1 Year Out - My Experience / Advice

I’m writing this for those who have recently gone, or will undergo the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. This is my experience and advice at a year out. I’m not expert by any means. This is still a learning process for me. However I know I appreciated reading posts from others who made it through their first year and where they’ve come since then.

I started this journey on January 29^th, 2013 when I went to my first bariatric consultation. I weighed 311 lbs. Fast forward to May 28^th, 2013, day of surgery! I weighed in at 277 lbs. I had lost 34 lbs between dieting prior to surgery, and the liquid diet a week before surgery. Surgery went smooth and although sore, I was feeling normal within two weeks.

I was very strict about following my surgeon’s plan. I tracked all the food I ate and made sure not to do anything that could jeopardize my new tiny tummy. It helped tremendously that I didn’t feel true hunger very often. YES, you will have head hunger. You need to learn how to distinguish the two. Drink LOTS of water and stay full on dense protein!

Another thing you often hear people say is, take advantage of the first six months. SERIOUSLY people… TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FIRST SIX MONTHS! Weight loss will begin to slow around that time! And in the coming months, you WILL be able to eat more food! Lose as much as you can in the beginning. Get yourself ahead of the curve!

Exercise! You may see the weight dropping in the beginning and think you don’t need it (I was one of those people). But YES, you do! I’m just now getting into a routine! So definitely get moving! You’ll feel better every day!

TAKE YOUR VITAMINS! Yes, it becomes a chore. BUT, you signed up for this life. It’s not something you can just throw your hands up and say you’re not doing it anymore. There are consequences for becoming vitamin deficient and it will show in many forms in and on your body. Perfect example, I was anemic to start with and slacked on taking my iron supplements. In turn, I ended up completely exhausted ALL the time and could barely function. Vitamins are important! So just do it!

Don’t compare! I know, I know, it’s not easy. You’re going to look for people who were the same weight or height as you and what they look like now, or how fast they’ve lost, etc… doing that will only make you feel like you’re not doing a good enough job. When I first had surgery, I was convinced I was a “slow” loser and would never meet my goal because the first month I only lost 11 lbs (while most people were losing 20+lbs). Boy was I wrong! Goes to show that EVERYONE is different. If you’re losing slow, it doesn’t mean ANYTHING in regards to your outcome.

Definitely take LOTS of pictures! There’s nothing wrong about taking selfies! You should be proud of what you’re doing! And having pictures to document your journey will definitely give you encouragement!

On May 28^th, 2014 I will be exactly one year out from surgery. The year has flown by FAST. I’ve learned a lot in the last year. I learned what I’m capable of, who I am as a person, and who my true friends and family are. And yes, there’s a good possibility you could lose friends and family afterward. Some people will just never be comfortable with the “new” you. But that doesn’t matter, so long as you’re comfortable with you.

If you’re on the fence about having a life-changing surgery such as the VSG, I cannot tell you which way to go. All I can say is that if I had to do this all over again, I’d do it in a heartbeat. In fact, I’d do it ten times over. Even on my worst days (of which there were a few), I never regretted my decision. I am no longer pre-diabetic and my blood pressure is completely normal. I now lead a totally normal life… a life that I didn’t live before because of my weight.

Below are my stats and some before / after photos. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here or private message me. I’m always open to talking to people about my experience.

Starting Weight: 311 lbs

Day of Surgery: 277 lbs

Current Weight: 164 lbs

Total Lost:

147 lbs (since starting)

113 lbs (since surgery)

WOW! What a transformation! You look incredible!

I am just a few months behind you and I completely agree with everything in your post. Congratulations on your success!

Look at you!   You are adorable - such a huge transformation!! We're practically sleeve sisters so I'm happy to see your success and hear that life is good.  Cheers to you for making this decision and doing the hard work to see all these changes 

you look incredible! Congratulations to you! I was sleeved 2 weeks ago and I think I'm going to be a slow loser to! I'm down 13 pounds since surgery on 4/24 and this week, I haven't lost anything yet! I worry that this surgery isn't going to work for me! and when I don't see I lose weight, I don't want to eat my snacks because I don't want to add any extra calories. In 2 weeks I haven't gone over 700 calories and when I'm close to the 700 calories, those are days that I throw in my 2 snacks so lately I haven't been eating them and I prob do 450-500 calories. I don't want to live like this. I don't want to be afraid to eat because I don't want to gain weight. Did you feel this way to?

Thank you for sharing, love the dogs and pictures!!

Wow you look amazing! Reading your story makes me feel like my decision is going to be worth it. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I, too, started out 300+ and had a "slow" first month where I lost 16 pounds felt a little down about that when most everyone else has lost 20+ (even those smaller than me to start with!). It has definitely messed with my mind in thinking that it's only going to be less from here. Congratulations on all you've achieved - I look forward to posting my one-year update and looking back. :) 

hello there... i to feel like i am a slow loser... only 16 pounds the first month... 

lisa 

4 pounds a week is not slow...patience!  Especially since you are a lightweight.  Stick to your plan and the weight will come off. :)

you look wonderful. great job. and thanks for posting. there are never too many success stories.   i am 4 plus years and maintaining. join the maintenance group if you haven't already. diane