Globetrotter

This is EXACTLY the kind of information I was in need of, thank you!! I am going to cut out salt/sodium, drink a $h!t ton of water and eat my carbs after my work out and see what happens

Taura bird - no not really. that 125 was when I was a teenager, a completely and utterly different ball of wax from being a woman in her early 30's. Besides, this is not really the focus of my concerns/fears/anxieties voiced here. There are a lot of layers going on here, a lot of pain and fear and confusion, and the easy answer of "you know what to do so go do it" isn't going to answer the mail for me right now. One can know something academically and still struggle in reality.

Calories in calories out makes me want to pull my hair screaming as I run around the room! I have been with my body for awhile now and I know it's sneaky sullen backstabbing ways, I can exercise hard cardio for one hour, 6 days a week and eat a balanced diet of 1200 calories a day and barely see the scale move almost a pound in a week. Bump that up to 1400 and I GAIN. The only time in my life where I have seen genuine movement on the scale was in the 6 months following surgery when I focused solely on severe low calorie/carb - 600 cals, >30 carbs. I did exercise during that time, but it was 30 minutes gentle walking on the treadmill or elliptical with a weights rotation, nothing strenuous at all. Now that I am not super mobidly obese and cannot rely on the sheer momentum of weight that needs to be lost to drive forward the weight loss, I am at a *loss* as to how to actually lose weight. What do those "light weights" do, the ones who have VSG with *only* 60 lbs to lose? I'd really like to know.

I am over 2 and a half years out and have suddenly in the past week experienced extreme exhaustion like i haven't felt since immed post-op. I take a women's multi daily, but I have started exercising regularly again, 45 min a day. But I was doing that post-op and I didn't feel this exhausted. I feel ... weary, and my calories and carbs aren't super low either.

Thank you everyone for your insightful compassionate words of wisdom and encouragement, <3. The majority of the trauma has happened since January, one thing right after another, without the opportunity to take a breath, gather my strength, or find hope. It has seriiously been some horrific devastation every few weeks, unceasing, since January. My gallbladder, 2 weeks later my father, a week later I left and my Mom had to sell, , few weeks later I deploy, 2 weeks later the IRS, now the scariness of what's happening here ... I don't want to be a victim, I want to rise to every challenge but ENOUGH WITH THE FU**!NG CHALLENGES ALREADY! enough, universe, enough. I'm starting to wonder, do any of us actually know how to lose weight? It doesn't seem reasonable that the only way I'm going to lose a significant amount of weight is by eating 600 calories a day, by starving myself basically. That makes me angry, I am angry! With every advance in science and all these damn doctors telling us what to do, nobody actually seems to have a clue as to how to lose weight that doesn't involve some gimmick. I want to know how many calories and activity per day a naturally skinny person does, a person who makes a point of exercising and eating healthfully but doesn't track either. Sorry, rant. I have weighed 125 before, I have memories of what I felt like at that weight and I liked it, I was at my most athletic, my fastest at that weight. Since surgery the lowest I got was 165 and I was very very strong from constantly exercising and strength training and I felt awesome. The floppy flesh and skin was awkward and solidified my decision to someday have plastics. My Mother and Grandmothers at this age were curvacious but not fat, judging from photos I would say that they were all somewhere in the low 130s, the g-mothers were shorter by a few inches, Mom taller by a half inch. The desire for carbs is overwhelming, I was doing so good yesterday, and then I was cramming plain tortilla chips (super salty) into my mouth like it would save the world. v.v Also (tmi alert) I realized that one of the justifications for reintroducing carbs was that staying extremely low carb results in ... painful attempts at BMs, resulting in overuse of MoM or other things. But I noticed that a cheap carb got things moving nicely ... so, now that I am back on high Protein low carb (attempting anyway), I have noticed it reverting, not fun ... In answer to someone who suggested I see a therapist, I would love to see a therapist but someone equipped to handle our issues, doesn't exist here. When it comes to weight the army is still very much into the blame game and not interested in exploring the reasons behind the results. So far today, 4 oz egg white/ham/cheese omelet, coffee w 1%, sf torani. lunch will be tuna if I can find it, dinner, a chicken breast if I'm lucky. snack, jerky.

