I Want To See Before & After Pics!

[Georgia 2,908]

Great job Georgia! I know how hard you have worked following the 5:2 program. And it has paid off in spades!!

Thanks, Fiddleman! And I like your new pic too!!

[New1 201]

First pics are from the night before surgery 3/12/12 and the middle pics are from August I believe, and the 3rd pics are from last week. 260lbs-182 lbs so far!

Wooow! You look fabulous!!! I'm down -33 lbs. I'll post pics in Jan! Was sleeved 11/7/12 :-) what a inspiration. Question: Do u have a hard time drinking 1cup? I am. Does it get easier? I'm trying to get in all my fluids. Hard but I'm doin it :-)

Thanks! I don't have any problems eating or drinking 1 cup now. It kinda makes me nervous! But now im expecting so I can't focus too much on it. Good luck to you!

[1mjs 16]

I know this is off topic of pics but there are a lot of users in this thread so I have a question. I am scheduled for surgery on Tue. I have developed a cough starting yesterday. What should I do? Will this change my surgery date? Boo hoo! Help

[Evolving 973]

I know this is off topic of pics but there are a lot of users in this thread so I have a question. I am scheduled for surgery on Tue. I have developed a cough starting yesterday. What should I do? Will this change my surgery date? Boo hoo! Help

Hi- I was slightly sick for mine-- they (my nurses and dr) said as long as there wasn't a fever=infection it was fine---

Be careful of the meds u take for it- u don't want aspirins or anything that will thin your blood-- maybe call your nurse or dr fir what u can take or talk to the pharmacist at a Walgreens or something and tell them the situation and see what they advise to take...

Hope u feel better and it's the best decision u w ever made!!!!!

[iris26 64]

I had a cough when I went to surgery and my doctor just told me that for the next few days to hold the pillow close to my stomach when I cough. You just can't have fever 48 hours from your surgery. However, the decision it's going to be up to your doctor. Best of luck!!!

[1mjs 16]

Ok great! No fever or anything else just an annoying cough.

[Webchickadee 716]

These are my 1 year anniversary photos.

Down 137 lbs. Still have another 38 lbs to go.....

Yay!! Nice job!!! I started at 319 too!!! How tall are u? What size were and are u?

U look great!!!

Thank you for the compliment!

I'm 5'4" and I was a 26/28 when I started. I'm a size 14 now (borderline 12 in some things, and more like a 16 in others). Darn designers!

I suspect that when I lose the last 35+ lbs, I will probably get down in to a comfortable size 8. Crazy....single digit clothing. I never would have dreamed it possible!

I'm a large in ladie's tops and pants, but again, it varies alot from brand to brand.

From what I can see, your stats are quite similar to mine....you're about 1 inch taller. I was about your current weight at the start of 2013 and by May, I was close to your goal weight....so if you follow a similar path to mine, you'll be at goal in about 4 months!

Keep up the fantastic work. You look great in your gallery photos.....just look at the smile on your face!

[MarciHunter 167]

Update.

Almost 7 months post op. Down 86 lbs (39 kg) . Another 35 lbs to go !

Height : 5'9"

SW: 287 lbs

CW : 201 lbs

I loveeeed squeezing into my first leather rock chick dress (faux leather, don't worry)

[Evolving 973]

Thank you for the compliment!

I'm 5'4" and I was a 26/28 when I started. I'm a size 14 now (borderline 12 in some things, and more like a 16 in others). Darn designers!

I suspect that when I lose the last 35+ lbs, I will probably get down in to a comfortable size 8. Crazy....single digit clothing. I never would have dreamed it possible!

I'm a large in ladie's tops and pants, but again, it varies alot from brand to brand.

From what I can see, your stats are quite similar to mine....you're about 1 inch taller. I was about your current weight at the start of 2013 and by May, I was close to your goal weight....so if you follow a similar path to mine, you'll be at goal in about 4 months!

Keep up the fantastic work. You look great in your gallery photos.....just look at the smile on your face!

Thank you! I hope I do as good as u!! I'm almost a year out!! U look great!!

[Kiap82 239]

<div>These are my 1 year anniversary photos.</div> <div> </div> <div>Down 137 lbs. Still have another 38 lbs to go.....</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>

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These are inspirational to me. Our height is the same and weight is barely different day of surgery. I hope I do as well as you! I'm only almost four weeks out and the anticipation of getting thinner is killing me!!

