carrie3101

This was an issue a lot for me in the beginning because I frequently went to work dinners. Soup and stews really saved me, since no one can really tell how much soup you actually eat. I'm not sure if you're allowed salad yet, but that's always really good because you can pick on it all night and no one can tell how much you've actually eaten.

I'm a year and a half out and have diet coke regularly. For the first few months, the carbonation bothered me because I felt like it was always on the verge of coming back up, but around month 6, it started to feel a lot better.

Hi Erin! Wishing you all the best on your journey. I was also diagnosed with PCOS. I had the sleeve about a year and a half ago and was able to lose around 140 pounds, slowly. Unfortunately, I have found that my body is quite different and so my calories needs are much lower to lose. So, on average, I aim for about 800 calories a day, with at least 70 grams of protein. I work out about 6 hours a week, running and swimming. This has helped me steadily lose about 1.5 pounds a week. I have friends eating 1500 and losing much more than me, but with PCOS the struggle is REAL. The sad fact is, we just don't lose like everyone else. I'm here if you have any other specific questions. You can do it! Best, Carrie

Hi everyone, 6 months out and stalled for 6 weeks, and no where NEAR goal. Most people in my support group said they were only able to lose a very little amount of weight after this point, which has me panicking a bit, because at this point, I barely look different. For all of you lovely people that are further out-- did any of you have success continuing to lose a significant amount of weight pass 6 months or am I totally screwed over here? If you have, what was your secret? Help a desperate sleever out

Friends, I am at the end of my rope and I truly need some help. I am 6 months out, having started at 370 (I'm 5'4). I've lost 60 pounds, and it's slowed to the point where I'm barely losing 4 pounds a month. I read several threads from people at my BMI having lost 100 + pounds in 6 months. In fact, almost EVERYONE with a high start weight like mine has lost more than 100+ in 6 months that I've seen. I have come to the conclusion that I have failed at this. I am eating 800 cals a day or so, getting my Water in, doing at least 40 minutes of exercise a day. HOW the heck have I screwed this up? Today I saw my family, and it was obvious that to them, I look exactly as I did a year ago. I am so heartbroken I've failed at this, as I have with everything else I've tried. Has anyone out there with a higher BMI lost as slowly as I have and still been successful in the long run? Please, tell me there's still hope.

@@2goldengirl Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and for your advice. Where did you go to get your RMR tested and what kind of test was it?

@@FitFunFamily you look beautiful and are such an inspiration. Has the loss been steady for you? Really struggling over here at 6 months

I have such enormous respect for anyone who has gone through VSG and managed to lose a significant amount of weight. SERIOUSLY, HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DO IT? I'm 2 months out, and learning about the physical, mental and emotional toll it takes on you. I'm tired, hungry and no longer losing. I've hit a stall for about 2 weeks now. Everyone I know in real life that did this-- the pounds just melted off, and I feel like such an EPIC failure. My mom, who was my support person in the hospital, came to visit me last weekend and it was obvious she thought I looked exactly the same (and I do). It's a fight to get in the Protein, to stay away from the carbs, to work out, to drink Water all day, but at the end of the day, I'm happy to do it if the pounds come off-- but they're NOT. Am I seriously going to fail at this? I so desperately want this to work, and I am really working hard. I am unbelievably frustrated, and in AWE of you guys. Anyone else went through something like this early in the process? Suppose I just STAY stalled though? OMG.

@amazon@Miss Mac how wonderful are you guys....thank you. I started at a high BMI (over 50), and I read about people whose weight just flew right off because they started where I was. It's just not happening like that for me, and it's starting to feel so much like every other diet I've tried and failed. I'm trying to keep the faith and know it's nothing like that, it will break in time. Thank you so much for your encouragement. It means more than you know.

Guys, Thank you so much for your kindness and motivation. It really helps to know that people who have been successful have also struggled. I usually love my sleeve, I'm glad I did it, I'm just worried I'm failing it.

Hi there, I'm exactly 2 months post op, and gained 2 pounds this week for absolutely no reason. It is incredibly frustrating when you're following the plan. I totally feel your pain, buddy. Hoping it gets better for both of us soon

Hi guys, I am a couple weeks pre-op and from what I'm reading it seems like the weight loss stalls out after about a year, and that for folks that have a lot to lose (like me-- pre op weight 350ish), a loss of 100 pounds would be considered a success. After that, it seems that even though you're not eating very much, your body has adjusted and the weight it much much harder to lose. Has this been your experience? If I miraculously get down that much, I would still have a lot to lose to get to goal. Does the sleeve stall out for people with a high start weight, and if so, should I postpone surgery to try to get my weight down before the surgery? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hi guys, My best friend recently had the surgery and she lost a lot the first three months. Now, she's adding a little more to what she eats (it's still 1/4 of my portion at best) and she's starting to slowly gain. I'm pre-op and I'mm concerned about this. Of course there's no way you can stay on a week 3 diet indefinitely, but somehow it seemed like her body adjusted to it and is now backtracking a bit. Did this happen to anyone else? Did you stop losing as you started to slowly add more calories? Thanks in advance for your advice

She has added about 150 calories more a day about a month ago (sitting about 700 cals a day now) and noticed a stall, then slow weight gain of about 5 pounds in that time. She walks 5 times a week and has since she had the surgery.

Hi guys, I've been doing a lot of reading, I'm a few weeks away from my sleeve and I came across this article: http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1482-6-bizarre-things-nobody-tells-you-about-weight-loss-surgery.html The general tone of the article is very, very negative, but I wonder if there's any truth to this section: "Many of these complications can arise years after the surgery, so you're sort of like a ticking time bomb of fluids and pain. I have to take a giant handful of Vitamins every day so that I don't literally waste away. I was warned that I could be minding my own business weeks or months or years later when the tiny tube that was now my stomach would stop handling anything but liquid. That's because as it heals, it can develop scar tissue to the point that it constricts without warning. You end up with a dent in your stomach that narrows it down to the girth of a nail. Swallowing anything that isn't liquid then feels like swallowing a nail." Does anyone know what she's talking about and is this a common issue that arises later on? VSG is very new so is something like this on the horizon for us? Very anxious and looking for any answers and advice you guys might have. Thanks...

Thanks so much for your answers guys. Having a sleeve being described as a "ticking time bomb of Fluid and pain" is slightly terrifying.

HI guys, My very first post on this awesome forum. Your stories have been so great and I feel a lot better going into surgery knowing that there's a supportive community out there for people like me. I have a lot of questions, but one of them that comes to mind: For my job I often take people out to lunches. I'm not making my surgery common knowledge, and I know I'll have a lot of restrictions in the months following, so I'll avoid eating out at the beginning. Let's say about 6 months out, if I go out to lunch with people, will it be glaringly obvious to them by how little I'm eating? In other words, if you're sitting across from a post-VSG patient 6 months or a year out, what do you see? What about your experiences? Has eating out been difficult? What do you order at your favorite restaurants now, and how much of it do you eat? Can you have a glass of wine with dinner? Thanks in advance, lovely people!

Thanks so very much for your answers everyone! I'm so relieved that it's not hopeless to find restaurant food to eat. And thank you to those who are saying that people aren't going to be looking that closely. I sometimes forget that no one is really paying too much attention while everyone is chatting. (Also, while I appreciate the advice, I see no reason why I should share something like this with other people if I don't want to. Having this surgery is an intensely personal choice, and I am choosing to keep it that way. Thanks!)