Luna Girl

You're an inspiration!

Congratulations. So very proud of you, as I understand what it took to get where you are. Don’t lose focus now.

Absolutely outstanding!!! Congrats to you and thanks for sharing all that good info about what you're doing and what's been working for you.

I had surgery on 11/10/20, but started my weight loss efforts on 7/5/20. If you’ve been here a while I’m sure you’ve seen me lurking about the forums.
Stats: SW 339. CW: 165. I am a 5’10 woman in her 40s. I work full time and have young children. My current BMI is 23, I started off with it closer to 50.

I knew it was going to take me a while to hit goal- I had 174 lbs to lose. I did all the calculators pre-op that said I would be lucky to get under 200 lbs, but I decided that just wasn’t going to apply to me (haha). My plan was to focus on fruits, vegetables, and healthy Proteins while ramping up exercise. I eliminated Cookies, pastries, and candy but that’s about it. I don’t do low carb, because that isn’t how I’m planning on living the rest of my life. I focus on calorie reduction, which sounds like oh if that’s so easy why did you need surgery? Well cutting calories is possible if you aren’t hungry all the time no matter how much you eat, and if you can fill up on the healthy things without it being like flash paper into a volcano. I honestly did need the surgery, and I’m not going to pretend it did the work for me, but it gave me the help for the work I wanted to be able to do.

Six days a week I do a split between running and rowing for a half hour. I’m going to run in a 5k this spring, which has been a dream of mine for years. I exercise on my lunch break every day.

Yes, I have some loose skin. It’s nowhere as bad as people make it out to be. I am not exactly planning on running around in a bikini so it’s not like it limits my life at all. It’s not visible in my clothes, not even tight fitting ones. I might get it removed some day, but if I don’t I’ll still be happy.

This weight loss has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me. Life is difficult when you are morbidly obese. It’s difficult physically, emotionally, and socially. This weight loss hasn’t fixed every problem in my life, but I didn’t expect for it to. It fixed my weight related problems, and I had a lot of them.

This surgery can be life changing, but it’s not a magic bullet. You still have to make huge life changes. But if you feel sabotaged you your own constant hunger, cravings, and binges, this can really be the tool you use to dig yourself out of the seemingly insurmountable weight you need to lose.

This isn’t a finish line for me. I am still working on hopefully losing another 15 lbs, and I’m never going back to my old eating habits. I know I signed up for a lifelong change, otherwise I’ll be right back where I started. But finally hitting goal was a nice early Christmas present to myself. Sorry for the essay, but I don’t really have anyone in real life to share with who gets it!

Yes, I would do it again. My husband was not in favor (although he supported what I decided). A family member who is a doctor cautioned me that some of his patients had gained back all the weight. However, three of my doctors at teaching hospitals recommended it, and showed me the research. It’s been such a blessing, as finally I am able to lose so much excess weight (I thought I would go to my grave obese). And I feel that as long as I follow the eating guidelines, it will stay off.
This is my answer, even though from what I gather, I had a much harder recovery than most people on this forum. I vomited multiple times a day for two months before it stopped. I did have regrets at first, but my surgeon said it would stop. Once the nausea subsided, it has been sunny skies.

I just had VSG surgery on 12/10. I was so nervous the weeks leading up to my surgery. I had anxiety and trouble sleeping but you know what? I did it and I’d do it again. The decision was easy but the process is difficult. You just have to get through it. Remember why you decided to do this. Remember how good you are going to feel afterwards. Today makes a week. I’m home, moving around and tolerating liquids and some applesauce. It’s hard to predict how you will feel 6 weeks post op but imo, you get stronger everyday. Your body is going to go through a lot of changes after a surgery like this. I’m still early in mines, I’m sore, not as strong as I was but also had 85% of my stomach removed. I wish you all the best and know that any choice you make you YOUR choice. Take care 💜

I’m 13 months out and would do it again in a heartbeat. I’m down 172 lbs and less than half the woman I once was. It is a lot of hard work still, so don’t just assume you’ll get the surgery and the weight will fall off without you having to do anything. But if you’re willing to put in the effort it can be life changing.

Yes, now that I'm in maintenance, I do allow myself a treat now and then (special occasions). And my day to day diet is not as strict as it was when I was in weight loss phase. You don't have to commit to NEVER having any of your favorite foods ever again. A total abstinence approach works for some people, but it's not realistic for me.
But you will need to be mindful of how and what you eat, if you want to maintain the loss. I weigh myself regularly and I adjust based on what I see on the scale. Like a lot of us, I have a redline weight limit that tells me it's time to buckle down and follow my plan more strictly until I lose the pounds I have picked up. Hopefully, I will never again eat recklessly and mindlessly on a day to day basis. But I still enjoy old favorites (just less often and in smaller portions). I hope that helps!

Walmart sells cauliflower pizza crusts in the frozen section that are quite tasty and Hershey zero sugar tastes exactly the same as real chocolate to me. For some people the sugar substitute acts like a laxative so try just a small portion at home the first time of the zero sugar candy. I also just found cauliflower Pasta at Walmart (frozen) and had that last night. It was almost like the real thing. Check out the thread favorite grocery products. You will be surprised the number of options there are out there.

