Babbs

There's really no "normal". I lost 8lbs, some gain because of all the fluids, some lose more, some less. Lots of variables, so try not to compare yourself to others. Sounds to me like you're doing great! Glad you're doing well I took terrible chewable Vitamins, so my surgeon gave me the okay right away. What did yours recommend?

What do you mean by "fitness junkies"? People who follow the program and exercise on a regular basis? How DARE them.

Do you still have a gall bladder? The radiating pain sounds like a gall bladder issue...but yes, put a call into your doctor as soon as you can if it continues.

Yup, what @@BLERDgirl said... Surgery won't change the reasons why you binge, and frankly, I would be concerned about your success and even the dangers of you damaging your little sleeve if you happened to binge. I would hope you are currently receiving professional help for your binging disorder. At 7 months post surgery, losing the weight has been the easiest part of this whole journey. Learning to deal with stress, sadness, anxiety, happiness, celebrations, holidays and social situations without automatically turning to food has been the biggest part of this for me. Just make sure you understand it's so much more than losing weight. Good Luck to you and keep us posted!

Completely. Different. Person. You look terrific!

I'm going to be completely honest...if I hadn't found Bariatric Pal and taken a pre op class, I would have thought the exact same thing. My husband had a Gastric Bypass almost 9 years ago, and he literally ate whatever he wanted for 8 years without putting the weight back on. Although they are two different surgeries, in my naivete, I thought I could do the same after my surgery. I'm so glad I got educated! This has been hard enough doing things the RIGHT way, lol. By the way, the lax attitude about his surgery did catch up to my husband eventually. We both quit smoking before my surgery and he put on 30lbs....it scared him so he has been working hard to get it off, and is almost there. But he knows now he has to watch it from here on out. His pouch is pretty much stretched out at this point

Good to know! I'm doing the same thing and getting decent results. I can only hope I look as good as you when I reach goal

You look amazing!! How did you not have loose skin?? You should be so proud of yourself!

Hubby lost over 100lbs with a bypass almost 9 years ago, and his loose skin didn't bother me one bit. I know mine doesn't bother him too much, but when I am in a "certain" position for sexy time, I can hear and feel the loose skin on my stomach flapping away. And let's not even DISCUSS the boobs. I could kill myself with the sheer trajectory. Or at least blacken my eyes. Bothers me more than it does him.

If you start, find something you like to do so you actually enjoy it so you stick with it. Do you like to swim? Take Water aerobics! Bike? Hike? Those are good options if the gym isn't your thing. I used to roll my eyes at people who said they "enjoyed" exercise. Now that I have been doing it steadily for the last few months, I am becoming one of those people! It's hard to get motivated to do it sometimes, but I NEVER regret it when I do, and miss it when I don't. I honestly used to be like you....I LOATHED exercise!

Looking good! You hardly have any loose skin!

Dear Bonnie, I'm truly sorry, but it has to be done. I asked your body how it was doing, and it told me it needed a break from all the hard work of burning fat. So I obliged. It's what I do. In fact, me and my friends got together and decided around 3-4 weeks after surgery would be a good time across the board to give all our bodies we inhabit a break for a while. We also agreed to periodically do the same thing for no particular reason throughout your process. Don't question it. It's just what we do. You're welcome. Bonnie, please be nice to me during this time. If you give your body lots of fluids, Protein, and maybe move a little, I MAY consider letting go. It will be hard, but I will. Eventually. Then you can move on. Can't wait to talk again in about 5 months! Your friend, Starvation Mode

Yeah, I think if I do boobs, I will just have a lift with no implants. My sister did implants years ago when she lost a ton of weight, and no, they did NOT hold up well with regain. She is actually going to have them removed soon and her boobs re lifted to perk them back up. She's losing again, so I think she's planning on it when she gets close to goal. Anyway, you look great. And FIRM. I know you struggle with the slower loss like I do, but rest assured, your results are great.

Here's a good guideline. Just do your portion sizes according to what week post op you're on: 1-2 weeks = 1-2 ounces 2-4 weeks = 2-4 ounces 4-6 weeks = 4-6 ounces 6-8 weeks and forever = 6-8 ounces

You look wonderful and YOUNGER! Amazing job!

Your stomach REALLY makes me want to get a tummy tuck when this is all said and done! It looks amazing!

Funny you should ask. After having a protein shake almost every morning for the last 7 months (aside from an egg and bacon or sausage on weekends occasionally), I am going to try to do something different for a week and have some high protein granola cereal with milk for breakfast to see if I can get my weight loss to speed up a little (I'm only losing 2-4 lbs a month at this point) Either it will work, or it will be a disaster, lol. Either way I'm looking forward to having cereal for the first time in 7 months or even more! I'll let you guys know how my experiment works (or doesn't)!

That's why. Your tummy is really narrow because it's still swollen from surgery. It takes time, but you will be able to fit what you need to in there as you heal up and the swelling goes down. Completely normal. Just keep trying and stay hydrated!

For me, the best way to not crave them is to not have them at all. I find if I have some bread, I really crave carbs and sugar for the next few days while I'm "detoxing" back off of them. Once I'm past a couple days, I'm good again. Constant struggle! That's why I stay away from simple carbs completely for the most part Good Luck!

Looks great! I will make this as dessert for Easter dinner! Thanks for sharing, Jenn

In almost the year I've been perusing these forums, I see this as a normal progression of this surgery. I have seen over and over how at first, it's all about "getting healthy". Then, as the weight loss progresses, it becomes more about the changes the person is seeing in their body, both good and bad. I see people close to their personal goal weights saying "I think I'm going to try for a stretch goal of 10 more pounds"...."maybe 5 more pounds I will be happy".... I'm not judging at all. It's been an interesting observation of mine. I'm still 25lbs away from goal, and still feel a little "pleasantly plump", so I'm not really noticing the deflated boobs (still full but going south fast!) and really sagging skin...yet. Let's face it, I'm pushing 48 and things haven't been where they need to be for a while. But yeah, lets see how I feel when I'm 25 more pounds down. And by the way, I would LOVE to have the "flabby stomach" the woman in the article has. If I looked like her, I would be wearing a bikini all the time....

I just had labs done with my PCP about a month or so ago for something unrelated. It was kind if spur of the moment, so I wasn't fasting so blood sugar was a little high and hormones were a little out if whack but otherwise they were good. I wasn't experiencing the frequency of dizziness so I didn't even bring it up to her. Although I think I had "white coat syndrome" in the doctors office causing a higher blood pressure reading, I checked it in a grocery store a couple weeks ago and it was very low....so I'm thinking that could be it. @@bikrchk I will take your advice and try the Gatorade and see how that works! Otherwise it's back to the doctor for me!

I almost just started a thread about this. Good to see I'm not the only one! I still may see my PCP about it just to see what is going on!

@@VSGAnn2014 You're my hero