LadyIvy

Along with everything you already mentioned. I think one of the big factors is how fast you lose your weight. Someone who loses slower has more time for skin regeneration and is more likely to have the skin snap back the way it is supposed to. Someone who loses the weight super fast isn't going to have time for the skin to adjust so is more likely to have a lot of loose skin and stretch marks. I lost the first 18 lbs very fast. I could see where the skin was starting to hang (a tiny bit). I intentionally slowed my weight loss to 2-4 lbs a week and now the hanging is gone and my skin is snapping back into place quickly. I am 6 weeks out and down 28 lbs. It may not be as fast as you may like, but I have a friend that lost 50 lbs in the same time period and is continuing at that rate. There is no doubt she is going to need surgery, whereas I will eventually get to goal and I truly believe I will be avoiding surgery and have skin tight enough to pull off a bikini down the road.

I keep seeing everyone refer to the MFP. What is this?

Did you follow the pre-op diet? I would be so upset they opened me up for no reason. I hope the biopsy comes back perfect though!

I found out after my mother passed that she had a gastrectomy. No one knows why, how or when, but it had to be over 20 years since she was married to my dad that long before she passed. She was always very thin (about 105, but she was only 5'1") I have never seen a picture of her big and she never had any complications (since no one knew). I hope that bears well for all of us!

This makes me very happy. I had a very healthy diet before the surgery anyway. My main problem was eating only once a day and eating a TON of food when I did it. I mainly use the surgery to help with portion control. My one late meal really screwed up my metabolism. I find that now that I know I can't get in all my calories for a day at once, I seem to be doing really well!

I love this topic. I can't wait to wear a bikini so I don't feel so separated from the water. I can't wait for my husband to flip me around like I'm tiny. I can't wait to play with my son on the beach for hours. I have plenty more

I have to keep telling myself this. I am having serious issues with this stall. Thought I would be further by now. This was a good post to help me think this through.

I'm glad to hear Walter Reed is still open! We heard it closed down. Also, I had mine done April 9th at Darnell Army Medical Center in TX. What are you curious about?

Started a week and a half early during the pre-op diet. Was really heavy on the day of surgery. I told them and they said it is REALLY common and gave me some net hospital panties.

Andi, If you go to your ticker and copy and paste the line that says bb after you create your ticker it will give you a little image that shows on your posts. Just wanted to give you a heads up that all I see is a link to tickerfactory.com

Protein intake is supposed to be a percentage of your weight. 70 is an average. Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200-pound person should get 74 grams, and a 250-pound person should eat 92 grams. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/protein.htm

Looking for friends who use sparkpeople.com my name is Ladyivy79! Look forward to seeing you all

I have been in a stall for a week now, so I understand how you feel. However, I have lost another 2 inches all over my body in that week. It is very frustrating, but we are making a major lifestyle change. This doesn't mean binge dieting, it means making the healthy choice 95% of the time. I don't know about you but in the past I managed to lose some weight by torturing myself with every rule in the book. In the end it always failed because I finally snapped and just went overboard. If it makes you feel any better. I was sleeved April 9th and am only down 27 lbs. I know I am doing well, my body just likes to be slow. Its why I needed the surgery in the first place. I get between 700 and 900 cals a day and do 5 30-40 minute work outs a week. Since this stall has lasted a while, I decided to flip things around a bit to break it. If you google weight plateau, you will find a lot about your body quickly adjusting to a certain diet or set of activities and how you have to convince it to shift back into weight loss mode. Lots of great ideas on the net. There is absolutely NO WAY you will not get smaller if you keep doing what you are doing. The human body is amazingly adaptable and sometimes that works against us. Take a few days break from the scale and examine your habits so you can switch some behaviors around and shock your body into responding again. I tell myself every day, after I break through this stall, the weight loss is going to go quickly again.

I agree, I am eating between 700 and 900 calories a day. I hit a stall this week as my body adjusts, but I was losing about a lb every 2-3 days before this. I wish I could get a few more calories in, but that is only going to happen if I eat stuff that is not good for me. I just can't fit anymore than that.

I disagree with your doctor. Unless you are talking about power lifting I don't see why there would be issues with low weight, high rep toning. Everything you say about the need for muscle strengthening and toning is correct.

Take off the band aid. Shower, let them dry for a little while and then put the band aid back on. I wish I had that problem. My stupid nurse told me I couldn't shower until my post op appt. (10 days later). I was leaning over the tub and doing spongebaths for a week and a half. Then my surgeon tells me, "I told them to stop telling people that! You could have showered the day after surgery". Congrats on the big life change!

Well I am a little over 5 weeks out. I got the 3 week stall for 5 days, and now I am at a 5 week stall. The difference between this one and the last is that I keep bouncing up and down on the scale instead of just stopping and then going down. I'm only down 27 lbs and frustrated it decided to come so soon. I know everyone gets them, so maybe I can get some advice. How long did your first stall last? What do you feel you did to break it?

