I am not at goal.

I am 5' 8" and 63 years young.:svengo:

I am a size 14.

I am happy with that. My hubby is happy with that.:001_wub:

I dont think I want to loose any more.

I look a bit like a deflated baloon.:scared0:

My face has so many wrinkles now, not a place that is not wrinkled, unless I smile, so, I smile alot.:biggrin0:

I look great in clothes, but, not so good without.

No way can I go sleeveless.

Swimsuits are so embarrassing. Even in a size 14.

My lumpy legs are awful!:scared0:

If I loose anymore it will just get worse.

I do not want to have to go have more surgery. Besides, I am only 4 months post op. so, it is too soon.

I am thinking maybe I should just stop the weight loss and see if my baggy lumpy skin goes away? Oh phooey, who am I kidding. That is not gonna happen.

I am working out at the gym 3 to 4 times a week.

I can feel my muscles. :thumbup:

I just think I should put the brakes on deflating any more.

What do you think? Anyone else dealing with this?:confused:

You certainly have options. You can stop now. Or you can lose a little more to give yourself some leeway for future small gains, and see how you feel a little smaller. If you don't like how you feel or what you see, you can put some pounds back on until you hit the size you like most. I expect it will be easy to gain it back if you want to go back up to a 14.

My goal is 145, at 5 feet 7 inches. I am 62. But I suspect that I will feel too skinny at 145 and may stop a bit before that too...am going to wait and see how I feel and look. I weighed 145 as a 7th grader, and in my pictures I looked good. But alas, I am no longer a youthful 13 year old! I might look like a "bag of bones" at 145. It's so awesome to have the opportunity to try it out though!

Are you using a good moisturizer all over, daily? I started doing that right after surgery, and It seems to me that my turkey neck is getting a bit better as time goes on..I am 5 months out. I also use a little aloe vera gel on my face and neck after the moisturizer...it seems to have a tightening effect, and really feels good. I don't use anything expensive, just some vaseline intensive care lotion and the aloe. Hands and arms are getting wrinkly too so they get "greased" as well. I have read elsewhere that it takes about a year after the wt loss for all the skin to sort of smooth out and stabilize as much as it is going to. That's why they recommend no cosmetic surgery until at least a year after reaching goal.

Even if my wrinkles don't get much better, I'd rather be wrinkly than morbidly obese. :scared0::biggrin0::confused:

Good luck in making the decision that is right for YOU.

I understand your concerns. Replace that fat with some muscle by working out, weight training. Maybe do some bio-identical hormone treatment. Working out will build muscle and help fill the void where the fat was and the hormone treatment will help your skin. Can't promise they will make you look 13 again, but will help. I am 55 and developing the turkey neck. I purchased a product I am going to start using, it is a type of wrap. If I see an improvement I will share it with everyone.

You must feel much better though. Congrats on the weight loss and improvement to your health.

I went through, and currently still dealing with trying to maintain. I started eating more, adding healthy carbs and fats into my diet around my 4th month, and sadly it didn't completely work. I've dropped 20 pounds in 2 months. It's been sporadic losses here and there, nothing consistent on a weekly basis, but nothing is really stopping it.

I can honestly say my skin is looking way better. My arms won't ever be normal, and I don't have any desire to wear sleeveless or tank tops. It's my weird aversion to armpits. Anyways, if you decide you want to slow it down, you can, but don't expect it to stop. I would wake up one day weigh and maintaining, happy go lucky, get 2 days later weigh, and dropped 3-4 pounds in a matter of a couple of days.

I just want my skin to catch up as much as it can.

I am using lotions and creams.

I am exercizing with weights 3X a week.

I do not want to look 13.

I do not mind some wrinkles, for pete's sake I'm 63. so some wrinkles are certainly welcome.

It is just this deflated look.

Yes I am waaaay healthier and I am so glad for that.

I am not going to stop the exercize or the eating healthy, oh I just need to quit whining.

sorry guys, just thought someone else might be going thru this and could co-miserate with me. misery loves company. Thanks for not joining my pitty party! lol

I am better now. onward!

