Spinoza

Hello my surgery twin! Glad to hear you're doing so well. I also started running again recently. I only like to do it outside and if I run outside I don't need any additional input, either audio or visual - I just like to look at and listen to (immerse myself in) the scenery and wildlife!! Before I could run properly I just set a goal for steps on my fitbit and ensured I reached it every day, walking faster and faster, and longer and longer every time. Best of luck with your running xx

I had no specific blood tests pre-op but have the ones other people have mentioned post-op. I think a lot of centres lump sleevers in with bypass patients although they are such different procedures. I have followed my programme stipulations religiously so far with supplements but honestly at 9 months out from a sleeve I am eating so much proper food that I will probably give up on supplements soon, if only to see what my blood levels are like without them!

I am Irish and I'm afraid alcohol is baked into my culture. I have drunk some wine most weekends since 6 weeks after I had my sleeve last November when my (Irish!) surgeon and nutritionist permitted it. Yes I do get a hit much quicker than I used to, especially if I haven't eaten much beforehand, and yes, it wears off much quicker too. I do count the calories and I only do it at weekends. It has probably slowed my weight loss but I'm accepting that. I totally get that mightn't be acceptable to other people. But IMO it hasn't held me back *that* much.

I was never told to give up coffee and I don't think I would have been able to. Drank it right through my pre-op diet and immediately post op. Might actually have been a game changer for me if my surgeon had recommended it but thankfully he didn't.

Oh this is interesting. I haven't learned to eat more slowly after surgery because I have a busy job and a busy life. I have no idea how people have the time to spend 30+ minutes eating a small meal several times a day. Once I learn how much food my pouch will handle I just gulp that (or close to it - maybe 90%?) down as quickly as possible, and then wait to see whether I'm done. If I'm not quite full I will eat the remnants of my meal in one swoop. I have never vomited, and never had the foamies yet, although I understand this is pure luck. Think my surgery has worked so well in my favour - I would find to extremely hard to tolerate what some people have to.

I booked 2 weeks off (holiday leave) and with hindsight I needed every second of that. Even when I returned to work I wasn't at my best for a couple of weeks afterwards. There's terrible pressure to get back into the office. If I had had a cancer diagnosis and got 2/3 of my stomach removed to treat it I can't help feeling I would have 'allowed' myself longer to recover. The procedure is similar, despite this having being my choice.

A resounding yes from me to making soup and then pureeing it - that what got me through the full liquid and pureed phases. I had a little stock of tiny tubs frozen too

Mine was 800 calories a day max for 2 weeks. There are so many different approaches in different centres but they're all aimed at shrinking the liver to make the surgery technically easier. Good luck with yours!

I've gone from 40J to 36 H. Doesn't seem as dramatic a shift as some others here! Almost at goal, so I think I'll be here or hereabouts moving forward. Have been buying less expensive bras during my weight loss phase but really need some proper scaffolding moving forwards.

Best of luck - I think you won't regret your decision.

Fab to hear you're doing so well @Terrybelle Onwards and downwards

I totally agree, a 10lb regain at 18 months seems not unusual after the sleeve. Can you go right back to your post op diet - protein first, veg second, and then stop when you're full? Eat slowly, no water for half an hour but drink plenty of water between meals? Are you tracking religiously - could slider foods or high calorie low nutrient foods have become the norm for you? Also, if you could fill in your weight loss statistics in your profile it would really help people to advise you.

Mine took until about 5 months to start and was/still is markedly increased general shedding. I think it's just about tailing off now at 8 months. I've had worse before when doing VLCDs - that seemed to be much heavier but not last as long. No actual patches but definitely visible thinning, e.g. at the temples. No regrowth as yet but fingers crossed that will come now, or at least when I hit maintenance! Good luck, hope yours isn't too problematic for you - definitely not my favourite side effect of the surgery. Well actually weight loss is my favourite side effect, so I'll take a bit of hair loss to get that!

