IcanMakeit

I've had successive rounds of constipation since surgery and have been taking probiotics and eating Activia since Fall 2014. At first, I thought there was no difference, but then I bought some higher end probiotics (from GNC) and did begin to notice some improvement. However, when I went back to my brand X (Rite Aid) probiotics, I went back to being constipated. I don't really know if the Activia is having any affect or not, but I do believe that the probiotics do help, if you get the right ones (with 25-50 billion CFU's).

Posted 125 this morning, but went back and re-weighed. I'm now at 124.

Down to 125 this morning. I was hoping for a two pound loss, but I'll take it. After all, that was my original secret goal.

I am 61 and had my VSG in May 2014. I have lost 119 lbs so far, surpassing my surgeon's goal. I believe I could stand to lose a few more pounds, but if that doesn't happen, I'm still happy. I haven't been at this weight (125) since college. My new focus is on maintenance. For me, this is the real fight. Losing weight, it's easy to stay motivated, but once you reach goal, you can start sliding. Been there, done that! This time I understand that I have not been dieting these past few months. I have been learning a new, permanent way of eating.

I'm one of the lucky ones whose recovery was only briefly unpleasant. For me the downside is that I had to give away my favorite clothes. The good news is that I have found some new favorites.

I just started watching a new show, Empire. I usually avoid anything soapy, but this one really grabbed me. I'm a big old nerd so I watch a lot of genre tv, such as Agent Carter, Supernatural, The Flash, etc., but I don't really follow them consistently. I keep forgetting when they are on or find I'm not in the mood to watch tv.

@@CountryBumkin I am 61 years old and was more than 100 lbs overweight and I definitely have a loose skin problem. I carried my weight mostly in my belly and bosom, so those are the areas that ended up with the most loose skin. I had breast reduction surgery last month. That took care of the bosom situation, but my belly is very jiggly and saggy. However, even if I decide that I can't afford or don't want to deal with the recovery period after abdominoplasty, I am beyond thrilled with my new body -- loose skin and all! I'll just have to invest in good shapewear if I don't want or can't afford more plastics.

I am very interested to learn what eating plan others will be following after they reach goal. It seems that losing weight after WLS isn't the hard part, maintaining the loss on a long term basis is. When I decided to return to low carbing last year(pre-surgery), I did not actually "do Atkins" since I didn't do the testing and adjusting that you're supposed to and I never did the "induction phase". But Atkins is the diet which gave me the most success in the past, so I naturally returned to its tenets when I decided to lose weight. I am currently planning to use the Atkins diet for maintenance. (I'm close, but would like to lose about 4 more pounds.) I'll have to modify it because I don't believe that I can consume the number of calories that are typical for the Atkins maintenance phase and still keep my weight stable. I just don't want to give my diabetes any reason to return, and my diabetes was very well controlled while I was on the Atkins diet.

I understand how you feel, but I am still trying to reach the midpoint of the BMI range for my height. Everyone says I look like I'm at a good weight now, but I would like to lose a few more pounds to see if that looks and feels even better. I want to be sure my loose skin is just that, not fat.

You go, girl. You worked too hard for your success to let it slip away. You've got this!

@@boccob81 Your queasiness doesn't sound normal. Check with your doctor. I am also still experiencing almost constant constipation. I've added more vegetables to my meals to try to combat that. I also hope the extra veggies will help fill me up without adding too many calories. I'm finding myself pretty hungry lately.

Welcome to the forum, Amie. Congratulations on making the decision to improve your health. You will find plenty of information and support here, as well as inspirational stories from those who are further along. Check in often!

I don't know if this will work for you, but I kept visualizing myself at my goal weight whenever I started to feel depressed or deprived during the first few weeks after surgery. It helped some. I still felt sorry for myself, but I traded that feeling with dreamy anticipation of the final result. Please don't feel you're alone. We all have to get through this best we know how.

126 again this morning. No loss! But then again, no gain.

I discussed bariatric surgery with my PCP in February, had a consultation with my surgeon in March, completed all the required testing in late April and received insurance approval within a week of my psych evaluation, which was the final requirement. Then my surgeon had a cancellation so my surgery date was May 12. So I went from thinking about it at my regular doctor appointment to having the surgery in 3 months.

Recovery time is very variable, but I went back to work after two weeks. It took 10 days for my drains to be removed. That was miserable. After a while they had started to hurt. Now that I'm about six weeks out, my incisions have mostly healed, but I still have unpleasant sensations, especially where they did the liposuction. My swelling (at the liposuction sites) has gone down a little, but my surgeon says it will take a couple more months before it's gone. Most of the discomfort I feel at this point is caused by the liposuction, not the breast reduction.

I'm back up to 126 today, after being 125 for a couple of days. It might be time to step up my efforts.

This is a shout out to @GabyTovar. Here's a thread with updates from your fellow May sleevers.

Have you changed your workout routine? Perhaps you are building muscle? Peanuts are very calorie dense. Maybe you should save them for maintenance? I definitely haven't added them back into my diet yet. As tedious as it sounds, you really should (if you are not already) log your daily food intake. That way, when weight gain happens, you can look at your diet for the past few days and identify the problem. Good luck.

I believe that when I hold on to anger and bitterness, that I am hurting myself more than the person who wronged me. So for me, forgiveness is in my own best interest. However, that doesn't mean I will forget the wrong. And in the future I am less likely to give my trust to that person.

Congratulations on your phenomenal progress. You should be feeling pretty proud. I wish I had taken my measurements at the start. But I was so deep in denial that I didn't really want to know. (Also, I didn't have a long enough tape measure.)

I reached my surgeon's goal last month and hope to reach my new personal goal by Valentine's Day. That's only four pounds away so I am almost ready for maintenance. But I don't feel the same let-down that you report. To me the big challenge for 2015 will be learning how to eat and exercise for long term health. In the past, I lost as much weight as I did in 2014 only to gain it all back. I'm a great dieter but when I get tired of dieting, things go haywire. I'm now focusing on ending 2015 at my goal weight. I'm hoping that by January 2016, I'll have trained myself to eat and exercise like a thin person. No more backsliding.

My official weigh-in this morning resulted in weight of 126. That's only two pounds from my previously stated Valentine Challenge goal, so I would like to change my challenge goal to 122 - which is my ultimate personal goal! (The one that appears in my ticker is my doctor's goal.) I am excited to think that I could reach my personal goal in only 7 weeks. @@Susan11803, Thank you so much for providing these challenges. They are extremely helpful.

Did your doctor recommend the prenatal Vitamins as a result of your consulting him or her about your hair loss, or were those the vitamins that were originally recommended at the time of your surgery? If you have not already discussed this with your PCP, please do so. I don't think it's common for hair loss to begin so late in the process. You may have some nutritional deficiencies. On a more positive note, most people find that hair loss is temporary. Once they adjust to their weight loss, their hair grows back.

Me, too @Elode. I tell people I'm allergic to white carbs - they make me break out in fat,