CowgirlJane

I outweigh a taller friend but she wears at least 2 pant sized bigger and about the same size top. She has fine bones and small frame; I have a more athletic build. Everyone is happier when we focus on own goals rather than comparing to others.

They are both great procedures. If you have diabetes or acid reflux, bypass sounds like a great choice. I revised band to sleeve 4 years ago and have maintained a massive weight loss. .. I am half my former weight and size and maintaining. Sleeve is more than restriction it helped me change my relationship with food.

Read studies to get statistics. They are both good procedures and for me the sleeve has been a much better quality of life than I had with lapband. I lost about 150 post revision... almost 4 years ago. I am currently 3 pounds over goal. I love my sleeve.

161.7 this morning! My goal was to lose a pound this week, so if I can maintain this over the weekend I will make it for my monday morning weight in (I was 163.1 on monday). I am not down to my previous size because i am not working out like I was, but I am getting more active. One thing at a time.... I can't face ANYTHING else while my house remodel is underway. this is somewhat hellish to be honest.

It sounds to me like you are doing quite well in the weight loss department! For most of us, losing the last 20 or 40 pounds is a real bear! I feel like I had to do hand to hand combat with each of those last 40#! I think you recognize, the real issue is maintenance. I have been in maintenance since Feb 2013 and frankly, it was pretty easy at first. Alot of what you read on these forums is people talking about how "easy" it is. What I experienced, and what I have noticed with other vets is that it gets harder after about 3 years post op. By year 5, many people have regained some of their weight. That is a statistical fact. It does not mean they are failures because they are still way better off than preop! Like you, I wanted more. I don't want to be obese again. I don't need to be "skinny" but I want to be normal. It is all I ever wanted and now that I have it, I will fight like heck to maintain it. I will be 4 years post sleeve in December and still down about 150# from my starting weight, still in single digit clothes etc. So, why do people have problems longer term? i don't think there is one answer, but what I can tell is you don't need to be "off program" by very much to start experiencing gains. A few extra glasses of wine a week, a few chips, eating bigger meals ( you know, like everyone else eats!), late night refridgerator raids, soda... whatever your nemesis is. I surely do not have the answer, but my own personal experiece is that facing bad habits in the first 12-18 months post op seems to give people the best chance. It is still the so called "honeymoon period". Longer term, I have found that I have good hunger control, good feeling of restriction but ONLY if i follow my "rules". Protein first, eat small portions always, don't graze, stay hydrated etc. When I went down a track of eating "whatever" - my hunger went through the roof. This may not apply to everyone, but it is critcal for me. Good luck - you can do this!

I had severe sleep apnea, had WLS surgery in late 40s, lost 150#. I didn't get retested at the "no sleep center" but I don't snore anymore or have the classic symptoms of apnea so I declare myself cured. (i know, i know, but i just couldn't do one more test!)

@@tamila0624 did you receive post op eating guidelines? Over the long haul, eating correctly not only brings good health it also manages hunger. At some point you are going to experience hunger and a larger eating capacity. The whole idea is you learn how to eat correctly so you minimize hunger and don't have regain.

I love Italy. .have a fabulous time!!!

#1 priority is hydration... it takes awhile to meet protein and other nutrition goals.

one of the side effects of the sleeve for me was lactose intolerance. 1-2 bouts of horrible stomach cramps cured me of my ice cream cravings! I think we each need to decide what "treats" we can afford without it triggering hunger or overeating. I was hardcore during weight loss phase because I had SO MUCH TO LOSE and wanted to get to my goal. I think plenty of people work in treats and still lose successfully. I dunno about sugar free, depends what the replacement is...

I have male friends who have no intimacy interests or expectations so I do think it is possible. Doesn't sound like he is really interested in that and to some extent taking advantage of the situation to push his own agenda. When he asks you why you don't give it a try...what specifically is he suggesting?

