rhw94123

I was 206 day of surgery 4 weeks ago today. I am almost 5'8" . I have lost 16 lbs since surgery day (190 today). That is over 33% of my excess weight - I don't really want super dramatic loss (for health's sake) and because I've only told my husband, sis and mother about my surgery & don't want anyone asking me what's up (want to avoid the conversations altogether since I don't want to fib to anyone!). I am also hyper focused on body fat percentage-- I am at 39% now & seek to have that go down significantly along with my weight. Good luck to everyone !!

I had an excellent experience nearly 3 years ago.

Kudos on a gracious reply, Bruce. I was around a 32 BMI at time of surgery w high BP, high cholesterol & increasingly high blood sugar (which all resolved within a month or two).
I do want to come back to this thread and warn you all about an issue I had as a "telling no one - low BMI" patient though. (Just can't do it right now because I can't type very well on my phone!)
Best to all.

I just read back what a I wrote on my phone yesterday and I see that I made what I was alluding to seem like a big, high-intrigue deal, lol (sorry about that!).
What I wanted to warn about (if you are not telling anyone about your surgery) is to resist the remarks about "you're getting TOO thin" as you approach a healthy BMI of 24-25 ... I had made my new habits of Protein first, few carbs, etc,etc. second nature, but I started getting those remarks from a few female friends (whom I hadn't told) when I hit about 24.5 BMI ... I let someone convince me that I should stop being SO intense about dieting and I ended up switching to just eating less of "whatever." This worked until about 8-9 months post op (I maintained at 24.5 BMI for four months after making that change), but then I started gaining about a pound a month from months 9-13 and I put on 9 or 10 lbs in month #14 (related to taking steroids, but still). I got rid of those 9lbs from the steroid month, but the last few pounds down to a 24 BMI again are STUBBORN indeed (I won't give up).
What I want to suggest is that you plan to reduce down to a LITTLE bit below your "I'd-be-fine-with-that" goal weight DURING your honeymoon (preferably the first 6-7 months of being sleeved). Then you'll have an acceptable range to bounce up in to when the honeymoon is over and your body stops being able to shed pounds for you INSTANTLY the moment you eat virtuously/on program (many veteran sleevers are finding the change to their metabolism is not permanent and they need to REALLY work it during the honeymoon). I think this is way easier to do if you've told everyone about your surgery because they will know you have a new tool and are not just newly anorexic. If you haven't told, some folks will find your rigidity troubling and will do gentle (or not-so-gentle) interventions on you. ( I always intended to reduce to 150 when I got my sleeve, but I slowed down after 4-5 months at 154-57 when the remarks started happening. I wish to HECK now that I'd just kept my head down and gotten there because losing is a WAY slower process now.
Hope that makes sense and best wishes to all as you gear up for all the exciting changes to come!

I just read back what a I wrote on my phone yesterday and I see that I made what I was alluding to seem like a big, high-intrigue deal, lol (sorry about that!).
What I wanted to warn about (if you are not telling anyone about your surgery) is to resist the remarks about "you're getting TOO thin" as you approach a healthy BMI of 24-25 ... I had made my new habits of Protein first, few carbs, etc,etc. second nature, but I started getting those remarks from a few female friends (whom I hadn't told) when I hit about 24.5 BMI ... I let someone convince me that I should stop being SO intense about dieting and I ended up switching to just eating less of "whatever." This worked until about 8-9 months post op (I maintained at 24.5 BMI for four months after making that change), but then I started gaining about a pound a month from months 9-13 and I put on 9 or 10 lbs in month #14 (related to taking steroids, but still). I got rid of those 9lbs from the steroid month, but the last few pounds down to a 24 BMI again are STUBBORN indeed (I won't give up).
What I want to suggest is that you plan to reduce down to a LITTLE bit below your "I'd-be-fine-with-that" goal weight DURING your honeymoon (preferably the first 6-7 months of being sleeved). Then you'll have an acceptable range to bounce up in to when the honeymoon is over and your body stops being able to shed pounds for you INSTANTLY the moment you eat virtuously/on program (many veteran sleevers are finding the change to their metabolism is not permanent and they need to REALLY work it during the honeymoon). I think this is way easier to do if you've told everyone about your surgery because they will know you have a new tool and are not just newly anorexic. If you haven't told, some folks will find your rigidity troubling and will do gentle (or not-so-gentle) interventions on you. ( I always intended to reduce to 150 when I got my sleeve, but I slowed down after 4-5 months at 154-57 when the remarks started happening. I wish to HECK now that I'd just kept my head down and gotten there because losing is a WAY slower process now.
Hope that makes sense and best wishes to all as you gear up for all the exciting changes to come!

