NtvTxn

Oh I f**king love chipotle. But I usually tell them to hold the rice now.

No silly at all, looking at a picture is different, or better yet, when you are out with someone, at the mall, grocery store, movies.....anywhere, have them point out somebody who is your size. SEEING somebody else is easy to see their size, but for some reason, looking in the mirror....it's not so easy!

Well Im very sorry that you lost your mom so early. But I completely get the connection with the size 8 in particular. The only recollection I have is being in my 20's and being a size 6 then 8. But in my 20's I certainly didnt appreciate the single number size because i didnt 'bulk up' until I was 30.
But in answer to your question, Im 5'4 and am currently at 148.5 (I usually only flucuate by a pound). Since Ive been able to maintain it for more than a week, I can commit to the number lol. If I was down to 147 only for a day or two I dont believe it until Ive there for at least a week. But what a big difference just a few pounds makes at this weight. I really thought Id have to lose a lot more to go down another pant size but nope...size 8's are here lol.
But even being in the size 8, I dont feel 'small'. The only time I believe is if Im shown a picture. For some reason, if I look in the mirror I still see the fat girl but if I see it in a picture I can see Ive lost weight. Silly huh?

I lost my mom when she was just a couple of years older than I am.....my entire life, at least from when I was in jr. high, my mom wore an 8, she always seemed so small, at least compared to me who at that time wore 14's, and that gradually increased. I was wearing 16's when she passed away. I think that is one reason I was soooo excited and so intent on getting to a size 8, I knew what an 8 looked like!!!
Again, congrats. How tall are you? We are just about the same size, I weighed 143 this morning, I've been maintaining between 143.5 - 146.5. I was down a little today, but it's always up and down a little different each morning!

Thanks NtvTxn for understanding my excitement Im still on a high from it lol.

THIS is something. I remember how exciting it was, single digit size!!!!! Congratulations!!

This is the only place I can brag about this without sounding like a tool but this weekend I purchased my first size 8 jeans!!! Size 8!! They fit great, Ive got them on today actually. Hayll yeah

Cara,
I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years.
I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!!
I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!!
There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road.
1) I weigh every morning
2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home
3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein)
Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL
There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to.
Again, good luck!!

There is no magic wand to weight loss. For me, the reason I did it was for consistency. It was something I lacked prior to surgery... I could do any stupid diet for a month or two, and then it was back to the same old same old. Now, I CANNOT have binge days, because I would be so uncomfortable I would be forced to vomit, and thats just not something I can subject myself too.
It's hard to believe when your post op that you can have so much of your stomach removed and STILL struggle to get to goal, but that's how it is for most people. It's normal. Don't look into this surgery thinking your not going to have to fight and muscle your way through it.

YouKnowIt - I am very much like you I think. I 'celebrated' two years out this past June. I reached goal quickly and kept on dropping, dropping. I got it under control and gained a little, I did not like feeling like a stick figure. My 4 jeans were getting baggy. Not good, at least in my opinion for ME. The first time I've 'gained' since I reached goal, the first time it was not trying to stabilize, was this past summer. Family reunion, vacation, out of town company.....so many sweets!! I gained between five and six lbs. I've lost five and would like to drop another couple just for the heck of it. The difference between now and prior to surgery is I am not hungry. My 'hunger' is an empty feeling, it's not a 'I am starving' hunger at all. I like to graze, and that is one way I've managed to maintain and get in enough calories per day! I like graham crackers w/peanut butter and I love the Snackwell vanilla cream sandwich Cookies. I will have one or both a few times per day. Probably not a 'good' habit, but it works for me. I get in 60 or more grams of Protein every day, so I'm good there. What I'm getting to is how easy it was to drop the added lbs. I just cut out two of my three Snacks, or cut DOWN from 1.5 grams to a half, two of the four cookies in the four cookie pack. I was not deprived and it took five or six weeks, but is that really that long to lose five lbs? I got it off and maintaining again for about a month now. Easy as pie really!!! I did find if I drink a cup of coffee in the afternoon, that will take the place of a snack, the 'empty' feeling vanishes!!

BMI, number on the scale.....OR - a certain size???!!!!
BMI, which is probably the most important, from a doctor's point of view, it was icing on the cake to me.
scale, I wanted to be way below my husband. I am.
Clothing size, I kept lowering it, I started out wanting to be in a 12, but that happened pretty fast, so I lowered it to an 8 and realized that I had underestimated what could be done with this new little tummy. An 8's swallow me. I am wearing 4's and 6's. Even if it's all vanity sizing......it is gratifying.
Shallow???!!! Yes, but so what, right? Everyone is different, and everyone's goal is different, we all define 'success' differently. Some people want nothing more than to lose weight to get off all their medication, and rightly so. Goals run the gamut around here.

BMI, number on the scale.....OR - a certain size???!!!!
BMI, which is probably the most important, from a doctor's point of view, it was icing on the cake to me.
scale, I wanted to be way below my husband. I am.
Clothing size, I kept lowering it, I started out wanting to be in a 12, but that happened pretty fast, so I lowered it to an 8 and realized that I had underestimated what could be done with this new little tummy. An 8's swallow me. I am wearing 4's and 6's. Even if it's all vanity sizing......it is gratifying.
Shallow???!!! Yes, but so what, right? Everyone is different, and everyone's goal is different, we all define 'success' differently. Some people want nothing more than to lose weight to get off all their medication, and rightly so. Goals run the gamut around here.

