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Hi Carmen, I hope that I can provide some inspiration. I am 13 months post op - my new life (RNY) began on June 25, 2013. When I began my journey in January, 2013, I weight 331 pounds - I am only 5'2". I am 49 years old and was not able to work out. I had high blood pressure and used a C-Pap for sleep apnea. I was moving toward diabetes, but was not there yet. My joints, however, were horrible. I could not walk for more than a few minutes at a time due to knee pain. I saw a chiropractor weekly to manage my knee and back pain. Today I am at my goal weight - 127 pounds - that's 205 pounds lost!. I have a NORMAL BMI. I have never in my life woke up in the morning without the thought of how am I going to lose weight today. It is so very strange to be on maintenance! My RNY has been a nothing short of a miracle. I have tons of energy. I belong to the YMCA where I do Zumba, TurboKick, and BodyPump classes. I use the treadmill and elliptical trainer. I have absolutely no joint pain at all. My family traveled to the Black Hills of South Dakota over the Independence Day Holiday and we climbed to the top of Harney's Peak - the highest elevation East of the Rocky Mountains. I AM LIVING MY LIFE!! I am no longer watching from the sidelines as my family has fun - I am right there with them. It has taken hard work, dedication, and determination. I won't say that it was easy - and I still struggle with my relationship with food. But living life in this body is SO much better that I am determined to NEVER go back to the prison my obese body was before. If I can do this, anybody can!! Reach out for support here. There are terrific people here that helped me when I needed it. We are here for you!! Carol

First stall for me was at 3 weeks...it was depressing! I think I'm into stall #2 since I'm at the same weight for almost 3 weeks now (but I'm at 3 months post op)...had a good run, and hopefully this too will pass.

I don't weight myself regularly (last weight-in was a month ago at drs follow up) so not sure if I hit a stall or not, but noticed that clothes were fitting better and I was constantly updating my wardrobe, plus everyday I feel so much better about health and well being and have gained so much self confidence.

I'm getting some loose skin that I didn't have before weight loss. Also I don't really consider it a problem but my stomach does tend to rumble and grumble a lot when I am eating and for about an hour after. It's getting quieter and quieter as time passes sinces surgery though. And it's just making some noise, not causing me any pain or even discomfort. These are the only things that come close to problems. Physically I feel terrific and everything is in good working order

Awesome. I'm May 31. I'm finally able to tolerate chicken without pain. So happy. Very close to my protein goal. I had a protein shake for breakfast and 4 oz chicken salad for lunch. I should be there after dinner. I have my 6 wk post op appt this Thursday so I'll get any official weight. I also went for a nice walk earlier today and over all I'm feeling pretty good. For as much regret as I initially had, I am glad I made this choice. I'm already down one clothing size and even though it's not alot, it's really helped me to feel better about the way I look. I'm glad you're doing good. My teen daughter started weight watchers to track her points and had been walking with me also, so I think this change will benefit the whole family.

Congratulations on the best decision you'll ever make. I had my surgery 3 years ago in March and have lost 80 lbs. My beginning weight was 265. I feel great, I exercise and "it is" the best decision I've ever made. Good Luck. You're going to do great!

I contacted my insurance company to find out what their requirements were. I then saw my primary care doctor who asked for a referral to my chosen surgeon. The medical group turned me down, as I had not done a 6 month supervised program. I appealed. This was the only time I provided my own documents. I supplied weight watchers records and journals from years past showing prior attempts at weight loss. I won the appeal. After that my surgeon and primary care doctor coordinated all tests and made the applications to my insurance. The only other thing I had to do was the psych eval. I went to a doctor recommended by my primary care doctor, but I had to make the appointment, get the letter, and take it to my surgeon's office. That was it. It took several months, but was relatively painless. Best wishes in the journey. Denise

Hi Everyone, I am super excited to start this new journey to become healthy . I was skinny as a teenager and in my twenties. But after several back and neck surgeries, i started putting on weight. I have two adult children and my husband who are very supportive. My EGD is tomorrow 9/25 and surgery (Gastric Sleeve) is scheduled for Oct 2. My surgeon is Dr. St. Laurent in Cypress Texas. If anyone has any helpful hints that they would share with me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Huge Congrats!!! My dream is to be at 199 - it's my goal weight, although I want to try for more once I get there. I just can't wait.

Just FYI'ing ... went to my initial information session. Seemed like a lot depended on insurance, but they tried to lift up the ones that had insurance that required the 6 month diet plan. They said, start tomorrow, start scheduling all your necessary appointments, which aren't going to be *tomorrow*, and then by the time you are done with them, the surgery will really only be realistically weeks away. On the other hand, they said, if you are a 45 year old female, 100lbs overweight, high blood pressure, some type 2 diabetes stuff coming on, but otherwise in good shape with no other majore stuff going on, good stress tests, etc. ... they said could be 8 weeks from first session. They did also mention that if you are a man who is 300+ overweight with lots of other stuff going on, you could be 12 months from surgery and a required 100 lb weight loss pre-surgery. I am soooo calling tomorrow.

