10 days out of massive reconstructive surgery from my weight loss...

I've found a lot of good cooking-related things on You Tube. My current obsession

is River Cottage out of the UK. A friend sent me a link to a cool series on bread baking....It's amazing what you can find.

 
Share, Carianna- if it isn't too personal- how much did you lose? I am so proud of you!

I have lots of extra skin that never retracted after losing- I have thought about surgery but have not done it. Would love it if you can share but only if it isn't too personal for you. What an achievement for you!! WaHooooooo.

 
I've shared before, but don't mind doing so again. Warning: sort of graphic info contained... smileys/smile.gif

2 years ago I came to a difficult decision that I absolutely had to do something drastic about my weight. I was over 300 lbs and pre-diabetic, with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint pain... you know the story.

After researching different weight loss surgeries I opted to have a newer procedure called gastric sleeve surgery. It is not the same as a gastric bypass, nor is it anything like the lap band. Basically, I had a large portion of my stomach removed (mostly that stretchy pouchy section) and my new stomach is shaped kind of like a banana and doesn't hold very much.

Over the next 10 months, I lost 150 pounds. It kind of just melted off of me. I did have a rough couple of months right after the surgery while I battled with dehydration and bladder and kidney infections (lesson learned: DRINK YOUR WATER) but after that, I never felt like I was on a diet or anything. I just get full very very quickly, after about 1/2 cup of food or so.

But losing 150 pounds had some unfortunate effects on my skin. Namely, my thighs, stomach, breasts, and arms. I opted to leave my arms as is, but had excess skin removed from my thighs, a tummy tuck, and had my breasts lifted back up (but not enhanced.) The breasts were the biggest deal for me. I was a DD before surgery, and went to a C cup after the weight loss. They looked sort of like deflated balloons. I'm only 45, and decided I was too young to have grandma boobies!

It's too soon after surgery to gauge the results, but everything certainly looks better! My stomach has definitely lost the big pouchy hanging fold of fat/skin that hung down. My thighs are definitely slimmer, and my breasts are much perkier. smileys/smile.gif

It's been a long journey, and I'm glad I took it. But still, sometimes I'm mad I had to have all this done to fix the problems I caused to myself. On the bright side... this morning I weighed exactly 2 pounds more than I did in high school. That's something to raise my eyebrows about! smileys/smile.gif

 
A friend of mine went through a similar path, including the sculpting surgery. She wore

these stretchy bands around her arms, waist, and thighs because the scars were quite long. She also swore by the healing power of magnets that she somehow incorporated in the process. Apparently her doctors were stunned by how quickly she healed, and she gave credit to the band/magnetic approach. Who knows? Might be worth researching.

 
Woo-hoo! I managed to make breakfast for my girls this morning!

Baked eggs with cheese and bacon in a potato skin shell. I feel like Mommy Wonderful again! smileys/smile.gif

 
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