deedee

I definitely don't take it wrong...it is pretty funny if you step back and think of it, especially compared to where I was this time last year (size 20-22). I just haven't gotten it into my head that this size is a permanent thing. I never planned on getting below an 8 (and that was supposed to be only the larger sized 8's), and then figured I'd be a 10-12 if I was blessed enough to have a baby.

Good for you and walking! I shoveled and feel I got my exercise in for today too:-) That's a great idea about the consignment store. I also couldn't just donate my clothes (honestly they were not all super nice, but most were) so I found friends and family that could use them and that made me feel better. I too wear a lot of skirts and dresses and yes, I find these last multiple sizes. But I'm so bummed because the size 10 dress I ordered for like 65% off in the fall will not even stay up anymore (my ladies are pretty much gone). I'm going to have it altered but want to make sure I'm done losing weight AND inches. I got it to wear on my spring break trip in March, so I guess it's out for this year. I am keeping my dresses in sizes 8 and 10 because I think they will make excellent maternity dresses. I folded up all my 14's. Even most of my 12's and many 10's are ready for new homes. After trying on so many things I realize I'm now a size 6-8 (although there are always exceptions). It's interesting that although my weight loss hasn't been much over the last month, I've continued to drop inches/sizes. I'll definitely take it, but a little mad at myself that I spent so much money last month at the outlets because I was only a few pounds from goal. Oh well.

Mountain Lover, I completely understand that you have to wait to weigh a certain weight on the most difficult scale before you can "count" it for real. I'm the same way. Loser, thank you so much...soon you'll be able to say goodbye to them forever too. I can't believe that I'm almost to goal. I never plan on getting back to the 2's, and with this tool I know it is possible. Coopersmama, we both know this will work! I spent some time on OH today looking through the before/after pictures and love seeing all the successful people working their tools!

Well, I live in the mid-atlantic region that now finally on the end side of an enormous snowstorm (my county is actually still under a blizzard warning). Due to this I am homebound and thought this would be a good day to accomplish some things. First I started the huge process of cleaning out my closets, dresser, and laundry room (where I also store a lot of clothes). With the help of some others on here and a phone conversation, I decided it was time to get rid of my 14's. I even got rid of most of my 12's (saved one pair of jeans that still fit great) and quite a few of my 10's. I've only gotten through half of one closet and a couple bins from the laundry room and my jeans drawer, but I feel so much better. I took the time to try on every single item. So here is a picture of the half of closet I did. I usually prefer to wear more spring and summer colors, but now there is a definite lack of color in the wardrobe I have left. I also usually do not hang my jeans, but my closet is looking so bare:-( About an hour into the closet organizing project, my husband wanted to do another snow shoveling round outside and since I didn't help with the first one, I got dressed and went out to help. I again am amazed at how much better my life is since I've had this surgery. I was able to shovel so much and felt sort of bad about how before losing this weight I never had energy to do much around the house or with my husband. Overall, a very productive day!

I'm so happy you were able to come to such a great decision (in my opinion;-). Please keep us posted on your process.

Congratulations Cajun...you'll be there so soon! I think you gals have helped me make the decision to get rid of my 14's. I was on the phone with a friend for about an hour and she is about to have a baby (1 month away) and hopes to be in size 14/16 by summer time. It makes it easier now that I know next week, once we've dug out, I can drop by a lot of stuff. I still have a hard time getting my head around the fact it's okay to get rid of the 12's...maybe because it's all stuff I bought this past fall (unlike most of the 14's that I'd had for the last decade, I was ready to say goodbye to those). I'll keep you posted, I'm actually about to start now. I found so much other stuff in the house to waste time on throughout the morning. I think we're up to about 2 feet snowfall now...I can't wait until this is over, but at least it forces me to be productive:-)

Well, I'm in the middle of another mini blizzard. We have about 20" of snow outside and they say it will not end until this afternoon. Of course my body wouldn't let me sleep in past 5:30 AM, so I've been sitting here trying to plan out how I can be productive today. I've decided I will clean out my closets again...I've needed to do it for a couple of months now. My question: what larger sizes, if any, do you plan on keeping? The last time I had a closet clean out I was a size 12-14. I kept many of the 14's that were really nice "just in case" I needed them again after I have a baby (God willing). I'm now in a size 6 (barely), 8 (some are getting pretty lose, but most fit perfectly), and 10 (for higher-end designer clothing). I'm now wondering if maybe I should let go of my 14's? What is everyone else's plan or what have you done?

I remember mourning the food "friend" as well. You are right, it will get better. There are still times though that I think, "oh, I can have that...it's not too much," and then realize that I'm having a little more restriction and no I can't. It's a little hard, but no longer gets me down like it did the first 4 months or so. Congratulations on your loss!!!

I remember this dreaded "stall." Mine lasted 13 days. I too thought I was prepared from all of the reading and stuff, and did pretty well for the first 7-8 days, but then it just got old. Those last few days of the stall were brutal, BUT I lived through it;-) One thing that helped was I stopped weighing daily for a while. Good luck!

CONGRATULATIONS! That is an amazing weight loss.

Ramble away...I have to tell you that it is sooooo much easier to eat slower once you have your tool in place. For me, I found exercise easier as well (well maybe not easier to do but stick with it) because I was seeing such fantastic results in my body. Good luck through the rest of your pre-op journey!

