Chimera

I hear you as well! This really is a process - I too could (and can) get down on myself for not having gotten to goal yet at one year out, but I am getting there, and I feel about a million times better than I did last year and the decade prior to that. This process involves so many aspects of ourselves and many issues arise - especially if you have more than 100 to lose, its been on a long time and you are older. Issues with not feeling great, nutrition, and movement the first months, constipation/elimination, starting to move more, the clothing issue - where I found I would buy inexpensive items two sizes smaller than normal so they would last longer than a minute, dramatic ongoing body, muscle and skin changes, and all of the social, and emotional issues we must face every single day. I know that I am working hard on learning to take very good care of myself and pay attention to my physical body - at a year out it can become very easy to slip back into old habits, the weight losses slow down a lot - I have heard one must work twice as hard to lose 1/2 as much at this point, and I would agree...it is part of the process.A big part of the process for me is to recognize just how well I have done, and to learn how to NOT rip myself to shreds for a mistep, to not compare myself to others - but only to my old self. This is probably the hardest work of all. As for the complaints of not losing fast enough - I dont bother much with reading that stuff - I figure it is just folks blowing off steam, and feeling scared, they will figure it out. My monthly losses are on my profile page. Slow and steady still amounts to ridiculous amounts of weight over time..I posted pics in the success stories thread to see just how much about 100 lbs off looks on my husband and I - its pretty significant.

I posted this earlier in a thread on our May 2012 thread - not everyone pokes around in the monthly threads so I thought I would cross post here as well. I have never posted a pic - and have said that I would wait until I was at goal to post one, but bah what the hey - these photos of myself and my dear husband (who also had vsg two weeks before me) are from right before surgery (May 8, 2012 - DH) and May 21, 2013 for myself. We are feeling great and hubby is working hard on building muscle and fitness, and I am still losing and also upping the exercise. I still have about 25 lbs to go to get to the upper range of my goal at 140 - which is a healthy BMI. I used to wear a 3-5x on top, 2x pants - now I am wearing a size 8 (!) jeans - and range in size from 8-12 in tops...where I used to just buy the largest thing online and hope that it fit, now I have to try everything on an have become very particular about the way clothing fits Not great at adding images but here goes.

Haha Kristie I just noticed we have both lost 143 yay 143 haha!

I too have been wondering how all of the May 2012 folks have been. Great to see you guys are looking and feeling great I have never posted a pic - and have said that I would wait until I was at goal to post one, but bah what the hey - these photos of myself and my dear husband (who also had vsg two weeks before me) are from right before surgery (May 8, 2012 - DH) and May 21, 2012 for myself. We are feeling great and hubby is working hard on building muscle and fitness, and I am still losing and also upping the exercise. I still have about 25 lbs to go to get to the upper range of my goal at 140 - which is a healthy BMI. Not great at adding images but here goes.

Im a bit further out - coming up on 11 months out and do have some loose skin as well - if you look at my ticker, I've lost a healthy sized person, and have been heavy quite a while so I knew I would probably have some. I am not at goal, so I will probably have more skin when I get there. One thing I have noticed, and other folks might agree - is that is does get a bit better as time goes by. It seemed worse a few months ago, and looks better now. I am doing my best to get all my Protein and follow nutritionists orders, taking my Vitamins, getting a lot more exercise now, etc. Plastics - or rather the idea of recovering from they types of surgery they do for my loosey goosey areas (circumferential body lift/adbominoplasty, inner thigh surgery) is horrifying to me and waaaay scarier than the bariatric surgery - I am with ya on that one!

One of my favorite crunchy Snacks. Faux cheese Nips Take one Kraft single - Sharp Cheddar is my favorite slice it into 16 little squares place on a piece of parchment paper nuke in the microwave for about 50 seconds until puffed - will come out crunchy 60 cal, 4 Protein, 2 carb, 4.5 fat - 100%satisfying. Don't use real cheese, don't use anything other than parchment, must use the micro - otherwise you get something completely different.

I have some loose skin - most apparent on lower abdomen and inner thighs, have a bit of bat wing too but it isn't too bad. I need to do more resistance/lifting and have been doing aqua aerobics a few hours a week. It seems to continually be changing - like a lot of vsg veterans say - give it time, and it gets better. I can see this to be true for myself so far. I can see some plastics in my future - maybe someday we will be able to afford something like that. Even at 5'3", 48 years old with 178-200 excess lbs of weight on me for many years - it isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be by any stretch (haha) of the imagination. Even with a bit of fat left all over, I can still see lots of muscle definition.

