katcycler

Congrats on your loss and recovery. I am also 14m out and was lurking and praying for you as you went through that nightmare during the first few months. It's so great to see how well you've done. I remember your wife was going through a lot as well. I hope she is well also. Maintenance is a one day at a time process as well. You look great. Keep it up!

Yes, I weigh every day and do have mini stalls (4 days at exactly the same weight to the tenth of a pound).
No, I can't eat Ho Ho's and lose weight. Over the holidays, I ate Christmas Cookies on 4 different days and instantly gained 3 pounds. It came off a few days after I went back to my program, but I'm sure I would have stalled if I kept it up.
I have also studied all the posts of people who failed and gained weight down the road. I found no one who claimed it was caused by having a few glasses of wine a week. I even started a thread that was "hot" for a while specifically asking this question and not one single poster reported gaining back weight due to a few low-sugar alcohol drinks a week (some had problems with margaritas, daiquiris, beer, etc, but they were also eating junk food).
Virtually everyone who had failed cited Ho Ho's! Well, not exactly, rather sugar. Regular soft drinks is #1, sweets in general #2, simple carbs #3, and junk food #4 (which I assume means burgers, fries, and milkshakes).
I am not cocky, I am a scientist. It took me 50 years to put on 75 pounds and 80% of those 50 years I was on one diet or another.
I have no doubt that I will fail if I just eat "normally". I also have no use for second hand tales from others who eat perfectly, don't drink alcohol themselves and feel they know it all (kinda feels like the "Church Lady" from SNL).
I have read all the major wls books and most all the posts on this forum and others. I know all the "official rules" and I also know that there is much disagreement among experts throughout the process in terms of food, alcohol, and coffee. I also know that it varies based on your surgery.
That's why I ask for real world experiences.
I love this forum for the first hand accounts of what worked or didn't work FOR YOU!
This thread is about a question for people who drink alcohol. If you don't drink, good for you, but please don't bother jumping in.
Thanks

@@Cape Crooner,
I too have been having a couple drinks since was 4 months out of surgery. I continually lost weight as well. I am over one year out of surgery now and lost 160 lbs. and am 20 lbs under goal! My weight loss has pretty much stopped now. I still have a few drinks every week so you keep doing what your doing because it seems to be working for you. What difference does it matter if your burning 3000 or 30 ? You're losing so enjoy it. Just remember, it will slow down at some point!

@@Cape Crooner,
I too have been having a couple drinks since was 4 months out of surgery. I continually lost weight as well. I am over one year out of surgery now and lost 160 lbs. and am 20 lbs under goal! My weight loss has pretty much stopped now. I still have a few drinks every week so you keep doing what your doing because it seems to be working for you. What difference does it matter if your burning 3000 or 30 ? You're losing so enjoy it. Just remember, it will slow down at some point!

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

Veterans....#1 thing you miss / don't miss
the list would be too long
what OP said in their posts above are great
i 2nd them
i will not miss my bad health issues
plus sized clothes
living like a hermit
being a couch potato
emotional bad/sad feelings
basically............
there is mainly nothing about my "other" life that i miss
to all of us - i wish a healthier, happier, longer life
we all deserve it

happy new year!!!



kathy

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

I miss my thick full hair.< /p>
I don't miss being out of breathe, unable to walk stairs, wearing "fat lady" clothes.

You know, I was going through all these posts and noticed that we are all struggling with weight. But with that comes other things like relationships, jobs, kids, school, emotional ups/downs, self image issues, food wants, but what can we do for each other? I'm a Christian and I can pray for you. Add your requests and let me pray for you. As we grow, others will pray for you and before you know it, our prayer circle will be so big, you will have prayers from all over the world. God is good all the time and we all need prayer. You don't have to be religious to need prayer. You just need to ask, and the rest is up to us.
Felix

After surgery you will be fine. You won't be hungry much and just trying to get in your Protein will be hard enough. For variety, sugar free Popsicles and broth are good. Sugar free Jello is great as well. The pre op liquid diet was more problematic but after the third day, I was fine. I kept thinking about my liver shrinking so the surgeon wouldn't knick it on surgery day that it kept me focused. Good luck to you.

After surgery you will be fine. You won't be hungry much and just trying to get in your Protein will be hard enough. For variety, sugar free Popsicles and broth are good. Sugar free Jello is great as well. The pre op liquid diet was more problematic but after the third day, I was fine. I kept thinking about my liver shrinking so the surgeon wouldn't knick it on surgery day that it kept me focused. Good luck to you.

@@CowgirlJane ...
I really don't give a f**k about the butthurt newbies.
At 14+ months post-op and maintaining stably 10 pounds below my original weight goal, I'm here mainly for me -- not for the newbies.
But when I was a newbie, I was all eyes, all ears, sucking in everything the veterans had to say. I remember reading veterans forums avidly, even though I wasn't permitted to respond in them, desperate to understand what my future would look like. I loved everything those vets had to say.
And what the easily butthurt newbies here say about me and others who share their truth does NOT butthurt me at all.
So here's my truth about this forum: This forum is not just for newbies. It's for everyone who's on the WLS path. And that includes me and @@CowgirlJane and @@B-52 (btw, awesome post, @@B-52 !). I am most interested in what my peers and those farther along than me are going through. That hasn't changed at all.
Finally, this is the Internet. It's full of sincere people, smart people, dumb people, and asshats. It's never going to be a community of people just like me.
Oh, and one more thing -- I would like to admit that the idiots offer me not only entertainment, but they motivate me, too. It's nice to be reminded of all the stupid things I am not doing, never did, and never will do.
Buck up, everybody!

