Kiba

Hi all, Recently had a slew is off issues happen in the span of a couple of months. This past year has been an emotionally difficult one when a loved one was diagnosed with an illness and it spiraled into resolve when they passed just recently. The stress of this came a week before my wedding and bam, my depression hit. I started to notice I was starving myself for hours and then munching on chocolate and popcorn. We had to entertain guests and mourn privately in the middle of this chaos, lo and behold I weighed myself last night (first time in a month) and cried to see I was 8 lbs heavier. I am so discouraged and so disappointed in myself. I find the motivation to continue being healthy is harder than ever and I still feel sadness from all the recent stresses and how it's weighed me down. I am mourning quite hard and feel almost self-destructive because of the loss. My husband (as we're a recently married couple) expressed his sadness to my weight gain and though he has been supportive of my stress and understands the reasoning, couldn't help but say he was disappointed in me too. I want to feel confident but I am notorious for being a depression eater (I starve and graze on crap typically) and I am terrified my stress will cause my hormones and body to just keep responding by gaining weight. I need some support feeling ever so discouraged that I won't finish my journey and lose the last 30 lbs I need to get to my end goal.

Same issues happened with me, had my metabolism tested, it was INSANELY low, trying to re-educate my body to sustaining a normal lifestyle of 1200 calories but I haven't lost a pound and am constantly active. One of the main issues I've read with this surgery is lots of people lose the weight from the forced healing process of eating SO little -- once your fully healed, you can eat more but your metabolism doesn't understand what happened.

I wear the Abercrombie and Fitch ankle crops -- at 5 ft tall the 25/26' hem is the only thing that works for me without hemming them! It's exhausting finding short cut pants. I just searched "ANKLE" "CROPS" in the jeans or pants section and it works out for me. BUT they are always sold out. You would think more companies would start making clothes for Petite people in general!

The weather has been awful here in the Northeast this winter, I found myself walking outside and pacing around more than graving, it's that hibernation season that kills you! You're probably right! The Ensure Strawberries are the best tasting ones I've found. I did Premier and Core but they tasted so icky after a while. VCOR easy to purchase? How frequently are you drinking shakes during your day? I know they said to supplement a meal a day, but what combination works best for you?

I totally do! I do the cardio 3 times a week and yoga twice a week -- it just doesn't move. I NEVER was a grazer before the surgery. I was a eat two insanely large meals a day then sleep type of person. After the surgery, it forced you to eat small and space it out through the day, before I knew it I felt like cattle eating grass all day and the bad habits started. It's so hard getting the protein numbers high too, I started shakes again (eeeek!) I hate them!

This is inspiring because I'm officially two years post op and never hit my goal weight and been stuck yo-yoing between 163-170 for the past year! I know I graze a lot more than when I was 'healing' but it's so discouraging because I'm exhausted and I feel myself slipping. I used to be able to lose weight simply with diet alone, now I feel like nothing moves! My old dietician left and this new one I saw doesn't seem to be very helpful. Any meal plans people sticking to thats working for VSG people?

Hi all, I was curious about the non-invasive options right now to help push the last stubborn remaining weight I have left from my sleeve journey. There is i-lipo and Vanquish now that everyone is raving about. I wondered if anyone has tried it after their bulk weight loss finished? Is it safe for us sleeve people? I'm more curious!

People just don't understand. I kept my surgery private amongst only my immediate family and everyone supported me. The beginning is hard, I'm almost 2 years out and I eat just as normal as anyone else, with the exception I am actually paying attention to what I put in. You won't really ever be able to eat the full amount you ate before, but is that really a bad thing? You will grow to appreciate food in a different way and understand what you need to give it to take care of it.

