Losing again at 15.5 months!

I had my surgery on March 17, 2010.  Because I was a lightweight and I'm older, I was a SUPER slow loser, averaging about a pound a week for the first year.  I hit my goal of 125 way back in December but would still like  to get down to 115 or maybe lower.  I saw 118.8 on the scale about 6 weeks ago, but it immediately bounced back up to the 121-123 range and has been stuck, stuck, stuck there for the past 3 months or so.

Until now.  For some reason, after being as stuck as I can be, and without really changing my diet or exercise habits much, I lost about 4 pounds in June and yesterday I was down to 117.8!  And for the past week I've been under 120 every time I stepped on the scale, day or night!

ETA:  The last time I was under 120 was, I think, during the first Nixon Administration!  LOL

Man, oh man!  I loves me some sleeve!!!

Congratulations on your metabolism waking back up!!

That's such fabulous news.  I too was a very slow loser, averaging about 3-5 pounds after the first month. Do you think it's about age?  I'm 60.  It's taken a lot of commitment to just stay the course.  I'm sure you can say the same thing!  I love hearing about people losing after the first year.  I've been slowly losing and intend in seeing the 100 pound mark loss this summer.

Kudos to you!!

How much do you exercise? What type? Any weight training?

Yes, I exercise a lot, and HARD!  I started working with a personal trainer twice a week at 24 Hour Fitness almost a year ago, then about five months ago I joined a small private gym and I do a very strenuous "boot camp" class three times a week and work with a personal trainer there twice a week.  It kicks. my. butt.  Combination cardio and weights, using machines, free weights, body weight, you name it.  Always something different.  I love it and OMG I am getting Michelle Obama arms!  LOL  Plus I do tap dancing classes twice a week.  So altogether I do seven workouts in six days per week (there's one day where I do both boot camp and tap!)

And I will say that although my weight has been stuck since around the first of the year, I have been getting smaller the whole time.

I also work with a personal trainer twice/week and do other classes and walking on alternate days. I average about 4-6 workouts/week. I love working with a trainer, because it always different, and I credit the weight training for the loss of inches and body fat. I definitely have some muscle mass, but the loose skin hides some of it. The top part of my arms are toned and muscled, but I still have the bat wings. Only surgery will help that.
 
I wonder, if you have developed more muscle mass, which has increased your metabolism and has allowed you to drop more weight? I think, it has helped me to get beyond eating 1,000 cal/day. You are doing great!!! How many calories do you eat/day?


Gail

I average probably 1400 calories per day.  It seems like a lot but compared to what I ate before the sleeve it's MUCH MUCH less.

I'm with you on the arms -- they're nicely toned but I still have some bat wing action hanging down.  It doesn't bother me much and I don't plan to have any surgery.

I am having a facelife next week, though!  I traded in my double chin for a turkey neck and I don't think that was a good deal at all!!  So I am having a lower face/neck lift and also a lower eyelid lift.  Super excited about that!!

LOL!!!! I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon about 2 weeks ago, for the very thing that you are talking about. My turkey neck is wobbly and my eyes need to be done. If I do it, it will be a full face lift, including upper and lower eyes. I'm going on 11 months out, so I may wait a few more months. I se that you are in Southern CA. Who is doing your face lift? I'm in Northern CA. 

1400 cal/day sounds reasonable for the amount of exercise that you do. I'm still trying to find that sweet spot.

Gail

Gail, did you go to Hop Le for your consult?  If yes, how did you like him?  Did he quote you the same as Bonnie for the full face lift?   In another 4-8 pounds, I'm going to go for a consult.  Hopefully, that will be sooner than later!  I'm not sure which bothers me more, my face or my arms.  It's all about recovery time and time off work.  I wonder if he could do arms and face at the same time?  Then I'd just be left with the lower body lift.

I went to a plastic surgeon in Concord. I really, really liked him and his before and after photos were very good. Plus, I met someone in person, who had some work done by him, and she is absolutely beautiful and one wouldn't know that she had any work done at all.

I will check out a couple of others. What drives up the cost, is the price for the operating room, anesthesia, overnight stay in the surgical clinic, etc. Plus, adding on eyes, adds to the cost. I don't know what Bonnie's estimate entailed, but with that price, it may have been for the "basic" face lift only.

I also received an estimate for the arms and LBL. It is all very expensive, but my price for the LBL is a bit lower, because I am "petite" and don't have alot of excess skin to remove, which reduces the amount of time needed for the operating room and anesthesia. In fact, he said that I have very little body fat. Amazing. A physician said that I didn't have very much body fat. I credit the weight training for that. He said that I had good muscle tone underneath the loose skin.

I don't plan on going out of the country for any plastics. With the complications that I had with the VSG and the atrial fibrillation, I don't want to take any unnecessary chances.

I want to hear what the plastic surgeon has to say, at the meeting in Santa Rosa in August. Depending upon what I hear, he may be another consultation that I have.

Recovery from a facelift is about 2 weeks. At that time, you can probably be seen out in public. Recovery from a LBL is longer, about 4-6 weeks.

Oh, and the facelift is a separate procedure on its own. A LBL can be combined with arms or breasts. The surgeon that I saw, said the face lift is separate and he doesn't combine it with another procedure, which I think is safer. The longer that one is under anesthesia, the riskier it becomes.