deedeemuffin

I am 2 1/2 years out. It will be 3 years at the end of November. I started out at 418. The first 100 lbs. just melted off. The next 50 lbs. were more of a struggle. I have found myself at the same weight for almost 9 months now. No gains. No losses. Just hanging at 268. I have a few issues that I struggle with. I am not interested in plastics, but the more I lose the more I just look like a deflated balloon. This is wreaking havoc on my self-esteem. I know that I am healthier. I have engaged in activities in the past year that I never thought that I would be able to do again...camping, hiking and canoeing to name a few. I just wonder how much more gross (this is my word for myself) that I'll look when I reach a truly healthy weight. I have never had one of those sleeves that make you vomit, but I have restriction and I respect it. I don't push my sleeve. I just make poor food choices. I have gone completely down the slope smack dab into carbs and sugar. Waffle for Breakfast. Veggie fried rice for lunch. Black Bean Burger with bun for dinner. A Pop-Tart and tea before bed. (Picking up on the vegetarian vibe?) I just can barely look at tofu and the premade veggie Protein products are so sodium laced. I also admit that I abhor exercise. I was going to yoga 3x per week. Then I started having serious back problems. A herniated L4 & L5 with nerve root compression that causes mobility problems with my left leg. I went for 3 different injections, steroids and other, with a minimum bed rest of a week after each one. I totally lost my yoga mojo. I did the 5 day pouch test. Yes, my sleeve still works. I lost 7 lbs., but I felt like I wanted to eat the arm off my couch. I get legitimately hungry now. Not head hungry. Like my sleeve growls at me hungry. I know that this is a long post. I'm hoping that there's someone out there with a similar experience or positive encouragement. I beat myself up enough. I've stayed away from the boards for a very long time feeling ashamed for not being at goal. I don't want to hide anymore. I just can't seem to kick myself back into gear. It's like starting from square one except I'm in the 200's instead of the 400's. Anyone? Thanks!

Good for you for sticking with it and not giving up. I am a slow loser as well. Often I have seen the rapid weight loss that others have had and felt discouraged with my own journey, but it is MY own journey. It doesn't matter if it takes me 3 1/2 years to get to my goal weight. The important thing is that we keep pushing ahead. Keep up the good work!

Congratulations! You will find a lot of support here from veterans in maintenance. Keep up the fantastic work!

@@MichiganChic Thank you for your honest post. I definitely have lost a significant amount of weight. I am so much happier and healthier now than where I was. My cholesterol and blood pressure are now normal. I have also adjusted my goals. I still have a goal that is less than I am now, but it's not an ideal BMI. That BMI number the charts dictate (I would have to weigh 173 lbs or less to be considered "normal") is honestly not realistic. At 5'10", with the amount of excess skin that I have it would be a never ending cycle of frustration. In high school I was 180 lbs., super active, a size 12 and not a bit pudgy. Anything under that and my bones literally started sticking out and I looked unhealthy. Let's face it. I'm not in high school, and I'm not going to expect my body to do something it was never built to do. I have been trying to measure my success by the activities that I am able to do that I couldn't at 418 lbs. and the fact that I was a size 34 and now I'm a very comfortable 18. Ideally where I would like to see myself is right under 200 and in a size 14. There is absolutely this idea that I have that if I don't at least get into the 100's then I'm not at my goal. More importantly, my husband and I are currently in the process of getting certified to become foster parents and also open to the possibility of having a biological child. So, my main focus points are being healthy enough to get pregnant and also being able to keep up with any age range of child that we might foster. I certainly won't be eating under 1,000 calories again. I average 1,200-1,400 a day which has led to the no loss no gain place where I am now. For now I need to focus on making Protein a higher percentage of my diet and getting in more exercise. Then maybe see where I am at my surgeversary in 5 months. Depending on where I am then, if I really make those efforts, I might need to reevaluate again.

Thanks for the input. It is a struggle being a vegetarian and losing, but I see that you've done it. I do eat dairy and eggs which help. I may just need more access to better recipes. Sometimes things get lost in typing translation. It's not that I turn my nose up at tofu and fake meat. Tofu has been my go to protein. It's like people who eat chicken every day. You just get tired of tofu, tofu, tofu. Again, maybe I just need a better recipe arsenal. I do eat fake meat too. I'm just concerned with the amount of sodium that comes with the territory of prepackaged food. My body definitely retains Water the more that I eat. So, more research it is.

I think the thread was actually called I Gained Most of My Weight Back. At least that's the one that I read. Although there are good tips, I haven't gained at all. Just stopped losing. Completely leveled out for the past 9 months.

Thanks. I did read it. Thank God I have never gained any weight since my sleeve, but there was some really good info in the thread.

I think this is harder than most people will admit to. I've lost 150 lbs and still have at least 70 to go. I am happy that I haven't gained weight. I will be 3 years out in November. I did the 5 day pouch reset. It semi-worked. I dropped 7 lbs in 5 days and regained some of that fullness feeling...like my sleeve actually still worked. It was a miserable 5 days. 6 months later I am still not back on track. I'm a vegetarian and got tired of my Protein choices. I can barely look at tofu and the premade items are so high in sodium. My portions are still small, but I think my body won't let go of any more weight because it's not getting the protein that it needs. I remember how hard things were in the beginning, but I kind of miss those days. Once you've let the carbs and sugar creep back in they're absolute hell to get rid of. You get headaches. You feel sick. I've realized that if I ever want to get down to where I want to be there is going to have to be a radical shift in my eating and activity. We started this journey for a reason. I am astounded at what I can do now vs. 150 lbs ago. I can only imagine what I'd be able to do at a more healthy weight. It's going to be hard. We have to be brutally honest with ourselves, recognize what we've already accomplished, seek support and really see this as a path of self-care. I wish you all the best, and know that you're not alone.

