Globetrotter

This topic gets posted every couple of months, every time a new cycle of post-ops starts hitting their confidence stride in their weightloss, just do a VSG search on "dating".
To tell or not to tell, that is the big question apparently. I have not told, but then again, I've never been asked. If I were point blank asked, I would not lie, but who starts off a date by talking about the organ they've had removed? I mean, if you are under 65 that is. ;P
I imagine that it is easier for me, as a woman, nobody is going to question my miniscule portions (unfortunately! don't get me started on the psycho-social implications of THAT...) But for men, I imagine it is a bit more difficult, there are certain tricks you can do like anorexics do, cutting the food up strategically, hiding some foods underneath others, but that's probably not healthy and I don't recommend. Instead, just eat as you feel, stop when you must, and answer questions honestly - if asked. Also, dates ARE social occasions, you aren't there to eat really , so it is perfectlyl acceptable to do lots of talking and listening in between (tiny) bites.
And if all of that sounds like too much - just eat Japanese! Teensy plates of beautiful sushi are my trick for first dates

Fiddle, I think that might be the point of 5:2, you don't go "off" the plan, it's just your life now. In my empty hunger addled state as I lay tossing and turning last night, I had a revelation: there is nothing at all wrong with diets (reasonable non-dangerous ones), nothing wrong with them at all. Instead, it is our approach to diets, treating them as though they are something to endure before we get to have fun/be bad/be indulgent again. We treat it like having to clean your room before being allowed to go play as a kid, or having to eat your broccoli before you were allowed to have dessert. We treat diets like they are a punishment and that the reward is to be glutttonous. I'm overstating of course, but I think you will probably get my point. So, successful dieters know exactly how to lose the weight, and when they get bored, and because they haven't accepted in their hearts that this is a lifestyle change, they just go back to "having fun".
Another box? Wheeee!! I'm curious though, what did you think you had to remove from the boxes? We use APO AE mailing here which is the US Mail. Unless you were sending me Playboys I can't think of anything you couldn't have sent

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.

Update: it is now 64 days of post-op faithfulness and I am down only 11 lbs. 5'3" and 212.2 lbs

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.

I PUT ON MY CHEERLEADING UNIFORM FROM HIGH SCHOOL!!!! Wow! I wasn't able to zip or button the skirt and it didn't quite cover my behind lol, but I still got it on and I was able to completely button the shell (uniform top). That really means something to me because even though I felt chubby at the time, since then I have known that I looked really good back then and have always considered in hindsight for that to have been my "thin" period. New goal - to get that skirt to zip and button by HALLOWEEN!!!! =P

A truly meaningful NSV for me: apart from all of the appearance-based motivations as I've lost weight, I had fitness goals. They included being able to do one perfect push-up, one classic pull-up, and being able to run 1 mile comfortably. After a year and a half I have now achieved the mile, and it feels awesome!

Next week I will Celebrate my 6 month surgiversary. Brassiere: 42G (and truthfully uncomfortable and spilling out) to a 38DD. Pants: 24 and uncomfortable, to 18 and perfectly loose (16s still too snug for real comfort).
But the real NSV that I had recently, can only be appreciated by my peeps who have Been There: It was really cold the other day and I had left my jacket in the office. A colleague offered me her windbreaker. She's kinda chunky-fat and if I were to guess her pant size I might say ... near mine I guess, 16-18. But Before Surgery I just would have insisted through my blue chattering lips that I wasn't cold at all, just to avoid the embarrassment of a jacket that didn't fit.
This time I accepted the jacket, put it on, and it engulfed me. Too big. =) =) =)

Good idea, I don't know how it would go over in my particular environment tho. Plus I just have this image in my head of trying to sit on one of those things and going a$$ over teakettle, landing flat on my back on the concrete floor.

Ooh Tiff I think my favorite combo is the last one you mentioned, I could just see a white cotton shirt with lots of jangly necklaces. =) I can't wait to rejoin the fashion world, I haven't been able to really participate since about 1998 - a lot of catching up to do!

As I told my boyfriend, if you want to be touched, make yourself touchable. You enjoy touching our smooth skin? Why do you think we wouldn't enjoy the same tactile experience? Besides, more exposed skin means more exposed nerve endings to titillate ...

@ jrsmanatee - you want Protein Shakes, not Meal Replacements, those are for people who need the calories, not necessarily the Protein. Protein shakes are specifically high protein, low carb, and reasonably low calorie.

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.

I am a 3 yr vet of VSG and have recently begin experimenting with low calorie again (600cals) On my low cal days, it's not that I feel "hunger" per se, but I do feel empty and the desire to eat is overwhelming, especially as day turns into night. At night I think constantly about food and liken it to the obsessive need of a junkie or alcoholic . It is and is not, hunger. I can remember vividly what it felt like, physically and mentally, to be completely indifferent to food - how it was immediately after surgery.
I wonder if naturally skinny people, the kind of people who take one or two bites of chocolate cake and actually wrap up THE LEFTOVERS (!!) and actually forget they are in the fridge until they go BAD (!!!) ... I wonder if it will be proven that those people have almost no ghrelin in their system. Has a ghrelin suppressor been invented yet?

