18 Months Out... Getting Tricky!

[Keys Pirate 70]

Well, I couldn't wait, wait, wait to touch base with my board buddies (lots of new people!) when I hit 18 months yesterday!! Life has been amazing since sleeve surgery and continues to amaze. But, just this week, it seems my weight is starting to creep up again!! The nerve! Do I really have to WORK now at this!? Lol! I know I do and I've known it was coming. I've been maintaining pretty easily since October of last year floating around between 153 and 157. Perfectly-Happy-Land in size 6's. Today I weighed in (still weigh every day) at 162!!! How in the??? I passed 157 a few days ago, 159 for a couple of days and now today a new record... Not happy about it - almost 10 pounds up! Never thought I'd be writing these words, not me, no way, a statistic - me? HA! So here I am, trying not to panic and having a serious reality check. I can eat so much more lately but, I admit, I munch pretty much all day - good stuff, nuts, Jerky, berries, cheese but I know it's more than what it should be. I still get terribly full at meals very quickly so they are a non-event. I'm still highly aware of carbs but have allowed some in as "maintenance" carbs and to sustain my exercise demands. I'm still riding religiously 100-140 miles on the bike weekly but my body is no longer challenged by this. I don't have time to do more.

ERRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Ok, bring it on, I need your pity, suggestions and ass-kicking!! And no, I'm not changing my ticker just yet!!

Oh yeah, I'm back to logging my food again on myfitnesspal.com - probably never should have stopped that!

Bottom line is the sleeve rocks!! Now if I could just fix my head...

C

[katmagmom 9]

Congrats on 18months out and on your awesome weight loss!!!

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Wow Keys, I'm gonna say it - this scares the $h!t outta me! You have been such an all-star, I guess this just proves that none of us is safe, that the sleeve was merely a tool to build the house but that we still have to watch out for termites! I noticed you mentioned that you had stopped logging your food, that seems to be the clincher right there, every time one of us (myself included) stops logging food, it spells stall or gain.

In the almost year that Ive been on the board you've been an exercise maniac so I know that's not the problem, but I also know that you have had a more tolerant attitude toward carbs designating some as good and necessary because of your exercise. I'm sure that is 100% true, but regardless of how necessary, those carbs are just our damn gateway drug.

I'll bet that if you log religiously for one month, do a 5-day pouch cleanse, and cut your carbs back to post-op levels, that weight plus some will just disappear. =)

[thinoneday 445]

Well, I couldn't wait, wait, wait to touch base with my board buddies (lots of new people!) when I hit 18 months yesterday!! Life has been amazing since sleeve surgery and continues to amaze. But, just this week, it seems my weight is starting to creep up again!! The nerve! Do I really have to WORK now at this!? Lol! I know I do and I've known it was coming. I've been maintaining pretty easily since October of last year floating around between 153 and 157. Perfectly-Happy-Land in size 6's. Today I weighed in (still weigh every day) at 162!!! How in the??? I passed 157 a few days ago, 159 for a couple of days and now today a new record... Not happy about it - almost 10 pounds up! Never thought I'd be writing these words, not me, no way, a statistic - me? HA! So here I am, trying not to panic and having a serious reality check. I can eat so much more lately but, I admit, I munch pretty much all day - good stuff, nuts, Jerky, berries, cheese but I know it's more than what it should be. I still get terribly full at meals very quickly so they are a non-event. I'm still highly aware of carbs but have allowed some in as "maintenance" carbs and to sustain my exercise demands. I'm still riding religiously 100-140 miles on the bike weekly but my body is no longer challenged by this. I don't have time to do more.

ERRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! Ok, bring it on, I need your pity, suggestions and ass-kicking!! And no, I'm not changing my ticker just yet!!

Oh yeah, I'm back to logging my food again on myfitnesspal.com - probably never should have stopped that!

Bottom line is the sleeve rocks!! Now if I could just fix my head...

