VSGAnn2014

@@ppressey24 -- if you "really don't want to have the surgery" then don't have the surgery. Seriously.

Punch him in the face? Nah. I could get on a flight and come down there and help you punch him in the balls.

LOL! I remember that phase. I felt exactly the same way. Trust me. You'll get over it in a few months.

21 months post-op here. 6-8 ounces of Protein, veggies and whole grains.

When I tell my shrink about stuff like this, he just gives me *that look* -- you know, the one that lets me know he's mentally classifying my brilliant record-keeping and analytical skilz as something psychologically derogatory. I keep telling him that these behaviors are *superpowers*. I don't think he understands.

I weigh every morning after peeing and naked (I even take off my wedding ring). I then record my morning weights in My Fitness Pal. Then I click on the MFP weekly and 30-day weight reports to see what the trends look like. I also enter all my Monday morning weights in an Excel spreadsheet, and the data in that column of weekly weights gets graphed. I also record my monthly weight (on the 18th of each month -- my surgiversary day) in Excel, and that also gets graphed. It takes very little time to do any of this. And it keeps me honest with myself.

Jess, my starting weight was 235. My first four months I averaged 10 pounds/month. After that, things slowed down. Want to hear the rest of the story? I lost 100 pounds and now weigh 135 pounds, where I've been maintaining for many months. It's not how fast you lose weight. It's that you lose weight, build a new lifestyle, and maintain your weight loss and become a healthy person.

You may be lurking, a pre-op, a newbie post-op, losing well (or not), or a long-time WLS patient. 1. How do you define long-term WLS success for yourself? 2. What are your biggest challenges in becoming successful long-term -- or, if you're a veteran, what WLS challenges have you struggled with? 3. What advice do you have for those newer to WLS than you?

Welcome to BP. You'll find some good information, nice people, and great support here. Very best to you. P.S. Your English seems perfect to me.

Jeez, @@FLGrammy ... what an awesome, relevant, helpful post!

My bad re not knowing some patients can have their blood drawn and EKGs done in their doctors' offices. Thanks.

Boy, I would give a toe or two to have a booty that looks like yours! Mama!

I think to some extent that's true. I'm 5'5" and 70 years old, and my weight goal was 150 pounds. I hadn't weighed that in almost 40 years. And then, during "maintenance" while eating 1700 calories/day for eight months I slowly lost another 15 pounds and wound up here -- at 135 pounds. It seems to be where my body likes it. At first, I thought I looked too skinny. But gradually I've realized I actually look great -- but slim and healthy. As you obviously already appreciate, this trip is about a lot more than the scale.

Boy, do I hear you!

I'm 70 years old. I'm 21 months post-op, have lost 100 pounds, and am maintaining at 135 pounds. So here goes ... 1. How do you define long-term WLS success for yourself? I would like to weigh under 150 pounds (my original goal weight), although if I'm being completely honest I'd love to remain at 135. But mostly I want to be healthy, physically active, independent, travel wherever and whenever I wish. I certainly could not do all that before WLS. Living that way was agonizing! Although becoming and staying healthy was and is my #1 WLS goal, being attractive and enjoying the fashion / style / clothes side of life is a big deal for me. It's fun being a girl! 2. What are your biggest challenges in becoming successful long-term -- or, if you're a veteran, what WLS challenges have you struggled with? Losing weight was easy. Not fast, but easy. All I did was follow the rules and observe what others were doing who were being successful. But now that I'm in maintenance, balancing between healthy choices and pleasurable choices is my challenge. I want to be comfortable eating healthy foods most of the time, yet still allowing myself treats. Metaphorically speaking, I'm trying to be warmed by the fire, but not get burned. As a formerly obese person who saw danger-danger-danger in every aisle of the grocery store and on every page of a restaurant menu, I'm trying to view food choices less categorically as "good" and "evil" and more on a continuum from "best choice right now to worst choice right now." Those judgments involve the foods themselves, the amounts I eat, the order in which I eat them, and other things. Food supports our health, but it also gives us pleasure. I'm learning how to titrate the right mixture to achieve both benefits. 3. What advice do you have for those newer to WLS than you? While losing weight and maintaining weight, the real magic for me has been studying causes and effects. Every day since WLS (and even for a few months pre-op) I have planned and tracked my menus on My Fitness Pal. I have weighed every morning and recorded my weight. I don't feel compulsive about tracking / weighing. These are just new habits I've grooved in that keep me focused on my goals. If you enjoy collecting and analyzing data to understand cause and effect and to improve results, you are a lucky duck. If not, I urge you to develop some appreciation for the power of metrics. I am not stupid enough to think that at 21 months post-op I have licked obesity. I think it's a disease I must manage for the rest of my life. Planning and measuring have helped me immensely.

