I wanted to post an update, even though it’s kind of difficult for me to share pictures this year.

I’m three years out from my surgery. My start weight was 242 (I’m 5’1”) and my goal was 135 pounds. I reached my goal about 17 months post op. I was never really able to stay at 135 very easily but maintained almost effortlessly between 137-141 pounds. I was quite happy there and have no problems with that weight, even if it technically puts me in the “overweight” category. The BMI chart is a creation of evil, anyway.

Two years post op I chose to get pregnant. I gained 35 pounds between hormone injections and pregnancy. I delivered my daughter almost four months ago.

Today I weigh 143 pounds. I’ve been working to shed the baby weight. As before, the last 10-15 pounds just don’t want to come off. I know that my body will change a lot in the coming year as I get back to where I was prior to having my daughter. Right now I’m feeling pretty insecure about my hips/thighs and upper arms. I also don’t like that I feel “lumpy” – my smooth hourglass figure isn’t back yet.

But I can't deny that it felt good to climb into my size 20 jeans today to snap a quick picture. The ruffled top I'm wearing doesn't really help show the difference but I'm pretty sure two of me could fit into those pants. Today I wear a solid six and a small in most tops (sometimes a medium) so I really cannot complain.

I don’t want this to be a post about my diet or lifestyle; I’m here enough that you can easily search out what I have to say about those things.

I do want to stress that my third year was harder than the previous years. For starters, going from maintenance into a gain was HARD, even if I did it to have a healthy child. Shifting into loss again has been a real challenge.

I also find that the farther I get from surgery, the more I see that very little of my unhappiness stemmed from my weight. My weight was a symptom of the damage I had going on inside of me. Sure, I had some genetic causes to help me pack on the pounds. But the majority of it was all in my head. The sleeve was not my magic bullet. It doesn’t just work on it’s own. The only thing it does for me is keep me from burying my sorrows or my stresses in a tub full of ice cream (darn lactose intolerance) or from eating a pan of brownies. I can still eat ice cream (and suffer for it) or eat those brownies one by one.

Working on ME and trying to find ways to not rely on food or alcohol in times of stress has become critical and while it's not a daily struggle, it can still be a challenge at times. I still feel no hunger. But I do get hormonal and have the desire to eat. I do get sad and have the desire to eat. I do sit and mindlessly do what other people are doing if I’m not paying attention.

I say this over and over again and I’m going to repeat myself for the umpteenth time: If you do not work on the issues that made you fat in the first place, you are going to have a very difficult time with maintenance. Maintenance is by far the hardest part of this process and it DOES NOT END. There is no finish line, there is no “GOAL!” there is just the need to stay continually vigilant and to avoid slipping into those ingrained, years-old habits and feelings. This is not about food for most of us. This is certainly not about food for me. This is about me using food to self-medicate, to hide, for pleasure, as a cornerstone of socializing – as everything BUT fuel and sustenance. Removing my stomach only gave me portion control; it did not fix anything that caused the issues in the first place.

I’m heading into my fourth year and I’m pleased to say that I would do my surgery again in a heartbeat. I’m happier than I have ever been in my life, even considering the small personal struggles I've had to face since surgery. This surgery didn't just help me lose weight. It gave me a chance to live a better life. I can beat myself up and be unhappy about little, minor things but at the end of the day, I’m 100 pounds lighter and once upon a time I would have given anything to look the way I do now.

~Cheri

Cheri, I just want to say how much of an inspiration you have been to me personally. I know what you mean about never being DONE as I near closer to my my 3 year post-op as well. Maintenance is by far the hardest part of this journey because it's for LIFE!

Hugs to you and thank you for sharing yourself here and I love your new photos. Your baby daughter is darling and worth the pregnancy weight! I know the extra lbs are bothering to you no end but you look fantastic. We are hardest on oursleves. Chin up and hang in there!

Awesome. I will have the surgery as soon as my insurance approves.. Can i have your phone number? Lol just kidding..

Cheri - thank you for posting this update and your beautiful pictures. I am nearing my one year mark and I am 12 pounds away from my goal. It definitely is harder to get these last few pounds off. I also love to read your posts and gain insight from your experience.

Jennifer

Thank you for sharing this Cheri! I am almost 4 months out and I have been going to counseling to work on some issues that may have been what has caused my weight problem all along and I would recommend it to EVERYONE! I also would really like to have a baby (hopefully next year) so you give me hope. You have a great way with words and your story is very inspiring. Thank you for your honesty.

Cheri, you look amazing!!!!

