Kat410

Amazing!!! It’s clear you are working hard and look great!!!

People ask me all the time if I feel different. It's so weird, but I don't. I am sure if I woke up tomorrow in my pre-surgery body I would probably think OMG WHAT THE HE77 JUST HAPPENED TO ME, but I think the change has happened bit by bit and it's hard to notice. For some reason the past 2 weeks I am dropping weight like crazy - 10 lbs in the past two weeks - and the only thing I notice is that clothes keep not fitting. The biggest difference I do notice is my want of physical activity. I live in NYC so you gotta walk a lot here, climb stairs, etc. to get around. I live at the top of a hill (in one of the few hilly neighborhoods in Manhattan) and walking up that hill carrying groceries or laundry is no longer a problem - it's not anything, I don't even notice it. The biggest thing I do notice is getting my strength back from doing HIT and Yoga - that is a huge difference and I love the feeling of being stronger, having more stamina and flexibility. I still have 75 lbs to lose to be at a healthy BMI - My objective is to lose 40 more lbs, get to 199 and re-evaluate!

The personal weight tracking system I used is based on % of excess weight loss. 165 would be at approximately 25 BMI, which is on the high end of normal. I am not sure if I will get there, but it's useful to track access weight. This is what the table looks like for me so far. The pre-op diet is counted as 1 week (although it was 10 days - I was not tracking my weight rigorously then). The table is below, and an image of the table is attached. Date Week Weight Cum Loss Weekly Loss Monthly Loss Tgt Weight Excess Weight % of Excess Weight Loss 5/12/2017 0 335 165 170 5/27/2017 1 319 16 16 154 6/3/2017 2 308.6 26.4 10.4 29 143.6 15.53% 6/10/2017 3 301 34 7.6 136 20.00% 6/17/2017 4 294.8 40.2 6.2 129.8 23.65% 6/24/2017 5 290 45 4.8 125 26.47% 7/1/2017 6 288.6 46.4 1.4 12.6 123.6 27.29% 7/8/2017 7 284.2 50.8 4.4 119.2 29.88% 7/15/2017 8 280.4 54.6 3.8 115.4 32.12% 7/22/2017 9 277.4 57.6 3 112.4 33.88% 7/29/2017 10 273.4 61.6 4 10.4 108.4 36.24% 8/5/2017 11 272.6 62.4 0.8 107.6 36.71% 8/12/2017 12 269.4 65.6 3.2 104.4 38.59% 8/19/2017 13 267 68 2.4 102 40.00% 8/26/2017 14 259.8 75.2 7.2 12.8 94.8 44.24% 9/2/2017 15 257.4 77.6 2.4 92.4 45.65% 9/9/2017 16 255.4 79.6 2 90.4 46.82% 9/16/2017 17 254.2 80.8 1.2 89.2 47.53% 9/23/2017 18 251 84 3.2 13.4 86 49.41% 9/30/2017 19 250.4 84.6 0.6 85.4 49.76% 10/7/2017 20 245.6 89.4 4.8 80.6 52.59% 10/14/2017 21 240.8 94.2 4.8 75.8 55.41%

I weigh and track my weight every day. I drink seltzer occasionally. I had wine before 6 months. I ate ZERO pureed foods and extended liquid phase then went to soft phase I do not up my calories with exercise I sometimes forget to take my vitamins I am still using protein shakes 5 months out

1000 calories is pretty high at 3 months. I am 5 months out and average about 800/day. Try lowering your calories abs experiment with your diet. Certain foods inhibit weight loss in certain people. Artificial sweeteners, chemicals in processed foods, caffeine, alcohol etc. Stick with it and try different approaches. You can do this

It is 95 lbs since pre op diet which I started on 5/16. I feel blessed by the progress.

I workout 3-4 times a week, but the exercise doesn’t move the scale. What I do feel it has done for me is build strength, stamina, flexibility and balance. While I can’t back this up with facts, it does feel like working out has supported me in keeping my metabolism from crashing into survival mode. But who knows. I do HIT 2x week, yoga 1x week and 4th workout is either urban hiking or another HIT or yoga class.

Hi everyone! I was sleeved on 5/26 and started my preop diet on 5/16. 95 pounds down with my biggest loss this month (not including the starvation 1st month [emoji33]). I have gone from a size 24 to size 16 and am exercising and whipping this body into shape!

I would recommend you intervene with the snacks. The best part of this beginning honeymoon phase is using the sleeve to retrain your brain. It will take some trial and error and you can use the good weeks and bad weeks to learn what works best for you in managing your diet. As my pouch healed I have found that what works best for me is 5 small meals, 3 of which are protein and 2 are veg/fruit/carb. I typically experience mild hunger about 3 hours after eating in the 2nd part of the day so I eat. But it is planned and managed which keeps me on track. As other will say, the denser proteins provide the most satiety in terms of hunger and the longer lasting satiety. However (at least for me) the quantities are much smaller. I cannot eat more than 2-3 ounces at a time of protein. So I just eat the next 2-3 ounces 2-3 hours later.

