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I agree that I didn't go down a size until I lost about fifty pounds. And I didn't really swing through sizes all that quickly on the way down, either. I'd say I got a good solid three to four months in most sizes before I went down again. Stretchy things and things you can adjust with ties or wraps are a good choice. Also, hitting thrift stores or craigslist or your buddies that are losing weight for clothes can help take some of the burden off of the new wardrobes. The only time I was really frustrated about buying new clothes (and shelling out more money) was when I all of a sudden dropped from an eight to a six. Sounds silly but I had only lost about five pounds but I went down a whole size and had to replace my entire wardrobe. Not just clothes but undergarments, bras, shapewear and even SHOES. I lost a shoe size, too! But in the end, it's worth it. Only buy things as you need them and don't assume you'll hit every size on the way down: I coasted through the 12s in a minute and barely wore the things I bought myself in that size. Best of luck. In the meantime stick to those things that you can shrink down or let be a little loose without looking too sloppy. Dresses are a great way to do this. ~Cheri

It could also easily be B12 deficiency (causes lightheadeness) or Iron deficiency. This early out you're still getting a lot of your Protein from shakes, right? I do get lightheaded if I take my carbs too low, too. Best bet is to get a panel done just to be sure you're alright, anyway. I thought I was doing fine and just got tested recently and found I was really low on both, explaining my dizzy spells, fatigue, forgetfulness and irritability. Well...perhaps the irritability is just me. Hope you figure it out soon! ~Cheri

It's really frustrating. Both sides of my family base EVERYTHING on food, and none of it is good for you! Going to family events, or heck, even just stopping by my mom's house to visit turned into a really frustrating experience for me in the beginning. I remember making this huge Thanksgiving spread for my family at just four months post op and hardly eating any of it and while it's true that I wasn't really hungry it's still difficult mentally to adjust. One time we were home with family and everyone was shouting out their choices for restaurants and all I could think was, "Does nobody here care that I can't eat ANYTHING at that restaurant right now?" And yes, I got plenty mad. It's hard. You're giving up a lot when you choose this surgery and you're so new to the sleeve that you're not even on a normal diet yet. Later, you WILL be able to choose to eat those foods if you really want to, but in moderation. And you might be surprised to find that some of them don't taste nearly as good as you remember, anyway. Food is more than just sustenance for a lot of us. It's family. It's social. It's fitting in with the people around you. When you find yourself unable to participate in activities you used to take for granted (like eating birthday cake or enjoying pot roast with your family) it's not easy. Hang in there. It really does get better. MUCH better. Because as you shed this weight you're going to start realizing that food has been controlling you. You're going to feel better and look better and you're going to find that it affects other areas of your life, too. And yes, with time that stomach will heal and you can eat a more normal diet. But in the meantime, it's a great time to work on those food issues we all have that made us big in the first place. Are you really hungry or do you just want to eat? Good luck, and come back here to vent any time. We all understand this and experience it, too. ~Cheri

Meh. Some doctors don't force you to do a pre-op diet at all (mine didn't) so I wouldn't stress. I'd try to pick up the pieces and get back on your doc's plan tomorrow, though. I would have a totally different tone if you had just cheated on your POST op diet because healing after surgery is no joke and it's very important to keep to the liquids until you're cleared to start regular food. And as a sad side note, I would enjoy those tortillas now...if you're unlucky like me they won't go down the same after surgery. I make my own and can't even eat half of one anymore. ~Cheri

Yes, I wouldn't suggest it if you had to gain a significant amount of weight but six pounds vs. six months? That's an easy choice! ~Cheri

You've gotten some great advice here. You knew the answers before you posted, though! It's not easy but you can shed those last pounds to goal if you work at it. It took me 17 months to get to goal and I lost a similar amount of weight. If the reason you're feeling like a failure is because you know you could be doing better (managing food and stress) then yes, okay, I can see that. But if you're beating yourself up for not meeting goal by one year, well...a lot of us don't. I'm here to be your cheerleader: your sleeve is STILL there and it works exactly the same way as it used to. All you need is the discipline to eat properly (which you know how to do!) and record your food intake. The weight will come off more slowly now that you're closer to goal but if you start doing the right things again it will come off. Everyone needs a counselor at different points in their life and you should take advantage of health insurance providing this valuable resource. Surgery on our stomachs doesn't fix our heads...and our heads, not our stomachs, made us overweight in the first place. You can do this. ~Cheri

Congrats! Enjoy it, you've earned it! ~Cheri

Happy Birthday, coops! I'm glad you and your daughter enjoyed the day. And what the hell is a birthday for if you can't even eat some cake? ~Cheri