C

Hi there, well your not going to get a lecture, your booty kicked or pity from me. . . cause i've been there and am struggling big time. . so your not alone. . .i was on a 7 month stall from January 2011 to mid July 2011. . . then i kicked myself in the backside (hard to do) and did a reality check. . . I didn't pay $15,500.00 of my hard earned money to NOT get to my own personal goal. . . there was no way. . .so i pulled up my big girl panties and went back to the olden days. . . DIETING. . . yup and charting on myfitnesspal. . . i only allow 800- 950 calories and less then 40 carbs a day. . . those carbs are from veggies and fresh fruits only. . .i dropped all diet soda, alcohol, flour products and sweets, Desserts, etc. . . it's really really tough but it's working. . . in the first 2 weeks I dropped 20 lbs and i'm in week 3. . . I'm only doing this in small 6 week increments then taking a break for 1 weekend and off i go again for another 6 weeks. . . as far as exercise, change yourself up a bit, do something different then the bike. . .walk or something else. . . your body tends to get really used to all this business of sameness. . . good luck!

[MINI-Me 196]

It may just be a blip ... see my post (I am 18 months out tomorrow)

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/21259-madder-than-a-wet-hen/page__pid__184932#entry184932

Congratulations on how well you have done and continue to do!

[JackieOMonroe 123]

Never fear! You caught it early and it seems like you have your game face on to keep the weight off.

My suggestion to you would be to stop munching throughout the day. Plan your mealtimes and stick to the plan. Sure you're snacking on good stuff, but nuts are very high calorie, cheese adds up quickly, and berries are much higher in calories if they're dried.

Other than that, it sounds like you're doing well. Good luck!

[Lila21 36]

I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling a bit, but it's good to remember how far you've come!!! I agree with Globetrotter that you might want to go lower carb for a while and log your stats religiously, etc, and you'll drop that ten lbs in no time!!!

[Keys Pirate 70]

Hey you guys! Thanks so much for all the supportive replies and for not kicking my butt too bad! I'm my own worst enemy, trust me! Mini, my hero, thanks for the link to your thread; exactly what I'm going thru but this is beyond blip - I know in my heart it's time to pull my head out of my butt and get back with it. It's funny how even eating "well" can get you in a tail spin... So, I had 35 miles of headwind on my bike yesterday and I really watched what was going into my mouth - measured my almonds lol! - 35 nuts ain't too many!, etc etc. and was down 2 pounds today - 160. So, three more to the high end of my "happy zone" of 153-157 but I want to be at 153 or less again and I know I can do it. I'm logging again, as tedious as it is, and I know that is huge and keeps us honest.

Jackie, you're right about the high fat foods but low carb is ok with that. Prob is I'm watching carbs and eating too much fruit. An equation that doesn't work and I'm not even eating THAT much fruit. You're right, dried fruit is dangerous - I don't eat anything but fresh.

Thinoneday you rock - yes, the D word, it's true - but it's different - not a diet but a lifestyle and like watching money, it's a lifetime effort whether we like it or not. I'm thinking of the 5 day thing but... not quite there yet in my head if you know what I mean. I know you're right about shaking up the exercise routine but things like walking just won't cut it for me; not intense enough. I'm thinking of swimming (yuck) or p90x after season is over and I have somewhere to do it. Any of you try p90? I used to do a lot of step aerobics too - might go back that route. I could run but I'm too old for that nowadays; too much impact on my already saggy body!

Globie!! How the heck are YOU doing???!!! Thanks for the input and I scare the sh*! out of myself too!! It's a lot tougher now but, on the other hand, so very do-able with the sleeve as backup - it's all about habits in my case. Truthfully I've been more of a carb cop than most staying around 40 or so a day for a long time until I started having near blackouts on my bike and researching just how much sugar our brains need to function. Bumped it up a bit and solved the problem. I'm now at about 85 a day (guess that's more than a bit) and going to see if I can function as strongly on 60 or so...

