diedie

You guys might laugh me off this thread..
But I swear when I carry lots of stress I do not loss weight, even if I'm doing everything "right"
So it's kind of like a vicious circle for me that way.
Stress about weight don't loss weight round and round...
Deep breaths....

You know, when I'm feeling completely freaked or stressed out the first thing I want extreme control over is my diet/weight.
You've not had an easy time of it - this isn't a new thing, it's been ongoing for you for a while now.
You probably needed those calories and it is, indeed, a perfectly normal feed day tally. It's a perfectly normal maintenance tally for me these days, too.
It's still far less than the average person eats in a day, too.
So indeed, do deep breaths as suggested. Let your body heal a bit and take what it needs. Panic mode isn't allowed to happen until you see a jump on the scale! And not a piddly jump - an increase that indicates there's an issue and that hangs around more than a day or two.
And quite frankly, while I am very sorry to hear you have health issues going on, given your huge troubles with loss it's not surprising to hear your body has been busy dealing with something else.
Best, and be nicer to yourself, lady!
~Cheri

LOL!! GT, DUDE...callllllllmmmmm doooooowwwwwwnnnn....!! Do you realise that 1600 calories is totally normal?? I eat more than that on a regular basis...on purpose! You'll be just fine, missus.
I would like to add for the record that 1600 cals is 'deficient' enough to be a diet already, for any adult woman with or without an awesome metabolism...

Down 125 pounds in 7 months. Here are my pics

Sleeved on 9/11/12
Starting weight: 294
Current weight: 191

Im.8 months out and have lost total including preop 71.5 pounds im.finally in.wonder land and the pattern seems to be a3-5 pound loss at the end of the month the rest of the month a stand still. Im not to goal but i feel good and look good.

I read somewhere ... and I don't remember the quote exactly... but basically that "I have the disease of obesity and by losing weight I am merely managing the primary symptom. I will always have the disease of obesity and will need to be forever diligent that the weight doesn't return."
My maintenance is going fine, but I do so much feel this is a true statement - like the weight will just fly back on if I don't remain vigilint.
I don't want to make newbies too scared, this is different then "dieting" ever was - I still have my sleeve. What I am trying to say is that it is no freaking joke - you need to make permanent lifestyle changes and it is hard!!!

I am sorry you are so frustrated. I can say alot of things that I think are true (like that weighing 185 is a crapload better then 224) but I know that doesn't help your feelings of failure and disappointment. I went through this after the lapband surgery and so I know how it feels.
Truth of the mater is that for me to make it to my goal i have had to "diet" and really seriously modify my eating. I eat like a bird,eat low carb and am quite active - if I didn't do all that, my weight loss would have stopped when I hit about 200#. I knew that intectually, but never could really do it with the lapband so I definately feel and understand all that you are saying.
If you want advice/help here how to attempt to lose more weight, this is a good group of people to get support from.

Do you know about how many oz your stomach can hold right now? If so, just say "Honey, I need you to ensure you will not ejaculate more than XX oz. I hope you understand." haha

I'm also in the same boat. In fact I'm exploring through the forum for help. I'm 8 months out. And can't some days stop eating. I workout sometimes 4 xs a week. But usually 2-3 times. But I need help

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First pic 267 second 193 got 40 more to loose

14months post op have 35 pounds to go
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Yay!! Good job!!
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Wow! Looking great

You are all amazing. I think I want to try the 5:2 plan tosay is my first fasting day how are all the past a year sleevers doing? What things have you guys tried to help with those last pounds (in my case like 35 pounds)

