putasleeveonit

The main point I want to get across to people considering VSG is this: Regardless of your starting weight, if you are a yo-yo dieter, grazer, food addict and/or compulsive overeater with self-sabotaging tendencies, the surgery alone will not be enough. You will also need to get some form of counseling or treatment to control your compulsive overeating/grazing if you're serious about reaching your goal weight. (Read the symptoms of food addiction, compulsiver overeating here) Now that that's out the way. Here are my stats: Beginning weight: Approx. 193.5 Current weight: Approx. 132 Shocker right? I started this journey in the so called "lightweights" category--basically people with a BMI below 35. I only wanted to lose 68 pounds, and so far have lost 61. So what, if anything, went wrong? Well, first let me say that I do not regret the surgery. Here's the deal: I'm a chronic yo-yo dieter and compulsive overeater. Before the sleeve, I had tried multiple diets in 2011, losing 25 lbs pretty quickly each time. The problem was, each time, I quickly regained the weight that I had lost in a period of days. Those setbacks became pretty discouraging after a while. I did a little research and decided that VSG would solve my problems. Once I had the surgery, I fell into my normal pattern of periods of intense effort followed by periods of little or no effort towards reaching my goal. That got me to 152 lbs (approx. 41 lbs down) around 3.5 months out. From there, during periods of increased effort, I'd get down into the mid 140s. When I fell off the wagon, I would find my way back to around 152, which appeared to be my ceiling, regardless of how many bad days I had. Again, regardless of how many bad days I had. THAT's the reason why I do not regret this surgery. Were it not for the surgery, my 40 lb loss would have eventually turned into a 60 lb gain. With VSG, the worst case scenario appeared to be gaining back 5 lbs or so to end up back at 152 (I'm sure that over time, my ceiling will creep back up, but that's another issue). Fast forward a few weeks... I stumbled on to the fact that I might have a mild form of adult attention deficit disorder. I was discouraged by all the projects that I was falling behind in, and I was very unhappy with my tendency to procrastinate and not put forth my best efforts. I met with the psychiatrist who prescribed adderall. I was aware of all the stories about adderall and weight loss, but after failing at weight loss surgery, I had pretty much moved on from thinking that I could lose weight from drugs or any other interventions. My main concern was getting my behavior under control so that I could be more effective at work and at home. I started taking the medication around June. Within a few months, my schedule had become super busy and I had addressed the issues I had been avoiding for years head on, including home refi, ending a bad relationship, and revamping a few side businesses. But there was another side effect--while the medication was in effect, I was not a food addict. I ate when hungry. At night, when the medication wore off, I would resume grazing and eating just because. Of course, with the sleeve you can only eat so much. With my food addiction somewhat under control during the day, I have gone on to lose an additional 20 lbs over a period of 4 months. This was with no effort, since I've been so devoted to the projects I'm working on that I haven't made time to workout or follow any particular meal plans. I recently resumed my gym membership and fully intend to start working out again and eating as healthy as possible but I'm trying to get everything else in order first. I'm not advocating medicine to people suffering from food addiction--I'm advocating any treatment, including group meetings or counseling, that will help keep it under control. It turns out my weight issues are directly related to how much I obsess over food when I'm not hungry---no diet, fat burner, workout plan, or even surgery can solve that problem. However, it's probably not a great idea to just rely on medicine to control food addiction, because when the medication stops, the problem returns. In the end, counseling and coping tools are key to managing the disorder.

Before a few days ago, I had gone over 6 months without having a single cup of plain water! So I've been forcing myself to drink at least 40 oz of plain water a day and I hope to get up to 60oz a day. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but I immediately dropped a few pounds since starting. It could be due to cutting back on Crystal Light, or it could be due to my dramatic reduction of salt-based seasonings (Dash has some great tasting Salt-Free seasonings!). Probably a little of both!

Great! Where is the plan posted?

So tomorrow will be my 6-month surgiversary. I'm not at my goal weight--I'm about 22 lbs away. When I got the surgery, I told myself I would be at goal at or before 6 months. As far as WHY I'm not at goal? Well, I've pretty much been refusing to follow conventional wisdom--the low carb (under 30g a day) plan. I tried it but the fat content would always send me spiraling out of control with my eating. And the low fat/high protein version of low carb was too difficult (mentally). So I spent a good month or two just splurging on whatever my sleeve could fit--and it turns out, that's just about everything. Finally, around March 15, I started a plan known as the Alternate Day Diet. Basically, the way the plan works is you eat whatever you want every other day. On "up" days, I can eat anything. There are no calorie limits or anything. On the "down" days, I stick with about 500 calories or less--it's easy to do with the sleeve. I keep it simple by just eating lean chicken or fish. Technically, I eat as much as I want on the down days as well; but with the sleeve, it ends up being 500 calories or less because I can only eat about 2.5 oz of protein at a time. The weight loss on this plan is a lot slower, but now that I'm approaching the one-month mark, I find that I'm not as "crazy" when it comes to food anymore. I feel normal, and I really like the plan, despite the slow weight loss. Slow weight loss is better than no weight loss. The bottom line is, I just can't deal with being restricted from foods anymore. I know that if I did a crash diet for the next two weeks, I'd have dramatic results. I could do a liquid diet for a month and maybe get close to goal. But I can't make myself do it. At least, not right now. Maybe in a week or two I'll feel differently. But I have made myself jog every day for quite some time now--20 minutes of jogging in place (with the help of Wii Fit).