Mio drops were my saving grace pre-op and post-op for about 4-5 months. Now (21 months post-op) I haven't used Mio for I can't even remember how long!

Pre-op my surgeon told me that he was using a 36 bougie and would reduce my stomach by 85%. But I haven't had any endoscopic imaging done post-op, so I can't confirm the 85% bit. I've read it's not just the size of the bougie used that determines our new sleeve's efficacy, but our surgeon's skill in using the stapler to shape the sleeve, leaving enough room at the top (below the hiatal valve) and the bottom (above the pyloric valve) and removing all the fundus (stretchy part). Apparently, my surgeon did a great job. I've not had any complications, never had digestive problems, and never thrown up. And at 21 months post-op I'm pleased with my sleeve's restriction, which is 8 ounces (max) when I eat Protein, veggies and whole grains. Also, my appetite is still significantly curbed compared to what it was like pre-op, although not as strongly as it was for the first 3-4 months post-op. So I'd say the ghrelin reduction is still in force for me. I'm a very happy camper.

Oh, ouch! Good on you for seeking out a therapist. I'm sure you'll have some great conversations.

What a sweet, sweet post! So nice to hear about how you've made such great changes and strides in your life. Don't be a stranger. We love success stories.

How could an appetite suppressant speed up weight loss if you're eating only 1,000 calories max?

No, they don't do blood tests and EKGs in doctors' offices. Those are done in medical labs where they have med techs and proper equipment.

Pre-op, I had terrible sleeping habits. That led to late nights watching TV, ruminating, and being tired the next morning. Naturally, those behaviors and feelings led me to the refrigerator late at night. I didn't do lots of caloric damage, but any damage sent my weight in the wrong direction. Now I've redesigned my schedule so hubby and I almost always go to bed together. I get more rest and more sleep and rarely snack late at night. To help me get better sleep (and not eat at night), I now: * Brush my teeth when we go to bed (another bad habit I used to have) * Put a glass of Water by the bed in case I get thirsty in the night * Keep a bottle of melatonin by the bed, for those nights I'm not settling down easily Of course, I am much more active -- and therefore less stressed -- than I was 100 pounds heavier, so that helps me fall asleep easier. I'm working on other behaviors, but changing this one has made a big difference.

I rarely lump all obese people into single categories. But I am pretty sure I'd be safe lumping all obese people into the category of people who put themselves and their needs second to others and their needs. Put yourself first. Really. I mean it. Be selfish. Practice that like it's a virtue. Come up with affirmations like "I'm the one who matters most." "No one else is as important as me." "From now on, I will care for myself first." That doesn't mean you should ignore others' needs completely. But when you try to take responsibility for other people to the extent that you're taking on the responsibility THEY should take for themselves, you're headed down the wrong path -- for both yourself and them. Mostly, when you exhaust yourself by caring for or worrying about others you won't have any energy left for yourself. Many times this is just a bad habit we've developed so we never have to take responsibility for ourselves. Try living differently. It's not easy. I know.

Since Day One of this show I have railed against it as a miserable example of how WLS can treat obesity. The result is to display obese people as cray cray beyond belief and WLS as an ineffectual obesity treatment. And that's unfair. These "stars" aren't even close to *merely* super-morbidly obese. Most of them have severe social, mental, environmental, economic, educational, physical and other disabilities and disadvantages. The show's producers designed this show as a schadenfreude horrorfest about people who have little chance to save themselves even after WLS. The on-camera treatment they receive from their doctor and others makes it clear they are briefly pulled from their horrible environments and, after minimal instructions or encouragement, thrown right back into their original, horrific environments. How reality-show-viewable would it be if patients were actually afforded more resources to help them right themselves? Apparently, not very. I know many of y'all enjoy this show. And I know you're probably irritated that every few months I make a post just like this. But honestly, the show pisses me off so badly. I despise it.

Good luck! This is a common complaint around here. I'm sure there are good NUTs out there -- somewhere. A few BP members have loved their NUTs. But not me. I've had three NUTs, none of whom have added anything new to my knowledge. Two of them asked me to pick up a plastic piece that was the same size as 3 ounces of meat. It was like going to bad kindergarten. And pre-op, when you're on your best manners and struggling to jump through all the pre-surgical hoops as fast as you can, it's a struggle not to tell them that you have been dieting longer than they've been alive and could mentally calculate the calories and macronutrients of any f**king amount of any f**king food they could name. BTW, my surgeon's P.A. told me their patients are all very dissatisfied with the value added by all the nutritionists available to our surgery practice. The P.A. and surgeon are frustrated, too. But she said they haven't been able to find other NUTs who are any better. Happily, the P.A. is very knowledgeable about bariatric nutrition. So she's become my post-op nutrition consultant. Good luck!