Hello Everyone;

I have been searching for answers and ran across this site while surfing the web.

My story: I am 52, divorced, have raised 4 children and am a Family Practice physician. The year my life became very stressful (1998) I gained 100 lbs. That was the year I chose to let my husband leave the family (he had another "love"), I was accepted into medical school and moved the 4 kids to a new home, in a city where I had no friends or family and no employment. Yes, STRESS will cause one to gain weight. At that time I couldn't focus on my body and had to get through every day one at a time.

Now fast forward 15 years: I have had a successful career as a physician, raised 4 wonderful children who are all now married and living good lives and am now an "empty nester". I decided it was time to focus on my health and weight. I always felt awkward telling my patients they needed to loose weight when I was overweight as well. 3 years ago I started working on my weight and was able to loose 65 lbs with a low carb diet & exercise. My weight stalled at 198 lbs but I felt better than I had in years. I knew stress was a factor in the plateau (I was "retiring" and closed my clinic since the economy was chipping away at my income as the sole proprietor.) I took a year off of "dieting" and went to work for a cruise line to travel and see the sights. I managed to maintain the weight loss for the most part (gained 10 lbs while cruising) and exercised an hour daily on the ship.

Then my grandmother was placed on Hospice for back pain from crushed vertebrae (she was 90 years old) I quit my job with the cruise line and came home to be around for my parents and grandmother. Then my mother had her 4th heart attack. More stress and a new PCP (primary care provider) that insisted on messing with my thyroid medication caused me to gain all the weight back (265 again). I commented to the PCP that he should have listened to me (I am a physician after all and know my medical history) and his solution was to suggest bariatric surgery. The funny part is that I have recommended this to many of my patients and never thought about it as an option for myself. I believed that carful healthy diet and exercise would work again. My concern was "stress" seemed to be the bane of my existence and I would never loose weight when stressed. I researched the options (medical web search), had the PCP office request the prior auth and then met with the surgeon to set the date for surgery. Since I had the records from my weight loss progress and my PCP provided the weight gain record (I gained the weight back over 3 months) The auth for surgery was approved.

I had a vertical sleeve procedure May 29th this year. My pre-op diet started the weight loss (incidentally the pre-op diet was similar to the low carb diet I had followed previously) and I lost 13.5 lbs the 2 weeks prior to the surgery. I also had my gallbladder out at the same time and the surgeon performed both procedures by a new technique using a "spider instrument" which was through one umbilical port (so only one incision!) My hospital stay was prolonged by a day because of the additional procedure.

I have not been able to take in more than 3-4 oz at one time since the surgery. I thought this was normal and didn't ask questions about this until my weight loss stalled. At 7 weeks post surgery I hit my first plateau. I was following the diet to the letter (2 Protein shakes and one "meal" of protein, soft meats & cooked veggies) I would mix the shakes so the 3 oz had 25 gm of protein and would create a Soup that had at least 10 gms of protein in the 1/2 cup of soup. I was taking in 48-60 oz of Water each day and my exercise routine included walking my 2 dogs (a bull mastiff puppy and an 18 month lab/heeler mix) 2-3 times a day (60 to 90 min) and swim laps for 30-45 min when the weather cooperates. My surgeons response was I was eating too much! He wanted me to cut back to 50-55 gms of protein. Now I know the protein is the main measure but the calorie count of my meals was under 500 calories. He stated that didn't matter. I followed his advise for the next week but still did not loose any weight.

That was the last time I went to his office. I have increased my intake by adjusting the shakes (still 3 oz) to 10 gm each and increasing the intake to 3 shakes, "lunch" (the soups), a snack of either cottage cheese, yogurt or string cheese (1-2 oz for a snack) This has increased my calories to around 750-800, my protein intake is 55-60 gm daily and I am slowly starting to loose weight again. I average 1 lb loss a week over the past month.

So this is my story and I am looking for others to build a support system since I am on my own (my choice)

You probably didn't mean that to sound as ugly as it did.

Welcome lark! We were sleeved around the same time, I was on May 16. I can only consume about 2-3 ounces at a time, usually only 2, getting in about 650 calories a day a 40 grams of Protein on average.

I am stalling pretty consistently so I understand how you feel. It's frustrating but it is what it is! I can't quit and I'm moving in the right direction. Congrats on your decision to be healthier!

Edit to add:

We have similar stats, too. I am 5'3", started at 263.8, lost 20 pre op, and am at 193.4 as of today. You seem to be moving along just fine!

Lipstick lady you crack me up!! You took the words rt out of my mouth with the r n lmao except you have the balls to say it! I love it.