Chimera

Yes I had my surgery at Swedish as well - and no I am not the fish lady haha! (I have my 9 month at the end of next month) I do know exactly what you are talking about with the group stuff - then again it can be a challenge to control a group with folks who have not done a lot of their own research and have tons of goofy questions.

I go to the support groups so I am familiar with the staff. I think I have lost two Brittany's already ahaha!

hah Did you have your surgery at Swedish btw?

I stall hard quite often - heck I weighed 23 lbs more when I left the hospital than when I went in with all of my medical shenanigans

I would try and focus on your behaviours - both those that deal with nutrition and wellness, getting exercise in - and note the scale numbers but don't get too down if it gets hung up from time to time. I think it is probably very rare for folks to not have a stall - I know those are the folks that dont stall seem to exercise like crazy, do a lot of homemade Protein (hi baked chicken/fish),, and get oceans of Water in.

Don't worry - that scale will move again, just keep following your medical team's orders. Before i went to my support group meeting yesterday I looked at my food journal from last year and I weighed exactly 100 lbs. less yesterday than I did a year ago. And to think that i am constantly fighting the feelings that I am failing yet again at losing because i am not yet at goal and my husband is, when I had a lot to more to lose than him - with a high starting BMI I know it will take me longer - but i will get there eventually!

I have a bit more of a ways togo so I am sticking to the post op Golden Ratio until I get to goal - I stall about every three months or so for a hard month then the scale starts lighting up with losses again.

I do my best to do 600-800 cals a day, 80+ g of Protein, -40 g or less of carbs, 64+ oz. of liquid, all my vitamins/supplements and as much activity as i can get in. I think my greatest stall generator is when I do not manage to get all my liquid in - this has always been an issue - even before surgery, so I keep working on it. I track everything.

If carbs inch up, water/liquids goes down, so does my progress downward on the scale - it does eventually move again.

After the first - I have been being pretty strict - a typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: Premier Protein shake (chocolate 160cal, 30p. 5 carb, 3 fat) or Starbuck's 2 pump vanilla latte ( i count it for its full value, even if its got half the syrup) 250cal, 12p, 39carb, 6 fat

Lunch: Premier Protein Shake

Snack: Lite string cheese (60cal, 8p, -1carb, 2.5 fat)

Dinner: 3 oz. chicken breast (142 cal, 27p, 0carb, 3fat), 1/2 c. veggies or leafy greens (nutrition varies)

I may add another string cheese, bonbel, or bariatric or regular hot cocoa in there depending how I feel. I still like the Protein chicken Soup because I love Hot drinks and I am getting more liquidy things in

Because your body is adjusting - rearranging the deck chairs so to speak.

I seem to stall every three months or so for a hard month - then it starts to move again. Rarely do my cals go over 900 in a day, but I have to always be on it to get all of my fluids in - which is what I think impedes my losses. i am starting to ramp up my exercise now as well.

don't forget it isnt a race - you will get there, your body will give it up when it is ready - just keep following your Dr. and NUT's plan.

I can get the same way - it does seem to happen less now that I have had surgery and am over 6 months out. I am slooowly coming to realize that this is not a race - not with myself or anyone else (athough I will feel awesome when I finally weight less than my dear husband) - but rather this really will be the way I live for the rest of my life.

So I do hope on the scale most days - I write it down on my tracking calendar (which is great for seeing how far i have come over time) an take my Saturday weight as my official weight for the week. I really like Gman's analogy above - that scale certainly doesnt tell the whole story, its funny how zeroed in we can get on those numbers.

Even though I have had great success by most folks yardstick - I personally wont claim myself a total success until I hit that BMI goal in my ticker, because I have never, ever hit it in countless attempts to get this excess weight off. By jove I will do it this time and stay there come hell or high Water lol.

I've been stalled for ages - at a weight I was at for a long time in the past. I feel your pain - the scale will move again eventually

I am sad I do not know how to add a photo - tried to link it from the Pintrest site I found it at but its a no go. I saw the recipe the other night and gave it a whirl - I used turkey bacon instead of regular.

Used a mini muffin tin - cut a slice of turkey bacon (2/3 of one bacon strip seemed to work well) for each cup, stand it on end.

Mixed up 6 eggs, a bit of sharp sheddar and spices and pour into the cups, about 2/3 full - the bacon is on the outside (it is easy to pour too much in and make a mess lol.)