Do you mind if I ask how old you are and what regimen you followed as far as exercise goes?

[Justinh125 472]

[newlife27 323]

[ATTACH]40295[/ATTACH]

)))) this is mine from 294 to 198 21lbs from doctors goal!!!!

[Justinh125 472]

I hope it works this time...one is from like 2 days post-op, and the other isn't quite 5 months.

[Justinh125 472]

I hope it works this time...one is from like 2 days post-op, and the other isn't quite 5 months.

When people tell me that VSG doesn't work or that it's "too hard" or something, I try to point out that I failed (miserably at times) with every other thing I tried, and my size was starting to kill me. I was starting to have a variety of extremely serious health problems because I was such a big guy.

Do some people consider bariatric surgery some kind of "cheating" or "easy way out"? Yes, some people think of it that way. On the other hand, when my mother was treated for breast cancer (and the treatment worked and she's happily living her life now,) did she "cheat" by going to doctors that specialized in cancer and used the most modern treatments to help her?

Or did my mother simply utilize some powerful medical tools that likely saved her life so she is still a happy, healthy woman to this very day? And if it was the later, what is so wrong with that?

Way I see it, I found a serious, but helpful medical solution to a serious set of health problems. I commend anyone who has had success through other means. I tried many other things and failed every time.

But neither of those above photos is a "Photoshop" or anything. That's not even 5 months. So I see it as: I found a "tool" that would help me with the main thing that always ruined healthy eating plans in the past: extreme hunger.

With VSG, when I'm hungry I have one of my small-portioned meals of the day, and that fills me up completely. Later I do the same...etc....

Most importantly, and I can't say this enough times, I NEVER feel deprived...nor do I feel the sensation of "I want seconds but I'd be the only person and don't want to look like food monster or something..."

When eating with others, I fix a small, appropriate plate, eat slow, and enjoy my meal and my closest family understand why I have to stop or why I can't go back for seconds...Simple physics, as there is no "room" for the extra food to go.

So sometimes it feels bad to "take credit" for my accomplishments. But on the other hand, I've known people who had the exact same surgery with the exact same doctor on the same day, and some of them have lost very little, if anything.

[Webchickadee 716]

<div>These are my 1 year anniversary photos.</div> <div> </div> <div>Down 137 lbs. Still have another 38 lbs to go.....</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <p> </p>

These are inspirational to me. Our height is the same and weight is barely different day of surgery. I hope I do as well as you! I'm only almost four weeks out and the anticipation of getting thinner is killing me!!

Do you mind if I ask how old you are and what regimen you followed as far as exercise goes?

Thank you for the kind words!

I'm 44 years old now (I was 42 1/2 at the time of surgery). For the first year I mostly just walked! I started with a walk around the block, every day, and slowly worked my way up to 5K per day on my lunch hour. I bought a Fitbit which was REALLY motivational in getting me out on my feet every day!

I did a 5K race (everyone else was running, but there were a few of us walking) close to my 1 yr mark. I decided that it was a lot of fun and a good challenge to push myself. I signed up for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon (1/2 marathon walk for me), and since it was being held on my 44th birthday (this past Oct), it seemed like destiny that I should do it.

I started increasing my distances in my training (still walking 5K/day for min. 5 days per week, and longer distance 1x per week). I did a full 21K test walk 1 week before the marathon and completed it in 3 hr 55 min. On raceday, with the energy of the crowd, my family waiting for me at the finish line and excitement, I was able to cut that time down my nearly 21 min to 3:34:29.

I also started (around the 1 yr mark) playing softball again (I hadn't played in 25 yrs!). I ended up joining 4 different teams and played 4-5 games a week and 5 tournaments during the summer. Team sports keep me motivated and showing up (no excuses to let your team mates down).

I bought a new bike (a really nice lightweight carbon fibre one) and started riding again (again, after 20+ years of not riding).

And finally, last week, I started a crossfit training program (killer!). It's a combination of conditioning exercises (think military style training) and olympic weight lifting. 3x per week, at a beginner pace (about 1/4 of what the rest of the gym members do). It's seriously kicking my butt, but I'm enjoying the challenge so far....