gl12282

Our two mobile garbage disposal units.
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I've been told to quit using our dogs as food disposal units, they've gotten too chubby. LOL.

This is very often the view if I am not sitting at the table or my desk to eat.

every one that has had vertical gastric sleeve surgery has loose skin to some degree.
This is the crucial line. Are you going to discover some combo-miracle approach that succeeds where others have failed? Probably not. On the other hand, it can feel good when you believe you are taking proactive steps, and feeling good is lovely. So, if you can afford ($$$) all of those things without any impingement on your finances, go for it! But if it is going to cause you financial stress, the emotional benefits of feeling good about being proactive will probably be canceled out. Your call.

Also will be 3 yrs 1/17. Chubby all my life and was dieting at 12. I was adopted as an infant and my adoptive parents were slender high energy people. We ate the same foods and ate meals together and never had seconds. I was chubby and sluggish despite my dad s encouragement. At 29 I found my birth family. 300 lb people that were bright and successful. I felt like a success at 5'3" and 180. 3 kids and 20 yrs later I was 225 and eating 1000 calories a day, high Protein low carb and unable to lose weight. I woke up on a Monday and told my husband I was going to have gastric surgery and went to the info meeting that Thursday. I saw the Nut but did not learn anything I did not already know. I had been logging food,tracking Protein carbs etc for a long time. Six months later I had the sleeve surgery. I was never sick or nauseated afterwards and woke up from surgery hungry. My Dr said that wasn't possible that it was in my head. I said I knew the diff between just wanting to eat and actual hunger. Despite that I followed the dr s eating/drinking instructions to the T. I lost most of my weight in the first 6 months then slowly lost the rest over the next 6. My lowest weight was 132. At that point I felt I looked a little haggard and slowly increased to around 139. Today I weigh 145 but prefer to keep it at 140. I still log my food and try to keep protein up and carbs below 60. Some days are better then others but I have to keep my calories around 1100 to maintain my weight. 900 or less to lose. I have worn a Fitbit and can eat approx. half the calories it says I burned. I drink my Water. I'm hungry a lot. My stomach growls. But I would still say it's the best thing I ever did for myself and it's easier to maintain when I like what I see in the mirror. Hope this helps someone else. I read a lot of blogs before and after VSG. I wondered what it would be like several years out. Now I know. For me it's 1100 calories and constant vigilance. I have a beat down every morning with the fat girl that lives inside me. It's still work but at least it's working. People have reacted in different ways. Some happy for me. Others not so much. I try to keep in mind that no one would truly want me to gain it all back. Their feelings are more about themselves then me. I can only take care of myself..one day at a time. A little random but I'm typing on my phone.
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Good morning, BP Campers. Thought I'd stop in for a a quick visit and update. I started my preop diet 3 years ago today. I always consider this my anniversary, rather than the surgery date. Here's a recap of my journey so far.....
Year 1 - the year of losing all of my excess weight (100 pounds), dozens of NSVs, and a new wardrobe. By far, the most exciting year. Even the month of liquids, 6 weeks of diarrhea and 2 insanely painful gallbladder attacks couldn't put a dent in my enthusiasm. It was all so new and fun and easy. Life was great and I was invincible! Year 2 - the year of finding out life still sucks no matter what size you are, losing my best friend to suicide, sinking into a deep hole of depression and finding that I could no longer rely on my old friends.....food, alcohol and cigarettes. Just struggling to get through each day with really no desire to. Two more gallbladder attacks which I finally put an end to with a long overdue cholecystectomy. Despite a complete breakdown of my emotional stability, I was surprisingly able to maintain my weight loss from the 1st year. I held onto the fact that what I put in my mouth was one of the few things I could control at that point. Year 3 - the year of emotional healing (well, at least a start in that direction) with a grief therapist, testosterone replacement and an antidepressant. Finally able to crawl out the darkness into a somewhat bearable existence. My latest breakthrough is I actually said yes when asked out on a date about a month ago. Considering my introvert personality and swearing off relationships almost 20 years ago, this is an extraordinary step for me. We've been out 1/2 dozen times and I'm actually enjoying it. Who knows what Year 4 will bring. But I've definitely come to realize as time goes on, everything has become less and less about surgery and weightloss and more and more about life. I maintain my weight the same way I lost it....80+ grams of Protein, 100+ ounces of Water, low carb, balanced diet including veggies, fruit and whole grains. I pretty much eat whatever I want but I make smart choices when it comes to quantities. No tracking, no measuring, just mindful eating. I am diligent about keeping any regains in check. I've got too much invested, both financially and emotionally to let a 1-2 pound regain turn into 10-20 pounds. I have labs done annually and follow a Vitamin regimen based on the results. I don't have an exercise routine, just a very busy, active life. Bottom line is a successful WLS result is not rocket science. Whatever you had to do to lose weight is pretty much what you need to do forever. If you can't control sliders and trigger foods, they WILL lead to regain. If you don't make the psychological adjustments and permanently change your habits and behaviors, you WILL regain. It's totally up to you whether or not your surgery becomes just another failed diet. Don't be afraid to seek professional help with the mental side of it. I finally did...thank goodness. Good luck to the newbies. Congrats to the veterans.

