NtvTxn

congratulations!!! Do NOT poo poo 5 pounds. Celebrate every pound, not everyone will reach goal as fast as I did, we are all different and I really was very rigid with myself!! In my very humble opinion, changing behaviors, mindful eating.....planning what we'll eat and not just eat on the fly. Logging, weighing ourselves and our food, none of it is too time consuming and it all keeps me aware of how far I've come and I don't ever want to get complacent or forget what it was like yo yo dieting and failing for about 30 years! You can do this, it IS possible, never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd weigh in the low - mid 140's. I definitely underestimated what can be done with our new little tummy!!!! Like I said, celebrate each pound, each non scale victory. My favorite one is waking up and realizing I have a collar bone!!!! Good luck and feel free to ask me anything!

I've lost a total of 81 - 84.5 pounds, I fluctuate. I lost 23 pounds prior to surgery. I'm 5'7"

I have a seafood fork that I eat with when I'm at home. I have several, I should carry one with me!! I also eat off a smaller plate, either a salad plate or a bread 'n butter plate. You'll eat sooooo little in the beginning, even the smaller plates will look empty, but a year, eighteen months out, it will look 'full' or more full. It's like tricking your mind. It is weird, at three+ years, I will some times ask my husband, "did i eat a lot?" My little plate will look full.

Cara, I may be an odd ball, but I do NOT struggle at all with keeping the weight off. No white knuckling here! I reached goal in six months and that was back in Dec. 2010. I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years. I would do this again in a heartbeat, I wish I had been 35 or 40 instead of 50 when I had VSG!!!! It's life changing, life altering - it's wonderful, every day is STILL is exciting to me. I've been on board and beyond thrilled since I woke up in recovery. It's fun, it's a wild ride and you will not believe how different your life is a year into this journey!!! I am pretty darn lazy, and by that I mean, I am not a gym rat, I am not a member of a gym and I do not do any 'formal' exercise. I park as far out as I can in parking lots, even in triple digit heat, and I do it on purpose, I go up and down our stairs more times than I need to. I have a 5 lb weighted ball that I toss around on occasion and I have even started doing 'wall' push ups. That's it. I know me, I have the attention span of a four year old. I did NOT want part of my weight loss to be due to my sudden interest in exercising....so I can honestly say, NONE of my weight loss was due to joining Curves, Gold's Gym etc. I DID know that I would need to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever, changes that would become my new life, my new normal. That is what I did and that is what I will continue to do. Age, boredom nor a twisted ankle will be a stumbling block and deal breaker!!! There are things I do that I call my 'dashboard' - just like on my truck. I watch my dashboard and if something needs 'changing', I know it right away.....not eight or ten pounds down the road. 1) I weigh every morning 2) I weigh and/or measure my food when I'm home 3) I log my food on line (my fitness pal, I keep track of calories and protein) Last but not least, I attend support groups. Most people go to one, I have four that I attend each month. I feel like I'm paying it forward. So many folks let ME pick their brains and ask numerous questions & calmed my fears early on. Now I am doing it for others. I am usually further out than most people at the support group meetings, so I seldom come across somebody to answer MY questions, but there are plenty for me!!! LoL There are other little things that I started doing prior to surgery and continue to do, at least most of the time. Keep in mind, a lot of our 'issues' are all in our heads!! I eat on a smaller plate, a salad plate or bread and butter plate, it's great for 'visually' seeing a plate that isn't all plate and a dab of food. I eat with a seafood fork most of the time. Little changes like that, also become habit and it is helpful. Good luck on whatever decision you make. Make sure to research, ask questions.....get on board, all of you, to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person, for the first time in my life, I am in control, food is not. Know that the doctor removes approx 85% of your stomach, after that, it is all up to you. This is a life time commitment, and like I said, I don't consider it work or time consuming, it's my new life. It is forever, there is no end date and it is worth every single change I've made. I still eat, nothing is "off limits" to me except carbonation, big deal, right???!!! There are things I choose not to eat or at least not often, but no hunger makes it much, much easier to resist when I need/want to. Again, good luck!!