Not sure if this is the right place for this... didn't really want to post in the 'success' thread cos I am saving my goal post for their!
Anyhoo... yep! It's just over three years since I had my sleeve and it really has been a roller coaster ride.
Just a little pre sleeve background; fat kid - mother was and still is to a degree a 'feeder'! Nothing sinister in it, she just loves to see people enjoy food and goodies! As a teenager. although looking back I wasn't really that big, I had a really twisted sense of self image and thought I was disgusting. At 16 I started dieting and basically cut back drastically on calories with little affect! Just made me tired. Still unhappy with my body I joined different slimming clubs and over the next 10 years spent a lot of money with no results. In this time however, I was fit. I used to do a lot of sport; swimming, aerobics, steps, gym, a little running, squash, tennis... the list goes on and I loved it. Looking back I was not big and I was not fat... I was just young and very naive; wanting to look like my skinny friends who were 5-6 inches taller than me and completely different body shape!
At 28 I was preggas with my first - my beautiful daughter (we share the same birthday!) who is now 15. Gained a lot of weight and didn't lose any of it. 2 years later preggas again with my beautiful son who is now 13; same story, gained and never lost. So there I was 30 and morbidly obese I can't even describe how unhappy I was and how much I hated myself. I tried all the slimming clubs again, and had no success which really did get me to a real low place. Throughout this time, I focused on being mam. It seemed the only way to get through the feeling of self loathing was to focus on these two precious people and it worked to a degree. However, the down side was that I lost all sense of me.
Fast forward to 2009, I started researching WLS because I knew it was the only way that I would get healthy and fit again. I knew I had to pay for it because to get it on the NHS (here in the UK) it was virtually impossible at the time. Once my job became permanent, I knew I could get a loan and get the surgery. I attended a few WLS seminars and learnt about the sleeve (I originally wanted the band) and knew it was the one for me. I wanted something permanent, like I was giving myself a new commitment.
Weighing 238lbs I was admitted, signed all the papers and was prepped for the surgery the following morning, that was Friday 2nd July 2010. I wasn't nervous, I wasn't scared. I just wanted to start my new life and get 'me' back. The op went well and I stayed in for 5 days - the surgeon wanted clear drains. I am glad I did too, because the first 48 hours were long and a little painful.
The first 6mths I had a steady weight loss, with many stalls. But I was making good progress and generally pleased. I started exercising and feeling good about myself; I was getting stronger and started to like what I saw. My weight loss slowed down considerable and I went down the route of comparing myself to other sleevers in the same time frame - mistake! (Newbie alert - do not do this - it is a pointless exercise as we are all very different and our body reacts differently!) I found my self in a really dark place that was similar to the one I used to go to when I was a young girl. I did continue to lose weight, albeit slowly until Oct 2011! The it all stopped and I have been bouncing around the same weight since then.
I set myself loads of mini goals and targets and never made any of them! That was a kick in the d**k too! I had this image that on my 40th birthday I would be this beautiful slim woman, wearing a killer black dress and knock out heels - nah! I was still obese! And I was gutted.
I would read posts on here that said ' I farted and lost 100lbs' (ok, slight exaggeration, but you get my drift) and think to myself, I wish I could fart that hard! But I couldn't, so I didn't and I just kept plodding along.
My problem was that I had entered early menopause - confirmed when I was 39 and I had started taking HRT. That did one on my system and completely halted my weight loss. I stopped and started different types and didn't get on with any of them. Currently I am not on any medication and I am pretty much 'playing it by ear'!
After the 8mth mark I really upped my exercise and I started going to my son's boxing gym... my goodness me! What a fantastic work out and I really did reap the rewards; not through the scales but physically and mentally. I loved it. I went religiously for a long time - until I had a back injury that stopped me in my tracks. I went to physio and slowly it got better. However, I never really went back to exercising at the same capacity because I was scared that my back would go again. I didn't want to relive that kind of pain and I couldn't afford time off work. I took to walking and some light jogging instead.
Fast forward to today... I still haven't got to my surgeon's goal; I am just 9lbs away and I am I am 24 lbs away from my personal goal (BMI of 24 - not sure that will ever happen). However, I have not experienced a regain and I've maintained this weight since Oct 2011 (with a 2-4 lb 'bounce) - in that time I have dropped two dress sizes - funny how the body works eh? I honeslty believe that I have not regained because I never met goal and this has kept me on my toes and I remain accountable. I never take my sleeve for granted and I am very aware of what, when and why I eat. That doesn't mean I don't eat junk! I do, but rarely. Nothing is 'off limits' to me, I just make choices. The only thing I can't really tolerate is fizzy pop - I can physically drink it, but I hate the gassy feeling and the bloated feeling it gives me, so I stay away.
I am now 3 mths post TT and with the apron gone and some minor muscle repair and I am starting to feel good about myself and this body that holds me. I have started going to Curves and am I feeling the benefit - this is my way back to the boxing gym. My aim is to, with my TT surgeon's permission, get there by Sept/Oct this year. I am also following the 5:2 diet and it seems to be working as I have broken my 'set point' of 164 lbs and am currently sat at 163! Ok, it is only a pound, but after so long of not seeing any movement I feel like a new woman...lol! I am hopefully that I can at least get to my surgeon's goal and possibly even break through that?
Sorry this is so long, I just wanted to put the whole picture out there - although, I am sure I have missed a lot!
I suppose the main thing I wanted to get across is that it doesn't really matter what the scale reads! Even today I am medically obese - and although I hate that label it doesn't drive me mad anymore. I am fit and healthy and that is way more important. I have turned my life around and added 20 years to it; 20 quality years at that. I have started to accept 'me' and for the first time in a long time I quite like Coops; she's alright!
I will continue my Quest to get to goal... I refuse to give up on myself and I now realise that I am worth the effort! As cliched as it sounds but it really is a journey. And one that will never really end...
I will find some before and after pics and update them later!

