Babbs

Interesting topic! Thanks for sharing.

Yup, definitely beautiful!

@@KristenLe Oh I love them! Do you have a Basset Hound??

I'm actually a pretty dull person, but here goes: I love animals (yes, even cats) and would hoard them if given the chance. I have 3 Basset Hounds, 2 cats, and 2 grand Corgi's. I volunteer at a local animal shelter walking dogs and doing adoptions. I've been married for 27 years but we've been together for almost 30 years. That product of the marriage is 2 great kids who have grown up to be pretty darn decent humans, if I do say so myself. Although I may seem like a big mouth, I can be quite shy and introverted sometimes. I love anything to do with true crime and serial killers. Movies, books, TV shows, etc....One of my favorite books is about Ted Bundy. (EDIT: I don't CONDONE serial killers, I just find the concept fascinating) I helped my parents breed, raise and show Arabian horses in my youth. I graduated in a class of 16 people in a town of 1100 in Eastern Oregon. At 45, I decided to change careers and have been fairly successful with it. I'm honest to a fault sometimes. I like big butts and I cannot lie. (Okay, just threw that one in there to see if you're paying attention)

@@VSGAnn2014 I heart you.

STATISTICALLY, yes it's true. I've seen it personally and in these forums. Things that you were doing before suddenly causes gain that it didn't before. Gain that you could lose easily before suddenly becomes harder to almost impossible for some to lose. It's seems to happen around the 2-3 year mark, but then I see people who nip it in the bud settle at that little bit higher weight, or work extremely hard to get back down to their lowest. And @@Sophie74656, that's only partially true. You can't blame years out gain just on bad habits. I think its a combination. There are some metabolic and hormonal changes that seem to happen, also. That coupled with some bad habits that may have come back that never really effected us before and then do because of those changes is more than likely why. After almost a year of maintaining the same weight, there was a couple weeks I inexplicably went up almost 4 pounds! I was doing nothing different than before. It's been well over a month, and after doing several changes, including changing up my exercise routine and working out more, it will not come off. I'm chalking it up to the normal bounce that happens. I have to be uber vigilant from here on out to make sure I don't gain any more! I don't want to scare people, but just make sure people are aware that it may happen. I'm still fairly early out at almost 2 years. It gets even harder from here.

@@_bribri1001 Good for you. You do what you need to do

Me! I've lost 91. Took me a year to lose 85 ( my goal), and several months after to lose the rest. Yes, it took me a little longer than most. Only real skin issues I have is my stomach, but I've had 2 large babies and am in my late 40's. I've done a lot of exercise and strength training and think I've done an okay job toning up everything else otherwise. You can see pics in my profile.

I don't chew my food well at all I'm still kind of a piggy that way. I have paid the price for it a few times, but otherwise it hasn't seemed to affect me too much. I still also eat way too fast.

Almost two years out here. What you are going through is very common, if that makes you feel better. Statistics show that there is a 5-10% "bounce" that happens around 2-3 years out that most people go the through. Without doing anything too differently (seemingly), we will gain some weight and it's harder to get off than before. I have almost inexplicably gained 3 pounds, and after trying for a month, it's NOT coming off. I'm afraid my 5-10% is on its way, but I'll fight it the best I can in the mean time. I think this is where people make the decision to either accept it as long as they are maintaining and be thankful they still aren't where they were before, or fight super hard ( like you said, practically starving yourself) to get back down to their lowest. It's up to you. My husband had RNY 10 years ago, and gained 20 pounds from his lowest weight, but has pretty much settled and maintained that weight for 10 years with a couple of gains here and there that he manages to get back off. I honestly think our bodies just settle where they are most comfortable weight wise (whether we like it or not), and as long as we keep it at the healthy range, there's nothing wrong with that. It's still hard!

I know it's a lot of people's "full" signal

@@RoachBug Oh, oh! You reminded me of another thing! Just TEXT me. Honestly, unless it needs to be a 20 minute phone conversation with details, just text me the quick sentence or question you need to ask. No need to call. I probably will answer faster if you text anyway

No, never. You will only be able to eat 3 bites of food for the rest of your life. Haha just kidding. You will wish for those days down the road sometimes. Believe me at almost 2 years out and able to eat a cup of food sometimes.

Didn't read the whole thread, so I don't know if this was mentioned: People who INSIST on taking their dogs to the f**king store with them on hot days and leaving them in the car! LEAVE. THE. DOG. HOME. I WILL be either beat up or arrested someday when I am forced to break someone's window. I swear to God I will.

It's all part of the "stages" of WLS. Regret is normal early on. Hang in there! It gets better and better!

A "stall" a few weeks after surgery is not uncommon, and here's why. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs. of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when a patient is not getting in enough food, the body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. Then when 2 lbs. of glycogen is used a patient will also lose 8 lbs. of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs. that most people lose in the first week of a diet. However, when the body stays in a caloric deficit state the body starts to realize that this is not a short-term problem. Then the body starts mobilizing fat from adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But the body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. As it puts back the 2 lbs. of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs. of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though the patient might still be losing energy content to their body, the weight will not go down or it might even gain for a while as the retention of water dissolves the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

Yes, this makes a lot of sense.

@@HopeandAgony You're a doll. Thanks Although I've absolutely denied it before in many threads, I honestly do wonder if the surgery is the cause of marital strife, even unintended? When he had RNY 10 years ago, no issues. If anything, we became closer. Weird, right? I guess marriage counseling will help answer that.

Sorry Jamie Funny (well not so much funny but coincidencedently) my husband and I are going through a bit of a rough patch. Afyer being together for almost 30 years, we've been through them before, but this one feels.....different. Unlike you, like I explained before, I've put on a few pounds and am finding it hard to get the motivation to excersise

Oh goody! Is this the thread where the newbie comes in and asks a question and then gets all huffy when they don't like the answer? I thought so.

I was the same way you were. Now I can do an hour if I wanted. You are going to be amazed in a month how much longer you'll be able to do! It's all about building up to it. Running is the same way

I never felt like a fat girl, either. After all, I was fairly active and "only" 235 pounds. Then I see all my before pictures....oy vey! I swear our brains do that to us as some kind of coping mechanism.

Six months is a common time to stall. I did for about 7 agonizing weeks and also wondered if that was it for the weight loss. Not even close! Obviously what you're doing isn't working. Your body has become complacent. Change things up. I think at 6 months it's a good time to increase your calories and Protein, especially if you're increasing activity. If you're at 1000 calories, increase to 1100. Eat foods you don't normally eat. Add a few healthy grains sparingly. Also, know your macros. This whole thing is basically one big science experiment, and if you don't know where you stand on calories, carbs, protein, etc, you can't possibly know how to approach changing things up enough to shake things up so your body responds accordingly. You've increased your activity. Throw everything you've known or not known about dieting out the window and increase calories. We as WLS patients respond differently than normal people. Our bodies fight to keep fat because we are in a constant caloric deficit. Trick it into thinking you're not starving Good luck!

At almost 2 years out, I'm at 1400 calories and maintaining. My PCP said for a woman my age and activity level, that is perfectly acceptable and healthy. I really think the key is to not continue the calorie deficit for too long and slowly increase calories as the weight comes off. That way you're not setting your metabolic rate at 800 calories to maintain a healthy weight. I know some that are maintaining on 1800 calories or more depending on activity level.

Grandma's and grandpa's are known for their bluntness sometimes. Use this story as your motivation after the surgery. Then say to your grandpa "Look! My face isn't as round anymore!"