Perhaps he has had a patient regret WLS and that is what comes to mind. When i meet a new doc I tell about the sleeve but I don't gush about how wonderful it is...maybe I need to start to balance out the universe!

I am 4 years out and been maintaining 150 pounds loss for over 2.5 years. I eat way less (and of course good choiced) then I could ever manage Pre WLS. No wonder I could not maintain before, resuming "normal" eating I gained weight. I did of course overeat and made some bad choices to get over 300, but maintaining a normal size/weight was just incredibly difficult perhaps impossible for me pre sleeve.

I have been thinking of this for awhile and finally tried it! Salsa is hard but bachata is fun! It is too bad so few men like to dance but I hear that the"salsa scene" is less like that. I have also found a place to practice my very limited swing dancing skills so planning on those social dances too. I am really looking forward to getting a bit more confident and brushing up the few dance skills i do have! I am not in a relationship right now, trying to avoid diving into one..just taking it slow. It is a great time to work on stuff I want to do/get better at.

I did not read whole thread but I am 4 years since my revision from band to sleeve and I do not agree that sleeve loses it's effectiveness. It does get harder....for many reasons. I still don't eat the big portions like I used to...

You have no way of knowing. ..but I would guess she was talking to someone else too.... On to the next one...

I am not sure i even buy into food as an addiction, but whatever it is... we all need to know our own "sirens call". I can go to parties, restaurants etc and make really good choices. I have a much harder time during the "witching hour" around 8-9pm especially if i am alone or my boys are eating snacky food. I just can't have alot of junk in the house, or I will eat it. Maybe not a huge portion, but frankly it doesn't take much to be too much. So, I don't buy crackers, Cookies, chips and other foods that are prone to the "just one more won't hurt" type of eating. I don't need it, I don't even like it all that much. Back to the original poster - you know, we can all eat whatever we want. I am in maintenance and i have decided I like a glass of wine, especially when I go out with friends and will give up dessert forever to have it. Maybe others choose other trade offs and I think that is fine. I do think that if you are still really focused on soda, cookies and the like it tells me it is going to be hard to get to goal and maintain. That does not mean that having one cookie is going to block your success, but it does mean that the brain's focus is on sweets and if it becomes a regular habit it will slow losses/cause regain type of situation. I have chosen to stay soda free (even diet) because there is some evidence that it can trigger over eating and sugar cravings. I am just trying to stack the deck in my favor is all. I was putting sugar free flavorings in my coffee, and have even gotten away from that - I think my palate gets to wanting that sweet taste. When I get used to NOT having it, the desire decreases too.

Hell, I am fine with going to ballgames, i even like fishing. I camp, I hike...I shoot guns! but I guess men our age are just as picky as we are and want what they want. Riding on that Harley was physically uncomfortable, it wasn't like the last Harley I rode at all. My hip was in agony. In addition, this dude is early 50s, has already had one heart attack and every meal we had together was either deep fried or some version of shitty bar food. Our last date, I made dinner and he hated it. I served salmon, roasted veggies and a salad with vinegar and oil... he was polite about it, but he hated it. I just don't think we are compatible on several fronts. I am in home updating pergatory so don't have any time or energy to think about dating, so it is all good. Denise, I think you should focus on clean eating, plenty of Protein while healing. I don't know about growing bone grafts, but when I was recovering from plastics it was: high protein, take your Vitamins, eat good nutritious food - no dieting but no junky food either. I complied pretty well because I had a lot of healing to do. I saw someone today that I haven't seen in probably 18 months ... maybe more. His first comment was "you look great, you look younger!". I joked it must be my new moisturizer but I think actually weighing closer to 160 vs 140 gives me a more youthful looking face. I like my body thinner, but don't care that much. right now, i just want to get back under goal and have a decent bounce range again... and then try to keep my bouncing actually IN that range - now that is apparently the trick!!! I am very annoyed with the insurance coordinator at the local plastic surgeon. I saw the doctor a week ago Monday and she still hadn't submitted for insurance preapproval! I was hoping tohave surgery in October so I can get the new implant in January and be healed by February - Maui trip. She said insurance takes 10-15 business days so it is 2-3 weeks from now before I can even get scheduled. Damn it! I pressed her to at least get me the preop blood work etc going...sheesh