Yah I am getting there losing 137 lbs is not too shabby - lost about what I would like to weigh. My doc uses the 40 because there are fewer complications with the slightly larger size. If you eat what you are supposed to (hi baked chicken breast, turkey, eggs - etc) you have terrific restriction with just about any sized bougie. I am in the period where things do slow a bit - so I have upped my activity level - mostly with Water aerobics which is really fun - Its shocking to look forward to planned exercise. I am very happy with the progression of my losses thus far!

Started at 318 here - my surgeon used a 40 french bougie, I had terrible GERD and am doing just fine - I still take my PPI once in the morning and I fee fine. Hope to get to goal near Christmas

I hope they can schedule what they need so you can have your surgery in time! CarrieP - goodness, they only did a blood test? click on my profile to see all of the testing I had to do pre-op - which I think is pretty standard for bariatrics.

Tigerbelle - I wish you the best of luck for a healthy and safe outcome with your situation. When my family and I went to the information seminar is when I got my wake up call - when our surgeon outlined the statistics of mortality, of success of losing most or all of your excess weight, and then keeping it off over the long term if your BMI is over 40 (which is tiny, think it was between 1 and 3%). A lot of folks say they wish they had done it sooner - I suppose I could say that too, I might not have gotten as big and my skin might not have gotten as stretched. But honestly, it came it the right time - for both my husband and myself who also had the surgery. Things are certainly not easy - but I will take this kind of hard over the hard of obesity, or in my case super-morbid obesity - where people in society have no problems expressing their disdain, or in some cases disgust for you due to your struggle with weight. I hold multiple degrees, am a college professor at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and consider myself to be both kind and hopefully a tiny bit Enlightened - yet I was often reduced to tears by adults on the street calling me a fat pig, or the giggling and mean stares. I have been using this experience as an opportunity to learn as much as I can about how I got this way in the first place - I've done all the therapy - years of it. I've lost all the weight - a few times in fact. This time it feels different, that I finally have a toehold that I can get ahead of this beast of an addiction - which I believe is fueled by the processed food industry and the metrics of how our society operates these days (more sedentary in a nutshell). It just adds to the dilema. Occasionally I read comments from folks here about how they could have lost it without the surgery - usually because the loses are not large or fast enough. I suppose this may be true, but I know for myself that no matter how much I lost on any diet or program be it Duke, Optifast, countless Weight Watchers memberships, Atkins, South Beach etc, etc. that my regains were right around the corner - and painfully rapid. Now, with the tool of my sleeve I feel like I finally have some power over this. I often think of this quote - I think it is from Robert Quinn that "we have only two choices - deep change or slow death." Wishing you insight and clarity with your decision - I know it is not an easy one.

Having my vsg surgery is one of if not the best decision I have ever made - I had complications with surgery that were a bit scary, and it took close to 6 weeks post surgery until I started to feel better. I would do it again in a heartbeat. No question.

I am starting to move away from the word "stall" and have adopted 'pattern' instead. When I had my first 'stall' last year I did not lose any weight for weeks, but the clothing sizes changed in a big way - it's like my body was reconfiguring itself even though the scale did not budge. My pattern now seems to be losing small amounts every week - with a larger drop post menses - much like stair steps. When I look at the trend overall (I track each Saturdays weight weekly) it has been down every week except 3 times since surgery. I think this was one reason I would gt depressed at weekly Weight Watchers weigh-ins before ever considering surgery - if I did not have a good week a few weeks in a row, then I would beat myself and start the same binge/gain cycle all over again. I am working very hard to be my own best cheerleader nowadays - not perfect, but mindful. Working on taking good care of myself and my health

Gastric bypass has a tiny bit higher loss percentage - but the sleeve is very close behind, with many less complications. For some the weight doesnt fall off overnight - some lose faster. I am not at goal but am super happy with my choice.

