Why are there so many folks that have excellent results yet no progress pics ?

I can understand if they've had the surgery and moved on and no longer post here.....but what about the folks that actively post and have listed remarkable weight loss stats since their surgery?

I came here looking for advice and techniques to best prepare for the surgery and life beyond. Turns out to have been a good move. This place is great. Many, many great advisors.....but some have me scratching my head.

What I mean.....is that it's easier to take advice from someone who's "been there and done that".

I wouldn't take golf advice from a hack that can't break 100.

Nor would I want to take bariatric advice from someone who's not been through it successfully. Advice from someone who's successful and thriving is what I'm hoping for.

It sure is easier to trust posts from someone who shows their actual progress results via pics.

Why wouldn't a person proudly display their 100+ pound loss progress ? Especially if they are dispensing advice to others ?

What am I missing here?

Damn.

Just damn.

I'm usually a wordy hombre.......but find myself at a loss at the moment.

All I can say is that if I ever had any doubts......they are gone now. You have fired up my passion for this process.

I'm ready to join you with my own before and after pics......not the before-during-before-during fad pics I've got now.

Before:

During:

And a couple of months ago:

You have provided fuel that motivates me tremendously. THANK YOU !!!!!!!!

I'm really looking forward to comparing Christmas card pics from this year (near time of surgery) to those of next year. Looking forward to it in a way that only you fine folks can understand.

Looking good! Keep it up!

Looking good! Keep it up!

No....the pics are in chronological order.

The last pic being the most current......back to the weight I was in the first pic. Not good.

This pic was taken right about the time I decided to add WLS to my arsenal.

I have progress pics in my gallery. I haven't taken a new batch because I'm so close to goal now that I just keep telling myself, "might as well wait until I'm at goal".

I don't have a full body progress pic from recently, but here is a pic of my husband and me at Niagara Falls this past weekend, versus a picture of us a few years ago with both of us at our heaviest. He's lost about 50 pounds since then, just through diet and exercise and I'm at a little over 100 pounds lost (67 post-sleeve):

Looking good! Keep it up!

No....the pics are in chronological order.

The last pic being the most current......back to the weight I was in the first pic. Not good.

This pic was taken right about the time I decided to add WLS to my arsenal.

Oh! Whoops sorry! Well then good on ya for taking control and making plans again! Best of luck you are in the right place to take away some good lessons!

Thanks for sharing all of your pix - You guys look great! Although I do have this part of me that is much more private, I have this camera shy mindset that is so deeply ingrained, It doesn't occur to me to have my picture taken for anything. Perhaps I will work on that

My reason for the lack of photos? I just hate having my photo taken!

My reason for the lack of photos? I just hate having my photo taken!

Ditto! Plus, you never know who is looking at your pictures. I've run across a lot of really unstable people on various message boards (this one included, back when it was still Lap-band Talk), and I'm not taking the risk. I've seen people get tracked down in real life based on information that they've posted on message boards in the past (and the people called their place of employment), so it makes me really leery of posting personally identifiable information on the board, even if it's a before/after photo.

@@Djmohr - I LOVE this. Kudos on doing it your way. Can wait to see the new you

Dub, thanks for bringing this up. It’s really good that you’re facing your doubts before surgery so you can make an informed decision and be confident in the direction you choose. Hopefully you’ve gotten the answers you need about the results people have had with WLS and why they may or may not choose to post before and after pictures. And to those who have posted...wow! You are looking good!

@@LipstickLady Awesome pictures!! Nice to put a face to the name!!!

I'm never shy of posting pictures I still have a ways to go...but it's all in the journey for me and my hubs. Here are some before and after shots.

Ken & Lisa.jpg

K&L.jpg

Love the picture with the bat! You look great!

If I can find a good 'before' picture, I might post, but I abhored pictures at my large size. All I have is a short video from someone messing around with my phone when I bought it about 2 years ago. Luckily, I didn't delete it.

@@Elode I agree, you look great. Jealous of that awesome jawline. My face has thinned out a lot but not as much as yours. I'm jelly!!

I am one of those in-the-closet peeps too but I posted pics recently and just cut off my head. Mine are still during pictures as I'm still working on getting to goal.

@@*Lexie* Thank you! You look pretty darn good yourself!

Why are there so many folks that have excellent results yet no progress pics ?

I can understand if they've had the surgery and moved on and no longer post here.....but what about the folks that actively post and have listed remarkable weight loss stats since their surgery?

I came here looking for advice and techniques to best prepare for the surgery and life beyond. Turns out to have been a good move. This place is great. Many, many great advisors.....but some have me scratching my head.

What I mean.....is that it's easier to take advice from someone who's "been there and done that".

I wouldn't take golf advice from a hack that can't break 100.

Nor would I want to take bariatric advice from someone who's not been through it successfully. Advice from someone who's successful and thriving is what I'm hoping for.

It sure is easier to trust posts from someone who shows their actual progress results via pics.

Why wouldn't a person proudly display their 100+ pound loss progress ? Especially if they are dispensing advice to others ?

What am I missing here?

I am a private person and do not want my photos on the internet. And I did not tell many people about my surgery (so far, in fact, only one person knows). You'll also notice that most people post here under a pseudonym. But most people also post their stats -- weight lost, days/weeks/months since surgery. I tend to believe the stats I see people posting. Why is a photo better than the stats? I'm proud of the work I've done, proud of my weight loss so far (a week post-op) but see no reason to post photos if I don't feel comfortable doing so, nor do I expect anyone else to. We each have the right to choose for ourselves what to share.

Edit--To those who have shared their photos, you all look so awesome!

Edited August 13, 201510 yr by Thinside