Danny Paul

For me, I kept it private because I did not want to be that guy everyone pointed to and said, look he had WLS and he gained all that weight back. ( Been there done that) From my posts you can see that I still feel that way. I am much more comfortable telling people that me and five others put $1,000 in a pot to see who could lose the most weight and in the end I didn't win the pool but I lost weight. That's my story, I'm comfortable with it and I'm sticking to it. A family member told people she had her Gall Bladder removed and after the surgery had a difficult time holding down food. That accounted for her weight loss. I don't feel that I have to advertise the virtues of WLS to help others who are comfortable in making the decision to tell others about it. I'm very comfortable with my decision and I'm sorry that the OP has a difficult time when she should be basking in the glory of her weight loss and new found health. In the end people like me who don't advertise our WLS have nothing to do with the negativity people have towards those who do. Those people are usually jealous, low self esteemed petty individuals to begin with.

I was at a funeral and ran into a friend who had lost a lot of weight and told me that she had WLS. She told me to watch a You Tube channel Flav City with Bobby Parrish. Bobby goes into stores like costco, Whole Foods, Walmart, etc and shows what is healthy to buy. It turns out that the ingredient list is the most important part of the labeling to look at. Bobby breaks down a lot stuff that relates to nutrition when reading the ingredient list. I'm sure after watching Flav City you might want to rethink some of your choices in food. I've found this channel very useful. He is also a chef and has live cooking demos of healthy dishes he prepares. Give it a look and see if it might help you as well.

Physically, how did you feel after eating the Cookies and pizza? I would have felt sick. I still can't handle too many sweet today. I get a queasy feeling.

For the muscle pulls and sprains I've been using Solonpas patches.There are two kind. One with Lidocaine 4% and one without. I first apply the Patches without lidocaine and if they relieve my pain I'm good. If not then I use the patch with Lidocaine. I get both at costco and they usually go on sale twice a year so I stock up. If it's a pain like a headache then I use Tylenol.

What an inspiration!!! Losing a 45 pound regain. I can't say enough about your achievement. I gained five pounds and had a very difficult time losing that much. I stopped eating after 7Pm and I don't start eating again until 8AM. It is a very difficult transition for me but I do see results. Thanks for the great success story.

This is the exact reason two friends refuse to get WLS. They do not want to miss out on the joy of eating. I was once like them. Today I don't live to eat. I eat to live. It is hard to think that one of your life pleasures will be significantly changed. It is better that they don't get the surgery until they can make peace with it. If not I'm sure they will be miserable and not get the long term health benefits they need.

The only supplies I needed the first two weeks was Water, sugar free Jello, Bone Broth, Decaf tea. I was on a liquid diet. That gave me time to prepare for the second phase of pureed food. Don't overthink it. Once done you like many of us will wonder why you didn't do it earlier. Good luck and start to enjoy a healthier life.

After my WLS I had a few family and friends (F/F) get WLS also. Post WLS is different for most everyone. I see it first hand with my F/F. People do feel hunger after WLS. Surprised me but it is true. The main thing is to reassure them that it will take some time for your brain to catch up to your new stomach. After awhile the brain adjusts and the hunger somewhat subsides. The saving grace is the restriction at the beginning will save you. No matter what your brain is asking for your new stomach cannot handle it. Your stomach will will stop you from over eating.
The most important thing that I advise those F/F that want to deviate from the program is not to. Do not deviate from the planned diet your medical team has given you. It is there for a reason. It is there to protect your new stomach from damage, it is there to help you start a new healthier way of eating and it's there to set you up for your future success.
This forum is good but if you can contact people "like us" and be able to talk to them when you feel that you're going to deviate you'd be much better off. I'm fortunate as I not only have F/F that I can call and talk to, I'm also a member of Overeaters Anonymous which also gives me another support group.
Don't ever despair that you didn't stick to the plan 100% learn from it and try your best to improve on it. Positivity I find will always help you more than beating yourself up. Good luck and congratulations on your new health.

