IrishGermanRN

That's too bad you're looking at the insurance company as the enemy rather than the RN as a helpful benefit.

I personally am getting a little tired of a certain poster bashing the gastric sleeve when they have not had the procedure done themselves. Someone asks for advice it's always best to let them know to do their research and discuss with their doctor. To flat out say the gastric sleeve is a "fad" is wrong and not true. I'm glad you've found success with the RNY procedure but others have had great success with the sleeve as well.

Trying to lose these last 10. I've taken up weight lifting. Seemed to help. Maybe the scale isnt moving but my pant size and body is transforming. I guess when they say dont go by the scale they mean it.

Trying to lose these last 10. I've taken up weight lifting. Seemed to help. Maybe the scale isnt moving but my pant size and body is transforming. I guess when they say dont go by the scale they mean it.

Ohhh ohhhh me! me! This is my favorite topic to talk about. I think so often our surgeon's offices prepare us for the surgery and what to expect and how to eat, but give us very little if any guidance on how to deal with our emotional selves as it relates to food.
For me, around 7 months post op I realized I was slipping back into my emotional desire to cope with stress/anxiety/hurt/etc through binge eating. I wasn't engaging in it, but the desire was there. So that scared the crap out of me.
I immediately started researching therapists in my area who worked specifically with eating disorders and wls patients. I have been going to see her weekly for over a year now. It has made ALL the difference for me in being successful. I feel without a doubt I would have re-gained if I would not have sought her out and did the hard emotional work to figure out what was underlying my desire/need to numb myself with food. It is a work in progress.
If you are not interested in doing that, can't find anyone, etc, she recommended 2 books to me on our first session and they literally blew my mind. If you do nothing else, run to Amazon right now and order "When Food is Love" by Geneen Roth. It will help you so much. Then when you finish it, you can read another by her "Women, Food and God" and the "god" doesn't have to be religious....it's more of whatever guiding being your believe in, so don't let that turn you off if you are not religious.
I've written a ton about this on my blog and hope to partner with my therapist someday soon and write a book specifically for wls patients about all of this.

amazing! I'm having a mommy makeover This Saturday. My surgeon says I can do Lipo with fat transfer to buttocks. I was hesitant due to the recovery. I'm also getting a Tummy Tuck and breast lift with augmentation. Ive heard we are not to sit? but how so? Would love to know how you recovered. Looks amazing!!

amazing! I'm having a mommy makeover This Saturday. My surgeon says I can do Lipo with fat transfer to buttocks. I was hesitant due to the recovery. I'm also getting a Tummy Tuck and breast lift with augmentation. Ive heard we are not to sit? but how so? Would love to know how you recovered. Looks amazing!!

The obvious answer is go back to basics.....original protein/fluid/carb goals. Go back to measuring and tracking if you've stopped. Basically whatever you did to lose those 164 pounds the first time is what you have to do again.
I was run over by a tractor and shattered my pelvis and femur when I was just shy of 3 years postop. Was in the hospital for a month and gained 10 pounds on the carb heavy food they served. Went home in a wheelchair and transitioned to a walker over several months. I was extremely depressed over being so helpless. I had stopped seeing my therapist about 6 months earlier but went back to regular visits to help me with my depression so those 10 pounds didn't turn into 100.
So if you aren't seeing a therapist, I suggest finding one. In the meantime work on finding your motivation. Dig up old photos of the "before" you. Sit down and make a list of your NSVs. What can you do now that you couldn't do 164 pounds ago? How do you feel? If you don't want to go back to the old you, pull up your skinny girl panties and do what you know you need to, and can do again.

The statistics were against me. I went to the hospital completely unsure if I would have the courage to go through with my surgery, and terrified I would die. No one... I promise you, NO ONE, ever wanted to have bariatric surgery less than I. I was an emotional food addict whose life had shrunk so much that food was my entire social life. I weighed 367.8 pounds, had out of control diabetes, and could no longer walk across my own kitchen on most days. I needed both knees replaced and my doctor refused to do it until I lost a lot of weight.
The night before my surgery I was alone in the house and I sobbed a funeral dirge for my best friend, food. I was certain I would lose my mind without it.
My friends, are you hesitating?? Struggling? Regretting?? If you can stay with me, read on.
I will tell you that after the first month there hasn't been one day in five years that I haven't thought, "I never could have done this before."
My journey has been difficult, and you will have your struggles, too. The first year, I cared for and buried my beloved sister--my "person" in this world--who died in my arms. The second year, I had my right knee replaced. The third year, my left knee. My weight loss stalled, but I never gave up. The fourth year, my father died and right afterwards, my husband almost died and needed months of nursing.
I didn't tell you all that to whine. I told you in order to try to put some context to my life, because in spite of all that sorrow and pain, I am filled with joy. I have taken back my life, and you can, too.
When I came out of my surgery, I vowed that having taken the drastic step of altering my body, I was going to be all in. I have honored that vow.
I had to learn to walk again. Now I am a landscape, wedding and portrait photographer.
I had to accept that I couldn't go on vacation and eat like the old me without gaining back weight it took me months to lose. Now I usually drop a couple of pounds on vacation, and I have one thing every day that I really want. To eat, that is!! I get to have experiences instead of food now!
I had to accept that carbs are not part of my daily eating. But I have learned to actually prefer zucchini spaghetti!!
Most importantly, I learned that no one will ever abuse me again. And that includes me.
I learned that emotional eating may feel like self care, but it is self destruction, and self destruction and self preservation can never exist side by side.
Last year, I photographed the cliffs of Maine, the mountains of West Virginia (going by rope down to the waterfalls), beaches in the Carolinas, and so many other things. (Check out my stuff at mlwolfephotos.com if you are inclined!).
I could babble on and on...
Today, I am at my lowest weight in 34 years. I have not met my weight loss goal. I'm still just over 200 pounds--a weight many people begin this journey at!! It may take me a year, but I'll get there.
On January 1st I turned 60, and I cried. A lot. I didn't cry because I was 60. I cried because I wasted so many years... My 30s... My 40s...half my 50s. I cannot get them back. But I have what's left, and I will cherish each breath.
So, I lost much of my stomach. I lost 153 pounds. I gained the world.
I wish that for each and every one of you! May you work to make all your dreams come true!
Attaching a few pics, not just of what I look(ed) like, but of who I am!!!

