Heyher

I've done both. I started tracking in the beginning to be sure I was eating enough. Later, I stopped. Now, I track pretty regularly as I'm in loss. When I'm in maintenance, I track occasionally and rely upon the scale and my clothes for accountability.
Some people never track and have success.
But do yourself a favor and search out the regain threads. A common theme? Failure to be accountable about your actual food intake. We can slip into denial and easily consume too many calories and experience a regain.
That restriction? Works great at controlling your diet for about six to nine months. I got a full year where I couldn't eat more than a single scrambled egg. But now? I can eat 1,800 calories AND NOT EVEN REALIZE IT if I'm not careful.
You're looking for a reason that you've experienced slower loss, but this isn't it. Even tracking you won't be able to control your rate of loss - that's decided entirely by your body.
But for long term maintenance it's an incredibly useful tool to stay on top of things. Go read the vet forum. Very few people lose, stay at goal and never once experience any regain. And of those you'll see very few that never track.
~Cheri

Down 86lbs!

So on Sunday 7/21/13, I went to my luggage where I stored all the clothes that doesn't fit anymore just to see/recall what was in there and also because my size 24 pants were getting too big on me. I tried on my size 22 favorite jean skirt that I have not worn in over 2years and it fit, even felt loose. I tried a bunch of outfit and finally had to fold all my size 24 pants that I wear to work and replace them with size 22 ones. I tried on a size 18 but would not fit cos my thighs are still fat. So excited that I'm officially a size 22 which was my size 2yrs ago.
Sleeved 6/5/13-my birthday.
Highest weight-300
Surgery weight-287
Current weight- 269 as of 7/12/13
inches gone- a bunch
So happy and looking forward to the next 2months.

I have ms and fibro. So fatigue and pain are my norm.... But 4 months post op and I can say my energy is getting better and my joints are near as painful as they were pre op. Also I have noticed my Migraines have occurred less frequently. Which is a true blessing.
I am wondering if there is a way to get a forum dedicated to autoimmune sleevers. That way we can have a place to discuss the sleeve and how it has interacted with our autoimmune disease. I see a lot with RA, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, fibro, and a few with MS, and I think it would be a great place for us to share stories, tips, successes, ect. Does anyone know how we would request that?

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Well, in all honesty, I hope that NO ONE ever told you "this will solve all your problems" because that just isn't the truth. Everyone says (and repeats) this is just a tool. And yep, here I am getting close to 3 years later and guess what? I still have to weigh and measure my food, I still have to be ON my game, or some weight can slip back on.
So on one hand sure it can be frustrating sometimes to have to remain diligent. I did NOT get skinny from this surgery and did not pick to be in maintenance when my body decided to quit losing. But I have made peace with being where I am. (I am battling a bit of a regain +15lbs which I AM refusing to accept and will continue to battle until it's gone) but I have made peace with the fact that I will not have a "normal" BMI. I'm okay with that.
On the other hand, this is ONE piece of the big puzzle. Why did I eat, when did I eat, and what did I eat pre-surgery? And because of having surgery and dealing with some of the issues around my own eating puzzle, I'm forever grateful for having this surgery. Would I have ever been able to lose -85lbs and KEEP IT OFF for 2 years? Nope. Not this girl. I would have already gained it all back by now.
So the answer to the question is the rose colored glasses are MY CHOICE and how I want my journey to be. I've learned that there is NO finish line, there is no DONE and now I just get to eat whatever I want and not gain weight. So I've accepted that this is MY battle MY cross to bear and I refuse to accept defeat. Attitude counts...it's really all up to you and it always has been. The surgery is the tool to help you, not do it for you.

Heyher my eyes and hearing aren't always the best
did you say you lost 65 lbs???
terrific
kudos
keep UP the good work
while your weight goes DOWN
anxious to "see" less and less of you!!!

great job
kathy

Size 8 jeans.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Went to the loft and bought 4 medium shirts. I haven't wore a medium ever. I am so happy!!!
I'm down 70lbs and my BMI is 28.9
I hope to get down another 8-10lbs by Labor Day when I do my wedding dress fitting.
Fingers crossed I can do it.

