blizair09

Isn't life great?!? Congratulations! You look incredible.

I'm 16 months post-op, and i can still only have 3 buffalo wings max...

I'm 16 months post-op and I can only eat one jumbo egg. Two large eggs is too much, but one large egg isn't quite enough.

Stalls are part of the process, as frustrating as they are. In my experience, nothing about post-op weight loss was linear. It was more like a step function. I'd lose 8-10 pounds in 8-10 days, then stall for 2-3 weeks, and then repeat the process. I know it can be discouraging, but try not to let it bother you. (And stay off of the scale if it bothers you too much.) If you stick to your plan, eat and drink as you should, and exercise, you will lose weight. It will just come off in its own time. Good luck!

I've lost 225 pounds. I have some loose skin on my upper arms, belly, and inner thighs. That being said, for a man that has lost as much weight as me, it isn't that bad at all. My ex and I broke up after 8+ years in July, so I have been dating/hooking up/hanging out since, and I have never had a complaint. The only conversation it brings about (usually at humorous times) is about the fact that I had obviously lost a lot of weight. (And this is in the gay world, so that says something...) I have a big block of stock from my work that matures in the summer. I'm considering using the proceeds to fund plastics, but I am not sure that I really need it. It would be great and all, but I have absolutely no issues with my body as it is. Each person is unique and this is a very personal issue and decision...

I'm 16 months post-op and have been below goal for several months now (6'0" and 173 pounds). I keep my calories between 1900-2000 per day and my carbs below 25 grams per day.

I started my journey at 397 pounds. I lost 99 pounds during my six month insurance-required pre-op diet program, weighing 298 on the day of surgery (September 28, 2016). I met my goal of 180 pounds on October 2, 2017, 1 year and 4 days post-op. I currently weigh 173 pounds. The surgery helped me, yes, but I have followed a keto way of eating since the first day of my six month pre-op diet program. I eat less than 25 grams of carbs per day and keep my calories below 2000. I plan to continue to eat that way long term. That's what has helped me to achieve my goals. Good luck!

I weighed 397 at the beginning of my six month pre-op diet program. I lost 99 pounds during those six months, weighing 298 on surgery day, which was about 3 pounds a week like clockwork the entire time. The loss was almost perfectly linear. Post-op, I would lose 10-12 pounds in 10ish days, then stall for a couple of weeks and then repeat the process. That loss was more like a step function. Here are some numbers for post-op: Surgery Day: 298 1 month post-op: 276 2 months post-op: 261 3 months post-op: 245 4 months post-op: 233 5 months post-op: 227 6 months post-op: 214 7 months post-op: 204 8 months post-op: 198 9 months post-op: 194 10 months post-op: 191 11 months post-op: 187 12 months post-op: 182 Met goal of 180 pounds on October 2, 2017 (1 year and 4 days post-op) 13 months post-op: 179 14 months post-op: 175 I currently (16 months post-op on January 28) weigh 173 I hope this helps.

I absolutely do. I keep my carbs below 25 grams per day. I lost over 100% of my excess weight (I am actually below goal at 173 pounds), and I have been maintaining for months.

I was 397 pounds when I started, and I weighed 298 six months later on the day of surgery. I started at 2000 calories; a month later, I went to 1800; a month later to 1500, and I ate 1200 calories per day the last 3 months. I had less than 20 carbs every day. I wrote down everything that I put in my mouth (including water) and kept it in a food journal. (I still do that 22 months in, by the way.) Your BMI is about what mine was when I started, so maybe that calorie strategy will work for you. The keto diet isn't for everyone. It works for me because I like meat and cheese, and it is sustainable for me because I like what I eat. You need to find an approach that you feel like can be sustainable for you. Why don't you try tracking your food and seeing if you see some results? You may be one that has a harder time losing weight, but you might be taking in more calories per day than you realize... Good luck!

What does a typical day of eating look like for you? How many calories? carbs? How much protein? Do you exercise at all? Do you track everything you consume? I ask all of these questions to try to help you get underneath why you aren't losing any weight despite efforts to do so. I lost a lot pre-op myself, but I diligently followed a keto diet and exercised religiously for the entire six months...

I'd have the surgery and tell him that he needs to do whatever he needs to do. He doesn't sound like a great person, and once you get yourself where you want to be, you can likely do better. Don't let him bully you. Do what is best for your health, your goals, and your happiness.

More power to those for whom these carbs are helpful. As for me, I avoid them all like the plague. And after 2 years, I am used to the way I eat and won't get on that slippery carb slope...

If one doesn't change his/her relationship with food, he/she won't be successful long term. This is the case no matter which surgery the person has. Period. End of story. That's why this forum is so entertaining. There are very few people that are successful long term that stick around. It is mostly pre-op folks, new post-ops, and people who have regained that are coming back for support. My dad, mom and brother had the bypass, sleeve, and band respectively. My dad and brother gained every pound back and my mom gained back all but maybe 40-50 pounds. They didn't change their relationships with food, and when the honeymoon phase was over, they immediately started gaining weight. Their experience and example is why I am so disciplined about what I eat. I simply will not go back there, and to do that, I had to make food fuel and nothing else. (I know that approach isn't for everyone, but it was necessary for me -- and probably many others.) Any surgery is SIMPLY A TOOL...

Have a wonderful time!

I gave up on caring what food costs a long time ago. I get what I want (within the parameters of what I eat, of course), eat what I can, and either get a to-go box (for what is worth taking with me) or leave what I don't eat on the table. I generally don't go to buffets, but when I have to (for instance when my best friend and I went to the casino recently), I just eat what I can and don't worry about it.

