MissBliss

It has been one year and I have lost 111 pounds! Just wanted to share my before and in progress pic! Still have a few more pounds to lose, but I am almost there!

Just edited it...it's there now! LOL!

I got sleeved August 2nd of last year. It was a good time to get sleeved, healed before the holidays and ready for bathing suit season before the next summer! Good luck and best wishes! ~Jane

I have been doing couch to 5K and I LOVE it! I haven't run in almost 30 years and now with over 100 pounds lost I gained the courage to try running. So yesterday was a gorgeous day, blue skies, slight breeze...put my ear buds in my ears...."How you like me now" playing on my ipod and when the app says "start running" I take about 4 steps and BAM!! my achilles tendon starts to kill...I pull up lame like a race horse. It was so painful. Now, according to my trainer, I am off the track for at least a week and can only weight train. I am so frustrated. I really want to run. Wow...did I just type that???!!! Gotta love the sleeve! I went from 331 pounds to"I really want to run" in 10 months! Grrr...anybody else mess up their achilles tendon?

Hi! We have similar histories...I was sleeved 8/2/11, I started at 331 and I weigh 226...down 105#'s. I lose about 1-2 pounds a week, fairly steady. I eat a fairly normal diet, protein , veggies, fruits, carbs. I don't "diet". I have been doing couch to 5k ( a running program) but I strained my achilles tendon - damn it hurt- and I have to stop for a bit, my trainer has me weight training in the interim. So if I can answer your question, I have not had a stall at this stage, but I have certainly read on this board about folks in stalls for weeks and months. Hang in there. You are doing really well!

Thank you! I never thought about the confidence thing! I am much more confident since I have lost weight...I must be brimming with it!!!! LOL!! And btw..very happily married, for 22 years!

I am a 49 year old married woman. I have been heavy all my life. I NEVER had attention from men. No one ever flirted or even made eye contact. My fat made me invisible...until now. And I really don't know how to deal with it! I get all kinds of attention from men and I am so surprised. I am still a good 50+ pounds to goal, not svelte by any means. I am a little baffled and amused by the attention. Someone asked me for my phone number today! That hasn't ever happened before. I feel like a teenager, but even teenage girls know how to handle this. It seems to be a life lesson I never learned. I know in the grand scheme of things this is not a problem, but it is perplexing! Any guidance?

Yes I agree that it could be hormones, but with me it was also trying to find a new way to cope with stress. I was/am a stress eater. I stuff all my emotions and when the sleeve took that away from me, it was a HUGE adjustment. I was cranky and moody and confused. I am still learning and I am going to therapy to deal with the emotions. I have no words of wisdom except to remember to breathe! Hang in there!

As my 9 month anniversary approaches, May 2nd, I have reached my first major goal! I have lost 100 pounds! I started at 331 and I am now 231! I have just come off a 4 week stall and the scale has started to move again! Next goal, enter onderland...can't wait to weigh 199#, then my final goal of 150#. Now that the scale has started to move again, I feel that anything is possible! Blessings to all!

I had massive hair loss and around 8 months my hair stylist noticed new growth. It freaked me out as I lost hair by the handful, but it does slow down and new growth comes in!

I started a new job that was much more active, and I started drinking A LOT more Water...I think that is the reason why, but who knows, the scale has been so fickle. LOL!!!

I am 8 months out and 93 pounds down and I am struggling with this. I don't see the change. Everyone else does. I still feel so large! Someone says "wow you look great!" My standard reply is "thanks, I am getting there" Maybe because I started at such a high weight and I am so far from goal. Sigh. My head is pretty messed up about the entire thing. I liken it to anorexics not being able to see how thin they are. Isn't there a name for it. Dysmorphia? Something like that. I'm getting there!

I am almost 7 months out , I was sleeved on 8/2/11. I have always been vain about my thick hair, if nothing else was pretty on my fat body, I always had great hair! LOL! When I started losing hair by the HANDFUL, I went into a tail spin. I was cleaning hair out of the drains, off the hardwood floors, off the pillow. Nothing helped, not extra protein, not biotin...I was pissed. Well the hair loss has considerably slowed and today my hair stylist said she see lots of new growth! WOO HOO! So for those that are worried about hair loss, yes, you lose your hair but YES it comes back!!!! So now if I could only get off this stall and have the scale move again..........