At 2.5 years out, I feel as if I am absolutely relevant, but completely **** upon because some people CHOOSE to take my words as attacks/judgmental/bullying/etc when I truly don't intend them that way.

I am not a warm fuzzy kind of girl. I never have been and I never will be. Seemingly, my personality was just FINE when I was "one of them" (newbie), but now that I am past those initial stages, I am a big old meanie. I try to remember that "newbies" are sensitive and hormonal, nervous and emotional but that said, I can't/won't coddle bad decisions. No one coddled me and I learned the most from people who told me their truths. Even when I couldn't relate, I appreciated that they shared with me their real feelings instead of justifying mine.

I, too, feel that I only "get" from the vet forums and maintenance forums, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to "give" in the other forums. Some will appreciate it, some will not. Those who do can take it, those who don't can leave it.

It's their choice, their gain, or their problem.

To answer you question, the answer is NO! I am no longer relevant!
I have been through the basics, completed the process..and have moved onto living a normal life again with no worries about dieting, gaining or loosing weight...I can eat and drink foods people on diets would never dream of...
It seems like every other post is about whether someone can eat a cookie, or what do I use with dip....how about chips? Or crackers? That's what I use, but people starting out can't hear that, nor would they understand.
Sometimes, it seems like I have stumbled upon a Jenny Craig or weight watchers website....Over the last 30 years or so, I have been on every diet known...and it's all the same old mantra, and I am reading it here every day again and again.
The latest is strategies dealing with Halloween ????? I happen to like Reeces cups or Hershey bars...and the thing is, I don't expect people to understand what I just said.
There is huge gap between veterans and people starting out....like babies learning to walk and marathon runners....
Bottom line, I have come to a place that people just starting out can never dream of being a reality...We simply cannot relate, and honestly they are probably better off not knowing half the things I have discovered...(There is a life after weight loss)
It only confuses and distracts them.
Only thing me and people starting out have in common, is I can say "I've been there, done that" And know this, it will take you to places you never dreamed possible....IT DOES WORK!!!!
Sooner or later you will (Have to) finish this and move into a new realm.
All Journeys (I don't like the term) must come to and end sooner or later, otherwise your wandering around the wilderness forever....(making everyone in this business rich)
Everyone on this forum today, was not here when I first came (with the exception of one or two)
Where did everybody go???? Did they ALL FAIL? I don't think so...Like graduating from High School they have all moved on to bigger and better things...why would they want to hang around? (I keep asking myself that question)
Sad part about this is, when you come to this forum, all you do hear and read is people just starting out with no first hand experience, people complaining, lost, frustrated, confused looking for answers...and/or just having major, serious complications.
It would be easy to think that this is all there is to all this....when in reality everyone here is a minority...a very small segment....there is a whole world out there of "Veterans" you don't even know about and never hear about.
Not everyone has had problems...not everyone has found this difficult....and sometimes all that can be interpreted as negative...and when you're up, you don't need to be around that all the time.
Yes, there is a Veterans section here...but is it really?
To a very large extent I have to keep my mouth shut, keep my opinions to myself.
Many just would not understand.
I have definitely become Irrelevant....

At 6 months I could eat salad from time to time and now at 11 months out I really love it!! It's what I eat for dinner most nights.

At 6 months I could eat salad from time to time and now at 11 months out I really love it!! It's what I eat for dinner most nights.

At 6 months I could eat salad from time to time and now at 11 months out I really love it!! It's what I eat for dinner most nights.

I think that all of us have been where you are at one time. Even a few months after surgery I questioned my decision, but now that I am 10 months out and have lost 144lbs, I can truly say this decision was the best decision I have ever made for myself. We all lose weight at different speeds but if you do what your doc advises and listen to your support system, you will be successful. I live with the fear of gaining weight back everyday, but I just live one day at a time and stay focused. You can do this!! Fear of the unknown is perfectly normal.

Congrats. It's a onederful feeling!!!

Along these lines, I had to register my bat wings as lethal weapons! They slap me when showering while soaping up - ridiculous ????

Ok these may just be mine but I've found two negatives from losing a large amount of weight. I've discovered both of these while taking a bath (figured I may as well set the scene) 1) My once plump butt is boney, and I'm talking sit down to shave my legs and it hurts boney. I feel like my skinny friends really dropped the ball on not telling me this! I'm going to have to seriously rethink my friendships since it's blatantly obviously they care nothing about my well being. 2) The weirdest one, shaving my underarms! It's like someone came and built the Grand Canyon under my arms! WTH happened under there?!! I swear if it were any deeper I would be shaving my lungs!! So odd! I have to literally pull contortionist moves to get everything shaved properly. Isn't November no shave month?! I think I'm going to join the men on that one because this shaving is for the birds!! I know you guys have some you could share too! Maybe give a girl a heads up before I forgo bathing all together. I would include pictures but Alex would probably frown on that so use your imagination