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Thank you for being brave enough to post this. I had posted some stats earlier in the thread about regain. And the other thing from one of the articles that was also important was that EVERYONE has 100% convictions...they will not be the one that regains any weight. The truth is, it is not that hard to put the weight on, and it has nothing to do with drinking milkshakes all day. I think the people that tend to say those things are very narrow-minded and not that far out from surgery. I would honestly say the first 2 years are dare I say the "easiest". The easiest in the sense that people lose a lot of the weight they wanted to lose and can maintain. After that, it gets more difficult. Like Cheri said, we are human and life happens. We enjoy food just like almost every other person on the planet. I also do not have a great relationship with food and I am trying to deal with it day by day. It is a lifelong commitment. It might mean re-evaluating every once and a while, changing goals, and making things work for you. And I don't think that anyone that has any amount of regain is a failure. Like you said, everyone should be proud of the weight that we have kept off!

The fiber cereals really help fill me up and help with digestion, thus I don't worry about the carbs. Laura, it reminds me of putting granola on my yogurt (I was making sugar free homemade granola, but it was becoming a slider for me, so I had to quit!) Yesterday was my third fast day, heading into my second week. I came in just under 500 calories and felt really good. Not eating breakfast is the key for me! Although I was not down this morning, I am holding steady at around 2.5/2.8 lbs lost, so that I am happy for. And I feel a lot less bloated during and after a fast day, and I like that feeling!!

I don't have the yogurt by itself. I buy plain, sweeten it myself, mix in berries (usually raspberries or strawberries) and Fiber One Cereal or All Bran cereal. That way it is super filling and lasts me a long time. I think if I just ate it by itself, I would get hungry quickly. Shakes fill me up initially and can last me a couple of hours, but I don't think it would last me as long as I need on fast days. And on a note, I have not been eating any breakfast. I am not usually that hungry in the morning and find it easier to not eat. If I do eat, then I almost get more hungry than if I don't. So I usually do not eat until noon, but on my normal days I usually have a small snack before bed, maybe around 9:00. So my fast first is usually 14-16 hours, second fast is usually the typical 12 hours.

Well, the bad news, my feast days were not great this weekend. My hubby has been away and I was getting very stressed taking care of my children (3 and 6) alone for a longer period than what I am used to (8 days). Plus I am hormonal, so I found myself turning to junk. Not like the the old days before my sleeve, but still more than I usually do. Thank goodness that I don't keep junk food in my house, or it would have been a disaster! Now the good news. Even though my feast days weren't great and my weight did bounce up a little, I am still down a total of 2.8 pounds. Today is my fast day again and I will stick to what worked for me the last time. No breakfast, lunch of yogurt and berries and then supper. I am going to try fast days of Mondays and Thursdays. I like having them a little further part in the middle and a little closer from end to start. I think if I had 4 days in between, I might struggle a little more than having 3 days (Friday-Sunday) and 2 days (Tuesday, Wednesday). Keep posting everyone, your posts are keeping me inspired!

Check out this guy's site: http://www.leangains.com/ He is very fit and does intermittent fasting. I think it would be a good resource for you. From what I have read, it is especially good for abdominal fat. The maintenance schedule is fasting only 1 day a week, so this might be more up your ally?

I am so happy for everyone! And the more research I do on intermittent fasting, to more positive I think it is. And doable!

I can't eat Quest bars, they are like crack to me. It seems that they trigger cravings for me, and then it is just a downward spiral. I have tried to have them in the house a few times now, and the results are the same...it makes me sad because I love them oh so much....especially warmed in the microwave. I don't have any other advice for boredom. It is something I still really struggle with. I am a stay at home mom and when the weather is crappy and we can't get outside, I find it very challenging.

Hooray! Congratulations on the loss. It looks like this might just be the answer for those of us struggling with the last few pounds. And I hear you about the PMSing! I can actually usually tell close to that time just because all I want to do is stuff my face with food! I also notice it around ovulation time. It is a b***h to deal with. My only defense is to not keep the food in my house or else I cave!

Well, I couldn't even finish the muffin last night, listen to my body for a change! So I came in under 500 calories but felt really good all day yesterday. Woke up this morning down again another 2.2 pounds! And I stayed down after the first normal day. I am trying not to get excited as I am expecting it to jump back up, plus I always bloat around this time of the month. But I am excited to see a downward movement in the scale.

I am terrible for boredom eating. I do things like Lynda, especially playing on the computer. Sometimes just chewing a piece of gum helps satisfy that need to chew something. If I do end up eating something, I try to keep it "healthy" junk....cause really, most of us don't want a celery stick! So I will have greek yogurt sweetened with vanilla stevia and a tbsp of chocolate chips, or stove-popped popcorn with just a TBSP of oil and salt. The biggest challenge with the sleeve is our brains. They can't take it out, so we just have to deal with it!

