MichiganChic

Reset your expectations to something more realistic. It's just not physically possible to continue to lose at that rate. If it were, we would all be at goal in 3-4 months (not that I wouldn't love that!). 1-2 pounds a day is largely Water. The weight does fly off at first, then slows a little, and slows even more as time goes on and the closer you get to goal. In the beginning I really hoped I would keep losing 25 pounds a month, but I didn't. It slowed to 8-10 pounds a month, and now at a year out, I'm lucky to lose more than 2 pounds a month. It's just a matter of knowing what's possible, and for each of us that's different, but expecting to continue to lose weight every day isn't realistic and is just plain disappointing! I learned after a few weeks of feeling like I should lose every day and not succeeding at it that I needed to change my expectations. I also had to change them again now that I'm closer to goal. As long as I'm doing everything right, there is nothing else to do. Sometimes there just is no explanation for how and when our bodies decide to turn loose of the weight. Just hang in there, and you'll succeed - time is on your side in this case!

I saw that, too. Thinking of trying it!

It's a statistic fact based on current research available. On average, the data shows people generally lose more of their excess weight with RNY. That being said - that's an average, and a statistic. None of us have to be statistics. We can do better (or worse) depending on how we eat. It's up to us.

I also struggled with this. I was heavier than you, and I also love to eat sweets and graze. Those things really made me a better candidate for RNY. My surgeon said I could do either, and it really was up to me. I decided on the sleeve because I don't want a lifetime of malnutrition, and I also need to be able to take NSAIDS (which I take every day). He said I would lose more weight with the RNY, but that I could lose all my weight with the sleeve. I do have to be very diligent about what I eat, because I could graze all day long and gain every pound back. But I think the same would hold true for RNY. I'm having a hard time getting the last 10 pounds off and sometimes I think if I had RNY it might come off, but I don't know that for sure. The bottom line is that I'm thrilled with my decision. I can eat normally, no foods bothers me, and you would never know I had surgery. To people who don't know I had the surgery, I look like a normal to small size woman who eats small to normal amounts of food for a person my size. I can take NSAIDS. I've lost 86% of my excess weight, which is better statistically than either RNY or sleeve averages. In the end, it's up to us what we do with the surgery, regardless of our choice.

My plan was no bread, rice, Pasta for 4 months, and after that, only in moderation. I'm 14 months out, and I rarely eat any of that. It's surprising to me, since all that was the mainstay of my diet before surgery. I was really doubtful that I would be able to stick with that after surgery, but I really don't even miss it. It's high in calories and carbs, low in Protein, so it doesn't suit my needs. I do have it once in a while, and it doesn't bother me at all, but my whole my diet is changed now.

Glad you had a good time. I'm an old woman and I can't help it, I like some of her music, too!

Yes, my shoe size went down about a size. I was in 10W that was always a little too snug, but 11s were too big, to now a 9 that fits well. I can sometimes wear and 8.5 depending on how it's made. LOL at the fat girl lean - that's gone, too!

The shampoo "system" (as they call it) is a Glytone product. You can only get it via a physician. It's quite expensive, but I'll do or pay almost anything to regrow my hair! I've only had it for a day, so can't say if it works for me, but you can check it out online. And like I said, the NP told me she has actually seen it start to work on her friend. Honestly, when you read the label on the Vitamins you'll likely be unimpressed. It's b vitamins, Biotin, zinc, and a couple of other things. The office girl said they had to attend education about it, and of course, the vendor said it's the combination that makes the difference. I found it on amazon just now MUCH cheaper than what I paid for it. They sold me the anaphase shampoo (not on this link), the anacaps, and a anastim spray that I don's see here. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dbeauty&field-keywords=glytone%20shampoo&sprefix=glytone+sham%2Cbeauty%2C342&rh=i%3Abeauty%2Ck%3Aglytone%20shampoo The injections in my head didn't hurt, and you could really see the growth where they injected it.

Cheri, I'm so sorry for the loss of your dad. Reading your story really made me just want to send you a hug. You truly are a strong woman and I know you will be ok, but it's hard when so much happens at once! Just know we are sending you compassion and prayers to help get you through this. I had to chuckle a little when you said you can handle it all better if you are skinny. I totally get that. No matter how bad my day is, I have that thought to comfort me. You are still skinny. Focus on that, and take care of yourself. xo Teri

I've lost a lot. I had a lot of weight to lose, so I've been super restrictive with my diet for 14 months. It started coming out around month 4, that lasted 3-4 months, and it's not really coming back very fast. I went to the dermatologist, got some cortisone shots in my head which quickly halted the loss. I wish I had done that sooner. I also got a topical solution which seemed to help the loss. After the shots, I could see some regrowth. My hair was a little thin to start with, now it's really bad. I use Bosley fibers to cover up the shiny scalp at the part. Yesterday I got a new product from the dermatologist that's supposedly been used with great success in Europe for years, and was just approved for use in the US in the past of couple of months. It's a shampoo, topical spray, and vitamins. The NP said her friend also has thinning hair, has been using this about 6 weeks, and you can definitely see regrowth, so I'm really hoping it works for me.

