Before & After VSG with SunnyGirlMS – 158 Pounds Lost!
June 28, 2016Celebrating SunnyGirlMS’ Before & After VSG Journey!
Like most of us, I had always been a "full bodied" person. I was always labeled as one of those ever so famous "beautiful faced" people. In my mid-twenties, I finally decided to start informing people that I didn’t view that as a compliment but as a way of telling me that I am not good enough the way that I am. As you might imagine, that response reddened many faces but did help them to understand why what they "thought" was a compliment was not appreciated.
To be honest, other than my insecurity of getting into a bathing suit with a group of bikini-clad friends or the fact that I wore (and still do) body armor, a.k.a. body slimmer, fat sucker, girdle, etc., I had always felt pretty confident and attractive. I thank my mom for that because she always made me feel beautiful no matter what size I was.
During my pregnancy with my son, Kody, I gained 50+ pounds landing me at 350 pounds, which sent my body into a pain filled tailspin. I was put on bed rest for the last three months due to high blood pressure and sciatica which affected the lower half of my body. Once Kody was born, I was able to lose 50 pounds but the pain never went away. Six months after delivery, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder that plagued me with additional pain in my joints and muscles.
Even though weight loss would not likely cure me, it would most certainly help with the weight bearing pain in my hips, knees, ankles and feet. The thought of weight loss surgery had always been in the back of my mind. After I watched Carnie Wilson's weight loss after having her surgery, I was inspired. I started thinking about having weight loss surgery myself.
The biggest factor in my decision to have weight loss surgery was from the birth of my son. The thought of developing diabetes or being too crippled by my pain to play with my son was not an option I wanted to live with.
Before & After VSG
OH Username: SunnyGirlMS
Date of surgery: 11/02/04
Type of surgery: Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG)
Total pounds lost: 158 pounds
Surgeon: Dr. Gregg Jossart
After making my decision to have weight loss surgery, I began to research my options. I found ObesityHelp.com and I can't express how grateful I was for the website! I found my amazing surgeon, Dr. Gregg Jossart, on ObesityHelp. I gained so much inspiration from the hours I spent looking through the hundreds of Before and After pictures.
As my surgery date got closer, the more butterflies I got in my stomach from the excitement I felt knowing there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Many people had asked me how I felt about the life changes that I would have to make to succeed with my weight loss surgery.
For once in my life, I knew without a doubt that I was making the right decision, not only for myself but for my family too.
Overall, my WLS journey was fairly easy. One of the toughest adjustments for me was remembering to eat, and when I did, to eat slower. It took a few times of vomiting to finally get that to sink in!
Immediately after my surgery, it was amazing to me how any craving for food was gone. My life no longer revolved around food. Now, it was just something that nourished my body so I could enjoy living!
The first month post-op, I lost 37 pounds which started me on the path to my WLS success. Watching the weight I had struggled with for my entire life to come off so quickly was the motivation I needed to never look back.
As the months passed and the weight continued to melt away, I weighed myself weekly, kept a log of my measurements and took photos monthly so I had a visual reminder of how far I had come.
There were some weeks that the scale didn't seem as kind but it would always force me to reflect on what I was or wasn't doing to cause the delay in my progress. Usually, the delay was due to a lack of protein.
It's hard to believe that November 2, 2016, will be my 12 year WLS anniversary. As the years have passed by I have met many people that never knew me as a plus sized person and can't even fathom that I weighed 310 pounds. At times I find myself missing those moments of running into someone I haven't seen in years and they are in awe at how different and "great" I look. I realize it was those moments that always boosted me up and kept me motivated. Now I know that I don't need other people to do that for me.
If I am feeling less than great or put on a couple of pounds, I simply look back at my photo journal or my ObesityHelp blog page and remind myself of how far I have come. After all these years, I have maintained my weight loss and am proud of myself. I embrace every opportunity to share my story, and support and encourage those that are considering taking the journey themselves.
Since having surgery, I have inspired at least 12 people, that I know of, to have the surgery. At this point in my weight loss, I have not had any plastic surgery to remove the 20 pounds or so of excess skin that I've lugged around all these years. This is my goal for the near future. I feel I owe it to myself.
I still do not feel comfortable wearing a bathing suit or sleeveless shirts etc. I'm researching and saving for plastic surgery. When I have plastic surgery, it will be my next journey...STAY TUNED!!
Last year, I celebrated my 11-year post op anniversary. I have done well maintaining my weight, having lost 158 pounds! My life has been amazing and so much has changed over the years for the better.
Having the WLS is the best decision I could have ever made for myself and my family.
Special Milestones
During my weight loss journey, I've had so many milestones!
One of my milestones was walking into a clothing boutique, feeling a bit out of place because I still saw myself as the big girl inside a smaller body. In search of a new pair of jeans, of course, the only ones I liked were a size 8. I decided to try to give them a try so I ventured into the fitting room. I was prepared that they would probably go up only to my knee caps. After they fit me, I let out a scream of excitement....THEY FIT!!!! OH MY GOD, I FIT IN A SIZE 8!!! I'm certain the sales lady must have thought I was crazy! I couldn't hold back the tears of joy!
Another milestone was when I went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and rode on a rollercoaster for the first time. I was excited and anxious but not for the same reasons, I no longer had to fear not fitting in the seat or that the safety bar not being able to latch!
As a WLS post-op, I took my first airplane ride about four years ago. It was the first time I didn't have to ask for a seatbelt extender or sit with my arms crossed to keep myself from invading the other passengers space.
Now my visits to the doctor don't require a thigh cuff to take my blood pressure, geez, I hated that!
All that being said I still think what stands out the most for me is, May 30, 2006...A day I will never forget. It was my 18 months check up with Dr. Jossart. He greeted me with "Gee you are looking awfully thin...or shall I say Wonderfully thin!" After weighing in and discussing how great I was feeling he uttered those glorious words "well Marci, I think you are at your ideal weight!" I never thought I would hear those words come out of his mouth or anyone else for that matter!
One of my future goals is to afford plastic sugery to remove the excess skin I carry around. I remain hopeful that will be an option sooner than later. Another goal of mine is to wear a sleeveless shirt!
Share Your Before & After Success!
Do you have Before & Afters, special milestones and non-scale victories from your journey that you’d like to share? The OH team wants to hear from you! Visit our Before & After Submission page for details.
