mysleeveid13

Hey everyone!!! Just wanted to say hey and tell you all that my husband is having sleeve done tomorrow!! I feel like I'm having surgery again because I'm so nervous and excited for him all together!!! I hope you all are doing well. I can't wait for him to feel like a new person like I do. I wore size 8 pants to work today and a new blouse and got so many compliments. It was so wonderful to feel pretty! I can't remember ever really feeling proud of myself. I think it's so special to me because I worked so hard to get to this point. Well, I could go on forever with how happy it has made me..but I won't. I want my husband to feel that joy in his life as well. Please pray all goes well for him tomorrow.

I don't know if you all use apps to keep yourself on track or not, but I found Bariatric Timer. You can set it to 30 mins after you eat and 30 mins after you drink or whatever time you want. I use it to remind me to wait to drink after I eat (not that I could drink then anyways). But it's like my little reminder and I don't drink until it goes off. I love hearing it go off and then I know it's safe to drink! So now that some of us are back together, what are you eating? Are you staying away from bread totally? Still very low carb? Do you count how many carbs you can have per day? How many meals do you eat per day? I eat very little portions, several times a day. For whatever reason, it's worked for me. The portions are smaller than a meal would be (even for us) and I probably have 5 of them throughout the day. Like I said earlier, I want to lose about 10 more pounds, but everyone at work keeps telling me I need to stop losing. I really don't have loose skin, except a little bit of wrinkles on my inner thigh. My butt and my boobs completely fell off. I have trouble finding a bra to fit my tiny boobs. I'm totally not complaining though as I am extremely pleased with my results. I am noticing my energy level has dropped and I feel worn out after doing household chores some days. Almost like I ran a marathon. I get light headed when I stand up, so my dr said I'm either not getting enough Protein and/or fluids. I feel like I drink all day long though, so maybe I need to go back to counting how many grams of protein I'm getting each day. Anywho, just wanted to compare what I'm doing to the rest of you. Please let me know how you all eat and your daily routines.

Thank you. I haven't lost in months. It was like I lost it all really fast and then stopped. I really want to drop about 10 more lbs, but I have just been maintaining instead of really pushing to try to lose. I'm sure I'll drop them this summer as I do a lot of swimming and love to exercise outside and get sun. I have just been enjoying feeling good about myself for the first time in my life. It's a totally different feeling, isn't it? Good luck and keep checking in. I enjoy reading everyone's journey.

You look great, too! I was over 300 with my last pregnancy. Highest post pregnancy weight was 274. 255 day of surgery and currently 158. My favorite pair of jeans were 22's and now I'm in a 6 or 8! I seriously think I skipped those sizes when I was a kid. I'm really active with my kids now and my husband is now waiting his approval to have surgery. Are any of you still losing?

I am 9 months post op and doing well. I am about 4 pounds from my goal. One problem I am having is with the protein shakes. I love the chocolate Premier Protein ready to drink shakes. I have tried several different brands of the protein powder and it always tastes gross to me. I finally found a giant thing of Premier Protein power and was so excited (because I want to use the powder to make other protein items), plus it's alot cheaper than the ready to drink. Only problem is when I mox it myself, it tastes like every other nasty artificially sweetened protein shake. I expected it to taste the same as the RTD since it has the same ingredients...but it has this weird coconut artificial taste that I just cannot stand. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? Do you mix yours with water or milk? Anyone else tried the Premier powder? Any ideas of recipes that might cover that after taste so I can use up this $30 container?

Thank you! I will try both of your ideas!

Way to go, ladies!!! You look great Queen Wendy!

How is everyone doing?? I haven't been on here in a while. I was 274 when I started my classes. 255 when I saw my surgeon for the first time and now I'm hovering around 155. I stopped going to the gym because I was really comfotable in my body, but decided I want to lose a little more around my tummy. I don't have much lose skin at all. My boobs are like tiny floppy pancakes (while I always thought I was well endowed with a big booty and nice boobs, it ends up they were both just fat). They were the first to go. I can't find a bra to fit. But hey, if that's all I got to say that's even remotely negative then I will take it!!! My husband is well on his way to getting approved for his surgery and hoping to have his surgery in the next month or so. Well anyways....I'm extremely pleased with how thia all went down and miss reading everyone's updates...so check in and let us know how it's going.

Love the pictures!!!! It is really hard to get used to our new bodies. Someone asked me yesterday at work if I saw skinny when I looked in the mirror. I explained that I saw my legs, arms, and face as skinny but not my belly. But.....it's really not that bad. I'd be happy if I didn't lose anymore. But it is so weird to be stuck in a negative body image and only see the imperfections and not the things that look great. Oh and I second the book comments. I've always had a giant butt and relatively large boobs. Both are completely gone. My tailbone hits the bottom of the chair or whatever I'm sitting on because there is absolutely no padding on it now but I'm not complaining. Soooooo much better than taking a shower only to sweat my arse off as soon as I start moving around to get dressed. I don't miss any of the side effects of being obese so I will embrace every part of my new body. Tiny flappy flat pancake boobs and all.

