I've surpassed my goal by 5 lbs as of this morning, so I figured it was time for a success story post!

I had my VSG done on August 9, 2010 by Dr. Alberto Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico. I was 25 years old at the time. I had been overweight or obese since I was about 11, although even as a kid, I was always a tad bigger than other girls. I was raised by my mother, who always had a weight problem and got me to be her diet buddy. In high school, I recall constantly doing the cabbage Soup diet with her and never getting past day 4, when we'd have massive binges. As a teenager, I hit my all-time low weight of 145 lbs (I am 5'5") due to bulimia and excessive working out. Unfortunately, the weight came back, plus more. I hit my all-time high of 216 lbs at the age of 21 after falling from a horse and injuring my back. In 2009, I buckled down and lost 40+ lbs, getting down to 165, but maintaining my weight took up ALL MY TIME and I was constantly denying myself everything. Eventually, school got so busy that it was an issue of either exercising or studying 10 hours a day to pass, so obviously, I opted for passing. The weight came back on rapidly, and once I met my boyfriend who likes to eat out a lot and has a super-fast metabolism, I started packing on almost 10 lbs a month!

I decided to have surgery in June 2010, when I was about 195 lbs. I paid for my surgery out of pocket - I used my student line of credit to cover the expenses. The surgery cost me about $9500 with the airfare and related expenses. I weighed 208 lbs the day of my surgery. To my knowledge, I had no comorbidities except lower back pain. My surgery went great and I had a fairly uneventful recovery save for a trip to the emergency room about 2.5 weeks out for nausea and lightheadedness. My 3-month bloodwork and upper GI were all stellar. While my health numbers were good before, they've become even better since - my BP used to be about 120/80 and now it's 105/65, and my resting heart rate's gone down from 80 to 50.

My original weightloss goal was 145 lbs, as I'm pretty big-boned and have lots of muscle mass. I'm at 140 now and I wear a size 6, sometimes 8; size small shirts, although as I'm still a DD cup, sometimes I have to wear mediums just because of my chest. I still have knee pain that I developed after a sports injury over a decade ago, but my back pain is gone. I'm not sure what's next for me, I'd like to do a bodybuilding or figure competition, and there's one in my area this June, so depending on how my skin is tightening, I may sign up for that.

Some pix from before the surgery:

But it's awkward sometimes....the other day, my boyfriend suggested to his coworker/good friend that he try going out with their young, single receptionist. The guy's reaction? "My friends would make fun of me if I was to be spotted with that cow." Ironically, "that cow" is quite a bit smaller than I was at my heaviest. So you know what he thought about me back in the summer.....I try not to focus on things like that, but it's hard.

SHE is lucky not to go out with HIM.. sorry, but he sounds like a shallow twit! Its one thing to have your preferences, another to call someone a cow and worry so much about what your friends will think! When he goes bald and gets a paunch, hopefully people will be kinder to him than he was to her!

YOU GO GIRL! YOU LOOK AWESOME!!!

P.s. I have the same problem on top otherwise I would be an 8 all around...oh well I guess it's a good problem lol.

And some pictures from March 9, 2011 - 7 months after the surgery

Wow, and your skin looks really taut too, really well done.

Jane x

Wow. You look terrific. Good you had it done now before finish school and into residency.

Hey BBJ, you look amazing!!!!!!!! Great job girlie, and you are so lucky you never even looked like you had extra weight. Your skin really snapped back exact. Also, I want to say that, that would be fantastic to sign up for some competitions. Keep us in the loop! I for one would like to hear all about it. I love stuff like that - physical fitness is where its at!!!

RE: The guy... I always believe in Kharma. Sooner or later he will repay his debt in his insensitive remarks about that lady.

You look great!!! Congratulations

Thanks. My skin is not looking too bad, there's some looseness in the inner thighs and at the bottom of my buttcheeks, but I'm just crossing my fingers that in a few months, it'll snap back. If not - oh well. When my peers and I get into our 40s, no one will be able to tell!

I know I'm a little late, but first off congratulations! I'm currently in Nursing school, and also made the decision based on the fasct of 12 hour days and I didn't want to be the fat nurse. My question to you is how where you able to lose all that way and manage to not have sagging skin? Thanks so much

I know I'm a little late, but first off congratulations! I'm currently in Nursing school, and also made the decision based on the fasct of 12 hour days and I didn't want to be the fat nurse. My question to you is how where you able to lose all that way and manage to not have sagging skin? Thanks so much

I'm not quite sure, I didn't apply any fancy lotions or try any lasers. I do make my boyfriend give me massages several times a week, usually with some sort of body butter, lol. I also lift weights regularly. I have a tiny amount of loose skin, but it's not something that'd prevent me from wearing a bikini or something like that - hoping it will tighten up. I've been remarkably lucky in the boob department, too - of course, they don't look the same as 34 DDs on someone who's never been overweight, but they are nowhere near as saggy as I was worried they'd be - so there may be a genetic component to how much my skin snaps back. None of my relatives have lost a large amount of weight, so I can't determine how much of my skin tightening is thanks to genetics.

Wow, I'm a little late to the party, but I wanted to add my congrats! You do look wonderfully fit! You were smart to do this at such a young age! I also think you can really tell that you've been working out!!! Congratulations on your success! Please keep us posted if you do the body-building competition, that would be soooo cool!

Your doing so amazing!!! and as I am in pretty much the same position as you.. age, story, even highest weight... i feel so connected to your success ... I will be 6 months out on April 1 and cant wait to wear my bikini on my trip to the DR!!! Thanks for your post... I feel very happy for you

You look amazing! Any suggestions for flabby arms? I've started doing resistance bands and weights, but just wondering if there's anything else I should be doing/trying.

Brilliant!!!!! You look great and you're inspiring!

Congrats on surpassing your goal -- you look fantastic! Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Wow! I am really late to the party, but just have to say you have done such an awesome job. Really impressive results!