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I finally showed my before and after photos on facebook. I was very, very scared. I had told a lot of people - but some didn't know. I had never EVER showed a full body picture like that. From the side at that! Anyways, on the left: I was a miserable 369lbs. SUPER unhealthy, probably headed to death. I doubt very seriously I could make it past 400. My body would probably just give out. I was already struggling to breathe doing simple tasks/walking up stairs. ANYWHO, the right was a shot taken by my beautiful momsicle on Mother's Day just last weekend. Ignore my "suns in the eyes" face. I am over 120lbs lost from February 27th, 2020 to now. I finally am under 250lbs and I am just floored. Of course, I won't lie. It's been a struggle. Currently, my biggest challenge has and still is - dumping. In the beginning, for the first 8 months, I threw up every. single. day. I realized ice cream, fried foods, steak - out of the question. Buffets were a waste. Most every meal I got out, was a waste. It made people feel bad at first because I would stop eating after 3 bites. I had to constantly remind people that I didn't mind if they ate! I got accepted into nursing school and reverted back to some old habits. Sugary coffees (which made me dump like HELL), chicken nuggets, fries...Anything I could stuff in my mouth "on the go". I would pay the price, but I wasn't puking after every single meal. So I thought I was in the clear. Earlier this year, I started to have tremendous abdominal pain. Spasms that took my breath away. After numerous tests, it was concluded that I had severe IBS with constipation and diarrhea. After talking to my NP at the weight loss place, we decided to try more plant-based alternatives. I'll admit, I was skeptical and very upset because this girl LOVES a nice juicy steak! But, I have noticed my symptoms are near non-existence when I eat beans, (wild) rice, whole grains, some fruits, and almost any veggie. I take it light with caffeine as that is a trigger, but I do still consume some. Suffice to say, this has been the hardest battle I have ever fought in my entire life. I continue to fight it. I continue to struggle with choices about food. I've learned to not limit myself completely. If I want a cookie, I'll eat half. I don't starve myself. I just don't overindulge like I used to. It seems to be working as I have lost a ton of weight. I plateau, but it's going. I just want to be an advocate for anyone considering the surgery and will answer ANY questions! I want to also be your cheerleader if you have already had the surgery. I can't promise it won't be hard, but I will promise it will be worth it to look at yourself in the mirror and have self-esteem again! I am actually OK with people taking full body pictures now! Insane! I am waiting for my weight to be stable to get skin surgery, but baby steps! #AMA

Thank you! You were right! It went away and now I am down to 251.... losing around 1/3 to 1/2 pound each day!! Started on Stage II more solid than liquid but still soft food this week. Started taking probiotics to get my bowels working more normally. Feeling better!

Aha! My husband helped me figure out how to post the before. This is last June. I had surgery July 23, 2020. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

Mine got better after about a week. I'm 9 weeks out and doing GREAT! Occasionally I have a little swollowing issue and I just need to slow it down and relax.

I had a very sore throat from a previous surgery. The issue was difficulty in intubating me. It could also be from the angle your head may have been placed at. Glad it's better.

Congrats thats excellent job!

Insurance company timelines are all over the place when it comes to approvals. I think the normal length seems to be 2-4 weeks after submitting. After about 2 week I probably would call insurance directly to check but that’s because I’m impatient 😂

My surgery was March 18th at 8:00 in the morning. I have had problems swallowing from the beginning since surgery. Will this change? I swallow it goes about halfway down then gets stuck and I have a lot of pain and then it goes down the rest of the way and then the pain goes away.

Just be patient. It is impossible to eat as few calories as we eat post surgery and not lost weight. Your body is just adjusting. I have learned from many others on this site that happens to most of us within the first month and is often around week three and called the three week stall for that reason. If you do a search for the term you will see how common it is. Stick to your plan and you will be losing before you know it.

This is fruit I was allowed to eat during the soft stage. But I wasn't able to eat much fruit and still meet my protein goals. Fruits/vegetables Canned fruit (in own juices or water packed) Soft, fresh fruit without skins and chewed well (berries, peaches, plums) Bananas Cooked or canned vegetables Avoid raw, fibrous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Avoid skins and seeds.