MichiganChic

With the limited information you provided, would say yes, the increased calories has led to weight gain. The further we are out from surgery, it seems it becomes easier to gain, too. Medications can also cause weight gain, but since you didn't mention that, I'm assuming that's not it. Try decreasing back to 1200 to lose the weight, then gradually increase to see how many calories you can eat to maintain your desired weight. The other factor is activity. Try increasing activity and see what sort of impact that has, too. One last thing, I agree, it is very alarming to watch the pounds pile on when there has been a slight change (or even none) in your diet. I always say there is a reason I was so obese, and it has to do with a body that wanted it that way! However, we can beat this with hard work and diligence.

First, why on earth would your friends tell you you're a 2? That's mean. Second, you do look great Last, I hope (and I bet) you will get past this and some day see yourself more accurately. I came from a place not unlike you - just knowing I hated the way I looked with an element of self loathing. I used to ask strangers if I looked fat when I first lost my weight (really). Thankfully, I have come to the realization that I'm super hot, bahahahaaaa! I'm poking a little fun at myself because I am LOVING my new body, and so I know it takes time, but you'll get there!

@@Tracey79 I lost about 145 pounds in 14 months.

I think the greatest risk is the first three weeks, and then it tapers off, but the risk is generally about 3 months, and a lesser risk remains up to a year. Just keep moving, frequently. Call your doc for any worrisome symptoms.

I certainly wondered if it would work, if I would succeed, if it was the right decision, should I do this? I had been overweight so long I just couldn't see myself any other way than morbidly obese. I was afraid to hope. But I really, really was tired of my life like it was, and WANTED to lose weight. So I took the leap with a fear that it would just be another failed attempt at weight loss. Something happened to me in the first few months. I saw success, and you know what they say about that - success begets success. I started to see that just maybe, it could work, even for me, a career fattie. Fast forward three and a half years, and yes, it "worked." Actually, what happened is that I worked. The sleeve made it easier, and the metabolic reset that happens after WLS is a gift. It is up to us what we do with it. Some have greater success than others, and some have to work harder, but generally speaking, if you put in the work you will be rewarded!

I have the same issue. My closet is full. I have more closets and plenty of space for more things, but I am not going to give myself permission to fill them. I understand about not wanting to get rid of things I love and are in good shape, so I am not going to. However, I find that the more things I have, the more it feels like I wear the same things mostly because it's easier. I think that's a fallback habit from my fat days. I also had great fat clothes. So I decided I'm going to clean out my closet of things I haven't worn in a year. Even if it has tags on it, or if I still like it. No sense in taking up space. My shopping has slowed down some - I try to be practical...but I don't always succeed. I do wish there was a high end consignment shop around here somewhere. I wouldn't mind driving a ways to it, since I already have to do that buy clothes, anyway. Anyone in the Detroit/Ann Arbor/Toledo area know of any high end consignment shops??

Disclaimer: MY experience and opinion I had the same experience. I finally had to come to come to grips with it. I am never getting to that goal weight I had in my head. It was a bitter pill to swallow. So I had to take a closer look at the progress I made, the physical and mental changes (all improvements) and my general state of improved happiness due to the success I had. Just because I would like to be a different number doesn't detract from the huge success I've had. I'm a very healthy size 8, 53 year old woman who looks better than I did at 33. So it's all perspective. And I made a decision - to be ok with it, and not feel like a failure over something that probably wasn't worth the effort because it wasn't going to add value to my life, and was more likely to do the opposite. Having said that, it doesn't mean you can't get there. Lower your calories, exercise more...there's probably something you can do. For me, eating 800 calories and exercising an hour a day might have done it, but I don't want to live like that FOREVER. It is a fact that the closer we get to goal, the harder it becomes for most of us. When you hit that wall, something will need to change if you want to keep losing.

Pretty close for the first six months, but the chart is less than I lost after that. I lost pretty close to all my excess weight, (depending on what you consider your goal) and that chart only shows at smaller percentage of excess weight lost. There are some who lose faster, some slower, but I think its a reasonable example.

I've also read articles, but not scientific, peer reviewed research (though it may exist) that morbid obesity also increases organ size and weight as those organs need to support extra large everything. I did know that bones tend to be denser to carry the extra weight. So dense bones and bigger organs have been my theory for why I can weigh so much but look normal. Sometimes I wonder if societal views of obesity have shifted so much in the past 30 years (ie, it's more prevalent and we are accustomed to it being "normal"), and that contributes to my perception that maybe I look better than I do, lol. Anyway, I still think our bodies will dictate some of what's possible. There are so many variables.

I fully agree with @@LipstickLady, and also with @VSGAnn2014. My surgery is not common knowledge. It's my personal protected health information. The United States government protects PHI with laws that send other to jail for breaching that protection. There's a reason for that - PHI is personal and no one's business, and the vast majority of the country understands that. Before anyone goes off on a rant that you disclosing is different than health care personnel disclosure- I know that. My point is that this subject falls into the realm of PERSONAL by all standards. I do not care who tells and who does not. However, I really am irritated when people insinuate those who don't share their PHI with the world are somehow ashamed, lying, or engaging in some sort of seedy or less than moral behavior.

You shouldn't expect to lose every day. Expect a slow and steady downward progression over time. I always weighed daily but only "counted" my weight once a week. Much easier to see a trend then. Sometimes it might even be over two weeks. For instance, I might not lose for a week and then lose 3-4+ pounds the next. That adds up to about 8-10 pounds a month which is a great loss rate. It's all in managing our own expectations. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Just wondering how you reached this conclusion. I have long suspected that it's true, but I'd love to see some research or science behind it. Also, what do you mean "heavier with less fat"? Thanks!

