VSGAnn2014

It sounds like you have some (un-named) issues that would prevent a second WLS also being a success -- when "success" is defined as losing all your excess weight and maintaining your weight loss. Prior to a second WLS are you considering therapy or to change your living circumstances in ways that will remove current barriers to your future success?

Welcome to the Internet where everyone gets to say what they think.

I've used (and benefited tremendously from) My Fitness Pal, Fitbit (Flex and Charge HR), the S Health app on my mobile phone. Today's health technology rocks. I'm sure tomorrow's tech will rock even more.

@@CowgirlJane ... you truly are one of my WLS heroes. You rock.

Buying avocados today!

@@Beni ... it's very possible your ghrelin production is way, way down these days and staying down. The human body continues to be a mystery in so many ways. One day, this will all be understood so much better that is known now.

Yes, I'm commenting on my own post (above) made 8 months ago when I was 9 months post-op. Now that I'm almost a year and a half post-op I can't eat much more than I could when I was 9 months post-op. But one significant difference is that now (while I'm maintaining comfortably) I would eat some salad with dressing and at least part of a dessert. FYI, hubby and I just returned from a 17-day luxe cruise with fabulous food served in small European portions (not gargantuan US sizes). I ate absolutely everything I wanted. At the evening meal I typically had bread, one appetizer (usually protein-based), a main course (protein and 1-2 veggies), a dessert and about 3-6 ounces of wine. One thing that made eating that much food possible is that we were served in courses, and meals lasted about an hour -- not the 20-25 minutes we normally sit at the table when we're home. While on the cruise I didn't track calories, but estimate my daily calories were about 2000. I didn't gain any weight at all. For the first time in my life I felt like I was eating like a normal person. I noticed that other slim women weren't eating much more than I was. However, most of them were complaining about their clothes feeling a little tighter and groaning about having to go on a diet when they got back home. Neener neener!

When I read threads like this I think there's still a lot of grieving going on for the tough times (physically, emotionally, etc.) we all endured at whatever our high weights were. To be perfectly honest, the "old me" certainly wasn't good enough for ME! It truly sucked being that heavy. There was so much that was hard when I was obese. I still feel so bad for my old fat self. I'm so very glad *she* doesn't have to struggle with those issues anymore. And *she* is incredibly glad, too.

You are very cool, @@proudgrammy . You deserve all the happiness you have created for yourself.

Have you considered the 5-day pouch test to hit the reset button? http://5daypouchtest.com/ Good luck to you. BTW, 10 pounds may sound like a lot. But you sure don't want it to turn into 20 or 40 or more!

Actually, I think most spouses of WLS patients are supportive. But maybe I'm just projecting from my own situation. When I brought up the subject of WLS, my husband said, "I'll do anything I can to support you. Just tell me how I can help." I wish you had a guy like that! I'd suggest you and your husband consider: 1. Him attending an introductory lecture by a surgeon in your area (doesn't matter if you choose that particular surgeon for your own surgery or not). There's much good education at those events. 2. Have your husband attend your first surgeon consultation. Again, good education there. 3. Have your husband read this thread. I really enjoyed some of the previous posts on this thread. Do you know why your husband is so opposed? Really know? Sometimes what someone says out of fear or other emotions isn't truly their deepest concerns. Sometimes their emotions mask even from them what the issues really are. This could even take a counselor / therapist to help you have that honest conversation. I have also seen people who didn't even tell their spouses they were having surgery and simply "disappeared" for a while and then came home post-op. Tough way to go, but sometimes doing what you need to do to survive and thrive takes those kinds of balls. Very best wishes to you!

OK, I'll play! At 137 pounds (after losing 98 pounds), I'm 70 years old and look 50. And obviously, as we say down South, I have the big-head. I am now wearing clothes bought (mostly) at a local high-end consignment shop. Sizes that fit me range from US 2 - 8 (I can't predict what will fit -- just have to try them on to make sure): St. John Polo Escada Worth New York Eileen Fisher DKNY Anne Klein BCBG Max Azria I have found some great pieces for (crazy as it sounds) 5-10% of their original price. I also find good basics at Talbots, Chicos, The Loft, banana Republic, even JCPenney (love their gym clothes) and TJMaxx (great place for belts). Victoria's Secret and Soma are new haunts for me. Somehow, their bras make my tits look (in clothes, at least) like Giselle Bundchen's. And at Dillards I even found an awesome backless bra that glues on, which opens up a whole new can of designer clothing worms. Here's the crazy part -- even with all my post-op shopping I still don't spend even close to the amount of money I used to spend pre-op -- when a boxy plus-size suit / blouse that looked even halfway decent cost me $400. Jeez, Pendleton! It's truly as someone above smartly called it, a "fat lady tax." Like @@Miss Mac said, I definitely no longer dress like Kathy Bates, but now lean toward rocker chic. I pair (second-hand) St. John linen slacks with a leather jacket and a braided leather bracelet. Or Escada jeans and leather boots with a silk Anne Klein blouse. Or an Eileen Fisher cashmere V-neck sweater and a white teeshirt with ripped skinny jeans. Or an Hermes scarf (tied as a halter blouse) with a lightweight blazer and those ripped jeans. This is WAY more fun than boxy Pendleton plus size suits!

