M2G

You and me Coops, we got the whole maintaining thing down pat, cuz when you're stuck for months on end that is kind of what you are doing...maintaining. UGH! But I am not loosing sight of my goal either, just gonna take a while to get there!!! Rootman, this is such an interesting thread because you are SO right the last 16 months (6 months insurance forced wait time, plus 10 months post-op) have been all about LOSING weight, and what do you do with your brain when there is no more weight left to lose? I'll be checking back for answers. I was told by another WLS friend that I looked so good that I looked like I didn't NEED to go to support group anymore. I just laughed because I'm *always* going to need support...this battle with obesity can only be one if I stay on my "A" game!!

When: Your boobs are bigger than your belly You take up sewing just so you can cut 3 inches of fabric off each side of your favorite shirts and resew them and wear them You don't have to shop in plus size anymore You can comfortably wear a pair of sexy high heels

My hubby (who is also sleeved) and I both vote for PURE Protein bars, you can buy them almost anywhere, even Target sells them! All the flavors we have tried are good although we do have our favs. Bring a ziplock bag of Protein powder and sprinkle it into your breakfast yogurt. Have a yogurt and some sausage or bacon and stay away from the donuts and waffles! You will be fine. It IS stressful being out of our comfort zone, but competely do-able. Hang in there, you got this!

10 months post-op and I just *know* when I'm done. I have spent a LOT (and I mean a LOT) of time measuring my food so that I can "retrain my brain" to know what a normal sleever portion size is. I'm fairly good at eyeballing it, but when in doubt I STILL measure. And I always choose to underfill my sleeve. I don't have hunger, so there is no reason to eat more than what I need. I keep my dense Protein (beef, chicken, fish, etc.) to about 3-4oz. Sometimes (rarely, but more often when I'm eating out) I can push it to about 5oz. without being uncomfortable. You will learn what the limit is because you will feel it. Early out when you are on liquids and even super-soft mushies, you might not be able to feel it yet. This is an excellent time to measure that food. Measure as much as possible and underfill...my best advice. My surgeon was shocked that I'm still eating 3-4oz because he sees it time and time again for people pushing the limits of what their stomach (be it band, bypass or sleeve) can take. I think a lot of that is due to hunger. No hunger means I don't need to push the upper limits of what my sleeve can hold. Hope that helps!

WOW! I am so sorry this happened to him and that things are not 100% better yet. He is indeed lucky to be alive and lucky to have you to care for him. Thanks for sharing an update, although I wish it was better news. I will continue to keep you all in my thoughts...

Thank you everyone!! I was shocked at the difference that one year can make....but now I think I need to go back to Hawaii and retake all my photos.

Looking great!!! You have essentially lost the same amount that has taken me 10 months to lose... :hail: :sign46:

I have always said that drs. are human too. I think it was very brave to share your story and I wouldn't keep as just a "one time" thing but rather share it when you feel compelled to do so. The other thing you can do is share your knowledge with a patient without putting yourself "out there" so to speak, by bringing up the option of VSG while still maintaining a distance if you don't bring yourself into the picture. I am guessing you had a profound effect on this young woman...

Double post...

Inching closer.... SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal M2G...............204..................197...............194.............3

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Feels great doesn't it? :purplebananna:

YEAH BABY!!! That totally rocks, and you must feel on top of the world!!! WTG Irene!!! That is a whole person that is gone....WOW!:bounce:

LOVE THIS!!! Soon those 16's will be in donation bin!!! Love Old Navy prices too!

WOW, congratulations!!!! Losing slowly? OMG...not even close, you are rocking that sleeve!!!

It's stuff like this that naturally thin people among us take for granted, but not this group, we all know how good it feels to fit in regular sized clothing! You have done an incredible job, congrats!!!:cheer2:

You are beautiful and so is your precious daughter! Congratulations on your many successes. The maintenance part is always the hard part but you are doing wonderful, thanks for checking back in with all of us!

Since they are 4 I would definitely keep it short and simple. "Mommy is having surgery on her tummy. The new tummy will be small, and I won't be able to eat very much for a while. Mommy isn't sick, or hurt, but this surgery will improve my health. I might feel tired after the surgery for about a week or so but then I will be feeling better and back to playing with you like normal." We talked to our girls about the weight loss aspect of it simply because they were older. (like 8 & 10 at the time, plus mommy & daddy had sugery...not at the same time but we are both sleeved) so they understand what it was about. It was still a bit scary for them and they had a lot of questions. I didn't tell them about surgery until about a month before my actual surgery date, I didn't need them worrying for 6 months about what was coming. We also covered the privacy issue, that this was something that we were doing but that we didn't necessarily want them to talk about it with the whole world. They did pretty good, and of course now that we have lost almost 130lbs between the both of us, they say things like "we can hug all the way around you" and little stuff that is encouraging. But for the most part I would keep it short and simple and just answer their questions as the come up.

Confidence in your own body....TRULY AMAZING!!! And that your teenage son noticed AND commented...you are right that will have to go as one of the best days!

Onderland....FINALLY!!! I've been stalled for 2 months and finally broke though. It was SO frustrating to be so close but not be there. Oy vey! SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal M2G...............204..................198...............194.............4

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You look beautiful and the dress is gorgeous! I *love* your wedding video, what a wonderful recapture of the highlights of your wedding. I am now following your blog and if you want to find mine, it's in my signature line!

Congrats on your success...and YAY for a size Large (who would ever think we would be so happy about being L...but when you come from the land of 3X it's a pretty big deal!!!) Yep, we definitely need photos of the new threads.

WOW! Big difference! And you look SO much younger...congrats!!

Julie, I am SO SO SO happy for you!! You are beautiful and that happy dance says it all. Congrats on hitting goal!!!! :Dancing_biggrin:

I did not have to pre-op (except for clears 1 day before, and no eating/drinking after 9pm) and I sooooooo wish that I had done some type of pre-op. I didn't have a food funeral, ate my last restaurant meal on a Sun. and my surgery was on a Fri. (and I had 2 crab cakes, a salad and a cheesy biscuit from Red Lobster) so it's not like I went all crazy, but I can tell you right now that every single pound you lose BEFORE surgery is one less that you have to lose after. You will be just that much farther ahead. I am currently close to 10 months post-op and have been stalled at the SAME weight for the last 2 months. So yeah, it would have benefitted me (or I think it would have) to lose a few extra lbs before surgery. Also my BMI was a 44, so I don't know WHY some surgeons require and some don't. I agree with former_vbg that it comes down to surgeon's experience and just their overall way of doing things that they are comfortable with. It's possible that my surgeon requires higher BMI's to pre-op but I never asked if that was the case. I felt like my BMI was pretty dang high, since I had the label of Morbidly Obese...pretty grim sounding, huh. Anyway, IF I could go back and do it all over again, I would pre-op. Just my 2 cents!

WOW!!! Absolutely amazing! You don't even look like the same person, maybe the much, much, much younger sister of the BEFORE picture. WOW! Incredible, and congrats!