Blessedfun

Hi! I'm in Greenville. I had surgery in Charleston at MUSC. Here for yall! Loving it! Blessings! Mel

Hey all! I haven't posted since the very early days out...I was sleeved on 10/2/13 at 273 pounds. I reached goal in 9.5 months which was 159 pounds which would put me at a normal bmi. At about 8 months post op I started running. That was a game changer! I have since completed a triathlon, a 5k, 2 10ks, 4 half marathons, and on January 25th, 2015 I became a marathoner! I went on to lose and additional 20 pounds and I've been maintaining 20 pounds below goal ever since. From a size 22/24 to a size 2/4. I eat clean and train hard! I am really living my best life now!

Brazcan- Let's do it! I'm all for having a "take back the sleeve" suport group.

I want to do it too! Lets make a group?

Wow, I think all of the comments above should be laminated and required reading for all bariatric patients! I applaud you for coming back. You are 70+ pounds down 1 1/2 years out! Celebrate that victory.
The advice above is great. You are also starting out right by logging your food. If you go back to the basics you will get back on track. Log meals, Protein first, no grazing, Water in...
The only thing I can think to add is that since you have been grazing to plan for 3 meals and 2 Snacks at defined times. My favorite Snacks which keep me comfortably full are a greek yogurt in the morning and an apple or Protein Bar in the afternoon.
Good Luck.

Wow, you guys.. really (gettin teary)...
I should have known that I would get this kind of feedback from such wonderful people but this is overwhelming. It was really hard for me to come back here and I am so thankful that I did.
Please keep up all the positive encouragement.
I started tracking everything in myfitnesspal today.
baby steps but steps at least.

The only way you can fail is to stop trying. You haven't stopped, you're here looking for help, so congratulations!
You know exactly what to do, because you've listed all the behaviors you need to get rid of. Listen to all the other advice given here. Take it slow, make one change back at a time, and congratulate yourself on coming here for help before you gained it all back!
You can do this. You've already proved yourself. Positive thinking is one of the most important tools we can have to help us in our journey. Make your attitude one that you are proud to share with the world! And keep posting here, as much as you need to, for support.

You have not failed... you have not done as well as you expected! You still have the tool and it is never too late! This is what I try to warn people about. That first year is the time to get the good habits in place because after that, you are back at square one and it is a lot of work. The good news is, you have had surgery and that tool is sitting right there waiting for you! The advice above was great! Start with the next meal! One thing that I have learned about myself is that when I eat "crappy food" (mostly sugar) I only crave more "crappy food" (mostly sugar)! Detox yourself and get it out of your system. After about a week, you will no longer crave those things and you will start enjoying the healthy foods that you are eating. As long as I stay totally away from sugar, no problem. The minute I eat one bite of a dessert made with sugar, the cravings are off and running and that is all I think about! I have learned to just keep it out of my mouth and I don't even want it. As for exercise, start small. Use the old "park at the end of the parking lot and walk" routine if that is all you can do to start with. The key is to START! I promise the depression will get better as you start eating better and moving! Before you do anything else though, make an appointment with your surgeon and Nutritionist for follow up! They are invaluable and I feel sure they will not be judgemental but will be onboard to help you keep going. Next is to plug into a support group! I haven't missed a meeting in 2 1/2 years and I think that is the biggest contribution to my success! It helps to be able to talk to people going through the same things you are face to face.
Now get up and do some moving and meal planning! You can do this!

I'm so glad you came back here! Hopefully you will get the advice and support you need to get back on track. I find that participating in the forums provides its own kind of accountability and keeps my WLS at top-of-mind still. Posts like yours are a good reminder that this is a life-long process that requires commitment and dedication. The good news is, it's never too late to get back on track. And look at the plus side, you are still down 75 pounds from your highest weight! Think of the difference that has made to your overall health and longevity!

What @@Miss Mac said.
I would also recommend you make and keep a follow-up appointment with your surgeon, NUT, PCP, etc, and attend a support group meeting. I bet you aren't the only one struggling.

With your next meal, then go for a walk or put on some loud crazy music and groove to the music.
Get the crap edibles (can't call them foods) out of the house. Don't watch cooking shows for a while.
If I could give only one piece of diet advice, it would be "Don't eat anything made in a factory."
When you get up, stay out of the bedroom. Resist all day TV and becoming part of the sofa. Open up the window shades and let the sunshine in. When the outside temp becomes comfortable for you, take advantage of it and find reasons to be outside. We have a large back yard, and last year I set up a fitness trail for myself. Get a dog. Play with it and take it for long walks. The Vitamin D sunshine that you absorb will help perk up your mood.
As with any formidable task that is inconvenient but necessary, eliminate excuses one by one.
Want to eat crap? Don'y have crap in the house or stand by a vending machine.
Too tired to exercise? Your body is a living machine designed for movement. It will resist you like a toddler who just learned the word NO. But once you start exercising, your body will thank you by giving you more energy to get through your day. Then, you will be tired enough to sleep better.
Don't have time to exercise? Quit hitting the alarm clock. Get up and follow along with one of the gajillion 5 minute work-outs on Youtube. This morning I did a stretch and toning video - 4 minutes - helped to wake me up.
Make a list of what is holding you back, and find creative ways to get around it.
Chirp up, dear. You have friends here who understand what you are going through. Hugs.

