devint

Maybe 18-24, but I will say this... a lot of my many annoying and unpleasant side effects are from my body freaking out about losing weight too quickly. I know it doesn't seem like this is a concern at the beginning of the journey, lots of people get excited and goal oriented about losing faster than others or faster than average. But it's easier on you and your body, the slower you can go through the rapid change (if that makes sense?) because things like loose skin, hair loss, Vitamin deficiency and just general fatigue will ease up if you lose a little on the slower side of the fastest-you've-ever-dropped-weight-in-your-life.
Good luck to you and I hope we get to follow your transformation on the boards here!

My husband and I both had about 170lbs to lose when we had our sleeves done. He just hit his surgiversary and has lost 120. I'm currently in month 6 and have lost my gallbladder and about 90lbs since high. Both of us experienced crazy rapid weight loss at first, then followed by stalls that last anywhere from 2 weeks to, in my husbands case, 9 weeks. For the longer ones, that was a sign we were doing something wrong. The fix for the dreaded 9 week stall was to nix the full sugar gatorade that he had come to lean on as a soda replacement and go for g2 lower sugar gatorade. Most people will say this is a no-brainer, but its a perfect example of how silly things can sneak in on you when you're not being vigilant and careful.
It sounds like you're really serious about beating the weight for good. It's not an easy path, but for us it has been effective. And even though neither of us are at goal now, I have faith we'll get there with our tool and steadily working the plan.

We are giving out candy and taking our 2nd grader around the neighborhood for more candy. For me Halloween is a holiday to experience so it definitely qualifies as the "special occasion" I am definitely planning on having a piece of candy. And if later, I want to have another piece of candy (GASP) I will probably have another piece of candy. I will not allow myself to freak out, berate myself, or scare myself away from enjoying the occasional treat. I'll enjoy it in the moment, log it, and on Nov 1st I will not touch any of it.

We are giving out candy and taking our 2nd grader around the neighborhood for more candy. For me Halloween is a holiday to experience so it definitely qualifies as the "special occasion" I am definitely planning on having a piece of candy. And if later, I want to have another piece of candy (GASP) I will probably have another piece of candy. I will not allow myself to freak out, berate myself, or scare myself away from enjoying the occasional treat. I'll enjoy it in the moment, log it, and on Nov 1st I will not touch any of it.

My husband and I both had about 170lbs to lose when we had our sleeves done. He just hit his surgiversary and has lost 120. I'm currently in month 6 and have lost my gallbladder and about 90lbs since high. Both of us experienced crazy rapid weight loss at first, then followed by stalls that last anywhere from 2 weeks to, in my husbands case, 9 weeks. For the longer ones, that was a sign we were doing something wrong. The fix for the dreaded 9 week stall was to nix the full sugar gatorade that he had come to lean on as a soda replacement and go for g2 lower sugar gatorade. Most people will say this is a no-brainer, but its a perfect example of how silly things can sneak in on you when you're not being vigilant and careful.
It sounds like you're really serious about beating the weight for good. It's not an easy path, but for us it has been effective. And even though neither of us are at goal now, I have faith we'll get there with our tool and steadily working the plan.

I just re-read the original post. I hit 90 pounds gone this morning and my clothes are falling off. I went to Kohls and bought an XL sweater in the regular women section without trying it on. It was way too big. I can't wrap my head around what size clothes I really am. It is such a strange phenomenom when you have been shopping plus size for so long. On the down side, I am very pear shaped and pretty sure I won't see a size 12 or 14 until I am at goal. I haven't even tried on anything yet because I don't want to be disappointed. But, overall - what a thrill to shop now! I am probably a bit too old for Victoria Secrets but I find sexy stuff all the time! I wore a fitted black sweater with black pants to work the other day, people were awestruck at work. It was crazy how the tight black accentuated the curves and weight loss. Crazy! Now to lose the last 70 and finance my house for plastics - lol - just kidding - well….. maybe!

Here's a pic from the changing room- not the best but definitely captures the moment!

So I wanted to come back to this thread as a follow up- I went into Victorias Secret the other day. I was pretty intimidated because I've never gone in there with out a thin friend- yeah I know that sounds irrational but I had bad anxiety that everyone was going to stare at me. Sometimes I still see myself as much larger then I am I guess...I went in and looked around and a sweet sales girl asked me if she could help me find a size...I asked her if they had a certain sweater in a large and panicked thinking she was going to think to herself 'You're too fat for a large..' I swear its SUCH a mental thing! Anyway I reluctantly went into the dressing room with a few size large sweaters not really expecting much and low and behold THEY FIT! I haven't cried this whole process but I cried in the dressing room. I've wanted to wear these sweaters since I was literally 15. It was such an emotional moment for me. Super surreal. My next goal is to fit into their yoga pants!

