BlackBerryJuice

OK, so you are losing a pound a day....how's that a bad thing? Would you EVER have lost that much on your own? And how long did it take you to pack on these 15 lbs? I venture to say a lot longer than 2 weeks. As far as comparing yourself to other people - someone who's 300-400 lbs will lose more pounds than you on average, but they also have lots more to lose. So I would step back, look at it rationally, and realize that you are losing VERY fast and there's nothing wrong.

I think you have to keep in mind that WLS patients are generally pretty high risk. All of them are obese, many severely so, and most will have comorbidities like diabetes, heart disease, etc. So I think your average WLS pt would skew the statistics of ANY surgery because of all these issues.

Thanks, guys. While I'm not at my goal weight yet, even if I didn't lose another pound, I'd still be content with the results of my surgery. I was actually able to get to this same weight last winter by exercising 2-3 hours a day and always being hungry, but the difference now is that maintaining this weight doesn't take over my life. I don't really have to deny myself that much. Some urges are still there due to ingrained bad habits, but 90% of the time I'm able to step back and say "You don't really want it or need it." The 10% of the time that I succumb to temptation (like last night - had 2/3 of a 3.5-oz Cadbury dark chocolate bar) I put things into perspective, realize this is WAY less than what I'd eat in that situation before, and that in the grand scheme of things, it won't make me put on weight - even with that chocolate, I had under 1300-1400 calories yesterday, for sure.

I think you addressed a lot of your own concerns by saying that you haven't followed the post-op diet perfectly and that you only recently began exercising. Both of those could be to blame for not reaching your goal weight. Also, I think it's important to consider whether your goal is realistic. E.g. if you are 6' tall, 150 lbs might actually be excessively thin. Also, what kind of exercise are you doing and what exactly and how much are you eating? I'd keep a food log for a few days and then use that for damage control. I don't know what kind of exercising you're doing, but if it's something like walking, maybe you need to step it up. Basically, bottom line is that it's hard to give much advice without knowing any details.

This is what I get while adding a pic to my album: An Error Occurred Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information. [#107148] The image upload failed, please contact a system administrator

I'm the exact opposite, I sometimes have to remind myself NOT to eat, especially if I'm home or somewhere else where food is quickly available. I definitely get hungry after not eating for 3-4 hours, although the hunger is not as intense as it was before the surgery.

1) Drove home from the airport - so day 4 2) Was able to sleep on my stomach around day 5 (with pain pill before bed); quit the pain pills after day 5 3) Started swimming about 2 weeks out - my surgeon said it was safe once the scabs fell off 4) I would say also around 2 weeks. Until then, I found that I'd get tired really fast and didn't really experiment with walking far from home for fear of having issues getting back 5) Hard to say, as it's not something that's usually part of my day

Today's pictures.

I'd like to second that. I tried to add my 3-month progress pix to my album this morning and I kept getting error messages without any explanation as to the reason. They are the same format and size as all of my other pictures, so I don't think it's anything on my end, but rather the forum itself having a bug of some sort.

Why, thanks! I built up all that muscle mass before the VSG - I honestly don't know how much you can build once you've had the surgery due to restricted eating, as you generally need a surplus of calories to put on muscle. But at the same time, if you think about it, it's not that hard to up your calories through drinks after the surgery. juice, hot chocolate, milk instead of Water can all put you in the 2000-calorie range if you so choose. But on the upside, I don't feel like I've lost much muscle mass after the surgery, either, and I'm generally eating 1000-1400 calories a day (usually 1200 or less) and working out 3-5 times a week. So who knows, if you have the right genetics and eat more, maybe VSG isn't a hindrance to muscle building. It's also important not to do excessive amounts of cardio when you are trying to build muscle, especially when it comes to extensive, steady-state exercises like lots of endurance running - otherwise, you'll just burn it all off. But interval cardio is good (e.g. sprints). I never really had anything to show for my abs until I started doing weighted crunches on the decline bench. Regular crunches didn't really do anything for me. I set the decline bench at the highest decline possible, grab a 10-lb plate or one 10 and one 5-lb plate and do maybe 12-15 reps of sit-ups with the plate against my chest. Here's a pic of the piece of equipment I'm talking about - http://www.gtechfitness.com/ProductImages/inflight/free_weight/Inflight_Decline_Ab_Bench.png If you want more resistance, you either grab a heavier plate or put your arms behind your head (it will add resistance). I also do an oblique variation where I grab two 5-lb dumbells, one in each hand, and do sit-ups with cross-overs to the side (also on the decline bench). Sometimes I'll get really adventurous and do leg raises on it, as well: http://www.body-mind-strength.com/assets/small_tone_building_abs_photos/decline_straight_leg_raises_finishing.jpg Sorry, not very good at explaining this, but I hope the pix help. But yeah, that made a huge difference in my abs. I also did competitive boxing at some point, and punching the heavy bag really works your abs, and it burns lots of fat, too - and until that layer of fat on your stomach thins out, you won't see your abs. So I'd say it's a combo of weighted ab exercises + high-intensity interval cardio.

