deedeemuffin

Everyone truly loses differently. A lot of the posts that you see on the boards are from people who have had above average success rates. I would say that I am someone who is a little more average. I am a year and a half out from surgery & have taken off 50% of my excess body weight so far. As you can see by my stats & ticker I was at a higher starting weight than a lot of people as well. My experience was that for the for 6 months after my vsg it was like the weight melted off. 100 lbs. in 6 months. I thought that I would be to my goal weight in no time. Then it was like I hit a wall. Now if you look at my other posts you will see that I struggled. Struggled with getting in Protein. Struggled with avoiding carbs. Struggled with exercise. Struggled with what a drastically different lifestyle being sleeved is. I even gained back about 10 pounds. I did not do "everything right". It took me about a year to really revamp my lifestyle and find out what works for me to lose weight but feel balanced. I am down 120 lbs with another 122 to go. I am now losing consistently at about 2 lbs a week for the past 12 weeks. I have no doubt that I will get to my goal weight. It might not be as quickly as other people have, but I will still get there. So, my 2 cents is that the sleeve is an invaluable tool. Even if I was not still losing weight, the weight that I have lost already has changed my life. My health has improved dramatically. I actually went hiking last weekend! It might be literally 3 years after my surgery before I get to goal, but so what? None of us gained our weight in a year. We're not all going to lose it in a year. Is it possible to lose all of your excess weight? Yes! Is it possible to lose it quickly? Maybe. Will you regret surgery if you ONLY lose 50-60% of your excess weight? I doubt it. It is sincerely life changing. Best wishes to you & I am sure that you will make the right decision for yourself.

I think I definitely need veteran advice & ideas of how to restart weight loss. I was sleeved 11/27/12. So, I am now a little over a year out. The first 6 months I did awesome. Lost weight like gang busters. 101 lbs. in 6 months. Then the next 6 months I lost 19 & then gained 10. So, I'm 13 months out, now 110 down with 130 or so MORE to go. *SIGH* I know this surgery was not a magic cure. I know that there are things that I should be doing that I'm not (counting my grams of Protein, drinking Water, exercising). It's like I totally lost momentum & I am so depressed about it. I am a vegetarian so the protein part has always been hard for me. I think it was at about the 6 month mark that my sleeve was able to handle about anything. It's easier & tastier to eat Pasta than tofu over & over. Has anyone else gone through something similar or know someone who has? I feel like I probably need to go back to water & Protein shakes for a couple of weeks (as much as I loathe the thought of protein shakes) & try to "reset" my body. It is definitely used to simple carbs & sugar again. I dread going through the withdrawal. I am also struggling with my self-esteem. How could I screw this up? I was given a second chance to live a healthy life & I'm not doing it right. I was feeling resentful that my diet has to be so different. I think that I thought that I would be able to eat "normal" food, but in smaller portions. It really looks like I will always have to eat fairly "clean" & the sleeve helps with portion sizes of those foods. Yes, I want to be a healthy weight. Yes, I want to feel better. Yes, I want a lot of things. I am just having a REALLY hard time getting back on track. I just got engaged on New Year's Eve. We are going to get married in the Fall. I can't help but thinking that if I had been on track this whole time that I would have been healthy on my wedding day. Now I'll be fighting the world of plus size bridal gowns. I'm not giving up. I just don't know how to pick myself up & move on.

Well, I'm almost 2 weeks out from my original post & only down 3.2 lbs. At least it's in the right direction. The trip to the bridal expo didn't do so much for my motivation. The wedding dress models looked like they were 16 & had bones jutting out. How sad. I don't want to have my bones jutting out, but it was discouraging nonetheless. I thought, "I will never find a dress that looks good on my monstrous, fat body". I am not very nice to myself sometimes. Two days ago I actually went dress shopping. It was as insane as I imagined it to be. I actually did find a dress,though. I cried too. I felt beautiful, even at the size that I am now. I didn't expect to have that experience. The shop owner is wonderful & I know another sleever who went to the same shop & lost 90 lbs from dress purchase to wedding ate & they were able to alter it perfectly. I let them know my situation & made sure my dress could be taken in significantly. So, now I have about 9 months until our wedding day. The past 2 weeks has been a jumble of efforts. Buying all healthy food & then feeling anxiety about having nothing to "snack on". Starting out the day well, but crashing & burning by the end of the day, That just leads to me beating myself up & more very mean self-talk. I did join the Valentines Challenge. I think that my approach for now is going to be a little more simple. I was looking to just get back on track hard core & that's leading to failure & more negativity. For now I am going to concentrate on one thing at a time. Starting with Water. For a week I will get in ALL of my water every day starting today. (of course I will continue to try to incorporate healthy eating). Next week I will start tracking every bite I put in my mouth on My Fitness Pal & making sure my Protein intake is where it needs to be. The week after that I will add in activity. I see this approach working for me. Within a month I should be right on track. Any thoughts on this approach or suggestions of what might be helpful in this slow & steady approach? Healthy snack ideas are always welcome. I still struggle with major carb/sugar cravings. I feel like I'm heading down the right path. The scale is going down again. Even if it's in small increments. So, I'm just trying to keep calm & carry on!