That is so true. I didn't believe my sis when she kept saying to exercise. Sure enough, I've found that unlike before surgery, working out has more impact on my weight than what I eat! I can eat 400 cals and lose nothing, but I can eat 1200 calories with 20 minutes of jogging and I lose weight. It's crazy and a little confusing! Although I consider myself to be a slow loser compared to others, I'm on track to hit goal by 6 months--my goal was to lose at least 11 pounds a month and so far I've lost 38 pounds in 3 months. I feel like I may need to buckle down, put the scale away, continue working out but put more emphasis on diet. We'll see. Good luck!

I am just about 12 weeks post op, and I feel really great about my progress so far. I love my ticker because it describes how my journey feels right now: I feel great! The clouds are gone! The storm is gone! The excess weight and inches are gone! Usually at this weight I wear a bigger clothing size, but I'm fitting into clothes that usually fit when I'm 5 to 10 pounds slimmer. I've been jogging (in place on the Wii) for 20 mins about 3 times a week on average, and I've tried to keep my protein intake high. Of course, I'm not doing as well with the holidays, and I'm also very sick right now. I just wanted to post a positive blog about my experience with VSG surgery. I think it was my best option for losing weight without being able to sabotage all of my progress in 2 weeks! Good luck to everyone and happy New Year!

Sprinkle a serving size or less of No Salt (Potassium Salt) in 33 oz of water every few days.

My family knows. I am sharing this info with the people I know who struggle with weight loss. My 10+ year struggle caused so much pain in my life, and so many missed opportunities. If VSG allows me to get my life back it's only fair to share that information with someone who is also struggling. I have not shared it with friends who do not struggle with weight. They just don't understand what it's like to struggle with weight loss, and they think the solution is simple (the solution is simple on paper). I've complained about my weight, and yo-yo'ed up and down for over a decade, and my fear was that if I got the surgery and failed to reach my goal and/or maintain my weight loss, it would be extremely humiliating.

I'm taking OptiSource Post Bariatric Surgery Formula which is manufactured by Nestle. The taste is good, and the reviews are great. 4 a day are required--I set my alarm to take them 4 hours apart daily. The cost is about 24/month if you take them everyday. Amazon has a subscribe and save option which lowers the cost. Here is the link: optisource Vitamins

I know the feeling.I've been cranky too! Keep us updated on St. John's Wort!

(Don't read this if the mention of food triggers you...) Tomorrow, I will be 9 weeks post op. I've experienced a lot of ups and downs since getting the surgery... Right now, I'm under a LOT of pressure. One of my best friends is getting married in February, and instead of getting measured for my dress in person, I told them to order my dress in size 10! Mind you, I began my journey at size 16/18. I expected that by next February, I would be at least 45 lbs lighter than my pre-surgery weight; and in the past, I wore a size 10 at that weight. So I'm really worried about screwing up things by not being able to fit in the dress. Of course, whenever I feel stressed, my inner saboteur emerges. I've tested the limits of my sleeve in astonishing ways. I'm ashamed that I reverted to certain behaviors so soon after surgery. For many days, I've felt like a complete failure--like I had myself chopped up for no reason. I learned that my sleeve can tolerate just about anything. Prior to surgery, I was hoping it would stop me from eating most foods, especially the ones I like. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The one thing I haven't tried yet is bread, but I've tried pies, desserts, ice cream, and even pasta! After feeling sorry for myself for a few days, I decided to pick myself up and try again. Unlike before surgery, the damage from my trysts with junk food was minimal--although I'm sure my momentum was thrown off quite a bit. The first thing I had to do was hide my scale for a while. For some reason, I get thrown off--regardless of what the scale says, good or bad. So I took a break from the scale. Secondly, I had to remind myself that everyone warned that WLS required work. People worked their butts off to get to goal. It wasn't going to come easy. So with that in mind, I've cleaned up my act. It's only been a few days, but I feel really motivated and I'm avoiding traps that have taken me off track in the past. The thing is, I know I'm impatient, but the popular way of eating to get the goal around here didn't seem to be working for me (Atkins style eating with 60g protein/less than 30g of carbs). Maybe I just needed to give it a few days, but the stalls sent me spiraling out of control. I ended up having to modify my plan to low calorie, low fat, low carb, high protein. I know that way of eating is controversial, but it works for me and I'm taking the proper precautions (potassium supplement every few days, vitamins, and plenty of fluids). I hate that it feels like I'm on another crazy diet, but at the same time, it takes a lot just to get in the little bit that I eat. I couldn't eat more even if I wanted to while on this plan (for me it's an either or thing---either I'm all on plan, or completely off with no concerns for protein intake). At some point soon, I will have to get counseling. I've been putting it off. The woman I want to see is also a hypnotherapist... I don't think counseling alone will be enough. OK, I'm done blabbing for now!

I have tried a lot of her videos, I like the ones that combine walking and jogging. If you like jogging, try 4 Fast Miles, or the Walk/Jog one. Just a heads up--her voice can be annoying at times. I would do the video a lot more if the music was better and there was a way to keep up with the steps without having to hear her talk.

47 pounds in two months?! You're doing great! Stop worrying because that adds stress which could lead to a stall. Also, keep in mind, people lose weight at different rates based on starting weight and metabolism. By the way, I'm approaching 6 weeks post op and have only lost about 25 lbs.

Get plenty of vitamin C and Zinc in.

Wow! I hope things get better for you. Hang in there, and thanks for the tip!

I'm soooo happy for you! Congratulations!

I know stalls suck! I'm in one right now. but look at it like this--you've lost 55 lbs in less than 4 months! That's amazing!

I thought about that for the first time the other day. I found an interesting youtube video by Dr. Alvarez that covers it:

Same here! I added cals and more fat and the scale is moving again, despite my TOM approaching!

Interesting... I'm going to try adding more cals/fat through shredded cheese. We'll see if it works! Thanks for sharing the article!