I love this thread and re-read the whole thing everytime it is updated with another post. Let's see my own breakdown of this process and my losses so far - I keep this info on my profile page so I don't forget how far I have come on those blue days. Start weight of 318, 5'3" 48 female 4/13/11 - attended hospital seminar with my husband and family 6/20/11 - first month of medically supervised weight loss Managed to lose 30 lbs in about 11 months 5/8/12 - Husband has VSG 5/21/12 - my VSG - lost 14 lbs on pre-op/Atkins liver shrinking diet for a total of 44 pre-op lost. Surgery weight 274 8/12 - 3 months post op I was down 50 from surgery weight 11/12 - 6 months out I was down 70 from surgery day 2/13 - 9 months out I was down 86 from surgery. As of today I am at my ticker weight - I tend to keep that updated regularly. My husband is down 134 lbs. now from 318 (yes we had the same start weight) to 184 lbs. I have a rough goal to be 180 by the end of the semester - 160 by the start of fall semester, and 140 by the new year - which will put me at goal of a healthy BMI - so that is about 19 months after surgery - not including pre-op loss. About 5 lbs a month - and I will take it - sure I wish it moved faster but never before have I ever thought that anything I have done would "stick." We both are engaging in healthy exercise, get more movement through fun family activities (skiing, walking, aquarobics, etc), and make good choices now with what we consume. Our Dr.s and nutritionists think we are doing great. It feels so good to finally know how to eat and take care of myself properly I dont care if it takes me the rest of the time I am alive to get there - by jove I will get there eventually!

You can have yogurt at a week out? or am I reading that wrong? three weeks of straight up liquids here - even creamy soup seems problematic to our nutritionist. I would have been thrilled to be able to get that much liquid in that early - sounds like you are doing great! I would not worry unless you start drinking liquid frappacinos or milkshakes haha. When you start solid food you will come to know what restriction feels like and it is serious business You are full very, very fast.

That does seem like a lot for pre-op - you are doing great with your loss so far. Though my surgeon has us do Atkins induction, I think many folks have 2-3 shakes a day, with one lean Protein meal and some leafy greens - maybe a bar as a snack here and there. Some folks are just shakes - which seems so cruel! Our bodies can only absorb so much protein at a time - even excess protein will be stored - as a material we want to get rid of i.e. fat, if we do not burn it off. I would worry more about composition of meals rather than calories at this point (even Atkins pre-made stuff does not have enough protein and too many carbs for me - sounds like the shakes could be Premier - my favorite) - the object of a pre-op diet is to shrink your liver down do they can maneuver during surgery - best of luck!

Yay you two! I am lucky to get get to see these lovely folks at our support group meetings every month I am so happy that you have decided on the surgery - i know it has been a wonderful choice for my husband and myself (maybe someday I will drag him to a meeting - I think he is still traumatized after all those WW meetings lol.)

As few as possible and as much Protein as I can get. Ideally, I would be able to keep it to less than 40 a day - on busy teaching days I really enjoy having a vanilla latte with 1/2 the normal amount of vanilla - less sugar but I still count it as 39 carbs. So realistically I am more like 60-70g of carbs per day - mostly from dairy. I stay away from processed carbs, anything made with flour, rice, etc. My nutritionists tell me that ketones are one of the fuels that our bodies and brain love the most - I think if i ditched my latte habit i could get back into and stay in ketosis - I state I love 80g of protein, 40 or less carbs, 64-100 oz of calorie free liquid is my gold standard - focusing on lean chicken, turkey, fish, veggies, and fruit occasionally. I dont count fat grams, but they usually arent that high anyway. I still use Premier Protein shakes coming up on 9 months out - it is an easy way to get 30 g of protein in, and they do not taste as yuck as they did right after surgery.

It is pretty cool to have to try on everything now - before I just ordered the largest size available - usually 3-5x. The baggier the better - anything too close to the body was bad - now it is a whole diffferent ballgame

I had to have two blood transfusions during the hospital stay after my vsg (patients are normally released the next day - I had surgery on a Monday and came home on Friday). My hematocrit dropped to 18 (normal red blood ct for women is in 36-45% range) so they assumed there was internal bleeding. I had to wait it out a bit for it to climb until they released me. Initially there was talk of going back in to find out where the bleeding was happening - I am glad I did not have to go through that one. I did finally get to find out my blood type (type O negative - universal donor and a good band haha) which I had never known. I had 2 pints over 2 days. I cant imagine you would need to give blood unless maybe you have a rare blood type - this is the situation with my mom (B negative) - the blood bank calls her once a week I think lol.