It really does get easier with time. Anniversaries are the hardest time to cope, I know. My daughter died in December of 1999 and for many years I'd have a difficult time around her birth and death dates. I still do, but it used to be an entire month of moping and overeating before the actual date and now it's just...different. I can't explain it, but you'll get there, too, though knowing that doesn't help you now. This is a hard time for you and you're coping the way you're used to coping: with food. That has to change if you want to not just lose the weight, but be successful keeping it off in the long term. The hardest part of maintenance is keeping it all in moderation. Work on this. Do not allow yourself to dwell on the sadness in your life. Grieve, yes. You have to! Just don't do it with food. There are many other ways you can express how you're feeling without trying to numb that pain with junk food. Please PM me if you'd like to talk. All of that aside, you have many things to be thankful for right now, too. You have two sons with birthdays this month. You've also done very well with your sleeve so far! You have every right to be proud of your accomplishments so far and I'm sure that once you get over this hump you'll get right back on track. And please don't beat yourself up for falling off track. I did it a few times on my journey - a lot of us do it! It's part of the learning process and coming here to "confess" is one way of keeping yourself accountable. You see the problem, now fix it. Best to you. Nobody really understands what it's like to bury their child unless they've been there. It's a sign of how you're healing that the worst thing you have going on is bad eating habits and forgetting to take your vitamins! I was a wreck the first two years, so you're doing alright! ~Cheri

I'm definitely in need of heavy moisturizer and hand cream post op and never had a real problem with dry skin before. It doesn't seem to matter if I drink so much Water I feel like I'm swimming - my skin is very dry. Part of that could be the climate where I'm living now, though. I think losing weight aged me a tiny bit but it's not as if I popped out all wrinkles right away. I think a heavy, full face just tends to look younger for some reason. If you take good care of your skin you should be fine. I can't help with the sagging skin as I got hit terribly by this one. But then I never had good skin tone to start with - my growth spurts at ages 9 and 13 gave me stretch marks and my twin pregnancy did a number on me, too. Exercise will help but a lot of what happens with your skin is up to genetics, unfortunately. Take good care of yourself and get some strength training in to build muscle and you'll be doing everything possible to combat it. And yes, whenever you're stressed or excited about something your cycle goes crazy. Sorry! ~Cheri

I'm 21 months out from surgery and have ZERO regrets. There are challenging parts to life after surgery, I won't lie. But the little bumps here and there are nothing in comparison to the great changes in my life. The only thing I would have done is opt for surgery sooner! I didn't tell many people for a long time because my husband is just very quiet about personal things like that. It actually made things sort of awkward with family and friends that didn't know, though, because everyone noticed I was eating much, much smaller portions and you can only get away with the excuse that you've just eaten a few times before people start to think you're anorexic or deathly ill. Nowadays I tell everyone that asks how I lost the weight and I have no embarrassment about doing so. Sure, some folks think I cheated but I really don't care what they think. It was definitely work to choose to put the right foods in my mouth for the 17 months I was losing weight and if they can't see that, it's their problem and not mine. Most of us do a "food funeral" prior to surgery. I wouldn't fret overmuch about it but at the same time I'd be careful not to build a habit that will be hard to break post op. The only thing I'd do is replace a meal here or there with a protein shake so you can get used to drinking them. They'll be necessary for a while after surgery. I still drink one nearly every day! Best of luck, the next few months will fly by. ~Cheri

Now, you knew before posting this what the answer to your problem is, right? At least you've confessed your sins. Now is a chance to do a few things. One, revamp your eating habits and don't let depression be your scapegoat for sabotaging your success. You had surgery to change, remember? That includes how we react to stress. Which leads to the second opportunity here: examining your emotional eating. Admitting we indulge in habits that made us overweight in the first place is sometimes enough to help us overcome them. If it's not, there's always support on this board or in a group if you need that. Talking to other people that are in a similar boat might help but everyone has different comfort levels. Being laid off is exceptionally stressful and suffering from insomnia isn't helping you cope, either. My hope is that someone here will chime in that can help you more directly. All I can offer is sympathy for the situation you're in and an admonishing finger wave for indulging in old habits. It's understandable and food is our crutch when we're stressed, anxious, or just plain bored. I'm sure you're all of these things right now. Get out and take a walk at night or hop on the treadmill. Or just adjust what you're snacking on to something better for you. Hopefully you'll find new work soon and this situation will be temporary. However, it can be a learning experience. Facing some of the head issues now can only help your long term success. Sending my hopes that your stressful situation lets up soon and better things come your way quickly. In the meantime: STOP IT! Get back on track or you'll be kicking your own butt once things are back to normal. ~Cheri

I'm nowhere near your age or your height (lucky you!) but wanted to add my vet's advice. Don't worry about how fast you'll lose the weight. I know, you want to know what to expect and you want to daydream about how you'll look on a particular day. We all do! The reality is that it will happen when it does and you can't predict it. You might be a super fast loser or a slower one. Either way, you're going to be losing weight and no matter what you can make it to goal. But I can say from watching the boards that you should have no problems reaching your goal weight. I'm much shorter than you but was sleeved at 242 pounds and was in the 150s within 9-10 months after surgery. Good luck! ~Cheri And I love that Dooter is such a hoot!

