Res Ipsa

Just a reminder that our annual Boston TTF get together is less than a week away.... Remember that everyone is invited and welcome to come - weight loss surgery veterans and newbies, as well as folks that are considering weight loss surgery.

Do not worry about losing too much weight. For almost everyone with a bypass it is easy to stop weight loss by adding (healthy) calories and carbs to your daily diet. The far greater risk is weight regain after reaching your goal weight.

Welcome! We are here to support and inform you on your weight loss surgery journey. I have never regretted having my gastric bypass.

You look great!

What a wonderful post and photos. This post brought back great memories of my visit to the Dead Sea many years ago (I think that there is a photo of me as a teenager covered in Dead Sea mud somewhere in my mother's photo drawer.... ). Your weight loss success is an inspiration to us all. I also enjoy occasional breakfast buffets as you can have a little of lots of different foods, but it can be hard to avoid overeating. Most importantly, it sounds like you have really settled into a productive maintenance diet based on mindful eating.

As usual, I totally agree on this with @BurgundyBoy. I also believe that the limited diet and lack of hunger in the first few months after weight loss surgery makes it much easier to retrain yourself to eat "mindfully" - in other words thinking about what you are eating and making intelligent decision on what to eat. Thus, while weight loss surgery will not resolve overeating issues that have deep seated emotional or historical reasons which require therapy to resolve (such as being a victim of abuse) - weight loss surgery should make it easier for most people to transition to the mindful and more healthy diet necessary to lose excess weight and (even more importantly) keep the weight off in the long term. As an aside, now that I am at maintenance I can eat almost any food in moderation as part of an overall healthy diet. I absolutely do not miss the huge portions of unhealthy food that I used to eat. I totally agree (as usual) with @Aussie Bear that weight loss surgery is not the "easy way out" in that weight loss success (especially in the long term) requires a change in both lifestyle and diet. That having been said, the surgery does make it easier to make this change. In any case, even if weight loss surgery was the easy way out, so what? What is wrong with using a medical procedure or treatment to resolve a serious medical problem? A cast is the "easy way out" for fixing a broken leg, surgery is the "easy way out" for resolving the risk of an inflamed appendix, and antibiotics are the "easy way out" to resolve pneumonia, and yet no one believes that these "easy ways out" are not the smart and proper options to take. If a person has a long history of being seriously overweight, and normal diet regimes have not long term resolved this excess weight problem, then weight loss surgery is an appropriate medical option. Finally, anyone who knows @Aussie Bear's medical history with weight loss surgeries will understand that her weight loss surgery history has hardly been an "easy" path. Her ability to keep on going through multiple surgeries and nasty side effects, and to keep her excess weight off, is an inspiration to us all.

I totally agree that everyone is different in their post-surgery weight loss rates and that stalls are normal. I also agree that stalls end and that stalls are no reason for panic or concern. However, stalls are not inevitable for everyone. As shown in this weight chart, I did not have any significant stalls in my post-surgery weight loss until I reached my goal weight and intentionally put my weight loss into a "stall."

She and her family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you for posting this picture of what you plan to wear in two weeks to out Boston get together - otherwise we would never think that such a "skinny minnie" ever had weight loss surgery....

Relax. You are doing great! Trust me, if you stick to the diet plan within a year you will be at your goal weight and look back at this post and wonder why you were concerned. Also, everyones' weight loss surgery journey is a bit different, but remember that typically vertical sleeve patients lose weight a bit slower than gastric bypass patients, and that men typically lose weight faster than women.

Great job so far! Just keep on doing what you are doing!!

I am not a physician, but I see no reason for you to increase your calories up to 1500-1700 per day in the first year after your vertical sleeve surgery. As long as every day you get in your protein, vitamins, calcium and liquids, there really is no basis for increasing calories since you body can live off the fat in your body for calories (resulting in weight loss). You are still in the "honeymoon" period and should be maximizing weight loss. Maybe @BurgundyBoy will have some thoughts on this..... In any case, welcome back to TTF, great job so far on your weight loss, I hope that your business does great, and we are here to support you on your weight loss surgery journey!

Welcome! Both weight loss surgeries can help you lose weight and keep it off, but there are important differences between the two surgeries. Also, depending on your medical history one of the surgeries might be preferable. Be an informed consumer in picking your surgery type. I have never regretted having a RNY gastric bypass.

You look great! Have a good time at the party.

Yeah!!!