Stretchy stuff for casual clothes (like leggings suggested above). For dressier clothes, I've found an A-line pleated skirt with a stretchy waist. Skirts in general are easier to deal with while losing weight, IMO - they are much easier to take in. I've paid about $10 to take in a skirt, whereas for jeans, it cost me around $20. Besides, with pants, you also have to worry about how they fit around the thigh area, whereas with the skirt, it's just a matter of waist circumference. So tailoring things is another option, it will generally be cheaper than buying new items.

Wow, sounds really scientific. I really hope folks here are smarter than that!

Wow, sounds really scientific.

I don't see myself as skinny, but I'm technically not there yet, at a BMI of 27-something; however, I do see myself as average-sized and definitely wouldn't use "fat" to describe myself. I feel comfortable wearing an above-the-knee skirt or tighter clothes, but I'm aware of limitations (e.g. no booty shorts for me!).

I had my surgery at 10:30 am or so and by 2 pm I was able to shuffle down the hallway and back. I read lots of magazines, played computer games, called friends and family on Skype daily, and surfed the web. Brushed up on my Spanish, too - I tried to speak it as much as I could. I was pretty bored by day 3, to be honest. The pain meds didn't affect me negatively.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your story. I hope you are able to overcome some of these roadblocks that have popped up.

I saw an obesity specialist about a possible research project the other day and he said the average weight loss with VSG is only 33% of excess weight. Well, I'm 3 months out and I've lost over 50% even if you want to be really radical and peg my goal weight at 130-135 or so (I'm aiming for 140-145).

Stomach cancer is not very widespread in North America, it's more of an issue in Eastern Europe and Japan (where they actually screen on a regular basis - we don't). Helicobacter pylori, which is associated with poor hygiene, is the biggest risk factor. You can always ask for a urea breath test to be done to get screened for that and it's easily treatable.

I don't think I'm getting anything. My boobs are a bit saggy, but they still look good in a bra and are still quite formidable at DD - even though I'm getting quite close to my goal weight. Not a fan of the scars from the lift and the only way I'd ever get implants would be if I had a mastectomy or something drastic along those lines - really not a fan of the bolt-ons and the fact that you are bound to get them redone several times over the course of your life is a huge deterrent for me. But if I had been a lot bigger at the time of surgery and ended up with a pannus or something, I'd definitely take care of that. But it's almost more of a medical than a cosmetic issue at that point, I guess.

Definitely thighs not rubbing together anymore. I'm getting pretty close to it, but I think it'll take getting to goal weight to completely get rid of the problem. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted trying to find shorts long enough to be able to walk in without my thighs chafing raw after 10 blocks.

Congrats!

5 - one is inside my bellybutton and not visible at all, so only 4 visible ones. I've been pretty lucky with my drain scar so far - on a lot of people, I've seen it turned into a really deep dent, sometimes almost like a 2nd bellybutton, but with me, it's pretty flat. Probably because I didn't have that much fat and, consequently, extra skin on my stomach to begin with.

I think a lot of these people have weight and/or body image issues themselves. My father is probably the most vicious fat-hater I've ever met, and he's struggled with his weight his entire life. He generally hovers around the overweight mark, although he was briefly obese at about 300 lbs, but the way he talks, you'd think he's some sort of fitness icon here to toss pearls of his wisdom in front of all of us fatties. It's kind of like those homophobic "family values" Republicans who end up getting caught with gay dudes in washrooms, you know? Some of the most vocal homophobes are gay themselves.