Hello friends,

Thought it was time to share.

I am 21 lbs away from my doctor's goal for me of 175 lbs, although I might want to set another goal if I reach his goal.

My surgery date was 11-14-16, so almost 14 months ago.

My high weight 10-1-16 was 334 lbs. I now weigh 195 lbs, so I have lost a total of 139 lbs.

It really is hard for me to believe. Getting the surgery was the best decision I could have ever made.

Edited January 7, 20188 yr by mylighthouse

Hello friends,
Thought it was time to share.
I am 21 lbs away from my doctor's goal for me of 175 lbs, although I might want to set another goal if I reach his goal.
My surgery date was 11-14-16, so almost 14 months ago.
My high weight 10-1-16 was 334 lbs. I now weigh 195 lbs, so I have lost a total of 139 lbs.
It really is hard for me to believe. Getting the surgery was the best decision I could have ever made.

That is absolutely incredible! You should be very proud. You look beautiful!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using BariatricPal App

Congratulations!! You look great!

You look amazing and so happy mylighthouse. So happy for you! Any tips you can give me? I have surgery tomorrow.

Fantastic! What an accomplishment! You look wonderful!

Sent from my SM-G920V using BariatricPal App

Great job!

VSG 10/11/17 HW = 360 SW = 292 CW = 240.4 GW = 220 (6'5")

This is incredible! You look so radiant and beautiful! Congratulations!

Woohoo!! You are awesome! Great job!!

4 hours ago, Honeyswt said:

You look amazing and so happy mylighthouse. So happy for you! Any tips you can give me? I have surgery tomorrow.

Thank you. I am happy, even when I was obese, I was happy.... funny, I know. I have just always been surrounded by love and I love life!

Wow! Your surgery is tomorrow? What time? Congratulations! You will do just fine.

Tips:

I am certainly not going to overload you with info/tips, because there are so many things I could say.

So I will give you just a few tips that really helped me a lot.

1. Belong to a support group from the start, whether it's a local support group with other WLS patients, or whether it's through a support system like bariatric pal. I do have a local support group, but due to other health problems and being unable to drive, I couldn't make those meetings. So my main support system has been here at bariatric pal. The forums are great, you can do searches for topics/questions that you might have along your weight loss journey. A lot of good advice can be found here, a lot of encouragement can be found here. It helps to have others that are going through the WLS journey too. Not all advice you find here will be good advice. That said, follow the guidelines given to you by your nutritionist and surgeon. Do what they say, including when to progress to the different food stages.

2. After surgery, it is so important to keep hydrated. Some people have a lot of trouble with nausea and getting in their liquids. If you are one of them, ask your surgeon for an anti nausea med to help, I took ondansetron, it enabled me to sip, sip, sip and get that 64 ounces minimum of liquids in. Before I got the anti nausea med, the liquids were not going down for me and I got mildly dehydrated and had to go to the ER and get IV fluids. Don't let that happen to you.

3. Get your protein in. Most doctors will tell you 60 grams a day minimum. That is a good start, if you can get more than that, even better. If you don't get protein the first day or two, that is okay, but you are going to need it after that. It will help you heal among other things. Very important. If you need more info on good proteins, then do a search for it here, and you will find lots of useful information.

4. Don't focus on stepping on the scale too much in those first few weeks. Nothing wrong with weighing yourself, but do not get discouraged if you don't lose X amount of pounds... and don't even be discouraged if you gain weight right after surgery. You are having major surgery. Weight can really fluctuate in those beginning days. Important: Don't compare your weight loss to what others have lost. Everyone is different. Don't be discouraged.

5. Last, but not least, get plenty of rest after your surgery. It really isn't a difficult surgery or recovery for most, but it's important to listen to your body and don't push yourself too hard.

Finally,

Tomorrow is your big day! Feelings of nervousness, being scared, excitement.... those might be some of the things you are experiencing right now. Your surgeon knows what he/she is doing and they will take good care of you.

You will do great! Congratulation again! Try and get some rest tonight.

Edited January 8, 20188 yr by mylighthouse

Thank you @sunshinetinks, @Robinski, @Honeyswt, @tifflife, @336Mike, @KimTriesRNY, and @fruitandveggies.

I appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement.....the best to all of you in your weight loss journey!

Edited January 8, 20188 yr by mylighthouse

Amazing; well done!