You will have many stalls and plateaus in you journey and it is just part of the journey. Along the way you will learn to tweak your diet to support weight loss and will identify what works and what doesn’t work and all of that takes times of things not working. I am almost 5 months out which is nothing compared to some of he vets here but I have learned a lot from their advice that makes a difference. I didn’t believe it when people said they would drop inches and sizes without dropping weight. Or that nothing would happen and then a whoosh of pounds dropped. Use the plateaus to learn what works and what doesn’t work. And strap yourself in for the process of learning how to maintain your health for the rest of your life. Keep going and don’t make yourself nuts !

Honestly I was exhausted until about 3.5 months out. If you take it all into consideration it’s not shocking. Having one of your internal organs cut and partially removed. Operating on a significant calorie deficit. A complete change in diet. Whatever ****/hormones/chemicals my fat cells were saving for a rainy day plus working out after 2 sedentary decades. Yeah I was exhausted all the time. And it was so unfamiliar to me to feel that way that I got anxious about it. While it eased up after 3-4 months, suddenly about 2-3 weeks I have tons of energy. More than I ever had. I am like he energizer bunny. I can’t sit still. I need to move, work out, be outside, DO STUFF. It’s cool. If sleeping is an option just take it. Rest up. Get your levels Checked by your doc for B’s, D’s, Iron and all that good stuff. But if you’re tired try to find ways to add naps, longer sleeps and down time. Your energy will bounce back

There are lots of vegan protein powders. I used Orgain but then switched to a whey powder and am getting better weight loss results since doing so.

I eat about 800-1000 calories a day. I have lost 90 lbs since 10 day pre op diet. I also work out 3x a week

I have a pretty standard schedule during the work week and it’s more variable during the weekend. I start the day with a low carb protein shake. About 2 hours later I have a fruit or dairy serving. Siggis yogurt or some berries. Or I may have a veggie juice. For lunch and an afternoon snack I will split a turkey burger in half and have for both meals or have chicken or turkey salad When I get home which is usually pretty late I have peanut butter and sugar free strawberry preserves on a small chestnut flatbread I also use my slow cooker and make a lot of stews that have meat and beans.

I am curious if anyone knows the science/biology of how stalls work from a physiological standpoint. This is really more just idle curiosity than anything but it got be wondering how our amazing bodies work in a weight loss phase. I am 19 weeks out and have lost 89 lbs since my 10 day pre-op diet. There is a consistent pattern of 0 loss for 2-4 days then a loss off 1-2 lbs. not including the first 2 weeks I average a pretty consistent 2-3 lbs a week. Last week I only lost .6 lbs which was a first. Then in 2 days I have lost 3 lbs. I have no complaints or worries but this does make me curious about what my body is doing while it’s processing this stored fat. Any science geeks out there have any insight into how this works ?

It sounds like you may be having your eating be about how you feel versus complying with the requirements to heal and loose weight. Sometimes I experience hungry, but mostly I experience a pretty extreme disinterest in food, liquids, etc. I am still using protein shakes because I probably would not get enough protein and when my protein goes down, my weight loss stalls. The best thing is to turn it into a routine as much as possible with emphasis on getting your protein and fluid recommendations. Eating cereals/porridge for breakfast will not help you. If you can't eat eggs, have a protein shake. Lots of us don't tolerate eggs well after surgery. I am 4.5 months out and just starting to tolerate them again. I had no problem tolerating meats pretty quickly, but that's not the case for everyone. What you are dealing with is very common both in terms of tolerance and drive. This is an opportunity to retrain your brain to have good and healthy habits. Many of us got fat because the pleasure/relief/comfort we experienced when we overate became the point versus fueling our bodies. This will take time to unlearn!!! Our surgery gives us a powerful tool to learn new habits, new ways of thinking and a new relationship to food.

Hey ladies! I need some shopping advice! 84 lbs later and (at least on tops) I am in the smallest sizes in the brands that I have been wearing for many years (mostly for work clothes - typically Talbots, Eloquii and Lane Bryant). The 14's in LB and Eloquii now fit me and in a month will be too big. I am still a 16 in bottoms (of course my rear and thighs are lagging behind everything else). I have not shopped for standard sizes in over 20 years and my body will not be a normal standard size - I am loosing unevenly and I know that will catch up, but truthfully my body is somewhat awkwardly shaped now. Are there any brands that you really liked in the transition? That were curvy-friendly and forgiving for those in between sizes? And, I am not a big spend-all-day-in-the-store-trying-stuff-on kind of person. Also can I just say I don't understand how I can weigh 250 and be in a 16W. My brain just does not compute that but at the end of the day, regardless of the size I still need clothes that fit.