I can't seem to find where your MFP username is listed. I would love to add you since you've been so successful and eat vegetarian. My username is deedeemuffin. Thanks!

I see that the original post is over a year old, but I'm hoping that their are some veterans out there using MFP. I'm 20 months out. Desperately looking for ideas of what successful days look like. MFP user name is deedeemuffin. I would love to have some people in my circle. Vegetarians exceptionally welcome!

Congratulations! Slow & steady it is for some of us. I'm down 121 with 121 to go. Definitely not the easy way out. It makes it doable & we're all still working which is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. It's nice to know that not everyone gets to goal in year!

Amazing job! You really look wonderful. I was sleeved the same month. Down 121 with another 121 to go. Hopefully I'll look as awesome as you do!

I see that you did this about a month ago. I am starting Day 1 today. This is the first time that I'm trying it. I had my surgery a little over a year and a half ago. I'm half way to goal. I'm hoping this will lend to the feeling of restriction & eliminate a couple of bad habits that I've picked up. Were you able to stick through the 5 days? Did it help you get a feeling of more restriction back? Did it really help jump weight loss & reset your eating? I would love any feedback as I'm already dreading just 5 days & am so hoping that it's worth it. Thanks!

Don't give in or give up! My weight loss came to a grinding halt & I had gained 10 pounds back as well. It's about finding what works for you. For me, I have to get in all my water, be vigilant about getting in all my protein, avoid carbs & sugars for the most part. I have now been losing slowly but steadily for a little over 2 months now. About 2 lbs. a week. It is possible to gain, get back on track and keep losing. I'm doing it & so can you. Hang in there!

What a LONG, strange trip this is that I'm on. I was sleeved on 11/27/12 at 418 pounds. I am now at 298. That's 120 pounds down & about 120 more to go. Being under 300 pounds is monumental for me, though. I honestly wasn't sure that it was ever going to happen. I am obviously not one of those uber success stories that took off all their weight in one year & I am learning to be okay with that, My experience was that for the for 6 months after my vsg it was like the weight melted off. 100 lbs. in 6 months. I thought that I would be to my goal weight in no time. Then it was like I hit a wall. Now if you look at my other posts you will see that I struggled. Struggled with getting in Protein. Struggled with avoiding carbs. Struggled with exercise. Struggled with what a drastically different lifestyle being sleeved is. I even gained back about 10 pounds. I did not do "everything right". It took me about a year to really revamp my lifestyle and find out what works for me to lose weight but feel balanced. I have now losing consistently at about 2 lbs a week for the past 12 weeks. It appears that I have found my groove. I have no doubt that I will get to my goal weight. It might not be as quickly as other people have, but I will still get there. It might be literally 3 years after my surgery before I get to goal, but so what? Even if I was not still losing weight, the weight that I have lost already has changed my life. My health has improved dramatically. I actually went hiking last weekend! I'm going camping in a month. That's something that I've missed doing for years. Getting sleeved is not a magic bullet. Losing weight is still hard. I still struggle with my self-esteem. I truly miss eating the way I used to, and sometimes I literally feel sad that I can't eat more. I still don't like exercising. I have come to see it as a necessary evil. I might never like exercising, This is just the truth. I'm getting married at the end of September. After we got engaged in January, I spent months beating myself up that I am still so heavy. I thought if only I had tried harder then I could have been a thin, beautiful bride. That may be true. It may not be. What is true is that I am certainly more ready to walk down an aisle in front of 100 people now than I was at 418 pounds. I have not given up. I am still moving and look forward to someday posting that I'm at my goal. I hope that this post is helpful to someone. You might be considering surgery. Maybe you're newly sleeved. Maybe you're where I was 6 months ago...gained back 10 lbs & not moving. You can do it! I can do it! Just don't give up. Here are a couple before & after shots at this stage.

Your pic was very inspiring for me. It looks like you had surgery 6 months before I did & we started out at almost identical weights. I am obviously losing more slowly. Did you go through any struggles? Is there anything that you did that helped you lose so quickly? I would love to hear how you were so successful. You look amazing. So inspiring! Thank you,

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this post so far. It's funny, I noticed that a few people mentioned that I look so happy now. I looked at my pics & I DO look happier now! I am happier. It's nice to be able to do things that I couldn't do before. Like fit in a booth at a restaurant, or hike with my fiancé, or play in the pool with my nieces & nephew without being exhausted. So, yes, I'm happier & much healthier. I can't wait to see how much more I can do the smaller I get.

I have never been successful long term either & I got very scared when I gained that 10 pounds back. I thought that my surgery had been "wasted". For me getting back on track was more of a change in my thought patterns. When I stopped beating myself up & focused on just being healthier in general the scale started moving again. Just surround yourself with as much support as possible. You'll do great!

Thanks, ho11ie. Stalls are very common. Especially in the beginning. I think almost every person has had a major stall shortly after surgery. In the beginning it's kind of like a roller coaster ride. You drop weight, drop weight, then nothing...even though you're following your plan. Just have faith in the process. Hang in there!