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I agree with the other 2 posters above. You can't expect that having this surgery done will be the answer to your weight loss. It will help you, but you still have to eat a healthy diet and have a healthy lifestyle. Like someone else said, you might feel like you don't like anything in the beginning, but you mostly likely will later on. Everything that used to taste good to me still tastes good to me. And everything that tastes good is usually a "slider" food. That means you can eat a lot of it despite having the sleeve. Things that are simple carbs (crackers and chips), and liquids can be consumed in large amounts. If you are drinking sugary drinks all day, don't expect to keep your weight off. Too many come into this surgery thinking that they will still be able to eat whatever they want, lose all the weight, and maintain forever. And it is just not that simple.

I posted a long post under the emotional side of being skinny about this almost exactly. And I am where you are at. When I was about 15lbs heavier, I actually felt skinnier than I do now. I am just within a normal BMI (upper end), have been maintaining for almost a year, and truthfully, I would not really want to look any thinner. But the numbers on the scale drive me crazy some days and most days I feel so unhappy with my body. I have a lot of skin hanging and want to get it fixed, but I just don't have the resources right now to pay for it. One person in my last support group had a good analogy...it was like looking at the same "shape" but just smaller. I have rolls when I sit too, and it is all skin, but it still makes a person feel fat. And I don't like pictures of myself either, I usually find something wrong with them. And many people have said things to me....making sure I don't want to lose more weight, telling me how good I look. I have people that don't really know me from before ask me how I stay so thin, etc. But in my brain, I always tell myself they are just being nice. Or they need to get their eyes checked! One thing I am trying to do, but not guaranteeing it will work, is trying to Celebrate how far I have really come. I have pictures from my heaviest and I am using Picisto to make side by sides of me now. And I did keep one pair of my biggest pants, so once in a while, I will put them on. I don't have any answers either, but hoping to feel "normal" one day....

You are an inspiration and those that choose not to listen to your advice are foolish. It is those who can persevere through adversity that come out stronger and wiser on the other side. You could have thrown in the towel and given up because you have not met your goal YET (big yet, not never), but you have continued on. That takes way more strength than the person that loses it all in 6 months. If that happens, great. But it does not mean that they did anymore than you did. And, I think you look gorgeous!

I struggled with depression after I had my children and never sought the help I needed until after my surgery and it has been a really uphill battle. I am not sure if my feelings about surgery and my body are related to depression or vice-versa. I am now trying my 4th medication, hoping it will bring me some balance. I had some of the same expectations that you do. Even writing this, I know I am not happy where I am at and read yours and think, "I wish I could have a BMI of 20". I had set my goal weight originally, and was so excited when I reached it. Logically I know that I really do not need to lose anymore weight, yet I never feel happy with where I am at. My head has not caught up. And I also had some of the same expectations that you did. I am married, and have been for almost 10 years. Although we have a great relationship, the romantic side sometimes is a struggle, especially with young children. I thought that my husband would be more attracted to me, that I would feel more attractive about myself. Instead, he loves me the same (which is good, but has done nothing for our love life), and I find myself just as anxious about being out in public, feeling like people are still judging me like I judge myself, and still comparing myself to everyone. I have worked with a counselor for years, but I can't seem to get my head to catch up. I am working on trying to treat myself kinder, celebrating how far I have come, and accepting me for me. I also agree with Lynda. There are some days that I miss certain foods that I have mostly cut out of my diet, and, even though I knew the sleeve wasn't a magic cure, some days I get tired of being almost obsessive about the things I eat. I know that if I am not, I will gain. I have managed to over come the guilt with eating things that aren't "healthy" because I only have them once in a while. Thank you for posting this. That is what I like about this forum that has drawn me back into VST. These are the struggles that can appear long after the initial operation that people do not think about.

Oh, and this forum did start as a forum about "What is a Vet", but sometimes, discussions turn because of something someone is feeling at that time. The whole subject of throwing up and over-eating when you are a vet is a great subject and could even start its own thread. And I agree, it should remain open for everyone to read. How else are new people suppose to learn if vet's aren't there to help them.

My restriction is still great and I pretty much know at this point how much I can eat just by looking at it (almost 2.5 years). I would say a big part of it is being in a normal place. Sometimes you almost forget that you were sleeved until you eat just a little too much, and then you are quickly reminded. Sometimes I am honestly just enjoying what I am eating and think, awe, I won't get sick. Ha, wrong! It still is a mental battle for me too, head hunger, stress eating and hormonal cravings wreak havoc with me.