I hadn't had a scale in my house for years and years, 2 months prior to surgery! I was only weighed at the doctor's office. Do you realize HOW much your weight can go up (it seldom was ever less unless I was a month into a new diet!!) when you go to the doctor two or three times a year??!!! Anyway, I got a digital, weigh* watch*rs brand scale from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It is very accurate, in fact I weighed the same at my three year check up on my bariatric doctor's scale as I did on mine, which was nice!! It is nutty, up and down, up and down, when it needs a new battery!! LOL

My nurse said to me, early on: "You're very rigid, and it is working" I know me, and I know that no matter what, I had to make lifestyle changes that I could live with forever. All the things I do are second nature to me now. I don't feel like this is 'work' or a lot of trouble, it is just a new normal where I am in control, food is not! At my three year check up I asked my doctor if I was crazy, I asked him if I would I ever put the fear of re-gaining out of my mind and he said, "A little paranoia is not a bad thing, the best patients, long term, are a little anal retentive" I hate that term, but I am holding on to his words.

This is not a diet, it's a new way of life. It's forever, this is not like WW's where it gets old and we stop going to meetings, or Medifast - none of those are possible forever. My dietitian nor my doctor MADE me do anything. We cannot diet our entire lives, although i did it off and on for 30 years. We had 85% of our stomachs removed. The doctor did his job and now it is all up to us. There is no end date. I feel like I eat like a naturally thin person. I am not on a diet. For the first time in my life, I feel no guilt after eating something. This makes it possible for me to make wise choices and I can resist if I need or want to. I weigh and/or measure my food and I log everything on line....i have my entire family hooked on logging now. It takes no time really. It is a whole different mind set.

Yes, I have what I call my "dashboard" - just like on my truck. I weigh daily I weigh and/or measure my food I log all food on line to track calories and Protein The numbers keep me aware of what is going on "under the hood" If something is off, then I need to 'change' something. It is how MY mind works. This is my new life, as natural to me as breathing. I have been maintaining for over 2.5 years. This works for me.

Weekly??!!!!! Oh no, I weigh every single morning and have since my pre-op diet. Close to 3.5 years now. My doctor recommends it, it is easier to lose two or three pounds than it is to lose eight or nine. I know ME, and I know how quickly nine and ten pounds can 'appear'. You can't let it mess with your head, the scale is going to go up and down. I never 'cheated' not one time at all when I was losing, and I never had a plateau like most folks do, BUT, the scale still went up and down, the entire time. It was like a game to me, weighing, it still is. I'd lose a pound or two, then gain a pound or two the next morning, up and down, sometimes for a week, then it would be gone and on to the next pound or two. That is how MY BODY did it. I've talked to others that experience the same thing.

Keep in mind, your gut has a staple line in it. There is this progressive diet for a reason. Be very careful, besides, from day one, we need to put into affect, lifestyle changes, self control, make wise choices. A couple of months ago we made home made pizza. Several years ago we'd have eaten the entire thing. I ate 1.5 thin pieces, my husband ate three and a half, the other three went into baggies for 'later'. I put them in the frig and then decided that I DID NOT NEED or WANT to eat pizza again that week. I did the 'recipe' in MFP and realized how much cheese was on there and even though it was 2% mozzarella, it was still HIGH in calories. Sooooo, I did something that I have never done in my life, I got the pizza out of the refrigerator and threw it in the trash. You may not understand a non-scale victory yet, but you will at some point realize what a big deal this is!!!!! I have never felt so in control. This would not have happened prior to surgery, it makes it easier for me to make wiser choices if I need or want to!!! Even at three years out, I still have new and exciting things happening! The point is, be careful, leaks are more common the first five or six weeks, hence the different stages. Now the real work begins, the doctor did his job, now it's your turn. There is no end date, this is forever! You have a new normal, and it's great, it's life altering. You will not believe how different your life will be a year from now!!! Good luck!

