gabybab

Hello everyone! I just joined the forum today. Had my surgery almost 3 months ago and lost about 44 pounds. Most of the weight was lost within the first month, and my weight loss slowed down almost to a stop. I became very frustrated. Talked with my dietitian several times, and it turns out I haven't been eating enough. Who knew! I was eating around 500 calories a day, and exercising daily. Well, I had to up my intake to 800 to 1,000 calories. I'll see what happens.

So it's been a while since I posted - but progress has been amazing.
My VSG was 5/1/17.  I dropped to 220lbs and stayed there for some time.  This was a huge win for me - so I decided to take the next step and I met with an amazing plastic surgeon who helped me with the next step - excess skin removal.  There were three things that needed to be addressed 1) abdominal hernia's 2) panniculectomy and a 3) abdominoplasty.
First, talk to your plastic surgeon - I spoke with several, and these are expensive procedures - but I finally found a surgeon that advised me that the panniculectomy could be covered by health insurance - and it was - saving me nearly $5000.  Overall I still paid $7k out of pocket - but way better than the $12 - $14k that I had been quoted by others.
I had my reconstructive surgery 1 month ago - the surgeon removed 14lbs of skin and fat - and I dropped a few more pounds - and am now weighing in at 195.  My highest weight was 445lbs.  I way less than when I started high school - and I feel amazing - I am still recovering from the surgery because it is fairly invasive - so pics to follow - but what an amazing journey - I never thought I would get here. 
My journey has been almost 14 years - a failed lap band, massive complications from that, weight gain and then struggling to gain the nerve to try again with the VSG - but my care team has been amazing - and I cannot thank them for giving me my life back.  At 52 I am the healthiest I have been since I was 14.  
Please remember, the journey can be tough, the struggles are real, the pain is there - but it's your life you are fighting for - and there is nothing more important than that.

Time for a status update:  
Yesterday marked my one year anniversary on Bariatricpal.com.  What a year it has been and I am so grateful for all the people here that have helped me along the way.  I'm also so grateful for @Alex Brecher for creating and maintaining this site for all of us.  I hope that my ongoing purchases of calcium and multivitamin supplements are enough to express my gratitude.  I'm a huge fan of the BariatricPal Multivitamin One 45.
I kept a journal starting in July of last year starting the 2nd day after I was serious about considering bariatric surgery.  Reading all the entries is very therapeutic to me. 
Looking back, I probably wouldn't have changed a thing about how I started and went through this process.  Almost everything has gone well in this journey for me.  Sure I've had my low points, but I seemed to have come out the other side very much in-tact. 
There's still a long road ahead once my real hunger returns, but I'm going to keep on the straight and narrow path of eating well and exercising every day until that happens and then some.
In celebration of my 1 year on this site, I thought I'd share one of my early personal journal entries:
 

3 days to go & I will be sitting  on the losers bench! So ready for this journey

I was sleeved February 15th at a weight of 228, I had lost 10 pounds the previous week while on a low carb pre-op diet.  By mid-March I was around 215, mid-April I weighed around 210, mid-May around 205 and mid-June around 202.  So I have been losing very slowly even though I have been very active and watching what I eat.  The last 2 weeks has been really odd as I was in Singapore for work and lost .5kg during the week, usually I gain on work trips.  Then since being home the last 6 days I have lost 5 pounds.  I have not seen this consistent weight loss since the first 10 days of surgery.  I am thinking my body is finally giving up on holding onto the extra weight.  I kept telling myself that at some point my weight has to go down, my calories are regularly around 900-1,100 calories per day.         
The good thing about this slow losing - no one has questioned my weight loss since it appears very slow and natural.  Other than my husband no one knows I had surgery and I intend to keep it that way.  

Day 2 of pureed food diet, 15 day post Sx. I'm eating lunch (leftover taco ground beef mixed with 2% cottage cheese) and wondering "Am I full? Am I full? How will I know I am full?" I've prepared about a 1/2 cup total and eaten about a half of that. Then I get the familiar pressure behind my sternum, like a burp is just sitting there wanting to come up. I hiccup a couple times and gas bubbles up from my belly. There's no feeling of fullness in my stomach, its all in my chest. I guess this is full for me? I am just learning what full feels like. For the new me, fullness isn't leaning back from the table with my hands on my belly wanting to unbutton my jeans. Fullness is a feeling low in my chest that the food has stopped going down. Air is trying to escape to make room. It's the feeling of really needing to burp. Still learning.
 

NSV this morning! I decided to try on a pair of size 16 jeans (from a plus size clothing store, so we all know they're probably closer to a size 18) and THEY FIT WITH ROOM TO SPARE! I haven't fit into these jeans comfortably for about 5 years. Woohoo! I have a serious love-hate relationship with this pre-op diet. 

Last Doctors visit was on 1/25/19 and weight was 224 lbs. that's a total of 31 lbs. lost from my starting weight.