Babbs

Follow the WLS "rules" 90% of the time: Protein first. Protein keeps you full and satiated longer. It also takes more calories to digest. Protein also keeps you from losing the all important muscle mass that will be lost during weight loss. Drink your fluids. Find ways to make sure you're getting at least 64oz of fluids (preferably water) in every day. It's very hard sometimes, but so important for health and weight loss. Move more. You don't have to be a gym rat. And weight loss really is 90% diet. But if you truly want to look and feel healthier, find ways to move your body so you're boosting your metabolism and getting that heart pumping a little most days. Find something you like to do and stick with it! Watch sugar and other "white stuff"....bread, rice, Pasta, potatoes. I didn't touch the stuff until I had lost 75% of my excess weight. Even now in maintenence, I rarely eat them because FOR ME, it causes cravings for more. It's just too much of a slippery slope for me. DON'T GET DISCOURAGED. I was a slower loser and stalled a lot. It took me a year to lose 85 pounds. I stopped trying to compare my weight loss to others and realized this was my journey and nobody elses. I also learned that stalls were a normal part of the process, and if needed, I would adjust things accordingly or just kept doing what I was doing and rode them out. It's a constant process learning to listen to what our bodies need at any given time. And what my body needs may be different from what your body needs. And it's never as simple as 'calories in, calories out'. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Yes, you can only eat a certain amount AT ONE TIME. But make no mistake, if you're eating again as soon as you feel like you could, or what they call 'grazing', you can still stall weight loss or even start gaining. Heck, at 15 months out, I could easily consume 2,000 calories in a day if I spread out my eating enough. I once consumed a 750 calorie sandwich by picking at it all day, quarter by quarter.

@@fairee The way I see it, you have 2 choices. Keep making excuses for why you continue to allow these people to interfere with your peace and happiness, or don't and begin to set ground rules and boundaries so you can finally put yourself first like you've said you wanted. Hard or not, those are your options. We all are ultimately in charge of our own destiny. Good luck and best wishes to you!

Too many carbs. Starchy carbs cause cravings and hunger. Did you say you were 63 days out? Can you have lean proteins like fish, chicken and beef? They will keep you satisfied much longer.

Protein keeps you full and satisfied longer. So yes, it's possible that's why you're hungry. If you're not having protein, what are you eating? The surgery isn't supposed to be magic. You have to put the work in to be successful. That means following the rules....protein first, lots of fluids, no processed sugar or carbs and moving more. You do those things 90% of the time, it will work.

All the stats I've seen and researched say expect to lose 60% of excess body weight. I've seen hundreds of people since my surgery lose closer to 80-100% of their excess body weight. Yes, the chance of regain is there long term. But you sure as hell have a better chance keeping it off with the surgery than without! I know the stats back that up, too.

That was very sweet of him. I don't know if I would be able to resist having a taste or two, so kudos to you! What's the saying? "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". Lol.

Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD. I concur with the above advice. Get into the habit of weighing and measuring everything and stop when finished or satisfied, not when full. Don't just count on the sleeve to do all the work. Work that sleeve!

Until you can actually eat normal food, you're going to have those cravings. It's called head hunger and it's a bear! The good news is it will pass

@@Kindle I've always appreciated your advice and no nonsense approach to WLS. You were always such an inspiration to me as a newbie, and still are as I transition into maintenence. Congrats on your 2 years! Very impressive with what you've been through!

Amen. These are grown adults you're taking care of. Time to STOP. Junior is a grown man making grown man decisions. It's time he starts concentrating on his recovery and legal problems and trying to get his sh*t together so he can get his own place where him and his girlfriend and child can spend all the time they want there. It's not easy, but to be successful with this surgery you have to learn to put yourself FIRST and set boundaries. Until you do that with these grown men in your life, I'm afraid you'll struggle. Time to take control of the situation and start putting your foot down with these people!