I went to my surgeon's intro lecture in June 2013. I wasn't sleeved until August 2014 -- and looking back now it really worked out great for me. I used much of that time (especially the 9 months prior to surgery) reading my brains out on WLS forums and educated myself tremendously well about all the basics. I saw all the newbie questions a billion times. I figured out what rate of weight loss actually made sense for me (based on others who were about my size). I got to compare the behavioral and attitudinal differences between those who were doing very well post-op and those who were just f**king around and whining -- big differences in behaviors and attitudes. About 6 months pre-op I started practicing some of the new behaviors, like eating slower, taking smaller bites, chewing well, not drinking with meals, moving more, cutting out soda, cutting way down on coffee and other caffeine products, using smaller dishes, not grazing / nibbling between meals, using My Fitness Pal, buying and using a Fitbit, etc. In short, my education and my new lifestyle behaviors in those six months prior to surgery made me SO much more successful after surgery. BTW, I started VERY slow with one behavior at a time. It wasn't very easy, since I'd been a complete sloth and unmindful about everything for some time before that. Good luck to you!

Big kudos to you, BigTink2LilTink ! Your progress and your story written above are so inspiring. I wish for you more and more victories over obesity and that your recovery from WLS becomes complete in all the ways you wish for. Very best to you!

Congrats on having a plan and working toward it. I would strongly encourage you to consider that you are "on the journey" starting today. As you learn about the new eating / living behaviors you're expected to acquire and practice, you can decide to start practicing those behaviors long, long, long before your surgery. Although I wasn't as heavy as you when I started, I remember just how immobilized (compared to now) I was and felt when I finally committed to get my act together. I started counting my steps (didn't even have a Fitbit then). And how little I was walking a day was just pathetic! Here's the secret to getting better: Do the best you can today. Whatever or how little that is. And tomorrow do just a little bit better. That is all you ever have to do. Time will pass, whether you fight to get your life back or not. And in a year or two or three if you have done every day what you could do, you will have bettered your life more than you can possibly imagine right now. And I say that at 18 months post-op, feeling like I have experienced miracles. Very best to you!

Congratulations. You are feeling what many people felt post-op. It's a common phase to go through. Pretty soon you'll be in another phase -- the one called, "Good heavens -- I should have done this years ago!"

The world is full of fools, including those who compete on that show and those who watch it.

@@idreamofskinny said: 600-800 calories is what they told me I needed to stay at for the first year. is that not right? Weeeelllll ... that's not what my medical team told me. And before I say anything else you should know that all surgical / nutritional advisors by no means give the same advice. And you should also know that I was not a "heavyweight" when I started this process. I'm 5'5" and 70 years old. My highest weight was 235 pounds. My surgery day weight was 216. My weight goal was 150 pounds. I reached that goal at 8.5 months post-op. It took me another 6 months to slowly reach 137 pounds, where for the past 3 months I've maintained while eating 1700 - 2000 calories. So here's what my medical advisors told me: Eat 800 cals through Month 6. Then get the cals up to 1,000 calories through Month 8. Then get the calories up to 1,200 through Month 10. Why? Because if you eat a very small amount of food for a long time you are teaching your body to subsist on a starvation diet. That will set your metabolism at a lower rate than you will be comfortable maintaining later on. The more you hang out here, you'll understand that this is a huge, huge topic of debate and confusion, partly because our bodies don't all respond the same ways to food. Some people can eat more to maintain than others. Some people are on medications that reduce their metabolic rates. Some people are more active than others and burn more calories. Some people have more muscle mass, which naturally ramp up the metabolism, too. Some people can tolerate more carbs than others without gaining weight. Frankly, it isn't fair that two people who weigh the same can't eat the same amount of calories or types of food to lose or maintain their weights. It appears that weight control isn't a simple calculation of calories in, calories out. IMHO, you truly have to become a bit of a nutritionist yourself. And you have to learn what works for YOU and then accept what your body needs to lose and to maintain. And be willing to eat like that.

