PamelaAM

So I had my VSG on September 27, 2010 and lost 61 lbs out of the 100 that I needed to lose. Over a couple of years I gained back almost 30 lbs! I have tried everything to get back on track and most recently got involved with It Works (this is NOT a sales pitch, just my story) and am using a couple of their products and have lost 11 lbs in less than two weeks so I am excited about getting back on track. Really want to get the rest of this weight off. But I have to say, I have absolutely NO regrets and still say that the VSG is the best thing I had ever done! Under normal circumstances I would have gained back the entire 61 lbs and another 50 on top of that! Pam P.S. And clearly I have to figure out how to go back and edit my profile because my current weight is 210 not 189 (I wish). But I will get there and further :-)

Oh, and one more thing - if you "like" them on Facebook they provide discount codes. Wish I had known that sooner because I paid full price but they said they will give me the 30% discount on my next order.

Oregondaisy - My biggest problem was that I always wanted to eat. Even though I still have great restriction, we all know that if you eat all day you are consuming way too many calories. My SIL had gastrci bypass many years ago and had lost and regained over the years. All of a sudden she was down 42 pounds and my niece down about 20 so I asked them what they were doing. They said they were on the Bee Pollen Diet and just took this pill (or two) each day. As desperate as I was, I decided to try it. I've only been on it almost two weeks now - the first week you just take one pill so I didn't really lose but I didn't gain either. Then you start on taking two pills in the morning and I was shocked at what it did to my appetite. I will start to think I want food, but then when I think about it I don't want it - at all. When I eat (haven't change what I eat at this point just trying to stay away from junk) my appetite is really diminished. I've lost 4 lbs this second week and have tons of energy. The only problem is that I have so much energy that sometimes it is hard to get to sleep at night but nothing serious. I watched my SIL struggle for so long after her bypass and she looks amazing now. How these pills make me feel is how many explain they feel after a sleeve - but for me, I never really lost my appetite - imaginary or real. I am not recommending this but just saying that for me, I love how it takes away my appetite and allows my sleeve to work as a tool. Here is the website: http://beepollendiet.com/ I guess there are alot of fakes out there that have copied these folks, so my SIL said to make sure you order from this site. She has no interest in the company, just knows it is working for she and her daughter. And I feel great for the first time in a long time :-)

I haven't posted here in forever! I was one of the ones who only lost 50% of the weight that I needed to - well maybe a little more than 50% - originally leaving still about 45 lbs to lose. And then I gained 18 pounds. So when everyone on this board is talking about being at goal and ony gaining 1-3 pounds, needless to say it got a bit depressing and was easier to just not come to the board anymore. Once I hit the +18 lb mark I stayed the same for months and months regardless of what I would eat. But clearly that is not where I wanted to stay. So found something new that is working for me (I think we all need to find our thing that works) and am already down 4 lbs in the past week. So may even start popping in here more often. Now that I see that I am not the only one gaining :-)

I have been patiently waiting for the phone call. It came just a little while ago and Iwas so excited that they are able to fit me in, in September because otherwise I would have had to wait until December or January. Got assigned to Dr. Gary Belzberg at Kaiser - Harbor City. He and Dr. Zane are both great! Anyone have experience with Dr. Belzberg? So excited!:001_smile:

I had purchased 5 wigs when I lost so much of my hair. The lace front seem to be the way to go because they give you a natural hairline. Spoke to friends who have worn wigs for a long time due to chemo etc, and they swore by the synthetic wigs because they are literally shake and go so that's what I bought. Once you purchase what you think you like, go to your hairdresser and have them trim it for you if need be.

I continue to struggle. Even with going to the gym about 5 days per week, I can't seem to get my metabolism going well enough to allow me to even eat the 1200-1300 calories that the nutritionist said I need to eat every day. I am one of the ones who didn't necessarily lose all of the hunger (not nearly what it was before the surgery but clearly still there)so it always amazes me when others say "oh, I forgot to eat all day. . .". I am up about 11 lbs and have been tracking my weight daily for two months now just to try to figure out a pattern (what I eat or not eat, whether I go to the gym or not, etc. . .) and I am staying within a 2-3 pound range (still up from my low point)so I know I need to do something different than what I am doing. Went on Jenny Craig for a month to see if that would shake anything up but nothing. It's like my body found it's happy place and is staying there. Problem is that it is not MY happy place - still need to lose another 40-45 lbs. UGH. Sometimes I need to just stop thinking about it because it is getting depressing.

I still can't believe you guys did that in the pouring rain!!! WOW! I sat down there with Michelle and debated and decided not to get drenched and headed to the gym instead. You two are our HEROES! Let's plan another one for a sunny day and I'm SO there! Or let's do the trail. . .