Dallas

You can honestly say "I am on a doctor supervised weight loss program"

If you're two months out, you are slowly but surely incorporating regular foods into your diet. My 'go to' foods back then, and to some extent, now, over three years later are: * eggs * 1% cottage cheese * canned tuna in Water * deli lunch meat * bagged frozen shrimp That said, I ate nothing that I didn't deem "good for me" - no bread, Pasta or rice. Nothing sweet or fried. Fruit, my dietitian said to consider it a 'treat', only a couple of times a week. I would eat a third of a small banana or about a fourth of a small peach, every so often, very seldom. My caloric intake was low, a couple of months out, maybe 400 calories and could eat a little more each month, therefore my calories went up. Month six, when I hit goal, I was getting between 700 and 800, never more than 800 calories. I maintain at 1300 per day. I like grilled chicken, pork chops, hamburger and steak, but inside, I will cook chicken, lean pork chops or round steak in a can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom or cream of chicken Soup. (and a can of water) You have 'gravy' and cooking it in the soup, makes the meat softer, easier to eat. I weigh and/or measure EVERYTHING. I know how much I can hold and I make sure to try and under eat my sleeve. It's good for weight loss and good to ensure not eating 'one bite too many' and being uncomfortable. I will have a bite or two of a veggie, and try and include cottage cheese, as a side, for dinner most nights. Many times I will eat cottage cheese for Breakfast. I call it the REAL breakfast of champions!!! I hope some of this helps!!! Good luck and welcome to the loser's bench!!!!

Try and keep a pillow near-by to put against your tummy when you sneeze, cough or laugh for a while, it helps. (Also, a heating pad on your tummy during the day when you are sitting, helps a lot) After clear liquids is full liquids, I did full liquids for two full weeks. "Nothing that won't go through a straw" is what Dr. Davidson instructs. Cream of chicken Soup, strain out the chunkies. Skim milk is a decent source of protein, I started and ended each day with a cup in an ice cold glass out of the freezer. Are you drinking a Protein shake or two? I love Tortilla Soup from a local Mexican food restaurant, sip the broth, avoid anything solid. Tastes wonderful, of course early out we can eat so little. I could get down 1/8th of a cup three times a day. I made some home made baked potato soup, and potatoes are not the best choice, but when you're only eating 1/8 of a cup at a time, I was fine. I baked a potato, mashed it, and then added skim milk, about an ounce of 2% cheddar cheese, instead of Lite Sour Cream, I added a little Greek yogurt, tastes like sour cream, waaaaay more protein. Add enough milk to make it the consistency of cream soup. Salt and pepper to taste, was delish.

Like a previous poster said, up your Protein and liquids. Also, let me ask you a few things. Are you weighing and/or measuring your food? Are you logging your food? Are you attending a support group? Are you weighing daily? These are things I do, this is my new normal, my new life, as natural to me as breathing. I call it my dashboard, the numbers let me know what is going on 'under the hood'. If I go up a couple pounds, all I do is cut back my calories by 100 - 200 for a few days, and I'm back within my comfort zone. This is what works for me. I know how quickly I can gain eight or ten pounds, it is much easier to lose two or three!! This is what works for me, there is no end date with this, it's forever, not like WW, where I got tired of going to meetings, quit, went back to normal eating and re-gained! Know what I mean??!!!! I've been maintaining for over 2.5 years. Anyway, I hope this helps in some way. (East Texas? Where at?) We lived near Tyler for about 20 years!

