Chelenka

Sleevers over 300.. You can achieve greatness:) I started my journey may 20 2014 at 310 lbs .. 13 months later I have lost 165 lbs.. Hovering at 145!
Good luck ????

Needed to read it!

Thanks for writing this ladies. In many ways its similar you your stories. In a nut shell:
1 year. slow but steady with a butt load of stalls thrown in for good measure.
did not quite get to goal.
2 year. Get to within 5 pounds of goal, then lost my way and gained to 22 pounds above goal. HUGE sad face! I took my eye off the ball... I started acting "normal" (eating without being accountable) I had a big eating vacation, to NOLA, I had an injury that kept me down for a few months, I had my mom in law visit for 10 weeks with happy hour every single day.
3 year. Tried several methods to get the 22 pounds off and reach goal. Georgia turned me onto the 5:2, and I managed to get to goal in year 3. Took up birdwatching, walking, kayaking and continued bellydancing... loving a more active lifestyle. Really enjoying dressing up. Half way through year 3, mom got sick, and a pile of not so nice things moved into my life, job, home, relationships, sick and old dear dog.. then mom died. I fell back off the wagon, and just hung on the best I could. My weight started going up again.... and emotional eating and the holidays collided. I finally managed to get the weight gain to slow down and stop.. I started getting the good habits back on track... put my fitbit back on, started using myfitnesspal every day, every meal, every bite.... and started fasting two days a week again regularly. Still a few things I could tighten up... but not to bad. Unfortunately, the behavior that got me through the last push goal do not seem to be working the same way they did the first time.. but I am only 7 pounds from the high end of my goal range, so really thats not TOO bad all in all. My skinny jeans are tight. My cholesterol is up. My Dr says lose the weight, but its going really slow. I know stalls all too well and its not putting me off my task, but its a chore. I consider myself a success. Peoples eyes still bug out when they see me... even after 4 years. I hope I can go the rest of my life this close to goal... I really don't know how easy that will be. If it gets much harder than it is now, I don't know if I can pull it off, but so far so good (without saying it was easy)
I just had my 4 year surgeversary on Jan 19th 2015.

I think this information should "scare" newbies a little bit. I don't say this to paint a picture of despair, as that is simply not the case. I say all this to paint a realistic picture.
According to my surgeon, I have lost 100% of my excess. That is better than typical for someone who started at such a high weight. Maintaining that, makes sense, is a big challenge for me. I spent most of my life obese or overweight so no wonder maintaining a "normal" size/weight is a challenge - but I have been doing just that for 2 years so far - a feat i have never managed before in my life.
One of the smartest things my surgeon ever told me was that years 2, 3 and on to infinity are nearly as important as year "1". I am finding there to be much truth in that and i am not sure most people are forewarned. I mean, it is one thing to say "lifestyle change" and it is quite another to turn that into daily decisions to maintain a huge weight loss.

I am really sure the resting metobolic test I had done at the doctor's office is the only true way to find that out. I had to go early in the morning, without eating . I could not exercise for I believe 24--48 hours before the test.Then they hook you up to a machine.
They closed my nose with a close pin type think and I had to sit there for about a half an hour and just breathe normally out of my mouth.

I'm 6'1", 2 years out and my basal metabolic rate seems to be between 2000 to 2200 if my Fitbit is an accurate measurement. However, if I eat more than 1800 cals a day, regardless of the food source, I gain weight. I'm also hypothyroid w/ Hashimotos and take synthroid everyday. I'm still fighting with a 15 lb regain that started last Fall when my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, and a lot of holiday out-of-control eating. A normal woman with my height and a normal metabolism would be able to eat more calories and have a higher metabolic rate. Oh well, that's my life story, slow to non-existent metabolism. I think you are doing great if you're staying at 115-118 lbs! That's maintaining! Constant vigilance is what it takes and it gets old. The problem is that when you stop being vigilant and gain weight it takes a HUGE effort to get it off again. My only suggestion would be to add some weights or yoga to your exercise routine as building muscle should help boost your metabolic rate, so they say. I have been doing Yoga for about nine months now and it has definitely made me stronger and my posture is much better, plus it's such a great stress reducer. It hasn't helped me lose my regain but perhaps my muscle mass has increased which is part of it ( wouldn't that be nice LOL!). I think for me getting outside will help me move the scale. I love walking and riding my bike but this winter has been too cold for me to get outside much. Looking forward to the warmer weather!