I am not quite in the same boat as you, but I understand the not liking what you see in the mirror and wanting to stop the weight loss. My face is looking really gaunt and angular, where it didn't look as bad even 5 pounds ago (I didn't post pictures taken on a trip last week because I just don't look right...a little scary). I'm hoping it will fill out a little more, but I'm not holding my breath. Like you, I don't plan to stop the exercise or healthier eating. Good luck finding your happy place:-)

I just want my skin to catch up as much as it can.

I am using lotions and creams.

I am exercizing with weights 3X a week.

I do not want to look 13.

I do not mind some wrinkles, for pete's sake I'm 63. so some wrinkles are certainly welcome.

It is just this deflated look.

Yes I am waaaay healthier and I am so glad for that.

I am not going to stop the exercize or the eating healthy, oh I just need to quit whining.

sorry guys, just thought someone else might be going thru this and could co-miserate with me. misery loves company. Thanks for not joining my pitty party! lol

I am better now. onward!

I'm with you on the deflated look. My boobs resemble basset hound ears. I almost feel like I gotta roll 'em up to get them to look decent in a push-up bra.

All I keep saying is "Thank the good Lord above for clothing." Cause I definitely am not a fan of the wilted, deflated look.

Okay, you guys are scaring me now. :scared0: Although I desperately want to lose this weight, I don't want to be anorexic looking at any point. The word skinny really doesn't set well with me either. You guys all look great in your album pics, but what if some people can't stop loosing weight and end up underweight. I would never have thought that I would ever have to worry about that! :001_rolleyes:

So how do you stop the weight loss? Is this phenomenom of loosing past past your goal weight related to the size of the sleeve (boughie) you get?

This is first day since I learned of this procedure that anything has made me stop for even a second to reconsider getting it done. I've got 3 months left to figure it out so your input would be greatly appreciated.

Okay, you guys are scaring me now. :scared0: Although I desperately want to lose this weight, I don't want to be anorexic looking at any point. The word skinny really doesn't set well with me either. You guys all look great in your album pics, but what if some people can't stop loosing weight and end up underweight. I would never have thought that I would ever have to worry about that! :001_rolleyes:

So how do you stop the weight loss? Is this phenomenom of loosing past past your goal weight related to the size of the sleeve (boughie) you get?

This is first day since I learned of this procedure that anything has made me stop for even a second to reconsider getting it done. I've got 3 months left to figure it out so your input would be greatly appreciated.

It has absolutely nothing to do with bougie size based on my experience. I know that I can eat more than other patients on this board that have bigger bougie size than I have. I can eat more dense Protein in one meal than they can. The bougie size isn't the end all be all to determining sleeve capacity. I chew my food a lot, I eat super slow, I eat protein first for 90% of the time. It's just how my body is adjusting. I could easily gain if I really wanted to do so.

If you have a good surgeon, nutritionist/dietician on your side then you can make adjustments to your diet to avoid becoming underweight or malnourished. You need a good medical support system behind you to help guide you through these different stages. It's all a learning experience.

My goal weight was set high, I knew this going in. I am by no means anorexic looking. I am actually pretty hourglass shaped. My face doesn't look gaunt, my eyes are not sunken in, I don't look sick, I'm not pale or gangly looking. My fat has restributed, and my bones aren't protruding.

You stop the weight loss by monitoring your calories, increasing carbs, and healthy fats, and calories. It's not difficult to do, but your body has to make adjustment to the changes.

I just had gallbladder surgery on February 4th, and that screwed with my eating. Therefore, I lost a few pounds. Also, a lot of people fall below their goal weight with all of the surgery options. A lot of people say their body just stopped when it was comfortable and they hadn't changed anything from when they first started maintaining.

Like I said, my labs are perfect, I'm still in a normal weight range, my body fat percentage is still higher than what I'd like, but I am doing my best to maintain.

Edited February 28, 201016 yr by Tiffykins

can't help you here carolyn still 64 more to go but i understand about the loose skin it not the best thing to look at. by the way all three of you guys did sooo well and i hope to join you guys at the goal point soon!

xoxo,

nikki

Okay, you guys are scaring me now. :scared0: Although I desperately want to lose this weight, I don't want to be anorexic looking at any point. The word skinny really doesn't set well with me either. You guys all look great in your album pics, but what if some people can't stop loosing weight and end up underweight. I would never have thought that I would ever have to worry about that! :001_rolleyes:

So how do you stop the weight loss? Is this phenomenom of loosing past past your goal weight related to the size of the sleeve (boughie) you get?

