Hey guys, I want to share with you where I am right now. Frustrated. Feeling unsuccessful.

I started my journey in January of 2012. I lost 70 pounds (down to 288) Had gastric sleeve done May 18, 2012. Lost to 199 (total of 159 pounds). That's ONLY 89 pounds from the sleeve itself. Had skin removal (corset trunkplasty) surgery on May 25, 2013. He removed 12 pounds of skin. That (after swelling went down) put me at 187. I was able to drop to 180 in June. (Total of 178 from my highest)

Here's where I feel unsuccessful. I have bounced between 190 & 199 since January 2013. After skin removal May 2013, I have bounced between 180 & 190. The nutritionist says she has noticed that people who have been obese have a bigger Fluid fluctuation. I want to get to 160 (a normal BMI for my height). That's 20 plus my "bounce" of 9. I know the last of the weight is the hardest to lose. I have been bouncing since JANUARY. no real loss.

Y'all know that I workout. A lot. I have tried everything to get the scale to move. I eat less than 1200 most days, on my "bad" days, no more than 1500. My BMR

[ATTACH]18549[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]18550[/ATTACH]

says I need 1659 to meet my daily needs, not including exercise calories. I should be losing. I feel frustrated. I went from a size 30 pants, 30/32 shirt to a size 8 pants, size md top. But I am not happy. Why? Cause I haven't met goal at 16 months out. Advice is appreciated. How do I get to goal before I hit 2 years out (8 months)? How do I feel successful?

Check out this link for some really tough met con workouts:

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/endurance/the-6-most-brutal-crossfit-wods

Note that Fran (mentioned in above post) is in this list.

Great advice from great folks. Again, as Bean said, what works for one won't work for another. What does work for ALL is being present in the moment. Remember you said you realized at the Dr office you had put on more weight?

That's where we will go wrong. I did. 25 lbs regain in before I took it back.

I do have the occasional cake and treat. In fact I had 5 pigs in a blanket for breakfast. Five. Not 15! . But I have it logged in MFP. And yes, fore over 1100-1200 calories a day I WILL gain. I also have incorporated 5:2 as my lifestyle. I am now maintaining and intend to gradually lose another 5 or so to have a lower bounce. I've stepped up my amount of walking to allow those treats too!

All said to say, no need to feel like a failure or believe that you cannot control the end result. You can.

Thank you Bean! I really like to laugh & have fun, but I am struggling with this drive that I have to reach said magical number. I spend so much time focused on it. I think this is bad for me mentally, however, it is also good that I continue to be vigilant. Could you imagine going to the doctor & finding out you had gained 20 pounds by not paying attention? I can imagine it & it terrifies me. I am so scared of regaining it all that I was afraid to continue.

I was so afraid to keep eating at a higher calorie, I gained about 10 pounds (which seems to be my normal "bounce") and stopped. As it was my normal bounce, maybe I should have continued. Who wants to only eat less than 1000 calories the rest of their lives? To not enjoy the occasional trip to Orange Leaf or piece of birthday cake?

I have cut back on the cardio & added in some serious strength training (not just machines). I know that other women, same height, are quite shocked that at 180+ pounds I am wearing 8's. I know that I am more compact because of my exercise.

Right now, it's the stupid BMI chart, but at the same time, I just don't like that during my monthly PMS bounce I get way too close to leaving onederland. I know. I am crazy.

I know a lot of people say my metabolism will reset but other than that brief magical (post plastics) month of May/June, my body has refused to shed anything since January. Freaking January. Maybe I need to consult a endocrinologist. My thyroid has always been a problem for me, although with medicine & multiple tests since I started this journey, my levels are "normal".

There seems to be a lot of that "must get to xxx___number on the scale" going around! I have to put myself back when I was earlier out and (even still to some degree today) to understand that mindset, but I think it's okay to be higher than your "goal". And pre-op I would also read that most WLS patients lose, get to a certain number then "bounce" back up (usually about 10-20lbs) and that is where they maintain. My pre-op little brain was like "oh that's not gonna be me" ha ha ha.

I have to agree with Georgia though (as per usual) and while I am currently fighting off my regain (-11lbs of my +20lb regain is GONE woo hoo!) and I will continue to fight my regain, I think we all need to cut ourselves some slack in the whole "I must get to a certain number, I must be perfect, I must have a >25 BMI," type talk.