4.5 months post-op. 1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that). 2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities. 3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change. 4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in. 5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life. 6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

Yesterday I went to Marshall's and shopped in the standard size section for the first time in 20 years. I bought 3 pairs of XL Pants (seem like they are an 18, which seems different than an 18w) and 2 XL tops (one of which is hip length and shockingly fit over my ass) and 1 L T-Shirt. I stood in the dressing room as I was trying on these clothes, convinced they would be waaaaay too tight in shock, staring at myself in the mirror as I put these clothes on. I haven't completed purging my closet - so when I went home I tried on a couple of 2X work tops I still had around and was shocked at how they literally fell off my body. The weirdest thing is I don't think I would really know how much smaller I am without the reference of clothes. People ask me all the time if I feel different - and I don't really. I feel pretty much the same and when I look in the mirror I see pretty much the same. If I didn't have clothes as a reference, I would think I was a little bit lighter (like 20 lbs lighter), not 85 lbs lighter. It's so disorienting.

Hi there! I was in the same boat as you, not having exercised since my mid 20s (fifty years old now). I was not completely inactive given it's impossible to get around NYC and the subways without climbing stairs and walking. The best thing to start is to walk and take stairs. If you have hills walk at inclines. Walk at a pace that gets your heart rate up. This assumes you have no joint issues and are cleared by your doctor to do so. I was interested in developing strength and flexibility so I hired a trainer given I probably had a pretty good shot at injuring myself without learning proper movements and form. I got lucky and found someone who owns a small boutique studio who is trained and educated in different disciplines. Two months later I am without question stronger, more flexible and have better balance. As others will tell you what drives the weight loss is diet. However as the weight has come off I can now work on my other things I would like to accomplish with my well being.

Bread is a big trigger food for me, so generally no. I might have a splurge if I was at a French restaurant with an in house bakery and home made butter, but unless it's special it's just not worth the two days of salivating fantasies that come after that. Sugar is not a trigger food. I have been to three birthday parties in the past two weeks. Have a tiny polite bite of the cake and am done. I like sweets even less than I did before surgery. But bread! Swoon! I have to stay away.

Yes. At 4 months out and have lost significant hair. Fortunately I started with thick hair. Yesterday I went to the salon and chopped it off and went super short!

Your doctor's projections are based on statistical averages. There are several factors which are predictive of where you will fall on the weight loss curve, from genetic markers, age, gender, co-morbidities, etc. You should discuss this with your doctor. I started at 335, 5'8", 50 year old female with a pre-diabetic A1C level. The statistical prediction was that I would fall somewhere around 200 lbs but suspected I had some factors in my favor that would put be on a higher end of the weight loss curve. We shall see, I am 4 months out including 10 day preop diet and down 82 lbs which puts me at approximately 50 pct of excess weight loss. The biggest benefit for me has been the regulation of hunger hormones due to the surgery. The restriction has been the secondary benefit.

Update on the Gym Anxiety - Gym Anxiety No More! Here's what I did. The best thing I did was hire a great person to train me. There is a small boutique gym about a block from me in NYC that has a devoted neighborhood following. They do a variety of classes based on the instructors area of expertise. The owners also do personal training. I invested in personal training and I was very honest about my WLS, medical history, weight history, level of activity, etc. We started very slow - a lot at the beginning was just getting used to moving in ways I hadn't moved in a long time. He gave me simple exercises to do at home. On Sunday I did a 6 mile hike through a park, including 20 flights of stairs (up) through the park. Not something I could have done 8 weeks ago. Today we did the first workout where I was able to significantly up the pace. I am 25 lbs lighter than when I started and without question stronger and with more stamina, flexibility and ease of movement. I am almost certain without the personal training I probably would have ignorantly injured myself because of my cluelessness. It has been the best investment ever, even though it was a financial strain that financial strain would have been nothing compared to screwing up my joints or back. I know for other people this may not be a big deal, but it was one of those demons and every time I slay a demon more is possible. Tomorrow is class and Sunday is a 5 mile hike through urban hills and stairs!

Hello everyone, I had said I would start exercising when I hit 280, which will be approaching and I need to plan. I am more anxious about going to a gym than I was about the surgery. I haven't walked into a gym since 1993! I have thought about hiring a personal trainer, but I don't want to feel ashamed/embarrassed or uncomfortable. Has anyone dealt with this and how did you deal with it? do you have any recommendations? I do walk a fair amount, live in NYC and deal with walking, subways, stairs, etc all the time, but that is not the same as working out. looking forward to hearing who else dealt with this and how you dealt with it. Thank you!