So I decided to have my fast day today (so Wednesday and Friday)...I think I may go Monday or Tuesday next week and Thursday. I thought it would be really hard having only one day in between, but today was better than the first day. I was much more prepared and not just going on a whim. I decided not to eat Breakfast because I am really never than hungry in the morning. Had some Greek Yogurt with Kellogg's Bran Buds and raspberries for lunch. Then, for supper, I took my kids to McDonald's (my husband is away for a week, its been raining like crazy, we needed to get out). I ordered the Teriyaki chicken salad with grilled chicken. My phone wasn't working, but it said it was 300 calories. I didn't finish all the greens, didn't eat much of the edamame, no dressing, and didn't have the cashews. When I got home and plug in the numbers, everything I ate was actually only about 160 calories! I didn't touch my kids fries, and their meals came with free mini cones, and I didn't order it for myself either. Now I have an extra 175ish calories for the night, so I made myself a microwave Protein muffin because I feel hungry and then to bed. I think this might be something I can actually sustain! The fact that I know I can eat normally tomorrow makes it a whole lot easier to stay on track today (although I am not going totally off the rails on normal days, just doing that, eating how I normally eat). I think it was Georgia who was the first one to bravely try something new, and I really think this can work. Thank you for letting me know about it!

Thanks Lynda! It is funny, because I am most self conscious of my arms. If I actually held them up, you could see my wings flapping in the breeze! And I think it comes from lifting my kids all the time (6yrs and 3.5yrs) because I don't lift weights, ever!

I agree Georgia! There are days that I am always surprised at how good my restriction still is. Of course, some days I feel like I can eat more, other days less, it just depends.

This is a great quote, and I think this is what I am trying to convey. Without permanent changes, long term success I think is lower. I am not saying that everyone will regain, and I am not saying that no one will remain at goal. But it is a lifetime of vigilance. It is very easy to fall back into old habits, and those old habits can quickly add on pounds. I worry a lot about the people that look at this as a way to eat what they want, and say "well, I can only eat 2 bites". It took me 18 months just to reach my goal weight. And honestly, I would say that it wasn't until that I was past 2 years that the capacity of my sleeve leveled out. Now I pretty much know how much I can eat, but it is more than when I was even 18 months post op. Here is a great little article from the 5-Day Pouch Test Site: http://5daypouchtest...les/art001.html If you read it, it states that approximately 80% of WLS surgery patients (sleeve included) will have some regain (10-30lbs) and 20% will regain all if not more of weight loss. And I just read off of an actually Bariatric Center's website that "Some weight regain after the gastric sleeve, especially several years after surgery, is normal and can often be attributed to a slight stretching in the gastric pouch. For cases that do not warrant a surgical procedure, we suggest medically supervised weight loss, which can alter dietary and exercise regimens to get excess weight back under control. - See more at: http://www.peachtree...h.gKeGKCHq.dpuf". And regain usually occurs in patients in the 2-5 year post op range (according to http://www.idiotsgui...s-expected.html). Just proof that surgery is not a magic bullet. Without permanent changes and a lifetime of vigilance, regain is a very real possibility.

Thank you Cheri for your very raw and personal post on your feelings and struggles. It has really struck a chord with me as this is my same battle. When I was overweight, I thought, I would be happy if I could just lose the weight. Then I lost the weight, and thought I would just be happy if all this excess skin was gone. Now I gained a few pounds and it has had me miserable, and I all I want is to get back to where I was 7 pounds ago, because then I will be happy, but I wasn't happy there. When I decided to have this surgery, that thought always lingered in the back of my mind....will I ever be happy, will the weight lost ever be enough. Over the last couple of years since having surgery, I have come to realize that no amount of weight loss is going to fix my inner demons. I have to be able to accept every part of myself before I will feel comfortable in my own skin. I thought this would be the answer, that I would never have to "diet" again. But the hard truth is most of us will most likely always have to "diet" to some extend, whether it be tracking everything, following a specified diet plan, or being conscious of everything we are eating. It might become a way of life and so habitual that it does not feel like "dieting", but, really, if you think about it, it still is in one form or another. No one will be able to eat whatever they want, as much as they want, and never gain. Even though I never tracked, for the last 2.5 years, I was always conscious of what I was eating. I made steps to cut out the white stuff and change the way I ate. And I always told myself I wasn't dieting, but I realized I was to some extent because there were days where I was sad that I wasn't eating what my kids were eating. Sad that I cut certain things from my diet. Days that I was mourning not being able to eat just a couple of more bites. I have to accept that this is a new way of life for me, forever. Your posts always inspire me, especially lately with your candidness about your struggles. Too many people hide when the begin to struggle, but that is when they need to the most active, be it on here if they have no access to support, or in face-to-face support groups. They reality of surgery is there is no guarantee that you will lose 100% of your excess weight. It does not mean you are a failure if you do not. The only time you fail is if you give up. Thank you to all those vets willing to share their struggles. Too many people do not share their inner wars and it gives a skewed reality of what life after WLS is really like.

