XtinaDoesIt

Hi Miratia. It sucks that you haven't lost any weight yet! I know how frustrating that feeling is when you are doing everything you can and it seems like nothing is working. And as much as I like this forum, sometimes it just sucks seeing how much others are losing. But I've also heard from other people here who didn't lose right away or lost slowly and still met their goals. To help myself remain calm and focused on my many stalls, I picked a date 6 months in the future and told myself I would not beat myself up about weight loss or lack of it until then no matter what. I know that if I stick to the plan I HAVE to be closer to my goal by then. Forget thinking that this is an instant fix because if you don't, your frustration might let you give up. And that would suck more.
On another note, your procedure (ESG) seems really cool. I didn't even know it was a thing. I researched it after I read your post. So you don't have any incisions? I'm curious if there are other veterans of that procedure who could weigh in on the typical weight loss and provide you with some reassurance. I feel like most of the veterans here who are super active had the VSG or bypass. I did scan the ESG forum and it does seem like the weight loss is slightly less than VSG. So make sure you are not comparing yourself to someone who had a different procedure and different stats.

I have loved this weight loss bonus! So much more room in my suitcase, I can pack waaayyy more clothes and shoes when I travel!

Wearing shorts without chaffing... much 😁. I cant wait not to chafe at all!!!

UPDATE:
No new changes, really. Stomach feeling better and better each day. Still sleeping on my back. Had my one week checkup today which just amounted to the doc (one of his associates as my surgeon was not available this week) checking my stomach and asking if I was doing ok with fluids and my meds. He said the first visit they just concentrate on recovery but during my next visits they will start concentrating on weight loss and hitting goals. He said the tugging and burning I feel inside when I do try and lay on my side or move certain ways is normal and that it will be that way for a while. Said wearing a binder MAY help it feel better enough to allow me to sleep on my sides so I may try looking for one. But he said no turning or anything I do can hurt my insides so that at least was reassuring.
I also forgot to mention in the beginning of this post that my surgeon took pics while he was doing the surgery and gave them to me. I think there are like 6 or 8 views of my stomach before and after, my gallbladder, liver, a hernia he found, etc. LOL He said my gallbladder looked healthy and he did see a small hernia around my belly button but did not think it was gonna be an issue so he didn't touch it. Hopefully that won't become an issue later cause I think I'll be mad he didn't fix it while he had the chance.

Mine is to be able to tuck in a cute blouse with some jeans and be abled to see the belt buckle lol

Wearing shorts without chaffing... much 😁. I cant wait not to chafe at all!!!

Hi all!
So I just came back from vacation where I ate solids, drank alcohol and had edibles! Good times! But don't worry, I am back to my dull healthy life
I did read some post about drinking after the sleeve and was super cautious about it. However, for me, I was able to handle my alcohol just fine. For reference, Im a whiskey girl and I drank it straight to avoid soda and sugar. I also had some vodka spiked mimosa's.
Now, I'm not much of a smoker and prefer alcohol to marijuana but every once in a while I'll have an edible. This time, I had half a Gummy worm and experienced a full high! After laughing uncontrollably for 2 hours I knocked out for 4 hours! Then I woke up an ate a full meal! No restrictions! The following day I had a small bite of the remaining half of the gummy and felt the SAME high as the night before. I ate 6 chicken wings and a chicken tender! Thats a whole lot of food for me right now.
Personally, edibles are not my favorite distraction but this was definitely a different experience post surgery. I am SOO happy I didn't eat the whole gummy. BE WARNED!

I might actually go to a friend from college's wedding in June instead of sending my usual gift and excuses.

I wasn't told to take it but I'm still pretty constipated 3 months out. I can go a week without a movement. So I just added it to my routine from the advice I've received here. Big help. Still not as regular as I want to be but at least my movements aren't painful.