Your posts are ones that I read and can relate to. You give insightful well thought out advise, and have been a sort of mentor to me. (Though you probably weren't aware)

Your balanced and realistic views and approach to the weight loss and maintenance give me hope that I can do it to.

Thank you so much for posting your advise and opinions on here and being someone newbies can look up to!!! We need more vets to stick around and show is what life is really like post sleeve. What work it really takes to be skinny and healthy.

Thank you for sharing and congrats on the new baby and all your success!! You deserve it all!!!

You look fab!

Love your honesty Cheri and you are right it is all about the head and choosing which coping strategies will be healthy and which ones won't, and if the cause of the problem is not understood or acknowledged then maintenance will be nearly impossible. You look amazing and I'm so happy for you and your family that you have achieved this, you have worked hard, congrats girlfriend you are an inspiration to all.

Cheri, You look amazing and my gosh so shapely! I bet you didn't know you had a waiste line like that! lol I hope I have some sort of shape under all of this. That is my biggest fear that I am still going to look like a wide box. Thanks again and congrats on your journey and your bundle of joy.

You look fabulous! And that baby is so cute there are no words to describe.

You are such an inspiration!! You look gorgeous!! You are absolutely correct in that we have to work on the issues that make us overweight in the first place because the surgery is a tool! Thank you for sharing your success and struggles:)

I wanted to post an update, even though it’s kind of difficult for me to share pictures this year.

I’m three years out from my surgery. My start weight was 242 (I’m 5’1”) and my goal was 135 pounds. I reached my goal about 17 months post op. I was never really able to stay at 135 very easily but maintained almost effortlessly between 137-141 pounds. I was quite happy there and have no problems with that weight, even if it technically puts me in the “overweight” category. The BMI chart is a creation of evil, anyway.

Two years post op I chose to get pregnant. I gained 35 pounds between hormone injections and pregnancy. I delivered my daughter almost four months ago.

Today I weigh 143 pounds. I’ve been working to shed the baby weight. As before, the last 10-15 pounds just don’t want to come off. I know that my body will change a lot in the coming year as I get back to where I was prior to having my daughter. Right now I’m feeling pretty insecure about my hips/thighs and upper arms. I also don’t like that I feel “lumpy” – my smooth hourglass figure isn’t back yet.

But I can't deny that it felt good to climb into my size 20 jeans today to snap a quick picture. The ruffled top I'm wearing doesn't really help show the difference but I'm pretty sure two of me could fit into those pants. Today I wear a solid six and a small in most tops (sometimes a medium) so I really cannot complain.

I don’t want this to be a post about my diet or lifestyle; I’m here enough that you can easily search out what I have to say about those things.

I do want to stress that my third year was harder than the previous years. For starters, going from maintenance into a gain was HARD, even if I did it to have a healthy child. Shifting into loss again has been a real challenge.

I also find that the farther I get from surgery, the more I see that very little of my unhappiness stemmed from my weight. My weight was a symptom of the damage I had going on inside of me. Sure, I had some genetic causes to help me pack on the pounds. But the majority of it was all in my head. The sleeve was not my magic bullet. It doesn’t just work on it’s own. The only thing it does for me is keep me from burying my sorrows or my stresses in a tub full of ice cream (darn lactose intolerance) or from eating a pan of brownies. I can still eat ice cream (and suffer for it) or eat those brownies one by one.

Working on ME and trying to find ways to not rely on food or alcohol in times of stress has become critical and while it's not a daily struggle, it can still be a challenge at times. I still feel no hunger. But I do get hormonal and have the desire to eat. I do get sad and have the desire to eat. I do sit and mindlessly do what other people are doing if I’m not paying attention.

I say this over and over again and I’m going to repeat myself for the umpteenth time: If you do not work on the issues that made you fat in the first place, you are going to have a very difficult time with maintenance. Maintenance is by far the hardest part of this process and it DOES NOT END. There is no finish line, there is no “GOAL!” there is just the need to stay continually vigilant and to avoid slipping into those ingrained, years-old habits and feelings. This is not about food for most of us. This is certainly not about food for me. This is about me using food to self-medicate, to hide, for pleasure, as a cornerstone of socializing – as everything BUT fuel and sustenance. Removing my stomach only gave me portion control; it did not fix anything that caused the issues in the first place.

I’m heading into my fourth year and I’m pleased to say that I would do my surgery again in a heartbeat. I’m happier than I have ever been in my life, even considering the small personal struggles I've had to face since surgery. This surgery didn't just help me lose weight. It gave me a chance to live a better life. I can beat myself up and be unhappy about little, minor things but at the end of the day, I’m 100 pounds lighter and once upon a time I would have given anything to look the way I do now.

