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  1. #1
    Gastric Sleeve Member AnnieG's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
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    Annie
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    10/05/2017
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    Dr. Ryan Heider
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    Default Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I'm certain more than just me has long struggled with my view of "self". I can always remember seeing me reflected in plate glass, or a ladies room mirror, and thinking, "oh she's pretty", but then being embarassed and surprised it was me.

    My upgain in weight (to 240# max) was slow, and I never felt a great deal different. My post VGS has been rather rapid. I find "no recognition" of myself in the mirror or photos, beyond the thought that I am rather bony.

    Is there a predictable point where one comes back into their body with their spirit? Is a slower loss more conducive to re-knowing yourself?

    Is this question too weird?
    [I]HW: 240 lbs SW: 199 lbs GW: 140 lbs

    1 MO = 167.0 2 MO = 156.4 3 MO = 148.4 4 MO = 140.6
    5 M) = 136.0 6 MO = 130.0
    1 YR = 122.0 2 YR = 140.00 2.5 YR = 139
    Happy with my weight; happy with my size; over-the-moon with my health!

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  3. Gastric Sleeve Surgery With Weight Loss Agents
  4. #2
    Gastric Sleeve Member MsLisa71's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Lisa
    Surgery date
    05/07/2018
    Surgeon
    Dr. Troy Houseworth
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    Annie, this is most certainly NOT a weird question. I am just about to 9 weeks post op and while I can fell the difference in size in my clothes, I do not see it in the mirror. I sometimes see it in photos, but even that is not a given. I heard this quote along my journey and refer back to it often; "Your brain and emotions need time to catch up with the changes in your body." How much 'time' that is, I have no idea. I do know that, like you, as I was gaining I didn't 'realize' how bad it had gotten...it took the alarming number on the scale and sharing that with my niece to make me realize I needed to make a change.

    What I embrace now is how much energy I have, how good I feel, the lower number on the scale, the fact that I'm improving my health and wearing smaller clothes. I cannot yet feel good about what I see in the mirror, but I have wins everyday.

    The brain is certainly a tricky thing.


    HW 2016=310
    SW 5/7/18= 274

    4 weeks=241.6
    8 weeks=225.0
    12 weeks=214.8
    16 weeks=205.6
    20 weeks=198.6
    24 weeks=193.2

    6 Mos check-up w/Surgeon: 11/13/2018=189
    28 weeks=187
    32 weeks=181.2
    36 weeks=174
    39 weeks + 2 days=169.8 = GOAL!

    40 weeks=168
    44 weeks=163
    48 weeks=160.4
    51 weeks; day of 1-yr appt w/surgeon=159.4
    54 weeks=154

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  6. #3
    Gastric Sleeve Member Stacey03's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
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    Edie
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    11/07/2017
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    Dr Phil lockie
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I don't think my brain has caught up yet Annie!!! Sometimes I feel small and sometimes I feel big and sometimes I just don't know but generally I feel pretty fit and healthy :-)


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  8. #4
    Gastric Sleeve Member Dutchie's Avatar
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    Simonne
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    01/03/2017
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    Dr. Pablo Enriquez Valens
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I think this is a really interesting question!
    And you know what?
    I have no idea!

    It took me over a year to see myself as I really am.
    English is not my first language anymore, so I may and do make mistakes in my spelling, or say things oddly. Please ask me, if you want any clarifications.



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  10. #5
    Gastric Sleeve Member Christie13's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
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    Christie
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    Dr. Wright
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I completely understand. I also look at myself and sometimes think I look too thin and at other times I feel I am not thin enough. Kind of weird. I think that the strength training has helped me a lot with my body image. Now my loose skin isn't too bad and I feel strong. I spend some time looking at myself in the mirror regularly. I like to flex my muscles and really admire the hard work I have put into achieving what I have. It really helps me become more in tune with my body.



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  12. Gastric Sleeve Surgery With Weight Loss Agents
  13. #6
    sraebaer
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I am still surprised when I see myself in photos. It's odd, but fun!

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  15. #7
    Gastric Sleeve Member Dutchie's Avatar
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    Simonne
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    01/03/2017
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    Dr. Pablo Enriquez Valens
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I think it is a bit traumatizing to look at my fat photo's...
    But the strangest thing for me is, that I never saw myself as huge...
    Constant state of denial?
    English is not my first language anymore, so I may and do make mistakes in my spelling, or say things oddly. Please ask me, if you want any clarifications.



  16. #8
    Gastric Sleeve Member AnnieG's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
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    Annie
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    10/05/2017
    Surgeon
    Dr. Ryan Heider
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    Oct 2017
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    Me too! I never felt big -- I feel bigger now that I'm smaller. Maybe denial but I think I've just never "lived" in my body; I live in my head (dangerous place that).....
    [I]HW: 240 lbs SW: 199 lbs GW: 140 lbs

    1 MO = 167.0 2 MO = 156.4 3 MO = 148.4 4 MO = 140.6
    5 M) = 136.0 6 MO = 130.0
    1 YR = 122.0 2 YR = 140.00 2.5 YR = 139
    Happy with my weight; happy with my size; over-the-moon with my health!