Thank you Dean! And I will be the first to admit that I make mistakes, and will likely continue to make them. Honestly, I think it is human nature to want to indulge. There are days that I either miss eating certain foods, or wish I could take one more bite. Sometimes I do take that extra bite or 2 and then I run into trouble. I know I should know better, but I do it anyways. But that being said, it is something that I am working on all the time. And thanks to my sleeve, a slip-up is not the end, and does not mean I start gaining all the weight back. As for this being a Vet Forum, so far, people have been very respectful. Sometimes people have questions about what the future might hold, so joining a conversation is not the end of the world. Now, I will be truthful and I think there is a lot of wisdom 1 year, 2 years, 3 years+ post op that someone 6 months out might not have, but that also doesn't mean I can't learn something from someone 6 months post op. Everything is evolving, including the surgery, and many new insights might come from everyone sharing.

I was like you, throwing up when I woke up from surgery for a few hours. It did not feel good. Then, I was almost 6 months post op before it ever happened again...I was very diligent about how much I ate and what I ate. It is not like I set out to get sick and throw up. It is not enjoyable. It happens when I eat mindlessly. Trust me, when you start getting a few years out, it is easy to do. I try to eat a balanced diet and don't restrict myself, but I still have to be diligent and I still make mistakes.

If I do drink, I usually stick to something called a ceasar (I live in Canada)...closest thing would probably be a bloody mary. Anything with juice, you should be OK (vodka and orange). I can not drink anything that has a lot of carbonation. I have to odd sip of pop here and there, but pop like root beer, I have 2 sips and my stomach feels like it is going to explode. I imagine most beer, especially right out of the bottle, would be similar. You could let it flatten out, but, not being a beer drinker myself, I have no idea how that would taste. If you have something with pop, add lots of ice and let it flatten out a bit before you try it. And like others said, go slow. If you haven't drank yet, you will be surprised how quickly it hits you!

I think you look pretty damn good! I am 34 and I have a bit of a turkey neck from losing weight...as well as turkey breasts, turkey thighs, turkey wings....you get the picture, or maybe you might not have wanted it!!HA!

Thank you for your honesty OregonDaisy. In honesty, yes I have done this as well. Almost 2.5 years out (I see you 4 year anniversary is coming up, Congratulations!), and I still make mistakes! It is usually under the same type of circumstances, mindless eating. That, or if I am really hungry (I do get hungry), and I eat really fast because I am starving. Then there is so much pain, sometimes I would rather throw up than deal with how much it hurts. It is not something that happens all the time, but let's face it, before the sleeve some of us did the same thing (think Christmas supper!). Sometimes it is a little scarey and I do worry about bulimia. The fear of regaining, the guilt over eating something "bad" for you, it could be dangerous. I was just at a support group meeting, and they were talking about this exact thing. They have studied bulimics, and from all the binging and then throwing up, they can actually distend the lower part of their esophagus enabling them to eat more. That thought alone should be enough to stop someone in their tracks. PS, would you mind sharing the name of the recipe group. Is it a closed group, or can anyone see that I am on it? I love recipe ideas, sometimes the same old gets boring.

Ok, well those BMI charts are whack then! If you are 6'3", I cannot possibly fathom how being 227lbs is overweight. I hate that chart, should be burned!

I am almost 2.5 yrs post op and can eat about that amount, a small chicken breast and some veggies. I am not sure how tall you are, but you look great in your profile picture. I am beginning to learn that numbers are relative. Someone can wear the exact same size and there can be a 15-20 lb weight difference. I still also follow the same post op rules....no drinking with meals, protein first. It might seem like you are eating a lot, but I doubt you are actually are, and I personally thinking 20-25% of what sleevers used to eat seems low. You have done amazing, congratualtions!

