christin

The gurgling improves somewhat, but I still get it after eating certain foods. It used to drive me crazy, but I've gotten used to it now.

You can see in my signature what the exact loss has been each month. I have lost almost 45 lbs in 6 months. After the first month, it has been a very slow and steady loss of about 5 lbs per month. I struggled with that for the first few months, but now I have mentally adjusted my expectations and I am very pleased with it. Now I just calculate a 5 lb loss each month when I try to plan where I will be at a certain month later in the year.

Water:

Admittedly, I have tried a sip of Water at a meal. I can handle that, but no more and I only do it if I am really thirsty. The drinking thing has been the most difficult habit to break of all for me. Now I try to drink something right before I eat and that seems to help tide me over. My doc told me 30 minutes to an hour after I eat and now at 6 months out, 30 minutes is just fine. I have gotten good at distracting myself until then.

Alcohol:

I have had a few glasses of wine in the last month or so and it went down just fine. I don't see myself being a big drinker in the future, but it's another thing that's not permanently off the list. The alcohol processes differently now though. Totally different sensation after a glass of wine.

Salad:

I am one of the people that has no issue with salad, but I didn't start trying it until month 5. Raw veggies do just fine in my stomach, but I can't eat the quantity I used to. I used to be able to shovel a ton of salad down and now it is more like a cup of it.

My weight is coming off slow and steady, but I have definitely lost some of my boobs. That is totally fine with me as I stopped buying bras at a double D and started wearing sports bras.

At this point, things look pretty decent. I have noticed a few stretch marks showing as they are shrinking which I don't love, but overall I am pleased they are not hanging on the floor.

I keep reminding myself that just about anything can be corrected in the future once my weight loss is complete.

About to Celebrate my 6 month anniversary and I can now say that YES you will be completely normal again, but it's a new normal. I am able to eat all the things you mentioned in your post, but in much smaller quantities. I know each person's stomach is probably different in what they tolerate, but I seem to tolerate just about everything fairly well including raw veggies/fruits.

I don't eat too much bread because I try to stick closer to Protein and veggies, but I am able to eat it if I want to. I was even able to eat a quarter of a subway turkey sandwich on wheat last month!

Just be very patient with yourself and stick closely with your post op diet. About the 5 month mark is when I started to try a few things because I could tell I was feeling very normal again.

I am now almost 6 months out and I have sipped on a few sodas in the last month. While it is possible to drink them, it was just uncomfortable as I felt burpy for 30 minutes after a few sips. To me, it wasn't worth it and I have finally really shifted what I choose when I want a drink outside of Water.

However, it is nice to know that I *can* get it down just fine if I want a few sips every now and then. The days of chugging a 16 oz bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper are totally over though.

That is an amazing loss so far! Very happy for your success!

I had no shots... had something massaging my feet in the hospital that helps prevent blood clots I think.

As for the original question... very much agree with Cheri. I wish I would have known that patience was going to be so important for me. Even though you know the surgery is not the easy way out, I think we all secretly hope it will be! We hope we will just wake up every day and see the scale go down, down, down, down effortlessly. That just doesn't happen for most of us. Our bodies release weight at the pace they want and all we can work on is following our plan, making the right choices, and doing the mental and emotional work that will take us to and keep us at goal.

I am learning to look for the small and steady changes and exercise my patience muscle. With every passing day I become more confident that this is really working and less fearful that I will be the one person who fails to lose the weight.

I also had major shipping issues with Bariatric Advantage. I ordered two different things and it took them 5 weeks to get to me although they charged my credit card the very first week. It also got lost at a facility etc. It was very unprofessional. I will never order from them again, but I really do love the Calcium and Iron chews. They are like candy. Oh well... looking for a replacement.

Pammie-

I'm sorry you are frustrated. I do understand. I just passed my 3 month mark and I've lost only 30 lb as well. My clothes are fitting much better and I'm not losing any hair, so that's a positive. I'm trying very hard to focus on the positive things, but I just thought it would be easier this time. The last 2 months has been basically a little over 1 lb a week average and that is a little discouraging. I have moments when I just worry that I will never reach goal or that I am doing something wrong when so many have lost twice as much as me by this point. But... what can you do? Guess we just have to hang in there.

