jenkbacon

Thank you for posting this! I haven't been on the site in a while because frankly I'd gotten cocky! I've been losing steadily and just stopped tracking or paying attention to what I've been eating. My weight had remained stable down about 78 pounds. I was 100 pounds overweight prior to surgery. I just told my self I didn't need to lose that last 22 pounds. I was fine. I stopped weighing myself and everything! This morning I weighed myself and I was up 5 pounds. Needless to say, it was time to start paying attention! I started tracking again and went to the gym and visited BP again and the first thread I see is this! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thank you, thank you thank you!!!!! I am NEVER going back!!!

@@tcon it's taken about a year to lose 70 pounds. I lost 11 in the 6 months leading up to surgery and 10 on the preop diet. I've lost the other 49 in the 6 months postop! It's been slow and steady all the way! So not complaining!!!

@kimmyco- what an amazing story! Good for you!

@laguerr13- Thanks so much. I understand exactly what you mean. I started my journey in July of last year just prior to the one year anniversary of my father's death. He was the "healthy" one and he just dropped! It shook my world up, but made me realize I needed to do something! I was in a very dark place a year ago! As difficult as this journey has been I would do it again in a heartbeat! Good for you! 72 pounds is amazing! You should be very proud. I'm so sorry for the loss of your mother. I was not prepared for how deeply losing my father affected me. That one year mark was rough. I am forever grateful for the amazing group of people on this site! They have supported me in more ways than I can even say! Keep going on your journey and you will definitely make it!

It's such a weird sensation! I still feel "fat!" But I've lost 71 pounds since 1/20/15. I went from a size 20 and am now fitting into a size 7/8! I struggle with trying to reconcile how quickly my body is changing and how I see myself! I am so happy with my decision to have surgery, but it's hard to adjust the "fat" mindset! I find that I am no longer buying multiple colors of the same shirt!! I didn't even realize I did that until I started getting rid of old clothes!!! I too hated shopping! Congrats to everyone on the start of their new lives!

I'm 5'1"! I started at my heaviest weight of 228.5 lbs. I lost 11 pounds over 6 months working with the dietitian and then another 10 pounds on my preop diet. My day of surgery weight (1/20/15) was 207. I had an initial stall for the first few weeks, but as I started eating more solid foods the weight started to fly off. I'm currently 161 pounds and I'm 5 months out. I'm wearing a size 8/10 and feel amazing. I'm averaging about a pound a week, although it is starting to slow down!!! I'm so not complaining though! BEST DECISION I EVER MADE!!! Good luck!!!

I didn't tell many people preop. I didn't want to hear people try to talk me out of it as well. I was struggling myself with wether I wanted to go through with it or not. People are very opinionated about it and I wasn't ready to have those opinions. Postop, I have been very open about my surgery. Sometimes, it brings a lot of unwanted attention because people are constantly commenting on my weight loss. It's hard to suddenly have all of that attention! However, that is a small price to pay for how good I feel now. I'm currently 4 months out and I'm down 65 pounds! I feel great and if I had to I would have the surgery again in a heartbeat!

I'm so excited! I started at 228.5 at my heaviest! I lost 10 pounds working with the dietitian over 6 months and another 11 pounds on the preop diet! Surgery date 1/20/15! I'm just under 4 months out and am down 60 pounds so far! I feel amazing and have my life back!!!

Gallbladder pain can feel like a band squeezing straight through to your back. The upper right side of your abdomen can be extremely tender and pain tends to be more severe after eating. The best way to diagnose gallbladder disease is through an ultrasound. An X-Ray would not give a good image of your gallbladder.

I had my VSG on 1/20/2015. I told a few close friends I work with and of course my family prior. When I started my preop diet, people were quite nosey, so I was honest about my plans for surgery and really have had positive feedback. I returned to work after 4 weeks down 15.5 pounds (I lost 11 pounds in the 6 months working with the dietitian and 10 pounds on the preop diet), so I was at a total weight loss of 36.5 lbs. I really hadn't seen much of a difference personally in my appearance, but my scrubs were definitely looser. Everybody, made comments! It was crazy. I was very upfront about surgery and the response has been overwhelmingly supportive. The only somewhat negative experience I had was a doctor that I love dearly come up to me in excitement about losing weight and I told her about surgery, but she took a step back from me and stopped talking to me. She is overweight herself, but I was shocked at the look of disappointment she gave me. I'm now at the 8 week mark and I'm down 43.5! So not much of a change since I went back, but yesterday everybody again was commenting. Is the weight loss that different with WLS? I haven't changed much in 4 weeks, but I had multiple people use the phrase "skinny minny" yesterday! I'm a little overwhelmed by the attention. It's a very weird situation for me because I've always preferred to be a fly on the wall and now all of a sudden I'm front and center. Have any of you had this experience? Any advice? It's definitely not a bad thing and it is positive that people are so encouraging. I'm just not used to attention like that. It's a very new experience for me! ☺️

I'm jenkbacon@gmail.com! Would love more people to be friends with and challenge me!!!