  17. #9
    sraebaer
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    Quote Originally Posted by DutchSleeve View Post
    I think it is a bit traumatizing to look at my fat photo's...
    But the strangest thing for me is, that I never saw myself as huge...
    Constant state of denial?
    Me neither! I had no clue I was so fat. I wonder why, as now I look at old photos in horror. I still can't believe I didn't do something before my daughter's wedding, I looked so bad in the photos which will be around forever.

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  19. #10
    Gastric Sleeve Member AnnieG's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Annie
    Surgery date
    10/05/2017
    Surgeon
    Dr. Ryan Heider
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Last Activity
    11-29-2020 11:18 AM
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    NC
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    Quote Originally Posted by sraebaer View Post
    Me neither! I had no clue I was so fat. I wonder why, as now I look at old photos in horror. I still can't believe I didn't do something before my daughter's wedding, I looked so bad in the photos which will be around forever.
    Maybe it's our incredible, over-the-top, personalities. Or that our sense of value was not really tied to her physical
    [I]HW: 240 lbs SW: 199 lbs GW: 140 lbs

    1 MO = 167.0 2 MO = 156.4 3 MO = 148.4 4 MO = 140.6
    5 M) = 136.0 6 MO = 130.0
    1 YR = 122.0 2 YR = 140.00 2.5 YR = 139
    Happy with my weight; happy with my size; over-the-moon with my health!

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  21. #11
    Gastric Sleeve Member Dutchie's Avatar
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    Simonne
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    Dr. Pablo Enriquez Valens
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I like that Annie!
    The first half, but especially the second half of your response!
    English is not my first language anymore, so I may and do make mistakes in my spelling, or say things oddly. Please ask me, if you want any clarifications.



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  23. #12
    Gastric Sleeve Member jessiejess's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
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    Jessie
    Surgery date
    11/13/2013
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    Dr. Mehta
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    Nov 2013
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    03-25-2020 07:44 PM
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    Houston
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    This is actually VERY normal. It's even a medically diagnosed condition referred to as body dysmorphia and I struggled with it badly. Most anorexic people suffer with it but the obese can also be on that list. First off, I couldn't believe how horrible I looked in my before pictures even right after I took them. I had no idea how big I really was because I dressed strategically. I didn't own a full length mirror on purpose (Getting one was my first major milestone reward for myself). I took my before pics in yoga pants and a tank top, and also in a bikini. I even took 2 or 3 in nothing because I wanted an honest view of the "before".
    Then, as I started losing it was all good. I felt great. I loved how I looked. But after about 80 pounds I realized I didn't recognize myself in pictures anymore. I had never been thin before and it was startling to me. I was watching myself disappear and I didn't know how to feel about it. Sometimes I still saw an overweight person in the mirror when everyone was telling me I was "tiny". I didn't see it in the mirror. My son even started calling me "mini-mama". When I'd show people my yoga version of the before pictures they'd be shocked and tell me I was unrecognizable. When I'd see pictures of myself thin, I'd just stare at them because to me, THEY were unrecognizable. It was almost a bit of an identity crisis. I also had a hard time with the fact that my whole life, all I'd wanted to do was lose weight. Well, once I was thin I had no idea what to do with myself. I had no goals because my previous life goal was always just to be thin. The whole package wrapped up made weight loss and my new body very confusing to me. I loved how I looked but I just didn't see myself as tiny as everyone else did and sometimes didn't recognize myself in the mirror. Top that off with not having any idea what to do with myself and it's a very odd position to be in.
    Once I started to regain (which sucks) I started to look more like myself in the mirror. While I hate it that I gained, it was almost comforting to see myself in the mirror again even though I hated what I saw. That was even more conflicting. I want more than anything to lose weight again which feels normal to me again. I hate what I see in the mirror as fat which also feels normal to me again.
    Like I said, it was and is all very conflicting and weird. Now that I've gained a portion of the weight back I see the thin pics and all I want is to look like that again. I have that goal of losing weight again. I wonder how I'll feel when I get there? I wonder if the whole identity crisis will come back or if I'll be okay with everything having learned from the past. I guess I'll just have to wait and see but what you are feeling and seeing is definitely normal.



    You don’t have to be perfect. You just need to be better.

    Revision stats:
    3/2/20 Pre-op: 197.5

  24. #13
    Gastric Sleeve Member
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I recently joined and want to lose the extra weight. But I've already lost a lot of weight, and now my skin looks flabby on my face


  25. #14
    Gastric Sleeve Member
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    I too have lost weight and now do facial yoga. The principle behind these beauty exercises, like hatha yoga, is static tension of specific muscles and muscle groups, alternating with relaxation. That, in all seriousness, is where the similarities end. Because yoga as such cannot be focused on a separate fragment of a person, its whole essence is in the unity and interconnection of the whole: the body, the spirit and the entire universe. There are some benefits of daily Face Yoga, but I'll tell you about that later. However, even without delving into the philosophy, everyone can use the wisdom of yoga to rejuvenate the face.

  26. #15
    Gastric Sleeve Member
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    Default Re: Self Image: Quick Loss vs Slower Loss

    There's a facial to tone up the skin like what they do for the tummy fat/skin.

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