Pull out some old photos. Go back in time and remember dreaming of being post-op and being HEALTHIER? I would have given my left arm (okay maybe a pinkie finger) to weigh what I do right now back in the day....I would have been SO JEALOUS of myself right now. But somehow we get "here" and then it's not good enough. WE need to remember how far we have come, and in the grand scheme of things, how much of a difference is 10, 20 more lbs going to make in your life. Celebrate your success, keep your eye on the goal (not telling you to not achieve your weight goal) but keep a positive attitude.

I want to thank you all for your input! It feels so great to have such a strong support system.

I thought I was in great shape. Then I hit the free weights really hard Friday & by the end of the day Saturday, I could barely walk. (Yeah for leg day!!) Now I know that I can hit it MUCH harder! I will try your suggestions Fiddle.

I am going to stick to the 5:2 plan & see how this works for me. I know that I should not let a scale number get me down, so I am going to focus on toning & feeling healthier. Compared to where I started (358 pounds, bad back, high blood pressure), well, there is NO comparison.

The biggest and best benefit of the 5:2 is the life extension properties. Read up, it is pretty amazing! Weight loss is way down there on the list... as attractive as it is.

Butter, what is the new rules of weight lifting?

Butter' date=' what is the new rules of weight lifting?[/quote']

It's a book and an excellent weight lifting program. Very easy to follow. They have several books including "New Rules Of Weightlifting For Women". My wife I doing this book and loves it. Easy to follow even for beginners.

I have a copy of that but still need to implement!

Kristie.. your such an inspiration from 338 to 180 way to go.. Please, Please see this as an accomplishment..see that journey as a success. Join me in the 5:2 plan.. That plus your aggressive workout, I'm sure you'll get to your goal. BTW.. I'm sure you hear this a lot.. you look marvelous!!

Kristie.. your such an inspiration from 338 to 180 way to go.. Please' date=' Please see this as an accomplishment..see that journey as a success. Join me in the 5:2 plan.. That plus your aggressive workout, I'm sure you'll get to your goal. BTW.. I'm sure you hear this a lot.. you look marvelous!![/quote']

Thank you so much! The last few days has been tough. I'm at the beach in Florida & nothing makes you still feel fat like a bathing suit.

How do I join the 5:2 plan? I have been following the plan for close to a month. I am hopeful that it will help me get to goal.

Thank you so much! The last few days has been tough. I'm at the beach in Florida & nothing makes you still feel fat like a bathing suit.

How do I join the 5:2 plan? I have been following the plan for close to a month. I am hopeful that it will help me get to goal.

send a message to Laura Ven, with your story (how long you have been on 5:2 and your feelings about keeping it as a lifestyle) and she will let you know whats up with the private site. Best of luck to you!

Hi i need help, please post your daily food regimen. I lost weight almost a year and still heavy. Trying to change my diet.....

Hi i need help, please post your daily food regimen. I lost weight almost a year and still heavy. Trying to change my diet.....

Let us know what you are eating, your start and current weight and goal weight, any exercise... We will try and help see what is up and make some non professional suggestions.... If you were talking to me, I use the 5:2 fast diet, do some research and see if it appeals to you....It takes many people more than a year to lose all the weight....

My current is 236 from 255 since surgery 11/12. I eating everything from fruits/veggies to bread and junk food. I will research that diet you mentioned

I recommend looking at some of the post guides and using the diet plans in one of them.

Here are some links to guides that I have saved from this forum over the years:

The Cornell Weight Loss Surgery Program: Dietary Guidelines for Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/pdf/dietary_guidelines_sleeve_gastrectomy.pdf

Institute for Advanced Bariatric Surgery: Preparatory Surgery Guide

http://www.laplose.com/Media/Forms/PreparatorySurgeryGuide.pdf

Institute for Advanced Bariatric Surgery: Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery Diet Guide

http://www.laplose.com/Media/Forms/SleeveDietGuide.pdf

Northwest Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Laproscopic Gastric Sleeve Diet

http://www.northwestobesitysurgery.com/pdf/sleeve-gastrectomy-diet.pdf

Kaiser Fremont Bariatric Program Guide (this is my program's guide and it covers VSG and other WLS)

http://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/facilities/region/gsaa/area_master/departments/Bariatrics/binder.jsp

Not sure this will work, but if it does, the first link is an guide from Dr. Criangle and the second is the Cornell guide, which I've also provided a weblink for above.

www.sleeveguide.com/new-post-op.html

I was hoping to find some more suggestions for my liquid diet, because frankly I'm dying of boredom with this Soup and Jello crap, so I googled "what to eat after VSG" and this link came up. At the end of the article (which had great info for pre-op candidates too) there were two links for some resources guides which I thought were pretty good, and I wanted to share them with my VSG family.