mi75

i actually bought season one from Amazon and watch it in between seasons now. i will be 2 yrs post sleeve in June. I have leveled off my loss, and have back slid a bit, gaining 5 lbs.not bad, but i don't want to see it become 10 or 15 or 20...i am working hard to get back on track and seeing a new season start is inspiring. i have always loved the show, i also LOVE Fat Doctor on Youtube from the UK and the one from years ago with Dr Garth Davis and his Dad that was on TLC, they have since re-run it and renamed it "My weight is killing me". Of all of them, Fat Doctor shows more of the medical side (i'm a nurse), My 600 lb life shows more the 'living' part of post surgery, the Garth Davis one was a bit more fast paced. i love them all though.

sounds like you are on the right track and doing great! i too took some time away and did not post for quite a while. i am glad i am getting refocused and working hard to get back. i slid backward and gained 5 lbs which is all sitting on my gut and looks terrible! i will be two yrs out in June...

omg. taking a drive 90 minutes southward to my TJs next week for this!!!!

i did a test drive on the Quest strawberry flav Protein powder and LOVE IT!!! i have grown very sick of Protein shakes since my surgery, actually gave them up completely for quite a while, but found my eating habits slid backwards really quickly and i gained about 5 lbs. tried the strawberry earlier in the week and it was great with really cold milk and ice. fyi, somebody asked if all quest bars are dense. yes, they are all that way. for some people, warming them works well, for ME, putting them in the fridge works best.

FYI, GNC often has them buy 2 get 1 free, and will easily be around 1.65 each at that price. i LOVE Cookies and Cream, i keep them in the fridge and they are extra chewy that way! hubs and i tried the pumpkin ones and have several of those too, which we really like. i have fallen off over the past couple of months, but when i am ON program, a Quest bar every afternoon is my snack. working hard to get it together...

ooh those sound REALLY good. i will try later this week!

totally disagree also. although the SURGERY weight loss has likely leveled off, i am still able to lose weight when i decrease cals and increase activity. fortunately, 18 months out, i now feel like i am able to lose weight like 'normal' people do, with decrease of cals/increase activity. prior to surgery i tried that many dozen times and failed every time!

I just wanted to give everyone here a head's up on this! A friend on the RNY boards once mentioned this show so I went over to youtube to check it out. It's an awesome weight loss show from England and sort of like "my 600 lb life" but the patients tend to be more around 250-400 lbs. The shows offer some really good insight into lifestyle post op, eating, and shows the entire surgeries. it is fairly graphic but also VERY educational into the entire WLS industry. It doesn't hurt that the dr on the show is also easy on the eyes and very down to earth with a true passion to help people! there are only a couple VSG patients that I have seen, and a few lap-band, but mostly RNY but still a really good show. hope you enjoy!

i would do a mixture of several recipes: sugar free cheesecake flavored pudding. make according to direction. take half the pudding and mix with some canned pumpkin AND pumpkin pie spice. spoon into serving cups. spoon remaining plain cheesecake pudding on top. sprinkle with crumbled ginger snap Cookies (and finely chopped pecans if desired). YUMMMM-O!!!!!!

to the OP- we have almost the EXACT same stats, including height etc! i am in the same place right now. lowest was 165, settled around 172. started a new job, had a VERY trying semester of grad school and managed to gain 6 lbs. not much, but it ALL sits right around my middle like a gross spare tire. your post and the responses were enlightening. i am planning a reset for next week and going to go as hard as i can until i see movement. i too have found myself grazing AND eating a lot more food than i should. i also have been hitting the soda, which i KNOW is wrong for me. going to just try and really focus. my stressful semester is pretty much wrapped up, and i decided to take a bit of an easier track in my grad program so that should help. settling into my new job so that is also better. ready to re-focus on ME. btw- Santa is bringing our entire family a cushy membership to our local Y for Christmas! that will help too..

