curious on what was the biggest obstacle to overcome after surgery, was it exercising regularly, not drinking soda, protein shakes, or something else

My biggest obstacle is all of the above! I am so bad at doing all of them and im a big snacker! I am trying to get back on track with all the good things i need to do to lose these last 20 pounds!

For most people it falls under learning to eat NORMALLY. That means not approaching the sleeve as a diet, learning to overcome bad eating habits that made us big in the first place, and learning to use food as fuel and enjoy it in moderation.

A lot of us are in total denial until we're already sleeved about what exactly made us fat. I was sure my issue was 90% genetics and was definitely in denial about the fact that I was an overeater and that I used food as a comfort. I was sure that simply restricting my portion size via the sleeve would solve all of my issues and make me a happier person. This is not so.

The sleeve will help you lose weight because it reduces the size of your stomach. It will not teach you to stop restricting yourself with a crazy diet or make you exercise or make you stop eating Cookies if you choose to eat one per hour for six hours. It will not magically make you enjoy eating healthy or make you perfectly happy all by itself.

The challenge I had was learning to eat normally, to approach food as something that can be enjoyable but that doesn't induce guilt, either. I had to learn that it's not all or nothing, it's the rest of my life. It was not easy but it was worth the work.

If you do the headwork in the beginning, maintenance is easy.

~Cheri

My biggest challenge was the lack of energy. I was losing weight very quickly, and living on so few calories, that it took almost 3 months to feel almost normal. On low-calorie days, I still fight it. But it's all worth it.

My biggest obstacle was having a truly picky sleeve that wouldn't allow me to eat enough healthy protein--I couldn't tolerate Protein shakes, chicken, tuna, eggs, beef, or lunch meat. NOW, a year out, he has calmed down enough to where I can enjoy hamburger, scrambled eggs occasionally, and even a bite or two of roast beef--what a treat!--so it's all about healing and time.

My advice is to do what your sleeve allows you to do (if you have a "normal" sleeve, just eat the way your nutritionist says to!), don't sweat it, and do what you can when you can. It's a great, flexible tool.

For most people it falls under learning to eat NORMALLY. That means not approaching the sleeve as a diet, learning to overcome bad eating habits that made us big in the first place, and learning to use food as fuel and enjoy it in moderation.

A lot of us are in total denial until we're already sleeved about what exactly made us fat. I was sure my issue was 90% genetics and was definitely in denial about the fact that I was an overeater and that I used food as a comfort. I was sure that simply restricting my portion size via the sleeve would solve all of my issues and make me a happier person. This is not so.

The sleeve will help you lose weight because it reduces the size of your stomach. It will not teach you to stop restricting yourself with a crazy diet or make you exercise or make you stop eating Cookies if you choose to eat one per hour for six hours. It will not magically make you enjoy eating healthy or make you perfectly happy all by itself.

The challenge I had was learning to eat normally, to approach food as something that can be enjoyable but that doesn't induce guilt, either. I had to learn that it's not all or nothing, it's the rest of my life. It was not easy but it was worth the work.

If you do the headwork in the beginning, maintenance is easy.

~Cheri

Very good question. As Cheri said, this is exactly the reality I'm dealing with at about 3 months out. I was so sure prior to surgery that I was going to be absolutely miserable and deprived over the small portions, but that hasn't really bothered me. The going got tough when I stopped losing and had to really address my eating issues. Luckily, I've been tracking every morsel I eat in My Fitness Pal, so it was easy to see that snacking is a big problem for me. I've been a grazer for my entire eating life, and I've determined that this is the habit that has to go if I'm to succeed long term. In the past, I wanted to lose weight but I didn't want to change. Now, for the first time ever, I WANT to change. So I would have to say my biggest obstacle to overcome is me. It's a work in progress!

I would definitely say exercising and the old eating habits. After surgery I did great and followed everything to the T. Once you are about 6 months post op it is easy to fall back into old habits. Staying on track is very important to get the results we all want.

For me I struggle with not getting so hungry that I take bites of my dinner while I'm cooking. If I snag a bite of an ingredient here or taste something before its ready then I don't have room for dinner. This bums me out when it happens.

The other struggle I have is to remember to stop eating even when something tastes so yummy. I typically don't, but sometimes I feel a little sad that the food goodness is cut short.

I was sleeved March 12th so I'm still new to the sleeve mindset. I'm sure the food blues will go away. I think my weight loss has been decent so far and this helps to keep me on track.