M2G

Ha ha ha!!! Did you ever think we would still be "around" 3 years later?? Thanks all for the great comments! You all are wonderful, and I'm truly glad to have a VETS forum...those of you who are coming up on your 3 year soon, I look forward to hearing all your words of wisdom of what you have learned along the way. It truly is a journey of self-discovery!

Thanks everyone for your kind, uplifting words. I didn't realize when I first found VST that 3 years later I would find and "click" with so many individuals and that I would still be an "active" participant here. I'm glad my story can help even one person in their own journey!!

Oh my gosh, this actually brought some little tears to my eyes! COOPS, you know you have been my rock through this whole journey and I totally agree that this place would NOT be the same without you and your wonderful personality. I'm forever grateful that we 'clicked' on this journey and have been there for each other through every pound, frustration, stall, and also the joy, happiness, and excitement too! I love that you always just "get it" no matter what the situation is. Hugs to you, and thank you for writing this wonderful note to me...my sleeve sista!! :wub:

So this is a GREAT question!! Neither of us have a "normal" BMI and I completely 100% agree with you that I see lots of "number chasing" around here in regards to that freaking chart and I just don't agree that just because you DON'T have a "normal" BMI doesn't mean that you can't be healthy. He started at 5'10" around 280-285, and today he maintains a weight of around 210-215. He is pretty lax with the scale and only gets up on there every so often (like once a month!) For him to have a "normal" BMI he should weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 175-180lbs and at the beginning he said there was NO way that he was aiming for that. His real and final "goal" is 200...but we all know how hard the last lbs are to lose. He is actually much more muscular than I am which is why even though he weighs more and our BMIs are similar he can actually eat more food (calories) than I can and NOT gain weight. I think the BMI chart leaves a lot to be desired and while it can be a helpful tool in the right circumstance, I do NOT believe that it can predict the health of every individual.

Cheri feel better!! GT I have never heard of that Rittersport? What is that? FYE soup sounds yum. If you remember will you post the recipe over on that thread? Georgia ahhh, thank you!!! I'm so glad you are rocking the 5:2. I feel like I'm working it working it working it...and still it is a slow crawl for me, but you know what? I'm getting 'er done!!! LV NO GIVING UP! I have those days too! But don't let them turn into more than a day...you can do this...we are all in this for the long haul!!! I've been sleeved 3 years ago exactly today. It's been a wild ride and there have been bumps in the road. But at the end of the day I'm so forever grateful that I took this step to reclaim my health. Fasting today AND it's double workout day, so I'm sitting here at the computer and drinking water and dreaming of when dinner is gonna roll around. I'm at 225 right now, so hope to stick right around 500.

Just wanting to say a quick thank you to my fellow VETS here in the Vet's Forum for encouraging me, lifting me up, and being there for the long haul! I know several of you who went before me OD, Coops, GT, etc. and a few of you who were really close to my date as well and a lot of you were who were after me. But staying HERE at VST and being encouraging to me is awesome and I just wanted to say thanks. (If you want to see my before/afters I posted here) http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/97887-3-years-ago-today-i-had-the-vsg/ I celebrated by purchasing some new spin shoes and doing a double workout (weight lifting for a hour and spin for an hour!) I have wanted some of these for so long and a 3 year 'anniversary' seemed like a good time to treat myself! They weren't cheap but totally worth the investment and way better than cake (well, ok, *almost* better than cake...) Anyway, 3 years is a long time to be on a message board but I wouldn't be here without some of my fellow vets and for that I'm so grateful. THANK YOU!

Okay celebrating 3 years being sleeved TODAY!!! Woo hoo! (if you want before/after pics, etc.) http://www.verticals...-i-had-the-vsg/ So in honor of my 3 year anniversary of the sleeve I went to women & weights and did a 1 hour lifting workout, followed by my beloved spin class BUT I was sporting these bad boys: MY NEW SPIN SHOES!!! They have the little clip on them so I'm "locked" in when I spin. LOVE THEM! They were expensive but a MUCH MUCH MUCH better reward than cake: Miles so far are 119.8...150 I'm coming for you!

