Rox

Thank you for your post. It has taken me many days and nights of being stressed, angry, depressed and crying to come to terms with the fact that I am a slower loser than I had imagined. It would be a lie to say i am not a happier person now but I was hoping things would be easier, that this would be a way of life rather than feel like I am on another diet.
What has gotten to me is that by all calculations given by the nut I should be losing more. I have lost 55lbs in the last 6 months. My doctor told me that the first 6 months are the most critical but I feel I haven't done enough and that I have failed. What REALLY screwed me up is I went for my 6-month check-up he told me at one year is where we work on maintenance and my heart sank. I'm nowhere near goal and it just gets harder from here.
As I said I've been able to reconcile I'm just slower and just go with the flow and eventually I'll turtle along. For some reason something in my head snapped that I'm not yet ready to give up battling this stupid weight. I need a boost of weight loss to encourage me so I went back to square one - liquid diet and exercise everyday. This is hard work and not fun... It's a diet and the last thing I wanted. I'm just trying to think of the goal...a few months of really hard work will be worth it.
Sorry it is late and my day was filled with yucky Protein shakes lol...I feel a little grumpy.

Thanks everyone for sharing!
I lost about 75 pounds in the first nine months after being sleeved, which was approximately my surgeon's goal for me, weight-wise. I was extremely fortunate in that I never really stalled, I think the longest the scale "stuck" at a weight was 5 days. I got spoiled! Since then I've been up and down, mostly within a 10 lb range, mostly because I was letting carbs and sugar back into my daily food, and then having to take the resulting gained pounds off again. After 9 months of that I've decided I've had enough, and I'm back on track pushing to goal.
I quickly dropped about 10 pounds (almost entirely carb / Water bloat I'd guess), but have been stuck for the past few weeks and, quite honestly, having a major pity party over it. I wasn't expecting to stall here, as the last time I was eating right, exercising, and at this weight, I was dropping a pound or two a week, fairly consistently. I'd come to feel like I deserved to see those numbers dropping when I'm doing everything right. Wow, there's nothing like getting a little cocky to convince the universe it's time to teach you a lesson in humility!
So thank you, for the reminder that these things take time, that patience is a virtue, that it's WAY too soon to panic! Here's to the persistence of slow losers!!

I didn't have a ton of weight to lose to begin with but I was still way over weight and very unhealthy. My blood pressure could not be controlled with the max dosage of meds and I had to use cholesterol meds to control my LDL, had joint pain and I was at 320 pounds about a few years ago. During the 2-3 years pre-op, I fluctuated between 280 and 315.
I've lost slow, other than the first 2-3 months after surgery (see signature below). I may not get to my goal of 215, but I still haven't stopped losing and I'm almost 15 months post-op. The last several months I've probably only averaged a pound or two loss a month and I'm currently at 227 (not terribly bad for 6'-3"). But I'm also still losing inches, which lets me know the fat is dropping slowly and I'm actually adding muscle and getting stronger every month. I see this in my max lifts in the gym, so I'll take the pound or two of fat loss a month, especially if I can continue that during all of my second year post-op. If so, that would put me at my goal by the end of this second year. Also, when I put that 215 goal out there, it was just a number that I was told to give myself and to shoot for it. Sometimes goals can be measured by more than just what is on the scale. My body fat has gone from around 35% to about 16-17%, I'm off my blood pressure meds completely now with normal range BP, off my cholesterol meds, joint pain in my knees are gone and I feel MUCH better! So slow loss on the scales for me has not been indicative of my overall progress since surgery. My main goals always were to get healthier and off my meds and I have done that. Any other benefits are just gravy for me (pun intended) and I am very appreciative of this surgery even though I've not lost heaping amounts of weight.

I am 17 months out and still losing. :-) It is definitely not a race.
I've lost 83 pounds overall, and I am planning to lose 100 pounds.
August 2011: 25.5 pounds (sleeved Aug. 9, 2011)
September 2011: 14.5 pounds
October 2011: 9 pounds
November 2011: 6 pounds
December 2011: 3 pounds
January 2012: 6 pounds
February 2012: 6 pounds
March 2012: 0 pounds
April 2012: 0 pounds
May 2012: 3 pounds
June 2012: 0 pounds
July 2012: 0 pounds
August 2012: 0 pounds
September 2012: 5 pounds
October 2012: 0 pounds
November 2012: 3.2 pounds
December 2012: 4 pounds

I haven't lost any weight in January "officially." I gained some weight around the holidays, and I've lost it again.
I also went down to a size 10 in jeans in January, which isn't reflected in my weight loss and stayed true even when my weight went up a few pounds. To me, this means I am losing inches and gaining muscle tone as well as losing weight overall. This is good.