14months post op have 35 pounds to go
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14months post op have 35 pounds to go
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I have been maintaining within a few pounds of my goal since Feb 2013. It's hard
My goal is not super skinny either.
Part of the reason I picked it, is I felt it was more realistic to maintain and because the bariatric surgeon and 3 plastic surgeons all advised me to stop right here. I would like to weigh 10-15# less, but frankly I don't know if I could do it without really dieting. Then, I fear I couldn't maintain.
so, I will probably only lose about 4-5 pounds with the plastic surgery so I will be staying in the 150s. Works for me - I am a solid "medium" and you know all I ever wanted was to be normal.

I also hit goal pretty fast. I was 10 lbs below my goal at 6 months. I eat about 1,800 calories to maintain now with about 120 grams Protein. I stopped exercising because I needed to stop loosing, Looking forward to getting back to that soon. I miss having muscles.
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I agree with you Cheri..I do sometimes get depressed when I read posts where people have lost 90 pounds in 2 months..but I am learning it is all perspective. I refuse to characterize myself as a slow loser..I am A LOSER..PERIOD. I am 5 months out and 52 pounds down..whether that makes me a slow loser at an average of 10 pounds a month, I don't really know.
After years of Yo Yo Dieting and the euphoria/depression that comes from losing/gaining weight..I prefer to surround myself with positive reinforcements instead. My weight is just a number, like my driver's license, my social security, my employee ID..it doesn't define me. I use Sticky Notes to give myself an affirmation each day..yes I know it sounds corny but it keeps those mind demons at bay..ya'll should know about those mind demons!
I look to things outside of the scale to keep me moving..like when my trainer ups my workout, or when my niece tells me my belly doesn't jiggle (got to love 4 year olds)..or when a guy on a motorcycle tries to pick me up at a red light! I guess my point is..a number is just a number..if you let it define you, you will be a slave to it. So pick other ways to define you and your new body!

I am 17 months out and still losing. :-) It is definitely not a race.
I've lost 83 pounds overall, and I am planning to lose 100 pounds.
August 2011: 25.5 pounds (sleeved Aug. 9, 2011)
September 2011: 14.5 pounds
October 2011: 9 pounds
November 2011: 6 pounds
December 2011: 3 pounds
January 2012: 6 pounds
February 2012: 6 pounds
March 2012: 0 pounds
April 2012: 0 pounds
May 2012: 3 pounds
June 2012: 0 pounds
July 2012: 0 pounds
August 2012: 0 pounds
September 2012: 5 pounds
October 2012: 0 pounds
November 2012: 3.2 pounds
December 2012: 4 pounds

I haven't lost any weight in January "officially." I gained some weight around the holidays, and I've lost it again.
I also went down to a size 10 in jeans in January, which isn't reflected in my weight loss and stayed true even when my weight went up a few pounds. To me, this means I am losing inches and gaining muscle tone as well as losing weight overall. This is good.

I am just over 2.5 years post op, and sometimes we forget how far we have come. Lately I have been struggling a little with body image and my head and NSV's elude me. While the other day, I did something that I never thought I would be able to do. I was at the playground with my children and decided to give the monkey bars a whirl. I am 34 years old and have NEVER been able to go across monkey bars, not even as a child (my weight struggles began in Kindergarten). With some determination, I crossed the monkey bars!! I thought my arms were going to fall off afterwards and I may have pulled a muscle, but I still did it!

I almost cried last week. I have lost 53lbs since surgery 1/15 & 67lbs all together with pre op. sounds impressive right? I think so. So I've never really cared what anyone thinks when I wear a bathing suit. If I wanna swim, I'm doing it. If ppl think I look fat oh well, I don't care. Hooooowever, after losing this much weight I have been feeling really good. I put on my bathing suit that was way too tight before surgery and it fit nicely maybe even a tad big! I was jumping with joy. So my step daughter really wanted me to take her to the YMCA to swim. They have a huge indoor pool with a massive slide. When we got there, there were a ton of little kids aged 3-5 in the pool area. My step daughter had to use the restroom so I stood waiting for her. Well some of the little kids had just finished getting dressed after swimming and were standing in line waiting to leave. It was then that I heard a little girl go, " hey look at that big fat lady! Hi big fat lady!" It took everything for me not to turn to the little girl and tell her to f@&k off. I didn't know how to handle it. All I know is I was feeling great and all it took was for that little brat to say something so rude to bring me down to zero. I'm over it now. In hindsight I should've just told her she was being rude and let it be but I was so crushed at the moment I didn't say anything.
It's one thing to look in the mirror and think you look good with your current weight loss, but it's another when someone no matter what age reminds you just how far you still have to go.