VSGAnn2014

You're so young that I doubt you'll have much problem with saggy skin. And if you do have small issues, you can find a way to have plastic surgery. But at your age you can practically grow new body organs. (Oh, to have had this surgery when I was 24/25!) Maybe you're just venting and expressing some natural fears about really changing your life and what that will mean for you in many ways. But in terms of your actual decision options, this decision is really a no-brainer: Get the weight off, keep it off, and get healthy. If you lose weight without WLS, some very good, very long-term research on thousands of people says your odds of keeping the weight off are only 5% or 1 in 20 (or 30 or 40, depending on which research you prefer). If you have WLS, good research says your odds of keeping all or most of the weight off long-term are 50-60%. Obviously, WLS offers better odds for long-term success. Obviously, WLS by itself may not solve your problem. You have to continue to learn and practice new behaviors and new attitudes and a new lifestyle to be successful long-term. But those will be easier to learn / practice with WLS than without. Trust me. I know. I'm 69 years old. One other thing: You're already pretty heavy at this young age, and if you don't fix the problem now you'll gain more weight and soon weigh 300. And then maybe 350. And then maybe even 400. This problem never stays the same for those like us -- it just gets worse and worse. I wish the very, very best for you. Chin up! Have courage! You can fix this. Many people have.

Maybe just relax ... And don't worry about it? Right now at only one week post-op, you've got a lot on your plate, no pun intended . In the coming year you're going to experience about a gazillion changes. Your size and your looks and your feelings are going to change so many times. Never mind how others are going to respond to you. Welcome to The Year That Will Change Your Life in So Many Ways! It is quite a ride.

@MistyAnnMoon829 You've done so well! I remember reading the diary you kept here of your first month post-op. It was great. I'm tickled you're having so much fun.

My husband knows (and is a super supporter). And two girlfriends, each who live over 1,000 miles away, know. And they're cool. Other than that, no one knows. Not any of my sibilngs, friends, clients, in-laws, acquaintances. Just you guys. It is so wonderful not to have to discuss it with ANYONE who thinks it's weird. Love it. A.

Kim, I am really so sorry for your loss. I'm hugging you virtually. (((((YOU))))) Ann

Stalking is a criminal activity and not at all funny. I'd like to know why you found it appropriate to say this. Website user disagrees with other website user is not even in the same universe of conduct as stalking. Lighten up.

I'm 8 months, 4 days post-op, and today I reached my weight loss goal ... 150 pounds! Woot!

Honestly, I'm amazed lawsuits by ex-contestants haven't been filed yet against The Biggest Loser. Obviously, contestants are required to sign away ALL their civil rights when they agree to submit to the BL "treatment." And that research design is ridiculous. A sample of 13 participants per treatment? One year's follow-up? Gimme a break.

Everything I've seen / heard re WLS and pregnancy says: "Use two forms of birth control after WLS to avoid becoming pregnant before reaching and maintaining your weight loss goal." There's something about WLS that seems to make women of child-bearing age more fertile. Dunno how it works. But it sure seems to work that way. Good luck!

At 6 and 7 months out I was eating 1,000 - 1,200 calories a day. I'm 8 months and 4 days post-op, and I just hit my goal today ... 150 pounds!

The more we graze, the more we want to graze. And the more sugars / starches we eat, the more sugars / starches we crave. So the way to kick those cravings is (sorry!) to stop eating and grazing. Maybe you're burned out / bored with your earlier cardio regimen? If so, try something different like hiking or biking or walking somewhere new. (Or whatever gets your juices flowing again.) Our relationship with exercise is not much different than our other relationships: It needs to be spiced up every once in a while. Best wishes!

For the record, my nutritionist has urged me since pre-op to eat (as I can tolerate them) veggies / fruits and whole grains: 1. First, eat all my Protein 2. Then if there's more room add healthy (colored) veggies 3. Then when there's even more room add some fruit 4. Then when there's more room add whole grains My strong suggestion would be to enjoy your veggies, but please don't drop your protein. Our bodies need protein every single day to repair our body organs. If you don't eat protein, your body will "eat" your own muscles to get the protein it needs to keep your lungs, heart, etc. all working well. Best wishes to you.

Good grief! @@kimpossible67 and @@Kindle ... I'm so, so sorry for your losses and the stresses you're both feeling now. Please be as good to yourselves as you possibly can be. I'm thinking of you both.

I was operated on August 18, and I've got one pound to go before reaching goal. Since Month 7 I've been eating about 1200 cals/day and around 100 grams of Protein a day. I eat about 100 grams of (healthy) carbs daily. Month 7 I lost 6.2 pounds. Month 8 I lost 4.4 pounds. The weight loss is slowing down. And that's fine with me. I wish everyone the very best on this journey that will never end.

I could fake it pretty well at 2 weeks -- and did feel better. But I was OK at one month out. Hubby and I canceled a cruise we'd scheduled for 2 months post-op. By the time I was 2 months out I realized I could have TOTALLY gone on that cruise with no problem. Oh,well ....