I'm really excited to be able to shop at Victoria's Secret. I've always wanted to wear their PINK hoodies and yoga pants and yes their bras. I'm not sure if I'm there yet. I've lost 107lbs so far- still have a ways to go. BUT I am finally fitting into Old Navy clothes in the stores. Their XXL used to fit me okay but now they're too big and I'm actually wearing their XL or even some L! That is drippy for me considering I used to be a size 26/28 and wear a 4X (all from online since they don't have plus sizes in the stores). I'm still wrapping my mind around going into 'normal' stores and it being okay to try on straight sizes. I feel like someone is going to stare and me like 'why is she in here? She can't fit these clothes!' Still. It's a very mental thing to get over.

It is just thrilling to be able to do this. When I was losing and before I knew for sure I could go in stores like WHBM, JCrew, etc., and actually purchase something, I used to send my size 8 teenage daughter in to check the sizes and see if I could go in! Now when I go in, people actually wait on me!

It does sound like they see you as the "boss" (which you are in a way). It goes with the territory. Keep things cordial on your end. You really can't force the relationships to be more like friends if it's not there.
Consider looking for friends outside your immediate work group (or away from work altogether).
Best of luck.

We are giving out candy and taking our 2nd grader around the neighborhood for more candy. For me Halloween is a holiday to experience so it definitely qualifies as the "special occasion" I am definitely planning on having a piece of candy. And if later, I want to have another piece of candy (GASP) I will probably have another piece of candy. I will not allow myself to freak out, berate myself, or scare myself away from enjoying the occasional treat. I'll enjoy it in the moment, log it, and on Nov 1st I will not touch any of it.

First off, congratulations on your journey, it's an inspiration and a reality check to me, in my first year, who still feel like this is a dream of sorts. On next goals, I would work on a fitness goal, or a "giving back" goal of educating/leading/helping others in your family or community work on their health, or a "never going back" goal of listing all of the things you wanted to do but couldn't because of your weight and actively work on experiencing them, maybe for the first time. (horseback riding, hot air balloon, ballet lessons, scuba, whatever.) I have found things like that reconfirm my emotional commitment never to go back to being obese cause being "normal-sized" opens up so many doors.

@@boccob81 I hear from some vets that that dies down in a few more months but there will always be that person who hasn't seen you in forever and make a big deal about it. BUT good news is now, all the new people you meet from now forward will never know the "BIG" you, never "remember what you were like before." So that's a positive way to look at things, it's like a fresh start.

Picture Time! (wow this site makes it a little hard to share pictures but I hope this works!)
BEFORE



AFTER



Went horseback riding this weekend for the first time in my life cause I'm not too fat to be on a horse now! SO much fun, sore knees though. Need practice

Hi there, I was sleeved May 30th 2014, and I'm doing ok so far. I have lost 69 lbs since surgery day, but I started out with a lot to lose and have exactly 69 more to go. I also had to have my gallbladder out in August. My body has been fighting the drastic changes in a lot of ways, weird side effects with my ears, eyes, skin and those I expected with my hair falling out and major reflux and hating the chalky Vitamins.
BUT I am loving fitting into smaller clothes, compliments, and looking forward to looking in the mirror and getting my picture taken. In my "home" group, I shared that this past weekend my husband and I went horseback riding because we're finally not too fat for a horse to carry us around! I was sore but it was so much fun! Can't wait for more firsts like that.

I was sleeved June 9 2014. And there were quite a few of us, that we're sleeved in June. I would love to hear how y'all are doing! I'm down 46 pounds so far, size 16- to size10. I've hit a few stalls but I am exercising and feeling pretty good. Hope that everyone is doing well, and having success! Let me know... Would love to hear from all of you

I was sleeved on June 24th. I'm down 80 from my high, and 69 since my surgery. And I'm officially "overweight" now! 31 to goal... and then comes the rest of my life!

1. There is nothing you can do to keep your energy levels up anywhere close to "normal". You are going to be dog tired for a while, healing takes so much out of your body but each progressive day will get better than the last. The "wave of energy" didn't pick up for me until I started to drop serious weight, like week 6 -8, but everyone is different.
2. I was shooting for 64 oz a day, but really I just kept sipping as much as I could get in, and got worried/diligent when my urine got any darker. That Water bottle will go with you EVERYWHERE.
3. Some people swear by drinks with electrolytes in them like those you mentioned or coconut Water. I don't think they hydrate you any better than regular water, BUT some people myself included suffered with "water nausea" where the taste of pure water made me sick. I just used crystal light flavor to make it go down and stay down.
4. For nausea, I had the patch behind the ear and then onadestron or something, minty pills that dissolve on your tongue. Killed it for me quickly and reliably.
5. I could walk the day of surgery, and the nurses and my husband had me up and walking at an annoyingly regular pace to get the gas out of my stomach cavity. You should walk as much as you can for gas and to normalize asap. However, that first week, a trip downstairs to the kitchen, then to the bathroom, then back up to the recliner in the bedroom was enough to make me feel beat. Expect to need to ask help for things like laundry, tidying up, meal prep, pet care, kid care, since you can't really lift anything more than 5 lbs or even bend over really. That was the difficult part to get used to at home.
Good luck to you!

