Just celebrated my two year anniversary of my gastric sleeve. I began my journey at 279 lbs with a dress size 22. I am currently at

149 lbs and a size 8. I never would have believed I could ever be this healthy or happy. My weight has been quite stable for the past 10 months or so. This surgery was a wonderful tool on the road to healthy living. I spent most of the first 18 months in the gym working out 3 days a week with a trainer. I believe that was a big key in getting my body back in shape. At age 55 I think it took the gym to get my body toned. I have not had any additional surgery but am considering having the skin under my arms tightened. No matter how much weight I lift or exercise, that loose skin is still there. At this point I know it's just vanity, but feel I deserve a little something for the effort. I don't eat any bread or red meat any more, it just doesn't digest well and I don't really miss it anyway. Instead I do chicken, shrimp and some pasta. For those of you in the early stages of your recovery, I encourage you to hit the gym, I don't like to exercice, but it was worth the results. Take the stairs, park at the end of the parking lot, those little everyday things. Everytime I go up and down stairs, I remember it wasn't that long ago, that I couldn't make it without gasping for air, or stopping halfway up. Find a small victory every day and keep motivated. You can do it.

That is really great & very inspiring!

I look forward to going to the gym & being able to work out. Right now I am too embarrassed with the size I am to go work out.

I started at the gym at 8 weeks out. I was at the point of who cares (size 22) and I don't know these people anyway. I will tell you after working out at the same time during the week, after about 6-8 months many strangers have come up to me to congratulate me on my progress, most of them men. It's a real boost getting positive reinforcement from people I didn't know. Now I look forward to seeing them. You will always have the slinky girls who are there to be seen, but you have alot more of those who are seriously trying to get and stay healthy. You can also hire a personal trainer for a couple sessions to come to your home and put together a program for you until you are more comfortable being at the gym. You can do it!!!

You've done a great job and deserve to be proud of not only losing the weight but maintaining the loss! I, personally, find maintenance very easy but I know that for a lot of people it's challenging.

Congrats to you! Your hard work has obviously paid off.

~Cheri

I've wondered how people do after a year or earlier, once they get to goal. How effective is the sleeve? If not as effective as when you started - how is it now - does it still help you eat less?

Please give any info about how the sleeve works after a period of time.

would love to hear from anyone else here who is somewhat of a "seasoned member".

Once you're totally healed and eating fairly normal (I'd guess somewhere between 9-15 months) your sleeve is as big as it's going to get. It would take actual EFFORT on the part of the sleever to stretch the sleeve out - not just, "I'm going to eat a cookie or a piece of pie today" but "I'm going to overeat to the point of sickness and pain every single day until I have a larger capacity." Even then, there's only so much stretch to the sleeve so you're not ever going to eat half a pizza again.

I am nearly two years out and my capacity is finally to a very comfortable point. I can eat one scrambled egg and one piece of turkey sausage or one slice of thin crust pizza or a half cup of Soup and half a grilled cheese sandwich. I still cannot eat much at one sitting and I still find myself needing to track my food. Not so much because I fear I've eaten more than the 1,200-1,400 calories per day I aim for, but rather because I'm often short by several hundred calories. Even eating a cookie when I want or indulging in a piece of chocolate each day doesn't push my calories over my personal limits.

So yes, the sleeve is JUST as effective more than one year out. I can only imagine that how I feel today (at 21 months out) is how I'm going to feel in two, or even three years. There really isn't a honeymoon phase with this surgery, though weight does drop off more quickly in the beginning. There is absolutely no reason that I couldn't work hard and lose another ten pounds over the next two or three months if I chose to do so - my sleeve still works just fine and the math of calories in vs. calories burned is the same regardless of how long ago I opted for surgery. Weight just comes off much more slowly the closer you are to your ideal body weight.

Hope this helps.

~Cheri

Thank you both, seasoned sleevers! Your stories really help to motivate. I hope we all find similar success for ourselves!