Cape Crooner

I eat salad mostly as a garnish these days - maybe 2 ounces. The reason is simple. I need protein and watch calories. With few exceptions, salad dressings are high in calories and virtually nothing in a salad has protein. I'm 19 months out and can eat about 8 ounces of food. That means 6 ounces of protein and 2 ounces of veggies. Do you know that roasted fingerling potatoes are only about 25 calories each? When your side dish only weighs 2 ounces, you eat most anything. That said, I do offend many home chefs when I go to a dinner party and barely touch the 12 ounce gourmet salad they carefully prepared for me!

It's not forever. I'm 19 months out and I do have an occasional carbonated drink. I seldom drink 12 ounces and only drink once or twice a week. You'll never drink 6/day again. Also, there is no damage caused to a sleeve after you move to regular foods. I will say I couldn't do more than a sip until I was 6-8 months post op.

I do have WLS on a pedestal, to me it is a miracle. That doesn't mean it "can't be beat" and/or all the other things I must do are easy - they aren't. What im saying is that I'm convinced that this is the option that would have enabled me to succeed. I'm 64 and i was 13 when I went on my first diet I lost 50+ pounds on my own multiple times and always put more back on. After 55, I found it impossible to lose more than 10 pounds I tried everything else including the latest prescription siaity drugs. This was the only option left and it has succeeded thus far. If that means I have it on a pedestal, so be it. I know that it has saved my life and that's a pretty big deal

I'm 19 months post and while I never had second thoughts going in, I now see things that add to my confidence in my decision. 1. I see friends who killed themselves to successfully lose weight "the old fashioned way" in the same time frame as me put it all back on and more. 2. I see other friends who are very diet and exercise conscious still gain a few pounds a year, eating salads and going to spinning classes. The fact is, as we age it's much harder to lose/keep off extra weight. Which means if you have a serious weight problem now, you'll have a worse one as you age. 3. After 19 months of logging calories and fitness tracking, I can tell you that MY body doesn't metabolize like they say in the diet books. I have averaged 2,500-3,000 calories burned each day for 21 months. Pre op, I ate 1,000 calories a day, then post op 400 to start up to 1,000 a day until I reached my goal. Today, I still exercise 90 minutes a day (average 2,750 calories a day and eat 1,200-2,000. Based on the books, I should be skin and bones, but I'm simply maintaining my goal weight (26 bmi). The one pound lost for every 3,500 burned is bunk. The truth is much harder and impossible for ME without my WLS. Understand, without WLS, your weight loss efforts will ultimately fail and when they do, you're looking at a short life full of health problems! Who wants that?

I don't think suggesting you "find new friends" is a very helpful suggestion at this time. You're still healing and that's a lousy time to add the pressure of having to find new friends. I stopped drinking 2 months before my surgery because I wanted to be a model patient and I wanted to lose my excess weight as fast as possible. As much as I was committed to the the journey, the first Friday night without social drinking was traumatic - so traumatic that I tried going to a hypnotist for help! I'm not sure I was ever "under", but his suggestion really helped me and it might help you. You need to think of all of this as a project with multiple phases that each take several months. Think about life in each phase and plan to deal with it as it comes. Know that the final phase is the "new you" thinner and healthier. I actually dropped out of all socializing for 6 months. I found this easier than trying to explain to people why I suddenly stopped eating and drinking without revealing my WLS or lying. I'm coming up on two years and I'm pretty much into my new normal. I have added some new friends and moved away from others. More importantly, I have emerged as a different person; one who is far more health oriented and with my new confidence, more interesting to others. Let your imagination project the new you and chart that course. I do still drink (I knew I couldn't give it up, which is why choose a sleeve), but I drink differently now. I do have many friends who don't drink and are still lots of fun. Think about what makes someone "fun" and project yourself becoming more like that person. In terms of your current friends, parse them up and spend less time with those who only seem to want an eating/drinking coconspirator and more time with people who want more from life. Above all means welcome new friendships that cross your path. I think if you spend time envisioning you're future and charting the path that will get you there, you'll get there faster than you think!

I'm about 16 months out and doing well. That said, having closely tracked my calorie intake and burn for 20 months, I have to say many of my old myths have been shattered. I consume about 1500 calories a day on average. I burn a total of 3000 calories a day (about 2000 by living and breathing and about 1000 more from about 2 hours of exercise). Yet, my weight stays exactly the same! I take a couple of things from this: 1. The myth about losing a pound for every extra 3500 calories burned is BS. 2. We're different. I know a lot of skinny people who eat far more than I do. I'm not sure if we were born this way or it's just something that we programmed into our bodies though bad behavior. 3. There is absolutely no way I could have done this on my own without the help of WLS. What about you guys?

I'm fortunate in that I'm the home chef and I do all the shopping. My suggestion would be to feed your family protein and green food. If they complain, add a starch and just don't eat it - major on the good foods.

I stopped for 5 weeks before surgery and 10 weeks after then went easy. I was down about about 55 when I started up again and continued to lose at the same rate until dropping a total of about 95 lbs. My advice would be: 1. Count the calories in the alcohol. Distilled alcohol like vodka is 64 calories/ounce. There are plenty of sugary drinks out there that are over 300 calories each. 2. Drink plenty of Water and take an extra antacid. 3. Plan EXACTLY what you'll eat when you drink and the day after and stick to it. My problem wasn't so much the calories in alcohol, but rather the bad food choices that followed. I'm not going to argue with those who preach abstinence, but I know that's not me. The world is full of skinny people who drink alcohol every day. Study what they do and eat and create your own strategy for weight maintenance. Log and weigh yourself ever day and if things get off track, correct!