I am 5 1/2 months out and I have lost 87 pounds. Everyone says I look different. I have a before picture that I look at. I see NO difference. I am still huge. I have about 70 pounds to go but it still looks like I need to lose it all. I was talking to a friend who said that anorexic women don't see their body type/size. Is that possible for heavier women? All I see is how fat I am. My son found video of me at my heaviest and I look the same! Does anyone else have this problem. Intellectually I understand that I look differently but I can't see it! So frustrating!!!!

I am almost 4 months post op and I have lost 72 pounds! All my pants are very loose and baggy (AKA "droopy drawers"). My "before" pair of jeans are a size 26. I could barely zipper them and now they almost fall off! So I was poking around in the back of the closet and found a pair of size 28 jeans, and I giggled to myself and thought it would be fun to try on them on and see just how small I had gotten...well...they were so tight I couldn't zip them!!! I was devastated! ARE YOU KIDDING ME????!!! I don't fit into size 28? Now intellectually I had control. All the rest of my pants were too big and I had just bought a perfect fitting size 22, so I knew that these pants were running small, mislabeled, or both. But emotionally...that was a different story. I kind of lost it and went into a tailspin. "See, even this stupid sleeve isn't working, I am a fat pig, I will never lose weight" Etc...etc... and then came the emotional eating, I made a peanut butter and fluff sandwhich on white bread and promptly started to chow down, but then something wonderful happened...restriction...I COULD NOT eat the entire sandwhich. I couldn't overeat, I had to stop, I was full. And that is the beauty of my sleeve. It stopped me from emotionally eating and I had to think about what I was doing. So I threw the sandwhich away, got up and put the jeans back in my closet and decided they will be my next goal, to fit into those jeans, whatever size they may be!

I am 3 1/2 months out and I have severe hair loss. But the hair on my arms and other parts of my body have not changed!

Yes! It keeps me sane! I was a huge diet coke fan and I now can't live without my sunrise ruby red grapefruit! And I like it so much better than reular water!!!!

I will be almost 4 months out by then and I will be eating a little bit of everything. We are having a gang of people over so I will be making tukey and all the fixings! Yummy! I will pass on the hors d'ouervres so I have room for the traditional dinner! That is the joy of having this procedure!

August 2nd, I've lost 70 pounds!

I am 3 months out. You will feel full. And if you take one bite too many you will be uncomfortable. And if you really over eat it can be painful. I liken it to trying to force a tennis ball through a toilet paper tube. It can downright hurt. Just take it easy. Eat slowly and take your time. I only have problems when my head hunger takes over. So I try not to let that happen! :0) Good luck!!!

Sending positive thoughts your way! I certainly understand about being so emotionally invested! Hope things go well! Let us know when you hear!

My husband and I were talking about this last night.....I told EVERYONE!!!! I would shout it from the rooftops if I could. This has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. I don't want to hide it, I want to Celebrate it. I don't offer information unless someone asks, and boy, do they ask, from the waitresses who are perplexed by my ordering, my family and friends that watch me eat tiny portions and little bites, to the friends who haven't seen me in a while and notice the change. I am so proud of myself for doing what I did. Was it the easy way out, yeah maybe it was, I have never had weight come off me so quickly. Sure the preop was a pain and the recovery was a little complicated, but I am almost 2 months out and it is easy. I have no hunger and can only eat a little at a time. I, too, came upon some resistance from immediate family when I told them my plans, but what the heck, this is about me, not them! So celebrate your sleeve and be proud of your accomplishments!

I was sleeved August 2nd...doing great! 45 pounds down so far, got the clearance to eat almost anything on Friday (nuts, alcohol, and carbonated beverages still no-no's). No nausea, no slimies, incisions all healed, no problems except an intense craving for diet coke that is only partly satiated by crystal light..sigh. I love that there is a forum for us August All Stars!!! I am going to have fun reading up on how everyone is doing!!! Glad to be here!!!! ~Jane

I was a HUGE diet coke fanatic before surgery. I had my 6 week post op doctor visit on Friday and specifically asked about diet coke and carbonation and was told under no uncertain terms that I am to not consume carbonation that it can stretch out my sleeve. I know I have read differently on this site, that some folks drink it with no problem and with the blessings of their doctor, but that is what MY doctor has said and that is what I will follow. I would suggest checking with your doctor and seeing what he/she has to say. And BTW ice cold fruit punch crystal light has been my saving grace!