Krista Scott-Hall

@@shewolf143
I'm sorry for your loss. You may want to consider counseling for stress and emotions. Put yourself first. Don't let things get out of control and derail all your hard work.
Here is a link to the 5 day pouch test.
http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/days1_2.html
I wish you the best,
Jenn

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I can't believe how similar we are with our weight loss. I know I feel 100 percent better and I do exercise. I LOVE Zumba and it's so rewarding. Thank you so much for your response. I was thinking I was the only one who never reached goal as so many stories I see. I felt so guilty. I struggle every day with the number on the scale and I know it's all in my head. I will always be working at this weight progress and I just don't want it to consume my life all the time. I'm hoping I will just continue to be active and be aware of what I put in mouth to keep the weight off. Great job on your success also.

Lately I've seen a TON of posts about lucky sleevers that drop 100 pounds in six months.
Congrats to them and to their loss. And I would never, ever begrudge anyone the right to crow about a fantastic success. It's part of why we're all here, to share the ups and downs of this surgery!
But frequently, these posts are followed by folks that feel frustrated because they aren't losing at the same pace. All too often, we forget that everyone loses at a different pace. It's easy to lose sight of the real goal (long term maintenance) in the face of the scale goals we set for ourselves. And it's also easy to forget that this isn't a race and that there's no special prize waiting at the end for reaching goal more quickly.
I would like to contribute my loss pattern so that people can see that there is more than one way to achieve a goal. Being successful is about reaching your personal goals, overcoming your personal food demons and maintaining your weight loss for life. It's not about hitting goal in nine months.
I encourage everyone else with a slow loss story to contribute their successes here as well. It's hard to research this surgery and find only the stories about extremes - people completely thrilled with surgery or people that regret every minute of life post op. The same goes for loss. When people search out stories on this, it's too easy to only find rapid loss or stall posts but nothing showing the more realistic and moderate journey many of us take. The sleeve is a permanent tool that does not have a special window of easy weight loss. There is no reason to feel discouraged when you haven't reached goal at one year out, or even two. There is nothing preventing you (short of your own body's natural stopping point) from achieving or re-achieving goal at any point post op.
I lost 60 pounds in the first five months after my surgery.
And I slowly lost 32 pounds over the next seven months.
It took me another five months to shed the final 15 pounds to my goal.
I lost 107 pounds over the course of 17 months. I stalled twice for nine weeks each time. I had months where I only lost one pound. I regularly experienced a gain of three pounds around my cycle, and often only lost weight in the last week to ten days of the month, after sitting at the same weight for nearly three weeks.
I am a success, and at 2.5 years out (and currently pregnant) I still have good, healthy eating habits and maintained my weight loss quite easily. Even 30 weeks pregnant, I am still wearing a size 6/small (in maternity clothes, of course) regardless of how I feel about my expanding body!
I learned what was important on this journey and am in better health today (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally), than I have ever experienced as an adult.
Good luck to those currently on their journey, and I encourage everyone to share their stories here so that newly sleeved folks can see that slow vs. fast loss doesn't really matter in the end.
~Cheri

You had a day of crazy. Don't freak out too much about this - just realize that you have difficulties controlling yourself around sweets and guard against exposure to this stuff until you are much better about restraining yourself.
But a big thing to remember - at this point, you could eat absolute crap and still lose weight. There are plenty of people out there that eat fast food and Cookies and because of the restriction in the early months, they continue to see weight loss. My doctor was just talking about this at my last appointment, not that I was eating poorly, we were discussing a friend of mine that is doing this and justifying it by saying she's still losing weight and me trying to get ideas of what to say to counter that mentality.
What the doc said was this: the sleeve will cause anyone to lose weight eating exactly the same foods they ate pre-sleeve in the first year. They can't eat anything in large quantities, so the weight drops away. It works that way until they hit about a year or so out, and then the weight loss slows/stops. At this point, their stomach has relaxed and they are able to eat a bit more food than at the beginning. And all of this time, they haven't adjusted any of their eating habits or tried to move towards healthy foods, because they thought they didn't have to.
So they keep eat stuff that has no real nutritional value, is high in fat, calories, salt and low in Vitamins, Protein and Fiber. They no longer have the sleeve's super reduced size to make up for the poor eating habits. And they gain back all of the weight, say that the surgery failed, when in reality they failed themselves.
You should be using this time over the next year to completely change how you eat, what you eat and how often/how much. The sleeve takes care of Portion Control and in most cases the feelings of hunger. The biggest thing that many seem to miss about the surgery - the biggest advantage is really that it allows you to relearn healthy eating habits - good foods full of nutrients and putting Protein, veggies first and foremost in your daily diet - because you're no longer a slave to ravenous appetite or able to stuff in tons of food. Sweets or junk are still possible, but they should be very occasional treats, not stuff you eat daily.
It's a huge mind shift, but those that are able to make that shift do the best after having this surgery. I hope you're going to be one of them!

Today is my 30th birthday, and I weigh less than I did when I was in high school. 30th birthday weight is 183.8!

