bikrchk

I'm 5'6" and hang out around 145 pounds. I wear a size 4 jeans most of the time, (occasionally a 6), 28 in a Miss Me or other designer that sizes that way. I'm a size larger on top than on bottom and always have been so I'm about an 8 in a dress.

Yep. It's 2 years since my sleeve next week. Hardly seems possible! Been maintaining a 90ish pound loss for about a year and 1/2 now. Went for my yearly fasting physical with my PCP yesterday (I don't see a bariatric surgeon anymore as mine left town). Only bad thing is I got to find out I don't "fast" well anymore! Got up at 4:20AM as usual. Did 45 minutes on my bike, drank LOTS of Water all morning prior to my 10 am appointment so my veins would be nice and plump for the vampire. I started feeling like crap (horrible headache, very tired, etc) by about 7AM. I typically do 1 egg and a piece of cheese right after the workout then a scoop of Protein powder in my coffee 2 hours later at work, 1/2 and apple or piece of cheese mid morning THEN a small lunch. I wasn't necessarily "hungry" but could tell I needed to eat already. By 10 felt worse, made it to the doc, she was like... "I'll bet you eat all day long now, don't you"? Yep. every couple of hours... This is not going well today, *weak smile*. "Go get some lunch, you're doing amazing, couldn't be more please with your progress and focus, blah, blah..." Yay me! Headed to lunch, tried to eat a hamburger, (pretty much just part of the meat), BIG mistake! Add puking, (had to pull the car over on the highway) to the massive headache that was not improving. Had to call my boss and tell him I wasn't coming back to work and go home and pass out for a couple hours! Finally got a Protein shake down about 2PM and started to feel better. WHAT A MISERABLE DAY! I guess the next time, I sleep in, don't work out and go straight to the Dr office for the first appointment of the day! Oh, I feel fine today, labs came back and everything was PERFECT! Yay me!

Inverted triangle before, (but with a gut) and inverted triangle now, (but without the gut!). I was always lucky to carry the weight "all over". Once my bod settled down after entering maintenance, things turned out very proportional, still a size bigger on top than on bottom tho :-)

Dresses, skirts, leggings and tall boots are my winter uniform nowadays! NEVER would wear them before. Double bonus since I'm now cold ALL THE TIME since I can add fuzzy tights and warm socks underneath and no one can tell!

Grocery store, Walmart, GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. I've never taken "bariatric" Vitamins not was I ever advised I needed special vitamins by my surgical team. I WAS advised to take a multivitamin morning and night, calcium citrate 3x per day separate from other supplements, a D3, A B12, and an Iron supplement taken separate from all other supplements. (Iron and calcium taken together mess with the iron absorption). I get them wherever it's convenient or on sale and I can find the right dosage. In the beginning, I did chewables. By about 6 months out I was on all tablets, or capsules. I also switched to a time release calcium once per day as I was forgetting the 3x calcium more than I was remembering it even with alarms, I'd be in a meeting, driving my car, at the store, etc and just forget it by the time I got back to my stash). I've always been compliant in the schedule. I quit the B12 after 1 year as my labs showed it WAY high. I also take Biotin, omeprazole and a probiotic. Just got my 2 year blood work back today and everything is perfect!

For me it's +5 pounds outside my "happy place" I've been maintaining for about a year and 1/2. When that happens (and the 5+ has happened a couple times) I make small adjustments. Give up the latte. Quit the glass of wine with dinner, scale back lunch a bit. Quit the popcorn snack after dinner. Make sure I'm not slacking my workouts. For me, gain is usually about a bunch of small sloppy decisions catching up with me. I stay on the "cutting back" bandwagon until I'm back in my happy place. If I'm not headed in the right direction after a week I'll food journal till it comes off. If I have to journal these days, I'm most def having an "OMG you gotta get yourself in control" moment.

