careya123

I never hit my goal weight either, and I've regained since then. Not sure how much: I'm afraid to look at the scale. I hope it's only 15, but I think it might be closer to 25 or 30. I've gotten addicted to processed carbs again, so I need to go off them, but it's tough. I was near perfect on my diet for a year, but never did any exercise. I think that really prevented me from reaching my goal. I'm feeting very motivated to exercise now; in fact, I'm going tomorrow to get a gym membership. (I do much better at exercise with a gym membership than working out at home.) I'd like to do keto because it's so effective, but since the surgery, my body really does not like it when I eat much fat. Also, there aren't a lot of protein sources I like, so I'm thinking about looking into a more plant based diet. I like the idea of fruits, vegetables, beans, string cheese, Greek yogurt, eggs, and some meat here and there. I should go back to protein shakes, but I drank so many for so long that I'm really tired of them. I think I'll start the Pound of Cure diet and see where it takes me. Anyway, good luck to you! It's tough when it seems that everyone else has been so successful, but tomorrow is another chance at success.

Totally agree! If I eat carbs, then I'm soon craving more. It makes the problem worse. The most important thing to do, in my mind, is get off carbs or at least processed carbs. When I've been eating too many processed carbs, I switch to fruit and soon the processed sweets are way too sweet for my tastebuds.

I'm really struggling with this too. At my new job, I got into the terrible habit of snacking at my desk, usually chocolate or other sweets. Thanks for the tip about Lily's Chocolate. I need to go back to the jello and jello pudding treats, which I ate quite a bit after surgery. For me, I think the problem is that I get hungry around 3 pm, and I haven't planned for it, so I just grab whatever is near, which is never anything healthy. I need to plan for it and have something healthy and satisfying at hand. Maybe that will help you too? When I worked from home, I ate a lot of fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, string cheese, and frozen Chobani tubes. But it's more difficult now because the fridge at work is disgusting and I don't want to use it. Maybe I'll get a cooler and pack it every day with healthy things.

Long term results of sleeve gastrectomy are just starting to become available in the last few years. Here's one study: sleep apnea syndrome, and gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms occurred in 83.8%, 59.7%, 75.6%, and 64.7% of patients, respectively." So at 6 years, I can hope to have ~70% of my excess weight gone. And more than likely, my co-morbidities will be gone. Take that, Weight Watchers!

I went to the dr yesterday and told my GP I'm considering WLS. He said I wouldn't be successful unless I controlled my eating first, or else I'd gain the weight back. He recommended Weight Watchers. I've done that a few too many times already, and told him that it wasn't sustainable for me--I always gained it back. He said if I couldn't be successful on WW, I wouldn't be on WLS either. I said I the sleeve would give me an advantage that would allow me to be successful. He responded by saying I'd lose weight at first but then I'd learn to eat around it, and the whole thing would be a waste. A heated discussion ensued. When I was researching WLS, the first thing I did was look up the five year outcomes of diet and exercise alone (specifically Weight Watchers) compared to WLS. There's no comparison. WLS has a success rate of 50-80%, depending on the type of surgery. Diet and exercise is under 5%. Also, the definition of "success" was much more strict for WLS. I'm so frustrated. I think I'm doing the right thing. I need some encouragement, folks! EDIT: He seems to think I sit around and eat donuts all day.

I originally set my goal at 150, since it's a nice round number and I was that weight for about 10 minutes back in my early 20s (sz 10 for me). I was a sz 14 in college, and now I am again. I feel comfortable here, but it's 35 lbs more than my goal weight. (I'm only six months out, but I lost everything in the first 3 months, and haven't lost a single pound since then. Weird.) Now I'm thinking about re-setting my goal weight to 160, which is at the top of my BMI range. Ultimately, I'd really like to be a size 10 max because some clothing lines I like only go up to size 10.

A COUNSELOR told you that? Unbelievable! I did a ton of research and medical journals clearly show that surgery is so much more effective than WW, both short and long term. Wow.