I was a band to sleeve revision so they were very conservative. I was cleared for walking shortly post op, but didn't go to the gym until about 6 weeks. I think you should ask your surgeon on this one. On the hydration... sip sip sip... constantly. Eventually this will not be such a chore, but for now, stay hydrated. I know nobody wants to hear this, but excess skin happens. I don't know why some people have more, some people have less (for same weight loss) but truth of the matter is you should focus on losing weight now and not borrow trouble from tomorrow. I lost over 150# and I promise you being trim with some extra skin was much more attractive than being morbidly obese. Hands down. More importanly, I feel so much better not trying to carry that extra weight. If I woke up tomorrow weighing 300#++ I am not sure I could get out of bed. Seriously, I have no idea how I functioned at that weight. Skin is nothing compared to being free of the obesity gorilla. I was one of those people that had trouble with alot of supplements - they made me feel ill to my stomach. I tried lots of different things, I urge you to discuss alternatives with your surgeon/NUT because finding something you can literally stomach will increase the odds of you sticking with them! I am not sure why you are feeling regret, but you should know that rapid weight loss floods the system with hormones... and many people go through a hard time emotionally. That gets better too. I spent lots of time looking at the "before and after" pictures to get me through that time. It was inspiring and took my mind off my internal angst and misery. Hang in there - it probably took me until abotu 10-12 weeks post op to feel fully human, but it has been upward from there! Best decision ever! My sleeve was almost 4 years ago and I am still very happy with my results!

I know that tracking is better, but one of the reasons i don't is a lifetime history of tracking and disappointment and saying the heck with it all. I gained a bit over goal... managed to stop the gains and stabilized for about 2 months. I too was discouraged that i wasn't loosing. Now, I am losing and I am eating very little and being super active and going uber low carb. I feel for the discouragement and disappointment... this is hard

When I got near goal, I had a Brother in law make very in appropriate remarks about me and my appearance. I let him have it and he apologized. I think part of developing a reslience and ability to maintain yuor weight loss, you simply cannot let other people's bad behavior trigger binging. While I get that the deal with the FIL sucked, lets be honest, life is filled with crap I would rather not have to deal with. I strongly suggest you get help to address emotional triggers for over eating, specifically binge eating. This will completely undermine you down the road if you don't address them. I have been at goal since Feb 2013 and in those 2 years I have encountered many reasons to want to bury my emotions, and part of my transformation is to find new ways, healthier ways to cope with life. I am succeeding, but it isn't always fun or easy. You have done very well and I think your main focus should be on "protecting those losses" and not regaining. If you want to get slimmer, you have to go back to all the bariatric basics - Protein, hydration, exercise, minimize carbs etc etc etc.

It is probably normal.. the honeymoon period begins! I know not everyone agreed with this, but i had to have at least one low carb Protein drink a day to hit protein targets.

Doubts are on everyone's mind. I endured a year of doubts before my surgery but i have to say, trying diets "one last time" paid off because my poor results and regain took away any shadow of a doubt I hadn't tried hard enough. Hang in there!

A warning my nut gave me was that the first 6 weeks your nerves are still recovering from surgery so you may not feel the fullness. Eat by how much you measure and be sure to eat slowly. Good luck!

In 2011 when I revised I was told band to sleeve revision risk of leaks was about double that a virgin sleever. So instead of 1-2% risk more like 4%. It's scary business but I am so glad I did it. I don't recall hearing a leak story from a band to sleeve revision on these forums. Lapband people might also need to unlearn some bad habits, like eating sliders, to maximize weight loss.