I am happy to see people realizing that everyone is different. When I went for my surgery, I was pretty sure I would be a slow loser. In the past I was a slow loser, no matter how hard I worked at losing weight, it always took me 2+ years of grueling workouts and strict diets. When I got the sleeve, I decided to make it a lifelong, manageable change. Did that affect how fast I lost...perhaps. But I knew that I could not endure crazy work outs and super strict diets anymore. And I did compare in the beginning. And where did it get me? No where. I still didn't lose any faster and I only made myself miserable. I love that Cheri started this thread to encourage everyone. Of course the people that get to goal super fast are the ones that are going to post and those that are slower are going to shy away. We should all be here to encourage one another, not to judge. I have seen people that do not change anything in their diet get to goal in 6 months...problem is, when the honeymoon phase is over, they start gaining because they never had to make changes. You have your whole life ahead of you, so don't worry if you don't reach goal in 6 months. And I would also like to give a big shout out to Coops. She is a great example of positivity! I also personally know others that never reached their "goal", but they are living happy, healthy lives. And really, is that not what this is all about. It is those that persevere that will have the long term success.

Fluctuations in weight are completely normal. No one has a completely straight line down when it comes to weight loss, even with the sleeve. And how much you lose in the first few months also depends on how much you need to lose. I had 80 lbs to lose and it took be 18 months to lose it all. I check my log, and at 4 months out, I had lost 45 lbs, so not much more than you. Plus, a woman's hormones can also wreak havoc on the scale. I can have weight fluctuations of up to 5-6 lbs throughout a month. From what you write, you are doing what you should be doing. Try not to be a slave to scale, it will drive you insane. The weight will come off. Some of us are just slower losers than others!

Me too. I just want to say...I wasn't born this way, I had surgery and have had to work hard. I want to help you, I want to tell you about my surgery. But I am the same, I wouldn't dare because I know what I would have felt like if someone came up to me and told me that. I knew I was fat, but I had always hoped that no one else noticed...as if they didn't!

I do agree that setting a limit such as 100 post should not be a requirement of the VET forum and people come here should not use that as a deterrent. I think being a Vet has way more to do with how long you have had the surgery and your life experiences with it. When I first read it, I thought "6 months is a Vet??" At 6 months I was still really getting the handle on things. I have been sleeved for close to 2.5 years, and it has been probably the last year that I have learned more than ever, and more changes happen, not so much in weight loss, but it what you can eat, how much, etc. I actually wasn't on here very much in the beginning. I have a local support group and was attending it regularly and had a great support system. But I have not been able to attend them in a long time because of work and family, so I decided to turn to here for support. My issues now are not the issues that someone early out would face. And a lot of what is posted now in the Vet forum is much more interesting to me than the newbie stuff. I agree with Cheri, it gets so repetitive to see the same stuff come up again and again. I, personally, am very much into doing my own research, so I am sometimes blown away by what people keep asking when a simple google search or search on here would bring up thousands of answers. And I do wish people would be more respectful when considering our answers or anyone's answer to that matter. I see so many people who think they know it all come on, throw around information and insults, and they are not sleeved at all, or have only been sleeved a few months. Come back when you have been sleeved for a year, 2 years, 3 years, then your tune might change. The first 6 months-year is the easy part in my eyes, it is the rest of your life that is the hard part. So enough about my rant...I think if someone has been sleeved for more than a year, even if they have not been actively posting on here, I would consider them a Vet. They have experiences that might help some of us even if they are a new VST member.

I second Quest Bars. Delicious warmed up for 5-10 seconds in the microwave...they taste like dessert! I love the Cinnamon Roll one. And there is a new cookie dough one out that is suppose to be amazing! You can do to their website or Facebook page and get a couple of free samples.

Congratulations on your success!

