3 years ago today I had the VSG...

[gypsyjolie 38]

Congratulations on your transformation and thank you for sharing your wisdom!

[M2G 1,836]

I'm curious as to where you set your final goal, and how you arrived at it. Per the BMI charts, I should be down to 145 lbs or so for my height of 5'6. But really that seems too thin sounding to me, especially given that I have a large frame, and I tend to be muscular and curvy. I almost think I want to set my body fat goal and let the weight fall where it may.

What worked for you?

What BMI chart are you looking at... as for 5'6" I believe a 25.0 would be 155lbs with 25.0 being considered "healthy". 145lbs at 5'6" is 23.4 which is fine if you are going for >25. At any rate, my loss slowed way down (there were many stalls and stubborn pounds not wanting to leave my body along the way) and it sort of picked "maintenance" before I was ready. My surgeon at first was going for that BMI around 25-26 but then at 9 months he went, "oh yeah, that isn't going to work for you" so we bumped things up a bit.

I just don't think you can put much stock in the BMI chart. You need to figure out what works for YOU, where YOU feel comfortable, and where YOU are able to maintain without a huge struggle.

Since you asked for my 2 cents, I think 145 is too low for someone who is 5'6", but if you are someone who can achieve/maintain it then that would be great! You will find your way, and figure out what works for you, as you get further out.

[UK Cathy 977]

Here is that chart I bring out now and then that links age and BMI. Though I agree that an 'ideal' weight is one that you feel comfortable at and can maintain. The way things are going with me I think I might well still be in the overweight category when I hit my goal.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Cathy, according to that chart I am not only healthy, I am back in the 40-49 year old range(Im 60). I'm young again! even though I am still in the overweight range in the "one size fits all" charts, I know I am in the healthy range right now. If I lose any more weight (shooting for 2-8 more) Its mostly for vanity and bounce insurance at this point.

[gamergirl 4,610]

What BMI chart are you looking at... as for 5'6" I believe a 25.0 would be 155lbs with 25.0 being considered "healthy". 145lbs at 5'6" is 23.4 which is fine if you are going for >25. At any rate' date=' my loss slowed way down (there were many stalls and stubborn pounds not wanting to leave my body along the way) and it sort of picked "maintenance" before I was ready. My surgeon at first was going for that BMI around 25-26 but then at 9 months he went, "oh yeah, that isn't going to work for you" so we bumped things up a bit. I just don't think you can put much stock in the BMI chart. You need to figure out what works for YOU, where YOU feel comfortable, and where YOU are able to maintain without a huge struggle. Since you asked for my 2 cents, I think 145 is too low for someone who is 5'6", but if you are someone who can achieve/maintain it then that would be great! You will find your way, and figure out what works for you, as you get further out. [/quote']

At this point I don't even think I can GET to 145 I lost 20 lbs the first month but months 2 and 3 I have only lost 6 lbs a month. And that's from following the rules to a T. So if I get to 175 I think I will throw myself a party. I mean, I'm not even losing 2 lbs a week!

I think this may be old thinking for me. I think I should try for 145 because "surely I will put on weight and then I will at least have a cushion". Maybe I should no longer think that way.

Thanks for your answer. Makes sense

[UK Cathy 977]

FYE what a great chart, healthy and younger I would take that any day!

[M2G 1,836]

Cathy, according to that chart I am not only healthy, I am back in the 40-49 year old range(Im 60). I'm young again! even though I am still in the overweight range in the "one size fits all" charts, I know I am in the healthy range right now. If I lose any more weight (shooting for 2-8 more) Its mostly for vanity and bounce insurance at this point.

OMG, I love this. Vanity and Bounce insurance. Do you think State Farm or Allstate will sell that. SIGN ME UP! LOL LOL LOL!!!

:lol:

At this point I don't even think I can GET to 145 I lost 20 lbs the first month but months 2 and 3 I have only lost 6 lbs a month. And that's from following the rules to a T. So if I get to 175 I think I will throw myself a party. I mean, I'm not even losing 2 lbs a week!

I think this may be old thinking for me. I think I should try for 145 because "surely I will put on weight and then I will at least have a cushion". Maybe I should no longer think that way.

