February 2019 weight loss buds

[Recidivist 1,141]

Hello everyone! We are now at three years since surgery, and I wanted to see how you all are doing?

I'm doing okay, but not great. I've gained about 20 pounds in the past year, and I'm not very happy about it. I could make excuses (lockdown, stress, etc.), but the reality is that I have nobody to blame but myself. It's so much easier to eat at this point, and I acknowledged that I have overindulged.

I'm still at a reasonable weight, but I know that I have to be very careful so I don't creep up slowly from here. I would ideally like to lose 10-15 pounds, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't. I'm still much healthier and more active than I was before surgery.

I hope everyone else is doing well!

[Goody222 139]

Hello,

I totally understand. I never actually got to my ideal weight ( I was about 8 pound away). Now it is more like 28 pounds away.

No excuses, I know better. I am still amazed at how quickly I can STILL gain weight!

Not really looking forward to the doctors visit.

WE CAN DO THIS! We will get it together.

Edited March 1, 2022 by Goody222

[Goody222 139]

[Sheribear68 3,200]

Hello February 2019 peeps!
I’m doing okay. Gained 15 back from my all-time low, but maintaining within a 5-ish pound window now for about the last 15 months.
Some days I wonder if I should try to get back into the 130’s ( I dropped all the way down to 133 at one point) but I’m hanging in the upper 140’s and feel like this is maintainable.
For me, 2022 has been dubbed “The Year of the Foot” as I’ve already had one bunionectomy and will be having my left foot done next month. I was very happy to only gain 2 pounds in the 7 weeks I laid on my butt all day long with foot elevated.
So here is me at 147 at my daughters wedding reception on March 5th. I was rocking a size small dress and- of course- my walking boot.
I’m super excited to say that on May 10th I will be having plastics!! I’ve saved up and will be having a TT with flank Lipo and a thigh lift.
We are going to piggy-back it 3 weeks after foot surgery so I can minimize my time off work.
Hope everyone is well. I miss you guys.

[Gottajustdoit 220]

So good to hear about the success. Overall I am good, but I cannot say my diet is the healthiest. I find eating carbs to be way too easy to digest and my sedentary life style working home all day in front of a computer doesn't help. I am depressed that it seems way too easy to eat more food now, such as whole (store-bought) burrito in one sitting, or two pieces of pizza instead of just one, or a fairly large salad. My little egg-sized stomach has definitely stretched. 😞 I also starting drinking Diet Coke in the morning. For three years I didn't touch it, but recently I starting drinking the mini Cokes--only one in the morning--and was surprised there were no repercussions, so that is my indulgence when I start my work day. Unfortunately, the Girl Scout Cookies also seem to be digesting all too well. I did undergo a panniculectomy and a breast reduction and feel so much better since I did that. The relentless neck pain from carrying the weight of the breasts and the back ache from the stomach skin pretty much disappeared. My arms and thighs are still scary large and saggy but I just don't think I have the bravery to do another plastic surgery. It was rough!

One very upsetting side effect (other than I still have thinning hair) are that I have had four kidney stones since last May. Dr. Google confirmed that there is a correlation between gastric bypass and an increase in kidney stones. They are crippling, and from what I understand, an intake of animal Protein is partly to blame. I absolutely need to consciously drink more Water so would LOVE to hear y'all's tips and tricks for remembering to drink water!

Edited March 25, 2022 by Gottajustdoit

[Sheribear68 3,200]

My sleeve is so unpredictable. I’ll have days where I swear I can eat like a “normal” person and I honestly forget I’m sleeved.
Then I’ll have days where a boiled egg fills me up for hours and I have zero interest in eating.
What’s even weirder is that my husband- who has NOT had any bari surgery- eats a lot like me and sometimes he runs into restriction.
Tonite we had date night and went to one of our favorite pubs.
We split a chicken sandwich with fries, each had 1 cocktail and 1 beer.
We didn’t even manage to finish half of our halves of the sandwich and also failed to drink over half our beers! We laughed that we were failing so bad at splurging.

One thing that is kind of alarming me is that my acid reflux seems to be kicked in overdrive lately.
I’m about to really clean up my eating and drinking prepping for this next foot surgery, so I’m hoping to catch a break from the constant heartburn.
I really, really, really am happy with where I am and the LAST thing I want is a revision due to this reflux.
I love my sleeve— I don’t want a pouch.
I don’t have the best tips to remember to drink Water bc I guzzle down 2/3 of my daily water before I eat for the first time of the day.
I’ll literally have around 60 ounces of water between waking up and eating around 10-11 am, then drink maybe 12-16 more the whole rest of the day. It tends to leave me feeling somewhat dehydrated by bedtime, but bedtime is when I will “treat” myself to my Coke Zero.

My hair never really came back. It’s still fairly thin, but I will never regret having the VGS.