So when do I cut myself a break? I know with weight comes self esteem issues but dang! I have spent most of my life heavy. This means I have spent most of my life avoiding the issue of weight. You know, I didn't want to talk about clothes sizes, diet or what I had for dinner. I never wanted to draw attention to myself. Here I am 64 lbs down and I don't want to draw attention to that. I didn't even realize it. My husband and I were at the store when we ran into a member of our church. She was very nice, told me I looked good and WOW she sure could tell I had lost weight. I thanked her and kinda changed the subject, she went back to it asking how much I had lost. I answered and changed the subject, she went back to it, you get the idea. When we parted ways my DH said " Man you blew her off" I was shocked! " Was I rude"? He told me no that I wasn't rude but I sure did skirt around the whole weight issue, like I was uncomfortable with change. That just about knocked me over. I have so craved change in my life, I have prayed for this. I am so very happy with what I have done so far with this band! So why did I want so bad in the middle of that store to be talking about ANYTHING other then me? Weird huh?

I started out averaging about 13-15 pounds per month in the early months. I stalled big time at 7 months and lost only about 4 pounds in a month's time. Then at 8 months it picked back up. If I look just at the most recent 30 days time, I've lost 8 pounds. It's much smaller than the 15/month I lost at first, but at the same time, I've only got about 3 more pounds until goal, so it is bound to slow at some point. ETA: It's worth mentioning that during that month that I stalled and lost very little, I took a comparison pic in my workout pants and sports bra and compared it to the month before, and I could definitely tell a difference. So while I didn't lose a lot that month, I was consistent in eating and exercise and I could tell a difference in my body between the 2. Maybe I can find the pics to add....let me see..... Anyway, my point is that even if you have a smaller month number-wise on the scale, other good things could be going on too like losing inches or gaining muscle definition. Here are the pics one (the first) was from May, one (the second) from June....Only 4 pounds difference, but looking better in my opinion. So numbers aren't always the best indicator of progress

On Wednesday, my local support group had a guest scholarly and published speaker. He had all sorts of degrees in kinesiology and muscle synthesis. He's a big fitness science nerd, and he owns a gym here called Exercise Science. He threw around big words and sited countless studies. So here were his main points.. Muscle strength and growth is the most important thing for fitness. Blah blah metabolic, hormonal, and skeletal benefits. It's the "fountain of youth". If you compare a young control group to an older group of swimmers, an older group of runners, an older group of tennis players, and an older group of weight lifters, the weight lifting group's muscle biopsies are identical to the young folk. High intensity resistance training is the most efficient and effective way to strengthen muscle. Cause as much micro-trauma to the tissue as you can and then rest to build muscle. His goal for his clients is to get them to their strongest genetic potential. Intensity and required resting periods vary for individuals, but he made ball park recommendations. High intensity means you leave the gym walking as if you have cerebral palsy. You shouldn't be able to lift your arms. You go at it so hard, you should reach that point with only a 30 minute workout. Soreness is unrelated to whether you're sufficiently rested or not. The only way you know if you've rested sufficiently is if the next time, you're stronger. Rest means no muscle stimulus. No moderate or even light resistance training in between. No endurance activities in between. No jogging, no swimming, no yoga. People who rest for a full week have better muscle growth/strength improvement than people who train twice a week. Combining this method with a ketogenic diet is ideal for weight loss. Not a single person in my support group was exercising the "right way". So what? I like my early morning 3 mile walk. It seems to help me with stress and starts my day off on a good foot. I like Couch to 5K. Half-way through! I like working out with weights 4 times a week. I'm motivated as hell. Yoga is improving my flexibility, breathing and posture. Let's just say his method is measurably and scientifically backed up and proven to yield the best fitness results. Screw it? Do you forget the science? Do you stick with what's "working" for you, even if it's not actually working so well? Despite my efforts to reverse the trend, my fat free mass (according the BIA scale at the doc's office) continues to drop. From 128lbs before surgery now down to 104lbs. There are weeks where according to that a-hole scale, my fat% is increasing. I haven't gotten stronger. According to him, the science says my efforts are misguided and are in vain, I'm not shredding or resting enough, and his method would actually be effective. I plan to stick with what I'm doing anyway. I'm open to increasing my intensity, but I'm not giving up my other activities. I could try decreasing my gym training to 3xs a week, but no less, and I wouldn't be happy about it.

Real common! I think especially for us introverts. Part of the attention is because you are changing and ppl who know the "old" you are commenting about the change. When I have lost weight in the past this drove me crazy! But I'm handling it better this time. Can you continue your therapy? This is exactly the time it helps to have professional guidance and coping advice. In time, you will get used to the extra attention and the changes will be your new normal but this transition period can be tough. Hang in there!