Cheri, you look amazing!!!!
Your posts are ones that I read and can relate to. You give insightful well thought out advise, and have been a sort of mentor to me. (Though you probably weren't aware)
Your balanced and realistic views and approach to the weight loss and maintenance give me hope that I can do it to.
Thank you so much for posting your advise and opinions on here and being someone newbies can look up to!!! We need more vets to stick around and show is what life is really like post sleeve. What work it really takes to be skinny and healthy.
Thank you for sharing and congrats on the new baby and all your success!! You deserve it all!!!

The first 4 months post op I enjoyed 70lbs loss. Now it seems as though I have just halted. I'm not complaining. I know to lose that much weight and get within 30 lbs of goal in such a short amount of time is nothing to snuff at. I am loving being in a size 8 pants and large tops. I am not giving up just because I have slowed down. Now is the time to focus and use what I have learned.
I actually gained 3 lbs after a round of solu-medrol steroids. But that's okay I knew it could and probably would happen. Just need to get past these yucky side effects, and I should be back on track in no time.
Probably losing a lot slower, but a loss is a loss. And everyone should be proud of every ounce lost. :-)

The first 4 months post op I enjoyed 70lbs loss. Now it seems as though I have just halted. I'm not complaining. I know to lose that much weight and get within 30 lbs of goal in such a short amount of time is nothing to snuff at. I am loving being in a size 8 pants and large tops. I am not giving up just because I have slowed down. Now is the time to focus and use what I have learned.
I actually gained 3 lbs after a round of solu-medrol steroids. But that's okay I knew it could and probably would happen. Just need to get past these yucky side effects, and I should be back on track in no time.
Probably losing a lot slower, but a loss is a loss. And everyone should be proud of every ounce lost. :-)

I wanted to post an update, even though it’s kind of difficult for me to share pictures this year.
I’m three years out from my surgery. My start weight was 242 (I’m 5’1”) and my goal was 135 pounds. I reached my goal about 17 months post op. I was never really able to stay at 135 very easily but maintained almost effortlessly between 137-141 pounds. I was quite happy there and have no problems with that weight, even if it technically puts me in the “overweight” category. The BMI chart is a creation of evil, anyway.
Two years post op I chose to get pregnant. I gained 35 pounds between hormone injections and pregnancy. I delivered my daughter almost four months ago.
Today I weigh 143 pounds. I’ve been working to shed the baby weight. As before, the last 10-15 pounds just don’t want to come off. I know that my body will change a lot in the coming year as I get back to where I was prior to having my daughter. Right now I’m feeling pretty insecure about my hips/thighs and upper arms. I also don’t like that I feel “lumpy” – my smooth hourglass figure isn’t back yet.
But I can't deny that it felt good to climb into my size 20 jeans today to snap a quick picture. The ruffled top I'm wearing doesn't really help show the difference but I'm pretty sure two of me could fit into those pants. Today I wear a solid six and a small in most tops (sometimes a medium) so I really cannot complain.
I don’t want this to be a post about my diet or lifestyle; I’m here enough that you can easily search out what I have to say about those things.
I do want to stress that my third year was harder than the previous years. For starters, going from maintenance into a gain was HARD, even if I did it to have a healthy child. Shifting into loss again has been a real challenge.
I also find that the farther I get from surgery, the more I see that very little of my unhappiness stemmed from my weight. My weight was a symptom of the damage I had going on inside of me. Sure, I had some genetic causes to help me pack on the pounds. But the majority of it was all in my head. The sleeve was not my magic bullet. It doesn’t just work on it’s own. The only thing it does for me is keep me from burying my sorrows or my stresses in a tub full of ice cream (darn lactose intolerance) or from eating a pan of brownies. I can still eat ice cream (and suffer for it) or eat those brownies one by one.
Working on ME and trying to find ways to not rely on food or alcohol in times of stress has become critical and while it's not a daily struggle, it can still be a challenge at times. I still feel no hunger. But I do get hormonal and have the desire to eat. I do get sad and have the desire to eat. I do sit and mindlessly do what other people are doing if I’m not paying attention.
I say this over and over again and I’m going to repeat myself for the umpteenth time: If you do not work on the issues that made you fat in the first place, you are going to have a very difficult time with maintenance. Maintenance is by far the hardest part of this process and it DOES NOT END. There is no finish line, there is no “GOAL!” there is just the need to stay continually vigilant and to avoid slipping into those ingrained, years-old habits and feelings. This is not about food for most of us. This is certainly not about food for me. This is about me using food to self-medicate, to hide, for pleasure, as a cornerstone of socializing – as everything BUT fuel and sustenance. Removing my stomach only gave me portion control; it did not fix anything that caused the issues in the first place.
I’m heading into my fourth year and I’m pleased to say that I would do my surgery again in a heartbeat. I’m happier than I have ever been in my life, even considering the small personal struggles I've had to face since surgery. This surgery didn't just help me lose weight. It gave me a chance to live a better life. I can beat myself up and be unhappy about little, minor things but at the end of the day, I’m 100 pounds lighter and once upon a time I would have given anything to look the way I do now.
~Cheri