It's been a while since I started this thread (can't believe all the response it's gotten!) and I'd like to post my results. I've had good and bad experiences, but overall it's been great. It's now six months after surgery, and I've lost 50# (almost exactly 60% of my excess weight). I'm down to sz 14, my college size, and hoping to get to a 10. However, I'm very comfortable where I am and count the whole experience a success. My co-morbidities are mostly or totally gone. For the first time in years, men look me in the eye or give me the up-and-down glance instead of ignoring my existence. (I have mixed feelings about this, but it is what it is.) I eat small portions because that's all I can eat. I eat Protein at every meal because I get queasy without it. (I don't enjoy many sources of protein, so that's a big deal for me. I tried Atkins or South Beach in the past, and couldn't handle the protein requirements.) Sugar makes me very sick if I eat much of it. Ice cream, one of my biggest weaknesses, made me violently ill after trying a couple of spoonfuls. I did that twice, and it was so awful that I may never try it again. Milk makes me queasy, so that's not a problem any more (I used to drink several glasses a day, adding up to hundreds of calories). Now I eat protein, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I eat my weight in low-sugar varieties of Greek yogurt every day. Occasionally I drink Diet Coke (bad, I know) or diet A&W, but I'm still not a soda fiend. I snack on fruit, fruit, and more fruit because I still love sugar. No matter what doctors say, though, it's a lot better than processed sugar. I eat salad or grilled vegetables with protein for meals. I still eat sugar too much, even though it makes me sick. When I find myself doing that, I head to the grocery store and stock up on fruit and Fudgsicles. I also eat frozen Chobani strawberry tubes when I'm craving sweets. I take my Vitamins every day. I haven't been exercising, which is my biggest sin right now. But for the first time in my life, my diet is great. Without the surgery forcing me into eating small portions, and making me sick when I don't eat protein, and making me sick when I eat sugar, I wouldn't have been able to do it. Thank you, sleeve!

Me too! My mom is always commenting on my healthy eating habits (grilled vegetables? yum!). But I eat really fast and too much, and I augment my huge servings of healthy foods with too much dessert and too much milk. So no, doctor, I don't sit around eating donuts and chips and fast food. But I do eat twice as much as I should in every sitting, plus eat sugar, plus drink hundreds of calories of milk every day. Yes, there's a reason I'm fat, but it's not the reason he thinks. And it makes me crazy no one asks 'why are you overweight?' Doctors just start handing out advice like 'quit going to McDonald's' and 'quit drinking soda.' I don't like fast food and I'm not crazy about soda either. The really funny part about this is that most of my excess weight was gained after using Phentermine. A Dr recommended it (I'd never heard of it) and I lost ~20 lbs very quickly. Then I went off it and shot up to 220 lbs almost as quickly--60+ lbs higher than I had ever been in my life. Several years later, another medication made me gain almost 15 lbs in a week, before I went off it. Doctors need to look in the mirror a little more before they start pointing fingers at fast food and beverage companies. I don't mean to sound like it's someone else's fault that I got fat--I did that--but it baffles me that doctors (at least the ones I've had) are quick to judge, quick to talk, and slow to listen.

I had sleeve surgery in Mar 2016, six months ago. I dropped 50 lbs in ~3 months, and haven't lost a pound since, even though my diet has been spot on. 50 lbs is exactly 60% of my excess weight, which is the expected "average" weight loss for the sleeve surgery. I don't know why 60% of excess weight is the average weight loss for a sleeve patient, but it is. Different surgeries have different percentages. If you want better results than average, you have to push yourself more than the average patient. The surgery + average post-surgery behavior = average weight loss. If you want more weight loss, you have to do more. Are you willing to push yourself more? Only you can say. Personally, I haven't yet, but that's my decision. I know if I put in a little more effort, I could go further. But either way, the benefits have been amazing and well worth it.

I have an appointment at BMI Utah (Bariatric Medicine Institute) and I'm looking to see if anyone has any experience with them.

