karenmartin

I wish I had this ap when I first had surgery. It would have been great to get his kind of support! I am 5 years out and SO so happy! When I went in for my gastric bypass I was a solid 300 lbs. In one year I lost 160 lbs. Today I am 5'4 and a very proud 115 lbs!! Ahhh! If you had asked me 5 years ago if I thought I'd ever get to this point I'd probably say "psh! I wish" Well here I am!! I've never been so happy. It's all the little things are so great. Like wearing belts and tucking your shirt into your pants. Being physically picked up. Riding in airplanes or roller coasters! Shopping! Sharing clothes with friends! Jumping up and down. Going to the gym and not feeling like everyone's looking at you! My whole journey was a roller coaster of emotions and finding out that I really and truly am addicted to food. Like a drug. Am I over my food addictions? No. It's something I'll always have BUT I am in control now. I know when enough is enough. I've had so many cool opportunities come my way because of losing weight. I actually got into some small modeling rolls. I've modeled wedding dresses and been in a Paul Mitchell hair show. I've played the main characters in plays and musicals. I found my husband...seriously the list goes on. Anyway, I just realized today how far I've come. I am so proud! Best decision I ever made!

I'm 27! Thank you so much for the compliments!! I'm just so glad I'm meeting people like you. It's nice to not feel alone on this journey.

Yes!! I wore 10s and now I wear 7.5s .

Yay!! I'm so happy for you!! Be prepared for an emotional roller coaster for a bit. Your life will be easier the more you let food take the back burner and you take time to figure out who you really are without food being your crutch.

I feel fine. Everyone keeps telling me that I look really frail and too thin. I feel like I should keep losing weight. It's like I'm not content until I feel skinny. I've been told that I looked my best when I was in my size 6 jeans. Im like you. I know I'm slim..but I don't feel skinny yet. I know that a size 0 must be skinny..but I don't feel skinny. I dunno, it's a mental thing. I'm still not happy with my body. I think I'll feel better once all the baggy skin comes off. I've already had a tummy tuck but my thighs, butt and boobs belong to an 80 year old woman.

I'm so proud of you guys. I started out a size 24 and I didn't stop until I was a 0. I got an obsession with losing weight. I looked healthy at a size 6. I'm working my way back. It's hard. I have a true phobia of gaining weight now. I weigh myself everyday sometimes 3 times a day. Just be careful. My surgery was a blessing. Just always be happy where you are. I'm learning that now.

Not to be the sad news bringer... But no amount of cream, workouts, drinking water, oils or massages are going to bring sagging skin back... Those work great on people who have gained 50 lbs or less. Anymore than that and you're really just wasting your money. I say save your money for cosmetic surgery. Think of it this way: you open a package of balloons. They're small and crisp and tight. You start to blow air into the tight balloon. It stretches and stretches and stretches. When you let the air out the balloon shrinks but it doesn't go back to that tight small balloon you first blew up. ... Are you following here... I just don't want anyone to be sad and disappointed when you don't end up with that tight beach body you're dreaming of. You'll look wonderful and feel amazing. But creams just don't work for tightening that amount of loose skin. Take it from me. I lost 185 lbs and 5 years later after spending hundreds of dollars on creams and lotions, drinking tons of water and actually spending another couple hundred dollars on a personal trainer...all the money and years later I could see a small difference. I could feel my tighter muscles.. But it was all under my flapping skin... Oh oh and also I had my surgery done when I was 22. No matter how young you are if you lose a giant amount of weight your skin is not bouncing back.

Good luck!! Try to walk in the hospital as much as you can after surgery. It makes a GIANT difference in the way you feel. It'll be hard at first, push through and you'll feel great before you leave. Just don't wallow. It'll make the experience worse.

That's SO true.