Yes, the way they do the sleeve makes it hard to stretch. I mean, this would take EFFORT on your part. Not just overindulging occasionally but actually eating to the point of pain and discomfort and sickness on a daily basis to stretch. Honestly, I'm nearly 2 years out and if I eat two bites too many of Pasta it HURTS and I get sick. I can't imagine doing that enough to make the sleeve stretch permanently! So no, I've seen no talk of revisions from VSG to another surgery, unless someone got VSG as a first step of the DS and wanted to wait a year to see results before finishing their operation. This is for much larger patients that have a bigger amount of weight to lose and I've only seen people talk about it once or twice in the nearly three years I've been following the boards here and on ObesityHelp. I did see a lady that was going to do the DS one year post VSG but lost enough she opted to just stick with the sleeve! I'm 21 months out, started at 242 pounds (high weight 280) and I'm 5'1" tall. I was wearing sausage casing 18/20s prior to surgery and I'm now in a size small (sometimes XS, sometimes M) and I wear a size 6 (sometimes 4s!) so I can honestly say that even though it took me a bit longer to reach goal (17 months) I would never have revised to another surgery. I also self paid (10K with flights from Germany to San Diego to see Dr. Aceves) and it was worth every single penny! With your stats you can easily do this with the sleeve. ~Cheri

Is it the shake? Is it what you're mixing it with? Is it the temperature? Cold drinks made me nauseated in the beginning. Look at all of the variables. I developed lactose intolerance post op so my shakes AND the milk I was mixing them with were doing a number on me. First step is to try and isolate the issue. I recommend finding a site that does samples of Protein and trying a bunch of them until you find one that you like the taste of that doesn't make you ill. It's possible if you keep trying! I now drink my protein with hot coffee or tea and sometimes soymilk. I still cannot drink any milk, even lactose free, without experiencing nausea. ~Cheri

Oh, and eggs are tough on a lot of people! If you have this issue again with eggs even eating slowly, put them off for another week or so and try a different food. Cottage cheese is an easy one and is packed with Protein. A lot of folks like greek yogurt, too. ~Cheri

Eat slow! One or two small, teeny bites. Rest. Try again in a few minutes if you have room. Signs of fullness for me are a runny nose or hiccups. If I pass that up, I get uncomfortable and experience either the foamies or have to go yuck up those last bites I shouldn't have eaten! It's normal...you're new to this and will eventually learn your body's signals. ~Cheri

Congrats!! ~Cheri

Yes, it's fairly normal. Don't backtrack. You have to learn how to eat with your new super restricted stomach. Make up the difference in your diet by sipping Protein shakes when you aren't eating. I did not want to eat again until close to one year out. Now I can actually enjoy eating but it's nothing like it used to be. It's work to get your food in but it's necessary to keep trying. At this point, your best bet is to take one or two bites, let them rest and go back for more if you can fit it. Learning to eat at a slower pace is hard. Signs of being full vary but for me a runny nose still happens if I take a bite or two too many. So do hiccups. Once you learn your body's signs for being full, you'll be able to eat without discomfort, slimes or having to toss up those last bites. Good luck. We all go through this! ~Cheri

