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You look great!! Congratulations!! 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 245 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app

Looking on the bright side, at least she chose a snack with a lot of protein! I once heard that peanut M&Ms were the best choice from a vending machine because of the protein--much better than pretzels. Having said this, my BFF is BONE THIN and adopted a girl with weight issues. She also hides food. She is 19 now and orders from Uber Eats when her mom isn't home. It is very hard on my friend to see her daughter struggle but I know the girl feels as if her mom doesn't know what she is going through because her mom has always been very thin. This is such a tough situation. I wish I had some advice but I don't....just a story that relates to your struggle. Sorry!

I wonder if you helped her divide sweet treats like the candy into tiny portions and have her see if she can have control over portion size. Maybe 10 M and Ms? We all know that the first bite or 2 are the best and after that you just mindlessly eat the rest of a serving or bag.

I'm usually around 1100-1300 per day, but I relax some on the weekends and I maintain pretty well. (19 months post-op)

Well in typical form I’m going to turn this into a forum about myself. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your comments Sheri. My heart hurts for her because of something happened last week which I truly believe has to do with her weight. She’s a varsity cheerleader but she is the only one who is bigger than the size of a pencil (she’s 4’-10”, 150-160 pounds). They pulled girls for a “best of best” competition team to represent the school for Florida and national competition. It was supposed to be based on how well the girls could tumble. My daughter worked for months and months (even with private coaches) to get a standing back tuck (which is commonly called a backflip). She got it. Then when they announced who was on the competition team, they picked girls who did not have the standing back tuck but that were thin and cute. My daughter was totally devastated. I went out to lunch the next day with the parents of the other girls. We were watching high school football on the TVs in the restaurant. They were showing some cheerleaders on the sidelines and the ones they were showing were overweight. One of the other moms started making fun of them. I’m thinking; I’m right here! Anyway, She did a program at the Scottsdale weight loss center a few years ago but it wasn’t the right fit for her. They put her on Optifast and even started her on an appetite suppressant. She lost about 6 pounds but couldn’t tolerate eating all of those shakes and soups. I felt bad for her and I would’ve felt the same way. Ultimately we moved to Florida. We have spoken to several pediatricians as well. I feel like a nutritionalist would be best for her But it’s difficult for her to go to regular appointments because of her cheer conflict. She stays after school four days a week for practice. So I basically bought her a bunch of little goodies to kind of get her started on the same plan I am on. We picked out some snacks and things we would both like to eat and I bought groceries, meal prep containers, two dozen Evian waters, I even bought her some little fun things like body spray and clothes just to kind of make her feel better about herself. Very hard being a parent and also a moderator of her meal plans. In particular it’s hard because her brother and sister are both in the 5% weight range and are actually under weight. So she feels much like you described. I had hoped that my weight loss would be motivational to her and I know she can do it. I hope it hasn’t made things worse. She is so active and she just needs to cut back her calories a little bit. I do believe there’s some psychological stuff going on. Since having the surgery I couldn’t imagine eating a bag of M&Ms like that. It’s like I have totally forgotten the problems I had and why I couldn’t lose the weight before.... ahh how soon we forget...

My first goal for 2019 was to lose 50lbs by 50 years old. I turn 50 on Saturday and this morning i finally met my goal!!! 50lbs lost since 01/4/19 and 25lbs since surgery 7/23/19... woop woop!!! We just got back from New Orleans and I realized that i didn't need to eat or drink alcohol to truly enjoy myself, its who you surround yourself with! My sister came over from London, my daughter and her partner, my nephew plus 3 of my best friends and we had a blast!! The celebrations will continue for the next 2 weeks while other friends and family arrive from abroad to celebrate this milestone withme. #50lbsby50yearsgoalachieved

Awesome news. Yeah, this shift today is basically skipping a meal and a snack. Ugh, woke up this morning with a blinding headache. I live in Oklahoma and this is late August so it’s 98% allergen related. Took an anti-histamine, 2 Tylenols and have had a cup of coffee with a half-tablespoon milk and skipped the trivia packet. I had planned on skipping the morning coffee, but my headache said “no”. So I settled for the compromise of cutting way back on the amount of milk I add to it. Weighed in at 168.0 (up 0.2 pounds from Sunday am, but I’m also at no poop for 6 days and counting now....). Sigh.... gonna prolly need to resort to some MOM therapy today. 10 hours left on this fast. Wow this doesn’t seem daunting at all since I regularly do 16:8 and 18:6 all the time.

