17 months after my sleeve operation

[alwaysthinking]

March 2012.jpg531237_438594659500511_100000499422149_1671242_1088822731_n.jpgNov 2010- 2 weeks before.jpg1 year after -Nov 2011.jpg

Hi everyone! Just popping in to say hi, and see how everyone is doing. I wanted to give you some updates on how things have been for me as well. I had my sleeve done nov 2010 and i was 255 pounds, 17 months later i am now 164 and proud to say no saggy skin! lol I did get stuck for a while, thats where the doctors kept saying exercise is so important, and ill admit i hate doing it! So, with that said, i have kicked up my walking (fast pace) to more times a week, and also added in "Bikram Yoga" for those that dont know, BIKRAM is a type of yoga done in a room temperature of 95 degrees, and much hotter when you had people in there doing the work out with you. Its fantastic to stretch sore muscles, tone up those arms and legs, get a better sense of balance, and sweat off those pounds! I do it for 90 mins per session and usually 3 times a week, but if i can, i go more, because its such a feel good after workout. My scale kept telling me 170, 165, 170, 164, 171 and on and on for like almost 2 months!! i wanted to scream. lol but i realize im down to my last few pounds to lose and those are the hardest and i will just keep working at it. I had to ban myself from the scale for a week, because it was upsetting me so much!!! haha I still feel my stomach has not stretch much at all. I can only eat very small amounts (unless its junk food) which i admit i have indulged in from time to time- funny how crap food goes down so easy.
I have to say, i am very happy with my weight loss progress going at this rate because i was very worried about saggy skin, going at this pace has given my body time to repair i guess. In the last 2 months even when my scale said i was not dropping weight, OMG the people at work and around me started to notice so much that i had lost alot of weight and keep asking me how i did it. Lost of complements. I keep telling them its been a long process and that they are just noticing now because i have updated my uniform to a proper size of Medium, instead of the 2x i was wearing lol Well if i can be of help, please send me a message. I will post some pictures now. I wish everyone tons of success . P.s to those who had their gallbladder out, i did have mine removed at the same time (i had to because i had HUGE stones that had put me in the hospital and thats why my surgery date for the sleeve came up so fast because i was in trouble with the stones) everything seems to be ok now that it has been removed. I also had a he ital hernia that was repaired, that seems to be ok as well. I do sometimes have pain on my left lower side, but keep thinking its gas that is the pain...

[A new Beginning]

You look amazing. I am at a stall right now that has been going on for 3 weeks and I know that I can fix it with exercise, I just need to get motivated. You have now motivated me. Thanks for your words of wisdom and good luck with the last few pounds.
Jane

[workinprogress40]

You don't even look Like the same person!!!

[itsmytime]

wow, big success!

[alwaysthinking]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! you guys are so sweet. Jane, there were times when i was at a stand still and my doctor told me to stop getting on the scale everything and to remember that inches lost are just as important as pounds...dont worry the pounds will start back up again.
I went from a size 20 and xxl, to a size 10 med/large .... i still can't believe it. Took me a long time to buy the right size, people kept telling me my clothes were still to big on me. lol i just kept thinking no way i am smaller

[Grace]

Hi
Thanks for the inspiration - it's such a roller coaster ride....losing weight so fast and then the dreaded level out and worrying it's all over... I think it's like you say a long journey and emotionally there are many stops on the ride...
btw, you look fabulous at just the size you are now

[A new Beginning]

Thank you so much for the encouragement. I will continue to be the big loser that I have always dreamed of being.

[robin34]

Awesome pics! I love to hear the success stories.

[bigkathy]

Wow! Such inspiring progress. I am only 3 weeks out. My initial weight loss seems slow to me (only 16 lbs.); some of the others that I keep in contact with have already lost 40 lbs. I guess I am impatient.

[Ssilian]

Absolutely uplifting! I will be sleeved on 6/14. Time is dragging!! I'm so curious about what weight I will end up at. Will I be a size 12? Will I be a size 6? I haven't been a 12 in at least 35 years! And a 6? Well, maybe I was a 6T once! LOL But "alwaysthinking" you look truly beautiful. It's inspiring to me!

[soccermom]

WOW! Congratulations. You look terrific. You didn't say what type of uniform you wear. I'm guessing scrubs. I, too, am starting out at an 18-20 and wearing a 2x scrub. I'm 6 weeks out today and am in a 1x scrub. Wearing a M doesn't seem possible but your success gives me hope! Thanks for posting and sharing your success. Love the pictures! Good luck with those last few stubborn pounds!

[alwaysthinking]

Big Kathy, they wont be calling you that for much longer!!! and i also did not lose a ton of weight fast, and thats when i started to think OMG im the only person in the world this is not going to work for, and OMG i did all this to only lose 20lbs lol i am not a patience person at all! but i have learned with this, everyone is different and we go at what our body wants us to go at. I think the worst part is when you get stuck and the scale does not move at all for weeks, and then AGAIN you start second guessing yourself, OMG is this all i am going to lose, what am i doing wrong? lol SSILIAN-Briana, i am so excited for you as well, i am actually smaller now then when i got married which was 8 years ago when i had a brief weight loss - and then got married and gained weight because all hubby and i did was eat lol these last pounds are so stubborn, but no matter what i am very thankful that i got this far. My overall health is so much better. I am glad i am able to inspire some of you, that makes me feel good that i can be of some help to people. I really dont like to brag or show off i just wanted to show that hey, after all these months this really works. SOCCERMOM- you will get to that medium i bet with no problem, sounds like your moving along pretty darn good! hope to see progress pictures of you all as you go along in your journey.

[crooked_halo]

Alwaysthinking, I hate to be rude but, how old are you? You said you had no saggy skin? In your before picture you are built just like me .. and I weigh 255 now, But I am 50 yrs old. I am talking my hubby into letting me get sleeved...don't know if I could talk him into a bodytuck....lol I know it all has to do with genetics and all that...but saggy skin really worried me

[tlwebb]

Alwaysthinking...you are helping me to prepare for what I'm sure will come...its good to know that even though I may hit stalls that they will be shortlived and I can look forward to MEDIUM! LOL!

Thanks for your posts!

[favors1]

Your size is almost identical to mine. I was sleeved on Feb. 17, 2012 at 244 and I just weighed at 195. I am just starting to notice that my skin is getting loose and saggy now. I do work out at the gym 3-4 days a week with cardio and weights in a hope that my skin doesn't get too saggy....blahhh.
YOU look fabulous...I get annoyed because I think the weight is coming off so slow but in reality I know that I lost 50lbs. since Feb. I couldn't even lose 5lbs. in a month before I had the surgery.
Women lose the weight so much slower than men. My husband was sleeved in July 2011 and he lost 125lbs. in 5 months. He was 315 and now weighs 190. My goal is to weight less than him....Haaaaa

Thank you for your update and post. I know the progress is coming, just have to be patient. Us women, we are not good at that.