YeaMe

Woooo hoooo! Today is the day I hit goal. It all feels like a dream, a very, very good one. Since my surgery on February 15, I have lost 77 lbs. Since the beginning of my weight loss journey beginning on 1/1/2016, I have lost a total of 125 lbs! Woah, that is insane. I have gone from a size 24 to 6/8. Has it totally changed my life? No. Has it changed it for the better? Absolutely. I could list a hundred things, but I won't. A few: I don't dread getting dressed, I can keep up with others at the gym, I love being able to eat a small amount and be totally satisfied (never thought I would ever say that). Everything good far outweighs the bad. The only bad thing is the damage it has done to my skin. Which puts me in a dilemma. I have started dating again and frankly don't see the necessity of telling anyone at this point that I have had surgery. If I find someone that I am serious about, we can have that discussion. Dilemma - I have a 5th date with a great guy. He has no idea the condition of my body because I've always worn jeans and a shirt to cover my arms. Well, we are getting a little further into it and of course I am getting a little worried about his reaction when we become intimate and it will definitely happen sooner rather than later because we have a very strong chemistry, in we cannot keep our hands off each other. I tried to mentally put myself in his place and am not sure what my reaction would be to. To me the lose skin is hard to look at but considering I have lost 125 lbs it could be a lot worse. I'm super self-conscious about my arms, the breasts have gone from a DD to a hanging B, the stomach is wrinkly, but does not have a huge hang, my legs are pretty droopy and the butt is 75% gone, not pretty. So, here is the dilemma - do you start off with a warning or just let things roll? I love talking to my adult daughter about it - she says, mom you are gorgeous and he has told you the same thing - wear the cute sleeveless dress, and rock what you wear. The skin is what it is, it's not going anywhere. I would love to get other's opinions, especially the guys. Eeek - this all is crazy

Okay all, I thought I would follow up on this. Over the last couple of weeks I have been wearing more revealing clothing - arms showing, knees showing, etc. I never said anything, but as Berry78 said, it was obvious with the shorter my arm sleeves and shorter skirts . It ended up that I could have had two heads, it wouldn't have mattered!!! All is good in paradise. Thanks for everyone's input.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I was thinking the same thing because I am so secure in every other aspect of my life and the sudden show of insecurity would totally throw him and me off. This is the last mental battle I have to deal with on this journey. At the beginning I told myself I probably wouldn't have any plastic surgery, but starting to rethink it. Although I am 58, I'm fortunate to have a face of a 40 yr old. So to have the body of a 70 yr old, really throws me off! Again, thanks!

I am right there with you. People are constantly telling me I am getting too skinny? Really!?!?!? I have appointed one person, my daughter, to tell me when to stop. She says I am looking quite nice. She said mom, your collar bone is supposed to stick out (I thought I had a growth I hadn't seen it in so long). My body is so droopy it's frightening. I look facing the mirror and see something hanging in the back. It is what is left of my poor booty. I am single and just starting to date, so not sure what craziness will come about. I'm sure I should start a journal. I am almost 60, and said I wouldn't go through the pain and money to have surgery to fix my drooping body. I am slowly changing my mind. I would do arms, then legs. I would like a new booty, but I'll see.

From the beginning, I have treated my weight loss as a journey I will continue - not as a short-term "diet." Once all foods were allowed, I ate what I wanted. If I want a corn tortilla and it fits into my 3.5 ounce meal, I have it. I tried for a month going low carb - under 35g - and I didn't lose weight any faster. I don't eat processed starches everyday, but if I want a few crackers, I have them. I have learned that if I don't eat what I am wanting, even in a small quantity, I will overdo it on other things I really don't want. I used to be of the mindset that if I have one bite, I will have gone down the rabbit hole never to return. Thankfully my mind has clicked. I think it is because I know that this is how it will be from now on. I do measure all my food and eat 90% protein, but also allow myself to have a few bites of other food groups, even those that are not protein heavy.

Caffeine.