So I got my second Pfizer shot Saturday. The first shot I had no issues other than a sore arm and I thought I had a few bites (flea? Spider) on my arm that itched….. no big deal. Can you see where this is going?
The second shot: I got it Saturday morning and then I had to rush out to go to an event. I wore long sleeves and long pants…. I didn’t realize until I got home and got in the shower that I had an allergic reaction. Hives. They are now pretty much everywhere except my face/hands/and feet. They were in my throat for the first two days but those have receded.
benedryl does nothing. I have a call in with my dr and they are going to figure something out hopefully. I want the itch to stop!!!

I was so happy when my 21 day stall was over. I dropped 7 lbs too. One week later, another stall.... But at least I know there will be gold at the end of the rainbow... I hope this one is shorter though...

Wearing shorts without chaffing... much 😁. I cant wait not to chafe at all!!!

I haven't had surgery yet, but I have been doing A LOT of researching about how important exercise is to prevent re-gain. I have traditionally been very down on any exercise except walking because it's so hard for me. I'm down 32 lbs as I prepare for surgery and today I did a 15 minute dance exercise video without stopping! It wasn't pretty, I didn't get all the moves right, but I did the whole thing!

This is sort of weird, but today I had an appointment with the surgeon who started me on this whole path. Years ago I went to him for an umbilical hernia, but it was small and not painful, so nothing needed to be done. Last year in January, I went back to him to have my gallbladder removed and mentioned that I had been having elevated liver enzymes for a while and would be seeing a specialist. He biopsied my liver when he took out the gallbladder. At my follow up, he said my liver was really bad (NASH, hepatic fibrosis), and recommended wls. He told me he couldn't see me living past 60 if I stayed that way, at 393 pounds. So I took his advice and had my Loop DS in July. Last week I had severe stomach pain and nausea and dry heaves, and would have vomited if my stomach wasn't empty at the time and I almost fainted, but was able to lay down in time to stop that. I've fainted before so I knew what was coming and was able to avoid it. The pain in my stomach was severe and then I noticed the hernia was big and sticking out and I couldn't push it back in and realized it might be the source of the pain. Anyway, I saw the surgeon today and he said the hernia was originally fat, but since I've lost so much weight,(148 so far), it is now intestine and the pain was because intestine got caught in the hole, and later when I laid down the intestines fell back through the hole and the pain got better.
Anyway, sorry this is long, but now I have to get this hernia repaired, but I got to show off my weight loss to that surgeon that recommended it, and he was so happy for me. It was a great feeling!
He is the trauma surgeon in the ER where my best friend works, and he saw her after my appointment and told her he didn't even recognize me!
It's just a wonderful feeling!

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Hi folks!
HW: 267
SW: 255
CW: 227
Height: 5'5
Can't believe I'm 3 month out already! I've lost almost 30 lbs since surgery. 40 lbs since January and I feel great! I was stalling A LOT the first 2 month. I've done so much extreme diets in the past, I think my body was used to it and was trying to wait me out. I haven't had any stalls this month though so I think my body is finally giving up on holding my fat cells hostage! LOL! I am eating roughly 700-1000 calories. I still mostly drink my calories with Protein shakes/drinks. I usually have yogurt for Breakfast, a handful of leftovers for lunch and dinner with protein and veggies or chili. I just started working out again last week. Mostly cardio and Yoga. I am hoping to lose another 30lbs by my birthday (September), then another 30 lbs to my goal by December. I've come to terms with the fact that I didn't dramatically lose a bunch of pounds and my journey is more slow and steady. I haven't brought any new clothes yet but I do feel more comfortable in the clothes I have now. I am thinking its time for some new bras but I want to hold out as long as possible. On a side note, my boyfriend has been so supportive and gone on this weight loss journey with me (without surgery). He is down almost 30 lbs too (MEN!). I think my slower loss keeps him motivated. We are like 3 lbs away from each other and have a mini race going on during our weekly check ins.

