I am a few days shy of of 13 months post-op. Now I'm addicted to exercise vs. eating. I do cardio 5 days out of the week and lift weights 4 days out of the week. I've dropped 100 pounds from pre-op to now. I have been at a stall for about 2 months now, but I've also packed on a lot of lean muscle. My cloths are looser, even though I weigh the same.

I'm 5'6" and weigh anywhere from 152 to 156. I'd like to get down to 145/140, but I need to tighten up on my diet. With summers off and the kids and I always going out and about, I've been snacking on foods that are not the best; however, I do eat clean for my main meals. As far as eating, I can eat anything. I keep sugary foods, snack/finger foods, and especially chips out of my house because they are still trigger foods for me and sliders. When I do slip up and eat them, it isn't an extreme amount, perhaps about a serving, but those calories can add up. I try to plan cheats into my calorie counts, so that I don't feel guilty and over consume them in the whim-of-the-moment. Again, being on the road with all of these summer road trips haven't helped, but I've already started to take control over those impulses.

Other than that, my sleeve journey has been great. I feel good, I'm confidant, I can wear almost anything, and I'm loving the new me. I am going for plastics next summer. I'm planning on getting a tummy tuck, breast lift and augmentation.

I hope that all you pre-sleevers out there are doing well and are excited about starting their journey. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Ok... You look gorgeous! I'm almost getting depressed the closer my surgery gets.....lt's on Friday. But after reading your post and looking at your pics. I'm gooner stop the negative thoughts in my head.

Wow you look so fit, firm and gorgeous! Really inspiring for a new sleever like me ><

Happy Surgiversary and keep up the good work!

Thank you ladies! Good luck to you all and stay positive! Despite some bumps in the road, the end result is positive! Just be sure to follow your doctors orders. If you slip, then wipe the dust off and get back up. Don't dwell, just keep trekking forward and you'll do great!

Thanks for posting this! You are gorgeous...I am 5 weeks away and terrified and not a bit excited. Your encouragement helps!

Have you had any cosmetic work done? I'm concerned for the excess skin I know I will have (not that I don't already) because I am susceptible to skin irritation in the folds of skin. I know my insurance is going to make me jump thru a ton of hoops and I don't know if any cosmetic stuff wil be covered

You look great! I'm jealous of your arms. You don't look like you have any excess skin. I'm working out a ton as well, but haven't found anything to make any significant difference in that excess arm skin. Any suggestions from your experience?

Wonderful wonderful wonderful good job.

Have you had any cosmetic work done? I'm concerned for the excess skin I know I will have (not that I don't already) because I am susceptible to skin irritation in the folds of skin. I know my insurance is going to make me jump thru a ton of hoops and I don't know if any cosmetic stuff wil be covered

No, I haven't. But, as I mentioned in the original post, I do plan to have some done in another year. Those who do not have excess skin are few and far between. The ones I've encountered on this sight in a little over a year of looking, are men who work bout to build muscle and seem to be genetically inclined to gaining good muscle mass; and very young women who have not bore children. But again, there are many that fit that description and still have to endure the skin. It's a reality the majority of us have to deal with. My excess skin is not noticeable through my clothes, but when I'm as natural as the day I was born, I do have a small fold at the bottom of my belly, my extremely upper thighs have a slight amount and my arms have a little bit too. I can wear sleeveless and as long as I'm not waving my hands like a queen in a parade, no one notices. I work out 4 days out of the week with weights to try and naturally fill in that loose skin with muscle. It's made a world of difference. I'm sorry if this news is disappointing, but it's better to be prepared with the reality of what's to be than to elude yourself of the truth. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

You look great! I'm jealous of your arms. You don't look like you have any excess skin. I'm working out a ton as well, but haven't found anything to make any significant difference in that excess arm skin. Any suggestions from your experience?

You look great as well! I actually do have loose skin in my underarm area. It's not extremely obvious, but I've diminished it's flabby appearance by lifting weights as heavy as I can to build muscle and fill them in. I break up my arm workout into two days: biceps and triceps on day one, and--later on in the week--shoulders. For biceps I'll do a variety of lifts like curls, hammer curls, preacher curls; alternating between dumbbells and curl bars. For triceps I'll do overhead presses, scull crushers, kick backs, pull downs and dips. To workout the deltoids, I'll do standing flies, lateral flies, shoulder over-the-head press. Immediately after my workouts I'll take a post workout supplement called cell mass to help with recovery and gives a good little muscle pump. I'll also drink a Protein shake to help with the building of new muscle.

Hope this helps! Keep up the good work, you look fabulous!

Love what weight lifting has done to my body...

Curvy you look fantastic. These types of post keep me hopeful. Since you offered to answer questions.....I have one, is there anything you miss (food) that you can no longer have. I expect to get my sleeve in October.

Thank you.

Love what weight lifting has done to my body...

Wow u look amazing how did u tone up your arms I love it

Congrats, keep up the hardwork!!!!

Curvy you look fantastic. These types of post keep me hopeful. Since you offered to answer questions.....I have one, is there anything you miss (food) that you can no longer have. I expect to get my sleeve in October. Thank you.

Thank you! I'm glad to keep you hopeful. I loved going through all the pics pre-op and even post-op to keep myself motivated, inspired, and hopeful to be successful with my own journey.

To answer your question, initially, post-op--when your going through the phases and slowly adding foods back into your diet--yes, I did miss things like raw veggies and fresh fruits and tender steaks. As I phased out of the liquids and mushy foods and reinstated the solids, it was extremely hard to consume those things initially. Luckily, bit-by-bite, I was able to slowly reincorporate them into my diet. I lost interest in heavy/greasy foods, they stopped appealing to me, but my biggest vice gas been my all time trigger food: chips. Early on I learned that not only could I eat them, but that they were sliders and I could eat a whole small bag. I don't bring them to the house and I try to steer clear of them during outings. To be completely honest, now that I am a year out, I can eat anything...in small quantities, but still, pretty much anything and everything.

The key is committing to a life style change. I do my best to eat clean foods. High Protein. Good, quality carbs, especially on heavy lifting days. My surgeon warned me that the sleeve wasn't a permanent solution, but rather a tool to aide in my commitment to change my life style. I think I've done very well in changing and breaking old habits.

Sorry, didn't mean to go on-and-on!!! I'll stop now! Good luck to you!!!

Wow u look amazing how did u tone up your arms I love it

I appreciate the compliment! To tone up my arms I lift weights. I'll lift weight that is heavy enough to where I'll fail after 8-12 reps. I'll complete 3-4 sets of the same exercise. For example, on bicep and tricep days, I'll complete 3-4 sets of the following:

-Alternating bicep curls

-preacher curls

-hammer curls

-21's with curl bat (7 half curls from sides to 90 degree angle; 7 half curls from 90 degree angle to chest; 7 full curls)

-overhead extensions

-skull crushers

-tricep kickbacks

-dips