So, you go back on shakes for 5 days? I could do that, though I'd end up chewing a LOT of gum! =P

I PUT ON MY CHEERLEADING UNIFORM FROM HIGH SCHOOL!!!! Wow! I wasn't able to zip or button the skirt and it didn't quite cover my behind lol, but I still got it on and I was able to completely button the shell (uniform top). That really means something to me because even though I felt chubby at the time, since then I have known that I looked really good back then and have always considered in hindsight for that to have been my "thin" period. New goal - to get that skirt to zip and button by HALLOWEEN!!!! =P

I am a 3 yr vet of VSG and have recently begin experimenting with low calorie again (600cals) On my low cal days, it's not that I feel "hunger" per se, but I do feel empty and the desire to eat is overwhelming, especially as day turns into night. At night I think constantly about food and liken it to the obsessive need of a junkie or alcoholic . It is and is not, hunger. I can remember vividly what it felt like, physically and mentally, to be completely indifferent to food - how it was immediately after surgery.
I wonder if naturally skinny people, the kind of people who take one or two bites of chocolate cake and actually wrap up THE LEFTOVERS (!!) and actually forget they are in the fridge until they go BAD (!!!) ... I wonder if it will be proven that those people have almost no ghrelin in their system. Has a ghrelin suppressor been invented yet?

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.

I'm sorry but that kind of post is part of the frustration for me.
"you've lost the weight before so you know you can do it. Don't spend time beating yourself up. Instead, spend that time evaluating whats caused you to go back down that road, then begin on a new road by building yourself up and taking time to get healthy again."

It's like people don't want to know, don't want to hear, don't want to understand. Even though it says don't beat yourself up, that's just what the next portion of the sentence does - it shames the individual. "spend that time evaluating whats caused you TO GO BACK DOWN THAT ROAD" Because, obviously, it must be "something they did" that made them gain lots of weight back or be at a never ending stall.
That is classic blaming and shaming.
Only few of us are being vocal about it, but the numbers are far larger. We did everything we were supposed to do, and never achieved goal. We had stalls and regain and addressed them in the way we were told to, and nothing happened. I have eaten and exercised like a post op, flawlessly, for the past 53 days and I have lost only 9 pounds. When one is severely overweight (do not pay attention to my numbers in my profile, they are sadly incorrect) 650 calories a day and less than 30g carbs should not result in barely 9 pounds in almost 3 months. Not when the person is 5'3" and 65 lbs over goal.

I am a 3 yr vet of VSG and have recently begin experimenting with low calorie again (600cals) On my low cal days, it's not that I feel "hunger" per se, but I do feel empty and the desire to eat is overwhelming, especially as day turns into night. At night I think constantly about food and liken it to the obsessive need of a junkie or alcoholic . It is and is not, hunger. I can remember vividly what it felt like, physically and mentally, to be completely indifferent to food - how it was immediately after surgery.
I wonder if naturally skinny people, the kind of people who take one or two bites of chocolate cake and actually wrap up THE LEFTOVERS (!!) and actually forget they are in the fridge until they go BAD (!!!) ... I wonder if it will be proven that those people have almost no ghrelin in their system. Has a ghrelin suppressor been invented yet?

I am a 3 yr vet of VSG and have recently begin experimenting with low calorie again (600cals) On my low cal days, it's not that I feel "hunger" per se, but I do feel empty and the desire to eat is overwhelming, especially as day turns into night. At night I think constantly about food and liken it to the obsessive need of a junkie or alcoholic . It is and is not, hunger. I can remember vividly what it felt like, physically and mentally, to be completely indifferent to food - how it was immediately after surgery.
I wonder if naturally skinny people, the kind of people who take one or two bites of chocolate cake and actually wrap up THE LEFTOVERS (!!) and actually forget they are in the fridge until they go BAD (!!!) ... I wonder if it will be proven that those people have almost no ghrelin in their system. Has a ghrelin suppressor been invented yet?

Update: it is now 64 days of post-op faithfulness and I am down only 11 lbs. 5'3" and 212.2 lbs

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.

Frumpy don't participate in the blame and shame - yeah you made some food choices that didn't help matters, but the amount of effort we have to put into keeping the weight off is absolutely shocking and not something people are willing to really admit/talk about. At my lowest weight I had lost 135 lbs since surgery (it took almost 4 years). I still wasn't at goal but I was close. That was one year ago. In eleven months I gained back 43 lbs. Also, that grand total of 135 pounds lost since surgery represents a loss of about 34 pounds a year, or about 3 pounds a month. That is actually worse than had I just gone on a VLC diet. And as it turns out, I will be on a severe diet the rest of my life - we all will, if we want to be starkly honest with ourselves. This last regain was my second regain since surgery. My surgery was July of 2010 I was 294 lbs,17 months later I was at my lowest post-op weight of 172 lbs. My first regain was Summer 2012 and within 6 months I had gained 30 lbs. I plateaued around 200 for the next 6 months and then got on a serious recommittment kick and dropped 40 lbs in 4 months. I held onto my new lowest weight since surgery (159 lbs) for 5 months, until May of 2014, before I started to gain again. From May 2014 to May 2015 I gained the aforementioned 43 lbs. May 28th 2015 I weighed in at 223 lbs and on the 29th I recommitted again to faithful post-op style eating, all the strict guidance we are initially given and that we follow to. the.letter. In the past 20 days I have lost only 5 1/4 lbs. To say this is frustrating cannot even begin to express it. And before anyone starts suggesting reasons for this slowness, yes I have had all my thyroids checked, yes I have done everything to the letter of the law, yes I have done all one is meant to do.
The truth is that our bodies get f***ed up, metabolically, which they already had problems with to begin with which is what was part of what made us obese in the first place. For the rest of our lives we do not get the luxury of eating a reasonable sensible diet and exercising reasonably to keep a healthy body and weight. It requires an unreasonable amount of diligence and a level of concern over calories/exercise/and the components of food that is usually reserved for those with severe eating disorders.
If you want to keep that honeymoon weight (if you were actually lucky enough to achieve goal during honeymoon phase, which I was not) then resign yourself to eating between 600 and 800 calories with less than 40g carbs, for the rest of your effing life. *
*take this rant with a grain of salt as I am obviously terribly upset and frustrated and sad right now.