I am one year and 2 months out. I must say it has not been very good for me.I started this journey at 210 lbs and now weigh 171 lbs. That is only a 39 lb weight loss in a year. To me this is a FAIL...I will say that 6 months post op I took a drink of a soda for the first time and missed it so I started drinking them again. I knew it was a no, no but was never really told why. I have since found out that the carbination will expand your pouch and it will NOT shrink back to the small size it was. So you can bet I have not had a soda since. I have been frustrated since about 2 months out. I never really felt restriction, although I can not eat as much as I could, I can eat way more than 6-8 oz. Which is what they told me my max would be 6 oz. I do feel like I have kinda given up. I stopped working out and started to eat whatever about 2 months ago, after my 1 year follow up. I have since gained 8 lbs. So on Monday I deceided to go back to 2 shakes a day and 1 low cal, low fat high protein meal and lost 7 lbs. But I should be down at least 50+ pounds by now per my DR. My goal weight is 130, and I really really want to get there. I spent way to much money, blood, sweat and tears to only loose 39 lbs and not get my life back. If anything I feel worse. I have such horrible pain in both my knees that started 4 months post op, and on some days I can hardly walk. (which has been part of the lack in exercise). If there is anyone out there who has had trouble from day one or not, that might have some words of encouragment or a better way to make this work I am all ears. I hate to sound like a cry baby, but I am desperate.

I have nothing against Dr Nick's PA or seeing her. She is informative & very competent. I DO have a problem with not seeing my surgeon in the hospital post surgery & also not knowing upfront that I would not see my doctor again after he performed the surgery in the hospital or in his office. For that reason I feel blindsided. I would have chosen a different surgeon had I known this. I would have chosen smaller office with more doctor involvement post surgery. Just my feelings and my .02 cents. To each his/her own. Thx.

I want to kick in on the diet soda. I believe carbonation is fine for most sleevers I think because all you have to do is simply burp a bit. Or stomachs to stretch over time - a bit, but this is heavily muscled stomach tissue and not gastric pouches.

What diet sodas do is perhaps make you crave carbs. I'm too lazy to type the science behind that. Suffice to say that Crystal Light can do the same thing. I drink both and just make sure I reach for lean Protein.

Maybe I can suggest a small amount of fruit juice (without high fructose syrup - try a good juice from Trader Joes or something) with a bit of club soda for fizz. Much healthier than Sprite Zero or Diet Coke.

thank you, Catracks, for your insight. I've recently hit a "stall" and was wondering if diet soda was the culprit, although I didn't think it was since I only have about 1/2 to 1 can for a full 24 hour time period ... I drink mostly water drinks (hot tea, etc.) so I think I just need to rev up my exercise routine (which has been almost nil) in order to jump start my weight loss again ... I'm not complaining though -- I'm 8 mos out and 90 lbs down, so I'm thrilled ... just would like to see the #'s on the scale start to move again since it's been almost 2 weeks since I've seen any movement, but I"m sure it'll start soon enough. I also was neglectful in taking my synthroid for about a week, so maybe it's my thyroid saying "take your meds" .... we'll see ... but thanks for your input .. it's reassuring to hear that a little bit of diet soda won't cause harm ... I've come this far, and don't want to sabotage myself in any way!!! keep the peace ... thanks!

You can do this! I have faith in you. Get back on track. Go on a 3 day liquid diet and write down everything you eat thereafter. YOU CAN DO THIS! I'm proud of you already!

never want to go on "liquid diet" again ... just want to find my "zone" eating right ... I'm not really worried about the stall thing ... I realize we all hit stalls along the way, and I'm very thankful for 8 months now I"ve been losing pretty steadily ... I know the scale will start to move again (downwards) soon .. I just have to be patient and rev up the exercise (which is quite the challenge for me, personally) ... but hey, we all hit stalls along the way so I am quite confident this is just a little bump in the road and I'll be seeing the numbers move downward once again very soon .. thanks, all, for the encouragement! keep the peace!

Try aquaareobics its great on your knees. Thank you for your story. I can feel myself slipping and being fooled by the ullision that ive had my surgey and thats all i need to do. While you story is an eye opener for me its also yet another confirmation that i made the right decision for me now i just have to make it work for me.

Yes, wish I had a pool nearby, but don't -- and cannot afford a gym membership at the one that has a pool -- actually, I would still be too embarrassed to wear a bathing suit! i haven't worn or own one in over 20 years! :-) But I will walk ... I bought some Leslie Sansone walking DVD's and some Zumba DVD's so am gearing up to using them ... funny, 25 years ago I was an exercise maniac ... then, I don't know ... I got lazy and just let it slide .. now it's really a chore. But I will do it .... I've come this far and there's no way I'm going to slip backwards ... I know myself, it's really just a matter of psyching myself up to doing exercise again ... thanks so much for all your support .. keep the peace!

Hey guys, its so nice to see everyone learning and giving out such great advice and encouragment. It truly is wht keeps me gvoing when I hit a bump in the road. I am still doing good. Lost another 2lbs. I tell ya thoug if they every come out with a pill or surgery for will power I will be the 1st in line. That has been one of my biggest strugles. I cheated and had only one little bitd of a buttercups cupckake this weekend. I am NOT a sweet eater but I probably would have ate the whole thing if it weren't so dry. I should not have hdx the one bite either. I know they say you should not denie yourself the thingsz you love, instead treat your self everyonce in awhile so you don't gorge on them later, but sweets are not my thing, I love crab claws. That's what I should have used that one little slip up for. Does anyone out there know that nutritional value of campisi's crab claws? I don't think I want to know but I would love to have them right now. Anyways. Everyone stay foccused and keep up the hard work we deserve it. Oh and I can't remember who wrote the comment about not wanting to get into a swim suite, but I wanted to say this to you.... life is to short to worry about what others think of you. You need to go get you a swim suite and wear it proudly. You are a beautiful women and deserve the right to swim. Not only is it good for you but its fun. So go get that swim suite...I know I will.

I want to kick in on the diet soda. I believe carbonation is fine for most sleevers I think because all you have to do is simply burp a bit. Or stomachs to stretch over time - a bit, but this is heavily muscled stomach tissue and not gastric pouches.

What diet sodas do is perhaps make you crave carbs. I'm too lazy to type the science behind that. Suffice to say that Crystal Light can do the same thing. I drink both and just make sure I reach for lean Protein.

Maybe I can suggest a small amount of fruit juice (without high fructose syrup - try a good juice from Trader Joes or something) with a bit of club soda for fizz. Much healthier than Sprite Zero or Diet Coke.

I have a can of diet soda a day. No issues for me. The stalls are not related to the diet soda. It's the bodies defense mechanism from starvation. Your metabolism slows down. I eat something every 3 hours. Maybe a hand full of almonds or peanuts. Something healthy with protein. It keeps your metabolism moving. Don't let yourself feel hungry. I say have the soda. I have abused my sleeve with diet soda for the sake of science so that others can indulge. I still lose about 2-3 lbs per week.