I had my gastric sleeve done January 11th. I weighed 333.1lbs.
I'm 10 months post op now and weigh 144.2lbs.
I've set new goal weights as I've gone along...first was just to get under 200lbs, then I thought I wanted my goal weight to be 180lbs. When I got there, I made the crazy goal of 150lbs never thinking I'd make it....but I did. So then I figured my goal would be 145lbs which puts me at a normal bmi...which I haven't been since I was around 10.
Now that I weight 144lbs, I've decided my final goal will 133lbs, which will mean I will have lost a total of 200lbs....and I'll do it, I know I can.
I never thought when I had surgery that weighing in the 130's would even be possible.
I've gone from wearing sizes 5-6x, and 28-30, now I wear smalls and mediums and am a size 8....I would be around a 6 if it wasn't for the large amount of skin I have around my stomach and thighs....but it's a price I'm more than happy to pay.
I've been extremely disciplined this whole 10 months. I can honestly say I've never put a bad food in my mouth...not once. I follow a very low carb diet still, drink about 85oz of Water every day and get in around 80oz of Protein. I take all my required Vitamins daily.
The gym has become a big part of my life. I workout around 5-6 days per week doing a variety of exercising....spin class, step  class, yoga, cardio machines....I like doing different things so I don't get bored.
Anyway, because I'm so close to goal, I just wanted to share this. And for the people who have a lot of weight to lose like I did....remember, you can do this! I'm living proof!!
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Starting weight was 356
Current weight 176.3
On the 25th of October it will be 16 months since surgery for me!
I think my skin heeling quickly has a lot to do with my age, (19)
Seeing people that I knew from high school that don't recognize me at all is my most favorite thing lol
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Thes photos were taken
Day of surgery: 6/25/15
And Today 10/16/16
Size 24-size 10

Please don't take this the wrong way. You look like a totally different person from your original pictures. You look much younger and honestly you got hot! Congratulations!

100 lbs, gone forever. I still have 5 months til the end of my 12 month loss grace period. Really looking forward to seeing how far my sleeve can help me go!
Happy Thanksgiving, all!
HW: 293
CW: 193
GW: 185
Sleeved 4/14/2016

It is brutal. Was brutal. Past tense now. I'm still fatter than most of these women but far from the fattest and I fit into designer clothes now. Not to mention I have always had better taste and style than most of them and that really shows now that I'm slimmer.

I can definitely sympathize with you and know your frustration. I am also a slow loser and I do not have PCOS. I am almost 8 weeks post op sleeve surgery and have only lost 17 lbs. some days it's 16. I don't really know why it's so slow but I continue to do as everyone on this site recommends, and that is to stay on track with my Water and Protein. My limitation at this time is that I cannot exercise. I have a partially torn Achilles' tendon that requires surgery, which I can't have until January. So I am sure that lack of exercise contributes to the slow weight loss. In any case I will continue doing what I can and I offer you encouragement also. I know it is discouraging at times. I am optimistic that we will get there as long as we stay the course.
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I was a super slow loser as well. It took me six months to lose 30lbs. Just hang in there, keep working the plan-- high Protein, low carbs, lots of Water, move your butt, make sure you're pooping and keep your eye on Non scale victories-- stuff you won't see on a scale like saggy butt in your jeans, smaller face, rings and watches flinging about, shoes flopping off of your feet.
If you're not tracking your food, you may want to start. Snackies can sneak in without you even knowing it! I always find that I reach for junk when I'm not actively paying attention to what I am eating.
You may need to shake some things up. Raise or lower your carb level (not with junk), take up a new sport, increase your Water intake, rearrange your eating schedule, stop eating earlier in the evening... you have the rest of your life to figure out how this works. it's not a race!
LASTLY-- I was the person that complained and asked about slow losing and was told to 'get off the scale' or 'don't worry about it' or 'stop cheating', so i am never going to be that person. I INVESTIGATED THE ISSUE and found that I have PCOS. if you google gastric sleeve and PCOS you'll find LEGION of women who lose very VERY slowly, even with WLS. And then, once a month, we drop weight. During my weight loss phase I would lose NOTHING for 3-4 weeks. Then the week of my cycle, drop 4lbs. And then NOTHING for 3 weeks, and then drop 5lbs.

food funerals are a very common topic on this website.
I struggle to understand it, but that's just my own experience. I paid out of pocket for the procedure and so I was committed with my mind and pocketbook to making sure I am successful, no matter what.
When I received my preop and post op plans, I started comparing all my food choices against my surgeon's directions. If it was something I shouldn't be eating to be successful after surgery, I tried to cut it out before starting the process. I ended up doing an extra few weeks of preop because I was anxious to get the ball rolling.
The kinds of foods I crave are my nemesis, not my friends. I wouldn't mourn the loss of someone that ruined my life and ditto for the foods that contributed to my weight gain. Good riddance, I say.