You guys need to start a comedy duo and go on tour!

Well, you are asking on a SLEEVE site, so just remember that when you hear the responses. You might try over at RNYtalk.com also and see what those people think. Remember not ALL bypass people end up with dumping. Or if they do sometimes it's only temporary until their body adjusts. Do your homework and figure out what is best for you. You have a lower BMI, the sleeve should allow you to get to goal, if you work it properly.

I wear the Flexees every single day. And while working out. Even though I'm typically a size L, I have to get size M on these for extra "help" in the midsection. Don't be afraid to get the smallest size possible and the BEST way to put these on is to STEP into them and pull them UP instead of over the head!!

I'm 3 years post-op (today!! woo hoo!) and honestly I probably CAN eat double what I could at 2 weeks post-op (which was probably an ounce or two at a time). It's a natural expansion that happens as the swelling goes down and your stomach organ settles into it's new shape, size, etc. But I still max out at about 4oz of dense Protein. I will never again sit down and eat a 6oz, 8oz, 12oz steak...not going to happen from a physical standpoint. Also you need to remember, just because you CAN eat more doesn't mean you SHOULD eat more. Controlling your portion sizes is basically what lies at the root of this surgery. It can't do all the work for you, as you have to be in control of your portions.

Ooooh, so glad you came on here to SAY IT COOPS!!! HAHAHA! If you didn't I was going to! Yay Cathy, that's awesome! Good luck with the houseguests. I had a tough day yesterday too. It was to be a FAST day but ended up closer to 700. Gah. Thank you GT for that link, I need to investigate that further! You are right, Eggface uses a lot of artificial/sugar subs, etc. She has addressed it a bit but I'm always amazed at WHAT she can actually find that is SF. Little candies and whatnot. I do love some of her recipes though. And I love that when you are having a rough day you visualize being back stateside, in a coffeeshop with yummy treats and a cute outfit on. Love that! Glad the -3 is gone and I have so totally been there when the scale and I don't agree about what IT SHOULD TELL ME! I give this advice all the time but sometimes it's hard to remember that the scale doesn't measure our self-worth. Okay going to try a DO-OVER on yesterdays fasting day...so going for it today. See my surgeon tomorrow, so maybe it's just a last-ditch effort! HA!

If I knew you in person and hadn't seen you in a while I would probably do a double-take upon seeing you now. LOL! It's amazing how much losing weight changes our face!! You look amazing, btw!

Wow, sorry about your stricture! I thought they were much more common with the bypass but I have heard of it happening with the VSG. I hope things are better now! I personally don't like massages but I know a lot of people love Massage Envy. They are everywhere and easy to make an appt. etc.

