karenb4729

Yes, I have experienced the same thing. I was just talking to my therapist yesterday as I'm currently dealing with Anorexia.... go figure obese to anorexic. Anyway, there was a study done in the 1940's call the Minnesota Starvation Study and they found that when you are starving the body of food one of the main side effects is depression. For most of my weight loss and even after hitting my goal I stayed at 600 to 800 calories a day... it was not enough and the depression hit big time to the point where I can't function day to day. Losing weight is not an easy journey.

I just tried this for the first time on Thursday. It made me pretty sick after my workout - took a full scoop and probably should have only tried 1/2 scoop to start. Probably won't try this again.

If I were looking at this problem I would probably go with the Duodonal Switch. It is considered the Gold standard in Weight Loss surgery and is often done after the sleeve for people who have a lot of weight to lose. Not all Doctors do the DS but you might want to ask your Doctor about it. I'm sorry that you are on a plateau which is what my nutritionist calls any stall that lasts longer 4 weeks. I'm sure its frustrating and hard watching others get to goal when you are stuck. I was sleeved around the same time as you June 4th 2012. I lost very slowly my first 6 months and then I became really focused, kept my calories at 700 per day and my carbs under 20 grams a day, worked out 6 days a week burning off most of those calories that I ate (according to my Heart Rate monitor). Again, in your situation I would go with DS rather than band...... talk to someone who has had the band, it's not pleasant and could cause a lot more problems in the future if you develop scarring around the band.

LOL - Breastcicles.... that's is the best term ever because that's exactly what they look like. I'm also over 50 years old so I expected the sag but wow, they are really deflated and kind of look like raisins hanging down. They also just seem to "sit" at the bottom of my bra cup. Never thought about doing plastic surgery but now it's something I'm considering.

I don't do creatine but I do BCAA pre and post workout. I haven't had a nausea problem due to my supplements but it's pretty common for me to work so hard that I throw up. My trainer does require that I eat something 60 minutes prior to workout that gets in at least 30 grams of carbs - usually 1/2 cup of brown rice or oatmeal (regular oats not the instant stuff with all the sugar). I do lifting, resistance training and crossfit type boot camps. - nothing more satisfying than tossing around a tractor tire.

I think I will add in the fact that as we age we need less calories. What you can eat to maintain at age 30 is not what you can do at age 40 or 50 even with the same activity level. Frankly that's true whether you have had surgery or not. You do have to remain vigilant with the scale and address any gains as soon as possible.

I really agree with this post especially with regards to My Fitness Pal. To start making changes we need to be honest with ourselves so it's important to know what kind of fuel you are feeding your body. Anything that goes in my mouth must be input into MFP before I eat it. Often I find I make different choices when I look up a food and see the nutritional information. The other key and big change in my life has been incorporating exercise - I would have never ever seen myself as a "gym rat" but that's what I have become. The friends I have made at the gym have become very important to me and its really special that I have become an inspiration for others. This journey is really what you make of it and for each of us very individual. One thing I do know, you will have to make changes for life in order for this or any other weight loss surgery to work. It really is only a tool.

I do Xtend which is a BCAA pre workout and then follow up post workout with my protein drink. My trainer does require that I eat something with at least 30 grams of carbs prior to my training session so that I have the energy stores to get through the workout. It must be working because I just did my body composition scan yesterday and I'm at 18.5% body fat. To hit my ideal body fat I need to lose .4 of a pound and gain in 2 pounds of muscle. Sure feels great compared to where I was over a year ago.

What I have seen is that if your are an "apple shape" person before the surgery you will still be an "apple" shape person afterwards. I always carried my weight in my butt and thighs so more "pear" shape. My stomach is pretty darn flat now except for the loose skin but it doesn't hang, it's just sort of shriveled over my abs.

I'm not sure I believe in the Honeymoon phase. It is what you make it and it's about how bad you want to get to goal. I actually lost more weight after the 6 month mark than I did before it when I really sat down and focused on clean eating. Now I'm trying to figure out maintenance and still am finding I'm losing about 2 lbs a week.

I think something that is often forgotten is the fact that as we age our metabolism changes. You can be in maintenance and stay eating the way you always have but you find your are starting to gain. Especially for women who are going through or have gone through menopause as that really does a number on our metabolism. How do I know this? Because that's how I gained my weight in the first place... I was always skinny until I went through chemo and menopause at age 31. Now, I'm back down to the weight I was before I became sick, 33 years later. My diet has changed and I feel like I know what I need to stay where I am - keep exercising, keep eating clean, and keep on top of any weight changes that last more than a couple of days. While once in a while I will have a treat, ice cream, or a bite of desert but for the most part I stay away. I feed my body fuel that it needs to work efficiently but no "additives".

I just started wearing sleeveless at the gym because I have been embarrassed about the hanging skin. I just decided to "own it". Guess what, I have received so many compliments about my amazing shoulders because my muscles are starting to really pop! No one is noticing the hanging skin.... sometimes I think we are our own worst critics.

Most surgeons use a size that they are comfortable with - mine used a 40F because he believed it resulted in less complications. I started at 271lbs and 13 months later I'm at 125lbs.... got to goal. So its really more about what you do with what you have been given.

My 2nd month after surgery I stalled for almost the entire month, lost only 3 lbs that month. I actually lost more weight as I got closer to goal because I became very focused on hitting goal and really kept my calories at 600 to 700 a day with a exercise burn of 300 to 500. I'm trying to find my maintenances level now and am still losing around 2lbs a week. I always make sure to take in at least 120grams of protein so am building muscle.

I'm at 700 to 800 calories a day and burn between 400 to 550 during a workout session (according to my heart rate monitor. I workout 6 days a week and now have a nice set of "guns" so apparently have been building muscle even with the low calories. At 55 and having been in menopause since age 31 my metabolism is lower than someone younger and its important to remember that as you age you do need less calories as your body will function more efficiently on less. That being said, I'm trying to focus on maintaining so do need to up my calories. Since I'm still losing 1.5 to 2 lbs a week that tells me I need about 800 more calories a day so roughly 1500 or so to maintain at my current exercise level. Its also important to focus on your protein levels and based on my exercise routine I take in 120 grams a day.