nraeh

I had my surgery June 1, 2011. I have lost 150 lbs total. But I went to my year checkup yesterday and I did not lose one pound in the last three months. My Dr. was not happy since I have about 44 more to go. He said I should not have leveled off this soon. His advice for me was to drink two shakes, eat a "box meal" and drink 64 oz of water a day. At first I couldn't figure out what a "box meal" was but then I asked if it was like a Lean Cuisine and he said yes. That is the first time I have ever heard of a Dr. telling someone to eat one of those meals. Has anyone else heard of that?

I just got my passport out today ready to go on vacation. My passport is dated just a year ago. My picture doesn't look anything like me at all. I sure hope I don't have any trouble traveling.

Thanks everyone for your advice. We will be going on vacation in about two weeks. That is not near enough time to get a new passport. I guess I will just have to hope that I can get by with my current passport. I didn't read about needing a new passport if you lose a lot of weight but I did read that most countries don't even look at the actual picture. I hope that is my case. A funny thing is that every time my four year old granddaughter sees a picture of me before I lost weight she keeps asking "what happened to you in that picture?" She just can't remember that I ever looked like that. That is so nice.

I could have easily taken a trip 4 days after surgery. The only thing is you will have to make sure and have plenty of water and your protein drinks. If you are traveling it might be wise to invest in the canned protein drinks just to make it a lot easier for you. Good luck and have a great trip.

I don't have young children but I have young grandchildren. I'll get my two cents in anyway. I have had absolutely NO complications from my surgery even at my age of 63 when I had the surgery. However, I have tried to follow the guidelines set by the Bariatric Center as closely as possible by taking my vitamins and drinking my water. I can eat anything I want to eat now just not as much as I had eaten before. I don't feel "deprived" because when I get up from the table I don't feel stuffed and ready for a nap now. You won't believe how much easier everything is when you don't carry around an extra 150 lbs. It makes a world of difference. I never realized that until I lost the 150 lbs but I sure realize it now. Yes, there are risks in having the surgery but there are also risks everytime you get into a car or on an airplane. Life is full of risks. You just have to trust God that you are doing the right thing and let him do his part in taking care of you.

I have tried several different kinds of bars but I have gotten hooked on the Quest Protein Bars. They are a little higher priced but so worth the extra. They have 20 grams of protein and if you warm them up for about 15 sec. in the microwave they are fabulous. The other thing I really like about them is that I can pop them into my purse and I don't have to worry about them melting like some of the bars do. I always keep a couple handy at all times. If you set up the automatic monthly shipments of the bars you save $10 which is very good. I have checked and some of the heath food stores carry them but they are higher priced then ordering them online.

What a difference just ten months has made in my life. The pictures below says it all. The first picture was taken just before my surgery. I had already lost 41 lbs before my surgery on June 1, 2011. The second picture was taken April 1, 2012 - just ten months later. I have lost 148 lb in all now and have just 46 more to go. This journey has been totally amazing. I could not be any happier.

I must confess I am a "clothes-a-holic". I had two very full closets when I started this journey. My main closet had clothes that fit me or almost fit me and my second closet was my "wishing" closet. It was clothes that I had bought over the years on sale - always on sale - and that I "wished" would fit me someday. I have had to buy very few clothes because like some of the others said I am satisfied with fewer clothes that fit me nicely. It is amazing what a difference 150 lbs can make. Another reason is that I am retired now and don't need to dress up to work every day so that has saved me a lot of money. But I really shop the sales to find clothes at a good price. I have been real fortunate to find some very nice things at Kohl's and with all the coupons and discounts they have I have saved a lot of money. Good Luck on your journey and have fun shopping the bargins.

Thanks, I feel great. Not bad at all for 64 years old.

My four year old granddaughter saw a picture of me before I lost weight and asked my husband what happened to me in that picture. Why did I look like that? We got a good laugh out of that.

I too was a huge Diet Coke fan. I couldn't go a day without at least a 2 liter of DC. I stopped cold turkey just before I started at the Bariatric Center. I really don't miss it. Now I "treat" myself to a Caffine Free Diet Coke once a month at a special monthly event. I really don't even crave it anymore but it is just a treat. I do not find that it causes me any problems but I drink it very slowly and it takes me most of the day to drink one. As for as it stretching the stomach I don't see it at all but I am not done with my journey yet. I definitely do not have any problems drinking the DC.