Thanks @NovaLuna! Thats so interesting about your April curse! Maybe you're more stressed in April or something? I need to cut down on sodium but salt is soooo good! lol! My blood pressure is generally high so I so watch it but I'll keep that in mind for my next stall. I don't know why but the last 3 weeks have actually been GREAT for me! I've been losing 2-3 lbs consistently. I'm scared to type this because I don't want to jinx it! I did start working out again last week and I think it really does make a difference. lol! I didnt have too much faith in it helping because I know working out only counts for a small precent of weight loss and I was feeling low energy. But I actually have more energy now that I am working out and eating more. I'm happier and losing more weight. Woop Woop!!! I think my body needed time to adjust.
Me: Im going to lose weight. *Does weight lost surgery, eats 600 cal a day*
Body: Here she does again. Time to hold on to all the weight until she gives up. I think I can hold out a few months.
Body in 3 months: Can't hold out any longer! Must actually burn fat cells!

Hi folks!
HW: 267
SW: 255
CW: 227
Height: 5'5
Can't believe I'm 3 month out already! I've lost almost 30 lbs since surgery. 40 lbs since January and I feel great! I was stalling A LOT the first 2 month. I've done so much extreme diets in the past, I think my body was used to it and was trying to wait me out. I haven't had any stalls this month though so I think my body is finally giving up on holding my fat cells hostage! LOL! I am eating roughly 700-1000 calories. I still mostly drink my calories with Protein shakes/drinks. I usually have yogurt for Breakfast, a handful of leftovers for lunch and dinner with protein and veggies or chili. I just started working out again last week. Mostly cardio and Yoga. I am hoping to lose another 30lbs by my birthday (September), then another 30 lbs to my goal by December. I've come to terms with the fact that I didn't dramatically lose a bunch of pounds and my journey is more slow and steady. I haven't brought any new clothes yet but I do feel more comfortable in the clothes I have now. I am thinking its time for some new bras but I want to hold out as long as possible. On a side note, my boyfriend has been so supportive and gone on this weight loss journey with me (without surgery). He is down almost 30 lbs too (MEN!). I think my slower loss keeps him motivated. We are like 3 lbs away from each other and have a mini race going on during our weekly check ins.

As I've said here before, I shared my surgery with a small group of friends and family--and I had a couple of very negative, judgmental reactions even within that group.
When other friends or acquaintances ask how I lost so much weight, I tell them it was a medically-supervised weight loss program. The only exception is if a very obese person asks, in which case I will tell the truth in hopes of inspiring them to do the same. I don't think it's fair to give them false hope that my results were achievable without surgery.
I will note that I have also had cancer and kept that information among a small group of people as well. Many people don't know how to respond when someone is dealing with cancer, and I didn't want to deal with that. It was a very personal and private journey for me.

My hangup with telling people about surgery proactively is that I worry it would cause harm to others. If someone with obesity approached me and asked me "how I did it," I would be 100% honest. But I don't want me being open about it proactively to be taken as a message that I think this is what an obese person "should do." I want to be respectful of my friends who are working really hard to feel good in their large bodies.
I've told about 9 people, all friends, no family. One of the people I disclosed it to, who is thin, had a very strained reaction, and essentially told me she couldn't engage in the conversation because of her background with eating disorders, which I wasn't aware of. She was maybe the 3rd or 4th person I told, and moving forward with the next few, I was very very tentative with how I told people, and made clear that I would answer questions, but that we didn't need to discuss it further since it's a sensitive topic.
food and weight are very complicated things for people and I want to be very careful with suddenly opening intimate conversations about them with unsuspecting friends.

Well...here goes...
My husband knows....and a coworker (inadvertently) because they saw me in the hospital. I do not plan on telling anyone else currently. Perhaps in the future I will be more open about it. So the question becomes why....
A small preamble: Diet, obesity, food, exercise etc has been a really big interest of mine for years. I have spent so much time researching so many things when it comes to this topic. I feel I am reasonably well versed in this topic. The problem is...most people are not.
Many people are still knee deep in the billion dollar diet industry that will argue about Keto, CICO, Southbeach, Atkins etc etc. Many people also believe that you can control your own weight...and if you are over the amount you should weigh, it is your fault. Many people don't think about the factories that make "food". Many people don't think about so many things that so many people deal with. Lots of people think having surgery is cheating.
My obesity is still very much tangled up in emotionally abusive things from childhood. The very last thing that I want to do is have a conversation about that with people I don't know, or only know professionally. This has been a long hard road to get here, but I don't need to explain myself to anyone.
Did it occur to you that maybe people shouldn't be commenting on people's bodies? Why would it be my place to ask someone about their weight? There are going to be many people that don't agree with surgery for whatever reason....frankly, it's not my job to enlighten people on what they should do with their lives. If someone wants to know the 'secret', then they can do the research and figure out what is best for them and their health issues.
I hate to tell you this....but the surgery stigma is alive because of the rhetoric of the billion dollar diet industry is alive and well in most people. The stigma isn't alive because a few people 'lied' about having surgery.
I also really hate the explanation: If you needed surgery because you broke your leg, you wouldn't be hiding that from anyone! But really...medical ailments and treatments can be embarrassing and private or shameful. If I needed a colostomy bag, I wouldn't put out a newsletter about it. Jesus.

