Bluesea71

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Jamie - Let me just state that I absolutely agree with you. The decision to have this surgery should include a decision to make a complete lifestyle change with BOTH diet AND exercise. I have always been an active person. Even when overweight I was hiking long trails in Yosemite 7-8 times a year. I've just never been one to feel comfortable in a gym - something I'm aiming to do soon though! It sounded like the poster was dealing with some mobility issues and I wanted to assure her that she would still lose weight with the sleeve even if she didn't exercise. But you're right - exercise will make your body look better AND increase your weight loss. If I didn't walk/hike, I would be a big pile of mush and have zero tone. Unfortunately I have noticed many of the pounds I have loss have included muscle mass. My weight loss has also been incredibly slow. I'm sure I could have lost my weight faster if I did indeed, include more exercise in my routine. And as we all know, exercise is KEY for long-term maintenance, so I better get my arse in gear!

It is very possible to lose weight with the sleeve without exercising. I hate to admit it, but I'm almost a year out and I'm yet to start a formal workout routine with any regularity. With that being said, I AM active and will go on a 11 plus mile hike once a week. Just have never joined a gym or lifted weights, etc. . I suspect that as you lose weight and moving become easier for you, you will naturally find yourself becoming more active. I know I'm becoming more motivated to work out now that I can see my ab muscles!!!! I am now 9 pounds away from my goal weight of 145. Your head hunger is the bigger issue. People do eat and regain around the sleeve. All you have to do is watch one episode of "My 600 pound Life" to know it can be done. I think sometimes we can get a distorted sense of reality reading the Bariatric pal forum. These boards are filled with people who are committed to the process and are succeeding. There are plenty of people out there who aren't successful and never lost all of their weight or gained a lot of it back. These people aren't likely to be seeking out support on these boards. I guess you need to decide which statistic you want to be. The whole journey is a process.

2/23 weigh in: 154.1 Goal is still 149 Good luck Susan with the power situation!

Hold up! I have good news for you! My starting stats were exactly like yours. I'm 5'6" and was 236 when I inquired about wls back in January 2014. My bmi was under 40. Typically a BMI under 40 requires two comorbidities but having a diagnosis of PCOS alone qualified me as I didn't have anything else. There has been so much research the last decade showing the high correlation between insulin resistance in PCOS leading to diabetes that wls is considered prevention surgery. Good luck with the process. I had surgery 10 months ago and weighed 154 pounds this morning. Best decision I ever made. Wanted to add - I had a long documented history of PCOS on my medical charts spanning decades. I'm assuming you have a paper trail documenting this diagnosis? It will make the process of getting approved easier.

I'm in. My goal is to enter the 140's before my one year anniversary on 4/16. Please set my goal at 149. Lol - I used to curse those people who complained how hard it was to lose 5-10 pounds. Now I COMPLETELY get it! Love these challenges for keeping me (somewhat) on track . My weight today is 155.6. Are you noting a beginning weight or just our weight on 2/23?

Ack! My weight went up a pound to 156.5! And this was following a grueling 11 mile hike on valentine's day. I was sure I would lose a few pounds! Oh well, on to the next challenge to keep me accountable! Thanks Susan for all of your hard work!

Thanks Susan! If the new challenge isn't starting until the 23rd, we are skipping a week after this challenge ends on the 16th. The new challenge would be 6 weeks long

155.8 this week

Forgot to post yesterday. I was 156.7 this week. So up a tad. No worries, expected it after such a huge loss (for me!) the week before!

Have you checked out the Realself website? It's a forum full of people who have had different plastic surgery procedures and post their pictures before, during and after. It was after consulting that website that finally convinced me I had to be patient if I wanted to achieve the best results. There are several people on there who have had tummy tucks with still a significant amount of belly fat. In my opinion, the results are not something I would be happy with. It also takes time for your skin to adjust... And believe it on not, it will shrink some! My stomach initially looked horrific and now that I am within 5-15 pounds of my end goal, I'm amazing how flat it's become and how much the skin has shrank. At times I even debate if it would be worth having that massive 10-12" scar a tummy tuck would leave behind. My plan is to get to goal weight and maintain it for a year. I have seen a few posts on BP from people who had plastics and then had to have revisions because their weight fluctuated. I think most, if not all surgeons recommend you be at a stable weight for at least a year.

There are a lot of threads on BP on this particular topic, so I would suggest doing a search as there is a wealth of information to learn from. I think in the beginning we all struggled with deciding which surgery to have. For me, I had difficulty deciding between gastric bypass and the sleeve and it really came down to a few things that helped me make my decision. Similar to yourself, I didn't start out severely obese. I started out at 236 (5'6.5") and my goal was to weigh between 140-150. In my opinion, gastric bypass is a more significant operation and seriously alters both how your body absorbs food and alters your lifestyle for the rest of your life. I wanted to continue on to still live a somewhat normal life. I wanted to be able to eat a piece of cake on occasion (without dumping) share a glass of wine when the occasion called, etc. If I had over 100 pounds to lose, a long history of obesity, or significant food issues, I would have likely had Gastric bypass. With that being said, I don't consider myself your average bariatric patient. I don't really have food issues. I'm a weird one that really didn't like sweets pre or post surgery and sometimes I wish there was a pill I could take to forgo having to eat altogether. I don't get pleasure out of it. I ate a pretty clean diet before, but portion control was difficult for me and PCOS (what qualified me for the surgery) contributed to my excess weight. There are many people who need the feedback GBP gives them of dumping to help them stop eating sweets, etc. The sleeve gives me the restriction I need to be successful. I have been able to lose almost all of my weight since my surgery with little effort. I follow the "rules" of high protein, low carbs, plenty of water, avoid any liquid calories, junk food/fast food, etc. but am I perfect? No way! This is about making lifestyle choices you can maintain long term. I stay active, but I am yet to join a gym. So to answer your question, you can lose your weight with the sleeve. Statistics show that the weight loss achieved with both surgeries is comparable. Keep in mind that its also possible to regain weight with both surgeries too. The boards on BP are filled with people who are committed to getting support and reporting their successes. Don't let that fool you. You only have to watch one episode of "My 600 pound life" to be reminded how easy it is to eat around both surgeries and regain the weight. Those who are regaining their weight are unlikely to be seeking out support on Bariatric Pal!

