Kiba

You'll be back to it in no time. Avid backpacker/trek lover here, I started doing it again 6 months post op, I had some very raw feelings around my tummy that took some time to heal and the risk of hernias is enough reason to hold off. I am happy I waited, got my butt handed to me after a 10 mile hike on my first hike back, but felt damn good getting back into it. Now at almost 10 months, I am slowly getting into my usual self, new habits will make energy a bit harder to manage I've noticed.
Focus heavily on Protein and fruit packed trail mixes, I carry a bladder AND a bottle of Water, extra hydration is a must especially to make sure you're getting h2o as you're burning all those calories. Some of the best pre-made trail mix and Jerky I've found is at Epic. It doesn't hurt, settles well into your tummy and it's made of the real stuff (kinda pricey but worthwhile.) I find myself stopping a lot more now than I did pre-op, it's still a healing process, I know it hasn't been a year yet and I'm damn happy I'm where I am. Be patient!

Ah hon. I'm so sorry. The only thing I can think of is for you to go back to why you had the surgery in the first place. This will take putting your feelings of depression behind. It's okay and healthy to grieve and please do, I just wouldn't want you to wallow and dwell in it for so long as you know it's not the best for you to do. Enjoy your marriage, look forward to happy times, and please take care of yourself. Going backwards with the wrong choices of food and why you're eating will only make the matters worse me you'll end up feeling even worse too. On another hand, find a grief counselor if you can, this in turn will help you deal with the depression and grief in the right ways for you. Blessings to you hon.

The weather has been awful here in the Northeast this winter, I found myself walking outside and pacing around more than graving, it's that hibernation season that kills you! You're probably right! The Ensure Strawberries are the best tasting ones I've found. I did Premier and Core but they tasted so icky after a while. VCOR easy to purchase? How frequently are you drinking shakes during your day? I know they said to supplement a meal a day, but what combination works best for you?

This is inspiring because I'm officially two years post op and never hit my goal weight and been stuck yo-yoing between 163-170 for the past year! I know I graze a lot more than when I was 'healing' but it's so discouraging because I'm exhausted and I feel myself slipping. I used to be able to lose weight simply with diet alone, now I feel like nothing moves! My old dietician left and this new one I saw doesn't seem to be very helpful. Any meal plans people sticking to thats working for VSG people?

People just don't understand. I kept my surgery private amongst only my immediate family and everyone supported me. The beginning is hard, I'm almost 2 years out and I eat just as normal as anyone else, with the exception I am actually paying attention to what I put in. You won't really ever be able to eat the full amount you ate before, but is that really a bad thing? You will grow to appreciate food in a different way and understand what you need to give it to take care of it.

People just don't understand. I kept my surgery private amongst only my immediate family and everyone supported me. The beginning is hard, I'm almost 2 years out and I eat just as normal as anyone else, with the exception I am actually paying attention to what I put in. You won't really ever be able to eat the full amount you ate before, but is that really a bad thing? You will grow to appreciate food in a different way and understand what you need to give it to take care of it.

People just don't understand. I kept my surgery private amongst only my immediate family and everyone supported me. The beginning is hard, I'm almost 2 years out and I eat just as normal as anyone else, with the exception I am actually paying attention to what I put in. You won't really ever be able to eat the full amount you ate before, but is that really a bad thing? You will grow to appreciate food in a different way and understand what you need to give it to take care of it.

Keto is amazing, after surgery I kept at Keto for a long time, issue with it is you have to be SUPER aware of your body and how sensitive you are to carbs. One slip up and you could slip down a slippery slope (which kinda happened to me over the Holidays just now!!)
The key is tapering yourself to a comfort zone where you can tolerate little carbs. Most of the problems people complain about keto is, it's amazing to lose a LOT of weight and fast, issue is maintenance. Most people can't sustain a full fat and Protein diet forever, you will eventually want and need carbs and there in lies the problem. However, every human's body is different!

It's tough, I know lots of people that struggled with their relationships or marriages after weight loss or gain. My SO and I were on a plan from day one to be 'healthy' together. He was severely underweight and I was overweight, he supported the surgery and has worked with me to adjust our diet (since we live together) to make it easier for me to continue my journey. He has gained 50 lbs and I have lost 90 and we've happy; but we planned to love each other and support the change.
My ex though was an enabler that helped my weight gain before, he was skinny and loved to eat, lots of junk food, fast food, etc. Of course you imitate and crave by association and bam, 60 lbs I gained in the course of 4 years.
Sometimes misery loves company and when we're overweight or unattractive feeling, we settle for whomever we think will take us at our worst. Truth is, we should strive to find someone that makes us better and we give back and allow them to be the best version of themselves. Grow together in a relationship and support the change; if he wants you unhealthy and unhappy (because YOUR happiness should come first) then you should consider discussing with him how that is most definitely not okay and part ways. You don't need toxic in your life and having that negativity in your life will lead to depression and back to the poor food and lifestyle changes you made to get here.

@@Kiba
Awesome, the test doesn't take long, although it will be the most boring time of your life. It is better to know exactly for sure instead of guessing.
Don't forget to post and let us know about your results.