3 years ago today I had the VSG! So much has happened in the last 3 years in regards to my attitudes, abilities and awareness surrounding my body, what I eat, and how I exercise. I will do my best to keep this short! First and foremost, I am one of those people who had a surgical procedure to help me lose weight. And I hit a "low" weight and then, in the space of about 10 months, regained about 20ish pounds. Nothing is more humbling than being a "statistic" in this way. I had always heard that this regularly happens to WLS patients and a part of my brain said "oh that won't be me!" Haha. Lessons learned the hard way are sometimes the ones that stick with us the most. So if any of you have the question "is it possible to regain weight with the sleeve?" ...the answer is YES it is possible. The regain is actually quite easy. You quit tracking your food, you eat a few more calories than you need to, extra "treats" find there way back into your life, and you slack off on the exercising. Losing the extra regain...well notsoeasy. I have lost -12lbs of my regain and will continue to fight until the regain is gone. Here are just a few quick things that are true for ME, personally. 1. We can live on a lot less food than we think we can live on. If you take nothing else away from this post, please remember that statement. During the time that I had regained some weight, I found myself wanting to eat more and the truth of the matter remains that my daily caloric intake needs to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,400 calories or less for me to maintain or lose weight, regardless of how much I exercise. This is completely reasonable, doable and normal for me. And I am finally OK with this. (Yours may be completely different!!) 2. Don't underestimate the importance of exercise!! It's taken me a while to finally push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to exercise, but I've found out what a really challenging workout does to me mentally and physically and I know when things get to easy that I need to push myself farther. If you have never exercised before in your life, then your goal is to GET UP OFF the couch and DO SOMETHING. And if exercise is not completely foreign to you, then you need to set some goals to push yourself harder. 3. Plastic surgery. I have not had any...yet. I went for an initial consult this past May. It was really hard to see how much damage being morbidly obese has done to my body and how much it would cost to get a nice "perfect" body. I've had a lot of time and space to think about what I learned at that consult and what I realize now, is that I'm not sure I can afford perfection. Or that it necessarily exists. I just know I could put one of my kids through college for what I was quoted for plastics. So I'm currently on the fence and in the mode of trying to be happy with where I am and not worry about chasing a down a body that might not exist for me. 4. I constantly drink Water. I drink (half-caf) coffee (usally 2 cups a day), I rarely drink alcohol and I never drink anything carbonated. I've been carbonation free for over 3 years now. I also rarely use any type of crystal lite, or flavor enhancers etc. Sometimes I drink plain (unsweet) tea. My net loss is somewhere around -90lbs. My husband is also sleeved and did NOT regain any weight. He is 2.5 years post-op and seems to maintain his more modest loss (-70lbs) more effortlessly than I do. He also can eat more calories than I do, so right there are complete differences among sleevers! I just don't think we can ever "give up" ...and there is no "finish" line! There might be a GOAL WEIGHT, but once you are there, it's still a journey to keep the weight off. And for that reason I'm eternally grateful to my VST 'family' for always being here! BEFORE VSG 2010 AFTER VSG 2013 (all of these photos have been taken in the last 2 months) SIDE BY SIDE

Wonderful update! So glad that you are "here", and congrats on your continued success!

YAY a bike!!! Love it! And yeah that is a bummer about having to "pad" it because you don't have any fat down there anymore...wait that should be a NSV! Haha! At least you can leave the pillow behind when you are done and not have be a permanent part of your body! I just heard something on the news today about fitbits (maybe from the Today show?) anyway they were "testing" devices and that one rated pretty high as far as "accurately" counting calories burned etc. Great job, and good luck on your upcoming surgery!

OD, sorry about the breakup. I think you are a very strong lady and I think you probably know best what is right for you and what isn't working, and if this wasn't working then I'm glad you decided to move on. Hugs to you! Okay was there something in the water here this weekend cuz MY weekend ALSO involved cupcakes. Pffft. On sat. we had a softball team party for the girls team and someone brought seriously the MOST delicious cupcakes. The woman who brought them works for a restaurant and they not only looked good they were so good! So that was Sat. and then I thought I would FAST on Sun. but yeah notsomuch. Sigh. Anyway, back on the fasting wagon today! I see my surgeon on Wed. for my 3 year visit!

Thanks Georgia for the article. It really is true, my also-sleeved-husband can definitely eat more calories than I can and seems to effortlessly maintain his loss while I'm furiously counting calories, weighing/measuring my food so I can log it in my calorie counter, etc. I also work out MORE than he does because he will often have to skip a workout due to his job/workload. But I long ago quit comparing our losses and know that it will *always* be more of a struggle for me than it ever will be for him. I'm just happy we are both healthier.

Thanks chica...

http://health.usnews...e-biggest-loser Big takeaway from the article for me was the similarity (intense weight loss with biggest loser and WLS) in regards to metabolism. Quote from the article: "Unfortunately, fat free mass preservation did not prevent the slowing of metabolic rate during active weight loss, which may predispose to weight regain unless the participants maintain high levels of physical activity or significant caloric restriction." Anyway, it's an interesting read.