For the first five or six weeks, I could only eat an eighth of a cup of food at a time. I did this 3 x's per day, in addition to a Protein 'bullet'. I have always measured my food, I still do. Calories were very, very low in the beginning, 300 - 350 calories, but I felt good and at six weeks, labs were good, and have been ever since. Slowly but surely I could eat a tiny bit more, when I got to the scrambled egg stage, i could eat one half an egg. I loved it that I could eat so little, but I had to work on how I was THINKING because I hated wasting a half an egg!!! I'm way past that now. Throwing food away makes me feel in control. LoL I heard about under eating your sleeve, at a support group prior to surgery, a nurse suggested it. I highly recommend it, eat less than you can hold. It's good for losing weight and it also ensures you don't eat "one bite too many" - which is NOT FUN AT ALL!!!! You'll get the hang of it, enjoy!! Just an FYI - I am over 3 years out and cannot eat a full cup of food, about 3/4 cup. My doctor doesn't want his patients to EVER eat more than a cup. I hope I can't ever eat that much!!!

Don't I know it can happen quickly. Prior to surgery I could wake up and realize I was ten or twelve heavier, or yikes, my jeans are tight and I needed to go up a size!!! This is exactly why I am a micro manager....For over three years now, I weigh every single morning. I go to the bathroom, wash my hands and weigh. It is what it is....a habit, part of my new life!

I can always tell when I'm retaining water, I can't get my rings on!! The doctor gave me 5 mg prescription diuretic. It's wonderful to have, I don't take them often but when I need one, I like having them on hand!!! My doctor tells his patients to weigh every day, but I would have anyway, I'm sure of it!!! LOL

Not a bad habit, I've been weighing every morning for over three years now!!!

I was never told 'no peanut butter' but I discovered early on, the amount isn't worth the calories most of the time. I have ALWAYS measure ONE tablespoon, but ONE TB of Smucker's Natural is 100 calories! YIKES!!!! I almost never eat it now, I've discovered PB2, it's powdered peanut butter. I add a half TB of Water to 1 TB of Pb2. This is one of my favorite Snacks, I'll put it on a graham cracker Lite. Peanut butter, nuts and cheese are two things I had to stop early on, just way too many calories for me and not nearly enough Protein to justify eating any of those!!

I think every doctor is different. Mine says I can drink up until I start eating, then wait 30 minutes after eating. I some times stop about ten minutes before and some times I wait 45 minutes or an hour.

You'd have so much fun, but I'm afraid you couldn't make it home by six. Darn!!!!

Our patient led support group, 'Thinspirations' will be meeting this Saturday, September 21st at 12:30 for lunch. Whether you are pre-op or post op, you are invited. Bring a friend or spouse, all are welcome. Good conversations, question & answers, support from others who have been or will be where you are now! Below is a cut & paste about Season's 52. All Entrees are 475 calories or less. At Seasons 52, we pride ourselves on offering our guests: Seasonally-inspired dining choices expertly designed to excite and surprise the palate award-winning international wine list featuring diverse wine selections that personalize the dining experience Knowledgeable, approachable service that inspires confidence A casually-sophisticated adult ambiance that feels inviting Their address is: 7300 Lone Star Dr. Plano, TX 75024 If you are interested in going you must RSVP, we have to give the manager an accurate head count. They give us a room in the back and a waiter or two, depending on how many people are coming. Send me a PM and I can give you the email address of our 'fearless leader' or I will be happy to RSVP for you. C'mon and join us, we have a wonderful time!

My BMI is 22.6 - that is at 5'7" and 144, I do go up and down a pound a pound or two, but 144 - 144.5 is about normal for me. I've been 11 pounds lighter and it was waaaay too low, although I didn't see it at the time. Everybody else around me was freaking out. I look at pictures now and know why, I looked gaunt. If you go strictly by the 'healthy BMI' range, I could have gone done to 118 pounds, but I'd have been a walking stick. I'd have looked like a cancer victim. I purposely gained back up to 145 and I stay within 143 - 146.5, it is an easy range to maintain for me and I look and feel healthy!!! I think we use the chart and then use common sense!!

Starting weight: 228 day of seminar Weight, day before surgery: 205 Total weight lost: 83 - 86 pounds, I go up and down three pounds, I have a 5 lb "pad" so this is within range Current weight, as of today: 144.4 Surgery, June 11, 2010 - 39 months, 6 days!