I had my surgery on August 22nd, so I am a little over 4 months post op. This summer at 5'3 my consultation weight in July was 231 lbs and I am now 155 lbs - putting me down 76 pounds! YAY!

I try to post monthly and this time when I was coming up with a picture to post I was just looking at pictures of my boyfriend and I from the summer. I think about how I felt this summer in pictures (insecure and uncomfortable) and how I feel now (confident and energetic) and I'm just very grateful. I've really appreciated his support throughout this process and looking at the pictures just made me feel grateful that I've had such a great support system, not just in him but in my entire family and my friends. I feel like it has helped me immensely. This surgery has just showed me that I really am lucky to have such great people in my life!

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I always enjoy seeing people's pictures, so I will post some below!

Picture 1: Sister's graduation party in July

Picture 2: Friend's wedding in July

Picture 3: Christmas Eve Party

Picture 4: Christmas Morning! (No way would I have ever let him pick me up like that over the summer lol!)

Picture 5: Christmas Day

I had my surgery on August 22nd' date=' so I am a little over 4 months post op. This summer at 5'3 my consultation weight in July was 231 lbs and I am now 155 lbs - putting me down 76 pounds! YAY!

I try to post monthly and this time when I was coming up with a picture to post I was just looking at pictures of my boyfriend and I from the summer. I think about how I felt this summer in pictures (insecure and uncomfortable) and how I feel now (confident and energetic) and I'm just very grateful. I've really appreciated his support throughout this process and looking at the pictures just made me feel grateful that I've had such a great support system, not just in him but in my entire family and my friends. I feel like it has helped me immensely. This surgery has just showed me that I really am lucky to have such great people in my life!

I hope everyone had a great holiday! I always enjoy seeing people's pictures, so I will post some below!

Picture 1: Sister's graduation party in July

Picture 2: Friend's wedding in July

Picture 3: Christmas Eve Party

Picture 4: Christmas Morning! (No way would I have ever let him pick me up like that over the summer lol!)

Picture 5: Christmas Day[/quote']

You look great!! Congrats!!

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Hi you are quite inspiring. What has your overall experience been and how what kind of exercise do you do? Congrats

You look amazing!!

You look Amazing!!

Great job, you look amazing.

Wow....u look awesome! Keep up the great work!

You look fantastic and so beautiful! I can't wait to gain my confidence back. Great job!

you look great!

You look fantastic! I was sleeved on 8/23 and am down 61 lbs. I too would like to know what your meals are like on a typical day. Very impressive weight loss - you are skinny now!

Wow!!!! You look great .

Sooooo pretty!!!!

Wow! Thanks so much for all the responses! Everyone is very kind

I'll try to answer some of the questions...

What do I eat on a usual day?

I have a very hard time eating any bread, rice, Pasta - I basically don't eat that (which I'm sure helps with the weight loss0 Sometimes I miss it, but then i put on a smaller pair of jeans and all is great in the world again

For Breakfast I usually have an egg with a piece of cheese and some kind of meat OR oatmeal and fruit

For Snacks, I go for string cheese, hummus and veggies, yogurt, fruit, anything up that alley

For lunch, I try to get my Protein in through having some kind of chicken dish - whether it be some kind of chicken stir fry or I'll get those lean cuisines or healthy choices and just not eat the rice, noodles, whatever and just eat the chicken and veggies

For dinner, I pretty much have whatever - I make normal, healthy meals - just way, way smaller amounts

Honestly, I don't feel like I'm on a diet. I track some days but not all. Basically i just try to put good, nutritious food in my body. If I eat like crap, I feel like crap. if I'm really craving something, I'll serve myself a small portion. I plate all my food and sit down to eat. Oh and when I feel hungry, I always check to make sure it's not just thirst! I can't tell you how many times my body thinks it's hungry but really I just need to drink some Water. DRINKING WATER IS SOOOOOO IMPORTANT!!!! As for the Protein shakes, I had them a lot in the beginning but not so much now. I probably have like 3-4 a week. I do make sure I get in a lot of protein through other foods though.

Do I exercise?

Oooo yeah! This is something I highly recommend. I don't have lose skin and I feel that my weight loss looks very natural. I started exercising a couple weeks before surgery and was walking on a treadmill right afterI had the surgery. I've grown to like running quite a bit (started that about 3 weeks post op) and I always do strength and core training. Nothing super fancy - I basically just get my butt to the gym and enjoy my time there. It's awful the first two weeks - I could barely run a half mile at 3.5 miles an hour and now I can pretty easily do two miles at a higher pace.

What has helped me the most?

Being honest with myself. Why did I get to the point I did? What are my triggers? You know to do some self discovery before having this. This is not something you just do to get skinny. If you don't just the fundamental problem, I feel the weight will just come back. I'm a much happier person. I went from a very anxious person to a person who just enjoys life. I feel NORMAL and it's a beautiful thing Also, surround yourself with people who SUPPORT you. I have been lucky to have wonderful parents, sisters, friends, boyfriend, etc to help me through this process.

What has my experience been?

I've honestly had the best experience. I'm 22 and did not have cormobidities - but I did have a BMI over 40. I loved my surgeon and the facility I had it at (Dr. Zeni at St. Mary's Hospital in Livonia, MI). The pre-op diet was so hard for me, but I stuck to it - didn't cheat once and felt so proud of myself. Anyone who is pre-op, that's my advice. DON"T CHEAT ON PRE-OP!! I did not have any complications. I followed my doctor's orders. My quote that I've posted several times on here is "Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret." It sums my feelings through this process. Every choice you make matters. Don't overwhelm yourself with huge goals. Just start by saying "Hey, I'm going to make a healthy choice for breakfast today" or "I'm going to the gym today." Slowly these choices become habits.

Thanks so much for the responses. Feel free to message or ask any other questions. This forum has helped me a lot. Good luck everyone!

Thank you for all of that information!!! I CAN NOT wait to run! That is one of the top things on my "to do list". Your breakdown if foods and exercise sound very reasonable. Nothing extreme. Congrats on your hard work. It's good to see people that use this tool to the best of its advantage, rather than expecting the weight to magically fall off. Super proud of you and your train of thought!!!!

Thank you for the information! I appreciate the time you took to break down your very successful habits! I'm three weeks post op and this info came at a much needed time for me. I had begun to run before the surgery and it was great. Now I see that I may be 'babying' myself because I haven't ran yet only brisk walking (i never had surgery so i just didnt want to harm myself). This week I will definitely push myself. Take care and and keep up the amazing job.

Did you lose a lot at first and it's slow now or what?