Patrice! I am just now seeing this post - haven't been on the board that much. I too, started going up again and gained 14 lbs. Am struggling to get it off again but started going to the gymn every morning and love how it makes me feel. Haven't lost anything but I need to get the food under control too. You tend to forget how easy it is to go back to old eating habits - maybe not as much but still the wrong stuff. So now I am only at the half way mark - back up to only 50 lbs lost so have another 50 to go. Bound and determined to get there. .

So funny how it is SO different for everyone! I don't really struggle with much (unfortunately) with the exception of taking that one bite too much of anything- then I suffer :-(

Happens to almost everyone at about that same time. . .no worries - just stay the path :-)

I have had a strange journey with my weight loss - lost really fast in the beginning when I was doing only 500 calories or so, if even that - then stalled big time when the caloric intake went up to 1200-1300 (per nutritionist) - can't seem to lose at that - I travel ALOT for work and when I travel I have gained up to 8 lbs from my low point but as soon as I come home it starts to come off again. I think with the travel there is water weight gain from the flying as well. I still have 40-45lbs to lose to get to a reasonable goal and I think it is just going to take alot more exercise, which I have been very bad at.

Bonnie! You look amazing! I am so proud of your accomplishments! What a phenomenal inspiration!

So here's something that I wouldn't necessarily advise for others but it was what my surgeon advised for me after 11 days when I was so weak I couldn't hardly stand and they couldn't even get a blood pressure reading on me. He said "go home and eat ice cream". So I bought those little Haagan Das little cups and it took me 4 sittings to eat just one but after doing that Friday night, Saturday and Sunday I actually woke up on Monday morning feeling normal again. He told me that my body could not take the lack of carbs. Everyone is different. I suggest that we all listen to our surgeons and go by what they are telling us - they are trained to adjust when necessary and that is what he had to do for me. I would have never done that on my own and honestly was shocked when he suggested it but it was, as they say, "just what the doctor ordered". And this is a surgeon in SoCal that does thousands of these procedures and there is a waiting list to get in to him. Everyone's body is different and that is why we have medical professionals gudiing us through this process. We have people in our support group that can't stop losing weight and are eating donuts and drinking alcohol and then there are others like me who stick to a plan for the most part and end up and very long stalls. We are all different and our bodies react differently. But again, please defer to your surgeon for guidance on what my work for your particular biochemistry. Don' t take chances with a surgery like this one - leave it up to the experts. But trust me, we have ALL eaten something at least once that was probably not the smartest move and we paid the price :-(

It really is true. I worked for years in the fashion industry when sizing was monitored and you were basically the same size everywhere you went - like it or not :-) Now I am fitting into smaller sizes than I ever would have imagined at this weight and while it feels good to fit into a "smaller" size, I know the sizes aren't real so it's pretty much a bubble burster.

I had the luxury of taking 6 weeks off of work - actuall 3 weeks off and then worked from home for 3 weeks. There is no way I could have gone back to an active job before 3 weeks. For me, the 6 week time frame was about right. But I had a really tough recovery and couldn't hardly get out of bed for the first 2 weeks. Everyone is different. I would suggest that you take as much time as possible off before going back.

Bonnie: You are amazing!!! I hope you can make it to our September meeting! We are doing a pot luck at my house and we are going to have some newbies here that I would love them to see your progress!! Rock on!!!

So here's the deal. . .I had one of the PA's in my surgeon's office explain to me why the hair loss. She said that when you do something as drastic as removed 85% of you stomach your body thinks that it is dying because a major organ has been compromised. So it starts sending all of it's energy to all of the major organs in an effort to save itself. Thereby not having any energy left for any of the peripherals - hair, nails etc. So your hair follicles actually die immediately after surgery but it takes 3 months for them to work their way out of your scalp. That's why you start experiencing hair loss at about 3 months out. LeslieH is correct that it normally lasts for about 3 months and then will slowly subside. My hair was very fine to begin with. I wore it in an A-line bob and colored it - both bleach and color, just to have some texture to it so that it appeared thicker. Once my hair started coming out at 3 months I started to freak out and went out and bought 5 wigs - very cool wigs, I might add - you'd be amazed at what's out there. I just could never bring myself to wear one. So I ended up cutting my hair really short (which I thought I would NEVER do) still color and bleach and everyone loves it, including me! When I was 60 pounds heavier I would have never been able to get away with a cut like this because my face was way too fat, but now it looks ok. This surgery will change your life. No doubt. It is such an amazing transformation you will be in awe. I, too, freaked out about the hair loss and I'm not going to tell you that I didn't have some incredibly emotional times over it, but the weight loss and the new life is SO worth it. It doesn't fall out completely and for many of the gals that have gone from really thick hair to normal hair or even thin hair, when I see them, they still look fabulous - one would never notice the hair loss. Sleeve4me uses those clip in extensions and you would never know it's not her own hair - looks incredible. For me, I just went really short and honestly, don't think I will ever grow my hair long (er) again!

I really need to get an idea of what others are eating at this stage of the game. I have completely stopped losing and basically have been playing with the same 5-6 pounds for months now. Would love to see someone else's daily diet. . .