Baked @ 350 for 30-35 minutes and they were very delicious. I have not run it through a recipe maker to find out the exact breakdown on protein/cals/carbs/fat etc per serving - but 2 of them had me stuffed.

Muhahaha I figured it out!

cheese tart." />

Going to start my C2K tomorrow as well - I am going to start with a plan that begins with a 5k walk to start as I have wicked arthritis, and see how things go from there. I would love to run and have an app for my phone once I build up a bit of stamina. I am praying my knees cooperate

Hubby and I also start Water aerobics once my new swimsuit arrives - I dont think I have bought one of those since I was a teenager and am a bit mortified at the thought of actually putting one on in public lol.

here's to scary new activities

With two Vsg's in the house we have so many different forms of Vitamins that they have their own cabinet - way more than any food or condiment (even with the amount we used to eat) I swear i have tried everything - what seems to work for me is switching it up. I took Bariatric Advantage everything for a long time, until the thought of another berry chewable Vitamin made me very sad. (that french vanilla flavor - whoever invented that has a special spot in he** lol.)

We have liquid Vitamins, chewables, capsules - I was soooo excited when cleared to take bariatic capsules at 3 months post surgery, only to find they make me violently sick - my husband can take all three at once and feel just fine. We have drinks - am drinking an ENS chocolate milk with 25 g Protein and multivits as I type - not bad - Celebrate has some good stuff. Some of the Vitamin drinks (we have ones by Celebrate and Bariatric Advantage) are good as well but you constantly have to shake them so they dont settle and get 'sandy' - blech. I have Calcium tablets, chewies, liquids - a different form for just about everything

I also use Gummy Fiber supplements, magnesium tabs, etc - the laxative/bowel supplement area is very well stocked as well

My best advice is to try a lot of different things - sometimes I am just too queezy (sp) for caps or bariatric chewables so I do drinks, liquid vitamins, and gummies - other times it is just fine. Both of our recent 6 month labs were splendid - though hubby could up the calcium a wee bit, and I was a bit low on potassium. Plus mixing it makes things more interesting, if we have to take these things for life might as well make it more interesting right?

I was a serious binger - the surgery has helped tremendously! I do get head hunger and can eat more now that I am further out from surgery but it simply is not physically possible to eat the way I used to. I still tend to put waaay too much on my plate - so measuring is my friend.

Tracking my food, liquids, meds, Vitamins, exercise etc help keep things on track. Honestly I feel so much better emotionally that the urge to stuff is very faint - and honestly, if I want to feel over stuffed like i always used to when I would eat - I just need to eat a couple of extra bites of chicken or brocolli now, a much healthier state of affairs

Made it Goal was to be 200 or less - still hanging in at 198. Folks are not kidding when they talk about losses slowing down at 6+ months, that coupled with an out of town visit to family (aka the land of baked carbs) it can really put the tool to the test.

My husband made a good point - normally at this time of the year we would be at least 10 lbs or more up, and climbing - we have both stayed the course and maintained and lost a wee bit with the holiday challenges. I'll take it! here's to being more active and making healthy choices in 2013 - cant wait to see where we will be next New Year's eve

My husband and i had our surgeries in May and are doing great! My husband has gone from 318 to 189 currently (we had the same starting weight yikes lol.) and I am inching towards goal. I can't say enough good things about the folks at Swedish WL - You guys should go to the support group meetings which meet every second saturday of the month - I am hoping to make melsue's acquaintance soon

Best of luck you guys - it can sometimes be a bit rocky after surgery but it is soooo worth it.

Hang in there hun - I felt like hell for what felt like forever and did not start to perk up until I was close to 7 weeks out. My husband is the poster child for smooth sailing after surgery and he had had no issues.

I bled internally and had to have multiple blood transfusions that kept me in the hospital for a week, then i get home and an incision opens and i am bleeding everywhere and it would not stop - so back we go the the Er later that night - just about all drinks and foodtasted like a** - when I could eat i vomited - i felt like I was dying of thirst, it was hell getting my liquids and Protein in, I had an acute flare of osteo-arthritis and I literlally could not stand for two weeks. I could go on and on lol.

Oooh I was miserable and I would not trade one second of it - it was worth every bit of misery Hang in there - you will start to feel better eventually. From your ticker you don't look like you have far to go. My husband went from 318 in May to 189 currently, and i am inching my way toward goal.

