MichiganChic

2 nights

I lost about 10.

I also found it more difficult to lose after the first 18 months. I do think it's possible, though. We just have to work even harder. You are reasonably close to goal, and that makes it harder. Measure and weigh your food, and track it. Monitor your weight. Protein first. Increase your activity.You know the rules. Ignore your boyfriends mother. That's none of her business if you are gaining or not. Never let another individual influence your weight in that way. Also, know you are not alone. I've been hanging on to the last few pounds quite a while myself.

It took me a little while to define my style, too. At 50, I was also concerned about not looking age appropriate or just inappropriate, in general. I've seen others who embraced their new bodies in a way that was less than flattering and not tasteful. I spend a lot of time on pinterest, and that gave me an idea of what I like. I pinned the same sort of things, over and over. As I began shopping, I made a list, and started with basics. Neutral colors as the basis for matching with a lot of different things. As a result, I did end up with an awful lot of black, white, and gray. Most of it is also not very trendy, so I can use it a long time. That is also new for me. I wasn't used to staying a consistent size, ever! I also only bought things on sale. I learned how to try things on in the stores, and then wait and watch for them to be on sale. I've gotten some surprisingly great deals that way. I also look at what other people my age wear. And I also check with my young adult daughters. They certainly know what's too young. I think it also pays to shop in places that cater to my age group. I particularly like White House Black Market. My kids think Chicos is a little old for me, but I like some of their things. I like JJill for some things, but a lot of their things are loose and flowy, and I need something more fitted or I look frumpy. I like Talbots, though they are too expensive most of the time. I also like Macy's and Dillards. But I can find things I like anywhere now that I know what to look for. In addition to Pinterest, check out Fifty not frumpy. She gives daily posts and fashion ideas. Don't you love having this problem?

I've not been so fortunate. I had about 12 pounds of skin and fat removed and I'm up about 8 pounds. I'm swollen and hungry. Good for you, though! I keep hoping the swelling will subscribe and I'll drop 20, but not counting on it....

I didn't have either in preparation for the sleeve. I did have a barium swallow, though, looking for a hernia. That's routine for my doc. But the colonoscopy or the upper GI endoscopy isn't bad, if you do have to have one.

That's a pretty normal feeling, even for those who were best prepared and really understood what they signed up for. It's just such a sense of permanence, and there is no escaping it. It's odd to not be able to eat what and when you want. Pretty soon, though, you'll start to love it. You'll love the weight loss, the way you look and feel, and it will SO be worth it. I used to love that I would be full from a couple of bite. At two years out, I still have restriction, but it takes way more than a couple of bites to feel it! I sometimes wish I could get that feeling back! So, I guess that answers your question, you'll be able to eat again, and you'll have to really work at not overeating.

Congratulations. You are in for an awesome journey.

Yep, it's normal. You don't say what you are doing, so now way to know if you are doing anything wrong. If you are following your docs advice, then you are doing all you can. I always found it almost strange that my body would just not turn loose of a pound sometimes even though I was doing everything right, and then it would drop a lot, even though nothing had changed. I learned that is just the way it works for me. But looking back at the big picture, even with a few stalls here and there, the loss was fairly steady over time, and it tapered off as I got closer to goal.

I weighed daily since day of surgery, but really track weekly. I took a picture monthly during weight loss, and now I take one every few months. I've continued to shrink even though I've been in maintenance for a while. I've had a couple of plastic procedures done, so I'm continuing to take pictures through that, too. Since I tracked my loss on a spread sheet, I love to look back over that and my pictures to see how far I've come. Funny, but it's still not old to me!

@@proudgrammy Just saw this! You guessed it, I'm from Michigan! Born and bred about 30 minutes south of the D, in Monroe.

It was painful for me, but only because I had so much swelling. I also had my abdominoplasty and butt lift with autologous fat flap at the same time. That was all pretty painful, too. But now my arms and belly look great, way better than I would have expected. The scars are still red and a little raised, but it's only been 4 months. If they don't lighten and flatten, I'll have them treated with a laser. I would absolutely do it all again!

I paid for mine, and it was worth every penny.

It's easy to get discouraged, easy to compare ourselves to others, and scary to fear this won't work! And it's all normal. You might lose slowly or you might speed up, but sounds like you are losing and that's what matters. Time marches on either way, and at the end of a year, you could lose a pound a week and be 50 pounds lighter (and I suspect it will be more), or you could have done nothing and weighed 20-30 pounds more next year. It's all perspective. As you continue to feel better, become more active and get more comfortable with the changes you are making, you start to gain some comfort that this will work for you, as long as you do your part! Good luck.

food = Love in our culture. I'm sure his rational mind knows better, but his gift giving mind obviously doesn't totally grasp it. His issue, not yours, and that's great that you aren't even irritated. Good for you for passing it on. Someone else will either enjoy it, or do the same. That sort of stuff is good in places where many people are. Then people can either have one, or skip them, but no one has to eat them all!

Wow. You can't make that shit up. I think you showed marvelous restraint. Your response really left no room for one from her. What did her face look like when you said that? You have to tell us how she is the next time you see her! I hope she's properly ashamed, but I sort of doubt it.