I know it's no where near my goal and I've been losing pretty slowly compared to some but I'm finally consistently below 230! That's a big deal to me! Every time I try to lose weight, I always get stuck around 233 and eventually give up. I called it my "normal fat" weight where I don't hate myself. This feels like my first real milestone. 203 is next (my weight after my first year teaching).
I've been discouraged since surgery because my weight loss pattern is stalling 80% of the time and losing a few pounds overnight every 2-3 weeks. I'm averaging about 7 pounds a month and I'm still pretty early out. But this is a WIN for me! I think this WILL work for me! It just might take some time.
AND I started working out this week. Fingers crossed that it speeds things up (or keeps things going).

I was sleeved 2/5. Down 88 lbs total (62 post op). Feeling great!

You’re doing so well, Jaye W! I’ve been slowly trucking along with loss on the scale, but the inches lost make me happy. I haven’t bought any new clothes but urgently need new bras. I have some smaller clothes in my closet (previous yo yo dieter) and yesterday put on a pair of size 14 jeans (no stretch)! I’ve been in my first mini-stall for about a week and a half but I am practicing patience knowing it’s just a blip.
I was an exerciser pre-weight loss but I’ve added more strength training in addition to cardio days. I feel stronger and more flexible. Getting up from the floor is easier! I’m about where you are calorie wise. Remember that with exercise you need to fuel your body. I am probably still eating about 3 oz of Protein per meal and sometimes I can add veggies but usually I can’t. I have a Protein Shake daily to meet my protein goals but may experiment with adding a snack in instead. I know I can’t eat 30 grams of protein though so a shake is such an easy add.
Working on my mindset and appreciating my body how it is now, knowing that great changes are on the way. Reminding myself that I can’t hate my body into something I love. Sometimes I feel like I’m disconnected from my body—an outside observer—so I am trying to connect with myself more through meditation and gratitude journaling.
ETA: one of the reasons I feel disconnected is that I have BTDT in regards to a smaller body/weight loss. Maybe I don’t want to get too attached in case it’s like all the other times I lost weight only to regain it back? Mindset adjustment for sure.

Just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing.
HW 264
SW 235
CW 195
GW 130
Height 5’5”
BMI 32.6
I was sleeved 2/24/21 and am down 40 lbs since surgery and 69 lbs overall. I recently made it to Onederland and am down 3 sizes- gave all my pre-surgery clothes to a friend! Finding this is very doable and sticking with program. Using Baritastic app to track macros/ meet Protein and fluid goals. I am attending support group hosted by my surgeon’s practice and belong to a couple other online bariatric social groups/ recipe groups.

I am so happy I did this and looking forward to meeting my goal weight sometime. I eat between 650-900 calories per day ( not per surgeon- just the info from my tracking app) and exercise daily. I worry I am too high in calories but I feel good and the weight continues to come off- 5 lbs this week. Looking to start weight lifting to add muscle and help with sagging skin.

I would love to hear how you are all doing.

I am loving all the responses in this thread, it's inspiring!
Over the last few weeks I've logged a few more NSVs: I can feel my hipbone - hello old friend! My wedding ring is getting loose. My tighter fitting shoes are feeling loose. And my new favorite NSV: I can walk up the hill near my house without dropping into 1st gear or needing to stop for a break! 😍