*Lexie*

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Or in this case, lost. People love to focus on failure, I heard those stories too. But my doctor set realistic expectations, even asking if I would be satisfied losing 50% of my excess weight because those are the statistics. Of course I want/wanted to lose more but realized that even losing 1/2 my excess weight is better than continuing to gain. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Can't wait to see those pictures. What great progress, I never get tired of reading these happy stories.

My food scale. At 8 months, I still measure my food regularly.

One thing that helps the fat brain is to take pictures. I remember when I was 250lbs, I didn't think I was that fat and then I'd see a picture of myself and it would knock the wind out of me. (that's why we hate pictures when we're fat, it's harder to stay in denial) Now when I'm feeling like I look exactly the same as I did at 250lbs, I look at a picture and it tells a whole different story. The camera doesn't lie (unless you have photoshop!). Your brain will adjust, it'll take some time.

You have made great progress and continue to inspire and motivate me. Our stats are so close! Well, you are 2 inches taller than me but our starting and current weights are very similar. My 10 month is near the end of July. I don't think I'll hit my goal by 1 year either but I'm just going to keep plugging away. As you said, it's sort of meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Congratulations! You are over halfway to goal.

This week, 173!

Great article, thanks for sharing!

A Tummy Tuck will definitely set you back a bit on fitness. It's a pretty intensive surgery (getting cut open from hip to hip), the toughest I've gone through. Is it vain? Oh probably. We can't trade our bodies in for a newer model like we do cars so we have to make the best with what we have. Did I feel guilty about spending money on an elective surgery that would make me look better? Hells to the no! My abs look fabulous. Talk to a lot of people, surgeon's, doctors and consider the price and downtime for healing and that should help you make a decision.

All exercise is boring at first. Walking is the easiest thing to start with. It's nice out, go out and enjoy the scenery.

My MD didn't give me a number to stay under. I try to keep mine under 30. If I do that, I lose pretty steadily. Of course I have days where I go over that but it's all about balance.

I'm from Indy and got my surgery through Community South. I have Anthem BCBS and they covered my surgery. From my research, I found that Anthem does cover the surgery but some employers will opt out of the coverage for lower rates. You must have one of those employers. I don't know anything about Evenson or Mexico for that matter, just know that it's about 1/3 of the cost to go to Mexico. If you can afford to do private pay here, I would go for it. I love having the support of my surgeon's office after my surgery. Find it to be very beneficial. The only recommendation I have is to stay on these boards at least during the first few months. The information was very valuable to me. I stay on them now to keep myself motivated.

@@proudgrammy @TheRealMeIsHere! I fixed it, sorry about that. The feature for attaching images could be better.

179.0

A quick google search will tell you everything you need to know about this type of diet. It's very similar to what most bariatric surgeons recommend after surgery. Atkins is considered a keto diet. It doesn't automatically equal high fat. The basics of it are meat, dairy and vegetables.

I wasn't told that I had to follow Atkins but the plan I was given was very similar. I try to stick to Atkins most of the time, definitely helps me lose faster. As soon as I start eating too many carbs, my weight loss slows way down or stops.

I'm almost 9 months out. I do get hungry but the feeling is more dull than it was pre-op, if that makes sense. It still takes a lot less food to fill me up and I stay full longer than before. I think there's a band to sleeve forum, some people that have had both may be a good resource for this question.

That's what I'm going to be by the end of 2015! When I had my surgery consultation, the surgeon asked why I wanted surgery. One of my reasons was that I missed running and wanted to run a marathon. In the past, when my weight was lower, I completed a half marathon and several 5-10Ks. I am in week 4 of training for the Honolulu marathon on December 13th. I'm excited and a bit terrified. And just to add a little to that terror, I'm also going zip lining when I'm there. Always wanted to do that but felt I was too fat. I wouldn't be doing any of this if I hadn't made the choice to have this surgery. So happy to be getting healthy and being able to live life again.

Very real. I stalled for a total of 3 weeks. But you will start losing again and soon that stall will be a distant memory.

177.0 this morning

I've wavered back and forth on whether I wish I would have had bypass. Mostly because I'm a slow loser and an impatient person (not a good combination). Keep in mind, you can still get dumping syndrome with the sleeve. I have issues with fried foods, spicy foods, dairy and anything too rich (sweet) or if I eat too fast or a bite too much. The sleeve does not necessarily equal the easy way vs the bypass. I know people with the bypass with a lot less issues than I've had. While the sweets can be a factor, it should not be the only factor you use when deciding on which surgery is best for you. I encourage you to go to the bypass forums and ask them questions too. Of course in the sleeve forums, we're going to all say how fabulous it is. That being said, I'm glad I got the sleeve. I'm 8 months out and I've lost 80lbs. I have around 30 to go. I do think you can lose this weight. It felt impossible for all of us in the beginning. But if you put your head down and focus on 10lbs at a time, you'll be amazed at how far you've come at 6 months, 9 months, etc.

@@AvaFern You're the first person I've come across that seems to have the same issue that I do. I throw up if I eat too much or too fast. And I mean, I will keep throwing up until it my stomach is empty. I also have issues with several different food types making me throw up. For example, I can't eat anything spicy or I get sick right away (so sad because I love spicy food). I have a question for you. How far out from surgery are you? Has it eased up at all or is it still the same as when you were early out from surgery? I'm 8 months out. My doctor says that this should go away eventually but so far it hasn't. The bright side is, it keeps me on track.

That sleeve won't slip! Congrats!