That. Is Awesome! And yes, based on my own experience, things continue to move around for a long time after you reach goal. My shoes, for example... Pretty much all the slip on flats had to go within the first 6 months. I was just walking out of them! I made boots work by shoving Dr Sholls in and wearing thicker socks. I've been at goal for almost a year and 1/2 now and last years tall boots (even with the insoles, etc., looked and felt like clown shoes when I put them on this year! When I went to replace, I found all the tall boots gaping around my calves! I'm far from a "waif" hanging out in the middle of healthy BMI. #fitgirlproblems #illtakeem!

You nailed it! Your brain needs a chance to catch up. Guess what? It's the same with other people! I started getting the "you're getting too thin" messages when I hit a 14, (just a 2-3 size loss for me) while I was still medically well overweight. I went on to land comfortably around a 4\6 pant and up to about an 8 dress, (I'm a little bigger on top). For a long time, I thought I looked weird too. You're still relatively early in the process as far as weight re-distribution goes. I know things kept "shifting" for me for about a year after I reached goal. The friends who told me I was getting too thin back then tell me I look very healthy now, as a 4\6. I'm 5'6" and hang out around 146 pounds which feels and looks normal to me most of the time, (there are days I feel like a busted can of biscuits and probably always will! LOL). I think EVERYONE needs time to come to terms with our new look, including us!

I tried joining a gym, but it just wasn't for me. About 3 months out, I purchased a high quality stationary bike and use it 5x per week before work while watching NetFlix. I typically follow with some push ups and crunches. That's it. I burn between 300-500 calories per the bikes computer, but I believe what it does for my metabolism, (particularly doing it first thing in the day since they say you'll burn more for the next several hours) makes the difference. Plus, I've no excuse other than my own laziness at that time of day. No work emergencies, no friends calling, just me getting out of my own way. Some days I don't "feel" it. Those are the days I go light and burn a little less, but I still do it, (unless I'm really sick which is rare). I'm 2 years out this month and maintaining for the last year and 1/2 so must be doing something right!

For me, this is the first time I feel like I have a fighting chance of KEEPING it off. I'd lost the same 60 pounds several times by several different methods. By far, I was the most successful with the "eat half of whatever it is, but eat what you like" diet. But I never took off ALL the weight I needed to and always lapsed back into old habits and regained with interest. Yes, the weight came off quickly post op. I was a pretty compliant patient, monitoring Protein, taking supplements as directed, starting an exercise program. I reached goal by about month 9 and have been maintaining for over a year now. I maintain the exercise habit. I still do at least one protein supplement per day to get at least 75g. I still take my Vitamins. Through about month 4 and since maintenance, I've just pretty much eaten what I like in small quantities, protein first. I eat bread and Pasta if I want it and have a bit of sweet almost every day so it doesn't feel like a "diet". There isn't a lot of room for that stuff when I put protein first so I don't get much bread\pasta etc.The cycle of eating something forbidden\guilt\binge\repeat is broken because nothing is forbidden and I simply can't over eat, which is KEY for me. If I lapse and over do it, I puke, even 2 years out. It sucks, (for hours) so I avoid it now. If 5 pounds creeps back on, (I weigh at least once per week but not every day) I cut back on the junk until I'm back where I belong which generally takes no longer than a week or 2. It's helped me succeed at the long term battle.

I was allowed crackers at in the puree stage. Couldn't do very many and chose to stick to rice crackers since they're less sticky going down, but that was how I did it. Later on you'll be able to do raw veggies\hummus, but too early for that at 1 month. I think it was 6 before I could get down raw cucumber and carrot chips which work great later.

I took it before, they took me off all supplements for a few weeks before but I started back on everything including the fish oil about a week after.

Ditto what @@AvaFern said. I am right in the middle of my suggested healthy weight range and I am by no means a twig too! I wear a 4 or 6 jeans, 6-10 dress depending on how its cut and weigh around 145 pounds at 5'6". This is what healthy looks like. I'd never seen it before, and it took some getting used to, but I'm used to it now and wouldn't trade my good health for anything! The flaws in BMI calculation really come to light with highly muscular males as they tend to weigh a lot for their height. For the average female I think it's a decent tool.

