7 months post op
7 months post op is just blowing my mind. I have lost 106 lbs, but I must say that ever since I hit that 6 month mark my weight loss has been SLOW this past month. there is a lot I'm sure is contributing to that. I'm getting very close to my goal weight and my doc warned me that the closer my BMI got into healthy range the harder it would be to lose. I think sometimes I feel like I "can" eat too much... as in I'm able to eat more than I thought I would at this stage and it freaks me out. I was constantly measuring my foods and now that I have a pretty good idea of guestimating I measure less now, but still do just to check from time to time to see how much I'm really eating. I seem to still be staying under 8ounces. I don't dump. I have experimented and my pouch seems to tolerate whatever I throw at it, however I'm still very mindful. Another reason I'm pretty sure my weight loss is struggling is because I have introduced small amounts of carbs (other than fruit and veggies) but I really don't feel like I overdo it. I'm worried that I'm screwing up but am proud of myself all at once. It's really confusing. I think it's difficult to feel good about what your doing when you hit a big stall like I'm going through this month. I know I need to kick up my exercise, again. I get so bored so easy! I'm finding that my body adapts to exercise faster than I could have imagined. Work out videos go from hard and sweaty to all of a sudden easy and boring. Bittersweet! This weather has SUCKED in the NC. We get a couple beautiful days and the rest are rainy/ cold/ both. I'm ready to get outside and be active!
On the flip side, everything seems to be going great with my weightloss. I am still very glad I had surgery.
I see a lot of peeps post about eating out at restaurants. And I gotta say it's hard, but it's part of life. This month has been a trying time for me. A 4 day work trip forced me to make decisions over and over again about what I could/should eat. Airports suck! Lol I would get a sandwhich and eat the meat and veggies, toss the bread... and pay $11 for a few slices of turkey and a half a slice of tomato! But... at least I feel like it was an $11 "well spent" verus stopping at the burger joints. Then I had a birthday last weekend and the celebration seemed to last forever (celebrating with diff peeps at diff times). My friends and family are cute... but bought me this fruit tart from Harris teeter and didnt even know it. They both were just trying to avoid reg cakes. I had some of the fruit tart pie but I just knew it was "too good" to be (healthy) good haha. Felt a little guilty about that one :(
Needless to say I have been trying to make up for it all week, eating very light... yogurts, bananas, cucumber salads, turkey, salad/grilled chicken, boiled eggs... which is basically what I usually eat anyways but felt like I had been getting away from the lighter things with everything going on. Self control is not easy people, bad habits do present themselves again and it's so easy to fall back into that pt, I can definitely see that now. But I am going to push through this and lose more weight and find a weight that I'm happy with. I'm 173 says the scale this morning. I think I want to push possibly another 30 lbs. But I have no idea what 140's would look or feel like and I already have some family members telling me to stop losing weight.
I didn't mean to write a book, but It seems I always do..hehe. It's been too long since I posted!
This is a very helpful post. I had my surgery 3/21 and while I have been off of work have been doing a lot of thinking about just the sort of things you addressed. I just hope that when the time comes, I can continue to do what is best for my health. It sounds to me like that is what you did too. Your were in some difficult situations but did the best you could. You have quite a bit of insight about your situation as well, which is important. I admire you. Thanks for the great post.
Kim K. 
This is VERY inspirational for me to read! I am 6 weeks out of surgery and I am so worried that I won't lose enough weight and that I won't get down to a healthy size. I hear all of these stories of people that just shed the weight like crazy and I don't see any changes in myself yet other than some loose rings and I am able to fit into some jeans that used to be super tight.
I am so proud of you and all of your success. You lost a LOT of weight and you are mastering exercise and passionate about losing more weight! You can do it, you have done so much so far and you are going to continue to do great things! Keep up the great work!
Thank you! 6 weeks is tough but you will blink and you'll be six months out! I think we all worry about not losing weight, it rough weight, but it will come off girl! My weight loss really did kick in to high gear once I got a little more into exercise. And speaking of exercise, I'm no master at it but I'm doing more now and an more self motivated than I have ever been my whole life and I gotta be positive! I started with just walking until I felt like I was healed up enough and then I started different Zumba videos, then other random cardio videos, and now I'm working on these insanity videos and they kill me! Ha ha but it's better to feel like they are hard than to feel like they are easy because when they get easy they get super boring. I do love to walk though, and I love that I can walk walk walk! I want to start adding jogging in, I have a few times but it's hard for me and it's a goal I think will take a while to build up...But that's okay :) anyways good luck to you and stay positive!
I could have written this post. I was chugging right along until about six months when my weight loss slowed from an average of 10 lbs a month to 5lbs. I also had added a few extras in, but nothing off the charts.I keep moving my goal weight down because I don't feel finished yet, and I know I need to bump my exercise back up again, but I don't mind the slower loss. I am almost at my 10 month anniversary and I feel like I at on a pre-maintenance stage right now. If I want a bite of something, I'll have one bite but then I typically don't want more.
If I keep losing 2-5 pounds a month for the next 2-8 months which is still within the "honeymoon" period, I would be thrilled. I just don't feel like I used to when I dieted and looked forward to being finished or I "cheated". This feels much more that this is just the way I eat now. I feel better, I look better, and if I have too many bites of the wrong thing, it just sits heavy with me and so is a natural consequence to not doing it again. I always wondered about those people who would say they just didn't feel like eating the dessert or were full before their plate was clean, but now I'm one of them 
Yes I love not finishing my plate, and the good thing about measuring is if I do finish I know I'm still good. Of course some foods fill us up faster. Sweets can be such a teaser for me, but I have developed more self control than I've ever had. Some days at work some one will pull our that giant bag of peanut m&ms and I'm like NOOO. So I'll have 4 and walk away! Don't ask me why 4, it just seems to satisfy that craving then I'm good. I wonder where I'll be @ 10 months. The next 3 months to get there are going to fly and be warmer, yay!
I'm at 8 months and feeling a lot of the same things. I just started re-tracking on myfitnesspal again yesterday to make sure that I'm not getting too many calories/fats/carbs in. I hate these stalls!! But I've lost 120 pounds, so it's bound to slow down, right?? I feel like I can get more into my pouch now...I've struggled since surgery getting enough in, so it's weird now being able to fit more in there. I had just under 1200 calories yesterday and reached exactly my 60 grams of protein...but I think I wasted some calories on salad dressing...which pissed me off when I realized it. It's not been EASY, by any means, since surgery...but it's been easier than right now since I had such trouble getting food in...does that make sense? Anyway..good luck!!
Melissa - RNY 8/1/13 :)
Yes, absolutely! I've actually almost been in a panic about it the last few days. I was on vacation over the weekend and thought I was doing ok with eating, but now I'm thinking I went over on calories and carbs. I'm revamping everything today and yesterday. I feel like I kinda went off track a little and I do not want to do that.
Melissa - RNY 8/1/13 :)