One final thing; I'm one of those plagued by acid issues; sometimes I have reflux immediately AFTER eating even though I felt fine before eating. I've been on and off ppi's - back on now and have been for several weeks now. No plans to try and go off again any time soon. It only kinda works so-so and I combine with Gaviscon a few times a week. UGH!! Not sure how this dastardly issue is going to play out in the long run.

So, thanks again to all of you guys - I didn't realize how much support this board provides until I've been away for awhile even though I lurk in the background quite a lot. I'm so proud of all of us.

C

[Tiffykins 672]

Awwwwwwwwwwwww darling (in my best southern girl), you've hit that wall. . . I hit it too around the same time right before pregnancy. Grant it, I wasn't make good choices like you are, but I still had that gain. The good thing is that you see it, caught it, and are getting control of it. There did come a time where I just started accepting that 5lb bounce on the scale. I had to do it for my mental sake. I wasn't willing to give up my Mojitos, and honestly that's when I'd bounce on the scale. It wasn't the food necessarily, but I wanna drink and not beat myself over it. Geez I miss my Mojitos LOL LOL 3.5 more months LOL LOL.

You got this chickee, and I know you'll find that balance again! ! !

Cheers to all your many successes :heart:

[Keys Pirate 70]

TIFF!! So good to hear from your cute little preggers butt!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I am sooooo happy for you and know how badly you wanted this!!! I hope everything is going perfectly for you.

Thanks for your input - I knew this day was coming so it's time to put on my big girl pants and deal - we certainly are empowered now to do so! Get this - with logging my food again and just cutting out most of the munching (nuts, primarily) and eating when I'm hungry rather than just because, I've dropped 6 pounds in four days!!!! Like the good old days - how cool!!! I never could have done this pre-op - no willpower and feeling of oh well, too late now. I am sooo stoked! I hopped on the scale this a.m. at 155.8 and thought for sure it was wrong - I was hoping for 157. I was at 162 Tuesday a.m. WOW!!! I think I'm going to ride the momentum and just get myself down to my original personal goal of 149 - something under 150 - that I never quite attained. Why not?

So thanks to all of you - you are the best and this board is sooooo important to me and to so many of us. I could not have done this without you guys. I say Mojitos for all!!!!! A toast!!!!

xoxoxo!

C

[Stacy160 201]

I'm right there with ya, at 18 months. I never did hit goal (which was 160 or less).... I hovered around 172 for a LONG time, briefly (like for less than a week) hit something like 166, but went right back to 172 for another LONG time. Over the last few months it's been creeping, and last time I looked, I was at 178.

My exercise goals have been hampered by injury, although I'm doing the Warrior Dash tomorrow, even if I have to limp through it LOL.

I've finally gotten some Wellbutrin, which I plan on starting Sunday, and which I expect to really help me get my head back in the right place, and even just thinking about having a little extra help makes me excited to get back on the horse and FINISH this damn thing. I feel like it's the missing key, at this point.

So I'm saying for the gazillionth time in the last 9 months or so... let's DO this and get it done!!

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Oooooohoooh! toldjatoldatoldatoldja!! *doing the toldja so dance* Yahoo Keys, I knew you could and I knew you would, yes, hope for all!!

[Nanna509 1]

I'm so glad i ran across your post. It was as if I wrote it. My 2 year surgery anniversary will be Aug. !3. I stayed down around 138 for about a year and have now crept up to about 146-147. I eat nuts and air popped popcorn daily. And i too can't do anymore exercise than what i do now.(love kickboxing) It's got to be a matter of cutting the calories. My doctor had told me only to eat 3 times a day with NO snacking but I feel like i get very lightheaded around 10am so that's my excuse to grab some nuts.

That's why I got on here tonight, trying to remeber all that I went through to lose this weight, not to mention the money. (I was self pay-$16,000!!!!)

So I think I will go now and throw out all of my nuts and start fresh tomorrow. thanks for your post!