I waited 4 years after having surgery to get my tummy tuck. My reason for waiting was that I wanted to be more than positive that I got my food addiction under control. Once I knew I could handle it and keep all the weight off I looked into surgery. Did my insurance pay for it? Psh, I wish!! Nope. Not a dime. I went to Harrison, AR and Dr. Chris Taylor did mine. I had a full tummy tuck and liposuction done and everything all together cost $7000. Was it worth it? Oh yes! The feeling of being able to look at my body in a mirror and feel COMPLETE happiness is totally worth it. No more hiding, tucking, or binding my flab.

Eat slowly. SLOWLY. Chew everything Very well. Take your time. Don't cheat the system, meaning don't try to eat sweet things and don't try to eat the last few bites if your stomach is already content. If you start to feel nauseated lay down. Completely flat. This will slow your stomach from dumping food into your intestine... Which is making you feel nauseated in the first place. If you're to the point of no return and you know vomiting is inevitable than just do it and get over with. I know it sounds sick, but after these several years I've found it easier to get it over with than to fight it for a few hours. If you play it safe. Follow the diet plan given to you. Don't push yourself. Take your time, then you'll be just fine.

I had a tummy tuck BEFORE having kids. Everyone says that you will stretch all your skin back out and that it's a waste of time and money. Do not believe it. I did lots and lots of research as well as talking to women who had tummy tucks before getting pregnant. I even talked to several surgeons. Here's the deal, if you gain 15 lbs - 20 lbs you will be JUST fine. You'll be able to bounce back.. If you gain More than what you're suppose to, then of course you'll stretch all your skin out again. In fact if you look up cases of women having tummy tucks before getting pregnant 90% of them will all say that their stomachs never got very large even in their last trimester. Keep in mind that these were women who had children before, had a tummy tuck and then got pregnant again. Those women said that their pregnancy after the tummy tuck was much different than their others. Their stomachs never got very large and didn't gain as much weight as they did with her other pregnancies. If you had surgery then you know what eating correctly means. Continue this while pregnant and you're golden. Moral of the story is: tummy tucks are worth it. You do not need to wait before kids. Eat correctly. Don't screw yourself with old habits.

I went in a solid 300 lbs and I'm 115 lbs today

I ended up getting a tummy tuck. I knew that no matter what I did the flab of skin hanging from my stomach was never going to shrink. Getting a tummy tuck was The Best decision. I am Soo happy now. I did wait several years to get a tummy tuck though. I wanted to be more than positive that I was never ever going to gain weight back. 4 years after surgery and I was still 115 lbs I knew I could handle it. Good luck in whatever you choose

Yes! I noticed in my arms first. Then my thighs. My stomach was the last to flab and also the worst. My arms eventually firmed up a little. My thighs and stomach never bounced back. I ended up getting a tummy tuck to remove all the access skin. Everyone's different though.

Welcome! I'm pretty new here too.

Yeah, everyone is different. I walked a lot the first year I had my surgery. Week 1 I lost 12 lbs and then I lost 2-3 lbs a week. Then it went down to 1-2 lbs a week. I had some weeks at 0 lost. But at the end of the year I lost 160 lbs. .... Different situation, my sister also had a gastric bypass and over 1 year has lost 65 lbs. So everyone is different. My advice is to truly have a change of heart with your relationship with food, never ever cheat.. Meaning don't "find out" if you can still eat candy or push for that extra bite... If your brain finds out you can cheat the system You Will. So don't cheat. Last, walking or exercising really does make a giant difference in how much you lose. So don't just sit on the couch waiting for it to fall off. You'll still lose weight but you won't get the results you're looking for...anyway, enough blabbing. Good Luck!! You're a new person now!! So exciting!

I did have a tummy tuck. My arms bounced back pretty well..my stomach, butt, thighs, and boobs however belong to an old lady. I do plan on getting more work done as time goes by and when I get enough money to do so.. Very worth it though! I posted some pictures of my before and after tummy tuck in another post labeled Tummy Tuck? You'll have to see if you can find them. I just posted them yesterday. Thanks for your support!!

Joplin!