The more abdominal fat you can lose first, the better your results will be. I would suggest you wait until you are closer to your goal weight.

I started losing hair about 2.5 months post op and now 9 months post op it seems to have slowed down and I have new hairs growing in all over my scalp. I would suggest buying Toppik spray on fibers (amazon is where I buy mine) as it does an amazing job thickening up the hair and disguising the thinning areas. The small container will last you over a month or more. Your hair will grow back and it is rare that it will all fall out to the point where others will notice or comment. I took biotin pre surgery and still do daily. I'm not sure if it has made a difference. It has made my nails really strong!

I posted earlier this morning (and it ended up posting 3 times but now all seem to have disappeared?!?!) I was 156.1 this morning. I was 159.5 last week, so that is a 3.4 pound loss. Normally I would be happy, but I know it's a direct result of the stress I'm under!

Holy smokes, Bat Man. I'm 156.1 this morning. I was 159.5 last week. That's a 3.4 pound loss. I can owe it all to STRESS this week!

Holy smokes, Bat Man. I'm 156.1 this morning. I was 159.5 last week. That's a 3.4 pound loss. I can owe it all to STRESS this week!

I think that is what most surgeons say and that is what statistics report. Remember these statistics include people who have WLS and make absolutely no lifestyle changes. Think of the people you see on the reality show "my 600 pound life" who continue to eat buckets of fried chicken post surgery. Those statistics also includes people like myself who took the surgery seriously and recognize it will require lifelong lifestyle changes to maintain the weight. You need to decide which statistic you want to fall on - one who succeeds or one who fails. With that being said, I have lost most of my weight up to this point with little or no effort. Now granted I ate a pretty clean diet pre-surgery and didn't really crave sweets/junk food, so I have some things going in my favor. I think so many of us came to this journey with so many failed attempts to lose weight that the idea of actually having success for once is a new concept! My number one issue was portion control and the restriction was just what I needed for success. I couldn't imagine reaching any weight loss goal let alone surpassing it! These boards on Bariatric Pal are filled with people who have been successful with their WLS.., but don't be fooled. People who are not successful are not likely to post about it in a public forum. We each need to decide how committed we are to the journey. I decided the moment I got surgery that I would be a successfully statistic and surpass my surgeon's goal and I'm doing it.

Try Nature Made Vita Melts. They melt in your mouth and are a great alternative to regular, liquid or chewable vitamins. I use the multivitamin, hair-skin-nails (biotin), energy (b1) and vitamin D. I found mine initially at Target but now order them online on Amazon. I developed an aversion to vitamins early on and would instantly feel nauseous. Never happens with these and they are actually yummy!

I was going to suggest not investing in expensive bras since you will likely change size frequently and there's no way to predict what size you will end up wearing. I'm pretty sure I'm wearing the wrong size now, but I keep procrastinating getting a professional fitting. In the meantime I keep buying cheap temporary ones at Target!

My surgeon never mentioned a goal weight during our initial appointments but I noted on some of the paperwork I received that it stated I could expect to reach a goal weight of 160 by my one year surgery date based on the excess weight I had to lose. I think I was 236 when I started the program, 226 day of surgery (April 2014) I reached 160 pounds at around 9 months out. I initially thought I wanted to get down to 140. I'm currently 158 and at 5'7", I don't think I have that much fat left on my body to lose another 18 pounds the next 3 months. Geez, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would ever be saying that!!!!

159.5 this morning. Only down 1/2 pound but I finally entered the 150's! Every ounce I lose is becoming a real challenge as my body really likes the weight that I am!!!!

Another product I would want you to add that I initially found at Target/CVS but now is getting tricky to find and I've been having to order online. Nature Made Vitamelts. I have developed a strong aversion to chewable and regular vitamins and these melt in your mouth and they are actually quite good! I use the multivitamin, hair.skin.nails (biotin), energy (b1) and calcium + D.

I would love to get a tummy tuck once I'm at my goal weight, but I'll admit, the hip to hip scar freaks me out a bit. It reminds me of Frankenstein! 99.9% of people's TT surgery pics show their belly with the scar covered by a bikini. Anyone out there in BP land willing to share what their TT scar looks like after some time has passed? I'm wondering what the scar looks like once its had some time to fade.

I just want to be back to what my old "normal" was before I put on extra weight post children (1999-2014). Problem is sizing has changed so much in the last decade! I currently wear a size 8 and was wearing a size 12 at this weight in the late 90's! So even though saying I want to be a size 6 sounds too small for someone 5'7" tall with a natural hour-glass figure, I guess that's what Im aiming for. (Which I still think is really a size 8/10) ???? Gotta love vanity sizing!