WLS Veteran's Forum

I do not know about you, but does rain and gloomy weather make you hungry? It is almost bringing out the SAD in the middle of summer. Up here in Seattle, WA we have had awesome weather (best in the country) from mid June to yesterday. Sunny every day, temperatures in the mid 70s, afternoon breezes. It was perfect. Now it is all rainy outside and for the first time in I don't know how long, it is making me think about eating. Must be a trigger for me. Do other vets ever deal with gloomy weather and wanting to snack? Need to turn the happy lamp ( tricks your body into thinking it is sunny) on or something.

I can't stand to look at pictures of me now. I look deflated! Like someone who lost a ton of weight ....which was my biggest fear. My chin/neck is the worst....saggy. My face looks droopy. I remember thinking one of my friends looked better overweight when she first got to goal. But now I can't remember what she looked like chubby and she looks great! Maybe I'm just not used to the sudden change? Maybe it'll take time to tighten up? I know this sounds so vain but I think it's a real issue with rapid weight loss....right? Anybody who has been at or close to goal for a while ever feel like this? Did it get better?

This morning my husband forgot his bag at home that contains all of his things for work.. So he called and asked me "How much do you love me?" He's an ER PA so he said just pull up to the ER bay and call, I can run out and meet you. You see he's worked there for going on six years and I've never stepped foot in there because of embarrassment about my weight.. He's never been embarrassed about me but I have. some the nurses and techs tease him about not really having a wife because they have never seen me (no holiday parties for me). Today at 6:15am, fresh out of bed and looking that way! I pulled up to the ER, parked and walked into my husbands work like a normal s…

I'm at 7 months post op and am feeling very complacent (contented to a fault; self- satisfied , and unconcerned) I have been at a stall for a month now. No real loss or gain. I have lost a difficult 55 lbs, and am currently at 189 lbs. But I have gone down from a 22 to a 14, lost lots of inches and have had too many NSV's to count. I am feeling so good physically, and feel like I look "normal". I get lots of positive feedback about my weight loss. I'm happy with the sleeve. My problem is that now that I'm feeling so good and looking better, I just cant stay motivated to keep up with the diet and exercise. I want to reach goal, but life's not so bad right her…

So having been there and done that with the bright eyed bushy tailed (or honeymoon syndrome) and now realizing what the real constant struggle is, how hard is it not to be jaded here? Most people posting are newly sleeved and are so fresh and eager with the easier road still being travelled. While its great that their outlook is positive, it must get a bit difficult to read all these types of posts. Just curious when the rose tinted glasses came off for you? I am only 7 weeks out and realize I. Am facing an uphill battle for life. Wanted the solution but realize I only got a calculator! Still up to me to solve the problem...

Vets...do you still burp? I had surgery 2 years ago in May and ever since then my burps have changed. It's like I hardly burp, it's a really tiny amount of air that comes out. It's not even anything that anyone else can hear, I can just feel it happening. I physically cannot burp a normal burp no matter what I do. Wondering if this has changed for any other vets. The little tiny burp that I have is also my sign that I am full and it's time to stop eating even if I don't feel totally full. My nose also runs. It has been this way from the beginning. Do you still have a sign of fullness? I am wondering if having a sign of fullness will eventually go away or if it will be…

So I just got to onederland, yay... Issue: I have been eating so bad these past 2 days. And eating whatever. I understand that it gets harder as you go out. But this is f-ing ridiculous. It's like I'm daring my body to gain on me. And this all started as soon as I dipped under 200... I'm sure there is something psychologically wrong with me but how can I get this under control?

Not sure if this is the right place for this... didn't really want to post in the 'success' thread cos I am saving my goal post for their! Anyhoo... yep! It's just over three years since I had my sleeve and it really has been a roller coaster ride. Just a little pre sleeve background; fat kid - mother was and still is to a degree a 'feeder'! Nothing sinister in it, she just loves to see people enjoy food and goodies! As a teenager. although looking back I wasn't really that big, I had a really twisted sense of self image and thought I was disgusting. At 16 I started dieting and basically cut back drastically on calories with little affect! Just made me tired. Sti…

I am just wondering, how many of you who have lost a significant amount of weight or have met your goal weight, did so by exercising? I'm curious if anyone has lost their weight without exercising? I've been trying to get some exercise in but just haven't been feeling motivated enough lately, I know it will help with my weight loss and I wish I could find the energy and motivation but I just don't have it right now..Thanks..