Hi everyone, it has been a couple months since I posted last and everything is going pretty good. I am now 15 months post op. I lost about 65-69 lbs total and still have about 18 lbs to lose. However, things have completely stalled out and i haven't lost anything in many months. my stress level is sky high with grad school two kids, a new job, and life in general. i have noticed over the past few months that my stomach fat is much more noticeable and although the scale hadn't changed (THEN, but haven't weighed in 1 month) things just are sitting differently. i actually FEEL very similar to how my stomach felt pre op, but i'm still wearing the same size pants, it's just very bothersome to me. my main issue right now is i just started a new night nursing job which i really love, but not being a night owl, i find myself eating small Protein, fruit, snack and drink portions (not all together) through the night to stay awake and functional. although it is a VERY busy unit, we get very quiet and sit down around 1AM and don't do much for a few hours (this time is the hardest for me). i have found i got reactive hypoglycemia a few times when i tried to go without eating and then started my morning rush. i try to NOT eat much during the days before work, knowing that i'll eat a few small meals when i'm there, but i AM getting plenty of calories each 24 hr period. further, we aren't allowed to leave the floor regularly on night shift, so going for a walk or something isn't really an option, we eat our meal and hang out in the break room area. Anybody who works nights, especially those in healthcare who only work 3 shifts a week may be able to relate. there is no 'regular' schedule anymore. however, i enjoy my team and prefer nights for my graduate school demands. but i don't know when is the best time to weigh, how to count meals anymore, etc! i am also trying to help my hubs lose some pounds as he has put on about 20 lbs in the past year. i can eat mostly everything. i only get dumping issues when i eat something REALLY packed with sugar (tried a small scoop of ice cream once-never again!) i eat around 1200 cals per day. i only exercise by walking a few times a week. Here is my plan: 1. Go back to including a Protein shake DAILY maybe as a smoothie for 'breakfast' on non-work nights and take with me as a meal supplement when i do work. 2. try to fit in a walk every 24 hour period 3. can't abate the stress much, but MAYBE trying some basic yoga or stretching regularly 4. start logging on here every day and seeking the same level of support and involvement i did pre op and immediately post op ( my area support group meets while i am working, and the nutritionist that works with my surgeon now is very specific to meeting only with people who have gained more than 20 lbs back OR are still pre op!) anybody have any other suggestions or support for me? i really need to lose these final pounds. i also need to get in to see my surgeon and wanted to in the next 8 weeks, and DO NOT want to be the same weight i was the last time he saw me!

thanks for input. i stepped on the scale today, and there is ZERO change in my weight, which i'm really grateful for! i think that maybe things have just shifted a bit. going to stick to my plan and see if it makes any difference over the coming weeks and months

i also ate very similar to Bufflehead for the year following my surgery, over the past few months i have gotten VERY lax but getting back on track and going strict protein and veg for the next month or so to get things moving again...

is it REALLY sweet? i have grown very accustomed to mcdonald's iced coffee and love that is still has a good coffee flavor to it. i don't want to drink a sweet drink... can anybody comment?

i was not a coffee drinker either pre op, but for the past several months i have a McDonald's sugar free french vanilla iced coffee almost daily. however, it has become a terrible crutch for me so i'm trying to give it up and go to hot coffee to break my iced habit...

i am just over a year out and stopped losing totally around month 9. i KNOW some of it was due to my lack of exercise and also increased stress from my job/graduate school. i have now switched jobs AND joined a gym. trying to get back to basics on eating too, and going in reverse with my diet back to post op habits. i still have about 18 lbs to goal- 14 lbs original loss PLUS the 4 i gained back over the past 2 months.

greetings to all- i just really need a boost in my support and motivation. i thought for the past month or so that I was just in a stall, but it occured to me just now when i ate a SANDWICH for lunch, that i am completely off track. i have 19 lbs to go until my goal, and about 11 wks until my 1 year anniversary. i really want to be there. i am in grad school and really going through a HORRIBLE semester so stress eating is definitely in play too. i feel like i don't know WHAT to eat anymore. i am doing some egg salad, Soups, P3, cheese sticks, etc. i know i must be eating way more calories that i realize. i know i'm eating some carbs that maybe i should avoid (even though my bariatric program allows ALL foods) so i will cut them. i am going to start trying a food diary again. i would love to go to an actual support group but the one in my area occurs during my grad school class time so that's not an option for me (same class night for spring AND fall semester too!). right now i'm going out for a walk. i just really need to get refocused. i had MASSIVE focus pre-op and even though i have been successful up until now, i just do NOT want to fail this surgery. failure is not an option. i keep reminding myself of how TERRIBLE i felt when i was so big and unhealthy, and even though it's good motivation, obviously i have a major food addiction because i just go and eat things like SANDWICHES... please no ugly feedback, nobody can make me feel more terrible than i already do. i was SO focused a year ago. i was SO motivated. i still want all of the positive outcomes. i just seem to have lost my way. any words of advice...any workout DVD options...any simple recipe ideas...any ANYTHING to give me support and focus is VERY much appreciated!