I would say, by definition, I was a slow loser. I had a total of 80.5 lbs that I wanted to lose to my goal after I had my surgery.
In the first 6 months, I lost 55 lbs. Then, it slowed to a crawl.
In the next 6 months, I lost 21.5 lbs
I stalled at this point for 3 months and I actually thought I might be done losing, then I lost 3 more pounds, now at 15 months post op.
Once again I stalled for about 2 months and thought I was done losing, still about 5 or so pounds from goal, but I was really that worried about those 5lbs.
Then, 18 months post op, I hit my goal weight of 140lbs and 80.5 lbs lost. In the months following, I dropped a few more pounds!
Now I have a 3-4 pound weight fluctuation. My cycle is a major factor in how much I weigh, so I try not to let it bother me. I can go up as much as 2 or 3 lbs during ovulation and 3-4 lbs during TOM. My weight loss near the end only really occurred in the 2 weeks in between Tom and ovulation, so I highly encourage women to really pay attention to their bodies. I also get wicked cravings and have a very hard time not wanting to eat everything in my path. How do I cope with the cravings? I do not keep anything in my house that I know I will eat.
Now I am over 2 years post op and have not had many issues maintaining for the last 8 months. I am still learning as I go and I still make mistakes. But over all I would say I eat healthy 90% of the time, and 10% of the time I don't. If I am going to be truthful, I never counted anything (calories, carbs, protein), I never weighed anything, and I don't exercise by definition regularly. I did follow my post op guidelines. I rarely eat bread (but I will eat garlic bread when out for supper) and I eat very little other "white carbs" like rice, Pasta, flour, sugar (notice that I did not say never). I do not drink with my meals, I still occasionally drink Protein shakes, I eat a lot of greek yogurt sweetened with stevia, drink 2% milk, eat nuts, and enjoy veggies AND fruits. I will still have an ice cream cone once in a while, I will still eat chocolate and I will still have other treats as well. I just do not keep them in my house so they are not tempting because I do not have any more will power now than before surgery if food is sitting in front of me (hence a 4 lbs weight gain over Christmas that I am happy to report is all gone again).
I wanted to make changes that I know I could live with, maintain, and be happy with for the rest of my life. I am happy with the weight I lost, and even though it was slower in the "sleeve" world, it was still faster than any other time I had tried to lose weight in my life. My new habits are firmly entrenched, and even if I stumble now (like Christmas), it is not difficult to get my head back in the game. I would not change what I did and how I did it and I love this tool that I have been given!

Does it help that I'm 19+ months out and STILL losing? I DID lose 100 pounds in my first six months, but that was less than half of my excess weight.
Folks, it's not a race. Learn your stuff and get it done. Stalls are normal, frustrations are normal. We keep saying "it's not about the finish line, but about the journey" and it's annoying, but VERY true. At this point, I'm losing 1 pound per week, on average (it comes in big spurts... I'll lose 2 pounds in a week and then nothing for two weeks). BUT it's been that way all along, just the amounts have gone down as I get closer to goal.
I've lost over 200 pounds. Heck, I've lost more than some of the STARTING weights I've seen from the really short folks. If I can do this, you can do this. There's no time limit or expiration date on your sleeve. Treat it well and it will be good to you for many years to come.

Wow!! 117 pounds lost - never to be seen again. Congrats!!!

Yay!!! Congrats!!

At least you can eat veggies and fruit, most people are on liquid only!!

I quit smoking 4 1/2 weeks ago - I was one of those people that was going to smoke on my deathbed. No one else thought I would quit either. My motivation is wanting this sleeve to heal up tight. I didn't want to do anything that interfered with the process.

Haha! You are definitely fiddles wife! You guys can be crazy exercise people together!
When I'm on the treadmill the only thing I want to breakout is a snickers
But really that's great if you can find something you enjoy doing its empowering and will help keep you healthy and string through the weight loss.

Thank you! The first weeks are the hardest. Just concentrate on getting your fluids and Protein in. I really relied on the Protein drinks early out. I do love the way I can eat now. I eat a small meal and I am full. I remember how pre-op, even if I ate healthy, I had to eat such a large quantity to feel full.
Lynda

Yes! I had a hard time getting food down in the mornings. I often had a Protein shake for Breakfast or yogurt smoothie (greek yogurt, Water, splenda, splash of OJ and a couple of strawberries). I drank on a schedule because it was hard to get the Water in.
6 a.m. Wake up: Before breakfast: 8 oz water (often as tea or Decaf coffee)
Breakfast around 8 a.m.: In smoothie: Protein Shake with 8 oz. water or water/soymilk mx
By 10 am: 8 oz water
By Noon: 8 oz. water
By 3 pm: 8 oz. water
By 5 pm: 8 oz water
By 7 pm: 8 oz water
By bedtime: Protein Shake with 8 oz water or soymilk/water blend
Leave glass of water on nightstand and sip when I wake up
Lynda

Does she have experience with WLS? I mean seiously, WTH... & totally not defending her btw, but I am 3mo out & I regret it every time I eat.
Sounds like someone who -at the very least- is not as supportive as you deserve. Don't let her get to you. Living Well is the best revenge.