I had to find something that counted on me being smaller and meant more to me than the pain of going through being noticed and even what the numbers said on the scale. When I couldn't make this journey about me or my health, I made it about getting smaller so that I could ride my horses and get back into competing on them. You can't be as competitive as a rider when you are bigger. It's not fair for your horse to carry that extra weight -- you're not upholding your part of being the best you can be as part of that team. Granted, I like how I look in the mirror now that I've lost 40 pounds but just looking better for me is not motivation enough. I'm actually dreading getting smaller and having guys hit on me. It makes me uncomfortable if they are way over the top about it. One of the perks of being fat is being invisible and it's hard having to learn with how to cope with stuff like that. The only way how I know now to get through that discomfort is to remind myself that it's important for me to get smaller for my horses and for what I want to do. I cannot let my embarrassment or uneasiness about how I look trump me getting fit for them. It has to take a back burner if I want to do what I've dreamed about for so long and stopped doing once I was bigger. I don't know if it's a healthy approach from a medical standpoint but it's the only one I know that's going to work for me so far. I've tried working with therapists to figure out why I sabotage or have those feelings of being exposed more when I lose weight but I never figured out why. I wasn't abused in any way and didn't have any really bad dating experiences. I'm just uncomfortable being judged like that. So I had to find something that meant more to me than having that discomfort. Riding horses is my lodestone that keeps me on track.

Thanks Sadie. I actually work in Carnoustie. Congrats on your weight loss, thats really great. I'm struggling just now but think I'm just needing a good fill. I checked with the Spire Murrayfield but I think it was about £300 for a fill, does that sound right? Great to hear from you.

Greetings November Sleevers..... I've had some difficulty getting enough liquids and Proteins, but today is the 4th day and everything seems to be settling down. My sleeve feels pretty comfortable and I'm moving around pretty normally. I didn't have any difficulty finishing my 30g Protein drink this a.m. and am sipping a nice chai latte now. Feels pretty normal. Not hungry, and feeling much more like I will be "myself" soon. But, get ready for this: I went downstairs to weigh myself this a.m. because I am/was convinced I must have dropped a few pounds since I went in the hospital. I have GAINED 4 lbs! I know it must be Fluid retention, no BM yet, but it was a shock, I have to tell you. I have barely eaten anything (maybe 400 calories/day?) so I wasn't expecting this. I am not alarmed but I am shocked. Has anyone else experienced a weight gain after coming home? Jeez.

Totally normal. .. that water weight will leave as quick as it came.. hang in there

I've noted the periods of 'more discomfort' on my port, are related to those times when I've rammed that part of my belly into something which serves as a kind of blunt force. First time about 1 year postOp I was loading yard debris into a utility trailer where the side was just a little below my port. By that evening I noticed along with the discomfort was a little bruising, which coincided where I would lean over the side rail without thinking about it, and subject poor Mr. Port to some kind of fulcrum-wedging. The last few years the only port discomfort I've had, is a bit of tender skin over the port area, which the more I rubbed it seemed to make me less happy. I changed that little habit and over the last 6 months have had no complaint....well....HARDLY none. Sometimes my fantasy is it would be nice to move it....yet it seems perfectly placed and perfectly installed. Mine is to the right of mid line half way to the lateral side of body, and about 8" above my navel. Perfect access for any fills I've had, as it is well stabilized and easily palpated. When I lost my first big amount of weight, it was rather like a smooth quarter-sized pebble that became easier to notice as the glacial fat melted away. Now it's noticeable as a roundish lump under my t-shirt when I'm out flexing on the beach.

After 2 1/2 years, I'm nearing goal weight & have noticed that I'm starting to have more port site 'discomfort'. I don't know what triggers it. Could it be that I have less fat insulating it? LOL. Anyone else have this trouble? Is this something I should be talking to my surgeon about or is this normal?

Yup, you guessed it, 8 more days! In honor of this enormous achievement I've put together a little list of 8 post band goals/dreams 8. Lose weight! 7. Feel good about myself again 6. Cholesterol levels in the normal range 5. Do a 'real' push-up 4. Run for 3 miles without stopping 3. Wear shorts 2. Start dating again 1. Wear a bikini!

Someone posted that as women lose weight they release a lot of estrogen as it is trapped in fat cells. As the fat cells are shed they release estrogen into your blood stream, leading you to feel emotional, moody etc. similar to pregnancy hormones. I can personally attest to the fact that I have been more emotional, sensitive and have a much shorter fuse than usual. Since my hubby pointed it out I have been trying to be more conscious of it. I also have a very high stress job and between having surgery on 9/6 and my brother passing on 10/1; my priorities have really shifted. Family and self first.

The other day at work a woman who I hadn't seen in months walked right past me and then came back and said hi and that she didn't even recognize me at first! Then today at a family BBQ everyone made it a point to tell me how great I looked! Down 110 pounds in 4.5 months The weight loss is slowing down... And I've encountered a few stalls... I think three. But I've gotten through them Silly me at today's BBQ I had like 8 ritz crackers and a spoonful of relish and three chunks of pineapple. I thought I was fine... But I ended up in the bathroom for a little... Note to self... Don't mess with crackers or pineapple again! But all in all a good day

Def cardio and some weights

I would begin to focus on one day at a time if you are eating correctly and exercise daily the weight will come off I agree with the other feedback how do you feel on general I am. 5 weeks post opt and down 30 pounds I'm off diabetic medications . Good luck