VSGAnn2014

I lost 100 pounds -- took 16-17 months all together. I think you'll find when you are at your goal that you couldn't give a flip how long it took you to get here. Losing your excess weight is the easy part -- if you're consistent and determined. The *fun* part is maintaining your new, low, healthy weight. I really mean that. It is fun for the first time in your life NOT to soar back up after you have "lost it all."

@@katanne ... I have NO idea why I used to eat so fast. But learning to eat more slowly has been one of the very best tools I've acquired along my WLS journey. I've been maintaining almost a year now, and eating more slowly has been critical to my weight loss and weight maintenance success. It also just calms me the hell down. Eating now feels a bit like a meditative experience. I actually enjoy eating and tasting the food now more than when I speed-ate. Please conquer this one. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

This has become a VERY educational thread for me. I've never had a kidney stone. But never say never. I had no idea there were different kinds of stones, different causes, etc.

What an honest post, @JamieLogical. Great one.

Yup. Went on a 17-day all-inclusive, high-end luxe cruise over the Christmas / New Year's holidays. I came back weighing EXACTLY THE SAME I weighed when I left, even though I ate dessert and drank wine for both lunch and dinner almost every day. Happily, The ship doesn't serve food in every cubbyhole and deck -- but in restaurants where they cook slow food and serve smaller, European-sized portions, not US Golden Corral portions. I ate three meals a day -- Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The secret is portion control and stopping when you feel satiated. And not eating between meals. And going on the hiking / walking excursions when you're in port. And taking the stairs when you can. And enjoying any gym classes that appeal to you. P.S. And no, the wait staff did not look funny at me. Their job is to help me do anything I want to do. And on that cruise line they do their jobs perfectly.

It recently occurred to me (duh!) that WLS online forums (I participate in this one and one other) are my form of "Obesity Anonymous." It's clear to me that by considering others' posts and posting here that I'm engaging in positive self-talk, mindfulness and accountability. Since I'm 18 months post-op and coming up on a year of maintenance (which means it's still a very evolving phase for me) I'm interested in sticking close to BP to learn from others who are going through maintenance or are further out than me. But I don't think that hanging out on WLS forums for two years or longer is a typical behavior of WLS patients at all.

When I read pieces like this, I can't help but wonder: "What's the likelihood that someone who provides counseling services to bariatric patients who struggle in various ways is sought out by bariatric patients who struggle in various ways?" The reason that quantitative studies are useful is that they avoid the "I have a brother-in-law who ...." problem of extrapolating anecdotes into "everybody knows ...." truthiness. If quantitative studies' results don't mirror the real situation, that's because the studies aren't well designed or because they suffer from severe non-respondent bias -- not because they're quantitative studies or because they're conducted by "professionals." I have no doubt that transfer addictions of all kinds plague some patients or that most of us don't have challenging issues of the kinds OP has listed. For instance, who among us doesn't have "family of origin" issues? But in my long life (70 years), I don't believe that the WLS patients I have known struggle with these issues any more than people who never had WLS. Again, that's an anecdotal report -- not based on a well-designed, well executed quantitative study. That having been said, I still look forward to the rest of the OP's series. But I do hope that it's not just a series of "The Story of Pitiful Person X" followed by "The Story of Pitiful Person Y." I hope that the series explores meaningfully the significant and permanent improvements in self-care that WLS patients must deliver to themselves to be successful for longer than the weight loss phases. This last bit is much more in line with the OP's post: This surgery is a really big damn deal. I fluctuate between thinking that (1) WLS patients have great courage and optimism compared to their peers who don't choose WLS, since WLS is a potentially life-changing operation that comes with no guarantees vs. (2) too many WLS patients have nowhere near the support or the internal resources they will need to adapt to such a potentially life-changing operation and its aftermath. Actually, I believe both of these takes are true.