Hey guys....just checking in. Went for my 6 month post op appt. I'm down 96 lbs since April 2014 and 115 since I really committed to having my surgery back in Oct of 2013. I'm happier than I've ever been. I basically gave my entire closet to my best friend (minus the underwear - haha but even those had to be trashed because they were way too big). I was in a 22 or 24 size pant and the biggest shirt size I could find. I am now in a size 6 or an 8 jeans and still buy XL shirts because I still have a gut from having 3 babies and 2 of them were vertical C Sections....which made my stomach hang down like a butt in the front. Surprisingly, it has tightened up enough to hide in my jeans. Everyone keeps telling me I need to stop losing but I know what I'm hiding underneath the clothes and will keep working on tightening up. Like Bluesea71 said, I don't have a lot of excess skin....just a little poochy belly, some saggy skin on my inner thigh and a tiny bit on my inner arm by my armpits but all covers nicely under my clothes. My hair still feels like it's thinning. I already had a inverted bob. I went a little shorter with it but don't want to do too much shorter. Trying to up my protein to see if it stops thinning. My horrible heartburn/reflux went away right around 6 months just like my surgeon said. I'm still paranoid about stretching out my sleeve so I'm very careful about portions and freak out a little inside when I feel full. I don't EVER want to go back to the way I was. I was taking two blood pressure meds and I'm off of both. I take nothing but vitamins vitamins and birth control now. My periods are still coming twice a month but again small price to pay for all the great things that have come out of my surgery. My husband has to do a sleep study and then he should be approved for his surgery. So I'm proud that I did it while he continued to eat the way he does. It was a struggle but I did it! What about you guys? Let us know how it's going.....

Happy 6 months to you all, too!!!! Should we do a 6 month check in or is everyone over it?

Oops...here's the picture.....

Ok, ok... I'll post one, too. I'm still weirded out about putting my face on here so I covered it. (Not very good at editing.) But here is before at around 260ish and a little over 5 months out around 170.

Way to go, ladies!!!! You both are doing awesome!!!

I have had plenty of steak. We were told in one of our classes that the rarer the steak is cooked, the easier it would be on our sleeve as it's more tender. Luckily, I like rare to medium rare so it works great for me. Just cut tiny little pieces and eat it slow and chew until your jaws are tired.

I'm here!!! I've been reading along trying to catch up as I could. We went to Disneyworld and then to St. Augustine to the beach and we're gone for 9 days. So preparing a family of 5 and my 72 year old mother for the trip took me out of the loop for a while. I'm very happy to say that with all the little cheats I allowed while on vacation, I still lost weight! This is the first time since surgery I have not weighed daily and I just knew I had gained. I really didn't eat that bad. Still tiny portions, but I had a quarter of a bagel and a couple of other bites of bread, which I have not had throughout this journey, so I was paranoid. But since the Wednesday before we left until now, I still lost 3 lbs! My husband teased that I was like a crack head running all over all 4 Disney Parks like a freak show with the stroller. I have more energy than I've ever had in my life so it's almost like I'm trying to catch up for all the years of having to sit and take a break every few minutes and huffing and puffing. I'm happier than I've ever been and I think my kids are enjoying their new mom. We went to a Halloween Party at Disney and I surprised the kids by dressing up as Batgirl!!! They were so excited. I can't believe all the comments I got (even as I'm holding hands with my husband)!! I'm not used to all the positive attention so it was a little overwhelming, but I got used to it really quickly. If I get up enough nerve, I'll post a picture. I'm down to 166 lbs. Just 16 lbs from my originally set goal. I just can't believe it. After failing so many times, it's such a sense of accomplishment to actually stick to the plan and get closer and closer to a goal. I love all of your pictures. I love the short hair, too, Butterfly!!! Thanks for checking on me! I'm here, just playing catch up on laundry, work, everything......