I'm not entirely sure I'm successful, though I suppose that just in reaching goal I've made success of my sleeve! In the beginning (the first maybe nine months for me) eating was a chore. So my day always started with me sitting on my laptop with my morning Protein coffee (two scoops of Protein powder mixed with one cup of coffee) and logging my meal plan for the day. Breakfast is hard for me because I just don't like to eat first thing in the morning, so most days I drink a shake for breakfast. I had to plan before starting my day because it was HARD to get enough calories and protein into my body. So, I went back to myfitnesspal to peek at my diet. Within six months of surgery I was drinking a shake for breakfast in addition to eating a scrambled egg (I'd slowly sip the shake before and after eating the egg). I'd usually eat two or three pieces of lunchmeat or some other soft protein for lunch. I would eat a few ounces of chicken for dinner. I was usually low on calories/protein by the end of the day so I'd have either sludge (a scoop of protein, 1 Tbs. Peanut Butter and a little water) or a shake before bed. At this point, my diet was mostly protein with very low carbs. This was because eating was WORK for me. I had no appetite, had developed lactose intolerance and had so much restriction I couldn't eat more than an egg in a sitting. I was eating about 400-500 calories a day, 20-30 grams of carbs and 60 grams of protein per day. I had to eat around the clock to get this much food into my body. Fast forward to about ten months out. I was eating more reasonably. I had my morning protein coffee (two scoops, one cup coffee). Later I'd eat an egg scrambled with cheese for lunch. For dinner I might eat half a pb & j sandwich on very soft bread and some carrot sticks. Carbs were really helping me feel better so I shifted my focus around 8-9 months on getting more in. Throughout the day I'd have two Snacks - usually one would be a few oz. of Jerky and one would be string cheese or a carb, like crackers. I was eating about 700 calories a day, 50-60 grams of carbs (all I could hold at this point) and 80-90 grams of protein. It was still a chore to eat. Around a year out I was really focusing on a more balanced diet. I learned early on that low carbing makes me irritable and tired. Somehow, during this phase I really started to drop my mental food and eating baggage. I was still drinking one or two shakes a day. I was eating that same scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast most days. I would eat a half sandwich for lunch, maybe with some veggies or fruit if I had room. I would eat a dinner that included not just protein but carbs. So I'd eat some potatoes, some salad, some rice or whatever AND eat a little protein. I made up the difference on protein with shakes, because the carbs were necessary for me and I still had a lot of restriction. I was eating 900-1,100 calories a day, 90+ grams of carbs, 90+ grams of protein per day at this point and still losing, albeit very slowly as I was down to my last 20 pounds to lose. Now I'm 21 months out. I eat about 1,200-1,400 calories a day, 120+ grams of carbs and 90+ grams of protein. I start my day with protein coffee most days because I still have trouble getting more than 1,000 calories in per day without it. For lunch I'll do half a sandwich and a cup of Soup, or half a sandwich and a salad. For dinner I'll eat about 3 oz. of dense protein, some salad, some starch. I usually have two snacks a day - one protein based like cheese or jerky and one carb - usually something I've baked! This is long, but I hope it helps or is at least something like what you were asking for. ~Cheri

The only issue I can see is not getting in your liquids. I had to sip all day long. I had about five days after surgery to recuperate (four in hospital, one flying back home) before tending to my toddler twins while my husband was traveling. It's not the same as working two jobs but I was on my feet, up and down stairs and generally moving for most of the day within one week of surgery. Two weeks out you're going to feel A LOT better, especially if you don't allow yourself to get dehydrated after surgery. I think you'll be tired from working so hard and adjusting to such low calories but if you work on getting liquids in you should do fine. ~Cheri

Interesting responses! I'd say the biggest thing that I see posted about over and over and over again is the speed of your weight loss. Meaning: you won't lose every time you step on the scale. Don't expect to get to goal in nine months. You will sometimes step on the scale and see the same number for days on end. Sometimes you'll also drop large amounts even when nothing in your diet or exercise has changed. Sometimes you'll be doing everything right and stall out for weeks on end. Sometimes your weight will jump up a few pounds, just to mix things up. It's okay. It's normal. It's part of the process. Relax, do the right things and you will reach your goal weight. That's what I wish I had known. It's what I wish every new sleever knew, because I see the same posts over and over again with people driving themselves absolutely crazy because they can't control how they lose the weight! ~Cheri

Congrats on your success! I didn't hit goal at one year, either but it's funny how we aren't as upset about it as we thought we'd be, isn't it? It took me six months to shed the last twenty pounds, so it's definitely attainable if you keep on going. Enjoy your smaller body, you earned it! ~Cheri

It could come back in spurts as you continue to get closer to goal. Or you could taper off and become a regular, consistent loser. No telling until you're there, unfortunately. The closer you get to your ideal weight, the harder the weight is to lose (harder = slower) so be prepared. You shouldn't worry about that for a while, though. Work on the night eating. It's a challenge for a lot of us. I used to curl up on the couch in the evenings and eat and it was very hard to shake that. I started losing the habit by only allowing myself to have a Protein shake or Water at night. The sweet shakes killed the craving to snack and also gave me a protein boost. This is still a challenge for me at times, because ingrained habits are very hard to break. I think the best approach to resisting sweets in the house is to allow yourself a small portion of what you want. Most of the time you should find that it wasn't as great as you built it up in your head and the rest of the time the small portion should be enough to satisfy the urge to eat and let you go on your way. Good luck, ~Cheri

Yes, I second this one. It's not that great as just a Protein Drink but if you consider it a lower calorie sub with a protein perk for those lattes you might find yourself "indulging" your latte addiction. ~Cheri