There is plenty of food variety available after you heal. Lots of Bariatric recipes and adaptations on this site and on the internet. I ate my favorite foods before surgery to say goodbye. Many are no longer appealing to me now. Remember this is a process and a tool. We learn new ways of doing things to succeed. There is so much great in the future for us! I'm approaching my one year surgiversary, and am so happy! I'm not done losing, but I'm so much happier now.
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To everyone that replied, Thank you! I have decided on bypass
My surgeon and I believe that will be the best choice. I am in therapy, have been for years. I think the combination is a must along with a desire to rise above my addiction. Blessings
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I am 6 months post sleeve and have just as much of a sweet tooth as I did before. I also find that cakes/cookies etc are very definitely slider foods for me - they go down easily even when I'm full and can't eat any more 'proper food'. I have to make just as much effort with sweet foods (and junk food) as I ever did however it has really helped with overeating/portion size (which was my biggest issue before). I still have to make healthy choices about food otherwise it's easy to have full days worth of food with a 'normal' calorie intake but very little food with nutritional value (please note this is NOT what I'm doing !).
I can see from what you have written that you are clearly carefully considering issues and think you are already aware that this surgery will not just make everything better on its own. You will need to continue to work at this for the rest of your life. It is a tool to help but the hard work will be done by you.
I only had dumping for the first couple of days but know that it is more common after a bypass but not everyone gets it, therefore the controls on sweet stuff will still need to be yours.
I hope all goes well for you.
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I was told not to run for 6 weeks (because of the impact/jolting). At 6 weeks, I could run with no difficulty (in terms of pain/stamina) so could pretty much go straight back to what I was doing before surgery (but I wasn't doing long sessions at that time).
Prior to 6 weeks, I took it easy and followed the advice that I was given about when I could start doing stuff.
I can't comment on the longer runs and other stuff other than to say that I still can't eat and drink together at 6 months post op (and have been advised not to in the long term) so you need to plan what you need (liquid vs nutrition/calories) with the priority on liquid. If you need significant quantities of both then you may need to use supplement drinks otherwise you will have to compromise on one or other of your needs.
Hope all goes well for you.
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I did mark competetive eater off of my bucket list. It was worth it.

Weight loss is a funny thing. I have lost weight fairly slowly compared to many (apart from the first 2 weeks, it has been consistently 1lb per week average - now 6 months post op) however although the average is 1, it is almost never 1lb in a week. I have had stalls for up to 3 weeks and even a gain but overall it is coming off nice and steady. So try not to worry too much. If you are following the plan and not cheating it absolutely will come off.
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Some great posts here. I'm only 6 months out and still losing but I'm extremely aware of just how easy it could be to regain weight in the long term. Although those statistics are very difficult to interpret because of the low numbers in the 5 yr follow up group, I'm personally pretty certain that if they were able to find those patients, the trend would be similar (maybe even more so ???).
At the end of the day, as a few people have pointed out, this is 90% us, 10% sleeve. I am very aware even at 'only' 6 months, how easy it is to 'cheat' the sleeve by eating the wrong things. I am still fairly restricted, I can 'get away' with having pudding/'treats' and still lose weight. But this is only for now. If I continue to do that, I know this sleeve can't help me. This is very much still my long term challenge that I continue to fight and will do for ever. It has taken away some of my issues but I will continue to work at the others for the rest of my life. I try to make sensible food choices all of the time. Mostly I do but sometimes I don't. Sometimes I fail completely and just eat rubbish but when I do, my sleeve restricts the damage I can do then. Ultimately my sleeve is likely to continue to help me at those times but without my own effort to seriously limit those occasions, I may not succeed.
I look at the successful long term posters here (who are inspirational) and I am pretty certain that almost all of them work very hard at that. I aspire to be that person but know that I will have to continue to work hard in order to achieve that. Thank you to all of those people for inspiring the rest of us.
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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 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.

Also remember that statistics are usually dealing with averages. Almost no one is the average, LOL. I like to think I have a say over which side of the average I fall, based on my choices.