Hello, everyone. I don't post here often anymore, life is good & I'm out living it! Just thought I'd post an update on me since I'm now 9.5 months & below my goal weight.:w00t:

I came off of my blood pressure medications immediately after surgery & haven't had to resume taking them as of yet. I monitor my blood pressure regularly at home & consistently get good readings. My edema vanished immediately after surgery as well & has not returned. PTL for that!

I lost weight steadily & never really hit a stall. I chose to not deprive myself of anything even during the losing phase. I followed the Protein first rule as best I could & limited my "treats", but I didn't count calories or carbs & I enjoyed my treats. I tried to build good life long habits & not get into "diet mode" b/c I know my history with "diet mode". If I restrict myself severely, I end up binging. So, I allowed myself to have treats fairly routinely...not every day, but definitely several times a week.

I struggle with grazing. I try to choose healthy foods when I do graze, but mainly I try to keep myself busy to avoid the extra eating. I do great on days where I have a lot to do & little time to sit idle. I actually have to remind myself to eat on those days!:ohmy: Never thought I'd be so lucky to not suffer from that debilitating, ravenous hunger as I experienced pre-op. It's very liberating! I have found that if I do well getting in the protein through food (not shakes) I experience no hunger throughout that day. However, if I have a meal that is mostly carb based, I do feel hunger (just not as ravenous as pre-op). The denser the protein, the better my eating is for that day...

So, where I'm at today...

I started at 201. My highest recorded weight was around 211. I am 125 today! Pre-op I was a size 18/20, XXL. I now am 4/6, S. I stayed a size 8 for a long while & thought I was going to stay there since I wasn't really losing much more weight. But lo & behold, I guess the skin is catching up now as my 8's became too loose & I was able to get size 4/6depending on the brand. I also only went down 1 cup size up until about a month ago. I'm not sure what size bra I need now, but the girls are definitely still shrinking. :biggrin2: I thought I was the lucky one that would get to keep most of her girls, but I guess I was wrong. I'm putting off going to get resized as is hasn't been that long since I went to VS, got sized & spent a small fortune on bras!:crying:

So, there's my update. I hope everyone is doing well.

Congratulations!

I'm looking forward to the girls getting smaller!

I've already told my husband that a lift just might have to be in my future.

Glad to hear you are doing well, and made goal ! ! ! It's a great place to be, and I agree about the skin shrinking or reabsorbing or something. I'm experiencing the same thing. I'm not losing enough to justify a size change, but my body is shrinking somewhere.

Congrats Jenn ! ! !

Congratulations and thanks for posting. It's always encouraging to see people make their goals (or surpass them)!

Doing the happy dance for you and your amazing results! I can only hope mine will be similarly spectacular!

Woot! That is awesome! :biggrin2: I love reading about everyone meeting their goals - it keeps me looking forward. Good to hear you're doing so well!

YAHOOO!!!!! That is all so exciting. What dramatic changes in what is really a short time (I'm sure there were days that felt LONG to you though.) Thanks for sharing your victory with us.

Thanks! I feel it's important for me to continue to share my story b/c I know how much it meant to me reading the success stories while I was pre-op & early post-op. As this is a lifelong journey, I'm still chugging along. Just b/c I've met (or exceeded) my goal doesn't mean that the ride is over...I'm just on a different one now. The journey never ends. :biggrin2:

Good for you!!! An inspiration to us all.

Glad to hear from you again TennJenn, watched your posting when I first came on here in November. I agree with staying busy will help the grazing and eating dense protein holds me so well. I am losing slower than you but every week or so drop half pound, slow, but not complaining. My skin now is starting to sag and hope that will snap back in time. How about you? You had less to lose than me I see so maybe you don't have skin issues? Anyway thanks for posting, love to hear success stories!

Congratulations Jenn! Thank you for sharing and I totally agree that our journey doesn't end when we meet (or exceed) our goals. I think you have done fabulous and glad you're out enjoying life!!!

Thank you, thank you for sharing. These are the stories along with the daily struggles and the small victories I love to see. It is awesome to see someone meet and exceed their goal and I know it didn't happen overnight but it proves the journey is worth it.

Thanks for the update, very inspiring!!

Tennjenn - thanks so much for sharing and congratulations on being below target.

Your story rang a particular bell with me as we're about the same starting BMI, and from the sound of it our habits are very similar, so theres a few tips in it for me when I get sleeved in a couple of weeks.

Do keep us informed how you get on - are you looking to loose more or maintain now?

Kathy