Thats it. No big news...just happy. Finally got my "cruiser type" bike fixed and bought a used mountain bike (both from a bike hobbiest guy who custom fitted it just for me). Best $50 I recently spent. I went for a little ride last night and thought "wow - this is alot easier at 155 then at 300+++.... LOL. I am going to do another little ride after work today. Tonight, i am meeting a friend for a horseback ride. Okay, i do that alot, nothing new, but I just can't believe how "full" my life is now. I look back at the person who tried to be active but often sat at home watching TV because the body couldn't keep up with the heart and desires.... It makes me happy …

Sorry, duplicate message posted

So fellow vets do you ever catch yourself analyzing your stomach gurgles? Out of no where my stomach will gurgle and I start to think about when was the last time I ate and then I start asking myself if it is a sign of hunger or just typical band noise.

I have been maintaining since Feb, but recently had a small regain that kinda messed with my head. My goal is 158 and try to stay under that, but really due to the daily scale bounce I kinda consider 155-160 my goal range. Then, when I saw 163 on the scale I about had a heart attack. Combine it with the fact that I am not working out in the gym, but doing summer activities instead, I am not quite as "dense" and my fitted jeans feel.. snug. That all made me feel icky and unattractive even though i knew that it was small and really only noticable to me. So, i went on a business trip last week and saw someone I haven't seen since August. He didn't recognize me and defi…

I'm just curious and want something kind of like a roll call to see where we're all at. I'll be three years out in one month and I'm five pounds away from my pre pregnancy weight and eight pounds away from my original goal. If you're at goal, how long have you been maintaining within a 5 pound window? If you're not at goal, how far do you have to go? How do you transition your mind and eating from loss to maintenance or back to loss from maintenance? Do you go back to basics, restrict calories, get more active, etc.? I'd like to see some experiences shared here. I'm finding that I just don't make the time to come to VST much anymore. Sure, there's a small me…

Has anyone else gotten nauseous after taking bcaa drink following an intense workout (mine had lifting and body weight exercises)? Maybe I need to carb up more closer to start of workout? My stomach was empty post workout. I drank 14 g bcaa on wake this am and another 14 g bcaa before, during and after workout. Also had creatine and recovery shake at about the same time post workout. Just felt really sick to my stomach and had to lay down. Maybe it was just a reaction to the flavor and not the bcaa, per say. Every online info says bcaa is safe and more is better. Thoughts?

Just curious, as vets of the sleeve, how much do you REALLY vomit? I'm almost 4 yrs post op band (getting revised in 5 days!) and for the first 2 1/2 yrs, I vomited frequently (maybe 3-6x a week). I ate too fast. I'm gunna try to not throw up at all with the sleeve (so paranoid about a leak on my staple line), but I'm wondering: Is there some throwing up with the sleeve (especially the first 6 mths) or can that be totally avoided by eating slowly? Vomiting hasn't bothered me at all since being banded. It became a normal part of my day. I don't want it to become normal with the sleeve, but I also need to know IF it does happen, is it just food, as in the band barfing? Or…

Surgery was feb 2012. Still 15-20 away from my "goal" weight. I had been stuck at the same weight give or take a pound or two for 7 MONTHS. Now the past 6 weeks I have been feeling hungrier and have gained about 5 give or take a pound. I really want to at least get to my goal even if I gain 5 after that just to say I GOT THERE. Not feeling motivated or exercising doesn't help. I just need to buckle down again and DO IT! Blah.

