One Year Anniversary - Lessons Learned !!

It's been a year since I joined the losing side and just want to say that this board is a great resource for sharing our experiences with WLS. You people are really the only other WLS patients I know and I just want to thank you all for actively participating here! Here's to you What have I learned in a year? Surgery is now just a fuzzy memory, so although its a big deal before and right after it, over time it really seems to fade into a temporary inconvenience, over and done with now. Also, take care of your body after surgery.. no overdoing caffeine, alcohol, or smoking. Listen to your body. Listen to your nutritionist. Drink your water. I have been on a plateau for the last three months and although its frustrating not losing the last 10 pounds and looking ripped, it sure beats gaining! Any people two years post op have any lessons to share with me? Once again, thanks! Dave 318/195/185

Congrats Dave! Keep up the good work.

Congratulations! You look fantastic. I'm only 5 months out so I have no lessons to teach you, but may I ask you if you hit any long plateaus during the past year? I'm going crazy now. This plateau started 2 months after my surgery and I'm now exactly the same weight 5 months out. No one seems to have any answers for me. Any pointers? Mary Ellen

Hi Mary Ellen! I did hit some plateaus after surgery and am actually in the middle of a two month plateau right now. You must be soooo frustrated to have your weight loss stalled for three months. That totally sux!!!! Please know I totally sympathize. I read your profile and my suspicion is that your body is just resisting loss of stored energy, a/k/a fat. Having dealth with the effects of yo-yo dieting a few times, I know all too well how the human body is a remarkable mechanism for survival, storing energy at every opportunity (usually in our thighs and beer guts!!) and preparing for famine. You have lost quite a bit of weight, going from 277 to 220 in a very short period of time. Your exercising, although a very good thing, is probably signaling your body to hold on tightly to any stored fat in case its needed in the future. Our bodies have generations of evolutionary lessons that taught our fat cells how to stretch a calorie when times get tough. See, from a scientific standpoint, we weren't really fat, our bodies were just much more efficient than skinny people's bodies in storing energy!! Aside from checking with your doctor, my only other advice is to be patient (I know... easy for me to say, right? ), follow your post-op instructions and wait for your body to adjust to its new way of processing and using calories. I'm confident that over time, your weight will go to where both you and your amazingly efficient body are most comfortable! Keep on keeping on! Dave 318/195/185