Count me in the "easy recovery" camp too... And my Doc did a 90% sleeve! I tolerated everything well following the prescribed food progression, 2 weeks thick liquids, 2 weeks puree, 2 weeks soft solids, etc. I most def don't feel like he "faked it" though! I'm 2 years out next month and have a perfect amount of restriction!

I was taken off one of the meds pre-op and never went back on after surgery. The Water pill took a little longer, maybe 2 months post op... When my average bp went to below 100/60 and I was getting light headed on a regular basis especially upon standing. I'd always been an at home monitorer so I could correlate the light headedness with low bp. I halved the HcTz then eventually gave it up entirely. I think my last check at the Dr was 100\64 (and that was a stressful day at work)! Crazy to think about now as 2 years ago it was not well controlled on 2 BP meds plus an anti anxiety NONE of which I take today!

I told pre-op and tell post-op. The reasons are these in no particular order: I don't like to live with the deception. Telling the truth is just easier. I get way more than I give when I operate as an advocate for WLS. It motivates me to maintain the behaviors needed to be a good model. I don't give a rats ass what folks think who aren't on my side in this battle to reclaim my health. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to prove a negative person wrong! But you need to do what's right for YOU. If you tend to care what other think and take their negativity personally, being open about it may make you miserable.

I was told my doc does a 90% sleeve which freaked me out at first! All I can tell you is that 2 years later, (heck, even 6 months later), I feel perfectly "normal". I can eat what I like in small quantities including pizza, Pasta, meats, rice, bread and alcohol, but I try and stick to higher Protein lower carb choices. They are the "prescription" and I feel less bloaty and have better energy when I follow it. Do I regain? Yep. But I weigh at least once per week, (not every day) and the difference is that now, I can recover from a five pound gain within a week or 2 simply by focusing back on the basics and giving up some of the less healthy choices. In short, I'm winning the maintenance battle now where I never could before. Life as a "normal" sized, health woman is AMAZING! Miss that 90%? Not. One. Bit!

I did for the first 6 months post-op. Not the rash so much but the break outs, absolutely. That and my face just looked, "sunken". They say you release a lot of toxins\hormones with rapid fat loss so maybe that has something to do with the break outs. The sunkenness in my face improved as well over time. Probably partly natural reaction to rapid weight loss, me learning to better hydrate myself and eat better along with I had to get used to my new look. Things "re-arranged"some after the first year in maintenance. I did for the first 6 months post-op. Not the rash so much but the break outs, absolutely. That and my face just looked, "sunken". They say you release a lot of toxins\hormones with rapid fat loss so maybe that has something to do with the break outs. The sunkenness in my face improved as well over time. Probably partly natural reaction to rapid weight loss, me learning to better hydrate myself and eat better along with I had to get used to my new look. Things "re-arranged"some after the first year in maintenance. I did for the first 6 months post-op. Not the rash so much but the break outs, absolutely. That and my face just looked, "sunken". They say you release a lot of toxins\hormones with rapid fat loss so maybe that has something to do with the break outs. The sunkenness in my face improved as well over time. Probably partly natural reaction to rapid weight loss, me learning to better hydrate myself and eat better along with I had to get used to my new look. Things "re-arranged"some after the first year in maintenance.

They gave me a codeine by mouth in the hospital upon returning from the recovery room. I was wearing an allergy bracelet to prevent it. Stuff won't kill me but makes me nauseous on a good day and the day you have 90% of your stomach removed is NOT a good day! So I puked immediately which sucks particularly bad and is very scary RIGHT after surgery. That was the last narcotic pain med I took, (or needed).