I have constantly been getting little hunger attacks to eat over the last couple months in between planned meals (6x a day to total 1200 calories), when I am not supposed to be eating. Gets worse every day. So today I thought perhaps cottage cheese would make a good satiety food for these moments when I am being pulled *hard* by hunger. It worked!! The reason why I wanted to try is because I was remembering about a cottage cheese test to determine size of stomach from a VST book I read pre op (yes, I read a lot of books about post op but nothing trumps post op experience). I thought if cottage cheese is being used to determine size, it cannot slide through. This is gre…

I just want to chat with some folk who its has taken over 18 months to get to their weight loss goal.....my doctor and his staff hammered in 12-18 months, but me being 13 months post op and I've only lost alittle over half as of right now.....the reality is that it just may take me longer than 18 months....its starting to depress me that I'm not losing good.... I just need to know that there is hope....my therapist tried to reassure me today, but I just feel so bad....let me stop before I start crying

This question is more targeted towards you long term vets - 2+ years out. Sorry in advance for its length. I have read from a few vet posts ( ok, more then a few) that eating is much harder to control post 2+ years then, say, post 1 year. Why is that? Is it a relaxation of new post op lifestyle issue or something else deeper then that? I am looking more for an anatomical response rather then an emotional one because we all know about stress eating. Let us assume stress eating due to life circumstances or head issues are off the table for this discussion. My hunger woke up around post op month 5 and it required me to figure out a way to eat in balance with fitness. L…

Well who would have thought that 7 years ago today (July 6th) I’d be getting something called a “lapband”. I had done all my research; talk to the doctors several times prior to my surgery. I joined the Yahoo Group Canadian Lapbanders and asked a ton of questions. I was in the Lapbandtalk.com chat room every night for two months prior to surgery and I even spoke with two patients on the phone. I was ready to begin my lapband journey. I can remember right after the surgery I said… “What have I done myself”. I thought I was going to die from the left shoulder pain I was experiencing. The fourth day past and going into the fifth day I was starting to feel “normal” bu…

So during my years of gaining weight and being obese, I developed a very negative self-image, which of course perpetuated and became a cycle, making me eat more and become more obese. I felt worthless, like I didn't deserve anything good to happen to me, no one should like me or want to be around me, or want to hire me. This is where, even 7 months after surgery and 120 lbs gone, the feelings of worthlessness and inability to believe that someone would see my worth are still here. I just graduated from school, passed all of my exams for certification and licensing, and am looking for a job in Respiratory Therapy. I had an interview in May which didn't result in a job,…

Are there any tricks to making this easier? I am just learning to use this and I find it so time consuming. There has to be an easier way. do you measure and weigh your food before entering it? How do I know if the slice of cheese is the same amount of ounces as the one they give me when I type in cheese. I really want to do this but truthfully, it's driving me nuts!

When I first had my surgery 2.5 years ago, Water never sat right and always tasted funny. Before surgery, I drank water like it was going out of style. And even still, I find water tastes off to me and many times it doesn't taste good either. Some days it is ok, most days not. So I find myself drinking a lot of sugar free drinks. I have tried finding ones that are sweetened with natural sweeteners, but there are not very many, and the ones that I have found I have to order online and are expensive (I also live in Canada). And I have tried making my own like kool-aid sweetened with Stevia, real iced-tea. The koolaid was ok, but I do not like tea and could not get ov…

I've seen many talk about 5:2 diet. But what really is it? Thank you

Stupid question, how long until you are considered to be a vet ? I'm guessing 1 year at least .

Does anyone not track their calories? I'm an on and off again tracker. What I've noticed is when I track my calories throughout the day, I obsess a d eat my max calorie allowance. If I don't track throughout the day, I'll do it before bed because I'm curious. But I notice I only eat like 600-700 calories. My mind likes to play evil tricks on me! Thoughts?

HI Friends, Have not posted in awhile, I must say that I cant believe its been 4 years since I was banded. I am having major issues! While I am proud that I have maintained a weight loss of over 50 Lbs since my Band. And 85 lbs from my high weight. I am still frustrated as I want to loose more and don't know what else I can possibly do. I train (Weight 3 x a week) Try to do some cardio 1 other day. I know I could be doing more cardio. I eat well but if I go off my plan for a day or two due to any even the scale is up like 5 lbs and it than takes a few days to get it back down. I found some old photos today from 2005 they were really hard to look at. When I…

Anybody have experience with this PB2 stuff? I'm dying to eat PB but way too many calories for too small amount. I know I will overeat if I start and want to try this. Honest reviews please of this product. I know there are low fat PB and its Protein etc. I'm 3 years out, doing 5:2 to get back down to goal so my calories are important! .

