KristenLee

http://www.5daypouchtest.com/plan/day5.html

Good to hear how well everyone has done over the past year. I have lost 129lb since my heaviest and am feeling great. My quality of life is so much better now. I still have a little way to get to goaL, but I had my 12 month check-up with my bariatric practitioner and he advised me not to lose too much more. In fact he said if I lost more than another 10lb over the next six months to go back and talk to them about it. He also said that the excess skin kind of causes the BMI to be overstated in terms of an indicator of health and that losing a lot of weight too fast can put a strain on your heart (I am coming up to 65 and have other health issues). I would like to lose that much though as I have some very nice coats and jackets that I can nearly get back into!

The best thing I've learned through this whole process is to LISTEN to my own body. It's going to do what it wants. I can go with the flow or pay the consequences. I've learned to appreciate what an awesoms machine this body is and it knows what it's doing whether I want to admit it or not.

1 year post op today!!! down 125lbs. a few more to get to my original goal. life is great. new lease on life!!!

C-section was way worse. With vsg, you don't feel like your abdomen is gonna rip open with every movement.

I had 2 C-sections as well. They were worse. But I also would say it wasn't a walk in the park recovery for the sleeve. I was really weak and tired. I wish I would have taken more time off of work. I only took one week and should have done two.
Good luck-
LA

Sleeved 9/23 and weighed 259 at my highest. I'm down to 174 and have never felt better!! Best decision ever!! Running my first half marathon 11/8 when a year ago I couldn't climb a flight of stairs without dying. Congrats to all my fellow sleevers!

i just emailed my Dr and listed my concerns and questions. i hope to get a reply soon to see what would be my next step.
Thank you for the support.

HAHAHAHA!!!! I always say the same thing!!! Steak or chicken or any pork is unheard of! I have to laugh about it sometimes or I get too frustrated. I try to stay positive! I am consulting with the doctor and doing the best I can! But that comment made me laugh out oud...literally!!

Sometimes elevated liver enzymes may be a signal of gall bladder issues....that was my expeince and ended up having my gall bladder out. I still have slight elevated enzymes, but that just be my "normal" level...more blood work to follow! Good luck!!

Your limitations will change a lot after WLS and will continue to change a lot.
What you can eat / tolerate at 1 month post-op is completely different than what your limitations will be at 3 months or 6 months or 12 months post-op.
I'm 11 months post-op, am now slightly below goal, and have been working at maintaining for the last 2.5 months. Just like the various weight loss phases, maintenance has its own new phases, which you'll have to explore and learn from when you get there.
Some people a few years out still have a lot of stomach restriction, others don't. Likewise, several years out different patients' hunger levels vary considerably -- from person to person and even day to day, they report.
But the first year (and probably longer) is certainly a time when most patients' hunger levels and stomach capacities are much more conducive to weight loss than they were pre-op or will be several years down the line.
I hear from so many people here that our long-term weight maintenance and success depends on our having learned and practiced new eating / exercise behaviors so that they become automatic and our new lifestyle. Eventually, we have to learn to LIVE and EAT and EXERCISE like "skinny people."
And that is so much easier to do when you're already skinny. A helluva lot easier!

I am more than 2 and a half years post op, have lost 145 pounds, and maintained it for a year and a half. The short answer to your question is that my success has been due changing both the way I think and how I eat. I'd be lying if I said I don't want refined sugars and processed carbs. I do want them sometimes, and once in a while I will have them, but as a rule, I follow the Bariatric Eating plan.
I am not a person who can eat all things in moderation. Just a little indiscretion will cause me to gain. I can do a lot of damage in one meal. The greatest piece of advice I can give a new sleever is to follow the Bariatric Eating rules and determine what works for you - and then do it. All day, every day. It requires dedication and hard work, both physically and mentally.
At this point my sleeve does not offer enough restriction to maintain my weight. It most certainly still helps (keeps me from eating huge amounts at once) but it does not keep me from grazing and it does not keep me from consuming caloric dense foods - I do that. The longer time goes on, the more I realize how fragile this current state of success is for me. I always feel like I'm one bad choice away from 300 pounds because it's as much a mental issue as a physical one. Now that I've gotten a taste of what it's like to be thin and normal, I don't EVER want to go back, so I pay close attention to what I'm doing to stay here.