I made one of the hugest decisions of my life 4 days ago to have the VSG (which I'm sure many of you did ????) and I'm honestly at a crossroads here. I'm deciding if I regret getting the sleeve or if it's the best thing I've done.
I'm sitting here thinking to myself "what the hell have I done to my body?". My stomach is bruised and sore, I'm nauseated and I feel completely out of control of myself and out of the loop. Im emotionally vulnerable and feel very sensitive at times. I'm craving weird things. I'm afraid that I did let food once control my lifestyle because the past few days... Food has been the main thing I think about. I barely can drink anything. The sight of ANYTHING involving Protein makes me sooo queasy! I'm having a very difficult time reaching my Fluid and protein intake.
On the other hand, I know that this will be a POSITIVE life changing experience! I try to stay optimistic in regards of the matter but sometimes you have to face the truth. I miss eating food. I didn't realize how much food consumed me but I do miss it. I'm slowly getting over the notion of eating how I use to but it's just hard. It's one of the hardest things I've had to do in my life but nevertheless, I will patiently wait to see that rainbow.
I have to say that this site with everyones inquiries has been my lifeline since 3 months before the surgery to 4 days post OP. This site is amazing. The people are uplifting and inspiring. I guess I had to write down everything to truly understand how I am feeling. I know that this will be a tough journey but I am ready for it. Whoever read this, thanks for your attention and good luck on your journey as well. ????

My surgery was Nov 19, 2013. I never got down to "goal" either. I started at 269, lost 11lbs on the 2 week liquid diet before surgery. The lowest I got was 211.6 and this morning I was 214.6. I would LOVE to be under 200lbs, but I seriously think its my lack of exercise. I still get really full fast, but I also snack which I never did in the active losing phase. Its still a struggle, but I need to remember that I was on an insulin pump before surgery and I take no insulin now, even though I'm still considered a diabetic. I also take 2 less medications than I did before surgery. I have psoriatic arthritis and that has slightly improved with weight loss. Its auto-immune so it will never go away.
On another note, my 35lb dog slipped a disk in his back and now needs to be carried up and down 2 flights of stairs. It amazes me that I used to carry double his weight up the stairs. I don't know how I did it.

I had my surgery 2 year ago in August. I was 320 lbs and couldn't run a half mile. I just competed in my first triathlon and have raced in 3 half marathons. I can't believe how far I have come.
I did this for my kids and now they want to compete in triathlons. I am a proud dad.

I was well over 300lbs! 388 to be exact. Hard to say that number! I just had my 1 year surgiversary and am feeling great! I am down 126lbs and sure wish it was more but am grateful for how much better I feel. I just went to an amusement park with my family a couple weeks ago and had no concerns with fitting and riding all the rides I wanted! That was so exciting! I still have about 50-70ish till my goal, but weight loss has slowed a lot. This surgery is not an easy way out. It has been a daily battle and mental game, but so worth it. Good luck to everyone and remember to be proud of every pound lost.

I haven't received my surgery date yet. BUT, let me just say this to you. You were very misinformed. Technically, you could eat what you want. But, that's just a very DUMB way of looking at it. I hate to say this but this doctor should be FIRED. He appears to be one of those doctors who are just in it for the money. Please go around and read things on this board.

We all have a problem with food. That is the reason we are having this surgery done. The reason we became obese is because we all have problems with Portion Control and diet and nutrition as a whole. NO doctor in there right mind would tell a bariatric patient to eat whatever they want after the surgery. Read some of the blogs on here about how people get sick after eating too early or how eating certain things (mainly bad food) will have them feeling quite miserable.

The program I am in requires us to focus on diet and exercising. That should be your main focus. I started my change back on 7/28 and to date I've lost 30 pounds. I did this because I began learning how important eating the RIGHT foods will mean to my body pre and post op. If you're struggling with your food choices you should see a NUT ASAP so you can get on track. I wouldn't listen to another word this doctor is saying because he's TOTALLY in it for the money. I'm sorry you were sold cheap goods. This is a major surgery that will take a lot of work on your part. Remember the surgery is just a TOOL. In order to lose as much weight as possible and to keep it up you can't have the same mentality that got you here in the first place. Get your mental right and work a plan and stick to it. I know it's hard. But you can def do it!

Thanks, y'all. Just feeling really down on myself. I am the one accountable. I'm glad I logged back in here. I've been needing my fellow sleevers!

Please don't feel like a failure. I know that is how I have been feeling too but I also have to realize I did lose weight and so did you and that's a huge thing. Sure we didn't get to goal but as we continue to try and get back on track, we may reach a more realistic goal for our bodies. When it comes to the food, yes, everything seems to go down easier but it's up to us what we put in our mouths. You can make the right choices. Remember we had this surgery for a tool and we have to use it to our full advantage. We may only get to a goal weight in another year. We have to keep going and still stay focused. We can do it MSQUEEN. We can!

Exactly, its a TOOL. Its up to us to do the work. Last night I attended a YELP Elite event, basically a multi-course free meal. I was full after the first course, yet I continued to eat and eat. I didnt even make it home, I had to ask my wife to pull off the freeway so I could vomit. I have not thrown up for over a year( maybe more like 18 months). I kept eating even though I was full. I seriously do not think I can attend any of those types of events ever again.

I reached my goal of 195 this summer and I've maintained under 200. My chief tool that has helped me is to remember to log every single meal even if I cheat. It helps me stick to my overall calorie and Protein goals. I've been able to enjoy food I want while stabilizing my weight. I use Lose it but my fitness pal is good too.
Good luck