Breakfast - Tera's Whey protein powder, made with almond/coconut milk Lunch - 1 C cucumbers with vinegar, 1 fillet of baked fish Dinner - 1 chicken breast, 1/2 C veggie medley Snack - 1 oz beef jerky, 1/4 C milk in my tea 654 cals 25 carbs 93 protein 10 sugars 30 minutes elliptical, 10 min upper body strength training, 20 min yoga

Hello all, I am approaching my 3rd surgiversary and this brings up a lot of emotions. First of all, I have yet to make it to goal, this is crushing and something I still very much want. I have been through a pretty tough year; since last April I have lost my job, broke up with my boyfriend, went on unemployment, had to have my gallbladder removed without insurance so racked up shocking medical debt, lost my Father suddenly, lost our home suddenly, at the same time as those two last events my Mother lost her job and is now a homeless penniless widow living in what used to be our home until the new owners arrive. I have deployed to a warzone now, and the IRS is coming after me for something I had no control over and was not my fault. So, during all that, I have gained 30 lbs. In the last week I have begun trying to return to post-op eating: severe calorie restriction/carb restriction etc. I am down 5 lbs in 6 days so, it must be working, but my frustration at having gained at all is terrible. I'm not a "normal" person when it comes to food and I need to understand and accept that. I have thought, "I would rather be eating" at some really inappropriate times. I also have realized that my mind had never really accepted that I wasn't a shockingly enormous person anymore; my interpersonal behavior is still suspiscious, resentful, timid, and easily crushed. I sometimes, even a year ago when I was the fittest I've ever been, would still physically behave as though I were morbidly obese; getting up from the floor, bracing a knee, even the way I put on my pants or sat in a chair, behaving as though there was a phantom suit of flesh around me. So, clearly, just because time has passed and the losses have been (mostly) made, doesn't mean one has fully grasped or come to terms with the state of things. I worry/obsess over my need to complete my loss journey, I still have a solid 65 lbs to lose, 5'3" and 125 pounds is a reasonable goal to me, it is (sadly) in no way too thin ... I worry about my metabolism, the slowness with which I lose weight, there is a thread in here about losing too much weight, I know it's a legitimate problem for some people but puh-lease! If only! Champagne problems imho ... Breakfast today - Protein shake lunch - baked fish dinner - chicken breast, veggie medley snack - Jerky So here I am, flawed, trying, a little depressed, a little hopeless, but still with a flickering flame ...

with the gain that I have experienced in the past year, I have *only* lost 105 lbs I was so proud, prior to my regain, to tell the world that I had lost 130 lbs ... I hope eventually (after plastics and everything) to be able to proclaim that I have lost 170 lbs!!

Okay Feed, now I'm tracking! My idea of a reset was to return to post-op style living, severe calorie restriction coupled with mild but consistent exercise. I have been reading up on your version of a reset during this entire week of my version, and it does make sense. Although, it kinda also seems like a lemon lot car salesman tactic too - eat more, gain more, and then you will lose, but slowly! That being said, once I jump start my system back into weight loss, I will be evening out the calories and exercise. But after almost a year of eating whatever the hell I wanted and not exercising, I definitely need some strict "tough love" Right now after 6 days I have lost 5 pounds.

Guilt-free would be using those wonderful sugar free Torani syrups, the variety of flavors is incredible, there is even a bacon one! Right now I am facing the regain I experienced in the last 15 months (25 lbs) so, there is no such thing as a guilt free treat these days

Yep, what the person above stated is probably what's up.. I think we all go through the initial discovery phase, there are so many yucky protein shakes out there, then we find MM when we are still new and it's like, holy cow it doesn't taste horrible, hooray! But then you do your homework and discover the sugar/carbs/cals ratio, and also discover that there ARE awesomely yummy powders out there that are way lower in sugar/carbs/cals and that's that. I believe there is a permanent thread in food & nutrition that lists the good the bad and the ugly of protein powders and rtd's, good luck.

