katesuccess

Thanks LilMsDiva, labwalker, Justwatchme, Rogofulm, esskay77 and Bandista – that’s my plan at present, and I hope your progress is going along too! I’m also keenly aware that the higher loss rate is this first year, and don’t want to feel like I’m wasting that high-burn time on stalls, since it’ll be harder as the months go by. I’m six months post-op, eating about 700 calories a day (70 gms Protein, no starchy carbs), alternating gym with jogging six days a week. My next post-op appt with the doctor is not under early December. A couple times earlier on I hit stalls and then when I upped my calories for a couple days and then dropped back down, that seemed to fix it and move my loss along again - but that's not helped this time, sadly. I agree about that subconscious chatter, and what a good term for it. I just wish I were more adept at ‘listening in’ on it and knowing what’s going on that keeps me here. My insurance doesn’t cover seeing a therapist unless I’m referred as depressed or some other malady, but I’m about to ask for a referral, (even though I’m feeling great psychologically in other respects) – just to see if I can get some professional help with figuring out if this has a significant emotional component to it. Until then—I’ll keep logging food, and YES – it does seem almost magical. Of course entering two Cookies and three Hershey’s kisses wasn’t much magical fun last night, but it sure motivates me NOT to eat them today!

Sounds good - It's on my calendar!

Now that we live in a condo, my hubby has no more excuses to buy bags of his favorite candy - which sadly is my favorite too! So I feel happily liberated from this particular temptation finally. Yay! As for that candy aisle in the grocery store - oh save me! I can't/don't even go down it!! No matter how badly I might think I need ziplock bags (same aisle) I"m just not going there. Sigh. Hang in there everyone.

I keep hitting stalls too - sleeved April 29 and have lost 75 lbs since surgery - and what i'm finding is that my stalls break when I mix up my food intake a bit. Sometimes that means going up from 650 calories to 750 or 800, or eating a food I'm not normally eating, or shifting and taking a hike (or a day off!) instead of my usual gym-alternating-with-jogging routine. Also if I really look over the food i've been eating, I often notice i'm not having enough of the healthy fats I need, so will add some avocado or evoo to my diet somewhere. Good luck on breaking your stall! I've been bouncing between 201.5 and 202.5 for nearly 10 days now, and it's making me frustrated too! I suspect there's also some psychological stuff going on in breaking that 200 barrier as well though.

Getting closer to the big divide; 202 today!

I've been sleeved since April 2014 and have lost 73 lbs since my surgery date, and NO diarhea. Not at all. In fact I need to take Fiber if i want to ensure regularity. As for a doc like yours who sounds somewhat behind the times in his research, definitely get another option, or you could be back in a few years with worse complications and having gained more weight (mine crept up year after year anyway). It might be that your excess weight isn't high enough for this (not sure your height or BMI or anything), but it'd be far better to know and be advised by someone who's more up to date on the real life of WLS patients than one who's sounding somewhat reactive from old hype. So glad you're looking at options for a healthier life though!

"Acreage"? Ouch.

Good for you! I'm 5 1/2 months out now, and closing in on Onederland too, but am stuck at 203 as if there's some magnetic force-field keeping me here! It's infuriating!! I'm exercising 6 days a week and eating carefully and no starchy carbs at all, so i know it'll come down eventually. Sigh. It's great to see your pictures mfm116 and look forward to posting my own once I hit 198! (I'd be afraid 199 was a fluke, so my personal "onederland" is 198) and my end-goal is 145. Keep at it folks, and we'll cheer each other to our current finish lines, which will of course only be new starting lines, right!?