It's been one year today since I had my sleeve done. My life has changed in every aspect.
My start weight was 333.1lbs
My weight this morning was 137.8lbs
That's a total loss of 195.3lbs!!
I've also lost a total of 95 inches...I'm a size 6 now...used to be a size 30.
I have accomplished this by being very focused and strict with my eating and exercise.
I eat very low carb, and always get in my Protein, Vitamins and Water every day.
For all of you just starting out, just know that anything is possible, and if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything!! 
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Took me 4 months before the soft serve machine started working....
thunder32

There are so many nice, intelligent people contributing to these forums. Their information is on point, their insight invaluable!! I look for some of these people under all of the comments so that I can follow them for their remarks, advice and humour!!
THEN there are those people, mainly women I'm sorry to say, who take every remark, every answer, every comment that does not suit them and they turn the discussion into a battle!! They seem to feel that everything written is an attack on their sanity, their intellect or their standing in the world!! They go into attack mode with the slightest provocation and insist you leave their thread and their life!! I truly don't understand this kind of mentality and how people with such thin skin can function in the real world!!
It's so nice to a have a forum of like minded individuals, WLS/losing weight, where everything and anything can be discussed. Why ruin it with name calling, direct personal attacks and a militant stance?
Please remember now, this is MY RANT!!

I too gained some and am now back on track. I just went back to basics: admit the regain without judgement, logged food, and got serious again about exercise. After speaking with some of my friends who have always been at healthy weights I realized this is a process many individuals go through whether they had surgery or not :-)

I am over three years out, above my goal by about 5 pounds and happy. I could (fairly) easily get down to my goal by tracking, measuring and weighing my intake, or I can eat sensibly, enjoy a daily treat and maintain effortlessly. I choose the latter for now because I have a LOT of other stuff going on in my life. The minute my size 8 AEO jeans start getting too tight, I'll go back to option one.

My restriction is super great. I can rarely get in more than 2/3 cup in volume or 3ish oz of firm protein'. My oldest went off to college (go Hoos!), my youngest is a junior in high school and is busy with show choir, volleyball, martial arts, a part time job and with a new driver's license, she is rarely home. (BOOOO!) My husband gets home pretty late and is a grown man, so I've gone from making a sit down dinner every night to making sure there is something in the fridge to eat when anyone gets home and making special "little plates" for myself. I don't have @@Dub cooking for me (jerk!!), and I prefer rich, flavorful foods.

Why am I posting this? I have no clue. I am going to throw out a few of my favorites and I would love to hear your suggestions for more. Most of these can be thrown together in minutes and most components are staples in my house.

Seafood salad and and a few soy wasabi triscuits is an amazing combination.

Cheddar, a few apple slices and a bit of good quality thinly sliced soppressata or prosciutto.
Grilled garlic edamame and Sriracha mayo dipping sauce.

A cluster of crab legs, hot or cold.

cheese stuffed meatballs, baked with whole milk mozzarella on top. (No red gravy for this half Italian. Weird!)

A slice (or two) of avocado wrapped in pepper jack, turkey and (pre cooked) bacon, pan browned just until cheese is melty.

Softly scrambled cheese eggs with diced onions and mushrooms.

Portabella stuffed with artichoke, spinach and feta.

Mini taco stuffed bell peppers.


What else, peeps?

Oh! And I'm down 2.4 more pounds today. INSANE. 14.4 lbs lost in 8 days 2 years after surgery. Anniversary is coming up on the 17th!