YAY! Good for you. What a frustrating experience:) I know I'm going to feel silly when you answer this, but what is NSV?

In the morning after I get dressed I look in the mirror to check my outfit. What I see there is a BIG difference between what I saw on April 1st when my liquid pre-op diet started. A week ago, I decided to take some follow up pictures (wearing the same outfit). I have yet to compare the two, from looking at my pants I can see the diffrence, but when I look at the pics on the camera they look TOTALLY different from how I feel when I look in a mirror? What is the deal with that? If I had a problem with body dysmorphia, it should be consistent between the mirror and the camera yes? I look 30 lbs larger on the camera. So confused..

You figured out the trick to making people not feel the need to stop you and talk. Wave and then remove eye contact. I don't think most people will think you are a witch. I believe they will quickly get that you are trying to exercise and now is not the time. I had a lady try that with me last week when I walked past her. I responded quickly as I passed and before she could say anything else I told her to "have a nice day" and kept moving. I didn't think for a second she considered me rude, and if she did. Oh well, I need this time for me. I spend the rest of my time taking care of and worrying about other people. I have found a lot of heavy people get that way because they don't think about themselves or take care of themselves. That thinking has gotten me nowhere so it is time to change it. Congrats to you on working out when you hurt. I have major back issues too and every lb that comes off makes it easier to deal with!

Thank you for sharing your story. I am glad everything turned out so well for you!

Tonight I realized I have developed a horrible new habit 3 weeks out from surgery. I am being very careful about separating fluids from food. Once in a while I will be drinking something and walk into the kitchen and find something my hubby put out on the counter that I really want. I noticed that I have begun cutting off a tiny piece and chewing it until most of the flavor is gone and spit it out into the trash can. This is embarrassing as I thought this was something only someone with an eating disorder would do. Its not that I don't want the calories, I actually do, because I am ranging between 500 and 800 today and that doesn't subtract from my 5 day a week work out negatives. I just know that mixing food with fluids has made me really sick two times so don't want to play that game. Does anyone else do this? It sounds like such a first world problem and the wasted food makes me feel terribly guilty now that I realize what I am doing.

It is not bulemia (which you know already is vomiting). It is closer to anorexia if anything (because you never actually ingest your food), but either way it is an unhealthy relationship with food. Taking this to an extreme is what makes it an eating disorder. If you want the flavor but are so adverse to the calories that you would rather spit out your food (hence your nutrients) it is bound to cause a problem eventually. Below I have listed the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder from the DSM IV: Eating Disorder Diagnostic Criteria from DSM IV-TR 307.1 Anorexia Nervosa * Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height, for example, weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected. * Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight. * Disturbance in the way one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight. * In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least 3 consecutive menstrual cycles. A woman having periods only while on hormone medication (e.g. estrogen) still qualifies as having amenorrhea. Type Restricting Type: During the current episode of Anorexia Nervosa, the person has not regularly engaged in binge-eating or purging behavior (self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas). Binge Eating/Purging Type: During the current episode of Anorexia Nervosa, the person has regularly engaged in binge-eating or purging behavior. 307.51 Bulimia Nervosa * Recurrent episodes of binge eating characterized by both 1. Eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat during a similar period of time and under similar circumstances. 2. A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode, (such as a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating). * Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior to prevent weight gain, such as selfinduced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications, fasting, or excessive exercise. * The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behavior both occur, on average, at least twice a week for 3 months. * Self evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight. * The disturbance does not occur exclusively during episodes of Anorexia Nervosa. Type Purging Type: During the current episode of Bulimia Nervosa, the person has regularly engaged in self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. Nonpurging Type: During the current episode of Bulimia Nervosa, the person has used other inappropriate compensatory behavior but has not regularly engaged in selfinduced vomiting or misused laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. 307.50 Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified This diagnosis includes disorders of eating that do not meet the criteria for the above two eating disorder diagnoses. Examples include 1. For female patients, all of the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are met except that the patient has regular menses. 2. All of the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are met except that, despite significant weight loss, the patient's current weight is in the normal range. 3. All of the criteria for Bulimia Nervosa are met except that the binge eating and inappropriate compensatory mechanisms occur less than twice a week or for less than 3 months. 4. The patient has normal body weight and regularly uses inappropriate compensatory behavior after eating small amounts of food (e.g., self-induced vomiting after consuming two cookies). 5. The patient engages in repeatedly chewing and spitting out, but not swallowing, large amounts of food. 6. Binge-eating disorder: recurrent episodes of binge eating in the absence if regular inappropriate compensatory behavior characteristic of Bulimia Nervosa. So this would classify as something known as EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). I don't believe chewing gum and this have anything to do with one another from what I read above. The DSM IV references psychological requirements for EDNOS (which is where this disorder is placed) but both psychological and physical requirements for Anorexia and Bulemia.

Good question. I don't know. My son is school aged and he never came to any of my appointments. I know he can't come to the classes and WL nutrition support group, but other than that, I don't see why he couldn't.

With insight and an attitude like that, you are bound to succeed!