I just read back what a I wrote on my phone yesterday and I see that I made what I was alluding to seem like a big, high-intrigue deal, lol (sorry about that!).
What I wanted to warn about (if you are not telling anyone about your surgery) is to resist the remarks about "you're getting TOO thin" as you approach a healthy BMI of 24-25 ... I had made my new habits of Protein first, few carbs, etc,etc. second nature, but I started getting those remarks from a few female friends (whom I hadn't told) when I hit about 24.5 BMI ... I let someone convince me that I should stop being SO intense about dieting and I ended up switching to just eating less of "whatever." This worked until about 8-9 months post op (I maintained at 24.5 BMI for four months after making that change), but then I started gaining about a pound a month from months 9-13 and I put on 9 or 10 lbs in month #14 (related to taking steroids, but still). I got rid of those 9lbs from the steroid month, but the last few pounds down to a 24 BMI again are STUBBORN indeed (I won't give up).
What I want to suggest is that you plan to reduce down to a LITTLE bit below your "I'd-be-fine-with-that" goal weight DURING your honeymoon (preferably the first 6-7 months of being sleeved). Then you'll have an acceptable range to bounce up in to when the honeymoon is over and your body stops being able to shed pounds for you INSTANTLY the moment you eat virtuously/on program (many veteran sleevers are finding the change to their metabolism is not permanent and they need to REALLY work it during the honeymoon). I think this is way easier to do if you've told everyone about your surgery because they will know you have a new tool and are not just newly anorexic. If you haven't told, some folks will find your rigidity troubling and will do gentle (or not-so-gentle) interventions on you. ( I always intended to reduce to 150 when I got my sleeve, but I slowed down after 4-5 months at 154-57 when the remarks started happening. I wish to HECK now that I'd just kept my head down and gotten there because losing is a WAY slower process now.
Hope that makes sense and best wishes to all as you gear up for all the exciting changes to come!

I just read back what a I wrote on my phone yesterday and I see that I made what I was alluding to seem like a big, high-intrigue deal, lol (sorry about that!).
What I wanted to warn about (if you are not telling anyone about your surgery) is to resist the remarks about "you're getting TOO thin" as you approach a healthy BMI of 24-25 ... I had made my new habits of Protein first, few carbs, etc,etc. second nature, but I started getting those remarks from a few female friends (whom I hadn't told) when I hit about 24.5 BMI ... I let someone convince me that I should stop being SO intense about dieting and I ended up switching to just eating less of "whatever." This worked until about 8-9 months post op (I maintained at 24.5 BMI for four months after making that change), but then I started gaining about a pound a month from months 9-13 and I put on 9 or 10 lbs in month #14 (related to taking steroids, but still). I got rid of those 9lbs from the steroid month, but the last few pounds down to a 24 BMI again are STUBBORN indeed (I won't give up).
What I want to suggest is that you plan to reduce down to a LITTLE bit below your "I'd-be-fine-with-that" goal weight DURING your honeymoon (preferably the first 6-7 months of being sleeved). Then you'll have an acceptable range to bounce up in to when the honeymoon is over and your body stops being able to shed pounds for you INSTANTLY the moment you eat virtuously/on program (many veteran sleevers are finding the change to their metabolism is not permanent and they need to REALLY work it during the honeymoon). I think this is way easier to do if you've told everyone about your surgery because they will know you have a new tool and are not just newly anorexic. If you haven't told, some folks will find your rigidity troubling and will do gentle (or not-so-gentle) interventions on you. ( I always intended to reduce to 150 when I got my sleeve, but I slowed down after 4-5 months at 154-57 when the remarks started happening. I wish to HECK now that I'd just kept my head down and gotten there because losing is a WAY slower process now.
Hope that makes sense and best wishes to all as you gear up for all the exciting changes to come!

I'm almost 2 yrs post op and I went to Mexico for my VSG 8/31/13. I'm down 177lbs!!!!!! I'm maintaining I'm so happy I found this site which lead me to my doctor and many friends I've met along the way. VSG works!  

It's ok. You are human. Look at it this way---you've lost the weight before so you know you can do it. Don't spend time beating yourself up. Instead, spend that time evaluating whats caused you to go back down that road, then begin on a new road by building yourself up and taking time to get healthy again. Maybe talking to someone who is neutral can help. It definitely helps me. Also you should be proud that you are putting your health and well-being first. It took me a long time to see that taking care of oneself is priority #1 if you want to be happy and healthy. I've felt like a failure most of my life but that's because I was too busy trying to live up to the expectations of some very toxic folk. As a result I became toxic. I had the sleeve and doing so has helped further my process of "detoxing", lol. You are not a failure. Failure occurs when you simply give up. It doesn't sound like you're waving a white flag.