The last 2 months I have gone up and down 2 or 3 lbs until the week of my period and then I drop 5 lbs or so. I am wondering if this will be my pattern. Admittedly I expected my weight loss to be much faster and I have had moments where I feared it wasn't working, but I am eating well and getting my fluids in so I just have to continue to be patient.

This topic is a regular one on the board and that is how I know that most everyone struggles with stalling to some extent and that I am not alone. Neither are you. Hang in there!

I gurgle after drinking too. I am getting used to it. The fatigue thing has been really hard. I was telecommuting for awhile, but now that I am back in the office full time, I am exhausted at night. I have been falling asleep at like 7 which is crazy! I am hoping this improves with time. I am going to try exercising in the morning instead of the evening and see if it helps. I guess our bodies really are going through quite a bit.

I am losing very slowly too. I was concerned at first, but have read posts from several veterans that lost at a slower pace as well and it changed my point of view. Who cares if it takes me 6 months longer to get to goal than another person? I am still going to get there. I am still glad I had the surgery because I physically cannot eat large quantities of food or binge. This means that whatever pace I lose, I will be able to maintain when I reach goal. That will be the great accomplishment. I have stopped looking at this as a race. I really am on a journey and everything about my relationship to food is changing. Real change takes time and I have the time and patience to invest in myself.

When I was about 4 months out I stalled on the scale, but, I had to start buying clothes. In the fourth month now going on to fifth I have gone from a loose 12 to a tight 2 in jeans. I wore my abercrombie size 6L jeans twice before I got baggy butt and had to give them away. The scale has only moved 6 lbs during this time.

Wow! Now that is some serious size dropping!

Congratulations! Glad you survived your leak and went on to be such a huge success!

Congratulations! Seeing that "1" is an amazing feeling!

I chose to only tell a few of the closest people to me and it has nothing to do with being embarrassed about having surgery. I am proud of going to such lengths to take control of my life.

I just know myself well and I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed in everything I do. I decided not to share this with everyone because I didn't want lots of questions from people around me during the losing phase. I had a feeling it might be a little more difficult than I anticipated and I was correct. I didn't want to feel that people were watching me closely or what I eat, how fast I am losing, etc. I knew it would make me feel pressure and I didn't want that. I feel that I will eventually be more open about it as I am successful and feeling more confident in my journey. A good part of the struggle is mental and I chose to only tell people I knew could and would be emotionally supportive to me.

Hope that makes sense.

I am 10 weeks out tomorrow and have lost just over 28 lbs. I started in a size 18 and can now fit in a 14. I was stalled for 3 weeks and it was during that stall that I started dropping sizes. I am losing slower than I expected, but I am learning to be patient. It is definitely working and the good news is that this time the weight will not ever return. I can tell this will be a permanent solution.

Just Amazing! Happy Surgiversary and congratulations!

Congratulations! I just made it there yesterday, so I share in your excitement!

I am almost 10 weeks and I also feel tired. I take Iron and sublingual B12 daily so it isn't that. I guess my body is going through a lot right now and needs the extra rest. That's all I can figure.

This sounds amazing. *drool*

Congratulations! You have done amazing! I just hit Onederland today also! It feels great, doesn't it?

Oikos vanilla, Honey, and Superfruit flavors. Yum!

Yup it sure does move. . eventually. . . I was in a stall which lasted 7 MONTHS! Horrible frustration, but it eventually moved. . .i guess it was the body's way of trying to catch up with the surgery. . hehehe. . . i was glad it moved. . not much, just 10 lbs but that brought me below goal. . . and I've been there ever since. . no gain and I'm now 3 years out. . .

Wow. 7 months would be more trying than 3 weeks for sure! Congratulations on all your success! Love seeing people still doing well so far out!