~Cheri

YOU look great, your daughter is beautiful, and so are you!!! Congratulations!!! Isn't it fun to have something from our prior life. I have a pair of size 20 shorts that I could get two of me in!!! I'm glad I kept one thing.

Thanks for posting this! I think that these are EXACTLY the kinds of posts that everyone should read BEFORE surgery so that people know this is NOT easy and NOT a magic bullet - it is a lifetime commitment!

You DO look Amazing! I had two children long before getting sleeved. I gained 70 pounds with my first, and it really never left... To think that you have a very young daughter and are within 10 pounds of your target weight is AMAZING - you are way ahead of the curve!

Thank you very much for sharing. You look great and what a precious baby!

Congrats on growing a totally adorable human - what a cutie!

I have to thank you for sharing the rest as well. I'm 1.5 years out and things are getting messy lately and it's because I have other things in my life that need work and sugar is my drug of choice! I really need to get off the sugar again. After surgery was great because I was forced off, but it's crept back into my life - bad sugar! But, for today, you've inspired me to throw the brownies I brought to work into the trash! Thanks for that.

I wanted to post an update' date=' even though it’s kind of difficult for me to share pictures this year.

I’m three years out from my surgery. My start weight was 242 (I’m 5’1”) and my goal was 135 pounds. I reached my goal about 17 months post op. I was never really able to stay at 135 very easily but maintained almost effortlessly between 137-141 pounds. I was quite happy there and have no problems with that weight, even if it technically puts me in the “overweight” category. The BMI chart is a creation of evil, anyway.

Two years post op I chose to get pregnant. I gained 35 pounds between hormone injections and pregnancy. I delivered my daughter almost four months ago.

Today I weigh 143 pounds. I’ve been working to shed the baby weight. As before, the last 10-15 pounds just don’t want to come off. I know that my body will change a lot in the coming year as I get back to where I was prior to having my daughter. Right now I’m feeling pretty insecure about my hips/thighs and upper arms. I also don’t like that I feel “lumpy” – my smooth hourglass figure isn’t back yet.

But I can't deny that it felt good to climb into my size 20 jeans today to snap a quick picture. The ruffled top I'm wearing doesn't really help show the difference but I'm pretty sure two of me could fit into those pants. Today I wear a solid six and a small in most tops (sometimes a medium) so I really cannot complain.

I don’t want this to be a post about my diet or lifestyle; I’m here enough that you can easily search out what I have to say about those things.

I do want to stress that my third year was harder than the previous years. For starters, going from maintenance into a gain was HARD, even if I did it to have a healthy child. Shifting into loss again has been a real challenge.

I also find that the farther I get from surgery, the more I see that very little of my unhappiness stemmed from my weight. My weight was a symptom of the damage I had going on inside of me. Sure, I had some genetic causes to help me pack on the pounds. But the majority of it was all in my head. The sleeve was not my magic bullet. It doesn’t just work on it’s own. The only thing it does for me is keep me from burying my sorrows or my stresses in a tub full of ice cream (darn lactose intolerance) or from eating a pan of brownies. I can still eat ice cream (and suffer for it) or eat those brownies one by one.

Working on ME and trying to find ways to not rely on food or alcohol in times of stress has become critical and while it's not a daily struggle, it can still be a challenge at times. I still feel no hunger. But I do get hormonal and have the desire to eat. I do get sad and have the desire to eat. I do sit and mindlessly do what other people are doing if I’m not paying attention.

I say this over and over again and I’m going to repeat myself for the umpteenth time: If you do not work on the issues that made you fat in the first place, you are going to have a very difficult time with maintenance. Maintenance is by far the hardest part of this process and it DOES NOT END. There is no finish line, there is no “GOAL!” there is just the need to stay continually vigilant and to avoid slipping into those ingrained, years-old habits and feelings. This is not about food for most of us. This is certainly not about food for me. This is about me using food to self-medicate, to hide, for pleasure, as a cornerstone of socializing – as everything BUT fuel and sustenance. Removing my stomach only gave me portion control; it did not fix anything that caused the issues in the first place.

I’m heading into my fourth year and I’m pleased to say that I would do my surgery again in a heartbeat. I’m happier than I have ever been in my life, even considering the small personal struggles I've had to face since surgery. This surgery didn't just help me lose weight. It gave me a chance to live a better life. I can beat myself up and be unhappy about little, minor things but at the end of the day, I’m 100 pounds lighter and once upon a time I would have given anything to look the way I do now.

~Cheri

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You look amazing!!! Congrats I yet have not had surgery (in Sept I will) I don't have any kids. I can't wait to have my surgery. Great job!!!