Hi, I am really sorry that you are having to deal with a non-supportive spouse in what I know is a difficult time. I have always thought that a person that has never experienced weight issues or struggles in his or her own life can truly empathize with someone that has. It isn't that they don't care or want the best for you, but it is so hard to understand something if it hasn't affected your life experience. That being said, whether or not he gets on board or acts as we all know he SHOULD, you need to move forward with what is best for YOU. The only way you are going to be successful in this journey is to make it the highest priority in your life (and I say that knowing that you have a family and children). If you don't, you won't be successful. I weighed 400 pounds at 6'0" when I started my journey 22 months ago. Now, I am below goal at 173 and have been maintaining for months. This can CHANGE YOUR LIFE. One other thing -- if you have always been bigger than your husband, do you feel he will flip out when you aren't anymore? Some men (really people) are like that, and I don't ask to put something in your head, but to maybe help you to get underneath why he is acting as he is. Please keep moving toward your goal, and if you can't get the support you deserve at home, try to find it at a local support group or through resources such as BP. Wishing you the best!

I love cruises and have been on at least a dozen. I don't know what it is about people and the elegant night. You'd be surprised how many people are so put off by the idea. (I think that it has more to do with it being a mandatory dress code for the dining room rather than the dressing up itself.) Even when I was heavy, I still liked dressing up. It is a nice change of pace. I'd say dress up and look like a million bucks no matter what he wants to wear. Have fun! I need to get back on a cruise soon, myself...

I had my surgery about 2 months before you (9/28/16), so we are more or less in the same time frame with regard to our journey. I have to tell you that I have done little to nothing with exercise the entire time. I walked a lot in the beginning, but once I moved to Alabama from New Orleans last summer, that has more or less come to an end. I understand your trepidation about it; I'm the same way. I'd like to start working out to tone up (my skin has done remarkable for a man that has lost 225 pounds, but I have some problem areas that I could probably help with some weight training). I need to hire a trainer, but I travel all of the time for work and pleasure, and I keep using that as an excuse not to move forward with it. I'll give us both some advice -- we need to make time and make it a priority. (Now, let's see if either of us can take that advice. Lol.) In terms of the food, you just have to buckle down. I wish there was easier advice. I haven't had more than 25 carbs in a day for almost 2 years now (beginning with the six month pre-op diet program). The reason I am so anal about it is that I see it all as a slippery slope. One muffin or one piece of pizza or one sweet something or another could (and likely would) lead to more and more and more. I'm the same way about soda. It was so hard to give it up that I cannot bring it back at all. I have been below goal for months now, and maintaining beautifully, and I have to do that to stay here. I absolutely refuse to gain any weight. I love being this size and that is WAY more important to me than any food or drink. I write all of this to say that I understand your feelings and wish you the best. I know life can be crazy, but you deserve to make your own health, goals, and overall happiness a priority.

Stay off of the scale for the first month. Your body was pumped full of fluid and air, and it has just gone through a huge trauma. Keep to your plan and the weight will come off in its own time. Everything about this journey is a marathon--not a sprint. Good luck!

Almost everyone leaves the hospital heavier than when they went in because of the fluids and air they pump into you. My advice is to stay off of the scale for the first month post-op. There is going to be variation during this time, and if that upsets you, then it will make for a unpleasant experience (at a time when the experience is unpleasant enough). Hang in there and good luck!

Statistics are just statistics. (And I say that as a person who does math for a living...) My ex and I broke up in July after 8.5 years together. (And that is like 50 years in the gay world.) We both lost a tremendous amount of weight, and while that had some to do with it, it wasn't all of it. The last 2-3 years had been rough, and the last year had bordered on unbearable. When we broke up, I told myself I didn't want to be stereotypical, but it had to happen. If you have a super strong relationship before you start your weight loss journey, you'll probably be just fine as long as you support one another and keep your communication strong. We didn't, and that's why our relationship had to end. Like choice of surgery, or alcohol consumption, this just depends on the particular life situation of the individual/couple. My parents both had WLS in the past 13 years, and they are still together and have been married for 43 years. I know many others in the same boat.

I'll chime in... First, I abstained from alcohol for the entirety of my six month pre-op diet program and the first 3 months post-op. I just wasn't willing to derail the progress I wanted to make on the front end of the surgery (where I lost 100 pounds by surgery day) or the first few months post-op. I took my ex on a monthlong tour of SE Asia at the 3 months post-op point. I spoke with my surgeon about alcohol on the trip, and he told me that I would be fine. His only recommendation was to take it easy and test things out at home before I went out in public with it. I am now 16 months post-op, and it has been 22 months since I started this journey. I follow a keto way of eating and am really particular about what I put in my body. I have lost 225 pounds, am below goal, and have maintained beautifully for several months now. Do I have alcohol? Yes, I do. I mostly have red wine and I mostly only have it when I am traveling for work or on the weekends. Drinking has always been a very social thing for me. Yes, there are statistics about WLS and alcoholism just there are statistics about losing more weight with a bypass than a sleeve. But, I'll same the same thing about the alcohol as I did about the bypass vs sleeve weight loss issue in a thread the other day. It depends on the person. If you were inclined toward alcoholism before, you will be now. If you are eating and exercising like you should, a few drinks (especially with low- or no-carb mixers) probably won't cause you a problem. I had a sleeve and have been more successful than many bypass patients. It just depends on each person's story. But if your alcohol calories outnumber your food calories, that is an issue. Something to think about. To each his own. I have no issue with it, and never have gained one once from it, but I am also crazy obsessed about what I eat and how often I imbibe. It's all about balance, in my opinion. Good luck!

I stayed away from Splenda forever post-op. But, I brought it back several months ago (in some decent quantity, too), and it has caused absolutely no problem at all.

I usually eat 7-8 times per day, about 2 hours apart. I have eaten with this frequency since I finished the food stages after my surgery. It has served me very well.