Ducker

Hello All! So now we are all about 8 months out and I was wondering how everyone was doing and any challenges or learnings you would like to share at this stage in the game. Also, Summer is on the horizon and I want to know how you are all feeling about your bodies as this season has already been wonderful, but particularly challenging in the past when I was so overweight. Instead, I am so excited about Summertime and how different it can potentially be for me as I am feeling so positive about my health, upcoming activities, feeling comfortable in more revealing clothes, and weight for it....a BATHING SUIT! What?!! Did I just say that? So what's the word with you? Ducker

This is a great thread! I also consider myself a slow loser, but remember something very relevant in regard to stalls. Your body remembers every single weight that you stayed at long term. So, there are steps along the way where we seem to stall out at one certain for what seems like forever. It is because your body is clinging to these familiar places (weights). These are the stalls that are really hard to break even though you seem to be doing everything right. I have found this very comforting. I am stuck right now at 195, which is a weight that I was for a long time about 5-7 years ago. If you keep this in mind, you will be less frustrated. Your body is just like many people. Bad habits are hard to break, such are habitual weights that we have stayed at for a long time in the past. So, as we hit rewind on these years and years of gaining, we are bound to hit weights that we have steadied at in the past and our bodies want to stay there. It's like staying in a relationship that is not healthy just because it is comfortable. We have a relationship with our bodies and are shaking it up, so when our bodies find a familiar place, it wants to stay.

Did great the first six months, now haven't lost anything the past 2 months, just losing and gaining the same 2 pounds. I am so not looking forward to my next appt. with my surgeon on June 22. I am so embarrased that I may not even have lost a pound by then. Everyone talks about the 3 week stall and the 3 month stall. Anybody experience a stall in the later months? Help! Ducker

Thank you ladies! And, everything you have all said rings very true! I have stayed on track with my exrecise, and even varied it a bit, and while the numbers have not budged, the way my clothes look at the way my body looks has. I was just nervous because my surgeon will only be looking at the numbers. Nobody talks about the stalls later in the journey. So, you have all made me feel good to know that I am not the only one that has experienced this, and I no longer feel like a failure or a slacker. Thank you all so much for responding! You have made my day, and probably my month!

So happy for you ladies and so proud of you! Also, about the loose skin...I have the same gripe but it doesn't hold a candle to the life I was living before the sleeve. I feel so blessed every day to have had the opportunity to improve my life quality. I am happier than I can ever remember bring in my adult life. Grinning from ear to ear!

Are you exercising? I was stalled and stepping up the exercise broke it. If you are exercising, you may need to vary the type of exercise. Our bodies are very smart and after a while the same exercise will not be effective. Try something new! You may even discover a new activity that you really like...Zumba, Yoga, Biking, Pilates...?

Thanks for the GB info! That is something I constantly worry about. I appreciate the input from you all.

I was having a snacking problem that resulted in a one month stall, no gain, but still a stall of gaining and losing the same single pound. It unfolded out of a particularly harsh PMS and then just became daily practice. I tried to get myself out of it, to no avail. So, I turned to some old Hydroxycut I had left in a drawer from my pre-sleeve days. It has allowed me to stop snacking. I will not use it long term, just to break what had become my typical snacking routine. Today is day two. I know I will probably face another criticism for this, but I don't care. I will not fail at this. I refuse. I am doing this my way. Ducker

I have lost about 50 lbs, another 50 to go. I admit that I am not exercising as much as I should be, but am still very happy with my results!

You are in a stall, and so am I at 5.5 months out. But, by now we recognize one when we see one and also know it will not last. So, don't get down on yourself and do not give up! Just keep working your regimen and you know you will succeed. Maybe not as quickly as you would like, but goal is the at the end of this journey, and we are all here to help you get there! Ducker.

I am SOOOO proud of you! I am at 50 lbs. too now and in a stall (mostly my fault, haven't been exercising). But, I am not feeling sorry for myself and am not giving up! 50 lbs. is my halfway mark and took me a lot longer to get there (5.5 months), but I WILL lose this last 50 lbs. and get to goal. I simply won't have it any other way! Ducker

WOW! YOU GO GIRL!