That's why our mind set toward food has to shift from just primarily pleasure to primarily fuel. It's not an easy thing to do!

Awesome!

There are so many factors that play into a women’s clothing size. All in all our size will range 3 or 4 numbers up and down. I would say someone that averages a size 8 could probably fit into anything from a women’s 6–10 or a juniors 7–9. Here are some examples of reasons that clothing would fluctuate in size: 1. Brand name. Some clothing usually more expensive clothing tends to run smaller where as less expensive brands i.e. Old Navy tend to run larger. It’s not a set in stone rule but always try on. 2. Most clothing now a days has LYRCA in it, the more LYRCA the more stretch hence you may wear a smaller size in it. 3. Your body. Just because two people may be the same weight or the same weight and height doesn’t’ mean they have the same body. It’s just the way it goes.

@@titan05 You've done great!! Congrats! I can be a LITTLE bitter about how fast men lose, can't I

Yes, you need to eat even when you're not hungry. I think for most of us, if we only ate when we were hungry, we would never eat! food is now your fuel, like a car. You can't go vroom without your fuel! It's definitely a balance to eat when you need to, but not find yourself grazing all day. That's why I do best when I just eat on a schedule. Breakfast at 7, snack at 10, lunch at noon, snack at 3 and dinner at 5 or 6. Been doing it that way for the last 15 months, and it's certainly worked for me

I've been married a long time like @@glitter eyes. I think if you already have a strong marriage, the weight loss just...ahem....enhances it. If you known what I mean

@@catlynk Men lose A LOT faster than women, so don't even try to compare your weight loss to his. It's a sad truth. Darn men!

It took about 70...yes SEVENTY...pounds before people started really noticing and complimenting me. I think people have seen me in so many different states of weight loss, the 70 pound loss was the most they'd seen like...ever. Then you go from hardly any to anyone and everyone noticing! Now I've been at goal for about 5 months or so, and they are getting used to how I look, so I don't get them as much anymore. Only from people I haven't seen for a while. To me, it's kind of demotivating

Yup. Most of us. Bring a change of clothes and wet wipes. Never trust a fart until at least a year out.

You will hit a stall soon. And that's normal, so don't fret. Your body is adjusting after the large loss. After that, your weight loss will stabilize to more "normal" rates of loss....2-5 pounds per week. The closer you get to goal, the more the weight loss slows down. You will probably have several stalls along the way. We all wish we could lose at those rates we do at first, but that wouldn't be exactly healthy, would it?

It's probably along the same lines as phentermine and stuff. Basically legalized speed, lol. You'll lose weight, but once you stop, it always comes back.....

If you can handle the normal fluctuations without it ruining your whole day, by all means weigh every day! I'm a big proponent of you can't measure what you can't see. Pre surgery, the times I would ignore the scale were the times I was gaining and at my highest weights. I'm not going to let that happen again! So I know when the time comes and I feel I need to avoid the scale, I need to get my butt back on track and hold myself accountable. But that's just me.

Will it help knowing what you are feeling is completely normal? Surgery is always scary, even for people who have had surgeries before! You'll go in, get prepped, and they will put you under. The next thing you know, it's done and over with and you're waking up. Not gonna lie, you're going to be a little sore, a little tired, and may struggle to drink your fluids and Protein. You may even regret it for a while. But as time goes on, you start to heal and feel better, and as a bonus you're losing weight! Although I had a fairly easy time of it, I didn't feel completely human for about 6 weeks. It takes time to recuperate from major surgery, so be kind to yourself. Now at 15 months out, all of that is a distant memory. I feel great, and don't even feel like I've had 85% of my stomach removed except for the restriction. One of the best decisions I've ever made! Just remember as you're going through the more challenging times that it WILL pass. Then you'll be on to the next phase of things. Good luck!

Don't they advise you to wait a year to 18 months post surgery to get pregnant? I think once you lose most of your excess weight, it may happen. I see it on these boards all the time. Congrats on the 70 pounds!