Beginning Friday, August 25, I was in my house for SEVEN days without leaving. I was scheduled to go out of town that weekend and it was still up in the air what would happen in Houston once Harvey hit, so I didn't bother to do any grocery shopping. Well, that was a mistake. My new motto - ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR THE UNEXPECTED! I ended up not going out of town because of my pups (who were being watched by my neighbor) because I didn't want to leave them "alone" for too long and wasn't sure if I could get back into town. Okay, that was a good call. I literally sat in my house by myself (with the exception of an evening with neighbors to watch football) for seven days. Everything was closed so I had to live off of what I had and donations of my my sweet friends because of my lack of preparedness. Due to stress of the hurricane coming, preparing my house, worrying about my family in Corpus Christi where Harvey was to hit, I barely slept. Being tired, anxious, and bored is not a good combo for dieting. I literally ate all day long, everyday. The good news, is it would be a few almonds, a few grapes, a piece of cheese, etc. Then I ran out of the good options and was resorting to crap food - popcorn, crackers, etc. Fortunately for me, the anxiety of the event led me running around the house, up and down stairs, etc., constantly checking to make sure nothing was leaking or water wasn't coming in. I cleaned all my closets and got rid of all my old clothes, put shelf paper down and cleaned out my pantry, cleaned the house two or three times, did some mending, and had a couple of solo dance parties. The aftermath of being home for 10 days was not being on my eating plan, and not doing my routine exercise. I'm fortunate in that I only gained one pound. As of 3 days ago, I am back on my eating and exercise plan and am so HAPPY!! I have never missed "normal" so much in my life. I also feel like I won the lottery; I lost neither my car nor my house while so many others suffered so much. Those in the path of Irma are in my thoughts and prayers!

Someone please tell me the antidote - so many people would thank you! I was out on a date and ate at least 6 GasX and hid in the bathroom for 10 minutes waiting for it to work. The guy thought I had gone out the back door! Have learned to take GasX on the way out the door, ALWAYS have it on you, and always take perfume!

Yes, I can drink alcohol. I didn't have any until I was 4 months out. I will not drink any alcohol after I eat because I do not want it sitting in my esophagus. I will have a glass of wine before a meal or an hour or two after a meal. I'm surprised how much I do not miss it. I think the weight loss has helped me focus on other things. I only have 1 or 2 drinks a month at most, as I am still trying to get to goal. I plan on still keeping the alcohol to the minimum after I reach my goal, so I can stay at goal.

Well, she will be losing a drinking buddy. But, she can now be your walking buddy. I told my daughter I was going to have to find all new friends because I knew my lifestyle would greatly change. Two of my friends are encouraged by my weight loss and will walk with me and another friend bought a bike and we go cycling. So, I am converting them all slowly to my lifestyle. Yeah, I did loose a few, but I'm okay with that. I pick me!

I have a ton of girl's nights out. I didn't not go out for the first 3 1/2 months to get myself on track, and frankly, had no desire to because I was so focused on my plan. I realized I had the rest of my life to go out. Now, I go out frequently. I don't necessarily drink each time, but if I do, I will order a glass of white wine, or vodka/cranberry. I limit myself to one because of the empty calories, and I have it before I put any food in my stomach so I'm not eating and drinking. One thing you will find, that can sabotage you, is when you are a little buzzed you will be looser on your food choices. Believe me, I was a 4-6 drink person when I went out. I've been saving a ton of money because I now have 1 to zero drinks, and always split a meal with someone. You have to make a commitment to yourself that it is what you really want. If you do, it makes it a lot easier to comply.

I had my gastrologist and my surgeon confer because I had really bad GERD, had Barrett's, which is pre-cancer cells (which I had been treated for and have been clean of for three years). In addition, I had a hiatal hernia. We weighed all the options and the risks. My surgeon recommended the bypass, which I would not have done. Why? A good friend had a bypass and she constantly dumps, is as pale as a ghost, 80% of her hair has fallen out and she just looks sickly all the time. My gastrologist cleared me for the sleeve. The issue with the sleeve and esophageal cancer is one way to remove the cancer is they have to cut out the cancerous portion and pull up the stomach to meet the healthy esophagus. Since they remove a lot of your stomach, there won't be enough stomach to pull up. Someone may think I'm crazy for having the procedure done, but I have committed to yearly scoping and to stay away from the triggers. Not everyone develops GERD who has the gastric sleeve. You just have to be diligent and follow your surgeon's plan - most have you taking something for the acid for the first 3-6 month. At my six month check up they told me to stop taking my ppi. I'll admit, I was terrified. Before surgery if I didn't take it I couldn't even drink water. I weaned myself off of it and I have had zero problems and have never felt better. I do believe a lot of it had to do with my diet change - no eating until I'm stuffed, minimal alcohol, no diet cokes, no chocolate or sweets, no fried foods, minimal spicy foods. Also, I quit eating after 7:00 p.m. Of course the huge weight loss helps a lot too. I only told one friend about the surgery. Has my life changed? Absolutely! My entertainment isn't going out eating and drinking anymore. I thought I would be sad about it but I have found other things to do now. Hiking, biking, gym, kayaking, which are way more fun than eating and drinking and you feel good after doing them. Is this surgery worth it?!?!?!? A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y! My regret, as many others will say, is I didn't do it sooner.

