Hi Everyone -

I'll take the plunge!

I'm 5'6", and started at 333. Charts list my ideal weight as between 130-145, so I figure I can claim the 200 lb group.

I was banded 1/23/03, lost my band to erosion 7/04, and was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali 8/14/09. As of Monday I am down 100.4 pounds - woot!

Of course, my situation was a little accelerated, as I had complications and was on liquids basically from my surgery date until Christmas, so those of you who had normal recoveries shouldn't be bummed if your journey hasn't gone quite so quickly.

Donali

Odd that there are so many replies to my original post, but today is the first day I received a notice that someone had replied to this thread... lol Sorry, everyone, I wasn't ignoring you, but I don't hang out in the forums, so if I don't get an email notification...

Anyway, I am now almost 19 months out, and am down 135lbs, give or take. My weight has been pretty stable for the last 7 months - since July 2010 - my lowest was 194, but I tend to hang around 198-202. Turned 50 in February, 5'6", female, started at 333lbs, medium frame.

Fantasy goal weight is 135lbs, but I will definitely have to work at it to get there. I probably average 1700 calories a day - 1500-2000 easy. I am not one of those sleevers who has absolutely no hunger, and can only eat a few bites and am done, or subsists on 800 calories a day (!). I'm hungry about every two hours, and the amounts I can consume at a time vary. Mostly dependent upon how long I'm eating, of course, and how much I drink with my meals. Somedays I seem to eat all day long - a few bites every now and then. I eat less at restaurants, usually, and I believe that's because I'm eating in a shorter time frame, and in a more eating oriented way. But my capacity does vary - some days I can eat more at a time than others.

Sunday night dinner out - sat down at 7pm, left about 7:45. In that time period I consumed: 1.5 cups of decaf with lots of creamer, 1.5 small glasses of ice Water, 1 cup of tomato basil Soup with two crumbled saltines and 1/2 French dip with aus jus. Barely a taste of the mashed potatos. I was stuffed, and declined the dessert that came with the meal. I guess about 90% of the time I have that much at a sitting. Dinner last night with family was: one thick pork chop with gravy, a normal portion of mashed potatos and gravy, a small roll with butter, two tablespoons of broccoli in cheese sauce and some salad dressed with oil and vinegar and about 8oz of ice water. Definitely more than 4oz of food! But it did take me a good 45 mins to finish.

While I would like to get down to 135 just to see what it's like, 165-185 is a definite goal, and I think very doable. I am encouraged that my metabolism seems to be good enough to maintain my weight at my calorie intake/activity level, since I feel my day to day life right now is "regular" living - I am not doing anything out of the ordinary - no set exercise program, no dieting. I'm not saying that with pride, mind you - I believe in exercise! Really! And some day soon... lol But in the meantime I don't feel panicky, and love that I am a tight 18, as opposed to a 34(?) like before. I only have a few items of clothing from a long time ago that are too small still, so it's a huge relief to have rejoined the land of the living.

Tracy, I'm glad you decided to go with the VSG, and that you're doing so well.

Hang in there, everyone, and take it one day at a time!

Donali

Was sleeved Feb 25th and all is well. Having esophigeal cramps and some back issues but other than that I am right on track. Had my first upper G.I. just this morning and I'm heading in for my first Surgical post-op visit tomorrow. I'm happy with my choice and I feel that this was just what I needed to get where I want to go.At last weigh in (as I left the hospital 4 days after surgery) I hd lost 40 pounds total. Actually excited about my weigh in tomorrow! Wonder what happy numbers I'm gonna see....

My highest weight ever was 565 lbs. I was 530 when I started my pre-op diet for the surgery and 499 when I checked out of the hospital a day after my surgery.

I'm currently 432 lbs. That's AMAZING to me. Even still, the idea of that I still need to lose AT least 233 to get to my goal (at or just under 200lbs, or "onederland") can get pretty overwhelming sometimes.

Hi Everyone -

I'll take the plunge!

I'm 5'6", and started at 333. Charts list my ideal weight as between 130-145, so I figure I can claim the 200 lb group.

I was banded 1/23/03, lost my band to erosion 7/04, and was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali 8/14/09. As of Monday I am down 100.4 pounds - woot!

Of course, my situation was a little accelerated, as I had complications and was on liquids basically from my surgery date until Christmas, so those of you who had normal recoveries shouldn't be bummed if your journey hasn't gone quite so quickly.

Donali

My highest weight ever was 565 lbs. I was 530 when I started my pre-op diet for the surgery and 499 when I checked out of the hospital a day after my surgery.

I'm currently 432 lbs. That's AMAZING to me. Even still, the idea of that I still need to lose AT least 233 to get to my goal (at or just under 200lbs, or "onederland") can get pretty overwhelming sometimes.

I know how you feel. I'm down 108 since my initial consultation with the surgeon and 72 since surgery, but have another 150-160 before I get to where I think I want to be and that will still be considered obese (BMI of 33). At times it does seem daunting. I'm approaching it using mini-goals, for instance. When I lose another 25 it will be the smallest I've been in 4 years, another 40 after that will be be the smallest I've been as an adult. It's not about where we've been it's about where we're going. Best of luck to you.

Thank you. I'll meet my goal of losing 100lbs in the next few days. I think my next goal will be to get under 400lbs.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I know how you feel. I'm down 108 since my initial consultation with the surgeon and 72 since surgery, but have another 150-160 before I get to where I think I want to be and that will still be considered obese (BMI of 33). At times it does seem daunting. I'm approaching it using mini-goals, for instance. When I lose another 25 it will be the smallest I've been in 4 years, another 40 after that will be be the smallest I've been as an adult. It's not about where we've been it's about where we're going. Best of luck to you.

Hi Angel!

I'm loving your blog. What a nice voice you have, both literary and aurally.

Is there a way you can have your links open in a new page, so people aren't force navigated away from your blog when they click on something of interest? I believe that "right click" has been disabled - perhaps you can enable it? Not sure how your behind the scenes stuff is set up, and I understand the desire to protect things by disabling right click, but I suspect you'd get happier/longer traffic if vistors weren't constantly being taken away from your pages.

Paul, mini-goals are exactly the way to go. And there's no rules against "resting", either - life really shouldn't be all about weight! It's so hard to get out of that mentality, I know - here I am on a weightloss site... lol