I remember being worried about whether I'd be able to eat out after getting a Lapband. Not only is it easy, but I'm now an incredibly cheap date. Today my husband and I went to an Asian place, which for me is one of the more challenging venues. These days I don't eat rice, and I am picky about MSG and that sort of thing. So no sushi for me (not a huge loss -- if I really wanted it I'd have sashimi, which for me is really an excuse for Wasabi), and no Chinese dishes with pre-made sauces. They just hold no appeal for me now. I've discovered the best thing for me in an Asian restaurant is a Bento Box. I order the salmon, which I love, and I ask for it with no sauce. So it's a lovely piece of salmon in the perfect small portion size. Also in the box is rice, veggies, a few shu-mai dumplings and some sushi -- all that goes to my dining partner or comes home in a take-out box. I have my Miso Soup and then pick at the salmon with chopsticks. Chopsticks are a wonderful tool for slowing down. I tend to put them up to my lips empty between bites as part of my training to not be a shoveler. I had no idea how fast I was eating until I had to learn not to do that anymore. While packing up the left-overs I am absolutely amazed that I have found satiety (or it has found me) after so little food. But there it is -- good clean Protein and that was completely satisfying. Also I notice that now when I eat I am so entirely present. We sat outside today -- a crisp New England day and we were bundled up in fuzzy jackets. We know it won't be long before the jig is up on all things outdoors so we're taking advantage of every moment we can sit in the sun. It was such a pleasure to just look around and be. I think before I was always thinking about the food. There's so much more to dining now. I love noticing everything around me -- and noticing what a delicate eater I am now and how good that feels. Happy Tuesday every one!

I was sleeved on 10/20. Today I am 299.2! This may not be a big deal to some, but boy am I excited! Next stop is Onderland!

Humm spent 2 days in luxerious hotel, with lots of food and drinks, and all the good stuff you can think of, and well this stomack of mine is very hungry right now, so i did indulge...and scary part i did gain about a pound, but even scarier is that i cant seem to stop wanting to eat now
At the same time i found an old excel sheet that is over 10 yrs old on which i keep records of my weight lost every time i do a new diet...well it just seem every time i start giving up it's exactly when i am around my current weight .... Am i sabotaging myself? Makes me wonder

Hey everyone! Thought I'd drop in and say hi. We still have a Facebook group going so if anyone would like to join in there, we chat and do weekly weigh ins and share pics and stuff in our private, secret group.
As far as me, well I'm looking ok. Seems like I have a few weeks where I lose 2-4lbs then a week or two of nothing. But overall I seem to be on point with most people at 67lbs down since surgery - and I don't count carbs, ever. I think its an interesting experiment to see how much everyone looses when some are so strict. My sleeve seems just about as tight as ever! Most days I try to get in a Protein Shake and a few Snacks between clients, but I'd say I probably range 500-800cal a day. I can get almost a taco in, and about 3/4 a lean cuisine. Those are the easist ways for me to gague how much I can eat.
On the weekends I try to force myself to eat more, and eat often, so my body doesnt get used to 500cal thing and stop losing. I dont gain on the weekends when I do this and certainly notice weight drops those first few days back to work so the cycle seems to work ok.
Still want to get out an excercise but I just haven't had the desire to give up sleep yet and it will have to be a trade off. Hopefully Ill get the bug soon since I know it will help with the jiggly feeling
I get a lot of comments about how small I am and how skinny etc. But I'm not excited yet because I've been re-losing weight I lost over and over before. But 5 more lbs and I'll be in NEW territory. I feel like THEN I might be more excited. Anyone else have that feeling?
And I find it fascinating that weight loss effected your eyes and ears!!! I had no clue!

I think I might be getting tired of every one I know telling me great job
When I am out and about. I just look at them and say thank you but they just keep saying it like a broken record over and over. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy the complments but over and over from the same people .

Picture Time! (wow this site makes it a little hard to share pictures but I hope this works!)
BEFORE



AFTER



Went horseback riding this weekend for the first time in my life cause I'm not too fat to be on a horse now! SO much fun, sore knees though. Need practice