maintenanceman

March is my 2 year surgiversary. Maintained at goal weight since December 2022.

My two word response to anyone who comes at me with anything other than less than 100% support... f**k off. It's not my job to educate you or seek your approval. Get on board, or get out of my way.

I agree. You must print and frame this picture, even if just in a place where only you see it.

50 yo

Obviously, I'm not a medical professional so take anything I say with a grain of salt. Tbh, during this weight loss phase, I would try to stay focused on losing weight. Continue to monitor your eating challenges, but there will be time to sort that out after you've lost the weight. As long as you're getting sufficient nutrition and calories, you'll be fine for now. Do your best to meet the protein goal, but if you fall short, it's not the end of the world. Listen to your body, and feed it what it can handle. I'm 19 mo post-op, and even now, solid foods can be a challenge. I generally still eat a soft(ish) diet. It works for me. Obviously, if you are continually getting sick, feel bad, and/or are unable to eat enough to meet your needs, that's an urgent problem. But if you can handle it, give it time and stay focused.

It's a wonderful community, but yes, posting is a bit slow here. If you want more content, check out the WLS reddits... r/wls, r/bariatricsurgery, r/gastricbypass, and r/gastricsleeve. They're all very active.

I stopped at 10 months, when I reached my goal weight, but things really slowed down those last couple of months... 1 or 2 pounds a month. I see that your goal weight requires you to lose another 40 lbs. I don't want to be discouraging, but that's going to be hard given the front loaded trajectory of weight loss surgery. Keep going, but there is a limit. It will be increasingly hard to maintain 800-1000 calories... and no matter how low you keep your calories, the body eventually stops cooperating. Congratulations on all of your hard work and tremendous success!

Great. I wish you nothing but success!

OK, but I'm surprised that you found a surgeon who still does bands or even recommends them. Did you get a second opinion? I'm not trying to be a buzzkill, but the negative sentiment about the band is so widespread, I would proceed with caution.

I'm curious why you are doing lap band? Most surgeons have discontinued doing lap bands due to failure of long-term effectiveness and post-op complications. Absolutely everything I have read about lap band has been negative. Have you read through the lap band forum here? You really need to read through the experiences of others. https://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/4-lap-band-surgery-forums/

Yes. But that's the whole point of WLS. If we could eat "normal" size meals again, without restriction, we would likely regain most/all of the weight as we all have done with countless diets.

Studies show that the likelihood of losing this much and maintaining without surgery is basically 0%. So, the real choice was staying where you were (and likely gaining more) or WLS. I'm sorry that you're struggling. Your outcome seems to be quite extreme, both physically and emotionally. Are you working with your WLS team to address? Engaged in therapy? This constellation of challenges seems to be beyond what you can address without help from medical professionals.

😀 Because I'm a nerd, I created a spreadsheet. I've had a small bounce back regain, which I'm fine with. Even now, I'm borderline too thin.

I definitely feel more confident, more comfortable in my own skin.

Now that you're in maintenance