I was at a funeral and ran into a friend who had lost a lot of weight and told me that she had WLS. She told me to watch a You Tube channel Flav City with Bobby Parrish. Bobby goes into stores like costco, Whole Foods, Walmart, etc and shows what is healthy to buy. It turns out that the ingredient list is the most important part of the labeling to look at. Bobby breaks down a lot stuff that relates to nutrition when reading the ingredient list. I'm sure after watching Flav City you might want to rethink some of your choices in food. I've found this channel very useful. He is also a chef and has live cooking demos of healthy dishes he prepares. Give it a look and see if it might help you as well.

This was going to be my suggestion as well. I have had others who had WLS that I know concentrate on the food aspect of WLS but neglect the hydration aspect. Lack of hydration knocks the body out of sync. Try drinking more even when not thirsty. I hope all goes well with you and you return to normalcy in your weight loss journey.

Mahalo for the thread. It was informative

This was going to be my suggestion as well. I have had others who had WLS that I know concentrate on the food aspect of WLS but neglect the hydration aspect. Lack of hydration knocks the body out of sync. Try drinking more even when not thirsty. I hope all goes well with you and you return to normalcy in your weight loss journey.

For me, I kept it private because I did not want to be that guy everyone pointed to and said, look he had WLS and he gained all that weight back. ( Been there done that) From my posts you can see that I still feel that way. I am much more comfortable telling people that me and five others put $1,000 in a pot to see who could lose the most weight and in the end I didn't win the pool but I lost weight. That's my story, I'm comfortable with it and I'm sticking to it. A family member told people she had her Gall Bladder removed and after the surgery had a difficult time holding down food. That accounted for her weight loss. I don't feel that I have to advertise the virtues of WLS to help others who are comfortable in making the decision to tell others about it. I'm very comfortable with my decision and I'm sorry that the OP has a difficult time when she should be basking in the glory of her weight loss and new found health. In the end people like me who don't advertise our WLS have nothing to do with the negativity people have towards those who do. Those people are usually jealous, low self esteemed petty individuals to begin with.

For me, I kept it private because I did not want to be that guy everyone pointed to and said, look he had WLS and he gained all that weight back. ( Been there done that) From my posts you can see that I still feel that way. I am much more comfortable telling people that me and five others put $1,000 in a pot to see who could lose the most weight and in the end I didn't win the pool but I lost weight. That's my story, I'm comfortable with it and I'm sticking to it. A family member told people she had her Gall Bladder removed and after the surgery had a difficult time holding down food. That accounted for her weight loss. I don't feel that I have to advertise the virtues of WLS to help others who are comfortable in making the decision to tell others about it. I'm very comfortable with my decision and I'm sorry that the OP has a difficult time when she should be basking in the glory of her weight loss and new found health. In the end people like me who don't advertise our WLS have nothing to do with the negativity people have towards those who do. Those people are usually jealous, low self esteemed petty individuals to begin with.

I found that my tastes for certain foods has changed. For instance pre surgery I could not stand canned sardines or mackerel or liver Today I can eat them with no problem. Others I know have sworn off certain foods that they ate pre op. It's something that affects some but not all and for the most part cannot be explained.

I found that my tastes for certain foods has changed. For instance pre surgery I could not stand canned sardines or mackerel or liver Today I can eat them with no problem. Others I know have sworn off certain foods that they ate pre op. It's something that affects some but not all and for the most part cannot be explained.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.

I was at a funeral and ran into a friend who had lost a lot of weight and told me that she had WLS. She told me to watch a You Tube channel Flav City with Bobby Parrish. Bobby goes into stores like costco, Whole Foods, Walmart, etc and shows what is healthy to buy. It turns out that the ingredient list is the most important part of the labeling to look at. Bobby breaks down a lot stuff that relates to nutrition when reading the ingredient list. I'm sure after watching Flav City you might want to rethink some of your choices in food. I've found this channel very useful. He is also a chef and has live cooking demos of healthy dishes he prepares. Give it a look and see if it might help you as well.