Figuring out what that ideal number was, for me, a hard one. I always thought 160 would be fine, then as it got closer, 150... then I got to 130 and that was TOO MUCH (I'm 5'7"). I lost my weight in 6 months (mostly due to 1000+ calorie work outs, but also due to my leak that I dealt with). The hardest part to wrap my head around in maintenance was that I had to eat more not to lose. I always have gained it back by doing that. But then again, I still do my workouts. Now the goal for me is muscle tone. I am 24% body fat, 22.7 BMI and a 2-8 depending on how it's cut (but I say I'm a 6). Size 8 was my "goal" as I wanted single digits! Oh and one of the best benefits... I was lifting weights today (upper body), standing with my legs together and I have a little "hole" of light between where my thighs fit together - they don't touch. Yay! I no longer start forest fires with my thighs! lol

Cara,
I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years.
I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!!
I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!!
There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road.
1) I weigh every morning
2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home
3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein)
Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL
There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful.
Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to.
Again, good luck!!

BMI, number on the scale.....OR - a certain size???!!!!
BMI, which is probably the most important, from a doctor's point of view, it was icing on the cake to me.
scale, I wanted to be way below my husband. I am.
Clothing size, I kept lowering it, I started out wanting to be in a 12, but that happened pretty fast, so I lowered it to an 8 and realized that I had underestimated what could be done with this new little tummy. An 8's swallow me. I am wearing 4's and 6's. Even if it's all vanity sizing......it is gratifying.
Shallow???!!! Yes, but so what, right? Everyone is different, and everyone's goal is different, we all define 'success' differently. Some people want nothing more than to lose weight to get off all their medication, and rightly so. Goals run the gamut around here.

BMI, number on the scale.....OR - a certain size???!!!!
BMI, which is probably the most important, from a doctor's point of view, it was icing on the cake to me.
scale, I wanted to be way below my husband. I am.
Clothing size, I kept lowering it, I started out wanting to be in a 12, but that happened pretty fast, so I lowered it to an 8 and realized that I had underestimated what could be done with this new little tummy. An 8's swallow me. I am wearing 4's and 6's. Even if it's all vanity sizing......it is gratifying.
Shallow???!!! Yes, but so what, right? Everyone is different, and everyone's goal is different, we all define 'success' differently. Some people want nothing more than to lose weight to get off all their medication, and rightly so. Goals run the gamut around here.

BMI, number on the scale.....OR - a certain size???!!!!
BMI, which is probably the most important, from a doctor's point of view, it was icing on the cake to me.
scale, I wanted to be way below my husband. I am.
Clothing size, I kept lowering it, I started out wanting to be in a 12, but that happened pretty fast, so I lowered it to an 8 and realized that I had underestimated what could be done with this new little tummy. An 8's swallow me. I am wearing 4's and 6's. Even if it's all vanity sizing......it is gratifying.
Shallow???!!! Yes, but so what, right? Everyone is different, and everyone's goal is different, we all define 'success' differently. Some people want nothing more than to lose weight to get off all their medication, and rightly so. Goals run the gamut around here.

BMI, number on the scale.....OR - a certain size???!!!!
BMI, which is probably the most important, from a doctor's point of view, it was icing on the cake to me.
scale, I wanted to be way below my husband. I am.
Clothing size, I kept lowering it, I started out wanting to be in a 12, but that happened pretty fast, so I lowered it to an 8 and realized that I had underestimated what could be done with this new little tummy. An 8's swallow me. I am wearing 4's and 6's. Even if it's all vanity sizing......it is gratifying.
Shallow???!!! Yes, but so what, right? Everyone is different, and everyone's goal is different, we all define 'success' differently. Some people want nothing more than to lose weight to get off all their medication, and rightly so. Goals run the gamut around here.

I'm over three years out and I STILL feel this way. I feel surely it will come to a screeching halt. Paranoia, it's not a bad thing!!! LoL
Congratulations, you are doing great. It only gets better!

Good question. I did not. The biggest chance of a leak, and we do not want a leak....is the first six weeks. I wasn't hungry and was so excited about the surgery, I didn't want to do anything that wasn't on the 'plan'. I always figure, if something bad can happen, why not me!!! LOL
Good luck, week three should probably allow soft food. Go get tortilla Soup at a Mexican food restaurant, tell them more broth, less 'stuff' and just sip the broth. You'll think you're in heaven!

Good question. I did not. The biggest chance of a leak, and we do not want a leak....is the first six weeks. I wasn't hungry and was so excited about the surgery, I didn't want to do anything that wasn't on the 'plan'. I always figure, if something bad can happen, why not me!!! LOL
Good luck, week three should probably allow soft food. Go get tortilla Soup at a Mexican food restaurant, tell them more broth, less 'stuff' and just sip the broth. You'll think you're in heaven!

This is an opportunity to get your head in the game. You WANT food, but unless it's on YOUR program, you don't NEED food. Follow the program, friend!

Im 10 days post op and i just wish i can eat real food.. I curious to know if anyone tried eating food this early?

Just took a look at your profile and although my starting size is WAY bigger than yours, seeing your progress gives me hope. At 7 weeks out I've lost weight, no doubt, but still have unusually large hips, thighs, calves, etc. and often wonder if I waited too late to remedy those things; perhaps they'll never go away. Seeing your photos, and reading your story, however, lets me know that I need to be both patient and faithful to the plan. I don't expect this surgery to make me young, beautiful, or to give me a model's body. Still, I wouldn't mind being the one posting my story here in 2016 and encouraging other newbies with my accomplishments. Thanks so much for posting!

I'm from Tyler. Dr Fox in Dallas did my surgery June 24.