Thanks guys!!!! That's what most people have said!!! It's just such a foreign concept to me!!!

WOW! You look amazing!!!

I'm adding you as well! I just got a Fitbit and need more friends! Jenkbacon@gmail.com

My program has a strict NO ALCOHOL policy for 1 year post-op. I even had to sign a contract with my surgeon pre-op!

So my surgery was January 20th. Everything went really well. I had some issues initially getting in all of my liquids and protein. My NUT wants me to get 60-64 grams of protein a day. I've been hitting that plus close to 64-72 ounces of fluid a day. I'm still on full liquids. I lost 7 pounds at my 6 day post op visit and now NOTHING! I started exercising this week and have made it to the gym 3 times this week in addition to increasing my walking! I'm assuming this is the 3 week stall, but I'm only 2 weeks postop. Did anybody have issues right out of the gate like this? I'm getting super paranoid I'm not going to lose anymore weight!!!!

When I started the full liquid stage I bought the butternut squash soup from target as well as the red pepper and tomato soup. It was the most delicious thing I had eaten because I was just DONE with clear liquids!!!

My stats are pretty similar to yours. I'm 5'1" and my HW was 228 when I started working toward surgery. I lost 11 pounds between July and January. On my preop diet I went from 217 to 207 on day of surgery. My surgery was 1/20/14. I'm officially one month out today. At my first postop visit I weighed in at 201.5 and at my 1 month visit today I weighed in at 191.5!!! I went back to work this week and everyone noticed my weight loss. I think because we are so short, it shows quickly! I hope this helps!!! I wish you luck!!!

Hello! I'm in the Spring Lake Park area and just had my surgery on January 20th. I'm still on puréed/soft food! I'm just curious about the restaurant thing because I haven't attempted since surgery. I can barely get 1-2 ounces in at a time. How far out is everyone? I've been looking for people around my area, so I was excited to find this thread.

I work in an ER and it's hard to get away from the department to eat. So, most of us scarf food down in the control area in between seeing patients. It's made for a lot of unhealthy habits. When I started the preop diet and started sipping broth at the desk I got a lot of WTF? A few people knew going in. If people asked, I was honest about my plans for surgery and actually ended up with a huge support group and people rooting for me in my corner. I go back to work next Monday. I feel good about it because I've had quite a few people call and text me while I've been off! You just have to figure out what works for you.

I'm starting to feel pretty good! I've been tracking in my fitness pal and am focusing on protein and water intake. I'm going to the gym. I started puréed this week and I'm trying not to obsessively step on the scale every day! I know I didn't gain the weight overnight and I need to look at this as a journey, not a race. I know if I stick to it, I will get there! Thanks for all the support everyone!!!

My surgeon says ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL for the first year and then only in small amounts after. I know when I drank alcohol before I was sleeved and "ate well" my weight wouldn't budge or it would increase. Alcohol really does a number on the body. I would recommend stopping alcohol altogether until you reach your goal. I love red wine, but I have no intention of having any until after I've hit my goal. I just don't want to fall into my old habits of just having one glass a night before bed. It stalled me preop and I have no doubt it would stall me now. Since surgery, I haven't even craved it. I guess we will see where I am in 6 months, but I personally am not opening that door! Good luck, I hope you can get yourself back on track. Just remember the sleeve is a tool, not a quick fix. We are all in the same boat. I wish you well.

You guys are great. It's hard to get out of my head because this is how every diet I've ever done has gone. I lose and then a massive stop and nothing. I just get paranoid. It's silly I know. The logical part of my brain knows that this time things are different, however the emotional part is not so easily swayed! I really appreciate the encouragement from all of you.????

Thanks! It's just so frustrating because I'm taking in next to nothing for calories and my weight is not changing!!!! I start puréed on the 10th! I'm hoping things will get moving!!! I just needed a little encouragement!