VSGAnn2014

Congrats on your very good WLS results. And as to what you'll look like when you reach the right goal, just know that after your weight stabilizes (based on what it wants to do and how well you're eating / exercising) your looks will probably continue to change for some time. That's certainly how it's been for me. Things have continued to tighten up in ways I didn't expect, and I don't think it's really due to exercise alone. That's certainly why most plastic surgeons want you to reach and maintain a stable weight for a year prior to any plastics.

It would be lovely if Weight Watchers actually produced long-term successes for its clients that were significantly better than dieting / exercising on our own. It really would be lovely. But it doesn't. WW produces the same long-term success that every other commercial and non-commercialized diet produces -- 2% long-term success (meaning 2% of its customers lose X pounds and keep it off for 3-5 years). http://www.ibtimes.com/weight-loss-most-commercial-programs-cant-show-long-term-success-study-exposes-25b-1871122 The best thing you can say about WW is that it costs less than Jenny Craig and other commercialized diet programs that require their customers to buy and eat only the company's branded foods to participate in the program. So IMHO, there's nothing about WW that resembles "everyone winning," no matter who their current spokesperson is or what their financial return is. It's just yet another version of "My Diet Is Better Than Your Diet." Obesity is a very complicated, mean b**ch.

I lost 350 pounds the first month post-op. I now weigh minus 58 pounds.

I cannot even imagine what this phrase means! LOL!

Go, Chiefs!

Well, surgery yet or not, I think you're a smart cookie. That's certainly the way WLS (the sleeve) has worked for me. It is SOOOO much easier to be active and to exercise when I weigh nearly 100 pounds less than I did a year and a half ago. It is SOOOO much easier to make good food choices when I feel good and look good and am actually to able to go to the bloody grocery store to shop (100 pounds ago I was bloody nearly agoraphobic). In short, all my self-care behaviors are in full bloom now, compared to what I was able to do for myself when I was obese and exhausted and in pain. Good luck to you.

I KNOW that I could not have lost 200 pounds without WLS. I think that's a bloody miracle. Just sayin'.

^^^^ What an AWESOME post. Good for you @@Recycled . I agree with you so much about the need to learn what your own body wants / needs / likes. Like you, My Fitness Pal has been an awesome tool for me. I'm not as far out as you -- was sleeved August 2014, but was using MFP 2.5 months prior to surgery. My shrink has urged me for a long time to break the tie to MFP at least occasionally to trust myself to eat instinctually and "normally." Yeah, right, I've said. But I no longer use MFP when I'm traveling for biz or pleasure. And guess what -- I don't gain weight. Some recent NSVs: * I now trust myself to eat anything and everything -- but I no longer overeat. * I just went on a 2.5 week cruise and didn't gain any weight at all. None! * This is the first January of my life when I didn't have a "lose weight" new year's resolution. * I still follow the rules most of the time -- eat Protein, then veggies, fruits, whole grains, drink lots of Water, don't graze, stop eating when I'm satiated (not stuffed), say no to food I don't need or want, take my meds, Vitamins, minerals and supplements daily, do my exercise (walking, stretching, yoga), get good sleep, don't sweat the small stuff. I think WLS is a freakin' miracle! But there sure isn't a finish line.

If I may ask ... what *was* the veterans forum like that makes so many people miss it? What did you discuss? What benefits did it offer? Who participated?

Yeah, no ... I don't think Jennifer Hudson had WLS.

No need to put her down. I'm sure she does that enough to herself. The older I get, the less joy I find in causing others pain -- even those I once thought "deserved" it.

#1 thing I miss? (I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'!) #1 thing I don't miss? My self-induced agoraphobia / immobility.

I agree with others -- the results already look great. I hope your recovery goes wonderfully.

Boy, does the answer to your question vary. And it's not as straightforward as you would imagine, based simply on someone's age, gender, even their activity level. At 17 months post op, I'm maintaining at 137 pounds at 1700 to 2000 calories. Yet I know people who have to eat 1,000 - 1,200 calories/day to maintain their weight. Like others above have posted, you just have to track your own food intake carefully over a long period of time and see how your body is responding. And then you have to work hard at accepting what the numbers tell you. I will also say that if you are *guessing* at how much you're eating, chances are you're not guessing right. Final comment -- I don't think all calories are equal. Calories from Protein and green veggies don't seem to have the same effect on me that calories from highly processed carbs have. Having lost all the weight I want to lose, I now eat some of everything, but the quality of my food certainly matters.

