Hi all. I was 21 months out on Sept. 14th and went to my doctor for follow-up. I go see him every 3 months. I am still doing great. I have lost 75 lbs. (I really only had 60 to lose all mainly in my abdomen). Those of you who know my story know that most of my stomach had protruded through my diaphragm. I had a Nissen Fundiplication surgery for my reflux in 1999, and this was a result of that. Anyway, my stomach was lodged between my lungs headed for my heart so with my sleeve surgery at the same time he had to repair that which took and additional 2 1/2 hours. My doctor told me that your restrictions change at 18 months post-op so it is important to stay on track. This time when I went, he said I have lost too much muscle mass in the last three months, which will affect my metabolism, so he said I need to start working out with weights on my upper body and get that up before December hen I see him again. I was doing endurance training on the treadmill but I had to have unexpected arthroscopic surgery on my knee to remove a meniscus tear in July, so that slowed down my walking and treadmill, so that contributed to my muscle mass loss since I was not exercising everyday for awhile. So today I will see a personal trainer and start on a weight program for my upper body only (I lost so much I need to tone my biceps so they don't look like crepe paper!). Also I need to increase my RTD protein drinks to two per day. He also said that the powdered protein drinks were not as good as everyone thinks, because people add so much to them, ie, bananas, sugary fruits, yogurt, etc. that they end up having too much sugar and calories in them. I have always used the RTD anyway, because I couldn't stand the aftertaste or consistency of the ones made from powder. So at this point, the surgery is still the best thing I have ever done for myself, went from an 18 jeans to a 2 jeans, and couldn't be happier. Not on any meds anymore whatsoever and healthier than I have ever been my entire adult life. Don't give up or get discouraged. It does not happen over night, but you be stay on track and stay committed. The weight is bound to come off if you are only eating about 8 oz. at a time. I still have a hard time getting in 1,000 calories a day! Good luck to all of you. Also, you will love this forum. You can learn so much from others who have done it before you. Don't be afraid to ask anything on here! I learned so much from this forum.

That was so powerful! Thanks for sharing and best of luck to you!

Just remember that you WILL NOT lose pounds every day. You will have times you will go for a couple weeks without losing pounds. That's OK. You will still be losing body fat and your BMI will still be going down as long as you do protein first, then veggies, then carbs. I went from 54% body fat to 26% body fat. If you can't eat more than 4 oz. of protein, then stop eating! Don't try to stuff yourself and make yourself feel sick or get the slimes. You will succeed if you stick to what your doctor says! You will change your way of eating so much, you will never want to eat like you did before. You will get used to the changes and you will love the results. At first you need to eat less and every two-three hours. Don't forget your tummy is 85% smaller than it was before. You will get into a new routine before you know it and wonder how you ever survived before eating like you did! LOVE my sleeve! I have before and after pics on my profile page but the after was taken in May of 2012. You will love this forum and don't be afraid to ask questions here, because everyone is here for everyone else. I learned so much from these people.

Thanks!