Poll... How long did your hairloss last? How was your regrowth? Go!

can someone please tell me how to delete a ticker on my signature...i finally was able to make a new one, but cant delete the old one???

Sometimes people eat when they are bored. I was one of those people. After being "on plan" for a year almost, boredom is about the one circumstance that pulls me back into bad habits. I have not slipped yet, but my mind is going there. It doesn't help that is is cloudy outside (lack of sun makes my mood lower for some reason). If you are not eating when bored, then what are you doing instead? Sometimes it is not as easy as just reading a book, watching TV or exercising. Sometimes it is boredom while working and you still have to work, yet you have these feelings of satisfying boredom with food. Even if you could do one of these activities, sometimes you just don't want t…

I remind myself that I would have NEVER EVER had the confidence to ride my horse in a parade when I was so obese. This last 4th of July, I was rocking the princess wave! I keep photos of myself at my heavy weight too - this is to remind me of how losing weight has opened up lots of new exciting things for me!

How much do you get in a day as opposed to what your surgeon recommends? I'm having a very hard time scheduling my iron and calcium into a routine. Early on it was no big deal because my life revolved around everything sleeve. Now hitting some normality, I'm struggling getting it all. My iron levels are ok and I'd love to avoid adding another supplement, but the time spacing with iron and calcium is killing me!

I was driving home yesterday from a trip and started thinking about this. For those "vets" out there - how many of you battled "hunger" from the start and how did you control/portion what you ate? I know I've read from many that they experienced hunger all along (I DID NOT but NOW do experience strange hunger where I can seemingly never be full/satisfied?) So was it a lot like dieting along with VSG since you still WANTED to eat? Just thinking through what all of the sudden has made my body shift to this new "phase." 3 years out in June - I eat well for a month or two and then drop the ball and eat junk but even when eating "clean" I am hungry ALL THE TIME! Prot…

So, May is 2 years of banded living. Last month my surgeon told an entire room that I am the practices most successful band patient!!! Oh My God! Me!! I get to be results not typical! Finally!!!:-)

So, I am 2 days away from being 8 months out, I'm down 90 pounds and working my way to goal. My issue is a fairly recent change for me. I have begun to feel hunger again, and not a little like. '..hhhmmm...maybe I'm hungry...', but really serious 'I'm going to eat ANYTHING, FEED ME' kind of hunger. It is almost a burning, achy feeling in my tummy. This usually starts late afternoon around 3:00 if I have accidentally skipped my 2:00 'meal'. It only takes a few bites of something usually to make the pains subside, but I will get this again in the late evening around 8:00-9:00 sometimes as well. Is this real hunger? Is my grehlin production up? I was a lucky sleever …

This question has been rolling around in my head for months. I've mentioned it once, but the thread was more interested in flaming IggyChic than having a real discussion. So here goes: Do the veterans on here think that the sleeve is a good way to prevent obesity? Let's take away the danger part of it, let's say if it was 100% safe. (Just go with that idea for this question; we all know that no surgery can ever be 100% safe.) From what I've been reading, I'd say it is NOT a good way to prevent obesity. It seems like the only thing that the sleeve is good for is relearning how and what to eat, and it does a great job of that. But if someone hasn't conquered their i…

I am just over 2.5 years post op, and sometimes we forget how far we have come. Lately I have been struggling a little with body image and my head and NSV's elude me. While the other day, I did something that I never thought I would be able to do. I was at the playground with my children and decided to give the monkey bars a whirl. I am 34 years old and have NEVER been able to go across monkey bars, not even as a child (my weight struggles began in Kindergarten). With some determination, I crossed the monkey bars!! I thought my arms were going to fall off afterwards and I may have pulled a muscle, but I still did it!

Im starting to get a little freaked out. I have been doing really well maintaining my weight at 154-156 for about 3 months. Hitting a stressful time right now and dropped 5 pounds in a week... wth.... I dont want to lose anymore. I cant eliminate the stress... I cant eat... Im afraid I am going to get sick!!!