I was a little surprised to see the title of this post so I had to check it out. I agree with some of the others that this study is statistically Irrelevant. Too few participants to mean anything. I actually think any of the statistics surrounding WLS in general are meaningless when it comes to any one individual's chances at long term success. It's not like this is cancer or some other physical illness that we have no control over.
Each and every one of us has the opportunity to be 100% successful. It may take more than just surgery....in my case, surgery + 3 years therapy + 6 years support group + diligent, mindful choices every single day....but it is doable. There are very very few cases where regain, or failure to lose to goal, were the result of anything but poor food choices and returning to the habits and behaviors that made us fat in the first place. The importance of creating a new lifestyle and learning new ways to deal with life ups and downs cannot be stressed enough. The mental changes you make are far more important than the physical changes from surgery when it comes to long term success.
You don't have to settle for average results and the benefits of gastric sleeve only wane after 5 years if you let them. BTW, I'm six years out and am still maintaining over 100% EWL with the help of my sleeve.

I'm more than six years out. My sleeve is the same size it was a year out.
I've had a child (got pregnant two years post op) and I lost weight past my goal in my fifth year post op. The sleeve does not expire. I still have a huge amount of restriction.
For example, we had our rare junk food dinner last night and all I could eat was one taco. I'm still not hungry and I'm easily maintaining between 114-118 pounds when I started at 242 on surgery day.
The sleeve works. Don't panic, or listen to people that don't have one.
Sent from my XT1254 using the BariatricPal App

I lost almost 6 pounds doing intermittent fasting, or the 5:2 Diet. On my "normal" eating days, I was eating 1200 calories and eating very clean and healthy and very low carb, and on my fast days I was eating 500 calories. On my fast days I would fast from the evening before (Say 9:00 pm on) until noon the next day (still drinking lots of Water and even black coffee or tea), and use my 500 calories up the rest of the day. That worked for me. Here's a basic explanation of the plan:
https://authoritynutrition.com/the-5-2-diet-guide/

I will be nine years out from RNY next month. I have had regains and lost it several times.
Calories count - to lose a pound a week I must eliminate 500 calories a day I weigh every single day I take my Vitamins and drink my Water I log every bite in My Fitness Pal My goal is 136. I maintain at 1400 calories a day and lose at 900 calories a day. I have tried every single gimmick out there and only restricting calories has ever worked to lose the weight.

Has it really been two years? In some ways it seems to have flown by, but in other ways it seems so much longer than that!
On this day two years ago, I weighed 236 pounds. Down from my starting weight of 260. I met with the nutritionist at OCC and she told me my goal weight should be 165 based on my answers to about a million questions, my starting weight, how much I'd been able to lose in the past, etc. Not only did I reach that goal right around the one year mark, but I have now been maintaining at or below it for a full year!
When I decided to have WLS, I thought of it as "weight maintenance surgery" rather than "weight loss surgery", because I really didn't need help losing weight. I'd lost weight many many times in the past. Having lost the largest amount (90 pounds) back in 2010/2011. My struggle was always keeping it off. So when I found myself back at 260 pounds (within 10 pounds of my highest weight ever) in the summer of 2014, I knew I had to do something different this time. While I had no doubt I could lose the weight again, I also figured I would eventually regain it, like every other time. I decided to have VSG and I am so so happy to have been right in that decision!
I've maintained my weight loss for a full year! I have never been able to do anything like that in the past. Whenever I was "done" with a diet before, I started regaining weight immediately, because I went back to the exact same habits that had gotten me there in the first place. But not this time! I'm never going to be "done" with my sleeve. It works with me and I work with it every single day of my life.
And how different that life is now! I am running a full marathon on September 18. I have been training for it since May, after having run a half marathon in April, which I had been training for since January. This summer I think I've spent more time being active outside than I have in the past 10 summers combined! I go out. I meet new people. I participate in activities I never would have thought to in the past. I don't binge to cope with my emotions. I enjoy food, but in healthy quantities. All my social activities don't center around food anymore, but when they do, I'm not consumed with guilt and self consciousness. I wear fun clothes. I actually enjoy clothes shopping now, instead of dreading it. I don't feel ashamed walking into a "normal" clothing store anymore. I can ride all the rides at amusement parks and fairs. I can spend a whole day on my feet. I feel strong and confident and comfortable in my own skin!
To any of you who are just getting started or are struggling and questioning whether it's all worth it, I can assure you that it absolutely is! It's hard work. It's sacrifice. It's change. But if you put in the effort, you will be rewarded.

I had surgery dec 2012, i gained almost 40 pounds back from not eating right and not excercising. The good thing is though, its a tool, if you use your tool, you can lose. I am happy to say that i have lost that weight and continuing on a downward spiral...thank goodness.
Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

I'm 7 years out and my sleeve works just fine. I've not gained my weight back but I make careful choices. If you expect the sleeve to do all the work ( and it might, the first year) you will gain weight back. The sleeve restricts portions. It does not stop us from putting candy, cake, pie, ice cream, cake, french fries, chips, etc into out mouths.

If WLS only "lasts" 9-12 months, surely it wouldn't be approved by ANY insurance company says logic...
It's a tool, if used correctly, that can serve you a lifetime. You gotta do your part.

I'm 8 months out and just got through a 2 month stall.. All of a sudden dropped 3 pounds. Hoping it keeps going!! The weight loss..not the stall

sugar free preserves!