Been there recently myself and it sucks. Sorry you're going through it. My first real relationship post-WLS lasted 10 months. I'd done the on-line dating thing for 9 months before finding a person I wanted to hang out with for a while. Circumstances were a bit different, but I was blindsided, then PISSED. Put my profile back up, (way too soon, but did it anyway as I figured it'd be another 9 months of "interviewing" before I found one I wanted more than 2 dates with again), and met a really nice guy within a couple of days!? I say it was too soon because I almost killed it by not really being ready to date again. Muscled through the weirdness in my head and it's been a month with the new BF. Things are just beginning to feel normal, rather than weird with a new person. Different. Mostly "good different" . Whatever happens with your situation, you WILL get through it!

Wow. I was just doing purees at that stage and no more than about 2 ounces at that! I would say your husband expressed himself poorly if he wanted you to respond well. (I certainly wouldn't responded well)! I couldn't eat a whole Jr. burger (no bun) until I was probably 1 year out. That said, if it made you uncomfortable, you're either eating too much or the wrong thing for your stage of healing or eating too fast. When I started trying new foods post op, I found that it was bets to take like a quarter of what I thought I could eat, eat that and wait 15 min before trying more. Sometimes I'd end up with another quarter, oftentimes, not. It is important to advance your diet, but it's not worth making yourself sick. Go back to your previous stage if you must and work your way back to normal food a little slower.

I looked at it this way... my dad died of morbid obesity at 52, (yes, that was COD on the death cert). I was headed for slow suicide by knife and fork. When I put the risks into perspective, it really helped! Almost 2 years later and 90ish pounds lighter, I almost NEVER have to see my doc, whom I was seeing monthly for chronic, weight related health problems and med monitoring. Best decision EVER!

So I didn't have the obnoxiously unsupportive family thing going but clearly some family members really didn't approve, (still don't) but they've kept their mouths shut. Mostly What I did have was my mom who kinda went off the deep end with worry, she tried to research but did it badly, misunderstood and really just needed some education. I took her to my surgeon's office to meet with the nurse coordinator which helped A LOT! She's now my biggest cheerleader! I still have one family member who gives me "looks" when she sees what I leave on my plate or put in my to go box, and I really don't care. The health benefits have been AMAZING and totally worth it! Just saw my doctor for the first time in 8 months today for a UTI and she mentioned how she never has to see me anymore which is TRUE! I used to require almost monthly monitoring for all the meds and weight related health problems. Not anymore!

I get it. I'll be 49 this weekend and spent most of my life in slacks to get comfy shoes (wore an 11 shoe before so there weren't a lot of choices). As a Systems Engineer, I work in a typically younger, male dominated workforce. The gyus live in khaki pants and polos, but I have to strike a balance between "young enough", comfortable enough for physical work some days and professional. I wear a lot more skirts these days! Tall boots in the fall\winter are a wardrobe staple as they are both comfortable and warm. Pointelle pants with tall boots and a cute tunic top also works. As for my personal time, I probably dress younger than I used to! I'm a biker chick, and "edge" is kinda part of my thing, but I try to keep it toned down at least a little! Do I shop at The Buckle... Yup! Am I very careful what I'll buy from there... You bet! You CAN do current and stylish at 50 and over, you just have to pay attention to fit, etc. If it's too sheer, I'll toss a cami under it depending on where I'm headed. I'm single and dating and occasionally take in a club with live music. I will not look like a frump! Neither do I want to look silly! You won't find me in the minidress and sky high heels! You will find me in a current top that flatters my figure, leather jacket, skinny jeans and tall flat boots! You'll figure it out too! Have a GREAT time doing it!

Give it time. It took me at least 6 months before I really could eat bread or potatoes comfortably and then only a couple spoonfulls. For rice it took longer. As for gluten free, I don't know... I've kind of become a fan of GF rice crackers (Mary's gone crackers brand), they are very full of seeds so don't try them until you're ready, but seems like I do better with rice flour than wheat flour, probably because it doesn't swell up in my stomach as bad. Don't get me wrong, I eat carbs AND wheat, even rice if it's in sushi, but tend to avoid things that puff up even today. Just not a lot of real estate down there and I have to preserve the space!