I like mid-afternoon on Sunday too - and Bothell or Bellevue works fine for me. I living in Issaquah, and am happy to drive to either. When are we meeting? DO we have a date yet? Kate

I walked like crazy starting just before and continuing more so after surgery (April 2014) and then started s l o w l y jogging with a "Couch to 5k" app on my phone - it was great, and I've never yet had any pain or injury, since it's such a gradual ramping up. I only do the jogging thing every other day (3 x per week) for about 45 minutes - which include a five minute warm up and cool down walk. Then 3 more days a week I go to the gym and do a strength training routine that's called functional training. That means it uses more free weights or cable-weights and less the 'machine' style, so you're doing moves more like what is normally 'functional' in your real life. It a routine my trainer puts together for me and it takes about 30 minutes, including 10 minutes of warm up on a non-impact elliptical those gym days. Then one day a week is a rest day. I also use a Fitbit and aim for 7 flights of stairs each day and about 3 miles minimum - it's obviously more on jogging days! I did a 5k last weekend, and was delighted to find I could jog the whole way now, and cut 6 minutes off my (very slow!) time too. For reference, I"m 53 years old, gastric sleeve procedure, surgery weight was 276 and current weight is 204.

I've had similar stuff with people commenting on the rapidity of my loss, and that I shouldn't lose too fast or too much. What I've come to myself is that this is SO personal and it is NOT a conversation I want to have where I feel any need whatsoever to argue or engage their option (unless they are my doc, nut or pt anyway!) that I say something like, "Thanks for noticing - I'm working hard on my overall heath even more than any weight target. I'm feeling really good, and plan to keep on improving in lots of ways!" and then the ever-necessary forced conversation change. As for the weight number we aim at - and who does or doesn't like it. Phooey on them. I had to laugh this last weekend since both of my wonderful daughters did the Tough Mudder together with a team of buddies. My younger one is a personal trainer and is super-fit. My older one is very laid back and loves to enjoy good food and wine and parties. They're in very different shape and had very different reasons and goals for the run, and although the younger one is only about 2" taller than the older, they both weigh exactly the same! Of course the part where you have to carry someone was WAY easier for stronger one who works out daily--and the less strong one wasn't much helped by the fact that they were both laughing hysterically, but really, I was shocked to find they weighed the same. I'd have figured about a 20 pound difference at least! So phooey on other people's ideas of OUR numbers! In the nicest possible way of course.

The above posters are all right - be kind to yourself by following orders and walking. It's what really will make you feel best, and proud of yourself too! I gained 20lb of Water weight in the hospital, and it took forever to lose it. I had a bad stall right after the first few pounds too, and was about to go out of my mind --and yes, I too was ANGRY! Frustrated! Feeling cheated and more! It's okay to feel that way, and use that energy to push yourself to get out and walk some more. It helped to e able to do something positive for me -- and then soon my weight loss began to be pretty steady with only an occasional stall. Remember also your body is still in shock from surgery, and will be struggling to figure out how it can respond and keep you alive, so maybe it's holding on to calories and such. I HATED reading all the "trust the process" posts, so I refuse to say that, but trust that you made a good and life-altering choice to have WLS, and that following through with your chosen expert medical advice will serve you well now too. That egg will taste a whole lot better when it's time for it too! Hang in there. Kate PS Take your measurements if you haven't already. I do them on the first of every month and a front and side pic too. Felt lousy at first, and then after that it felt like Christmas to redo those each month and see the progress.

I was given it too - twice a day with breakfast and dinner. I know it's pricey, so I asked if I REALLY needed it after that first month. My doc said yes, and reminded me that pain and time off for surgery and recovery after gall stones wouldn't be much of a picnic either. So sorry you were hit with this though, and that it was a 'surprise'! That's lousy.

My second 5K - I was able to improve my time from last month by 6 minutes, so while I am still slower than a herd of turtles in molasses, I'm feeling pleased about my progress!

Still s l o w and steady...207 today.

Uhg - I'm not really in a stall, just such ridiculously slow loss that i'm going crazy. In the past four weeks I've lost 6.5 pounds. That's less than half what I lost the previous four weeks. And - I only lost 1¾ inches overall in those four weeks! I was sleeved the end of April 2014 and until now have lost 7 to 15 inches each month. Argh! I weigh myself daily, but do measurements every four weeks - that way one day's weigh in doesn't make me feel like it counts too much, since it varies day to day, and I only track it once a month. Anyway, I had a week of a houseguest, and then another one staying for three days, and I stopped tracking a several days while they were here --and only got in some walking and some jogging (11000 - 15000 steps a day though) and stupid me; no gym time. Rats!! I'm just back from the gym now, and determined to start the ball rolling again. I really worked hard there tonight, and am back on to my jogging tomorrow. Sigh. Cant' slack off for even a week! Wow. But hey, at least it's not a gain.