Hi Mel, I have read your post a couple of times and although I don't have experience to share, because I'm still in my initial weight loss phase, I wanted to thank you for telling us how you are - It's really helpful to read about how people do in the long term. You're right - 15lbs doesn't sound a lot at all because I presume you lost a stack of weight in 2016, but I totally get that you're not happy with that - I don't think I would be. The best thing is that not only have you called it at this point, you've come here where you will get loads of support and people with the same experience to help you! AND you've identified that it's your life stresses that are triggering it, so that's the first step to getting it sorted. I've seen people here who regained and who did various things to try to lose again. Would it be possible to get some help with your life issues first because then the eating might be easier to tackle, rather than being another issue to beat yourself up about? Then could you go right back to your post-op diet for a while? Empty the house of all those 'punishment' foods and fill it up with protein-based snacks. I absolutely love deli meats - chicken or turkey or pastrami slices that are easy to grab when you're grazing, tins of tuna you can make into a salad really quickly and that will fill you up nice and quickly. High protein yoghurt, etc. Start drinking more water if that has slipped. Finally it sounds like you really need to find another gym - could you do that? Or as the others say, a home exercise regime? That has a double benefit in that it should lift your mood a bit too. Do you have family or friends who you can talk to and who can support you? I don't mean nag, only you can decide it's time to switch things around again, but just to be there for you as you do it? I know when you aren't feeling good it can seem impossible to change things, and it's easy for some random stranger on the internet to try to fix things 'for you'. It's not like that here though - people will all identify with your current position, lots have been there and lots of us will be in the future. It would be brilliant if you could let us know how you do. Maybe do just one thing differently this week and see how that goes. All the very very best. 15lbs will be hard but it's totally doable isn't it? Your sleeve is still there and it will help you. So will we. xx

When I say too thin for me I mean I remember my mother saying years ago that after a certain age when losing weight you have to choose between your face and your arse (pardon the vulgarity) and I intend to choose my face because more people see that

My surgeon asked me what I wanted to achieve in my life (I said to get back to running again, and laughed inwardly as I said it but of course I am now)! He told me that the average loss was 60-70% of excess weight and I'm already past that. My final completely arbitrary goal is 160 lbs but honestly if I stopped losing today at 170 I would still view that as an *enormous* win, even with the chance of a regain in year 2 or 3, which happens to a lot of folks. My 'ideal' body weight is apparently 145 (just went to an online calculator), which I think would be too thin for me. I have no intention of restricting my diet in order to maintain some unachievable final weight that I have in my head - I've spent a lifetime doing that. I want to relax into my new life and enjoy it!

Amazing.

Oh I love reading this thread - we all have different approaches and they're all valid. I told my husband and children, my work manager because I needed time off and couldn't lie, and nobody else, and am not going to. I do get the occasional twinge of guilt when family and friends comment on my weight loss but as far as they are concerned I am 'strictly calorie counting' (which technically speaking isn't a lie). I would rather live with that occasional guilt than deal with/respond to their reactions, whether supportive or critical. I don't like a fuss. That's just me though. To each their own Good luck whatever you decide.

Also @SleeveDiva2022 love your new photo - what a transformation already!

And, just to prove how suggestible I am, I went and bought a load in my grocery shopping this week after reading this thread.

That's the August 2022 people's thread - jump right in!

Welcome and good luck with your journey Steve. You will get so much support and information on this forum, it's been an absolute lifesaver for me. Post plenty and get to know folks. There'll be an August surgery thread on the sleeve forum you should join so you get to chat with people at the same stage. You won't regret this - the pre-op diet is rough for some people (and 3 weeks is a long one) but for me it honestly wasn't bad at all - have done 800 calorie diets so many times in my life and this was a means to a very wanted end! Best of luck, I hope it all goes smoothly for you

Not the worst thing to cheat with and you have everyone here's sympathy, it's really REALLY hard. I agree, I would tell your team just in case though. Good luck with the rest of your preparation.

125 down is just amazing! I do get the occasional day of bad eating - not too many - but I try to get back on the horse the next day with protein first, which has worked so far. Vacations are difficult - eating goes all topsy-turvy. Good luck with the 10lbs this month - that was almost my maximum rate of loss right after surgery!! It's about a pound a week now but I'm happy with that. How much more would you like to lose in total @ForMyOhana?

Soooo pleased for you @DaisyAndSunshine You deserve every last pound of your loss. Bring on the next phase! And remind me I said that this time next year, LOL).