Hi!
Not sure if this will help you or not....my program doesn't cut out food groups, and encourages getting to 1200 calories as soon as you can. I have been at 1200 calories since week 5 or so...and I eat carbs. I made this one change years ago with pizza. Before surgery we would get pizza maybe twice a month, and it was always overdone. Large greasy pizzas, with fries and dips etc etc and of course I would get sick from the overindulgence every.single.time lol.
I take a whole wheat pita, add some Tomato sauce, pepperoni from the deli, and low fat cheese. Cook at 400 in the oven for about 15 min and it's amazing! Crispy but also gooey. Depending on what actual products you use....comes out to about 320 calories, 15g of fat, 36g of carbs, 19g of Protein. Before surgery, I used to eat 3...now it is just one for dinner. And of course, you can out whatever toppings you want. It's also great for kids too because they can make the kind of pizza they want....without the price tag and all the added full fat and oil and doughy crust.
I think there are many ways to get around certain kinds of food by making modifications to your favourites! The internet has non stop recipes that can help with alternatives regardless of the kind of program you are on.

Im currently 8 lbs off of my goal, my weight seems to fluctuate 1-3 lbs which is frustrating but normal... Just can't focus on that too much.
Im excited to get into maintenance mode!

NSV recently was for the first time in many years I am able to shop in the regular sizes and not Big and Tall.

I can sit in a booth again and behind my steering wheel without rubbing my belly.

A new NSV for me at 9 weeks post-op is getting out of the tub is much easier and I can push myself up with arm strength alone.

Pre-surgery, I am down 3-4 sizes on bottoms (size 26-28 from size 32). I'm wearing big baggy tops for now. I've stitched up the size seams of all of my underpants and bras and swimwear so I won't have to buy new during the immediate transitional period. Surgery is just a week away, so I will have to buy more soon and also take a trip to Goodwill to buy pants and tops. I think can get by with my winter sweaters and coats.
Best NSV of all, I went out to lunch last weekend and sat in a booth, with room to spare between my belly and the table. That hasn't happened in years.

I had to go buy a new winter coat today because my old ones are so big that they catch the wind and let in all the cold air! Bonus: I've gone from a TIGHT 3x to a comfortable 1x; I'll definitely be in the "regular" sizes next year.

I am almost 8 months since surgery and I absolutely would do it again! 110%! I'm 4 pounds from goal and it feels like the last 10 pounds have taken forever to come off but I feel 20 years younger. Physically, I am doing activities I have not done in years. Mentally, it has been an adjustment...in a good way. I smile more, make eye contact with people and overall, just in a better place emotionally. I wore a fitted wool dress with knee high boots the other evening to dinner with hubby and a gentleman, who was leaving the restaurant, looked back over his shoulder at me and my better half said "yep, she hot!"...we laughed liked teenagers throughout dinner!
For me, it was worth the hard work, the time and effort to get here. Only you can decide if you are ready for this major life change! Good Luck!

It absolutely, a hundred thousand percent, is worth it.
Within a month I was completely off my blood pressure medication. Within six weeks I didn't need my inhaler anymore and could run for the first time in forever. I'm off my antidepressant. My CPAP is next to go.
Do I get tired? Yeah. I do. Still working on getting that Protein up given how physically active my life is.
Would I take the 105 lbs. I've lost back? ABSOLUTELY NEVER.

Everyone’s experience is different but i am 8 months post op hovering at 9 or 10 pounds from my goal weight and I would absolutely do this again. Many will tell you their only regret is not doing this sooner and I agree (although it is a major surgery with some big life changes so I think this is the time when I was ready). And I absolutely could have done a cruise at 6 weeks. You will have to bring shakes and things with you and you will have to enjoy all the many other parts of cruising other than indulging in ALL of the foods available but I’m sure you will find a couple delicacies that you can enjoy that are on plan. My plan does not exclude ANY food. I have had chocolate, pizza, Pasta, etc. just in very small amounts but you will want to follow your doctors plan and some are more restrictive. I was on a diet on a cruise and I remember bringing those crystal light to go packages with me and mixing them with a glass of Water at dinner which is one tip if you don’t like water a second would be if you don’t feel you can order and eat normal enough to eat in front of people you can just live it up on room service the whole time. My husband was excited to learn that you can have beer delivered to the room. Lol.

I'm 4 months out, and I can say, based on my experiences so far, it has absolutely been worth it. I was very nervous going into it, but I have had no regrets. Since I paid out of pocket, if I did have regrets that would really be a bummer! I'm down 61 lbs since the start of pre-op diet (50 since surgery), I feel fabulous, and I am not ruled by food anymore. It has been liberating to no longer be fighting the urge to eat. Are there challenges? Absolutely. Are there some downsides? Of course. But, right now the downsides are far outweighed by the benefits to date. Now, I realize I am early in the process so some of this could change, but I just fit back into my favorite pants again (and purged tons of stuff from my closet) so I am riding a bit of a high. 😁
For me, at six weeks post op I was on soft foods and not doing much adventurous eating. My concern on a cruise would be access to foods included in my program vs what might be had on a cruise. For example, I relied heavily on low-fat dairy products. I also weighed all my food for Portion Control. But, I am sure it can be done and I'm sure other folks will have good tips.