Nioxin shampoo made a HUGE difference for me. i started losing around month 3. i used the shampoo from day one. i had gall bladder surgery several years ago and i remember having really bad hair loss. i had a majorly restricted diet after that, and the surgeon then told me hair loss was probably from the diet. after my sleeve, like i said, i started losing at month 3. it was not a LOT daily, but enough for me to notice. i continued to use the Nioxin, i went and got a pixie cut, and it leveled right off about 4 wks later. now the pixie is growing out. i definitely notice that the texture of my hair seems finer, and if that's the case, i will be cutting it back off. i know most people don't have a texture change, but i suspect that I may, and i don't want to have baby fine hair that looks like the aftermath of bariatric surgery. cut pixie, it is CUTE and looks nice and thick. i will wait about another month before the final decision...

it DOES get better. focus on Protein and hydration. sit when you can. rest after work. PLENTY of sleep at night. right now ALL of your normal basal metabolic energy (the amount of energy your body normally burns in a day) is going towards healing, and healing alone. ANYTHING you require, energy wise, beyond healing has got to come from SOMEWHERE...your body is seriously tapping into energy stores, burning stored glycogen, and sadly, burning up some muscle to compensate. i'm a registered nurse and went back at 4 wks. i thought i would die for the first few days, but then about 10 days into it, i felt AWESOME and it all turned around. around 6 wks it really turns around. hang in there!

after i had my surgery and FINALLY felt healthy and normal again, i decided to pursue my Doctor of Nursing Practice and become a Nurse Practitioner. I have been a RN for 18 years and wanted to further myself for many years but just didn't have the confidence. my words of advice are this: starting at a community college level is GREAT. they want you to succeed. they also want to help you gradually lean into the college experience and learn all of the caveats of being a college student, before you earn an associate's degree and (possibly) move on to a university sized institution. find out where student services is, advising, financial aid, a cafe/lunch spot, and where the 'union' is- where people gather between classes. these are all places you will frequent. even if some of your classes are hybrid or online, spend some time on campus to become acquainted with people and places there. also, after a semester or two, you may want to consider on-campus employment. when i was an undergrad student, working on campus was INVALUABLE in really helping me get into the best classes, meet lots of people, and really get into the whole experience! college immediately after high school is NOT for everyone, but now that you are older and wiser, you will have a completely different experience. in undergrad nursing school (my BSN program) i just could not wait to get out and into 'the real world'. now as a DNP student, married with a 40 hr nursing job, 2 kids and a husband, i LOVE being at school and working on school stuff and wish there was another degree i could do even beyond this one! enjoy your new experience, good luck, and feel free to PM if you have any questions or such!

at 15 days i was doing cream soup, lobster bisque, mashed potatoes, guacamole, shakes, and yogurt. i advanced around wk 3, but i would think that deviled eggs would be ok as long as they are thoroughly chewed???? great protein option too!

well, I can definitely understand grammar issues, I am known as the grammar police among my co-workers. This rant gave me a good laugh. I understand, really...

how about trying to find a new doctor, a different provider who will listen to your concerns and validate your experience, and then get about the business of helping you to feel better...

Hi all- I have had a major stop of the scale. i am able to eat much more now than i could three months ago, and even though i'm eating about 1100 cals a day, the scale is not moving at all.i have been at this same weight for about 14 wks. i don't know if this is just a HUGE LONG stall, or if i am back-sliding. i want to jump start things again so i can lose the last 20 lbs and reach goal by my one-year anniversary. i KNOW i need to go back to shakes, broth, SF Jello, yogurt, etc. anybody have any good suggestions further than this? the weather in my area has finally broke, so i am able to get back outside and walk again, that should help too. thanks!

i am in the same boat. 10 months post, scale hasn't moved in almost 3 months. however, since january i have been taking two of the MOST stressful and difficult classes in my nurse practitioner program, and definitely stress eating. i can eat ALL foods, i have no restrictions from my program, and my body does ok with everything except really fatty things, which will dump ( i have had literally a TINY thumbnail size of cheesecake and it flew through me)!! I am recognizing that first, i have been cheating, two, i have been eating my stress, three, i have wavered BIG TIME with my exercise, and lastly, i have lost focus. classes are wrapping up, i will be taking one minimally hard class during spring/summer. this is my chance to get back on the program, kick my exercise WAYYYY back up, start my food diary again, increase Water, etc. i am also thinking about meeting with my nut again to get her input.