Babbs, I think dessert is a lovely ritual. It happens at a time of day when hubby and I Celebrate having gotten through our day, whether it was easy or hard. And I don't intend to end our dessert ritual here. I often had dessert after dinner when I was losing weight. It was as inconsequential as a 20-calorie chewable Caltrate chocolate truffle supplement (hey, we WLS'ers can make lemonade out of lemons, eh?) or as protein-centric as Greek yogurt (vanilla is my fave). At times I've added berries or a sliced peach to yogurt, but now in wintertime the fruits are pretty bad, so I don't waste grocery money on those now. Going forward, my challenge is to come up with a much more varied dessert menu from which to choose. I no longer want to eat the same thing every night -- especially not something that's nearly pure sugar. That's what got me into the burgeoning chocolate habit. Yogurt, fruit, low-calorie bakery items, even the occasional piece of chocolate all seem lovely. In a few weeks I'll reconsider my new dessert plan. But for now, I'm sticking with a single chewable Caltrate chocolate truffle supplement. I want to cement my newly regained self control.

I weigh daily (in the morning after peeing, stark naked, just once) and don't think I'm obsessive. But I'm a data-freak and love having all that data to look at. I will say that the most important weight stat to me (when I was losing weight) was my monthly weight loss. However, you don't have to weigh daily -- or weekly or monthly. You could just weigh at your doctor's office when you see him/her. It's totally up to you. BTW, I love the idea of taking out the batteries. Simple solution for those who are bothered by weight fluctuations.

Whoops! I'm so sorry. Didn't realize this was the Men's Room.

First, thank you @@careya123 for finding and posting this longer-term study of sleeve patients' long-term performances. Second, @@swimbikerun , your criticism of this study seems to ignore the response rate of the study sample (see the red text quoted below) that reveal results are based on a participation / response rate of over 80% of patients who were sleeved from 2006 - 2008 at an Italian hospital. For a six-year study, that's a very good participation / response rate. METHODS:A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from 182 patients undergoing SG between 2006 and 2008 in the authors' institution. Long-term outcomes at 6 and 7 years were analyzed in terms of weight loss and co-morbidities resolution. RESULTS:... One hundred forty-eight patients (81.4%) completed the 72-month (6-year) follow-up.

IV bars?! Seriously? Just drink your damn Water.

I had to have a 35 BMI and 3 comorbidities to qualify. Barely did! There's a very long list of comorbidities that might be considered qualifying, like: Stress incontinence Arthritis Lower back pain I found a longer list at https://www.nationalbariatriclink.org/comorbidities-insurancequalification.html . I'm sure if you google this topic you'll find other online resources.

@@Dub ... you said, "I do worry about never eating fruits and vegetables....even though I'm takingVitamins like crazy." Please know that down the line you CAN eat fruits and vegetables. I hope you're already eating some colored, high-fiber veggies -- you can grill some of them. By five months out, I had long been eating green Beans, zucchini, spaghetti squash, tomatoes, broccoli -- not a lot, but was working toward getting in small amounts of five veggies and fruits a day. In the fruit department I focused mostly on berries -- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries. Also did a little oranges and even mangoes. Couldn't eat a lot, but really wanted to start the habit back. For a long time I avoided any starchy veggies and fruits, for obvious reasons. But now, 18 months post-op and for at least a year I've been eating pretty much any veggies and fruits I encounter -- literally dozens and dozens of them. I work hard to get my five-a-day in (5 veggies and fruits). I won't say I succeed every single day, but I really work at it. I also work hard to meet my minimum (for women) 21-25 grams of fiber a day. Those come mostly from grains, high-fiber breads, and veggies and fruits. I don't take Benefiber or anything like that. BTW, I think fo rmen the daily insoluble fiber minimum is 30 grams. (???) One thing that I think can send us spiraling into eating crap is just not having our nutritional needs met. And speaking purely for myself, I know (I feel, sort of know in my bones) that if I didn't eat my veggies and fruits that would send me to a bad craving place. Another thing I'll add -- is that you're about at the place where you'll probably start eating small amounts of whole grains. Not a lot, but small amount. For me it was brown rice, quinoa, high-fiber breads (Sara Lee multigrain slice bread has 45 calories, 3 grams of Protein and 2-3 grams of fiber). Just sharing MY experience and what has worked for me. Your body may react differently -- or not.