The only difficulty is in my head; panic over not getting to eat snacks like everyone else and my frantic desire for chocolate. Regarding the amounts though, it's amazing, today is day 6 of the reset, tracking every one of my 700 or less calorie intake, cardio and strength every day and it is actually getting easier to eat less. Whatever science is involved, a week ago I probably could have eaten an entire cheeseburger with only a small half time break. Now, I eat 3 forks of an egg white omelet and I'm done. So long as I see results, I'm going to keep doing this, as soon as I hit a stall I will take that as a cue from my body to switch it up.

Um, hold on Feed, your response is so perplexing... a reset is returning to post-op style eating, but your sentences confused me, talking about eating 2200 calories and gaining 10 pounds ... um, that's the opposite of a reset? Are you saying that returning to post-op eating made you gain 10 pounds? And who eats 2200 calories immediately post-op? So confused. I'm doing 700 cals, 35g or less carbs and so far it seems to be working.

Update: I have been livin' la vida post-op for 5 days now - and am down 5 lbs! Whether that is the infamous "water weight" that isn't a *real* loss, I don't care, it's numbers heading south and that's what I like to see .

Unfortunately for me, I must wear trousers all the time, because of my work (I'm deployed) so it is a constant source of embarrassment

Just what it sounds like, the outlines of your "true" shape are used, contouring you, the excess skin is snipped away following that outline. The trunkplasty (Ive heard) can leave you with a more mannish shape, taking away your curved outline.

though I hate HATE hate this term, it is basically a super pronounced "camel-toe"

But if there is extra skin?

I'm not sure how to say this, there is no not-awkward way ... I work out a lot, love to be physically active, so my muscles have grown strong in the 2 years since surgery. As I lose fat and strengthen my muscle tone, I can see the "real" shape of me emerging, I can see areas that were just hiding under fat and areas that are *genuinely* shaped a certain way, not just from fat. One of these areas is my um ... oh dear, I believe the medical term is for the entire region is "vulva". With drooping excess skin and stubborn fat, I cannot wear pants unless I wear a loose tunic shirt. It is just terrible and makes me feel so self-conscious, people meet me and their eyes instantly drop to my crotch and I know what they are looking at and what they are thinking. And in case you are wondering, it's all trousers, loose straight leg, heavy fabric. So my question is, are there specific ... liposuction procedures for that front area? vulva tuck? I'm not talking about labioplasty or anything regarding the genitals. Help and thank you.

But, won't you have a big vertical scar straight down your stomach? Why not do body contouring instead?

Well, they didn't fail me, I failed them. I went through terrible life events and for the past year just stopped every good healthy thing which resulted in a 25 pound gain. I am now doing a reset, eating like a post-op (solids) but not doing this pouch test thing. Returning to Protein shakes, zero additional carbs, etc. and low cal (700 or less). Whether it's genuine or not, I have seen a drop every day for the three days I've been doing this. I have 60 lbs to go till goal.

Hi Feed! so, have you ever done a reset for a concerted amount of time? Did it work? I'm sure it's meaningless, but I have weighed myself every day for the last 3 days (today was day 3) and there has been a pound difference each time. My fear is that this will work, but that being so low carb will actually sabotage me in the long run, so that if I put one little grain of rice in my mouth after reaching goal, I will gain instantly. All the health guides I read for regular non-ops says this lifestyle is detrimental and actually slows down your metabolism...

*sigh*, then I am solely responsible for the 25 lbs I've put on in the 12 months since insertion

So I'm not doing the "pouch test" then, because I'm not doing liquids. I'm just returning to post-op solids eating. Today - B - egg white scramble w diced ham, shredded cheese approx 4 oz L - 1/2 C. cucumbers, Protein shake made w almond milk D - 1/2 C. steamed veggies, 4 oz chicken snack - coffee w 1% milk, half grapefruit. total cals - 689. carbs 34, protein 87 exercise - 30 min cardio, 3 sets upper body weights, yoga. I weighed myself day before yesterday (night), yesterday morning, and this morning and there has been a pound difference every time!

Does anyone know if any sleevers have had Mirena put in after surgery, and if they have had a weight gain?