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First I want to say thank you to so many of the veteran posters on here. I hope you gals and guys know how much your experiences and feedback have helped me and I suspect many others. There's just such a fantastic mix of people and experiences - It's great knowing you aren't alone in this journey. The first few months after surgery were easy. The weight was simply falling off, there wasn't anything I couldn't eat or drink - And better yet, I couldn't overeat because of the restriction. I felt fantastic most of the time, had all sorts of NSV's and loved my new life. From August until January I lost almost 50lbs - I was so close to Wonderland I could taste it. THEN reality struck - Suddenly I was one of those "slow losers" - It took almost 2 months to lose 13lbs. UGH, I WAS going to be one of those slow losers. OK, fine, I'm 52 and it is what it is, right? From January until May, I "only" lost 33lbs. Again, every week/month I told myself that I would lose the weight, I was just in some sort of a stall and things would magically pick up. Well, they didn't, I would lose 2-3 lbs and then I would gain 2-3 lbs. Again, "it's normal" I told myself. Fast forward to a week ago - I jumped on here for some motivation (reading stories, etc.) and I took a hard look at what I was doing. Basically, I was being lazy - I was eating whatever I wanted and justifying it by saying "I only eat small portions" - Well, yeah, that was true...BUT I was grazing, I was drinking too much alcohol, and I wasn't tracking. I honetly have no idea how many calories I was consuming (especially on weekends with family and friends). I played mind games with myself and said "As long as I'm not gaining, I'm doing things right." - Well, that was a giant load of (@*$. This past Tuesday (after a weekend of Mimosa's, Crown Royal, and some really great BBQ), I woke up to a 5lb gain (BTW, yes I realize some of that was water retention). WAKE UP CALL. 5lbs? Seriously - Time to go back to basics before that's a 10lb gain. For the first time in MONTHS, I tracked every thing I tracked everything that went into my mouth (water, food, etc) - I did 3 days of liquid - In two days, those 5lbs were off. Rather than what I've done in the past, I didn't stop there - I continued tracking, I continued being cognizant of what and when I was eating. I said "no" to many things that I thought I wanted. I lost 6.8lbs from Tuesday to Sunday. What? I'm NOT a slow loser - I'm a LAZY loser. Folks, for many of us, it's EASY in the first few months, it's EASY to convince ourselves that we're doing OK, it's EASY to compare ourselves to others, it's EASY to ignore signs that you're falling into bad habits, and it's EASY to get lazy. In reality, it's HARD to stick to your plan when you're feeling fantastic and patting yourself on the back for losing so much weight. I'm choosing to be thankful that this happened now rather than 2-3 years into it. I'm glad that reality smacked me in the face and forced me to face the fact that i wasn't doing what I needed to do. Right now it was EASY to get back on track before I let it get out of control. For those of you experiencing the same - Buckle up buttercup, start tracking, weigh yourself often if you need to, and take a good look and when and why you're losing weight and when and why you aren't. Again, a very special thank you to you old timers for always keeping things real and giving out such fantastic advice.

I'm so excited and just have to share the news that insurance has approved surgery! I have been going through all of the motions since January and am so excited! A little about me: I'm 46, mother of two kids (10 & 7), and I teach 6th grade. I had medullary thryoid cancer and my thyroid was removed in 2008. Even though my thyroid hormone levels are within range, weight has been a problem ever since the removal of my thyroid. Have I mentioned that I am SO EXCITED?!?

I noticed today that I actually weigh 5 lbs. less than the wild lie that has been listed on my driver's license for the past 25 years! 🤣🤩 I guess it qualifies as a NSV.

Here is me just shy of my heaviest of 365 lbs. I started my Weight loss journey June 2020. I lost about 35 pre surgery which was January 4, 2021. I also have had to have a revision due to a perforated ulcer mid July. I am now down a total of 120 lbs. it’s amazing the difference I feel. My 5 year old can actually sit in my lap… because I have one now! I can see my feet when I weigh myself. I don’t have to lean against a wall to wipe after using the bathroom, or to clean myself in the shower. I can buckle my seatbelt with out getting out of breath. I now consider myself ‘normal’ fat because I actually blend in with a crowd rather than standing out as the largest in a room! I’m sure I could go on but I am so glad I did this!

This is me. I just spent the last 3 weeks eating whatever because I had started a new job. I have had deviations from my diet before but 3 weeks was the longest. I weighed myself today and didnt gained thank God, but still I wasted those 3 weeks. I am a slow loser too, but there are many things I dont do. Like I calorie count but I eat anything, I dont bother with macros or look into how much water I drink. I dont exercise and I dont take my supplements (eek!) Like , I keep thinking I wanna reach my goal sooner but I get lazy because of the effort involved.

They happen. Just stick to your plan & they will break. Your body is taking a break to catch up with all the changes - diet, weight loss, surgery, etc. It’s been through a lot. I never changed a thing I was doing (why stress my body more) & I always started to lose again. You will too. Good luck.

That one and the cinnamon roll are my favorites

I really, REALLY needed this. Thank you so much that was exactly what I needed to hear. It’s hard! I went in knowing it wouldn’t be easy, but I never pictured this hard. I Can’t wait to look back and think how worth it this is. Thank you so much again.

Congratulations on your weight loss! I posted some of my before and after pics. I was 348 at my heaviest. I was 330 in July 2020 when I began the approval process. I was 310 on December 23, 2020, the day of surgery. I am now 247. My weight loss isn’t going as fast as some. I do eat a bit more in carbs and I work out 4-5 days a week including strength training. I have never felt or looked as good as I do now.

I had GERD before my VSG surgery in 2014, and it only got worse over the next six years. Nothing helped, including PPI's. Fast forward to 2020. After a bunch of diagnostic tests to verify my GERD/Gastritis/Esophagitis, I had bypass surgery October 2020. I haven't had GERD since. I'm off all acid reflux medications. I've lost 56 lbs. since surgery and feel better than I felt in my 40's (I'm 64). I've got a ton of energy, walk 5 miles five days/week and do aquatic fitness classes 5 day/week. I'm loving my new, healthier self and so glad I made the decision to get the surgery. Yes, it is a life-long decision and I've forever changed how I can eat and process food, but so worth it! Needless to say, I would recommend the revision to anyone with severe GERD.