Yeah, my fitbit and myfitness pal and other such calculators say I should be able to eat around 1400 calories, but I can't. Life is not fair
It explains why I was never able to lose weight, most certainly. I was not dealing in truths.

I also have to remain hypervigilant. I have to eat very little to maintain, and even less to lose. That also explains for me why weight watchers was marginally successful. I don't think I (or any of us) caused this phenomenon of a slow metabolism by being obese and yo-yo dieting. I think we had this problem to start with, and that caused us to gain weight easily, which drove us to attempt to lose the weight any way we could. At least we have a fighting chance with the sleeve. While maintenance is HARD, I still think it's easier and better to work hard and be thin than it was to work hard and stay fat.

Thanks for the update and glad to hear you are doing better and able to have some fun!

A little fishing a couple weeks ago. Doing well, down 85 lbs

Awesome! So glad to be a part of the success! This site has been a great source of help and support! Thank you!

That's awesome! I'm glad I could help with that 4 million posts, I'll probably get in another million by next year lol!

Acupuncture is legal. Even if it doesn't help you, it's not a risk. Just sayin ...

You look great!

Welcome gourmetone! You are definitely a VSG Vet. I struggle with sugar too. It's an addiction for me.

Today was my two year anniversary of my gastric sleeve surgery!! I love to talk about it, if you need any help please feel free to ask!! If I was asked to do it over again or not i would, 100 times over!! It is soooo worth it!! Goodluck to everyone embarking on this journey!! I went from a size 18, 250 lbs.. I now weight 140 lbs and wear a size six!!   

Buying pants without a W on the label!!

Joined Orange Theory Fitness today and the girl said that they were out of my SIZE of heart rate monitor band but she would have EXTRA SMALL ones in by Saturday next week. Me oh, okay I can wait. I'm used to places not having MY size. Wait....did you just say Extra Small. She looks at me like I am crazy - well of course what did you think I said.
I am still in shock and that was 8 hrs ago....me....extra small...what...I can not even fathom that it could be true....Smiling like you would not believe!!☺️

Today I went to lunch with a group of friends who are very into fitness (one is a yoga instructor.) We were going to a place a mile away from our office, and the group suggested we walk.
Reader, I walked there and back, and it wasn't even hard. I could not have done that six months ago.
Hooray!

I have read that acupuncture can be very affective against nausea. Maybe it could help you feel better. Just a thought. It does sound like you are somewhat better despite the nausea. Keep on hangin in there.

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!

I had my 2 year Surgiversay this past Sunday (2/22/13). My starting weight was 336 lbs. I now weigh 223 lbs. I avoid fast food, anything fried, refined sugar, alcohol and carbonated drinks. I know I would have lost more weight sooner If I would engage in some form of exercise, which I refuse to do. No excuses, not lazy but I feel I have sacrificed plenty.
Enjoying my new lifestyle. I remember the days of struggling to tie my shoes like it was yesterday. Never going back!

Just dropping a note since most Feb 2013 Sleevers are long gone. I stay with the forums to help keep my head in the game. My 2 year surgiversary came and went without fanfare. I live a new normal now at 135-139 lbs. I have an unending goal to get to 130 lbs but I don't work at getting to it. I eat 1200-1500 calories a day. I gain if I just eat junk or carbs but otherwise weight maintenance isn't too tough. I am amazed at how much I can eat now. Half a sandwich is no problem here. I now live an active lifestyle and can truthfully say that I look forward to exercise (it took probably a year or so to get to that place). My life has changed a lot since surgery and most of those changes have been for the better-- if nothing else, my wardrobe is amazing! To any other Feb 13 Sleevers, I hope this post finds you happy and healthy and drop a line if you can. Here's a body pic from Valentines Day.

Hi!! Today is my 2 years!!! I went from 319 to 157! I'm back up to 175 but I'm doing well- have to say still hate exercise lol but I've been busy w/finishing up my masters my new job and trying to get pregnant - doing well! I still pop in from time to time in the subscribed posts!