Shes just jelous you keep going and keep burning her ass, isnt it funny how your friends all of a sudden are so curious in what we are doing and keep tabs better than we do on our weight while we are loosing? Cause god forbid we should look better than them, we were the safe fat friend. Now what the heck are they gonna do? Dont be hurt by this use it for motivation. People are ignorant.

Am glad that you shared your RX with us - I don't expect my PCP to know alot about weight loss surgery - since i'm having surgery in Mexico - my PCP is taking care of me post-op.

I was walking down the main aisle trying to get my steps in and looking for something new and exciting to add to my soft/pureed foods diet when I felt a draft around my buttocks area. It took me a minute to realize that my knickers had fallen down inside my pants. The pants I am wearing today are about a size too big so when they fell, they fell deep down in there and it took awhile to pull them out.
The NSV? No bright flash went off when I was fishing down my pants for my underwear and I've not appeared on peopleofwalmart.com yet.

Hi I am Cassie. I am a 44 year old senior corporate executive who lives in New York. I am the proud mother of a very delightful, and somewhat petulant, 8 year old girl. I am married to my husband of over 12 years. He has been very supportive as have the close friends that I chose to tell. I also have a fantastic golden retriever who is always concerned about me.
My journey to my sleeve operation last Thursday was a long one. For me - no matter how many degrees one has or how much common sense they have, it can still take time to get your head around the fact that there is something that you can just not conquer - weightloss. Dealing with thoughts of failure, laziness, etc. was at times, overwhelming. It was also embarrassing.
Then comes the process of telling some people. Even telling the man who loves me was an incredibly tough and a somewhat humiliating process. He would tell you it was not an issue at all.
So many of you are positive and able to share your news. I applaud you. In fact, I envy you.
For me, I had to accept my weight before I could get to weightloss. A somewhat isolating process for me but it didn't have to be. I am here now. I have been sleeved and I plan to knock the ball out of the park. I wish you all the best in your journey.

I don't think that LOTS of people gain the weight back - but these nurses see many more people and I will say that my therapist said the same thing. She and I have been "fighting" about this surgery for 3 weeks. Most of the problem is lack of education about the sleeve procedure. What I don't understand is the assumption that the majority of WLS patients gain the wait back. I really don't think that's true. Of course the more she fights me on this - the more I dig my heels in and am determined to have this surgery. She even told me that if she were in charge of my Psych eval., she would tell them to deny me. I'm going to Mexico, so it's not an issue but, I can't believe she said that.

Sending "thumbs up" for your sleeve approval!!

I don't think that LOTS of people gain the weight back - but these nurses see many more people and I will say that my therapist said the same thing. She and I have been "fighting" about this surgery for 3 weeks. Most of the problem is lack of education about the sleeve procedure. What I don't understand is the assumption that the majority of WLS patients gain the wait back. I really don't think that's true. Of course the more she fights me on this - the more I dig my heels in and am determined to have this surgery. She even told me that if she were in charge of my Psych eval., she would tell them to deny me. I'm going to Mexico, so it's not an issue but, I can't believe she said that.

Isn't it amazing how such smart people can be sooooo dumb! Flabbergasting!

There's a lot of very insensitive people out there. The nurse in your surgeon's office should know better though!! You've accomplished so much and you have a lot to be proud of - I'd be mad too if someone rained on my parade.
Besides, the data is clear. People who lose weight via WLS are less likely to gain back the weight than people who opt for diet alone.

of course i'm so happy, healthy, blissful about my successes these past 19 months!!!!
went to my nurse/surgeon today - we were talking about how i'm doing
she said you are doing great - then somewhere in the conversation she said.......
people usually gain weight back in a couple of years!!!!
last week i went to a doctors office that knew i had WLS
the nurse and i were talking
she also just "threw" in the comment that its so sad that so many people gain the weight back!!!!
are you kidding me!!!!!
why in the world would anyone - especially a medical person say such a thing
i was just so shocked both times i literally think my mouth dropped!!!
i couldn't make a proper reply
i was speachless
anyone who "knows" me is aware that i love to talk and "write" alot "
i know "some" a "few" maybe might gain , but not this proudgrammy!!!!
but for ANYONE to put a cloud over your/my head - OMG???
well thats my vent for the day
kathy