figbart

I haven't read everything in detail, but I will say that I am one of those that did and do everything right and only ever lost 30-35 pounds since my sleeve gastrectomy. I track my food, etc., etc... My doc says some people are just like that.....
I will say that I eat about 1300 calories a day. I have yet to figure out how to get all my Protein in, along with fruits and veggies for less than that. I want to say healthy as well. And honestly, I get toooooooooo hungry when I eat less than that. It's hard for me to eat 800 calories a day, but even when I was on liquids only at 800 calories a day the weight came off slower than slow. I realized right away that I wasn't losing as much weight as most others in the forums and I became discouraged. I still try every day to eat healthy, take my Vitamins, get in all my Protein, but for me, apparently size 14/16 it is for now. Who knows, maybe someday I'll figure it out and lose more....
I just want to say that I completely understand the struggle and I BELIEVE and understand the dilemma of those who of us who do everything right with minimal results.

I would like to add something I think that my surgeon and others don't take into consideration enough. There was no individualization of care planning We are all just "Sleeves". I am sure that part of my lack of results from my surgery is my age. At 57 my metabolism, with all my comorbids has only been negatively effected by major surgery. As a RN I should have known this would be the case. A 30 year old body is going to react differently to stressors. So not everyone is going to have a great sucess story. I just wish my surgeon had been honest with me instead of saying all his his patients lose 30 pounds in the first month.

Update: it is now 64 days of post-op faithfulness and I am down only 11 lbs. 5'3" and 212.2 lbs

I am sorry to read about your struggles, but I have to admit feeling a little better that I am not alone in my struggles... it's HARD and very frustrating.

I agree with everything you said. I was 296 when I started and my lowest was 169. I had surgery May 21, 2012. It has been three years. My husband passed away in June of 2014 with cancer at the age of 48 which most of you know. I started gaining back after diagnosis from drinking frappes and lattes which gave me a high from the sugar and caffeine. He was very ill and I was his sole caregiver. I hardly ate but drank ready made Protein shakes and coffee. I started gaining back and by the time he passed away, I had gained up to 189 from 169. Now since, I gained to 224 and was able to get back to 207 then gained back to 215 where I am now. It is so hard and we aren't like normal people. You are so right. It gets really hard after the first year and it takes more work than people realize. SO, newbies be very careful because you will be able to gain easily and you will be able to eat more as time goes by. The full feeling is there but not as in the honeymoon stage. liquid calories is the devil. So be careful.
I'm so scared that I will continue to gain if I don't stop with the stupid sugar in coffee. I will say that I think if I hadn't had this surgery, I would have gained a lot more by now. SO it is worth it with all the complications I have with severe GERD, esophageal spasms, bile reflux, and almost drowning in my own bile while sleeping because I had yogurt too late at night.
I'm doing my best to get back on track but it isn't easy.

Well i have finally found a Protein Powder I love so I thought I would share !! It's affordable and only 2 grams of carbs and 25 grams of Protein !!I have been struggling a lot latley but here we go hopefully I can get over this mountain !

<p>I don't average 700 cals, I get in 650 cals, MAXIMUM, I log every bite and lick, including my chewing gum. I have had the thyroid tests and I don't have PCOS. I know how hard I'm trying, I know to just ignore people who suggest I "really" pay attention to what I'm eating and doing, because I already am.</p>
<p>For reasons that have yet to be understood by physicians, my metabolism appears to be broken. It is a life of weighed chicken breasts and leafy greens (and not even much of those).</p>

Oh well shoot. I've lost less than that in 2 months! I've got the metabolism of a koala.

I'm sorry but that kind of post is part of the frustration for me.
"you've lost the weight before so you know you can do it. Don't spend time beating yourself up. Instead, spend that time evaluating whats caused you to go back down that road, then begin on a new road by building yourself up and taking time to get healthy again."

It's like people don't want to know, don't want to hear, don't want to understand. Even though it says don't beat yourself up, that's just what the next portion of the sentence does - it shames the individual. "spend that time evaluating whats caused you TO GO BACK DOWN THAT ROAD" Because, obviously, it must be "something they did" that made them gain lots of weight back or be at a never ending stall.
That is classic blaming and shaming.
Only few of us are being vocal about it, but the numbers are far larger. We did everything we were supposed to do, and never achieved goal. We had stalls and regain and addressed them in the way we were told to, and nothing happened. I have eaten and exercised like a post op, flawlessly, for the past 53 days and I have lost only 9 pounds. When one is severely overweight (do not pay attention to my numbers in my profile, they are sadly incorrect) 650 calories a day and less than 30g carbs should not result in barely 9 pounds in almost 3 months. Not when the person is 5'3" and 65 lbs over goal.
As I understand from your post above, you've lost 9 pounds in 53 days. (That's not 3 months, by the way -- it's 7.5 weeks or less than 2 months ... just sayin'.)
Anyway, if we assume that each pound you lost equates to a 3,500 calorie deficit (that you didn't eat), that means those 9 pounds equate to 31,500 calories you didn't eat. Further, that means you had a daily calorie deficit over those 53 days of nearly 600 calories.
So given that you averaged 700 calories/day during those 53 days, that means your current metabolic rate is around 1,300 calories.
And yes, I agree. Your metabolism is running VERY slow / low. And that sucks.
But at least you lost the 9 pounds in less than 2 months, not 3 months.