I had about the same thing happen to me. I had three piece suits that still had the tags on them and the consignment shop was being so picky about them that I just left. I have taken probably ten large boxes of clothes to one of our local churches that has a store for the poor and needy. They love me when I walk in. I got the tax deduction and some ladies in the community have some very nice clothes.

I started to notice hair loss at about 3 or 4 months out. I started taking Boitin and also my hairdresser suggested I use volumizing shampoo and conditioner. I have been really pleased with the results of the combination of the two things.

I noticed hair loss at about 3 months. I started taking Boitin and it really helped stop my hair loss. The other my hairdresser suggested is to use volumizing shampoo and conditioner. I have been really pleased with the results of the combination of the two.

The Living XL catalog just arrived and I took one look at it and realized that I don't need to buy from it anything anymore. Woo Hoo. This is exciting news to me. It is the small things in life that really count.

That is so funny. I am the same way. When I was much larger I had a hard time finding things I wanted to wear and now I find all kinds of clothes that are going to be way to big for me much easier than clothes my size now. I love clothes shopping but usually end up not buying much because the styles are so different in the smaller sizes. I know that I will get used to it but it still hard to grasp to shop ten sizes smaller than I did just a year ago. I still have 48 lbs to go so I don't want to buy to much yet. Oh my my what a problem I do have.

I enjoyed reading your story. I can relate on so many things you said except that I had insurance that covered my tests and surgery. I can't even begin to explain how pleased that I am that I finally stepped up to the issue and made the decision to have the surgery. It is the little things that come up every day that make me so thankful that I had the surgery. Just this morning I thought about the fact that when I had jury duty a couple of weeks ago they didn't put me at the end of the row and I was able to sit on the chairs in the middle of the row without any problem. I hadn't even thought of it until this morning. I just couldn't possibly be any happier that I had the surgery. I was 63 years old when I had the surgery and I feel like I have had a new lease on life. It is just amazing. I now eat normally and when we go out to eat I actually take home the rest for another meal. That was unheard of before I had the surgery. Like I said the rewards are wonderful. I know you will be pleased with your decision. Good Luck!!!

Since I have had my surgery I have had so many people volunteer to give me excuses as to why they can't lose weight. I tell them I only have one reason as to why I was so heavy. I ate too much of the wrong foods. That is the only reason I have. It seems like everyone wants to justify to me their situation. I don't ever say anything to them about their weight but they seem to think they need to let me know their situation. I get amused sometimes and a little irritated at other times listening to all those crazy excuses. I could probably write a book. On another note, I went to my dentist the other day and after he had worked on me for two hours he asked if he could take a picture of me. He said the picture they had in my file did not look like me. They sent me a copy of the two pictures. I'll try to attach them below. I am not at goal but I have lost 142 lbs and have about 52 yet to go. I could not possibly be more pleased with the results of my surgery. I have had absolutely NO complications and I can eat whatever I want to eat - just not much of it. I can't say enough good things about the VSG. It has changed my life forever.

I can't tell you how important it is for you to keep a personal journal of your thoughts and feelings during this life changing process. Before I had surgery I wrote a journal entry nearly every day. I haven't read those entries until today. What a difference a year made in my life. The struggles I had a year ago are not even in the picture now. I wish I had been more diligent in journaling since I had my surgery because the NSV's that I have had are amazing. I was totally unaware of the extent of the NSV's that I would experience. I have kept of daily record of my weights tho and even that is astounding. Again, I want to express how important it is to journal.

I can't tell you how important it is for you to keep a personal journal of your thoughts and feelings during this life changing process. Before I had surgery I wrote a journal entry nearly every day. I haven't read those entries until today. What a difference a year made in my life. The struggles I had a year ago are not even in the picture now. I wish I had been more diligent in journaling since I had my surgery because the NSV's that I have had are amazing. I was totally unaware of the extent of the NSV's that I would experience. I have kept of daily record of my weights tho and even that is astounding. Again, I want to express how important it is to journal.

One of my good friends just went thru chemo treatments and was so concerned about me having surgery but now that she has seen how well I have done and that I have had no complications she is ok. However, every time I talk to her she asks me how I am feeling - almost like she is expecting me to say that I feel bad. I have never felt better than I do now and I tell her that.

I cooked for the family and ate a little bit of each thing. One thing different that I did was that I set a large plate for me though. Normally, I eat on a small plate. Anyway, I had so company and wasn't able to weigh in until this morning. I lost two lbs. I thought that was very interesting.

A funny thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. My hubby took a pic of me with his phone. The other day he showed me the pic and I didn't even recognize myself. My face has changed so much. He got a good laugh about that.