Solu-medrol doesn't mix with the sleeve too well. Make my tiny little tummy very upset...

I would have to agree... When the honeymoon period is over for a few months or so, it gives you some insights that you just cant have when you are earlier out from surgery. Being over a year out, in maintaniance for a few months will be the starting point of being a vet. There are some questions and experiences that just don't come up till even a couple of years out. The people on here that are in that phase have a different conversation going on... earlier we had conversations and questions that any newbie would have, what to eat, best Protein powders, how many calories, what about stalls.... after the honeymoon its more how to lose the last few pounds that just wont come off after 8 months of eating 1200 a day.... or, I have gained 25 pounds, and the old methods wont budge the weight, my hunger is back, I can eat more, and need a new plan, guilt or shame for "failing"...... these kind of things. Vets dont mind helping newbies, Vets helped me so much when I was new out of surgery, but answering the same questions over and over, that don't really have anything to do with what we are going through, is a bit of a drag after a while. So we started the Vets forum, to discuss those other issues that rear their ugly head after a year or so. I think this will be a rich resource for the people who are newbies now, but will see what we are talking about soon enough! The things that many of the Vets agree on is "At some point maintenance can become harder than losing the weight in the first place" and "This is going to be work the rest of my life, I can't just lose the weight, and forget it or I will gain weight" Thats what we are working on.

To be considered a vet on the board here, you have to have both 100 posts and be 6 months out of surgery.
And I may bring on the hate mail by saying this because the rules of the board are different, but I really feel a year post op is more conducive of being a vet. There is so much to be learned in the first year. And even up to 18 months. I didn't considered myself an experienced WLS vet until I was almost 2 years post op. Then I started to realize that I might have advice and experiences that may be useful to others.
And trust me when I say this, life after a year post op is when life with WLS really begins!

Size 8 jeans.

I am finally in maintenance stage...and I can tell you that I feel completely normal now. I do still have a lot of restriction, so I can't have everything that I used to be able to. However I don't act like I am on a diet anymore. If there is something I want, then I have it...just a lot less then I used to before surgery. I feel strongly that if there is something I want and I tell myself I can't have it...then I find myself obsessing over it until I just break down anyways...and then usually I go overboard. I have learned a lot in this process. I feel incredably lucky to have been able to give myself this gift, and I don't intend on waisting it...but I also don't intend on being on a diet for the rest of my life. I did this so I could LIVE again. I really feel like I am finally living my life the way I always wanted to! good luck to all of you!