This is first day since I learned of this procedure that anything has made me stop for even a second to reconsider getting it done. I've got 3 months left to figure it out so your input would be greatly appreciated.

I am not malnourished by any means and I still have a LONG way to go to be underweight (I set my goal pretty high as well), I just prefer a "thicker" and curvier look. And this is all such a subjective thing, just like who we are attracted to is subjective, I might see "gaunt" where someone else does not. I have been overweight or obese my entire life, except for once in high school, so since birth I'm used to a much rounder/softer look on me. Like I mentioned in my post I'm hoping that my face fills out again, I've felt this way before during my wls journey and it has, but I'm not sure it will this time.

What I'm whining about is strictly vanity and nothing to do with health. Keep exploring the procedure, but remember that it's not all roses and sunshine. This is something I did for health reasons, not vanity (I thought I was pretty cute before), and I think sometimes we all have days where our vanity gets the best of us and we just need to vent. Not intended to scare anyone. I'm going to post a couple of pictures later today, my husband thinks I'm crazy in my thoughts, but they are my feelings about how I look right now.

I would do the vsg again in a heartbeat because of how much more I am able to do and how much my overall health has improved (I have none of the health issues I did before surgery that were due to weight). Good luck in your research!

well i can't really comment on this either. i am still trying to figure all of this out seeing i am like 2 1/2 months out and not losing weight anymore. i am pretty frustrated because i don't eat hardly anything. it must be what i am eating. i am going to try hard to not eat anything that has carbs in it this week and see what happens. this diet is so frustrating to me because it is almost like i have stopped and believe me this is not where i want to be weight wise. HELPPPPPPPPPP

well i can't really comment on this either. i am still trying to figure all of this out seeing i am like 2 1/2 months out and not losing weight anymore. i am pretty frustrated because i don't eat hardly anything. it must be what i am eating. i am going to try hard to not eat anything that has carbs in it this week and see what happens. this diet is so frustrating to me because it is almost like i have stopped and believe me this is not where i want to be weight wise. HELPPPPPPPPPP

Change up your menu, incorporate a few more calories, or add extra Water. Everyone that I've talk to here and OH that cut the carbs to around 30 a day, and change up their menu always see the scale move.

Sometimes we just gotta shake things up to get the scale moving again.

Thanks guys for your frank input. I guess I just needed to freak out for a minute. This procedure seems too good to be true sometimes, so maybe I'm looking for some down side... I know that there are risks, like everything else, but comparatively it seems like the clear choice.

I too prefer a more hourglass, curvier look, so I guess that's what made me get carried away with the underweight thing. I see your points about the importance of adjusting your eating to your body's needs, whether that be weight loss, maintenance, or gaining a few pounds to balance things out.

I'm so used to NOT having that kind of will power and control that it's hard for me to imagine being able to so easily adjust my eating habits. I'm used to being in that spiraling out of control phase with eating and I'm projecting that onto the other end of this journey and seeing myself being out of control with not eating. I'll get out of my head now and be glad that I've come across such a great weight loss option at a point in my life when I'm ready to take the plunge.

Thanks also to Carolyn for posting this topic. This is yet another thing I had not seriously considered yet need to be prepared for. This forum has been the most helpful tool I have come across in this journey and because of everyone here, I KNOW I"m going to be ready.

I would really have to work to gain weight. I just can't eat that much. I am getting the turkey neck and my body is looking like 5 pounds of poop in a ten pound bag!

I'm not at that point at all!! But I have noticed that when I get out of one group of numbers ( 190 ) and now in the 80's... I take it much slower.

I can't wait to get out of the 80's but am not "pushing" it that fast or hard.

I have had people tell me I need to stop losing... but you know how people are! The big talk at work is my butt.... LMAO ( or lack of one) Flat 'ole pacake butt I have!!

I'm really fortunate.. I do not have the turkey neck!! But I have also done alot of face exercises too. Not sure if that helped or not. I also have lost alot in my arms and shoulders, I use to always feel like a linebacker because I am so broad shouldered and big boned.

Is kinda funny when people comment on that too. Say I am "gaunt" I'm not... take a look at the pics I posted in my one year make album.... you be the judge if I'm "gaunt"

Honest answers!!!