Congrats!!!!

I too had a hiatal hernia and it is a very common practice for them to fix it at the same time as doing the sleeve.

I went today for my 6 month check up - down 72 lbs per the doctor's scale and I am no longer considered overweight! My surgeon said I was a star pupil as I am 6 lbs from goal. I now think I will probably go lower than my original goal, as getting in over 1,000 calories a day would have me eating ALL day long and that sounds like a lot of work and no time to get in liquids. I will see how things look and feel. I have appointed my daughter as the one to tell me if I need to level out and stop losing. My friends thought I was too thin 10 lbs ago. Really, too thin at 170! I think not. I spoke with the nutritionist and asked her where I should go from here in relation to food. She said do exactly what you are doing. She said to get in at least 100g of protein (400 Calories), 40g of fat (360 calories) and 50-100g of carbs (200-400 calories). Right now I average 50g carbs, 105g protein, 20g fat which equals out to around 800 calories a day. Sounds like I could be adding butter to my dishes! This is such an amazing journey and I know it will continue. Best thing I have ever done for myself. Only regret is I didn't do it sooner!

Here is what I ate yesterday: Breakfast - latte with 1 cup Fairlife skim milk Snack - Protein Pumpkin low-carb muffin Lunch - 3 oz of grilled chicken, 1/4 cup of green beans, 1/4 cup of red beans (minus the rice) Snack - 1/2 Quest Protein bar (made into cookies) Dinner - Same as lunch (went out for lunch so saved for dinner and threw the rest away) Snack - 1/2 Quest Protein bar (made into cookies) That equals out to roughly 750 calories. I am single so I rarely cook but have found some really good ways to eat healthy!

You are lucky you went that long without a stall. I personally "stall" 2 weeks out of every month. A stall is basically not seeing the scale go down. I promise, your body is not stalling, it is just busy dealing with the changes and reorganizing, and will show the pounds lost when it is good and ready.

That is good news. Keep focused on the future.

Both of you are really the norm. Yeah, we think it should fall of because we are eating so little. I promise it will come off - the body is doing some readjusting. It works, just stay on the plan and you have to work on the protein, even if it is sipping protein shakes all day long, which I had to do for the first 3 months.

600-700 calories is fine starting off, especially since you are only 5 weeks out. You just need to concentrate on protein and fluids.

I feel like I have been in a stall my entire journey. I recently was in a 2 1/2 week stall. Started eat around 1,100 calories, instead of my usual 800, and stopped exercising. I have lost 5 lbs in a week!!! For each person it is different and sometimes you just have to shake things up. Though early on, it is VERY normal to stall, then it will start falling off again.

I personally would not have had the energy to enjoy a vacation like that. I never took pain meds once I left the hospital, but I was very nauseous for 5 days, dizzy for about 14 days, and no energy, I mean ZERO, for 5 weeks. Some people feel fine within a week, some it takes 6 weeks or more. There is no way to predict how you will feel after the surgery. I would put off surgery until after the trip. There is a LOT one needs to focus on the first 3 months after surgery.

I average 50-75 a day and have since the beginning. I'm 6 months out. Some people tolerate them, some not so much. Could I possibly lose faster if I went to 30? Probably. But I've decided to look at this as how I will live my life forever. Someone posted: eat now how you plan on eating for the rest of your life. I took that to heart and am doing just that.

The stalls can be very frustrating but I have come to realize, I am usually ALWAYS in a stall, until one morning I step on the scale and it goes down 3-4 lbs. I don't get it, but there is no getting around it. Just know that it will come off if you follow the rules. Best of luck!

It can be frustrating and sometimes we feel we just don't do enough. At this point, the most important thing is to make sure you are getting your protein and water in. I too have a 3 hour daily commute and sometimes I just don't feel like it. I have started giving myself a pass and not beating myself up as I would have in the past. Maybe just schedule in your week a 30 min. walk 3-4 times a week, whether at lunch or on the weekends. Start there. You really are not that far out from surgery and it can take awhile to get your energy back (6 wks to 3 mos) and you are still healing. It's always hard to remember that because the scar has developed on the outside, but the inside takes a lot longer. You are doing really well on the weight loss - at your lower weight it comes off a few pounds at a time. I never would have thought that 6 mos from surgery I would be in a size 8! It still doesn't seem real. Enjoy the ride and follow the rules and you will be at your goal weight before you know it!