Amanda, I don't know for sure what's going on with you -- but I thought you might like to see my Week 5 food stats and weight loss: Day Cals Protein Weight Sun 814 88 202.4 Mon 686 67 Tue 819 81 Wed 546 64 Thu 719 65 Fri 738 70 Sat 787 71 Sun 199.8 I drank at least 64 ounces of Water each day. My week's weight loss was 2.4 pounds. I think you're eating too little and not eating enough protein. And I also think you could be constipated.

Here's how you solve that problem: You don't tell 'em. Seriously. Nada. Zilch. Monkey with its hands over its mouth. Because I'll guarantee you, especially if you tell your co-workers, you'll be back here in a month complaining that someone doesn't understand what fat people struggle with, made a rude remark, doesn't notice you've lost weight, thinks you did it the easy way, should have done it "the healthy way," and generally thinks you're a weak-willed loon.

Not sure how it’ll work for you. Here's how it worked for me .... I'm a tracker -- use My Fitness Pal. So all along I knew how much I was eating calorie-wise (and otherwise, but calories are most relevant to this topic). So when I hit my first goal weight (150 pounds) I was sitting on a lot of MFP data. And based on ALL the calorie data I'd collected and how many calories I'd NOT eaten (to lose X pounds at that point). I calculated that to stop losing weight and to maintain at 150 pounds I'd need to eat 1700 calories. Turns out I was wrong and that my metabolism had actually increased while I was losing weight. How did I learn that? Because while I was eating 1700 calories a day I then proceeded to slowly, slowly lose another 15 pounds over the next 8 months. My current weight is 135 pounds, which I've been maintaining for a few months now. I recently knocked my cals up to 1800/day. And that seems like it's working fine. I don't eat exactly 1800 every day. Some days it's 1500. Some days it's 2100. But 1800 on average is about right for me now. An interesting question is: Why did my metabolism increase while I was losing weight? I think it's a simple matter of my just being in motion a lot more these days. I actually fidget more than I used to. And God knows, I sure get up out of my chair more often, do a lot more housework and yardwork, than I used to do, run more errands. For instance, when I turn on the microwave to heat something I walk around the bar until the “done” buzzer sounds. All our lives we’ve heard inane comments like "calories in, calories out." It turns out that when you’re not 100 pounds overweight it's a helluva lot easier and much less painful to send "calories out." Of course, your mileage may differ.

@@MayMarie ... I LOVE, really LOVE your hair. It wouldn't work for me, but it is fabulous on you. Very wonderful.

Just want to say that a lot of people aren't supported by their families. (I say that to let you know you're not alone.) This is especially rough on people who are even younger than you -- children, teenagers, young adults -- whose families want to control them in ways that aren't commensurate with their own values. It's very apparent in some families I'm close to right now. I really do feel for the kids! Making your own decisions and having the strength of your own convictions is a part of growing up. And separating your behavior from your family's values is sometimes part of that transition. You'll find support -- online, at your surgeon's office, perhaps in a real-live support group, perhaps at school. You can do this.

^^^ Spoken like a true Hawaii girl.

I don't understand why some newbies don't understand that their instructions about what and how much to eat and drink is a PRESCRIPTION! If you're newly sleeved, the removal of the fundus portion of your stomach has removed the ability of your body to produce ghrelin, which is the hormone that makes human beings feel hunger and thirst. Your likely physical reaction is that you're not feeling hungry OR thirsty. Ignore your lack of hunger and thirst. Eat and drink what you're supposed to eat and drink anyway. You are not a special snowflake. You are like all other WLS patients.

I'm not AR. And I weigh my food.

I was so wrong. You're not an idiot!

Oh, wait! I probably have violated the terms of this message board by calling you an idiot. I shouldn't have done that. I apologize.

I know what the problem is. You're an idiot.