Thanks for your answer. Makes sense

I feel ya GG...in my fourth month post-op I lost exactly -2lbs. I was like "what the _____!!!" I was extremely frustrated. I felt "robbed" of my "honeymoon window" because I was 100% compliant with regards to food, exercise, Water, and that was it...my big payoff? So yeah, I've totally been there and it's a tough spot to be. But I moved on and eventually lost more weight and got over it. (Well mostly over it... )

You can follow all the charts, and go by what others (i.e. surgeons and medical professionals) tell you but at the end of the day this is YOUR body and you have to be comfortable being you. Any amount lost that you can keep off for 5, 10, 20 years is the goal. Not a neat little chart that tells you what to weight. Just my humble opinion.

[Kasey Parker 31]

Amazing. Glad I found this post. I lost 120lbs on my own and gained it back which is why I'm now having surgery (9 days!).

[dantrup 42]

3 years ago today I had the VSG!

So much has happened in the last 3 years in regards to my attitudes' date=' abilities and awareness surrounding my body, what I eat, and how I exercise. I will do my best to keep this short!

First and foremost, I am one of those people who had a surgical procedure to help me lose weight. And I hit a "low" weight and then, in the space of about 10 months, regained about 20ish pounds. Nothing is more humbling than being a "statistic" in this way. I had always heard that this regularly happens to WLS patients and a part of my brain said "oh that won't be me!" Haha. Lessons learned the hard way are sometimes the ones that stick with us the most.

So if any of you have the question "is it possible to regain weight with the sleeve?" ...the answer is YES it is possible. The regain is actually quite easy. You quit tracking your food, you eat a few more calories than you need to, extra "treats" find there way back into your life, and you slack off on the exercising. Losing the extra regain...well notsoeasy. I have lost -12lbs of my regain and will continue to fight until the regain is gone.

Here are just a few quick things that are true for ME, personally.

1. We can live on a lot less food than we think we can live on. If you take nothing else away from this post, please remember that statement. During the time that I had regained some weight, I found myself wanting to eat more and the truth of the matter remains that my daily caloric intake needs to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,400 calories or less for me to maintain or lose weight, regardless of how much I exercise. This is completely reasonable, doable and normal for me. And I am finally OK with this. (Yours may be completely different!!)

2. Don't underestimate the importance of exercise!! It's taken me a while to finally push myself out of my comfort zone when it comes to exercise, but I've found out what a really challenging workout does to me mentally and physically and I know when things get to easy that I need to push myself farther. If you have never exercised before in your life, then your goal is to GET UP OFF the couch and DO SOMETHING. And if exercise is not completely foreign to you, then you need to set some goals to push yourself harder.

3. Plastic surgery. I have not had any...yet. I went for an initial consult this past May. It was really hard to see how much damage being morbidly obese has done to my body and how much it would cost to get a nice "perfect" body. I've had a lot of time and space to think about what I learned at that consult and what I realize now, is that I'm not sure I can afford perfection. Or that it necessarily exists. I just know I could put one of my kids through college for what I was quoted for plastics. So I'm currently on the fence and in the mode of trying to be happy with where I am and not worry about chasing a down a body that might not exist for me.

4. I constantly drink Water. I drink (half-caf) coffee (usally 2 cups a day), I rarely drink alcohol and I never drink anything carbonated. I've been carbonation free for over 3 years now. I also rarely use any type of crystal lite, or flavor enhancers etc. Sometimes I drink plain (unsweet) tea.

My net loss is somewhere around -90lbs. My husband is also sleeved and did NOT regain any weight. He is 2.5 years post-op and seems to maintain his more modest loss (-70lbs) more effortlessly than I do. He also can eat more calories than I do, so right there are complete differences among sleevers! I just don't think we can ever "give up" ...and there is no "finish" line! There might be a GOAL WEIGHT, but once you are there, it's still a journey to keep the weight off. And for that reason I'm eternally grateful to my VST 'family' for always being here!

BEFORE VSG 2010

AFTER VSG 2013 (all of these photos have been taken in the last 2 months)

SIDE BY SIDE

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Thanks great to here from long timers

I'm nine weeks in an doing good