I contacted my dietician and a local fitness area to do an RMR test -- hopefully this will shed some light on things

I contacted my dietician and a local fitness area to do an RMR test -- hopefully this will shed some light on things

@@Bufflehead Totally -- I am not using Fitbit to count calories (they aren't accurate for sure) I am using the actual calculated amount from the previous website I linked. Fitbit is only used to log my burned calories, steps, heart rate, sleep and food; I just use the log to input the food I consume

It's strange but back when I was eating less post op -- I found myself focusing on lots of Soups and stews, meat, hardly veggies, no carbs, and I was dropping. Naturally I implemented more carbs with stability in my stomach and more time passed on so I threw in the fruit as well, I seemed to still drop a little but bam, 4 months ago I stopped all together. I increased my calories (since people said it's probably starvation mode) nothing changed, except I gained two lbs! So strange. I log everything via my fitbit and it's like doing an elimination diet all over again, but I keep coming to the frightful conclusion I might need to eat virtually no food to lose weight.

I wonder if anyone is experiencing a massive change in their metabolism. Naturally after being reduced to incredibly low calories, are people able to even continue weight loss once moving forward to a normal diet consisting of 1000+ calories. I find myself only able to lose weight when I am eating as little as 800 calories and I feel horrible since I am at the gym 3 times a week and hiking on the weekends. Doesn't seem to make sense but I read it is possible to permanently alter your rate. I had mine tested by a dietician and trainer and I should be at 1,773 and it seems a) almost impossible to eat that amount of food (even at 1.5 years out) and b.) I have to still focus on the Protein more than carbs to sustain my workouts.
Anyone else struggling here?

I do have to supplement with Protein Bars. The rest of my protein comes from meat, cheese, nuts, and yogurt.
Back in my weight loss phase, my daily intake looked something like this:
Breakfast: Protein Bar (~20 grams)
Morning Snack: String cheese (~8 grams)
Lunch: Meat of some sort, usually leftovers (~16-20 grams)
Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt (~12 grams)
Dinner: Meat (~16-20 grams)
Evening Snack: Protein Bar (~20 grams)
For the "meat" mentioned above, it was always the protein portion of whatever my husband made for dinner (I was married back then). So if he made meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I just had meatloaf. Shrimp and Pasta, I had the shrimp. chicken and rice, I had the chicken. You get the idea.

I feel your pain! Apparently it's normal, I'm on my 4th week and it's stalling bad. I'm going up and down two pounds every day. I hope to see a drop again soon.

I have a picture I took of the bulletin board at my surgeon's office that has tips for keeping our metabolism revved. I'll see if I can find it. In the meantime, off the top of my head: exercise, getting enough sleep, fidgeting, eating frequent small meals, staying hydrated will all help.

9 months post op, I have some loose skin especially around my tummy and thighs, it will adjust when you're done losing weight, of course I'm a bit younger than most who have the surgery as well.
As everyone says, aside from age, Water and Vitamins is critical for success, so is typical skin maintenance, I use organic skin tightening lotions and bathe with sesame oil after using fragrance free soap. Try to shower in cold Water as well, keeps the pores tight. I've noticed my skin collapsing right back into itself very quickly as I do this with fitness. Of course as you mentioned the most important thing is being healthy, it isn't ideal but you could always get it tucked back in; but assume that is truly worst case scenario.

You'll be back to it in no time. Avid backpacker/trek lover here, I started doing it again 6 months post op, I had some very raw feelings around my tummy that took some time to heal and the risk of hernias is enough reason to hold off. I am happy I waited, got my butt handed to me after a 10 mile hike on my first hike back, but felt damn good getting back into it. Now at almost 10 months, I am slowly getting into my usual self, new habits will make energy a bit harder to manage I've noticed.
Focus heavily on Protein and fruit packed trail mixes, I carry a bladder AND a bottle of Water, extra hydration is a must especially to make sure you're getting h2o as you're burning all those calories. Some of the best pre-made trail mix and Jerky I've found is at Epic. It doesn't hurt, settles well into your tummy and it's made of the real stuff (kinda pricey but worthwhile.) I find myself stopping a lot more now than I did pre-op, it's still a healing process, I know it hasn't been a year yet and I'm damn happy I'm where I am. Be patient!

Disagree as well -- the whole thing that was stressed to me and I'm sure others is, "This is a tool to losing weight" just imagine how impossible it was to lose without it( At least for me it was.) I'm 85 lbs down and 10 months out and my weight loss has gotten INSANELY slower; but that doesn't mean it will stop.
I know full well and can feel myself getting comfortable at my current weight and need to work harder to lose it. I still have 30 lbs really to be 'happy' with myself. What is 30 lbs now after all this weight lost?! I'm happy with the habits I formed during this 10 month surgery and promised myself to continue by never revisiting the dark side of horrible foods and laziness.

At the beginning I would get horrible pain in my stomach and throat, sharp and throbbing. Now I'm finding myself at 8 months out, eating fast just results in feeling fuller faster and it causes a lot of awful bloating.

6 months and it's still loud as ever! I've learned to accept the fact it just wants to communicate with everyone and everything!

Best thing to do is reevaluate what caused the weight gain, immediately structure your diet around the good and bad stuff. Seeing a NUT again is a great place to help establish a visual end goal, they can cater to your dietary or health restrictions. Surrounding yourself with the right people will make a difference on your mental outcome, toxic relationships with people, intimate or not, won't help your situation. Depression is a contributing factor to weight gain, unfortunately, so focus on making yourself happy and finding some inner peace. Congrats on getting married, I hope your spouse is supportive of your desire to improve your health, that will be a big motivator to staying on top of your regimen.
Just remember what you did to get to that point, cleanse, start up those shakes and count those calories; resorting to a secondary surgery (if that is even a possibility) would be horribly unhealthy.

Every plan is different, follow yours. My number one Protein drink is chocolate Premier. Love this stuff, taste like chocolat milk. I alway purchase premixed, never powder. Good Luck!