To me, the danger of this situation and her weight is the hiding of foods. When I was growing up, my step-father forbade us to have any sweets in the house. This, along with a lot of childhood trauma, set up a pattern of craving and hiding sweets. The high that the sweets would give me was amazing. My sister, who I shared a room with, actually started to hide sweets in a shoe box under her bed. She ended up with the opposite problem to me... very underweight. (She's definitely different genetically to me though... totally different build etc). I am very aware of this with my daughter - who has autism and is 10 - and so I am really trying to not freak out about her eating sweets. I am not forbidding it, I let her choose when she has some (within reason). I am teaching her to stop eating when she is full. So far so good... she is on the bigger side of her weight, but I put that down to puberty, autism and genetics. I don't know the solution for you, but I would caution you about making things off limits. It led to a lot of bingeing for me.

Well how my BD manifests itself for me. Since my still ongoing Weight loss, I have be3n fearful that I look like I'm on the verge of Anorexia or "Failure to Thrive" , scrawny neck, you now can see my collar bones and visualize my top 3 ribs in my chest cavity, hardly any boobs, down from 46DD to a 40/42B, depending on Bra price point. WAIST has diminished , pot belly is now a small warm- up skillet, Baby "no longer has back", now down to 2 small handfuls, if I could get a guy to grab them. Now the flesh on lower abdomen and thighs, especially inner portions, I liken to a balloon that was blown up and then air let out, an empty blobby stretched appearance, but the legs are beaten and trimmed enough I can wear leggings without somebody thinking I was poured into them and didn't know when to stop. And the sizing , ooh I GLORY at that, I'm back into Juniors where I truly belong, Okay still at the Upper End, 17 and 19 , but still a NSV or close to it, my BMI this AM is 29.2. All sounds pretty fine ? Well I am apprehensive that I look sickly and could possibly DIE! No Less than my Ortho, who called me by my Legal First Name, no MaMa did NOT christen ME Frustr8, I picked IT up along the way. Anyway Dr Doolittle, who is Sport Medicine along with Orthopaedics, so should be able to adequately assess body types. He said " Darlin'( from him I accept the endearment , most other guys I would "Jack-Slap" instead) You are merely starting to look NORMAL!" How would I Know That Already? I have never been NORMAL or AVERAGE in my whole existance! So although much of my Veiwing Public feels I look Just Fine, I fear I Am still the obese unbalanced ugly ME I used to Be, and it is difficult for my Rational Mind to overcome my Bruised Battered Emotional Foundation. I was told by Kith and Kin I was Ugly, Disgusting , barely worthy of life and nobody much wanted me Near Them. Case in Point--- I got a BonoFide Wolf Whistle the Other Day, I looked around because I thought it was a compliment given to someone Else. SAD, ISN'T IT?

Reached the 10 month post op mark four days ago. I've been in maintenance for about 3 months now, having decided to stop losing weight back in the end of May. Still trying to find my "sweet spot" in terms of calorie intake and exercise. It's basically been trial and error, but I think I'm getting close 🤞🏼 Regardless, I feel awesome and am almost used to the new bod. I'm still sometimes taken aback when I see my reflection, or when I fit into clothes that look microscopic to me. Anyhoo, here is a pic from a couple weeks ago (I'm wearing a bikini bottom for effs sakes! haven't worn one of those in decades). And for fun, some BEFORE pics (these were taken last summer, about 3 months before surgery)

Wow, you look awesome, and about 10 years younger!

Hi there, Lovin the pics of everyone loosing, isn't it a great feeling. This summer I went to UK with my son for my nieces wedding, my son brought up a pic from July of last year and I could see a "slight" difference lol Id taken photos through out the past 10 months but nothing compares to this one. Its been a long journey and my weight loss is slowing down to a crawl but still loosing! 150lb loss has blown me and my surgeon away, from a 32 to a 14 right now is so cool. I would like to get to a 12 then I can comfortably stop looking at the scale lol Hope you guys are doing ok, would love to see more pics of everyone!