Check in Weight when first started program with my surgeon 255 lbs April 16, 2014 - Weight 243 lbs. Surgery Day August 27, 2014 - Weight 175.2 Goal: 150-ish Total Loss - 79.8 lbs Down 98.8 pounds from my highest weight without being pregnant. Was somewhere up over 310 (stopped looking when they weighed me at dr after I got up that high) but again, I was pregnant...but just thought I'd mention it since it's technically my highest weight. Shirt Size Pre-Surgery- XXXL or whatever the biggest one they had was.... Shirt Size Aug 27, 2014 XL Pant size pre surgery - 22/24 Pant size Aug 27, 2014 - 10

Go Matt!!!! Over 100 lbs! Awesome! Ejjohn - I have a unwritten rule that I try to exercise during the week on my lunch break for 4-5 days. Then, on the weekends I do something outside with the kids like swimming or we have seasons passes to two amusement parks and walk around and sweat on the weekends or clean house. I usually am only sitting while I'm working (desk job at major corporation). So, when I get off I'm running around cleaning, fixing dinner etc. Big change in energy since the surgery....In the right way. But long story longer....What I've noticed is on the weeks that I don't get in my 4-5 days at the gym, I'm still losing, but not as much...maybe a little over a pound that week....but the weeks that I'm getting in all of my "scheduled" exercising, then it's usually multiple pounds. So I've definitely noticed a direct result when I've gotten it all in. So this might not help you at all since you said you have an injury, but that's when I've noticed the biggest changes on the scale is when I am exercising. I'm also much stricter on my carbs when I'm not making it to the gym each day. Watch the carbs in some of the Protein bars amd shakes. Some are really high in carbs whereas others will have like 5 carbs or less. If there is Fiber in it then you can subtract the grams of fiber from the total number of carbs and that's the real number of carbs you would be getting. I hope this helps. I've also been back to my NUT twice since surgery to talk about my diet and exercise. I think that's really helping me to learn to eat right.

Awesome!!!! So excited for you! It is fun having random people tell you how great you look. That's when you know it's honest. I bet the students will notice, too! Enjoy returning to work and tell us how it goes. It is fun to share with everyone since we know everyone's struggles and now triumphs. Have a great weekend!

And if I've already shared this forgive me....but I am no longer taking either of my two blood pressure medicines!!! That was my ultimate goal was to get off the medication and get healthy (not to mention lose weight and feel comfortable in my own skin again or maybe even for once...can't remember when I felt good about myseld, if ever) so no more meds for me!!! That was a great feeling when we gradually decreased it to no loner taking it. So happy. Now, sad part is my husband was just diagnosed with high blood pressure and the beginning stage of diabetes this week. So he is now trying to get approved for surgery. It will be so much easier to stay on point with us doing it together. Ok. I'll stop talking and go to bed. Felt like I needed to catch up with you all!

I haven't tried it yet, but I got flax seed meal (like corn meal) and you can sprinkle it on whatever you want. My dr recommended flax seed for constipation. But it sounds like it's good for a lot of other things, too. I got mine at Trader Joes if you have one of them nearby.

Oh and I forgot to check in because I ended up working late due to my appt. So quickly, down to 178. 1.2 lbs lost this week. NUT said as we get closer to our goal weight the weight loss will slow down and not to get discouraged. I'm not because any weight loss is weight loss and I haven't had a stall so I'm grateful. Success this week I went to the gym 4 days and the week isn't over yet! Got in an hour on the elliptical and about to start weights (just a little to tone) next week. Just don't want to embarrass myself not knowing how to work the equipment. Uh....

I discussed the hair loss with my NUT on Wed. She asked if I took biotin and I told her I started it and have taken it faithfully since a few weeks before surgery. She said to amp up my protein and try to get around 80 g per day. She said if I'm having trouble getting it through food and shakes to add Unjury or another brand of unflavored protein powder to my meals. Just shake it on top of whatever I'm eating. So we shall see.....

I had to do 2 weeks of clear liquids only (broth, tea, water, sugar free popsicles, etc) and then 2 weeks of all liquids (this was when I could add in protein shakes, skim milk, etc). Then 2 weeks of pureed foods, 2 weeks of soft foods, then 2 weeks of slowly adding in low carb high protein regular foods as they were tolerated. I really think the solid month of liquids helped my weight loss tremendously. It felt like a detox of all the sugar I had eaten in the past because now, even 4 months out, even some sugar free products taste super sweet. The only juice I could have was 2 oz of no sugar added or diet juice and it still had to be diluted with 2 oz of water. Juice and bread seems too high carb, especially in the beginning. You can also search online for gastric sleeve diet plans and they will give you a more structured plan. Also, go on Amazon and look for the Big Book on Gastric Sleeve. I can't remember the exact title but I think it was written by the guy that started Bariatric Pal. Really good tips in there for a diet plan. As you can see, mine was stricter than some in the beginning, but I really think it made a huge difference in how quickly I lost in the beginning.

It really is a lot of hard work! People that haven't been through it just don't understand. I've worked harder at this than I have anything in my life. Gym 4-5 times per week for a solid hour workout and managing three kids with a traveling husband. It's not the easy way out at all! I say of this to let you know that I can't stand when people give their unsolicited opinion about our weight loss. I'm so glad you have such a positive outlook and let it roll off. You look absolutely stunning and anyone that has been through it can look at you and know how hard you had to work to get there!