian BarBque - I eat the thick egg noodles, with cabbage, snap peas, pineapple, bean sprouts, and chicken or beef. Covered in Mongolian and Teriyaki sauce, and minced garlic. Typically, the meat gets over cooked on the grill, so I stick to the noodles and veggies/fruit.

Chinese buffet - Spring roll (1 with the outer shell peeled off), peanut chicken, beef broccoli, General Tso chicken, fried rice, low mein noodles, and pot stickers again.

IHOP- sirloin steak tips with broccoli
Wendy's - baked potato with cheese/broccoli, small chili with crackers

Panera Bread - The asian fruit side salad (it has apples), broccoli/cheddar Soup, 1/2 tuna salad sandwich with chips.

Obviously, I eat a very small portion of all of these, but it gives you an idea of what I order and eat. Yes, I bring lots of leftovers home, but I make the meals last for at least 2 other meals/lunches, or even Snacks.

I rarely order off the kid's or senior menu. I know people find it hard to believe but I literally eat anything and everything I want just in small quantities.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)