32 in Los Angeles with Everything Ahead of Me! - Los Angeles, CA

I'm down 100-102 lbs depending on the day :)

And it all happened in under one year! I can't reco the sleeve enough actually. I wish I had done it sooner, that's all i can say. They say that the sleeve helps you lose 40% of your excess weight and the rest is up to you. That is true. But after getting down to 180 or so, I finally became the athlete I always wanted to be. I love spin class and climber class and yoga. I enjoy being active and like the endorphins. I love pilates! These were things I kind of liked before or knew about, but they didn't produce the results i wanted or I couldn't do them as well as everyone around me...but now I'm average at all this stuff, but I enjoy it.

Also, of note, I eat mainly vegan. Post sleeve, the type of foods that can be digested and won't get stuck are all about texture. Meat is dense, chicken is dense, think about it. But fruit and vegetables are like water. I can eat a giant salad! And with a tiny tummy, it's nice to EAT. I also went down a rabbit hole of documentaries on Netflix (Fed Up, Forks Over Knives, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, Veg Out, etc) and I cannot UN-KNOW what I know about the processed food in our country that is causing the obesity that is the reason WHY we need the gastric sleeve in the first place. That stuff in a obx or plastic wrap is not food. Fast food is not food. It looks like food, but it's all hydrogenated crap made in labs and of corn syrup. Corn is everything and is subsidized by the government, as is sugar and all the big companies that make cereal and candy and frozen pizza and poisoned vegetables, etc) Not to mention the treatment of the billions of animals that they basically harvest to slaughter, and they're filled with antibiotics and steriods and all of it...makes us fat. So I switched to eating vegan for the purposes of my new tummy...and I'm down 103 lbs in 11 months, so, you do the math on that one. Also, I love what I eat now. And sometimes I treat myself to other stuff, but "bad" food isn't how I reward me anymore. I buy size 2 pants and take myself on trips and have a generally better, happier life because I am healthy and active and finally feel like a real person and not like I'm blocking a doorway or ruining a party by showing up at 200lbs. The sleeve kinda saved me! And I just had plastic surgery and will wear my first bikini this summer. Have you ever?! From the 240lb woman...to a 137 lbs girl. And I mean girl. I look younger than I ever have! I get carded for cigarettes....okay, I just quit smoking. I know, I know. But I did quit!

I hope this review helps you all. I'm so so so happy I did what I did! :)

I have updated this review a million times in my head, but here goes :)

Physically, I am fine so I don't want to scare anyone off. My incisions are basically gone, which is awesome. I have experienced barely any nausea and no cramping, stomach pain is all gone. Even the neck/shoulder pain is infrequent and seemingly tied to eating/drinking (which I think puts pressure on my diaphragm where the hernia repair was and then the 'referred pain' is in the left shoulder.)

My SW was 237 and I'm 216 now. That's 21lbs in about 21 days, which is ridiculous when you think about it!! I have had stall days for sure and those are the worst because the weight loss makes the uncomfortableness of not being able to do the things I want (i.e. eat something! anything! or handle spin class or not worry about when I'll ever go to the bathroom..) much easier.

I tried spin class and made it 40 of the 45 minutes and then had to bounce, I was so faded. I also went out one night and danced for hours at a concert and came home soooooo tired. So I'm not who I was, yet, that's for sure. This week I went to this cool sauna that I love and had a ginger shot after and was sure I was on my way to California style health improvement and then I started getting headaches...they got worse over the next two days and I finally called the doctor. I am dehydrated he says. So, I took down 3 popsicles yesterday, some broth, and about 4 protein waters and a a little gatorade. My mood has been all over the place. I'm normally sensitive, but when I burst into tears while talking with the customer service lady from the Gap...I knew I was in trouble! I've been pouting and shuffling around my apartment feeling quite sorry for myself. I know the truth is..I should be seeing a therapist during this. What a big change! Also, I used food to comfort myself. Even if it was granola and a yogurt or an egg white omelet with spinach. And my ability to nourish and comfort myself, peanut butter cup forgotten, is gone for now. I have to stick to these drinks.

Last but not least, I have always been impatient and impulsive. So this entire process from getting approved to the pre-op to the post-op has been a learning curve. This is a long adjustment. I'm very black and white, so this feels like BLACKNESS for sure, when really I'm probably right on track for how you feel after all this happens to your body. Going to try and focus on being grateful for having had a smooth surgery and recovery and having lost over 20 lbs. 215 is my lowest weight in the past 3 years, so this next pound is meaningful. And I haven't seen my best friend since 3 days after so it will be cool to see him next weekend and be down like 25 lbs!

Which reminds me. The clothes thing. I have some smaller stuff, but this is a real hassle. Not a bad problem to have, but nothing looks right and I'm not PMSing here...NOTHING looks right. I think I'm making monthly trips to H+M until this settles down.