VSGAnn2014,
You would be an awesome patient lecturer. In fact, why don't you go on tour and come to my area? Our bariatric support group meetings are led by a nurse that doesn't believe in stalls. Actually, the bariatric team (nutritionist, nurses, bariatrician) at my clinic are made up of people that have not had surgery and are naturally thin. It's hard for them to be empathetic when they never experienced the struggle themselves.

I hate reading how badly served some of you guys are. If you're not getting good service from your old surgeons, please find other healthcare providers who will meet your needs. Don't nurse your hurts -- find new help!
My surgeon says that our relationship will last for as long as he's practicing and I'm alive. He expects to see me annually at the very least. That works for me, since I figure this weight loss journey will never end for me until I'm dead.
He's also got a SUPER bariatric PA whom I adore and who's very knowledgeable and helpful. He's allied with a hospital that has nutritionists, exercise consultants, counselors, research librarians, a WLS support group, and more.
My WLS surgeon is also a general surgeon and performed my husband's cancer biopsy surgery last fall (hubby is now in remission, thank you!). He also performed my gall bladder surgery a month after my WLS. So he's now our "family surgeon."
I was recently invited to become a "patient lecturer" at my surgeon's / hospital's day-long educational program to describe my own personal experience with WLS. I'm thrilled to be able to give back in this way. I declined to provide a Web site video testimonial (I don't want to be THAT public about my own WLS), but I feel great about encouraging my tribe of people who are obese and want to kick obesity's butt.

I'm 3 years out, I've gained about 35lbs back from my lowest of 172, and really wish I did have. supportive surgeon... My guy is so much if a dick, I actually call him Dr. House (from the Hugh Laurie character)... He's rude and abrasive - I would never have selected him, but with Kaiser Permanente, I didn't have a choice of surgeon ... He's thin as a reed, which really makes my wonder why he went into Bariatric surgery, but he's such a dick, he made me cry in the hospital when I was dehydrated and couldn't even eat ice chips.
I bought a Bowflex Treadclimber hoping to help with my exercise - I absolutely hate it, but continue to use it because I don't want my family to say, "I told you so"... I've stopped using the elevator at work, I walk around the building at lunch time, I log everything I eat in My Fitness Pal and still cannot get the scale to move. Reading about others opinion that this surgery messes up our metabolism is comforting while at the same time depressing. *sigh*

I know it is counterintuitive, but I started eating in the highly ketogenic range (see FlexibleKetogenicDOTcom) and I finally got to my goal weight range in the last couple of months.
I had lost a lot by going very low-carb in the past, but in these late stages (right before sleeve and since being sleeved), my "broken metabolism" was not responding to low-carb like it had in the past.
Taking my macros to moderate Protein, high fat and low carb (as per the calculator) finally caused my body to respond the way it had to mere low carb in the past and the pounds started melting off again.
I've come to understand that certain strugglers from the long time yo-yo dieting trenches finally start losing on this wacky approach and I am one of them. (I am at my lowest since being a mom and can feel hip bones for the first time in MANY years myself (FWIW).)
Very best to all- it is crazy making indeed to find the approach that might just work for our particular situations.

My surgeon has revised Protein goals to 80 plus (used to be 60).
My personal experience was I had to go really low carb and high intensity interval training to get the last stubborn pounds off

Same here; no advice and I don't really have any follow up doctors. I get most of my advice from here! But at 3.5 years out I am still at goal...and I can tell you, just do the 5:2 or 5 day pouch test (with my social life I can usually only make it 3 days) but I can tell you, after just two days my restriction is back! Grateful for that. I do want to lose 5 lbs before the end of the year because I want to have some extra skin removed from my stomach. Good luck!

Just a quick post. I was back on this forum in its previous form back in 2009 when I had my VSG performed. I dropped from 325 to 215, sped up a bit by an abscess after my initial surgery that put me back in the hospital for four weeks.
In the past five years, my health has been wonderful, but during the past 24 months my eating habits reverted back to my old habits of high-carbs, sweets and constant snacking, and as a result, I've gained back to 250 pounds.
That was my wakeup call. I'm back here and starting the 5-day Pouch Test/ Reset to get myself back in order. I tried to do a quick Adkins Induction 2-weeks but only made it through the first four days, so clearly I've got to go back to square one and remember why and how I did this.
The forum was a great source of support for me back in 2009-10, and I was able to help others who were considering a VSG or other surgery. Hopefully I will go from being a success/backsliding story to a permanent success over the next year or so!

babbs I didn't join the site until after surgery. I had surgery last July, so am just at a year.

