VSG Gave Me a New Life - Plano, TX

I had the VSG on 7-11-11 with Dr. Nick Nicholson in Plano, Texas. He and his staff are wonderful. I'm 48 yrs old and 5'1. My highest weight was 236. On day of surgery I was 212 lbs. I've went from a 3x/20-22 to a 10/12 or M/L top.
I'm a slow loser and I'm ok with that. I changed the way I eat forever. As a family we eat clean whole foods. No more processed foods or fast foods. I never wanted to be on a "diet" again. I would do this again in a heartbeat.

In 2012 I did 3 5K's. I would have never thought about doing a 5K before in my life.
This year I'm onto the 2nd part of my journey. I will be having a tummy tuck with hernia repair in Sept.
I've maintained in the 160's for the past year. I would like to be between 140 and 150 lbs. Having some of the loose skin removed will help with that.

July 11, 2014 was 3 years since I was reborn. VSG saved me from being obese and unhealthy for the past 3 years and hopefully for the rest of my life. Is it easy? No, it's not easy. I still have to think about what foods I eat. I'm just thankful that my tiny stomach now only allows me to eat so much. I've changed "what" I eat. My goal is to eat whole, clean foods. No more processed food, no junk foods, no fast foods. No soda's!!! Giving up my Diet Dr. Pepper I thought would be the hardest thing of all. But it wasn't. I don't miss it at all. I do not want to damage the gift I was given.

Now that doesn't mean I don't crave the sugary, fatty foods. Because I do. After that first 18 months my food cravings came back. Not horrible, but they are there if I let them in. If I stay away from my trigger foods I'm ok. I don't care to have them. But once I start, it's hard to not want them again and again. So my advice to you, is to never start back eating something you know will trigger you to start eating badly again. Because once you start to let in those "old foods" its hard to stop.

My downfall is crackers. Sure I may be eating healthy crackers, but I still shouldn't eat as many as I do. Also I've let sweets back into my life. And it's only certain little things, because most sweets still make me a little sick.

I've made a new commitment to myself. I will rid my diet of all sweets and grains for a few weeks to detox from them. I have never reached my goal. Although my doctor says I'm a success, because I lost over 70% of my body weight, I still want to reach that number on the scale. For now my goal is to be between 140-145 lbs. If I can get there and stay there for more than a year, then I will feel like I've made it.

At the moment I'm 165 lbs. I've maintained being between 162-168 for over 2 years. It's just where my body wants to be. I've been as low as 156 right after my tummy tuck/hernia repair. But my body bounced back to where it feels comfortable. I wear a size 8-10 in pants and M-L in tops. Remember I'm only 5'1. But I remember where I came from. Size 3x and 20-22 was my largest.

Thanks for listening to my story.