goldenraisin214

YAAAAAAAAY YOU! Congratulations on reaching your goal--right on the nose, too! I agree that you should first take some time to bask in the glow of what you've accomplished. I've also heard that some people do lose more than they'd initially planned, but that at some point, their weight will "bounce" back up to closer to their goal. I can't speak on it personally since I haven't reached my goal yet, but I'm sure others will chime in...

My goal was 169, but I only made it to 173. It's all good though--I started a new workout program (Turbo Fire) two weeks ago on Sunday, and have already lost 4 lbs since then. Onward and upward! Sent from my iPad using VST

I'm about nine months out, and I plan to sample a little of everything. I'm the one doing all the cooking, so I expect that by the time I'm finished "testing" everything as I go, I'll be full!

you look fantastic--fat days be damned--keep it up!

BKMama, thanks, the idea for the peacock came from a henna tattoo that I saw somewhere and the tattoo artist tweaked it a bit to make it an original...I think a goal tattoo is a great idea! Will it be your first one?

Hey there Kimmy! From the looks of your stats, this are going very well for you too!

You look great--keep it up!

I am overwhelmed by the kudos and support that I've gotten on this post! Thank you so much! Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to questions about my workout routine--ironically, I've been laid up for a couple of days after I threw my back out trying something new--more on that later. Anyway, when I was first cleared for exercise I started walking like most others. Then I moved to Zumba on the Wii, which I loved, but I eventually got bored...I signed up for a 5K, so my focus moved to training for that, which consisted of jogging walking 2-3 miles every other day. The 5K was on 11/4 and I beat last year's time by 10 minutes I took a week "off" just because I felt like I'd earned it So now my plan is to do Turbo Fire from Beachbody. I have degenerative disc disease, so it may not have been the smartest decision, but I started the program this past Sunday even though my back was already hurting. I was fine during the workout, but as soon as I finished, I started having all kinds of back aches and spasms, so I've been pouting on the sidelines since then (finally went to the doctor yesterday). I want to get back to it tonight, as I'm feeling better (not at 100%, but I never am...). Thanks for all the encouragement--glad I've been able to inspire those of you who are recent post-ops or have upcoming surgery!

Thanks so much guys! I noticed too that I look super happy in that pic, which is funny because I was feeling pretty "regular" at the time. Guess that's just how I look now! Someone asked about my stats, niah, I think? Sorry, typing on my phone and I can't see your post. Anyway, I'm 5'3", and my highest weight was 240. Day of surgery: 236. I'm bouncing around 175 now, and my goal is 140. Thanks again for all your support--so many of you have inspired me, it was time for me to share :-)

Thanks guys!

Good morning all, Just wanted to share an exercise/fitness NSV. I ran the Hot chocolate 5K this past Sunday in Chicago, and my time was 43:48. Last year, pre-VSG, I did a 5K (walked pretty much the entire thing) and came in at 53:55. This time I was able to do a substantial amount of running/jogging, and shaving 10 minutes off my time felt awesome! Yay! I guess next time I need to shoot for under 40 minutes

Same thing happened to me--abnormal EKG and having to do the stress test. But the stress test turned out fine, and I was able to go forward with the surgery. Probably better that they check out everything...good luck to you!

This sounds awesome--I love cheese! will be adding these ingredients to my grocery list this week--thanks!

I'm in--I'm 175 now and my loss has slowed considerably, so I'm going to set "under 170" as my Thanksgiving goal. Tryna be realistic...

newnew13, I was self pay (insurance doesn't cover any WLS), so I didn't have to wait for an approval, but I did the surgeon's consult and i had surgery 9 days later! So if your approval goes through, you should surely be good to go before the new year...good luck! Oh, and yes, Dr. Weiss is easy on the eyes

I was sleeved by Dr. Weiss back in February, and I've lost just over 60 lbs so far...i was hoping for more loss at this point, but I'm hoping that part of it is that I've lost over half of what I wanted so it's slowing down. I just started noticing some hair loss about a week ago, so I guess I should be happy it's taken this long to start falling out!

RJ--Sorry you had to deal with an insensitive caregiver and a jerk of a guy...Need-a-Sleeve, I have to say that my mother-in-law is a phlebotomist, she's been doing it for many, many years, and she is not as you described in your generalization. The OP probably just had someone who didn't know what they were doing and didn't care to attend to her as a person. Just like nurses vary, so do others in the health-care industry. I have had some awesome phlebotomists and nurses, and some that were not so good. Anyway, RJ, know that it was their problem, not yours; don't let them bring down your beautiful spirit!

Dr. Weiss did my surgery as well, at CBH in Lexington. I was self-pay, so I chose him after doing some research. He was awesome--answered all of my questions, and did a great job. I was sleeved 2/9 and went home 2/11. He came by to check on me every day I was there. No complications, went back to work after 2 weeks. I would say the only negative is that I haven't seen him since I was discharged from the hospital. All of my follow-up appointments have been with a Physician's Assistant. I get that he's busy and has a ton of patients, but it would have been nice to see him again at least once after discharge. I did call his office with a question once during recovery when I wasn't feeling well and they called him and called me back pretty quickly, so that was a plus. Good luck to you--have you started the process yet?

The same thing happened to me just before the 7 mo mark--I was losing a pound or less per week, then no loss for what felt like forever, then I gained around 2lbs. Then this week, all of a sudden, I lost around 3lbs. I will be 8 mos post op around October 9th. I've lost a total of 61, including 4lbs pre-op and I have 39 to go. Not sure what it was, except that now I am a believer that stalls are real! Hormones probably had something to do with the gain as well. I don't think you're done losing weight, just a readjustment before your body is ready to let go of more. I have to keep believing this is true, or I'll go crazy! Hope your stall breaks soon!

I had people say that to me too, I'm 5'3" and was 236 on surgery day (lost 4lbs during 9 day pre-op diet). People would say, "you're not THAT big," um, yeah, I am, but thanks, I guess! It is truly your decision. I think people assume that WLS is only for people who have several hundred pounds to lose, which is so not the case. Good luck to you!

Good morning! So, today is my 6 year loc-versary, and yesterday, I started taking them down. This is kind of a big deal, since i have no idea what I'm going to do with loose hair--it's been so long! I guess worst case scenario I can just start a new set of locs--thicker this time. I've been thinking about taking them down for a while, partially because I didn't get the length I was hoping to have by now (I must not be doing a great job taking care of them, or maybe my hair just grows really slowly). The other reason is just that I've been feeling like I'm ready for a change. 6 years is a long time--6 years ago I was still in grad school and a lot has changed since then. Not to mention the changes that are to come when I get sleeved Anyway, not sure what I'm looking for in terms of responses, I just wanted to share--maybe I'll post some pictures when I'm finished--right now I have a head full of locs and a chunk of loose hair in the back! Thanks for reading