FatToPhat

LMom, I'm so sorry that you are struggling as you are. I also agree that the surgery helped me to get the first 50 lbs off and that the rest of it is up to me now. However, when my husband and I were discussing whether or not I should have ANY type of weight loss surgery, one of the things we said was "If it can just give me a jump start on the weight loss, then I could take it from there". Maybe I was being unrealistic, but I was feeling so STUCK that I just needed to lose a bunch of weight quickly right off the bat to get me motivated to continue. And that's what the surgery did. O.K., so I'm having trouble with that motivation now, but I've also been dealing with hip pain, immobility, surgery, and recovery. I'm hoping to get back in gear again soon. You can do this! You are SO close!! And most people gain 6-7 lbs over the holidays without wls, so you did REALLY great! I'm glad you're staying positive and grateful for what you have done already. You're not going to be a failure! I have faith in you!!

Definitely check with your doctor as every doctor is different on what they require. You mainly want to reduce calories and fat and keep your protein intake up. The goal is to reduce the fat in your liver so that it is not as heavy when they lift it aside to get to your stomach. Not to scare anybody, but if it is really heavy and fatty, you run the risk of injury to it during the surgery.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you are doing so well. Congratulations!

I ate a piece of cheesecake AND a piece of red velvet cake these last couple of days and had NO negative side effects other than that kind of sluggish sick feeling from too much sugar which I had prior to the surgery, also. I suspect your body is just not used to all that sugar after eating so well for so long. Although it could also be dumping and/or gall bladder issues, as well, I suppose.

Merry Christmas, good luck with your surgery, and hope all goes well! KUP!

I hope everything went well with your surgery yesterday, Kelly! Keep us posted when you're home and feeling better. Merry Christmas!

I have definitely NOT done everything I'm supposed to which is why I'm sure I haven't lost as well as I could.

From what I can tell, it seems like the people that had the sleeve do seem to do better with that than the plication, but I'm finding it is really what you put into it that counts. I think people have cravings no matter what surgery they have, but I think the motivation of losing weight and not being able to eat as much has kind of helped me not to crave as much as I used to. How are you doing so far?

Congratulations on your success and lifestyle changes. You're on the right path and, hopefully, these will be changes that you maintain for life as well as your weight loss. I think you'll feel more successful in time as you become more and more the "new" you. I think we are all so used to "beating ourselves up' for so long, that we don't know how to pat ourselves on the back once in awhile. YOU did this! Be proud of that. Congratulations, again.

So, the last several months have been very tough for me weight loss wise. I either didn't lose any weight one month, lost only about 3 lbs for a couple of months, and then gained 6 lbs one month! BUT! I tried to get my diet back in line this past month and lost the 6 lbs I had gained plus an additional 6 lbs! I'm feeling so much better that I'm back on track. Unfortunately I have to go in for hip surgery tomorrow which will slow me down quite a bit, but as soon as I'm back to recovery I'm going to try to start getting in some exercise and continue the downward spiral on the scale! So, maybe my weight loss days aren't over yet!!

Good luck! It sounds like you've done your research and feel secure in your decision. KUP

I know! It's amazing how many calories we can still consume in one sitting! Hip surgery went well. Having pain, but have good meds!

How awful!! I'm so sorry this has happened to you! But you will get to the other side of it. Hang in there!

Well, I actually gained weight this month. For the last 3 - 4 months, my weight loss has really stalled with only about 3 lbs averaged lost per month. Then, this past month, I started having hip pain that just got worse and worse rapidly. I knew what it was as I have osteoarthritis in my hip joints and had to have a hip replaced two years ago. Sure enough, now I have to have the other one replaced in December. In the meantime, though, I just crashed physcially and emotionally. I ate a lot of halloween candy, started drinking regular pop again, instead of other noncaloric drinks, and ate a lot of comfort food. I actually gained 10 lbs before I freaked out enough to put a stop to most of the behaviour. I've lost 4 of that but am up 6 pounds for the month. Anyway, I'm trying not to get too discouraged and just tell myself to at least maintain the weight until after the surgery, then, once I recover, I can start exercising and getting back on track, again. Just needed to vent...thanks for listening.

Thank you so much, Mednar, for your support and understanding. You have been an inspiration with your excellent weight loss and dedication to exercise.

Congratulations! You're still going in the right direction! And, even though we think it should be more than that with a weight loss surgery, would you have done it without the surgery? It's helped, whether it's fast or slow weight loss. You're doing great!

Way to go, Melinda!!

This was a recipe given to me by the surgeon's office. I thought it was pretty good and they worked as "snacks", also. BARBECUE GLAZED MEATLOAF MUFFINS 2 cups Corn flakes 1/4 cup Barbecue sauce, divided 1/3 cup cholesterol free egg product 3/4 lb extra lean ground turkey 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped 1/2 cup shredded carrots Mix Cereal, 1/8 cup of the barbecue sauce and egg product in large bowl until well blended. Add remaining ingredients, mix lightly. Mound the meat mixture in 8 muffin cups sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Brush tops with remaining barbecue sauce. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Protein per serving: 21 grams (2 muffins)

Makes sense to me!!

Thanks for the info and picture. I was kind of wondering if I'm eating more than others at this stage. Sometimes I can eat more than that, but, mostly, I'd say that was about average.

I agree with Lmom and everyone else. I have been really struggling the last 3 months and have only lost about 6.5 lbs in that time frame. I feel like I'm back to where I was before the surgery. I'm grateful that I still can't eat a lot at one sitting and I think that is the reason that I haven't gained any weight. But I'm still struggling with daily poor food choices and trying to figure out how to get any exercise in with my crazy schedule and fatigue at the end of the day. I realize I will probably never be a size 7, but I would like to get at least 100 lbs or more off so I'm at least a lot healthier. Would I have chosen a different surgery if I knew I'd be struggling at 7 months out? Probably not. The other surgeries still scare me too much. I hate it that I spent $12,000 and will probably never achieve full success. But I'm hoping I can eventually get a handle on these lifestyle changes and at least make better progress than presurgery. I still think I did the right thing and chose the right surgery for me. I just need to continue working on the lifestyle changes...an every day, lifelong struggle.

Wow!!! 54 lbs in 12 weeks!! That's awesome! Good going! First off, don't get stressed about the plateau. Most of us hit it at sometime and you will eventually get past it. I have heard different pieces of advice on how to get beyond it, though. Anything from restricting your carbs or calories more to actually increasing your carbs/calories more. Same with exercise....either try increasing it, or if you are exercising a LOT, then decrease it a little. Just experiment a little bit and see what works for you. Good luck!

I had an eye doctor tell me once that Fluid retention can sometimes affect your vision. He said that when women are having their menses and are retaining fluid because of it, that it affects their vision test results. It might be possible, since your surgery was so recent, that you might still be retaining some fluid, and it might be affecting your vision. However I would still let your doctor know about it in case it's something else.

SO glad you are doing better!

Check out sleeveplicationtalk.com. It is a forum for people having the plication and there's at least one person that I know of that used Dr. Watkins. I know she thought he was great. So, it looks like you've had your surgery already. How did everything go? How are you feeling?