I think most folks are on liquids for 3 weeks - then they are advanced to soft squishy foods. If you are on mushy food already - that is very fast progression.

We had a great support group meeting today and the topic was "Understanding the Desire to Eat" presented by Katie Mckenna, a specialist in both nutrition and psychology - her visits are always incredibly enlightening. http://www.mckennaco...om/default.html Our nutritionist also shared a new resource that looks interesting that I will most likely check out - the paste is from the bariatric section of thier website. I am of the belief that one can never have too many resources to help us long the way on this journey. http://www.amihungry...c-Surgery.shtml Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery The Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery helps resolve the mindless habits and emotional eating issues that lead to problems after bariatric surgery. It includes TWO books (both paperback)*: Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Journal * Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle The award-winning book Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat is the foundation of this program; the Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Awareness Journal shows you how to apply this life-changing approach after you've had bariatric surgery. (This program is appropriate for people who have had or are considering gastric bypass, the band, or the sleeve.) Each of the eight workshops in the Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Awareness Journal helps you apply what you’ve read in Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat to your daily life and explore issues that are unique to people who have had bariatric surgery. Each of the eight workshops also has a special section called "Adjust" to guide you through the necessary skills to adjust to your "new normal." (See Dr. May's article below: It's STILL Not About the Food.) Download the Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery Companion Workbook and Journal table of contents and an excerpt from Workshop 8 listing the key concepts here. *Available only as a set because the Bariatric Surgery Workbook and Awareness Journal is a companion to Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle. It is not intended to be used alone. If you have already purchased Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat from us, you may email Orders@AmIHungry.com with your name so we can look it up (or you can email us a copy of your receipt). We are sorry for the inconvenience but it is very important that you use both books together! Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery (set of two books) $39.90 Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops for Bariatric Surgery - Webinar Participate in this workshop from the convenience and privacy of your own home! Facilitator: Jeff Butts (Read Jeff's personal story here) Dates: Wednesdays, March 6, 2013 - April 24, 2013 Time: 5:00 - 6:30 pm PST/6:00 - 7:30pm MST/7:00 - 8:30pm CST/8:00 - 9:30pm EST Investment: $199 Click Here to Register Email training@AmIHungry.com to receive advanced notification of future webinar dates. Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops for Bariatric Surgery - Facilitator Training Do you work with bariatric surgery patients? Now available: Facilitator Training to offer Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Workshops for Bariatric Surgery in your bariatric center, office, or community! Please download the Facilitator Training information packet and contact us at 480 704-7811 or Training@AmIHungry.com to learn more. About the Author Michelle May, M.D. Michelle May, M.D. is a recovered yoyo dieter and the founder of the Am I Hungry?® Mindful Eating Workshops and Facilitator Training Program (www.AmIHungry.com). She is the award-winning author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle that guides readers to eat fearlessly and mindfully. Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat received seven publishing awards including best book in the categories of health, best self-help, best nutrition, and mind-body-spirit and was named one of the Top 10 Diet Books in 2010 by Time.com (though Michelle insists that it is a how-not-to-diet book!). She is also the author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes. Margaret Furtado, M.S., R.D. served as a consultant on this project: Margaret Furtado, M.S., R.D. has specialized in bariatric surgery at bariatric surgery centers of excellence for over a decade, including Tufts Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and The Johns Hopkins Center for Bariatric Surgery. She is currently a Bariatric Nutrition Specialist at The University of Maryland Medical Center, in Baltimore, Maryland. Margaret has co-authored 3 patient-centered books on bariatric surgery and nutrition, including her newly-revised Recipes for Life After Weight Loss Surgery and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery. She was one of the authors of the 2008 bariatric nutrition guidelines published by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Margaret speaks internationally on bariatric surgery and nutrition. Bariatric Surgery: It's STILL Not About the Food! Michelle May, M.D. writes about why mindful eating is so helpful for bariatric surgery patients: Bariatric Surgery is Only a Tool While bariatric surgery may be controversial, even bariatric surgeons agree that bariatric surgery is a tool, not a quick fix. This is a critical point because a tool can do nothing on its own; it requires skillful management by a knowledgeable user to work effectively. Therefore results following bariatric surgery depend on learning to use that tool