Excellent article to read -- http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/support/3-top-reasons-for-regain-after-weight-loss-surgery-r520

Making the decision to have weight loss surgery is a very big deal. It seems obvious to say that when someone agrees to weight-loss surgery they're desperate for help to change the way they're living, or not fully living their lives. Everyone goes into the procedure ready and willing to surgically alter their anatomy hoping for a better future.


So why is it that so many will fall short of losing the optimal amount of weight for their health and will actually regain within 3 years much if not all of the weight they lost? Some studies say 1/3 of patients will regain most of their weight post-surgery. I think the number is actually higher because many people who regain simply fall out of contact with their bariatric surgeon and support staff because they feel ashamed, so the statistics do not include these people. So, why do most people regain the weight? What can you do to help insure that you will be one of the successful long-term losers of your excess weight? By examining why people fail you can create a plan for how you will succeed.
The government agency, National Institutes for Health (NIH) defines weight-loss surgery as "merely a tool that helps people get a new start toward maintaining long-term good health. The surgery alone will not help someone lose weight and keep it off. Together with a reduced-calorie and low-fat diet and daily exercise, surgery will help an individual lose weight and maintain the weight loss.” Please read that a few times. That is how important this quote is! The surgery alone will not help someone lose weight and keep it off.
We as weight-loss surgery patients have a history of seeking comfort, happiness and pleasure through food. We wouldn't be here if that weren't true. Me included. The process of surgically altering our anatomies does nothing to remove from us the tendency to seek comfort in familiar ways but assures there will be physical suffering if we do. Post-surgery we will still have the same brain that is used to comforting us with food, and we will still have the fingers and the arms that are used to lifting food to the same mouth to find comfort and pleasure. It is critically important that the WLS patient seek out new ways to soothe, comfort, and find pleasure in their world other than by eating.
ONE main reason patients regain their weight is they search for ways to get around the surgery, still thinking of food as primarily a source of pleasure, not a source of fuel that can be pleasurable. This is often done relying on liquid calories, which may pass more easily, like high calorie coffee or juice bar drinks or alcohol. This is also done post-operatively by trying to maintain the presence of “trigger foods” in their lives. “Trigger foods” are often foods from the patient's past that helped cause obesity, do not satisfy hunger but instead create a craving. Many are high-calorie and highly processed, not nutritious. Trigger foods can include chocolate, chips, crackers, bread, Cookies, ice cream, pudding, lattes, frapuccinos and alcoholic beverages. Really, any food can be a “trigger food” if there is so much pleasure in the “mouth-feel” or taste that repeating the pleasurable experience takes on more importance than actually feeding hunger. Very successful patients cultivate a mostly trigger-free post- surgical life. Bariatric surgeons and the NIH know the most common reason for regain and the most common post- surgical complication is “noncompliance.” Non-compliance is a fancy word that means the patient is not eating and exercising the way he/she agreed to before surgery. These people “talk the talk.” The successful patient “walks the walk” after surgery and changes how they eat and move.
A SECOND reason people often regain beginning in the second or third year post-op is that the “honeymoon” is over. The “honeymoon” generally encompasses the first 12 to 18 months post- surgery. During this time many patients will say, "I could eat all the chocolate and ice cream I wanted and still lose weight. I didn't have to try and the weight just came off.” This is often true because the body has been through such a shock after surgery that it takes months for the body to reset itself and learn to function with its' new physiology. Patients who regain their weight often believe that this “honeymoon period” is the new way that it will always be and don't adopt healthy eating patterns. So when their “honeymoon period” ends as it will they believe that the surgery has somehow failed them. In reality they have failed their surgery! During the first 12-18 months post-op it is essential to develop healthy patterns around food and exercise. This is the time when it is actually easiest to do and to not do so wastes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to begin a great new life with positive momentum.
A THIRD reason many patients regain much of their lost weight is a lack of support. Humans are social animals and we desire and need the support of each other throughout our lives. For thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years people coming together as a family or a community over food has been a way we connect with each other. Post-surgery, when the patient isn't able to eat what others are eating or in the quantities others are eating, or others are eating their 'trigger foods”, life can feel very stressful and lonely. This can be compounded by being around unsupportive people or people who want to be supportive but don't know how. Patients fail by not surrounding themselves with supportive people in a safe environment where they also must be accountable for their actions and behavior with food and their bodies. It is key to have a community of professionals and non-professionals who understand the challenges and hardships faced by those carving a new life with a new anatomical structure. There are online and in-person support groups. Even patients who've gone abroad for weight loss surgery can often use the support services available with their local medical group's Bariatric department. Creating relationships that support and assist you in becoming a healthier person and that hold you accountable for making healthy choices are key.
These are my top three. What would you add to this list? What plan will you create to deal with the items you add to this list? Who will support you on this journey of your life.....for your life?

