Wow I can’t believe the lack of Vet topics we have in this part of the forum. My Husband and I will be 4years VSG next weekend. When I first started researching VSG for us this was my bible. The amount of Vets that had so much good advice and were willing to share it freely. I know we all get on with our lives but I also know that we each have our own struggles and concerns.

Let’s try to be there for each other and make sure those that do pop in or comeback know that we want to help and that we appreciate them sharing their experiences.

It's really hard. I have no willpower if I see someone else eating sweets. I just end up binging on something later if I don't have some of what my friend or eating partner is having at the time.

I just need to have a few carb free days then I know it will get way easier but I can't seem to make that.

12 hours ago, Oregondaisy said:

It's really hard. I have no willpower if I see someone else eating sweets. I just end up binging on something later if I don't have some of what my friend or eating partner is having at the time.

I just need to have a few carb free days then I know it will get way easier but I can't seem to make that.

I just joined a 6 week body transformation - it is a food program plus high intensity workouts. It's a different approach, and I am only a week into it, so I am not sure I can recommend it yet. Bottom line, a lot more food - the idea is to prevent the hunger/binge on the wrong food cycle. It is heavy on very lean protein, green veggies, healthy carbs (small portions) and small amount of healthy fats. No cheese, no wine - ha. For 6 weeks it is an abstinence approach to sugar, alcohol and most fats. Anyway, I had to have them cut my portions because it was too much food, but I have stuck with it beautifully, because it is very satiating. I know that is way different approach that many of us have taken in the past.

Week 1 I lost 4 pounds with zero hunger, but my bodyfat % did not change which was a little disappointing, but lets give it more time.... I will keep you posted.

13 hours ago, Oregondaisy said:

I just end up binging on something later if I don't have some of what my friend or eating partner is having at the time.

Like feeling deprived and making up for it later? That stuff's a b***h. Conquer her by eating the food you want.

The food I want isn't the right food! It's terrible. I could probably eat Taco Bell every day. Who even knows if that's all hamburger without fillers. I still love fast food, even though I can't eat a big portion.

I crave sweets all the time. It's very hard not to give into all the sweets I come across every single day.

On 11/8/2017 at 3:05 AM, Oregondaisy said:

I crave sweets all the time. It's very hard not to give into all the sweets I come across every single day.

Have you tried keep low carb/low calorie sweets on you? I try to keep something on me, so if I get tempted I have a better option. Lily's chocolate, protein bar, protein brownie, keto cookie, something.

Long term I think it is better to have replacements than just try to flat out deprive yourself. At least it is working for me

On 8.11.2017 at 10:05 AM, Oregondaisy said:

The food I want isn't the right food! It's terrible. I could probably eat Taco Bell every day.

I crave sweets all the time. It's very hard not to give into all the sweets I come across every single day.

Have you ever looked into books about normal eating? I found them quite helpful when it came to thoughts like "I want junk food all the time and if I let loose I'm going to eat nothing but garbage and gain a ton".

I never though I would start craving the "healthy stuff" as well, but I did.

Thanks folks

Glad to see some oldies...( ok. Veterans) on the board
I just want to go on and live my life in my own comfortable weight zone.
I used to say. Good weeks. So so weeks.
Good months ok months...
I do believe I'm onto Good years... some better than others...
they are all good. Just maybe not "lean" as I would
Like in a perfect life. Ha!

I think it’s really important for us to stay up with each other. A lot of you gave me a ton of great advice these past three years and I really appreciate that.

My struggles happen still although they are different. I’m in the rather unique position of fighting to keep weight on me rather than off me. I have some pretty bad long term health issues from my surgery.

I really think the new people need the advice of us long term peeps. We all have something unique to share in this journey.

I mean cmon. Wls- what a ride. What a life change. Man. Just the head stuff. They physical changes. It’s been really intense for me. So much.

I stick around and check in cause I want to help. Share my story. Bring awareness. Ask people to think. Share my message of body love and positive self worth. Share my ideas about maintenance which has been SO hard for me. That’s why I’m here, anyway.

What I do know about this forum is if you breathe a word bad about wls you’re gonna get witch hunted. I get it. People before surgery are so hopeful. That was me too. I banked everything on this. I wanted to be thin SO BADLY. I would have done anything. I probably would have cut off an arm to be skinny back then.

But we have a responsibility to paint a realistic view of wls and what it is like long term. What’s it like after the honeymoon phase wears off. How do you stay happy, stay healthy, how do you move forward in your life???? So many things. We owe it to them.

And we owe it to each other to support each other. I don’t know about you guys but I still really need support!!

[mention=122684]CowgirlJane[/mention] - I tried OH as well, but that platform is just awful. Very difficult to navigate and then Guy's section was literally a weekly weigh in. This place of course has a more traditional forum layout.
It seems like the majority of vets that have stuck around or pop in from time to time are either not active, failing or struggling and trying to get back on track, or batshit crazy and looking for attention. Me personally I am a creature of habit and check all my forums in the morning. This place is like that car accident in the lane next to you. You can't help but look.

Pretty sure I’m batshit crazy haha but I was like that before surgery ?[emoji6]

Regarding vets giving advice (or not giving advice) - I noticed something that rubs me the wrong way all along:

There is a thread started, someone is asking for help. Several people respond with more or less helpful answers - and the thread starter seems to have vanished into thin air all too often.

Means: there is no appreciation or feedback. Too many times thread starters don't appreciate the time and effort other users put into answering their questions. Now I don't expect detailed answers to every post, but a simple "thanks everyone for their time to respond" isn't too much to ask for, or is it?

The lack of feedback is also frustrating. A simple "thank you, I'm going to try this" or "thank you, I already did that and it didn't work" or "thank you, I did what you suggested and it helped" (or didn't help if that's the case) would be much appreciated.

Don't know about others here, but I'd like to know if the advice I gave was helpful or not.

I too gain a lot from reading responses. I always appreciate feedback but if not there I believe the person has gotten what they need and moved on. Not so bad. Personally I need the ongoing check in I went WLS with limited support and for me still do not feel thin weight - body image - self compassion is a struggle. Not because of WLS but because I too am a batty crazy achiever

The amount of misinformation I see on this forum is staggering. It definitely needs more vets who actually know what they are talking about, and less people who who think they do.

4 hours ago, BarbieVSG14 said:

It definitely needs more vets who actually know what they are talking about, and less people who who think they do.

I think this is true. However, the farer people are out, the more the advice they give will vary as even with the successful vets*** strategies will vary a big deal as everyone can see who's browsing the boards.

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*** What's a successful vet anyway? Someone who went from BMI 65 to 31 and maintained for a year? Someone who maintained a BMI of 21.4524 for 7 years?

I think we should also recognize that some of the protocols are refined/changed based on studies, feedback etc. Someone who is many years out is likely working under "old guidelines". However, the basics and the headtrip stuff are probably all about the same.