Keto is amazing, after surgery I kept at Keto for a long time, issue with it is you have to be SUPER aware of your body and how sensitive you are to carbs. One slip up and you could slip down a slippery slope (which kinda happened to me over the Holidays just now!!) The key is tapering yourself to a comfort zone where you can tolerate little carbs. Most of the problems people complain about keto is, it's amazing to lose a LOT of weight and fast, issue is maintenance. Most people can't sustain a full fat and Protein diet forever, you will eventually want and need carbs and there in lies the problem. However, every human's body is different!

Hi all, Researching to see how often personal trainers have experience dealing with bariatric or any weight loss surgery patients as clients. I have spoken to a few fitness 'pros' and a lot of their diet plans and routines just seem unrealistic for people that eat as little as we do and carry so much 'baggage' from our road to weight loss. At 1.5 years out, I have lost 94 lbs, need 30 more to go for my goal weight, and I am just STOPPED. Nothing I do breaks it at this point and would love to talk to a professional to get me to my goal. Lots of changes in the past 1.5 is being thinner of course, but I've developed an interesting side effect resulting in hypoglycemia, I have always had a gluten allergy but my dietician suggested increasing full pure wheats and fibers to help ensure I don't get weak; but I still bloat and my muscles are completely shot on my upper body from all the starving we did during healing process. At this point, I know I need to rebuild my muscles, reset my awful metabolism, and continue the weight loss but alas, I am not stubborn enough to pretend I can do this alone. What are some ways to ensure I am finding the right personal trainer? There are a lot of websites and resources, but I haven't come across a way to track a trainer in my area that 'understands' our situation and adjusts a plan that works for me. Any experience anyone? Thanks!

I wonder if anyone is experiencing a massive change in their metabolism. Naturally after being reduced to incredibly low calories, are people able to even continue weight loss once moving forward to a normal diet consisting of 1000+ calories. I find myself only able to lose weight when I am eating as little as 800 calories and I feel horrible since I am at the gym 3 times a week and hiking on the weekends. Doesn't seem to make sense but I read it is possible to permanently alter your rate. I had mine tested by a dietician and trainer and I should be at 1,773 and it seems a) almost impossible to eat that amount of food (even at 1.5 years out) and b.) I have to still focus on the Protein more than carbs to sustain my workouts. Anyone else struggling here?

Very curious to see what yours is at! Congrats at your weight goal, I can't seem to hit mine no matter what. I'm deeply considering finding a trainer that specialized in VSG patients. Every fitness expert I speak to doesn't seem to understand how contorted our systems are after such a dramatic change.

I knew someone that developed really bad boils and skin infections due to hanging skin, had it tucked and was covered by the insurance, but they developed a history of issues pertaining to it. I'd imagine if it leads to chronic issues, then you might be able to get it covered.

Following up on the new information -- I had my wisdom tooth pulled (boo!) but the liquid diet for 3-4 days totally reset my stomach and I dropped 4 lbs like nothing. BUT I'm back to eating soft foods and bam, weight is already yo-yoing back to pre-tooth pulling. This is so frustrating.

I took peppermint supplements and it helped tremendously. Lots of thick dark hair everywhere, I got diagnosed with PCOS -- I'm on the implant, helped a little but still grows, the supplements thinned it out and there is a chemical in it is that helps. I need to go again and get more lasers done since it's been a year, which keeps them at bay. If you're going to shave, I recommend rose oil on your face especially, keeps it soft and smooth so it doesn't look like you shaved your face, been there done that!

The only real way for me to even hit those goals is bars and shakes in addition to the dairy and nuts I add to pretty much everything I eat. I almost just completely avoid foods with no carbs or little carbs to help sustain it.

That is correct -- so in my case being at 1050 -- with say a week of no exercise , I'm at 1300 calories daily, cut the 500 and it's at 800 -- that's awfully low but completely understandable given what we put our bodies through during surgery healing. I have to attempt to fix my metabolism by increasing my RMR which comes with more muscle building and eating. Even then though, I'll be gaining for a while before I lose again. I might as well starve myself down to my goal weight at 800-900 calories and then start working out!