6.5 months and I shoot for 600-800

Hahaha great post title

Thanks you guys! I am pretty happy - I am not one of those to take things like this for granted, it has not been easy and has been hard fought. Pook and grammy since my husband and I had vsg's done two weeks apart - he is right at goal (weighs 185 - was 284 at surgery, and 318 like me at his highest) and he is a terrible junky eater. Every day I am present with this - writing everything down, tracking, I go to all of the support group meetings - he does not - I was the one who did all the research, buys the foods, supplements, makes the appts, etc.

He started buying pretty bad stuff (hi processed carbs)and I got angry with him and told him to keep the junk away from me - as our cupboards and fridge are sacred and only for for healthy Proteins, fats, fruits and veggies - and loads of Vitamins, and various bariatric goods. He snapped right back with it and is back on the program. I had a little foray into straying from the food plan in Septemeber - it tasted good at the time - then made me feel sick and took forever to get it out of the house - because we cant eat stuff very fast lol.

He knows we are both addicts with food - and the price is too high to go back to our old ways. He certainly feels too good - he struts around like a rooster now, and he looks great I am still trying to wrap my mind around how huge the changes with myself are - clothes that were snug in May, I cant even wear anymore. I have had people at work look at me as if I was a stranger - until i realize after the fact that they actually dont recognize me lol.

thank you for the reading sugestion - I will pick that up. both of you have been inspirations to me on this board - thank you for sharing your wisdom and light!

I'm so sorry With my insurance and my work schedule it took 13 months when all was said and done.

Don't give up! it takes time but it will be worth it and the long wait will be but a memory.

Don't worry - some of us lose slower than others - we all have different patterns. I am coming up on month 7 post surgery - had a month long stall in Sept and am coming off another one now - I am not losing as fast as I would like either but the trend is always down. Before surgery it was always up, settle, then you are up some more until you I was shocked and dismayed - all the way to 318 lbs.

Its the trend over time - 2 years it often takes to get it off - according to statistics.

Woo - almost got the camera haha. I have been hanging around the same weight for a couple of weeks and its starting to move again. It has been a very long time since I hav been below 200 - probably 17 years or so.

For the first time in my life I feel like I will actually get to where I want to be - that I wont fail again. This sleeve is the best durned thing EVER!

woo 100's!

The nutritionists at my surgeons office whom I spent a lot of time with during the year that I prepared for my surgery always say the same thing - "There are no essential carbohydrates, period."

They prefer us ketogenic - that it is the bodies optimum and preferred fuel. When I eaat this way I drop weight like crazy and feel great, when i dont, well I ended up 318 lbs and not well at all.

Getting all my fluids in will always be a struggle I think - I resort to having Protein Soup to up both liquid and Protein grams. I just try to do the best I can - tracking helps keep me aware.

I was totally freaked when I had my first stall - now i am well into my second - I really wish I had started taking measurements from the beginning - even though the scale is hanging out at the same spot - my body is changing drastically, so much so that I have gone from wearing pants last May that were a snug 2X to just ordering a standard medium - I still am having trouble actually wrapping my mind around that one lol. My husband made me order them because I have shrunk right through the XL pants I just bought - he couldnt find me in the grocery store yesterday because now I look like everyone else he says - but my big baggy clothes make me look like a hobo haha!

A medium - and I have about 60 lbs more to lose to hit the upper end of a healthy BMI range for my height @ 5'3" - crazy.

One of the top predictors of long term success with WL is tracking your food/exercise etc.

I weigh myself daily - I no longer am swayed if I am at the same weight for a while, as the trend continues downward - work through those stalls.

I track calories, Protein, carbs, fat, and Fiber. I also keep track of my liquid intake, my Vitamins, meds (very few now) - I do have a myfitnesspal login but I use good old paper journals, and track exercize/walking with Runkeeper.

Carbs and Water consumption seem to have the most significant impacts on how I feel, and how much I lose. I am a pound and a smidge from Onederland - a place I have been hanging out at for a couple of weeks (also a serious set point from my long ago past) Looking forward to seeing a 1 in front, rather than a 2...waay better than the 3

walk, walk, walk - sip,sip, sip

Save that hard earned quit - it only gets easier the longer you go. I'm serious!

I smoked 1-2 packs a day for 28 years and quit November 1, 2010 and have not had one puff since. Go see your Dr.they can help you - smoking now would be not good.