I have come back to this thread about 10 times now, reading and re-reading everyone's posts. Every time I do, I want to post something, but I always feel I should post something positive. But in reality, I can't. This is the one part of this journey that I have struggled with and continue to struggle with every day. Sorry for the long post below, but I feel if maybe I tell my story, it will help me in some way... A little back story, I have been overweight literally my entire life. I started gaining weight in Kindergarten, and continued to gain throughout elementary school and middle school. I spent years been tormented and teased by the other kids in my classes and became very shy and quiet. When I was in grade 10, I decided I had enough and started a watching everything I ate and exercising. It took me 2 years of intensely watching everything I ate and exercising 7 days week, typically and hour to 2 hours to lose 83lbs. I still weighed over 150lbs, but was in good shape and felt pretty good. But it wasn't easy to maintain. Then when I was 18, about a month after I moved away from home, I had a major accident and gained back some weight. Then, I met my husband, and that is when I really packed on the weight. The day we got married I was at my heaviest at 260lbs. After that, I started trying to lose again because we wanted a family and I knew it wasn't healthy to be so heavy. Once again, I joined weight watchers and started exercising 6-7 days a week for 1-2 hours. After 2 years, I had lost 70 lbs, but was still 190lbs, and I got pregnant. I gained back 30lbs and that was where I stayed. I had given up. I was so tired of having to try so hard and not seeing results the same as some other people. I thought I was going to be fat forever. I live in Canada, where the sleeve is not really performed, and the waiting list for a bypass is about 10 years! Then, in 2010, I found a new company that facilitated surgery in Mexico and I was sold. In November of 2010 I had my surgery, and 18 months later I reach my goal. I have been maintaining for almost 10 months now, but not a day goes by that I am not afraid that I am going to gain the weight back. Logically, I know I shouldn't. I eat well and have changed many of my habits for the good. My weight never really fluctuates much, other than from hormones. I am terrified! And not a day goes by that I can accept the person in the mirror. I still feel really big, even in pictures. Some people say they don't recognize themselves in pictures because they look so much smaller. But I see a picture of myself and think I look fat. I have tried counseling, but it never helps. They just can't give me anything that clicks with me. The logical side of me knows I am not fat anymore. Sometimes I try to give my head a shake and I tell myself, for pete sakes girl, you weigh 138lbs, wear a size 4 or 6, and everyone tells you how tiny you are, why can't you see it, why can't you accept it. Why can't I, I am not sure. Is it from so many years of being fat? Of being teased and tormented for years? I have a lot of hanging skin, especially on my stomach, and that makes me unhappy...is it that? I read so many posts of people that are so happy. Loving their new bodies, being happy where they are. I knew that this day would come to. I told my husband that I was afraid that it would never be enough for me. That I would always feel like I should lose more. There are days that I think I should lose more, just 5 more pounds maybe. I am only 5'3", so there are days that I think I should weigh in the 120's, 130 at the most. There was a time when I thought "if I ever got down into the 130's, I would be so happy". Now I am there, and I feel like I should weigh less. I have tried talking a little bit to my husband, but it is hard for him to understand, he has never had a weight problem. I have tried talking to my mom, but she just says that I am so tiny already and can't understand my frustration. And it is not that I am frustrated with my weight, really. I am more frustrated with myself. I am sorry for this being such a long rant. Sometimes I feel if I can just get it out. Read it and re-read it, maybe something will click. Like a couple of you have said, I feel like I am masquerading. If someone says something about me being small, I feel I should give some explanation. I should say, no, I am not really small, I am actually fat, don't you see it. I wish the self-acceptance and self-love was there, and I am working on it, I truly am. No one wants to live life not liking themselves. I hope one day I will, that is what I am trying to work towards.

This is more me too! I look at old pictures of myself and can hardly believe that it is me. But I am also having a hard time accepting this new body. I have a lot of loose skin, especially on my stomach, and it really bothers me and makes me feel as though I am still fat. And I have a really hard time accepting people who comment about how small I am ( I had someone who did not know me before comment about how tiny I am and that I must work out all the time to keep my figure!). I have literally live my entire life being big, so my brain just can not seem to accept the image in the mirror as most days I feel so big. I kept a pair of my biggest pants, so on days that I am feeling down, I will grab them and put them on to real see how far I have come. It helps!

Thank you SOOO much for being so open and sharing not only your story but pictures as well. Your results a phenomenal!! It makes me want to get mine tomorrow if I could, but I have to save for a couple of years yet. You are going to be sooo happy, especially a few months out and then a year or more out when everything is perfectly healed! Congratulations!

I was very private about my surgery and never really had a lot of fan fair. For me, I preferred it because it avoided the questions of how did I do it. But, to help keep me motivated, every once in a while I will pull out an old picture of me, a woman I barely even recognize anymore! I also kept 1 pair of pants that I had at my largest (the ones in my profile picture) and I will put them on. Feeling how large they are on me proves to me how much I have really accomplished and how far I have come in this journey. It is harder to keep yourself motivated, but keep things around you that remind you of your journey and what an amazing thing you have done. It needs to come from within just as much or more than from external sources. Congratulations!!

Search the blogs for the 3rd week stall, very normal. ButtertheBean has a great article about what our bodies are doing.

I really think this is great. And I am happy that Amy put this thread out there. So many people think it is just about losing the weight, but there is so much more to it and if you are not ready for all the changes that will happen in every aspect of your life, you may find it more difficult.