ms.sss

*waits in anticipation*

Same here. I never thought of myself as so very big until I saw the rare picture of myself, and even then I'm was all, nah, that's not me. I would often bump into walls when turning corners because I didn't think I needed to give myself more clearance! Immediately after weight loss phase it became the opposite and I would think I was bigger than I actually was...like I wouldn't try to squeeze between the wall and the back of chair around the dinner table cuz I thought I wouldn't fit (but duh, I totally have lots of room). I'd like to say I'm totally used to my current size now, but there are still times when I laugh at the thought of getting myself into a tiny looking pair of pants (spoiler alert: I can). This non-believing doesn't happen as often as it used to, so I figure in time it will be a non-issue altogether.

So after almost a full week of a diet consisting solely of pecan butter tarts, raw carrots and espresso martinis (don’t judge me!) I finally felt legitimately hungry today and fixed myself some real food! It helped that I went for a longer than normal run on an empty stomach. Came back home around 3pm and felt hungrier than I can remember feeling for a loooooong time. Todays very satisfying meal consisted of various leftovers found in the fridge: cold steak, cold steamed broccoli, cold mushroom sauce, cold sautéed onions and 1/2 a piece of cold bacon. Yeah, I didn’t even bother to heat it up cuz i knew i was going to eat it all, and that it would take a while. So yeah, 232 calories, ate it all over roughly 1.5 hours (while I was watching Wonder Woman 1984, natch): ...am already looking forward to dinnertime!

ok, i opened the page in Safari (vs.Chrome) and it played fine. HUGE, but fine, lol. P.S. Love the demo lolololololzzzz... the thumbs up in end...😂

Neither doc nor myself set any weekly/monthly goals. Weight loss rates vary from week to week, and the overall rate slows down the further out/smaller you get. So adhering to a fixed number of lbs lost every week over time may be difficult at best. Doc did say that if I were to lose 60% of my excess weight (based on ideal weight/BMI of 25) then he would consider it a successful outcome. For my starting BMI of 43, this calculated to mean a 60lbs loss == successful outcome (which btw, would have had me at 175 lbs, at a BMI of 32...still in "obese" category). He also said if I were to reach this milestone within year, he would be happy. He was happy. P.S. I'm BMI 21 today.

lol is it just me or is everyone seeing a blank screen with just the sound of zippers opening and closing??

Since you don't want to waste the shakes you already spent money on, you can try mod-ing them a bit: add more water blend with lots ice add a tsp or two of instant decaf coffee crystals (my personal fave) PB2 powder, sugar-free instant hot chocolate (never tried, but read good reviews) blend with a few berries freeze and eat like ice cream/popsicle

You definitely can and SHOULD!

I think when properly fitted, they are pretty challenging to manoeuvre in and out of... @GreenTealael and @Darktowerdream had them...any input ladies?

There is a poop/pee hole in mine (which is why Mr loves it so...lololzzz). So i used this to pee. I pulled mine to the side to make sure it didn’t get wet...though im sure i had accidents. But i never used it to poop though. Im one of those can-only-poop-at-home-naked-on-toilet-and-take-shower-immediately-afterwards people...so I never tried..but the thought of getting some poop material on it and walking around at work would gross me out.. further, my faja was not as tight as it should’ve been (i was very unsuccessful finding one in my size that was NOT $300), so taking mine off and on was quite easy. p.s. I didn’t wear it very often (due to loose fit) only when my other garments were in the wash.

Meant to write more yesterday but got distracted. So let me properly pay due to your wicked results (lol): Skin on your abdomen is nice and pulled tight! And your waistline is super defined...nice work doc! And did he even cut u a new belly button?? Cuz it looks original to me. Your boobs honestly look fab in both ur before and afters in ur bra...but I suppose the money shot would be a topless after pic in all its gravity-defying glory. Very happy that u are happy and that you are on the super-fast track to recovery! p.s. don’t forget to stay on top of the poop

Wow the changes are dramatic! Sooooooo happy for you! Yay to being a good healer! And a good-looker! A nice fitted faja makes you look and feel even MORE fabulous. My Mr. has a bit of a fondness of me in mine (faja fetish, anyone? Lolololzsss) Get more than one if u can! also, gentle reminder to stay on top of the pooping ❤️ P.S. Think its time to start a plastics before an after thread!!! I heart before and after threads.

Mark me down as another semi-immediate coffee drinker. I have had one 500ml thermos of black coffee every morning since 1 month op. I would sometimes have a smaller second (or third!) cup later in the day/night (but not always). I heart coffee.