It's tough, I know lots of people that struggled with their relationships or marriages after weight loss or gain. My SO and I were on a plan from day one to be 'healthy' together. He was severely underweight and I was overweight, he supported the surgery and has worked with me to adjust our diet (since we live together) to make it easier for me to continue my journey. He has gained 50 lbs and I have lost 90 and we've happy; but we planned to love each other and support the change. My ex though was an enabler that helped my weight gain before, he was skinny and loved to eat, lots of junk food, fast food, etc. Of course you imitate and crave by association and bam, 60 lbs I gained in the course of 4 years. Sometimes misery loves company and when we're overweight or unattractive feeling, we settle for whomever we think will take us at our worst. Truth is, we should strive to find someone that makes us better and we give back and allow them to be the best version of themselves. Grow together in a relationship and support the change; if he wants you unhealthy and unhappy (because YOUR happiness should come first) then you should consider discussing with him how that is most definitely not okay and part ways. You don't need toxic in your life and having that negativity in your life will lead to depression and back to the poor food and lifestyle changes you made to get here.

It's what I feared most, it shoes mine was at 1050 (give or take) and I have been overeating, super depressing! It's almost unhealthy to imagine with how active my lifestyle is to eat so little.

I contacted my dietician and a local fitness area to do an RMR test -- hopefully this will shed some light on things

@@Bufflehead Totally -- I am not using Fitbit to count calories (they aren't accurate for sure) I am using the actual calculated amount from the previous website I linked. Fitbit is only used to log my burned calories, steps, heart rate, sleep and food; I just use the log to input the food I consume

@@OutsideMatchInside I mean I hope my metabolism is good -- it's hard to tell right now. They had me use https://tdeecalculator.net and invest in a smart scale, I managed to calculate that my maintenance calorie intake is at 2,112 and thus my weight loss should be at 1,612 but alas I am seeing no real change in my weight loss at all. Perhaps I have to follow the macronutrient guide it gives me more closely. I also have a severely low Vit D deficient which I am trying to get a handle on, I heard this could make a difference as well.

It's strange but back when I was eating less post op -- I found myself focusing on lots of soups and stews, meat, hardly veggies, no carbs, and I was dropping. Naturally I implemented more carbs with stability in my stomach and more time passed on so I threw in the fruit as well, I seemed to still drop a little but bam, 4 months ago I stopped all together. I increased my calories (since people said it's probably starvation mode) nothing changed, except I gained two lbs! So strange. I log everything via my fitbit and it's like doing an elimination diet all over again, but I keep coming to the frightful conclusion I might need to eat virtually no food to lose weight.

I've been told it slows down quick a bit after a year, happy I lost 90 lbs but still struggling to lose another 30 more for my weight goal. Haven't lost a single pound in 4 months, I have spoken with my surgeon and nutritionist and they said sometimes too much weight loss all at once can lead to a very long plateau. I'm counting my calories at 1,250 a day, gym 4 times a week and hiking trails on the weekends and still seeing nothing! I notice my cravings for carbs coming back but I find myself trying to make the correct choices of eating clean. Anyway I can break this? I don't even know if 1,200 calories is enough but I feel hungry at the end of the day and am constantly bloated!

I do have to supplement with Protein Bars. The rest of my protein comes from meat, cheese, nuts, and yogurt. Back in my weight loss phase, my daily intake looked something like this: Breakfast: Protein Bar (~20 grams) Morning Snack: String Cheese (~8 grams) Lunch: Meat of some sort, usually leftovers (~16-20 grams) Afternoon Snack: Greek Yogurt (~12 grams) Dinner: Meat (~16-20 grams) Evening Snack: Protein Bar (~20 grams) For the "meat" mentioned above, it was always the protein portion of whatever my husband made for dinner (I was married back then). So if he made meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I just had meatloaf. Shrimp and Pasta, I had the shrimp. chicken and rice, I had the chicken. You get the idea. Awesome information, thanks JamieLogical!