gmanbat

I am doing well. I had a VERY exhausting day last week helping my wife do a quick but thorough clean up on a rental property, (not ours). I had cramps well into midnight afterwards, drank much pickle juice. That day I ate all I could get down. Otherwise, I am still hearing my sleeve and eating protein first. I am in good spirits, I KNOW I will make it back down to goal. It is the same feeling I had when I first lost the weight, the enemy is on the run, I am chasing him down and killing him off....??

8 pounds down, 36 to go. I am not getting rid of my smaller clothes and they will still be in style when I get back down....?

I think the stretch of a gastric sleeve is different from the stretch of a gastric bypass. The part left on the sleeve is the muscular part, the gastric bypass, it is bypassed. So the stretch of a sleeve is not as easy as a gastric bypass which is just stomach tissue. I could be wrong but this is what I understand. Muscles can stretch but they can also shorten. If you and I quit abusing our stomach I believe it will shrink and give us more restriction. I am already feeling different, I am paying attention more. I ate yesterday in dead silence, no TV on, something I haven't done in a while. It was amazing how soon the full signal showed up. Saving the rest for later is a good thing, that's why Tupperware was invented...?

I had Lupron injections which basically took out my testosterone and aided in the weight gain. I also had chemo with steroids which put it on as well. I decided on the sleeve rather than RNY which my wife got because I didn't want malabsorption. Recovering from cancer and cancer treatment I figured I needed sure nutrition. I have had some gerd issues however they are minimal when I eat right.

My sleeve saved my life. Due to prostate cancer treatment drugs I had put on much weight. A cancer doctor told me the weight gain from the drugs was permanent, I would never get it off. I had to crawl up the stairs to the bedroom. I knew I didn't have long to live. My wife coerced me into a bariatric surgeon lecture. He told me he could take the weight off! He did. A year later I was 120 pounds lighter and running like an athlete. That was years ago. Today I am 38 pounds over goal. What happened? My sleeve always told me when to stop. I stopped listening. Distractions! TV, conversations at the table and in restaurants, nervousness, all dulled my sensitivity to the feeling my sleeve gave me when I'm full. I am on my way back down. Eating is a time of concentration again. I separate it from my other activities. I eat slow and savor my small portions. The sleeve is still talking but now I am listening. Sleeve talks, fat walks.

I didn't read all the comments but from one who reached goal within a year and regained 40 pounds 5 years later I will add that not "listening" to your stomach is a way to regain weight. My wonderful sleeve would always tell me when enough was enough but distractions....TV, conversations, etc., ....would cause me to miss the message. Afterwards I would suffer the consequences of sliming, heartburn, throwing up when asleep, etc. i am now recovering and am heading back down to goal. I am listening again.

4 pounds down, 38 to go. I hate the feeling of giggling fat on my chest when I walk or run. Eviction notice has been served! ??

I learned to look at stalls like changing gears in an old car. Sometimes it took a while to get the thing in gear, you had to let off the gas and put down the clutch. The forward motion continued but slowed for a while. When the new gear kicked in it had more torque to continue on. You eventually got to your destination if you didn't turn the engine off. The surgery, diet, exercise WILL get you there!

I left because I got tired of nasty people. I consider forums like I consider personal contacts. I don't choose to hang out with rude people. i am back. I regained 40 pounds and got disgusted the other day when I saw my reflection in the grocery store sliding door. Victory shall be regained. I will try to be more thick skinned. There are a lot of very sweet people here like proudgrammy.

Thanks!!!

What the heck! A picture just magically appeared. The same one my Facebook uses.

I know this must be easy but for the life of me can't figure it out. I want to load my face to the circular box at the side of my posts. How?

I went from 210 back to 260. I reverted to old habits. Back on medications that I had shed before. Not the sleeves fault. My head is the culprit. It stops now. Eating right, exercising right. It shall be done!

I have been absent a long time. I got a sleeve in 2012.. It went great and before the next year I went from 340 to 225. I did well for quite a while but began regressing to old habits a little at a time. I am now at 260 and I am determined to get back. My moment of realization came when I was walking into the grocery store and saw this fat guy coming at me in the reflection on the door. I am back on medications that I had shed before and have much less energy. The downward spiral ends now. i used to be a moderator here and gave many people advice. Now I need to take it myself. I will get back!

Wow! I go away for a while and 16 pages in this thread! Had my sleeve in 2012, still doing well. Living in Zephyrhills now. I've gained at times and lost at times but still staying over 100 pounds lost off of my original weight. I have found that my level of activity has a lot to do with my weight.

Check with your doctor but Metamucil taken regularly and as directed has worked for me. This stuff has been recommended by multiple doctors for me. I am prone to diverticulitis and elimination is crucial to me. The only problem with Metamucil is that it requires drinking 8 ounces of water at a time and somewhat quickly. That is not always possible for new wls folks. Smaller doses at a time would be better in that case. Again, check with doc.

Congratulations!!!! Great work!

Platues are just the body adjusting. This is not like running a marathon. It is more like interval training. Intense activity followed by periods of rest. Always keep in mind, proper eating, exercise, and water will result in fat getting scarce. It will get the hint and leave, for sure.

I had an advantage when it came to guilt. Being a minister of the Gospel I have dealt with the dimensions of guilt for a long time. There is much negative guilt that is imposed on you by others for manipulation purposes, imagined guilt that is self punishment, and guilt that is not connected with any cohesive reality. The only positive guilt is exercised by a conscious connected to the truth which leads to freedom. Guilt concerning getting weight loss surgery lines up perfectly with negative guilt. There is no truth in it. Holding on to the truth and fighting off the phony morality wins the battle. Fighting off toxic thinking is as much a part of weight loss as resisting phony hunger. My brother, the karate expert, taught me this: wherever you get someones head to go the rest will follow. Keep your head on top, keep your balance, don't let the guilt pushers get you down!

My doc was an expert but recommended the gastric bypass that my wife got over the sleeve. He thought I couldn't lose the weight on the sleeve as well as the bypass. What he did not see was the rage against fat that was burning inside of me. After my sleeve I attacked the fat like it was my worst enemy, dedicated to lifelong fitness, and had no mercy. The fat came off. All WLS will work for you if you make it work.

Gaining back a bit is normal. I am 3 years out and am up 20 from my lowest weight. Back to basics: protein first, good food, exercise, water, limit snacking, concentrate on when you are full, don't eat in front of the TV. Good news is that your sleeve will still work for you. It hasn't stretched that much.

The worst one was a burrito I got at a bar in which I discovered a metal and paper garbage bag tie half way through eating it. I did find metal shavings in my cole slaw at another place, though. The worst stuffatoriums for me were the buffets of various types. They would have to get 15 light eaters in to make up the deficit after my journey through.

In the end you must be your own support. Those that have great respect for your intelligence will stand behind you. Those that feel superior to you will look at you with downcast eyes. Those that love you may express concern for your welfare but will stick with you. Operations like this would have been much more difficult were it not for the support of great forums like this one. You are certainly not alone.

@@Inner Surfer Girl , Don't Stop Believing was amazing! If you like Journey, rags to riches stories, and the inside life of rock bands this is for you! I watched everything related to Star Trek consecutively: Enterprise, Star Trek, Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Next Generation, all of the movies as well. Took many days but was fun seeing how they referenced each other. My favorite episode was when Warf was asked why Klingons changed in appearance so drastically. The clever answer, "We don't talk about that"..

There it is! Anger is a good motivator for some people. Works for me. I would walk and work out alone until you are in top shape, invite yourself in to the group, blow their doors off. Revenge by success.