Oh my gosh Snowblue - I can totally relate! In fact, I'll add this - when you reach the shortest hook on your bra, and you realize that just almost never happens! Time for a new bra too.

Good thoughts - thanks. I too wear good supportive shoes at all times, and have always been big busted so wear a really good bra. However, my weight loss has also been decreasing my bust size, and maybe the difference is part of the issue with my back, and I know I need a new bra too. I'd not even thought about that possibility, but will get one and see if it helps. Thanks!

I've looked over forums here and done a couple searches, but not finding anyone talking about this - maybe it's me! I'm four months post-op, have gone from 276 to 212 (yay!) and I alternate days of slow jogging with whole-body weight training at my gym (I have a trainer). For the past few days i've had a generalized back pain from about my lower rib area to mid shoulder blades, and it's lousy! It hurts when I sit or stand, but not lying down so much. I'm trying to figure out if this is due to just the usual trainer-change to my routine (not much significant changed) or maybe weight loss affecting my posture, and if so - what the heck can i do about this. Anyone?? OUCH. Kate

You just plain feel good. All the time.

Holy Smoke! You look fantastic hmk715!! I'm green with envy too (I had my surgery April 29 and haven't lost nearly that much - Down from 276 on surgery day to 208 today - I'm happy about it though). You do look so joyful and delighted, and beautiful both before and after. I hope you feel incredibly proud of yourself, and all of your hard work - it's paid off big time. Way to go!

That's great! What a fabulous time too. Don't sweat the Tough Mudder too much - my daughter is a personal trainer (at Rival Fitness) and trained a team from her gym for the Tough Mudder yesterday here in Seattle. She says the goal is all about team work and helping each other through it, rather than winning or finishing with a good time. The pictures always look like they had such a great time (this is her fourth!) and never like they are just wrung out. FInd a group and train together maybe. Your time on the 5k though is sure inspiring for me!

I have my second 5k next week, and am hoping to beat my time from last month (47 minutes). I keep kidding around with friends saying I'll race them to be last, and that I jog more slowly than even my dog walks, and I sure wish I weren't so darned slow! I'm doing a phone app designed to help you go faster. I did one that was a couch to 5k, and now i'm upping my time. Goal is to do Tough Mudder next spring, and eventually lose enough and get my endurance up enough to do a marathon or a triathlon. I feel like i've come a long ways already - from no jogging to 5 k is pretty good - but it also feels like an awfully slow plod to get there. Thanks for threads like these that keep me motivated and looking forward in my pursuits everyone! Kate

Great idea for a thread, and I will look for bariatric timer. That tends to be still something I struggle with even five months out. I also just finished a couch to 5K app called 5K Runner, and so then I signed up for one called forever 5K which helps you improve your speed. Both are really great. I used my Fitbit app now instead of my fitness pal, since I was having trouble getting them to talk to each other, and it just took longer to log it in my fitness pal for me. I love the Fitbit 1 too, and check it throughout the day, often altering my day to include more activity because of it. I set the tiny vibrating alert for twice a day to remind me to get up and move around if I am doing a lot of desk work. Good app they are using?

I don't tell people about my surgery either; only my family and three close friends know about it. It has been almost 5 months now, and I have lost over 70 pounds--so I too am also getting all the comments. So far almost all of them and gracious and respectful, but then there is the occasional bizaro one that makes my job drop. Blessedly most of the time I get to simply smile, and say "thanks, I am working very hard on this!" But for those inappropriate and backhanded ones, I look at them in mock surprise, and say "uh...you know you said that out loud?!" And I change the subject.