Good God, I hope the kidney stone thing never happens to me: I’m a wimp when it comes to stuff like that.

[gabybab 696]

3+ years. Wow! I've never achieved the weight-loss my doctor predicted I would lose. I'm disappointed in myself because I've cheated and not stuck to the plan. I admit I am a foodaholic. I still have a lot of restriction, but have taken to drinking sugary drinks. I have an appointment with my surgeon tomorrow to discuss if I should have a revision. I'm 255 and my lowest was 240. My surgeon thought I would get to 180. I'm embarrassed to see him tomorrow. Has anyone else done a revision? My dr originally wanted me to do the DS and I said no, so I just have the sleeve. I'm probably looking at the same process to get surgery. About 6 months. I'm 57 and feel if I do this surgery it might give me extended life. Hope all of you are doing well in your new life-styles. I'm happy that I've still kept 85 pounds off. 😊

[froufrou 678]

Hello hello... just checking in. Not much to report except a weight gain. Now up to 270... been bouncing around that for a while. I am incredibly anemic and find it hard to keep my levels up and think that I may just have to have Iron infusions for the rest of my life. I'm vegetarian and I am just wondering if my stomach has become injured after the sleeve leak and then the RNY... I don't think I can absorb iron.

I've been on Saxenda for a bit, but it's not doing a lot for me, except maybe keeping my weight stable, which is good I guess! I'm thinking of going on Wegovy when it's available. Apparently it's low on stock because people love it so much.

How is everyone doing? I'd love to hear how everyone is. Anyone else having issues with keeping their Vitamin levels up?

@Goody222 you look amazing! You must feel great! Well done!!

Love to all xxx

[froufrou 678]

Just a quick update - started wegovy 1.5 weeks ago and am down 11 lbs. it totally takes away my obsession with food and I’m loving it. No major side effects.

[L. Knight 36]

@froufrou how are you doing with the wegovy and how much weight have you lost since taking it?

[Recidivist 1,141]

Hello to everyone! It's a bit late, but happy 4-year anniversary to everyone. (Can you believe it has been that long?). I hope everyone is doing well in their journeys.

I'm in a good place. I've gained about 20 pounds since my low weight (which frankly was too skinny, although I was thrilled at the time) and have managed to stay there for the last 2 1/2 years or so. I'm still following the plan pretty closely (high Protein, low carb, low fat, almost no sugar) but allow myself indulgences now and then, such as a glass of wine or a scoop of ice cream. At this point, I feel like I'm eating "normally," though it's definitely different than pre-surgery. I'm happy that I've developed healthy eating habits and don't really have to think about it any longer.

[froufrou 678]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:18 PM, L. Knight said:

@froufrou how are you doing with the wegovy and how much weight have you lost since taking it?

Hi! I am doing really well with the Wegovy - no bad side effects - it stops all of the food chatter in my head and makes me less obsessive. I LOVE it and I hope I can stay on it. It's what I hoped the surgery had done instead. I have lost 30 lbs since beginning of December. It might seem slow, but I am ok with it. There's no rush. I'm getting close to what I was pre pandemic, which was my goal, and then hopefully back on track.

[LadySin 404]

On 3/25/2023 at 7:46 PM, Recidivist said:

Hello to everyone! It's a bit late, but happy 4-year anniversary to everyone. (Can you believe it has been that long?). I hope everyone is doing well in their journeys.

I'm in a good place. I've gained about 20 pounds since my low weight (which frankly was too skinny, although I was thrilled at the time) and have managed to stay there for the last 2 1/2 years or so. I'm still following the plan pretty closely (high Protein, low carb, low fat, almost no sugar) but allow myself indulgences now and then, such as a glass of wine or a scoop of ice cream. At this point, I feel like I'm eating "normally," though it's definitely different than pre-surgery. I'm happy that I've developed healthy eating habits and don't really have to think about it any longer.

4 years?!

I could quote this word for word, accept I will add that I'm big into fitness, particularly Jujitsu at a fantastic dojo. While I too gained 20lbs over my goal weight, it almost all muscle. For sometime I traded my addition of eating for exercise. I wasn't happy. It's felt just like when I was obsessed with eating. Counting, measure, weighing, starving. I had to turn things around because I was just repeating a path of insanity.

I'm at a so much happier place now! Now I push and strengthen and push by body for the challenge and increased quality of life. Not to escape my demons. Boy oh boy has this been an eye opening journey.

If I had to go back in time, I'd still happily do. Sooner in fact. But would have learned to love myself FIRST. Because for me, the depression, and self-guilt didn't leave along with fat. Nor did I gain well-being from the attention.

Once I began to work on my mind with the same determination that led me to work on my body, I became and am unstoppable!

We've got this!

[froufrou 678]

Update on the wegovy - 41 lbs down. One more pound to go till I’m back to where I was pre-pandemic 🎉