I definitely have great fluctuations in my hunger. Some days more than others, and during PMS or TOM you can just forget it! I am a (grazing) beast! Ducker

I am 5 months out, and not losing as quickly as many are on here, but I am also enjoying every stop along the way. This includes donating clothes that I can no longer fit, the way my body feels in the shower, how I can now cross my legs when I sit in meetings, now feeling comfortable sleeveless and even in shorts, and the comments people have when they have not seen me for a few weeks. It all feels really good. Think about it. If I just woke up one day at goal I would not have the opportunity to enjoy the ride. I'm lovin it! Ducker

So...I have not had the urge to post any non-scale victories as of yet, and then this morning as I was getting dressed for work it occurred to me! I have not bought any new clothes yet. Rather, I have been revisiting all the old "when I lose X amount of weight I will wear these again" pieces. You all know what I'm talking about. The "wishful thinking" wardrobe. It has been so much fun! Today I have on a skirt that I have not been able to wear in probably about 4-5 years, and a co-worker commented "I remember that skirt!" It felt so good. It feels amazing to be able to go back over to "that side of the closet". It feels even better to fold up jeans and shirts that are now too big and put them in the Goodwill bag that I now keep in my closet. I am so happy. I am so very, very happy, and enjoying every second of the remix! Ducker

Uh oh. I have slipped on this a couple of times. I get back spasms and tension headaches that Tylenol has just proven to be no match for. Hopefully I have not done any major damage to my sleeve...

Thanks ladies! And, Indymom, you wouldn't believe how much styles rotate. There is definitely going to be some stuff that you are going to be able to put back in your mix. Also, you best believe that the youth are taking advantage of all the fine stuff you are turning in to Goodwill and other thrift stores. They eat up all the stuff we consider useless and "outdated". So, make sure you take a second look before you throw out that fringe sweater!

Now that you mention it, since the sleeve I NEVER get hiccups anymore!

Doing fantastic! The best thing I have ever done for myself. Now, I am not losing as quickly as these other ladies, but I am still very happy with my progress. I could not ask for a better opportunity in regard to my health! Ducker

I love to drink! However, I must concur with everyone else that I am a really cheap date now and just don't quite recover the same in terms of hangovers. The silver lining is that my hangovers are now so sever that my inability to barely eat anything the next day makes up for the extra calories represented by drinking in the first place. Cheers!

I am also 5 months out, and also feel like I can eat way more than others on here, averaging about 3/4 - 1 cup at a meal. However, I make far more quality food choices than I ever did and my weight is steadily pouring off as I am still averaging about 10 pounds per month. My surgeon and I are both quite satisfied with this rate of loss (although he would like me to decrease to no more than 1/2 cup per meal). Don't be so hard on yourself about this. Your sleeve is very good at communicating when it is unhappy. Listen to your sleeve and listen to your body and I don't think you can go wrong.

Ditto! I'm a maniac!

SOOO glad I am not alone. I am 4 months out and just starting to get hungry about every 3 hours or so. I thought maybe I was one of the unlucky ones that maybe the ghrelin came back or maybe my surgeon had not removed enough of the ghrelin producing part of the stomach. I try to fight it or drink water in between, but stomach hunger is just so uncomfortable now, maybe because the sleeve is so small that it is totally consumed by the hunger feeling versus when I had a complete stomach. Anyhow, I keep roasted white turkey lunchmeat in the fridge at work and when I get that nagggin hunger between meals I just snack on 2-3 slices of that (30 calories and 3g protein each slice) and that does the trick! My doctor really wants me to try to get all my protein from real foods versus protein shakes so this is one of my little solutions.

You are doing just phenomenally! Don't worry about the skin. You are young and beautiful and your skin will follow. You and I also have similar body stats, though I am not as far into my journey as you (I am only 3.5 months out): 5'7" Highest Weight 256 Current Weight 216 Goal Weight 160

I am generally not very hungry either, but I learned that if I let that dictate my diet I would not be successful. I didn't eat enough, I stalled. I ate more, I lost and I mean lost fast. So it's up to you. I had this surgery to lose weight and I want to be successful, and I am sure you do to. Do yourself a favor and put yourself on an eating schedule. It is going to be tough and time consuming until you create a new habitual eating pattern for yourself. But, it will be worth it in how you feel and in the numbers you see on the scale. Let's do this! Ducker