1/08 SW: 316.8 1/17 CW 313.6 Down 3.2 Valentine's Goal 299 Time to get myself really moving

All great advice & encouragement. Thank you. I told my fiancé what I needed to do to get back on track, cleaned out anything that is a stumbling block for me from the fridge & cupboards and stocked up on healthy foods. These first couple days have been hard. My first day with my "dessert" of plain ff greek yogurt with PB2 & stevia I felt down right depressed. Today I am going to a bridal show & Wednesday I have my first 2 appointments to try on wedding dresses. That should kick my butt into high gear!

My first weigh in wasn't until Wednesday 1/8 so SW 316.8 CW 316.4

Thanks, Bea. My starting weight as of yesterday morning is 316.8 I know it seems like a lot, but I'm just getting back on track so I'm going to set a goal of 299 by 02/14. We'll see next week if I need to readjust or not. Thanks! Evolving is right...we'll be happy to add you. Just give us your current weight, your goal weight for Feb 14, and start posting your weights every Friday (or whatever works for you...we're really laid back here!) Welcome to the Challenge!

I haven't been on the boards in quite some time & someone let me know about this challenge today. I'm really struggling to get back on track & I think this would help. Any chance that I can still get in? I know that I'm getting a bit of a late start.

Thank you for the great, detailed response! I very much appreciate it. I have gotten out of the habit of cooking & I really need to branch out on my Proteins. I just have done so much plain tofu, plain Greek yogurt & one chili with TVP that I don't want to even see a package of tofu or greek yogurt again. I have 4 containers of that poor chili in my freezer right now. I'm actually starting to get pretty grossed out by dairy but am afraid of taking in too much soy. You didn't say it was easy, but you are successful. That gives me hope. I have to tell my fiancé that I can't bake Cookies for him anymore too. There are ALWAYS fresh baked cookies in the house. Hopefully he'll understand that I need to get in a better place. He's a BIG junk food junkie. He was great about keeping it away right after my surgery, but it's slowly crept back in the house. I hate to be a bother, but I'm one of those people who just can't have it in the house. Right after the surgery is certainly very difficult, but I think at about 9 months out is when I started to really struggle. At that point I think my sleeve "normalized" & I just haven't been taking care of myself the way I should. I have to grocery shop Wednesday. So, no time like the present.

My bariatric surgeon, not my obgyn, recommends 2 years. I actually had to sign a paper acknowledging that it was for safety purposes. Not only do you need time to heal & learn how to eat with your sleeve & lose all your weight. You also need to be able to provide adequate nutrition for yourself & the growing baby inside you. Most people can't do that at just 3 months out. I know that a lot of women get pregnant unexpectedly because of the hormone surges we go through while our body dumps it out of our fat cells. As long as you work with a nutritionist, your obgyn & your surgeon I'm sure that you will be just fine. Best of luck to you.

All straight forward great advice. Where do I find the valentines challenge? I haven't been on the boards since it was still just Vertical Sleeve Talk & I'm a little lost

I am really looking for some insight & encouragement from people who have succeeded, or are further along than myself, or are finding themselves in a similar situation. I am 9 months out. I've lost 111 lbs. I have gone from a size 34 to a size 22. That is all well & good, but I have found myself in some sort of slump. I think that it happened sometime after the 6 month mark. I was determined to lose 100 lbs. in my first 6 months & I did that. I lost 101. Three months later I am down just 10 more pounds. My weight has never gone up, but I have had many weeks of no loss at all. I've had my missteps along the way...junk food a few times, dehydrated to the point of hospitalization once. I have just found that I am not as vigilant as I use to be. I never feel hungry anymore so when I'm busy or stressed food becomes a hassle & it's much easier to skip eating altogether than choosing a healthy or unhealthy option. I still have over 100 lbs. more to lose & I don't want to get stuck in this place that I am. Even when I try to eat well, as a vegetarian, I find myself really missing the mark on protein. I have a lot on my plate (proverbial not literal) right now. My boyfriend & I are closing on our first home on Thursday. I am going back to work full-time starting Monday after not working at all for 4 years. Then we're moving next Saturday. It's a lot & I'm overwhelmed. I'm just so much better at taking care of others than taking care of myself. Has anyone been in a similar place? Or maybe someone just has some good advice? I never thought that I would be that person who forgets to eat or can't be bothered. That's what has happened, though, and I'm not quite sure how to get restarted. Tomorrow I need to have a tooth pulled. What a joy on the day before our house closing. I'm assuming getting a tooth pulled will limit what I am able to eat. So, maybe a liquid protein reset? Just hoping I'm not alone out here.

Give it time. I am 9 months out, down 111 lbs., from a size 34 to a 22 & none of it happened how I thought. You can eat perfectly & exercise & the scale won't move. You can lose 50 lbs. & not one size. I just went 4 full weeks without losing any weight at all...absolutely ZERO change on the sale but lost 2 sizes. It can be frustrating, but have faith in yourself & the process. Follow your nutrition & exercise program & the rest will fall into place eventually.