Congratulations on your healthy BMI! I had to chuckle a little when I read that. I still find myself thinking "I should try that" every time I see a weight loss commercial or see a show about how to lose weight, or read some new fabulous weight loss method in a magazine. I get excited for a minute to see there is new research on obesity drugs. Then, after a second, I realize that I don't need to do that anymore. I am still thrilled with that realization, every time it happens, but it kind of surprises me at how it's ingrained! I just shift to knowing that I've found a way to be thin, and I have to keep doing that, and it's working for me. I think over time my mind will adjust as this lifestyle becomes more ingrained than the old.

I see you've only had six posts, so I'd suggest you do a search, and you'll see the responses others receive for this type of comment/question. I think it's easy to get so focused on our weight, and expect to lose several pounds a day, that we lose sight of reality. It happens to the best of us. Think about the loss of those 14 pounds as just the beginning. That is 14 pounds that are gone, and never coming back. You'll soon see that this is wonderful. Keep up the good work.

Stick around long enough, or search deep enough, and you'll find plenty of stories of people eating hamburgers at two days post op, chewing and spitting, or eating around their sleeves. I think one of the reasons you see more posts of model patients is because we are the ones who are determined to make the changes required, accept the limitations, and do the hard work needed, and because of our commitment, so we come here for support. People who can't or won't do that most likely are not going to keep coming to a community of people who are. As for your list, it's a good one. Many of the items on it probably true for most of us. I am sorry that you are hungry and craving food. Have you been able to determine the difference between true hunger and just wanting food? It's hard to tell, especially at first. I spent my whole life not really knowing the difference, but since the sleeve, I've learned there is a subtle difference. I always find myself hungry at the end of the work day, and I want to eat everything that's not nailed down when I get home. I really have to fight against that. It's from years of habit and a way of dealing with work stress. It's not pleasant at all, and to my brain and body, it feels like hunger, but I resist the urge to feed it. It's when my will power is necessary. If I can find a pleasant distraction, or get a little exercise, I find that hunger actually lifts. It took me a long time after surgery to finally figure out the difference. I am happy for you that you are happy you had the surgery! I bet you'll be one of the ones coming here, determined to succeed. It's so worth all the work we have to do!

@@HappygoSusan I know what you are talking about! I also live in fear of regain, and have to proactively prevent it every day. We all know how easy it would be, and the realization that's it is actually possible is terrorizing to me, at least. I'm also at the two year mark, and we know statistically this is when regain starts - another scary factoid! I always have been, and still am a stress eater. The difference is now I know it, I feel the difference between wanting to eat for stress and wanting to eat for hunger, and often I can control the stress eating by exercise and distraction. That's when good ole will power actually can help me. So, you have your fitbit and the knowledge of what it takes to be thin from that past two years of experience. You obviously also have the drive to maintain it, and I think a healthy fear of regain. You also have us for support. When you think of all that, compared to what you had before surgery, you can see you still have all the tools to continue your success. You got this.

Congratulations on your three year mark, and your continued success! You're a great inspiration to us all, and so we applaud you! I'm interested in the fact that your NUT said you are eating too much quantity. Did she say what is too much quantity? I think that my capacity is higher than I'd like, and I know I can eat about a cup or more of food, depending on what it is. The dietitian in my doc's office said that at a year, a cup is pretty normal, and OK.The trick is to not graze. I also noticed when I was doing 5:2 that restriction returned pretty quick. I'm two years out, and I am really hoping the capacity doesn't continue to increase! Do you think yours increased from a year ago? Either way, you obviously know what you need to do succeed. I'm impressed that you are proactive and allow someone to analyze your eating habits in order to continue your success. Even though we all "know" what to do if we've been successful, I think an objective second party can be helpful. Here's to the next 12 months of continued success!

Thought I'd bump this thread to the top. It's been two years since we had our sleeves, and I'm wondering if anyone is still around? How are you all doing? I'm doing great, and still so happy I had the sleeve! Down 165 pounds from my highest weight, but still have a few to go. Not sure if I'll ever make it, but not that worried about it anymore. Maybe I'll work the last few off in 2015.

I agree, getting it all done at once is a bonus! This recover is so much easier that LBL and arms, but I still can't imagine adding any more misery to that first assault, lol! I am already thinking about my face, too! Actually, not my face so much as my neck. I don't mink looking my age, but I sure hate looking older, and I think my neck makes me look older. I just don't want to mess with my face too much. I'm debating on trying the laser, or maybe just going for a neck lift. The girls in my docs office were telling me about a procedure that she does in her office and only involves the neck..... I swore I wouldn't get sucked into the vortex of plastics, but seems like one thing leads to another! I find myself thinking - just one more tweak - as if I were decorating my house or something! But your face looks great to me. What are you thinking about?

In Michigan, I paid around 24K for all of it. My insurance paid an additional 3-4K, as it covered the panni. I went to a reputable surgeon about an hour from my home. I had another consult about 30 minutes in the other direction from my home and in another state, and the costs were about the same, but without the legs.I chose my particular surgeon because she didn't think doing the legs would be a problem at all, and the other guy said there was no way he could do them. Since they are now done and look much better, I think she was right! I seriously considered going to Mexico, but decided against it because the travel is just so far, I couldn't fathom it. I felt like I would need to stay 2-3 weeks and didn't want to be away from home that long. I've seen some great results, though. The costs really depend on the part of the country you go to, and they vary greatly from physician to physician.

My young, ulta-cool daughter is something of a hipster. It's cool, and something to aspire to She dragged me to yoga. I, on the other hand, aspire to be basic! And yet I like yoga!