I'm sorry but that kind of post is part of the frustration for me.
"you've lost the weight before so you know you can do it. Don't spend time beating yourself up. Instead, spend that time evaluating whats caused you to go back down that road, then begin on a new road by building yourself up and taking time to get healthy again."

It's like people don't want to know, don't want to hear, don't want to understand. Even though it says don't beat yourself up, that's just what the next portion of the sentence does - it shames the individual. "spend that time evaluating whats caused you TO GO BACK DOWN THAT ROAD" Because, obviously, it must be "something they did" that made them gain lots of weight back or be at a never ending stall.
That is classic blaming and shaming.
Only few of us are being vocal about it, but the numbers are far larger. We did everything we were supposed to do, and never achieved goal. We had stalls and regain and addressed them in the way we were told to, and nothing happened. I have eaten and exercised like a post op, flawlessly, for the past 53 days and I have lost only 9 pounds. When one is severely overweight (do not pay attention to my numbers in my profile, they are sadly incorrect) 650 calories a day and less than 30g carbs should not result in barely 9 pounds in almost 3 months. Not when the person is 5'3" and 65 lbs over goal.

I'm 3 years out, I've gained about 35lbs back from my lowest of 172, and really wish I did have. supportive surgeon... My guy is so much if a dick, I actually call him Dr. House (from the Hugh Laurie character)... He's rude and abrasive - I would never have selected him, but with Kaiser Permanente, I didn't have a choice of surgeon ... He's thin as a reed, which really makes my wonder why he went into Bariatric surgery, but he's such a dick, he made me cry in the hospital when I was dehydrated and couldn't even eat ice chips.
I bought a Bowflex Treadclimber hoping to help with my exercise - I absolutely hate it, but continue to use it because I don't want my family to say, "I told you so"... I've stopped using the elevator at work, I walk around the building at lunch time, I log everything I eat in My Fitness Pal and still cannot get the scale to move. Reading about others opinion that this surgery messes up our metabolism is comforting while at the same time depressing. *sigh*

Okay time for my story. My sleeve was done in Aug 2011. In Jan 12 I lost my job and was doing great and had lost weight from 269 to 185. When I finally went back to work in Aug 2012 I have gained back to 220 and feel just a fat as I was at 269. Before surgery I had never had love handles and still had a waist at any weight.
In Jan of this year, I started logging my 1000 calories on Fitness Pal and started doing some weight training and pliates. I follow this for 12 weeks and gained 2 pounds and it did not appear to reduce my stomach which is my demon. Talk about a kick in the teeth.
Since WLS surgery I have had shoulder and knee surgeries and struggle with most exercises. The best muscle builders are lunges and planks which are killers for my shoulder and knees. My knee pain does let me walk enough and high interval training does work with my chronic anemia.
Today I started on high Protein again and will see where this goes. I can't I say am all that happy with my sleeve.
This is my rant for today and good luck to everyone.

Wow these responses are over whelming in the fact that I don't feel alone!! Thanks everyone for all your ideas and sharing your struggles! I never lost with the 5 day pouch test !! I was wondering what Soups everyone has tried for day 1 and 2?? Did anyone eat Campbell's Soup? I figured it would be too high in carbs!

Michigan Chic I know you mean well but you must not have read far enough up the thread to see my first post. I do everything to the letter of the law, as strict and clean as though I were a new post-op. This includes tracking etc.
And yes, I have tried cycling. I have tried. EVERYTHING.
everything.
After 30 days I have still only lost 3 pounds.

In the past 30 days I have lost and gained and lost and gained the same 3 pounds, while on a diet of between 600-700 calories.

Who do I go to to find out about the angle of my sleeve? I don't have a hernia and don't live anywhere near the surgeon who performed the surgery.

mistysj could you pm me about this surgery revision and GERD? I have had to take a daily pill for intense heartburn since surgery nearly 5 years ago.
Also, yeah it would be nice if that story of too few calories were true, but it isn't.