I am a 4-6. I think 6-8 would be ideal. Got to have something to work with! lol

Thanks for all of the replies you guys, it just sucks to be at goal buy all these nice clothes and now you can't fit them anymore but I did it to myself and I'm doing something about it now and once I reach goal again I'm going to stay there cause I never want to feel this way again. I got a good man he saw the 25 pound weight gain and never complained he's away for six weeks when he gets back I hope to be at least 135 when he first met me wish me luck.

Faith41 and ahsleyxx thank you both for being so honest about where you are currently at. I am 6 weeks post surgery and from my perspective you both made fantastic progress in your weight loss. Both your posts are reminders however that this journey is lifelong and doesn't just end when we reach our target weight.
Best of luck to both of you and I hope you reach wherever you want to be. xx

You are not alone. I'm 3 years out and have gained 50 pounds.. ugh I hate just even typing that out!
The best advice I have read is that we still have our tools, so we need to take advantage of that.
I've been back on track these last 3 days, I went back to the foods I ate when I was losing (chicken, tuna, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, cheese, low carb veggies) I've been eating Protein first, then LC veggies and it seems to be really helping alot!
I've also been drinking a ton of Water and brewed green tea, I never cared for it much before but now I love it.
Good thing you're doing something about it now before it became more. Wishing you the best of luck, you can do this!

Yeah I did, went from 254 to 132 now I'm 147 and that's after losing 13 pounds how did this happen? A new relationship is what happened got to comfortable, not working out, going on dinner dates now I'm paying for it and I'm approaching my two year so I'm bigger now than I was last year this time. Have to admit last summer was the best summer ever I got to wear summer dresses that I never would of put on at 254 and just seeing my man eyes light up when I walked through his door wearing those dresses was priceless. So with that being said I'm going to lose this weight my new goal is 125 to 130 I think that's perfect for a 5ft1 frame.

I am GF with auto-immune issues. One of my best tips is Bisquick Gluten Free. It is in Walmart and a ton of other supermarkets. I use it like I used flour. I have a ton of other inexpensive short cuts and tips. Just private message me anytime. I know it can seem overwhelming and even scary but you can do this, eat well and get to healthy! Blessings!

Bumping this as I was researching what is going on with me. I'm about 18 months out. Lately having increasing issues where I get super jittery. Seems to be when I've had too much caffeine and/or not enough to eat. This morning I had a cup of coffee then a small pancake and then another cup of coffee. Jitters came, dizziness came, headache started. Sat down ate some chicken and I finally going back to normal.
At this point I know my labs have been fine other than being anemic, which my doctor thinks describes a lot of the dizziness I get now. No matter how slow I get up I can get a few feet away and everything goes black. I'm ok to just stand there while everything is black, then vision goes back to normal and I'm good to go again. We know that my bp seems to drop quite low if I don't eat enough too, found that out after my last surgery, they wouldn't feed me with my bp being dangerously low. My bp didn't recover until I was allowed to eat again.
Just when I think I'm finally getting to some kind of normal my body decides to go all crazy. I suppose it's time to go see the doctor again and see what, if anything, needs to happen next.

I'm almost 10 months out and I started having these same issues (weak, shakey, heavy sweating, the feeling that I need to eat something to make me feel better) at about 6 months out. When it started, I was still eating extremely low carb (less than 45g per day) and my nurse told me to start introducing more complex carbs, which I did. I now eat about 70-100g of carbs a day, which come from fruit or milk in my Protein shake. I still get these attacks every few weeks and it's not after having an unusual amount of carbs. In fact, the last one I had was after I specifically had a low carb Breakfast because I knew I would be eating a higher carb lunch. After reading this string I'm wondering my attacks are brought on by caffine. For the first 4-5 months after surgery, I did not drink coffee at all. Now I drink 1-3 cups a day and my attacks usually happen in the mid morning. I exercise regularly (3-4 times a week). I'm going to experiment and only have one cup of coffee a day and I'll see if it improves.
So glad I found this post!
Tanya (vsgtanya2011 on YouTube)

I've been suffering with all those symptoms for the past two months, but it's have gotten really bad in the past 3 weeks. I'm so glad that I found this post. I started measuring my sugar levels and I'm going to cut some of the caffeine intake...I've been drinking coffee like crazy lately and I stopped doing my zumba classes due to a crazy schedule.
I just schedule a doctor's appointment for next week and I will reduce my caffeine intake as well as increasing my Protein foods. The feeling with low sugar levels is the worst ever!

Just wanted to share my progress. Congrats everyone on all accomplishments no matter how big or small they may be. Highest 293 Surgery about 237 on 121213 (5 months out) Goal weight 175 Today 170 even (been fluctuating low to high 170s past few weeks or so) I'm 5'7"

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Boy am I loving me!!! What a difference a year can make!!
April 2013 size 18 dress and now April 2014 size 10 dress! !
#shedidthat #curvygirl # almost at my goal weight #lovingme

Hey everyone I'm so glad I found this thread I'm on my pre op journey to have surgery ! So far so good I'm starting to cut back on unhealthy foods but still haven't cut it out completely I drink Protein Shakes already I can't wait to be post op lawd! I am hoping if all goes well I have my surgery sometime in May!

I'm at goal. I was 244 8 years ago when I had my lapband placed. Then I was 206 the morning of my revision to the sleeve. I am 120 pounds today.  

That's fantastic pierceddqt78, the sleeve has been good for you. That is a great BMI to be at after nine months. I didn't lose much in January after six months of solid losses but since I ramped up my exercise the last couple of weeks it is starting to move again.