Wow incredible! I'm glad you are ok. I'm up over 100 for now. I don't have my phone in front of me (that is where I keep track) but I think it was 101.4. I will go with that for now. But remember my goal isn't 100, it's 150 which is up almost 30 miles from last month (Sept. I hit about 121 miles.)

Okay, thanks for the otter babies (WAY too cute and my daughter loves them so I will share with her.) Yep, your metabolism has been altered by having surgery and while I don't pretend to understand the science behind it, I realize that I will be eating lower calories for probably the rest of my life unless I want to gain weight. I have experimented with calories from the very beginning and my surgeon is like "why are you counting calories...just count Protein grams, that is all I care about" which I understand and appreciate. BUT most of his patients are coming from a lifetime of frustration when it comes to the word CALORIE. So they are fed up with counting calories and I think he tries to provide an easy system to help them keep track but not obsess over calories. I think part of your frustration is the way you were treated by your dr. I think that would irritate me too. Don't talk to me like I'm a 2 year old who needs a time out. BUT, on the other hand, I sense that another piece of your frustration is the fact that you aren't shedding pounds. I'm not exactly clear about why you were taken to the ER, usually as Butter said, low calorie doesn't equal a trip to the ER, your body just happily burns your excess stored fat. So you thought it was dehydration but wasn't? Usually the dehydration DOES equal a trip to the ER. Anyway, sorry if I didn't catch exactly what happened there. But after the ER you gained +10lbs and have slowly chipped away at that which brings you to the present where you are net -2lbs after the ER +10 GAIN? Mentally we ALL KNOW that we aren't going to lose weight overnight, but in all honesty who here DOESN'T want the extra pounds gone immediately? I knew going into this that it would be a journey, I knew all my extra weight wouldn't immediately disappear but that didn't stop me from wanting it too. Please give yourself time and take a breather. Your body is still in healing mode. You are not quite 3 months out from major surgery, sounds like you had a hiccup (ER complication) and now you just need to mentally and physically hit the RESET button and work from where you ARE to where you want to BE. Hang in there!

So I woke up to SNOW this am! Sheesh....we've already had snow twice but I wasn't expecting it today. Argh! So yesterday ended up at 1,310 so that wasn't too bad over my goal of 1,200. Fasting today and sitting here drinking coffee and my tummy is TALKING TO ME. It's making all these weird gurgling sounds. I'm not hungry and this is quite usual for me (am coffee, check VST, wake up kids, get them to school, etc.) so I'm not sure WHY my stomach is being so loud. Goofy. And ladies I KNOW that creep creep creep all too well. It's what I did for MOST of the year in 2012....creep, creep, creep and then BAM +20lbs found me and I was somewhat shocked that it's been so hard to lose them. I think having WLS lulls us into a false security that we CAN drop weight just like "that" when we want to when in reality once you are past that honeymoon window you are just like everyone else trying to drop a few lbs (if not worse due to the WLS metabolism changes.) Anyway, that creep is a real CREEP and I hate him! LOL!

Brown...I realize that everyone is different and I just have to say that I'm not near goal either. If I go by the BMI scale I should be losing another -42lbs. But for me and MY goal I'm planning to lose another -17lbs and then WHEN I get there figure out where I'm going to go. Please don't give up. Even though I struggle and there are times that I want to just quit, I know that mentality will get me NO WHERE. I realize that the 5:2 may just not be for you but please know that weight loss is not the biggest health reason for doing the 5:2 (to be honest it was the benefit I was MOST interested in). I know you don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but what I hear from your post is typical of how I used to think when I was on a DIET. "Well, I did this for XXX time and I didn't lose XXX weight, so forget it! I'm not wasting my time!" I would encourage you to stick to the 5:2 a little longer, but I do understand if you want to go a different direction. Hugs to you...