3 months post op and I'm done.

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

21 hours ago, fed-up said:

When I went to my 6 week post op consultation ,I happened to sit in close proximity to a woman who had also had the Gastric Sleeve .She thought she looked wonderful - I thought she looked terminally ill ."I'm nearly at my wedding weight " she said proudly .I smiled and said nothing .She was the opposite of how I wanted to look .Her hair was thin and lack lustre , her skin sagging and dull .I listened in horror as she explained she was still trying to lose weight .I thought she summed up the very look I never wanted to have .Her slimness did nothing to inspire me .So I am 3 months post op .I can now walk freely , breathe better ,and I fit into my favourite jeans .I am not at my ideal BMI but if I don't lose further weight ,I'll be content .I eat more healthily and do more . So I suppose that is my story and I'm happy with it .

Happy that you made the choice to have WLS. I'm going to give you a different way of looking at this. LOTS of people (meeee) have body dysmorphia. Crazy but when i was 232lbs (5'2") and i looked in the mirror.... I didn't see 232lbs. I saw what was in my head. In fact I decided to have WLS (lapband) when I saw a picture and didn't know it was me.... the feeling was awful.......... fast forward...... 143lbs (lapband) and all I saw in the mirror was the fat girl............ fast forward....... 2+ years after lapband removed 173lbs I didn't see how terrible I looked again............ Sleeved at 173lbs and now i'm at 125-129 and I still don't see the person everyone else sees in the mirror...... I got down to 120 and i got a lot of "your soooo skinny". It's crazy how the mind plays trick on us...... and yes i'm in therapy.

So she probably doesn't see what you saw.

[fed-up 65]

Bayougirl - you may be right - or maybe she did and she loved her new thin body .I'm just saying that for me to go that skinny at 66 , it would be very ageing and I'd look unhealthy .It's great to be more mobile and fitter ,I appreciate how we're all different with different goals .

[ms.sss 14,262]

20 hours ago, bbykitty said:

That's actually great to know! I hear adding muscle helps as well. What did you change while at your low weight to help the rapid weight loss appearance

honestly, i just ate more. i was sub 800 calories when i reached goal (127 lbs at 7 months post op)

i was also exercising like a fiend...but i was doing the same level if exercise during the last couple months of weight loss phase, so not sure how much of an effect this was on my appearance, all other things being equal.

im 4 years post now and average about 1900-2000 cals a day, exercise levels now just a fraction of it once was, and weighed 119.4 this morning.

and i look x times healthier than i did at 127 over three years ago.

so go figure. 🤷🏻‍♀️

edited to add: full disclosure... i had plastics to address lose body skin at 14 months post op, so that def helped!

i also am currently addicted to botox...but this addiction formed well after i had already joined the land of the living, looks wise. 😂 i mean, im 50 yrs old. my less than firm face is more likely due to to age than wls.

Edited November 9, 2022 by ms.sss

[Smanky 742]

18 hours ago, fed-up said:

I'm sorry you're not happy that I'm happy - but it won't keep me awake at night

Nobody has said that. In fact, everyone's said the opposite.

[LaTiaV 111]

On 11/8/2022 at 7:45 PM, ms.sss said:

my personal anecdote:

i weigh less today than when i decided to stop losing weight. this decision to stop weight loss was because i thought i was getting too skinny at that time..

however....i look waaaaaaaay healthier (and hotter! lol) now than i did back then. back then i had thin hair, hallowed cheeks and eyes, and generally all around frail looking.

A few months after hitting my lowest weight, i started the to perk up in the looks department.

i think rapid weight loss really does a number to one's appearance...but i also think its only temporary (in my case at least, and quite a few others that i know of).

further, even though i looked pretty gaunt back then, i still think/thought i was all that and a bag of chips.

Hey, thanks for saying this, it gives me hope, I am almost 95 pounds down and I am back at my work this week, people do not see me for months and I have already heared a few "stop loosing weight" I feel great even though I am not at a normal BMI or my goal weight but I can tell my face looks older my neck chest and arms could use some help, and I am still loosing weight.

[ms.sss 14,262]

35 minutes ago, LaTiaV said:

Hey, thanks for saying this, it gives me hope, I am almost 95 pounds down and I am back at my work this week, people do not see me for months and I have already heared a few "stop loosing weight" I feel great even though I am not at a normal BMI or my goal weight but I can tell my face looks older my neck chest and arms could use some help, and I am still loosing weight.

i would take the "stop losing weight " comments from others with a grain of salt.

when you lose weight quickly it may be jarring to others looking on from the outside. i theorize that their idea of your bigger self is relatively fresh in their minds so a skinner newer you seems drastically different. i also theorize that if you were to drop the weight slower over time u'd likely get less comments.

the same people who told me to stop losing weight when i was 160-ish lbs at 3-ish months (when i was still technically obese for effs sakes) are the same people who fawned over me when i got to 115 several months later.

Edited November 10, 2022 by ms.sss

[LaTiaV 111]

1 hour ago, ms.sss said:

i would take the "stop losing weight " comments from others with a grain of salt.

when you lose weight quickly it may be jarring to others looking on from the outside. i theorize that their idea of your bigger self is relatively fresh in their minds so a skinner newer you seems drastically different. i also theorize that if you were to drop the weight slower over time u'd likely get less comments.

the same people who told me to stop losing weight when i was 160-ish lbs at 3-ish months (when i was still technically obese for effs sakes) are the same people who fawned over me when i got to 115 several months later.

Yes, I normally give everybody the benefit of the doubt thinking their comments are in good faith, but I can see what they see in the mirror and my looks may use some divine help. I am glad you look better now after passing the shock phase of weigh loss, I hope I am Lucky and have some improvement in the looks department.