I had a few moments of, "what have I done?" But it's usually always get overshadowed by the, "I'm so happy I have my sleeve." I'm glad to read you're doing well. Good job and keep it up!

That is great news! Congratulations!!!

I am only 6 months out, but I've been working really hard to change my behavior and build healthy habits. I hear over and over again, "wls is only a tool," and completely agree. For me, I can see how if I ate all the wrong foods, regain would definitely be a possibility. At 6 months I can easily eat between 800-1200 calories per day and if they were all cookies, cake, ice cream...I'd be in quite a bit of trouble. I guess I don't know how common it is, but I could definitely see regain being a problem based on lifestyle.

Great job! I know what you mean about being where you never imagined. You've done awesome!!!

Terrific accomplishment! I can't wait to see pictures.

Excellent job!!!

Yay Nikki!!!!!!! I'm so proud of you and your accomplishments...CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'VE TOTALLY ROCKED YOUR SLEEVE!

Congratulations! I think it's great you're waiting until you feel ready.

Time sure has flown by these past 6 months. I feel so blessed that I was given this opportunity to get healthy and have ZERO REGRETS that I had it done. I've gotten a few private messages asking about my experience, so I thought this would be a great time and place to post a recap (as well as I can remember it). These thoughts are pretty random and just share the ups and downs of my journey so far. I began my journey with researching wls in April of 2009. Attended a seminar with my surgeon in May, and set up my consultation visit for June 24. At my consultation I weighed 238 lbs. (down 3 pounds from my all time heaviest). I started my pre-op diet (modified Atkins) in July 2009, and had my surgery on August 4, weighing 222 lbs. Today I weigh in at 149 pounds! My starting clothing size was a woman's 22-24. I am currently wearing a 6-8 and actually just bought yesterday a size 4 dress that fits beautifully (it obviously runs large). I never dreamed, planned, or hoped to be this small and still don't see this person. In the mirror I still see the same larger person with flaws and scars, but when I take pictures and compare them I can tell the difference. My biggest struggle as an early post-op was with protein consumption. I was lucky to get in 30 grams of protein per day the first month out (some days I did well, but not consistently). I had a very difficult time finding protein drinks that I could tolerate. I found Chike Orange Cream and thought it tasted pretty good, but early out it would give me such bad cramping. I then found Bariatric Advantage Sangria flavor around 3 weeks post-op and did pretty well sipping one each morning. Another struggle I faced (and still do to some extent) was with constipation. There was one time that I was constipated for like 8 days. Adding in apples and spinach seemed to help in that area. Around 3-4 months post-op I decided to try to lose the remainder of my weight following a more balanced diet...up until that point I was pretty much sticking to no more than 30 carbs per day. The weight loss definitely slowed down when I upped the carbs, but for me it was okay. I figured if I could lose weight following a more balanced diet, I wouldn't have to worry so much in maintenance about gaining much weight back (who knows if this will actually be the case). As of today, I am still 1 pound away from my goal weight and if I don't hit goal in the next couple of weeks, I plan to low carb it for a while. One of the BEST things I think I did during the post-op process was to establish a good, solid exercise routine. Each day from 1 day post-op, I walked A LOT. During the first month I walked the boardwalk and built up to 2-3 miles per outing. When I was cleared for exercise (4 weeks out) I started back to Jazzercise and signed up for water aerobics. The water class did not work out for different reasons, but I stuck with Jazzercise and by two months out was attending 5 days per week. I have now added a tap class (my favorite) into my schedule and have cut back one day of Jazzercise to accommodate. Each month I notice myself getting stronger and capable to do more (my energy levels are through the roof) and I feel I owe this to the exercise routine I've got going on. During this last month, although I haven't dropped much weight on the scale, I've definitely noticed myself toning up a lot more. Again, I attribute the exercising to this. I feel so blessed that I have this tool and just want to say again, I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!

Thanks Cajun and congratulations yourself! Excellent job twobluecats, those are impressive numbers! Woohoo Stacy! -10 pounds in a week!!! Nanna, I feel you on the stuck thing. I was stuck at the same weight for like 12 days, but it did start moving again. Steph, thanks for the kind words...you'll be at goal before you know it!

Yes, that's exactly what they mean. They had the band and now are having a revision surgery to the sleeve. If you read the forum band to sleeve revisions, you'll probably get a lot of information. Also you can check out the revision forum on obesityhelp.com and/or the complications forum on lapbandtalk.com. Good luck to both of you on your journeys. I never had the band, but there are quite a few on here who have and can probably give you more information.

With my FSA, I think there is a limit to how much you are allowed to contribute. But this is a good reminder to try to save as much as possible where we can. Another thing that might help is at tax time when you itemize. I have to gather all of my receipts so we can use it for the medical deduction (probably going to need new copies of some things).

Good morning! I have to get on the road early today because for once the road conditions where I live are much worse than where I work, so our schools are closed out here, but my work is open on time. I weighed in at 149 pounds. That's one pound away from goal. This Thursday will mark my 6 month surgiversary and I couldn't be happier with my journey so far:-)

I love your attitude! Come and vent away whenever you need to.