fat_free

Usually have to shimmy out of my pants when I was in an 18/16. Today when I undid my zipper and belt on my size 16 jeans they fell to the floor! Yay!

I'm in. I need to lose the 20lbs i put on this year.

Usually have to shimmy out of my pants when I was in an 18/16. Today when I undid my zipper and belt on my size 16 jeans they fell to the floor! Yay!

You know you have lost weight when....you go to reach for a towel to dry your hands and your ring goes flying off! Tried to tell my husband it was time for a new bigger ring in a smaller size and he didn't go for it....stuck with resizing.

thanks- btw i'm NOT doing the 2 day as planned, I'm going to do the 5 day from kaye bailey. Kaye offers some great supportive videos on youtube AND her plan is much more similar to the post op phases (allows more eating of actual foods, 2 day then BOT plan advocates shakes all day and only one meal at night for dinner).
hopefully this is Do-able because my eating is crazy. I work nights and afternoons (work 4 shifts a week and i have variable start and finish times- this is a nursing job but is flexible to allow me to finish NP school) and i find myself eating during the day THEN eating during the night to help me stay awake.
I have to get out of this cycle, and I have about 24 months left in this job before i'm done with school. I really love the job so I don't want to go looking for a new one during the hardest part of my schooling. but, gaining weight all through these 24 months isn't an option...

Well ... now there are new people that are becoming
Veterans every day... so this can be a safe place to just relax and talk about things that come up years down the road....
I suspect some leave from regains.....
Personally that is always challenging for me. Good months. Not so good months.
Ps. I do know there was some kerfuffle months back. But I am ignoring it.

Try going back to Protein Shakes to take the edge off of the snack thing. Since the Protein hunger, it should help you by making your overall intake a bit healthier.

@@B-52 - I think the only difference between us is I by God's grace made the changes you did earlier just a few years younger than you. But I still struggle. I realized a few months ago that I was drinking too much, and had to really work to stop it. I'm now noticing I'm not exercising like I should and making the changes and decided to push myself to do a 10K instead of the 5K race I was planning in a couple of months. Often it's the chuckleheads that pop up on this list that actually make me go, "ick, I think I need to make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."
But yeah, most of the time I shake my head and want to yell "damn kids, get off my lawn."

@@moorecr
I understand the struggle, weight gain can happen to any of us. You might try a counselor to deal with the emotional eating and stress.. You are in the right place for support. Find your motivation of why you had surgery to get yourself and your head back in the game.
Here are a few topics in bariatric pal that may help. You can use SEARCH box at the top right side of bariatric pal. This will help narrow down what you are interested in. Also helps from posting repeat topics.
Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual Health and Wellness http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1253-emotional-mental-and-spiritual-health-and-wellness/
Accountability group.
http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/329299-accountability-group/page-103?hl=%2Baccountability+%2Bgroup#entry4146871

@@LipstickLady when I was new to this site, I was terrified to post. I had alot of shame, fear of failure and I was emotionally very vulnerable - especially preop. I suspect reading a few others getting their ass handed to them helped me too. At nearly 5 years out, I am much less "compliant" than I was the first 3 years, but still hanging in there at a healthy weight and a happy life. I had to really really change to find this success after my failure with the lapband. I still thank all the IRL people (NUT, surgeon and others) who supported me with the truth as well as my imaginerary friends on this forum. Sometimes we don't like what we need to hear.

I think a lot of people leave because they are tired of being bashed by the newbies when they are sincerely trying to help. Then, there were a few messages from staff that also sort of championed the attitude that the vets were the issue here so MANY of them left immediately after those posts were written.

I am too freaking stubborn, but I will admit, it does get old.

SOMEONE OUT THERE IS WORTH THE EFFORT!! By gawd, please... I should have been a man. I am a FIXER.

This is not an easy stroll. I think it takes a tremendous amount of dedication and mindfulness almost daily( no one is perfect)
My take is to try to have the good, healthy days continue in a row .... yes. They get disrupted by life, but in general... I start to try to string together the compliant days.
( banded12/06). The longer I do this. The more it becomes habit
I fight some demons at the grocery store. If it is not here. I don't eat it!!!
It is still a struggle. Mostly in the evenings.
Good luck to all of us trying to maintain a healthy weight. It is not easy most days!!

Unfortunately, my baby girl, my best fur buddy, and most trusted companion has not been able to over come the kidney failure. I will forever be indebted to her friendship and love. There will be no other like her to me [emoji174]

Two words
Tube socks????