I wish that I could help. I don't have a brand. I get the roasted, lightly salted edemame from a local grocer (how rare is that nowadays). It's in bins that you scoop out like where the nuts are. Sorry. I hope that you find one that works for you. I'm a vegetarian & would be lost without them.

I have only felt truly hungry a few times. The first time was before I was allowed fruits & veggies & other solid foods. String cheese doesn't fill me, but add a banana & its good. I find the less processed the food, the more filling it seems to be. Veggies and fruits are a great way to fill up. They are a part of every one of my meals. The other time I started feeling hungry was at about 6 months out & I started having that PMS hunger super appetite. I thought that was gone forever. That was when the big reality check of the sleeve being just a tool kicked in. You'll figure it out. Just keep pushing on & asking questions when you need.

Also, do make sure that you get all of your water in. I have found that how hydrated I am has a direct correlation to how "hungry" I feel. I still have a hard time distinguishing between being thirsty & being hungry.

Stalls are a completely normal part of the process no matter what food plan you follow. It is important to follow the plan that your NUT gives you, but you will eventually develop a lifestyle that works for you. I eat snack like meals 5-6x per day. That is the only way that I can get in all of my protein & I'm rarely hungry. So, do follow instructions but don't feel too locked into them.

I eat both, but I am a big fan of the roasted. Just 1/4 cup is 14 grams of protein. It SO helpful when I need to get protein in and can't handle much volume. Also great when you're having a salty, crunchy craving.

That is absolutely not a forever thing. I'm 9 months post-op & I have been eating fruit with skins (like apples) & fresh veggies for what seems like forever now. In the beginning of post-op it seems like forever before things will be "normal" again. Rest assured that fresh fruits & veggies will again be a part of your daily diet. I have an apple or grapes every day & raw, baby carrots dipped in hummus are a staple for me. The only problems I have had with digestion are when I try to eat something loaded with white sugar. Getting sleeved was the best decision that I ever made.

My surgeon had me on 40mg of Prilosec for a full 12 weeks post-op. I now have lower dose that I still take as needed. I would call your surgeon's office. This is very common, and luckily, very easy to treat.

I would encourage you to talk to your Dr. as soon as possible. Cigarette smoking puts you at so much risk especially during the healing process...blood clots & the like. See if you can survive on Nicorette or the patch for awhile if the Dr. Okays it. This is something I struggled & continue to struggle with. I quit the appropriate time before surgery & picked my cigs back up, but not until a FULL 12 weeks post-op. I AM trying to quit, though. Weaning myself down & am down to 4 cigs per day. Not everyone can give up "everything" all at once, but you need to be so careful. You just had MAJOR surgery. Eating & smoking (nicotine or herb) are addictions. I've found that it can help to talk to a professional & seek out medication when needed to address these issues. I know my surgeon's office has a psychiatrist on staff for post-sleeve issues & counseling. As far as the marijuana, if it is medically necessary, have you thought about a vaporizer? You will get a concentrated amount of THC without the smoke. Unless you are using the marijuana for a medical reason I would also be careful with any intake. Learning how to eat, drink & judge when you are full is a huge learning process with the sleeve. If you are stoned & having the munchies you will not be able to properly gauge this new feeling. You could risk some serious damage to your new sleeve. I am not a Dr. or health professional of any kind. They are best suited to give you the answer you need. Please be kind to yourself & take care of yourself. I wish you the best of luck.

Let me start off by saying I am not looking to be yelled at or coddled...something in between might be helpful. As some of you know I landed in the hospital 2 weeks ago because I got severely dehydrated. They also ran a pregnancy test which came back positive, but it was a false positive. I am definitely not pregnant. I do not know what is going on, but I have been totally out of control since then. Prior to that I had been drinking & getting in my Protein just fine. (Aside from a bread incident many a month ago in case NurseGrace is lurking ) I am full blown eating whatever I want with no problems. I am a vegetarian so no meat binges. I have not been drinking Water & I have been straight up eating , garbage...crackers, chips, pop corn with butter, Pasta, Cookies, candy, ice cream & so on & so forth. I have no desire for anything except carbs & sugar. I'm not eating bread or anything that will cause physical pain to my sleeve, but things that if eaten slowly enough cause no problems. I'm not drinking water or exercising. Today the only liquid I had was 2 cups of coffee this morning. I still weigh myself every day. Although I haven't lost any weight, I haven't gained any weight either. I have been under a lot of stress lately...waiting for our mortgage to approved, looking for work, struggling to finish my semester which I was given an extension on. At this point I am ready to just give up on everything. I am ready to give up on school, looking for work, cleaning & packing up our apartment. I am feeling like I just completely lost control & I don't know how to get it back. I don't want to go to OA. Been there, done that. Therapy is not an option either. Has anyone else been through this? I feel like I'm so lost that I just don't even know where to start to get back some semblance of normality.

I'm 7 months out & when I eat the way I am supposed to (chewing thoroughly & eating over a 20 minute period like my NUT recommends) my food always ends up cold.

I'm with marfar7. Very few people who are not on this website actually know that I had surgery at all. Idk. I would either defriend them or tell them...well I don't think I can say on here what I would tell them.