- if both surgeries are just as easy to fail as they are to succeed, why do the research charts show this difference? Research is based on averages. The numbers you are quoting do not apply to everyone in exactly the same way....it is an aggregate of those who reach goal AND those who don’t. 1 person loses 100 lbs. Another loses 40 lbs. Average weight loss of this “control group” is 70lbs...which is no where near what each person actually lost. @catwoman7 probably explained this better than me In her earlier post, lol Second, if you need to rely on averages for your peace of mind, it may be worth your while then to look into the makeup of the studied. Age, gender, starting weight, lifestyle habits, medical conditions, genetics, etc. Daunting, yes, but more informative and contextual. But really, wanna beat the average? Stick to plan more consistently than the “average” person (barring any medical conditions of course). Also, I wanted to ask, did you get to choose the size boujie you wanted for your sleeve or know what size Dr used for you?? Doc just did his thing with no input from me. I have no idea how what size he used! Also, did you cravings and hunger completely return after 6 months or it does but slightly? My hunger levels and occurrences has not returned to pre-op levels. I can’t remember when I first felt hungry though (it was months in)...but I do remember it was a rare occurrence. Even now at 2+ years out, i still have days of just not wanting/forgetting to eat. When i do get hungry, it isn’t the ravenous kind of hunger though. And it doesn’t take much to satisfy it. Lastly, can you just do complete Keto during the first year after surgery so you stay under 20 net carbs and in ketosis? Or our body doesn't need to be in fat burning mode because of the surgery? I didnt do full-on Keto during weight-loss phase because there was no way I could get in the percentage of fat required...but I did do ultra-low carb (20 net carbs max) during that time. But number of grams of carbs consumed is no where near as important as total calories consumed for weight loss. Though going low carb does tend to make me look lean. For my body this is good, cuz i can see more muscle definition, but for my face, not so good, as I look Skelator-ish. Since I have been consuming a higher number of net carbs (anywhere in the 100-175 range) my face looks much nicer, but the bod looks “soft” P.S. sorry this was so long

My 2-week pre-op diet was 3 protein shakes a day. My surgeon provided me with OPTIFAST brand powder packets that I put in a blender with water, 1 tsp of instant decaf coffee crystals and a bunch of ice. Each shake was 225 calories (23g protein, 17g carbs, 8g fat). P.S. FYI: After surgery, I switched to ISOPURE brand powders, which was less sweet, less calories, more protein and zero carbs.

K, I'm going to echo what was said by several posters: its not the surgery that dictates success, it's the individual. I was sleeved over 2 years ago. I chose sleeve because: The idea of re-routing my intestines freaked me out (but for some reason removing most of my stomach didn't. LOL) I wanted to keep my pyloric valve intact, as I was taking NSAIDS and another time-release med (but surprise, surprise I ended up not needing them anymore after surgery) I was scared of dumping syndrome (again, suprise, surprise, I dump anyway) I was NOT prone to GERD My surgeon was completely comfortable doing either surgery on me. I started off at a BMI of 43 (235 lbs). I got to goal of BMI 23 by 7 months post-op. Lost a few more pounds figuring out what my caloric level should be but finally settled into BMI 21, and have been maintaining my weight of 115 (+/- 5 lbs) for over a year and a half. I am 2 years, 3 months post op. I have stayed below my goal weight (more than 100% excess weight lost) the entire time. I have read accounts from other sleever's and rNy'ers similar to mine. I have also read accounts from both sleever's and rNy'ers who reached goal and regained, or never reached goal at all....I also don't see an obvious co-relation of results to the type of surgery underwent. (On another note, I have to date only read of ONE person who was more than 2 years out who was under BMI 18 AND had difficulties keeping weight on...but I digress). Barring any medical issues, so long as you maintain a caloric deficit, you should expect to lose the same amount of weight with either surgery. Good Luck!

2 weeks pre-op vs. today (2+ years post wls)

Fabulous!!!

Im in the same boat as @Arabesque. I sopped taking my vitamins in March last year (~1.5 years post op, or 8 mnths into maintenance). I had labs done this past june as well as December and all my levels came back satisfactorily. Also the results of a bone density scan done in December was of no concern. Maybe check with your doc/have labs done to see if it is in fact required? P.S. I was sleeved too.

It varies from person to person. You will eventually find out what these are for you. I am 2+ years out and there is nothing that is completely off the table for me (tolerance-wise), only amounts: i can only have sugar, pork and fluffy bread products in small amounts. Sugar because I’ll get sick, pork and fluffy bread because it fills me up FAST.

This unnerved me at the time. Sometimes I thought it was looking up at me when i was seated. Lololololzzz it’s like, “why, hello, haven’t seen ya in a while!”

Sending good vibes ❤️

thinking of you! rest up and can't wait for those bikini pics!!! lolololzzzz

Yeah, I’ve seen/read many posts of various members that annoy/bother/upset me. Crossing paths with those whose views (and how they express them) that are antithetical to yours is a reality in life. I mean, we are all different, so of course there will be a whole spectrum of beliefs/thoughts/actions out there. For the most part, I just ignore it and move on. Though there have been instances when I felt VERY strongly AGAINST something posted and I would post a reply...mostly for the attempted benefit of the other readers of the thread, as in my experience, its is very unlikely that one can change the mind of the “offending” OP. I find that the helpful generally outnumber the unhelpful on here, so there is hope. P.S. The VERY unhelpful have been known to get booted out of here by administrators (Mikey/Superman, anyone?), i think in part to others “reporting” the unhelpful behaviour. So PSA to anyone: use the “Report” button if you feel someone crossed the line...its there for a reason. P.P.S. Using the term “unhelpful” may not be indicative of what I’m trying to convey, but I’m sure y’all know what I mean.