UPDATE:
So, on Friday I contacted my nutritionist. I sent her a lengthy message through my health portal online and attached a copy of my most recent food logs for her to go over.
She quickly responded and told me the following info. First she thanked me for the included food logs with macros as they were very helpful. She was happy to see that I still log my food as it helps when trying to figure out what you could be doing "wrong". She said that, although she could see that I was trying to keep my Protein up, I was still being VERY inconsistent. Once she looked over it all and averaged it out, she said my protein was drastically ranging from 49-98 grams a day!! Yikes! Didn't pay attention enough to that to see that myself.
She said my carb intake was also inconsistent. She told me I was using the net carb amounts, but also getting the calories from the total carb amount. She wants me to keep the carbs between 50 and 75 grams a day but NOT over 100. At least not now. She said she understand the use of net carbs from a diabetic standpoint, but in my case my blood sugars are improving and my medication has decreased. Of course she said carbs should be from fruit/veg/whole grains. Which I was doing but in wrong amounts, I guess. I also had been lacking in the veggie department cause I somehow inadvertently was replacing veggies with these new carbs (i.e., rice, quinoa, etc) that months ago she suggested I add in. So yeah, was doing things sorta right, but not really. LOL
She said it looked like most of my calories were coming from carbs and lacking in protein that your body needs to preserve muscle and continue to lose fat. She said there was no need to cut them out completely, and that that's not likely to be productive. She also told me to keep my calories down to about 800 a day for now too. Which I was usually between 800 and 1000. Most days, 900.
And finally, when it comes to my fitness she said that walking (which is what I've been doing) is great cardio, but that's all. She suggested I start including some light weight or body weight strength training that's metabolic active, meaning I'll burn calories/fat and preserve muscle and strength. Often times including that helps get through stalls, she said. She told me to make sure there's variety to my activity.
She told me to correct these things for the next few weeks and see if that helps. If not I will make an appointment with her and we can go from there. So, FINGERS CROSSED this works!!! I have made the corrections starting this past Saturday so we'll see. I have yet to figure out an exercise/weight plan. I'm having issues figuring out what exercises I should do with what I have here at home (weight bands and free weights).

Thanks for that and thanks for the info. It makes sense, I guess, when they explain it in that way. Hopefully soon things will move.

You look years younger! Thank you so much for sharing! Congrats!

Hang in there SummerTimeGirl! Sounds like you are doing all the right things and then some. I swear, the more I read about weigh set points, I truly think you [your body] is in one right now. It just needs time to let go of the weight range it is in right now. It will happen! 💕
https://www.healthline.com/health/set-point-theory

UPDATE:
Since my last post I have made an effort to up my Protein and drink more Water. Wanted to see if that would trigger things to get moving. At first I THOUGHT things were moving in the right direction when instead of being around 246-248 I started coming in around 243 and 246. But then I got sick! I believe it's the flu. I also haven't been able to eat for about two 2 days in a row. Today is actually the first day in a week to where I felt ok enough to get up and do something. Anyway, even with being sick and not eating (not on purpose) I still only got down to 243.6!!! Like WTF is happening? Haven't seen my lowest of 241.2 since October 25th!! And obviously haven't gone lower than that since.
I am feeling REALLY discouraged! And to make matters worse, it's not like I can say "Well the scale hasn't moved but the inches have" cause I haven't lost anything but .25, YES, ONLY .25, inches the last month!!! I'm not even sure what the hell else there is to do at this point. I'm sure no one has stalled this long. I mean, can I really use the "it's probably your body retaining salt/or water" excuse any longer? Can that even be possible after this long? I'm just not understanding.
I have been eating like I normally have been for the last 4 months. Same types of foods and amounts with maybe a lil added carbs type foods (as suggested by the nutritionist) like Beans here and there and stuff like brown/wild/multi grain rice, quinoa, etc. Not sure what else I can do. I have also been logging my foods again regularly and seem to be falling within my goals. My calories are usually between 800 and 900 (which my plans calls for between 800 and 1000 if still in the weight loss phase). Some days have gone slightly over. Carb, protein and fat within a good range too.
I know the macros for someone consuming 1000-1200 calories a day roughly falls as follows:
Carbs less than 75 grams (25%)
Protein 75-105 grams (35%)
Fats 45-55 grams (40%)
Sugar less than 25 grams
So for me still in the losing phase and staying around 800-1000 calories a day I've been staying as follows:
Carbs 50 grams
Protein 90 grams
Fats 33 grams
Sugar less than 20 but it's usually under 10 naturally, with what I eat.
So I don't think I'm doing that wrong or being off on that but who the hell knows. I'm so ticked off with this and feel like I used to before the surgery where I used to do all the right things and still couldn't lose weight. I will be so angry if this is it for me cause I still have about 50-60 lbs to lose!!