Sure: Weight loss endo. (Endocrinologist)
The tests:
1. Vitals
2. Body Composition which is done in his office with leads attached to sticky pads that are then placed on a foot and a hand. This given him information about fat to muscle ratio.
3. Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) this evaluates metabolism. I was 4 hours fasting and no exercise on the day of the test (before the test).
What is specific about my body is that it likes to eat muscle over fat. This physician figures that out in the first 6 months post op.
So, while I was still working out regularly, I was not lifting weights as strenuously or as often. (I had my rotator cuff repaired) I still worked out my core and squats and the like but no Iron
The LBL (you're right) removed 5.5 pounds of skin. It may have been part of the formula; and it's most likely my caloric needs changed due to my overall size and fat to muscle ratio.
I forgot to copy your post so I can't see what I'm replying to. Lol.
I hope I answered your questions!
Edit to say: and I was eating too many calories every day. That's what the REE showed. I was very confused before I got all these answers!
So, I'm back to weight training every other day or daily if I train groups of muscles.

If you only have 18 pounds until goal, you're already eligible for self-pay plastics. You should be within 15% of your goal weight before plastics. I was 153 when I had my first plastics procedure and I'm now bouncing 1-2 pounds around 126 a little under a year and 3 plastic surgeries later. My first surgery was an abdominoplasty and the results were so fantastic that it actually motivated me to keep losing.
The last few pounds are hard, but if your goal weight is only 18 pounds more, then you can consider your plastic surgery consults now. That may give you the extra burst of motivation you need to knock out those last few pounds.
Good luck!

Okay, I'm almost two years out. I've hit the doctors goal and I am still trying to lose the last 18 for my goal. My highest was 280 and I'm now 183, I seem to fluctuate but never higher than 185. I'm really into running lately and currently training for a half marathon. I know my calories are higher but when running 10 miles, your body does need fuel ! Would it be worth a try to do the pouch test ?? I know everyone is different but I really wanna lose these last few not only to reach my goal but also to be able to have the skin removed around the mid-section !!

those last few pounds are tough huh?!?!?! good luck. I am stuck right now too. also running a lot, so I came back onto the forum to center myself and gain some motivation.... you can do it!!!

My BMI is right at 35 and I have type 2 diabetes. My insurance is paying. I should be getting my surgery date tomorrow and I should be sleeved in about 3 weeks. I believe I have to do the regular 2 week preop diet. I'm excited but nervous!

I am not new to weight loss struggles. I had a band in 2004. Lost 100lb. Kept it off for 11 years. I did not have any support and it was a hard journey. My band slipped and I had revision to sleeve. I for one am grateful to any one who has been there done that for me to relate to. This sleeve is a whole new way for me and it helps to talk to people that have been through the whole struggle. I know when I finally do get to goal I will still need support. Thanks for being here. Stick around there are some of us that need you.

I know I'm a little late to this party but its exactly why I stopped coming here. But....as I approach my 2 year post op mark, it's a balance I sometimes struggle with finding.
I've come back here to the vets forum recently looking for honest vets I can relate with.
After a 10 month break from here I need the support this forum offers.

Our stats are similar. I had my sleeve surgery on 9/12/13 and starting weight was close to yours at 278.4. I would say a couple of suggestions.
1. Get back to the basics. The beautiful thing is that you STILL have the same tool that you had when you first started losing weight. It just depends on the extent to which we use it appropriately that it "works." Get back to Protein first (at least 70 or so grams) and no more than 40 or so carbs, and at least 100 oz of Water. When I eat that way, that is how I lost 155 pounds, and I know I won't regain when I stick to that concept.
2. Find something you love to do to get some exercise. I found running. It has saved me in a lot of ways. It is my medication, my me-time, and cancels out that occassional straying from my new way of eating.
3. Do some emotional work (this is way harder than any 'eating' advice I could give you) to figure out what got you to 270 in the first place, and why you are struggling. For me, and I venture, for many others, it is about food, but it is NOT really about food. You have to figure out what is keeping you from making the choices you already know you need to make. I would recommend reading "When Food is Love". It literally changed my life. I discovered it at 7 months post op when I started seeing an eating disorder therapist who specializes in WLS patients. She recommended it and it has been the single most important element (along with weekly therapy - which I still go to) in helping me be successful in the long term - now 22 months post op and at "dream goal"
I KNOW you can do this. Please don't feel like a failure or feel discouraged. Sometimes we just don't "know" how to get back to where we know we need to be. But you have the tool, and you have the strategies. I believe you can succeed.