I have been at goal since Feb and maintaining well. My 15 year relationship (not married, but together as though married) ended fairly recently and I am finding it to be an interesting challenge to go through this without food as comfort. I haven't talked about this before because I guess I wanted to think about it a bit and be a little more objective in sharing my feelings. Oddly, in an old pattern he bought me ice cream to make me feel better. It was a 6 pack of skinny cow ice cream sandwiches which i polished off in 2 days and didn't feel any better - just goes to show that food wasn't that good of a friend, was it? Also goes to show I can still try to abuse foo…

I am so happy to be 6 months post op! I have lost 54 lbs. SW 244. CW 190. Down 26 1/2 inches. Im looking forward to being able to post with the vets now! before- now at 6 months-

I dont follow the rules many VSGers do... I drink water like crazy, I eat high proteins but I also eat high calories, high carbs, and high fats...I try to limit sugar, salt... I have been triathlon training for months.... have done a few 5K, 10K and duathlons in the midst ( thus the need for high carbs).. I HAD been losing steadily, definitely satisfactorily on my part ( at almost 10 months out, I am 5 pounds away from "normal" BMI) ... maybe if I stuck to 600-800 cals with little or no exercise, I would have lost more in pounds but honestly I look and feel great and am in better physical shape than I have been in over 20 years I have been in a weight loss stall for…

Hey everyone, I hope that your day is going well thus far. :-) Just wondering...when you think about this journey of better health, what is the most important thing/goal, etc to you? The key is to pick only one thing. I'd like to see what you all think. For me, the most important thing to me along this journey is that I NEVER GIVE UP. This is not easy & sometimes I feel weary/overwhelmed when I think about how hard I have to continue to work to accomplish my goal & maintain a healthy BMI, but I refuse to give up. I've given up too many times in the past & that's part of what got me to 303lbs to begin with. No matter how hard it is....I...Must.....Keep...Pressi…

I was reading a post on another thread and one thing really hit me hard and that I had been thinking about constantly. For awhile now, I have been thinking about food constantly. I'm not hungry, but I will sometimes eat anyways. I am so tired of this behavior and it has to stop. So I'm hoping others will share how they manage these pesky thoughts and stay on track. I believe it has lead me to grazing behavior. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Time to kick my butt. I can't even go to mall now because I know how to get free chocolates from See's Candies. I am so sabotaging myself right now..... I know others are struggling with this too so now what do we do and how…

How many calories and carbs are you consuming if you have met, or close to meeting your goal? I am maintaining my weight and calorie intake at about 1200-1300 but I cannot seem to go under 150g of carbs a day. Others post that they try to keep carbs to under 50g a day. That seems really low to me. What do you think?

I am 19 months out and I have been at or near this weight for about 10 months. I know most of it is that I've reverted back to some old eating habits (too many carbs) but for the most part, I still eat pretty healthy. I'm not sure what it is going to take to get me back on track but I am so tired of the scale not moving. I've lost about 81 pounds and have 26 to go. In the time I have been stalled I have lost a size or two so I feel good about that but I need to lose pounds. I will start monitoring this site again to help motivate me. I am glad to see this veteran's forum.

Not recognize yourself? This may sound paranoid and honestly at the time it was, but here it is. I was shopping and kept noticing this person's reflection in windows and the occasional mirror out of the corner of my eye. And finally I thought myself..well I have had enough of this follow me so I whipped around and guess who was there..the reflection of myself . So I had been all freaked out because apparently I was following myself ..didn't even recognized own image...weird I know..but now when people don't recognize I get it. So remember..if you think someone is following you, just turn around it probably is your own shadow! LoL

Hi, I am so excited to find this section of the forum and now I am six months and can officially be here. I pledge to not be an annoying newbie with my questions. I am at my goal weight and due to go back for my next appointment in a couple weeks. My questions come because of unusual situation. Right before my surgery, my husband lost his job and he is our only income. Praise God, he got another job and starts on Monday. Also the week of my surgery, the NUT at my surgeon's office quit. I had attended all the classes before, read the book they gave me ( three times) but after surgery it is now living it. I know clinics vary in guidelines and it is important to balance …

For those of you who are a few years post surgery, how are your scars looking? Anyone out there who have scars that have faded so well that they aren't even noticeable? Thanks!