I was sleeved in October 2015 and have somewhat similar experiences. The only advice I'd share (and try to follow myself), is to either push back on getting into "The Valley of Death" - endless buffets of bad food, or give yourself stronger rules about what you'll eat if you find yourself there. I think the idea of limiting the number of less careful meals a week is a great start, but I fear the right number is only 2-4, not 1/3rd to 2/3rd. Of course, you probably know all this! I put on 5 lbs since fall and I've gone back on my post opt diet and stepped up my exercise level. My pants are falling off, but the pounds aren't. I'm thinking this is my new normal, but who knows? Crazy journey!

I seem to have gained 5 pounds over the last month and it's not coming off despite my return to my post opt diet (low carb - under 1,000 calories/day). Since my pants keep falling down, I'm about ready to chalk it up to my stepped up exercise routine, but who knows...

I would say that it doesn't seem to matter much what I eat as long as I avoid sugars. My weight stays the same. That said, I'm afraid to eat much more than my 1500 calories/day.

I really think they'll put it all back on in 2 years. I'm 15 months out and maintaining okay. I exercise 2 hours a take my fitness tracker says my total daily calorie burn is 3,000+ calories. I'm eating about 1,500 average. I know a lot of skinny women who eat more than I do and stay skinny. I think we're wired differently, maybe from birth, or maybe from overeating in our past. The point is, if I didn't have the sleeve and it's dear restriction, I know I'd be back up 100 lbs in 2 years!

I'm 15 months out and after 8 months of 185-190 (my goal was 190). Thanksgiving came, parties, Christmas, etc. I started exercising more (bike and walk) about 2 months ago. I'm exercising about 2 hours/day, but suddenly, I'm up to 190-195. My pants seem to fit the same, but I'm kind of freaking out. I've been following my post opt (1000 calorie/day) diet during the week and hitting 190 on Friday, but over the weekend, I'm coming back at 194/195. My old brain says it's the holiday Cookies, but my new brain is wondering if the extra 45 minutes a day of exercise might be adding muscle. I guess time will tell.

I don't have a picture, but I'm 15 months out and my limit in terms of dense food is about 8 ounces. I did crave a salad last week and went to Rubio's. They have a nice chopped salad with a light Chipotle dressing and a salsa bar. Before, I could eat an entire bowl with ease. Last week, I ate 8 bites (maybe). Here's what it looked like after I ate my fill!

I think they're trying to figure out if you'll self sabotage your results. I found they were super impressed with a 2 page history of weight loss efforts, exercise history, and weight loss prescription drugs (along with doctors notes). I'm a sleever and the only way we fail is to graze all day and/or consume sugary drinks, candies, etc. Expect a lot of questions about what you eat and anticipate that they'll be assessing the sincerity of your answers. If you're honest and appear committed to following the program, you'll do fine.

There are plenty of good reasons to keep it a secret. That said, the only way to know it's a secret is to tell no one beyond the most trusted who truly need to know (your husband). The tricky part of keeping it a secret doesn't come until you're down 100 lbs in 6 months and all anyone wants to talk about is "how did you do it?"

I don't hear that well and thought the Pych was the NUT. I talked about dieting for a half in hour until I figured out she was the Pysch. I think they just want to see that your dedicated to the journey and well adjusted despite the obesity. In my case, I was well aware that my weight was a health risk, but never really thought that I was abnormal in any (other) way. Remember, they're #1 goal is your success. Once you enter the program, your success reflects on the quality of their program. I think they'd only reject you if they feel your likely to fail (drink sugary drinks and graze on slider foods all day).

I think my sleeve came out perfect. I enjoy all kinds of food and don't worry as much because I have automatic moderation. I think some people are confusing the question "what do you miss" with "do to regret your wls". If I think about missing something, it's more like a found memory. With that in mind, I do say I miss the hours of unfettered grazing that came with a cocktail party loaded with tasty appetizer (or a great buffet). Now, I have to scope everything out and decide on what 6-8 ounces I'm going to enjoy. Sometimes I miss mindless eating, but never do I regret my wls decision!

Sorry, there are a couple of October 2015 threads with the same title. Good luck!

FYI - this is a thread of people sleeved on October 6, 2015, not 2016!

Newton Wellesley

Juice is the worst, might as well just get a Snickers Bar!

None - I am quite content at 185 - 190...

281 HW

Near New Bedford... Oct 6 Sleevers - year 1 update! 1. Hit my goal (190) on March 3rd and been in between 183 and 192 since. Had my annual check up Wednesday and weighed in at 188. 2. ALL my blood work came in perfect, even my liver tests and glucose. 3. I exercise more than suggested - 70,000+ steps a week. My arthritis is mostly tamed and I even walk 18 holes of golf and carry my clubs! 4. I socialize more than I ever dreamed possible. If I see a bunch of unhealthy food coming my way, I have a beer, drink 1/3rd and dig in. Unhealthy food can't hurt you (much) if all you eat is 4-6 ounces. The keys to my maintenance success are threefold: 1. Developing an arsenal of 100-200 calorie healthy "meals" that make up 90% of my diet. This pretty much enables me to eat carefree on the other 10%. 2. The exercise! 3. A great scale and fitness tracker to "keep me honest". Without a doubt, the best thing I've ever done for myself!