wendyvanosdell

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Everything is still great. I don't have to struggle quite as hard to keep from losing weight. I was really nervous there for a while, I could NOT STOP losing! It seems like this would be great, and before the surgery I had worried if I would actually lose weight, and whether the surgery would "work". I was scared when I got as thin as I wanted, and then continued to lose. It is better now. I still add snacks at night, 3 or 4 times a week, and if I get to feeling like I am starving, then I know I am too protein deficient and i add in more protein. I try to make sure everything I eat is fattening, that way I keep from dropping pounds. I will still get sick if I eat too much sugar, esp if it is in the form of ice cream. Had a milkshake at McDonalds today and regretted it for 20 minutes or so. I felt AWFUL. My labs are pretty decent, low in Vit D, B and iron, but not way too low, just a little low. I like being able to RUN and JUMP!!! If I go hiking I have to bring trail bars, I run out of energy pretty quick. As long as I snack I do great. I cannot go on a shopping trip without eating, I get really weak if I am not careful. I love having had surgery. The desire to eat is just not there, it never came back. I do get hungry sometimes, but it is different now, and I still kinda miss the way I used to enjoy food. I loved it, a lot. That is not there anymore. I tried to convince my family that if we would cut out one meal each day, how much time and work we could save. And i meant it, they did not agree. I am glad for the surgery, my husband is hoping to have the sleeve done next year or the year after that. God Bless to all of you!!
I wanted to add, my skin has done extremely well. It is not loose in my arms and legs. I have some extra in my stomach, but I have had seven children, so I cannot complain. I know everyones skin does differently, but don't assume yours will be horrible. I "knew" I would have to have surgery to take off the extra skin - NOT, it is great.

Just wanted to quickly update. Still doing great, have to make sure to eat enough. I weigh about 137 now. Great weight for me  :)  Best thing I ever did for my health. I played football with my boys the other day, it was so much fun. I have a few pics on Facebook, if anyone is interested. Wendy Vanosdell is my name on FB. I would encourage anyone needing large weight loss to have the sleeve done, it is wonderful!!!

I have finally stopped losing weight. For almost 6 weeks now I have weighed 138/139. I am so glad. It may sound like too much weight, but I am turning into a skeleton, and nothing I did would stop the weight from continuing to come off. I am so glad I had wls, and very happy with my weight. I still cannot eat that much at one time, a taco from taco bell is the most I can eat. I have felt like I am starving lately, and I eat off and on all day, probably because we are on vacation so I am running around a lot. I don't exercise/work out, I can't afford to lose the calories. It was all I could do to stop losing weight, never thought I wouldhave that problem. Food is just what I put in my mouth to keep going, I no longer live to eat, and that is wonderful!

I am down to 143 now. I don't put ANY effort at all into stopping myself from eating. I don't like sweet things anymore. I am glad for that, but a part of me misses them. After the surgery, when I would eat sweets, I would get violently ill. I think that affected me, and now I feel kind of yuck when I see them. I want to be able to eat them, but I can't. My hair is still falling out, and I am still not eating enough protein. It is hard, I don't eat very much food. I am not hungry. I had to have my gallbladder out right after Christmas. It was terrible. I hadn't noticed any problems with it, ever. Then Sat. night I started having pains, Sunday night my temp was rising and I was going septic. Gangrene had set in and the doc took it out Monday. He waited until the iv antibiotics had kicked in. The recovery took awhile- a solid 2 weeks, but I feel great now. I have lost 100 pounds now. I wear a size 14 skirt, it fits very comfortably, M shirt. It still seems weird to wear these sizes. I have been fortunate with my skin not sagging, but I am steadily losing my breasts and butt. I am so glad I had the surgery. I pretty much just eat whatever I want. I do NOT eat low calorie foods, it is hard enough to get the calories I need with regular food. I do make an effort to pick protein rich foods. I don't drink or eat any supplementary protein items. Just food. Except for Greek yogurt, I try to eat that a few times a week, since it has so much protein. I still drink coke pretty much every day. My New Years Resolution is to try to eat HEALTHIER foods, like maybe adding some more vegetables, and drinking less coke. My husband is still thrilled with my surgery results. I feel so good now, I forget how it was before the surgery. I encourage everyone I can to have the surgery, it is that wonderful. Also my BP is really good now, no more diabetes and I am still off the heart pills. I do still have asthma though.