[kaylee50 60]

On 11/8/2022 at 10:36 AM, fed-up said:

Edited November 13, 2022 by kaylee50

[kaylee50 60]

On 11/8/2022 at 10:36 AM, fed-up said:

When I went to my 6 week post op consultation ,I happened to sit in close proximity to a woman who had also had the Gastric Sleeve .She thought she looked wonderful - I thought she looked terminally ill ."I'm nearly at my wedding weight " she said proudly .I smiled and said nothing .She was the opposite of how I wanted to look .Her hair was thin and lack lustre , her skin sagging and dull .I listened in horror as she explained she was still trying to lose weight .I thought she summed up the very look I never wanted to have .Her slimness did nothing to inspire me .So I am 3 months post op .I can now walk freely , breathe better ,and I fit into my favourite jeans .I am not at my ideal BMI but if I don't lose further weight ,I'll be content .I eat more healthily and do more . So I suppose that is my story and I'm happy with it .

Oh gosh, I totally get what you’re saying. I have seen celebrities after WLS looking gaunt and, I admit, I am one of those who thinks “they looked better fat.”

But then I think about the Dragonball Z meme “This isn’t even my final form!” 😁 I hope if I look gaunt, it’s only temporary.

I know many people have WLS for their health, not their appearance. That was my primary motivation. I want to be strong enough to play with my future grandchildren. Whatever weight gets me there, that’s my goal.

[Spinoza 886]

On 11/8/2022 at 6:36 PM, fed-up said:

When I went to my 6 week post op consultation ,I happened to sit in close proximity to a woman who had also had the Gastric Sleeve .She thought she looked wonderful - I thought she looked terminally ill ."I'm nearly at my wedding weight " she said proudly .I smiled and said nothing .She was the opposite of how I wanted to look .Her hair was thin and lack lustre , her skin sagging and dull .I listened in horror as she explained she was still trying to lose weight .I thought she summed up the very look I never wanted to have .Her slimness did nothing to inspire me .So I am 3 months post op .I can now walk freely , breathe better ,and I fit into my favourite jeans .I am not at my ideal BMI but if I don't lose further weight ,I'll be content .I eat more healthily and do more . So I suppose that is my story and I'm happy with it .

Wow. You do you then! Hard to understand how someone else not in your shoes is doing after their WLS, isn't it?

I do hope you can be happy with how you're doing.

[oldandtired 238]

No, I understand, who else can she talk to but the rest of us? Being older, the surgery did nothing for my face. I look older. I'd rather be thin (ner) and look older, I can fix that lol. But original poster ought to be ABLE to talk to us.

Personally, I am horrified when I go out with friends or family and see just HOW MUCH they eat! I'm polite on the outside, but inside...OMG!!

[Sunnyer 131]

On 11/8/2022 at 6:36 PM, fed-up said:

When I went to my 6 week post op consultation ,I happened to sit in close proximity to a woman who had also had the Gastric Sleeve .She thought she looked wonderful - I thought she looked terminally ill ."I'm nearly at my wedding weight " she said proudly .I smiled and said nothing .She was the opposite of how I wanted to look .Her hair was thin and lack lustre , her skin sagging and dull .I listened in horror as she explained she was still trying to lose weight .I thought she summed up the very look I never wanted to have .Her slimness did nothing to inspire me .So I am 3 months post op .I can now walk freely , breathe better ,and I fit into my favourite jeans .I am not at my ideal BMI but if I don't lose further weight ,I'll be content .I eat more healthily and do more . So I suppose that is my story and I'm happy with it .

It's great that you are experiencing so many health benefits and that you are content. That is the goal for all of us, or at least most of us.

Hopefully, that woman you saw is experiencing health benefits, too. And it varies how much people focus on their looks. If she's happy and healthy, that's great too.

A friend of mine was pretty negative when I told her I was going to have gastric sleeve, because she has another friend who had weight loss surgery a few years back, and to my friend that woman looked similar to what you are describing. But, that woman was feeling better and was happy with that, which is the most important part.

I'm not anywhere near my goal weight, and I'd be disappointed if my weight loss stopped here. I have been able to stop taking medication for high blood sugar, but I want to be able to stop at least one of my two blood pressure meds and get below obesity weight into the "overweight" category.

If I end up 10-20 pounds above ideal weight, that's not a big deal to me. But we all have to find our own goals and our way to health. I'd rather be healthy, and if I will be saggy or whatever I'm not averse to plastic surgery if needed.

[Mariann812 268]

Everyone has their own expectations regarding how they want to look. I am down 70lbs at 5.5 months gastric bypass. I am beyond ecstatic. I have never felt better. I was wearing 3X at day of surgery. I’m sizing down again to Size 8 in JCREW pants. My face does look very thin and there is some sagging. I have lost the fat pads in my face which was to be expected. I am having laser ablation in January followed by Botox/fillers and PDO threads.
My goal weight is still 20 lbs away. I know my surgeon is going to tell me I’ve lost enough now, but I am aiming to lose the last 20 lbs.
Everyone’s different. You have to do ‘you.’

[jbroome164@gmail.com 0]

My hair did not come into that much I made sure I followed the docs advice and after I lost 108 pounds I feel great

[fed-up 65]

Ok , I've come here to eat humble pie ! I am still big and want to be slimmer .I am still battling on .I do have Hair loss but that's life .When I eat "normal" food it still feels like I'm trying to digest barbed wire so am still on cottage cheese , soft foods etc .It's six months now and I am nowhere near "done" .