FabBy55

I had my sleeve about 2 months shy of my 54th birthday. Wish I had done it sooner but have ZERO regrets. I am 22 months post sleeve and have held a steady weight loss of 115 lbs. I feel so much younger and more energized. Knee pain and foot pain are gone!!  I have already had some PS!

My hair loss started at 4 months and continued for well past the year mark. But I did have gallbladder surgery at 11 months which could have contributed. I am now almost at two years and hair is almost fully back to normal. Still sprouting new growth all the time. I do take Hair, Skin and Nail vitamins.

I am 5’4”. Starting weight was 247. No long pre-op diet. I was sleeved in late August 2017. So I am 9 1/2 months out and down 95 pounds. I feel very confident I will lose over 100 pounds by the one year mark. I do walk a couple of days a week and also do 30 minute strength training twice a week with a trainer. I have never followed a very strict plan but do monitor my macros (protein, carbs and calories) several days a week to make sure I am on track. I also only drink alcohol on the weekends, usually just one night. Just remember the main objective is to be healthy so eat accordingly. Follow the two main rules of Protein first (it fills you up fast!) and no liquids before and after meals and you will be successful.

In Austin. Self pay.

It is so odd the drastic differences between doctors - their plans and their expectations. I, too, had a follow up with my surgeon this week. He thought I was doing fantastic. The only time we talk about goals is when I ask if my 100 pound goal by one year is realistic. He continually says he believes it is realistic and I will definitely get there. Never more. Never less. Our program has been very simple - only two weeks low carb prior to surgery. No food or carb limits. Just stick to three meals a day. Protein first. No drinking before and after meals. Really simple. HW 247 SW 242 CW 164 GW 147 Dream Weight - 132 Height 5’ 4”

I have not met with a plastic surgeon but I am thinking top and bottom. Do the top - boobs, arms and maybe neck. And then a year or so later do tummy tuck/LBL and thighs. My thighs are actually the worst but I can hide them with clothes. Even longer shorts.

Laughed out loud at this thread. And it’s not just men. I now have a thigh gap (say waat?) and I will get a drift of wind between my legs and be like “what the heck?” Last night I was at dinner with friends and keep feeling something poking me. It was my bones! I could actually feel my bones on the chair. And the poor boobs. My husband is big time on the “when can you get plastics?” train. Thanks for the laughs! And I really do hope you got some tips on briefs to try.

I think I know what you are asking. I asked prior to surgery when people feel “normal” again and was told 4-6 months is average. A few odd ones take up to a year. The above is all true that you should never eat what you did before. That, for most of us, was not normal. But at 4-6 months you are kind of rocking along being able to try different foods, different Proteins and veggies and not be afraid of how it will make you feel (assuming you have learned your “full” cue and abide by it). I am 8 months out and take normal size bites and normal size drinks of Water and have for several months now. My portions are very small but I enjoy my meals that include lots of variety. I like eating very small portions and being satisfied. Makes me feel like I am finally in control of food and not food controlling me.

Had mine in Austin for around $12k. A lot of insurance policies don’t cover weight loss surgery - period. No reason required just not covered.

Ahhh. That’s awesome! Cheers to the healthier couple!

I have the opposite problem. I can’t quit shopping! I joke that is my addiction transfer. Last weekend I exchanged some shirts I had bought from Large to Medium. And yes, the weight and size correlation is weird. I remember being this weight but definitely not this size. I think excess skin weighs a lot more than I thought. And I have more muscle from working out. If you are afraid to go shop, just do it! Go with no wallet and just try some things on. It will put a smile on your face and encourage you - I promise!

198! Did your wife quit smoking? Wasn’t that the deal?

Scale still moving! Down 75 pounds and still hoping to hit the 100 pound mark by one year. I had a super stall for about 2 weeks as well. Had to restrict the carbs to move the scale along. I strength train with a personal trainer twice a week. Last week they took my body fat and it has gone down 3% since January. By some calculation they do I have actually lost 9 more pounds of fat taking into consideration the muscle I’ve gained. Also walking more now that it’s warmer in Texas! But still losing my hair by the handfuls. I swear for every pound I lose a portion of that is my hair! And the clothes! Geez I have spent a fortune just to have something to wear.