It just hit me that I have reached the goals I set. I can buy clothes easily now. I still am not a clothes person, but it is lots more fun than it used to be (torture). I can do all kinds of things with my family, we hike, play ball and ride bikes! I forgot these were goals, they are just fun things we do. I have gotten used to being thin. So strange how life twists and turns.

I had an ectopic pregnancy Nov. 4 and had to have surgery. I am feeling much better now. After the surgery I suddenly dropped 10 pounds. I weigh 155 now, the tiniest I have been in too many years to count. I am so glad for this surgery. My hair is still falling out. I have added a greek yogurt every night and taht may help some. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Hi everyone, haven't been on in a while :)  We have been so very busy. We moved to RURAL New Mexico, and that has had me hopping! All is great, I am still so thankful for the surgery! It was a great thing. My husband wants to get it done as well. My hair is still falling out terribly bad, handfulls daily, I don't know how I am not bald! I know I am not getting enough protein, so I am going to try and do better. I do take my vitamins most days, but really short on the protein. All is well otherwise. Losing about 2 - 4 pounds each month now. So glad to be thin!

We had a 5 day camp meeting at church. Breakfast, lunch, supper, and evening snack were served in the fellowship hall. I ate like crazy all week long. I felt fabulous. Full of energy and just really felt good. At home I get really busy with the kids and life and skip meals (a lot) because I just don't really care to eat. I get kind of weak also. Well, I got back home ready to type in a weight gain, thinking I am probably the first person that has gained weight at 4 months out. SURPRISE!! I lost several pounds! It just showed me I need to be eating more, I know I don't eat near what I should, it just isn't the same. I am going to try harder, to find easy good foods (that I will want to eat) to keep around the house. Maybe I can keep this up!!! Lose more weight while feeling great!! I went and had labs drawn yesterday, so in a week or so, I'll get those results back.

I was reading  a post by lolalucy. She was writing about losing weight and still looking the same. I have lost 55 pounds or so, and I still look just like I did before. When I look at pictures I can see a difference, but when I look in the mirror, I look just like I always have. My husband says No Way. I look different to him. People I see often have really noticed the weight loss now. My mother hugged me and almost started crying, she was so happy about the weight I have lost. All I could think was, You love me because I lose weight????? I wanted to scream! I am very glad about it, but it is just weight. All the things that really matter haven't changed. My mother has obvious enormous food and body image issues, and I need to remember that. It just hurt. I guess I wish I had a better relationship with my mother. I hope I remember all of this with my little girl, so that I don't hurt her. I'm sure there are lots of people with MUCH worse mother-daughter relationship problems than I have.  My mother is just so disconnected from all of our lives, she has her own world at her job, and it seems like that replaced her family. I guess I long for that relationship that we don't have.
After reading lolalucy's post, i'm guessing it must be normal to think this way. Honestly I don't look all that different. Almost like a slightly shrunk version of my former self. I do feel a lot better physically, although my hair is continuing to fall out like crazy! I still get weak pretty quickly at times. We are on vacation at a State Park right now, and I noticed after riding bikes for a while that I feel a little shaky. I went for a ride early this morning and did fine, but yesterday afternoon I was shaky/weak. Weird. We are having a fabulous time! My husband put together a pretty pink bike for me with a seat on the back for my little girl to ride in. It is adorable and so very girly! We are having so much fun. The kids have all caught redbugs, ugh! Oh, this sure has been nice. I'll update my weight when I get back. I don't weigh every day anymore, so it shouldn't be that big of a jump. And I have sat around a lot! Not exercising, this is vacation!! And FUN!!

I am in Onederland. WOW. I don't know what to say, other than thank you!
Thank you Dr. Almanza. Thank you OH. Thank you Emily Rose.
Especially I thank the Lord for all the blessings in my life.