I agree. I happen to have long fingers, but that doesn't make the rest of me small. That put me at 33 pounds overweight with a caution to see a physician, lol.

This is a great question. I started out thinking if I got under 200 (from 326 all time high, and 306 at surgery time) that was a pretty far stretch and probably not possible. Then as the weight came off pretty easily and I got closer to goal, I saw other people reaching a normal BMI, and believed I could do that, too. I wanted to be 145, which would put me at the high end of normal BMI for my age. But my body will not cooperate. I am securely in the overweight category according to the BMI chart. The metabolism boost I got with surgery didn't stay with me beyond 18 months. Now at 3 1/2 years out, I really have to work at maintaining a BMI between 27-29. It took a long time to be OK with that. I've lost a lot of weight, and after lots of plastics, I don't look like I've ever been overweight, let alone morbidly obese. In clothes, I look better than most 53 year old women. Even with vanity sizing, I don't feel like a size 8 looks fat. So, I am thrilled with my results, and I've (mostly) come to terms with the number on the scale.

@@Elode just stopping by to wish you well with a speedy recovery! Can't wait to see the new you!

My OPINION: I think it can stretch some. After the surgery you are not swollen for 12 months. Most healing and inflammation are complete around 6 weeks, and any residual swelling is probably gone by about 3 months. Some use the word "relax" which equates to stretching. Stomachs are soft tissue, not concrete. The part that's left behind is not fibrous tissue or cartilage - it just makes no sense to me that people think there's no give to it. Having said that, I do not think it would ever go back to the size of your pre-op stomach. I know from personal experience that I could eat 2 oz immediately post op, 4 oz at a year, and that capacity gradually changed over time. At three and half years out, my capacity is around 8-10 oz. That's really not a lot of food, and my sleeve has helped me maintain a 90%+ weight loss for almost 3 years. But somehow my capacity increased by 60-80% from the early days, and 50-60% from where I was at about 18 months. The only explanation I have for that is that it stretched some. I'm not alone - most people report varying degrees of increased capacity. One other thing - I do not and have not "overeaten" repeatedly to get it to this point. I am not a sleeve abuser

To quote @@Kindle my hotness never gets old. And I'll quote @@VSGAnn2014 to say I think I look better than most women my age. Not sure if any of that's true or if it's my imagination, but I don't care, because I THINK it's true, so I can say for sure that I'm confident in the way I look. I feel as good as I think I look, which is more important. In all seriousness, I'd been morbidly obese 30 years, so getting to the mental state I'm in now took some time. I had to let go of numbers on the scale and BMI, because those clearly show I'm "overweight". I'm not, but it took a while for me to actually see that. Everyone is different, but it is pretty common around here for it to take a while for things to settle into place. And what a wonderful place it is!

For me it was, and I never actually did lose the last 20. I was so obsessed with reaching a normal BMI, but I just never could do it. I don't think its in the cards for everyone. I've gotten over that. I've had three drs tell me I'm good, I wear a size 8, so I've accepted it. I'm 53, so that doesn't help. However, I lost for 14 months. But it slowed down around month 8. My guess is that you are just at a plateau, and it will start coming off again. Just keep doing what you are doing. Just a couple pounds a month adds up! Hang in there!

I love all cheese - from good old processed American (don't judge) to fresh mozzarella and goat and feta, and provolone and Havarti and gouda and string cheese, and cream cheese, and Colby and jack, and I could go on. The only cheese I really do not care for is bleu cheese - I'm like a kid, just can't get past the mold factor,

@@lifeofblair I just have other things that are easy to grab - cheese sticks, single packaged chicken sausage, protein shakes, bars, and other things that make it easier for me. What I DO NOT miss is looking like I drive through a lot, lol! Any time I think about a drive through, I remember how miserable I was as a fat person.

I understand where you are coming from, but let go of that shame and focus on getting control again. So hard to do, I know. Life gets in the way for me sometimes, and I feel like I have to fight tooth and nail to maintain my loss. It's just shocking how easily weight comes on, and to me, pretty disappointing how difficult it is to lose. You're worth the effort, and it can be done. You've got lots of good advice on what to do, and you know what to do. Now you just need to put your game face on, and go do it. One step at a time, one day at a time. Start with losing a pound, and then another, and so on. You got this!

I wasn't huge pop drinker, but I do remember how good I "thought' a McDonald's coke it. So, one day I tried one...not so good anymore. It was just too sickeningly sweet. Just never thought I'd ever think that way. I liked the breakfast drive through, too. Good think I don't eat that anymore - I'd be driving through for breakfast all day, everyday since McDonald's serves it all day now! Funny thing, though. I never really think about that stuff anymore until someone mentions it.

A good tummy tuck will do just that! And laser hair removal is totally worth every dime for face, chin, underarms.

Make sure you drink as much as you can, since a low grade temp can be related to dehydration. If that doesn't bring it down, call your doc since you'd want him/her to make sure you don't have infection or some other problem brewing.

@@lsereno good to see you back! I wondered where you went:) Don't feel too bad about the gain - I'm also up nearly 10 pounds, and it feels very stuck on! I'm with you - not planning to gain any more, and working hard to get this off, but it won't budge. I am also thinking about weight watchers. How do you like it?