@@purrfctangel ... glad you found the acid reducer helpful. Don't worry about the stall ... just keep doing what you're supposed to be doing. If the scales are making you nuts, put the scales away for a while. BTW, sounds like your "mentor" is on BP and stalking you. LOL!

Any chance you need a strong (or stronger) antacid? For many of us right after surgery the stomach acids are pushing hard. And extra stomach acid feels like hunger to many of us. It really helped me. Talk to your surgeon or PCP.

I'm 69 years old (but don't look or act it), am a professional person and a business owner, with a good, loving, darling (second) husband. And no kids of my own, but grown, independent kids of hubby's. I love my sleeve. Just love it. Am one pound from goal. About to figure out maintenance for myself. Someone told me the other day: "It's the same as you're doing now, but with a snack." @@CowgirlJane ... I'm about to retire (end of this year). It will be a huge transition for me, but I'm finally ready for it. We'll be moving from the country to the city, travel a lot more, and just be with each other. I could handle that for a long, long time. In fact, that's what the big VSG surgery was about -- getting me in shape to enjoy our retirement and to finally conquer this obesity beast I've battled all my life. It's time to end the war.

@@bellabill ... what kind of nutrition / eating program has your surgeon recommended for you? Here are the instructions I got ... and didn't get ... Initially, my surgeon / nutritionist said merely to eat 60-80 grams of Protein daily. Then four months post-op (when I was averaging 800 cals/day and 60-80 grams of protein), my bariatric R.N. (who's very up on all research of a bariatric nature) suggested I raise my daily cals from 800 to 1,000 by the time I was 6 months out. The reason she said to do this was to avoid getting my body used to a lower calorie budget / lower metabolic rate. So in months 5 and 6 I averaged 1,000 cals/day. She also said that her calories goal at maintenance for me (at my current level of exercise) is 1,500-1,700 calories/day. So during months 7-8 I decided on my own to raise my daily cals to 1,200. During those 2 months I've lost 6.2 and 4.4 pounds, respectively. I'm now in my 9th month post-op and 1 pound from goal, having lost a total of 84 pounds. Given all the good carbs (mostly colored veggies, fruits, whole grains) I'm eating, I have plenty of energy -- both mental and physical. Several weeks ago, my exercise consultant measured my body fat / lean body mass. She reported that of all the weight I've lost on this journey only 12% of it was muscle and the rest was fat. Although I'm certainly not musclebound, these numbers show that my body isn't eating up its all its muscles to keep my body organs healthy. I think that's what higher levels of protein during rapid weight loss are expected to avoid. P.S. All my protein comes from multiple sources -- meat, fowl, fish, dairy, Beans, legumes, other veggies.

A couple of points: 1. FYI, right now I'm eating on average 100 grams of Protein daily. I'm also eating about 100 grams of healthy carbs (colored veggies, fruits, whole grains -- not lots of starches or sugars) daily. So at my daily 1,200 calorie budget, that means I'm eating about 400 calories each of protein, carbohydrates and fat. That's "a balanced diet," right? 2. The only trouble with "common sense" is that it may be common, but it may not make sense. After all, we only need to eat less and exercise more to lose weight and maintain our weight, right? That's only common sense, right? Uh, yes. But apparently it doesn't work that neatly. Research / science helps us learn which of our instincts / common sense are correct.

^^^^ Very interesting study, @@Jamie Logical ... thanks. Spoiler alert -- high-Protein (HP) and resistance (weight) training (RT) increases weight loss (pounds lost) by nearly 70% and nearly doubles the amount of body fat lost.

@@Babbs ... Thanks for that video about post-VSG stomach stretching / not stretching. Very clear. Very simple. It makes great sense to me regarding VSGs that were done *standardly* (the new stomachs were shaped using small-enough bougies, e.g., 34-36F) on *normal* shaped / sized stomachs (that aren't misshapen or injured or unusually long or short). Our eating and drinking choices and behaviors are critical to our future (short- and long-term) success. However, it all begins with and depends on the skills of our surgeon to give us sleeves that will be a good tool going forward. Can some VSG patients suffer from outlier / very unusual circumstances? Surely. But I assume that the vast majority of us just need to do what we need to do post-op: Make good eating and exercise choices / behaviors long-term. @@Band07 ... I hope you get your own situation resolved and fixed to your satisfaction with a good result. Best wishes.

I'm 8 months post-op and still do a Protein shake (25 grams protein) most mornings. It's fast, easy, perfect.

Consider this: 1. Write down all the barriers that are causing you to gain weight / not lose weight. 2. Categorize them as: (1) things I can change or (2) things I cannot change. 3. Change all the things you can change. 4. Change all the things you said you cannot change. Turns out you CAN change them, but it'll just make you very uncomfortable to do so. You just haven't changed them yet.

I'm eating 1,200 calories/day (on average) and still losing weight (4.4 pounds last month). I have 1 pound to goal. Whee! My nutritionist, my exercise consultant and I think I can maintain my weight at 1,600 - 1,700 calories a day. I'll ramp up my cals pretty slowly. I'll let you know how it goes.