Never. Not once. Had a few bouts of nausea from eating too much, too fast in the first few months but never now.

We didn’t have carb limitations. And certainly not 20!

How many calories per day?

My stats are almost the same as so many of you! Starting 247, currently 70 pounds down. Goal is 100. I have been working out with a personal trainer for strength training. I stay around 800 calories a day. I have had to get rid of every single pair of pants and jeans I own. But lately the scale will not move! I know, plateau. Same thing you read hear all the time. But man! It’s frustrating and depressing. How in the world can you eat 800 calories a day and not lose weight??

Liquid is the worst. I cried because I didn’t feel like I was a normal person. I was just saying the other day how I can still be in the grocery store and think oh this looks good or that looks good but then I really don’t crave it or even if we buy it or make it, I don’t eat much of it, if any. Regarding the hunger, I thought I was hungery at that stage too but I think it was just an upset stomach like gassy. I know this now because I will sometimes still get that feeling and I’m like, oh wow, I’m hungry! And then I feel the air in my gut move, maybe burp and the feeling goes away.

Also, if you love popcorn at the movies, bring your own individual bag of Skinny Pop in your wife’s purse. Works great to feel like you are getting the full movie experience.

I am almost seven months post surgery and I do eat out. I ate at a deli while still on purée (had a cup of soup)! I also ate out just out of soft food stage (I had shrimp and a plain baked potato). I traveled at three months. The biggest issue will be what you order and can you bring the extras home. I order things like fish, shrimp, fajitas, chicken, or a wrap. When I travel with my husband I eat off his plate. I can eat about 1/4 of a thick hamburger. No fried foods. No foods with added sugar. Use the internet or an app like My Fitness Pal to look up what you are really getting in terms of Protein and calories. Restaurants notoriously add unnecessary sugar and salt to food. It helps to plan this out before you leave the house. Everyone assumes salad but salad is actually hard to eat because it fills you up before you get your protein. It can also have tons of calories at restaurants. And plan to eat lots of leftovers. One meal ordered out is typically now about three meals worth. Ask if you have more questions that I didn’t address!

Yep the hair loss is real. I was told by the surgeon it usually starts around four months and lasts until about your one year anniversary from surgery. But I have noticed it has slowed at around six months and I have a ton a new baby hairs. I am very excited that it is growing back! I also took all my vitamins, etc. If it’s gonna fall out, it’s gonna fall out.

30 bags - wow! I have not done a full closet clean yet. Just put in a box the ones that literally fall of. It’s hard going from a closet full of options to one pair of jeans and four pairs of pants. I hope to go down two more sizes so don’t want to buy too much until I am closer to goal (30-40 more to go).

At my 6 month visit to the doctor they said to try to keep between 800-1000. We are getting warm here in the south so I tried on a pair of capri/crop from last summer. This is what happened.

YOU LOOK AWESOME!!! I tend to try to waiver my days which I think is the same thought as the indulgence day (weight watchers boards have a thing called The Wendie Method). Some days more food some days less. And, yes, despite my overall philosophy I track a few days every week just to make sure I am on track and not overeating! I just don’t give in to it being an obsession.

I think you are correct with the correlation between tracking and the fastest weight loss. Tracking is a great tool to use if you are not losing or to find out the nutrition content of food. However, the idea is that, we of all people, have proved that dieting doesn’t work. So if you are treating your life right now as if you are on a diet, eventually you will tire of it, stop tracking, and start gaining. I would bet a very large percentage of people on these boards have been on a low carb diet before and yet here we all are having bariatric surgery. Hence, being on a diet, tracking and eating low carb is not the answer. I think we all need to take this year not only to lose as much weight as possible but to learn how to eat all kinds of food in balance and in the right portions. To get to a weight where we feel good working out and feel good enough about ourselves to eat food that is good and good for you. I tend to watch my skinny friends and family. They do not track everything they eat. They do not avoid carbs. They indulge once in a while. They work out and move a lot. They make good choices like “I had a big weekend so this week I am eating lighter”. That is the life I want. Not one tied to a tracker and having my brain dominated by thoughts of what I can and cannot eat.