VSGAnn2014

That fiftynotfrumpy blog is interesting. And i like some of her ideas. But, Lordy, that girl sure hangs out with a lot of white people. Not a single person of color anywhere in sight.

Wow! Congratulations to you and your family. Woot!

No way am I eating that many calories a day! I have never heard, in the many years I had been in Weight Watchers, that a point equals 50 calories. And I take offense to your "humble opinion"! Where you got that I eat WAY too much for my not-yet-healed new tummy is beyond me! Sorry to offend you. But that's good you're losing again. BTW, here's the source re 50 calories per WW point: http://www.livestrong.com/article/309848-how-many-calories-does-a-point-equal-in-weight-watchers/ Be mad at multiplication, not me. 27 points X 50 calories = 1,350 calories

I think about 6 weeks.

Sure have. Thanks, Spanx.

...

* Fresh raspberries and non-fat vanilla Greek yogurt * Sliced small apple and 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese * chocolate Truffle Caltrate 600 mg. Calcium + D3 soft chews (Hey! I get my WLS jollies where I can find them!)

I got curious as to how many calories equate to a Weight Watchers "point." Online, I found estimates of 50 calories per WW point. (And of course, we all know there are other foods that don't have ANY WW points attached to them.) So I'm guesstimating you're eating at least 1300 - 1500 calories a day. In my humble opinion, that's WAY too much to be eating 4 weeks post-op if you're serious about losing weight. Frankly, I don't even understand how you could get that much food inside a not-yet-healed new tummy. Geez! FYI, I ate about 800 calories most of the first four months post-op. Some food for thought.

Good story, @pippinleicester. I remember my surprise upon learning that a client (who always looked the same weight to me) weighs 10 pounds more during the winter than during the summer. Gee. Who knew?

And once again, your comment above reveals that you are opposed to "quick fixes" and how people don't deserve access to WLS if they've "never dieted a day in their lives" and that you're "steamed" because WLS is only deserved by people who "used it as a last resort." You are entitled to your perspective and opinions. But, once again, I don't share your perspective OR your opinions. For one thing, I don't think that only those who have suffered as much or more than you (or me) should be allowed to have a medical procedure that can dramatically improve their life's trajectory. And when you consider that many overweight and obese people who are not morbidly obese and aren't as old as me (69) haven't yet developed any comorbidities (although some of them have), it should be clear that those folks have much lower risks for surgical and post-surgical complications. So there's another potential objection laid to rest. And even if you really do know "many" people who didn't meet your standards for WLS who regained their weight, then they're simply among the 50% of all WLS patients who regain their weight. Hopefully, you and I and those I've gotten to know on these boards who didn't meet your standards for WLS will be in the other 50%. I doubt you will change your mind about any of this. But I do thank you for the thread, because it's given me a chance to examine more deeply what I think about WLS and its validity as a medical procedure and as a deeply personal choice.

Now, THAT's one of the best Non-scale Victories (NSVs) I've EVER heard of. Congratulations to you, young lady!

My personal style is classic. But I shop for clothes everywhere from Neiman Marcus to Walmart. Whether the label is St. John or St. John's Bay, if it's a good value because it's on sale and/or can be paired with multiple pieces, it's a possible purchase. Here are some things I've learned over the years: 1. All the experts advise that, after you're completely dressed, look in the mirror and consider removing at least one piece of jewelry or one accessory. 2. Ask your teenage daughter or niece what kinds of clothes women your age should not be wearing. Even the nice ones will be brutally honest. 3. Buy most of your best wardrobe pieces in a neutral palette, e.g, white, beige/tan/camel, black, navy, grey. 4. Avoid too many color / pattern combinations. For me, this means designing outfits that have pieces mostly in the same color, although not necessarily in the same color saturations. 5. If you want a big color burst, e.g., an orange jacket or an orange purse or an orange scarf, limit yourself to a single burst, not all three at the same time. 6. Try not to be matchy-matchy. Yesterday, I went shopping in $30 jeans, $300 boots, a Pendleton cotton turtleneck, an $80 jacket, and an Hermes scarf. 7. Watch and notice what others are wearing and what you think works on others (and what doesn't work). For those of us who aren't natural stylists, mimicry is a useful skill. 8. Give yourself permission to experiment and also to make mistakes. After all, that's how we learn. 9. Finally, at forty you don't exactly have one foot in the grave yet.

I have read multiple posts here about people who have the lapband removed prior to sleeving surgery, who gain massive amounts of weight so rapidly, e.g., 30-40 pounds in a month even. What's up with that? Even as a fat girl I never gained anywhere near that amount in a month. How much food and HOW do people eat enough to gain that much weight so quickly? (Not snarky at all, but a serious question.)

ALL the online forums generate much more conversation about problems than about how well things are going. For one thing, people who aren't having problems tend to post a lot less. And people tend to post more when they are challenged. (Of course, you always get chatty people like me who just like to process their WLS journey by chatting incessantly online, whether their experience is positive or negative.) Therefore, this forum likely paints WLS as a more negative experience than WLS in general really is. The most posts tend to be made just prior to surgery and right after surgery. Eventually, most people work through their early phases, then they get onto real food and real life takes over. Eventually, a few pop back in to say, "Best decision I EVER made!"

I am fascinated by these re-sleeving stories. I find it just unbelievable that a person's sleeve could stretch to the size of their original stomach. In fact, I'm incredulous!

@@Kindle, my reaction (see above) is to this specific language in the OP: "... people that just need to lose a few pounds and are already slim. They are having weight loss surgery to lose may be 50 pounds or so. They already look like they are at a good weight. " Someone who's fifty pounds overweight is not typically "at a good weight" and definitely not "already slim." To someone who's 200 pounds overweight, another person might appear that way. But that's not the only perspective from which to view another person's extra 50 pounds.

I did close to 800 calories for most of my first four months. I'm now working to get my calories up to 1,000/day (per my surgeon's office). I also want to get my veggies / fruits up to 5 a day and am getting close. I like good food. EDIT: I'm almost 19 weeks post-op right now.

Weigh daily and record it. I take pictures sporadically.

I'm almost 19 weeks post-op, and I just started again. Going back VERY slowly, doing beginner and modified postures -- not that I've ever been any kind of a yoga pro! Heck, just being able to get down and up off the floor again these days is a monster win for me! For me, there's something so wonderfully affirming about the postures, even the baby ones. When I'm doing them I don't judge myself or my abilities. I stretch as best I can without hurting myself. I know that over time my postures will become more correct. In the meantime, I'm doing something that's good for me. I had the idea today (while walking outside) that living is ALL about starting over. Over and over. It's really quite wonderful that we're all so imperfect and yet so full of hope.

LOL! I love yoga. But I'm terrible at it. And I still love it. I'm much better at power lifting. But I love yoga more.

Why not just get back in the groove and behave the way you need to behave to continue to lose weight and get healthier Why even think about crash-dieting? That never feels healthy to me. It just feels like I'm losing weight to impress someone else on an artificial timetable. YUCK!

I don't think success stories get any better than this one. From unhappy to happy. From unhealthy to healthy. From uncomfortable in her skin to being relaxed and feeling like just herself. (And she's absolutely gorgeous.) Love it!

tomi ... good luck with the apples. But I think what works when varies from person to person. For instance, I still have trouble with tuna -- but was eating salmon VERY early on. And others ... vice versa.

I'm tickled. Last night I had my first apple -- and even ate the peel. I did just fine. It felt very nutritious and very crunchy. That's one more healthy food on my good-to-go list.

Reread the OP.