I don't think I will EVER get used to this....

I am 5 days away from 1.5 years post VSG.
I have not posted much recently as the last six months have been a real struggle (I know, that is the time to post, but I withdraw when stressed, but changing that now!!). Between the death of a loved one, work stress and freaking out after losing 175 pounds, was on f-it street for a bit, but I am back. I know I will have more loss in me. I am working on the emotional issues that lead me back to sugar and eating the wrong things.
In addition to my emotional/self-care work, I am doing a "back to basics" today. Some call it the "5 day pouch test".
Please join me if you want a reset or going back to basics.
Days 1 & 2: liquid Protein
low-carb Protein shakes, broth, clear or cream Soups, sugar-free Gelatin and pudding.
Day 3: Soft Protein
canned fish (tuna or salmon) eggs, fresh soft fish (tilapia, sole, orange roughy.
Day 4: Firm Protein
ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken, lamb), shellfish, scallops, lobster, fresh salmon or halibut.
Day 5: Solid Protein
white meat poultry, beef steak, pork, lamb, wild game

http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html

The results are in and decisions have been made.

In accordance with OVERWHELMINGLY popular opinion ...

NO NEW VET FORUM WILL BE CREATED!!!!!!!!


But.

That congenial, enthusiastic, inspiring, not too hard on the eyes, boy toy ... the one and only @@Alex Brecher has agreed that we DO need to enforce the posting requirements.

So....

This current vet forum will be changed to read only for those who are not 18 months post op. At that point, they can join in any and all conversations!

I will let you know when the changes are in place.

Thanks to ALL who answered.

What I recall about the "old vets forum" was that all members could see threads and posts in that forum, but only those who qualified as vets (per the then-rules -- although I don't recall exactly what those rules were) could post there.
When I was pre-op and newly post-op I lurked my ass off there. It was so helpful. And trust me, even as a newbie I tired early on of the "How soon can I drink alcohol?" threads.
Some topics I would love to get into with other veterans (but not with newbies who simply haven't "been there" yet, although they'll get there) are:
* Advanced nutrition
* Regain and re-loss
* Recovering from exercise injuries
* Dealing in healthy ways with life's ongoing stresses and changes
* Late-stage complications
* Dealing with WLS fatigue
* Finding new life goals after conquering obesity
* Dealing with transfer addictions
* supplements three, four, five years down the road
* Transitioning from food tracking to mindful eating
* New career options for healthy, slim people
* Long-term relationship changes after conquering obesity
* Long-term challenges for WLS patients
* Joint replacement surgery for long-time WLS patients
* Discovering and living your Big Dreams when weight is no longer an issue
* Dealing with death
And that's after just a few minutes of thought.

Some first-impression thoughts:
What about a couple of qualification criteria?
1. To me the most important qualification criterion for veteran status and forum participation should be the length of time since their surgery date. For me, 18 months seems about right. FTR, I can't imagine that anyone other than a complete loon would lie about their surgery date just to troll a veterans forum.
2. I don't think it's critical or even relevant that the person has been a member of this board for a long period of time -- measured either by time on the board or number of posts made on the board. Yes, they should have been around long enough to understand the community and to give members a sense of the veteran's ability to contribute. But those "longevity" bars should be set fairly low. I'm purely spit-wadding here, but am thinking at least 1 month and at least 50 posts.
Finally, the value of such a forum would be that veterans who know their way around WLS could seek and receive input from other veterans who also know their way around WLS.
I don't mean for this to sound "elitist," but some of the least helpful threads here are those in which a veteran who's struggling with regain or physical changes (maybe even late-stage complications) or life stresses have asked for input -- and people who aren't even 6 months post-op or, worse, haven't yet had WLS, chime in with irrelevant comments, advice, or distracting newbie questions.
Finally, for anyone reading this thread who wonders why there's a need for such a veterans-only forum, here's why: Veterans don't hang around any message board to answer the same newbie questions over and over. Newer members 6-12 months out can handle those kinds of questions.
But just like newbies, veterans need support for THEIR issues. If they don't get that support here, they leave. If that happens, no one will be available to address the questions of those who are approaching maintenance -- which, IMHO, is even more challenging than the weight loss phases.
My two cents' worth.

Two words
Tube socks????

Two words
Tube socks????

Two words
Tube socks????

Two words
Tube socks????

Two words
Tube socks????