THAT is freaking unbelievable!!! The definition of having your eating under control. I know! It's awesome, isn't it!? Seriously, two years ago I'd never, ever, ever have imagined I could do that. And the best thing is that, as much of a My Fitness Pal, no starchy carbs WLS-Nazi as I was while losing weight and maintaining my weight at home, I didn't track my food at all. I just ate "intuitively" or "mindfully" on the cruise. I ate what I wanted. I didn't overeat. I didn't eat between meals. And I didn't eat even close to everything that was available. I just ate (freaks me out to say this) like a normal, healthy person. Yes, I credit my sleeve to a great extent. But I also credit my new, healthy, grooved-in habits I've been building for a year and a half.

Oh, boy, does regain happen. The "long-term" research on WLS reveals that three to five years after WLS half of the people who had WLS are "successful" -- and that's defined as having regained no more than half of the weight they lost. That means half of the people who have WLS in three to five years post-op have regained MORE than half of the weight they lost. Obviously, some of those have regained all (or even more) of the weight they lost. So that's why we hear over and over and over again from our surgeons, at support groups and on online forums aphorisms like these: * WLS is only a tool - you have to build other tools to be successful long-term. * They operate on your stomach, not on your head. * Losing weight in the first 6-12 months is easy for almost everyone. After that, if you haven't built new eating / exercise habits and lifestyles you will very likely be struggling again with food and weight issues. Of course, some people are very successful -- and some of them are long-term members of this forum. They have dealt with their eating and weight-gaining issues. They are disciplined. They've built new lifestyles that support normal weight and good health. Many of them are people some newbies make fun of for being "so rigid."

I probably shouldn't post on this thread, because I haven't seen the TV show. But I gotta say ... I love the way I look post-op at 137 pounds (5'5" tall) and 70 years old without any plastic surgery. Yes, I have crepe-y thighs. And my boobs are halfway between where they used to be and my waist, and my arms aren't made for primetime sleeveless dresses. But I look SO MUCH BETTER than I used to look when I was a big fat mess. I look really, really cute in clothes. And my hubby adores me at any size / shape. I'm just so happy I have a hard time being unhappy about some extra skin. (Not saying everybody isn't entitled to feel how they feel. Just wanted to express my own feelings on this subject.)

IMHO, yes, you should have lost more. Boils down to this: Are you willing to do what you need to do to lose all your excess weight and then to keep it off?

Carbs are like men (or women): There are good ones, and there are bad ones. When we're in the losing phases, it makes zero sense to eat any of the sugary, starchy, low-Fiber, overprocessed carbs. When we get to maintenance, it becomes a different calculation: How often and how much of the "treats" carbs will work for us? The answer to that is a very personal, individualized calculation for each person. Some can tolerate more carbs than others. Some have food issues that are triggered by specific carbs that don't bother others. So far, no specific food carbs eaten at mealtime and in moderation have caused me problems. I'm really pretty surprised by this. This means I can eat in moderation at mealtimes sometimes Pasta, breads, whole grain rice, even potatoes. But what would cause me tremendous problems would be grazing, nibbling all day on completely worthless "foods" like potato chips, trail mix, candies. Ugh. Not going there ever again. Also, drinking my calories would be terrible for me -- those are carbs, too.

Worst part of my surgical experience? I can't judge anything I experienced as deserving a "worst" review. Best part of my surgical experience? The best parts of my surgical experience were all due to the expert surgical skills and massive WLS experience of my surgeon that resulted in zero complications and a sleeve that (nearly 18 months post-op) tolerates all kinds of foods. My surgeon has perfomed thousands of WLS operations and runs a bariatric practice at a ASMBS-certified Centre of Excellence in a large, full-service hospital. He's also a sweetheart of a guy, admired by nurses throughout the hospital (I know because many of them told me how good a surgeon he is and how devoted he is to his patients). I had minimal pain post-op, which I credit to his surgical skills. In addition to performing my WLS surgery, he also removed my gall bladder four weeks post-WLS. A month after that he also performed a complicated cancer biopsy on my husband (he's a noted general surgeon as well). I was just lucky as all get out to find this guy. Oh, and he gave a kick-ass three-hour WLS introductory lecture that I attended more than a year prior to my WLS. Seriously, I have tremendous respect for this guy.

Jeez, Paul ... I think you look amazing. Big congrats to you. Nonetheless, challenging ourselves is where the thrill is. Doesn't have to be only physical -- but mental, emotional, spiritual goals are worthwhile, too. Here's to your continued evolution -- and everyone's. Onward and upward in 2016.