I was at a funeral and ran into a friend who had lost a lot of weight and told me that she had WLS. She told me to watch a You Tube channel Flav City with Bobby Parrish. Bobby goes into stores like costco, Whole Foods, Walmart, etc and shows what is healthy to buy. It turns out that the ingredient list is the most important part of the labeling to look at. Bobby breaks down a lot stuff that relates to nutrition when reading the ingredient list. I'm sure after watching Flav City you might want to rethink some of your choices in food. I've found this channel very useful. He is also a chef and has live cooking demos of healthy dishes he prepares. Give it a look and see if it might help you as well.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.

Right after surgery I was able to lose weight faster than a speeding bullet, my restriction was more powerful than a locomotive and my metabolism could easily leap a tall building with a single bound. Today, my kryptonite is time. Time has made me once again a weight loss mortal. I am able to gain weigh even though my diet has remained healthy. I don't lose the weight gained as fast and I am able to eat more. What to do? I actually fore saw this problem.
The first year of my WLS journey when I was researching and going through the process to be approved I went to as many group meetings that I was allowed to attend. I always picked the brain of the people in attendance. Like many on this board they were ALL newbies with the success stories only newbies can tell. Not a single failure in the group. That is until one day a woman showed up and started telling us her story. She was five years out from surgery lost a lot of weight and put most of it back on. She warned everyone that things would change as you get further out from surgery and that it wouldn't necessarily be for the better. She had wished that she did not get caught up in the euphoria of her early success. She said that it's like winning the lottery. One day you have more money than you'd ever dream of having. If you don't plan on saving it you'll go bankrupt. That's what happened to her. She won the weight loss lottery. She lost more weight than she could have dreamed losing. Trouble was, she didn't plan her long term weight loss and now, she went "bankrupt".
As I went through my daily routine I came across others who had WLS and many had indeed gained the weight back. I was in my doctors office and the medical attendant there told me about her failure when I told her that I was going through the process to get approved for WLS. She told me that it creeps up on you. Two pounds turns to four, four to eight than you're back to where you started. You start to Feel helpless and give up. As I went to the group meetings pre and post surgery I noticed not many people stuck around. There were no veterans in the group just eager newbies who can attest to the success of WLS. Seems as if the veterans drift away and either gain the weight back in silence or just get tired of hearing the same stories of success over and over.
I knew that I would probably lose my WLS super powers someday and I had hoped to plan for it. First, I did lose a lot of weight in the mid 90's and I never thought that I'd get back to being obese. I was so wrong. Like my medical attendant experienced, five pounds turned to ten then to 20 and you know the rest. It took me less that four years to gain back the weight and then some. It took another 17 years to get WLS. I decided that I would use every tool that I could in order to keep the weight off and maintain my health. I joined Over Eaters Anonymous. It's another support group away from the support group my surgeon has. I started seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. ( I'm a compulsive over eater) and I have family and friends who have had WLS who I can call to get and give support to. I also weigh myself every week at the same time on the same scale and set a "Red Alert" weight of 160lbs. ( Have a log since the day of my surgery) If I go above the 160 I know that I must redouble my efforts. Here is where my lost WLS super powers comes in. Despite all this I am having a difficult time losing the five pounds that I am over. I feel as if I am now a mere weight loss mortal who has to work two to three times harder to lose and maintain the weight loss.
I can't say it wasn't expected. From all the people I spoke to I knew this day would come. It's that, I was once a WLS immortal and now I have to struggle like all others to lose weight. My saving grace (I hope it is) I planned for it since I went through it before and I took the advice of those who went before me seriously. For all of you newbies who are experiencing the euphoria of being WLS immortal plan for day like me when you lose that super power.
Just a note, there are many who do maintain their WLS super powers. They are on this forum and they are truly superstars. They unfortunately are the exception to the trend. I find their advice to be invaluable and I look for their posts for such advice. To everyone, good luck with your new found health.