optimally to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Adjusting to a New Normal When people ask my opinion about bariatric surgery, I have to admit that it's a tough question because many people who decide to try surgery believe that they've tried everything else. Most have never even heard of intuitive or mindful eating. Some believe or hope that having bariatric surgery will solve all of their problems—but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, if you’re an “emotional eater,” the situations and emotions that triggered eating in the past are unlikely to disappear simply because you’ve chosen to have bariatric surgery. As one patient said, “They didn’t operate on my brain!” Some discover that they “miss” their friend—food—leaving them with a feeling of loss. As one person told me, "I've cut out my coping skill!" Others believe that after surgery they won’t need to think about their eating anymore. In fact, it is just the opposite. You need to become very thoughtful about eating in order to use this tool optimally. If you’re not mindful about your eating, this “tool” can cause you to experience uncomfortable, even serious consequences—and you’ll be far less likely to get the results you hoped for. Bottom line: It breaks my heart to see people invest so much yet continue to struggle in their relationship with food. Bariatric Surgery and Mindful Eating Since 1999, tens of thousands of people have used the Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program and/or read Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, to resolve their difficult eating issues. There are often people in our workshops who have had also bariatric surgery. They explain that surgery did not fix their real problem and/or that they need additional skills to cope with their "new normal." Mindfulness is beneficial because it teaches us to focus our attention and awareness on what is happening right now, which in turn, helps us disengage from habitual, unsatisfying, and unskillful habits and behaviors. Specifically, mindful eating skills help resolve the mindless habits and emotional eating issues that lead to problems after bariatric surgery: Eating too quickly Taking large bites Not chewing thoroughly Eating while distracted leading to overconsumption Not savoring food and therefore having difficulty feeling satisfied with small volumes of food Eating too much, leading to vomiting and/or distention of the pouch Grazing throughout the day Eating "slider" foods and high-calorie soft foods and liquids, often in response to emotional triggers Not consuming enough protein or nutrient-rich foods Feeling deprived or left-out in social situations Struggling to establish consistent physical activity Transfer addictions And many other issues... Further, most people who make the difficult decision to have bariatric surgery want to improve their health and energy so they can live the vibrant life they crave. Yet without the additional tool of mindful eating, bariatric surgery can feel like a permanent diet that continues to consume your life. One of the most meaningful changes that happens when you learn to eat mindfully (whether you've had surgery or not!) is that it allows you to think about eating when you need to and free up your energy and attention to focus on living in between. Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery For all these reasons we felt that it was time to create a mindful eating program especially for people who have had (or who are considering) bariatric surgery. We have a brand new Bariatric Surgery Workbook and Awareness Journal and will also begin offering additional workshop training for Am I Hungry? Facilitators who work with bariatric surgery patients. Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating Program for Bariatric Surgery (set of two books) $39.90 (For a sneak peek, download a pdf of the key concepts covered in this Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating program for Bariatric Surgery.) I am personally very excited about bringing the life-changing concepts of intuitive and mindful eating to the many people who, despite having surgery, still find themselves stuck in an eat-repent-repeat cycle. After all, even after bariatric surgery, it still isn't really about the food. Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly! Michelle May, M.D.

My surgeon only has us on Clear Liquids the day before surgery - he has patients do Atkins induction rather than weeks of liquid - which is rough (I know I've done 4 months of Optifast before - 400 cals a day and shakes only). The greatest motivator for me sticking to the liver shrinking, high Protein - very low carb diet is remembering my surgeon saying that if they went in and you had a big, fat, liver they would close you back up and cancel your surgery, or convert to an open surgery and open you up stem to stern....scary as heck to me lol. I guess my liver was teeny haha. Lost 14 lbs in the 2 weeks prior on my pre-op diet. Cutting carbs drastically hurts, but the less you consume the less you want - honestly. Drink oceans of Water - it will help with hunger and you need to be hydrated - the last thing I did the night before surgery at midnight was to chug my drink - I knew it would be a long time before I could do it, if ever, again (I can - its a mini-chug) - ditch the carbonated, and I ditched drip coffee - it adds to my acid problem and can make me both hungry and dehydrated. I now try and avoid anything with wheat - and avoid refined carbs as much as possible because if I don't I am head hungry all the time. Processed carbs affect the same areas in the brain that drugs like cocaine and heroin do - no wonder it is so hard to stop. Good luck - it's an amazing journey.

I drink this brand exclusively