Hilarious thread. And true comments posted here. But I do think the show title is appropriate. There are so many crazy diets, and we've done them all -- and then rationalized that THIS ONE was the only one that would work for everyone. And now -- 17 months after being sleeved, hubby and I just got back from a fabulous 2.5 week holiday cruise. I ate dessert twice a day, had wine with dinner every night (and some times at lunch) and didn't miss a single meal. In short, I ate *everything* I wanted -- just not lots and lots of it. I skipped the Soup courses. Most evenings I had only one appetizer and the main. I didn't eat a lot of bread. And (other than the wine) I didn't drink many of my calories. And I didn't clean my plate. I ate slowly, ate small bites, and chewed my food well. And I went on some pretty physical excursions (sea kayaking, trekking, long walking tours of cities we visited). And in 2.5 weeks I gained only 0.2 pounds (measured on the same scales the morning before we left home and the morning after we got back home). Can you imagine doing that without WLS? I certainly cannot! One other thing ... after 17 months of tracking my food on My Fitness Pal, I took a break from tracking and was so pleased to see I had actually built some great habits and instincts during all that time. Did I mention I now wear size 4 / 6 slacks and look 20 years younger than I did two years ago? For a formerly fat girl, the good life doesn't get much better than this.

PS I did not eat anything like chocolate at all the first six months. I had a huge respect for the value of the honeymoon period. However, I did have high protein, high fiber bread during the weight loss periods. Definitely did not overdo it though. Don't waste those first six months on sugar and crap.

I was 235 lbs. at 2.5 months pre-op and 216 day of surgery. I now weigh 137.

Of course you can lose weight a year out from surgery. Or two. Or three. Or five. It depends on what you're eating / how much you're exercising / whether you're exercising the behaviors you were taught to use pre-op.

I'm 70. I was sleeved at 68. Lost all my excess weight and am maintaining (at 16 months post-op) painlessly.

Good post, @@Jack . Makes me appreciate that good health for everyone isn't located at a single measurement of a single metric, but is more nuanced than that. Human beings' bodies (including healthy bodies) vary in so many ways. Because of our focus on weight, most of us appreciate that a single BMI measurement doesn't define "success" for everyone. We should extend that appreciation to our views on other health metrics. Thanks.

What it really is ... is that these types and amounts of food years ago became the "normal" way of eating in the good ole U.S. of A. It's truly appalling. It ain't how people in other countries eat -- either at home or in restaurants. Ugh.

Well, as someone who also has a Ph.D. in psychology and who has used phentermine twice (for 3-4 months each time) to lose weight (see my post above describing my personal experiences with phentermine) and who back in the 1960s and 1970s tried to do my fair share of marijuana, psilocybin, hash, speed, and LSD and knows very well what "stoned" feels like, I think Kindle has a valid point. For me, living on phentermine was a frenetic, altered state that didn't continue after I stopped taking the drug. For the record, I've never taken Adderall, anti-anxiety meds or anti-depressants, so I can't comment on those.

Just a little shout-out here for the efficacy of a new treatment to ward off osteoporosis - Prolia shots, taken every six months by "old folks" like me (I'm 70). My PCP strongly recommended these, and I've had 3 treatments thus far. Here's a recent report on a long-term study of Prolia's efficacy in strengthening bones (up to 8 years of treatment): http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/812577#vp_2

I don't think it matters what you do on Christmas day. One of the things we learn on this journey is that what we do on one day doesn't matter much. But it's what we do on MOST days that makes all the difference.

I've lost a little more weight lately, too. Not a lot, but I'm about four pounds lighter now than I ever thought I'd be. But on the other hand, we're about to go on a holiday cruise, and I plan to eat dessert twice a day. Of course, I also expect to walk a lot and work out every day. It's a hard life.