VSGAnn2014

Yeah, that's unusual. What everyone else said ... talk to your surgeon and be very sure your food intake is only 800 calories. Good luck. The good news is that this isn't over yet!

Have you seen this site yet? http://www.loveafterwls.com/

Good grief! She's staring at freedom from inside the prison cell without a door that she built for herself. How fascinating. And how horrible. Our values should serve our goals, not thwart them. When they don't serve our goals, we should seriously re-evaluate our values.

Your body really does look wonderful. Congrats on your skin performing so well during such a rapid weight loss. Great job!

Until we learn why we have been unable in the past to care for ourselves and maintain our prior weight losses and address constructively the issues involved in that dynamic, we will always be at risk for weight regain. That's why my primary care physician insisted I seek counseling PRIOR to weight loss surgery to understand and address (as he put it) "... why you are unable to care for yourself ...." I could certainly see the good sense in his advice. So I've committed to see my psychologist for three years: (1) the year of losing weight, (2) the year of maintaining my weight loss and (3) the year of boring real life. So far, all I've been able to do is lose all my excess weight. I'll let you know in two years and three months how the rest of it went.

^^^^ doinitrite. Respect!

No, my real name is Martha Mallenberry. I live in Minnesota.

I do think that many people have very unrealistic expectations (and not a lot of basic nutritional education) about the caloric value of food and the caloric deficit necessary to lose a pound -- or 18 pounds or 100 pounds. To lose 18 pounds in a month (assuming none of that was "water weight" -- which most of us lose during the pre-op diet) you have to eat a deficit of 3500 calories per pound lost or in the case of 18 pounds that's 63,000 calories fewer than your body needed to maintain its weight. Put another way, that's a caloric deficit of -2,100 calories a day. Frankly, my dear, that's a caloric deficit that's impossible to achieve by doing Weight Watchers. Bottom line is in losing 18 pounds in a month that's more weight than you "deserved" to lose, looking at it purely from caloric deficit perspective. You are doing GREAT! Relax. Enjoy it. You're going to lose the weight anyway. And you've got a lot of other tools to develop. Nutritional education, for one. The ultimate benefit of WLS is not just about how fast you lose -- it's about how the sleeve can help you maintain a weight loss. But you'll still need those other tools (what you eat, eating slower, not drinking with meals, exercising more than we used to, etc.)

LOL! Seriously? You thought you were paying for, what, magic? FYI, I lost 10.4 pounds after Month One post-op. I'm now at goal (hit it 8-1/2 months post-op). FTR, I did not lose 10.4 pounds in a month via Weight Watchers ... EVER!

Oh, Lord! The Mexican WLS doctor wars. They never end.

Funny stuff, guys! Thank you!

Anxiety causes insomnia. Menopause causes insomnia. (Maybe Maleopause does, too?) And guess what: Insomnia can quickly become a habit. I'm a big fan of intermittently used Ambien. I use it maybe 1 out of 4 / 5 nights on average. But it really does help me break the insomnia patterns. Just a thought.

Yippee! Happy dance over here! I really know the feeling.

I've heard about this stuff. Where can you buy it?

Of course, I didn't think that. Sheesh!

y surgical / nutritionist team old me that by 6 months I should be eating 1,000 calories. I edged up slowly from about 800 (at start of 5 months). Months 7-8 I was eating 1,200 calories. I never stopped losing. Hit goal at 8-1/2 months post-op. BTW, I bet your inches are still shrinking.

For the record, I don't consider Weight Watchers a "fad diet." Mostly, they do eat "real food." They eat lots of good veggies. Low-fat meats. A balanced diet. That sounds good to me. It's certainly a lot better than gaining 20-40 pounds pre-surgery with "last suppers." Yuck. But if you're really "terrified" and not just bloviating with that word, really, don't have the surgery. Get comfortable with the concept. Educate yourself. Find people who've had the surgery and talk to them. In person. And if you do proceed with surgery, my strong suggestion would be that you start to do change your eating behaviors pre-surgery if at all possible.

In "be still and do nothing physical" situations like that, I do puzzle games. If there's wifi, I watch Netflix. I make plans on documents. I work (online). I breathe deeply every once in a while. I nap. I talk to other people who are with me. I read books. In many ways, waiting in hospitals for loved ones is like being on a long plane trip. You're stuck, trapped. You don't have a lot of control over anything. You just have to distract yourself however you can.

My surgery was great, and recovery was easy. Came home the second day (afternoon) post-op. Pain was minimal. Took pain meds only twice after I came home. I have never even thrown up once. Not a single time. My readjustment to food (slowly, by phase) was easy, too. Still love refried beans and melted cheese. My energy level came back gradually. Within a month I was pretty whippy. But a couple, three months down the road I was really whippy. I reached my goal 8-1/2 months post-op. Not much else to report ... except that my life has completely changed. And wonderfully in every way. And like the previous poster, I followed the surgeon's and his team's recommendations very closely. I honestly don't understand how someone who's having WLS thinks they know better than their medical team how to succeed post-op, except to imagine that some people are f**king idiots.

Actually, this is all sounding pretty positive to me -- as colon cancer situations go. Very best to you guys, CanyonBaby. BTW, I think you sound like you're coping pretty darned good.

You don't have to figure this out all by yourself. It really is not required that you do that. You don't get a higher grade by doing this with fewer resources. See your doc. Find a good counselor. Get more resources on your team. I don't have a lapband history or anxiety, and I'm seeing a shrink. It has really helped.

One step at a time. That's all it takes. It's that simple.

I had VSG surgery at age 68. I'm 69 now and at goal. It all went pretty easily for me. My life is worth as much to me at nearly 70 as yours is to you now or as a 25 year old's is. FTR, my life is soooooooooooooo much better now than it was a year ago. It's never too late to improve our lot in life. Never.

I've never participated in the holiday challenges, so I don't know what goes on there. But yeah ... everyone should be welcomed on those threads. As someone who just hit goal, yeah ... maintaining is certainly as challenging (more so?) than losing our weight. BTW, I heard a rumor that Alex is going to start a maintenance forum. I for one would love a new forum on that topic. Congrats on your big accomplishments thus far. This trip is never over, is it?

Hi, @@bewell ... I had a textbook, easy time getting to goal. And yes, my weight loss did slow down. But I knew from watching others that it would. It's only logical why that happened: Toward the end, I already weighed so much less, and I was gradually, on purpose eating more calories each day. Here's how my monthly weight losses looked: Pre-op - lost 20 lbs (on first my own diet and then my surgeon's pre-op diet) Month 1: -10 lbs Month 2: -12 lbs Month 3: -9 lbs Month 4: -11 lbs Month 5: -7 lbs Month 6: -5 lbs Month 7: -6 lbs Month 8: -4 lbs Month 9: -4 lbs Total lost = 87 pounds