@Lbtnew I ordered Gastric sleeve (pictured something green puree'd in a white bowl on cover) and Gastric sleeve 2019-2020 I just ordered them and have not received them yet but there are quite a few to choose from

I feel great today!!! One step closer to my goal! I am 7 months post op. Had Rny Jan 27, 2019. Made it to onederland today!!!!!! Brings me to 198lbs current weight.

Is it a glue? They put a glue over my stitches to help prevent infection. It’s suppose to start lifting and peeling on its own within 7-10 according to my surgeon and discharge nurse. I was told not to submerge myself in water (showers were okay) and no creams. I too had surgery on 8/19/19 VSG

Hey everybody. Just found and joined this forum tonight (Awesome Group🤩👍). I'm curious to know how you handled your incisions. I had my surgery 8/19/19 and my surgeon used this blue-colored "second skin" bandage on top of the stitches. It's starting to peel off (more like flake off) and I don't want them to come off too soon, because moisture helps tremendously with healing. What have you all done for yours?

I’m going through a trying time as well. Last Wednesday I received some very troubling news, financial in nature. It may take all my savings for my surgery to remedy the issue. I’m self pay, and my surgery is scheduled for 10/1 so this is especially distressing. I have already purchased my airfare. I’m not sure how I feel at this time. Oh well, it is what’s, it is. Well, at least that is what I try to live by.

I could only drink sips of red wine at first. Im 10 months post op now and I can rarely finish a full 5oz glass...unless I nurse it over a few hours. I have red wine maybe 1-2 times a week. Normally, I can also drink 1oz servings of straight gin occasionally (like once a week maybe, if that). Now, when on vacation or during holidays, different rules apply, lol I usually stick to the same red wine and gin, but will add skinny mojitos and tequila shots to the mix. I generally stay away from mixed drinks (too much sugar). And beer (I don’t like it). I do get affected by the alcohol relatively quickly, but said effects wear off quickly as well (compared to pre-op). And I definitely drink much, much less than I did before.

Congrats! Think on how far you’ve come and how close you are! I spent 8 months from the time I started (which doesn’t include the 6 months prior to that thinking, researching, and trying to decide if I wanted/needed to do this) and had my surgery 2-6-19. I’m close to 7 months post-op and would do it over and over and over. Zero regrets! Make sure you spend these last few weeks leading up to your big day prepping as much as you can. Spending time here posting will be a great experience and you’ll learn a lot.

I had my sleeve on 8/7/19 and am struggling to meet my protein (60g) and water (64oz) intake goals. I feel like I have to graze to work towards the protein goal but since I can’t drink anything with food I don’t have many opportunities to get my water in. Suggestions?

Lol, work today was pretty much cardio for 10-11 hours. Not even September and we’ve gotten so busy. Relaxation is happening now that dinner and dishes are done

Okay so I’m planning on a 24 hour fast tomorrow with some salted bone broth midday. I’ve got the day off and have many errands to run and a dental appt at 2:30. Pretty sure I’ve got a new cavity as the entire left back side of my mouth HURTS and I can’t even chew on that side. Weirdly I get cavities galore whenever I go through health and life stressors. My year of chemo in ‘09-10 left me with 4 of them. After tornadoes here last night left my Pilates studio still closed bc of lack of power, no classes today and I’m taking 3 classes tomorrow evening. Basically that means that it’s the perfect day to try a 24 hour fast. I plan on breaking it with an 11oz premier protein for 30gm (plus I’m sure my mouth will thank me for it). Question is what should I try to eat or do the NEXT day after this fast?

Well my journey started in January 2019. Since that time I have been having tests done (you name it-I’ve done it), and endless waiting. Seems like I get the list completed and they add something new I have to do. So this week is my pulmonary evaluation so I know I can make it through surgery. Then in September I have my nutritional classes which will finish all my pre op requirements. After that I was told I would finally have my surgery consult number two where surgery will be scheduled. Fingers crossed!! This has taken what seems like forever but I am patiently waiting to get my date. I continue to read all I can to keep from going crazy waiting. Look forward to talking with you.

I'm almost at the one month mark and feeling the same way...not sure if I'm losing as much as I should be. My scale and clothes tell two different stories. Seeing your loss gives me so much hope!! Keep up the great work!! 5'4" Starting weight 297 VSG on 7/31/19 Surgery wt: 266 CW 245 GW 135 Sent from my [samsung Galaxy] using BariatricPal mobile app