3-Years Post-Op Check In w/Photos!!

Hello there! I can't believe how time flies! I just realized that in two days, it will be my 3 year surgeversary! And I have been successfully maintaining a loss of over 190 lbs! Over 100% of my excess weight!

Starting weight: 348.

Current/maintenance weight: Between 158-165.

Height: 5'10"

I figured this would be the perfect time to check in with progress! First things first, here are my photos!

First photo is pre-op and second one was just taken by me - right before I started writing this post!! :)

I have to say, choosing to have the sleeve has been the best decision I have ever made. I am now at a point where I can generally eat like a normal person, and I have been maintaining my weight (with very little effort) for the last year and a half. Once I hit goal, about 1.5 years ago, I stopped logging and weighing my portions, and have been successful in not having to do so in over a year. I know I am lucky in that regard.

What works for me is weighing myself once a week, and just reigning it in if I see a slight increase (cut back carbs and booze. Heheh!).

As you can probably tell, I have also had a tummy tuck, along with a breast lift and augmentation (which was recently revised). For those before and afters, you can check out my gallery. Suffice it to say, my plastic surgeon is magic.

The only negatives I have experienced have been acid-related. I have been on some sort of acid medicine pretty much daily for the last 2 years. The one that has really helped (Dexilant) isn't covered by my insurance. :( I have also developed anemia so that's being handled by supplements and an iron-rich diet.

If you're not sure whether to go through with this surgery, and happened to stumble upon this post - DO IT! I could't even imagine how much better life could be. It' so much EASIER to not have to constantly be aware of my body and trying to make myself smaller. I never realized how much of my thoughts were taken up by my size daily and now, it's like a weight has been lifted (literally - hah!). I can't even express how the outside world has changed in how they look at me. All those anxieties and feeling constantly looked at? Gone!

I welcome any questions you may have about my journey!!!

You look Amazing!! Congratulations!

Many people experience regain at around the 3-point mark. It's great that you can go without weighing, measuring or logging for now, but please realize that may not be the case for your permanent future.

Yes! I'm sure people experience that! But I was also on here 6 months post-op, being told I would never make goal and that I would be one of those people crying about what they did wrong that they never got to goal. Then a year post-op, when I came here to talk about my success, I was told..."Oh wait! Wait until the two year mark. The honeymoon phase is over and...you're going to just gain." That didn't happen, nor did aaaaanything else people decided to chide me about.

So while I understand that some people may have a challenge, I'm also atypical in the sense that my reasons for choosing...and being extremely successful with...this surgery may not be the same as others. I eat like a normal person. Have done so for a while now. The surgery helped me with my relationship with food. And I will always promote it!

So yes, you'll see me again a year or two from now, and I'm sure I'll get another comment about how "five or ten years later, if you're not logging you're going to regain." And I understand. It's OK. Its expected. But it likely will not apply to me.

For what it's worth, not sure anyone here was trying to chide you. Maybe just encouragement to stay on your toes. Which it sounds like you are!

Can I ask what eating like a normal person means to you? I ask because...when I eat like a normal person (ie, what others are eating), I gain weight--certainly don't lose it. I didn't get fat from huge portions, or from eating fast food (which was a rare part of my diet). I tracked food and calories. I still wonder if it has to do with the fact that I started dieting when I was 9 or 10. When I was 14 or so, I remember going on slimfast...two shakes a day..and instead of a "sensible dinner", I ate a leaf of lettuce or something. This was so disordered..but no parent or adult was watching close enough to really notice or do anything about it (Probably just happy I was slimming down). My nadir weight was 155...and people still called me fat. From then on, it was decades of trying every kind of diet...losing and gaining hundreds of lbs. The best I ever felt or did was doing the Zone. But at a point, this stopped working (or I did). I just wonder if by doing all this, I completely jacked my metabolism for life. I'm praying with all my heart that this surgery helps fix that. My hope is to "eat like a normal person". But in reality, I believe that I will always have to eat way fewer carbs/sugar and smaller portions than a "normal person". I'm also trying to remember that what we in the U.S. think of as a "normal person" diet is actually rife with too-large portions and too-few nutrients.

For me, I like to say "eating like a normal thin person" vs. "eating like a normal person." I've watched a lot of thin adults eat and they definitely don't eat the way I used to eat. They eat smaller portions, focus on the protein and veg instead of the chips and fries, pass on desserts, etc.

I try to emulate them.

And the "adult" part is important. My size 0 high school bff could eat entire jars of nutella every day and remain a size 0. Kids are different. :)

Oh they definitely were, but it's ok. :) That's the reason why I have the "unconventional sleever" line in my sig.

I echo what Gwen said. Maybe not a "normal" person but a "thin person." I still try to prioritize protein then veggies, but I also can go out to dinner, get risotto, and enjoy most of my portion. I guess the biggest changes aside from diet were also that I am better at listening to my body. If I'm not enjoying something, I won't eat it because its just there. I stop when I'm full.

Your history with dieting sounds extremely similar to mine. For me, portion size was the biggest culprit - along with stress and some thyroid issues. I am confident that if I did it (with what I thought may also be a messed up metabolism), you can absolutely do it too!!

"I guess the biggest changes aside from diet were also that I am better at listening to my body. If I'm not enjoying something, I won't eat it because its just there. I stop when I'm full."

Yes, yes, and yes. That was a big, huge change for me. I can actually hear my body saying "hey, I'm full now" and stop eating. It's pretty cool. I could never hear my body telling me that before. It probably got tired of telling me that, since I'd always just ignore it anyway!

Wow great job!

Congratulations! You look amazing!