I agree about the idea of focus. I do track on a spread sheet daily, and also track what I'm eating. Every bite. Those are two of the strategies I use for success. I'm visual, so those are tools to help me stay FOCUSED. I joke about it being an obsession, but it's not. I'm an informatics nurse, so it's perfectly natural for me to track health related things on spreadsheets. It takes about a minute a day, at most. I weigh, log, and move on. I am really happy I did it, though, because on days I'm struggling or irritated due to stalls, I can look at that as a positive reinforcement. It's like a bit of a reward system for me, too. Again, a tool to stay focused.

Don't take a water pill unless your doc tells you to, and monitors you. Some people might still need them, but as you are eating so little and losing, your blood pressure could drop too low with a diuretic. Besides, a diuretic won't make you lose weight, only water, and that comes back when you stop the water pill. Just ride it out. Trust me, it all evens out in the end.

That does not sound obsessive at all, to me, because I do the same thing!! Want to see my spread sheet, lol? I say whatever works.

Mmmm.....good question. I try to have a lot of "me" time, lol. I made 2013 the year of me, and I liked it so much, I've rolled it over into 2014! I really like it. I shop. I rest. I read. I work. My youngest is a high school senior, so for the first time in 25 years, I'm starting to feel like I have some time for myself. Tonight I think I'll take a zumba class - it will be my first one. It's pretty liberating to have so much freedom I'm also joining the gym at work. Not sure how that's going to go - not so much me time there, lol. I'm hoping to go on my lunch hour and fit in something, since I've been lazy lately.

Seriously Gman? You just have to keep rubbing it in . I've been looking so forward to the day it's above freezing in Michigan. Right now it looks like Sunday will be 36, so I'm pretty excited! It's treacherous around here....you can't see around/over the huge piles of snow that have turned into ugly, dirty icebergs. Driveways and parking lots are covered in ice, and it's always below zero with the wind chill. Yeah, I'm jealous of you. On a positive note - you could go ice fishing here if you wanted to It's kind of like gardening.

I'm 14 months out, and still have one every day. Makes it much easier to get that protein in.

I have a slightly different opinion. First, let me say, WLS is not easy. The stress and strain of a surgery is difficult in and of itself. The steps you have to take to succeed are far from easy. But having said that, for me, WLS surgery was easier and far more successful than anything I had done to date. I used to try to diet, and I couldn't tolerate the weakness and light headedness I got from anything less than 1400 calories. I would somehow manage to stay on track for months at a time, doing everything right according to conventional wisdom, and meet with marginal success, and it was always short lived. So now after WLS, it is much easier for me than what I was doing. I can now eat 800 calories a day and tolerate it. And guess what? My body won't lose eating much more than that. No wonder I couldn't succeed. When someone says it's the easy way out, I just dismiss them. They haven't walked a mile in my shoes. However, by comparison, this is an easier way of life for me, now. I'm thin (almost) and I can eat very few calories and be satisfied, compared to over 300 pounds and hungry all the time. To me, it's obvious which one is better, whether you call it easy or not.

I'm 14 months out, and I'm also stuck. I have been for two months, and I track every bite - religiously. I am over some days at around 1800, but most days I'm around 1100. I would be happy losing 2-3 pounds a month at this point. I really think I only have about 10 pounds to lose, and I think the rest would come of with plastic surgery - about 15 pounds. No advice for you, only commiserating. My plan is to just keep doing what I'm doing, and not stress about it any more. Except for one thing, I've not been exercising, so I'm going to start that again and hope it makes a difference. If not, I'm way better off than I was. Sometimes our bodies defy what we think we know to be true.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there's not really anything that you can do. Your skin is what it is. Age, genetics, years of obesity, weight lost and general health all play a factor in how your skin does. There's no way to know how yours will respond, either. You can exercise, which builds muscle and tone, and if your skin isn't too bad, it will help. If you have a lot of loose skin, it won't hurt, but likely will not make a big difference. I wouldn't worry though. Clothes hide a multitude of sins/skin, and for me, I'd rather be thin and saggy than fat and saggy/fluffy