I've been tracking my food in MyFitnessPal, and noticed that my sugar intake is much higher than I expected every single day. It comes down to milk. I drink a lot of it. When I don't drink it, my femurs ache. Has anyone else experienced this? Anyway, between the sugar and the overall calories, I'm starting to accept that I should drink a lot less of it. This article is pretty convincing: How Drinking Milk Can Help a Hardgainer Get Bigger! Has anyone else out there dropped milk for weight loss?

I just realized that my post-surgery cramping and nausea is probably caused by lactose intolerance. Pre-surgery I had a tiny bit of intolerance, but now any dairy except mozzarella, hard cheeses, and yogurt causes terrible cramping. *sigh* I love dairy. I hope it goes away soon.

Can you move to the other side of the country? No advice from me, just wishes for a better relationship with your father. Hugs.

Me too! If I ever get married, it will be a miracle, because I'm way too intimidated to flirt.

I bought a few and am not really sure what to do with them. I need to experiment more. Torani gave me headaches though, so I switched to Monin. Watch out for that.

To fix the sideway pic problem, save the photo to a photo editing program. Any program will do as long as you can rotate the photo. Open the picture and it will (probably) show up in the proper orientation. Then rotate the image a few times until it is once again straight up and down. (I always rotate it through all orientations--sideways to the right, upside down, sideways to the left, and then straight again, but I'm not sure it matters.) Save the image. Re-upload the image to the website, and magically it will appear as it should. I suspect that rotating the image and then saving it adds metadata to the image about the proper orientation. EDIT: You look amazing, by the way! I've also started to incorporate colors into my wardrobe again. It feels great.

My use of this site has gone way down too, because I was getting so many preachy responses to my posts. I only put up with that from my family.

I had surgery on Monday and am home recovering. On the first day, I was groggy and disoriented. I slept most of the day, but I did get up to walk and I even did a little deep breathing/coughing. The second day, I walked more and did my breathing/coughing exercises. I was full of gas: I felt like a beached whale. I didn't have pain so much as discomfort in the hospital, from the gas and the incisions. They let me go home that day and I've been sleeping as much as possible ever since. I am so tired. Even to be up and awake for an hour takes so much out of me. Painkillers make me vomit, so they gave me Tylenol and ibuprofen (super-strength IV formulations) in the hospital. At home, I've been taking regular ibuprofen and extra-strength Tylenol. Today is Thurs, and the gas has gone down quite a bit. Hallelujah for that. Can't wait till it's all gone. It is surprising and weird to only be able to drink a little tiny bit at a time. I'm not getting anywhere near 64 oz of liquids right now. Hoping to improve today! I keep thinking, "What on earth did I do to myself?!"

Hi everyone! I'm just starting to look into WLS, and I'm curious about people's experiences with BCBS-Illinois. What hoops did they have you jump through? How long did it take to get approved?

I'm 3 weeks past surgery, and I get dumping syndrome whenever I eat more than 2 bites of something sugary (after a healthy meal). I knew it was possible, but I really didn't think I'd get it. None of the million or so YouTube videos I watched by VSGers mentioned this, unless it was to say they didn't get it. Feeling kind of bummed. Who else out there has it?

I prefer unflavored, so I can control the type and degree of flavoring. Currently my favorite is GENEPRO, but it does seem too good to be true. Otherwise, it's Syntrax. unjury is a close second, but Syntrax dissolves better. I have been flavoring my shakes with combinations of sugar-free/fat-free Jello pudding mix, cocoa, PB2, and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. I tried Torani syrups, but they gave me a headache. I've since ordered Monin syrups, but haven't tried them yet. You can also put the unflavored Protein powders in Soups and broth.

Do 3-4 low carb protein shakes a day, and one small healthy meal. This way you are only making one decision per day about food that can get you in trouble (what to have for the meal).

Sounds like it's time to move on emotionally. Do what you can to find new interests, new friends, new anything to distract yourself. It's painful, but it's for the best.

Yay!!!!! Congratulations