Sleeved 9/29 and down 85!! Great job everyone!!

Sleeved 9/29 and down 85!! Great job everyone!!

Sleeved 9/29 and down 85!! Great job everyone!!

It is so exciting to see everyone doing so well! I was sleeved on 9/30 and have lost 103. I have been in maintenance for about 2 months now and I'm loving this decision. It is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Sleeved 9/30/2014 and best decision of my life and only wish I would have gotten over the social stigma of a "failed" dieter and done this sooner. At first I was not comfortable telling anyone that I had a surgery and as time went on and therapy for how I got to be morbidly obese I couldn't be prouder to say I was sleeved and I will answer anyone's questions. I am down 97 lbs, reached my personal goal and my surgeons goal and I couldn't be happier with that but I woul be lying if I didn't say I'd love to get to 100lbs lost. I have run 2 official 5k's, one 10k and my first half marathon will be in November. I have been a slow loser for the last two months but figured out calorie intake needed to increase and start losing again a little faster.
This time last year I couldn't make it up the stairs without breathing heavy. This surgery was a life saver for me both mentally and physically!

Congrats to all. Sleeved 9/16 and down 80. Happy 4th of July. ????????

I love sushi!! I am about 5 months out and tried a few times and my stomach can't handle rice! I am determined and keep trying and get the same results...a sick belly! But everyone tolerates things differently! Good luck!!

Thank you for the topic!

So I'm almost two months out, surgery was 11/14/14 and I have lost around 30 pounds. The weight loss has slowed up a bit. I go to the gym about 3-4 times a week and also go to the park and walk with my sauna suit.
The problem is, I have no desire to eat at all. Eating is not enjoyable for me anymore...I guess that's a good thing. But for the past two weeks or so, I've only been eating one "meal" a day and a few slices of deli turkey when at night. I have no desire to drink anything but I do so I can stay hydrated. I'm just really bored eating the same thing. This coming Saturday will be my "week 8 and beyond" mark and I can basically eat anything that I can tolerate, except steak.
Any suggestions?!
Thanks

My surgery is Monday! Almost there! I looked in the mirror today and was not happy with the person looking back. I want to be healthy for myself and my kids. This is a new beginning! Let's embrace it! No regrets!! We can do this!!

Hello! I am about 10 weeks out. Down 43 pounds. Lately, I feel like I am having hard time eating course meats, so NUT cut be back to some mushy foods and put be on Prilosec. Stomach may just be having some aversions. Some days feel really good and get in all my Proteins and Water, some says not so great! Feel good overall! First time in years I actually lost weight over thanksgiving holiday!! Good luck! Please share!!