I wish I filled my time with cleaning or exercising or church or something, but I don't, lol. I do find that I shop a lot more, both in stores and online. I'm actually forced to because I constantly need clothes for work as I go down sizes. I have to REALLY resist sometimes though, since I don't want to have more than the minimum as I go down sizes. I think I'm pretty much nearing the end of weight loss, so I'm buying a little more. I find it thrilling to be able to go into ANY store and put on anything I want. It is such a rush for me. I can now buy and wear things I could only dream of before! I'm not sure it's an addiction, but I do spend a lot of time doing it. Given the choice of cooking/eating or shopping, I'll take shopping every time

Great job, and beautiful pics of a wonderful success story!

You are smart to think about the changes that will be forced on you, and the changes you will need to consciously make for the rest of your life. I also thought about those things, and I really wondered if I could do it. I even hate to admit that in the back of my mind, I sort of thought bullshit, I'm not doing that! I don't know how or why, but I'm so grateful that through some divine intervention, I actually did do the things I thought I would not do. I actually did make those changes. Maybe in the back of my mind, I knew this was my last, best chance at living a healthy normal life. I also knew someone at work who has RNY, and was very successful. She told me how rigid she was with following the rules, and attributed her success to that. It struck home with me, so I followed her advice. At first, I think the hardest thing for me was to not eat and drink together. But, I did get used to it, and now I rarely even think about it. I still follow that rule to this day. I follow the no straw rule. I honestly don't think there is a good reason for it, but I don't want to mess with success, lol. I get in my Protein, and I rarely eat bread, rice, or Pasta. That used to be the mainstay of my diet. I also posted in that 16 day post-op thread, and my response was that I feel so normal. And I am, and I don't consider the changes I've made to impact that feeling. You do adjust to the changes you've made, and they become a way of life, and that's what allows us to succeed. We all know on a conscious level that something needs to change....otherwise we won't lose weight. So you have to eat less. You have to pay attention to what you are eating. You have to go about your life and figure out how to fit it in. I think that's a little different for each of us. I don't think everyone succeeds after WLS, but I do think everyone can. Our success is up to us, and I think the secret lies in our minds more than anything else. The restriction from the sleeve is a START - after a year, when the newness wears off, it truly becomes a tool that you can choose to use or not. I'm so grateful I paid attention to making those changes early on and recognized the impact they had, otherwise, I'd be on my way back to 300+ pounds by now.

A year ago, I also didn't know what the future held for me or what I might accomplish, and I'm so thrilled at what I've done in a year. I lost the majority of my excess weight, got a great new job, and have become decidedly happy. (I never was unhappy or negative, but now I'm just more enthusiastic about life ). By this time next year, I hope to be at goal and have completed reconstructive/plastics, as well as a knee replacement so that I can begin training. I want to compete in marathons, too. Right now I can't see myself ever running, (I'm 51 and I really always hated to run, lol) but I do think I can walk and incorporate training and fitness into my daily life. Beyond that, I just want to make sure that I maintain the changes I've worked so hard to make so that I can just LIVE

You are so newly post op, it's hard to see how bright your future is now. I remember those early days/weeks, and i thought maybe something was wrong with me because I just felt so generally awful. Super fatigued, the weight wasn't coming off like I thought it should (I was ridiculous - it was coming off great) and just uncertainty that all would be OK. I would read threads on here about people who felt great 2 days out, blah blah blah. Results "not typical". It was hard not be short-sighted, but the truth is that if you work on making the changes you need to, you will transform your mind and body. Now, at over a year out, I am so incredibly normal! I can eat anything and everything. I can drink Water to my hearts content. I can eat small but normal portions and feel fine. I look normal. I was wear normal size clothes. I'm normal, normal, normal. That's all I ever wanted to be. I also had/have a great life, so losing the weight, managing my diet, and moving into a healthy life just completed it for me.

I know what you are saying. For me, it's a more of a little bit of surprise that I want to eat more, irritation that I can't revert to my old habits, and relief that there is enough restriction to stop me before I go too far. I can still over eat and eat around my sleeve, so the irritation (and desire to eat too much) I feel is unsettling. I know that it's all up to me, and that even though I can't eat a lot at once, I can eat enough to get fat. When I get that feeling that I'd really like to eat a lot, I am fearful I won't be able to continue managing my weight...wish there was a surgery for that. Then I remember that I used to feel like that when I was fat, so it's way better to continue the battle while being much thinner!