It is hard to resist the urge to graze. But I don't keep anything in the house and my kids are too little to know the difference. I buy them things I know I won't eat, so I don't think they feel like they are missing out (most of the time anyways!) I am thinking I might spread my days out, like Monday and Thursday, but I will see since I started on Wednesday, I will have to figure out how to adjust my schedule. I was like you Georgia. I started eating a chicken kabob and Beans yesterday, got about 3/4 done and didn't feel good, I thought I was going to throw up! So I stopped eating. Really, the hardest part is the eating out of boredom and habit. I am a night snacker, so the evenings are tough. And my hubby is out of town for a week, so I am sitting by myself from 8:00 on....possible recipe for disaster. But I managed last night, so I am very proud of myself!

I'm pretty good at getting my Protein first. After being sleeved for 2.5 years, the habits that I picked up in the beginning are pretty steadfast now. It is so frustrating because I was maintaining easily without issues until I started the new medication. I've always eaten really healthy and watched what I ate, taking an 85/15 approach, eat good 85% of the time, but enjoy a treat every once in a while. It was been very depressing not being able to lose on the same regiment that I have had for at least a year. Oh well, that's life I guess! I think I will try more of what Laura did. At lunch I had a cucumber salad and an homemade egg muffin. But the muffin doesn't have as much protein as the greek yogurt I usually eat. Might switch it up next time. Good news is I was down 1.5 lbs this morning. I think it is mostly Water weight, but I do feel less bloated than the last couple of days (TOM), so I think it definitely helped with that.

Oh, I am so hoping for that feeling of getting back into my clothes. I still wear the same size, but they are tight as opposed to comfy. I had switched medications back in February and gain 7 lbs in 3 weeks. I quit taking the medication but cannot shake the pounds I gained. So I followed through today! It took everything in me at some points, but I did it. I like the fact that I can eat the next day, I think that is what kept me going! I managed 534 calories, and that was with eating some chewing gum and a Calcium Chew (which has 20 calories!). I am wondering how to keep my Protein up. I got in 54 grams, but that was with a Protein Shake for Breakfast. Any ideas welcome. I am not the best at keeping up with things, so I am hoping that I can stick to this! I am a stay at home mommy, so it was tough being at home with the kids and food just steps away in the cupboard! But, for the first time in a while, I am actually really proud of myself for sticking to it. I am thinking that it might only get easier as I adjust, we will see. I might switch to Tuesdays/Thursdays next week...is that what seems to work the best, or should the fast days be a little farther apart. I better go to bed now as I am having problems focusing! I have never been so excited to eat yogurt and berries with bran buds as I am right now thinking about tomorrow!

So I am just wondering if you have noticed it on your body. Are your clothes looser or fitting better?? Because you are so low already, almost 10lbs would probably make a huge difference. I know it does for me, even 5 lbs makes a big difference at this point on how things fit. I am very inspired by what you have been doing and I am giving it a go today....although I just ate some gumballs to realize I ate 30 calories worth of gum (doesn't sound like much, but when you only have 500 calories it sure is!)

Thanks for the link to this forum. Going to follow for now, but seriously considering this!

This is BRILLIANT! Thank you so much for the tip!

I have talked to my doctor, who suggested the pill, which I do not want to take. And I live in Canada, far from a hot climate! It is coming up on summer, but it has been far from hot. I am 34 and still getting my period is pretty regular....just brutal to deal with!

I am just wondering how bad everyone gets bloating around TOM and how do you deal with it. I never noticed it before I lost weight...I never weighed myself and a few pounds here and there probably wouldn't have made a difference. But not that I am at goal, the bloat and water retention is brutal! In the last 2 days my weight has went up 6 lbs, and that is not a typo! It is not even humanly possible to gain that much weight in 2 days, and my belly is swollen, even my feet and ankles. It is really depressing, even though I know what it is and I try to remember that it will go away in a few days. Does anyone else have such bad bloating? Have you found a good way to deal with it more naturally?

It took me 18 months to reach goal and had a stall of 3 months. Just relax. I know how hard it can be to not lose weight, but it does slow down after the 6 month mark. I lost my first 55 lbs in the first 6 months, and then it took a year to lose the last 25lbs. If you are doing everything right, you will start losing again. It is a myth that after 6 months you no longer lose weight. The 6 month window is the "honeymoon" where you lose the fastest, but it is not the end. So don't be sad!

That is amazing!!! What a great feeling that must have been! Congratulations on such a monumental success!