@@globetrotter if you don't mind me asking, how many calories were you eating when you started gaining your weight back? What kinds of foods were u eating? Have you found a trend?
I'm so sorry your weight loss is so difficult. I agree that many of our metabolisms are screwed up. I myself can't eat more then 800 calories and nearly all of that has to be Protein for me to lose. If you ever figure out how to fix your metabolism I would love to hear all about it. Good luck!!

I think people get hung up on what is "typical" and lose sight of the fact that we are all individuals. Every step of the way through WLS, people have different experiences both mentally and physically. Some people lose very quickly, so much more slowly. Some experience extreme nausea and vomiting, some never throw up once. Some develop intolerance to certain foods, some can eat anything. Some have ongoing, severe GERD, some have none at all. Some experience dumping with high-sugar foods, some can eat sugar without issue.
We all have to work within the parameters of our own bodies. What works for one, or even most, doesn't necessarily work for all. Unfortunately, some people get a "raw deal" and WLS doesn't benefit them the way it does others. Those people have to work harder and struggle more and that really really sucks. We can all hope it doesn't end up that way for us, but we need to acknowledge that it does end up that way for some people and we need to be caring and supportive of those people, instead of accusatory and judgmental. And more importantly, for those that do have a harder time with loss and maintenance, they need to not be accusatory and judgmental of themselves! They need to not label themselves as failures, which I see all too often on these forums and it breaks my heart.

I've been around the block Lipstick, I know what I'm about.

only 8 weeks out and agree with everything you have said.

Babbs, you are the first person to be willing to call out these truths with me, thank you. For the past 21 days I have logged every single morsel of food, every single liquid. I average 700 cals a day, less than 45g carbs, more than 60g Protein. I have lost only 6 pounds and of those 6, 3 have come back; just this morning I got on the scale and it said a pound heavier than two days ago and yesterday I ate only 500 cals.

I think there is a line were what you need to do, and what you can do may clash. Not as easy as saying "just get your head in the game" or "Just eat less" or "Just exercise more". Of course these things count... but it looks to me like there may be some other factors at play here. Brain chemestry? Biome health? When I decided to get the WLS I knew that I would have to do something different than I did before surgery. The lifetyle change. I also knew that I couldnt go so far out of my current lifestyle that I would be falling off the wagon at every turn. I decided I would focus on Portion Control, not super low carbs.... I am a vegetarian, and very low carb is pretty hard to maintain with limited low carb Proteins. I could however eat less carbs. I reworked many recipes to better meet my health needs. I would try and eat everything I wanted too... but keep an eye on the numbers at all times... write it down, weight and measure, get enough Protein, drink my Water, maintain consistancy with my exercise.... Every day is a work in progress. When stress and tragidy come into the picture... its just that much harder. The drug componant of food becomes a player too. I have seen others around me here going cold turkey with carbs... I can do that too, but know I can't and don't want to live that way, I have tried to make lifestyle changes that will last in the long run. This means for me that I am closer to the edge of gaining... if I graze a little too much, if I dont bother writing down what I eat for a few days, if I eat for the drug effects (sugar!) or just step out of my routein too much (eating out... vacation, house guests, parties) it all shows on the scale. I have dedicated two days a week to lower carb and calorie consumption for the last year, and I think this helps keep me from gaining more than I already have. I find it harder and harder to really get back into the downward loss mode these days. I just finished the 5 day pouch test a few weeks ago.. I lost 6 1/5 pounds which felt great, of course you know that kind of quick weight loss is a water dump from low carbs, so very easy to gain back. It value was to remember how lower carbs and higher protein can work for retriction which is a value if you have lost track of that quality of the sleeve. (or pouch). I really don't want to become a yo-yo dieter again... and am looking for a way, in the long run to keep this weight off. At 4 1/2 years, I am till in the "successfull" range, but still looking backwards to the time I was at goal and working to try and get back there if possible, in a sane and sustainable way.

Thanks for sharing Globe! It helps to get all sides of the story.

Good morning! I am looking for help and suggestions. I was sleeved in June 1012. I initially lost 60 lbs down from 250 lbs. The last several months have been tough. I stopped losing and went to see the weight loss center to find out why. they suggested that i up my calories to 1200, keep my Protein up and again suggested that I need to begin exercising more. I was never big on exercise! Well i've increased my calories, and joined a gym go faithfully 3 or 4 days a week, usually 3…and I am gaining weight! I am up 30 lbs and hating it. I am in panic mode. And of course the more i think about it the more i want to eat, just like the old days.
Any advise. I'm even feeling too down to go back to the weight loss center as I feel like a failure.
Please help!